DANIEL O'CINNELL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVIX, Issue 3007, 19 December 1896, Page 1 (Supplement)

DANIEL O'CINNELL.

HIS ADY'BNTILRE WITH BIDDY MOKIARTY.

In Mr Madden’s entertaining “ Revelations of the South of Ireland” is an amusing account of a scolding match which took place between O'Connell and a notorious huckster woman who kept a stall on the qUay, near the Four Courts, Dublin, untried .Biddy Moririrty, This was in his juvenile flays at the Bar; he'prided himself on his skill, ill the use of strong language, while Mrs Mjriarty’s voluble impudence vivas proverbial. Bets were laid as to the success of O’Connell in the tVordy war. I give the rencontre iii Madden’s words

" O’Connell was very confident of successho laid an ingenious plan for overcoming her, and, with all the anxiety of an ardent experimentalist, waited to put it into practice. He resolved to open the attack. At this time O’Connell’s own party and the loungers about the place formed au audience quite sufficient to rouse Mrs M.oriarty, on public provocation, to a duo exhibition of her powers. O’Connell commenced the attack.

" ‘ What’s tho price of this walking-stick, Mrs What’s your name ? ’ “ ‘ Moriarty, sir, is my name, and a good one it is; and what have you to say agen it, and one-and-sixpenoe is the price of the stick; throt it’s ohape as dirt, so it is.’ " ‘ One and sixpence for a walking-stick ! Whew ! Why you are no better than' au impostor to ask eighteen pence for what cost you twopence.’ " ‘ Twopence, your grandmother!’ replied Biddy; ‘do you mane to say that it is cheating tho people I am ? Impostor, indeed !’

“ ‘ Aye, impostor, and it’s that I call you to your teeth,’ rejoined O’Connoll. “ Come, cut your stick, you cantankerous jackanapes.’ " ‘ Keep a civil tongue in your head, you old diagonal!’ cried O’Connell, calmly. “ ‘ Stop your jaw, yon pug-nosed badger, or by this and that,’ cried'Mrs Moriarty, ‘l’ll make.you’go quicker than you came.’ “ ‘ Don’t be in a passion, my old radius anger will only wrinklo your beauty.’ “ ‘ By the hokay, if you say another word of impudence I’ll tan your dirty hide, you bastely scrub ; and sorry I’d be to soil my fists upon your carcase.’ “ ‘ Whew, boys, what a passion old Biddy is in ; I protest, as I am a gentleman.’ “ ‘ Jintleman! jiutlomau! the likes of you a jintleman! Wisha, that bangs Banagher. Why, you potato-faced pippinsqueezer, when did a Madagascar monkey like you pick up enough of common Christian decency to hide your Kerry brogue ?’ “ ‘ Easy now, easy now,’ cried O’Connell, with imperturbable good humour, ‘ don’t choke yourself with flue language, you old whiskey-drinking parallelogram!’ “ • What’s thatyouoallrae, you murderin’ villain ?’ roared Mrs Moriarty, ■ stung into fury. “‘I call yon,’ answered- O’Connell, ‘ a parallelogram; and a Dublin judge and jury will not say that it’s no libel to call you so.’ ‘“Ob, taro-oii-ouus! .Oh, you ruffian 1 That an honest woman like me should be called a parrybellygrum to her face. I’m none of your parrybellygrums, you rascally gallows bird; you cowardly, sneaking, plate-lickeu’ bliggard!’ “ ‘ Oh, not you, indeed !* retorted O’Connell. ‘Why, I.suppose you’ll deny that you keep a hypotenuse in your house.’ “ • It’s a lie for you, you robber; I never had such a thing in my house, you swindling thief.’ , “ • Ah. you can’t deny the charge, you miserable submultiple of a duplicate ratio.’ - “ ‘ You saucy tinker’s apprentice, if you don’t cease your jaw I’ll ,* but here she gasped for breath, while O'Connell proceeded :

“‘While I have a tongue I’ll abuse you, you most inimitable, periphery. Look at her, boys; there she stands,. a convicted perpendicular in petticoats! There she trembles with guilt down to the extremities of her corollaries. Ah, you’re found out, you rectilineal antecedent and equiangular old hag; you porter-swiping similitude of the bisection of a vortex “Overwhelmed with this torrent of language. Mrs Moriarity was silenced. Catching up a saucepan, she was aiming at O’Connell’s head, when ho prudently made a timely retreat. . “ ‘ You have won yonr wager. O’Connell ; here’s your bet,’ cried the gentleman who proposed tho contest,” . O’Connell know well the use of sound in vituperation, and having to deal with an ignorant scold, he determined to overcome her in volubility by using all the sesquipedalia verba which occur in Euclid. With these, and a few- significant epithets, and a scoffing, impudent demeanour, he had for once imposed silence on Biddy Moriarty.

