The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-20 00:00:00

shilling days would not pay on Saturday. The
poultry show this year had yielded a larger return
than any other previous ones. The profit on the
refreshment rooms was at the rate of 10 per cent.
per annum. The commission on the sale of p'ctures
had been paid in lieu of salaries, and had been
found more economical. They had great up-hill
work with the picture gallery, and he rejoiced that
they had not sustained a loss. With respect to the
stables, they had pulled down a portion of them
and let the remainder for £l5O a-year, and the
tenant paid the ground rent. He believed that they
would yet be able to sell the ground upon which
the remaining portion of the stables stood to great
advantage. (Cheers.)
The report was then agreed to unanimously.
Mr. SOTHEBY moved—" That a sum equal to
£l5O a year for each director be set apart for the
remuneration of the board for the past year and for
the future, to be divided as the directors may deter-
mine."
Mr. COMPTON seconded the motion.
After some discussion an amendment was moved
fixing the amount to be divided among the directors
at £1.,000 a-year.
The amendment was, after a good deal of discus-
sion, carried.
Another amendment was afterwards carried, to
the effect that the amount for the directors' remu-
neration be £l,OOO per annum for the future.
The CHAIRMAN then announced that as there
had been so much difference of feeling .displayed on
this subject he and his colleagues had decided that
they would not accept the remuneration.
Captain YOUNG then moYed azesolatioh_ to the
effect that the Palace be closed on the Lord's Day.
Mr. ASTBURY seconded the motion.

Mr. REYNOLDS moved a long amendment, but it
was decided unanimously that matters should
remain as they were.
The CHAIRMAN said a poll had been demanded
on the subject of the directors' remuneration, and
he had no alternative but to grant it, and appoint
the scrutineers.

The result of the ballot was a majority of 9,909
votes in favour of the directors' remuneration being
£l,OOO a-year for the past year and for the future.

A vote of thanks to the Chairman concluded the
proceedings.

THEATRE ROYAL, RAY3IA.REET.

At this popular theatre, so famous for its elegant
Christmas pantomimes, which all who remember
its " Three Bears," "Little 80-Peep," " The Sleep-
ing Beauty," Valentine's Day," and many others,
must acknowledge to be the fact, the one this
year is founded on the old nursery rhyme—

" Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home;
Your house is on fire, your children alone!"

and is entitled—" Queen Ladybird and her Chil-
dren ; or, Harlequin and the House on Fire." The
scenery of the fairy story has been painted by Mr.
F. Fenton, who will this year produce some effects
of fire and water never yet attempted in any theatre;
the elaborate machinery by Mr. Oliver Wales, the
dresses by Mr. Barnett and Miss Cherry; while
the overture and appropriate music has been
composed and arranged by Mr. D. Spillane. The
harlequinade is by Mr. Dorrington, the scenes of
which have been painted by those excellent artists
of the establishment, MeEsrs. O'Connor and George
Morris. The story of the pantomime is this :
Once upon a time, when birds, and beasts, and
fishes, and even insects could talk—which was a
long time ago—there lived in a very green place a
certain monarch called Aphis, king of the green-
flies, who, with his people, committed great devas-
tation on the neighbouring rosebuds And trees, and
to this day his descendants may be seen feeding
in swarms upon a budding rose, and blighting the
beautiful young. flower. Well, this Aphis had a
great enemy in the queen of the ladybirds, who,
with her family, devoured the green-flies wherever
she could find them, whether in the honeysuckle,
the hop plant, or the rose tree, which service made
the fairies of these plants very grateful to the
queen, and they all became her friends. King
Aphis, finding that his subjects were daily eaten by
the ladybirds, proposed to the queen that he should
marry her eldest daughter, the Princess Threespots,
and so become friendly together. But the queen
would not listen to this, as she designed the Prince
of April to be the husband of the princess. This so
enraged Aphis that he called a council, when
they determined to assassinate the queen and
set fire to her house. One night, when the Queen
was stopping at the Palace of Prince April, set-
tling her daughter's marriage, the wicked King,
with the aid of some mercenary Fire-flies, set light
to the bower of the Queen, in which all her chil-
dren were left alone ; but it luckily happened, as
their mother was out, they were all sitting up,
playing and dancing, and having all sorts of diver-
sion, else every one would have been burnt. The
Queen, seeing the reflection of a fire from the
Prince's palace, and hearing fairy voices bidding
her " fly away home," set forth with all speed. On
arriving at her house, she found it burning, and
thinking her children had all fallen a prey to the
flames, nearly went mad ; but the Prince of April,
who was in the bower with the Princess at the time

of the conflagration, caused some heavy showers to
fall, which put out the fire, while the Queen's good
friends, the fairies, built her a new_ house, much

handsomer than the old one. Topunish King Aphis
the Fairy of the Rose changed him into Pantaloon,
and leis chief officer into Clown. The Prince of
April and the Princess Threespots beeame Harle-
quin and Columbine, by Nthich transformation their
constancy was to be tested before they could be
married. After many strange accidents, they were
united, and lived happily ever after. The panto-
mimists will be the unrivalled Leclercqs. Harle-
m quin, Arthur Leclercq ; Clown, Charles Leclercq ;
the Princess Threespots, Louise Leclercq ; while
Herr Cole will be Pantaloon, and Fanny Wright
Columbine.