"H.M.S. PINAFORE."

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 978, 2 January 1883, Page 2

"H.M.S. PINAFORE."

This familiar opera was produced last evening' by the Harmonic Society to a crowded house. The cast was as follows : Josephine, Miss A. Hirst; Buttercup, Mrs Wilkinson ; Hebe, Mrs Haywood ; Admiral, Mr Horner ; Captain, Mr Hamerton ; Ralph, Mr Kendall ; Dick Deadeye, Mr Weiss ; Boatswain, Mr Taplin. The [dot and music of “ Pinafore ” are so familiar to most people that it is needless to refer to them. Of tiie performance itself we can only say that the Harmonic Society have no reason to be ashamod of their effort. If there was much that one could find fault |with there was more to praise. Pinafore requires a strong cast to do justice to it, and the difficulty of securing such a large number of competent voices was apparent last night. But most of the principals were above the average of amateurs and that made the performance an enjoyable one. The lack of an orchestra was sadly felt, and it would be worth while for the society to see if they could not form a small band to assist them. Some of the choruses would have been all the better for a little help in that direction. The scenes were well sot and the dresses were appropriate and handsome. Taken altogether the performance was sue- jcossfnl, and we like to see it repeated, say on Saturday evening. Now that the singers haveNbecome familiar with their parts we h|rve no doubt a second representation wrmld go still more smoothly. WELLINGTON ITEMS. [per press association.] WELLINGTON, Dec. 30. 361 nominations for immigrants will he forwarded this meil. The numbers for each district are Auckland 90 souls, Taranaki 11, Hawke’s Bay 22, Wellington 54, Nelson 15, Westland 7, Marlborough 4, Canterbury 50, Otago 85, Southland 23. The amount received for fees was £1,029 7s 6d. Sir Julius Vogel was entertained at a banquet by the Wellington Club last night, Colonel Pearce in the chair. Among those present were Sir James Prendergast, Major Atkinson, and the Hoiv Walter Johnston. The gathering was entirely of a non-political character. Major Atkinson leaves to-morrow for New Plymouth for a short holiday. The Premier is expected to return from Auckland on the 15th inst. BILLIARDS EXTRAORDINARY. The St. James’ Gazette of October 6 records the largest /‘.break” that has ever been made at billiards. Mr Mitchell is the hero of this achievement. He was playing a game with aMr Peall; and this is the story of on.e night’s play : “At the resumption Mitchell added only 6 to his over-night unfinished break of 230, leaving the scores—Peall, 2188; Mitchell, 1053. Peall thou began to score rapidly, and made grand breaks of 417 (106 spots) and 574 (123 spots,) He succeeded in putting 1000 on the marking-board in the extraordinary time of one hour and seventeen minutes. After the interval, Mitchell played in extraordinary form, and beat all previous records by scoring a break of 1655 off the balls. DODGING THE NIHILISTS. Curious stories, based on the alleged fear of the Czar to show himself in public among bis faithful subjects, are by no means rare, but the following account of one oPMrlis — Ma jesly’s subterfuges for eluding the danger of a Nihilist attack is perhaps the most amusing that has been published. It emanates from a correspondent of the “Intransigeant,” and is dated “ St. Petersburg, September 17, 1882.” The inhabitants of the city were lately excited at the news of a very unexpected euent. It was stated that the Emperor had at lasf made .up his mind to oome to St. Petersburg. He had been seen with only a small estort in an open ealeebe on the Newski Perspective. People have been so unaccustomed to regard St. Petersburg as an ■ Imperial residence that, in spite of the assertions of ihe newspapers, no one at first placed any credit in the report. The next day, however, the Czar’s promenade was repeated, and even in- * credulous people were convinced. His Majesty’s partisans went into ecstasies, and exclaimed, “ You see that Alexander 111 is no coward as his enemies pretend.” Alas ! the illusions of the faithful and the wonder of the populace were of short duration. It soon transpired that it was not the Emperor who was seated on the cushions of the caleche, but a wax figure clad in the imperial uniform, its face bearing a wonderful reserablanee to the features of the sovereign. The Czar’s consent to this mockery had been obtained by ingenious officials, who pointed out that liis cowardice was daily- becoming more evident to the people and that it was absolutely necessary to redeem his fallen prestige. Alexander gave in to these arguments, and the figure was made in secret. It is a perfect likeness, and the movements of the head to the right and the left complete the illusion. At the sight of the masterpiece, the Czar is said to have embraced Tolstoi, exclaiming, “ At last I can show myself to the nation without fear of the Terrorists ; let them blow up my carriage if they dare.” A similar story to the above was told of the late Emperor, except in his case the Wax figure was sent in a so-called imperial train to lest the safety of the railway line, "while the real Czar travelled in a . train composed of baggage fourgons.