A DICKENS RECITAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2911, 25 October 1916, Page 3

A DICKENS RECITAL

BY THE REV. ARCHIBALD E. j HUNT. | With the grim realities of tho most ' t terrifying war of all times throwing its ' shadows over many lands, and great , Empires offering their best lilootl for ■ tho attainment of a peaco that still i seems remote, tho contemplation of tho ' clean, wholesome sentiment of ' Charles Dickens comes as a bcnedic- | tion to tired minds. Dickens presents in his numerous books and short stories 1 the very antithesis of that spirit which | caused and is prolonging tho war. In his. profound humanity, his homely . sympathy, and amazing power for characterisation ho preached tho gospel of "love yo ono another" as no other writer has ever done, and the only empire ho sought to conquer was that which lies deep down in tho affections of the people. At the Concert Chamber last'evening a large audience was privileged to hear the Rev. Archibald Hunt give sympathetic expression to some selected and , familiar passages from tho writings of England's great novelist. Mr. Hunt is an elocutionist peculiarly fitted to give Dickens's sentiments their true value. Ho does not aspire to the heroic or tho flamboyant, but has a pretty taste for tender sentiment and a nico instinct for character, a soft, clear voice that knows no falso inflection, and is attuned to most demands in the domain of_ pathetic or humorous narrative. His was a feeling rendition of that beautifsl sceno from "Tho Cricket on the Hearth," where Caleb Plummer is forced to tell sis blind daughter, Bertha, that tlio impression he has given her of Tackleton (the lard landlord and relentless taskmaster) has not been a true one. He handled the. sceno very delicately and with true feeling. His nest appearance produced a_bracket of threo nieces, a sketch of that old ruffian Squeers, of Dotbeboys Hall, from "Nicholas Nickleby," taken from tho scene where Squeers addrossed his unfortunate scholars; on tis return from London; a brief glimpse of the_ optimistic Wilkins Micawber, <loftly limned (froin "David Copperfield"), and that touching scene, from tho same novel, where old Dan Pcggotty breaks his heart over the flight of little Bm'ly, in which the pathos was well accentuated but nover exaggerated. Turning to humour, Mr. Hunt recited Sergeant Buzfuz's address to the jury in the Bardall v. Pickwick divorce case (front "Tho Pickwick Papers") with proper unotion, and later recited with skill .and innate refinement tho scene from "A Tale .of Two Cities," where Sidney Carton contrives the escape of Charles Darnay from the blood-gouted revolutionaries _of a maddened Paris, and dies in his stead_ on the guillotine. Mr. Hunt varied the evening's prflr [ gramme by introducing some acceptable | musical items. Mr. George Holloway played Grieg's vivacious "Wedding Day" as a pianoforte solo, and had to add an encore piece. Miss Janifl Knight sang "Love is a Slave" (Squire), and an unfamiliar sottinc of "Sweet and Low." Mr. Norman Watson, a. violinist with a tone alive with sympathy, played Drdla's "Souvenir," and a fragment of Beethoven, and Mr. Herbert P. Wood's timbrous tenor was heard to advantage in "Ninette," for which ho was recalled. Mr. Holloway accompanied sympathetically.