GREAT WORLD CIRCUS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 686, 25 January 1866, Page 6

GREAT WORLD CIRCUS.

The union of talent, industry, and capital, of which rfchia enterprise is tho result, can hardly he appreciated by those who do not witness, or havo not experience to estimate, the degree of escellonce manifested by tho several members of this equestrian and acrobatic troupe. To fay that they are worthy of rank with highest exhibitions of the kind in London, •would be to do them scant justice, for thsy havo visited London and created Bearcely less excitefnent in that city of a thousand exhibitions than they have caused here. We Jhave described at considerable length tho performances of the first programme; we shall proceed as briefly as possible to give some nocount of tbe second. The procession of kniglits an'l ladies pirouetting upon crea&a-eolorod steeds is to the performance in tho arena what the prologue is to the play, and beyond saying that in respect to colour, graceful riding, and intricate involution of movement, it is all that could bo desired. Wo may be -jillowed to pass it without further comment- Last evening tbe new programme was again performed to all overflowing house. First in order came an exhibition of tumbling, in which tho elasticity of the human figuro was put to tho most extraordinary tests, the tumblers seeming to revolve in a series of jgelt'-constiturod circle., lnrisonlal and vertical at discretion, while tho nr.;nof persons tliuu engaged Jind tlieir individual peculiarities afforded zest to tho •spectators, not loss diversified than the performance itself. But perhaps tho most singular performance ■of all was that by some half dozen dog.-", ■belonging to, and tr lined by, Mr. Cooke. Their .■sagacity was worked into the most extraordinary J>ie;3 of pantomimiery that ever was witnessed. The .audience were obliged fairly to give up any reservation they had as to tho propriety of clothing " puppy -dogs'" in crinoline and long tail coats, and to yield themselves to bursts of uncontrollablo laughter. The ••thing was tho most grotesque exhibition wo havo ever iccorded. But Mr. Cooko s who is a muster oi' counter i>oint, invented a series of situations in which his canine favourites were induced to place themselves, producing an effect unspeakably comical. thiswasthe comio tumbling olio by Messrs Carlo and Koss, of which we have uiroady spoken, hut a new effect was added by the disappearance of • one of tie performers into a Hour baircl, at the samo tirno that he was shut up in a sick. Then followed ■the beautiful pose-riding of Mdlle. Ella Zjyara. The Bplemlid physique of Jthis fair artiste, the .faultless sym netry of her form, tho grace and airiness of her every motion elicited shouts ofuJmiraiion, to which hor daring 111 jumping over any width of drapery, and through numberless hoops, e::a:-ted -a scarcely less vociferous compliment. Z'jLmuzoh vol ante ! was the exclamation of an excellent "judge oi tlnse matUvs. Certainly it is us like as possible, ami we venture the opinion with coutuh-mo that what Cerito and hllsler were to the tour do ballet, La Zoyan is to tho circus. The performance- ot Senor Olma on La Perche, and again as the man monkey, came next, and for agility, muscular t-nsion, rapidity of change, we have never seen it surpassed. jJlr. Cooke ua jo»ter furnishes the thread upon whiuii these nduijrablo performances are struug. Ho h. in \en tod a literature of his own—a literature too it nrust be said, having by very force of contrast tomething peculiar. Any amount of yauchcrie would be -excused, but few would expect tho moralist to dress liicr.selt in motley. And why not? "Was not the .suit of the most illustrious of tho fathers of old varicolored? Is thero a:>y placo whero the ies;on ot intelligent exp?>i co is out of place? May not tho man 'A . ~ has been probing humanity for a quarter ofcen' ry for tho senso of tho ridiculous, having found it, wrap up in it a few home troths which in this guise may be administered as a ■uo.lo of moral physic, tho efleet of which will bo the more restorative, because taken without revulsion? Certainly. All this ilr. Cooke Nor is there in his whole dialogue of drollery an intimation that can give the slightest offence to the purest thought. It in what lie deals with he " nothing extenuates," neither does he '• set down aught in malice." Nor is there the slightest approach to vulgarity, but tho fun is genuino and not too fast to be caught in passing. There appealed alsj young Ducro.v, and we had almost forgotten to mention Mr. Ross and Mdlle. •tjremma This young lady is pretty and petite, and she was carried round the ring by Mr. lio-s riding two horses in almost every conceivablo kind of graceful pose. Noxr held at arm's length, then balanced on his shoulder or his knees. This performance elicited great applause. There has certainly never been in Auckland such an entertainment as this upon so extensive a scale, and One feels the greater pleasure in bearing testimony to high excellence when knowing that it is supported by the individual members with a high toneof feeling and gentlemanly ease of manner. Friday (to-morrow) night will be a gala night, ■being under the patronage of the Right Worshipful the -Provincial Graiid Master I C.; the Right Worshipful the Provincial Grand Master, S.C. ; and the Worshipful Masters of the Lodges in Auckland and Onehunga. Speaking of Masonic benefits, the C ilifornian Sundiy Times says ai follows :—" Benefit to the Masonic Board of Relief.—The funds of this charitable organisation have for sometime pa-t l.een at an exceedingly low ebb, andso frequent :' ■ r nt have been the demands upon it of late, i»...» .1 ' 10came absolutely necessary that some active measures should be taken to replenish its depleted treasury. With this object in view, a committee of the Boarl of Relief waited upon Mr. John Wilson, the enterprising and indefatigable manager of the unrivalled Circus Company which has been performing in thi3 city, who, ever prompt to respond to the •ca'l of charity, at once placed his mammoth pavilion, and the company under liis management, at the disposal of the Board, for a benefit which took place on Hinrsdav evening, 14th iust. The affair proved to be a success in every respect. The performance was a brilliant ono and the pecuniary result gratifying in the extreme, the nett proceeds .amounting to about $3000. Great credit is due Mr. Wilson for his untiring efforts to bring about this result, and we trust our brethren will remember his generosity wherever he may go. At a meeting of the Boar of Belief, held on the lGth inst., the following resolution was unanimously adopted : —Resolved, — " That the thanks of this Board bo tendered to John Wilson, Esq., for tho generous offer of his mammoth pavilion, and the services of the equestrian and acrobatic company under his management, for a benefit in aid of our charity fund, and for his arduous and unremitting efforts to render that benefit a complete and gratifying success. "