ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 39, 25 April 1891, Page 1

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.

’Dr. Arthur Purchas deserves a pat on the ’■back for a brilliant conception, ably organised and very -successfully accomplished. We allude to the parade and procession of tandems which took place on Saturday last. The meet was ifixed for 2 p;m. in ‘Princes-street, near the Club, and quite a throng of expectant • spectators had gathered at various points of wantage long before the appointed hour. At i? 45 p.m.the teams began to assemble, taking •their'preliminary runs up and down Princesstreet,'under the watchful eyes of many know- - Contrary to expectation the leaders all'behaved in a most gentlemanlike and considerate manner. It was manifest that not only s had their -education been attended to, but whips also held the ribbons. At a ifew. minutes after 2 o’clock, His Excellency the ‘Governor, accompanied by Lady Onslow, drove ’ >up in an exquisitely neat Victoria, and the 'teams ’having drawn lots for position, were 'marshalled into their respective places by Dr. ' Arthur‘Purchas. His Excellency led the way - -up Princes-street and through O’Rorke-street .into ‘Symond-street, where he drew up his ’ carriage and reviewed the tandems as they him in the following order Brassey and Wansborough (whip) neat .bay cob and handsome chestnut leader. .2—7Lieuts. Fowler and Sparks of H.M.S. Rapid. Mr. Fowler, whip. 3— -Messrs. Sinclair (whip) and Stubbing; fine pair of upstanding greys. .4—t Messrs. Lockhart (whip) and Bloomfield; Stewart’s pretty grey ponies in Mr. Bloomfield’s dainty cart. Miss Kilgour and Miss Hilda Rack gracing one of the prettiest turnouts of the meet. 5 —Messrs. J. Ansenne (whip) and W. Clayton; bay wheeler and chestnut leader. Mrs. Ansenne and Miss Cameron added greatly to the elegance of this equipage. •16 Mr. Worsp (whip) and friend drove a pair of bays, and were accompanied by the Misses Worsp, who wore charming costumes. j Mrs. Walter Lawry and Miss Worker with a pair of substantial blacks, driven by Dr. Arthur Purchas’ coachman. B—Messrs. Chatfield (whip) and Horace Walker drove / / . the well-known grey trotting mare with a grey leader. g. Dr. Arthur Purchas (whip) accompanied by Mrs. Purchas and Major Goring, tooled a spanking black with a rare nice looking chestnut leader. This turnout was generally voted the most dashing and elegant of all. 10—Messrs. Stewart (whip) and England drove a nice pair of bay ponies in an extremely neat cart. : Jl; i Messrs.. Gbtz and Charles Bord (‘Champlain’) accompanied by the Misses Moss, looking their ‘ / best, drove a black wheeler and a chestnut leader. 12—Mr. Kettlewell and a friend in a neat turnout formed the rear gard of a most creditable show. Numerous ladies and gentlemen on horseback accompanied the procession, among whom we noticed Miss Whitaker, escorted by Mr. Clark, and a number of private equipages added to the eclat. After passing His Excellency, the teams proceeded up Symond-street and followed the Mount Eden road as far as Cucksey’s corner, where they turned to the left and crossed over to'Manukau road ; thence the route was via ■Epsom, Onehunga, Mangere, and Papatoitoi to the Criterion Hotel, at Otahuhu, where Dr. Arthur Purchas entertained his guests —a refreshing tea being provided, which was much enjoyed after the pleasant and appetising drive. After an hours’ rest a start was made and all safely reached town at a few minutes past 6 p.m. ‘ * About a mile past Wattie’s Hotel occured the.only accident of the trip. The leaders of.

a passing ’bus took fright at the übiquitous bicycle, and in pulling rather suddenly to the left to avoid a collision, Messrs. Fowler and Sparkes unfortunately capsized their trap. The occupants were thrown out, but were quitte pout la peur, escaping unhurt. The wheeler was however severely injured, and the journey had to be resumed and completed with the leader only in the shafts. We are informed that the injured horse is making a good recovery.

