The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-27 00:00:00

ADF.I.I'HI.

The contribution to the stock of Christmas amuse-
ments given by this favourite theatre consisted of The Forest
Rose, My Precious Betsy, and The Lilts Red Biding Mod,
the last being the Christmas offering. Silsbee's humourous
delineation of Yankee peciLiarities in the first, and Messrs.
Wright and Bedford's no less amusing representation of
homo scenes in the second piece, would have disposed the
audience to a rod humoureil reception of the new Christ-
mas talc, had it required any extraneous aid, which was not
at all the ease. No doubt many a Christmas novel'y has ex-
hibited a greater variety of brilliant scenery, better sea-
soned wit, and more spirituel dialogue; but if there is not
a great deal in Lillie Red Biding Rood to be in rap-
tures about, there is scarcely an thing to call for censure.
The Little lied Riding flood of the Adelphi has little in
common with the nursery tale of that name, being a bur-
lesque of Ludwig Tieck's tragic version of the story, by
Mr. Tom Taylor. The plot is a very intricate one. A cer-
tain Wolfram, surnamed the Wolf of Biberich (%tr. Paul
Bedford), is the owner of a stronghold on the banks of the
Rhine, of which the rightful heir, Otto von Rosen (Miss
Woolgar), has been dispossessed by the combi nest villany of the
Wolf and his seneschal, Orimbold (Mr. O. Honey), aidcd not
a little by the machinations of Aldebaran (Mr. 0. Smith),
who is in fact the " old gentleman " with an alias. Into
this stronghold all travellers " up the Rhino " who are sus-
' petted of having more spare cash titan a Virgil's way-
farce, arc decoyed, and amnngst others a party of nuns,
one of whom happens to be Kindheart (Miss E. Harding),
the sweetest and pretticat of Uudines, and Otto von Rosen,
1 whom she had saved from a watery grave. An instan-
taneous affection sprinvs up between Otto and the
daughter of the Seneschal, Little Red Riding Hood (Mies
Kathleen Fitzwilliam). The kind water nymph takes
Red Riding Hood beneath the waters of the tibiae, and
introduces her to her "submarine pavilion," a scene full of
blue and gauzy beauty. Hither Otto follows, and obtains
a charm by which he discovers the s.:cret of his birth and
the injustice of which be has been the victim. He resolves
to act, and the occasion of a " brilliant archery meeting,"
another spirited see " near the Castle of Biberiek, is so
lected. I he surrounding peasantry are assembled, and
Otto addresses them with so much elmoienee on " St. Alban's
bribery," and on "liberty, fraternity,and equality," that their
allegiance is quite transferred from Wolfram to himself;
and when the former appears the archers are reedy to shoot
at him. This, however, Otto prohibits, but nevertheless he
eff:cts his coup d'etat, is installed in the Tuilleries of
Biberich, marries Red Riding Hood, and imprisons Wolf-
ram. The potent spells of Aldebaran, however, set the
old baron free, who disguises himself in the habit of a
monk and takes to the woods, and from this point the
plat takes a new starting. It is falsely suggested
to the new lord that Wolfram bag been liberated by his

type
father-in-law, ar.d a domestic feud of the very.worst
type ensues thereupon; for not only is Grimbold impri-
soned, but little Ited Riding Hood end her grand-
mother (Sim Woolridge) ore lath capelltd the castle. The
old lady islets up her residencecottage near a wood,"
and as Ited Riding 110-s1 is c,nveyingl some sandwiches
and stout, she is met by the " wolf " in moules
clothing, end tells him whither she is going.
The rest may be readily guessed. The Wolf an-
ticipates Red Riding Hood in arriving at the cottage ;
he " pulls the bobbin, ' the latch goes up, the old grand-
mother get, a dace of chloroform, and when the reel Red
Biding Hood comes, she is of course going to he
ha""de-
voured by We suppositious grandmother, butply
Otto haring teemed the real state of the ease, comes in
time to the rescue, and the piece ends happily in a " blare
of triumph." The acting wee well sustained throughout
Miss Windsor made the most spirited of pretenders, and
she touched her moustache with all the grace and non-
chalance of a ynung guardsmen. Miss Fitswilliam made
the swecttst and most melodious of Red Riding Hoods,
snd we need only my that Mr Paul Bedford "did " the
wolf. The piece was well received by s numerous audience.

