HASTINGS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7822, 15 August 1887, Page 3

HASTINGS.

(l-'ROM OUR OWN COR ItUsPON DEVI'.) August 13, 1887. " The Kalian climate of Ilawkc's Bay " is excelling itself. Never even in New Zealand can I remember such an abominable meteorological mixture as that which we have bad for the last 24 hours. Last night there was a bitter wind to which an English " nor-caster" would have been a balmy zephyr, and as I rode home at 1 1 o'clock the breeze increased to " half-agale," against which my horse could hardly make headway, so that I was almost inclined to try Commodore Trunnion's expedient of " tacking." 'I hen the cutting blast brought with it a light sleet, which afterwards changed to snow, which lay on the plains this morning as though Hastings were doint.' penance m a white sheet for its sins in the matter of land speculation. Then the sun came out and melted the snow, then down came the rain, and as I write this a hailstorm is doing its little best to break my windows. Opinions differ as to the cause of all this. Some say it is our Mayor's fault, others think that the overseer of works should be called upon to explain. For my j, a rt I attribute it to the malignity of the clerk of the weather who always lays on a few extra degrees of cold when there is anything good going on at the Town Hail. Certainly last night was a night for a book by the fire with a glass of grog or a cup of coll'ee at one's elbow, anil not for a pilgrimage to the shrine of " Magic and Mystery." This wns unfortunate, as it doubtless prevented many who would otherwise have gone fiom enjoying Professor Herbert's clever legerdemain and illusions, Those who did go testified by

their applause and roars of laughter (he amusement which the various tricks and the dry humor of the performer created. Cards were made !u " paxs "as quickly as the notes of a golddigger " on the shout.'' Coins were extracted from the audience

without the contributor* being troubled to fill up a schedule addressed to Mr Sperrey. An egg was (Uncovered (?) in a gentleman's beard, and all sorts of flowers, from cauliflowers to simflowei«, were grown in flower pots by some mysterious forcing process in which a tin cone played a conspicuous part. " f think 1 can guess where the flowers came from," said one stullite to another. "Did'ntyoii hear the click of the spring?" "2S r o," was the reply, " but of course its the nprinqyt\\\c\\ brings out the /owns ; we all know that." The first speaker looked reproachfully at the second, and something serious might have happened had their attention not been diverted by the professor's extraction of a number of Chinese lanterns (some of them lighted) from a hat which he' held in his hand. The "decapitation act" having been described by your Napier critic I need say no more on thai haul.

After the performance Mr Herbert confided (0 me a little joke which he had with a Maori in the Waikato. The magician was standing outside an hotel when the native rode up. "Ts that a good horse of yours ': " inquired the former. "Yes, very good horse." " Will you sell it?" "Ye.°." "How much?" "Twelve pounds." "All right! but I must examine it first," saying which the Professor stooped down' and lifting the horse's hoofs extracted a sovereign from each. He then opened the animal's mouth and shook a few more coins from it into his hat. "Ah ! " said he to the wondering native, this in a good horse; I'll have it." "No fear ! " shouted the proprietor, "mo no sell a horse like this," and oil' he galloped,

doubtless to try the coin-extracting process on his own account.

On my road to the hn.ll I looked in at Beck's drill-shed, where our Volunteers, under the superintendence of Captain Russell and the drill-instructor, were emulating Jim Crow of Ethiopian celebrity in the Wheel about Turn nbout, Dojist so, which is the necessary preliminary to military glory. At one end of the shed Lieutenant M'Leod was initiating the " awkward squad" into the " [Jo jist so." I am glad to find that thn new corps is putting iU whole soul (to say nothing of legs and arms) into its work, and that so far from being bnrcil by chills, 08 out of GO members have hitherto. shown up. This tivgurx well for its progress.