Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 493, 25 July 1857, Page 4

Local Intelligence.

At the sitting of the Waste Lands Board on ot ruial land put up to auction as being under 20 acres m extent. The amount realised at thl -PIP« « mI v" e >viz • —±-I<s3 18s.; they fetohprl

venient accommodation. Mr. Bradwell's r i of the play was judicious, and as full a a *°, B* ment of the thoughts and meaning of th Shakespeare in this majestic play as the n of one man could produce. That the anrTWerß followed with pleasure the noble laneu Cc the poet, and. appreciated the successful e l! 4 of of the reader to translate, if W e may so »!? the written ideas into speech, the frequent 8 plause elicited fully showed. There were ahPI one hundred and fifty persons present/ ! The Town Hall was quite crammed to over flowing on Thursday night when the theatr" opened. We had no idea that the Hall could spare space for a stage, and afterwards finl room for the number of persons who were the present, especially so as to provide comfortabT seats and convenient positions for all i n ■ th* house. Two hundred might have been th' number of persons present. It was an evenin" of great delight to all. We had heard much of Mr. Foley's taste and energy in the fittln'' and decoration of theatres, and of Mrs. Fol **' wonderful histrionic powers, as criticized byThe press of the neighbouring provinces. But far from being disappointed, as from this cause might have been expected, we must say that we did not even expect to witness such finished performances as were presented, to us on that night. The evening opened with an address written for the occasion, and spoken by Mrs Foley, which we give below. The beaiitifnl burletta of Planch/s The Loan of a Loviff lowed. We are unable to do full critical iustic* to the style of acting, since we lack that basis of judgment the comparison with already tried and eminent artists; but we , can say with justice that the representation was fully equal to the spirit and ideas of the author. Of Mrs Foley's rendering of the part of Gertrude in this piece, her first appearance before the public of Canterbury,we must say that a more brilliant animated, and thoroughly true representation could not have been put upon any stage. Tha admirable spirit of arch simplicity which Mrs. ioley threw into her part was so well suited to her, that she alone would have carried the piece through with applause, even if the other parts had been perfect failures. We have ! however, much pleasure in bestowinc our highest approbation upon the whole company ; among so small a number there are no excep' ?°^ c P arV of Peter SPyk is well suited to Mr. ioley, and he supported it in dress, in voice, and in action, to the immense delight of the audience. Miss Tournear was quiet, gracetul and pretty, as became Ernestine. Of the amateurs Mr. Seymour undoubtedly dis- | tingmshed himself most. His rendering of the i Dutch steward was graphic and comical, and for an amateur, he exhibited a...»wonderful, almost, a sufficient confidence before the footlights. Mr Montague s labours were short, but the will to excel was manifest. Mr. Henries was scarcely in his • proper place. In a part of broader comedy we should expect greater success for this gentleman To the orchestra, small but efficient, great credit was due. The Loan of a Lover is lull of songs, many of great beauty; they were well glven by Mrs. Foley. At the close of the piece, when all were called in turn before the curtain, Mr. Foley, coming forward in his turn, took occasion to explain that Mrs. Foley was abounng under a severe cold, and thus to apologise for her want of voice. We know that the audience yielded their indulgence to Mrs. Foley in refraining from an encore, but the apology was not needed. The famous song of Villikins ana Dinah was after an interval given by Mr. Foley and encored. The farce of Betsy Baker, one of Maddison Morton's productions, followed. We have not left ourselves room to touch at length upon the representation of this piece in a critical way. It was on the whole successful, but not so thoroughly so as its predecessor. The excessively natural personification of Betsy by Mrs. Foley was equalled in extravagant humour only by the exceedingly «»■ natural Mouser of Mr. Foley. We must say that this part in Mr. Foley's hands is far removed from that contemplated by the author; but he really makes it so excessively ludicrous, and takes the fancy of the audience so rarely, that we should be sorry to ask him to step at all out of his way after truth. The smart dialogue and bustling rapid action, in this little piece is scarcely suited to unskilled amateurs, and we are doing no discredit to Mr. Montague s abilities when we say that the evident pains which he has taken to master the part ot Crummy, no easy one fora beginnner> not yet quite sufficient to place the character in perfection on the boards. To him and to the other (gentlemen who have contributed their energies to our entertainment, we must offer our cordial thanks. . We are extremely gratified with the success on Thursday evening, and we me sure that the brilliant efforts of Mr. and mrs *oiey will draw crowds on future occasions to the theatre. We ought to have said that not a iew among the audience on this first occasion were residents of Christchurch and of other parts of the country at a distance from LyttelWe have to conclude the news of the few days past with a melancholy subject. The last accounts from Akaroa, dated Tuesday evening last, mention that no success had up to that time attended the search for Mr. Dieken. On r£l, Pr >cVI2 US ,Friaa y (yesterday week), $* £; ck. en» *« tad returned home. A search was instituted on Saturday and Sunday in com; £S y w F lth} h* do S> bit the animal slunk behind and refused to enter she bush, making no effort' to return to his lost master. We fear that all "ope must now bo mvan „«

