The Way to Keep Him
The Way to Keep Him is a 1760 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. Originally three-acts in length, it premiered at the Theatre [Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre] in a double bill with Murphy's The Desert Island. Actor-manager David Garrick appeared in both productions. A great success, the following year it was extended to five acts, with music composed by Thomas Arne to accompany it. It had many revivals well into the nineteenth century.
The original 1760 Drury Lane cast included Garrick as Lovemore, John Palmer as Sir Brilliant Fashion, Thomas King as William, Maria Macklin as Widow Bellmour, Mary [Ann Yates] as Mrs Lovemore, Mary Bradshaw as Mignionet and Kitty Clive as Muslin.
File:Johann Zoffany - Frances Barton, Mrs Abington, as the Widow Bellmour in Arthur Murphy's 'The Way to Keep Him' - 486294 - National Trust.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Johann Zoffany's depiction of Frances Barton as Widow Bellmour.
Writer Henry Angelo recalls attending an earth-bathing lecture in the early 1790s, during which quack doctor James Graham began reciting "Ye fair married Dames..." from the play at the urging of bored onlookers.