Knights Templar.

of the encampment . He then proceeded to appoint and invest the following officers , viz .: —Sir Knights AYm . Mawson . lst Capt . ; Henry Farrar , 2 nd Capt . ; Thos . Hill , P . E . C ; AVm . Gath , P . E . C Prelate ; John Gaunt , Expert ; J . B . Lawrence , Capt . of Lines ; P . A . Brady , Almoner ; George M . AVaud , P . E . C , and J . L . aicMichan , ' P . E . C , Heralds ; J . J . Holmes and J . H . Buckley , Equerries ; Henry Favvar , Treas . ; Horatio Butterworth , Reg .

On the completion of the ceremony the Registrar called attention to various matters of business ; also apologies for absence from Sir Knights David Salmond , Richard Mortimer Scholefield , & c . ; and from two candidates for installation . Comp . L . C Hill , of the Chapter of Charity ( No . 379 ) , was proposed for installation in due course . The Treasurer presented his balancesheet , the most satisfactory for some years ; a happy omen for the futureshould the present members continue i » - the same

, course . After the business had been completed / the Sir Knights retired to the Committee-room , where supper had been provided . After ample justice had been done to it , and the usual toasts proposed and responded to , the Sir Knights retired afc the hour of half-past ten .

Masonic Festivities.

MASONIC FESTIVITIES .

ST . JAMES USTON LODGE . —The fifth annual ball given by the aboA'e lodge in aid of the Masonic Charities , will take place at Willis's Rooms , King-street , St . James's , on the 31 st proximo . It is sufficient to state that Bro . Gurton , P . M ., is the President ; C . Jackson , P . M ., the Vice President ; H . A . Stacey , P . AI ., Honorary Secretary ; and that there are about twenty stewards , to assure those who are in the habit of attending these balls ,

that the same care and attention to the comfort of visitors , which have hitherto characterised them , will this year be displayed in the arrangements . Bro . Adams' band has been engaged for the occasion , and Bro . Frampton will act as M . C .

Public Amusements.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

There has been no want of amusement in the metropolis this Christmas , there being no less than twenty-one theatres open , besides innumerable exhibitions and concert halls . At COVENT GARDEN The Opera of " The Puritan's Daughter" is heard in the very highest perfection . Time has its beneficial effect on operas as

well as on wine and pictures , and in this instance it has so toned and mellowed down Mr . Balfe's work , thafc it now stands first amongst that gentleman's compositions . This is followed by the pantomime of " Harlequin Gulliver ; or , Giants and Dwarfs /' by Mr . J . M . Morton . The materials for pantomime to be derived from the world-known Gulliver ' s Travels , are as plentiful as they are happy , and certainly he who moulded them into pantomimic shape has admirably achieved his task , for he has

produced one of the most brilliant and stirring entertainments < rf the season . The whole of the mountings are excellent , and the transformation was a perfect triumph in the art of stagescenery , and its successful author—Mr . AV . Callcott—was vociferously called for to receive his reward in a further continuation of the bountiful applause showered on his efforts from every part of the house . It was delightfully noticeable , too , that the theatre n-as , during this scene , by some patent vapourising

process , extensively perfumed . Altogether it Avas as much like Fairy-land as anything sublunary can Avell be . Harlequins , F . Payne and S . Lauri ; Clowns , Harry Payne and E . Lauri ; Pantaloon , H . Lauri ; and Columbine , Miss Jenny Lauri ; then commenced their revelries , which , hoAA-ever , we haA-e nofc space to further remark upon than to say that they were superabundant . DRURY LANE .

