Excerpt from Gilbert Gurney Mr. Hook's writings cover a space of twenty years, charm ing the public in many a way, whilst their gifted author was enjoying all the pleasures of the best society in the metropolis, all its gaieties and humours - himself the most gay and hu morons of its merry sons. His company was sought by the luxurious and by the intelligent; by the mirthful and by the wise; by the fair and by the learned. Wherever he came he was a welcome guest and his arrival was the signal for hilarity and festivity. The dining-room and the drawing room were alike his theatres: the former was enlivened by the jest and song; the latter by music and improvisation, of which he was master beyond any man that perhaps England ever beheld. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.