Star.
London, England, 1831-02-17 00:00:00

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strong confirmation by the following striking circueutenee.
The castle of Dunsinane is situated about seven or. Myht
milei from Perth. When 1 examined, some years ago,
the remains of that castle, and the scenes in its neighbour-
hood, I found that the traditions of the country people were
identically the same as the story represented in Shakspeare.
There was but one exception. The tradition is, that Mac-
beth endeavoured to escape, when he found the castle no
longer tenable. Being pursued by Macduff, he ran up an
adjoining hill, bet instead of being slain in single combat
by Macduff—which Shakspeare preferred, as being a more
dramatic incident— the country people said that, in despair,
he threw himself over a precipice, at the bottom of which
there still remains " The Giant's Grave," where it is sup-
posed Macbeth was buried. When you next viait • cutland,
It would be interesting to take an early opportunity of exs •
mining these classic scenes. JOHN SINCLAIR.
In Mr. Kean's answer, which is subjoined, there are some
just remarks on the hazardous profession of an actor :
" November 27, 181:1.
Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter, announcing the transmission of a valuable
sword, which you teach me to receive as a token of the
flattering estimation in which my professional tete, lions, in
the northern capital are held by yourself, and a portion of
that public, to whose foste.ing indulgence I am already
bound in lasting gratitude. To those unknown patrons, in
whose name you have been pleased, in such gratifying
terms, to address me, I beg you will convey the assurance,
that their kindness has not been lavished where it is not
duly appreciated, and deeply felt. lam happy in the con-
viction, that I shall only do justice to their intenti ns, in
receiving this sword, as at once a record of national liber-
ality, and Scottish patronage of the stage.
May I not recognise as this their object, in their selec-
tion of the distinguished pen which has honoured me with
the communicntion, as well as the costume of the present
itself, which you are pleased to inform me is strictly na-
tioual, both in its character and ornaments.
Permit me to add, sir, that my own feelings could know
no higher gratification, than to be instructed in the belief,
that I in ay have been the fortunate instrument of increasing
the number of the patrons of our art; the difficulties which
may, in some measure, be appreciated, by the rarity and in-
stability of success, and in which we but too sensibly feel
how necessary is public protection, to encourage and sustain
us, even in our least chequered and unclouded career. I
have the honour to be, sir, with grateful respects, your very
obliged servant, EDMI7ND KIAN."
DARBT O'SULLIVAN.
Father O'Leary and Captain M'Carty were walking toge-
ther through the streets of St. Omer's,when they came to a
house, at the door of which a man was bawling, in the French
language, Walk in, gentlemen, and see the greatest curi-
osity ever heard of, a Russian bear who can speak, and
dance, and sing, and in every respect is as intelligent as a
human being.' Father O'Leary wished to walk on, but rapt.
M'Carty insisted on their going in to see so great a
curiosity. Upon their entering the apartment where the
exhibition was to be seen, they saw at the bottom of a long
room, a great cage, in which a huge bear was reposing.—
Upon their approaching the cage, the keeper, with a long
stick, began to beat the animal, in order to rouse him.—
Upon his getting up he commenced speaking some gibber-
ish, which the two visitors immediately knew to be Irish.
The keeper then said in French, " Come, Mr. Bear, give
these gentlemen a song ;" and, to their utter astonishment.
he sung an Irish ditty. Father O'Leary immediately said
in Irish, How came you to speak the Irish language ? "
The astonishment of the bear, at hearing himself addressed
in his native tongue, may easily be conceived. He said.
" Gentlemen, my name is Darby O'Sullivan. I was born
in the county of Kerry. When men were raised for the
navy, I became a volunteer, and was put on board a ship of
war. We sailed to the coast of Armoric (Brittany,) and a
boat was sent ashore to procure some water and provisions.
The people, where we landed, spoke a kind of Irish, and I
thought I would be better off among them than on board a
ship, where we were not very kindly treated. I run, there-
fore, into the country, and came to a little town, where they
were very kind to me. I found the cider better than the
cider of Kerry, and took my fill of i.. I then walked into
the country, and I lay down to sleep, and when I awoke, I
found myself transformed into a bear."
The keeper was not at all satisfied with "hat was going
forward, and said to the company who had assembled,
" Gentlemen you must now be satisfied of the truth of
what I asserted. The bear, in many respects, resembles a
human being; but he is dred,—we must leave him to his
repose." Upon which Captain M'Carty drew his sword,
and seizing the man by the collar, he said, " You have been
playing some tricks with a countryman of mine, which
shall not go unpunished. Instantly open the door of the
cage to let him oat, otherwise this sword will be buried in
your body." The keeper, much terrified, admitted that it
was a man in a bear's skin, and gave the following account
of the circumstance :
My partner and I were exhibiting, in a town in France,
a real Russian bear, when he unfortunately became sick, and
died. We bad the skin taken off, and buried the body ; and
then resolved to take a walk into the country, to consider
what we could do to remedy our misfortune. A short uay
from the town, we observed a man, lying in a ditch, quite
drunk. It accidentally occurred to us, that it would be
possible to sew the bear's skin over the man. in the state in
which he then was, and persuade him, when I.e became
sober, that be had been converted into a bear, as a punish-
ment for his drunkenness. We set about it without a mo-
ment's delay ; and by means of blows, and showing him his
figure in a glass, we convinced him that the transformation
bad actually taken place. The man believes himself to be
a bear. He is perfectly reconciled to his fate ; and to make
him again a man would do him no good, and would rule us,'
" Captain M'Carty immediately replied, ' This must not be
suffered. I will not permit a countryman of mine to be
treated so inhumanely.' Scissors were immediately pro-
cured, the bear's skin was taken off, and out came a great
naked Irishman, who was much delighted with being restored
to manhood. Clothes were immediately procured for him,
and some money collected for his immediate subsistence ;
but as he had no means of gaining a livelihood, he resolved
to enlist in Captain M'Carty's regiment. It is said, that
in the course of the French revolution, he embraced the
cause of liberty, and ultimately rose to a situation of some
importance in the armies of the republic."
WILKIE, TDB PAINTER.
I happened to dine in company with Mr. Wilkie. the
celebrated painter, and, in the course of the conversation,
asked him " How he came to adopt that profession?" I
enquired, " Had your father, or your mother, or any of
your relations a turn for painting ? or what led you to follow
that line ?" Upon which Mr. Wilkie said, " The truth,
Sir John, is, that you made me a painter."—" How, I,"
with astonishment I exclaimed, " I never bad the plea-
sure of meeting with you before." To which Mr. Wilkie
replied, " When you were drawing up the Statistical Ac-
count of Scotland, my father, who was a clergyman in
Fite, had much correspondence with you respecting hie
parish, in the course of which you sent him a coloured
drawing of a soldier, in the uniform of your Highland
Fencible regiment. I was so deligheed with the eight,
that I was constandy drawing copies of it, that made me
a painter."