The Lyceum was opened on the 23d of December, 1850, with "an occasional rigmarole entitled _Brougham, and Co._," which introduced the entire company to the public. The next absurdity was _A Row at the Lyceum_, with Mr. Florence in the gallery, Mr. Brougham himself in the pit, and the rest of the _dramatis personae_ upon the stage; and shortly before the abrupt close of Mr. Brougham's management he presented _What Shall We Do for Something New?_ in which Mrs. Brougham appeared as Rudolpho, Mrs. Skerrett as Elvino, and Mr. Johnstone as Amina, in a travesty upon _La Sonnambula_. Upon the same stage, on Christmas Eve, 1855, but under the management of the elder Wallack, Brougham produced his "Original, Aboriginal, Erratic, Operatic, Semi-civilized, and Demi-savage Extravaganza of _Pocahontas_." The scenery, as announced, was painted from daguerreotypes and other authentic documents, the costumes were cut from original plates, and the music was dislocated and reset, by the heads of the different departments of the theatre. Charles Walcot played John Smith, "according to this story, but somewhat in variance with his story"; Miss Hodson played the titular part, and Mr. Brougham represented "Pow-Ha-Tan I., King of the Tuscaroras--a Crotchety Monarch, in fact a Semi-Brave." At the close of the opening song (to the air of "Hoky-poky-winky-wum") he thus addressed his people: "Well roared, indeed, my jolly Tuscaroras. Most loyal corps, your King encores your chorus;" and until the fall of the curtain, at the end of the second and last act, the scintillations of wit and the thunder of puns were incessant and startling. "May I ask," says Col-o-gog (J. H. Stoddart), "in the word _lie_, what vowel do you use, sir, _i_ or _y_?" "Y, sir, or I, sir, search the vowels through, And find the one most consonant to you." Later the King cries: "Sergeant-at-arms, say, what alarms the crowd; Loud noise annoys us; why is it allowed?" And Captain Smith, describing his first introduction at the royal court, says: "I visited his Majesty's abode, A portly savage, plump and pigeon-toed; Like Metamora, both in feet and feature, I never met-a-more-a-musing creature." [Illustration: HARRY BECKETT AS THE WIDOW TWANKEY, IN "ALADDIN."] In a more serious but not less happy vein is the apostrophe to tobacco, by the smoking, joking Powhatan, as follows: "While other joys one sense alone can measure, This to all senses gives ecstatic pleasure. You _feel_ the radiance of the glowing bowl, _Hear_ the soft murmurs of the kindling coal, _Smell_ the sweet fragrance of the honey-dew, _Taste_ its strong pungency the palate through, _See_ the blue cloudlets circling to the dome, Imprisoned skies up-floating to their home-- I like a dhudeen myself!"