[
    {
        "id": 208822,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1979",
        "page_number": 279,
        "title": "RAS-1979",
        "content_text": "252\n\nORDINARY LOCAL MEMBERS\n\nTHOMAS, Mr. Reginald, Rose Villa, Lot 369, 12 Miles Tai Po Road, Tai Po, NEW TERRITORIES.\n\nTHOMAS, Mrs. S. E., Rose Villa, Lot 369, 12 Miles Tai Po Road, Tai Po, NEW TERRITORIES.\n\nTHOMSON, Mr. J. Marsh, Spencer Stuart & Associates, St. George's Building, 2 Ice House Street, HONG KONG.\n\nTISDALL, Mr. Brian, 7 Stanley Mound Road, Stanley, HONG KONG.\n\nTOCHRANE, Miss Vera, 410 The Hermitage, 75 Macdonnell Road, HONG KONG.\n\nTOH, Miss Esther, 1903 Hang Chong Building, 5 Queen's Road C., HONG KONG.\n\nTOMLIN, Mrs. Sarah, 12A Broadwood Road, 1/F, HONG KONG.\n\nTRETIAK, Prof. Daniel, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG.\n\nTSANG, Mr. Hin Sum, 11B Princess Margaret Road, 5/F, KOWLOON.\n\nTSO, Mrs. Priscilla, Dept. of Extra-Mural Studies, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG.\n\nTUCKER, Mrs. A., 21 Coombe Road, HONG KONG\n\nTURNER, Mr. H. David, Dept. of History, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG.\n\nTWITCHETT, Miss Yvonne, c/o Island School, Bowen Road, HONG KONG\n\nTYLER, Mrs. M. R., P.O. Box 9423, HONG KONG.\n\nVEEVERS, Miss Kathleen Joyce. c/o Medical & Health Dept., Lee Gardens, Hysan Avenue, HONG KONG.\n\nVINE, Mr. P. A. L., Room 304, Chartered Bank Building, HONG KONG.\n\nVISICK, Mrs. Mary, Dept. of English, University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG.\n\nWALDEN, Mr. John, I The Homestead, The Peak, HONG KONG,\n\nWALKER, Mr. A. P., 4 Felix Villas, 61 Mount Davis Road, HONG KONG.\n\nWALKER, Ms. Prudence, 4 Felix Villas, 61 Mount Davis Road, HONG KONG.\n\nWALTERS, Dr. Richard P., 2C London Court, 41 Conduit Road, HONG KONG.\n\nWALTERS, Mrs. Sandra L., 2C London Court, 41 Conduit Road, HONG KONG.\n\nWARD, Miss Barbara E., New Asia College, Chinese University of H.K., Shatin, NEW TERRITORIES.\n\nWATERS, Mr. D. D., c/o Education Department, Lee Gardens, Hysan Avenue, HONG KONG.",
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    {
        "id": 209326,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1981",
        "page_number": 229,
        "title": "RAS-1981",
        "content_text": "SALMON, Mrs P.A.\n\nSAPSTEAD, Mr Gordon A.G. SCOTT, Dr. Ian\n\nSEARLS, Mr M.W., Jr. SHAM, Mr Francis SHANNON, Major J.M. SIDDLE Mr Oliver R.\n\nSIEGFRIED, Mrs Stephanie S. SIU, Mr Anthony Kwok-Kin SMITH, Mr Reginald C. SMITH, Mr Stewart P. SMITH-ROBERTS, Miss Karen A.\n\nSO, Dr Chak Lam STEAD, Miss S.M.\n\nSTEINER, Mr Henry STEWART, Miss Jessie STRICKLAND, Mr John E. STUMF, Mr Karl L., O.B.E. SU, Mr Samson SURECK, Mr Joseph SURECK, Mrs Joseph\n\nTAM, Miss Adelaide Chiu-hor TANG, Mr David TANG, Mr Hai Chiu\n\nTANG, Mr Stephen Wing-hung TAYLOR, Mrs V.V. THATCHER, Mr Melvin Paul THOMAS, Mr Reginald THOMAS, Mrs S.E. THOMPSON, Mr F. John TING, Mr Joseph Sun Pao TING, Mr Thomas Kam-Shu TISDALL, Mr Brian TOCHRANE, Miss Vera TOH, Miss Esther\n\nTOOGOOD, Mr C.W.\n\nTRETIAK, Professor Daniel\n\nTSANG, Mr Augustin Chung-Kong\n\nTSANG, Mr Hin Sum\n\nTSO, Miss Priscilla\n\nTURNER, Mr H. David\n\nTWITCHETT, Miss Yvonne VINE, Mr P.A.K.\n\nWALKER, Mr A.P. WALKER, Mrs Prudence WALTERS, Mrs Sandra L. WATERS, Mr D.D. WATT, Mr James WATT, Mr Mo-Kei\n\nWEBB, Mrs Susan M. WEI, Miss Peh T'i\n\nWHITTAM, Mr Anthony R. WHOLEY, Mr. J.W. WILLIAMS, Miss Stephanie WILLIS, Mr David Nye WILLOUGHBY, Prof. P.G. WILSON, Mr Brian D. WILSON, Miss Elinor WIN, Mr Oliver\n\n215\n\nWINKLER, Mrs Rowena WONG, Miss Marion WONG, Mr Siu-Lun WOODS, Mrs Rowena WORKMAN, Dr Gillian WRIGHT, Mr D.A.L. WRIGHT, Dr Leigh R, WRIGHT, Miss V. Moya YANG, The Hon. Mr Justice YEUNG, Mr Michael Wing Chiu YOUNG, Dr John D. YOUNG, Mr Richard YUNG, Mr David C.W. ZIGAL, Mrs Irene\n\nOVERSEAS LIFE MEMBERS ARMERDING, Mr Ludwig E. BAKER, Dr Hugh David R. BAKER, Mr William Ernest BALL, Mr John M. BARNETT, Mr K.M.A. BENNISON, Mr Larry L.\n\nBERTUCCIOLI, Dr Giuliano\n\nBLACKMORE, Mr Michael\n\nBLACK, Sir Robert BLAKER, Mr D.J.R. CAPLAN, Mr Malcolm\n\nCARLSON, Miss R.E. CATER, Sir Jack\n\nCLARKE, Rev. Cyril S. COCKELL, Miss Juve V. COLLIN, Mr P.H.\n\nCOSBY, Mr Ivan P.S.G. COSTANTINI, Dr Giulio COSTANTINI, Mrs G.\n\nCRANMER-BYNG, Prof. J.L.\n\nCUMMING, Mrs Dorothy M.\n\nDUNCANSON, Mr J.D.\n\nEWING, Miss E.",
