CLOSING SCENES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 150, 26 June 1915, Page 8

CLOSING SCENES

QUEEN CARNIVAL THE FINAL BATTLE ANNOUNCEMENT OF POLE TO-NIGHT. h.— With one night and one day left them for their campaign, Queen candidates' committees were especially active last evening. Through the streets marched bands, and ■ mock bands making music, military or weird as befitted the character of the performers. On street corners masqueraders assembled crowds, and collected coin. In the halls of the city entertainers did their part to swell the funds. The first official announcement of the poll will be made by the returning offi- J cer, Mr. E. J. Colley, from the stage of the Town Hall at the conclusion of Mr. Bernard Page's organ recital this evening. _ Mr. Colley anticipates being in a position to make • this announcement about 10.15 p.m. Both the returning officer and the treasurer, Mr. M'lntosh, will be in attendance at the Patriotic Society's depot, at the corner of Chew'slane and Manners-street, all day to-day for the purpose of polling. Progress reports upon the position of the candidates are being issued at intervals up to 8 p.m., and posted on the Evening Post window. THE CORONATION CEREMONY. Arrangements are now all completed for the culminating event of the Quean Carnival, namely, the coronation in the Town Hall on Monday evening next. The ceremony, which has been arranged by Professor Cardston, <is an impressive and spectacular function, the dresses for her majesty the queen and her maids of honour being on a magnificent scale, and all the designs in accordance with the genuine Court dresses. In addition to the maids of honour, there will be some 70 or 80 children taking part in the ceremony as pages, canopy bearers, sword bearers, and sceptre bearers. This procession will leave the Concert Chamber, and proceed to the stage of the Town Hall, traversing all the aisles several times. All doors to the Town Hall will be definitely closed at five minutes to eight, and no one, except those taking part in the procession, will be allowed to enter the building until the procession has reached the stage, as the aisles must be kept perfectly clear. Further, it has been decided that no reserved seats can be held after five minutes to eight. The actual coronation ceremony takes about two hoars. During the function, coronation music will be played on the grand organ by Mr. Ch. W. Kerry, and appropriate solos will be sung by Miss Mina Caldow and Mr. Hamilton Hodges. Immediately at the close of the ceremony, the queen will hold a reception and confer honours upon prominent citizens. Professor Cardston, # who has had a great deal of experience in arranging functions of this nature, definitely states that the "Wellington coronation far and away exceeds any previous coronation held in New Zealand. Quite a feature of the function will be the decoration of the Town Hall, which has been in the capable hands of the decoration committee, with Mr. ' E. T. Doddrell as chairman. The throne itself is a most massive structure of great architectural and artistic beauty. Mrs. J. A. Hannah, mistress of robes, has had the designing of the costumes, and with Professor Cardston, all the drilling of the children taking part. Reserved seats are obtainable at the Bristol Piano Company, and also tickets for the cheaper seats, 'and the general public are advised to procure tickets before Monday evening, as it is quite possible that there wul not be any obtainable at the doors. ROYAL BALL. At last night's meeting of the executive, which is arranging for the royal ball on Wednesday evening next, it was reported that this function was now an assured success. A great number of applications for tickets are coming in. The official set will consist of Her Majesty the Carnival Queen and her maids of honour. ORGAN RECITAL. Mr. Bernard F. Page, City Organist, is giving a special organ recital in the large Town Hall this evening, at 8.15 o'clock, in aid of the Wounded Soldiers Fund. A brilliant programme has been drawn up, including such selections as overture "The Hebrides" (Mendelssohn's masterpiece); "Elegie' (Claussmann); Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Dorian) (Bach) ; Summer • Sketches, "Dawn," "The Bee," "Cuckoo," "Twilight," and "Evening' (Lemare) ; Air and Variations (upon a theme of Handel) (Karg-Elerfc) ; "Peer Gynt Suite" (Grieg) ; and " Finale in B Flat " (Cesar Franck). All the selections on the programme have proved favourites with Mr. Page's audiences during the regular organ recitals. At the conclusion of the recital the result of the Carnival Queen election will be announced. SUNDAY CONCERT. To-morrow evening, in the large Town Hall, the