The Sun.
London, England, 1817-09-10 00:00:00

+ALMA OXBERRY.

. . .
• ' i''-• %. •'
m
The followmgarticie merits'
notice, as it shewo
the (interne Fharacters o,f a French :Ind an hug-
lish Actor,.,and,as.the,contrast..is so evidently iii
favour of our Countryman. It seems that Miss
PENLEY, a very interesting Actress and amiable
young womart, was performing with an English
Comp iffyCumediansat Valenciennes, and was
o have a benefit on. the Tuesday. 'All her boxes
were iet, and shy had reason to expel t a very
profitable night. On The 'Monday the French
troop of Comedians arrived, and the hopes of Miss
PEntt...o were extinguished by a refusal to let the
Theatre he opened except for the French Com.
patty. With a laudable-impulse Of humanity and
British spirit, OXIIERRY addreSsed the subjoined
letter to TALMA. lhr tragic Hero, howeverovas
too lofty to condescend to write all answer him-
self, and then, fore sent an AMBASSADOR and PLR..
NIPOPENTIARY, to expkin and adjust matters, but
particularly to demand an apol.gy of OXBERRY
for that passage of his letter, ‘ehich, as one part
of an alternative, intimated the possibility that
TAL:4A had not improved by his travels. Ox.
BERRY, however, though not a tragic hero, was
disposed to spew that he possessed more than
mere comic spirit, for he declared to the AMBAS-
SADOR and PLENIPOTENTIARY, that it %vets a rule
with an Englishman never to make an apology
when he was in the right, and therefore ridieolous
in a Frenchman to require one.--. The AmaAs-
SADOR and PLENIPOTENTIARY seemed to be struck
with this . emphatic trait of the British character,
and retreated, with such an abundance of cow.•
teous gesticulations aid 'grimaces, that Oxsanwt
was enauled to supply his
,comic treasury wills
additional stores for the true Grotesque :

" Valeta:4ll,les, Aug. 1.
" Tuesday, July the 15th, AL•ssis. Oxberry
and Per ley, from the Theatre-Royal, Drury-lane,
were announced to perfoim at this theatre ; but
11. Tgluya deriving Late on the Alonday evening,
the English company were compelled to give ‘vay
to the French one, as there is but one theatre for
both companies, and 'nil ma made his first appear-
ance on this stage, in the tragedy of aromas Ca-
pitolimns, by Fosse. Messrs. 0:Oen y and rcnley,
1 am informed, waited the whole of ‘Veduestlay,
expecting some apology from the French Manager.
for his illiberal and unjust conduct to them and the
English company of comedians-; but not receiving
any, the annexed letter was fur yarded to M.
.who, on reading it, solicited an interview
with the English Manager, informed him tha;
two English Generals had just called to pay their
respects, and after amusing him with innumerable
trifles equally vain and ridiculous, requested he
would inform Mr. Oxberry, that he was ignorant
of the whole proceeding, wished hhn a good morn-
ing, declared nothing would give him greater
pleasure than to see him in Paris (a short journey
of 150 miles), and that he would there shear bins
what a grateful recollection he enterta tied of the
hospitable and generous conduct he had expe-
rienced in England."
"M. Talmo, " Valenciennes, •fr'y 16, 1817.
" 1 shall not apologize for addressing you irk
English, knowing you are well acquainted with,
the language, but proceed to ask whether it was
consistent with the liberal character report had
given you, after the spitited and generous manner
in which .my countrymen, particularly the rhea-
tricel part of them, received you when in England,
to lend yourself the very moment you re-com-
menced your professional duties in France, to the
commission of an act, unparalleled, I believe, in
the annals of the histrionic art Time Saturday
previous to your arrival, time English company of
Comedians announced me and Mr. Porky of the
Tneatre•Royal, Drury• Lane, to perform in a play
and farce on the Thursday following, and tloimglt
you did not arrive till nine o'clock on the Monday.
evening, by the same hour the next morning the
French play-bills were poited over the English,
and M. Le ;Mire,, very politely (leaving justicei
out of the question) sent to inform the English
Manager you had arrived, and he must give up the
Theatre for your use. My friend Air. Penley and.
myself have certainly grounds for complaint, were
our talents much more bumble than your 'libe-
rality can estimate them ; but whilst honoured by
voices on the other side of the water,
we (an smile at every slight that may be cast !up-
on !nem on this. you surely must know the per.
I,irm-WCeB in qmitstion were for the benefit of a
lauy of no mean talent, and, I hOleve,: of irre,
pro:tenable moral ch,7iract,r. lit England, M.

rahmt, such a character is entitled to, and re-
ceives. the protection and sup:oirt of every libel-hi
wind Snrely the, boasted gallantry of the French.
nation is on the decline, ur Ai. 1.41.10,1 is not itn.
proved by trdvd. t hen I shall tt.ll this tale in..,
tb,!, Q,een-Room of Di 41, y, my brothers and.
s,sterA iil .enreely credit the .story, and my
friend D“wron mast ensire his creon;nv, ;:nd
regret th4t st; ch things have y,,ur
,utithie set.ant,
"Engl.sh Hotel. W. OXBERRY.'

Yr,tertley •aboot !tvo o'clock, the
ot Mr. Py3al),.of the FA:wale road, waS
trionioush entt•rtit iiflcl robbeii L, 1,0/. in Notcs,
aild a great tjuaniiry of wearing apparel.