Star.
London, England, 1823-12-27 00:00:00

COVENT. G A R DEN.

This Theatre, as well as Drury-lane, commenced its
holiday performance, last night with Jane Shure. After
the Tragedy, accpr ding to custom, a new comic Panto-
mime, called. Harlequin and Me House that Jack Built,
was produced.
,It is a complete hit, rather contrary to,
expectation, without Mr. GRIMALDI ; but we hope,
nevertheless, that Mr.-Gammas secession is not to be
considered final. The opening of the Pantomime turns
upon a provision, real or supposed, in our Forest Laws,
that if a man build a house upon common land between
sun-set and sun-rise, and have a fire kindled, a chimney
smoking, a beast feeding, &c. within the time, such
_dwelling he shall hold free of all demand for rent : and
this feat Jack, Me Miller (Mr. ELLAR) proposes to ac-
complish for the love of Mrs. \TIDY. The serious intro-
duction displays some pretty scenery, but the" business"
of it is not highly effective. Jack is foiled in building
his cottage, and consequently runs some hazard of
losing his mistress. Squire Sap (Mr. Ducnow) ar-
rives upon. a shooting pony, and brings a plum-pud-
ding as a present to the father of the young Lady—
a temptation difficult to resist at this time of the gear.
The parish priest, for such a suitor, can do no less than
,put in his good word. Jack, without any ally but a fine
Newfoundland dog; unless we include cat (not alive)
which tattler a rat very much to the satisfaction of the
audience ; at length seeks assistance from the village
conjuror, Poor. Robin; and a Lady, flying down amid
a profusion of cloud and ciitharine-wheel, changes the
miller into Harlequin; Mr. Duceow into the Mock,
Lover; Mrs. VEDY into Columbine; and Mr. Gat-
MALDI, Jun. into the Clown. The comic business of
the pantomime then, commences, a great deal of which
is very adroit ; and the scenery surpasses even what. we
are accustomed to find at this Theatre. The skimming
of the moonshine over the lake, in the scene at. Pcor
Robin's cave, is an imitation of the effect produced in the
Diorama ; it is vastly inferior, as may be supposed, but
the attempt is ingenious. The Hyde-park-corner scene,
covered with snow ; the plug, fltc. drassin, with water
running,-is good; and in the change to St.James's-park,
with the Canal and fluckingham-house in the distance,
an exhibition is introduced of the newly-contrived skates
which were shewn souse time back at the Fives Come,
which run.uptin wheels, And consequently Amy be used
indifferently upon any smooth surface as well as upon ice.
The whole of this scene obtains very great applause. A
Dirge square of painted oil-cloth represents the surface
of the canal, upon which persons ate seen skating with
infinite dexterity. In the midst of the volt the ice
breaks, and the skaters and spectators find their way
into the water together, and the ceremony concludes by
Harlequins bringing up au aquatic giant, who giadu-
ally enlarge himself, from a stature of some five, feet
to the full !height of the Theatre. There are several
other points about the Pantomime, in which the comic
arrangement is ingenious.. A kitchen, seen down the
area from the outside of the house, in alrich the Clown,
After descending through the coal-hole.. pays his. ad-
dresses to the cook---.the ins We. of the same mansion,
with his amorous despair, and subsequent shouting him.
self in the looking-glass —teradendhall-mat kct at.
Christmas, produced at a. touch of
,the wand—aed the
,civic feast in Guildhall, were given with estraertlivary
celerity and splendour, and' broken. up.. by the *canal-
coming .of Go and Magog,. two, figures
.of twelee
feet high, contrived. upon the %ARA piipciple as
those shevin some years.hack )0. Harleqatix Gullicer.—.
Bat the granl effoit of the wholo-rece, which 'realli

a very Curious oite, Ascent of 'hi balloon from
Vatithall, and its journerto Paris. The back scene
descending as the ropes of the balloon are cot,•prodirees
entirely the sensation that the audience, as well as the
machine, are rising; and in this way a moping pano-
rama (in_bird's-eye view) is presented--1-first, of the city
of London, the river, and the:suburbs—next,
.of the line
of country bearing towards the coast—then the sea. vaith
the moon rising—paysage of the balloon through clouds,
r4in, &c. and last, its arriving over the coast of France,
hanging for a time above Paris, and 'descending in the
gardens(ilhsminated) of the Tuilleries. The whole etting
ep.of this scene—which, takes up several minutes in es-
hibition—Joes the highest credit to the invention and
liberality of the House; and there can be no.doubt that
the pantomime, generally, will bring money. A. It
is the best dancing Harlequin upon the stage ; and Mr.
DUCROW is comical as the Lover. Mrs. VEDY, though
not a first-rate dancer, has a bold shewy figure, which
goes some way towards a Columbine: young GRIMALDI
is. better than we.inticipated. He is not like his father ;
for GRIMALDI, pere, has the soul of a comic actor.
Apart from all twisting and tumbling, there was so
much intelligence aboqt everything he did: it was as
good as the performance land not unlike it) of ELLIS-,
TON, or Luron. So demure, such an absence of effort,
such an evident entering always into the joke I if he
only drew a cork, it was a commentary uponthe face of!
some one of our acquaintance—if he took physic, the
moment he poured it out, we...were sure it was salts—if
'he took up a red-hot poker to anybody,- we never could
interfere, though it had Seen to save our own father—
and ,wltin he stole apples, we really doubted whether
common honesty was not a kind of prejudice. Without
being equal to his father just yet, Mr. GRIMALDI, jun.,
however, spews a great. deal of cleverness; and his at-
tempt may -be considered as decidedly a successful one.
He has great activity, and some humour. Tolerably
light off:finger, and uncommonly light of foot; and is
'as good a cloth as.any now upon the stage ; and if he
takes pains, n4-avoids breaking his neck,,we see no rea-
son why he'should not be as great a man as his father.