The Sun.
London, England, 1806-12-18 00:00:00

TO THE miirbß bF THE SUN.

SiR, I
As I 'perceiv6 that you do not lase sight of matteit
6.r taste, amidst • all the important topics' of political
discussion; I send you a trifle for a corner of your
valuablel'aper, • when it may have one to spare.—
The diurnal Critics have been too much in the habit
of arraigning Mr. KEMBLE'S pronunciation of cer-
tain words, though it is very probable that if they
bad applied their diligence as much as he has done
to the older dramatic writers, and had bestowed as
much attention upon the nature and progress of out
language, they would be rather more disposed to
approve than ro censure what they may too hastily
consider as novelties, or as'marks of atfeCtation. But,
without such elaborate inquiries, a mere attention to
the metre will be often sufficient to convince them
that they have judged and
.decided with too much
precipitation. He. was lately condemned for his
manner of pronouncing Coridanus; though the text
-in many places will sufficiently warrant the mode
he adopted., The last object t of their 'censure was
his conversion of aches into a dissyllable, as used by
Prospero, in The' Tempest, though the metre abso-
lutely, requires that the word should be delivered
with that character. But numberless passages might
be quoted in the older writers to prove that aches
Must little been so pronounced. I believe •it will,
hardly be disputed that BUTLER was well acquainted
with our language, and likely to employ it with as
mach propriety as • any of the modern race of Cri-
iics:—The following passages from Hudibras will.
therefore fully justify-Mr. KEMBLE, independently
of the text in question, and tend to prose that aches
was a dissyllable, nut only in the dramatic writings,
but in the popular pronunciation, Oa former period,
whatever change may have been made in the word
by the refinethents of modern taste.
In Part the Second,
,Canto the Second,•there is the
following couplet :

" As no man of his oivnself catches
" The itch, vr amorous French aches."
In Part the Third, Canto the First, the same word
is introduced in this couplet : -

" The natural effect of love
" As often flames and aches prove."
And it occurs again, in the following lines
" Can by their pangs. and ackes find .
" All turns and changes of the wind."

I trust, Mr. EDITOR, that
,these passages will
abundantly justify Mr. KEMBLE as to this point, and
I have little doubt that in most others where he may
appear to be affealed or singular, a full reliance may
be placed on the judgment of one who has pursued
his inquiries with so much zeal, and such a de-
votion to the art which his talents so 'ably support.

CRITO:

A Bust of SHAKSPEARE, consisting of a piece of
the mulberry-tree planted by the immortalt Bard
himself, has, it is said, been recently presented to
the Duke of CLAREN6k. If all the supposed re-
liques of this famous mulberry-tree were to be col-
leded together, they wOtild nearly form as great a
mass as the Poet's " moving grove" brought from
Birnham Wood.

It must be acknowledged, for the credit of :public
impartiality, that the reception which CATALAN'
has experienced is so free from. old prejudices, that
it might be conceived there never had been such
Performers as BILLINGTON, BANTI, and MARA.

. Mr. Num. has thought proper to publish a pri-
vate correspondence between him and .Col. ELLIoT,
respelling. the late Westminster Elediou. .Mr.
PAULL accuses the Colonel of ,haying- broken his
word, but, as the matter . rests upon the assertions
of the former, and the denials of the latter, the pub-
lic must decide according to the charader of both.
,parties, and consequently the Colonel can have no
reason to fear the result. Mr. PAULL. is quite
in the habit of publishing private .correspondence,
and therefore such. condu6t might naturally be ex=
pealed from him, if it were nut somewhat sur-
prising that be should be permitted to indulge in
this habit so long. Indeed his charkter is so no-
torious in this resped, that, like Tattle, in Love for
Love, it might be said of him, that he makes pro-
clamation of receiving private intelligence, if 'thd
word intelligence could properly be applied to any
of his communications.

- On the evening of Ftiday the 4th inst. between
the hours of 'nine and ten o'clock, John McAuley,
porter in Port Glasgow, fell over one of the Quays,
and -was taken out, to all appearance, perfeelly dead.
He lay nearly 15 minutes in the 'water. Medical aid
was diretily procured, and, by persevering exertions,
succeeded in restoring animation. As the vitai prin-
ciple developed itself,- lm gave signs of suilering ex-
treme anguish. He is nearly perfeffly well, com-
plaining only of languor and a slight degree of breath-
lessness.

On Saturday evening last, about seven o'clOck, as
Mr. Grace, steward to C. J. Ilrandling, Esq. was re-
turning on horseback from Newcastle to Gosforth,
he was attacked on the edge of the town-moor by
two foot-pads, one of whom struck him a violent
blow on the head with a bludgeon. Mr. Grace,
however, retained his seat, and the horse, instantly
springing forwards, , he reached the turnpike-hate
without further molestation, but was obliged tllere
to dismount ott account of the injury he had received.
The men were dressed in the military uniform.
The last Number, being the Tenth, of LA BELLE
ASSEMBLEE, must prove highly interesting,and valu-
able at the approaching season of hilarity and fes-
tivity, particularly amongst those societies where the
song and dance will prevail. This Number contains,
Amongst a variety of other embellishments, a collec-
tion of original Country Dances, Strathspeys, Heels,;
and Waltzes, composed and set to music for the Piano-
forte, with their appropriate figures, expressly and
exclusively for this Work, by the followino. cele-
brated Composers, viz. Messrs. Gow,
Saunderson, and Ware.• These Danees haVe already
been adopted by the most fashionable parties, and
are likely to become the rage of the season. The
finely engraved Portraits, and the Prints of Ladies'
Parisian and London F.:shions, -and the new Pat-
terns for Needle-Work, with the original Songs, by
the most celebrated English Masters, which every
Number contains, entitle this Work to the universal
admiration with which it has been honoured by La-
dies p most rtienlarly distinguishable for their 'ex-
alted rank, f.iskion, and tale.