The Sun.
London, England, 1820-02-05 00:00:00

folt UE SUN.

" limo shalt 'lot covet the Neighbour's House, thou shalt
not curet thy Neighhaur's Wife, nor his Servant, nor his
ts..,;:j Mani, nor his Ox, nor Lis Ass, nor any thing that is his!"
Oth Commandment.

- 7;;4 MR. EDlTOR—Agreeably to my promise yester-
:4day I pt. tete(' to answer the infamous attack
.?:;4iiii,itle on my character and that of Mr. GI.OSSOP
"Jby tome anoymmis and, I should think, hireling
~,,•...,,iLitient r itt your Paper of lV
eduesday evening.
I:
i ;
gilt:'
Glossop is uniiriirrately absent at Bath, or
It
lii- would haa mathre execived this task in math more
I.:?iible and d.-ei<ive manner than 1 probably niP.y ;
.1.,;e, hot troth, will compensate tot the ahSrilre of Other
(111alitieS, and a good (-nose tender even detail
;'rl.eleritietit. 'Passing over the ill-constructed cntn•
...2,!plintentary sentence with which the unknown
aarlatitlerer ;Tent his Leiter, and the elaborately
Onosel and correct definition of stealing %Oily!, for
~.lini,e; it , I ,‘ ill pioreed at once to this Drfattier's
-, arrange talc*" a tale told by all Idiot, lull of
A‘sonnii and tore, siaiiityieg nothing " lie says
.N 4.
Ei" a pr"son not iiiilriown in the annals of, (Altera-.
for' , but wt lots.' name he wishis to eotOaial tor tbe
;.. Pi."", hill ivri.ivet a Farce CR Ilk(1 The Miller's
II; If of Chariton ; or, the Three Johns: Which, iii
' - cocci to have produced lie gave to a Schoolmaster
tIO give :0 one tit his Scholars, who was to give it
to his Uncle, Mr Glossop, that he might give it
i' o the Public, instead of which, Mr. Glossop,
-* ttter keeping it litter weeks, returned it, like any
her corderieri thing, to the place from whence
t # -.me " Upon I hese given premises it is, this
i'l.,„ °indicating ren-amuck, modestly and openly
11'charges •with fraud,forgery,and
WI
at; presses his. opitinni that my imputed crime is
,•$ ,qual in guilt to forging a promissory note, or
paitiving a pocket, and stabs at the
.very heart of'
ra .. Joy existence by calling on my patrons and blends,
1,..4. the Public, to withdraw their suppor' and ravioli,
_at 'rum toe, and in future only view me as uric of
,-..,,,.
.r he worst enemies of Diamatic Literature, and a
e.'•,f most ..,,,,ortity member even of a minor Histrio-
aß oic Eslaittilitnent.—How Mr. VINDICATOR will
• ':;t4 vindicate himself in a Court of Law, to which I
. at
stiall assuitlly•cite him, horn the penalties eouse-
*ient ot. such atrociously malignant charges, I.
; T
dill at a loss to conceive. In the mean time, mark
Hkhow a plain tale shall put the Knave down. The
...1001- l'iece I ant charged with having sroleit, is alleged
!4‘. :0 have been put into Mr. Glossop's bands last
IT Simmer, a time when, as Stage Manager and
Author of Astley's Amphitheatre, I was placed
etin direct opposition to that Gentleman, and could
stave. . ave no point of commtliticatioo with him, had be
.44, ' . •-• e n ever so inrliiiri to have concerted and ac.
.„.s complished with me the robbery with which we
, .:re so unblushingly charged. The Manuscript is
I.
a"';stated to have been kept (line weeks, and then re-
te , toned by Mr. ,Glossop's alleged Nephew, (a re-
4, ! won I believe he has yet to be introduced to,)
.vith the answer, " that his Uncle had not bees
°:...,,•; !tile, for want of time, to look at it." The tact is,
''4 .t I understan,! Mr. Glossop rightly, lie never saw
sllie MS. at all, It never was in his hands, nor
.
.. oin of his tathei's house in Cometon-street.-
4:4
['ate Schoolboy who had the charge of deliver-
-'g it sagaciously thinking its Author was
