The Sun.
London, England, 1802-07-09 00:00:00

SPANISH THI7 ATRICALS.

THE •following curious accouht is extraaed from
the interesting Letters of ROBERT SOUTHEY, Esq.
from Spain and Portugal.—Among other considera-
tions, it will serve to shew what " Lenten Enter-
tainment," in this line, the British Roscius has to
expel in that The description chiefly re-
gards one of the first Provincial Theatres in. Spain
(Corunna), but from. which, as will be seen, the
Royal Theatre at Madrid differ., but little.

14 I am just returned from the Spanish Comedy.
'Vile Theatre is painted with a muddy light blue, and
a dirty yellow, without gilding, or any kind of
ornament. The Boxes are engaged by the sea-
son ; and Subscribers only, with their, friends, -ad-
mitted-tO them, paying a peletta (about told.) each.
—ln the Pit are the men, each seated as in a great •
armed chair ; the lower class stand behind • these
seats : above are the _women ; for .the sexes .are se.
parated, and so striEtly, that an Officer was broke
at Madrid, for intruding into the female-places.—
The Boxes, of course, hold family parties. The
centre Box, over the entrance of the Pits is ap-
pointed for the Magistrates, covered-in the front
with red stuff, and surmounted with the Royal
Arms. The Motto is a curious one; " Sileacioy
no fumar."—" Silence, and no stnoaking."
" The Comedy, of course, was very dull to one
\who could not understand it. I was told that' it
contained some wit, and more obscenity ; but the
only comprehensible joke to me was, " Ah !"- said
in a loud voice by one man, and " Oh!" replied
equally load by another, to the great amusement of
the Audience. To this succeeded a Comic Opera ;
the chataoers were represented by the most ill-fook-
ing men and women I ever saw. One of the men's,
dress was a thread-hare brown coat Oined with silk
that had once been white, and dirty corduroy waist-
coat • and 'breeches; his beard was black, and his
neckcloth and shoes dirty ;. but his face ! Jack
Ketch might sell the reversion of his fee for .fihn,
and be in no danger. of defrauding the purchaser. A
Soldier was also one of the charaders, in a, pair of
qld black velveret. breeches, with a pair of gaiters
reaching above the knee, that appeared to have
been made out of some, blacksmith's old leather'
apron.
•
" A' Farce followed, and the hemp-stretch man,
again made his appearance, baying blacked one of
his eyes to look blind. • M.JabserVed that he look-
ed better with one 'eye than with two, and we
agreed that .the-loss- of his head would be an addi-
tion to his beauty.. The Prompter' stands in the
middle of the stage, about half way above it, be-
fore a little tin skreen, not unlike'a man in a cheese
toaster. -He read the whole Play with the Adors,
in a tone of voice equally loud ; and when one of
the Performers added a little of his own wit, he
was so •provoked as to abuse him, aloud; and shake
the book at him. •

" Another prompter made his appearance to the
Opera, unshaved, and dirty_ beyond description :
they both used as much anion as theAnors._

The scene that falls between the Ads would dis-
gracea puppet.shew at an English fair ; on one side
is a hill, in size and shape like a sugar-loaf, with a
temple on the summit, exadly like a watch-box :
on the other, Parnassus, with Pegasus striking the
top in his flight, and so giving a source- to the
waters. of Helicon ; but such ,is the proportion of,
the horse to the mountain, that you would imagine
him to be only taking a flying leap over a large
an,t-hill, and think he would destroy the whole eco-
nomy of the State by kicking it to pieces. Between,
the hills lay a city ; and in /the air sits a duck_
legged Minerva, surrounded by flabby Cupids.
" I could see. the hair.dressing behind the Scenes ;
a Child was suffered to play on the Stage, and amuse
himself by sitting on the Scene, and swinging back-
wardsand forward, so as to endanger setting it on
fire. Five Chandeliers were lighted, by only twenty
candles., To represent night, they turned up two
rough planks, about eight incliesbroad, before the
stage lamps.-; and the Musicians, whenever they re-
tired, blew out their tallow candles. But the most
singular thing is, their mode of drawing up the
curtain. A man climbs up to the roof, catches hold
.of a rope, and then jumps down ; the weight of his
body raising the curtain,:and that of the curtain
breaking his fall.
" I did not see hneAdor with a clean pair of shoes.
The women wore in their hair a tortoise-shell comb,
to part it, the back of which is concave, and so large
as to resemble the front of -a small bonnet. This
Would not have been inelegant, if their hair had
been clean, and without powder, or .even appeared
decent with it.

* * * * ii

:gg At the Theatre in Madrid, there is a stationary
table fixed,where the door is on the English Stage, and
(what is a stranger peculiarity) no money.is paid on
going in, but a man comes round and colleas it,
between the Ants. -Between every At is a kind
of Operatical Farce, a piece of low and gross-lbuf.
foonery, which constantly gives the lie .to their
motto—" Representing a variety of anions we re.
commend virtue to the people :" it is a large and
inelegant theatre, presenting to the eye only a mass
of tarnished. gilding: So badly was it lighted, that
to see the company was impossible. One of the
Aaresses, whose hair was long and curling, wore
it -combed naturally, without any kind of bandage,
and I have seldOm seen any head-dress so becoming.
The Representation began at half past four, and was
over at eight. I haye heard a curious specimen of
wit from a Spanish comedy. During the absence
of a physician,. his servants prescribe ; a patient has
been eating too mach hare, and they order him to.
take greyhound broth."

SHIP NE OW.

GRAVISEND, JULY 7.

Passed by—the. ResolutiOn, Domett, Latona, Magrath,
and Plicenix, •llouglas, from Jamaica ; Watson, Pullen,
from Berbiee.; James-, Sewell, from Surinam ; Birmingham,
11-I`Carthy, from Baltimore; Darlins:ton,, , from New-
York ; Resolution, Langley, from Trinidad ; Alfred, Robert-
son, from St. Vincent's iAsphalon, Smith, James and Re-
becca, —, and Bel liSarius,
-Sailed—the Sprightiv,„Dove, for Leghorn-; Tagus, Cobbs
for LisbOn ; Eleanor, Wyatt, for Hambro' ; Fortuna,
for Konen ;- and Hoop, , for Amsterdim.