Star.
London, England, 1822-06-03 00:00:00

THE LATE PETE AT THE

we copy ftom two Morning Papers tho following
;,tenienrs) without pledging ourselves for theacens
,icy of either
We understand that his MAJKST'r dotted to the
like of DEVONSH tax (the Manager of the Fete at the
,era House for the Relief of the Irish), that a box
);,st he set apart for the Royal Familyl and that he,
I,e Duke of DEVONSHIRE, must inform the Duke and
of GLOUCESTER, the Princess SOPHIA *of
;WITESTER, and the Duke of Sussex, that there
,as no place for them in it. This notifications which
Ai calculated to wound deeply the feelings of the
ccral Personages in question, prevented them, of
!olir,e. from being present at the Fete."—,Morning
rieviously to the late Ball, a person, of high.
pk, no doubt, caused an intimation to be given to
!u.., nuke of DIVONSH I RE, as Manager, that no royal
,eits or places were to be fitted up or reserved. for
tl7e Duke of Elossex, the Duke and Duchess of GLoud
EsTER, and the Princess SOPHIA of GLOUCESTER.
to commands were obeyed ; and the substance of
t!lem communicated, not by letter from the Duke of '
Devossiiiits. but by wholly omitting in the invita•
;on, the proscribed Members, male and female, of
;e Royal Family..—Times.
SIR RICHARD BIRNIE A? M.,BELZONI.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
SlR—Having seen an erroneous account in some
if the Daily Journals, I think it my duty to bring the
(cal facts before the Public through the medium of
ur valuable Paper, which I hope you will insert as
on as possible.
1,1822.

" OPERA CHARITY FETE.
As a traveller, and one who wishes to see as much as Os-
of the manners and splendour of civilized nations, as well as
customs and slavery of the half wild ones, I considered the
1.:11 given last Thursday at the King's Theatre for the relief of
w Distressed Irish, one of the best opportunities that chance
al;,1 afford me to behold an assembly of the beauty and magni-
s: ze of this country, and to contribute, at the same time, to
so charitable purpose. Unfortunately, having been very re-
„oti on the Continent, I returned to England too late to pro-
oNself with a ticket of admission into the King's Theatre
:n above night. I communicated my wishes to some friends
the day before the ball was to take place, and on Thursday
torting, a person, from a respectable quarter, called at m 7,
OAK, and acquainted me that Mr. Ebers, owner of the King s
Theatre, had one hundred tickets to dispose of, and that I might
one at the price of ten guineas.
o I cid not hesitate to send for the ticket, meaning to contri-
s.L. ch..t sum to the above charity; but I am since informed
ol.ly two guineas out of ten will be applied to the relief of
tr poor; and as 1 am going out of England within a few weeks,
i.d, probably, a 10.:g time will elapse before my return, I could
ct lase the promising opportunity of satisfying my curiosity In
:ono a Ilritisi; fete for charity's sake. Accordingly I presented
at the theatre, and when half way up the stairs,-rny ticket
rat 7ric.c‘ted : it bore the name of the Countess de Grey; send,
1. : back. that of Mr. Vaughan. No sooner did I present it
to the cheek-taker than he acquainted me that I was not per-
tt d to pass tso . and in a very abrupt manner, said that I must
there: at the same time he called some one out, and two
i:e otiicers appeared, who took me into their custody ; and
that state I remained for about a quarter of an hour, exposed
i had been in a pillory) to the Public, who entered in crowds
: ale time. I will not enter on the minutia of the petty in-
fits i received, or on what I felt, for that may easily be con-
Lived front any who has feelings of honour : at last, perceiving
gentleman conversing with the officers, who kept a strict watch
ter me, as if I had committed some high treason, I requested
at he would have the goodness to be witness that I was then
trier an arrest by the police officers; be was the Earl of Ancram,
who having been informed that I had the ticket from Mr. Ebers,
sad that it was a ticket which bad been lost ; and I was unable
to conceive how it could have fallen into the hands of Mr. Ebers
L. be sold.
" At last, having given my name to the Noble Earl, he told
ire to give my ticket to him ; for which, in exchange, his Lord-
sh:F kindly offered me his own, which I accepted, and entered
fa Theatre, where, by the illusion and splendour of the scene,
boon forgot the disagreeable adventure at the door. His Ma-
jo:y had not yet entered the house, and I was waiting, with
ihoL,rauls more, for his desired appearance. Half an hour- bad
d, when not less than three Bow-street torturers, or rather,
tat f-catchers, surrounded me, and with that gentleness, which
'hey Zr', I suppose, accustomed to use to felons, I was com-
%r.ded to march out and appear before Sir Richard Birnie, who
in the Concert-room, and, with the authoritative tone with
tiich, no doubt, he addresses rogues and thieves, ordered me
I) toallr Out of the house. I attempted to address myself to him,
IA to explain ; but he s aid, " I will not hear any thing from
Sos, Sir ; you entered with a wrong ticket, and you must go out.
ts-Tscrs, do your duty—as I take upon myself to answer
a'r." And this was said with a smile, signifying,-as I thought,
tot no reproaches could be made to a person like himself for
Ciatever error he might commit.
a I must confess, that I was a little at a loss how to account
kr all this proceeding ; but could not suppose that the owner
of the Theatre himself could sell a ticket, the bearer of which
r.iro become the victim of mismanagement and bad regulations:
k.at "hat surprised me above all was, that Sir Richard Birnie,
lacing heard the question on one side, would nut hear that of
the other. Ilad Sir Richard hearkened to my defence, I would
hoe told him at once that 1 had bought the ticket from Mr.
lien, who was then in the house, and having ascertained that I
bank the ticket from him, Sir Richard would have acted right,
and all would have ended satisfactorily : but the more I attempted
rt explanation, the More peremptorily he ordered his satitites to
6 their duties. Thus I can form a pretty correct idea, at my own
expense, of the impartial administration of justice by this Gentle-
t:an. I held in my hands the ticket given to me by the Earl of An-
cram, which was snatched from my hand by one of the gentle-
r:en officers, and which ticket was also pronnuaced to be wrong.
nothing could then avert the immediate execution of turning me
tat of doors ; and even theatediation of the Lord Mayor, who
was casually present, and had signified that he knew me,
could not prevail -on. Sir Richard to examine this unpleasant
tflair, before he so hastily condemned me: yet this Gentleman
ie at the head of the police over the greatest metropolis in the
s cold ! Notwithstanding all this, I contrived to keep my place,
in hopes that the mistake would be rectified at the end.
" At this time Sir Richard was called out by some one, and
I was left'in custody of two officers, as a culprit, in the face of
that were present. On the return of Sir Richard, Mr. M.
e:tdeavoured to persuade him that I was incapable of making use
of an irregular ticket, and that I was as numb known as any one
'
' But Ido nut know him replied Sir Richard; by which
o,e-laration I felt myself highly flattered, having resided In Eng-
iota about twenty years, except the time of my journey; but it
rev great honour to the vigilance of Sir Richard, who is at
the head of the Police, and ought to know every foreigner in
"le country. Sir Richard urged, that Lords MountCharhs and
i;wydyr had acquainted hint that 1. entered the House with a
':tong ticket; but I can scarcely believe that their Lordships
,ould act so unworthily by me and by themselves, as to suppose
rate capable of making use of a wrong ticket.
" Finally, the Earl of Antram appeared, and Indio; the ticket
i.e had honoured me with was in the hands of the officer, took
it from him and returned it to me, informing Sir Richard at the
same time that Mr. Ebers declared that the ticket halbsen sold
Ly him, and that he would be answerable for it. I was then
left at large, to enjoy the fete if I could; and, having expressed-
some dissatisfaction at the ill-treatment I met, I had, in reply,
that if I had been another person I should have experienced
r.oleft worse treattntht. So much for justice. I walked about
'Le Theatre till his Majesty left it, at half-past one, merely to
myself to my friends, and then retired, much pleased with
the sight; but 1 leave the reader to consider if 1 had not reason
to be also disgusted, having met with some of the grossest ill.
eatutent that coul.. be conceived, and that, too, from these very
Psople who ought to have protected me, and whose harshaws
;And severity ought in justice to have been directed against Mr.
J.Sers, for selling me a wrong ticket—a circumstance I dull
• =r .orget.-1. remain, Sir, your fiuntbia servant,
" 6. BULZONL*

