Brief Mention

Observer, Volume 2, Issue 35, 14 May 1881, Page 375

Brief Mention

— A young lady of Dargaville is looking Westward. , — Mr. Millais, E.A., had just commenced a portrait of Lord Beaconsfield when he fell ill. — Mr. Slater paid Madame Simonsen and her daughters £20 for singing at his concert. — Miss G — n lias returned to the Thames, leaving many love-sick youths in Auckland. — Wanted — The name of the landlady who hammers her spouse with the dinner bell. — The conductor of the Sunday evening choir at the Theatre is said to be thinking of matrimony. — The London Examiner died in March, after an existence of above 70 years. — Mr. Hamson, of the Herald is meditating a trip to England. — Mick Gallagher, displeased with the weight awarded Bawenata for the Graud National at Wanganui, has scratched him. — The Dunedin people are beginning to suspect that Judge Gillies is "not sound." They have been a long time finding out his departure from orthodoxy. — The performance of the quartette at St. Paul' son Sunday evening was, to put it mildly execrable, simply execrable. The choir is going fast down-hill. — We gather from some dinner-table gossip that Captain Malcolm is anxious to £>ersuade the Union Company to put a boat in the Fiji trade. — Professor Martin Swallow has declined the offers made to induce him to stay in Auckland, and will leave for 'Frisco by the out-going mail steamer. — Musically, the Slater concert was a success ; financially — well, the less said about the financial part of the business the better. — Bandmann and Beaudet, big B. and little 8., will appear at the Theatre next week. Let iis hope new plays, and not the " legitimate," will be put up. — During Mrs. Hampson's absence, her son and her adopted daughter have come to an understanding 1 , and arranged to be married. — Miss Evelyn Moore, niece of the Duke of Buceleuch and sister-in-law to Mr. A. S. Bath hone, has been appointed Maid-of- Honour to the Queen. — The members of the No. 3 Company Volunteers will parade on Tuesday evening next in full uniform. — It is said the writer of the letter signed " Ponsonby," which appeared in one of the daily papers, was Mr. D. Oxley. — It is to be hoped the gentleman with the auburn whiskers, who got such a. scare the other night, has recovered. — There ought to be plenty of tea in the market. Messrs. Tonks and Co. sold 300 boxes and 250 halfchests last Tuesday. — Lotti Wilmot is going to present all our charitable institutions with donation boxes. We are game (just b3 r way of commencing the subscriirtions) to put a button into each of them. — Martin Simonsen refused to allow Signer Eiccardi, Miss Carrie Godfrey, and Mr. Thompson, who were all willing to give their sex-vices gratis, to perform at Mr. Slater's benefit concert. — The April number of The Theatre is to contain an article by Arthur Sketchley (Mrs. Brown) on New Zealand. That this worthy will abuse the colony violently goes without saying. — The Duke of Westminster is about to spend £6000 on a church at Pnlford, in Cheshire. T?ulford is the country seat of Mr. W. S. Pulford's eldest brother. ■ — The chief result of withdrawing Mr. Dugald McKellar of the Customs, from Tauranga, has been to initiate a regular system of smuggling on the Const of the Bay of Plenty. — Can any of our readers oblige us Avith a copy of the new evening paper published in London by Edmund Yates. It is called The Cuckoo. We would give a florin for a copy. — A (so called) comic paper says the present Governor at the Cape should be the right man in the right place. The labours of Hercules will be required to overcome the difficulties surrounding that colony. — Judge Deffels, of Sydney, and his wife are at present, on a visit to Auckland, and have been staying at the Star Hotel. The Judge has a year's leave of absence, and is on his way to Europe. — Drake, the bookmaker, has sold up Ins household effects etc., at Christchurch, and left for Melbourne. He has omitted to settle with sundry creditors in this city, and will be posted at Tattersall's. — The last report about Ashmcad Bartlett — We beg his pardon, Burdett Coutts Bartlett — is that he was in love with a young lady, but coolly informed her he couldn't marry her, as he was going to espouse a lamppost. ■ — There is every probability of a "bobbery" amongst the valiants of No. 3 Volunteer Company, in consequence of one of the members having been placed under arrest by an officer of another company at the late review. — Isaiah, XL VII, 1. The foregoing text is respectfully dedicated to the Incumbent of St. Matthew's. — [N.B. Persons attending this church are recommended to take with, them a duster and a packet of insect powder.] — Charlie McKinney had bad luck over the burglary at the National Bank, Tauranga. He sat up several nights for the robber, but on the occasion of the attempt he had gone home to bed tired out. Such is life. — Mr. Howden, of Shortland-street, has just received