The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-22 00:00:00

)
C. KEAN
PUBLICANTNIA tT
ETR% RWIT

•
The inhabitants of Waterford gave a splendid dinner t 4) this rising young Actor, on Thursday week, the 14th inst.
It was attended by the elite of that city, the High Sheriff'
of the county of Waterford presiding as Chairman ; and
Thomas Carew, Esq., one of the city Sheriffs, acting as
Vice-Chairman. It may not be generally known that
Waterford is the birth-place of Mr. Charles Kean, as it
was also. the scene of his father's early histrionic efforts.
The people of this city are devotedly attached to the drama
the blaze of genius which burst forth in the performances of
the distinguished Edmund Kean, and which subsequently
astonished and delighted the world, was first fanned by the
Waterford critics. The son is the living prototype of the
sire, and is unquestionably the most promising actor on the
British stage. He is destined, if we greatly mistake not,
to fill that " space in the world's eye" which the great actor,
whose name he bears, did before him. The allusions to thy:
difficulties against which he had to contend at the commence-
ment of his profeSsiOnal career, were redolent of feeling and
pathos, and made a sensible impression on the company.
flie
Qmodu„ceessts rinnatnbnee niosdvehrilei hAhteh
esipl
so k, etio,
ef
phri
os
fi rt
se coernbril-
liantwhich
engagement yielded him upwards of 500/., and the critics of
which are the most fastidious in the British empire—as the
audiences are unquestionably amongst the most discriminat-
ing—was in excellent taste. Let him exhibit the same in-
dustry—the same enthusiasm for his profession—the same
unflinching determination to surmount, by the force of his
genius, every obstacle, and he will infallibly
" Attain the height
Where Fame's proud temple shines afar."
The cloth having been removed, the Chairman gave—
" The King." The toast was received with enthusiast
cheers.

