Pantomime has taken on a new Yease of life for this Christmas, and London is staging several, not mention fairy and musical plays.
Pantomime is not dead. It never. was more alive and kicking,"
Mr. F. Melville, of the Lyceum, the ought to know, because there have been pantomimes at the Ly-caum every Christmas since 1908, with the exception of a lapse in 1917, owing to the war. He has deen' producing them for thirty "They have been saying for years that pantomime is dead, but there has been a resurrecti Melville. "The pantomime will al ways be popular. I firmly believe that people still love the real old-fashioned pantomime with the good and the bad fairies, the grande dame, the transformation scene, with the ballet, and the _harlequinade. Pantomime is essentially for children, but adults are enchanted with it, if they would only admit it, For instance, I received letter so long ago as March, from man who said he had never missed a pantomime at the Lyceum for yours. He said he hoped we were going to produce another this year, and, if $0, to book him six seats for his farmily—for his wife, his grandmother, his three children and himself. Since receiving that fetter, T have had hundreds of applications for seats. We are, in fact, booked out for Boxing Day, and, amongst party bookings, we have two for 600 seats each. These come from two political organiza tions in Monmouthshire. There are numerous party bookings of 100 and more seats. And they say' that pantomime is dead!"
Christmas has come to London in the shops this year earlier than ever before. Although it is nearly' the large depart ind many of the small-shops in the West End daily are thronged with people buying gifts Clearly "there is more money about and plenty of good-will, despite our volume of unemployment, which never reems to be productive of less personal outlay in the agirregate on the part of the community, Parliament in Darkness The complete failure of the electric light in both Houses of Parliament, caused by the fusing of enblos outside the central station of the Westminster Electric Supply Company, last week plunged the Palace of Westminster into complete darkness for nearly an hour. Big Ben's light, too, went out.
Tu the House' of Commons, Commander Kenworthy was attacking the Government, and out of the darkness he said:—"E am going on, with my speech, Mr. Speakor," but such a course obviously was impos able, and the Speaker, his voice. coming out of the darkness, anmounced:—"As apparently a state of grave disorder has arisen, in nc-¢ordance with the Standing' Orders I suspend the sitting until the resumed, when the divi-will be rung." Some members grouped their way into the fobbies, where they collided with each other in the darkness, About 200 preferred to re la the House, where they could be heard Toughing and joking, but remained unseen to each other. Not a single member was in possession of an electric torch. "Several of them struck matches in the earlier part of the darkness, and Commander Kenworthy tried to continue his speech with the aid of a match held front of him, but someone immediately blew it out, Minutes passed and then there was a cliver when from the central Jobby appeared the dim figures of the Chief Whip, Commander Eyres-Monsell, and Sir Harry Brittain, og: arrying a large brown bag. This contained candles, which ere placed on the table, some two dozen in all, and for the first time the scene was revealed. Candles were guttering on the table, and even on the famous despatch box, till Miss Bondfield, with a woman's practical mind, saw the possibility of grease ruining its polished surface ind came forward with order papers, which she placed beneath the candles. Many more minutes passed while in the dim light Ministers and Opposition leaders faced ich other and joked. Mr. J.-H.
thomas drifted in, and Mr, Lansbury jocularly proposed that he should take the chair, "or anything else he can.'
'At 6.18 pum. a cheer greeted the sudden' reappearance of electric Hight, and at 6.25 p.m. the Speaker, amid loud cheers, again took the chair, and the debate was resumed. The cause of the breakdown being at first unknown, the uniformed and plain clothes police squads undertook an intensive patrol of every part of the building, which was aly discontinued when it was known that the fault Jay outside and not. in local failure, The Imperturbable Peers Labour, as it happened, was clos tured in beth Houses when darkness came, but Lord Olivier, in the Lords, made a valiant attempt to carry' on. Commander Kenworthy was speaking in the Commons Upper House prides itself on its imperviousness to sudden distraction, and when the news reached the suspended Commons that Lord Oliver bravely was carrying on, members recalled that, on an occa sion during the war, when German bombs were dropping perilously near, their lordships "had talked through the raid, while MP's had dived for the safety of the dun-eons. A visit to the gilded chamber on this occasion was well worth while. On either side of the throne the two tiers of eandles—which most people thought were mere dummy—ornaments—had bee:. lit, and their subdued rays gave the chamber a cathedrallike aspect which was very impressive, The business in Parliament still continues to be dreary. There is plenty of discussion over the Unemployment Insurance Bill, aimed at patting this measure ona busi. ness-like basis, but it is not very thrilling. The' Government now is closuring the debates by the guild lotien, allowing five days only for: the discussing of all outstanding amendments, reports and third reading. The Prayer Book Revision will be taken about the middle of December; it is quite certain to pass both Houses. As a matter of fact some of the clergy are using it now, particularly the Service for the Bur-Jai of the Dead, and the Marriage Service, both of which are great improvements. Meantime the Government still has a bad press, Lord Beaverbrook of the "Daily Express" and Lord Rothermere of the "Daily Mail being especially aggressive. There is, by the way, quite a good couplice going on this agitation, as follows:— you wish to make the stroam of Truth Mow freely, bright and cle "You vist. must dam the Beaver brook then drain the Rothermere.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.