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November 18, 1901.]
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Interval of 15 minutes.
PLANTATION REVELS.
397
Opening Solo Lazily drowsily" Mrs. Brewitt.
and i horns}
"Mammy's little pumpkin- )
coloured coons
Mrs. Yeats.
"Ma onliext one' Mr. Hudson. Mr. Worcester.
Song
+7
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. in front of the Pavilion and was, as it deserved boot (difficult because of the early Victorian to be, much appreciated by all who had the style of boot necessary for the plot) kept the pleasure of being lookers-on. Among the house well amused. The part of Mr. Jobstock musical selections rendered by the band was taken by Mr. C. Hudson, I.M.S., who of the R.W.F. was a new march entitled WBS so successfully made up after a certain
by style. as to evoke from a ribald person in the Song to Pretoria "Marching
composed Mr. M. D. Bilas, youthful local
stalls a cry of "Bravo. C-m "" (" with two com. } poser who is at present attending Queen &
t's,"
as Mr. Brough puts it in another context), Recitation College and with the quality of whose work which was taken to refer to a respected Fong "Kiss me, honey, do" Mrs. Howkins. residents in the Colony have already had resident in this Colony. Mr. Hudson was a Song and ("Just because she made Mr.
Dance dom goo goo eyes opportunities of becoming acquainted. The trifle nervous, but his part was very hard
3 cester. piece is tuneful and spirited and was very well to make telling. Mr. Ardron, who looked most Song... "My gal is a high-horn lady" Mr. Wolfe. received. The musical programme concluded effective in a new shade of hair, was agrees bly Skirt Daner with "God Save the King.'
and suitably fatuous as Mr. Tittlebat. One Finale:-Splo exit of his was cpital, and called forth no little applause from the house. Of the thres ladies -we mention them last because we take the' DEACON JAWBONES order
Assisted by
About half-past ten o'clock the guests; adjourned to the Hongkong Club, where supper was served. The string band of H.M.S. Ocean was in attendance.
on
I
i
|
·
of the programme- Mrs. Cuming sustained the part of Mrs. Jobstock in capital; LADY GASCOIGNE "AT HOME." style. Miss Hutchings as her niece brought out the ingenuous character of Fanny, and looked In honour of the visit of the Shanghai and well. Mrs. Howkins in the small part of Lucy, Singapore cricket teams to Hongkong, Lady the maid, appeared to considerable advantage, Gascoigne held an At Home on the 14th inst. and her costume was decidedly becoming. from 9 to 12 pm. at Headquarter House. The The second half of the programme was de- Plantation Revels, and consisted members of the teams, with representatives scribed as " of the military, naval, and civil lite of of songs, dances, and choruses of a light and the Colony, had been invited to attend, and festive nature. This proved perhaps the more needless to mention the function was of amusing part of the entertainment. The group a most brilliant, nature. The grounds were on the stage as the curtain went up after the beautifully illuminated. From the entrance interval was picturesque with the pretty cos- gate to the verandah strings of Chinese lanterns tumes of the ladies und the ebony fuces and lined the avenueand glistened among the foliage striking shirt-waists of the gentlemen, and the Electric arc lamps illuminated the grounds; entrance of the Deacon la part most ably sus coloured electric globes encircled the house. tainod by John Hays) completed a most effec- The interior was decorated with palms and tive semi-circle. Mrs. Brewitt's opening solo other greenery. Lady Gascoigne and Major- was nicely rendered, and the chorus joined in General Sir William Gascoigne received the well. Mrs. Yeats followed with another popu- guests
the terrace.
coon His Excellency lar" song, which won hearty applause. the Governor was among those present. Mr. Hudson, reappearing this time whiskerless "Ma onliest one" with In the course of the evening selections of and blackfaced, gave music were given by the bands of the 2nd effect, while Mr. W. G. Worcester who came Rajputs and the Royal Welch Fusiliers, whose next with a recitation not on the original performances were very much appreciated by programme, scored the greatest success of the the assemblage. Supper was served in the evening. His "whistling" story was a much dining hall and the billiard-room. The guests enjoyed by those of his friends who had heard dispersed about midnight after spending a very it before as by those to whom it was new. pleasant and enjoyable evening.
The next item was! Kiss me, honey, do," sung by Mrs Howkins, whose scarlet and white dress was effectiv. and charming. The song was excellently received, and an encore was insisted on. Mr. Worcester next had a second turn goo goo eyes and a with the song about the
He was again a noted dance afterwards. success, and would be a valuable addition to any variety programme. Mr. Wolfe's "My girl was well sung: A very is a high-born lady pretty skirt-dance by the Misses P. and M. Seth, one in gold and the other in silver. was These only too short, even with the encore. young ladies. it is to be hoped, will dance again in Hongkong. The finale was Mrs. Yeats's solo "Good night" with its well-known chorus, which made a fitting conclusion to the enter
THE A.D.C. ENTERTAINMENT.
taioment.
