The Sun.
London, England, 1825-11-17 00:00:00

P L 0 T.

" The Princess Diana (Miss LACY) daughter of the Duke of
Barcelona, though her father is anxious that she should become
a bride, disdains to acknowledge Love's Empire. Don Caesar
(Mr. C. Kemble), a Neapolitan Prince, who is desperately ena-
moured of Diana, apprised and guided by Perrin (Mr..JusrEs)
of her determination, meets her with affected indifference, and,
piqued by his neglect, the Lady soon grows impatient to make
a conquest of him. The real passion of Caesar occasionally
breaks out in spite of himself, but the scorn with which he is in
the first instance treated, recals him to himself : he laughs at
the Princess for having thought that he was serious, tells her
that she will make him vain of his acting, and changes her
momentary triumph into bitter mortification. Afterwards,
when she has been playing on the guitar in a garden, he affects
to be enchanted with the calm which succeeds to the music of
Diana—he is beyond measure grateful when he is ordered to
quit her presence, and finally he selects another for his wife.
The other persons of the drama favour the plan, and the inex-
orable Princess is at last almost frantic with disappointed love
and jealausy. Of course the mask is then thrown off; she is
humbled, her friends are merry, and marriage is announced to
be close at hand."

‘Ve have extracted the foregoing account of
the Fable from a respectable Morning Paper, as
it contains an outline of the essential features of
the Play. The main substance is comprised in
the attempts of Don Caesar to captivate the
Princess Diana, and of her artful endeavours to
enslave her lover, that if she succeeds she may
treat him with rejection and scorn. As Caesar is
amiable and accomplishedd, it is no wonder that
she should be stung with his affected indiffer-
ence, and, in the course of her endeavours to
triumph over his assumed coldness, actually be-
come enamoured herself. This mutual artifice is
well managed by the Author, and the occasional
bursts of real passion from the Lover are natural
and effective. The rest of the Dramatis
Personce, with the exception of Perin, the
Secretary, who is bribed by Caesar to promote
his object, and who suggests to him the expe-
dient of pretending indifference, may be consi-
dered, to adopt the idea of a French critic, as
" Characters to let," and are chiefly ballast to
keep the dramatic vessel afloat. The piece,
therefore, might properly be reduced into three
acts, and many of the interlocutors be thrown
overboard. The intrinsic interest of the Comedy
would then be proportionably augmeuted, and
of course the Play itself be likely to increase in
attraction. It was hardly possible for the cha-
racters in general to be sustained with more cor-
rectness and spirit. Mr. K EMBLE, we scarcely
• need say, takes the lead among the men. His de-
portment was easy, his expression of real pas-
sion natural and animated. Miss LAcr fully
established herself as a first-rate actress by her
performance of Diana. Her alternations of
pride and occasional tendency to love, and finally
her complete surrender of het heart, well de-
signed by the author, were accomplished with
perfect success. There were also some arch
touches of genuine comedy incidentally conveyed,
which strikingly evinced the soundness of her
judgment and her true sense of humour. JONES,
the Secretary, was lively and ckaracteristic, but
he would have acted better if what he said in
general had not been apparently rather addressed
to the audience than seeming to have been the
woi kings of solitary meditation. The character
of an amorous old man was well performed by
FA RREN, and so was his hungry servant by 'ILAN-
cliAan ; but they have too often been seen on
the Stage to operate with much effect. The sup-
position of the former that Diana was attached to
him, was improbable and absurd. The three
suitors to Diana were of no use to the plot ; Gas-
ton in particular, who boasts of his wit and ad-
dress, yet says nothing in support of his pre-
tensions. We repeat our opinion, that the
Play would derive great advantage from com-
pression into three acts, without impairing the
three niain characters, viz. Grim) Perrin, and

Diana. The Play is understood to have been
written by a Gentleman named HYDE, Who
lately published a Tragedy, not acted, named
Alphonsus, which displayed great poetical abi-
lity,and which we mentioned with merited praise
in the department of our Paper which we desig-
nate under the title of Literary Notice. The
dialogue in the Play of last night was neat, but
sometimes interlarded with allusions to poetical
history that indicate a juvenile writer. Upon the
whole, the Piece was very creditable to the ta-
lents of the Author, and promises much from his
fancy, when time and experience shall restrain

its luxuriance. The Piece was very well received
throughout, and obtained a warm and reiterated
sanction when Mr. KEMBLE solicited permission
for future representation. A Prologue and Epi-
logue, written by the Author of The Lollard:, a

Romance of merit, were provided, but, unaccount-
ably, not spoken, though they would have been
in proper conformity to custom, and might have
been delivered with effect.

It is said that Mr. J. G. Lockhart, the son-in-
law of Sir Walter Scott, some time the reputed
editor of Blackwood's Magazine, leaves the
Scottish Bar for London, to be there editor of the
Quarterly Review, and to hold a place under
Government, vice Mr. Stewart Rose, resigned.—
(Caledonian Mercury.)
On Thursday night last, the house of Mr. C.
FULLER, Newington Arms, \Valworth, was en-
tered by forcing the flap-door of the celler, and
getting up stairs to the bar, where the burglars''
regaled themselves, and carried off the copper. •
till, some loose silver, a silver spoon, great
coat, and other articles, about 101. value, with
which they got clear off. From the easy
manner in which they effected the robbery, Mr.
Fuller considers it must have been done by those
who knew the house, and have been in the habit
of using it.
We understand that through the intercession of
our worthy Member (S. R. LUSUINGTON, Esq.), several of
the men concerned in the late :harsh Bay affair, now under
sentence of transportation at Portsmouth, have been recom-
mended to his Majesty for a free pardon; and we trust, ere
long, to have the satisfaction of seeing them restored to their
families, duly impressed by the kindness shown towards them.
—( Canterbury (>azetlc.)
HERit/N-Gs,--An immense quantity of fine her-
rings have been caught in Dover Roads lately,
both by day as well as night. One boat had so
many in her nets, that she could not take them
all on board, but was obliged to make signal for
another to take part.—(Kentish Gazette.)