Undoubtedly the sensation of last week was that wonderfully facinating show of Chrysanthemums at the Choral Hall.„ During the three days and evenings of the exhibition, throngs of delighted visitors perambulated Fairy-land and praised everything—decorations, blooms, music and management. Towards the close, persons who previously were in a state of blissful ignorance on the subject of Japanese, Incurved, Reflexed, Anemones, and Pompons, had not only learned to differentiate those broad divisions, but might be heard discoursing knowingly on the several charms of the glorious Edwin Molineux, the refulgent Thunberg, the gorgeous Boule d’or, and Sunflower, the pure and flaky Avalanche, the chaste Stanstead, White, etc. In our opinion the ‘ boss-bloom ’ of the whole show was Mr. F. T. Ward’s magnificent specimen of the Edwin Molineux variety. But Messrs. Dewes, Archdale Taylor, Mclndoe and Whitely all exhibited splendid examples in several varieties. The competition for Certificates of the National Chrysanthemum Society in the open and amateur classes respectively, was regulated by the number of points scored in first prizes. In the open class a close race between Messrs. W. Mclndoe and T. Whiteley was won by the former, who scored just one point more than his formidable rival. In the amateur class, Mr. Archdale Taylor was facile princeps, carrying off no less than seven first prizes. Mr. F. T. Ward came in second and Mr. A. E. Dewes third, In the champion class, Mr. Archdale Taylor again beat the field, scoring 18 points, Mr. F. T. Ward, second, and Mr. A. E. Dewes with 5 and 4 points respectively. Space will not permit us to deal with the various classes of bouquets and table flowers, which made a splendid glow of colour in the side room. The judging was on the whole equitable and satisfactory. An auction sale in which the popular Mr. T. Jackson wielded the hammer with characterisitc humour wound up the exhibition, and the beautiful blooms were carried off in armfuls by our equally beautiful girls—‘Sweets to the sweet’ as the Prince of Denmark said when scattering flowers on Ophelia’s grave.

Some football practices were held at Potter’s paddock on Saturday last, and judging from the musters, the grand old game bids fair to maintain its popularity. Ponsonby will be strong both in the forward and back divisions —Stitchbury being a powerful recruit to the latter. Grafton, too, is sure to show up well. Ginders, an ex-Wellington rep, is a splendid forward. Gordon and Auckland played a practice match with some 17 or 18 men on each side. The former club, we fear, will be weak in backs, though the forward team promises well. Ansley is likely to play for the club, but the absence of Arthur Rees, Herrold (probably) and the two Meldrum’s, will leave gaps which will not easily be filled.

A large gathering of tennis enthusiasts watched the match between Misses Hitchings and Mowbray on Saturday last. Some disappointment was occasioned by the easy win of the firstnamed lady, as everybody expected a hard fight and a close finish. Miss Mowbray, however, did not play anything like her usual game, losing both sets, the first, 6-—2 ; the second, 6—3. Her clever opponent showed magnificent form, and enjoyed all the luck. It is remarkable to see a lady so severely handicapped by physical infirmity—for Miss Hitchings has but one arm —display such tennis ability. To begin with the ball in serving is held by three fingers of her only hand, the racket being adroitly balanced by the remaining finger and thumb. A slight toss of the ball, followed by a smart twisty tap with the racket results in a fast, low service, which is anything but easy to take. Although fairly accurate, Miss Hitchings necessarily gave away more double faults than her adversary, whose service however, is comparatively mild and simple. Miss Hitchings tall and lithe figure and commanding reach, together with her accurate placing, good volleying and nimble activity more than compensated for the double faults. She has the additional advantage of experience, having played in Inter-provincial Championship matches against the picked lady players of New Zealand, and although defeated, always forced her conquerors to play their hardest. Both ladies succeeded in returning some apparently impossible balls in brilliant style, and despite the unfavourable condition of the lawn, some of the rallies evoked loud bursts of applause from the spectators. Subsequently two more sets were played, in which Miss Mowbray showed better form, although still far below her best standard. Miss Hitchings won the first, 6—4; Miss Mowbray the second, 6—2. We trust that another match between these accomplished wielders of the racket may be arranged before Miss Hitchings leaves for home. Should Miss Mowbray get enough practice to recover her form, we should certainly be treated to a series of most interesting and exciting games, and possibly she might even reverse the recent discomfiture and regain her lost laurels. But in Miss Hitchings she undoubtedly meets the most formidable lady opponent we have yet seen on our Auckland lawn.

Messrs. Mountain and Winch hold a second Sheffield handicap at the Zealandia Rink on Saturday evening. The entries numbering 36 have been handicapped by Mr. E. O’Hare, and the starts will be found in another column of this issue. T. Wells, the winner of the last Handicap is placed on the 2yds. mark. Some close finishes and exciting contests seem assured.

The following are the principal winners at the Wellington Autumn Meeting:—F. Martin, J. D. Ormond, 10s ; H. H. Dodson, £lO4 10s; D, Knight, £99 15s; E. F. Yuille, jf66 10s; Freeth, 10s ; J Wilson, 10s; J. Watkins, ; J. Pringle, £33 ss; A. Clifford, 6s. Smaller amounts bring the total up to 15s. The Club has made a profit of about /’s7b over the meeting.