"A NICHT WI BURNS."

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1659, 28 January 1913, Page 9

"A NICHT WI BURNS."

m, Burns was the; feature and,title.of tho Wellington, Scottish Soc|oty g concert last, evening, and it so- far trmmphed :over uriple'asant weather Condi•.«°m «»t th« Chief of the iiociety (Mr. -A B.Thornton) wis able"' to =• congratulate members ond their friends upon- asfCmblmg in suoh nuihbers as nearly'to'fill .the Concert Chamber. Tho entertainment «s a whole-was excellent of its class. It began with the skirl of bagpipes and later wriods./tmo devotedVto,.national songs,' , donees,:■ and recitations, and a lecturottc, /Robert. Barns/'- by. Professor' Mackenzie! the jrhol# of the musical items,'.dances, encored.; V ' The spirit displayed during the evening went , a long way towards justifying a remark made by Professor Mackenzie, in the course of his lecturette, that ■ "Bums was; a greater link in nationality than : St. Andrew's J)ay, The poetry of Burns, Professor Maokonzio remarked, had ■,"? i nt f? a , t . wni >l appeal, and in the hearts or scots, disputed pre-eminence' with' porP°5 e „f n i bagpipes and'the Bible, Ho defended -the. Scotch character from hccusntions that it was hard and "canny," surface-charac-teiistics, and that tho Scotch spirit was v n i.unconfined. / - The manner in which the; Scotch peoplo' worshipped Burns, he maintained, gave a sufficient answer to the; detractions .that had 'boon levelled against them... The lattei-.paK of i Professor Mackenzie's add res? was ah' eloquently expressed appreciation of -Burns and Ms poetry/ , •. f , :a' fino item on tho jirogramrcio was the • recitation, "Two Little Scotch:-Mattyrs" rendered by Miss Betty Purdom, champion lady elocutionist at the' Now Zealand competitions. Miss Purdom imparted wonderful - life and colour' to'-, the nathetic story of the two,children who faced death rath/r than betray their hunted' countrvman at the bidding of alien soldiers.-: Encored .Mlsj .Pnrd.om tonched, an equally high standard in' her recitation ot' "Burn's Ad- ' to Mary in Heaven." :' ' The , item.* on the programme were as £",°?, ! T, ™h*ro,was a Lad was Born in Kyle, Mrs. A. Piogorn:' Shi'nuntriiibhas (dance); -Mm • Daisy-; M'tollnn: "Hobin Adair," Mrs, W- B, Willis; "Tho N/t)nele«s Lnssie,"-Mr. T, Newton; "Irish-Jig." Miss Flora Shaw; Scottish rop], Snaw.D. MfLellan. L, Iteid, and M.'lteid' Dnmty/Davie." ;Mr«,. ,T. TT, J o hn«»ni violm solo.- "The Auld Scotch Songs." Mr. E. Gilchrist: "The Twa Texts" (recitation), Miss B. Pnrdom i Highland fling Misses T„ and M, Reid; ■ "Mv Nannie's v - T , Collins; "Mr John M'Kie," Mr; W. Lambert. - Mrs. D. Macrnillnn acted as accompanist, and Mr. .Tas. M'Lellon ai stnge director. -iX highly successful entertainment ended with th# singing of "Auid Lnne Syne." * ; •