The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-22 00:00:00

-THE STAGE.

Fit THE SUN., ,
ArR. 1.1-,DtToti,-1 now appeal ,to your impar-
tiality Ona s'ihject of not a little i'eiri'estto the
nt'aMa„ the'Stage, and the Ptittlie. Mr. 13ucKs„
the AtiehOr. Of;the Tra.getly of " 7 ht• Italians," h
as
publi'stl his StateMent andCorrt•spondence with
Mr. KEAN, relAive .lo•.the uott-perCottnance of
that Play at Drury-ltatie Theatre.
. I am not in the habit of
,tlraw:n.: unflvour,bla
conclusions on the motives that may actuate the
conduct of any indivianais, but, .1-tying been ac-
customed Co amalgamate Myself with the Actors
and Actresses of: the day, Inuit naturally Yieur
their actions with a partial eye. Frequently de-
lighted With Mr. KEAN, HMI wondering in testacy

Ml?. KE.-.1.V" an,l /he .1.1177101? —op THE IniLLINS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sits,--Mr. KEAN- has not disoWited the letter ; URM there'-
fore reluctantly obliged to belit,i,e 'that it emanated front
himself, .rather than from °ate of those enemies', who, con-
scious of their OW1) insignificance, are' i,ver active in their
against celebrated charaeteis. In fact, I really thought
that some one bad assumed Mr. Kr.AN's name,' for the pur-
pose of doing him the short and little injury of a dayi :in-.
stead of Which' it appears to be his own, and the injury must
last for years ! •

." what drugs, what charms,
" What corijitraticui, and what mighty 'magic,"
he hat used withal, the statement of Mr. BucKm
has, to.say the least, somewhat discomposed me ;
and if the scenes thus acted behind the curtails
are in any degree faithfully delineated, 1 sin•
crrely regret that this Performer is thus inca.
liable of bearing "_the golden yoke of sove.
rcignty,"
lipth . Mr. KEAN'S letters assume too high ra
tone ; 'I his hours being too much and too well
occupied to he devoted to sucli,unworthy objects,
its The Italians and its Author," and is per-.
solidi compassion for Mr BUCKE excised witli
;owe ability by Mr. MOORE:" a,c fl;,p;.wries that
Mr. lIEAY sliotild not have tiscd ;viten Ir.}.;: .)g
i,.her of tliestji,ntHneo, bar trimly the latter'..
The nutor !Lite support vA N, 1145 received
from the " corps dramat bloc" of Drury-lato,
long [ice!) the subject, of vneral tegr-t. A charge
is: now brought against rite Sub-Committee of ghat
Theatre, which, whether correct or not, front the,
palpable abSeore of tolerable ric!o,4 th,re, 01141)c
to be htteutied to ; tot whatever may he ri a ratite,
the. effect is lisible—DrAry-lane is certainly trot
in a now ilibing condition.

