The Sun.
London, England, 1831-12-27 00:00:00

CO VENT- GARDEN.

After the performance of Tobin's best comedy, the " Honey-
moon," which was the tirst play, we believe, that developed the
sterling comic abilities of Elliston, whose Duke Aranza was a
finished performance not easily to be forgotten, a new grand
pantomime, entitled " Hop-o-my-Thumb and his brothers, or
Harlequin and the Ogre," was produced at this theatre. The
following is the outline of the plot, which we have " from au_
thority," to use a sounding official phrase :—" At a very early
period of Welsh history lived Llewelyn Bala, whose palace
stood on Llyn Tegid, or the Fair Lake, in the neighbourhood
of Cader Idris. Llewelyn is about to be united to the dark_
eyed maid of Snowdon, called the pride of Snowdon, the Lady
Evelina. Preparations were made in the halls of Llys
Bala, the Palace of Bala ; minstrels, bards, vassals, were
assembled to welcome their future lady ; a messenger
arrives, pale and breathless, and announces the seizure
of the lady, and the dispersion of her attendants, by the
famous freebooter, Madoc Mawr, of the Tower of Brass, an ogre
who preyed on young human flesh. Llewelyn sets out to the
rescue of the betrothed, but by the agents of the Ogre he
is withdrawn from his followers in the midst of a fearful
storm, and led in the most remote part of the Enchanted
Forest, and eventually made prisoner also to the Ogre. Old
Thumb (a poor faggot-maker), by poverty compelled, resolves,
when next he goes to the forest, to lead his seven boys by an un-
frequented path, and leave them to their fate. But Jack, the
youngest, called Hop o 'my Thumb, overheard his father's plan,
and being endowed with unusualquickness of thought,endeavours
to frustrate his parent's project, but, by ill-luck, he is prevented;
they are also enticed into the Ogre's power, and are exposed to
imminent peril. The protecting guardian of Little Jack, the
Genius of the Harp, after various difficulties, empowers him
to overcome all opposition—and, finally, not only to save him-
self and his brothers, but also to release Llewelyn and Evelina.
Jack returns good for the evil doings of his father, who by his
means becomes wealthy ; I.lewelyn and Evelina arc metamor-
phosed by the Genius of the Harp, into Harlequin and Colum-
bine, the Cook and Porter to Pantaloon and Clown ; and Hugo,
Llewelyn's Squire, to Lacqueypatch, Harlequin's servant,
and then commences the business of the Harlequinade."
The scenery of this performance is uniformly good ; some por.
tions of it are capital, particularly Mr. Grieve's local cosmo-
rama, which displayed the opening of the new London Bridge,
and the launch of the Thunderer at Woolwich, in a very effec-
tive manner. The tricks also deserve praise; they are nume-
rous, and for the most part ingenious, though we cannot go the
extreme length of complimenting them on the score of novelty.
There were two or three smart hits at the prevalent follies of
the day; one especially at that absurd humbug, "the Unknown
Tongues," took most happily with the audience. Ellar, as
Harlequin, Barnes, as Pantaloon, Paulo, as Clown, and Miss
Davis, as Columbine, went through their usual parts with great
address and agility. The pantomime was highly successful,
and announced for repetition till further notice.