CONVENT SCHOOLS ENTERTAINMENT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXIII, Issue 272, 21 December 1887, Page 3

CONVENT SCHOOLS ENTERTAINMENT.

Phb eotettaiament Riven laat mg'it by !.'« jnpilß of St. Joaeph'B Conrent was very lucseaafnl, snd attraoted a Utßd audiencß, ?ho filled Ewart's Hall to its utoosi upaeity. The programms was an exceed, aalv'good one. The only fault, if fault 6 bo, wa3 the length of it ; bnt the youDg >cople proved quite equal to the strain. Vhen th« oartain waa raised a bright irray of j*yful facsa beamed on the indienee, who were pat m good humour , y the overture to •■ Zamp*," cleverly dayod on two pianos by the Misses J. )odeon. Soanlan, Eedwood. and N. aeirood Then £ollowai the chorus of 'Merrj ChrißtcoM," sung m the most uaty manner by aboat 100 of the pupils, he five and six-year-old dots being peeially noticeable for the hearty way they Dined m. A well executed pianoforte solo y Miss N. Eedwood was. followed. by an afantile reoitation," The Freed Bird," by Sissea F. Morrison and O'Sullivan, and yen the composer, Mra Hemans, might iav» been gratifled &t the way it ww enderea, the ohildten being apparently lutta nnoonßoioua of the fact that hundreds if people were gazing at them from the ioiy of the hnll. '• Chime Again " was hen very nicely played by two other ittle girls (Missei Ij. Boge« and Casey), ,nd the first par* of the programme wae iroughfc to ft eloee by Miss Redwood s inging o! that Bwee'i ballad, set to muaio >y Sir Jules Benedict every word of rh?eh was correctly and txpresaivaly eadered. A French dialogue, m which he Mißges N. Redwood, Ahem, O. Jedwood, Redwood, and Douslin took he partfl respectively of Ermance, Alice, Sabrielle. Jeanne, and Nelly, brought iut th« faot vividly, even to those who mderafeood not a single 7°™,"*™ lialosue, that " one touch of nature doth a«ke the who'.e world ken, v and that ihe quarrels of French Bohool-mrts »re rery similar to those of their English iißtera. The infant ac«on-sone, •• School »ateß,"!wa«torßaUty.ft very dever ■little mntnaime, and executed T»y jwy dkver ittle people, the Misses Casey. M. Mullen, jVo'Sullivan, L. Wrisb, , and M. Mark Chio was followed by Glover's « Elfin 3a11," Vfhich was Bpititedty given by the (borua, the " Wishing Cap," which came iexl belDg very nicely played on two >i anoß by the Misses Bogers Bl.ck, 3 wart, «nd O'Sullivan. M«a Kadwo-d. md Mis^ Mallen, who were dressed ia ihe garb of a Spa-iah lady and a page, hen sang tbe duet, " The Warrior Page heir actiog and sioginß being fairly good. •Oft m tbe Stilly Night," played v a iuet on the pianoforte by the Misses Bedwood and N. Redwood, " My Mother 8 3entle Word," sung by Miaa Redwood, md the recitation, " Cccar de Lion at the bier of bis Father," by Miss K. Redwood,yere all done full justice to, the recitation Mrs Hermans' poem being a fine eflort lor such a little girl. Another pianoforte luet, •• Blower-gatherers," by the Miefios Etojzere, L. Home, Houldaworth, and Morrison, agreeably terminated the second jart of the programme. Leshe'd comic martette, « The 0.P.R.A., or a Manager's ["roubles," was tbe next item on the pro.runnie.in which MissN.Redwood manaJer), Miss B Burton (soprano sifißert, Mies Redwood (Dutch tenor), and Miss Mullen Irish alto) cleverly sustained their resMotive parts. A pianoforte duer, by the ifisaea Soanlan, K. O'Snlhran, bl*y Ewart, and M. Douslin, _ preieded the s antata. " The Schorl Pesav«l, to which ill tho inveniles eagerly looked forward, is was shown by their approving smiles, ffiss Mullen, as " Qaeen of the Festival, liad a heavy part to sustain, bnt she noosed fully equal to the occasion, and ber-Binging of "Wear thy lily orown jnd other solob was well worthy of a irouag lady much move mature m years ihan the Qieeo. Her crowning of Miss A. Horton (Punctuality) with lilies, Miss O'Sullivan (Perseverance) with laurol, and Mi»s M. Douslin (Generosity) -with roses, wae done m quite a reßal style ; whilst her pithy lectures to Miss M. Ewart (ihe tardy scholar), to Mies A. Momaoa (tbe quarrelsome scholar), and her contemptuous orderiog off of tlft Selfi*h Scholar, were all accomplished m a. queenly fashion. All the other parts -were well suafcained, the audienc^ expr'eßsing approval on sereral occasions by ghoerers of bouquetß. There was » pretty little duet between Punctuality and Perseverance (Misß A. Hortou »nd Miss O'Sollivan), and the choruses were very good, especially "Tra-l- la-la, and "Praise the Lord." The company having rendered " God Defend New Zealand" right heartily, the solo parts being well sustained by Miss Redwood aud Miss Burton, the Eev. Father Lewis Trent on to the stage, preparatory to the " crowning of the most amiable," who, he stated, were aelccted by their schoolmates, and not by the Sisters. Dl- Mutter, who made the annual examination, then presented tho cuowna for amiability to Miss Minnie Doualin, of the Convent High School, and to Miss Annie Horton, of St. Mary's Parochial School, makin» a few appropriate remarks as he did so. He then proceeded to distribute the prizes, to ihe donors of which Father Lewis returned thanks on behalf of the Sisters. '-God sivethe Queen" brought the entertain, ment to a close about 11 o'clock. Wo might suggest that on a future occasion a shorter programme would be better, or e-lsc that the entertainment should commence at half -past seven o'clock. There were signs of weariness- and sleepiness amongst the juveniles m the body of the hall, although those on the stage kept wide awake and lively to the end. It is only right to add that, whilst the Sisters may well take a just pride m their pupils, a large measure of credit is due to the young lady who played the aecompaniinents, always following, never leading, the singers, as too frequently happens. The Hibernian Bam played some selections m front of the hall before the curtain went up. The band has considerably improved, and we shall soon have no lack of musical talent m Blenheim, judging by the entertainments lately given, The prizes were distributed as follows : —