Circumstantial 'evidence, Mr....EDtTort,is sometimes far
better the,, potitive. KEAN knows; and every one must
know, that I cannot, by any association, have positive proof
of what passed many, months-ago, in private conversation.,
But the following extract from a Newspaper of this day, fur-
nishes such a fortunate commentary on my text, rho I think
no argument will be esteemed necessary to prove, at least',
the pr4&-driti.tri of my•statentent.
I hare stated,- in the Preface to the•frAtikes, that a Gen
tleman having sent a letter relative to a Tragedy he, had
written, to Mr. KEAN, Mr. KEAN returned fur aitswer, that
unless the entire interest centered in the character desigoed
for him, it would neither snit his reputation 1,,0r the inte-
rests of the Theatre that it sltould be accepted. This'asser-
lion Mr. KEAN denies; and yet it due's most unfortunately
happen, that- the very Gentleman who told me this, has, in
The Chanapi(in at this day, give') the fallowing statement
.‘ The lettei sent to Mr. KEAN „indicated that there were
two eharacters.in the piece, as it-then stood:, either of which
might be•writteb up so as to render it the principal ; and
Mr. KLAN was requested to say which of the two' he would
prefer, that it might be altered 'accordingly. Mr. KEAN,
WithOiti Wrtiilitg to hTe. the 315. wrote back, unless the chaH,
racier allotted to Iv> is the chief the Plao, it will
not he Coosistent with my reputation, or the interest of Drury
Lane Theatre, to accent it."' Now -the :Chief olject was to
make a good Play; and the story required that the three fe-
male and two of.the male characters should he such as would
'quire good acting, though the author was prepared tugire
conspicuous proniiirence to whichever
.of the latter Mr. KEAN
might must affect.", •
If, after this confirmation of.what I-11;rve.asserted in one in-
stance, Mr. KEAN should still deny the substance of nor con-
versations,' I shall think myself justified, much against my
will, in potting him to a test, from-which his better judgment..
must recoil, And yet surely the Man who is not to he iie;.
hewed upon his word is not to he believed upon his.noth '
Hitherto, in the midst of ninny difficulties and injuries;
have been fortunate enough Iffeorumand a considerable por-
tion of personal respect ; and I am proud to'Say, that, to the
best of my belief, I have never lost a siugfe friend. But l give
public notice to all my friends, numerous and respectable as
they are, that I •shall have a contempt for any one of them,
who may-hereafter shake me by the hand, if I do n,.1
successfully out of this cOntroversy.. And I now call upon
the more active portion of the Sun-CommITTER of last year,`
nut only to lose all friendship for me as a 1/1311, bur, for the
sake of public justice, for the interests of the Proprietors of
the Theatre, and out of respect to the acknowledged talents
of Mr. Kr.sx, I call upon them instantly to come forward and
Co ,vict me publicly of a fatschood, if I am wrong in stating,:
that. Mr. K t.., precious tv-his journey into Scotland, g4ve
a distinct and positive pledge, that nothing on his part should
prevent my Tragedy from succeeding The .1c:o of Malta, and
that too without any reference. to compassion.*
That Mr. MOORE, when he found the conduct of Mr. KERN
was operating to my disadrantag,, might two or three months,
afterwards plead the great expellees I bad been put to, and:
the loss in time nridrnoney I should sustain, if, after the so-
lemn pledges that -bad been given, niy Tragedy•should not be
performed,' is very possible. Fur having long been in the
habit of reading SENECA and Bor.smus, I felt no, shaitie
confessing to Mr. Monist:, nor do I now in publicly confessing
to the world, that, frpm several persons not keeping their en-
gagements with me, my tru!y excellent wife, my children and
myself, were, for the tiOi-e, in great comparative Want !
From the second month of my marriage, up to the moment
in which I am writinti, I have been visited with such a series
of nfiliet ions, as are, I brink, scarcely to be paralleled in the
annals of private life. But I ana too proud to excite eVen
the sympathy of thu politic : much less the compassi,u of Mr.
KEAN. I sin also too sensible of the beautiful advantages
of adversity to repine; thought it would be mit acialoudid I
not sometimes feel IRIpalitMCC and disgust.
• Mr. KEAN, I unUerstanrl, is occasionally in the haliit of
doing generous actions to persons of his own profession; but
for him to presume to the consequence of exercising Com-
passion towards me, would have been a subject for my ri-
dicole, were I not so far advanced in the knowledge irf hu-
man natpre as to know that ridicule is the weapon ve de-
generate 711;15,15.

CANDIDVS.

Ey the more active portion of the Sob-Committep

. t of

* Mr. KEANtricalestly says, N'lr. P. Nloortr. excited, kith
soolc my personal compassion for Mr. nucKE, iu cur..
queacc of :vltiQft I
.uud4atook to oct

