The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-21 00:00:00

such consummate knowledge of the human heart,
with all its complicated mechanism ? such golden
precepts to improve the conduct of life, and render
men wiser, as well as better ? Not a turn of
thought—not a fluctuation of feeling, was unknown
to him ; for his comprehensive mind reached every-
thing, glancing " From heaven to earth, from earth
to heaven." His faults reflect the manners of his
day, not the character of the man. (Cheers.) Had
the theatre never existed there would have been no
field for the exercise of this mighty genius ; and
who will be bold enough to assert that a mere
human being was thus inspired by a benigh Provi-
dence for any other purpose than the advantage of
his fellow-creatures ? (Loud cheers.) The stage
is the surest medium through which the precious
gems of this intellectual mine may be scattered
amongst the multitude ; and, as actors, we may
well be proud to be thus considered the trustees of
this mighty treasure. It is our peculiar privilege
to bring generation after generation face to face
with the poet himself, giving vitality to his works
in a manner which appeals to the senses, and
teaches while it fascinates. The more Shakspere
is known to the million the greater amount of bene-
ficial influence will be spread abroad, and such a
result is not to be anticipated from the student
in his closet, but from the actor in the theatre.
In " Murphy's Life of David Garrick " an incident
is related which may not be uninteresting to
the present company. It is there stated that
about the year 1737, amid the darkness which
immediately preceded the advent of that wonder-
ful actor and distinguished man, the master works
of our great poet were comparatively neglected, and
had given place to frivolity and folly. The drama
had, in fact, sunk into an abject condition. To the
honour of the ladies of that day, it is told that feel-
ing the unhappy degradation of the national stage,
a subscription was set on foot by them to dethrone
buffoonery and restore Shakspere. (Cheers.) Should
we ever again so far degenerate as to turn aside
from the right path, I would appeal to " that
heaven of beauty which now shines full upon us,"
entreating them to invoke the daughters of Eng-
land to hasten to our rescue, that under their
angelic guidance we may be led back from our
erringway into the lost track. Then might we say
with the poet-
-0 woman, woman thou wast made,
Like Heaven's own puro and lovely light,
To cheer life's dark and desert shade,
And guide man's erring footsteps right.
(Cheers.) My lords and gentlemen, no words of
mine can convey my gratitude for the priceless
compliment you have bestowed upon me. I can
only say that " my endeavours have ever come too
short of my desires, yet filled with my abilities."
The memory of this day will be cherished by my
representatives when I am no longer amongst them,
and I hope and believe will serve to stimulate the
efforts of the rising actor, awakening in him the re-
flection that in the honourable exercise of his voca-
tion there is one reward ever open to him which no
obstacle can prevent, no prejudice can withhold—a
prize above all others to which he should zealously
and steadily direct his aim—respect from the re-
spected. (Mr. Kean resumed his seat amidst great
applause.)
Mr. GLADSTONE, M.P., then proposed in eloquent
terms " The health of the Chairman," which was
duly honoured.
Then followed the toast of "The Honorary Se-
cretary," which was also warmly responded to.
The CHAIRMAN, in eloquent and appropriate
terms, gave " The health of Mrs. Kean," which
called forth another remarkable display of enthu-
siasm.

Mr. KEAN in reply said—The graceful manner
in which Mrs. Kean's name has been introduced to
your notice through the kindness of the noble chair-
man, and the enthusiasm with which that name has
been received by the present company, is indeed
most gratifying to me. The compliment which I
feel so deeply, is, I know, equally felt by my wife.
Permit me, however, to entreat that in my anxiety
to spare your time, you will not estimate the amount
of our mutual gratitude by the brevity of my reply.
(Hear.) Amid the complicated duties of manage-
ment the director of a theatre, like the general of
an army, requires the assistance of an efficient staff.
Mrs. Kean has been my first aide-de-camp, and
never had commander one more able and more in-
defatigable. (Loud cheers.) She has been my solace
in the hour of trouble, my counsellor in the hour of
need. Her courage never flagged, her heart never
failed. I may truly quote the words of Solomon :
" She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her
tongue is the law of kindness." Once again, my
lords and gentlemen, accept my heartfelt thanks
for the honour you have conferred on my partner,
my friend, my wife. (Prolonged cheering.)
The last toast was " Floreat Etona," proposed by
Mr. S. H. Walpole, M.P.
The dinner and wines were of a superior descrip-
tion, and redounded to the credit of Mr. W. Donald.
A military band played during the evening in
the upper gallery, and a large party of vocalists en-
livened the proceedings by their efforts.
Mr. Harker discharged the duties of toastmaster

THE MOCK PEACE.

