3462 D 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
 C E S25 mfi 
 
y 
 
 y 
 
 H 
 
 
 ^n 
 
 
 n iz 
 
 ^ D;^ 
 
 e ii.^« 
 
 ■^ v^ 'ii; * #• * # ^ -5^ .-^" -^< >A? -^ -J^ w -4? 4^ * =^ -'^ •<!: ^ * ^ , -N' ^S ^^ * * ,* ^ * * 4C: 
 
 \. 
 
 =* * * ;3^ * #^ * * *-^ * * « * * ^ 4& 4& * ^J? :& .» # -:^ -* * * 45: * * * # viJ 4:: 
 
 pl^h,tec( for f 
 
 L O N D O N: 
 
 yA L L - r"" m Pater-No 6 V ER-Ro\7a- 
 /K'Z)cC /, yx/r 
 
LOAN STACK 
 
 €spr 
 
?^H6XI> 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 15 Y what means the curious Dialogue prefixed to this- 
 Confeffion, together with the Confeffion itfelf, came 
 into the Hands of the Publiflier, the Public will be made 
 acquainted with in due Time. 
 
 This Recantation has had the defired EfFedl; Mr, 
 Garrick's Humanity having got the better of his good 
 Senfe, a Compromife has been brought about, upon the- 
 Dodlor's making a proper SubmiiTion in the Public 
 Prints. 
 
 v<v 
 
 038 
 
V 
 
 
 Dr. Kenricks Recantation. 
 
 I N T R O D U C T I O N- 
 
 KJ N Monday the loth of Auguft, 1772, Dr. William Kenrick, 
 of Edgewere-Row, Paddington, was obferved to walk feveral times 
 backward and forward, from his own houfe to Tyburn, in a mo_pec^ 
 and melancholly condition, muttering and murmuring to himicxi, 
 infomuch that his friends bec^an to be alarmed for his fafetv, fearin? 
 a phrenfy had feized his brain. The good .vcman of the houfe 
 where he lives, declares flie believes he has been b-fide himfelf fai- 
 th efe two months paftj as (ho has often heard hir\ rave, in the 
 middle of the night, in a mod fliocking manner; .crying out d-— n 
 
 Garrick, d n Goldfmith, d- — n Dr. Johnfon, Arthur xMurphy, 
 
 B ff, Cumberland, and all fuch fci-ibbling rafcals, for they 
 
 have turned my brain : and above all, G— d d— n the perpetual 
 
 motion, and all motions but Mrs. L~ m's, which is the only 
 
 motion I underhand. When he comes a little to himfelf, and is 
 
 B fomevvhat 
 
• ( 2 ) 
 
 fomewbat calmer, he will exclaim, Oh that I had been timely 
 Vv-ife, how happy had I now been ! What had I, a poor brafs-rnlc 
 ?nal(€i'i to do with authors, managers, or men of genius ? Had I 
 kept clofe to my hrafs vcorky I might have been a great man ; but 
 tiicfe wicked authors have proclaimed me a dunce, and deilroyed my 
 peace of mind for ever; I fliall never be myfelf again. 
 
 It^was on the loth infrant, after having walked {zyzn times from 
 his own houfe to Tyburn, as above related, the day. being very hot^ 
 that he was obfervcd to turn into one of the fields in that neighbour- 
 ]]oog; and whether ilezed with a motion too indelicate to mention, 
 or whether one of his mad fits came fuddenly upon him, is unknown 
 to the author of this introdu<5lion j but certain it is, he was found 
 fome time after by Mr. John Wheeble of Pater- nofler- row, in the 
 following deplorable and iilthy iituation. The poor Dodlor was 
 lying under an elm tree, with his breeches about his heels, and his 
 head {luckfafl in a cow-t— d, foaming at the mouth like a mad dog, 
 while large drops of fv/eat chafed each other down his red fnub nofe,. 
 and jri'oaninjT: in a m^ofl oiteous manner. His tender and worthv 
 friend the pubiillier endeavoured to get him up, but as the Dcctcr 
 - is pretty bulky, he v»^as fome time before he could raife him from 
 the ground ; and when he had got him half up, fuch a prodigious 
 ilrong efHuvia alTailed his noftrils, that he was obliged, in. his own 
 defence, to let him fall again into his filth, and to fland at fome 
 diftance till the air had, in fome meafure, taken off the ftench, 
 which moving the Docfior. had occafioned. He then took him hy 
 
