Brief Mention

Observer, Volume 2, Issue 36, 21 May 1881, Page 387

Brief Mention

—The Concerts at the Temperance Hall are proving a success. —They've got a capital bass singer at the Ponsonby Wesleyan Chapel. —The Mahurangi divine has still a latent waakness for fables.

— On dit that the Mayoress is going to give another grand ball shortly. —Farmer's "KyreiEleison" was slaughtered by the Newton Catholic choir on Sunday last. —Mrs. Tebbs is, we regret to hear, very seriously ill.

—Mr. Bedford, of the Customs, is dangerously ill with typhoid fever.

—The order of the day : Fire ! robbery ! fire ! robbery ! and the police can tell us nothing about them.

What has become of the man who offered to fight anybody, in the Cook-street Chapel on Sunday eveifing last, for half-a-crown.

—Jim Rose is in town again, wearing a ferocious beard which, by the way, doesn't improve his personal appearance.

— The Whangarei Bachelors ball came off last week. Miss T. Munro was considered the belle, and Mrs. McKoan the prettiest dancer in the room.

— Ned Cameron of the National has decided to wait no longer, and will, we understand, be married the first week in June.

— Mr. Ewington's zeal is increasing. He now preaches to the " spirits in prison " at Mount Eden Gaol.

—The band of the No. 3 Combauy of Volunteers are going to give a concert and ball on the Queen's birthday. It is sure to be an Al affair.

—Mr. Ewen, of the late firm of Newman and Ewen— one of our oldest identities— is seriously ill from cancer of the tongue.

—Mr. Dixon, of the Bank of New Zealand, left for Sydney in the " Arawata ' ' to get married. He will be away six weeks.

— Owing to the great pressure on oiir advertising columns this issue, the concluding article on the Government Insurance Department is held over.

—It would be just as well perhaps if the the young lady in Wakefield-street who enjoys a good wash, every Saturday night, pulled down the blind before commencing her lavations.

—The other night, two well-known residents played twenty-three games of billiards, taking nearly ten hours; beer, ad lib. and an occasional pork-pie! How's that for exercise, energy, and endurance?

—The number of unprotected females at the fire in Wakefteld-street last Saturday night was perfectly astonishing. The fair sex of Auckland appear to appreciate the excitement of a conflagration.

— Garrard says that Auckland possesses a " noble" press. We have not heard of the old man for some time past, and absence truly appears to have made his heart grow fonder towards us.

— The president of the Alpha Club the other night stated that next season it was intended to start a ladies' cricket club. Grand idea ! But where is the man who would dare to give a lady ot\t l.b.w. ?

There is likely to be a rush of candidates for the City West Beat, now occupied by Mr. W. J. Hurst. Amongst those spoken of are Garrard and Thwaites. Noble pair !

— Charley Weightman has left Haselmayer. Can it be that he has too many anxious creditors in Auckland, to care to come back here ? Oh ! Charlie, Charlie !

— A lady wishes us to "ask ' Chummy ' who makes up the nice little boiiquets for his button hole ? lie says she is only four years of age, and always calls him ' Uncle Chunimy.' Query."

It is whispered that a well-known member of a Government department who is about to visit Queensland fo the benefit of his health will become a benedict before he starts. Who is the fair lady.

Garrulous Gaby Garrard, looking grimier than ever after his temporary retirement, is again on the stump. By the way, if he wants employment, why doosn't he study the part of Eccles in " Caste."

The Star is at it again. Tn the " Scintillations " of Wednesday we find two pars, one about Burnand's burlesque of "Hiccup," and one about the "Pirates of Penzance," which appeared in this journal weeks ago.

Jim Coates has sufficiently recovered to be able to visit Waiwera. The first bath worked wonders. He intends staying at the Kawau (Mrs. George's) for a month, on his way back.

— The ladies of Onehunga are giving a subsubscription ball at the end of next week. Gentlemen, five shillings ; ladies, nothing. Mrs. Hutchinson is secretary.

— In one of the scenes of Gilbert and Sullivan' s new operetta the curtain rises and discovers a sentimental lady of well-developed proportions playing a nocturne on the violoncello by the side of a lake.

— Garrard says that if it had not been for his almighty effort's there would never have been a tax on Chinamen. Oh! indeed! well "live and learn" as the proverb says.

