BRIEF MENTION

Observer, Volume 2, Issue 29, 2 April 1881, Page 303

BRIEF MENTION

—Miss L. and Mr. M. have made it up again. — Dan Lynch is becoming noted for his apologies. — X.Y.Z. (Mongonui) may rest easy. His name will not be given up. — The average editor can sympathise with England in her trouble with the Boers. — Gus dear, lioav about the chimney in the vicinity of tlie Kyber Pass-road. Does it smoke ? — "A Constant Reader" asks us to inform Mr. C. of Ponsonby that the amiable young lady who gave hixa her photo on Monday evening, is engaged. — Press of matter compels us to cut short "Hunted Down" this issue. A large instalment will, however, be given next week. — "The Streets of New York" will be the attraction at the Theatre on Satnrday3evening. Theo. Hamilton plays Badger. — Lotti Wilmot lectures at the Lome-street Hall on " His Majesty the Devil," next Sunday evening. Parsons admitted free, gratis, for nothing ! — " Lucrezia Borgia "on Monday, with Paladini, Riccordi, Carrie Godfrey, and Madame Simonsen in the principal parts. — An anxious parent requests the Board of Education to place a strong partition wall between the male and female departments of the Training School. — Wanted (by four seceders) the balancesheets for the various charitable entertainments given by Dean's Minstrels. — The long-expected union between a chemist of Wellesley-street and a charming widow is to take place this winter. — Foiir of the principal members of Dean's Minstrels have seceded from the troupe. Why don't they start an opposition shop ? — The Evening Post says the opera played best by the Simonsens during their Wellington season, was " Lucia di Laininernioor." — Jnstices' justice — Fining one unfortunate £10 for using insulting language, and another £2 for knocking a man down. — Over 100,000 copies of the Crown edition of Tennyson's works have been sold within two years in England alone. — The success of the liquor known as Zoedone has been stupendous. The otiier day the Company declared a dividend of 25 per cent. — The leader of the Whangaroa Presbyterian Church choir has not put in an appearance since that little affair of McCready and Hammond's. — The Athenccum says there is only one living novelist capable of filling the vacancy left by the deaths of Dickens and George Eliot, namely Thomas Hardy. — Ouida's new novel, " A Village Commune, " protests against the Code Napoleon being applied to Italian peasants, whose present oppression she depicts. — Lotti Wilmot's daughter is evidently being trained up in the way to "go for" erring editors. "Where'er she takes her walks abroad" she carries a riding whip. — Those who have seen the Simonsen Opera Company down South, say it is fully equal to any of the troupes that have recently visited New Zealand. Well, we shall see. — Brother S. A. Wood was told oft' to carry the Lodge Bible at the Masonic Ceremony on Thursday". Going home he was heard to exclaim, " Just fancy, giving it to an old sinner like me." — The numerous friends of Capt. Rye of Te Ihu, Otametea, will be sorry to hear that he has lost his second son, a little boy of four or five years old, who died very suddenly on Wednesday week. — Dancing pays in Naples. The well-known ballerina, Arnina Boschetti, who has just died, has left a will disposing of £125,000. The principal heir is a youth barely of age. — The gambling tables at Monaco cleared £20,000 during the first week in January. These winnings were principally composed of the losings of two Americans who had an infallible " system !" — A financial paper announces that Messrs. Bass & Co., the famous brewers, became a limited Company with a capital of £3,200,000. Has this fact been noticed before 'i — A correspondent complains that he applied to Mr. Hurst to fulfil one of the minor duties attaching to the office of Justice of the Peace and was treated by that gentleman with great rudeness and contumely. — Mr. S., of the seed depot in Queen-street, is to be united to Miss K. on Saturday. The ceremony will take place in St. Matthew's Church at eleven o'clock. The bride's dress is to be wine coloured silk. — rMcssrs. Gilbert and Sullivan have commenced a new comic opera, to be produced in New York about August next. It is currently reported that one of the features of the work will be a Chorus of Curates. — It is reported that little fussy J. C. W. a prominent Auckland spiritualist has become fascinated with the charms of a certain inspirational lecturess, and contemplates an early offer of his hand and heart. — The operas for next week are Lucrezia Borgia, Martha, La