a very handsome grand piano for sale, and a large crowd collected Krand his shop on Tuesday, listening to the tones of the instrument as manipulated by Mr. Angelo Forrest. — The Baroness, Burdett Coutts, on her marriage, presented to the tenants on the Columbia estate £1 each. Nearly £400 was distributed by her agent on this account. Substantial presents were also given to all the Baroness' employes on the Highgate estate and .elsewhere. — According to the sombre-minded but enlightened Baptist divine of Wellesley-street, a storm was created for the purpose of wrecking the " Tararua," and the " Tararua" was lost in order that a few recalcitrant sinners might be driven to repentance, and hurried into eternity. — Can it be true that young La-di-da, whose highfalutin airs and graces are so aumsing, has fallen a victim to the mature charms of Madame Lotti Wilmot, and means to lead that strong-minded syren to the matrimonial altar ? If it should be a fact, what will the spirit of the late lamented Mr. Wilmot say to the match ? — As Mr. F. A. White has a brother working in his office, and as casual readers might suppose that the par in last week's issue about a certain piece of sharp practice in the mining business referred to him, we have been requested to state that it docs not. There is no secret about the matter. Mr. Graham was the agent referred to, and Mr. Horsfall the purchaser. — The Boston Post says : — "Mrs. Langtry and the other professional beauties of London have a rival in the shape of a beautiful youth named Oscar Wilde, a poet and an ' sesthetie.' His pioture adorns all the shop windows, and is even taken in the aesthetic style, with a bunch of lilies in Ms hand. He must look as lovely as a yellow cat having a fit in a dish of stewed tomatoes."

— Madame Lotti Wilmot informed her audience on Sunday night last that it was her firm conviction that the drapers and milliners of Auckland had done a thriving business since " Eva " began her contributions to the Observer, and that never before had there been such a demand for gaudy dressing, or such a jieneliant for making Shortland-street the grand promenade. — It is to be hoped the National Bank will substantially recognise the pluck displayed by their Tauranga manager in the late attempt at burglary. It can have been no joke for Mr, Morris to feel he was dogged day after day and night after night by a murderous burglar, and he displayed most courageous patience in waiting till jiist the right moment to entrap the man. — Dear Mr. Editor : It is very kind of somebody to take so much interest in the Misses Cooke and Cox, but I would just like to mention that he (or she) is slightly incorrect. In the first place there is no Mr. M. Walsh in the whole district ; and in the second, Misses Cooke and Cox are not cousins at all ; and thirdly, Mr. H. Quinn has had two wives already, and is not likely to want a third. lam etc. — E. — The Auckland Meat Preserving Company, conducted by Mr. George Hulme, as a local industry, is undoubtedly proving a success, and in order to give the meats a fair and impartial trial the enterprising firm of L. D. Nathan and Co. have ordered £500 worth for exportation. Several well-known residents of Auckland have tested the various meats, and speak of them in the highest terms. — It is understood that Madame Lotti Wilmot has been requested to repeat her famous lecture "Auckland by Bay and Auckland by Night" at the rooms of the " Young Men's Christian Association." The Bishop of Auckland will, in all probability, take the chair, and the Mayor and Town Councillors have consented to honour the entertainment with their patronage. What a time they will have ! ! — If you put the question "Are you going to Lotti Wilmot's lecture on Sunday evening ? " the reply is invaluably an indignant " No, certainly not ;" and yet, when the time comes, a mob of " most respected citizens" are to be seen gravitating toward the Lome-street Hall. Tax them with dissembling, and they reply, "Well, I just happened, (>;; the merest accident, to be passing, and thought I'd look in for a moment, but of course I don't mean to stay." - It is, says the Liberty, whispered that a Government official, who a short time ago visited Australia on leave, and is at present away again on leave, will probably be escorted back here unless he speedily returns of his own free will. It is further whispered that there are sundry and divers reasons why the said Government official will probably prefer the air of Europe or America to that of New Zealand for the rest of liis natural life. — "A lady's friend" writes to complain of the conduct of a barber in the vicinity of Pnrnoll, who, it is asserted, seldom allows a lady to pass his shop without annoying her with chaffing interrogations, such as "How are you my dear?" " Can Igo for a walk with you?" &c, &c. The writer declares many girls in the district are afraid to walk past the amorous Figaro's establishment.and he asks the Observer to speak a word to put ii stop to the nuisance. Null' sed. — Mrs. Alfred Isaacs gave a big ball at the Choral Hall on Wednesday evening. It was winder, but scarcely so select as that recently given by the Ma voro.ss, over 200 guests being present. Mr!' Isaacs always does things au ijrainl .sviyxfiir, so that we need scarcely say the supper, wines, etc., were gorgeous and plentiful. "The Duchess" and other contributors to the Observer were present, and will doubtless have something to say about the dresses worn, next week. — The owners of thc"Taupo" will, it appears, come out of the venture much bettor than was anticipated. Not only is there .