The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-03-22 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF Tlll BRITISH PRESS.

KIN has not disowned the letter SM. there-
fore, reltictatilly obliged In believe, that it eniatialtd form
hintitelf, satinr than from one of ideate enemies who, roil-
scion. of their own insignificance, are ever active in their
maitre wynetst celebrated chancier.. Its fart, I really
thimeht that some one hail msnmett NU. KVA*4.II name, fur
the moisture of doing him the shert tool little injury of a day;
instead of which it appears to he his ono, soil the i",i;.ry
enwst lad fur years !

Cireumsteutial evidence. Mr. EDITOR, is sometimes far
better than positive. Mr. KEA* knows, anti every ono most
know, that I cannot. by any association. have poritire proof
of what passed, many months aws, in prirate cunvrr.ntinn;
but the following exteart from a Newspaper of Ibis itav, for-
tuities such a fortunate commentary on my lest, that I think
no 'moment will be esteemed necessary to prove, at least,
the probability of my *meanest.

I have stated, in the Tragedy of The Italians, that a Gen-
tleman having sent a letter, relative to a Tragedy lie had
written, to Mr. Ke.alt, Mr. KEAN returned for answer, that
unless the entire in t t ceutered in the character designed
fur Iron, it would neither snit has reputation nor the in-
terests of the Theatre that it should be accepted. This
ass. mom Mr. KEAN dealer; and yet it does t unfortu-
nately happen, that the very Gentleman who told me this,
has, in The Champion of this days giveu the following
statement :
" The letter sent to Mr. Kw( indicated that there were
two characters in the piece, as it that stood, either of which
might be so written up as to render it the principal ; and
Mr. Keivil was requested 144 say which of the two he would
prefer, that it might be written accordingly. Mr. KEAN,
without wailing to sec the bin.. wrote hack, Unless the
elsorarterallotted to me is the chief object of /he Ploy, it
will not he consi.tent with my reputation, or the interest of
Drury-lane Theatre, to accept if.' Now the chief object
was to make a good Play ; and the story required that the
three female and two of the male charactera, should be such
as would require gond acting, though the author was pre-
pared to Rive ronspictious prominence to whichever of the
latter Mr. KEAN might most alTeet."
If, after this confirmation of what I have asserted in one
Instance, Mr. KEAN should still deny the substance of our
conversations, 1 shall think myself justified, much against
my will, in putting him to a test, tient which his better
judgment most recoil. And yet surely the man who is not
to be bettered upon his word, is not to he believed upon his
oath !
Hitherto, in the midst of many difficulties and injuries, I
bare been fortunate enough to command a considerable por-
t' of ecivonal respect; and lam proud to say, that, to
the hest of my belisf, I have never lost a single eaten D.
But I hire public notice to all my ft iends, nonserons and
respectable as they are, that I shall have a contempt for any
inn• of them, who may, hereafter, shake me by the hind, if I
do not come successfully out of this controversy. And I now
call Nom the more active port' of the Swn-Cossaorree
of last year, not only to lose all friendship for me as a man,
but tor the sake of public justice, fur the interests of the
Proprietors of the Theatre, and out of rtspect to the ac-
knowledged talents of Mr. KEAN, I call upon them instantly
to cstate forward gull convict one publicly of a falsehood, if
I :on wrong in stating, that Mr. KEAN, previous to hi■
journey into Scotland, gave a distinct and positive pledge,
that moiling MI his part should prevent my tragedy from
succeeditig The Jew of .1/alto, and that tau, without cans
reference to compassion*.
Thai Mc. Moons:, when be found the conduct of Mr.
KRA"( was operating to my disadvantage, might, two or three
monies afterwards, plead the great expenses I had been pot
to, sod the loss its time and money I should sustain, if,
after the solemn pledges that had heed given, my Tragedy
shout 1 mit be performed, is very possible. For having
lung been in the habit or ►eading SENIECA Mud 80ET111.311,
I felt no shame in confessing to Mr. Mootte ; nor do
now its publicly eoufes-ing to the world—that, from seve-
ral persons nut keeping their eugageineam with me, my
truly excellent wife, my children, and myself, were, fur the
time, in great comparative want!
From the second mouth of my marriage up to the mo-
ment to which 1 am writing I have beets visited with such a
series el afflictions as are, I think, scarcely to be paralleled
in the annals of private life! But lam too proud to excite
even the sympathy of the public, much less the compassion
of Mr. KLAN. I sin also too sensible of the beautiful ed-
ges et adversity to repine; though it would be miracu-
lous, thud I nut, sometimes, feel impatience and disgust.
Mr. KEAN, I understand, is occasionally in the habit of
doing generous actions to persons of his own profession ;
but fur him to presume to the consequence of exerting coin-
passion towards me, would have been a subject for my
ridicule, were I nut so far advanced in the knowledge of
human nature to know that ridicule is the weapon of de-
generate minds.
By the more active portion of the SUBCOMNITTEE, I, of
course, meals Pry►R MoORE, Esq. Member for Coventry,
and Colonel INIUGLAS, sit Yurk.place, Baker.street. These'
Gentlemen are of high consideration in the country, and I
call epos' them, as men, and as Gentlemen, to do that jus-
tice to Mr. KeAN, whi,:h I should wish, were I placed in Mr.
Kilts's situation, to lave administered to myself. Should
they he silent, their silence muss, of course, Ise construed
Mr. _KEAN slates, in his unfortunate letter, that when lie
real my worst of all bad Tragedies, the only feeliugs
It netted among the performers were uncontrollable laugh-
ter. sad pity fur the author ! Now, this is either a curious
fact. or an alarming eccusatiou. 1 ane therefore, revolved,
that the piddle sleuth know the actual truth or untruth of
this assertion ; and 1 call opus' Mr. RAE, Mr. Pore, and
Mr.. GIOYE'at, to state, pubiiclo, in a hoiiy, and with as
Utile delay poAvildr, whether they did Of did Ind commit
that runt dim:rare:el outrage on privet:: feeling, of which
lIIII.P/AN Ms roundly has accused them•'. If they slid, the
world will hive is MIT criterion by to judge of them ;
If they did not, something better than my assertions will he
afforded to the world, by which they may judge the veracity
of Nlr. K
THE AUTIH►R OF TH F. PHILOSOPHY
March 21. 1419. OF NATURE.