THE L. 41
We COPY
stitementss
I,icy of eitl
We not
hake of DF
(I ,era Ilou
rnist he set
07e Doke of
lhitte,s of
t;toteEsTE
as no plat
Ai calculr
Pers
frOl
(
rievint
rink, no di
,!!,• nuke of
:eits or ph
tee Duke of
EsTER, an
comm:
elent comer
DcVOVSIIIi
I;ntis the pr
kl;e Royal
silt RI
SIR— thl
of the Dail]
tval 1 acts b
valual
icon its pol
;;use 1, 18:
As a trot
of the m;
C.: customs a
1;.d: given las
6, Lhstresset
condi :Sind E
£::: ze of this
etzt charitabi
on the
vi +t myself ss
en :Le above
ely the day 1
maruing, a p
bat;,,, and ac
Throne, had
one ai
•• I cid not
th..t sun
udly two
t ; ant
add, probably
Let lose the p
reiag a Britt:
n: t:11 at the
IV.It :espicttet
et;. back.
to the dea-
r.- tt d to pas
st. there: a
p.. officers
it: that state :
(a: if 1 had bet
a; the time.
setts I receiv
(Lived from ;
gentleman
tier me, as
tat he woul
uder an arre
who having I
said that it v
to conceive h
to be sold.
" :It last,
R e to give rn
shiF kindly c
fa Theatre,
I:eon forgot
jeq bad not
thnsands ms
ntrsed, wbe
tat f-catcher
they an., I
t:,:r.detl to n
in the C
tlich, no di
I)v:dr out
IA to explai
ylu, Sir ; yu
Vircers, do
1:1!" And
La: no rept
t-ltatever et
e I must
icr all this
ef the Thew
rust heroin
Et:: what n
laving bear,
the other.
love told h
llters, who
bonen the I
cod all woul
an expiation
Zo their dot
expense, of t
ran. I held
cram, whit
ren officer
tithing cc
cot of slow
was casual
could not
befo
it at the ht
orld! Nt
is hopes th
" At th
I was left •
that we
cwleavourt
vf an irreg
t.,(sre. Ht
4tdaratior
1-1151 about
no gre
the head a
countr
flwydyr
.1
':Fong tic
,ould act
?roe capab:
" Final
I.e had he
it from hi
same dint
Ly him, a
eft at far
*once diss
that if
wo
▪ nue Thea,
'hew my,
• the sight
I') be also
• titatutent
Ptople wl
• :sod seves