The Sun.
London, England, 1812-09-23 00:00:00

FABLE.

After the
.battle of Xeres, which confirmed the
invasion of the Moors, Don Pelagio and his fol-
lowers retire into the mountains of Asturia, where
they pot only successfully' resisted the power of
the Sarazen invaders, who ,had overrun the rest of
Spain, but established themselves in the kingdonii
of.ASturia and Leon; thereby laying the, basis of
that energetic and indefatigable patriotism by
which the Moorish usurpation was graduallrre-
duced, until finally extinguiShed in.the reign of
Ferdinand and Isabella. After the battle of Au.-
sena, in which the MoOrs were defeated, Pelagio,
the Gothic King, is supposed by, his people to
have been borne off a captive by the flying foe,
while in reality his life is attempted by Don Guzr
man, -Who hopes by his death to .attain to the va-
cant sovereignty : he believes that by the assist-
ance of Ramira, his confidant, •he has effected
the death of the King; but not having been chosen,
his successor, as be had expected, be favours the,
notion of his captivity, and .enters info secret cor-
respondence with the Sarazens, by whose aid,
and the promotion of internal intrigues and divi-
sions,- he hopes in time to accomplish the object
of his ambition; meanwhile limiting the powerS
of
.Alonzo, the chosen leader. 91 the Spanish peo-
ple, and restraining the progreSs of his arms
against the invader, from consideration for ;he
life of the captive King. ,From this period;'cloWn
to the time when 'the action of the piece com-
mences, Pelagio lives -retired, and disguised as a
hermit, his life having been preserved by Ramiro,
under the sacred 'obligation of an oath, never to
quit his: solitude; or discover himself to his sub-
jects, without his (Ramiro's) consent. Don Guz--
man, conceiving his traitorous plot ripe for exe-
cution, -by the-divisions and- corruptions he. had
secretly , fomented, invites the recruited strength
of the invader against his country; but, *lva--
ling to hazard the risk of battle, he seeks, by a
fabricated:letter, from the supposed captive, Pe-
lagio, his people, to induce submission to 'the.
Sarazen force ; but, previously to this -message
being .delivered to the assembled Chiefs for their
determination, Ramira, offended with on Guz-
man, forms the resolution of communicating to
..,Don Alonzo the fact of Pclagio's retirement, and
the circumstances which led to it. - They proceed
to the Hero's retreat—prevail upon him, still in
disguise, to attend the meeting. He rallies the
declining patriotism of his country—leads -his
,people
.against the assailing foe—and the action
terminates in the- discomfiture of internal treason,
and the total rout of the barbarous invader. The
loves of 'Alonzo and Donna Clara, the supposed
daughter of Don Guzman, but actually the dough-
ter" of Pelagio, as explained in the last scene, fOrm.
in auxiliary- plot, which. serves as a vehicle for.
several songs, duets, trios, &c.

From the foregoing account of the fable, our
Readers will perceive that the Author of this'
piece has availed himself of the situation of Spain
since the perfidious invasion of BIJONAPARTE, and
applied the events of a distant period in.. Spanish
history to the state of the country at the present
moment. This Wan allowable privilege of a dra-
,matie writer, .as the exercise of it is calculated to
excite an interest beyond the intrinsic qualities of
his work. In the piece before us, the 'fable can
hardly be said to begin in the first act, which. con-
sists of little. more than dialogue ; but in the
second the action commences,:and from that period
the dialogue chiefly tends to the advancement- Of
the story. The characters have nothing-uncom-
mon..
.That of Pelagio is .• the principal.. The
others are such as are .gencrallY-found in dramas
of the same kind. The .story is not liable to 'any
essential objection on the whole, but it is by no
means probable that Pelagio,- conSiderMg his 'pa-
triotism, should have retired into religious soli-
tude; without-making a 'secret effort tii'rescue his
country from' foreign Oppression, even though
hound by an oath not to discover himself as the
Monarch of his people, or that a dependant on
one of the. Nobles should have exacted- such an
obligation from 'his Sovereign. No reason is•
given why Clara, after having escaped from the
tyranny of her supposed father, GuzMan, in male
attire, 'should not have revealed herself to ,ber
lover, 41onzo, when she must have been assured
of his affection and fidelity. There is 6: want of-
poetical justice in suffering such a wretch as
Guzman to ,escape„ after he had been convicted of
an. attempt to murder his King, and to betray hii
Country, and possessed no quality that should
entitle him ,to pardon, 'or even lenity. But the
plot, such as it is,' in bearing reference to
portant events which have happened, and are
still pending in Spain, comes home tq the feel-
ings. The sentiments in general are loyal and
patriotic, though perhaps somewhat too often re-
peated. The Author is an Irish Gentleman,
named CODE. The music was composed by Sir
JOHN STEVENSON, a'arusician of well-,known me-
rit. The Airs, Duets, Trios, &c. arc composed
with great taste and feeling, and were in general,.
much admired ; but it is not precisely of 'a dra-
matic character, and some of the Songs did not
exactly suit the powers of the Performers. The
Music; however, was highly applauded, and seve-
ral of the' Airs were encored. The Perforiners ex-
erted themselves with' great zeal and:ability.—
RAYMOND, PHILLIPS, and Miss KELLY, particu-
larly distinguished themselves. PYNE sung in a.
very pleasing manner, and ex.eciittql the divisions
with great neatness. A Pas de TrOig:WIIS so ad-
mirably verformed .by MiSs
•LUPINO;Miss FlAxxl
sox, and Miss Chins, that it was universally
encored. The Opera was received, throughout
with great applause, by a numerous audience, and.
announced for this evening, 'not only with warm
approbation, but without one dissenting voice. - .