 his 
 
■ ( 3 )_ 
 
 his two ears (for he has not yd loft them) and drew him to a clean 
 
 place, where, after wiping his (h en backlide with fome of the 
 
 jflieets of a poem Cdlled^Lcrje in the Suds, a work thefc two gentle- 
 men always carry in their pockets, he placed him on his breech ; 
 in which pofture, as foon as the Dodlor could recover liis breath^., 
 the following dialogue enfued. . - 
 
 Doctor. Ah iriend Wheeble, are you there ? But why do I call 
 you friend ! you are the greatefl enemy I have ; for v/ithout your ■ 
 afilftance, I had, in all probability, this day ended a wretched 
 exigence : I am a poor miierable undone monfler, and do not wiflx. 
 to live. 
 
 Wheeble. For G — d's fake. Sir, what's the matter I what has:; 
 brought you to this 1 
 
 Doctor. The Devil and David Garrick. 
 
 Wheeble. Dear Sir, compofe yourfelf, all may yet be well;; 
 Garrick is a good-natured man, and may be brought to forgive: 
 us all. 
 
 Doctor. No, that's impofnble ; the attack is of too black and . 
 diabolical a nature ; if he forgives me, he will- not be fit to live 
 himfclf, Befides, to live defpifsd and fliunned by all mankind, 
 which has hitherto been my unhappy lot, is worfe than death, . 
 which alone can make me happy. 
 
 Wheeble. Upon my foul. Sir, I am fhocked to fee you in this . 
 defpairing way ; and if you would but fet your' head to work with • 
 mine, i think fomething might be thought , of to carry us through . 
 this bufmefs. 
 
Doctor. Set my head to v/ork with your*s ! you ignorant booby ! 
 ■Ao you then imagine I am fallen fo low, as to join my head to thnt 
 of a. paltry fniveling'publjilier'S ! No, I would foonsr 
 
 Wheedle. Sir, I beg' pardon 3 no one has a better opinion of 
 your head than myfelf ; I am fure you brought me through a very- 
 dirty bufinefs with grca-t reputation. To yon, and the plorious u:-:- 
 certainty of the law, I owe the befl copy I have to my back, though 
 it was evidently the property of anotlier man. 
 
 Doctor. Brought you through ! did not I bring LeiTy through, 
 as well as her keeper; what did I not do for Wilkes and L — d 
 G. Have not I had all the dirty work in town upon my hands, and 
 fucceeded in all i - 
 
 Wheeble. Why it mufl be allowed you know how to blacken, 
 as well as any body, Dodlor ; and, for fcandal and controverfv, I'll 
 pit you againft any writer in England. There is- great merit in 
 writing well to be fure ; but I think I can publiih as well as you 
 can write ; every man to his bufinefs, Docftor. 
 
 Doctor. Why you have fome merit that way, I mull allow j 
 and, as I fee you are my friend, I will do you the honor, for once, 
 to confult with you, what is befl to be done for our mutual fafety.— 
 A thoujyht flrikes me ! — We have ferved lord G. 
 
 WiiEEBL'E. True, Sir, and he will ferve us, if wq can put him in 
 a method of doing it. - Suppofe, Sir, he was to intercede for us with 
 Rofcius. 
 
 Doctor. 
 
is) 
 
 Doctor. In good truth, friend, you have revived my fplrits, 
 snd I wilLtake your advice. I have -already drawn my Recantation 
 and Confejjiorii vi^hich in cafe of my death, and I did not expert to 
 live many days, I had ordered to be printed, to clear the chai-acler 
 of an innocent man 5 for, to izj truth, I never believed a word of 
 what I have written on this fubjedl, but meant the whole as a 
 ■pleafant joke 5 and though the world in general has looked upon 
 iiie as a low rafcal, I muft confefs this lafl piece of wickednefs 
 fits heavier upon my confcience, than any thing I ever wrote 
 in my life. 
 