• Mr Kt:* n modestly says, " Mr. P. SiooßE excited with
time Airily soy personal compassion fur Mr. HIRAM, i•
consequence of which I undertook to act in his play."
t The exc. llent Mrs. RARTLEY awl Mr. WALL/4A Me In
America; but I 11111P•I them to tale the earliest opportu.,
bay of fwvoissinc me with their Icitiniony likewise.

The Earl and Countess of Notattr.st: lately
gave • splendid ball and supper at their seat,
~.v.iissex, to a numerous party of the
Nobility and Gentry of the surrouuding neigh-
bourhood.
TmEC.r.r.stor.—A larger assembly of ,Clergy-
men uoc. expected at ,Exeter Cathedral on Friday
morning than had been witnessed withitt.the me-
mory of the oldest inhabitant of that city. All the
bent iced Clergymen tit gliout the two couoties
of De‘von and Cornwall, to the amount of about
seven hundred, had been • ited to attend, for the
purpsse of proceeding to the election or two per-
sons to lie their Representatives in the Er-
element ical Peril:intent, the convocation which
constituter one of the three estates of the 'Mtn.
The candidates are, the Rev. Dr. FISHEfiII, Preben-
dary 1.)1;N NI4. and Dr. Rutin ; and it was expected
that • statement oof the itdringements which have
been mude tit varnnn tights and privilego:s of the
Chngrch would he brotigist forward, and excite very
considerable into.rest to the public I, purtieu-
larly among the clerical pelt of the community.