(From the Times.)

No one less than an Emperor could render a
complete justification of the Italian campaign. It
may be questioned whether even Louis XIV.,
though the hero of more than one fruitless advance,
could have explained satisfactorily a march to the
Mincio. and a return minus fifty thousand men, and
we will not say how much money, within two
months. It is for these purposes that Emperors
exist, and when people talk of the crimes of Em-
perors they forget how large is the responsibility
of which an Emperor, once made, relieves the na-
tion which made him. Napoleon 111. comes back
successful and victorious. He has done all that he
could do. He has not to accuse Fortune of one
treachery ; his allies of one backwardness ; his sol-
diers of one failure ; himself of one mistake. To
this he does due honour. Chief in his list of re-
sults is the new proof given of the military power
of France. His opponent may plead the fortune of
war for any shortcoming of results ; not so the
Emperor of the French. His hand never lost its
strength ; his weapons neither broke, nor bent, nor
turned their edge ; his eye never lost its steadiness ;
his forethought was infallible ; yet what is the re-
sult, and why did he suddenly come to a standstill,
and as suddenly resolve to return home as the man
whose countless hosts lay down to rest, and in the
morning were dead men ? Was this a " visitation?"
Was it anything at all that the Emperor could not
foresee ? Was it anything to escape even the fore-
thought of a child ? He tells us himself what it
was that made it a matter of wisdom and even ne-
cessity to leave half the programme undone.
" Obliged to attack the enemy in front, who was
intrenched behind great fortresses, and protected
on his flanks by the neutrality of the surrounding
territories, ho found himself in face of Europe in
arms, ready either to dispute his successes or to
aggravate his reverses." But the great fortresses,
the neutral flanks, and the Continent watching
for the turn of events, were the most con-
spicuous facts of the question before a French
soldier had entered the kingdom of Sardinia.
The impossible conclusion was plain from
the beginning. The Emperor even boasts that he
undertook the cause of Italy against the opinion of
Europe. That opinion continued as unchanged as
the Mincio, the great fortresses, and the neutral
Alps. Forethought itself is vain, and success the
worst foe, when they only serve to lead to a mani-
fest and insuperable check. Nothing else could
have been hoped for than that somewhere about
Midsummer the Emperor would find himself be-
neath the walls of Verona. Did he arrive there too
early ? Did the Austrians retreat too fast ?
But it is to the neutral Powers, chiefly, that
France must ascribe the retrenchment of her pro-
gramme, the disappointment of her soldiers, the
extinction of noble illusions and patriotic hopes.
Napoleon 111. intimates that had he persevered
he would have found himself involved in a war
out of proportion to the results. In order to
achieve the entire independence of Italy, he would
have found it necessary, he says, to accept a
conflict on the Rhine as well as on the Adige,
and to ally himself with revolution. His tendr-
ness on this last point is almost out of place when
nationality and independence are in question ;
but, besides that all these things were evident
from the beginning, and almost parts of the
programme, this is to inform the great Powers
that their neutrality has had at least as large a
share in the result as the efforts and sacrifices of
France. Some weight we had earned, for we had
armed ourselves, and are still armed; but Napo-
leon 111. informs his people that to our armed neu-
trality the Emperor of Austria owes the posses-
sion of all his territory from the Mincio to the
Adriatic, his still remaining position and influence
in Italy, his share in what may be called the Pro-
tectorate of the Peninsula, and his good fortune in
escaping a revolt in Hungary. So far, however,
from these points of our neutrality having
been to the prejudice of France, and constitu-
ting a case for hostile feelings on her part, we
have the important testimony of the Emperor
of Austria to the remarkable fact that the neu-
trality of the Great Powers has helped Napo-
leon 111. to secure the fruits of his victory. He
obtained his own conditions of peace because
Francis Joseph became persuaded that the media-
tion of the neutral Powers would have sent him
altogether out of Italy. It is needless to scrutinise
this belief, but it is evident that Napoleon 111. has
no just quarrel with the neutral Powers. He is
open to speculate as he thinks proper on their pro
bable line of action, had they found Austria dis
. membered of her provinces and invaded at her C -