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Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1446, 8 October 1881, Page 2

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I went to the amateur dramatic performance on Thursday evening last, after posting the "Echoes." The first part consisted of "Box and Cox," which was not a success. The gentleman who took the part of Box acted very well, but he who essayed to play the part of Cox was a decided failure,. wMese 4 lady. amateur, whb, if I khW r atiytnifig^aboiit the difference between thl selves, was a man -of thetHsle-persnasionr-was' airtmdeniable "frost," and was totally unfit for the part jtR Mrs B§u|cer/or/l thinf, |aty $ther 'part. Tire small "Bo^s rh the pit' very speedily^ignifiedJtheir. disapproval,, and cries of " §peak out Bouncer,;' "Go homJrkoW^V 'I W«3hM et/ougH of you, Bouncer," weFerfoenupnte heard. I do not think 'anyone was sorry when "'Box and Cox" was finished ; indeed, many of the audience went out then, and did not return to see Gilbert's .comedy, I 'iOn Guard. " It is^ a ff n Very_ pretty little, comedy, spark'luig With Tjrilliant repartee, aud (especially 'in the third act), was very wellplayedi" 'The ,peYpsiers We two' ladies (real ladies. , lib); male men imitations),'and six gentlemen, "arid tKe'ir acting ranged from fair to good. Of course, there was the' tistiaL < delay t Between the acts, which seems inseparable from amateur performances, tan& the l conse«S quence was that it was considerably pastr II o'clock when Ihe^curtgin/fel^ t If the performers had let ''Box "and Cox," wliic ( h,a}mo^,e,yer^one ( jresentij had seen before,' and which n(^ia_ny,ol,jib.s audience had seen well played, 'out b£tfle'p)ay-bill r and contented themselves with playing " On Guard," I beliere'litiey 'would have given very general satisfaction. Apropos of the play-bitf,' ifewaaexc'ellentlygotup, though I do not think 1 the Society was justified in spending so milch- ifabney on it as they did. seeing that the proceeds of the performance wePe togo to a charitable object. As it is' rather unique I will send the one I used to the editor, and anyone who feel's ' itfterefstefl may see it by calling at The Waxhato Tunes office. i"' 1 ' 1 'i There was a spletidid house, ' the dress circle and stalls being crowded. A gentleman who was sitting near that he had nof seen such a crowd in the Theatre Royal since the last time Sir George Grey addressed a meeting there, j " Ah !" said a friend to him, " Sir George, Grey draws crowded houses because there is no charge* for admjssjon, , but if four shillings, hall-a-crown, and a shilling were charged, he would speak to empty benches." I would lik,etosee the experiment tried the nexftime ihe champion of the " down-trodden serfs ", holds forth, the proc'eSds of the I 'entertainment, to be given to one of the local charities. ' I am afraid that that charity would not be benefited much ' • A very quiet gentleman, who is a regular diner at the CafeV'raade a very good ban mot the other day. Talking about the rumor that the " saviour of the country " is going to honor Auckland City East by representing it in the new Parliament, one gentleman asked another if he thought anyone could contest the seat with him successfully. "No," was the reply, "Sir George Grey is sure to be elected for any constituency in the colony in which the working classes preponderate. It is simply Wonderful the power he has over the masses." The quiet gentleman looked up from his newspaper and asked very innocently, "Did you say 'them asses?'" "No," was the reply, " that would be bad grammar, but the terms are synonymous. " The Anglican Synod is in session this week, and the consequence is that it is almost impossible to walk along the streets without meeting a number of the clergy and a lot of lay members of the Synod going About town in their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. Among the former I noticed the Rev. W. Calder, who, I am sorry to hear, is about to leave Hamilton. Yes ! I am sorry for the Waikato people, as they will not be able to get as good a parson very readily. Is it too late to prevent him leaving ? I think he could be persuaded to stay if it were proved to him that his present parishioners are a leally bad lot, but he thinks that there are far more wicked people at the Thames, and so he is going there. The Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court co inuieaoel on Monday, but there are no cases of public interest, tho most noticeable feature of the calendar being the number of Maoiia among the prisoners — more expense for our bleeding country on account of our coloured brotheiN, whom C. 0. Davis declares to be the Lost Ten Ttibes of Israel. If he is right, I am .sorry that they were ever found ; " What do you think?" The Waikato folks who come down to town (perhaps, up to town, seeing that they w ill travel north) in tho beginning of next month ought to have a good time of it, as they will see the Cattle Show, which piounse* to be a very good one, several priintoil piiyi having been imported for tho o-jciixiou, and hear the Mont.ijju - Turner Opera .Company in English operas. It may be considered " bad form," but I must admit that I prefer English to Italian opera, provided the former is as well performed as the latter, and I believe that if evpryone told the truth, winch everyone does not do, especially on the eve of »> general election, mosc people are of the samo opinion. At any rate, I believe all, lovers of musio will enjoy the season of the MontaguTurner Oper.i Company, who hare been engaged by Mr De Lias to appear early in November. The contract has been' signed for the new Opera House which is to be built in Wellcley - street, and ft, commencement has been made with the work. I believe Mr De Li.is 1 has made . an. offer for the lease of the Opera House, and, if that offer is refused, there'-vvill be war to tho luiifo, and the knife to the hilt. He intends to turn the present Theatre Royal into offices, aud to lenovatetheold Prince of Wales Theatre (bver'Tonks & Co.'s auction mart) and run that with a good company and a succession of " stars " of the first magnitude. It can be made a very pretty little theatre and worked at a very small expense, so Mr Abbott will need to take care, or he may find Ms opera house a whito elephant. Speakiug abqut a white elephant reminds me ,of, the " black , elephant," the pet name for the road engine imported by Mr Justice Gillies when he was Superintendent, if I remember aright. Ifc used to go lumbering along ' the road, a terror not only to evildoers but also to those who led sober, righteous and godly lives, to say nothing about i innocent horses and cattle. I think it was sold to Dornwell}* 1 the butcher; who took' ft out to ' his farm at Three Kings, but whether he found it bt any use to him when he had got it therejjO^what iie did ,with it, or where it is now,' I do not know. The charge , of conspiracy against the Kelly gang will not be" heard' at the Police Court until after the session of the Supreme Cdiirt' is finished. The Crown Prosecutor was prepared to go on with the case so as to have it finished in time for the accused to appear at this present session, but the council for the prisoners said they had'iiot 'had time 'to prepare their defence. Illnatured people saythat the solicitors wanted the 'delay so that they might be able to get more money from their ..clients,, but thia cannot bo true, as no gentleman would do such a thing, and solicitors are gentlemen. r byAct p'f ( ". Parliament. .The- illnatuxed people ih'ttat be wrong. ' ' ' < St. Mxjkgo,