Mostly About People, Pastimes, and Pictures.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 268, 30 May 1888, Page 3

Mostly About People, Pastimes, and Pictures.

(L<\>K TIIK iM.VH, I'KK X.M.S. Tt)NC\KIIU) ) SIIOWSrNDAY— TIIK PICTURES OK TIIK YKAR - "TllK OItOWX <>X .JIbTIKICATION - MlLliAlh, OUCIIAHOSON, AM> TAOKMA- IMI--MvSlinK OK TIIK MOMKNT— MASCI'I,I NIO FAbIIIONS — TIIHATKH'Mi NOIMR - - MIMI rt AniKi' "S\Moi'.i' Lavmxdisk " — Tiik Boat X vi'K \ Fiui'i) Tiik (jKVNd N \tiox vi, A Uhkai \i\vi. ThkSpkincCi.i'-Nohtii \Mi'ton—Mk Jambs Uunumav—Ais 10mm, ibii |{KAI,IST-A POWIOUKU- SKUIK.-. OV W()KD 11 J IC TURKS — " TllK CuHgiH'l.h " - " M \KAiirN \" — Litkk un NoriiS - Vi/,i tki-ia s T){\XM\ri()Ns 100,000 Coi'll's OK "N\XA S()l, I)— Nl< \V Nd\ Kli^ AVI) 10l)l I'IONS— " Ill« UK I'AV 1,1 "

I London, Api il 6. Tin pietuie ol the your will almost eer tuinly he .Mr Edwin Long's "Clown of Justification," which I had the pnvilego ot seeing al in- studio on show Sunday. It illustrates a curious custom oi the ancient, Egyptians. At lor a gioat man died t.here was a .-olomn sitting ot the judges to decide w hethor ho deseixed sepultuie at the Place ol Tombs, or whether I lie mummy pronounced dishonoured was to be ideated to obh\ion and ohscuuty. Here, in the Hall ot Truth, a solemn eoncla\cis assembled, and tin- tuluie ot a gioat m.in's iiuimmy ibeing gia\eh -uljudged. The asso-sots aic seated' in -cmi cneles, one tier lisiug al)o\e anothei, and each beating a.-aeiel lotos. A gold elhg.\ ot Truth 1- let into the llooi, and in the contie is the eiicnlar stone ot truth A young and indignant woman (with hoi toot upon the -stone as a sign that she testifies, on oath) is denouncing tliemumnn. With aim out-tietchod, she points contemptuously towatds the cot pso, and her c> es Hash iiie. Tlie widow, dismayed b\ the unexpected apparition, wi.ips ! hci at nis piotectins. r l> lound the mummy; and her clnldten, homo frightened, .some unconcerned, ate giouped aiound. Adjacent is a solomn seiibe, waiting to testify to the good i\cvd> of the deceased, and behind him ;ue\itgms healing gifts to piopttiate the gods. Hejond \ou see the s.icted kike and ! the bat ge that shall cany the bod\aeios- ! to the i'laeo ot Tomb-, ft the "Cioun ot Justification'" be awarded. The latge canvas 1 is' crowded with flames, most of whom tell then own stoiy The taio ot the muinm\ evidently lianas in the balance. Some of the listeners are hostile, otheis gra\e, and otheis mdifleieni. Wo ate- left to coniectino alike the natuie ot tlie chaise ami the \ cidict. Sir John Mdhii-5 sends the \oademy the finest, landscape he has done .since "Chill Octobei. ' Mi Oichatd-on, whose " Haid Hit "' and '• First Quart :l " weie -o popuhu, calls his new pictuie " Memories." In an arm-chair by the dim the-ide of .1 lu\uiioii- diawing loom (e\eiy detail ot which i.s most deli catel} painted) -its an aiistociatic old man, lost in ie\erio lli.s neuspapei lies foigotten on hi" lap, his haiuks aie clasped, and hi;. thoughts- .ire far awaj, At the opposite end of the bigioom, in the < heeitul lamp-light, a fait \ouug gul sits at the giand piano singtn<_ r and plajnii;. P>\ her side stands a goocll) \outh turning o\ei the lea\es, and one needs not to look twice +o see that the pah aie in love. This, picture tells it- stot\ simph and dnecth, and will certainly be ])O])ular. Alma Tadenni's i/icj >/'<' in r- toi the Academy is tai too toimidable todesciibo at length, as. you will, perhaps, when I tell you that the subject is one of the phenomenally luNiuious fmpetial banquets of the piollip-ite Emperor Helio<_rabulus, and the pictuie full of incident. The Mmjicioi, for one thinu, has played a practical loke on the levellfis at the lower table-, who aie finothoied in pink 1 o-e leaves, an avalanche of which has ju-t been pouted from abo\e. The face- ot the astounded quests, and the lanuuid amusement of the etteminatc-looking Emperor as (anayed in his pontilieal robe- a- llif, r h I'tie-t ot the Sun) he lolls at the laised taldo of honout, arc afbiiiiable C\ci> kitid ot detail is piodi<j;all> knished. I doubt, indeed, whether the attist has ever achiexcd a'moic conspicuous triumph. Tlu masher of the moment weai.