•
On the 15th inst. at 9 p.m. the Hongkong Amateur Dramatic Club produced, in honour of our visitors from Shanghai and the Straits Settlements, an entertainment, partly dramatic and partly of the variety order, in the heatre Royal, City Hall. A house full to its almost extent gathered to witness the performance, and had the building been considerably larger there can be
doubt
• no
that a still bigger audience would have been present. The Club committee had decided lo give those residents who were putting up in their houses members of the visiting teams the first choice of seats, and though this was un-
We had almost omitted to mention fortunate for the general public, some such that just before the Misses Seth's dance, 8 action of the A D.C. was unavoidable. To com- gentleman who was at first taken for Ranjit- pensate the public, the Club has decided, as we sinhji, but was afterwards rumoured to be have already announced, to repeat the pro-another Mann, came on in cricketing costume gramme on Thursday next, when seats can be and discussed, with various word-plays, mem- booked as usual. Judging from the manner in bers of the team with the Deacon. In spite which the audience last night expressed their of his get-up there seemed a certain reson approval, there is likely to be another good blanco to one of the musical directors in his attendance at the second performance. Last portly figure. night's visitors included H.E. the Governor and a party from Government House and prac-forget to mention that the band of the Royal tically all the principal naval, military, and civilian personages in Hongkong, while the ladies were largely represented and helped the theatre to look its best,
Friday's entertainment was divided into two 7 parts, separated by an interval of 15 minutes. The first half was entirely taken up by William Brough's amusing one-act farce Trying It On, which is by no means new, though we fancy it was a novelty to most of the house. It is perhaps rather too old-fashiored a piece, how ever, to appeal much to a modern audience-a fact which somewhat handicapped the per- formers Nevertheless, one and all exerted themselves so well that it would be ungracious All to say that the play did not go well the parts were in capable hands, Mr. C. H. P. Hay, on whom the chief burden rested, in particular throwing himself into his eccentric role with success. As Walsingham Potts he certainly made a perfect picture of an agitated young man, and in the scene with the
Before concluding this notice, we must not
Welch Fusiliers played u charming selection of airs during the evening, and that all the on Mr. arrangements reflected great credit Gumpert, the stage manager, and Mr. H. W. Bird, the Hon. Sec. of the A.D. Tho task of conducting visitors to their seats entrusted to Messrs, Goldring and
was
E arlow. The entertainment closed F. C soon after 11.p.m. Those who had not the opportunity of seeing Friday night's performanco should not miss the repetition on Tuesday, when we understand that some fresh local colour will be introduced.
Mr. C. H. P. Hay, Mr. C. Hudson, I.M.S. Mr. G. H. Ardron.
The following was the cust:~~ "TRYING IT ON" Mr. Walsingham Potts Mr. Jobstock Mr. Tittlebat... Ms. Jobstock Fanny (her niece) Lucy (her maid)
Scene--Mrs. Jobstock's
and Chorus)
*
"y
Wor-
Misses P. and M. Seth. Good night "......... Mrs. Yeats.
Mr. John Hays. Messrs. Hay, Hudson, Wolfe and
Worcester.
CHORUS -Mesdames Yeats, Howkins, Brewitt, P. Seth, M. Seth, Henderson, C. Cleve, L. Clieve, Hance and Hazeland; Messrs. Ardron, Hay, urtney, Arthur, Rutherford, Hays, L. J. C. Anderson, G. P. Lammert, E. Hagen, W. Hagen, Wolfe, and Worcester.
Musical Directors-Mr. G. Grimble and Mr.
Moir, R.W.F. Stage Manager-- Mr. Gumpert, Hon. Secretary-Mr. H. W. Hird.
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS AND SHIPBUILDERS.
ANNUAL DINNER.
The annual dinner of the Institute of En- gineers and Shipbuilders was held in the In. st.tute Rooms in Des Voeux Road on the 9th inst. Mr. J. W. Kinghorn. in the absence through indispositi n of Mr. W. Ramsay, vice- president of the Institute, occupied the chair, and from his s at at the head of the long, tastefully-arranged table, looked upon a happy company of nearly e'ghty gentlemen. Mr. Dickson, the new chief manager of the Hong- kong & Whampon Dock Company, Ltd., was present, and sat on the chairman's right.
Dinner over-the toast of "The King and Queen" was proposed by the chairman and enthusiastically honoured by the sang he National Anthem.
company,
which
The Amy, Navy, and Reserve Forces" was the next item on the toast list, and in proposing it r. Kinghorn made a short speech. First of all he wished to apologise for his presence that evening-(a voice-"It's unnecessary ")- bn', owing to the indisposition of Mr. Ramsay, he had been called upon at very short notice to fill the chair, and just because of the briefness of that notice he trusted any shortcomings on his part would be viewed leniently. (Another voice -"Of course they will.") Mr. Kinghorn then gave the toast, and in doing so made some com- plimentary remarks regarding the Hongkong Volunteer Force, which he characterised as being capable of filling any position assigned to it. (Applause.)
The toast having been drunk, Mr. W. Brand sang Sailing, sailing," and did it very well Mr. Black then replied for the Army indeed and Navy, and said that if these forces of the Empire sometimes failed in a project, that failure was more often the result of being out- numbered thau of want of courage or energy. (A voire-"Red tape.') Our army, he said, had in the South African War given convincing proof of its courage, and as for the Navy, the world had had an example of what that brauch of the Service could do in the splendid firing record made by the Terrible on this station- a record that had placed her not only first in the British Navy, but first in the world planse) Mr. Black concluded by referring to the great service that had all along been ren- dored to the British Fleet in the Far East by the Hongkong & Whampoa Dock Company,
(AP-
Mr. Andrews followed on behalf of the Reserve Forces, and said that although the Volunteer Corps in this Colony had had no opportunity of showing what it was capable of doing-(a voice-" What about the battle of Kowloon ?") - doubtless, when it came to the pinch, the Corps would not altogether be found wanting. (Hear, hear.)
Another variation in the programme was In Mrs. Cuming.lent by Mr. H. S. Spurge, who sang Miss Hutchings, the pale moonlight." The song finished and Mrs. Howkins. the applause having subsided, Mr. Dickson followed with the toast of The Institute of Drawing-room,