As Mary grew up she longed to try her hand at tragedy—that ambition of young writers—but it was not until in later years when spurred on by the necessity of earning money for the support of her father and mother that she conceived the idea of writing plays for the stage. She had heard that occasionally large sums of money were gained by the authors of successful dramas, and she was encouraged in her undertaking by the recollection that when her poems were first published Coleridge had prophesied that the author of “Blanche” would write a tragedy. “So,” writes Mary, “I took heart of grace and resolved to try a play.” Her first attempt, a comedy, was rejected by the manager of a theatre. “Then, nothing daunted,” she writes, “I tried tragedy, and produced five acts on the story of _Fiesco_. But just as—conscious of the smallness of my means and the greatness of my object—I was about to relinquish the pursuit in despair, I met with a critic so candid a friend, so kind, that, aided by his encouragement, all difficulties seemed to vanish. I speak,” she adds, “of the author of _Ion_—Mr. Justice Talfourd—then a very young man ... _Foscari_ was the result of this encouragement.” But before _Foscari_ had appeared on the stage her play of _Julian_, having been read and approved by Macready, was performed with that celebrated actor as the principal character. It was, happily, successful, and, greatly cheered by this result and also by receiving no less than £200 from the manager of Covent Garden theatre, Mary Mitford continued her dramatic work. But she had to go through many trials connected with it, which often affected her health. The main cause of these trials were the unhappy dissensions between Macready and Charles Kemble, who both appear to have had hasty tempers. Mary writes to Sir William Elford on her return home from a hurried visit to London: “My soul sickens within me when I think of the turmoil and tumult I have undergone and am [still] to undergo.... I am tossed about between Kemble and Macready like a cricket-ball—affronting both parties and suspected by both because I will not come to a deadly rupture with either.” But, happily, later on she had reason to think differently about these great actors. She speaks of Macready as “a most ardent and devoted friend”; and when, in the autumn of 1826, _Foscari_ was about to appear on the stage, she says she feels “inclined to hate herself for her mistrust of Charles Kemble.” “There are no words for his kindness,” she declares, “from the beginning of this affair to the end.” Miss Mitford, accompanied by her father, went up to London for the first performance of _Foscari_ at Covent Garden theatre, which was fixed for the 5th November. They lodged at No. 45 Frith Street, Soho Square, whence Mary wrote to her mother an account of the great event. Outside her letter were the words, “Good news.” The letter is dated Saturday night, November 5th:—