a
play written by Welsh-born actor and
stage manager William H.
Smith (1806-1872), first produced in 1844 in
Boston. This drama shows the evils of
alcohol and the
virtues of temperance (abstinence from
alcohol). The story tells of Edward Middleton, an honest young
man with a weakness for
alcohol, and his
evil family lawyer Cribbs. Upon the
death of his father, Edward is asked by Cribbs to dispossess a
mother and daughter, who are Middleton's tenants, of their
home. Instead, Edward falls in
love with the daughter and marries her. Cribbs, preying upon the Middleton family, encourages Edward to drink. Ashamed and seemingly impoverished, Edward flees, leaving wife and daughter behind. Cribbs
follows him and tries, unsuccessfully, to involve him in forging a
check. Edward's foster
brother, however, finds Edward and rehabilitates and reunites him with his wife and daughter. Cribbs is finally forced to reveal that he has been hiding the will of Edward's grandfather and that Edward is still a wealthy
man. The
play was the first in
American theater to
run consecutively for more than 100 performances. Since opening in 1844, it has been revived a number of
times and in all, has been one of the longest-
running plays in America.