,t.,' isore deserving of his Master's Rod, than his Pa.
...t.' ' rt:nage, never troubled Mr. Glossop on the sub-
-4 ject, but returned the MS. unopened. All this, it
* aei;ears, occurred during the months of May and
a* June last. Now Mr. Astley's Season did not ter-
i untate !ill nearly the middle (0 October, and ins-
aittliately on the close of my engagement there,
-N proceeded to the Adelphi Theatre to furnish
4, ,ie Entertainments for its opening, under its pre-
•44;.,' tit spirited and very worthy Proprietors—this
19 ccupied me till'nearly the end of October, when
"ir.,. ,aving stipulated to open the Cobourg Theatre
,or the Winter Season, with three entirely new
pieces, besides fulfilling most of the ditties of an
t,
,yrf. Acting Manager, Mr. Glossop began to be anxi-
a-- ous that I should commence operations, and at
t
la,. his request I agreed to occupy a part of the Ma-
v.. nor House, his residence. Deeming ten days suf-
ficient time to write and produce the three Pieces
~- .
% e required, I did not seriously begin them till I hail
11, brought myself within the extremeat verge of that
'ltt::. limitation. My first Piece was written and put
in complete rehearsal, six days previous to the
17-. opening of the Cobourg ; I had then the remain-
't ing two Pieces to write and produce, and now
ir comes the History of the Piece I am charged with
:-'.! having stoleo, and which has drawn down on•my
--
a.: selected head, such a heap of abuse and falsehood
!Torn this bold bespatterer, this flagrant calumnia-
t tor—this unprincipled assassin of innocent men's
- ..... etaracters arid fame. It is nearly four years since
-....4 (I think in April 1816) that the first idea of The
LI
p.- illitler's Wife of Charlton was.suggested to me by
',.1," s Pocket Anabulator of Twenty Miles round
4!'• London, which 1 met with ''While on a visit
~"- at the house of Mr.- Coxhead, a Gentleman-
ifP,. then resoling at Somer's 'fowl', and who
.!..q;' may possibly retneiutjer the circumstance.
,-- In this volume, under the head of Charlton,
occurred the flistoilthil Anecdote of King John
',Z. cold the Miller's Wife, together with the
a, origin of Horn Fair. 1 immediately ufaile a ini-
'*: note of itlas' capable of being drainatized with
'''' If ct to a sort of Acta Diurna or Common-place
e e , .,
*., . 13,.nk,31)ciiting that date; I was then in the habit
rg of carrying about me, and wrote down two or
-4:tt t..4ree ti:les to select front this Common-place
4..:•Bo w
ok ; any oue may see ho wishes it. I made
~,
Tito use of . the anecdote, from that time till the
I.' commencement of my present engagement at the
• ,
•' ' CObOtirg,' when having, as I have stated, two
f.. 7
at pieces to write and'produce in six days, and being
•.;')en wane of subjects, I walked out to assist my
,;.,:naginaliie facuiticas by loeoinotion.;—mine being
~L. completely a Musa Peflestris—in my way 1 passed
,It the Rockingham Arms, kept by an old anti intimate'.
a- friend, Mr. Hulk(' '; while taking a glass of wine.
'-i►i,4 with this Gentleinee, and expressing to ltioehow
.4completely I was gravelled tor•laek of 'matter,
'Vbe put into toy hand a Bill of the Sports at nom
leattr: Fair then hoWina„ and proposed a trip to Cliarl-
, ton by way of relaxation. This apropos. cireniii-
stance immediately brought the anecdote-of -King
* John to my In kid ; here was tf.e 4.l,:it•ct I wdni-e(i,-
S' and 1 resolved to dramatize it iniiaotly. , I told
al:. , - ; LT o'
1.",-,1 Al I , -tieilali the story and my intentions, and merle
-
,JIM procure me all the information hr cmtld, bring
~,..4 perfectly ignorant of the Locale ,otAios: Fair.---

