NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 144, 4 February 1876, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

The alterations made in Dowling-street and York Place are differently regarded by the owners of property in that neighbourhood, as some have been losers while others have benefited by the change. There is no part of the city which has assumed so completely another appearance to that which it wore about two years ago, before the cutting was begun, and while the old tumble-down pile of the Robin Hood was suggestive of rats and dust. These rambling tenements have beeu transformed into a neat row of buildings, that at the corner of Rattray-street being occupied by Mr. Ivempson, a gentleman who follows the calling ot a chemist, and we have no doubt that his doing so must prove a great boon to dwellers on the bill, who have now an opportunity of having prescriptions carefully made up, and all offices within the range of the profession performed close at their doors with a skill at least equnl to that to be found elsewhere. A presentation took place at the establishment of Messrs Mills, Dick and Co., Stafford street, last Saturday, of a handsome gold locket to Mr. E. J. Le Grove, a gentleman well known amongst the compositors of Dunedin, who is about to leave for England. Mr. Dick made the presentation in the name of the heads and employes of the firm, and in a well turned speech expressed his regret at the departure of the young gentleman in question, saying, at the same time, that he would be very welcome at any time to return to the position which be was about to relinquish. Mr. Le Grove returned thanks in suitable terms, being warmly applauded by all who were present. The play of " Cigarette" was produced at the Queen's Theatre on Saturday last. It is an adaptation to the stage of Ouida's uovel " Under two Flags," the leading personage in which is the hero of v French romance done in English, and even more unnatural than the original from which his character is derived — if that be possible. He is possessed of prodigious strength, which enables him to perform athletic marvels without turning a hair — to quote from the " horsey" atmosphere with which he is surrounded — he is perfect in form and faultless in nature ; and, being sans peur et sans reproche, gets into a scrape from which he is unable to extricate himself, unless be consents to cast a stain upon bis honour ; be, therefore, under the imputation o.f a forgery committed by bis brother, prefers to take to flight, and, «<#ter various adventures, enlists in the French service ; there be meets tfith the traditional vivandiere, whose prototype may be discovered in one of Lever's earlier works, and after some twelve years of vicissitudes finds himself in front of a firing party, upon which devolves the unpleasing duty of shooting him for a grave breach of discipline, ■which, however, is rather to his credit than otherwise. He is found in this plight by an English nobleman, who has always been bis staunch friend through good and evil report, and who makes frantic efforts to rescue him ; but, notwithstanding, be is about to pay the extreme penalty, when Cigarette, the Cantiniere. rushes in between Mm and the muzzles of the muskets, thus receiving the shower of bullets in bis stead. The play is highly sensational, and presents some striking tableaux The part of Cigarette is admirably suited to Miss Stephenson, and Mr. Stonebam as Bertie Cecil, the hero of the plot, acts remarkably well. As much may be said for Mr. Musgrave as Raike and Mr. Clinton as Lord Rockingham. The scenery was extremely pretty, and, taken altogether, this piece creditably sus-

tained the character of the theatre. This evening Miss Marion Willis will take a benefit, and we hope that we shall see her supported by a. full attendance. r ' It is not often that wanderers in the Australian bush are reminded, by anything they see there, of the ancient world ; but the fact that the wild riders of those parts are prevented, by the dislike of their horses to the chase, from rounding in the herd of camels let loose some years ago in the sandy tracts south of thelllawarra district recalls to our minds the stratagem by which Cyrus routed the cavalry of the Lydians, which, as many school boys know, is recorded in the first book of Herodotus ; for, taking advantage of the detestation shown by horses to the sight or smell of a camel, he contrived to throw the army of Croesus into confusion. Me. Bbight, whose reputation for ability as a literary man has long ranked high, and whose status as a humourist is borne testimony toby the creditable manner in which he edited the 'Melbourne Punch,' commenced on Monday last bis series of lectures in Dunedin and will terminate on Saturday evening next. As a lecturer Mr! Bright well sustains the character which he has already earned for himself, and whether the author of whom he treats be humourous or pathetic, or, as frequently occurs in the peculiar works of the American writers, humour and pathos be