- print shiit? in cvet v ooucci\ablc foloui and pattern. His collar is white, and hi- tie should be a bow ol blue biulse>e or a j sailor's knot of white, libbed sdk, with a tiny pin in the centic. The trous«i- must be broad and ba^iry without- looking mi. Rather loud checks arc the favouiito pat- | tern-. Tlie " sac " coat has taken the place of tails, and waistcoat* aie cut lowei than during the last few seasons, ,-o a- to yivo a glimpse of the gloiies ot the shiit. A brown*" pot" or a j^lo-sy top hat completes the pietuie. Findintr that the siiccc-s of Egyptian ci<_raietto- wase; tiiel\ due to the cle\ei ness of t he (ircek blondeis at Alexandria and Cairo, Sulli\an and Co. (of (ieorge-strcet, Kano\ct .Square) and other Icadina tobucconist? engaged se\cial of the b( v st and brought them o\ er lieu- . The consequence i.- that some of the tincbt (because ihe freshest) cigarettes are now made in London. One of the best biand 1 - I know is that of " lx\ria/i Frerc-,' but they aie c\pen.she. (Jranacli.s and Melachtinob continue faiily popular, but Caiavapoulos have (|uite lost their good name, and so ha\c SpillciN. Per.sonally, 1 consider Russian cigarettes infinitely piefcrablc to eithei Turkish or Egyptian ; bub you must take caie you get Russian, not pseudo Rus-ian goods. X. Saninc. of Queen's Uoad, Bayswater, import" all the best cigarettes, and supplies the Russian Embassy. Th» best thing is to get a few small boxes of .samples at first. You arc sine to like one < of them, and the price is not ruinous, vi/., five shillings a hundred. Champagne grow? dearer every year, and now Mr Goschen has levied a hea\y duty upon *' the boy." Nevertheless those who lay down the wine of 1884 will, say experts, make an excellent investment, and one that .should realise 100 per cent, profit three years hence. A stentorian benediction of " God bless thee, Mary," was bawled from the gallery of the Lyceum on the last night of Miss Andersons season when the curtain fell. The fair manageress consented to be recalled, and amidst a hurricane of cheers and deluge of flowers said a fcwgiaceful words of gratitude and farewell. On the previous afternoon "Our Mary" played with Mr W. S. Gilbert's new phu'nix, Miss Julia Neilson, in " Pygmalion and Galatea," the debutante appearing as Cynisca. The young lady's name (rather unluckily, perhaps) recalled to many of us memories of one of the most adorable of women and actresses who ever trod the stage. Moreover, her trumpet had, injudiciously, been blown too loud beforehand. The consequence was a very dubious triumph. MiGilbert is an admirer ot massive women of la belle Fortescuc'p build. Miss Neilson is tall and dark and handsome. She had, of course, been perfectly drilled, but her acting was purely mechanical, never natural or spontaneous even for a moment. Miss Neilson may " do " in time, like Miss Fortescue, but she will never be a great actress. Maude Millet and Tlose Norrcy.s, two of the prettiest girls on the stage, are now

playing togothor in " Sweet Lavender," at Tovry'b Theatre, and mako a most cfTcctivo ' contrast. MibS Norroys' strong point; is her hair, which is of dull red gold and hills down (as .some one said) " all over her " in heavy, curling waves. Maude Millot, on the contrary, in (/rim and dainty, and the revoise of all that is a-sthetie. She would look awful in one of little Miss 7S r orreys' high- waisted green frocks, but in Woi til's latest confection of tulle, lace, .silk and blush rosos she is (ay her Yankee lover declares) '•just lovely." Jrving will not ptoducc " Don (Quixote" till the autumn. He re-opens in " Faust." When that is done with " Werner," which was produced at a malmeo la.st year, may be put on lor a tew weeks. Mr James Runciman, whose powerful, but painful, .sketches ot the " seamy " bides of lite are causing such m .sensation just now, has been in turn sailor. North .Sea fisherman, missionary, and school board teacher. ITe now resides at Kingston onThames, in one of the lip.uian "pubs " of which may be recognised " The Chequers," and many ot (he character.-* mentioned in the terrible book of that name either ha\c been or arc well-known to Ideal wnteiinon. As a woid-painler of the sea (especially the Noith Sea) Mr Runciman has few rival- ; as a depictor of low life depth-, none, (iieenwood's ("One of the Crowd*") si oiies, we know, aie the puiest fudge, and (.Yoigo I*. Simss moit'lv bounded on I act. Kunciman has li\od and suilered amongst (he people he wiite.sof, not foi a few dajs at a time, but foi months and yea is. One iccog rise- truth and experience in e\ory line of " Tlie ' |v.st as one did in "Skippers and Shellbacks," and the lo^ interesting " Schools and ttchohis." Jt is a pit} such a grapluc r-tory teller .should be .so euatic. He might be asgicat a powci foi good as Waltei Be-unt " Maiahuna 1 ' is the name of a lo\ eh damsel whom Di. (liayhuist, ot 11.M.s lleicvvaid, linds in an open boat floating about in a sea ot (no somewhere beyond (he Antarctic thole, lie brings hoi buck to England, and -ends hoi to live in the eountiy with hi- tin i/r< i, Ethel A\*h.n ncliflc. Time and careful probing prove (hat whilst Maiaiunn po^-esses a noble brain and i.ultuied intellect, she is altogethci emotionle-s. Fe.u, anger, pit}, lo\e, ]calous\, etc., tic., .