The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-28 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S.

The holiday performances, opened with Moore's not
very lively tragedy of The Gamester, sustained—as it
has been before sustained at this theatre—by Mr.
Cooper, Mr. Ryder, Mr. Conway,, Miss E. Montaue
and Miss Susan Cushman. The tragedy was care-
fully
patience
performed,hy the di
end—strange
m traajor,
ngee. andtosay, was listened to
with the
pittites, both
of whom mustered in considerable force.

The pantomime rejoiced in the name of Old Father
Time; or, Harlequin and the Four Seasons. The in
troductory portion is from. the pen of Mr. Rodwell,
anrdisnsug's ffic
beautiful e:tilTal scenery,mus
and
aided
as it is by Mr.
Bunin Mr. Loder's music.

The hours prove rather unruly children, and threaten
to strike. Reflecting, however, that they can only
strike themselves they abandon the idea. The Four
Seasons then appear upon the scene, and each being
particularly anxious to save a fair maid from the
clutches of the Baron Von Miidenkiller, they quarrel
upon the subject; and Father Time, discovering that
the four seasons cannot exist together, wisely adopts
the separate system, divides the year into quarters, and
gives one to each of the seasons.
The allegorical scenery, representing the seasons,,
was extremely beautiful. That alone, where summer
sinking into the lap of autumn—
" Crowned with the sickle and the wheaten sheaf,"
and where

"Autumn, nodding o'er the yellow plain, comes jovial
on,"

is sufficient to ensure the success of the pantomime.
It represents a vineyard on the Rhine, and affords
an opportunity for a pretty characteristic dance
by the vine-dressers. Protected, however, as the
maiden and her lover, Philip, are by the seasons
each in turn, she is still persecuted by the
Baron Von Maidenkiller and the Jolly Miller, her
father. Things, indeed, seem going ill with the
young couple when the change takes place, Jeanette
(Miss Fawcett) becoming a very charming Colum-
bine, Philip (Mr. Bologna) Harlequin, the Baron
(Mr. Paulo) Pantaloon, and the Jolly Miller (Mr.
Flexmore) Clown. A Sprite, also, as seems to be the
custom now—a custom, though, as we think, " more
honoured in the breach than the observance"—(M.
Sylvain) makes his appearance, and aids in the disas-
trous chances and hair-breadth 'stapes that follow. It
is impossible to follow this merry and eccentric
quintette through all their evolutions. The tricks
were like those of other pantomimes,, which we have
often described before. They were neither remark-
able for their ingenuity nor their novelty, but they
worked well ; there was no breaking down of the
machinery, and they seemed to give hearty satisfac-
tion, at all events to the juvenile portion of the
audience. On the whole, though not particularly
striking, the pantomime may be termed successful.
It has evidently been produced at great expense, and
we trust that crowded houses, such as that of last
night, may secure to the manager a fair return for
his exertions.

SADLER'S WELLS.
This theatre came in for a full share of the public
patronage, always so liberally bestowed on "Boxing
night." Pit, boxes, and gallery were alike thronged
with a close•wedged mass of steaming humanity.
Even the passages afforded no diminution of the
pressure, but were filled with the good holiday folk,
who might be seen enjoying themselves in the broiling
crowd, lucky, if with straining necks they could
occasionally catch a glimpse of any fragment of the
stage along which a portion of party-coloured dress
gleam at intervals, and yet ever ready to join in the
loud laugh which rose, they knew not why, at in-
tervals from the interior of the house. Every face
glowed like a veritable " Yule -log ;" and yet it
might be from a praiseworthy desire to support the
national character, all seemed imbued with a dogged
resolution to "call their suffering pleasure," and to
maintain their places till the fall of the curtain.
Southern's tragedy, Isabella; or, the Fatal Marriage,
passed off as a part of the pantomime, the audience
having kindly united to do the talking, and the perform-
ers being enabled to get through their parts with only
an occasional trespass on their lungs. The legitimate
pautiknitne followed. It is, as usual, from the pen of
Mi. Greenwood, and is called Harlequin and Little
Great Britain; or, Jack and the Bean Stalk and the
Ogre's Golden Hen. The opening scene is the Hall
of Hazard in the Palace of Speculation, where John
Bull is seen surrounded by a legion of blue devils,
with a distant view of " the great globe itself," the
theatre of his recent projects. Unable to endure the
torments of his mind, he summonses a witenagemote,
or meeting of sages, who suggest various remedies,
all of which he refuses to try, and finally Little Great
Britain comes out of the globe, encourages him to
return to honest industry, and changes the scene to
an interesting prospect of commercial and agricultu-
ral prosperity. Before dismissing him she resolves to
give him his usual Christmas entertainments, and, by
the aid of Fancy, introduces the second part of the
piece, in which we are presented with the adventures
of our old favourite Jack, in his ascent of the bean-
stalk. After Jack's return to the earth the usual
transformations take place. The comic part con-
tained some rather good political hits, and the entire
passed off with considerable success. The scenery,
executed by Messrs. Fenton and Finlay, was very
beautiful.