POPULAR LECTURES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13335, 11 July 1907, Page 6

POPULAR LECTURES.

«a»' "HAMLET." The seating accommodation of Chalmers Hall was again fully occupied last evening, when 'Mr„G. Dalglish, 8.A., delivered: the fourth of the series of lectures which are being given in aid of the new Sunday School at W-sstfield. The Rev. R. Jackson presided, and briefly introduced the speaker, who then read a mosS interesting paper on Shakespeare's ," Hamlet." , As an introduction to the study of the play and tli? characteroosf s that name, Air DalgiHi gave a review of. the poet's life. The plot, of the great 'tragedy was ably presented in narrative form, and the paper concluded with a short contemplation of the character of " The mad Prince of Denmark." Mr Dalglish also made reference to the opinions expressed by such men as Goethe and Coleridge, and characteristic:; of the play, which had given rise to worldwide controversy. During the course 'lf the lecture Mr J.. Fleming.. rea(l. some of the more famous portions of the work: Polonius' advice to Laertes; Hamlet's speech when he came upon the murdererking in prayer; the king's soliloquy at the sanii time, and Hamlet's) soliloquy—" To be or not to bs." Songs were contributed bv Miss Murdoch, Messrs Black, Alexander, and Dalglish. A Vote of thanks to tin lecturer and tlie assisting performers, proposed by Mr J: Scott and 'Seconded by Mr McHutcheson, was carried amidst applause. WESLEY GUILD. At the weekly meeting of Wesley Guild last evening, Mr 'l'. P. V oung read a paper oil " Early Days in Otago.' Mr W. Penrose presided.' Mr Young's paper does mrt lend itself to condensation, as it consisted of a series of vignettes of the early life of the pioneers of Otago, he recalled them from the days of hip boyhood, liis parents arriving and settling at Port Chalmers three years after the arrival of the first ships with immigrants in 1848. He dwelt at the outset, on the value' of | the work dons by the pioneers, and re- j

marked that, if the. men deserved credit for their pluck, the women lim-H; have been heroines indeed, to have faced the long voyage to an unknown land in the small vessels of those days. He described their simple homes and makeshift furniture, their walls decorated with hams aiid Hitches of " Captain Cooks." Their garden stuff was Maori cabbage (th : . B also thanks to Captain Cook). Being a youngster he went to school — echool hours (with an hour for dinner) 9 -to 5 p.m.,. or later if tasks were not completed and the master locked them in school while he went, for his tea, and he claimed that the schools then turned out as good scholars as under the more elaborate system of to-day. And <t-lie pupils did not forget- their teacher, now a man of ninety. Schooling had to be paidsfor, and was the more- valued, and books were deal' and had to be taken cai'i* of, so that they could be handed down through ihe family, and to write anything in them, other than the user's name was equivalent to a crime. '. How different from the custom of to-day, when it seemed to be the rule to disfigure as much, as possible. The first half hour of every day was devoted to Bible-read-ing, without comment, and Mr Young submitted that time could be found for it now. " After leaving school he worked for some -time as a carpenter,: and the first building he was engaged on was still extant-. He next dealt with •the social lifei of the period, the occasional " visit," lasting a week ; the wedding, with its serenade; that presently degenerated into larrakin tin-kettling; the regular .attendance at church services, regardless of weather or other difficulties ; socials (better than those of to-day he claimed). The first wheeled vehicle in Bunedin, a. bul-locli-cart which all hands turned out- to see; the first newspaper; and the first gold rush were described. Mr Young was himself .a member of the first dredging party on the Clutha, the venture failing through the gold-saving machinery being unsuitable. Mr Young concluded by reading a poem on the work of the pioneers.- Mr C- S. Howard proposed, and Mr Bardsley seconded, a vote of thanks to Mr. Young and the -singers. • Songs wera given at intevals by Misra McCahon, Mr and Mrs .J. W. Holdgate, and Mr Black.