The Evening Star. DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, DEC. 9, 1865.

Evening Star, Volume III, Issue 810, 9 December 1865, Page 2

The Evening Star. DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, DEC. 9, 1865.

The William Miskin arrived from Hokitika this morning. She brings no later news. Private advices report business to bs dull and prices falling. Marketsare well supplied. The stock market is down.

The Auckland Herald says :—“ Although Mr Stafford has been an advocate for preserving the unity of the colon;/, we believe there is a much greater chance of Separation under his administration than many anticipate. Whatever Mr Skiffmd’s personnel may be on this question, he Is too shrewd a politician to think of making it »Ministerial one.”

The Circus was pretty well attended last -evening, and the performance was sufficient both in 'quality and quantity to satisfy the most exacting of the audience. Madame Tournear was very successful in her graceful act of equitation, in which she was cleverly assisted by Mr Jones. The daring riding of Signor Raphad, who by the way sits his horse like a Centaur, elicited loud and general appl; use, and the vain .attempts of the boys to ride “ Tom Thumb” brought the entertainment to a very amusing conclusion. Mr Jos ~ph JEErassosr has so many friends in Duneffin that no apology is necessary for tlie following lengthened notice of his brilliant success .in London, a success which has fully confirmed the flattering opinions expressed of him ■hy the whole of the Australian press. The Times, in a detailed notice of his Rip van v Winkle, designates him as '“oaa off the most

original, and at the same time finished, actors ever seen upon any stage ; ” and adds that his “merits have been acknowledged by a crowded audience with that sort of hearty and sustained applause which the practised ear can as readily distinguish from spurious applause as the experienced touch can detect the superiority of the silver coin over the imitation in base metal.” The Spectator devotes a leading article to a philosophical analysis of the character he sustains, and points out how replete with interest it is as a psychological study; and with what rare art, or with what a happy inspiration transcending the power of art, Mr Jefferson illustrates the mental condition, or what may be supposed to be the mental condition, of a man awakening from a slumber of twenty years, without the slightest consciousness of its protracted duration. The -writer concludes by observing, “We have not often seen a finer, and never a less artificial or more easy, piece of acting than Mr Jefferson’s picture of the genial, quick, indolent, at once helpful and helpless loiterer, suddenly insulated from all the trifles in which he had lived, and made to realise at once that the busy world had not wanted him, but that he had no life except in it.” The Daily Telegraph characterises Mr Jefferson’s acting as “ full of freshness, faithful to nature,” and such as proves him to be “a consummate artist in the highest sense of that much-abused term full justice being, at the same time, done to his power of moving the deeper sympathies of the audience, as well as of exciting their mirth. The Morning Post observes of him that ‘ ‘ in the accuracy of his style, and his minute attention to finish, he may be said to belong to that class of-histrionic artists, whose parallels, among painters, are the preHaffaelites ; but, with more judgment than always marks the disciples of that laborious school, he inAariably subordinates detail, however curiously elaborated, to general effect.” The Sunday Times , in a critique written with unusual ability, speaks of him thus:—“ The acting of Mr Jefferson is such as none -who have seen it will ever forget. Whatever the spectator’s theories or crochets as to acting, it was impossible to resist the conviction that he -was contemplating a performance of the very highest order. In its way, it is unique. It is delicate, graceful, subtle, suggestive—feminine, almost, in its grace aid suggestiveness. We have for many years witnessed nothing like it. ” The Era testifies that the expectations which had been raised concerning him have been completely realised; and asserts that “a more genuine actor has never crossed the Atlantic to win applause from audiences in the Old World.”

We have been requested to state, for public information that a number of clipped sovereigns are being circulated in Dunedin. Several have recently been detected at the Banks, with about a twentieth part of their weight abstracted. The plan appears to consist in clipping off a portion of the milled edge of the coin, and after, wards re-milling the mutilated part.

The micl-day performance at the Princess Theatre to-day, under the patronage of his Honor the Superintendent (who was present, with his family), was a great success. The house was very well filled in the upper portion, and a large number of our leading citizens, with their families, were present. The performances of the various artistes we have so often praised were none the less attractive or applauded on this occasion. We understand that the management, with a view to affording the school-chil-dren of Dunedin and suburbs a novel treat, have offered, through the Secretary (Mr Hardy) to admit the youngsters en masse for a nominal consideration, and we hope that the chance will not be lost.

The steamer Golden Age will leave the jetty to-morrow morning with passengers for the Rangatira, and an advertisement announces that it will return, should a sufficient number of passengers offer an inducement. The fares advertised are at a very reduced rate.

The adjourned meeting of the Council of the Otago Rifle Association is advertised to take place this evening. A numerous attendance is requested.