The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-27 00:00:00

BURLINGTON GALLERY.

The performing fish was honoured with a large company
yesterday, and played his tamberine and obeyed the voice
of his keeper with all his usual cheerfulness. The exhibi-
tion is a peculiar one, and doubtless will continue attractive
throughout the holidays,

MADAME lUSSAUD'S.
In is now nearly half a century since Madame Tussaud
first opened her exhibition of waxworks in London, and
from lhat time to this it has never wanted in popularity—a
fact which is owing to the tact with which every leading
personage of the day, as well as all its notorioties, has been
at the eadipnt Uppnrtenity prt,gpritpil to the rublie. Th.
Hall of Kings continues most gorgeous in splendour ; and
it is really wonderful how the freshness alike of the'fig,ures
and the dresses is kept up, it appearing as though the pro-
prietors possessed some magic talisman by which to over-
come the ravages of time and the influences of the atmos-
phere. Boxing-day has always produced a numerous audi-
ence, in which the juvenile element largely predominates,
at this exhibition, and yesterday was no exception to the
rule—Baker-street being attractive alike to young and old.

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.
Though by no means the best season for these gardens, a
fine Christmas, such as we are now enjoying—albeit, some-
what dull—is sure to bring numerous visitors to admire the
wonderful works of animated nature which they contain—
alike of beasts that roam their native wilds, lords of all they
survey; fishes of the deep; birds that wars in the highest
heavens; reptiles that crawl on the earth, each after its
kind ; and no exhibition that we know of is more instruc-
tive or better adapted for boys or girls from school than these
gardens, where they can see the living illustrations of those
animal of which they have been reading both in sacred writ
and modern history during the last half :tear—and relative
to which many have received as prize books which they will
mentally devour more eagerly after a visit to the Zoologi-
cal.

GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION.
Mr and Mrs German Reed, with Mr John Parry, gave
two representations yesterday of their inimitable perform-
ances. The " Rival Composers," with the Sisters Pry, did
not fail to excite the usual amount of applause and laughter,
which, if anything, was rather more hearty than g nerally
indulged in at this fashionable place of resort, whilst the
Bard and his Birthday was as interesting as ever. We need
only say that Mr John Parry brought the entertainment to
a happy conclusion with " Mrs Roscleaf at tho Seaside."

POLYGRAPIIIC HALL.
This pretty little hall in King William-street is now in
possession-of th 4 C. C. C. Christy Minstrels, as merry, and
moreover as musical, a troop of "darkies" as any who have
visited the metropolis, from the days of Jim Crow, who
"turned about and wheeled about," to the present time;
and judging from the numerous audiences (for there wore
two performances) yesterday, "nigger" amusements have
not yet lost nor are they likely for some time to come to
lose their popularity.

THE PIGMIES.
Those popular little performers, Commodore Nutt and
Miss Minnie Warren, held three levees at St. James's
Hall yesterday—at eleven, three, and eight o'clock—and it
would be difficult to say which wore the most pleased with
the performances, the visitors or the actors, for the Com-
modoro and Miss Minnie dance, sing, and act with a spirit
as if they were only amusing themselves, and not contri-
buting to the gratification of the public.

THE DAVENPORTS,
The Davenport Brothers gave another of their peculiar
seances at the Hanover-square Rooms last evening, when
the usual performances with which the public are now so
familiar were gone through, exciting alike the wonder and
admiration of the audience,

GALLANT LIFEBOAT SERVICES.—I have to report
(writes Mr James Riches, of Palling, Norfolk) the
following gallant services of the lifeboat stationed at this
place belonging to the National Institution. About twelve
o'clock on the night of the 22d inst. a vessel came on shore
on Palling beach. It was blowing a gale of wind from the
N.E. at the time, with a very heavy sea on. The crew of
the lifeboat were at once mustered, and with great difficulty,
after having had to launch the lifeboat three times, they
succeeded in reaching the wreck and in taking off the ship-
wrecked crew, six in number. When brought on shore
they were in a very exhausted condition. The vessel proved
to be the schooner Idds, of Danzig, bound from that port to
Dunkirk with seed. The cost of this lifeboat and her car-
riage, together with a sum to provide for her future main-
tenance, amounting in all to the sum of £2,000, was muni-
ficently presented to the National Lifeboat Institution by
the firm of Cams and Co., Parsee merchants, of Bombay,
in acknowledgment of their success in business since their
establishment in London in 1835, and in testimany of the
uniform kindness and courtesy which they had received
from the inhabitants of the British metropolis. The in-
atitution accordingly named the boat the Parsee, to perpeb
tuate the generous act of the donors.
EALING STEEPLECHA SES.—A placard was posted
early yesterday morning at Paddington, and all the stations
on the Metropolitan Railways, announcing that, in conse-
quence of the frost, Elting Steeplechases were postponed
until further notice, and that the special trains advertised
to run to and from Ealing were alto countermanded,