The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-28 00:00:00

PRINCESS'S.

The pantomime at this theatre was preceded by Boyle
Bernard's elegant little drama of Blanche de VansY (in
which Mrs. Stirling sustained the part of Blanche with
her usual grace and tenderness) and Mr. G. 11. Rod-
well's highly successful opera of The Seven Maids of
Munich, in which Mr. Allen (as Frederic) and Mr. L•ff-
ler (as Bellejambe) were, as usual, loudly applauded,
and occasionally encored. The pantomime itself wa;
one of great splendour, produced, as the play-bill in-
forms us, " under the superintendence of Mr. Emden,"
and entitled The Enchanted Beauties of the Golden Cas-
tle; or, Harlequin and the One-eyed Genii. The over-
ture (" from the joint compositions of all the celebrated
composers") introduced most of the airs of the Ethiopian
Serenaders, commencing with " Lucy Neal," and con-
cluding with an imitation of the " Railroad Overture,"
and was a rich treat to the god's, who did not fail to
join in, with more mirth than good order. The plot of
the piece is very simple, Goggle (Mr. S. Smith) " a
shortsighted one eyed genii, moving his own orbit and
singularly looking to his own interest, whose cast has
not yet been taken by any eye authority," has in his
power 100 maidens who by enchantment are kept in deep
sleep, in a certain golden castle, Inaccessible to mortals
unaided by supernatural power. The spell by which
the 100 beauties are bound, can only be broken by the
liberation of one of them, the Princess Joan, and this
lady is therefore guarded with extra care. Any Prince,
who can gain admission to the castle., is at liberty to
enter the chamber in which the Princess is confined, but
on turning the fatal key, the too adventurous intruder
pays forfeit by the loss of his eye, and of his liberty, fur
on failing to effect the escape of the Princess, he becomes
the slave of Goggle. At the opening of the piece, ten
Princes rejoicing in such names as Queersight, Squinny,
lialfcast, and Spec, are in the p twer of Goggle, having
had the hardyhood to turn the key, and having paid the
forfeit of their temerity. The ten captives arc
interrupted in the middle of a doleful lament
by the arrival of Prince Hiram, Star-and-Stripes,
Frizzlewig, Sovereign of Batnboozle-'em, whose
territories lie in the fertile land of the back woods
of America (Mr. S. Cowell), who having heard of the
hundred enchanted maidens, is anxious to get an intro.
duction, with a view to " matrimonial alliance" with one
of them. The request is immediately granted by Goggle,
on a condition, essential in all agreements with gentle-

men of his order, namely, that Frizzlewig shall ulti-
mately become his property. The contract being made,
the Prince is carried off by a gigantic bird, who is to set
him down at the toot of the hill on which the castle is
placed. Hirano objects to hi 3 plan, l ut, if er some con-
sideration, he assents. Ai the same time, however,
Prince Pop—nephew of his uncle, taking on principle
an excessive interest in the fate of Princess Joan (Mr.
P•'.ogna)—has t eea commissioned by Dalits (Miss So-
mers),, the " Fairy of the Basaltic Rock," to go to the
castle under the guidance of her attendant sprite, Rain
bow (Mr. H. Marshall). for the purpose of liberating the
Princess. He is warned that whoever turns the key of
the Princess's chamber will lose his sight. and become
the slave of Goggle, without saving the Princess ; but
whoever has the courage to open the door after another,
has turned the key, will succeed in his object. Hiram
having been introduced to the " Hall of 100 doors," and
having " payed .his attentions" to the enchanted beauty,
insists on being introduced to the 100th maiden, for he
perceives that there are but 99, and notwithstanding the
warning that he will lose his sight, he says that " Goggle
sha'nt keep the nret!iest gal for himself," and add., "If
I die a pantile, I'll live a brick." He is conducted to

the lOaih chamber, turns the key, and, of course, loses
his eye. Not having the courage to go on after tbis, he
hangs back, but Prince Pop, who has watched him for
some time, now comes forward, throws open the door, and
enters. The Princess awakes from her trance (the spell
being broken), and the Fairy, Dahlia and Goggle make
their appearance. The latter, disappointed as he is, has
some consolation in the fact that he has gained a new
slave in the person of Prince Hiram. The characters
are then transformed by Dahlia, Prince Pop to Harle.
quin (Mr. Bologna), the Princess Joan to Columbine
(Miss Burbige) Prkce Hiram to Clown (Mr. Flex-
more), and Dame Pimple Kongue (housekeeper of the
Golden Castle and locker•up of the enchanted beauties),
to Pantaloon (Mr. Paulo). The "comic'' portion of the
piece is made up for the most part of the thumping,
kicking, and shouting of clown and pantaloon, with a
slight sprinkling of tricks and transformations, which,
however, are all good. A severe cut is given
to Mr. Hervey Leech, and his late attempt
to "gull" the public, in the character of the " Wild Man
of the Prairies." A -chest, marked " Harvey's Sauce,
from California," is placed in front of an oilman's shop,
and from it, a monster apparelled after the " What-is-
it ?" fashion, appears, and, after cutting a few gro-
tesque capers, leaps through the window of an oyster-
shop, in which appears a label marked " Gone to take in
the Natives." Mr. S. Cowells, acting in the character
of Prince Hiram, deserves the highest praise. It is in
the highest degree comic and transatlantic. He sang a
new song " Tarnation Strange," introducing a budget of
Jonathanisms (amongst others that of " the Nigger who
was so black that charcoal made a white mark on him),

with great effect, and was vehemently encored. The
other gentlemen also acquitted themselves " excellent
well," but truth, as well as gallantry, compels us to say,
that the success of the pantomime depended mainly on
the efforts of the ladies of the corps de ballet.