characters were always Moors and Christians, and the action centered
in the desire of Moors to marry Christian princesses or of Christians
to marry Moorish princesses. The Christian appears at a Moorish
tournament or vice versa. The hero and heroine fall in love but their
parents oppose obstacles to the match. To overcome the difficulties
in case of a Moor and Christian princess was comparatively easy. A
war opportunely breaks out in which, after prodigies of valor, the
Moor is converted and baptized, and the wedding follows. The case
is not so easy when a Christian prince loves a Moorish lady. Since
he can never forsake his religion his tribulations are many. He is
imprisoned, and his princess aids in his attempt to escape, which
sometimes costs him his life; or if the scene is laid in war time
either the princess is converted and escapes to the Christian army,
or the prince dies a tragic death. The hero is usually provided with
a Christ, or other image or relic, given him by his dying mother,
which extricates him from his many plights. He meets lions and bears,
and highwaymen attack him; but from all he escapes by a miracle. If,
however, some principal personage is not taken off by a tragic end,
the Indians find the play insipid. During the intermission one or
two clowns come out and raise a laugh by jests that are frigid enough
"to freeze hot water in the tropics." After the play is over a clown
appears again and criticizes the play and makes satirical comments on
the village officials. These plays usually lasted three days. [137]
Le Gentil attended one of them and says that he does not believe any
one in the world was ever so bored as he was. [138] Yet the Indians
were passionately fond of these performances. [139]

If one may judge from Retana's catalogue of his Philippine collection
arranged in chronological order, the sketch we have given of the
literature accessible to Filipinos who could not read Spanish in