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    {
        "id": 209731,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1982",
        "page_number": 388,
        "title": "RAS-1982",
        "content_text": "366\n\nLOCAL ORDINARY MEMBERS\n\nMATHEWS, Mr. J.F. MAYERS, Mr. W. McCULLY, Mis. A.M. McDONALD, Mrs. J.R. McELNEY, Mr. B.S. McLEAN, Ms. R.H. MINERS, Dr. N.J. MINTER, Mr. C.J.W. MITCHELL, Mr. E.A. MITCHELL, Mrs. R.M. MOBIUS, Dr. M. MORGAN, Ms. V.E. MORGANS, Mr. & Mrs. J.M. MOYLE, Mr. G.C. MULLOY, Mr. G.N. MURPHY, Mr. F.S.\n\nNESHEIM, Mrs. D.H. NEWBIGGING, Mr. D.K. NEWBIGGING, Mrs. C. NG, Dr. ANH. NG, Dr. MN. NG, Miss T. NGUYET, Mrs. T.\n\nO'HARA, Miss. L.S. O'HARA, Mr. R. ONG, Tan Sri Dr. G.B. ORR, Mr. L.C. OUTCH, Mr. W.T. OXLEY, Mr. C.W.B.\n\nPARRINGTON, Miss J. PARRY, Mr. R.H. PHILLIPS, Mr. R.J. PHILLIPS, Mrs. J.D. PICKARD, Mrs. J. PICKFORD, Mr. J.B. POPE, Mr. J.L. PRESCOTT, Mr. J.A. PRYOR, Dr. E.G.\n\nQUESTED, Mrs. R. RAM, Mrs. J. REDDING, Dr. S.G. REID, Mr. A.J.H.\n\nRHODES, Mr. P.F. RIBEIRO, Mrs. S. RICHARDS, Dr. S.F. RICHARDS, Mrs. J.K. RICK, Mr. D.R. RIGG, Mrs. J.R. ROBERTSON, Mrs. A.G. ROBERTSON, Mrs. W.G. ROGERS, Mrs. P.R. ROHRS, Mr. K.R. ROPER, Mr. G.W. ROSS, Mr. C.S. ROSS, Mr. D.M.\n\nSALMON, Mrs. P.A. SAPSTEAD, Mr. G.A.G. SCOTT, Dr. I. SHAM, Mr. F. SHANNON, Mr. J.M. SIDDLE, Mr. O.R. SIEGFRIED, Mrs. S.S. SIU, Mr. A.K.K. SLATTERY, Mrs. H.D. SMITH, Mr. R.C. SMITH, Mr. S.P. SO, Dr. C.L. SOLLY, Mr. P.J. STEAD, Miss S.M. STEINER, Mr. H. STEWART, Miss J.J.M.C. STRICKLAND, Mr. J.E. STUMPF, Mr. K.L. SU, Mr. S. SURECK, Mr. J. SURECK, Mrs. J.\n\nTAM, Miss A.C.H. TANG, Mr. D. TANG, Mr. H.C. TANG, Mr. S.W.H. TAYLOR, Mrs. V.V. THOMAS, Mr. R. THOMAS, Mrs. S.E. THOMPSON, Mr. F.J. TING, Mr. J.S.P. TISDALL, Mr. B.\n\nTOCHRANE, Miss V. TOH, Miss E. TOOGOOD, Mr. C.W. TRETIAK, Prof. D. TSANG, Mr. A.C.K. TSANG, Mr. H.S. TSO, Mrs. P. TURNER, Mr. H.D. TWITCHETT, Miss Y\n\nVINE, Mr. P.A.L.\n\nWALKER, Mr. A.P. WALKER, Mrs. B.P. WALKER, Mrs. P. WALKER-HAWORTH, Mr. J.L. WALTERS, Mr. R.G. WALTERS, Mrs. S.L. WATERS, Mr. D.D. WATERS, Dr. G. WATT, Mr. M.K. WEBB, Mrs. S.M. WEI, Miss P.T. WHITTAM, Mr. A.R. WHOLEY, Mr. J.W. WILLIS, Mr. D.N. WILLOUGHBY, Prof. P.G.\n\nWILSON, Mr. B.D. WIN, Mr. O. WINKLER, Mrs. R. WONG, Miss M. WONG, Mr. S.L. WORKMAN, Dr. G. WRANGHAM, Mr. & Mrs. C. WRIGHT, Mr. D.A.L. WRIGHT, Dr. L.R. WRIGHT, Miss V.M.\n\nYANG, The Hon. Mr. Justice YEUNG, Mr. M.W.C. YOUNG, Dr. J.D. YOUNG, Mr. R. YUNG, Mr. D.C.W.\n\nZIGAL, Mrs. I.",
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    {
        "id": 211815,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 230,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "205\n\nN: First performance of the season\n\nR: Alter the usual doubts about the formation of a theatrical company for the season, two plays were given this evening. The theatre had been redecorated and there was a new drop scene, not quite to the liking of the critic though: \"however picturesque and attractive the drop scene may be it ought not to absorb the attention of the onlookers to the exclusion of other objects quite as attractive and much more interesting\". Considering how much stage furniture was normal at that time, this performance must have been very crowded!