The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-08 00:00:00

Theatricals at Exeter.

W. H. C. Nation, Esq., gave a bespeak on Wed-
nesday. The theatre was full, and the audience
was generally fashionable. The pantomime came
first, and proved a merry Christmas entertainment,
at the close of which

Mr. G. B. ELLIS appeared before the curtain and
said—Ladies and gentlemen, it is with extreme
pleasure that I have to offer, on behalf of Mr. and
Mrs. Belton, thanks to Mr. Nation for his kind
patronage of the theatre this evel,ing. It is not for
me to remind au Exeter audience of that gentleman's
hereditary predilection for the drama. Mr. Nation
needs no eulogy from me for the great kindness he
has always bestowed upon the theatrical profession.
(Applause). But I may perhaps be permitted
to state that Mr. Nation's name is well known in
the theatrical world, and is held high in the esteem
of every actor far beyond the walls of old Semper
Picklis, for the deep and earnest interest he takes in
the profession, and the

- poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more,
may well be proud of the kind friend obtained in
Mr. Nation, whose heart is thrown open to every
one, whose hand is ever ready to encourage the
actor in the arduous profession he has chosen to
follow. For this and for the brilliant assemblage I
see before me this evening, permit me, on behalf of
Mr. and Mrs. Belton, to return sincere thanks.
(Applause.)

Mr. W. H. C. NATION then rose amid much cheering,
and spoke as follows :—On the last occasion when
I was present at this theatre, 1 had the pleasure
of thanking a brilliant, and what to me is ten times
better than brilliant, a warm-hearted audience, for
the kind and enthusiastic manner in which they
welcomed me. I have again that pleasing duty to
perform to-night—to ask you now, as I asked the
audience then--to receive my sincerest and most
grateful thanks. (Applause.) Ladies and gentle-
men, you may remember that on the occasion to
which I refer, Mr. Belton made some allusion to
the friendship which existed between my grandfather
and that great actor Edmund Kean. I feel pleased
that he made that allusion, because I have seen it
publicly stated that while ample justice was done to
the kindness shown by the late Dr. Drury, of Cock-
wood, to Edmund Kean, leas mention has been
made than ought to have been made of my grand-
father's generous assistance to him. lam glad that
on this occasion I am afforded the opportunity of
quoting what I may be allowed to call the noble
language in which my grandfather always alluded
to his connection with Edmund Kean. He said,
" I remember my own struggles, what a hard fight
I had, how many tried to keep me down ; and shall
I look on genius like that of that man who is
battling upwards, and look on unmoved ?"
And he did not look on unmoved, but
helped the struggling actor, whose merit
deserved it, to rise into fame. When Edmund Kean
became eminent and prosperous on the London
stage, he must always have remembered with grati-
tude his excellent friend William Nation. (Ap-
plause.) However much my grandfather must have
admired Edmund Kean for his great and high dra-
matic talent, he must, I am sure, have much
more admired him for his manly and indepen-
dent spirit, which formed so prominent a fea-
ture in the great actor's character. It is re-
corded of Edmund Kean that when quite a child,
and on staying at the house of a lady who
had been very kind to him, it was proposed that
all the party should go to the theatre. "O !"
drawled out a stupid gentleman, " then, I suppose,
little Edmund Kean does not sit with us !" upon
which the boy Kean, bursting with indignation, rose
from his seat, rushed out of the house, and never
returned to it. It is recorded that on another oc-
casion Edmund Kean, when playing in this very
city, had the bespeak of a country squire. On the
afternoon preceding the bespeak the squire's butler
called on Mr. Kean and said, " Well, Mr. Kean,
you will be sure to have a full house to-night, be-
cause my master patronises you." To which Edmund
Kean replied, " If I knew that people came to the
theatre only because a squire patronises it, and not
because of the acting, I would not sell a single tic-
ket." Edmund Kean played at a London theatre
on an occasion when the then Lord Essex hap-
pened to be present. On his return from the
theatre his Rife said to him, " Well, how did Lord
Essex like your acting ?" Kean replied, a little in-
dependently, and, perhaps, not politely, "
Lord Essex ! the pit rose to me." Ladies and gen-
tlemen,—This manly and independent spirit com-
mands my sincerest admiration. (Applause.) I
like to see it generally cultivated by the actor of the
present day. Let the actor remember that his is an
intellectual profession ; let him remember that he
is the exponent of a noble art ; let him remember
that although he is a

- poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more,
we are all poor players strutting and fretting our
hours upon the stage of life ; let him not covet the
favour or distinction of noble lords and right hon-
ourable gentlemen ; but rather look for the esteem
and approbation of intellectual men of every rank
and every grade. (Cheers.)
After renewed cheering • for Mr. Nation, the
National Anthem was played.
The after-piece, "A Sheep in Wolf's clothing,"
was capitally played. Mr. Fuller's Colonel Percy
Kirke was well conceived ; Mr. Watson's Kestor
Chidozy was racy and good ; Master Jasper Carew
was a character which Mr. Ellis acted in a skilful
and masterly manner ; Miss E. Brunton as Anne
Carew carried the house with her, the interviews
with Colonel Kirke and her husband were admirably
rendered. The little that Mrs. Williams had to do
as Dame Carew was natural, dignified, and effective.
The audience applauded heartily. We must not
omit to give a word of praise to that clever actress,
Miss Annie Taylor, who personated Keziah Maple-
toft. This piece had additional interest to the
audience, as the scene, Sedgmoor, being in the
neighbouring county, is well known. The house
was the most crowded and brilliant for rank and
fashion that we have witnessed since the opening
of the season.— Western Times.