AROUND THE WORLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 55

AROUND THE WORLD.

(From Otago Witness Specials.) Blenheim, March lb, 1001. Dear Bis, — Re Nell G Wynne's par. 111 tne Old Reliable of March 6 about Old Man Hanson The Adelphi Company played three mght3 here — "Never Too Late to Mend," "Ticket-01-leave Man," and "East Lynne" , the last a new version, with a strong element of comedy, so the tears fall m half-pints. Andrew Hodge, Crosbie Ward, Cha.s. Navlor, and the cheerful Gus Neville and others make up a capab'e crowd. Went on to the Coast after showing to good biz in Picton. — Yours truly, PAL Gatton (Q.), March 10, 1901. Dear Bis, — Clay's Wpxworks and Variety Company are on tins loute were billing W<-i-wick and Toowoomba while wo weie showing there. St. Hill ard Moodie had all the X S.W. show dates with a variety company and waigraph. They arrived at Tenterfield (N.S ITT .) last week by the train we departed m. Mrs Flo. Anderson, who was with us in the Noith Island la=t year, is with them. Percy St. John has been do.n^; Bnsbar.e ''on his own," with a variety cor^paiy Nance O'Neil opens on the 16th. We ploy Easter at "Ro. kh°mpton Theatie Royal. It is mst eight veais f-irce the PaViie Family ple\ed this circuit, and from the se\ eral papers I post you, j - ou can pec we are being enthusiastically leceived eveiy where. The «how lust low is excellent Best wishes to the Only Bis and the Old Reliable, from yours sincerely, BELLE PAYNE Perth, March 13, 1901 Dear Eis, — Bob Henry and company had a good season in Perth ; then on to the fields, where I hear they aie doing well. They leturn this week, -nil pla.< Fremantle three nights . then leave fo' New Sout'i "Wales openma; at Newcastle. John F. SheiicUn tells me he visits No>v Zealand shortly. Ho shou'd hav^ a successful trio, being supported by a pxo' J ! fill-round company. Hanv Ccgill returns fiom the fie'ds v lUI Ins comedy company at the ronclus'or. of Sheudan's seaso 1 hpie Clips. Faning i« the si ir vnth .Tones m.d Liwrence AYe aio to have a lesru'ai flov. of coo-1 compame o—Nance0 — Nance O'Ne'l. CII.I-. Ai lold, tLe Kova' Comics, and other- — =hoit!v -Ym>.s hulv, JOHN J HODGE. Cleveland (O ), US A Febrvarv 13, 1901. Dear "Bi"» — Theie has bpea very little news of rote my la'-t The death oi Queen A T ictorir, hrs leallv b'^cn the chief item of v - terest I wa3 m Chicago at the time, and I must say I was leallv «.u: prised at the conunc 't of the Chicagoan° There v\:i" ceila.n 1 ;' more sympathy shown than I ccu'd have leahsed. Of coursj a few individual? mode light of the affair, but, generally speaking, theie was Quite a gloom. Special services h-we been rendered in many of the churches, and excici = e-. bj school children ha\e bee.i the nuler of the da\. Whil«t Southern, tlu> ti.ic.edia'], m, pe'ionn 1115 "Hamlet" in the Ope' a Hou-e, Cincinnati. Ohio, fire broke out in the 'ower poitiop of the building. Much piaise is due to the menibera of the company for the heioic mt.nner they stood on the =tsge and helped the audience over the footlights, calling out to them not to crowd the exits, but make their way out as quickly and m as ordeilv a manne. as possible. This was done without any panic, and when I state that there were 2G03 people 111 the hou=e the excellent manner ia which the people behaved c«n be more leadny imagined than exolamed. By th° tune the company had assisted all out they had not time +0 secure their stieet clothes, having to leave the building ii\ tlieir stage ntti'e, which was not at all appropriate to the zero wcathi- t'>it w.is nr--valent at the time, 'lheie »,i- not ,'• -'ng'e casualty lepoited Tl>" Ope 11 FOl ■-. vis -m old building, and was lfdu^el 10 a-l'i I chopped 111 at a pc formance or° 1 i"ht entitled "AU at Sea" To niv E;rcit "sumii-" I lecojni^erl John "P 1 . She i''^i | ''- \>hv "AVi'low O'Buen " I think John F would h.tve h Ic l c fit to have seen the AVidow hashed un in the style it was done h"ie. On 'mot'iei oc> ii^ion "Tlie Village Paison" vis the nan c oi a diama. It lesembled "Tb^ ViH^^e Pae=t" =0 much that rhc cou'd not tell the difteicnre The Pan-Amencan Exuo'.tion is now b?in<? boomed all ovci the countiy It promises tn be the greatest financial success ever produced.

