The Sun.
London, England, 1818-12-17 00:00:00

MISS KELLY.

Mw.
EDITOR,---The silence of the Newspapers
io general,. on this subject,. is a plain proof that
they are not animated -by • that public spirit
to which they pretend, • for otherwise they
would resolutely come forward in support
of an excellent young Actress, who pos-
sesses talents which have most deservedly ren-
dered her a favourite with the town. Yet is she
thrown upon tl►e world, either to wander front her
family and connexions, and to receive inadequate
requital for her efforts in the country, or to waitin
unprofitable vacuity till the opening of the
ENULISH OPERA HOUSE, the seasons of which are
annually abridged by the 'protracted performances
of the Muter Theatres. I am a decided enemy
to all play-house riots ; butt I conceive that the
Public have a right to demand of the Proprietors
of both Theatres why Miss KELLY is not engaged ?
The offer of an engagement to her from Drury.
Lane was made, if I am not mistaken, dur-
ing the time when that Theatre was under
an Injunction from the Court of Chancery,
and who could tell when, or whether, it might
have been annulled ? Was Miss KELLY, who lives
by the constant exertion of her talents, to decline
all other engagements that might offer, and wait
- - •

the uncertain, and, perhaps, distant issue of a
Chancery suit ?—Your Correspondent of this day
has put two questions -to the Theatres, which.
respect for the public ought' to induce them both
• 'to answer. If the Sub-Committee, when they
offered terms to Miss KELLY, requiring her to
confine-her exertions wholly to Drury-Lane, knew
that she was under engagements which precluded
her from accepting thents the offer was an " unreal
mockery."—But why did they not modify their
terms, and, propose to her a less salary for a more
limited performance at their Theatre ? Such
at offer would at least have shewn sincerity on
their part, and respect for the Public, in a dispo-
sition to gratify them with the talents of a favourite
Actress. As to the clause in the Patents, by which
the Governor of one Theatre is prohibited from i
engaging a Performer who has quitted the other,
till after the expiratio'n of a year, that is only con-
ditional, and depends on the consent and approba-
tion of -the parties. Th'e matter then conies, to
these questions. Does Drury-Lane Theatre refuse
to engage Miss KELLY, unless she commits
a brea,Ai of law and honour, by a violation
of engagements into which she had previously
entered, or will it persevere in denying her
the opportunity of obtaining a livelihood,
by employing her talents at the other Thea-
tre ? Another question may also be proper-
ly put to Covent-Garden Theatre. Will it en-
gage Miss KELLY, if Drury. Lane Theatre gives
its consent, as it ought in justice, liberality, and
common humanity to. do, to the completion of
the engagement into which, according to the
statement in her letter, she had entered ? I am
aware, Mr. Editor, that Proprietors of 'Theatres,
who must have purchased at a vast expense, and
'must be exposed also to continual heavy disburse-
ments, with uncertain profits, ought to be secured
against the arrogance, caprice, and rapacity of
popular Performers, but the case before us neither
implies nor insinuates any such charges. against
this meritorious young Actress, whose only fault
seems to be a fixed determination to suffer no
temptation of pecuniayy advantage to' indoce
her to violate engagements which ,she had pre-
viously contracted. I trust, Mr. Editor, tha't the.
Proprietors of both Theatres will reflect on the
situation of this deserving young woman and ex-
cellent actress, and on the opinions and feelings
of mankind on. the subject, and that they will
immediately enter into some amicable arrange-'
ment by which she may be engaged at one House
or the other, and the Public again be gratified by
the exertion of her talents.
New Hurnanus, Dec. 16.

PUBLIUS.

SPARRING.---The Fives' Court was well attend-
ed on '1 nesday, for the benefit of Carter. Martin
mounted the stage in the Court, with his bead
tied up, and addressed the Amateurs as follows :
" Turner has challenged me in my absence, and
I accept it, to fight him for 100 guineas, at his
own time, and my money is ready, at Burn's, the
Rising Sun, %'indtnill-street.'• The match will
no doubt he made ; and one between Carter and
Sutton, the Black, is also spoken of, as Carter will
fight as low as 501.

WAGER.-Yesterday afriqtroon, a match of a
novel nature was decide•ci on the Waterloo Bridge-
road : a wager of a {l. note was laid between two
men, who were drinking in the Antelope, in White
liars-yard, on these conditions :—One was to
carry another man on his back, and, thus encum-
bered, betted that he would run 50 yards in less
time than the other, without any incumbrance,
would run 100 ! They started about two o'clock,
to the amusement of a numerous concourse Of
spectators, and the match was won by him who
carried no burthen, but with some difficulty.
CAUTION TO PARENTS.—On Tuesday night an
Inquisition was taken at the Turf Tap, back of
St. Gcorge's Hospital, on view of the body of
Mary Ann Lennard, a girl of about five years old.
It appeared in evidence, that the parents of the
deceased lived in Jew's-row, Chelsea, On Sun-
day afternoon they went out for an evening's
excursion, leaving the deceased and another child
in the room. The children were at play by the
fire-side, when a spark communicated to the de-
ceased's dress, and in an instant set it in a blaze.
The neighbours, on hearing her screams, imme-
diately came to her assistance, and extinguished
the flames ; but she was so shockingly burned
that it was found necessary to send her to the
Hospital. She only survived till ten o'clock the
same evening. Verdict—' Accidentally burnt to
death."

CHILD•DROPPING.—A few evenings back, about
six o'clock, a male child, about six weeks old,
was left exposed at the door of Islington Work-
house. It was dressed in an old cambric frock,
flannel petticoat, cambric cap, and wrapped in an
old blanket. It was conveyed to !be work-house,
to be taken care of till proper steps are taken for
the apprehension of the mother,

P 0 E T 11 Y.

A LITTLE SONG,

In Defence of One whose Persnnal Charms had been some wht-.'

found fault with.

"A lie—upon my soul a lie !"—SHAKSPEARS.

Now, as to her Eyes,
Your speech not applies—
'You swore that their life was all gone, all gone;

What could your bead push on,
For Such an assertion ?
You know that my Love has—but one, but one.

/You swore she was thin,
Nay, all bone and skin !
Pale, meagre, and dry as a fossil, a fossil;
Poo, poo—as for bone,
I'll hold she has none,
For I look'd in her mouth—not a morsel, a morsel.

And then—in her face,
You never saw trace
Of blushing, you said—O very wrong, very!
Why every one knows,
That she socially glows,
And Ler Nose is as red as a cherry, a cherry.
BEPPO.

THE SNUFF-TAKER.
A PARODY ON THE WOODPECKER.

As I sat by the fire, in reflection profound,
I thought that my nose I would treat,
And I said, if there's snuff in the world to be found,
I shall get it in Lundyfoot-street.
It was ten—not a sound, hut the striking of clocks,
And the snuff-taker tapping his favourite box.

So to Lundy's I went, tho' the weather was rough,
My sensation with scent to regalc;
How busy the shopmen !—some serv'd out the snuff,
And some neatly roll'd up pig-tail.
Not a sound—all the watchmen were silent as blocks,
But the snuff-taker tapping his favourite box.

Then I took A long stroll 'mid the cold silent tombs,
Anil cried,—Fortune, grant meenough
Perhaps I am stinfiiitg my grandmother's bones,
Or toy grandfather's coffin, for snuff.
It was morn—not a sound, but the crowing of cocks,
And the snuff-taker tapping his favourite box.

Dublin.

OSCAR.