1770

=1770: The London Evening Post=

The London Evening Post was published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays beginning on December 12, 1727. The post claimed it would not be composed of “tedious Repetitions of Trifles” but it proved otherwise, it was mostly composed of morning newspapers. Richard Nutt was the founder and shareholder of the paper. He was anti-government often using the post to attack the ministry. Distribution of The London Evening Post was forbidden in two occasions by the Post office and finally came to an end in 1806. On many occasions Nutt was found guilt of provocative libel, which led to his imprisonment and a fine.

News
The paper covered a variety of news from all over the world. The post includes news from Ireland, the Americas, London, of course, and reported on Ottoman and Russian Activities. In the post, country news mostly consisted of crimes being reported and warnings if the person who committed the crime was still at large. In one occasion the description of a criminal who knocked a man unconscious and stole his watch was included. A warning was distributed in the paper, which advised the people to avoid strangers who knock on stable doors asking for assistance to tame their horse.

News consisted of what we could consider actual news today, such as the state of other countries and what wars or battles were being fought. It was reported that 350 Russian troops defeated 5000 Confederates, killing 200 and imprisoning 30. News also consisted of reported crimes that were occurring in the city. Similarly, actions of the colonies considered the Americas ( U.S.A!) were constantly being reported on. It was once written that America was set on defiance and if this should continue trades would come to an end. Throughout the entire year there seems to be a significant amount of hostility towards America. Social life or rather, social warnings were covered also. In one instance a warning was issued to the families of all ranks advising these families to lock servants and apprentices inside their homes at night. The reason being, “The streets are full of prostitutes and if a young man is once debauched, can you tell when or where he will flop in his career of wickedness.”

An arts and entertainment section was included in almost every edition of the paper. This included poems that were written by either readers or actual poets. Plays were often discussed, summarized, reviewed, and critiqued. Some plays received astonishing reviews while others were outright insulted. The section is quite interesting to read.

Play: A Word to the Wise by Hugh Kelly
Hugh Kelly was an Irish poet employed as a propagandist for the British government. He arrived in London in the year 1760 and made his living as a journalist. He wrote many plays including //False Delicacy, Clementina,// and //A Word to the Wise.//

Characters in //A Word to the Wise//

Sir John Dormer Mr. Reddish Sir George Hastings Mr. King Capt. Dormer Mr. Palmer Mr. Willoughby Mr. Aickin Mr. Villars Mr. Cautherly Miss Montague Mrs. Barry Miss Dormer Miss Young Miss Willoughby Mrs. Baddeley Mrs. Willoughby Mrs. Jeffreys

This play was intended to be a comedy of manners and much like the rest of the plays during this period was intended to provoke morality or thoughts of morality. This play focused on social life (love and marriage) and does not look fondly upon libertines or the libertine lifestyle. The protagonist Sir John Dormer intends on marrying hi daughter to Sir George Hastings, a fop with a good but misguided heart. Sir Dormer’s daughter resists to marrying Sir Hastings because he is a fop but also because she is in love with Mr. Villars who shares the same feelings. Meanwhile, Sir Dormer is in search of a wife for his son, Captain Dormer, but finds it to be difficult because his son is a self-professed Libertine. There is a significant amount of dialogue in this play. It might be wiser to have less words and more actions which is maybe why it is ironically titled //A Word to the Wise.//

Summary:
This play is similar to many of the Restoration plays because it toys with morality, libertines, and marriage. Interestingly, an article advising families of ranks to lock their men in their homes during the night is printed as a way to protect the men from promiscuous activities. It is very clear the Libertines are not instantly accepted in this play nor were they accepted in society.

Link/ Works Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Kelly_(poet) http://find.galegroup.com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/ecco/retrieve.do?inPS=true&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&bookId=0737800500&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSet=ECCOArticles&showLOI=&docId=CW3314119368&docLevel=FASCIMILE&workId=CW114119367&relevancePageBatch=CW114119367&retrieveFormat=MULTIPAGE_DOCUMENT&callistoContentSet=ECLL&docPage=article&hilite=y