Wt1,.4,5,,"5 •t:t!: .• :

' 'nor none, which Mr. liana's, and otiier per-
sons, will verify, if necessary, on oath, I
~, retained
to the Manor House, related the story to Mr.
Glossop Oho was highly delighted with it, it
affording him en opportunity of bringing forward
Miss Watson), and did not rest till he had seen
. me fairly engaged in it. He suggested the idea of a
at ene in the dark, and actually set up with me the
hest part of the night, to witness my progress.-
1 did not go to bed at all, but finished the piece
at twee, it bring merely an interlude. Mr.
Bryant of the Cobourg Theatre, was sent for the
next morning to copy it, and on the following
day, I read it io the Green-room, and put it in
. rehearsal. To the fact of my writing it, 1 can
produce' Mr. Glossop, and three other ocular wit-
nesses, besides my original sketches ; it was then
put into Mr.Fairbrother's, the Prompter's hands,
and from that diy to this. I bare never seen it ;
and yet, this is the piece for the writing and pro-
ductiou of which, 1 am branded by a nameless
Bravo, as a Forger, a Pickpocket, a Thief, an
impostor, and a wretch deserving the heaviest
visitation of the Poi) resentment.—Port, I
trust, the Laws of my Country, which are thus
.datiogly violated in my person, will not suffer
such is gross offender to pass , unpunished. It is
" painful to me to be obliged to derail the circutn•
Sidtlet'S Cooll:'ettfd Wl!h the writing and production
of this piece in so minute a way, as it savours of
so egotism, which all who know me, will, I think,
do toe the justice to own, is perfectly foreign to my
character. I have alwaye avoided ob.ruding my
private circumstances on the notice of the
and it is with the greatest reluctance I an, com-
pelled to no so in the present instance ; but as a
servant of the public, I feel I am accountable to
it for all my actions, awl have been too much ho-
noured by its favours not to be solicitous for a
coutinuanec of them. In writing the piece in
question, The Three Johns. 1 wrote, as is etlSto-
- 'with me, for particular performers, finding
it el aays of advantage to my pieces, to consult
the peculiar talent of the persons who are to
• perform in them. By a singular corroboration,
I wrote the part of one of The ,Three Johns (Joit
Robinson) for a Gentleman (Mr. fisrivood) who,
it afterwards appeared, was not then engaged at
the Cobourg, but as I. hid written the character
expressly for him, and it was my opinion there
was no other person iu the company whose marts
tier and revoiites were so much sdapted its
adequate personification, I insisted upon his being
engaged, and noswithstandiog the Comparly was
more than full, with that spirit and liberality
which so eminently distinguishes Mr. Glossop,
Mr. Harwood was actually engaged by him for
this very piece; and ye' it is hoperlently asserted
I Myer wrote cite line of it, brit have stolen it from
another person, and pocketed the profits. theve
been now for neatly four years actively engaged
either in the management or atohurship of various
Theetrea, including Drury Lane, tlie Olympic,
the Adelphi,kstley's, the Cohoorg, Sailet's
the East London, Regency,&c. touring which
time I have composed and brought torvard nearly
40 original pieces; and this is the only charge
that envy, covetousucsa, malice, necessity, or any
worse feeling, have dared to briug against toe,—
against this charge, in edditioa to the statement I
have just made, I declare, upon my honour, as a
man and a gentleman, and I am ready to repeat
such declaration upon oath, that I never was
'hewn by any Mattegers or Managers, any piece or
pieces on the historical subject of King John and
the Miller's Wife of Charlton, that I never was
told of such a piece by any person or persons
whatsoever, that I never read any such piece, and
, that I am totally ignorant of the author and the
piece in question, never having yet seen, or de-
, siring to see, either the one or tke other. The
first notice I had of the present charge was given
' me on the 18th of last January, when 6,11)1141g
with Mr. Glossop at the Manor-house, he put
into my hands a letter he had received by the
post, signed Thomas Nicholls, and dated the
day before. I then 'rained this letter had
been preceded by two others, which I now
have in my possession, and from which I shall
honour the Author by making a few extracts.
The first, addressed to Mr. Glossop, is dated
December 22d, 1.819. I shall give the exact
phraseology and orthography of Mr. Thomas
Nicholls, who is pronounced by his ` Vindicator,'
to be not unknown the literary world, that the
public may have the better oppOrtunity of de-
ciding on his merits andComprtencyas au author.
His first letter comMences thus—" Sir, on Toes-
" day morning I called at the Manor-house to
" explain to you an Holy •done to me by your
" inmate, Mr. Moncrief, but not RECgEIVING the
" pleasure to find you at home, I ,was ordered by
" toy Legal Adviser to address 'you on the unplea-
" snot 'subject by letter. Mr. Moncrief, Sir,
"• bits not only acjed dishonorably by rne, but
" grossly imposed on the Managers of-the Co-
" breurg Theatre, by intreduciog to them the
" new drama•ia piece, ent;tled The Three Johns,
" or the Miller's Wife of Charlton, as his
" own production (of which he never wrote a line),
" and by RSCRRIVING thOSe advantages arising
" from the representation to which my ingenuity
" atid industry have an indubitable claim." He
then. ttates hi,s
.leaving the piece With Mr. Elli-
son, as he styles bins, and his surprise at his ne-
CEIVING from him the news that his piece had
been played at the Cobourg. Theatre. !" I shall
not," Thomas Nicholls continues, " attempt to
explain to you the ungentlemanlike manner by
which my manuscript was piihsgerf—that—with
Mr. Ellison's answer, will be the gi-Ound-work of
my damages, as your play-bills for the day are
SUFFICRCNT to prove the represeutation, and my
original copy the literary fraud, I shall not hesi-
tate to bring my case before the Public unless a
proper EBT4UNkRATIoN be made."' Mr. Glos-
sop, of course, treated this epistle with the con-
tempt its illiterate impudence deserved, nor
thought further on the sobject, till, on the 29th
of December, Thotnas Nichols favoured him
ttrith another morceao, hegiuning—" Sir, on the
" 22d of the present month 1 arote to you by
" the public conveyance, complaining of it'.l"'Y
" done to toe by the Managers of the Cobourg
" Theatre, at tt,e same time leque,ted yoto.
nn-
" svrtr; but as no.rtoorn has Levu mederl have
" reason to suppese the post miscarried." Ile
ih,n states he has deputed a wan he calls IN/r.
Hay, who bears his note, to enquire " whither

