The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-19 00:00:00

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA.

The great holiday entertainment at this magni-
ficent theatre has the peculiar advantage of com-
prising all the attractions of opera, ballet, spectacle,
and extravaganza, and these will be combined in
the form of a splendidly-illustrated grand comic
Christmas pantomime, entitled " Aladdin and the
Wonderful Lamp ; or, Harlequin and the Flying
Palace." The author is Mr. E. L. Blanchard,
the scenery is by Mr. T. Grieve, so illustrious a
name in the artistic annals of the theatre ; the
characteristic music is by Mr. W. H. Montgomery;
the ballet has been designed and arranged by M.
Desplaccs ; and the whole of the stage arrange-
ments will owe their completeness to the well known
skill and constant supervision of Mr. 'William
West. This most popular story of the " Arabian
Nights " is now for the first time brought before
the public in strict accordance with the manners and
customs of the place and the period associated with
the famous tale, and no expenditure has been spared
in any department to ensure a brilliant realisation
of its magical wonders. The pantomime commences
with the abode of Abanazar, the African Magician,
represented by Mr. W. 11. Payne, who, to the hor-
ror of his dumb slave Kazrac (Mr. F. Payne), re-
ceives a visit from the terrible Bo Ghee, chief of
the Efreets, or Spirits of Darkness, in response to
the invocation necessary to learn where the Won-
derful Lamp is to be found, and the means by which
it is to be secured. An elaborate scene, representing
a street in Canton at early morning, with the
opening of the shops, and the peculiar business car-
ried on by the Chinese tradesmen, will be found
highly characteristic. Here the Magician, disguised
as the uncle of Aladdin (Miss Rachel Singer), lures
the youth away from his mother, the Widow Ching-
Ching (Mr. Charles Steyne), and here the arrival
of the Princess Badroulbadour (Miss Blanche
Elliston) and her attendants gives occasion for
a grand incidental ballet. To the Cedar valley,
in the Blue mountains, the Magician brings
Aladdin, and there employs him in the mystic
incantation which reveals the opening to the
cavern. Descending to the subterranean Garden
of Jewels, where the Wonderful Lamp is seen
burning, Aladdin passes through a series of
remarkable adventures, and finds the fate to which
the Magician doomed him not so disagreeable as
he at first imagined. With the aid of the Genius
of the Ring (Miss Dacre) and the Fairy of the
Diamond (Miss Weber), Aladdin makes his escape
and returns to the house of his mother, where the
Genius of the Lamp speedily exhibits the marvellous
powers of the talisman. Application is made to the
grand Cham (Mr. R. H. Lingham) for the hand of
his daughter, the Princess Badroulbadour ; and the
splendid palace is built in compliance with the con-
ditions exacted. Of course Magician,in the guise of a
Pedlar, persuades the Princess to part with the old
lamp for a new one, and borne on the broad wings
of the Genii of the Lamp the Flying Palace con-
veys away Abanazar and the Princess. Ultimately
Aladdin recovers the beautiful Badroulbadour. Bo
Ghee appears to punish the magician, and the re-
wards are distributed in the effulgent beams of the
" Wondrous Lamp of Day," designed and manu-
factured by Mr. T. Grieve, who thus supplies a
transformation scene, which it is reasonably
expected ' will become the object of enthu-
siastic admiration with all those who
can appreciate a poetical conception, most
elaborately executed in detail, and showing a gor-
geous profusion of decorative accessories regulated
regulated by the most refined taste. The Harle-
quinade, with Mr. Harry Payne as Clown, Mr. Fred
Payne as Harlequin, Madlle. Esther as Columbine,
and the veteran Paul Herring as Pantaloon, will
abound with humouros touches on passing topics,
and ingenious mechanical changes. There will be
morning performances of the pantomime, presenting
this lavishly illustrated edition of Aladdin every
Wednesday and Saturday.

Railway and other Companies•

BASINGSTOKE CANAL.

A special meeting of this company was held yes-
terday at the Gray's-inn Hotel, Holborn ; Mr.
Davey in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN said the meeting had been con-
vened for the purpose of discussing the present posi-
tion of the affairs of the company. He regretted to
inform the bondholders, who were the principal per-
sons concerned, that the receipts were not equal to
the expenditure, and there was but little prospect of
increasing the traffic. In consequence of the facili-
ties afforded by the railway companies for the car-
riage of coals, it was impossible to anticipate any
improvement in the business of the company. Their
land, which was contiguous to Aldershott Camp,
was left in a sandy state owing to the evolutions of
the troops, and the action of the wind and rain col-
lected a deposit in the canal which was not only an
impediment, but would be a complete stoppage un-
til it was removed. They had cleared the canal at
their own expense, and had received some assist-
ance from the Government, but latterly they had
been refused further co-operation from the Govern-
ment, and they were now left powerless to work the
canal or to remove obstructions from the want of
funds.

Mr. LAMB (solicitor of the company) said an
eminent engineer had given it as his opinion that
the canal would be an excellent source of water
supply to the camp at Aldershott. He had written
to the War-office on the subject, but had not as yet
received a reply.
Captain JESSE said he had spoken to Mr. Woods,
an eminent railway engineer, as to the converti-
bility of the canal into a railway, but he expressed
himself against the project, inasmuch as the returns
would be in no relative proportion to the cost. Mr.
Woods was very much in favour of the conversion
of the undertaking into a water company, and said
he had no doubt the Government would be anxious
to contract for the supply of water to Aldershott
Camp—the supply of the commodity to that place
being of a very inferior description.
Mr. LAMB submitted a resolution proposing the
adoption of measures for the closing of the canal or
its conversion into property of a remunerative cha-
racter.

The resolution was unanimously crrried, it being
understood that any proposal coming from the Go-
vernment or any other source would meet with due
consideration.