THE TEST OF COURAGE.

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 8, 6 November 1880, Page 63

THE TEST OF COURAGE.

< Tits dentist doth make cowards of us all. — I , Shakespeare slightly altered. I He had stood on the deck of a sinking ship, And Mb courage ne'er had fail'd; j He had struggled for life in a tiger's grip, And his cheeks had never paled. j He had charged the guns on that glorkms day In the ranks of the Light Brigade j i He had mingled in many a deadly fray j., And never felt afraid. j I knew him brave—yet it seepi'd to me That he had a nervous air j • And the postman's knock gave him quite a shock, ; He trembled in his chair ; ; And his cheek grew pale, and I saw him quail •At a footstep on the stairs. ; What's up, old boy ? and he gave a sigh, I'm afraid! and that's the truth, For the dentist is coming by and bye • • To draw my hollow tooth T. Shaefs, Onehunga.

! -*- . . — Here is a good story about Herbert iSpencer, the famous philosopher, which I do not think has .made its appearance in print bofore. A little boy observed' in the presence of the great philosopher What an awful lot of crows." The philosopher immediately corrected the youth, saying, " I have yet to learn, little master, that there is anything to inspire awe in such a bird as the crow." For once, however, the a y £ r of first Principles had met his match. - Nothing iy^S 7. by.tllc rebuke of so wise a man, the boy replied, But I didn't say there was. I didn't say, what a lot of awful crows, but what an awful lot of crows." The philosopher collapsed.

A new comic opera on Tennyson's "Maud" has been produced in New York. The music is by Alfred Cellier, whose "Sultan of Mocha" made a hit in the English provinces, and who declares he wrote " The Englishman," and other prominent airs in " Pinafore."

On Monday evening Dean's Minstrels will, forthe third year in succession, give a benefit in aid of the fire brigade. They are ijositive benefactors, these amateurs,, and it is only right the public should back them up. Roll up boys, roll up !

"Proctor, says Walter Reynolds, writing from Dunedin, "took a very large sum of money from here. He' was quite the rage ; yet most of the people I met who attended his lectures confessod they had not ijinderstood a word they heard. They also pleaded guilty to yawns and sleepiness, bvit it was the fashion."

i Walter Reynolds is endeavouring to arrange with three or four capitalists in Dunedin to import an entire company from England. If he succeeds he will go home himself and fetch them out, bringing new pieces, a scenic artist, etc., and starting the concern at the Princess's, Dunedin.

! The preparations which are being made for the advent of Cole's Circus, pan only be described as Col(e)ossal. Every town within two miles of Auckland has been elaborately billed, and the greatest pains are being taken to give the affair publicity. It will make a big Hit.

. Jim O'Brien ought to have a bumper house for his benefit on Monday. Mick Gallagher plays the hero of the Irish drama underlined, and a whole host of talent have consented to appear. Mr. O'Brien is very popular in Auckland, and this being his first benefit for a long time, the public should rally round him.

John Jack and Annie Firmm were performat the Park Theatre, Philadelphia, in September, in " Henry V.," ■" East Lynne," and "Expiation." The loca Ipapers say Jack is the one man living who can act Falstaff. . Notwithstanding this fact, the engagement was a financial failure. Jack must be well accustomed to " financial failures " by this time.

The ' 'Pirates of Penzance" will be published at Christmas by Messrs. Ghappell & Co., of London, who have purchased the right from Arthur Sullivan. The same house has bought the new cantata written for the Leeds festival, " The Martyr of Antioch," by the same composer. The chorus parts are already printed, and the whole was to be ready by the time of its production at Leeds, on Friday, October 15.

The programme for Professor Swallow's Grand Concert will be found elsewhere. It containt a large number of interesting items, aud should attract a monster andience.

Mr. E. L. Blanchard recalls an odd incident in connection with the original production, on July 20, 1835,0 f "The Maid of Cfoissey," now once more in the bills of the Adelphi Theatre, London. "Mr. Benjamin Webster played with remarkable effect Sergeant Austerlitz, an old soldier of the Imperial Guard. He had been warmly applauded while recounting the history of his disasterous campaign, and had come to the line, " "Well, no matter, nothing is left me now but to make tlie best of my natural advantages," when the bucfcle of his belt gave way and his regimental trousers descended to his heels. The curtain was dropped for an instant, and the actor, recovering from his awkward dilemma, had some difficulty in restoring the gravity of the audience."

