AMUSEMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13898, 8 May 1909, Page 3

AMUSEMENTS.

. . «-»• I MISS JEAN HOWISON. | ■ ' At the Assembly Booms on' Wednesday next Miss Jean lidwason,. of Perth, Scotland, will give her famous recital from Robert Burns. ■ Concerning this recital the " New York Times" says:— It'is neither a lecture hoi- an evening of recitations with which Miss Howison entertains her audience, but an indescribably delightful blending of the two. Miss Howison is a cultured and educated woman, who understands whatever she undertakes. She lias a good stage presence, a pleasing voice; rich and flexible and at all times smooth, :md an accent, just Scotch enough to bring out the true beauties of Burns' poems. She loves Burns and she " lias studied him so carefully, in all phases I and under all conditions, that she can treat Kim as a friend. When you hear her talk, of him,-you qute forget that he liad passed away long before you or your immediate ancestors came on earth, and you see him in a new light. It requires infinite tact .to lecture acceptably on Burns. Yes, more than tact; it demands genius.' His brilliant life, brief though it was,-is rich in lecture material, and as a result it has become a hackneyed subject and one frequently maltreated. After Miss Howison has finished: speaking of him, all previous lectures, unless they a;re very superior, will fade from memory. Throughout her talk she kept ever to the front his love of freedom and humanity. Her recitations were aptly interspersed and given with rare sympathy and expression. Her rendition of "A man's a man for a' that," was delightful, while "The Cottar's Saturday night," "To Mary in Heaven," and a part of " Tarn O'Shanter," were all given with a delicacy of shading and an understanding which gave new significance to many of her listeners.