"THE NEW HUMOURISTS.”

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10218, 12 December 1893, Page 6

" THE NEW HUMOURISTS.”

—-—V-, ; ■ There was a very largo attendance at the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association last evening to hear Misa Freeman, 8.A., deliver the first of three lectures on ' The New Humourists.” This lady, who is principal of Qirton College, Dunedin, was the first lady graduate of the .Otago University. She is a fluent speaker and an entertaining lecturer, and handled her subject in a manner that showed her to be thoroughly acquainted with it. The' stage had been nicely decorated, and the chair waa occupied by Mrs D. Wilson, Secretary to the Women’s Institute, the lecture being under the auspices of that Society. The Countess of Glasgow, with one ot her daughters and Mias Wauohope. was present, and wan welcomed by Mrs Wilaon, the Countess being presented with a bouquet by the youngest member of the Institute. It had been intended to hive the lecture interspersed with musical itams.'but owing to the illness of onoof the quartette party, this had to" bo abandoned. Miss Freeman dealt with; the . writings of Jerome JET. Jerome, quoting from several of hia beat-known hooks. (She main tamed that the amount of criticism of books indulged in at the present time was excessive, and contended that far more good was to be gained by allowing; the authors to talk to the people through their books than by all the criticism that had ever been written about their works. She objected that a great deal of captious criticism was now indulged in> and pointed out that by allowing one critic to review a book for a number of newspapers, as was frequently the case in England, an author wsii unjustly treated, as people who were unaware of the fact that the several criticisms were written by one man, were apt to form the idea that as several had condemned a hook it must necessarily be a poor production. During the lectupej, which lasted two hours, Misa Freeman too frequently applauded. nest lecture • will bo given to-morrow evening.