The Christmas pantomime here is entitled " Harlequin and the House that Jack Built ; ' or , Old Mother Hubbard and her Wonderful Dog . " Mr . E . L . Blanchard is the High Priest of the Drury-lane Temple of Pantomime . Indeed , inthe jrresenfc

case , he has excelled himself . The manner in Avhich the dual stories involved in the title of the pantomime have been amalgamated is in " our opinion a triumph of dramatic skill , and exhibits Mr . Blanchard ' s genius most conspicuously . The Witches' Glen by Moonlight , and the Avondrous transformation scene , AA * 111 o' the ATisp ' sJ Home , beneath the Waterfall , are triumphs of scenic painting and effect for which- it ivould he difficult to find a parallel . Perhaps the most effective incident

in the pantomime is the building of Jack ' s House . This is certainly one of the most delightful scenes ever contrived , and will not fail to charm the elder playgoers as well as the little ones . The harlequinade is more than usually bustling and effective , and is marked by several novel and highly humourous features . Two sets of ytsmtomimists illustrate the various scenes . Amongst the many novel tricks which are introduced , we may mention the charge of an apple-stall into an immense elephant , and the sudden influx of a troupe of gorillas and " Perfect Cures . "

LYCEUM . The Christmas entertainment here is in the burlesque form , and is entitled " Adecidedly erratic and slightly operatic version of the popular nursury tale of Little Red Riding Hood . " It is the joint production of Mr . E . Falconer and Mr . Leicester Buckingham , and in addition to a prevalent tone of genial humouris enlivened by some excellent parodies on familiar

, songs , and also by some characteristic dances , arranged under the practised eye of Mr . Oscar Byrne , in which Miss Lydia Thomjisori plays a conspicuous pai-t . A series of six panoramic views of the lakes of Killarney , painted by the Messrs . Telbin , assisted by Mr . Morgan , constitute a sight ivhich no one should omit the opportunity of seeing . It is no exaggeration to say that these views of the most lovely scenery in Ireland are

unsurpassed in beauty by anything that has been seen for many a day . The Lower Lake , from Castle Lough ; Kenmare Cottage , The Old AA eir Bridge , Dundag Bay , The Eagles' Nest , and 3 fuekross Abbey by Moonlight , severally received fche enthusiastic applause of the spectators . In the view of Dundag Bay a sketching party of ladies and gentlemen are represented in the foreground , and a delicate and touching allusion is made to the calamity ivhich has fallen on the illustrious familwho visited

y those scenes last summer . The piece concludes with a brilliant scene , called The Magical Emerald Isle , where the lovers are landed hy the Humane Society of Fairies , after having takenlike the Colleen Bawn—a " double header " into the lake . The effect is strikingly brilliant , and the prolonged plaudits of an audience nightly crammed to theceiling , testify to tire unqualified gratification which they derive from the entertainment .

HAYMARKET . The pantomime , "Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue ; or , Harlequin and Old Daddy Longlegs , " is sure to find favour with the children of all ages who may be allured to this house duringthe holidays . The opening is very graceful and jileasing , and it is illustrated by some charming scenery , painted in Mr . Frederick Fenton ' s best manner . A ballet , in which the dancers

as bees each carried a coloured light , elicited the warmest expressions of admiration by its picturesqueness . Songs and choruses set to Such popular tunes as " The Cure , " " I ' m a Young Man from the Country , " and "Aunt Sally , " gave the finishing touch to the burlesque character ofthe first part of the pantomime . In the harlequinade there are some hits at the topics of the day—allusions to America , the Gorilla , Deerfoot , the underground railway—but they are utterly subordinate to the practical pleasantry vigorously kept up in every scene throughout the pantomime .

PRINCESS'S . The opening scenes of " AVhittington and his Cat ; or , Harlequin King KollyAvobbol and the Genius of Good Humour , " are supplied by Mr . H . J . Byron , and are worthy the pen from which so many burlesques have floived . The piece is produced with that combination of splendour and taste with ivhich the management of Mr . Harris is now associated . The most

remarkable performance in the piece is that of Master John Haslem as the Cat . This child , for he is nothing more , is announced as being already a Parisian and American celebrity , and as the pupil of Gabriel Ravel . M . Ravel ' s school , whatever