The Sun.
London, England, 1824-06-02 00:00:00

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

( From the British Monitor of May 30.)
On Thursday a Comedy (a new one the play-
bills informed us!) was brought out at this
Theatre, under the title of the Merry Days of
King Charles the Second. As it so happens that
1 am the father by adoption of this new comedy,
having translated it from the French and giver'
it au English' dress, fifteen years ago, I am of
course able to give it its correct history. 'I"
1808, a most intimate friend of mine, the cele-
brated dramatic Author, M. DE ALEXANDRE
DOVAL, brought out a piece under the title of
La Jeunesse de Henri V. The original title
was Une Soire de Charles II.; but that" staunch
defender of the independence of literature". N. 4
POLEON BUONAPARTE, would not permit it to
bear the original title, lest it might call to mind
an exiled dynasty. It therefore received the
title of the Youthful Days of Henry V., which
was ridiculous enough, as there is not, through°
out the whole piece, a single allusion to that
Prince ; and it relates, on the contrary, wholly
to a frolic of CHARLES 11 ! On my return to this
country in 1809, M. DuvAr. confided a MS. coil-
to me, as the piece had never been printed. It
was from that MS. that I made my translations-
and which I presented to the Managers of Co'.
vent Garden Theatre, in the same year, under
the title of Waggeries in Wapping. On its be-
ing submitted to the Licenser of Plays, the late
Mr. LARPENT, he thought fit to refuse his sanc'
tion, on the ground that its tendency was fo
turn Kings into ridicule. This objection was
very futile one, there being nothing in the piece
which contributed to the degradation of royalty,
as there is in the character of the Prince of I.Vales,
in SHALSPEARE'S Henry the Fourth. In 1815, 1
made another attempt, and gave the piece to the
late Mr. RAYMOND, then Manager of Drury
Lane Theatre, to try what influence he had with
Mr. LAUPENT ; but the same objection was made
as on the first occasion by the Licenser. When:
Mr. THOMAS DIBDIN succeeded Mr. RAYMOND
in the Management, being at the same time
Proprietor of the Surrey Theatre, he asked my
permission to bring out the piece at the Sur-
rey,—to which I assented, and it was accord-.
ingly brought out there in September, 18167
under the title which I originally gave it, vii•
Waggeries in Wapping; and during the first
season it had a run of one hundred nights suc-
cessively ! It may therefore be easily imagined
that I was not a little surprised, at Covent-Gar-
den on Thursday last, to find that the new Co-
medy of the Merry Days of Charles the Second
was neither more nor less than my own piece, ,
the Waggeries of Wapping, under a new name!'
I was, however, and am still more surprised,
that Mr. CoLmAN, who was so squeamish about
the Tragedy .of A lase°, has licensed a piece
which his predecessor had rejected twice
cannot, of course, doubt the superior discernment
of Mr. COLMAN, and I can only, therefore, eg"
press my hope that he will continue the same
discriminating liberality in the future exerci e of
his office. The translation for Covent-Garden wag
done, I understand, from Mr. KF.MBLE, by Mr.
HowAttp PAYNE. Some songs were written for
Miss TREE ; but the translation does not at all
vary from -mine. I have thought proper to state
these facts, both because it is right that the- ma"'
.nagerial humbug. of pretended new pieces, should
be exposed, as well as because the Managers of
the Winter Theatres are doubly censurable for
thus bringing out pieces that have appeared at
the Minor Theatres, when it is considered hoW
loudly they have complained of the Minor Thea-
tres for bringing out •pieces that originally ap"
peared on the boards of the Winter Establish'
ments.

LEWIS GOLDSMITH._

COURSE OF EXCHANGE, June I.
Amsterdam
Ditto, at Sight l2 0
•
Rotterdam 12 4i
Antwerp l2 6
Hamburgh
Altona ..,
Paris,3 Day's sight 25 45 0 Us. •
Ditto
Bourdeaux, ditto
Berlin 7 10
Frankfort on the Main
Petersburgh . 9
Vienna lO 91
Trieste lO 9
'
Madrid 37 Effective
Cadiz .. 354 Effective
Rilboa • - 354 'Effective
Barcelona
Seville
Gibraltar
Leghorn.
GeillAl ..........13i-Venice, Ital. Lie 27 0
Malta 45 -Naples 374
Palermo
Lisbon
Oporto
Rio Janeiro
Bahia 5O
Dublin .... 91 Cork 9-j. pc! Cent.
BULLION
Portugal Gold, i n Coin ~ 1..0 0 0 pet Oet
Foreign Gold, in Ban 3 17 6
•
New Doubloons
New Dollars ' 0 4 Ili
Silver in Bars. Standard 0
.4.114
_,.....

BIRTH.
On the 29th May, Mrs. EL Westley, Lamb's Conduit-strcet-
of a daughter.

MARRIND.

On Tuesday, at Chelsea Church, Henry Despard, Esql
Major of the 17th Regiment of Infantry, nephew of Genera'
Despard, to Anne, fourth daughter of the late Edward Rush-
worth, • Esq., of Farringdon-hill, Isle of Wight, and grand'
daughter of the late Lord Holmes.
On the Ist inst., at St. 'Luke's, Chelsea, Dr. Veitch, to
Nary, widow of the late Captain Jenny, R.N.,. and only
daughter of John Kirk, Esq., of Ashovcr, Derbyshire.

_
DIED.
On the 27th ult., at his house, Dockwray-square, North
Shields, aged 72, John Scott; Esq., a man highly and
servedly respected. Without a tedious eulogy, it may whii
great truth be affirmed that his character was essentianY
amiable.in all the relations of life. Though mourned by
extensive circle of friends who were well qualified to aPPre-
date his worth, his loss will be more severely felt by the Ino'
bier classes of society; for in the discharge of his duties at $
IVlagistrate (and he was indeed an indefatigable Justice of the
Peace) he ever lent a favourable ear to thebtlistressed, exerci."
ing upon all occasions a degree of patience towards the coin'
posing of differences, which; it !bust be confessed, is not inva"
riably the distinguishind feature of men in authority. But be
has his reward in a good name here; and our holy religio!!
authorizes the' hope, that he is only removed to " another &Pa
a better world !"
.071 the 25th ult., at Miss Stewart's, his sister's, Ditton-cons"
mon, David Stewart, Esq., ship-owner, of St. Andrew's, I: at.'"
shire.

On the 31st ult., at Stoke Newington, Lcuisa Ann, daughter
Christopher Sundius, i sq.

Printed and Published. for the PROPRI F,T ORS, at she SrS^

OFFICE, 112-;Strancl, by J. B. CA- RSTAIII.S.