SUSANNA, a celebrated comic writer, was the daughter of Mr Freeman of Holbeach, in Lincolnshire; and exhibited such an early turn for poetry, that it is said she wrote a song when she was only about seven years old. Before she was twelve years of age, she could not only read Molière in French, but enter into the spirit of all the characters. Her father dying, left her to the care of a stepmother, whose treatment not being agreeable to her, she determined, though almost destitute of money and every other necessary, to go up to London to seek a better fortune than that which she had hitherto experienced. As she was proceeding on her journey on foot, she was met by a young gentleman from the university of Cambridge, afterwards the well-known Anthony Hammond, Esq., who was so extremely struck with her youth and beauty that he fell instantly in love with her; and inquiring into the particulars of her story, soon prevailed upon her inexperienced innocence to accept the protection which he offered her, and go with him to Cambridge. After some months cohabitation, he persuaded her to proceed to London, where in a short time she was married to a nephew of Sir Stephen Fox. That gentleman, however, did not live above twelve months; but her wit and beauty soon procured her a second husband, whose name was Carrol, an officer in the army. This union was also of short duration; and Carrol having had the misfortune to be killed in a duel about a year and a half after their marriage, she became a second time a widow. For the sake of support she now applied to her pen, and became a votary of the muses; and it is under the name of Carrol that some of her earlier pieces were published. Her first attempt was in tragedy, in a play called the Perjured Husband; yet natural vivacity leading her afterwards to comedy, we find but one more attempt of this kind, among eighteen dramatic pieces which she afterwards wrote. In 1706 she became known to Mr Joseph Centlivre, principal cook to her majesty, who married her; and, after passing several years happily with this person, she died at his house in Spring Garden, Claring-cross, in December 1723. Mrs Centlivre for many years enjoyed the intimacy of Sir Richard Steele, Mr Rowe, Budgell, Farquhar, Dr Sewell, and other persons of note; and very few authors received more tokens of esteem and patronage from the great. With regard to her merit as a writer, it must be allowed that her plays do not abound with wit, and that the language of them is sometimes even poor, enervate, incorrect, puerile; but her plots are busy and well conducted, and her characters in general natural and well marked.