co (tree mean PETER Nfnotte, Esq. Member for Coventry, and
Co!unel nottoLAS, of York-place, Balser-street.Thesc.Gen-
. ... , . .
Tbe litibleef in triSpnte iietweett the Author tlemen are of high consideration ia the country, and I call
of the Tr.;2,' etiv of The Itirlians, whose name we upou them, as men and as gentlemen, to do that-justice to
ifilti:ttl
oi:lyliiiultcelt.reEstcittlirgn liUlikß), and Mr. IiRAN, is Mr'. KBANI, wpich I should wish, were I placed in Mr. KgAN's
In• the' parties, but to all ad-, situation, to-have' adininistered to myself. Should they be
mil. ens of the roost tat
tonal, most 'gratifying; and silent, their -silence "must, of course,
.be. construed to my
most improving of all motional amosementg. AVe benefit.
shall still forbear to enter into the controversy, - Mr.lie,Ak'strites;in his unfortunate Teticr„that when liereatl
ourselves farther than to sov, that we really con- my 2,Trsi y• till 6(141 7'ragedies,-the linty feelings it excited
ceive the interes't of TUE DRAMA it3elf to,he in•• among ilie-perbU,rner-s-it-cre'unco;niroileible laziihte'r, awl pity'
volved in the question. . \i-•'e must i,bserve, liclA'-
ever, that no previouS tuilgtnent of attv drniat is fort, e arithcjr: No‘,„' filiiiseit tier a ciitlioii.4 fact, or an Marini ni
'counposition -by a felt acciusation. I ain tliere.f,pee resOlt•ed,..4tliiit. the pablie Shall
inif;‘hlttAls, fires irots to •
know !hi actu:il tri,th or Untruth of iiiis'aSsertion• and I call
rel)r"l!"!16n, whefher leiv°"able or °the:rwke' kpon•Mr;fl..ll.7„NSlr... I'Oe,:', aii i Alrs. t;t.ovt:a., t,,s'latep.,:,tic:.
can be decisive; for we .have had
conidet•ab; u
e
. .1, in altEl • wol r•iih es little eelety as pos,ib:e, whetiscr they
experience • tintoog the theatrical Corninilliir v, :'• . 9' -
and we have often foOnd their predictions tai_ aid ,0.,`,,,1 nr,t co:aajr thar twist disi'roeefol oretraiFe on pri.
taged.__,
,vale ict.:iag., 11.whjch iNfr.4KLAN so, roundly lots accused
little both .(vitYS, however - tvarrniy
iVith respect to i‘lr. BucKa,:, we repeat our npi- :'."'"' 1 if tl).cy d'al, the ,Vlirlii wiil liatc 4 sure eritetion by
(lion that. his Play vossesses considerable nterit,; .v,,,1,,ie1, to jasifie pf . the,a, ;, if they ilia not, -something better
and, if Properly supported, he forth ..a prcispeet 1 than,my IlssstkiYas \viol be, ago' 'led 19.The'"rbli by which
of. success. 'We subjoin his sra teMent this day:as: liiey;iii,ky judge of ile,;;4rasikty of 11..li:exx.' r:
-
a matter of duty to the Public,. itri'd we :carnot , - f . . THE. AUTIIOR OF,'llik: ;PHILOSOPHY
1 hut feel a strong ittipressiou'of r,,!gret for the sits ,', ' , ' , —'• :S'Yri 'NATIIVIE'
, I %Mali 21.1),1319. .."
of -hisSrloin‘cstic sitmaion.., Which lie has discloseu - ' ''''' ' ••• • ,-; .''krh' ,i ' '
'ut :ors. liA RTI, EY and ~... •;At.Ltctc arc in
with so much moderatiiin and alfeeting simplici'TV. '.. : IVitli respect to Mr. KT.A_N, we hohl his priva-te ~_.:ifT,'::: ;et-n=l. „q. hest 1111.111 10 tape thererli eft epvcAtunity
of farouring'ithe hit h•their testimony liketVise. :
• : __f_-_—
feeling' S 'in Much resnect.. He. has manifested a . .
- i
.. .
, . ..,
genertms and,even munificent snip it, di we ha'v'e
heard, on many oceastOns ; and we repeat our
conviction-, that his indiscreet- leiter,:- to. tzge no
Irarsiter•terin, could mit have resulted froth his
own !rood, bense and feehno, hot theit they inns
hive beeu'overboloe iiy the evil counsels of tniudi
ciotis friends,