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Evening Star, Issue 3195, 17 May 1873, Page 2

Seasonable Con. : What flower would you name if you wanted a bird to use bad language ?—Cro-oue.

Nothing definite has yet been arrived at ■n relation to the formation of a new Executive. We hear Dr Webster has been sent 'or, although it is understood ho will not cocpt a leading position.

The Duned : n Temperance Societies arc about to build a hall In Moray place west, in which the business of the societies can be ■‘onducted. The money is to bo raised in shares of LI each, to be called up in instalments of 2s 6d per share. The capital of the company is L 1,500, which it is confidently believed there will bo no difficulty in raising. The usual, fortnightly meeting of the Dunedin Band of Hope, was held in the Oddfellows’ Hall, George street, last evening, when several songs, recitations, and an address by MrWebb, were given to a numerous audience. The following officers and committee were then appointed for the ensuing six months, as follows :—Mr D. C. Cameron, president; MrW. Blackford, vicepresident; Mr A. Trice, treasurer ; Mr C. Jones, secretary; Mr F. Butterfield, librarian; Messrs Crosbie, Thompson, Clarke, Sutton, Crow, and Morris committee. The House of Lords rejected the Bill to legalise marriage with a deceased wife s sister in England, by a majority of seventyfour to forty-nine. The most curious point in the debate was that the Bishops were divided, the Low Church authorities deeming that the measure was lawful and expedient, and the High Church gentlemen appealing to the law of Moses, which, according to the descendants of Moses and the liberal sense of the words, is against them. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge paired in favor of the Bill. The second amateur concert in aid the Mornington Sunday School Library Fund was held last evening in the old school house, Mornington, and, as on the previous occasion, was well attended, there being 150 present. Mr Nasmith sang “ Bluo-eyed Nelly ” in fine style, and received an encore; a duct, by two ladies, was also given with taste. The cornet duet, by Messrs Haywood and Whitaker, was given in good style ; while Mr Chalmers took the house by storm by his step dancing; and Messrs Cowdery and Dumpy secured a fair share of approbation for their comic singing. Mr J. E. Attwood occupied the chair ; and at the close of the concert Mr C. J. Gore thanked the audience on behalf of the Committee for their attendance. Thus was brought to a dose one of the most successful meetings ever held in Mornington. Dancing was commenced and kept up till the small hours to the excellent music of Mr and Miss Lack ; Mr Wilson acting as M.C. Rumour is always busy with the future of the Duke of Edinburgh. The latest is that an alliance has been definitely arranged between His Royal Highness and an Imperial Russian Princess, and that it will take place in England during the present season. The bride-elect is believed to be Marie Alexandrine, only daughter of the Emperor of Russia, who was born in October, 1853, sister of the Czarewitch, husband of the Princess Dagmar, sister-in-law of the Prince of Wales; but in another quarter it is told that the Loyal lady on whom the Duke’s hand and heart is about being bestowed is Hjc*a Constant! novena, daughter of ths Grand Duchess Josephine, sister of tho present Emperor of Russia, Although it is unable to state with absolute certainty which of these Royal Princesses is to be the bride, that all the preliminaries have been arranged for the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh with one of them is certain.

We have good authority for stating that it is intended by Messrs Lyster and Cagli to make annually the visit with their company which they have paid to the Colony during the past two years. M. Cagli was to proceed to Europe by the mail steamer, leaving Melbourne on the 21st hist., for the purpose of securing a quartette of voices of the best available talent; with which ho intends making a tour of the Australias and New Zealand, then proceeding to America. The fusion of new blood with the present company is sure to be acceptable to opera-goers in all the Colonies, and will enable the management to dispense with artists who have been so long before the public as to render a change desirable. Should the experiment, which is a bold one, prove desirable, it is Messrs Lyster and Cagli’s intention to continue it until at length they will have an entirely new company, There is reason to believe that future visits to this Colony will be paid six weeks or two months earlier than formerly. The entertainment presented last night at the Masonic Hall was certainly one of the best of the season. We have had occasion before to notice most of the items on the programme, which, although consisting mostly of repetitions, was one of the best that could have been got up. Notwithstanding Miss Emanuel’s evident hoarseness, she sang with sweetness and taste, especially in “ The Last Rose of Summer,” which had to be repeated before the audience was satisfied. Mr Anderson extracted more music from the pianoforte than we could have believed possifde, and fully maintained the reputation -he has earned of being a perfect master of the instrument-. We certainly expected to have seen a larger audience than there was, considering it was their last appearance. The front seats were fairly filled, but the dreary aspect of the back part told a miserable tale of the want of appreciation on the part of the public. We sincerely hope to see these artists among us again before long. The trial trip of one of the engines intended to be used for passenger traffic on the Clutha line was made yesterday afternoon, and was thoroughly successful. The run was made from Crawford street, opposite tfye fitting-up shed at the roar of Messrs Cargill apd Anderson’s wool store, as far as the tunnel, to which the rails are now laid. The engine was driven by Mr Amos, under whose superintendence, we believe, it was put together, gud who will be remembered as having brought out and fitted up the Farlie engines pn the Pprt line. Mr Blair, the district engineer; Mr Bell, the sub-contractor, and other gentlemen were on the engine, the working of which, Mr Amos informs us, gave greater satisfaction than even he expected. It was manufactured by Neilson and Co., Glasgow, weighs about seventeen tons, being rather leas than three tons in each wheel; the number of wheels being six, three feet each in diameter, all coupled ; has no tender, and is expected to draw a hundred tons, and attain an ordinary speed of twenty to twenty-five miles an hour. A meeting of the Port Chalmers Regatta committee was held last night in Dench’s Hotel, when the preliminaries for the regatta were arranged. There were present—His Worship the Mayor (in the chair), Messrs Stevens, Gpldie. Innes, Hudson, Macklay, ‘JClivnon, Dpdson, and tliG Secretary. The minutes of the previous meeting being confirmed, tbe first business called was to arrange the programme, with the list of prizes, the result of which will be found in our advertising columns. The Secretary was instructed to write to bis Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to be present at regatta ; it was also resolved that all entrances, with entrance money, also the name oEeachboatanddistinjuishing color, should be sent, Up.dvr cover, addressed to the secretary at Dench’s hotel, Port Chalmers, not later than Friday evening, the 23rd mst. The entrance for the whale boat race was fixed at 20s, which, with a prize of L2O, ought to bring a number of boats to the scratch. .Seven boats are spoken of as coming from Waikouaiti and the Heads, and, as will be seen from the programme, each boat is to have all its whaling gear on board. This race is looked forward to as being the principal event of the d-iy ; .and as there have been a number of new boats added to the different whaling parties, it should be the best race ever held here. If the day be fine, a good day’s sport may be expected. The following will jmtereat our lady readersAt Her Majesty’s last Drav/iqgroom the hair appeared to be dressed higher than ever on the top of the head, and almost all the young ladies had it turned from the

