Curiosa: Adam Scriveyn's descendant

[nebroadwe]

From the "Brevities" of the Tuesday, 29 June 1880 edition of the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, slipped into a copy of Allegheny Cemetery (Pittsburgh, 1873):

Mr. John Kelley has now his play entitled "Abducted" printed, and it makes a much better showing in print than it did in the original manuscript. Some of the critics harshly criticised its orthography in the manuscript, but that defect was not the fault of the author but of an amanuensis who wrote out the play at the author's dictation -- the latter not however directing the spelling. Mr. Kelley's friends are quite well satisfied that the play will have a good run when fairly brought out.

Some authorial problems are perennial. No doubt there's a clay tablet somewhere with the marginal note, "Nisaba blast my scribe if he continue to mistake my words!"