— The Rev. T. W, Dunn worked energetically to secure the success of the St. David's Bazaar, notwithstanding the fact that he had been so scurvily traated by the leading " lights " who manage the affairs of that church.

— There have been three robberies lately, viz : at the Board of Education, at the City Council offices, and at the Observer office ; yet none of them have been found out. No wonder unprincipled men are becoming daring!

— Sergeant Jackson, of Parnell, must be a peculiarly active individual. He was present at the fire in Freeman's Bay very speedily after the outbreak, and he was amongst the earliest arrivals at the Wakefieldstreet fire.

— That was an extremely noisy picnic party that returned from Brick Bay in the dusk of last Saturday evening. The full moon probably exercised some effect upon one or two of them, for their tongues appeared to have been loosened to some purpose.

— An engagement is announced between Mr. Henry T. Gorrie, who has been for many years in the service of the Bank of New Zealand on the west coast of the Middle Island, and Miss Blanche Bucldand, third daughter of Mr. Alfred Buckland, of Highwic.

— So the Sunday School Union have become agents for an organ company. Well let us hope the scheme will pay. They ought by way of a start to make the V.M.C.A. a present of one, and have the instrument now in use broken up for fuel.

— The A battery of the Artillery will hold their usual anniversary ball at the Lome-street Hall on Mon day evening nex b. As careful arrangements have been made for the comfort of the guests the affair should prove a success.

— Innumerable second-rate local "spouters" received invitations to be present at Sir Georg-e Grey's meeting. It was a singular but striking fact that only two members of the House of Representatives were present on the platform.

— It was a beautiful sight to see Sir George Grey and Garrard seated side by side. The agitator had a beatific look in his eyes, as if the ambition of a lifetime had at last been realised.

— There was a marked improvement in the singing at St. Paul's on Sunday, in fact the services both morning and evening wore the best we have had for months. Mr. Gulliver is a grand preacher, and his sermon was a treat.

— Mark Twain has informed an interviewer at Cincinnati that he rnade£B,ooo out of his last book, "A Tramp Abroad," and £28,000 out of his previous works, in addition to about £15,000 by lectures and plays.

— There are five ladies in America still liviug who have dispensed the hospitalities of the White House during the presidency of their husbands. Their names are Mrs. Polk, Mrs. Tyler, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Grant, and Mrs. Hayes.

— Some subscription ought to be set on foot for the widow and orphans of Constable Adauinson. They have been left almost penniless. Mrs. Adarnson is both energetic and thrifty, so that a little would go a long way way.

— The youngsters attending Wellesley-street school say that when good Mr. Worthington returned from Sydney he "just turned everything upside down, and changed all the teachers." The little fellows forget that after a long absence, a master must show he's .somebody or subordinates might forget the fact.

— The steamer "Tainni" broke clown last week, and the Woodside passengers had the pleasure of travelling to and fro in a waterman's boat. We hear that some of them are enquiring whether the Harbour Board have no power to compel the company to put another steamer on.

— Why does the Associate of A.sscs choose such an inappropriate signature for bis musical critiques (!) as B natural. He certainly does not know how to be natural. He had better try to find some more appropriate note. A natural or A flat would be much more suitable.

— A lady of Onehunga who recently returned from a tour through the Waikato district, tells her lady friends 'tis the best place in the North Island for "twenty-eights" to go, as they are sure to captivate gents from 26 to 40 summers. It is to hoped a good match has been arranged.

— Herr Bandmann and Miss Bcaudet opened at the Theatre last night, too late for us to notice the perfoi'inance in the present issue. They appear to meditate a round of the " legitimate," which means empty houses. It would have been far better to have opened in " Nareisse," and followed up with the " Corsican Brothers" or "Duke's Motto."

— Here's news. The Bulletin says :— " ITcrr Biinduiann lately produced a translation of Schille-'s • Bobbers ' in Auckland. The failure was complete. Miss Beaudefc lately bei efitted there in ' Blighted Loves.' Good house." Considering the season only commenced on Thursday evening, this is not a bad specimen of the prophetic.

— We beg to acknowledge with many thanks the copies of the Cuclcoo forwarded by Mr. Gresham of Te Awamutu, and by another gentleman who will not let us mention his name. Now we've got "the novelty in evening 1 journalism " we don't think much of it. The Cuckoo is indeed merely a daily edition of the H'oWd with a lot of padding: vamped up from the morning papers.

