The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-28 00:00:00

shaving scene between the valet and his master,
carried through with great fun and spirit. Then
comes a mock-heroic procession of the champions,
on sham horeback, round the stage ; the dresses
very rich and well arranged. Here, again Kicka-
raboo, mounted like Sancho Panza on an obstre-
perous asinine quadruped, makes great play. The
third scene opens with the " banks of the Nile," a
beautifully-painted moonlit landscape, crowded
with Egyptian symbols and architecture, and here
enters "the dragon," a gentleman in top boots and
striped jacket, with long curly teeth and tail of ap-
propriate magnitude. King Ritollollemy makes his
appearance in the " Nile" scene, with the usual
amount of attendants, and is supposed to be a " fero -
cious tyrant" with a lovely daughter, the Princess
Sabra (Miss Annie Collinson), who is to be betrothed
to a prince of Ethiopia, when the Dragon makes his
unexpected appearance, and carries her off in his
" dragon-fly." Before all this, however, occurs a
grand ballet, danced by alternate parties of Odales-
ques and Amazons on the banks of the Nile, and
this is certainly one of the most successful portions
of the pantomime. The dancing is unusually good,
the performers perhaps more than ordinarilya
wttriatch-
tive—certainly the costumes have been studied
historical and even antiquarian research—and the
dresses are particularly rich. On the whole, the
appointments attending thisfitghhit,rd,
bsceetnweeeanrethpeerhap
the leading feature, if we except the absurd, but
s:owr ymvaetrin, :
unquestionably effective ~
dra-
gon and St. George, which comes off in the last
scene, and is
followed by
lt
rhaeelrdsawalking gentleman
usualcal l
tra an on
TinhetoDpfbaogootns,
igbuntowwhatno g
h o
ne
with scaly legs, huge leathery wings,
nostrils which
breathe actual unmistakable fire, and a head which,
when assailed by St. George's fauichien, fires off
into successive squibs sad crackers, and nearly
sages the redoubtable champion. Meanwhile,
the Princess, pending the combat, stands in
the rear, chained to a stake in a dark
cavern, her figure lighted with great effect from
the side, end, in the end, of course, gives her hand
to the victorious St. George. Toe transferals tion
scene abounds as usual in splendours, architectural
and luminous, the centre being occupied by a large
group of St. George and the Dragon. Hero Mr.
1 Grieve was vociferously called for, and made his
appearance amid the plaudits of the house. The
pantomime that followed was of the usual rough-
and-tumble character, with many old and some new
and cleverly managed pieces of " comic business,
especially a photographic artist's studio, a scene in
a French market-place, and some others, The co-
lumbine was played by Madlle Esther, a young
lady who made her first appearance, and danced
with much elegance. She might indeed with ad-
vantage have entered oftener, and taken a larger
share in the action. Mr. Frederick Payne, as Har-
lequin, was remarkable active and indefatigable;
Mr. Paul Herring played pantaloon ; and Mr. Harry
Payne the clown, and kept up the fun and laughter
of the audience till the end. They were accompa-
nied by the brothers Stonette, who as two sprites
in red and spangles astonished the assemblage by
their flexibility and activity. We have no doubt
that the pantomime will prove as successful as any
which has appeared under the present popular
management.