"Petane Valley."

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5199, 20 April 1888, Page 2

"Petane Valley."

Tho weather last night was all that oou- ;fl be desired for a drive out to " Petai fl Valley," and some thirty or forty towuit -I proceeded by two of Cotton's 'busses. Hal I past six was tho appointed hour to leave i I vicinity of the Post-office, but it want but a few minutes to seven whon t^fl coaches put in their appearance, Proceei I ing , via Shakespeare -road, a stop was mail at the Spit stables to add a leading horso :!IJ the pair tliat were drawing one of tl I 'busses. As soon as a start was effected flj was noticed that tho new-comer took toi I unkindly to his work, and ho assorted h fl disapproval of leaving , Ms evening meal t. -fl turning right-about-face.; He was righfc fl again, and another start was made. Tl^H animal was obdurate, however, and tb*flj tiino somehow or another got clear of tIH vehicle and started on a tour of inspectir ■ of one of tho shops at tho Port, but he w fl] only permitted to glonoo Ms eye round. £[i^| he gaiued his point—thp stable—aiflj the journey was negotiated with two hors,aßJ only. That quadruped knew a thing or I two. No doubt he smoled a wioked smile I on being led back to tho stable, but we did I not see him, so cannot say. No furtherfl impediment presented itself to tho sucoes;H of the trip, unless wo except a walk up th'H steep cutting, which, of course, made it aJSa tho later in reaching the coveted gml-fll Eskdale Hall. However, tho party arriv^^BJ safely at a quarter to nine, and the fi/BB part of tho programme—tho concert—co; IJ mt'iiced to a good audience. Tho broth, BB Miliio iiro a divei'siicd pair, and opened : flB programme with a soleotiQu on tno pia< concertina, and clarionet. One broti BB played tho last-named instrument, wl tho other manipulated tho concortimi w_BB Ilio riyht hand and the piano with tho le'flfl Mr Hoil'mtui amused th.Q audienco wiißß " llomt, Sweet Home " v with variations, , BB " very sweetly " played with his noso an^BJ left hand ! What a terrible nasal organ hrfl must have ! Mr Hawkins was encored foJfl his amujsiug recitetion '* Yacob Strowss |BJ (or somethiug , liko tliat we beliovoßJ the title is). Songs wore also given ■ by Mrs W. Yates, Mioses A. Peuhohn, ■ Gibson, and Tilley. and Messrs Milne and I Barber. The sword dance and Highland I fiiug by Mr B. Smith were loudly ap- I planded. it takes the country ]Mh>ple to fl appreciate the Scotch, dunces ! Tho i'etana flj audionco fairly rose «•*• musso and craned fl theii- necks to watoii every stop ! MrMaclea fl also dancodn sailor'shorupipeereditably, and I the Messrs Milne rendered a duot on tho tin fl whistles in splendid style. Tho concert wa J^ b 'ot through cxpeditiousiy, andMrMarshuU I (chainaau) anuouncod that tho hall would I be cleared for dayoiug. : The number present I a sec-mod to greatly augment at this point, so f< that thu room was over-orowek-d. The ■« music was supplied chiefly hy tho Messrs a Milnu on tho concortißa ' and clarionet, c while Miss Holfe gave several dance tunes on tho piano. Miss Holt also played tho ti accompanynieuts at the concert, and the a: thanks of all present aro duo to her for her valuable services, and, also to tho Messrs p Milue. Dancing was kept up till an early hour and everybody seemed a; to thoroughly enjoy themselves. During an interval in the dancing tea, coft'eo P sandwiches, and cakes were handed round! hi One 'bus returned to town between one and two o'clock, but tho other (which started ? much later) did not reach Nainer tiH nearly ai half-past four. A slight mishap befel the sti esciu sienißts in the last»bue, On teaching T<

the brow of the Petano culling, when the break whs applied, the c .\ir,i pressure re« quired for such a heavy load snapped tho iron rod, and tho break -was rendered useless. Fortunately the accident happened beforo the coach" had got any way on, otherwise the result might hnvebeen somewhat serious. Of couree. alt r.he passengers had to alight and ne&oliitti! the cutting on •' Shanks' pony," but •' isll'a well l!'.:i.t«nds woll," and the party arrived in town tired hut happy. A meed of praise is to Mr J. Marshall, the lion, sec, .on whose shoulders nearly all the work fell.