Stratford News.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 189, 8 February 1912, Page 3

Stratford News.

A GIFTED GIRL. We had a rare musical treat on Tue day night, when a gifted young singe Miss Thelma Petersen, endeavored to wi from Stratford people some of the mone necessary to pay the heavy expenses ei tailed in studying under some of th great masters in the Old Country. Stral ford responded only fairly to the ai peal. Those who missed the concert ca console themselves with the though that, if all goes well, they will have th pleasure of hearing Miss Petersen a»aii _ sh a few years, but by then she will hav passed the stage of appealing for funds Somehow the people didn't believe tha t a girl of 16 or 17 years could sing any thing out of the ordinary. They wen mistaken. Miss Petersen certainly has a future before her. She has a voic< 5 whose volume is surprising in one sc WPS' and whose l ual % is unusualh rich. The young singer appeals by hei freshness and naturalness. She comes on the stage as a frank, smiling girl, and half wins the hearts of her hearers then. A few notes of her opening song, and > the victory on Tuesday was completed. "Abide with Me" was her first number, and the effect of her rich contralto was enhanced by the intense devotional feeling imparted to the grand old words. "Land of Hope and Glory" was also tellingly sung, and in one of her encore numbers the whole item had a tinge of piquant roguishness that was delightful. I Miss Petersen was assisted by several '. local amateurs. Miss D. Bayly, L.A.8., played the overture, Greig'g "On the Mountain." Miss Bayly has an excellent touch, and her technique was apparent to music-lovers, the whole compositioi being interpreted in masterly style ami peculiar accuracy. In Chopin's "Impromptu, No. 3" Miss Bayly was equally brilliant, and the pleasure of the audience was shown by a determined recall to which Miss Bayly had twice to bow her acknowledgments. Mr. D. Twohill, the possessor of a fine baritone voice of excellent range and quality, scored heavily m "Down the Vale" and "Waiata Ivr w° d Was eneored for both numbers. Mr. E. W. Lewis sang "An Evening Song, and this suited his voice well the applause won being hearty indeed Aliss Rogers, a young violinist of considerable promise, played Papini's "Tarantelle, and showed in every movement careful training under some excellent tutor. The item was encored. Her younger sister played her accompaniment. Mr. Doherty sang "Thora." Mr Petersen played the various accompaniUNIQUE RIFLE MATCH. j The Stratford Gun Club and th* Stratford Ibfle Club are to fire a. match, on Man * 14 a L nd 2L Th e Gun Club team will have the first fixture at the racecourse, when the competition will be under gun club rules, so many shots at the "clay birds." The gun club's guns will be used. On the following Thursday the teams will " g0 down" on the Warwick road range, to fire at targets at known ranges. Here rifles will be used. ine contest promises some interesting competition and comparisons. People in the vicinity of Toko on that day /hould [ beware of stray bullett. | MR. PERRETT'S PAINTINGS. It is not very often that artists of repute-such as Mr. J. Douglas Perrett visit the smaller centres and' afford the' residents an opportunity of choosing for their home adornment from a large collection of beautiful oil, water color and pastel paintings; The advent of such an opportunity should be hailed with delight, and there is little doubt that the pictures will be viewed by large numbers of people between this and Saturday, on which day these fine art specimens are to be submitted to auction. Mosti of the. pictures depict our unrivalled New Zealand scenery, and, of course, represent its finest gems. Mr. Perrett.has travelled far for his subjects, and. has captured beauty in all forms and moods. The acknowledged charm of his land, river and seascapes, coupled with their correct drawing and fidelity to nature, are strong features which appeal to all. The largest picture of the collection is "Sunrise on Mount Cook, from Lake Pukaki," so realistic, so naturally colored, and so full of detail that it cannot fail to charm. "Sunset on the Marsh" is a gem of coloring. Just a little bit of march land, with water oozing through' the rushes, but with a goiilen sunset over all and the hills fading into the evening distance. The scene has remarkable breadth and depth. ''Sunrise on Lake Manapouri," and "The Valley of the Dart" are two pictures showing especially fine treatment, whilst Milford Sound, Lake Te Anau, Lake Wakatipu,

* * I From Our Resident Reporter. * * Office: No. 3, York Chambers, Stratford. * ***************** *****♦*********.

the Wanganui river, have all been transferred to canvas. The catalogue, which j. numbers of fifty canvases, includes sevr> eral small vistas, portraits, figure studies, n and so on, Mr. Perrett is probably leavy ing the Dominion soon.' L- « GENERAL NEWS ' Users of sparklet syphons don't alwayi , mind the warning not to fill the vessel ) with water above a certain mark. Thej 1 ought to. A local resident filled His syphon too full to-day and charged it, ■ Since then he has been busy picking l I ■ little bits of glass out of his face and _ | hands. The syphon had rebelled, and [t burst. Using them according to, direc- ' tions there is no i danger. ; The other morning the News reported j a ease of cruelty to turkeys, which were r packed too closely.in a box. The other , day I saw five or six,cockerels, of fair ■ size battened down in an ordinary 121b., fruit case. ! Just about 1 the finesse of cruelty, I call it. , The Stratford Rifle Club "will hold the final shoot in the championship series at the range on Thursday afternoon. Constable Mackintosh is away in the south on holiday. He works hard, worries a lot about his duty, and deI serves his rest. if Mr. C. D. Sole, J.P., was on the bench to-day to deal with a drunk. The mam wasn't fit to appear and was remanded j to> gaol for a week. A meeting of creditors in the estate of Frederick W. Johnson, of Te Wera, farmer, was held on Tuesday, and was adjourned sine die. The high price of land was, he alleged, the primary cause of disaster, A meeting of the local Swimming Club committee will be held on Friday night to consider a proposal to hold a big open carnival at the local baths. Swimmers are not particularly keen yet, but their activity is slightly increasing. Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Masters return on Thursday night from a trip to Sydney and various towns in the Dominion. About 150 head of veal calves were Tailed to-day by Mr. S. F. Pratt to the Patea'freezing works. Mr. Joe McCluggage arrived back in Stratford from the West Coast on Tuesday night.

A NEW FIRM, [The new firm of Messrs. Ward and Dunlop has an advertisement in to-day's [issue. Both principals are well known j m Stratford, and throughout Taranaki, whilst Mr. Dunlop claims a knowledge second to none of the whole of Taranaki's back country. Inland Taranaki offers a fine field for investment, and the advice of a, man like Mr. Dunlop should be invaluable to intending settlers or buyers, whilst sellers will readily see the I advantage.' Already Messrs. Ward and! Dunlop have a useful and extensive list of house and farm properties for sale and for lease.. In addition to the land and estate business, the firm holds the agencies of the Guardian Assurance Co Mackereth's Sweet .Pea Manure, copper sips, Ktondyke butter, cooler, etc. These butter coolers are a patented invention. They comprise a couple of earthenware moulds, highly absorbent, and these, when kept damp by dipping in water every third day, keep butter perfectly cool and. firm even during the present, warm spell. This district Sffersf a good field to a pushing firm, and Messrs) Ward Dunlop should be able toj ."keep their end up." j