"A NIGHT WT' BURNS."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9117, 17 June 1908, Page 6

"A NIGHT WT' BURNS."

Miss Jean Howison's lecture, entitled, "ANicht Wi' Burns," drew a fairly numerous audience at the Town Hall, Masterton, last night. The chair was to have been taken by the Mayor (Mr P. L Holliugs), but he waa detained unavoidably at Palmerston North, and Mr A. W. Hogg, M.P., presided in his stead. The lecturess, who has a fine dramatic voice, prefaced her remarks with a brief historical sketch of the- great Scottish poet, in the course of which she paid due homage to the indomitable perseverance of Burns, and his desire to oxcel among his fellow men. She said that many people imagined that Burns, like other geniuses, had not to exert much energy in acquisition, and she dispelled this notion by explaining that his industry was remarkable—that he ate his meals with a book in his hand, and studied with infinite care the old national ballads. Miss Howison punctuated a most entertaining 1 address with extracts from some of the more celebrated poems of Burns. "To Mary in Heaven," those lovely lines of unspeakable beauty, were given with great feeling, and the immortal "For a' that and a' that" was also another greatly applauded effort. The lecturess was also very successful in the lines "Man was made to Mourn." A i repertoire of about a dozen leading poems by the rustic lyric was gone through, and the interest of the audience was maintained throughout, the lecturess concluding an interesting discourse at about 10 o'clock.