-.he .-ecnis ab-olutely unable to feel. The iuspeoplc make about death X toi instance, incomprehensible to liei , and .she beha\cs, in consequence, in a mo-<t -hocking manner on -nine oeea-ions. Dr ( Jj a\ huist .s cuiiositv tempt- him to c\|)Cinnent on the gnl s feeling-, with what, lesiilt it would ha idly be tail to toll. Suthcc it to si), the -toiy ends hagieally at the top ot a \olcano in the Sandwich Islands. The central idea i.- a capital one, and .somehow suggests (!rant Allen. The authoi of " Foi MaimieV Sake '' .should, howevei, have woiked it out bcttei. " Marahuna " 1- in one \olume, .iud pub-li-hcd at «i\ shillings. Several new cumpetitoi- aie cnteiing the held of Central Atiican lomancc, the most notable, perhaps, beintr Mi James Thomson, the tia\ellei who tint accu-cd Mr Ridei Haggaid of plagi.u i-m. .Mr Thorn -on's.s(orv is to bo in two \ olunic-, and w ill be out immediately. Very few " shilling -hockeis '" ha\e reccntlv made then appeal .nice. "The \bbe\ Minder," bv .)o-eph llatton, is an old -Lory lathci badly te-told, and "A Perfect Demon," by some new authoi, rubbish. " Mr Siindfoid," a touching little -ton, pathetically dcsciibing the decadence of a once favoured and populai artist whose inclines go out of fashion, and who is in consequence mined, commences in "Cornhill " for April. The author can only be Mr* Oliphant. Madame Ceiard ha- achieved a conspicuous sucee.s- with "The Land Beyond the Foiest," which is ((uifr the mo-t inc{uiicdaftet book at. the libiaiic- just now. The Imi tions of the woik devoted to tlie lives, lore and legends of the (!jp-ic-), and the chaptei about \ ampere-, .uc -}>ccially interesting. I A " Still-necked ( -oiu'i.ition," w Inch commences in " ISlackwood '' for Apiil, is by (he authoi of -'Poor Nellie. 1 ' Mi-> Oliphant'- ".knee 1 ' conclude- in the -arne numbei. !(v\ill be pulib-hcd immediately in three volume- by Macmillan-, whoal-o |>iomi-e " Clni-,'" by W E \on i-, during | April. Chattos announce " The M\-(ci\ of Miibiidf<\ ' b> .James Vayn, and " Heir Piuilu-,,'' In Bcfcanf. Mi Yi/itclly boast- that he ha- ,-old 100,000 copie-'of " Nan.i " and 70,000 copies ot " Sappo ; ' moreover he hopes to do e\ en greater thing- with that pa-toial id\llo "The Soil" I'eihaps ■\\ lion tlii- good old man has fuither w betted the taste of our using generation foi sjilaciou- literature, with " Le (Jaga " oi the piohihitcd " Autour d tin ( lochei,' a beneficent legislature may iewaid him as he dc-crvcs. ]>y-t:he-bv, don't bo led astiay by an innocont-lookihg volume called " Papa, Mamma and Bab\ ' It i- emphatically not. for f-imih reading Chiist.ic Mun ay and hi- \oungci In other aie collaiioiating in a Moiy foi " Long tn«m'«s "' called "A Dangoiou- Cat -pa. w The foi moi will al-o do the "(iraphic'' .summer number. Waltei P)Csant's new no\cl "Heir Paulus" begins well but. breaks down b.idl}. The lieio, <i dicani} }oung American of lMuitan oiigin, iiinsavvay tiom home to sock his iortunc in New York, believing he ir* a litoraiy genius. At the point of ataivation thejoung man meets a great mesmerist, coupuoi, •md medium, who takes him a- a pupil. This ad^cntulel sees gi eat financial possibilities in Paul. He isolate- him from society, educates him in magnetism and all the ins and outs of a medium's profession, and .stills hiscoiincience and his intellect, with clever sophistries. The youngster being natuially a great actor, a noble orator, and something of a poet, the result is remaikablc. Whon we meet llorr i'aulus he take- our fancy at once, and we grow wroth \vith Mr Be-anb for so soon bringing about his downfall. The description of the spiritualistic mwi/m is admirable, and shows that Mr Besnnt understands the t/onis medium thoioughly. Nevcrthelcsh the story, as a story, disappoints. One feels it miijlil have been so much better done by the author.