\n\nOne of the plays, Done on Both Sides, also came in for some sharp remarks, yet this time there was no public outcry in the Herald. But for the remainder the principal character, Henry Jasper (in A Bachelor of Arts) was most successfully personated by Mr. NEWCOME who greatly excelled his efforts on a former occasion and succeeded in placing himself in the foremost ranks of our genteel comedians. Not less finished and effective was the acting of Mr. PICKWICK, in the character of Mr. Thornton. It would, indeed, be difficult to conceive a more quiet and judicious representation of the intelligent, gentleman-like, elderly merchant and man of the world than this performer succeeded in giving. \"Mr. PICKWICK as one of the new members of the corps, we look upon as a decidedly valuable acquisition\". And of course there was that \"first star of the galaxy\" Mrs. NESBIT as Emma Thornton with her \"astonishing powers of portraying the multifarious and often uncomprehensible traits of character which make up that delightful enigma 'woman'\". In Done on Both Sides \"our old favorite Mr. BRUSHWOOD appeared in the character of Pygmalion Phibbs, a veterinary Surgeon\" (NCH 13.2.1858). For behaviour of some members of the public see Survey.\n\n16.3.1858 (Tue)\n\nJ.H. PAYNE: \"Charles the Second\" (1824)\n\nT: Comedy (2 acts)\n\nH. LILLIE: \"As Like as Two Peas\" (1854)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music by Messrs Phu & Mor; a selection of overtures and operatic morceaux\n\nTh: Theatre Royal (C)\n\nN: Second performance of the season.\n\nR: Again one of the pieces, As Like as Two Peas, was not quite up to the standards of the reviewer: \"what was successful in creating laughter was due to the acting, certainly not to the play\". Mrs. NESBIT got some competition tonight for an \"actress of much promise made her debut before the Shanghai audience [Miss WALTERS – JHJ]. The lady-like manner and finished toilette of the new candidate created quite a sensation\". Payne's Charles the Second was far more to the taste of Herald: \"On this occasion the corps took a large step backward — not, we would for an instant wish to infer, in point of ability, but merely in point of time. Hitherto their efforts have been enlisted upon contemporaneous subjects upon the manners and custom of the present day (this was not quite true, see e.g. 21.4.1851 and 26.1.1852). Their characters have been taken from the sunny side of Regent Street or the genteel suburbs of Clapham and exhibited on the stage in the costumes to which the genius of living tailors has brought us, and which we, in our foolish vanity, may consider elegant and becoming, but which, it is mortifying to think, will furnish a subject of lively mirth and ridicule to our great-grandchildren. The comedy selected went back to the time of Charles II and was illustrative of the manners of himself and his court. The scenes were laid in Whitehall and Wapping; and the characters were the courtiers of the merry Monarch and the occupants of a hostelry. The mise-en-scene, considering the means the amateurs have at command, was very well arranged and the two royal and noble revellers, together with the attendant Page and Lady Clara, were dressed with great elegance and effect.",
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    {
        "id": 211816,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 231,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "206\n\n(...) Our first favourite was Captain Copp. This is a glorious character and was performed faultlessly [by Benjamin BLUSTER-JH]. From the first moment we made his acquaintance until we took a reluctant leave of him, our heart was kept in a continuous glow by his honest face, his blunt, sea-faring manner; his rugged but kindly touches of feeling, harmonically blended together as they were by his ceremonial bursts of good humoured jollity. Every time he broke out with his favourite stave\n\n'In the time of the Dump\n\nWhen Old Admiral Trump'\n\nwe felt a strong inclination to hear more of it and were scarcely pleased with Mary for stopping it so abruptly. (...) Mary's taste in the choice of a lover was unexceptionable - a compliment which cannot be said with truth, of pretty girls generally. The page who was the favoured suitor deserved his good fortune: he played well and sung sweetly. It is some time indeed since we heard on the stage or elsewhere a song given with