William Henry West Betty (1791-1874), the "Young Roscius," made his first appearance on the stage at Belfast, in 1803, in the part of "Osman," in Hill's
Zara;
and on December 1, 1804, at Covent Garden, as "Selim" disguised as "Achmet," in Browne's
Barbarossa
. In the winter season of 1804-5, when he appeared at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, such crowds collected to see him, that the military were called out to preserve order. Leslie (
Autobiographical Recollections
, vol. i p. 218) speaks of him as a boy "of handsome features and graceful manners, with a charming voice." Fox, who saw him in
Hamlet
, said, "This is finer than Garrick" (
Table-Talk of Samuel Rogers