Walter Reynolds writes me a most interesting letter from Dunedin. He says : " I did exceedingly well in Christchurch, but not so well in Dunedin, though the season here paid me pretty fairly on • the whole I leave here probably for Wanganui, Wellington, and Napier, commencing about November 4th. You will see by your exchanges I played Romeo .to Madame Lotti Wilmot's Juliet on Friday last. It was the greatest fun I ever saw— poor Lotti's tragedy ! The company I have just seceded from play 'Stephenson* in Christchurch twenty -four nights (as arranged), but schemes of 'mice and^ men/, etc. The Lingards open at the Queen's next JTriauy. De Lias is down here in advance. Things theatrical are in a very queer state in the South Island • the Commonwealth Companies, without extra attraction' are not earning salt."

" Adelaide Lilian Neilson " was simply a «o?ii de theatre. The lamented actress was bom Martha Elizabeth Bland, at Guisely, Yorkshire, where she lived for several years. Her father was a paperhanger : her mother frequently acted as housekeeper in good families and little Martha Elizabeth from twelve to fifteen went out as a nurse-girl. These are the exact facts, as given by a lady who lived near Guisely, and who frequently em l?loyed the Blonds in their respective capacities, when little Martha came up to London she changed her name. The Spanish story was invented some years ago, when she was playing a successful engagement at' the Hayinarket. A friend of the actress wrote a biographical sketch, which was published as a 'pamphlet, and the Spanish bit was thrown in to give a romantic tinge to her early life.

The Coirnis Dramatic Club perform on the 13th November at Hamilton, and on the 16th at Te Awamutu. The club has just suffered an irreparable loss by the resignation of Mr. Sam Seddon, who is about to remove to the Waikato. As an actor, Mr. Seddon cannot be said to have shone, but if Ids ability were only equal to his ambition he would not disgrace the London boards.

— Labouchere comments, in " Truth, upon Lady Burdett-Coutts' approaching marriage, as follows : "As the ex-American with whom she contemplates union in the holy bonds of matrimony might be her grandson, it would be far better were she to adopt him in that capacity, and to make him a partner in the bankBy the cruel blindness of marrying him, she makes him rich, but places him in so contemptible a position that he is likely to be shunned by all right-thinking men and women. The aged lady, it would appear, first perceived his 'feelings ' toward her during the recent yacht cruise that she made to the Mediterranean, in his company and in that of Mr. Irving. Before this she had frequently stated her intention to adopt him."

The circumstances of the death of Miss Neilson were, says " Life," more curious than has yet been supposed. In a precisely similar manner the notorious Mdlle. Blanche d'Antigny made her ea.it from the world's stage in a room at the Grand Hotel, Paris. She is presumed to be the original of M. Zola's " Nana," of which a dramatised version is to be presented next season at the Ambigu. The piece is, it is well known, beset with the great difficulty of finding an artiste willing to play the leading part. A short time ago, the name of a great English actress, who spoko French as well as a native, was mentioned to the author of the dramatised version as the most likely lady to undertake the role. Strangely enough, that name was Neilson, and at the moment of her untimely death, negotiations were pending.

It lias "been said that Miss Neilson had married Mr. Compton, the actor, before she visited America the last time. This is not true. They should have been married, perhaps, hut were not as a matter of ceremony. It is not very flattering to Mr. Compton that she loft Mm a petty £1000 out of her large fortune, for whatever he ought, or ought not to have, in the peculiar relation of her secretary, there is no doubt that she interfered greatly with his professional prospects. He has lost caste immensely since the relation he consented _to occupy toward her, and he will have difficulty in getting hack where he was now that this little dramatic episode in his life is over.

John Rogers, the manager of Baker and Farron, sends "The Mirror" aletter from Sheffield, England.dated August 30, in which occurs thefollowing humorous description of an important event that happened in Farron 1 s domestic circle : "To some it may not be known Mr. Farron was born in Liverpool twenty-nine years ago yesterday — during which time he has appeared on the concert, burlesque and dramatic stage in all parts of the civilized world — and yesterday his wife presented him in Liverpool with, a bouncing boy, weight 11£- pounds, dubbed ' Young Flaherty." Now, you may think he is born an Englishman, but to a close observer it will be seen he is not, for Mr. Farron had sent to America and had received a box of earth and a lot of American flags, and the little Flaherty was landed on American soil, under the American flag, in the Washington hotel, with a large portrait of George staring him in the face— our beloved Washington— and he immediately began to sing Yankee Doodle, or something in the same key. The news was received here and we had a grand celebration — and herewith I send you a cork, which I trust you will chew and afterward hang up in conspicuous view, and often think of the baby."