-fiiono insurance to be taken into consideration, but Mr. Winter's barque " Clara Hargreaves " has on board lifting gear and .salvage amounting to upwards of £1000. As the price paid for the unfortunate ship was only .CltOl), our readers will easily j sco it is tho prospective gains, rather than any actual loss, that the shareholders have to lament. j — Litilo Jukes Glover is quite exuberant in his professions of devotion and allegiance to Sir Gcorire Grey. Ho declares that he would knock down the first man who would attempt, in his hi>ariiisr, to disparage " the old man," and he feels assured that there is not a miner in Coroinnndel who would refuse to shed the last drop of his blood for him. As a proof of his own attachment he has had his little boy christened " George Grey," and named his little girl '" Georgiua Grey." — A cablegram {ria the Blull') in Tuesday's Star and /fivnM announced the deaHi, at Hie advanced ati'C of 70. of t lie famous French journalist, Gemilo fie Girardizi (?ic). For a moment we couldn't think who was meant, but at. last it dawned upon us that the renowned Emilu do Girardin, the editor of La France, | was the person referred to. Tt doesn't say much for the literary knowledge of our contemporaries, that they should pass over tho dent li of a celebrity, to whom Mai of the 'J'ime devotes two long columns without a syllable of comment. No wonder European visitors think colonist's Philistines in all matters affecting art or literature. — The recent visit of Sir George Grey to Coroniandcl has been the moans of inclining the thoughts of a bachelor scribe at the Thames in the direction of matrimony. He accompanied the venerable politician on his rounds of the district, and on entering the lower township school became suddenly and ardently enamoured of a fair widow who teaches there. His adulatory remarks concerning her attracted the notice of his companions, and not even their reminders touching her three children could damp his enthusiasm. Ho is now a prospective Benedict. — Mr. Winter, who is a first-rate swimmer, and takes to water as kindly as a duck, says that if he had been aboard the "Taupo" further efforts would have been made fo save her. The Slipper was not far off, and Captain Farquhar admits that he could have towed her there in two hours and a-half. There can be no_ doubt that more might have been done to save the ship, though the fact of the accident taking place at night, of course, made things awkward. The expedition should have started at daybreak instead of afternoon, and there ought to have been no lady passengers aboard the "Wellington." — The first meeting of the Baroness Burdett Coutts and young Ashmead Bartlett was rather romantic. It seems he was a boy a,fc Highgate School, and Lady Coutts chanced one day to be present at a school exhibition and hear him recite some poetry. She took a fancy to the boy there and then, 'tis said, and invited him, with one of his school-fellows, to visit her. He did so, and in the lulls between lollipops and jam-tarts recited his poetry over again, to what effect on the heart and feelings of the old lady the recent culmination testifies. — "The cruelty of the new Coercion Act" (says Mr. Labouchere, M.P., in Truth) " is that it places 200,000 tenants, with holdings vinder ten acres, at the mercy of the landlords, who may evict them without compensation whenever they please ; for, of course, one harvest is not enough to enable arrears to be paid up which were caused by several bad ones. Already the landlords are gloating over their vengeance, and announcing that now that they have the Government to protect them, they will act with energy — or, in other words, turn thousands out of their homes to starve, as Mr. Gladstone said last year, on the road." — Idleness naturally begets a kind of indolent curiosity, and it was therefore quite natural that on Saturday and Sunday last some folks having nothing better to do should have amused themselves by feeble speculations as to the identity of the much-married publican referred to in last week's Observer. Of course, these worthies shook their heads sagaciously, and felt " quite certain they knew the man," and equally, of course, their guesses were ludicrously wide of the mark. We heard one lunatic fitting the cap on to a most respectable hotelkeepcr, whose wife is as well-known as the town clock, and another making an equally absurd mistake as regards another honiface. We would wager a new hat there are not five people in Auckland who really know the culprit, notwithstanding so many think they do. — That was a good trick mine host of the Ponsonby Club Hotel played off on Jimmy O'L — y. Jimmy had been employed during the greater portion of the day prospecting for cockles, and at length succeeded in getting a kitful. On his way home he called at the . Club for a drop of supper beer, and chanced to leave his kit in the bar for a few moments. During 1 Jimmy's ab- j sence mine host (who is always ready for a bit of fun) ]

