JEPHSON, ROBERT (1736-1803), Irish dramatist, was born in Ireland. After serving for some years in the British army, he retired with the rank of captain, and lived in England, where he was the friend of Garrick, Reynolds, Goldsmith, Johnson, Burke, Burney and Charles Townshend. His appointment as master of the horse to the lord-lieutenant of Ireland took him back to Dublin, and he held his appointment under 12 succeeding vice roys. His plays include a tragedy, Braganza (1775), Conspiracy
(1796), The Law of Lombardy (1779), and The Count of Nar bonne (1781). He died at Blackrock, near Dublin, on May 31, 1803.
Jephson's other works include: The Bachelor, or Speculations of Jeffrey Wagstaffe, a defence of the Irish administration ; and The Con fessions of Jacques Baptiste Couteau, a satire on the French revolu tionaries.