F loi. Of OPKN.NO TH« TH.ATE- BOYAL, . itS OCCi tTTT BI.TOI». 1 j nrf natron*! in another clim» Lad Ion? '"'f,^ merrily a» they. did. _ l(W Uely, well 'a" ht on ,i followed each hi. craft; °.;fc pretty-re they Uughud. . hBP afcertain anciont stories to «, »8h °r' a taftling, jolly, m* of fellow(l- • they were ft ." "g B For none can say, at any rat., ;oatli fc cy oa »elve • becoraß degenerate. . nattbeirdewenoa ghon , d fakH after . """•U'V?l ei'r toil; but can you match their laughter? f o n mateh tne" „ d ; For six years and a half ' Y°U TvouVenever tried to rai.e , laogh ? )iyott mean y Bolemn featare« ? Jever by joyful creature.! )isT' "Xt tot you »a.t and .hall, for now W 'ftlr Vdey come to teach yoa how jere'f »r- * ' tboug hts be «et in workman1! trim >ye ! though ; j kled an( j your feature* grim, * Wth .refLnnV, laugh, will come like magic, M™ T/too, ri" be bound, when we are tragic. f B lye! laugh and cry! Doo. not th. .am. ..» ' fdmted an your native isle? P» nr "f his eou«e, instead of left to right, right to left, and day le.night j; , 9 vow from rig agronomy ; noSrferewith our- economy. rl)ft T.hosun'B north instead of being nonth, l m* A notUugh the wrong Hide of your mouth ? l"i£ may Pol"* in o PP o«ite direction., ■ l"?£L aid heart., and pasaion*, and affection. ?, tSSI "a wild as though in dog-day* bitten) ■ ( i i!,!t like those of Englishmen in Britain. & iS Scotch, or Yankees, all the .amo; ere the whole difference ift in the n»m«. «Ie varieties of birth or. bwed, Jait like peculiarities of feed, taf oatmeal, leek, or pumpkm, aye, or 'tater), c left on t'other side of the equator. . Son, or Celtic, Lowlander, or Hieland, fe've all one oommon conntry in New Zealand. And us, kind friends, the roorers of yoor mirth, Bid welcome to your chosen upot of earth. • Of old the Muses loved Arcadian plain., And the tweet conrerse of the shepherd .waim. lAnd we are come, like them, with pipe and tabor, To brine you recreation after labour ; . To tare your thoughts awhile from grain and flaec.; Jo sWII you in the gentler arte of peace; Jo bring the merchant pleasantly to book ; JTo catch the shepherd by the hook or crook ; To fill with funny airs the lawyer's wig, To teoch the farmer " Otium cum dig." ; long may they flourish, may they prosper *r«r ! |To aid their nimple joyi is our endeavour. fTis ours to minister to your delight; ; iße't it yours to bid us welcome here to-night; •A trnt colonial greeting make, the heart leap light. \y 23rd, 185r.