BRIEFMENTION

Observer, Volume 3, Issue 56, 8 October 1881, Page 52

BRIEFMENTION

—The best man for the Mayoralty— Graves Aicken. — Mr McTavisli, erstwhile of the Cambridge Mail, has obtained a, billet in N.S.W. —Mr Seymour G-eorge left Auckland for Kawau on Tuesday. —Old Hoskins hnd a fine benefit at Dunedin. There was £115 in the house. — No chance of the Williamsons visiting New Zealand just at present. ■ — -The greatest social question, so far as one suburban coterie is concerned, is, " Who put the assafcetida on the girls' dresses F" — Captain Hood's Brig " Omaha" sailed for the Chatharas on Tuesday with Mr and Mrs Chudleigh, Mr Shnnd, and Mr Frank Moore, on board. — Mr Gfellibrand of Tanranga lias been on a visit to town. He is as energetic and loquacious as ever. — If Carey docs not come to terms with De Lias for the Christmas race week it is on the cards we may have a pantomime. —Mrs Walter Hill has left New Zealand for a time. She received a splended benifit at Cristchurch before she went. — Dr and Mrs Kemp (of Wellington), who have been for a trip to the Hot Lakes, were in Auckland at the beginning of the week. — Wellington is making rapid strides in the march of civilizaiion. It is now the proud possessor of a bicycle club and a society journal. — It is whispered that a lady with, property, who surrendered herself and her belongings to a stalwart male the other day, has already learnt the truth of the maxim, "Marry in haste, and repent at leisure." • — lt is justjiossible that Wybert Reeves comedy company, with " Diplomacy " and other famous pieces, may be induced to visit Auckland about the middle of November. — Marriage is all the go at the Star office. Not only has "Long " Butler " been and gone and done it," but we hear that at least three other gentlemen in Mr Brett's employ meditate taking the fatal plunge. — Mr Do Lias lias not, as yet, entered into arrangements with either Carey for the "Pirates of Penzance " or Miss Pouieroy for a Shakespearian season, but we are likely to see both before Christmas. —The Montague-Turner opera company, which will open at the theatre about November Ist," is one of the best, if not the best, of its kind that has ever visited Australia. Some of the operas ran over a month apiece in Sydney. — Owing to the extraordinary crush on our advertising columns, we have been compelled to omit an interesting article on Maori Theatricals, the usual story, two columns of "About Town" pars, and a number of " Brief Mentions." • — A correspondent writes that the sermon on "The hardening of Pharaoh's heart" has suggested to the St Andrews Mutual Admiration Club a discussion on "The softening of Hamilton Hazlett's head," for next meeting. — A Maori Dawkins or Bill Sykes is one of tlie latest developments of modern civilization. Three Maori criminals, charged at the present sessions of the Supreme Court with breaking and entering, appear to have been as familiar with the use of " skeleton keys " as the most scientific burglars. — To the Editor : .Sir, — I beg leave to state that I was not the individual referred to in the paragraph in last week's Observer, descriptive of a fracas which you report ns having occurred between a "Jewish tradesman" and a " loquacious basketmaker." — Yours, etc., T. Cole, basketmaker, Queen-street. — Towards the end of the month a company of amateurs propose producing " Guy Mannering" in aid of the funds of St Thomas's Church. Mr Halstead will appear in the title role ; Mr Alderman as Dirke Hatteraicke; Mr Stone, Dandy Dimont ; Mr Taylor, Bertram; Miss Reynolds, Miss Mannering j and Miss Halstead as Meg Merrilees. — The Catholic Young Men's Discussion Class has been settling the vexed question of the proper limits of the " liberty of the Press." We hear that the sucking savant who distinguished himself above all others during the debate is the compositor recently out of his apprenticeship, who lately shed a halo of glory over the class by laying down the canons of " criticism." — Some time ago it was stated that the eldest son of a Ponsonby magnate was abont to return to the parental mansion, and that the father intended to kill the fatted calf. With reference to the above, a correspondent writes that in anticipation of the son's visit, the buggy is being repaired, and that there. is a likelihood of the old grey horse (that likewise takes goods from the store) being killed than the fatted calf. — A jolly entertainment took place at the Arehhill schoolhouse on Thursday week, in aid of the harmonium fund. It comprised si concert and dance. Forty couples exhibited their skill in the terpsichorean art. One feature was the large attendance of the civil service, the telegraph department having no less than, nine representatives. Unfortunately, electric " sparks" were at a discount, there being a scarcity of that indispensable attribute of a good danee — girls. — Some time ago reference was made to a case at Opotiki, where a gentleman named S. who had been living with a girl, gave out that he was secretly married to her, and when she died, had his name put oil her tombstone. It was also stated that he had laid claim to her property, hut this we now learn is erroneous. His sole desire in giving out that she was his wife was to save her good name, and the money, after her death, he deposited with the Bank of New Zealand, from whom he holds a receipt. — " Puck " wires from Dunedin : — Bent's Minstrels occupy the Queen's Theatre till Saturday, when they go up country. The Minstrels have done only a moderate business. The Dunedin Garrick Club give a performance on Nov. Ist in aid of the Southern Russian Jewish Relief Fund. They will probably put up Byron's comedy of "Bovr Bells.". Scherek's Quintette, piloted by Dunning, gave two concerts at Thnaru to enthusiasticif not over-large audiences. Letters received here on Tuesday report the death, in Darlinghurst Hospital, of Walter Sherwin from enlargement of the liver. — The young and " fetching" landlady of a vrell-known suburban Hotel, is much talked about just now, owing to an injudicious flirtation which she will insist on keeping up with a married man, who, instead of fuddling his substance away in a public house, ought to go home to his wife and live like a respectable member of society. Unless Mrs takes care what she is about she will find the trade of her house falling off. Already many respectable people have given it the slip, and by-and-bye if she persists in encouraging this man, she will find he is her only customer. We may have more to say about this matter, should the present hint not suffice. —Mr Leake, who has been drawing good houses to the Theatre during the week, is an actor of considerable power in his own particular line. He possesses a sweet and sonorous voice, looks a fine, manly sort of fellow, and is altogether suited to play character parts like Joe Saunders. The only piece which we have seen him in as yet (" My Partner") struck us as a considerable improvement on the orthodox " California!! " melodrama, the end of the second act, especially, being; peculiarly effective. Space prevents us analysing the performance at length in this issue, but wo shall have more to say about Mr Leake next week. — The thirty-five publicans who have pledged themselves (in writing) to pay thirty shillings a quarter towards the support of an impoverished contemporary, little know what a noose they have run their heads into. The proprietor of the paper in question means to en- ' large slightly, and if there is any difficulty in collecting the money, or inducing some of the subscribers to renew, he means to swear they led him into "all this extra expense," and will blackguard them for not keeping their word, etc. Those who thought they were merelypresenting him with a solitary thirty shillings made a great mistake. The levy is to be £5 a year for an indefinite period, besides job printing, and advertising, and being badgered into taking one dozen papers (" Only a shilling, you know) which you don't want.