--A correspondent writes: — "You do not seem to get the latest Pnrnell .scraps of news. Several engagements have happened, and several more are expected to eventuate shortly. For instance, Mr. W. Nicholls, Wellosley -street school, to Miss A. Walker, of Parnell, and, report saith, Mr. Lush to Miss C. White." [Why don't you become a contributor ? — Ev. Ons.]

— A thief was being escorted down Queen Street by one of the mo.st stylish constables in the force. " I hate to walk alone arm-in-arm with a policeman, said the thief. " You ought to be used to it by this time," replied the constable, "I can't get used to hearing 1 people in the streets say, ' Just look at that vagabond '.' when I know they must mean one of us."

— The meeting of the S.S. Union on Monday evening at the V.M.C.A. rooms was a most peaceful affair. In an adjoining room a number of juveniles (probably Good Templars) were howling hymns, a small dog out at the buck seemed to be taken the snme way, and an individual learning that delightful instrument the cornet, down below, served to render things still more harmonious.

— The party who undertook to ascend to the summit of llangitoto lust Saturday found that the task was not by any means a pleasant one, and that the " honor " of the achievement was scarcely commensurate with the hardships so bravely faced. We hardly think they will attempt the feat again ; but. should they bo foolish enough to do so, P.B. will form an important feature in the stock of refreshments taken with them.

— It is rumoured that a certain owner of property not a hundred miles from Dam pier's corner, bus been endeavouring to persuade other property holders in the vicinity to increase their rents in order that lie may demand a higher rental from his own tenants who are already paying pretty high for the value received. A testimonial in the form of tar and feathers is talked about.

— The Revd. C. M. Nelson is at Kawau, whither he went last; Tuesday, to be for two or three weeks the guest of Mr. Seymour Thorne George. It is to be hoped that the change will have a beneficial effect on both body and mind, and that he will return to his flock braced-up and in good spirits. 11l health has undoubtedly had much to do with the rev. gentleman's brusque and dictatorial manner.

— A rich thing occurred at the Sunday-school Union annual meeting. The choir had been singing abominably flat, and at last appeared to become aware of the fact. They, however, could not believe that the fault was theirs, so they intimated to the chairman that the instrument employed to accompany them was so much out of tune that they declined to sing any more. "O, wad some power the giftie gie us, to hear oursel's as ithers hear us I"

—The National Anthem at the Alpha social was not a success. It was started in a fearfully high key, and the consequences were disastrous. One lady mounted a chair in a meritorious attempt to reach the high notes, but they were far beyond. Two shrill sopranos, by an almost superhuman effort and being at upper end of the room, just managed to shriek them, but staggered back after the effort, exhausted, and fled downstairs for refreshments. It was excruciating.

— Many people have been asking since Monday's meeting why the Central Committee do not obtain the services of an experienced chairman ? The gentleman who at present fills the position, though a most estimable person in private life, is utterly incompetent to conduct a public meeting. A peculiar smile flickered round the lips of Sir George Grey as he moved a vote of thanks to the chairman for the "able and impartial manner in which he had presided."

— Fred Brookfteld has attained the wish of his heart. He has come back to Auckland to live. Through the good offices of Mr. Fenton, Mr. Brookfield senior has been appointed a judge of the Native Land Court, so Fred has come up to take his father's practice. He is a very decent young fellow, and we wish him success. His wife, who used to be the belle of Oneliungu, will be warmly welcomed by her friends there, and in Auckland.

— Efforts to save a few coppers on printing often lead to curious blunders. Brabazon and Margetts gave a concert in the Temperance Hall on Saturday night. There were no posters, and the price of admission was advertised by a placard on the door, which ran as follows : " Front seats, Is. and 6d. back." The worst of it was when the delighted auditors asked for " the sixpence back " the cashier wouldn't give it, and there was trouble.

— There was quite an exodus on a small scale from Epsom last week. Mr. G. B. Owen has gone to Cliristclmrcli to place two of his sons at school there, Mr. James Stewart, C.E. has started for a trip through the Colony having had a free pass for all railways sent to him, and Mr. R. C. Barstow, R.M. has proceeded to Wellington to act on the Judicial Commission. All were passengers by the " Rotomahana" on Thursday last.