. .
" you are inclined to make me reparation, and to
" what shape ;" and concludes with threatening
legal process, end other unpleasant applications, in
case of refusal. This letter was received as the
other bad been, and the thing lay quiet till the 17th
of January, when a third letter was received
from this Thomas Nichols, in which he says,
" I have fortunately a friend, Md. Farquhar-
" son, of Charlotte-street, Blackfriars-road, to
" whom I have stated my case, and lie
" views the treatment I have received with
" a just indignation. He has promised me his
" assistance to obtain legal redress, IF, upon
" consideration, it should be deemed attainable,
" but what (upon a quest ion of this kind) I con-
" ceice to be much more important, he has given
" me his assistance that I may rely on his influ-
" ence with the Politic Press for a complete ex-
" posure of the transaction." He then speaks of
Mr. Glossop's INTRE%T to Wake him compensa-
tion, and threatens that his next communication
shall be through the medium to which he has re-
fered,". and stating his direction to be 44, Rath-
bone-place, concludes.—When I first read these
letters, and Mr. Glossop requested my opinion of
them, taking into considerasion the impudent
fal-
siiy of the 'assertions they contained, the mendi-
city of their style, their frequent demands of
money, and the utter ignorance they evinced
of orthography and grammar, I concluded the
autistic of them was either one of those wretched
Lunatics, who, having the madness of Lae with-
out his geeils, eleterminmely infest the Theatres
with their- piecei, or some abject wretch, who, as
a (fernier resource, had taken this method of bul,
lying a few pounds out of our pockets into his
own, and recommended Mr. Glossop ro end the
matter at once, by making a speedy election tor
Thomas Nicholls, between Bethlehem and Bow-
street. Vindicator and Mr. Farquharson
conclisde to be one and the same person, but shall
be most-happy to find I ant in errot ; for I cent tat'
imagine any person of the slightest respectab:Sizy
and conitilun seinse would espouse the cause of
such a wretched ignorant driveller as this Thomas
Nicholls, who, because I have taken a piece from
history, and he heppees to have done 'so too, tie-
cesSarily insagiues that mine must be his, boldly
asserts it, though he owns he has never seen it,
and. thinks impudence and falsehood will obtain
hint that wealth from which ignorance has shut
him out. A man unable to espouse his own
cause most indeed be a sorry animal. I take
it for granted, the Editor of a respectable
Paper like 'Pets SUN would scorn to make Cis
columns the vehicle of a-parte and anonymoes
abuse against any public character, unless be had
a perscieal knowledge of the Correspondtnt from
whom such abuse proceeded, I must, therefore, re-
quest the name.and address of Vindicator, against
whom and his cOntedettiteS I shell immediately conee
mence proceedings either by Bill of Indictment for
Conspiracy, or-Action for Libel, as I may be ade
vised. It is a duty I owe myself, the public, and
"veil public man. Here I conclude this sub—
ject as far as relates to the Preto. My
next Appeal will be in a Court of Justice. I have
already obtruded too long on the notice of the
Public ; but the fault will be pardoned When it is
recollected, that during the four-and-twenty years
have hitherto lived in the world, this ,is the first
time I have ever been publicly charged with crime
and dishonour, and I should he unworthy of living
another minute in it, if I omitted any observation
that might tend to shake off so foul and undeserv-
ed a charge. _

I am, Sir, yonr obedient Servant,
W. T. NIONCRIEFF.

17, Canterbury-place, Lambeth. Feb. 4, 1620.

P. expect Mr. Glossop in Town by Monday next,
when I have no doubt he will- publicly corroborate this state-
merit, .apil furnish additional proofs of the falsehood of this
infamous attack on the piece of The Three Johns, or the
Miller's Wife of Charlton, (which 1 withdrew after the first
six nights, on account of the difference of opiqiun it excited,
the patriotic part displeasing thqse the loyal pail delighted,
and vice versa and the general gallantry of the whole. helot ,
liable to be m6constructed on the Cobotlig side of the water)
I shall immediately put into the press. Dare Thomas Ni-
cholls do the same with his ?

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