so much taste and expression (...). No wonder the pretty Mary melted under the influence of the mellow tones of such a music master\". And Mary? She was played of course by Mrs NESBIT who \"as usual placed before us a lively picture of the piquant and coquettish, but withal modest and pretty niece of the host of the 'Grand Admiral'; and she looked so enticing as to make some of those who were present and near us wish that they too were actors provided there was plenty of kissing in the play and such a delightful subject as herself to practice upon”. (NCH 20.3.1858). Again it should be stressed that all female characters were portrayed by men, which, paradoxically, probably allowed the critic to write in such a vein!\n\n5.5.1858 (Wedn)\n\nJ. COURTNEY: \"Time Tries All\" (1848)\n\nT: Drama (2 acts)\n\nJ.S. COYNE: “Urgent Private Affairs\" (1856) T: Farce (1 act)\n\nW.B. RHODES: \"Bombastes Furioso\" (1810) T: Burlesque tragic opera (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music by the band of H.M.S. Highflyer\n\nTh: Theatre Royal (C)\n\nN: Third and final performance of the season\n\nR: For a house that was \"crowded to the doors\" the curtain rose on a new drop scene **of a light and pretty character\". Once more Mrs. NESBIT could be admired, in Time Tries All, as Laura Leeson and \"too much credit could not be extended on her for the manner in which she brought before us the wilful, pettish but withal warm-hearted woman\". As her husband, Mr. Leeson, \"Mr. ROLLER was most successful; he has made for himself a 'spécialité' in this line of characters which it would be difficult to surpass or to replace. Mr. PICKWICK played the role of Matthew Bates and by **his judicious, quiet acting gained considerable and well-merited applause\". Mr. TINTINNABULUM (who also sung a \"pretty Irish ballad\") as the Hon Mr. Yawn \"was capital and exercised the propensity with which his cognomen so plainly gifts him with such arts as to make many of the audience strenuously follow his example\"; whereas Miss Fact and Mr. Tact found fit representatives in Miss WALTERS and Mr. BRUSWOOD. Some of the actors again appeared in the closing piece; Bombastes Furioso when Mr. Beverley NEWCOME impersonated General Bombastes, “a creditable performance, but the role was evidently not so well suited to the powers of that gentleman as other parts in which we have seen him\". King Artaxominous was taken by Mr. PICKWICK, Furbos by Mr. TINTINNABULUM and Destafina by Mrs. NESBIT. Concluding, the reviewer was \"especially pleased with the scenery of this and other",
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    {
        "id": 211818,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 233,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "208\n\n12.10.1858 (Tue)\n\nConcert by Mr. Martin Simonsen\n\nN: No review was published.\n\nMr. Simonsen had also visited Hong Kong; there he had given his last recital on September 20, 1858 (CM 23.9.1858).\n\n16.2.1859 (Wedn)\n\nT: Comedy (2 acts)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Whitebait at Greenwich\" (1853)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music by the band of H.M.S. Highflyer\n\nTh: Theatre Royal (E)\n\nR: For the first night of the amateur season \"a very numerous audience was collected and the presence of nearly all the beauty and fashion (we allude to the eccentricities [what may these have been? - JH] of masculine as well as to the elegancies of feminine costumes) of Shanghai imparted to the front benches a very brilliant appearance, which was further enlivened by the smiling faces of two or three laughing cherubs whom we detected nestling under the maternal wing\". For the occasion the drop pictured \"a very faithful (our travels in Italy enable us to state) representation of a most romantic spot on the banks of the Lago Maggiore\". Sink or Swim was found to be a \"dull plagiarism upon our old favourite 'Used Up'\" but it passed off with the utmost special due to the talents and exertions