On November 6th of the same year followed “Old China,” a delightful ballet, invented and designed by Mr. C. Wilhelm, associated, as usual, with Mme. Lanner and Mons. Wenzel, and with Mlle. Génée as _première danseuse_. The opening scene showed a mantelpiece, backed by a great mirror, in which the actions of a little Dresden China Shepherdess (Mlle. Génée) and her two troublesome lovers, were exactly repeated in the looking-glass, through which finally the indignant damsel stepped--to the chagrin of her disconsolate lovers--right into Willow Pattern Land, which formed the second scene, and into which some particularly rich and beautiful effects were introduced. “Old China” ran for some months, and on May 28th of the following year was succeeded by another “topical” ballet, “Our Crown,” again the work of the accomplished trio, who had so long contributed to the success of the Empire productions, and were now receiving the brilliant assistance of the Danish _première_, who had thoroughly established herself in popular favour. It was, of course in celebration of that crowning of the late King Edward which had been so unhappily postponed, through his late Majesty’s illness on the very eve of what should have been his Coronation. This, again, was a most brilliant production, and the final tableau, practically a “Staircase” scene, in which the great stage was built up with groups representative of the jewelled products of the various British colonies, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, was magnificent. As in the case of the Victorian Jubilee ballet of five years before, this was a conspicuous triumph in the particularly difficult sphere of _ballets d’occasion_. The first production of 1903 was also the first of what may be called essentially the Génée ballets--ballets, that is, which seemed more particularly than before, infused with the personality of this accomplished dancer. Since her London _début_ in 1897 she had played the leading part, certainly, but now it seemed almost as if her personality coloured the whole ballet itself, even as unquestionably her supreme technique set an example and had its influence in raising the already high standard of technique throughout the _corps de ballet_. The scenario and staging of “The Milliner Duchess” were by Mr. Wilhelm, and the story was specially designed to give Mlle. Génée an opportunity of further exhibiting her gifts as an actress. Into a fashionable throng frequenting the establishment of an up-to-date duchess who was running a milliner’s business was introduced her demure little niece, impersonated, of course, by Mlle. Génée; and her first entrance, in a gown of primitively early-Victorian simplicity, was charming in its hesitancy, and one realised that she was something more even than a finished dancer, namely, a born mime with a fine artistic appreciation of the _nuances_ of comedy.