Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 547, 19 February 1870, Page 2

Local and General.

«. Maqi6te»iai,. — There were no cases at the Sesideat Magistrate's Court, Christchurch, Ws morning. / Tn&. Philharmonic Society.— The memA laerSlif^m society held a full practice of the *•' oratorio " Judas Macabssus " last night, in Boot's Assembly Rooms, and from the manner in which they acquitted themselves a sxeditable performance may be expected. Theatre Rotal.— -There was a good-at-isndanee last evening; the pantomime of c * Ginderella"„being repeated. There will be a» afternoon performance to-day j commencing, at three o'clock. The Theatre will/be lighted with gas, and it is expected that there will be a large attendance, especially, ot ; Lyttelton^people, who have not the.opporHexuty afforded them of visiting the Theatre* during the usual hours. On Monday the of "Turko, the Terrible" will be '"^formed. £udden Death.— We are sorry to have toj accord the death of Mr G. C. Black of •ISelapoi, who dip.d suddenly on Thursday iasgh*. It appears he bad been visiting ai who reside^ qfust opposite his residence, '9&i : on ' his return home, he was suddenly < ifeubed -by an apoplectic fit. Medical atteh-j dsnce was immediately- procured, but death; aesalted within an:;hour. An inquest was| field yesterday before C. Dudley, Esq.,i Qwroner. Several witnesses were examined,' A'aad. the jury, through" their foreman Mr! ft. Oram, found jthe following verdict — I **Tfaat. deceased died from natural causes,! to wit', apoplexy." Mr Black was oneof the- oldest residents in Kaiapoi, and the, first, storekeeper in the place. He was a Mad-hearted, charitable man, and his death' be" mourned by a large circle of friends.

jyg'Eßious Accident.— A very serious accident occurred on Thursday afternoon to Mr W. P. Collett and Mrs Adley, whilst driving a four-wheel buggy, on the Ferry Road. It appears that the horse was a somewhat restive one, and being startled by a dog immediately after crossing the steam wharf bridge it bolted, and capsized the trap, throwing its occupants heavily into the road. In the fall, Mr Collett unfortunately had his left shoulder dislocated, but Mrs Adley happily escaped uninjured. The horse having been secured before proceeding far, the two again resumed their seats, and Mr Dixon, butcher, kindly took the reins to drive the trap into Christchurch. The horse was still restive, and before proceeding far, Mr Dixon, in trying to moderate] its pace, unfortunately pulled up too suddenly, and the horse having no breeching on, the trap ran against its legs, causing it to bolt again. In this second mishap, Mr Dixon was first to be ejected from his seat, and there being no one to hold the reins, the horse went forward at increased speed. An attempt to turn into an accommodation road again capsized the vehicle, and Mrs Adley was thrown out. One of her arms was broken just below the shoulder, her face was most seriously contused, and sundry other wounds were inflicted. The horse was not stopped until after it had passed through Christchurch, where Mr Collett was brought the same evening, aud attended to by Dr Prins. Mrs Adley was too seriously injured to be removed, and Dr Turnbull visited her at the Heathcote. The sufferers are progressing favourably. Barlow's CruoDnoME. — With the Art Exhibition but a week old, and a new pantomime at the Theatre, it might fairly have been expected that Christchurch had a sufficiency of amusements for the time being, and that any new candidate for public favour would bave but a profitless field to labour in. The advent of Barlow's company of canine aiid monkey performers has, however, given the matter a somewhat different aspect. The large marquee erected in rear of Mr Barnard's Repository was astonishingly well attended, the boxes being very well patronised, whilst the two other seating departments were positively crowded up to' the door way: The arrangements in each instance were satisfactory ; indeed a more perfectly appointed pavillion, we have not seen for a long time. Everything was in the nicest order, and the arrangement of sundry flags around the canvas walls, with well carpeted boxes, and brilliant lights, gave the temporary structure an air of coziness quite foreign to the generality of such as have previously visited Christchurch. A brass band of more than average merit for a travelling company also aided the general effect. The respective sections of the company are possessed of high merit, and deserve the encomiums so freely bestowed upon them by the North Island journals, but they naturally require a night or two to settle down properly to their work. Commencing first with the biped members of the troupe, there can be no hesitation in pronouncing Professor Taylor an extremely clever ancl finished acrobat. His performance includes somes dexterous tricks with a globe on the hands and feet, and a series of shil ful feats of juggling with balls, knives, plates. See.,- whilst propelling a large globe round the circle with his feet. Repeated applause was awarded to him, and it ia 'but just to say it was fully deserved; Mr Adams comes next on the list, with sword exercise, and sundry feats of strength with two 56 lbs. weights. The former, as showing great suppleness of the wrist with smart sword- play, proved the finished swordsman, and the latter showed the possession of. great muscular strength. Coming to the dogs and monkeys, we find most remarkable examples of what training can do. The dogs number seven in all; and though scarcely in good form last night— no doubt from being Out of practice for some days past — astonished the audience by the wonderful sagacity they displayed. Amongst them are a Russian retriever, a -collie, a* large terrier, a water spaniel, and three French poodles. It is unnecessary to enumerate the tricks they performed. A fair idea can only be obtained by ocular demonstration. They excel in everything which a dog could be expected to do, and in many things which few would ever expect to see such an animal perform. The monkeys numbering three, are also good, and we may notice three items in which they jointly take part with their canine confreres. One is the " rough riding "of a most diminutive specimen of the tribe on the back of the retriever. The dog; when told to displace his rider, backed, reared, bucked, and jumped, but all to no purpose ; the monkey stuck to his back as firmly as a rock. Another trick was by the- same monkey and dog in imitation of the "Star " circus riders in vaulting on and off their steeds -whilst in rapid motion round the ring, and jumping sundry bars; The remaining item is a peiformance on the tight rope -by: a larger monkey, and it is needless to say that all were provocative of Considerable merriment, freely- mixed with applause. The entertainment was concluded by an amusing steeplechase between; four of ' the dogs, three of- • them having- monkeys f or TJodkß. There will • be two' •performances to-dayi— one in the after noon' arid ano -her in the evening.