The reason of this i 3 because of the vc; \- ren tr'al location, being in the centre of a ponr.'atio:i of some 50,000,003 pconie a -id ci-^v jcccm by laihoad and lake* Alrcadv cheap lri'cs aie quoted. Since my arnval in Cleveland it has been snowing the whole time, with veiy cod ucatbei Thus I ha\e not had an opportunity of ■witnessing the much-talke rl -of scenerj-. As I «hall be here Fome days ere proceeding to Cincinnati and Columbus, I hope tlieie will be a pleasant spell of weathei which will allow me to gel aiound Skating, sleighirg, tobogganing, aiid the ice shoots aie well patiomscd; but I am taking mine v, arm, thank you. In vaudeville shows in Chicago the rail-can dance has a^am taken hold of the peo]/e, and scarcely a fallow cjii be seen but it is introduced, as aie the Onental dance* I cannot lesist mentioning a fact, that will doubtless cause \nu to doubt the assertion. But I as&ure you it is a fact. I went through one of the bv-- r rcets of Chicago, and in three blocks counted 47 saloon= There was one bock with 17 in a row, with the exception of one building, which was a chug °toie I think such a thins; as that m N"ew Zealand woii'd give the prohibitionists great work to do. Wntnig of sa'oons reminds me th?t a crusade is ?t present going on in Kansas, led by a woman, who with 40 or 50 ethers goes round at night to enforcs the midnight closing ordnance. Any place found ope.i they attack with stones, stick?, and axes, and by accounts to hand this day it := state;! th",t the proprietors -md bartenders have suffered personal \ jolence. In lnv ncrt lctte- T want lo write a few worrls about the automobile, which is becoming so popular here. There is an auto hearse m Chicago, and it is fetsted that everyorc is dying to have a ude in it Fact. 1 must now drawto a close, trusting- you are -enjoying best of heath. Kird legards to all New Zetland fuends and best wither to the Only Bis. — Yours iiaterr uh GEO. V. BECK. Permanent addrea^ Milwaukee, Wi ; . Dear Bis, — Leila TJoze. through with London Gaiety Company m '93, ws playing principal boy m last Christmas pantomime at Bnmingham, England Judging from her latett portrait. Leila, o: the onticung figure, seems as fascinating as e\er Writei °niilingly lemernbers the "o-o-ooh 1 " of admiration provoked fiom tliG baldheads and Johnnies m the stalls, Opera House, "Wellington, by Leila's appearance as young Fau=t o.i the rirst night. It — the admnatioii — was undisguised. Do the "boys" — thea — ot the foui centies have happy remembrances. I wonder, of the above comnauv'q "lovely ladies" 9 Ah. the supper-, and the e»bs, and the jewellery, and Bessie Wentworth, lately deceased, was buried on the div upon which she was to have been mamed. Her part of principal boy 111 "Crusoe" at the Broadway, New Cross, waa taken by Miss Alma Obrey. Bessie never had a singing 'ecsoii 111 her life, and her success wai due "iirost entirely to natural talent. As a "heavy <■-.', ep"' clog dancer she was probably unrivalled She was veiv generous. 'Tis lelated thai her method was to walk into a room, put a bank note on the table, and walk cut agai 1 without speaking. "I have a honor o' being thanked," she used to say, "it isn't charity at ill. we simply share with each other I may be m want myself some d£3", when I am old, and lie public have tirecl of me.'' C'ara Oemens, daughter of S. L (llaik Twain), v/ho has been under the tuition of Mnies. Blprc'ie, Marchesi, and Biandt, ia about to irate her debut upon- the conceit .stage 111 America She is said to be the possessor of an excellent voice. A new coster's magazine at Home contains an account of the experiences of its dramat-c critic lie wa= shown into the stalls, and felt jo v nnoirfoi table 111 the, to li'in, unaccustomed seat that he veiy neailv skedaddled v,hen the orchestra suddenly struck up '"E dou't know where 'c are'" However, the not° of ridicule stiffened the critic's back, he sat stia-ijjht in hi = stall throughout, and never turned his head at the cloud of pellets which fell from acquain t^nces li 1 the galleiy. Scene A large province l vauetv tbeatie Abiclutc silence m the lars;e audience On th< -are a quartette, delighted with thea hold over the house, were lingering on the low, "-oft notes at the oncl of their vocal effort. Suddenly a =uiall shrill-voiced boy, in the front of the gallery, burst into the melting harmory with an audible =tage whisper, "Gam 1 I can 'ear ver '" The wrstei of ' Sidp l 'flits'' 111 the Glasgow Mail o" a late dr>tj ssys ' The miners as a class did not ficqv.enl the pantomimes this year , the other enteitamments seemed to appeal tc them more. The younger lad*, if they were ii a quartet where one could plpv n melodeon, thought they were in their gory I could not heln smilin<; at the mdc jebtiff that ->n 111-teHigent-Dvel mm got fiom oie of theee melrdeon plnveis They we:e oithnt; 111 a tbncl class comoai tirteut at the Central stat.on, arcl a f ter one 0' the lads ha' 1 concluded plavinsj R. G. KnowWs fetching sonc, "Girlie, girlie. ' the mtelhgeni-eved man thus put in » compliment, "You aro a thoiough adept. A scowl lumped to the reaver's face, and he snapped. "-iNTaw I'm nn , it's yov that's the — adept l An' if I had you nt Cunslanc: I'd wring yer ■ l.eik'" J acimiif l that intelligent-cve'l man. H" offe ed 1.0 tin' ,'irt'on. Tic simply Wt the 1 om'j irtnipnt ?<;d took hi* n another — Yrurs tru'y, Mmos