The Sun. — 1824-05-20 (London, England)

BATII, MAY 17, 1824.  The new Tragedy of " The. Parricide," which I mentioned in my last, was produced at our Theatre on Wedn si tmi tp)a, r it as I sl yu ,cc(ets'osr wlaasnat ttoletaalsltyexutnrpermejeulyndeicseddayeitiaienrd,fosrpoeraakghat doubtful. I will give you the substance of the plot, and make a few remarks afterwards. The incidents are referred to an early period of the Polish history, when Mislaw was its most important Government, at which time continual attacks were made upon the city by the Russians. Alfonso, the Parricide, (Mr. BENNETT, of Covent-garden theatre), it appears is the son of a Polish lady, ( Faulernaion ) who had been abducted by a Russian Prince ( Riruski ), and he (...1/fintso) is reared among the Poles in utter ignorance of his birth. He is bethrothed to the Governor of Ilislaw's niece : This 'circumstance greatly enrages Varanes, brother to the lady, who expresses himself strongly on the subject to the Polish senate; in consequence of this the senate treat him with contumely, and reject his services. He then repairs to Rivoski, (the Russian Prince, and father of Affonso), who is about to attack Mislaw, and offers to betray the city into his hands. Rivoski knowing Alfonso to be his son solicits an interview with him, and endeavours to withdraw his allegiance front the Poles. Alfonso with great warmth refuses to do so,, and the son, goaded on by the insults of the father, draws hs sword to stab hint, when Rivoski discovers himself, the son falls at his feet, and the curtain drops : This ends the third act.  In the fourth act we find Alfonso returned to Mislaw, reviled by the Poles as a traitor; iTfavilla joins in the outcry against him, and he, overcome by this last circumstance, throws himself upon the ground in utter despair, exclaiming, " Receive, Oh earth ! thy blighted son." No sooner has he done so, however, than she becomes convinced of his innocence, raises him up, and restores him to her affections. Endermion kills herself; and Iraranes, whose treachery has been discovered, also kills herself. Rivoski attacks the city, and is in the act of carrying off Murillo, (why, or for what purpose, does not appear), when Alfonsorushes forward and instantly stabs his father, without knowing him to be so. The unfortunate parricide, when he discovers that it is his father whom he has killed, becomes raving mad, and fails dead upon the body. Mavilla then utters a piercing shriek, and the curtain drops. Of course there are other male characters, and other incidents, to carry on the piece ;,but the above are the chief Natures of the story : There is an army of about 6 Poles, and as many Russians, to execute the war department. The language and action are uniformly inflated,-,-there is nothing to relieve the more tragic scenes,—and one murder, two suicides, and one death from insanity, are really too much for any tragedy to support upon its own shoulders ; besides, the language at times,•borders upon the ridiculous. What, for instance, (supposing it to have been spoken correctly), can be made of the following ? " lie's Alfonso) as guiltless as unsullied snow." Now, who would for a moment suppose snow to be guilty of, any offence? The author might as well, and with as much propriety, have said, that lie was as guiltless as a hail-storm, or a morning-dew. Supposing the word guiltless to have been written pure, it then becomes a direct plagiarism. again, when Alfonso is lamenting over the dead body of his father, he is made to deliver the following nauseous idea :—he wished that he (Alfonso) could open the issue of his blood, and pour the gushing stream into his father, that he might be resuscitated ! I suppose the author had quite forgot that wind is necessary to the animal existence of a human body; or, perhaps, having written a tragedy, he thought he could restore the man to life by the mere force of the aforesaid "gushing stream." There is another fault Alfonso, having once discovered his father, is made afterwards to come in and kill him, without knowing him to be so. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the author when he wrote this part of it, had in his mind the celebrated proverb, " it's a wise son that knows his own father :" but really having once discovered him to Aljimso, such an incident should not have occurred. At the conclusion of the Play there was a loud contest, pro and con, but I think the ayes had it. Mr. GRAHAM, the aeronaut, intends to make an ascent forfrtre Bath in a new silk balloon, on the Bth of June next, obnentehfietsoaftntehemßonatthh, Hanospd promisesital Th to bring ese,ttinggirv4nt visitors. kines!,nupx o place