— John Smith says that the reason he is selling his racehorses is that he finds that he is too honest for horse-racing. Try again, John ! That reason may do for an unsophisticated public, but those who know you want a better one. Is it not because, though you used to think yourself uncommonly sharp, you found that there are sharper men than yourself on the turf, and that when you came to match yoi«r wits against theirs, you came off second best ?

—On Thursday week Mr. and Mrs. Allan Kerr Taylor gave anothei-.of those very enjoyable parties for which Alberton is so justly famed. Beside the ladies and gentlemen living in the neighbourhood, the guests included a large number who live in the city and suburbs. The host nnd hostess, who had evidently taken great pains to make all their arrangements complete, wereassidious in their attention to the comfort of uheir guests, all of whom seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves.

— Scene : Office in Custom -house -street. Dramatis persona .- A gentleman (who has been asked to interview a lot of applicants for a servant's place on behalf of his wife) and a stylish young " person " with long train and pull-back. Gentleman (log.)—" The lady requested me to ask for references." Stylish Young Person — "References indeed! Them as wants references aint never able to give them 1 " Gentleman (aghast)— " You're a very rude person and you'll not " (Exit S.Y.P. slamming the door).

— The proprietor of the Observer "begs to return his heart-felt thanks to the gentleman who "burgled" his office ou Friday evening lust, for not touching the cheques, of which there were eight or nine. They would of course have been no use to him, but an ungentlemanly robber might have destroyed them out of pure devilry. We arc also indebted to this estimable thief for not touching the envelope containing six .€1 notes which did not belong to us, and which we should have had to refund.

— Mr. W. J. Napier and the Executive Committee must have been very hard up for a seconder to the vote of confidence in Sir George Grey, or they surely wouldn't have put up such a consummate ass as Mr. Lawry. Everybody in the dress-circle was asking, " Who is he P where does he come from ? what's the idiot's name ? etc." And when he began to "slab on the butter " to Sir George, that luckless statesman, instead of appearing grateful, first grinned derisively, and then eyed him. savagely.

— The annual meeting of the Auckland Skating Club was held at the Choral Hall on Wednesday evening, Mrs. Edward Isaacs in the chair. Mr J. M. Clark read the balance sheet which shows a credit of £li 16s. 7d., and the following officers were elected : President, Mr. J, M. Clark; Committee, Mosdameb; Fairburn, Edward Isaacs, Chamberlain, and A. K. Taylor, and Messrs. J. M. Clark, A. K. Taylor, E. K. Tyler, W. Shera, Denniston, W. Hidings ; Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. It. E. Isaacs.

—Mr. D. Wilson, the genial chief officer of the " Loch Dee," is awfully disgusted with the fact that his vessel has received the quickest despatch which any out-going English vessel has received for some years p:ist. He anticipated a stay of a couple of months in port, and many happy hours basking in the pleasant smiles of the ladies. Stern duty orders otherwise. The vessel has only bson about three weeks in port, and yet she has discharged her cargo and is now loaded with New Zealand produce, and ready to set sail for England.

— " Voyager" writes : — "lt was absurd and most mischievous to expect the " Tararua " to keep the same time table as the " Kotoinahana" and the " Te Anau." The directors may say they didn't really expect her to do anything of the kind, but the fact remains that no allowance was ever made for her slow going, in the time table, and that the captain seemed to be always pressing her to try and got her to keep dates. I never travelled by a innch slower boat. Coming up in her from Napier, after she had been thoroughly overhauled, and with a strong fair gale of wind behind her, we couldn't manage more than lii-elvcknots."

— The Remueia 'bus has a peculiar name : " The Beaconsfield." The proprietor is an Irishman, and some little time ago lie requested his best pati-on, Alt' Isaacs, to give his " new 'bus" a name. Alf said he thought "Beaconsfield," as being- the title of the (then) leading statesman of the World, was very appropriate, more especially as Jf ousonby had a 'bus called " Disraeli." Judge Alf s surpri.se, when, a few mornings afterwards, the proprietor of the 'bus told him he had been oifered .£1 to change it to "Gladstone." "But," says ho, "Mr. Isaa.cs, it wasn't worth il!"