of the actors\", among whom \"Mr. PETREL's Mr. Scampley struck us as well conceived, a swindling roué's impertinence dashed by a sense of uneasiness\", Mr. FARREN (again a stage name after a London actor: William Farren, 1786-1861) sustained Lord Yawnley \"admirably\" and Mr. PICKWICK displayed as Adam Stirling all \"the quaint humour of his immortal ancestor\". Miss WALTERS, however, was thought to have been less fit for the part of Mrs. Stirling. She did not upon all occasions evince that grave decorum which usually characterises the British matron\". Morton's Whitebait at Greenwich was, as on January 23, 1856, a hit. This time Mr. PICKWICK took the part of Benjamin Buzzard in a \"quiet and most natural style of acting\". Mr. Phunago BRUSHWOOD - \"an actor of the Keeley-Robinson school, possessing a racy humour of his own\" played John Small and it was \"a gem of low comedy\". Of course there was Mrs. NESBIT, as well as Miss WALTERS whose portrayal of the servant maid came off much better than her Mrs. Stirling: \"we do not wonder at Mr. Buzzard's having been caught by her saucy face and bright complexion\" (NCH 19.2.1859). (Robert Keeley, 1793-1869, and Frederick Robson, 1821-1864, were both well known low comedians in Britain).\n\n22.2.1859 (Tue)\n\nConcert by Prof. Shonbrun, piano, and some local amateurs.\n\nTh: Theatre Royal (E)\n\n+\n\nR: The concert was given in the (New) Theatre Royal of the amateur dramatic corps, but acoustically it was not very satisfactory. No wonder that many of Mr. SHONBRUN's best efforts and most brilliant passages did not fully reach the audience\", an audience which was not very numerous in the first place, which too has its influence on the sound. For the following concert it was foreseen that \"a small scene will be erected and the wings closed in\".\n\nFor the time being the critic refrained from any strictures on the soloist, except that he hoped that \"on the next occasion Mr. Shonbrun will lead us to a higher class of pianoforte music than that put forward on Tuesday last\". It will come as no surprise that there was a eulogy on the amateurs who participated: \"the tenor solos were given with taste and genuine voice and the recall with which he was unanimously favoured was well merited\". (NCH 26.2.1859).\n\nT",
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    {
        "id": 211819,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 234,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "209\n\n1.3.1859 (Mon)\n\nConcert by Prof. Shonbrun, piano, and some local amateurs (i.a. the Germania Singing Club) Programme:\n\nNo piano works were mentioned, with the exception of \"Monastery Bells\".\n\nVocal works: Sir Henry BISHOP: \"The Pilgrim of Love\", Wilhelm SPEYER (1790-1878) a bass aria, G. DONIZETTI: \"The great tenor aria from 'Lucia di Lammermoor\" (presumably \"Tombe degli avi miei – Fra poco a me ricovero\" from act III). Th: (New) Theatre Royal (E)\n\nR Were Shanghailanders music lovers or not? One wonders for again \"we were sorry to find so small an audience assembled on the occasion\", but the wretchedly wet state of the weather had no doubt much to do with this\". As it turned out the efforts of Mr. SHONBRUN were disappointing (at least in the ears of one critic — and how they may differ in opinion everyone knows). In this case the skill and artistic feeling which would be highly respectable in an amateur reflect no especial credit on a professional player and though Mr. SHONBRUN performed several pieces pleasingly we missed that precision, that brilliant crisp fingering and particularly that general careful finish which should characterize the true master of his instrument\". The amateurs were more appreciated and the tenor singer even had to repeat his Lucia aria. For the first time the “Germania Singing Club\" is mentioned, although there must have been earlier performances as the Herald says \"the number of the singers on Tuesday was much smaller than on former occasions\". Obviously it was in a somewhat precarious state for even a conductor was missing and the reviewer was \"constrained to say, without wishing to be too critical on the performers of amateur music, that the Association has not kept up to the standard which it established for itself by former deeds\" (NCH 12.3.1859).