Wellington Amateur Choral Club, assisted by leading artiste, are giving a special sacred concert in aid of the Wounded Soldiers Fund. The following are a few of the items : — Mr. Bernard F. Page, City Organist, two organ solos j Miss Mina Caldow, " Inter> Nos" (M'Fadyen) and "Abide With Me" (with organ accompaniment); Mr. Frank Charlton, solo and a ,duet, "Love's Command," with Miss Caldow; Madame Mueller, "My Son" (Del Rigo); Mr. J. F. Bryant, "The Blind Ploughman"; trio, "Oh, Thou Whose Note," Madame Mueller,. Miss Pickett, and Miss Culverwell; double quartette and chorus, Wellington Amateur Choral Club ; and also a chorus by the club, "Softly Fall the Shades of Evening" (Hatton). A collection will be taken at the door. INSTRUMENTAL RECITAL. An instrumental recital drew a fairly large audience to' the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last evening. The concert deserved better patronage, and would, no doubt, have received it but for the fact that there are so many and varied entertainments being given at present. The performers were : Miss Phyllis Hanify (piano), Miss Frieda Walter, and Mr. Eric Meier (violin). All three are musicians of marked ability, and their recital was quite a musical treat. They were heard together in a double concerto of Bach, a composition giving ample scope for expressive treatment. Miss Walter played a violin concerto by Max Bruch and three lighter compositions, in all displaying the greatest accuracy and technical skill. Mr. Eric Meier's contributions, in a duo by T. Hubay, and a solo " Fantasies de Boka" (Isadany Armand) were distinguished for spirited treatment and breadth of expression. Miss Hanify, in addition to taking her part in the concertos, played as a pianoforte solo Chopin's "Ballade in F Minor." All the items were received with evident appreciation by the audience, which demanded encores frequently. The proceeds of the recital were in aid of the Wounded Soldiers and Sailors and Derwodeai* "Swafl

ART UNIONS DRAWN. At a concert in Miss Tendall's rooms last night art unions in connection with the St. ' John \mbulance candidature were drawn. The numbers of winning tickets are notified in our advertising columns. Winners of prizes are as follow : — Diamond ring — Ticket No. 3068 (Miss L. Barker, 161, Thorndon-quay). Topaz brooch — No. 368 (Mrs. Ramsay, Courtenay-place P. 0.). Hand cameras — No. 63 (Captain Cooper) and No. 22 (J. Donaldson, 33, Hobson-street) ; gas cooker — No. 82 (L. Paterson, Brooklyn) ; lady's bag — No. 16 (no name) ; chased gold watch — No. 53 (Mrs. ' Goulter, Box 808) ; admission ticket— first 7453, second 7422, third 7400; enamel and pearl necklace — No. 93 (Dr. Shand, Vivian-street) ; gold watch and bow— No. 172 (Mr. J. Hookham, 11, Poplar-grove) ; sapphire ring — No. 26 (no name) ; bicycle — No. 568 (E. Johnston) ; gold fob chain — No. 35 (no name) ; easy chair — No. 184 (W. Moorhouse, Dixonstreet). Sevres dinner set (2s 6d tickets) — No. 85 (M'Leod, Featherston-street) ; Sevres tea set (2s tickets)— No. 1948 (A. L. Willis, 7th Reinforcements) ; Sevres coffee set (Is 6d tickets)— No. 1260 (Mr. Beamish, G.P.0.); fifty pieces of Sevres set (Is tickets) — six meat plates, 657 (Mr. Rattray) ; five pudding plates, 567 (A. E. Kinnard, Northland) ; 4 meat plates, 1855 (W. Wise, Paraparaumu) ; four soup plates, 779 (A. Mcc, The Terrace) ; three meat plates, 384 (A. V. O'Brien, the Dominion) ; three soup plates, 784 (M. Bayly, Stratford) ; three tea cups and saucers, 936 (Miss Shirtcliffe, Tinakoriroad); three coffee cups and saucers, 956 (Mrs. Day, Rongatai-terrace) ; three pudding plates, 517 (Miss Stowe, Tina-kori-road); three tea plates, 526 (A, E. Kinnard, Northland) ; two tea cups and saucers, 661' (Mrs. Lowry North, Napier) ; two coffee cups and saucers, 1101 (Miss Watson, Thorndon-quay) ; two pudding plates, 147 (Mrs. Fisk, 10, Rosinaterrace); one meat plate, 829 (Mi§s M. P. Hughes, 195, The Terrace) ; one soup plate, 601 (Nancy Riley, 182, Willisstreet) ; one tea cup and saucer, 744 (Mr. C. T. Tulley, Hill-street) ; one coffee cup and saucer, 106 (G. Luff, 91, Cubastreet) ; one pudding plate, 449 (Miss Macandrew, Manners-street) ; one pudding plate, 693 (Janet Stout, The Terrace) ; one tea plate, 182 (F. F. Hicmott, Butterworth Bros.). The concert, which was distinctly successful as an entertainment, was contributed to by Mr. Turner's string quartette, Mr. Gilbert Emery, Mr. yon Haast, and Miss Rona Chapman. THE RUBY M'DONALD CONCERT. The concert given last evening at the Grand Opera House, organised by Miss Ruby M'Donald in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, was a musical treat. Though not numerically large, the audience was most enthusiastic, every