— It will he remembered that at the time of the Kees murder, the Fijian, Joe, now in gaol, badly wounded a Mrs. Arnold. The murderer's countrymen here, feeling utterly ■ashamed of him, clubbed togethei 1 and subscribed a sum of money to be divided between her and Mrs. Rees. Mrs. Arnold now desires to thank the Fijians for the portion which she has received from Mr. .Richard Graham (their interpreter), nntl has asked us to notify the fact in the Observer. We have much pleasure in doing so, and consider the Islanders' houghtf illness and generosity does them great credit.

— It to Le regretted that a statesman of Sir George Grey's calibre should condescend to the tricks of a demagogue orator. We take as much pride as anybody in New Zealand, and fully recognise the probability of the Colony's future prosperity. That prosperity is, however, far enough off at present, nntl it makes us quite sick to hear Sir George spouting of " this "Teat country," and trying to fool a public meeting into the belief that an expression of opinion from the New Zealand House of Representatives would induce Her Majesty's Government and the House of Commons to annul the Irish Coercion Bill !

— Mr. Colcnian had evidently something to say worth hearing at Sir George Grey's meeting, but he is one of those unfortunate speakers who repeat a word over and over again, and go to pieces when chatted. The audience was quiet enough when he rose, but when he had spent five minutes telling them he "wouldn't keep them long, and he didn't think-th ink- think- think they'd refuse to hear him," the roughs began to get tired and grew so demonstrative that poor Coleman had to give up. When you want to address a meeting that is in opposition, Sir. Coleman, you should be prepared with a short crisp speech, and, if necessary, be ready to shout the mob down.

— We cannot congratulate the perpetrator of the following practical joke, on her good taste. Considering the man was ill and suffering, it was pool 1 fun to fool him, more especially in the vulgar manner described: — " A gentleman recently from Home, who has started in Whangarei as a sing-ing 1 and music master, happened to be thrown from his horse the other day, and it was generally supposed that he had broken three ribs, A young lady hearing this, immediately sent him, through the post, a most sympathetic letter enclosing three mutton chop bones to replace the broken ribs, which, greatly infuriated the musician. He little thinks who the fair damsel was."

— The social gathering of the members and friends of the Alpha Cricket Club took place in the Baptist school-room, Chapel-street, last Wednesday night. Considering the restraints imposed by the peculiar associations of the place, the meeting passed off most successfully. The programme consisted of speeches, instrumental music, songs, duets, general post, French, tig, musical chairs, Sally Waters, Jolly Miller, and — refreshments. In the opinion of most of the yonns- Indies, however, one thing was lacking, and that was dancing. Despite this, they appeared to enjoy themselves well.

"Cyrus" writes : — "No doubt Mr. J. M. Lennox deserved a dressing-down at your hands for that letter of his, but do you not think you were a little too hard on him ? He is not by any means a bad little man, though, like most little men, inclined to be conceited. He lms to some extent reason to be conceited, for he has by his own industry and forethought raised himself from a humble position to one of competence, if not of wealth. Ho showed a large amount of pluck in proposing to Miss Scott, now Mrs. Lennox, as she is a tall and handsome lady. "What proved his pluck most conclusively, however, was his determination to learn to ride. Nature never intended him to bestride a horse, but he determined to conqner nature. Day after day he mounted a horse and rode out in the direction of Onehrmga. Day after day that liorse freed himself of his lio-ht load and returned riderless to his stable, while his rkler(?) was brought to town by the Onehunga 'bus. Undaunted by failures Mr. Lennox persevered, and ultimately learned both, to ride and stick on."

—A well-known Auckland knight . of,, th'ft scissors, who has been in " difficulties " more than once, lately neglected to pay his serving-girls their weekly "screws." Tor several weeks they suffered in silence, but at last they screwed up sufficient courage to demand their dues. They were laughed to scorn for tneir pains, and then, with a burst of righteous indignation, Mr. Snip exclaimed, " How can I pay you when I have a wife and six starving children to keep !" Thereupon lie was asked to explain how it was that he could afford to pay £5 for season opera tickets. No satisfactory, reply being given, the irate damsels left in a body, swearing never to re-enter his premises.

— An attempt was made to ""burgle" the St. Pauls' parsonage on Tuesday evening. Mr. Nelson, is away, and the maid-servants who were all alone heard men attempting to raise the windows. The poor women (dreadfully frightened) sat up all nighfc. On Wednesday evening Mr. Gus Coates went to the Police Station to ask for a constable to be sent up to keep the girls company, but was told Mr. Pardy was away and that nothing could be done till his arrival at 9 p.m. It is quite clear that the non-discovery of all these burglaries is making thieves bold, and till one of them is found out we may expect to hear of their continuance. Doiibtless the burglars are beginning to feel a wholesome contempt for the police.

