PROROGUE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 146, 24 November 1870, Page 6

PROROGUE.

With mirthful hum and busy bustling feet; The Sportsman's Arms once more a busy hive ? Of those who wait far some expected treat. Has some new rush to "Wetherstones occurred ? brown found gold at bottom of the ■ shaft? pJßsiy J asil me friends, what is the news you've heard ? Or have you simply come to have a laugh ? Those walls, of late accustomed to the dark, Have seldom run? with music as of yore ; The rusty keys long hung in Noaii's Ark, Pray who has niched these articles from is'oah ! )But stay— l do remember in past years This little stage, these once gay painted flowers ; I do remember, midst much doubts and f^ars, Some actors fume and fret their little hoars. Their object was to aid, by comic art, Our Hospital, of funds then much in need ; Onr play to-night is but a counterpart — The same the means, the same the cause indeed. Still, from the Blue Spur's treacherous giddy height The loosened golden mass comes thnndering down ; hapless miners, struck down in m[ their flight, Wlae bleeding, mangled, helpless on the W. ground. Still, icy winter's cheerless biting winds Congeal the blood, and rack the aching b-.ne ; 1 Still, summer's heat the fevered sufferer ( finds; { Still, death ensues, if unrelieved, they • ■ moan. ' For such our Hospital stands open wide, Be yours the will to help this noble cause ; Ikiake it hencetorth your ever anxious pride, For us, we orly ask your kind applause. 1 tell you, then, before J make my bow, Lest doubts within your anxious minds should lodge, For thii we're here t<p night, and will try now Tl ease your pockets by — "The Artful r- 3 ' This prologue was ; received with great apnsause. The cjuvtain then rose to the celebrated fpve, by K. L. BLnchaiM, Esq., eniittedf "The .Artful Dodge,'' aud, coaijiderinig it was the first time the com j)any /had played it in public, they showed an acquaintance with their i. respective parts rarely witnessed by f amateurs. There was no apparent • hitch during the performance of the • piece. The ladies who took part in piece were Mrs. Marriott and Miss both of whom well sustained Hhe character they represented. Old Mxregory Grudge, the retired pawnwas admirably performed by H|ir. Abel, and Mr. Grant, as Tim. I^Trundle, made an excellent valet de \ c.'iambre. Mr, Downes' impersonation I <rf the Hon. .Frederick Flam well Fitz irFnoge' in search of a father, brought I! clown the applause of the house, while I j the acting of Mr. Bastings, as the \. Dodger, was so true to his name of j Demosthenes Dodge, that he kept the [ audience in a continued roar of laughr tsr. The minor characters of Budge, Nudge, and Toodle were each lespectively well represented by Dr. Halley, . Mr. Sutherland, and Mr. T. Farrer. '--v -A.i'fcer a short interval, the "Wefcherstones Glee Club sang two of their favourite glees. Songs #ere also sung by Mr. Thomp- . son and Mr. Sutherland, and Miss ► JSsx- 848g r tar an-apprccifiOTvei audience, L^ber captivating song, " I'm the merriest r girl out." Encores were demanded if after each song, and responded to. I 'A few minutes elapsed, when the I ourtain lose to che side-splitting farce, [ " D'ye know me now." £ When first T performed in Tuapeka last year, we had occasion to refer to the acting of : this piec° in a very flattering manner. ' VTbe caste of characters was almost the feßHma as then. Sniggins, the grocer, by ■Mr. Keen; Selhvell Jolly by Mr. MDownes. The inimitable Nogo Dumps,/ F "with his " Mrs. Dumps and all tHe ' little dumplings," and his " misery of L miseries," was x'epresented by Mr. Abel, Mtnd Samuel WaAtwell, who never forXt to remind, visitors of their duty to waiter, was taken by. Mr. Thomas The piece went off well, the continued appliuge of the RmWe<and evidently pub all present ■ ia a good humour.' ■ At the close of the piece, Mr. BasLtings, on behalf of the Hospital ComHmittee, thanked Che audience for their ■patronage. Their presence, showed ■their desire to assist the funds of one ■<£ the most valuable institutions in ■£^. districts - - ' r " was brought to a close a very evening's enjoyment, shared aud old.