— There wove two items on the supplementary estimates providing for the maintenance of Bellamy's. One was for cutlery and electro-plate, the other for repairs to a cooking range. The former amount was for £98, the second for £128. The House got indignant over the cutlery, and refused to vote the sum asked for by the House Committee ; but passed the repairs to the range after some grumbling from Swanson and other economists. The fun of the rejected vote is found in the fact that the cutlery mid electro-plate were obtained some eighteen months since, and have since that period been in sessional use. As the steward of Bellamy's remarked when the amount was refused : "We have the stuff ; that is all we care about." — The Bay of Plpnti/ Times, with a happy-go-lucky disregard for veracity, which is rather astonishing in such a very moral print, says our last issue contained " a weak apology" for allowing a "leading settler" to make objectionable assertions about Tauranga in these columns. We beg most distinctly to state that we have not apologised for our action in the affair, and don't intend to apologise or do anything save justify the course we pursued. If the J5. P. T. knows the identity of our informant it also knows what we have heard within the last few days, i.e., that he is, in truth, both an old and a leading settler, and that for us to ignore a statement made by him in cold blood and on his own responsibility, would have been absurd as well as un journalistic. As to our forgetting the gentleman's name (which was quite strange to us, a story re Mr being a connection of the editor of the Observer, being pure fiction,) that might happen to anyone who interviews as many persons and reads as many letters as we do in 24 hours. — The following sad story having come under our notice, we give it publicity .-—By the ship Rakaia there arrived a young man named John Leadbeater, who emigrated with the intention of making a home here for his wife and family, whom ho left in Glasgow. Shortly after his arrival Leadbeater was taken ill with a pain in the eye. He consulted a medical gentleman, who, after attending him for some time free of charge.recommended he should be transferred to the Hospital. There Dr Philson performed an operation on him, and extracted a tumour from one of his eyes, at the same time informing him that another operation would be necessary shortly, and that he must go Home to get it performed. As the poor unfortunate fellow has no money, a few of his fellow passengers are endeavouring to raise funds to send him Home. There are many in Auckland always ready to assist the poor and afflicted, and those who are willing to give their mite in this really sad case cun send their donations to Mr Gilmour, the Steam Brush Factory, or to this office. — The " Mysterious Ministerial Migration " is the title of a sensational two-volume novel, to be founded on facts contained in the newspapers' leading articles. We had some idea of making a prize conundrum of " Why did Mr Hall visit Mr Rolleston at Taranaki ?" the guerdon of success being a leather medal. The story that the visit hud some connection with a forgotten warming-pan belonging to the vacant ministerial portfolio is unworthy of serious consideration, and the runionr that Mr Hall took up a supply of fine salt to be utilised in the capture of the Parihaku, natives is equally incredible. One of the special correspondents, with that astuteness which distinguishes the genus, thinks he has satisfactorily solved the mystery when he says that the only explanation is thnt Mr Hall desired to consult Mr Rolleston "on certain public matters." But if they were "certain," where was the necessity for consultation ? May the matters not have been "uncertain." With all due deference to this shrewd and exceedingly specific correspondent, we venture to differ with him in this particular. Our correspondent, who is better informed, says that Mr Hall went to requost Mr Rolleston to become sponsor to his next baby.