Sonuambula, II Trovatore, and the Hermit's Bell. The latter will be played twice, i.e. on Friday and Saturday. _ — The most interesting piece of information given in Lotti Wilmot's lecture last Sunday night, was that the average quantity of elastic required for a pair of ladies' garters is three quarters of a yard. Honi soit gui mal y pense. — The ball at Pukekohe on Friday last was an immense success. The young lady in the Holland costume trimmed with cardinal ribbon need not have fretted herself so much on account of her dress not coming from Auckland, she looked charming. —A pleasant evening was spent last Thurday week by a party of St. Jamesites and their friends taking a trip to Brick Bay. The cloth was spread by moonlight games were indulged in, and all present thoroughly enjoyed themselves. —The futility of the efforts of the police to suppress the Sunday liquor traffic was well exemplified last Lord's Day when a woman was seen passing the very door of the Police Station carrying in her hand a jug of— well the contents didn't smell like milk—A girl was recently applying for an appointment, and after asking her proposed employer an infinity of questions all bearing on her own comfort, she wound up by saying, " By the way mum, do you sit long after meals. I can't abear people as hangs over their food." —During the last few weeks of her life, George Eliot had completed the plan of a new novel which she had resolved should be her last. It was to be a work dealing, like "Adam Bede," with country scenes and people.

— We have received a long letter from Colonel Trimble, apropos of the Pen and Ink Portrait of himself published a fortnight ago. It is in type, but has been crowded out through pressure on our advertising columns. Next week we shall (according to our rule) give it intact. — Grattan Riggs had a bumper house on Monday, and never was benefit better deserved. He played his old part in "Shin Pane" with infinite humour, and was well backed up by Maggie Knight who undertook the part originally played by Miss Follande. —Mr. J. Smith, who accompanied the FroUques on their New Zealand tour nine months ago, is now acting as agent for Simonsen's Opera, and arrived here on Monday last to prepare the way for the Company. —The Jews of London have departed from the custom of their religion by offering prayers for the repose of the soiil of George Eliot, although not of their own faith, in recognition of her services as the literary champion of their race. — Barry Sullivan has been offered an engagement in America to play this Autumn for forty weeks, at the enormous salary of £500 a week. The offer is from Mr. Maguire, the proprietor of the Grand Theatre and Hotel, San Francisco. — A good old rumpus is to take place at St. Mary's on Fridny evening, and the organist is beatingall his followers up to attend practice. One or two posers are to be put as to whether it is the fault of the choir themselves or of the organist, that they have no anthems. — The "Rata" trees at Wairoa are exciting the curiosity of the cognoscenti on " aboriculture." The Domnin Board despatched their overseer to look into matters, but he is, unfortunately, of ox)inion that the trees are too "Dow-dyish" in character to suit the Domain. — Dear Observer, — I would suggest that you open a column in your valuable and widely circulated paper, entitled " Engagements," on the same principle as "Births, Deaths, and Marriages. — I am, etc., A Reader.— [All right, send along the first batch, and let them be in time for next issue. — Ed. Obs] . — "The Danites," an American drama by Joaquin Miller which hud a successful run in London and New York, was produced at the Theatre on Tuesday evening, but somehow wouldn't draw. The principal parts are capitally played by Messrs. Theo. Hamilton, J. J. Wallace and Grattan Riggs. — lii the Lippe-Schaumburg forest at Turba, in Hungary, a peculiar suiiinal was recently shot, which was at first sixpposed to be a very powerful fox. The Vienna zoologists, however, have shown that it is a cross between a wolf and a fox. Its form is that of a fox, but ' it has the colour of a wolf. — It may not be generally known that one of the pleas in extenuation of his offence set up by the young English gentleman sent to prison by Vice-chan-cellor Mallins for running away with a ward in Chancery, was that, as Boy-cotting was permitted in Ireland, he thought Girl-cribbing must be legal in England. — Pauline Lucca, according to a French newspapnr, "cares but little for money. Lately an American impresario offered her £200,000 to make a