Tbo acfofa are come hither, my lord, Buz, Buz !" —Hamlht

Those old established favourites of the Wellington playgoing public, the Pollard Opera Company, will commence a season at tho Opera House on Boxing Kight. Planquette’s charming opera “ Rip Van iVinklo ” being the opening piece. Several other novelties will follow' “Rip Van Winkle."

The Wanganui Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society staged “Dorothy" on Monday last, the performance being a groat success. The cast included Blisses Dawson (Dorothy), Kitchen (Lydia Hawthorne), Scott (Phyllis Tuppett), and Mrs Burrows (Airs Privett). Mr W. Hall was The Lurcher, J. Beasley (Squire Bantam), J. T. Muir (Geoffrey Wilder), and 11. Haynes (Harry Sherwood). After the performance those taking part in it were entertained at supper at the Rutland Hotel on the invitation of Mr E. J. Jelliooe of Wellington.

Tho Chevalier Da Kontski has left Australia for Colombo. He makes a lengthy touf through India before returning to Germany.

The Alfred Woods Dramatic Company now up north, plays “ Hands across the Sea," The Wages of Sin " and similar productions. Included in the company are Messrs Collet Dobson, J. P. West, Miss Marion Medway, and other players wellknown in this colony.

Mr Joe St. Clair, who was i.n town last week* lias gone north to engineer the Potter-Bellow keasoi'i. •

Chirgwin, an eccentric comedian, wellknown to Londoners as tho “ White Eyed Musical Kaflir," has arrived in Australia under engagement to Mr.jJarry Rickards.

Tho Djiu Djin Company played an Adelaide season after- tho Melbourne carnival.. Shall we ffow Zealanders ever see this wonderful spectacle ?

Florence Young, Juliet Wray, May Pollard, Flora Graupner, Berkeley, and Lauvi will be in the cast of the panto at Melbourne Princess. According to the Sydney Referee the theme of the panto is Egypt restored tc its ancient glory. Mr Inuri will play the part of a stockbroker who goer round trying to float every mummy and monument into a company. A kind of humour which will have a rather ghastly aspect for most Melbournians.

Hilda Spong is said to complain bitterly of tho severity of the English climate and it is stated she “will have to return to Auslralia on account of her health,” H— -—in, this doesn’t look as if tho fair Hilda had made too much-of a success.

Mr Edward Ferris, the , new Jemie premier who replaces Cecil Ward with the Brougli Coy. was to make his first appearance on December 12 in “ Nancy and Co."

George Rignold has revived “ Henry V" at the Sydney Royal. Miss Emily Hughes is the Princess Katherine and Miss Kate Bishop (Mrs Lohr) the Dame Quickly. Others in the cast ate Frank Hawthorne (Fluellon), J. W. Sweeney (Pistol), Sterling Whyte, Frank Orossley, and Ida Gresham.

Miss Fanny Wiseman, well-known in New Zealand, ir said to have fallen in evil limes in Sydney, and a benefit is talked

Bland Holt.continues to do very well at Melbourne Royal, and the Brough Oomedy Ouy. occupy the Bijou in the same city.

Wallace Bniwolow, the handsome baritone late of the Royal Comic Opera Coy., now runs a pub in Westralia, the Exchange Hotel, Kalgoorlio.

Willie Walsh made his first bow in London at a concert in connection with the Polytechnic Institute, Hia principal success was secured in “ Let me like a soldier fall "—a number to which Australian audiences have been frequently treated hy tho tenor. For encore, ho sang 11 Take a pair of sparkling eyes," and gained great applause. Walsh is repoi ted to have exchanged that sp’rit of expressionless interpretation which greatly marred his best efforts in Australia for ono of contrary kind.— Bulletin. According (o the Melbourne Age, Mr Chanter, the late Mrs Scott Seddous’ husband, has been for many years in a Melbourne lunatic asylum. The Brough Comedy Company returns to Sydney Criterion for the Christmas season Four completely new plays are to be staged;—“Nancy and Co. “A Woman’s Reason ; ” “ Mrs Othollo ; ” and “Gudpapa." The Potter-Bellow Company, due at Auckland next week, did very good business recently at -Sydney with “ The Merchant of Venice.’’ Soot Inglis scored once more in hia “ Antonio " but Mrs Potter’s Portia did not particularly entrance the critics. An Auckland correspondent states that Miss Kate Vaughan has been married to Mr Harry Baxter, *-