" The Queen, and the rest of the Royal Family." Three
mes three.
" The Navy and the Army of the United Kingdom."
The CHAIRMAN, having called for a full bumper, rose
and said—he felt a deep interest in the welfare of their
youthful guest.—(Cheers.) If he (the Chairman) were
competent to express the feeling of admiration which be
had, in common with all his fellow-citizens, of that young
gentleman's talents, his (Mr. K.'s) presence would deter
him.—(Hear, and loud cheers.) He was proud they were
entertaining not only their countryman but their townsman.
—(Long and continued cheers.) It would not be presum-
ing too much in him (Mr. K.) to hope that at no very dis-
tant day he would be as illustrious as his father was before
him, at the highest pinnacle of his profession. Their dis-
tinguished guest was not long among them, yet he had
won and earned for himself the good wishes of, he might
truly say, all and every class of his fellow citizens.—(Cheers.)
His great and rising talents excited their admiration and
their praise ; but it was his excellent private character that
endeared him still more to them.—(Loud. cheers.) He
(Mr. Kean) was born in this city ; a circumstance which,
he was convinced, would one day make Waterford more
proudly boast of being the birth-place of Charles Kean,
than she even does now.—(Hear and cheers.) He should
not further trespass on the patience of the meeting, but
propose " The health of Charles Kean, Esq.," with three
times three.
At this announcement the whole company, standing,
cheered repeatedly for several minutes, in the most enthu-
siastic manner we ever had the pleasure to witness.
Mr. KEAN, on rising to return thanks, was received
with three rounds of the most enthusiastic cheers. When
silence was restored, lie said—l rise, gentlemen, to express
my high sense of the honour I have this day received with
feelings of no ordinary kind—an honour as gratifying as
unexpected ; and when I know that I am indebted for the
compliment to the leading and influential gentry of this
city, my heart throbs with an honest pride, as I class the
present as the proudest epoch of my life.—(Great ap-
plause.) Absence, from childhood, had made me a stranger
in my native town. I came amongst you unknown ; but
the welcome that has hailed me, the reception I have met
with, have not only endeared me to the place of my birth,
but added a fresh stimulant to my exertions, in the hope
that I may never make my fellow-citizens regret the favour
they have this day shown me. The life of an actor is a
chequered scene, one of feverish excitement—happiness
and misery alternately meet him in his path--
" He lives to please, and he must please to live."
He exists but for the day, he gratifies but for the hour.
You may remember him, perhaps, for the tear that has in-
voluntarily dimmed your eye—the passing emotion excited
in your breast—or the smile that he has caused to play
upon your lip, but 'tis for a brief space only. Be his talent
what it may, he leaves no imperishable monument to prove
to posterity the extent of his powers. His existence is
ephemeral. The critic of to-day, regards with doubt the
fame of the actor that excited the applause of the past
generation. The author lives in his works, the sculptor in
his marble, and the painter stands recorded on his canvass ;
but the poor player, after a life of toil and anxiety, quits
this transitory scene, and he that follows obliterates for ever
the recollection of the bygone man.—( Hear.) Garrick
himself seems to have been actuated by the same feeling,
when he penned the following touching effusion on the death
of Sir Joshua Reynolds :
" The painter's dead, yet still he charms the eye,
While England lives, his fame can never (lie ;
But he who struts his hour upon the stage, .
Can scarce protract his fame through half an age
Nor pen, nor pencil, can the actor save,
The art and artist find one common mrave."
(Applause.) Conscious, therefore, that the transient po-
pularity- of the passing age, is the sole reward even of the
brightest names in the histrionic calendar, how can I ade-
quately express the pride I feel for so marked t(token of
your approbation, at so early a period of my,:theatrical
career. From the liberal and kind feelings which have been
extended towards me in this city, I humbly flatter myself
my future course will be watched with some degree of in-
terest—(Long and continued applause)-9d I trust, there-
fore, I may not be thought egotistical in adverting to the
early part of my professional life. Thrown before the pub-
lic by untoward circumstances, at the early age of sixteen
and a half ; encompassed by every difficulty, friendless and
untutored, the efforts of my boyhood were criticised in so
severe and spirit-crushing a strain, as almost to unnerve
my energies and drive me despairing from the stage. The
indulgence usually extended to novices was denied to me.
I was not permitted to cherish the hope that time and study
could ever correct in me the faults of youth and inexpe-
rience. The very resemblance I bore to my late father
was condemned in me as being " strange and unnatural."
Sick at heart, I left my home, and sought the shores of
America. To its generous inhabitants am I indebted
for the first ray of success that illumined my clouded
course. Let me not pass over the present opportunity of
publicly tendering my humble acknowledgments to the
classical city of Edinburgh, to whose generous and un-
biassed opinion of my efforts I must ever feel that I am
deeply indebted for the foundation of any partial fame that
I may hereafter acquire.—(Great applause.) In conclu-
sion, Gentlemen, permit me once more to express my sin-
cere and heartfelt gratitude to the citizens of Waterford,
and to assure you, with the utmost sincerity, that whatever
destiny may await me—whether I reach the goal my ambi-
tion soars at, or sink into oblivion, the present hour will
ever remain indelibly impressed upon my heart with the
fondest and most grateful recollections.—(lmmense cheer-
ing.) Allow me, ere I resume my seat, to propose the
health of a gentleman to whom I am personally indebted
for the high honour he has this day conferred on me, and
which I am filly eonfilent will be drunk with that enthu-
siasm due to his rank and character—" The Chairman."
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks, and concluded
by proposing " The Drama."—{Great cheering.)
Mr. KEAN, on being loudly called on, again rose and was
received with another burst of applause. He said, inter-
woven as his interests were with that toast which they had
just honoured, he hoped it would not be considered intru-
sive in him his rising to return thanks. So strong was
theatrical taste in the city of Waterford, it did not sur-
prise him that they should honour the drama in so enthu-
siastic a manner as they did that evening.—(Cheers.) He
hoped that tie theatrical taste of his fellow citizens of
Waterford—(Cheers)—would excite a similar one in other
places, so that the golden days of the drama might revive,
and Shakspeare be restored to his pristine glory.—(Great
Cheering.)
Mr. Kean concluded by proposing the health of the Vice-
Chairman, after which that gentleman returned thanks,
After a number of other toasts had been given, the com-
pany separated.

We hear from all parts of the country that rain is
I much wanted.

PROSPECTS OF THE HARVEST IN FRANCE.—.
The Memorial de la Scarpe, a Douai Paper, states "that the
oldest agriculturists in the country are of opinion that there
never was a finer prospect of a good harvest than this year,
and that if no unforeseen event occurs, it will exceed in abund-
ance that of 1833."

Sets of scoundrels, who alternately adopt the call•
ing, as circumstances may suit, of " thimble-rig" and " prick.
the-garter" gentlemen, and utterers of counterfeit coin, have
been making their harvests at all the fairs, cattle-shows, &c.,
in the country villages in the neighbourhood of Ayr.
Last week a threatening notice was served on a
man named Martin Barry, at Ardmayle, signed " Captains
Rock," assuring hir.i of death, if, in a week after the notice
being served, he did not quit the farm he then held.—(k
Herald.

:MAURITIUS.—The following is an extract front
a letter dated Port Louis, 14th February, received yeiterday
by a mercantile house in the City Every Piing going on
very quietly since the Ist February,-the day.-on-vNel), th©
apprenticeship. began; and- if we are -to jud&lioni„piesent
anearances, it willcontinue so; and l'think tlthre. will be just
as much sugar made as before. The ship Neptune, Captain.
Broadhurst, from Calcutta, put in for repairs, having expe—
rienced a hurricane about 300 miles cast of the island,"