 Wheteble. Confcience ! ah, ah, ah ; don't make me laugh, Doc- 
 tor 3 you and I have been concerned in many things during our fhort 
 acquaintance, that had nothing to do with either honour or con- 
 fcience 5 and fet the cafe, now, as how my lord fhould not be able 
 to ferre us in this here aiiair, and you was obliged to go to your old 
 lodgings in the King's Eench -, why you know you might write any 
 thing there without danger 5 and I afTure you, you can write no- 
 thing, be it ever fo fcandalous, that I fhall hefitate to publifh : for, 
 to do bufmcfs, now a-days, a man mufl go through thick and thin; 
 one hand waflies the other, as the faying is. White wadi and black 
 ball is my notion. Doctor, eh ? 
 
 ' Doctor. It mud be confefl'ed you are a publifher of fpirit, and 
 defervc encouragement; but 1 am afraid the lafl piece did not 
 .anfwer, though you boldly put the Queen of Denmark's name to 
 the title page. 
 
 C Wheesle 
 
{ 6 ) 
 
 Wheeble. No, the cheat was too palpable: had it been pub- - 
 liflied by any of the reputable bookfellers at the Weft end of the 
 town, a large imprefHon would have gone off: but I could not 
 make the people believe that I had any fuch connexions, and fo the 
 thing is damned, as it ought to be. But never mind that, Do(5lor, 
 let us go on ; and in time, who knows, but we may become as . 
 famous as Dennis and Curll. 
 
 Doctor, Yes, I think I am already as good a critic as Dennis'^- . 
 and know as well how to over- reach a bookfeller. . The bookfellers^ . 
 now a-days, never believe a thing's good, without a large price is 
 demanded; by which means I have often got a hundred pounds for ; 
 what fome people have been ill-natured enough to fay was not^ 
 worth as many farthings. 
 
 Wheeble. I think my Lord bled pretty freely, for your little:, 
 Treatife on Sedudion and Adultery, though the book did not fell at 
 all: my brother Bell fays, you touched as good as five hundred 
 pounds.. ' 
 
 Doctor. My Lord did tlie thing handfomely, I mufl own; and 
 if I could but get any of my damned pieces to come to a realfecond ' 
 edition, I fhould be. the happiefb man in England ;. for after all,, 
 what pleafure has a man in feeing- a multitude of editions of his 
 v/orks, when he knows in his, heart,, nothing but the title page has , 
 been reprinted ? When did'you fee my good friend Gentleman.. 
 
 Wheeble, I cxpeded to, meet him at your houfe this evenings 
 
 Doctor. 
 
 •»«iW'»' 4«;"!!i! "^ 
 
, ( 7 ) 
 
 Doctor. Did you fol then we'll make hafle home, for Ihavc? 
 a- little bufmefs for. you both. You .are the only friends I have in the"; 
 
 world (except L d G .) and I intend you fhall witnefs my;v- 
 
 reccntation. When this is done, 1*11 get my L — d to intercede forr 
 me with Mr. Garrlck; and if I am happy enough to get out of this- 
 fcrape, I v>/ill return to my brafs ivork again, and live in peace upon : 
 bread and cheefe and porter. — — — Lend me your arm friend John. 
 
 Here. ended the- dialogue between Dr. William Kenrick and bis • 
 worthy publiiher ; after which they adjourned to the Dodor's houfe . 
 at Paddington, where the latter delivered to the former, the follow- - 
 ing Recantation and Confeilion, declaring at the fame time, in the-' 
 moft folemn manner, that it was the only piece of truth that has;- 
 cfcaped his pen thefe tweniy years. 
 
 THEI 
 
• -J 
 
 Recantation ana GGnieffion 
 
 O F 
 
 Dr. WILLIAM KENRICK^ 
 
 O F 
 
 Mdgeware-RoWy Paddingtonj m the County of 
 
 Middlesex. 
 
