ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, TEMUKA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 37, 3 January 1890, Page 29

ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, TEMUKA.

(From an occasional Correspondent.)

Temuka, December 20, 1889. The annual concert by the pupils of St. Joseph's Convent School which had been looked forward to, both by the children and parents, with as keen an interest as on former years, passed off as successfully as on any of the previous occasions, on the 16th inst. In spite of several entertainments having been held during the previous fortnight — the Temuka Public School concert, which wag poorly attended, taking place a few days before, the hall was crammed. The programme, as usual, was a long and varied one, and the whole was gene through wi'hout a hitch, and in a manner which did infinite credit to the children, and failed not to add immensely to tbe reputation which the Sisters of St. Joseph bear for their ability and patience in teaching the young. The concert was opened with a prologue, which was spoken with good effect by Misses E. Dal ton and L. Archer, and was followed by the excellent rendering of an overture by Miss Quinn. The Chorus, " Chiming Bells," was rendered very successfully by the singing class, and tbe order with which the children came on and went off the stage, combined with the neat appearance of their white dresses, was a striking feature of the enter* tainment, and denoted the trouble which had been taken by their teachers in bringing them to such a stage of perfection. Miss L. Quinn secured universal applause for her recitation, " A shamrock from the Irish shore," as did also Master Scannell — a youthful perperformer—for his vocal solo " Kitty of Colraine." The dialogue, " Dolly's Mama," was well spoken by Miss Taylor and Master P. Scannell, and created much laughter. Miss Connolly, who was in good voice, brought down the house by her singing of " Eileen Alannab," and was encored, and responded with the last verse. Th« solos in the chorus " Old black Joe," was taken by Masters Louis Lavery and Dunn, and wwe vigorously seconded by tbe remainder of

the boys. The drama, « Lady Cecil," was the next item oa th* pro. framing »od was enacted with much ability by those taking part in it. The characters were talcan as follows .—Lady Cecil, M.ss L. Quinn; Clare, Miss A. Warlin* ; Titaoia, Miss M. Qahm ; Nurse flowed with the solo, "Old log cabin i n (he dell," and received a universal recall and bonqoefc of flowers, to which he responded with • bo*. of the head. The Misses Connolly next gave the duet •< Love not, in which they were very successful, and for which they were loudly applauded, and were followed by the dialogue " True and false friends, which was distinctly spoken by Masters Dunn, J. Jackson, B. Wareing, J. Scannell, and D. McAuiiffe. From this a moral could well be drawn. It displayed the tendency of human nature to self-interest. A man, who w»a greatly deaf had been absent for some years. He returned and asked several of his old identities for accommodation, but no one had room for him, and in an undertone (thinking he did Dot hear them in spe-king low) spoke ill of him At length one is found who offers to share his little with him, and iD their conversation the once deaf man tells his kind friend that he had amassed considerable riches, whioh enabled him to secure the best medical attention, and ultimately resulted in his regaining his hearing. He tells him that for his kindness he will never have to work •gam. The conversation is overheard by the others, who come and ■PobgiM. Finally they lament over the chance they had lost M " t « r ü B - L »Tery next sang the solo, " Where the grass grows green . » which be did in good voice and masterly manner, and was followed \- "I 6 P |ano dQet » " The musical Boxes," by the Hisses Wareing, which they executed in an artistic style. This brought the programme to the principal item, the Cantata. " Red Riding Hot d." the characters being, Red Rid.ng Hood, Miss B. Connolly ; Mother, Miss Connolly ; Woodman, Master Louis ; Wolf, Waster Bravery ; Robin, Master Polaschek; semi-cborus of roses, semi-cborus of buttercups ■emi-chorus of bluebells, full chorus of little childrea : Grandmother, Miss E. Barrett ; Fairy Queen, Miss B. Brosnaban. This well-known cantata was rendered with much ability by all the performers, and the singing throughout was good. The dresses worn, too, were very appropriate, and everything tended to •how that much careful training must have been bestowed upon the children by their teachers. The children seemed perfectly at home and not a bitch occurred. The second part of the programme commenced with the chorus, " Old Folks at Home," by the boys. The solo was taken by Masters Louis, Lavery, and Dunn, the applause •bowed how much it was appreciated by the audience. The dialogue "A Quarrel Among the Flowers," in which Misses Dalton, B BrosLHhan, Archer, and M. Wareing, spoke the different parts allotted to them well. Master Louis took the audience by storm with the tocal eolo, " Mr. M ulcahey, Squire," and, in response to a vociferous encore, sang, '■ The Old Arm Chair," which was gieeted with applause The audience were uext favoured with a piano trio, " L' Alliance " by the Misses Quinn, the general execution of woich was excellent, and elicited for toem great applause, Miss Connelly was again encored for her singing of << Come Back to Erin," and responded wiih the last ▼erse. The dialogue, "The Coknists," in which Master E. Lavery J. Lynch, P. Haauhon, M. Brosnaban, J. Scannell, J. Cunard D Horagan, J. F.aherty, S. Connolly, W. Polaschsk, F. Scannell, and" XL. Melvin gpoke their parts exceedingly well, was followed by tbe long (iv chaiacter), » Ihe Swiss Maid," by Miss B. Connolly, which was much appreciated by the audience. Miss Wareing recited Bmmng the Rock in a clear manner and with much dramatic ability, aud was listened to with great attention, the recitation being a taking one. Ihe drama, •' A Precious Pickle," w, 8 next enacted. Tue ca,t was : Miss Pearce, Miss M. Quinn ; Mrs. Gabble, Miss Wareing ; City Girls on a Vacation in the country— Lucy. Miss L o Ul h, nJ i^'J^ 8 A ' W< * rein g-- Lll y> Mia B. Connolly; Sissy' Oabb.e, Alibß WiUiams ; J uuo (coloured help), Miss Davis Tbi* drama also had a moral in it, and ought to ba a warning to those of the lemimne sex who have a cuiiosity far tasting everything The whole was splendidly played, and at the fall of the curtain there wae loud applause. Tue sjng » Don't Leave your Mother," by Masters M. Connelly, J. Scannell, and W. Polaschek, was splendidly sung and wes followed by the drama '• The Omnibus," the characters in which were : Mr Ledger, Master Louia ; Julia, Miss, M. Wareing • Pat Maloney, Master M. Connolly, Mrs. Dobs, Miss Wareine : the Misses Damper, Misses Fitzgerald and Burk*. This was well played »md caused much laughter. The duet, " Mr. and Mrs. Wr glit " fin character;, by Mm B. Connolly and Master Louis, was received wiih prolonged applause, and was fallowed by tun dialogue '• The Henpecked Huub*nd," by Miss 0. Bairett, and Masters E Lavery W Poiaschek, and J. Daun. In tbia was a fair stamp of those women who hay« a great l.kiug to wear the husband's authoiicy, and no one could do anything r;gut save herselr. it was nothing but '• growl growl. Tbe part ot the "amazon" was well sustained by Miss Barrett, and that cf the " htn-pecked " soft head by Master Lavery. The "Troublesome Boy," was creditably taken by Master Polaschek ; "Let the Angels in," by the singing class was one of the best of tbe evening, which brought the programme to the epilogue by Misi L. Qmnn, which was spoken iv a clear and able manner. The national anthem brought the programme to a close it being nearly half-past eleven. A great deal of the suocesi of the entertainment was due to the excellent playing of Miss Quinn Sne cleverly avoided the fault often fallen into by those who occupy the position of accompanist in playing too loud. The young lady performed the task allotted to her in a first-class manner, and much praue is due to her. Ibis year tbe entertainment was as enjoyable as on any of the former occasions. One of the great features of these conceits ia the marvellous order which tbe chilaren keep in coming oa aDd going off the stage, and in every respec. The singing this year waß, 1 think better tbsu on any previous occasion. Of the boys gjlattters Louia, Lavery, Scannell, and Polaschek, deserve ep_cul apraiee, the twj last named being only eight years old. The local paper remarked that Master Polaachek'a singing was a feature of the performance. Mi»a Connolly was belter than on any previous occasion. This year nearly all the children were youne, and by the tine tbe next concert comes on there is every reason for saying that

