The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-30 00:00:00

The Retort Polite.

The following remarkable communication has
been addressed to the editor of The Reader :

" Sir, —You have published (inadvertently I
hope) two columns of intemperate abuse aimed at
my drama, and mendacious personalities levelled at
myself.
" The author of • all this spite is not ashamed to
sympathise with the heartless robbers from whom
justice and law have rescued my creation and my
property. (Query—Was he. not set on by those
very robbers?) He even eulogizes A RUFFIAN who,
on the 4th October, raised a disturbance in the Prin-
cess's Theatre, and endeavoured to put down my play
by clamour,.but was called to orddr by the respectable
portion of the audience.
" Have you any sense of justice and fair play
where the party assailed is only an author of repute,
and the assailant has the advantage of being an ob-
scure scribbler ? If so, you will give me a hearing
in my defence. I reply in one sentence to two
columns of venom and drivel. I just beg to inform
honest men and women that your anonymous con-
tributor, who sides with piratical thieves against the
honest inventor, and disparages Charles Reade, and
applauds one Tomlins—is Tomlins.—l am, your
obedient servant, " CHARLES READE.
" 92, St. George's-road, South Belgravia,
October 21, 1865."

By way of accompaniment to the foregoing letter
of Mr. Reade's, we are tempted to give the subjoined
opinion as to Mr. Reade's drama, precisely as it (the
opinion) appears in the columns of our contem-
porary the Examiner :

" The Princess's is discrediting itself and paying
a poor compliment to its patrons by forcing the run
of ' Never Too late to Mend' without excision of
an act which has the artistic fault of not advancing
by one word the story of the play, aud, besides that,
has been condemned for its own sins by every edu-
cated critic. The Princess's is not to be praised.
If the scenery cannot be sacrificed, could not the
act be taken out of the play, to which it does not
fairly belong, and given as an after-piece, which
those might stay to see who had the stomach for
it? "

As Pretty a Case of Libel as any Seeker of
Damages could wish.

The Spectator of Saturday contains this extraor-
dinary paragraph :
Monsignor Merode, Papal Minister of War, has been
dismissed. The Pope, long displeased with Ms dishevelled
vehemence of action and manner [intended for wit evidently!],
discovered that he had overdrawn his account as Minister
of War by 20,000 crowns [nothing like being explicit],
called the act a theft [so probable!], and sent Cardinal
Antonelli to advise his resignation. Mgr. Merode, who
[to speak mildly] is a very violent man as well as a furious
fanatic, went into such a passion of rage [Pelion on Ossa 1]
that ho knocked his head against the wall [why?i, and
had to be carried away to bed [intended, that, as a touch
of the, humorous!] On his recovery ho agreed to resign,
then declared that the Popo should dismiss him, but finally
published his resignation, on the ground of ill health, to
the Papal army. It is understood that most of the foreign
officers will resign, as they have confidence only in Merode,
who has spent the bulk of a, large fortune in assisting the Papal
Treasury. He was a bad, violent person, a deadly foe to
freedom, and a strenuous supporter of brigandage, but it
is hard to avoid pity for his fall, or to avoid speculating
whether he still believes his petulant master [just the very
epithet, of course, as all the world knows, for Pine
to be infallible.