SIGNOR ABECCO'S ENTERTAINMENT.

It was hardly to he expected, considering the very brief and inefficient notice to the public, that a large audience would be assembled at the entertainment given by

Signor Ahecco aud Mr. Peel, at the OddFellows' Hall, last night. We could have wished, both for the sake of the lenefieiaires and of the lovers of music, that the attendance had been larger, for the performances were in every way worthy of patronage. It might be imagined that in an entertainment supported only by two performers, there could be but small variety ; yet the audience left the Hall, oue and all, in a state of high gratification, and were certainly most demonstrative in their approbation during the evening. Signor Abecco unquestionably possesses the finest tenor voice to which we have ever listened iv Nelson, and, moreover, knows how to use it veiy artistically. Although the various ballads which he sang during the evening, and which were nearly all of them illustrative of the American war, served to show beyond all question that his organ was of immense power and of almost equal sweetness of tone, the falsetto being admirably blended with the chest voice, still we can easily believe that he would be heard to still

greater advantage in operatic compositions, and should he again visit Nelson (which we believe to be his intention in a few weeks' time), we trust to enjoy this opportunity. Signor Abecco is also a harpist of no mean pretensions, and played the accompaniment to his own songs, as well as to the dances, with much delicacy and brilliaucy of execution. It should be mentioned that, owing to the unpremeditated nature of his visit to Nelson, he was compelled to play on a eingleactiou harp, of which, too, one of the pedals was broken, his own doubleaction instrument having been sent on to Hokitika; ancl it afforded us no small woudermeut how he managed, with such imperfect resources at his command, to modulate as he did, especially in the accompaniment to Balfe's florid song "LaNapolitaine." We believe that there was but one opinion amongst those present, as to Signor Abecco's powers as a vocalist, and that, we need hardly add, was one of the highest admiration. We must confess ourselves but poor judges of the peculiar style of daucing affected by artists of the Christy Minstrel school, and cannot therefore offer any critical remarks upon what we witnessed last night. But there can be no doubt that Mr. Peel is entitled to rank amongst the foremost professors of this branch of the Terpsichorean art, and the agility and graceful character of his movements, combined with the elaborate nature of the various steps executed by him, called down the most enthusiastic plaudits from the audience. In fact encores were the order of tne evening, those present being apparently of opinion that they could not have too much of a good thing. We believe that Signor Abecco, who left to- ( day by the Stormbird, purposes shortly I making another visit to Nelson, accom--panied, probably, by Miss Harriet Gor-; don, a popular vocalist in Australia, and' hy Mr. Charles Eigenschenk, violinist \ and due notice will be given of their visit.