The Sun.
London, England, 1824-10-23 00:00:00

LICENSING THEATRES.

EXTRACT rnom A CURIOUS OLD MANUSCRIPT IN MA'.
LONE'S COLLECTION IN TILE BODLEIAN LIM!.MIT.
Yesterday being the day appointed for Licensing the various
Theatres, a full meeting of die Surrey Magistrates took place.
The first application was made by Air. Sirilliam Shakspeare,
for the renewal of his license for the Globe Theatre on the
Bank-side.
Sir Thomas Holmes felt considerable hesitation in assenting
to the renewal of the license. He would put one question to
Mr. Shakspeare. Had he, or had he not, written, and causes
to be represented at the Globe Theatre, a Play called Heisrtt
VIII. 9 Mr. Shakspeare admitted he hail. Sir Thos. flolmey
then stated, be had only put the question for form ; he had
himself attended and witnessed the representation ; his feelings
were truly shocked. Mr. Shakspeare had represented our late.
revered Sovereign as labouring to procure a divorce from Queen
Catharine by the most unjust and corrupt artifices, and even
as endeavouring to effect it by means of Italian perfidy. He
had also represented his Prime Minister as levying cruel and
oppressive taxes on the people in his Majesty's name ; cir-
cumstances tending to bring our late revered Sovere'gn's me-
mory into contempt, and very painful to the feelings of his
daughter, our present beloved Sovereign.
Mr. Shakspeare admitted the writing and representation of
the play, but appealed to the proceedings of the Court, and to
every Memoir of the Life of Henry VIII. for the truth of the
characters delineated in his play.
Sir Thomas Holmes considered this rather an aggravation of
the offence, and calculated to augment the danger.
Sir Charles Wynn felt indignant at the exposition made of
the Duke of Buckingham.
Messrs. Hemminges and Condell humbly stated that Mr.
Shakspeare was only a Joint Patentee, and that they would
take care to guard against a similar representation.
A consultation here took place among the Magistrates. The
Chairman at length informed Mr. Shakspeare that his License
would be renewed this year, but cautioned him against pour.
traying in future the characters of Kings, Ministers, or Cour-
tiers, at least such as had not been dead an hundred years.

A New York paper of September 24 says---
" Miss L. KELLY made a very successful hit in Beatrice on
Wednesday evening. The audience wer
delighted with her
performance."
The new tragedy announced for representa-
tion at Covent Garden Theatre,_ is founded upon an Italian
story ; Mr. Young, Miss F. H. Kelly, and Miss Lacy, are to
sustain the principal parts.
It is said that an application will be made to
the Middlesex Sessions next week, for a license to re-open the
Pantheon, in Oxford-street, as a place of public entertainment.
Some years since a Mr. l'owyss, of Maroham,
near Preston, Lancashire, advertised a reward of
50/. a year for life to any man who would under-
take to live seven years, under ground, without
seeing any thing human, and to let his toe and
finger nails grow, with his hair and beard, during
the whole time. Apartments were prepared
under ground, very commodious, with a cold bath,
a chamber organ, as many books as the occupier
pleased, and provisions served from his own
table. Whenever the recluse wanted any conve-
nience, he was to ring a bell, and it wag provided
for him. Strange as it may appear, an occupier
offered himself, and actually stayed in the place,
observing the required conditions, for four years.
FATAL EFFECTS OF LAUGHING Gas.—The
foolish experiments upon the laughing gas, now
so much in fashion, has been attended with what
is not at all surprising—the death of a person who
breathed a portion of it. It occurred at Bor-
deaux last February. We sincerely recommend
the public to set their faces against further exhi.
bitions of this dangerous practice; every thing
which operates upon the sensorium, so as to de-
range it, even temporarily, is dangerous. The
same quantity of this gas inhaled by different
people will possess very different effects. One
man may be but gently stimulated by it, while
another, from peculiar physical construction in
the brain or blood vessels, may drop down in
apoplexy.—( Medical didoiser.)