face over a cushion; the feathers and flowers were worn more on the top of the head that of old. The young girls who were presented patronised snowdrops a good deal, one of thorn particularly ■ having them most grac“fully arranged on one side of the hair, as '.hough they were growing there, A tulb veil covered with pearl beads was rather a novelty, anl colored ribbons round the neck, wilh a bow in front and diamonds in the centre, were much wo n. One lady had u ribbon collar at the throat trimmed w : th lacc quite in Louis the XIY. style —indeed, the belles of the present drawingroom looked more like the pictures of our ancestors than ever. More false hair seeme Ito be worn, more costly lace, and the trimmings were more elaborate than ever. It would be really difficult to attempt to describe the puffings, plaitings, and ruchings of which the tulle petticoats were composed. One dress had the lacc flounce brought up in a great plait at tho side, which was filled out with blue tulle and bows of ribbon, and had a very novel effect; a black corded silk train, with deep bias folds of blue silk, was worn with it, dotted over with primroses. Miss Aitken’s benefit came off eame last evening in the Queen’s Theatre. Nearly all the available scats in the boxes, dress circle, and the lower portion of the house were filled. The curtain rose to the pret\y little drama of “King Rene’s Daughter.” King Rems, King of the Province of Anjou, had a blind daughter, whom he kept apart from all society, and brought up in total ignorance of her deficiency. Miss Aicken’s representation of lolanthe, the blind girl, was one of the finest pieces of acting we ever witnessed. The idea of blindness is moat truthfully conveyed by her. When she first realises the fact that she is not possessed of one of the senses common to those surrounding her, there are to bo seen the various emotions that influence her, imprinted on her face; and most pathetically and touchingly does she describe her sensations. An operation is performed by which she gains her sight. On coming into the garden and seeing the objects with which she was formerly acquainted only by the sense of feeling, she displayed immense dramatic power. The manner in which she shielded the various objects from her sight, the portrayal of the fear she had that the trees would fall upon her, were magnificent displays of her great power of impersonation. Bhe was frequently applauded during tho progress of the play, and at the close of tho piece was called before -the curtain. Miss Flora instead looked and played well as Sir Geoffrey; tho other characters were well sustained. In the second part of the programme Mr M. Winter sang “ Happy be thy dreams” very well, and in response to the demand of the audience, sang ‘‘The Muleteer,” which was also well received. Miss Aitkcu then recited Poe’s fine poem of “The Bells.” This is a difficult poem to recite; but the hmefionrf'* great elocutionary powers and her truly musical voice were never heard to bettor advantage ; in fact, it was in itself a complete dire.rlimmcnt. During its delivery the audience maintained a complete silence, which was broken at its conclusion by a perfect ovate on of applause. Wc would call the attention of the management to the fact that if a little oil were put on the hinges of the dress circle entrance door, it would add considerably to the comfort of the audienc°. Each time the door is opened or shut, its hideous creaking is heard all over the house, thus spoiling the effect of many a telling passage in the piece being played. Tho last two acts of “Guy Mannering” concluded the entertainment; and they were played in a manner that caused us to regret that the whole of the drama had not been produced. Miss Aitkon’s delineation of Meg Merrilees was an indescribably fine piece of acting, Mr Winter considerably enhanced his representation of Henry Bertram by the able manner in which he sang the songs incidental to the character. Mr O’Brien surprised us. by the excellent Dandie Dmmont he produced. The Donßnie Sampson of Mr Hydes was very mirthrpro voting. Mp Burford made a good Dirk Hatterick. The other parts were well played. Richard the Third will be pioduced this evening. We believe the lessees, in pursuance of their desire to establish a high-class entertainment, have secured the services of Mr Fairdough, the eminent tragedian, who will make his first appearance before a Dunedin audience on the 16th of uext_ month. The lessees, we are informed, are in treaty with the leading theatrical talent procurable in the Australian Colonies.

We beg to thank Dr Bakewell for a copy of the correspondence published by Her Majesty’s Government relative to the discovery of 9,11 alleged cure of leprosy. We have to acknowledge the receipt of the new Goldfields Bill' the preparation of which was entrusted to Messrs Haggitt, T. L. Shepherd, and Mouat. It shall receive notice at our hands as early as possible.