tour in Australia. But the diva refused, saying she had enough to live on, that she liked singing for the love of the art, and that she had no need of Australian gold." — My Mongonui correspondent writes : The "pars" re our swell schoolmaster seem to have done good, as he has given two social parties within a week. I heard one gentleman who was invited to the last, says : " I wasn't good enough for his ' swell-ship ' the first time, so I'm blowed if I'll go this." And he didn't. — ''There is in preparation, and approaching completion," says Vanity Fair, " a groat Book of Scandal, which gives the most intimate history of the inos.t notable persons during the last ten years under names so thinly disguised that everybody will see who and what is meant. The author, it is needless to say, is a disappointed and aggrieved person." — By choosing Ireland and England as her hunting ground, the Austrian Empress gracefully returns to the latter country the £16,000 which it sent to relieve her suffering subjects in Szegedm, and the money which is now being transmitted to the terror-stricken inhabitants of Agram. Last year she brought eighty people with her and spent £20,000 in Ireland. The Rev. D., of the the Thames, a widower of about six months, wns smitten with the charms of a fair lady evangelist, and popped the question. She appeared to have a sneaking kindness for him, but told him that in these matters she always acted on the advice of her friends. Her friends disapproved of the proposed match, and the poor disconsolate parson was rejected' — What made Mr. Tole so sensitive to Mr. J. C. Firth's remarks on University cramming, and the fact that when a man takes a degree he is deemed to be qualified for any and every profession ? Did he consider the remark had reference to his admission into the legal profession on the strength of his Australian L.L.B. degree P — As anticipated, the young ladies of St. James's Church rolled up in considerable numbers to hear about the Bazaar nuisance, last Monday night. They were mad with the denunciations hurled at their pretty heads by tha essayist, but they were perfectly wild when some of the speakers instituted a comparison between bazaarniaids and barmaids unfavorable to the former. — Amongst the most frequent visitors to a racket court attached to a public-house in the western part of the city, are some of the prominent Roman Catholic and Anglican clerg3 r . It warms the cockles of one's heart to hear the jovial laughter and witness the healthy excitement of the reverend players. A match, Roman Catholics v. Anglicans is on the tap is, and a select number of the parishioners of each party are to be invited to witness the match. — A young man was on his way home from St. Paul's, where ho had heard the third chapter of Acts read, when a tramp seized hold of his arm and demended some money. " Silver and gold have I none," said the young man, "but such as I have, give I unto thee." Then he lifted up a heavy stick which he carried in his hand, and gave the tramp a " one-ncr " between the eyes therewith. The tramp did not ask him for anything more. — Indiscreet persons avlio have concealed woful secrets in the agony columns of the London Times should tremble. Messrs. Chatto & Windus are about to cry those secrets from the housetops. A lady who has studied the column for the first seventy years of the century and has found a key to most of the cyphers, has written out her discoveries in full, and they will be published shortly under the title of " The Agony Column from 1800 to 1870." It is rather surprising that this thing has not been done before. — The Due de la Rochefoucaul-Bissaccia has a remarkable silver dinner service containing twelve dozens of plates. The Duke lately discovered that eleven dozens of the plates had been pledsed for the sum of 8000 f. by a kitchenmaid. When the Duke expressed surprise that the Monte de Piete should accept so readily such a mass of silver bearing arms and monograms, ho was coolly told that his surprise would disappear if he only know the names of the people who came to pawn precious objects. — Adelina Patti appeared three times at Nice this winter, in the "Trovatore," " Somnambula," and the " Barbiere." She received the unprecedented sum of £600 for each performance, and prices were raised in proportion, a seat in the pit costing 255. She then went on to Monte Carlo, where she sang in the month of February. To celebrate her arrival on the Riviera, Madame Blanc (the owner of the gambling saloons) presented her with a diamond coronet, which cost £3,000.