combined, he is quite equal to the situation, and capable of doing full justice to his subject. This and to-morrow evening, we would remind our readers, are the last on which they will have an opportunity of hearing the talented lecturer in question, and we strongly advise them, while the pleasure of doin» so is within their reach, to avail themselves of it. ° Thebe has been a new rush to a place on the right fork of HalfOunce Creek ; a discovery made in this locality led to the opening up of the Half-Ounce gold-field. The Waimate Company are desirous of amalgamation with the owners of the adjoining leasehold ; the new company, in event of this taking place, would own 30 acres of ground believed to be good. Potter, a well known prospector, has discovered a new line of reef at Rainy Creek ; a company is in process of formation to work it, the name of which will be "The Inkerman Quartz Mining Company." Adams, one of the prospectors of the Rainy Creek line, is said to have discovered a new reef on the right of the Inangabua, in a country not yet opened to quartz mining. The leader of the prospecting party sent out by the Moonlight Creek Company, reported at Abaura, that the indications of the country at the head of the 1 2-Mile Creek were not favorable ; the men are now fairly at work prospecting at the head of the Caledonian and Baxter. Creeks. There are in all, three separate parties of prospectors in the Moonlight Ranges. In the Lyell district three nuggets, weighing respectively 740z., 480z., and 370z., have been found at the bead of Irishman's Creek. In Sawyer's Gully, near the 12-Mile Creek, Messrs. Hall and Symonds are about to erect machinery to work a new reef which shows coarse gold ; the same parties expect to find a main reef on the top of the range. In Bush Creek, Messrs. Barclay have found a leader. At the Thames the prospects of the Cure Company's mine have much improved. The Pumping Association finds a considerable drawback in the incrustation of the inner parts of the pumps, the crust forms with extraordinary rapidity and is the cause of much difficulty. The value of the gold of the Little Agnes diminished from £3 5s to £1 16b per ounce, although the crushings were taken from the same reef ; five samples of stone were tested to ascertain the cause, when it was found that all except No. 1, or surface, — in which was gold worth about 60s — contained silrer, mixed more or less with gold, or free ; iron, antimony and copper were .found in other stones. The Goldfinder, is a claim lately taken up at Moanataiari. The new find at Owharoa, OHnernure, is most favourably reported of. Members of the Dunedin Branch of the H.A.C.B.S. are reminded by advertisement iv another column that the usual fortnightly meeting will be held in the schoolroom on Monday evening next. As important business in connection with the band is to be brought forward, a large attendance is expected. We are glad to hear that the late entertainments in aid of the St. Josepb'9 Schools and Port Chalmers Church have proved successful financially. After defraying all expenses a handsome balance has been left which will be placed to the credit of the respective objects. Arrangements are being made for giving two concerts for the same object during Easter week. A novel featiu*e in the bazaar lately held at Wellington was a newspaper expressly published for the occasion, under the name of ' The Wellington Tattler and Convent Bazaar Advertiser, 1 and bearing the motto, " Amour Jait leaneoup, mais argent fait tout." Our tiny contemporary gives ample testimony to the abiding love that watches by the grave of good Bishop Viard, and in "A Record of the Past " commemorates the laying by him of the foundation stone of St. Mary's Cathedral. Some lines on His Lordship's death, written by Miss M. A. McKenna, a pupil of the Sisters of the Ahaura Convent, are far above the average, and give tokens of true poetic talent in the writer, from whom, at no distant date, we hope to bear again. The facetiae are remarkably good, and, what in such matters is a most uncommon thing to find, are original. We extract the following from the Telegraphic News : — " Berlin. — It is generally supposed that Bismarck intends making a total change in the German diet, and will adopt an obsolete custom of some of the South Sea Islanders, whose favourite Sunday feast consisted of cold roast missionary. The reason for putting so many ecclesiastics in coop, may now be easily seen." We regret that our notice of this ' Tattler ' comes rather late, but owing to accident it was for some time overlooked, so that we are obliged to take refuge in the well-known proverb " Better late than never." We would remind our readers that this evening the prizes won at the late meeting of the Otago Rifle Association will be presented. The presentations will take place at the Head Quarters Drill-shed, and the Dunedin Artillery Band will be in attendance with a variety of music suited to all tastes. Mrs. Walter, the wife of His Worship the Mayor, will present the prizes.