emptied the cockles out of the kit, substituting in their place a lot of rough scoria, topdressed with cockles. On Jimmy's return, he seized the kit triumphantly and scooted with it. How ho fnred for supper deponent sayeth not, hut stewed cockles was the order of the night at Stanford's. There is now some talk of a prosecution by the Highway Board for removing road metal. — We have received several letters cordiallycoinciding with our remarks about the way in which the Union Company over-work their officers and men. One gentlemen writes, " The last time I came up the coast in the Tararua we arrived at Wellington at 5.30 p.m., and left again shortly after eleven at night. i n the interim the steamer either shifted or dischai-ged 150 tons of cargo, and took in 40 tons, officers and men working like galley slaves. When we went to sea, the watch (consisting of the same men who had been tackling the cargo) was set." Another writer is of opinion that aboard each of these steamers there should be a fourth officer or bosun whose sole duties should be to look after lights, steering, etc, and who should not be called upon to assist with the cargo. There would then be at least one man fresh and alert when the vessel was at sea. —A cablegram has been received in Auckland announcing that Mrs. Manfield Newton, who, with her children, was coining out by the " Potosi " to join her husband (a gentleman in the employ of Messrs. Wilson and Craig, Napier), has been accidentally killed whilst the ship was at Adelaide. Mr. Newton came out in the " Potosi " himself about a year ngo, and was one of the editors of the little paper, the Potosi Times, published on board. Mr. Adam Cairns, who happened to be a fellow-passenger, and became an intimate friend of his, has been deputed to break the sad news to him. Mr. Newton was most anxiously looking forward to his wife's arrival, and wired to know if the ship had arrived several times. It is a curious coincidence that when Mrs. Newton was bidding farewell to her husband at Gravesend, she turned to Mrs. Cairns, who was standing by, and said, " Take care of my husband if he should be ill Mrs. Cairns. I know I shall never nee him wjain." i — Since the above was in type, Mr. Cairns has received a cablegram stating that the fatal accident to Mrs. Newton occured whilst unloading cargo at Adelaide. The derrick spar, it appears, was defective in one part, and broke, falling: across Mrs. Newton's neck and shoulders, and dislocating the former. Death was, of course, instantaneous. The funeral will take place at Adelaide, and the children are being sent under safe convoy to Mr. Cairns, who will look after them for a time. Mr. Newton is a son of the well-known patent agent in Chancery-lane, London. s>. , —The party Avith which the Recreation' Club brought their season to a close proved one of the most agreeable and sociable that has been held this 3'ear. The acted charade was the feature of the programme. Little Saul as " The Policeman " was simply irresistible, while Ted C — 's ferocious Jewish nose and "The Philosopher's" wbiskers were provocative of great mirth. The duelling scene hung fire. One murderous and duty-strnck individual made a splendid full length fall before his adversary had shot at him, but the mistake was effectually repaired by the adversary falling also, and then firing. Another duellist received the fire of his opponent very coolly, proceeded to load again, but finding that the others were prostrate he incontinently plumped down beside them. Another feature of the programme was the magnificent oration which " the scientific marksman " had undertaken to deliver. He had informed his chosen friends beforehand of the splendid ideas lie was about to unburden himself of, but when he mounted the platform the divine afflatus suddenly forsook him, and he was left speechless. He scratched his hend, unsuccessfully imrlu'od the Secretary for a suggestion, and then bolted. Wo cannot pretend to say who was the belle, for we are umi ware in what proportions dressing.personal beauty, and ijrsicefnl dancing are to be regarded as determining the point. Suffice it then to sny thnt the ladies looked pretty, and that there was a choice display of fashionable toilette*.