The likeness between the throe Lee sisters, though not very striking to those who know them well, has led to curious incidents, says The Stage, One of these happened after a performance of “Jo" at a theatre not 100 miles from London. When the curtain had fallen a lady gained pnrmisrion to go behind the scenes and see Miss Jennie Lee. She was rather short-sighted, and meeting one of the company coming from a dresdng room, she exclaimed, “ How charmed I have been,, dear, jvith your “Jo ! " I never cried so much before, or felt'such pity for the poor little outcast. God bless you, child!” “I am nut Jennie was answered, “I am Katie, who played ‘ Ouster.’ ” Again the would be cons.ratulator was foiled, for upon meeting Mias Ada Lee coming from her room she gushed in a similar fashion over her, only to be answered, “ I am not Jennie, 1 am Ada Lee." Finally, she was rewarded by finding Miss Jennie. Holding out her bauds, she said, “ I have a-ked God’s blessing bn both your sisters, and there is little left tor me to say. Kiss me, dear.” And tho famous exponent of poor little ragged “Jo" was warmly kissed on both cheeks

Mr John Fuller, a fine tenor, here with the Albu sisters, and who has for some time been residing in Auckland, where ha has given a long series of popular concerts, opens at the Opera House on Christmas night with his Wyrolama, an entertainment of the Music, Song and Story description.

The Rev Haskett Smith, who has been in the colonies for over a year, left for England via America by the Mariposa recently.

“Dream Faces," a charming little Oomiedietta by Wynn Miller, which was played at the Opera House, Wellington, in 1895, by the Kenmdy-Lucas Company, was produced in Australia .for the first time by Brough’s Comedy Company at the Bijou Theatre,- Melbourne, a f&rtuight back.

Probably the moat delicate compliment ever paid to an Australian actor was that paid by Du Maurier, authored “Trilby,” to George Darrell. George started out to play Svengali, and Du Maurier died the very next day.— /Ja'.ktin.

Miss Sadie McDonald, the “ilirt”of “A Trip to Chinatown,” appeared in “ The Milk White Flag ” on its first production

in Sydney, and, says an exchange, ‘‘put more life and soul and energy into her part than was usual oven with her. Then she went home and died six hours later. The mercurial little woman was but 22 years old, and her fluid illness lasted something loss than an hour in all. '1 he cause of her death was proved by medical evidence at the post mortem, to be apoplexy, not, as alleged, from a spinal injury sustained whilst practising a' Catherine-wheel at rehearsal.

Of all Shakespeare's historical characters “ Henry V." is the only one who leads wlut may bo called a permanent existence, and it is George Kignold that keeps him alive. Of late years, “ Henry V." may not have repaid any too lavishly the man who preserves him from extinction, but Kignold still stages him with all his accustomed caro and accuracy. When that veteran actor quits tile scene, and Henry in his coat of brass and iron no longer rattles like a orato of agitated hardware across the landscape, and his coat of mail with its iron tail is reverently laid away with his dusty bones, there will be a big gap in Shakespearian art, and the bard will have made another long stride towards oblivion.

Mr B. Lewis Scott, who dramatised “ The Silence of Dean Maitland,” and other pieces, was to bo tendered a testimonial benefit at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, Monday, of this week.

Players, as a section of tho community, are the most generous and tho most produced. The churches sail at them on Sunday, and on Monday request and obtain their free services for, a charity fete. If aft actor ntns away With a woman, or stumbles into the divorce court, “ it’s a wretch of an actor who's done it." Can the stage bo said always to have a wayward tendency, when Harry Conor, of “ A Trip to' Chinatown," who is essentially a low comedian, writes a mass which is sung each Sunday in a certain Sydney church. Superstition in the profession has much decreased within my memory. There was a strong superstition about “ Macbeth.;” nobody liked to hear “ Macbeth ” music, or a “Macbeth” quotation. The reason was, I believe, that several theatres, while performing that’play, were burnt down. The character of Deacon Skinner, in “ Struck oil,” was another bogey—so many who had impersonated it had died. When Arthur D.icre murdered himself and wife two or three refused his part. —“ Lorgnette ” in Jf.Z. Mail.