TILE OLYMPIC.
The entertainments at this. theatre consisted of
nolcroft's comedy of the Rood to Ruin, followed by a
pantomime, entitled Ertl nufits; or Ilarkpun Fact. Fir-
tioos,an4 taney. It opens with the appearance of certain
q•cer looking personages, named Ignite Estee., Obvcurity,
Mystilieution. Doubt, Gloom, and linaginatina, pondering
sa the Nand of Great Itumance over various story books
to find a subject to please their mistrees on
her return from earth. Ancient Memory. in tbe
form of en old woman. suddenly appears from below
sad after consultetion with her sprite., Fact and Fiction,
she resolves to call on Fact to aid her in the diction; these
form a pantomime of fact, founded on fiction. A leaf of
history is chosen, very much red, bringing on the subject
et Red Rufus, William Rufu,'. distinctive .appellation. lted
Motu.; fall. in love with Alice, • maiden to whom Sir
Walter Tyrell has already devoted hie heart. Sir Walter
Muss that Rotas intend, carrying off Alice after the cur-
few bells have been rung, and he meets the King
Ia • woad, where he shoots him in the eye with
• silver arrow, which bad been presented to him by
• fairy; and be is rejoicing over having slain him
when the Fairy transforms the King into Harlequin, and
then the tun begins. The hits were some of them exceed-
ingly good. Holloway's pill and ointment warehouse, and
Mats and Son's clothing shops, the Exhibition, and
Blonmerem were all brought tato rcqui,ition. Mr. Edwin
Edward., who appeared for the first time on the stage,
made an eseehent clown, and two doge which he introduced
performed a number of tricks which excited the intonieb-
/tient of the audience. For a first night the pantomime
worked smootely, and it woe wcU received by a pretty foil
house.

ruNcirs PLAY-HOUSE AND NEW STRAND

THEATRE.

The entertainments at this theatre were ushered
in by a new comedy, from the pen of Mr. Robert B.
Brough, entitled the Twelve Labours of I lereuka. The
pieta 1,13.1 well reel lord ; and at the close the author wits
loudly called for. The comedy was followed by the farce of
fin-eV-4st for Two, in whieh Rogers, as Augustus Walker,
kept the audience in a roat of laughter. But the piece of
the csenin; was the extravaganza adapted by Mr. E. Stir-
ling, unit r the title of a Small Piece of i'late, bracing the
inscription of the Mani rein's Daughter, being the story of
the Willow Pattern Plate. The piece is one worthy the
season, no pantomime could have kept an audience in better
humour. Some of the allusions to passing clients were of
the moat piquant .h'criptiou, and the east of character.
most elfeient. At the aloe the author was called for, wln
acknowledged the call from the orchestra but. The even-
ing's w otertainment concluded with the farce of the
Btoomer etWunte.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN,

Dv.. 26.

Christmas-day was observed this year in Dublin
with prescriptive strictness, and with an obvious im-
provement in the social conditiou of the people, as
compar,d with the last few years. 'fhe various
places of worship were thronged; the public tho-
roughfores were crowded, notwithstanding a most
unpropitious must; the Lord Mayor was more liberal
in the distribution of his gifts to the various chari-
table institutions than has been customary for some
years, no religious distinction interfering with this
seasonable benevolence; and all seemed to enjoy the
holiday most cordially. According to los-al custom,
none of the Irish newspapers, the publication of
which fell on yesterday, made their appearance that
flu' Nationality," which has waged war against
the English secretary of the " Defenders," appears
to be contagious, and bus bitten some politicians of
another school. Captain Walker, agent to the
Ormsby Gore estates in the county of Longford, has
addi mired a letter to the acting secretary of the Royal
Irish Agricultural Society, in which he states that he
withdraws the annual subscription of Mr. Ormsby
Gore, on the ground that the council of the society
had " rejected the claims of eligible candidates
(Irishmen), fur the situation of secretary to an Irish
society, to adopt the claims of a Seotchman ;" and he
adds, " Mr. Ormsby Gore, though residing in Eng-
lund, is an Irishman, and I am convinced sufficiently
Irish in heart to approve of my withdrawing hts
subscription under the circumstances."