 HE RE A S I William Kenrick, living as above, not hav- 
 
 ' ing the fear of G— d and the King's-Bench "before my eyes, have, 
 
 'from time to time, and at all times, mofl groilly, impudently, 
 
 falfely and wickedly abufed David Garrick, Efq. of the Adelphi 
 
 ^Buildings, in the Strand, without the leafl provocation given on the 
 
 part of that gentleman j and for which abominable crime, I have 
 
 ibcen juftly viiited by evil fpirits, who have tormented me night and 
 
 :day, infomuch that I can get no rcfl: -, but am like one pofiefTed by 
 
 :the Devil. To add to my afflicSlions, the faid David has inflituted 
 
 :a fuit againil: me at Weilminfler, and the tnought of being brought 
 
 before Grimbald drives me diftracSed. Now, in order to render 
 
 xnyfelf an objed: of compaflion to the faid David, to difabufe the 
 
 ^public, and eafe my own wicked confcience, during the fliort time I 
 
 iuppofe I have to live, I have been induced to v/rite, and caufe to 
 
 h^ publiflied the following confeilion^ which I folemnly declare to 
 
 be 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 be the true irate of the cafe between David Garrick, Efq. and my- 
 felf ; any thing that has been written or printed before to the con- 
 trary notvvithftanding. 
 
 I have injinuated in an impudent foem called 'Love in the Suds, 
 ^hat there was a particular and improper conne5lion between Mr* 
 Garrick and a man I have thought proper to dijiinguijjj by the name 
 ofNyky, Now the truth is, I never did fuppofe there was any other 
 intimacy between them, than what might naturally arife between 
 the manager of a theatre and a fuccefsful dramatic v/riter. But as 
 I have no mufic in my foul, -I never much relifhed Nyky's produc- 
 tions, and had too much tnvy to bear his fuccefs without mur-- 
 muring. 
 
 Indeed, I was fo far from thinking there was any unnatural: 
 propenfity in the difpofxtion ofNyky, that (when I came out of the 
 King's Bench, and Mrs. LcfT— gK-m was kind enough to take me 
 into her houfe, in Somcrfet Yard, where Nyky had a houfe alfo)- 
 I frequently ufed to vifit him, and have fpent many chearful even- 
 ings in his company, and always thought him a good-nr-turcd; 
 harmlefs mai^ ; though I have fince declared I always avoided his. 
 company and hated him, as it were from inll:in<St. 
 
 / have ajj'erted that Rofcius had fojicient reafon to fitfpedi the 
 abominable difpofition of "Nyky long ago-, but I do not believe that- 
 either he or any one qMq had any fuch reafon, as the man had. 
 nothing effeminate i\\ his manner ; nor did I ever fay, or hear any; 
 onaelfe fay, a word to the prejudice of his charader in that way, 
 
 D till 
 
( lO ) 
 
 till he himfelf had fixed the fufpicion by leaving England, and 
 then I was the firft to attack him, which I ihould not have done if 
 he had continued here. 
 
 / have been offended iioith Nyky for applauding Rofcius, when the 
 ^hole audience have done the fajne thing. A natural failing in me. 
 I have too much envy in my compofition to bear the fuccefs of any 
 
 man, let his profeflion be what it will 1 have been of many 
 
 profefiions, and have fucceeded in none. 
 
 / have afferted that I never was ungrateful to Mr. Gar rick ; the 
 reverfe is the truth. I carried him the Widow'd V7ife, a comedy 
 I called it, which I had compiled from a foolifh novel, the Memoirs 
 of a Magdalen; or, The Hiflory of Louifa Mildmay, written by a 
 Mr. Hugh Kelly in this town : the play was no better than the 
 novel 'y and when I put it into the hands of Rofcius, near as long; 
 but, by his judicious mnnnpr nf lop|^ing and pruning it from time to 
 lime, it was, at laft, reduced to an adtable flate, the reprefentation. 
 being only three hours and a half. This friendly office in Rofcius 
 put near five hundred pounds in my pocket, though the piece is 
 generally allowed not worth five farthings. Indeed, I have often 
 faid that he fpoiled my piece ; and on that account it fucceeded no 
 better on the flage — I am too proud, and too ungrateful to ac- 
 knowledge a favour from any man. 
 
