The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-23 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL, LYCEUM.

The subject of the Christmas entertainment at
this theatre has been selected, by Mr. T. Talfourd,
from the popular German tales of the Brothers
Grimm, and is entitled King Thrushbeard, the
Little Pet and the Great Passion ; or, Harlequin
Haft:, and the Fairy Good Humour." The fol-
lowing is an outline of the plot :—The Princess
Imperiosa, only daughter of King Pater-familias, is
as fair as the day, but as proud as Lucifer, and of
• most ungovernable temper. Her extreme beauty
has tempted many Princes to ask her hand in mar-
riage, and her father, delighted at the chanc3 of
ridding himself of a child who makes his life a
misery, appoints a day for the suitors to attend
and urge their pretensions. The day arrives, and
the suitors arrive, but the princess indignantly re-
jects them all, and treats them so insultingly that
they leave the palace in disgust. The king, tired
of yielding to her caprices, and driven to despera-
tion by the thought of her remaining always on
his hands, at length " plucks up a spirit," and vows
that she shall marry the first beggar who presents
himself. A beggar minstrel passing at the moment,
the king insists upon Imperiosa marrying him, and
the ceremony is supposed to take place immedi-
ately. The beggar takes his wife on the "wedding
tour," and they arrive at length at his wretched
home. At first she indulges in her usual haughty.
behaviour ; but charmed and subdued by her hus-
band's good humour and affection—treatment to
which she had hitherto been unaccustomed—she
begins to entertain towards him a respectful attach-
ment, which speedily ripens into love ; her cure is
complete, and the Shrew is tamed. The story of this
extraordinary marriage having reached the ears of
the king of the country where the supposed beggar
and his wife live, his curiosity is excited, and he
commands them to appear at court. We are now
introduced to the palace, where, the wife being
separated by accident from her husband, is ushered
into the presence of the king, in whom she at once
recognises one of the princes whom she had so in-
sultingly rejected. The king feigns to believe that
the Princess Imperiosa appears before him seeking
a divorce, and grants her supposed suit, This elicits
from her a confession of the happy change which
has taken place in her disposition. Hafiz, delighted,
throws off the beard he has worn (which, from its
being shaped like a thrush's bill, had obtained for
him the soubriquet of Thrushbeard), and the princess
is rewarded by discovering that King Hafiz, the
Beggar Husband, and Thrushbeard are all ono and
the same person. A general reconciliation takes
place, and Imperiosa is reinstated in the brilliant
position she is now fitted to adorn.

_
It is believed the accessories of the chief scene
(designed and painted by Mr. Wm. Calcott) possess
an originality of invention, with completeness and
costliness of execution, surpassing anything of this
description hitherto presented on the boards of a
theatre.

The harlequinade is the joint production of Mr.
George Ellis and Mr. Cormack ; the principal cha-
raflters in which will be represented by the Messrs.
J. and H. Marshall, Mr. Naylor, and Miss Rosine.

TIIE FRENCH SQUADRON IN CHINA.—The French
squadron at present in the Chinese waters is composed of
the following vessels •--The Nemesis, bearing the admiral's
flag, 52 guns • ' Dido, 40 • ' Capricieuse, 32 ; Dordogne, 6 ;
Gironde, 6; Marne, 6 ; Meurthe, 6 ; Du' mace, 6 ; Saone, 6 ;
I)uchayla, :32 ; Catinat, 12 ; Phlegethon, 8 ; Primaugret,
8 ; Laplace, 8 ; Marceau, 6 ; Regent, ; Alarme, 4 ; Dra--
gonne, 4 ; Fusee, 4 ; Mitraille, Norzagaray, 2;. Lily, 2 ;
Rose, 2 ; I'ehio, 2. The Forbin, now on its way to China,
carries 8 guns.
SINGULAR ACCIDENT FROM THE FROST.—DUring,
the present week three of the cast iron columns which sup-
port a roadway, fronting warehouses, at the St. Katherine's
Docks, burst with a loud report, similar to a piece of ord-
nance, and fragments of metal Were found at a considerable
distance. On examination it was found that the columns
had become partially filled with water, which entered at the
top, and there being no outlet, the frost caused the explo-
sion as described. Since the occurrence the whole of the
cast iron columns, which are in fact the support of a large
range of buildings, have been perforated at the bottom, in
order to allow egress for water.