ANECDOTES, &c.
--..5w.--

SAINT the calendar this day is
marked as St. Hugh. He was a native of Bur-
gundy, and conspicuous for his knowledge and
virtues. At the solicitation of Henry the Secoud
of England, he became Prior of a House of Car-
thusian Monks, at Witham, in Somersetshire.—
In 1186 he was made Bishop of Lincoln, and af-
terwards rebuilt the Cathedral of that place,
from the foundation. He died on this day, in
1200, in London, but he was buried in Lincoln
Cathedral, his funeral being attended by two
Sovereigns, three Archbishops, fourteen Bishops,
one hundred Abbots, and a long train of Nobi-
lity. Numberless miracles are recorded to have
taken place at the shrine of this Saint; but, with-
out recurrence to that testimony, he may be pro-
nounced to have been a learned, meek, and pious
Christian. In 1220 he was canonized at Rome,
and his remains were taken up October 7, 1282,
and deposited in a silver shrine.—This day is re-
markable as the anniversary of the death of
Queen Mary, and accession of Queen Elizabeth,
1558 ; of Westminster Bridge (which cost
426,5001.) being opened for passsengers, 1750 ;
of the death of Catherine the Second, Empress
of Russia, 1769 ; of the sudden falling of Ted-
bury Church, Gloucesterrhire, 1770 ; of the
death of Dr. John Ha wkesworth, the author of
the Adventurer, 1773 ; and of the death of Ed-
ward Shuter, the celebrated comedian, 1776.
Dtt. PARR is said to have told SIIXRIDAN that
he had rated *** handsomely, that he had poured
forth hot scalding—aye, even lava. This may
account for the word applied to this celebrated
Doctor by another singular man, as celebrated
for his mathematical as the other was for his clas-
sical attainments. Dr. Milner, who on some pub-
lic day at a meeting of the University, where
Dr. Parr was about to open with one of his long
speeches, stopped him, very much to the annoy-
ance of Pnrr and the amusement of the specta-
tors, with this laconic rebuke, " Come, Doctor,
none of your Parlava," which was obliged to
retire into the volcano ready to burst, but did
not hod ♦entilation. The Doctor was mute.

CASTLE OP OTRANTO.—The ingenious Author
of this popular Romance, in a letter to Mr. Cole, now in the
British Museum, gives the following account of its origin :
" I waked one morning in the beginning of last June, from a
dream, of which all I could recover was, that I had thought
myself in an ancient castle,and that on the uppermost bannister
of a great staircase, I saw a gigantic hand in armour. In the
evening I sat down and began to write, without knowing in
the least what I intended to say or relate. The work grew on
my hands, and I grew fond of it ; so that I was very glad to
think of any thing rather than politics. In short, I was so en-
grossed with my tale, which I completed in less than two
months, that one evening 1 wrote from the time I had drank
tea, about six o'clock, till half an hour after one in the morn-
ing, when my hands and fingers were so weary that I could
not hold the pen to finish the sentence, but left Matilda and
Isabella talking in the middle of a paragraph."
NAPOLEON once said to a witness, " Relate
your story simply, and never forget, that overcharged accusa-
tions will ever assume, in the eyes of a Court, the appearance
of calumny."
NAPOLEON had lavished many favours upon
Count POLIGNAC, yet was he detected in an attempt to deliver
up to the enemy an important fortress with the command of
which he had been entrusted by the Emperor. He was imme-
diately arrested, and as his trial was fixed for the following
day, and he could not but suffer the capital punishment due to
his crime, the Countess de Polignac solicited an audience of the
Emperor. " I am sorry, Madam, for your sake," said he to
her, " that your husband is implicated in an affair which is
marked throughout with such deep ingratitude." "He may
not be so guilty as your Majesty supposes," said the Countess.
" Do you know your husband's signature ?" said Napoleon, as
he took a letter from his pocket, which he presented to her. The
Countess looked at it, and fainted. As soon as she was reco-
vered, " destroy this letter," said Napoleon, it is the only
legal evidence against your husband." She immediately did
as she was bid, expressed her gratitude to the Emperor, and
withdrew.
_ _

......
MARSHAL VICTOR, who, during the early part
of the French Revolution, was a drummer in one of the Re-
publican regiments, and on account of his full, round face,
passed among his comrades by the name of Beau Soleil, on be. ,
ing made Duke of Belluno by Buonaparte, is said to have ad-
dressed him to the following effect :—" Sire, though grateful
for the favours which your Majesty has been pleased to be-
stow on me, I cannot accept this last mark of kindness with-
out remarking, that by it your Majesty has degraded me far
below the rank which I enjoyed at the beginning of my ca-
reer ; formerly I was Beau Solcil, now I am only Belle lune"
(Bellune.)
Whe❑ SERJEANT COCKLE was in the Northern
Circuit, he once told a witness he was very saucy, and then
asked him, what sauce he liked best? " Any sauce but Cockle
sauce" was the reply.