 I have complained that Mr. Garrick ufed me ill, ifi not performing 
 a play called Ya'lst AT ^'s Wedding. The play was never fit to 
 be performed ; and if it had been, I could never think of his per- 
 forming 
 
( " ) 
 
 formiag a play for the houfe upon the ufual terms, when I had given 
 
 the profits of the firfl night to Mr. Love ! Such- a practice was 
 
 never heard of in any-theatre. 
 
 1 7iext acciife Mr. Gar rick of having ufed 7ne very ill hi not aBing 
 a new comedy or tragedy for me, though he hadfeen neither ^ and to fay 
 the truth there was not a line wrote of cither, I had been fuch a fuc- 
 cefsful writer of plays, thr^t I fuppofed he might give me a promife 
 to ad: whatever I {l:iould write, before I fet about it j well knowing, 
 from experience, that I could produce nothing that was not excellent 
 in its kind. But 1 fuppofe he did not chufe to give me five hundred 
 pounds more, efpecially as 1 told him I was indifferent about the 
 
 fuccefs of my pieces, fo they run nine nights. The interefl of 
 
 the managers was no confideration of mine ; I never cared a farthing 
 for the interefl of any man living, fo I could get money myfelf. 
 
 A coolnefs now enfuing between ihc little manager and me, I was 
 deterxiiined to abufe him till I brought him to comply with any 
 terms I fhould propofc -, and as he had now lofl one of his writers, 
 I thought a fair opportunity offered, and immediately fet about 
 Ltove in the Suds, in which I infinuated that his great and intimate 
 
 friends were all S tes and M — d — rs, and that he himfelf, 
 
 from keeping fuch company, could not be fuppofed to be m.uch 
 better. 
 
 To flop this grofs piece of fcandal and iniquity, I expelled he 
 would immediately fend to m^e, to engage a play for the next feafon : 
 but, alas ! he was not fuch a timid mean-fpirited fellow as I thought 
 
 him 
 
( J2 ) 
 
 him I for, inilcad of engaging my pla*y, he fent xac a challenge I 
 This, hov/ever, I contrived to avoid, by telling him he had di- 
 vulged his intention to Griffin and Becket, and that I would not 
 meet him for fear of being aiTafrmateiby thefe men. But this was 
 a mere excufe, for I know thefe men arc neither ajfTaflinSj ruffians, 
 or ill-natured men ;, if they had, they would not have let me remain 
 fo long in their debt; efpecially as I have often taken the liberty to 
 abufe them. But forne anfwer was to be fent to Rofcius's card, and 
 . this v/as better than no excufe at all ; for with ffiame I confefs. That 
 I am a R A N K C O V/ A R D, and never yet dared to meet any 
 man face to face upon equal terms ; and, therefore, the world muft 
 
 not wonder that I refufed to meet Rofcius on this occaiipn. — I 
 
 have been often kicked and cancd^ and no one can fay. that I ever 
 made the leafl refifLiince, 
 
 This bcins: the real flatc of the cafe between Rofcius and me, t\-\& 
 public are left to decide v/hich is the greatefb rafcal : My Lord 
 
 G — r not chuling to interfere in fo dirty a piece of bufinefs, I 
 
 have' been purfi^aded by my friends, to make my cafe public, and 
 to throw myfelf entirely on Mr. Garrick's mercy, which I now do:, 
 and hope if he has no pity for a wretch like me, that he will at 
 lead confider my large diflreffed family. 
 
 WILLIAM KENRiaiL 
 
 . Signed in the prefence of 
 F. GENTLEMAN, 
 
 ■ A r: D ■ 
 
 JOHN WHEEBLE. 
 
 .■Nov, 13, 1772^ 
 
 9 4- f ^J^