ARRIVAL OF THE WITH THE ENGLISH MAIL

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 124, 26 May 1888, Page 2

ARRIVAL OF THE WITH THE ENGLISH MAIL

(Via. SAN ISAHOISCO4

(AJfGLQ-COLQMAL NOTES-

\ (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

London, April 18.

/ TOURISTS FOR THE COLONIES. p Tn_ outward-bound steamers just now are simply crammed with tourists, exhibitions and ontortainers bound for Melbourne, ; trad sanguine of finding Australia a sorb of _'o_. Tiddler's ground. Many of tho smaller combinations are distinctly thirdlate, and likely to como to grief. All the ' colonies will swarm with "the profession' for a long timo to como. Amongst the boat of tho combinations are a company of Swiss instrumentalists and "yodollera. One hears such at tho big hotels and cafes at Lucerne, etc., in summor-timo. They aro Tory well for onco, bub apt to pall on closo acquaintance. Tho Gaiety Company sail for your part ot , the world next Friday. Thoy will certainly vista Auckland, and perhaps Christehureh and Dunedin, but nothing is settled. LETTER 3. ROM THE PRINCE OF WALES. The Prince of Wales has written a very pretty autograph lofctor to Lady Knutsford, acknowledging the colonial silver wedding , gift, and begging her to convey his and the ; Princess _ warmest thanks to "our fair friends M at tho Antipodes. MR AND MRS McARTHUR. I see Mr and Mrs J. P. McArbhur are • "booked to return to Auckland, via Sydney, by the P. and 0. Ballarat, sailing on the 19th insb. EARL OF RANFURLEY'S COLONIAL TOUR.

I The Earl of Ranfurley, who is about to j make a tour of the Australian colonies, and ; sail-by the s.s. Victoria on the 4th prox., ;is an Irish earl and an English baron, with 2a seat in tho Houso of Lords. He _ has i tamed 30, but looks younger, and is as ! jovial an Irishman as one would wish to : iageis. He is married.

j THE NEW LADY MILLINER. f During the " Colindics" season the I colonial belle who excibeu most admiration ; -was Mis Captain Loftus, nee Mis 3 Laberlonche, of Sydney.. Mrs Labertouche and another daughter, a showy girl, also attracted some attention, but their manners "were too colonial for good socieby, and they ; neyer rose much above their distinctly Bohemian set. Mrs Loftus, aw contraire, went everywhere and was made much of. Her dresses were always in the best possible taste, her tall, willowy figure set them oft grandly, and great was the sensation -when it transpired the clever lady designed them herself. Subsequently, Lord Augustus Loftus failed, and the colonial appointment which Captain Loftus aspired to was given to somebody else, Mrs Loftu3 then resolved to put hor Mends and her talents to the test, and join the ranks of lady dressmakers. She received much kfndly encouragement from Princess Mary and other "personages," and'eventually opened a fino shop {atelier is, I believe, the polite phrase) over Atkinson's the perfumer's, in Old Bond-street. Mrs Atkinson trades as " Madame Victoire et Cie." Her first show day was Thursday last, when quite a crowd of ladies inspected Madame Vicboiro's newest inspirations. Colonial friends cannot do a kinder thing than send home orders. 24, Old Bond-street, is the precise address. Mention of dress-making reminds me that a Christehureh lady has written asking me the name of " the great children's milliner." I am told there are several who aspire to the title. Probably, however, the one my correspondent means is Madame Clarisse. Swears and Wells, of Regent-street, are, of course, the crack purveyors of baby-linen, etc. Either of these firms would be quite safe to send orders to.

EARL RUSSELL ON BOARD THE

LIGURIA.

Amongst the passengers booked by the Liguria on. the 26bh inst. is Earl Russell, now in his 24th year. At Oxford this young man had an,extraordinary name for dabbling in quaint beliefs and curious customs. He was atheist and theosophisb, a vegebarian and a Rechabite, a believer in psychic force and all sorts of obher odd things. His appearance is prosaic to a degree, and his dress slovenly, or rather : used to be so, for he may have changed. jln the House his lordship was warmly ! welcomed as the nephew of " Lord John," j but he never opened his lips. Latterly bhe i earl has been much at the Gaieby Theatre, the leading comedians and comediennes of which will be on board the Liguria.

FAREVYELL TO THE GAIETY

COMPANY.

