On 25 November, 1786, there was produced at Drury Lane a comedy by Mrs. Hannah Cowley (1743-1809), a prolific but mediocre dramatist, entitled, _A School for Greybeards; or, The Mourning Bride_ (4to 1786 and 1787). Genest writes: ‘On the first night it struck me that I had seen something like the play before and when the 4th act came I was fully satisfied--that part of the plot which concerns Antonia, Henry, and Gasper [Donna Antonia (The Mourning Bride), Mrs. Crouch; Don Henry, Kemble; Don Gasper (a Greybeard), Parsons; Donna Seraphina, Miss Farren]; and even the outlines of Seraphina’s character, are taken from _The Lucky Chance_--as Mrs. Behn’s play, though a very good one is too indecent to be ever represented again. Mrs. Cowley might without any disgrace to herself have borrowed whatever she pleased provided she had made a proper acknowledgement--instead of which she says in her preface “--The idea of the business which concerns Antonia, Henry and Gasper was presented to me in an obsolete Comedy; I say the _idea_, for when it is known that in the original the scene lay among traders in London--and those traders of the lowest and most detestable manners, it will be conceived at once, that in removing it to Portugal and fixing the characters among the nobility, it was hardly possible to carry with me _more_ than the idea”--the traders whom Mrs. Cowley mentions, are both Knights, the one an Alderman, the other a Banker.’ Genest then compares various scenes and expressions from _The Lucky Chance_ with Mrs. Cowley and concludes ‘The other scenes though they may differ in the dialogue yet agree in essentials--the scene in the 5th act between Alexis and Gasper bears the strongest resemblance to that between Sir Feeble and Sir Cautious in The Lucky Chance. Mrs. Cowley was ashamed to advance a direct lie, but she was not ashamed to insinuate a falsehood--_A Naeuio uel sumpsisti multa, si fateris; uel, si negas surripuisti_--Cicero.’ The strictures of our stage historian are entirely apposite and correct. Henry, Don Gasper and Antonia of the Georgian comedy are none other but Bellmour, Sir Feeble, and Leticia. With regard to the reception of _The School for Greybeards_ ‘the audience took needless offence at a scene in the 4th act, and an unfortunate expression in Young Bannister’s part [Don Sebastian. Bannister, jun., also spoke the prologue], revived the opposition in the last scene--no more was heard till King [Don Alexis] advanced to speak the last speech--some alteration was made on the 2nd night, and the play was acted 9 times or more in the course of the season, but never afterwards [It was played at Bath 28 October, 1813. Chatterley acted Don Gasper; Miss Greville (from the Pantheon theatre), Donna Seraphina. It had little success]--it is a good Comedy and was very well acted.’