The Sun.
London, England, 1804-09-12 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sift,
As some verses ofsmine, originally inserted in the
Birmingham and other Provincial Papers, have found
their way into Mk "SUN, and as Ysuag ROJC;111
(the subjed of those lines) has been animadverted
Upon in a way which I cannot consider as /n), can-
did, by a Correspondent, who affixes to a long let.
ter (which he calls " a few lines") the signature of
Crito, I depend on your-impartiality for an inset-
tion of the following remarks.
lie asserts, that the intended introduaion of the
" Youthful Wonder to the Public, on the London
Boards, in the opinion of all who know any thing
about acting, can bode no good for the Stage."
This seems to he rather a bold assumption ; for no-
thing less than a miracle could have enabled him to
coiled, in so short a space of time, the opinion of
all who know any thing about acting ; but let it
pass !
" Granting, Sir, (says he) that this child may
have very promising talents, and may be very well
qualified to excite wonder among the gaping crowd
at Wakes, Fairs, and Market-towns, it is impoiale
that he should• possess requisites for Loiidstr, the
seat of learning, taste, and judgment." Every one
must be struck with the' singular mAesty of
,this
paragraph! Thousands on thousands have, flocked,
within the last three weeks, from every part .of
Warwickshire, and the adjacent counties, to wit.
ness. the transcendent excellence of this prodigy of
premature perfection, and have, by the most. rap.
turous and unprecedented applause, evinced did!'
sense of his indescribable merit; and then they are
to be gravely tole!, by an anonymous Writer, 4, that
it is impossible that he should possess requisites fur
Lando, 1" What, then, is London in possession
of a charter for " learning, taste, and judgment,"
to the exclusion of all the rest of the kingdom ?
impossible !" and why so who can tell what
is, and what is scot impossible ? The antei;:luvians
might possibly suppose the rotundity of the earth—
impossible : its rotation round the sun—impossible:
that of the sun round its own : the
art of circumnavigating the globe—impossible :
that of extracting from charcoal a degree of light
almost equal to the solar rav—imposstole : and the
power of ascending, by a chemical process, "beyond
the visible diurnal sphere,"s—impossibke I—But let
that pass also.
Your Correspondeot's enumeration of requisites
to make a good Attar (such as " tracing the pro.
press. of the passionS—watehing their operation on
different classes and periods of life, as well as upon
different temperaments and habits") reminds me of
the mad philoiopher Imlac'a bst of qualifications to
make a gond Poet, in Dr. Johnson's Rasselas.—
Where (I might ask) did Shakspeare acquire his
knowledge of the hunian heart and of human. man.
Otis ? in the palaces of kings, or the cabinets of
their Ministers—in the huts of the wretched, or the
dungeons of the guilty—in.caves, or forests, or in.
chanted islands ? What communication could he
have with witches and with ghosts—with fairies
-and with monsters t and yet.

g Each change of many.colour'l lift he drew
" Exhausted worlds, and then imagin'd new."

The troth is, that the great Poet and the little
Atior are- two of Nature's miracles ; and ages may
revolve before the like of either will be seen again.
Wher this guild censor spurts his attic wit, and
talks of 6$ parrots, prattlers, poppet.shows, auto.
meta, dancing.dogs, attors in leading.strings, and
fantoccini," I bow with due submission, and dare
:tot even attempt to imitate what ',might reasonably
de'epair to equal I
Btt what heart, that is not as hard as a brickbat,
can withstand the following pathetic appeal ?
66 What Mai be the feelings of the Professors of
the Art, in general, to find ttsey are likely to be
treslefied for a boy I" Al) 1 what indeed ! " 'Tis
pitiful ; wond'rous pitiful 1"
Far, 0 furry far from me be the guilt of insinuat.
ing, that this doleful lamentation may possibly pro.
ceed from some Veteran, who has hitherto sbelte
upon the 16 London Boards," apprehensive that he
may henceforth only slimmer (by comparison) if the
bright star of even►ng should be suffered to appear
above the 'horizon No, Mr. Editor ! The un.
known personage, who so sagely admonishes the
Managers of the Winter Theatres, and so kindly
undertakes to spare the.frequentersof those Theatres
the trouble of examining and of judging for them.
:ekes, is, unquestionably, a zealous admirer of the
Avoniaa Sward—anxious fur his lame, and appre-
hensite of its diminution ; but

----- cruel fate,
" Alas his eiukusti comes too late !"
For there is too much reason to fear that the Boy, is
attually engaged at Covent-Garden. But (as some
hirde alleviation of this irremediable calamity) the
evil hour is yet afar off, when this Lilliputian Ma.
gician, who has contrived to obtain " fictitious ce-
lebrity,' by bewitching us pour, interested, par-
tial, and ignorant" cotantry.folks, will throw his
spells around ," the seat of learning, taste, and
judgment ;" for the young rogue must do more mis.
chief yet, and " spill much more blood" at Shef-
field, Chester, Manchester, and Liverpool, before.
he ran have an opportunity of " profaning the works
of ourirourartal Bard upon the chief Stage of the
British Empite,"
I cannot help smiling when Crito so r/qy recom.
mends him to wait till " he is qualified by years
and experience to take his rank" on this same Stage.
Sa, then, when he ceases to be a *wonder he may be
allowed to aispeail
To conclude these "few liner," as the Critic has
been rather lavish of his pleasantry on the petit
figure of the Young Roscius, I shall ;Ate the liberty
01.-. reminding hint of a couplet his fa vOurite
CEMICHILL applied to my little Hero's Protool,e,
who was himself no Pellasswian, and which I deem
to he equally applicable to " Roscius in isdinia.
tore t"

" Belore such merit all tlistinitions fly ;
PRITC 11.11, RD'S gen:ttl, awl GARRICK SiXftfl h4h

tics! Still copy Naturs—copy her alone (whom
can'ac thou fear F whom would'st thou wish to imi-
tate iv and prove to all the astonished- world that
Shakspeare never had so just, so clear, so elegant
a commentator as THYSELF !"
" Made NOVA virtutc PuEa, sic Itur at AsTrt A 1"
I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,
Birmingham. . JOSEPH WESTON.