they will be in a better position to take their parts. Therefore, something extra good may be expected from them next year. The Bisters of St. Joseph are to be congratulated on the success of the entertainment ; their scholars are a credit (o them, and the diciplina which they displayed on the last occasion did not detract one iota from the very great reputation of the Bisterg of the Order of St. Joseph's in mouldine the mind* of the young. The concert at Kerrytown was a great success, a detailed account of which will appear in a future issae.

The article of Outidanos in the Contemporary Review is the general topic of conversation. Whether it was written by Mr. GladBioue, or simply inspired by him, it has had the effect of awakening Italians to a smse of theii impotence in Europe, their folly in breaking with France and becoming a tool of Bismarki in policy, and the universal poverty and misery that have resulted. They are beginning to discover that Itcly is not, in reality, a great power, an i that Orispi is not the flattered and admired statesman, but a pale reflection of the glory of the Mephistopheles of Berlin.

The Rime correspondent of the Pilot writes :— lt is curious as it is interesting to learn that a suggestion of Ireland's richness in the precious metals should come from Rome. In a paper on " Inscriptions Illustradve of the Administration of Ancient Marble Quarries " published by the learned Commeadatore De Rossi in bis " Bulletino" 1868, I find a most interesting referense to silver anciently found in Ireland. De Rossi says that amongst his papers be discovered two inscriptions copied in the British Museum at London. •• There,"' he says, " I have seen bars of silver found in England and in Ireland with the followiDg stamps upon them : EX OFFB. HONORINI and EX. OF. PATRICI." [Theie indicate ihat. th« silver was from the furnace of Honorinus in the one ca-e, and from the furntce of Patrick in the other.] He adds : — "Although the word OFFEcina of these stamps seems as if it should be applied rather to the metal furnace than to the mine, yet they d«serve to be recorded and examined in conjunction with the inscriptions [or epigraphs] illustrative of the administration of the ancient metal [mines], Besides I call the attention of the learned of Ireland to the name Patricius actually stamped on the bar of silver found in Ireland, where this name is so celebrate! on account of beicg rendered illustrious by the famons apostle of this people, St. Patrick."

The Court of Helsinborg, ia Sweden, was lately the scene of a very singular affair. A young medical student brought a charge against a phyeician of the city of haviog hypnotized him on several occasions without having his authority for doin^ so. In consequence of these operations his nervous system bad changed for the worse, and his mental faculties generally had become weakened. Several witnesses were present to testify to the truth of tha charge. To the great surprise of the court, however, the witnesses not only contradicted one another absolutely, but related the most improbable and contradictory stories. Nobody could make head or tail of the matter. The witnesses talked and acted like iunaiics. At last a doctor, also a witness, declared to the judges that his confrere had hypnotized all the witnesses, and had suggested to them the declarations they had just made. The court refused to continue the case, and adjourned ia order to have the witnesses examined by some medical experts,