SEARCH LIGHTS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9156, 13 July 1895, Page 8

SEARCH LIGHTS.

A dissertation on slush is about the only subject that suggests itself to a frozen imagination in this weather. But though I am far from sharing the exultation of thr local plumbers over the snowstorm or the glee of tho enterprising photographer who is doing snow-acenos ab per dozen, Ido not echo the usual sentiments about it; couldn't possibly do so—in print—they are too rankly profane. Born colonials at any rate have reason to be thankful to nature for vouchsafing them this one annual exhibition ; if only because it enables them to appreciate the Christmas cards they receive irom their Kngluh cousins, or to realise the enthusiasm of the nursery-rhymester. I consider a snowstorm a liberal education in the sens-- of art, and that's a great comfort if you haven't any sheep in the back country.

Akdl fully sympathise with the humours of the situation. Not being possessed of a bell-topper—no well-regulated Bohemian is—l can smile disdainfully at the indignation of the victim who rushes to the police-office for protection, or vents his spleen for a well-timed hit by frantic protests in the correspondence columns. The pity is that snowballing, like lootballiugaud every other manly sport, is uot confined to sportsmen, but is apt to be practised by blackguards. The young man. for instance, who elected the top of a tall building in High street as a coigu of vantageaiui mercilessly peppered tho passersby from a height of close upon a hundred f ee t —displayed a Bouse of humour which ought to be tamed with a judicious application of cowhido. Snowballing is an excellent tpjrfc when played on even terni3, boy and boy or man and man in an open paddock aud no favour. Tho essence of the enjoyment of it lies in your getting as good us you give ; but to sneak behind a hundred-feet high parapet aud meanly pelt women and old men with chunks of "hard" that descend with stinging velocity is the act of a cur. And I can only hope that the very respectable fitm whose building was thus made use of were ignorant of the occurrence,

The heroic worship of the prohibitionists for their leader and prophet took the form of erecting a statue to him in the Cathedral grounds. The snowman of Mr Isitt was doubtless intended to convey the belief of his followers that he is nothing if not a white man. And doubtless he is nob as black aa he is painted. Certainly not as black as the pictures which I have no doubt are being drawn with eloquent strokes at the Opera House this evening. I was strongly urged to attend and see sport, but I never had much taste for tbe pot and kettle business.

A correspondent, ovidently unused to travelling by sea, professes to have discovered the source of inspiration of Revelation—or at least of portions of it. Looking over the side—out upon the great emblem of unrest, be thought of the poor shipwrecked mariner upon tho Isle of Patmos, and of his prophetic vision, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away —and there was no more aea." And now he wants mc to tell him whether it is not probable John's prophetic vision was the result of mal -de - mer. The wish was father to the thought. John dreamed a dream of future bliss, in which there was no more starboard and larboard, no more rolling and pitching, no more bacon and no more stewards—in a word, no more —— ! I And here he says his theological speculations were momentarily interrupted. He seems to think his suggestion should be a valuable contribution to the " inspiration " controversy.

The conclusion of the liquor cases in Court was about as unsatisfactsry as • all compromises are. But it was at least a tacit confession on the part of the "informers" that they had seen the error of their ways and yielded before tbe " bitterness" of the public feeling they have called up. I confess I thought at first when I heard of these cases, that the much-abused "informers" were possibly young zealots, religious young men girded up to fight the world and tho flesh and the devil, mistaken in their methods, but full of zeal. [Their conduct in Court, however, completely disposed of any such apologetic attitude. They were simply "larrikinading." They seemed to have enjoyed that historical Sunday night, and entered into the whole thing as a huge spree; they were " struck comical" and " did a get"; they were the heroes of the " after meeting," and whilst their elders were praying seemed to have put in their time '-showing off" with a whiskey flask, and doubtless ogling the girls. And their perky, saucy demeanour in Court completely disposed of any belie! that might remain that they were in earnest and animated by any high purpose. If I were asked to label the particular type of humour which inspired these youths I should be inclined to call it "evangelical larrikinitm."

Newspapers are always " tilting " at the *' encore" system at public concerts ; but such is the vanity of the majority of singers that it seems hopeless to put down the practice. I wonder if a singer ever realises that his response to an encore is a bore to put up with, even of the people who demand it. His ear does not seem to distinguish between that burst of enthusiastic" ap{dause which means a sincere redemand or an item and that more measured, but still kindly meant, clapping which is intended simply as a compliment. The more appreciative an audieuce the better will be the performance, but the aimplo and dignified way of responding to encore by bowing your acknowledgements never seems to strike a performer unless haply he has forgotten—for once—to bring an encore song along. And he doeßn't often forget it.

{Thursday's cricket concert was for instance serious>y marred to my mind by this objectionable practice. It would have been an excellent entertainment if concluded at 10. Lasting as it did till half-past eleven on a wretchedly cold night, it became a bora. The singers might, at least, have remembered that aa there was a dramatic performance to follow, courtesy to the actors in *' The Snowball" should have placed some limit on the liberality of the responses.

Not that " The Snowball" actors minded. They probably were glad of the delay to do a Little more study. For, though the first performance of the piece went '• without a hitch," the secondwell, it waa gob through with the able assistance of the prompter. I thought at first the actors were practising ventriloquism—throwing their voices behind the wings as it were. However, we mustn't grumble. Tbe actors were " A little shaky in xheir parts, They stood upon the O.P. side AwaitiDg for their Q," But r tho prompter's part was well oast; Roberts himself could not have handled his ones more deftly:- . By the way the performance of the " Snowball " on Thursday was all the better for being preceded by music. When done iv the Oddfellows' Hall some time ago the curtain rose in a veiy lame way with no other musical accompaniment than tho clack of tongues in the audience. 1 wondered at the time why in this musical town it had been impossible to find a few good fellows who would come and play a tune for a charity. I now learn that there was an orchestra on the premises, bnt the orchestra " struck "—a discord just before tbe curtain went up. It wasn't pay they struck for— nothing so trivial; ib was a much more serious matter—a life and death matter to amateur musicians in fact—nothing less than ** a question of etiquette." They had not come there to play merely, but to be seen playing. So when they were asked to take their usual places in front of the stage they, jibbed ; tbey wanted to be on tbe stage, in the full flare of the footlights. It was pointed out that as the stage was " set "this was impossible, it would spoil di-amtteio illusion to disclose the "scene" before the play began—and much ir-ore equally sound reason was adduced. Bat i buy would bear so reason. They had ik-noed their unblemished swallow-tails, they had put an extra allowance of boras on their shirt fronts, they had even ibrilliantined their moustaches for tbe occasion—were these

glories to be hidden from the audience ? They had rather die first; and so they manfully shouldered their fiddles and went home : and it is even said that those irreproachable shirt fronts were furrowed and seamed with the scalding tears of injured dignity. The Bohemian.