— About half-past twelve on Tuesday afternoon, an elderly lady of leviathan proportions, who appeared to belabouring under considerable excitement, inarched into the Observeb office, and, without any further introduction than was contained in the frank but scarcely polite announcement that we were a lot of blanked liars, commenced a dissertation on the infamy of newspapers, in general, and the journal which we have the honour to conduct, in particular. At first Mr. Pulford, who happened to be in at the time, surveyed this lunozonisui detractor of the public press with blank amazement, but, after a time, it leaked out that she was the renowned Mrs. Franklyn, and that the cause of offence lay in the fact that we had accused her of kissing 1 Mr. J. M. Lennox. "Me kiss him," she cried wrathfully, " I never did sich a thing, I wouldn't so demean myself, but yer shall smart for it, I'll put yer in the Supreme Court, I'll send yer to Mount Eden, I'll ," but at this point the good lady's anger left her speechless, and Mr. Pulford, in his favourite and successful character of peacemaker, tried to pour oil on the troubled water, by observing he'd taliealittle sugar in his. Strange to say, this friendly suggestion, redolent though, it was of whisky punch and other convivial mixtures, had no effect. Mrs. F. performed a brief but expressive war dance, then once more remarked we were a lot of blanked liars and she was very glad we had lost all our money, and finally sidled ont of the office and disappeared carrying on a sort of dropping 1 fire of insults as she careered down the street in the direction (horrid suspicion !) of Mr. J. M. Lennox's office.

— Mrs. A. E. Isaacs's ball was an immense success last Wednesday. About two hundred were present, amongst wliom we noticed His Worship and the .Lady Mayoress (who did not dunce), Mr. Lawford, Mrs. Lawford, and the Misses Lawfords, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Morrin, Mrs. Justice Bichmond, and the Misses Kichmonds, Dr. and Mrs. Haines, Mrs. E. Isaacs and the Misses Isaacs, Mrs. Justice Fenton and the Misses Fentons, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Ching, Mr. and Mrs. Lodder and Miss Lodder, Mr. and Miss Mowbray, Mr. and Miss Whewell, Mr. and Mrs. Montague, Mr. and Mr. and Mrs, Phillips, Mrs. and Miss .Ridings, Captain and Mrs. Anderson, Dr. and Mrs. Goldsbro' and the Misses Goldsbros', the Misses Buckliinds, the Misses Bolwers, and a number of others whose names we did not know. At 9 o'clock sharp the lively proceedings began, and, as immense trouble had been taken with the floor, it was simply perfection. How the decorations were managed must have puzzled Mr. Isaacs, as he appeared to have flags from half a dozen fleets. They made the Choral Hall quite respectable. One novel ideahad almost escaped our notice, which must have emanated from Mr. Isaacs, who is always thoughtful for others, we refer to the having the vacant space behind the platform laid off in nice corners. The sapper was excellent, and reflected groat credit on the caterer Mr. Canning. Everybody seemed to appreciate it, and no less than four extras were danced while the matrons were partaking. Thanks to the splendid condition of the floor there were very few mishaps, the only one before supper being Mr. China's, who in the first set of Lancers came to grief in the third figure and very nearly brought down Mr. Watt with him. After supper the manager of the Colonial Bank turned a summersault, and this calamity was quickly followed by Mr. Harry Goldsboro's falling. The long trains of the ladies were chnrgeable with both accidents. Another special feature of the evening was the total eclipse of the AuckInnd beauties by an advent from Dnnedin, Miss Ethel Jones, who was without doubt " The Belle of the Ball." Next to Miss Jones came Miss Richmond (in crimson) another Southern lady, and then Auckland scored an honour with Miss Clayton. Amongst the absentees we noticed Mr. Edward Isaacs and Mi?. Robert Isaacs, ill health being presumably the caiise. The programme concluded at 1.30. The ball was one of the nicest private dances ev.er given in Auckland, and the unselfishness of the host and hostess from first to last was very marked. They devoted the whole time to their guests, and allowed no one to feel " lost " or Overlooked.