—As a domestic man, I should fancy Sir Arthur Gordon comes out rather strong. On his dressing table may always be seen " Kcble's Christian Year Book," "a loving present from his dear wife," and a well-thumbed Bible, "from your loving daughter, A. H. G." The Year Book has been in use some time as many passages are marked with names of various places of residence, from 1866 to present date. — Regularity of habit is always to be admired. Two charming young ladies are evidently of this opinion, judging by the chronometer-lilt e punctuality with which they may be seen any afternoon precisely at twenty-five minutes to five, wending their way up Prin-ces-street in the direction of the Supreme Court. Can the auburn haired young gentleman in the Survey Department be possibly or even remotely concerned with these peregrinations ? —Miss Gledhill is now the champion lady archer of the Recreation Club, and Mr. Edward Cooper the champion gentleman archer. Miss Tait, Miss Slator, and Mrs. Raynes are expected to be Miss Gledhill's most dangerous rivals for first honours, next season. Mr. E., the man of few hits and great practice, claims the distinction of being the most scientific shootist, and Mr. A., by common consent, the most reckless and amusing 1 . He was within an ace of making a cow's eye on Saturday, but the devoted animal by a smartly executed flank movement, eluded the missile. — Want of space obliges us to omit a long, interesting, and able critique on Mr. Gordon Gooch's Concert, by "Lancet." The notice is on the whole favourable. " Lancet " considers that Mr. Gooch ran a great risk in bringing his singing class before so large an audience, but congratulates him on the successful result which redounded greatly to his credit as teacher. Mr. Edmiston is praised for his rendering of " Thou wilt return no more," and considerable eulogy awarded to the lady amateur who sang the " The Three Fishers." Altogether the affair seems to have passed off triumphantly. — At Madame Wilmot's seance last Saturday one of the visitors (a noted spiritualist) fell into a trance, and, after banging on the table with his fist, uttered a few words of some foreign gibberish. "Oh !" cried Madame, " thats Hindustanee. Is there anyone here who can talk to him." Now as luck would have it there was an erstwhile resident of India amongst the company and he at once volunteered to enter into a conversation with the spirit. Strange to say the medium didn't seem over pleased, and, instead of giving his disembodied friend a chance, came back almost instanter to common sense and plain English. — There was a great rumpus amongst the members of a certain well-known family in Newton the other night, and Mrs. K. was nearly out of her mind, the cause being the absence of her fair daughter Lilly. Scouts were despatched in all directions, Mrs. K. declaring that the affair was a second edition of the New North-road tragedy, and that she was sure poor Lilly was at that particular moment lying at the back of the Newton Dairy with her throat cut from ear to ear. This however, was not the case, for at about 11p.m. the lamb returned to the fold having sustained no further injury than a substantial supper which she had partaken of at her brother's house. Moral. — Always tell your Ma where you are going of an evening. — Many remarkable stories are told about luck in lotteries, but I have heard none more strange than that reported from Madrid. Queen Christina set her heart on having the number ISBO in the Spanish National Lottery. The provinces were searched, and after some difficulty the ticket wus found and presented to her Majesty. The king chose the number 13. Mirabile diclu, both were winning numbers, and the Royal pair netted 20,000 f. between them. One hardly cares to hint that v mistaken sense of royalty should have led the controllers of the lottery to indulge in a rather mean piece of trickery, but on any other hypothesis the circumstance is more than striking. The money was distributed among the poor of Madrid. — A correspondent writes : Seeing in the daily papers a notice of the death of Mr. Alexander Black reminds me of his conrtship and marriage. He was here in the early days when white men were few and white women fewer, in fact there were no white women except those that were married. The men who did not marry women of the Maori persuasion had therefore to remain single. The ship " Duchess of Argyle " arrived, however, bringing a number of single women. There was no time to be lost, as it was well known that the