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107
re al source of incom e.
A P ro v in c ia l C om pany o f
P la y ers w as th erefo re engaged in 1 8 4 8 , and the
p erform an ces w hich th is com pany, a t first in con
ju n ctio n w ith the P an tom im e an d B allet p erfo rm an ces
o f the
Price
fam ily, b u t afterw ard s alone, g av e 3
or 4 tim es a w eek p rov ed so a ttra c tiv e , an d so
replenished the treasu ry , th a t the M anagem ent, afte r
the lapse o f tw o y e a r s , w ere no t only enabled to
p a y off p a rt o f the d e b t, b u t also to allow good
in terest on the share's.
T o the ab o ve favorable
r e s u lt, the M a sq u e ra d e s, w hich are given sev eral
tim es du rin g the w in ter, h a v e , by th e ir success,
n ot a little contributed.
T h e large S a lo o n , fitted up as a th e a tre , is
120 ft. lo n g , 60 ft. b ro a d , an d 4 0 ft. high, w ith
p it an d tw o tiers o f b o x e s , an d can contain ab out
2 3 0 0 spectators.
T h e house is open on S unday,
M onday, W ednesd ay , and F rid a y evenings; and as
the perfo rm an ces in V aud evilles and F a r c e s ,
to
w hich th ey are chiefly confined, are eq u al to tho se
a t the T h ea tre R oyal, w hile the p rice of adm ittance
is only one h a lf, the Casino h as becom e a for
m idable riv al to the older establishm ent.
T he
sm aller s a lo o n , w hich in 1851 w as enlarged and
fu rnished w ith a gallery, is u su ally let for concerts
and sim ilar p e rfo rm a n c e s, an d can contain from
6 0 0— 7 0 0 persons. T h e gro u n d floor, on w hich is
the B a z a r, is but little u se d , and experience has