The valedictory festivities in favour of the departing Gaieby Company are wind-ing-up in a blaze of brilliance, and I might add brilliants, for ono hears of diamond stars, bars and brooches everywhere. The favourite Nelly Farren's henetit elicited a scene of greater enthusiasm than I ever witnessed, save on one occasion—the Bancrofts' farewell. Appropriately enough, the world-famous Cjiii'ntG.te of :bhe old Gaieby Company, Edward Terry, Nellie Farren, Kate Vaughan, J. J. Dallas, and Tom Squire, joined issue for the occasion and played with all the old dash and verve a scene from that best of Gaiety burlesques "The Forty Thieves." Connie Gilchrist and Royce were missing, but tho piece went with all its old effect, and when at the close of the excerpt the Company changed the words of the merry:—

Never como back, no more boys, Never come back, no more.

to an apropos verse commencing, But she will come back once more, boys, She will come back once more. She's going upon tour, But you may be sure ■ That she will come back once more, he audience cheered till it was hoarse. The scene from "Little Jack Sheppard," which followed, fell rather flat. Letty Lind is a pretty dancer, but not to be mentioned in the same breath as Kate Vaughah, and Leslie is scarcely at his best aa "Jonathan Wild." I sincerely hope your colonial critics won't break the gaieby bubterfly on a wheel. Recollect such a company on tour plays at a great disadvantage. In a piece tike " Frankenstein" (itself wretched rubbish) tho effect of success is produced by many other things besides bhe playing. The splendid band (unequalled in London), the atbracbive corps of coryphees and chorisbers, and the superb scenery assisb the players enormously and combine to efface the feeble character of the play. I realised this when I saw the Gaiety Company in Liverpool last autumn. They do better, I think- to open with a piece -with some backbone to it like "Aladdin" or " Tho Forty Thieves ;" but fcoth pieces, it seems, have been played in Australia already. In the course of Jthe Farren benefits Mrs KoudaU spQk© some couplets, neatly rhymed for tho occasion, in whioh she remolded the audience that juefc.2Q years ato (1868), when bhe Gaiety Theatre tfas opened for t_e__ret tune to the publio, she arid fceUy ii apron (girls in "their teens) trd&

fc____baar__ together Nelly ___ remained tone to Gaiety and burlesque * she (tho speaker) had i_u_d siicces- -!se_.he.u Nelly was now off to visit ua new race of ehapples M a. the Antipodes, and proeontly Wm speaker aad Mv Kendall might follow. Let them now bid tvw-fo-ewftu and »«good lack"—which we all did with a wav that shook the walk, MAX Q'RELL'S COLONIAL TOUR, M, Blouofc (Max O'Rell) has mado such a success as alooturovin the States as to justify him risking tho colonies. Ho will soo his book on °» Master John Bull" (America) through the press, and thon mako a start. FROZEN MEAT. The meat trade has ruled quiet, with full supplies, and beef is slightly lower. In tho face of largo supplies, frozen mutton keops fairly steady, at about 4d per lb. for good New Zealand carcases, and B^d per lb. for Sydney. The cold weather is somo assistance to the trado, but it chooks tho inquiry for New Zealand lamb. Scotch mutton, 4s 6d to 4s lOd ; .English (wether), 4s 4d to 4s 8d ; German mutton, 4s to 4s 2d ; New Zealand mutton, 2s Od to 2s 9d ; River Plate, 2s 2d; Sydney 2s 6d. JOTTINGS. Lord and Lady Droghedu havo got back again, and aro all tho bettor for thoir Aus 'tralian tour. Sir Philip Milos, whose wifo figured so prominently in tho Colin-Campbell cast), has just been loft a largo fortune by his uncle, who was senior partner in the great Australian houso of Miles Bros.

Mr William Senior's new book of essays, "Near and Far," is boing capitally reviewed. Dr. Cowio has become a follow of tho Colonial Institute.

. I looked in for a few minutes at the Hotol Metropole on Monday, aud found an unusually largo crowd in tho Whitehall Rooma listening to Sir Donald Currio hold forth on the subject of " South Africa." Lord Brassey presided, and there were several New Zealamlers amongst the audience. For instance, I noticed Mrs James Fanner and her two daughters, Mr Vesey Fitzgerald, Mr J. Joseph, Mr W. Weddoll, Mr F. Larkins and one of the Miss Larkins, Mr Geo. Reid, and Mr Alex. McArbhur. It is expected that Sir Geo. Baden Powell's motion, throwing open1 to trustees, etc., the various Colonial Government stocks, will lead to a discussion in which tho soundness of New Zealand securities is almost certain to be called in question. Sir George, by the way, will shortly (indeed immediately) succeed Baron tie Worms a3 Under-Secretary at tho Colonial OlTico, where he will indeed bo tlio right man in the right place. I soo the great Lancashire authority on football, though confident that tho team now on its way out to New Zealand will do Old England credit, expressos a wholesome dread of tho Maori twenty at Napier. Many a now prosperous settler in Now Zealand will read with deepooncerrl and regret of the death of tho Rev. Mr Qucckctt, the pioneer of assisted emigration, and the friend of countless poor families in Ea.sir End London. Mr Queckett's panacea for all the ills that pauper flesh is heir to was emigration. Dickens described his good work under the title of "A Model London Curate."

Tho " Daily News," commenting on the visit of tho Now Zealand team of footballers to England next autumn under tlio patronage of the Rugby Union, says : —"lt is a strictly amateur business, contrasting strongly with the tour which some English players aro about to commonco in New Zealand and Australia. Wo hopo the Now Zealand players will be properly representative of the strength of tbe colony. If so, the visit is sure to'be a great success."