supply was not equal to the demand. Sandy Black took time by the forelock. As soon as the ship cast anchor he climbed on board. Casting a keen glance around, he speedily xnude his selection, proposed and was accepted. He was shortly afterwards married, and he never had cause to regret his short courtship, as Mrs. Black proved herself a most excellent wife and mother. — To the Editor : Sir, — A contributor to the Slav, singing himself "Ignotus" (it should be "Ignoramus"), awards great credit to Judge Fen ton for having caused the pending enquiry into the management of the Grammar School, for having rescued Dr. Purckas from the position of a public prosecutor, for preventing the further examination of boys now attending the school, and for doing his utmost to prevent the Board importing party feeling and bias into its deliberations, "Ignotus" omits Judge Fenton's strongest claim to the gratitude of the public, i.e. having got a bill passed, giving the Board power to elect throe of the Governors to the Senate of the University, (the majority of whom know nothing about Auckland people) instead of giving that power to the fathers of the pupils attending the Grammar School. — -Yours, Common Sense. — P.S. Sonic say Judge Fenton himself wrote the article. — There was trouble lately between an auctioneer and his dummy bidder. The auctioneer having very few genuine purchasers is under the necessity of getting someone to create a little competition. He therefore made arrangements with his fatner-in-law, and large quantities of articles were knocked down to the old gentleman at every sale. For a time all went on well, the bidding was spirited, good prices were realised, and the results of the bogus auction sales duly recorded in the x'apers. A short time ago, however, five sacks of potatoes were knocked down to the old man, and to his astonishment he was called upon after the sale to pay for them. The youthful knight; of tke;hainmer (who, by the way, thinks no small potatoes of himself) insisted that the sale wns a genuine one, and endeavoured to gammon his father-in-law into stumping up, but he was not successful in his amiable effort. The old man is now very chary of visiting the mart of his astute son-in-law. — Says the Liverpool Echo of January 25th : " The well-known turf mctallician, Mr. "William Nicholl, ex-town councillor and guardian of the poor at Nottingham, has just matched Mitchell, the billiardist, to give Arthur Smith, the dwarf sportsman of the lace-inaking centre, 700 points in a game of 1,000, for £200. Should the match go on, it is bound to create a great deal of excitement in racing circles, and as we have played with both men and the spot-stroke is to be barred, our decided opinion is that Mr. Nicholl (familiarly denominated' Billy') will lose his bet. Let us look at the game in this way. He would be reckoned a very mediocre cueist who could not score 150 points in an hour, and Smith being beyond mediocre, is sure to run out in two hours. Can Mitchell make 1000 in the same time ? We opine not. The late championship match between Bennett and Taylor, 1000 up, occupied over two hours and a half. If Mitchell can score 1000 in two hours, he ought to be champion twice over. — A dramatic version of Emile Zola's vile novel "Nana " has been produced at the Paris Amhigii Theatre. It is full of horrors. The Figaro, writing the morning before the production, says : "The last act can hardly fail to satisfy the most enthusiastic worshippers of realism. Nana, it will be remembered, dies at the end of the story of smallpox. We are to be given every incident of the agony— every mark of the smallpox. The agony of "Le Sphinx," and all other stage agonies, will be nothing to it. We shall be shown a real death of smallpox, or the nearest possible approach to it. Mile. Massin, who is to sustain the pleasing part of the ' heroine,' will make her pretty face hideous for the occasion. At half-past eleven every evening she will issue from be"hiud the drapery of a bed, clad only in the most indispensible of nightly raiment— and that 'in the most admired disorder* — her neck, cheeks, and forehead disfigured, changed and. unrecognizable for simulated pustules. At twenty minutes to twelve the pustules will be too much for her, and she will expire. At a quarter to twelve the deafening applause of the public will call her to life again and she will bow her acknowledgments. Such is the latest expression of realism, as M. Zola and his faithful Busnach understand the thing. And Paris tolerates it."