item being encored. Miss Ruby M'Donald's violin solos were very artistically played. Her first number was the dainty "Salut d'Amour," by Elgar, and this was followed by several other selections, all of which served to exhibit Miss M'Donald's artistic skill. Mr. Hamilton Hodges was in excellent voice, and his songs were much enjoyed. His opening numbers were bracketed ; they were the "Bedouin Love Song" and "Danza" (Chadwick). As an encore he gave " Mother Machnee." In the 6econd half of the programme Mr. Hodges sang "Across the Far Blue Hills, Marie" (Blumenthal) with great feeling. Miss Teresa M'Enroe was warmly welcomed. Her beautiful voice was heard to advantage in " Variations on Carneval de Venice " (Benedict). She was also associated with thfc Mi 6&63 A. M. Siegrief and R. Siegrief in the Shakesperian trio (unaccompanied) " Take, oh, Take Those Lips Away." A very popular item on the programme was the comedy scene "The Art of Making Love," by Mr. Culford Bell and Miss Betty Purdom. This was very well done indeed, and warmly applauded. Subsequently, Mr. Bell recited "Spotty" as an encore number, and was obliged to respond to an encore. Miss Agnes Siegrief 6ang "The Sands of Dee" very sweetly. Miss Heinemann and Mr. Charles W. Kerry were the accompanists. Among those present were Her Excellency the Countess of Liverpool, the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr. and Mre. J. P. Luke), Archbishop Redwood, and the Very Rev. Dean Regnault. SPORTS GYMKHANA. The sports gymkhana was continued in U Shed last night, the principal attraction being a concert arranged by Mrs. Menard, assisted by Jupp's Band. A gymnastic display was also given by a team from the V.M.C.A., under Mr. T. Tracey. The gymkhana will be continued to-night. £4000 MORE FOR TRENTHAM. Advice has been received in Wellington that on Thursday night a flag presented by Mrs. John Strang for the. Trentham girl's candidature was sold at Gladstone for about £4000. It was bought finally by Sir Walter Buchanan, who presented it to the Gladstone School. JOTTINGS. The ceremony of crowning the Hutt Valley Queen was repeated at the King George Theatre, Lower Hutt, last evening. The four other candidates in the local election were present, attended by their maids of honour and the usual courtiers. The coronation ceremony went off very well, and was witnessed by a large audience. The Hutt Boy Scouts, about fifty strong, formed a guard of honour. After the coronation a ball was held, and dancing was kept up till late at night At the Mascotte Pictures, Petone, last evening, the ballot for the five-seater Overland car waa drawn. Judging from the number of tickets that went into the barrel a good sum must have been realised for Miss Senior's fund. The Valley Queen herself drew the winning ticket out of the barrel. The winning number was 3525, held by Mr. R. Kellow, of Wellington. After this was announced, a surprise art union was drawn from tickets corresponding with those issued at the door for admission. The prizes were numerous, ranging from an oil painting of the Titanic and a sack of flour to a tin of biscuit*. There were eighteen prizes in all. Holders^ of books in the motor-car competition are notified by advertisement that all butts must be returned to the Commercial Travellers' Club by j 9 o'clock to-night ; all other art union books on Monday. I , Members of the Central Club have subscribed £448 7s 6d towards the fund for the Commercial Travellers' queen candidate, Miss K. Doughty. On her return from a successful tour of the Wairarapa, the "Military Girl," Miss D. M'Cormack, visited Trentham Camp last night, and was received most enthusiastically. A concert given by a Wellington party resulted in a collection of £65, and there were promises of large sums to come in to-day. The children's art union, organised by the Labour Department, will be drawn at Kirkcaldie and Stains's tea rooms this evening. Over £200 has so far been raised by street collections made by little nurses, and the sale of twopenny tickets for the art union. Various art unions will be drawn by the Carnival Ballot Committee at Kirkcaldie and Stains's tea rooms this evening. Tht public »ro invited to bs present. ,

Despite the inclement weather this afternoon the Combined Sports Bodies are persisting with their carnival at the Basin Reserve, preceded by a procession through the street*. The. public manifested considerable interest in the affair, and the only regret is that the weather conditions a-e not more favourable. The Drapers wish to acknowledge the following donations for their candidate : — Messrs. Wright, Dixon, and Witt, £10; Miss Enid Sturdy (winner o\ Kelbuni house) £10 10s; Mr. M Elgar, £1 Is.