\n\n2.6.1859 (Thur)\n\nM. BARNETT: \"The Serious Family\" (1849)\n\nT: Comedy (3 acts)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Grimshaw, Bagshaw and Bradshaw (1851)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nTh: (New) Theatre Royal (E)\n\nR: Very late in the season the last amateur night went off. And although the review was by no means scathing, the editor of the Herald thought it wise to add that \"the heat at the theatre was extremely oppressive and this may have much to do with the lukewarm manner in which our critic speaks of the performances\". The Serious Family was described as \"an admirable satire upon that morbid and mistaken feeling of piety which regards a smile as wantonness, condemns gaiety as sin and backsliding”, nevertheless **as a scenic representation it smacks too much of dullness\". The leading parts were put on the stage by Miss Minnie O'NETTE, who acted Lady Sowerly Creamly \"to the life\"; and Mr. TINTINNABULUM upon whom \"the action of the Comedy seemed chiefly to rest. His stage bearing is admirable and his intonation excellent, but we may perhaps be permitted to take exception to his brogue which, however good as an assumption, scarcely denoted one to the manner born\". Mr. PICKWICK exerted \"to the utmost his undoubted talents for light comedy as Charles Torrens; on the other hand darling Mrs. NESBIT \"scarcely found opportunity in the part of Mrs. Torrens for the display of that vivacity which forms her chief merit\". Mr. BRUSHWOOD (00 lacked something in the role of Aminadab Sleck, viz \"that racy appreciation of his part which usually characterizes him and the hat and garb of the puritan did not sit easily upon that comical little figure which has on previous occasions so often convulsed us with merriment\". In contrast Miss WALTERS “looked and acted extremely well, causing us much regret that a drama more adapted to the exigencies of the Corps did not form the chief attraction of the evening. About the second piece, Grimshaw,",
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    {
        "id": 211820,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1989",
        "page_number": 235,
        "title": "RAS-1989",
        "content_text": "210\n\nBagshaw and Bradshaw, the critic had to admit that \"what it was all about we were utterly unable to discover\" (NCH 4.6.1859).\n\n15.2.1860 (Wedn)\n\nL.S. BUCKINGHAM: \"Take that Girl Away\" (1855)\n\nT: Comedy (2 acts)\n\nC. SELBY: \"A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials\" (1857)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nTh: N.N. (F)\n\nN: First performance of the season\n\nR: The new theatre was only a small one and therefore it was announced in the Herald of February 11 that \"admission will only be given to ticket holders. Tickets will be distributed with the Bills to the various Hongs and any Gentleman who may be accidentally omitted will be supplied on written application to the Manager\". From time to time politics continued to turn up in the playhouse. It was the time of the English and French wars in China; the United States was not taking part in them, only sharing in the spoils, yet the following remark closed the review: \"We beg permission to observe that we should have been glad to have seen the 'Star Spangled Banner' floating over the proscenium along with the colours of France and England. All honour to the Anglo-French Alliance! But our American cousins form, in every respect, so important a section of this community that the absence of their flag on an occasion like Wednesday evening would seem to be a discourtesy of which we feel very sure that the worthy management never was intentionally guilty\". Tonight, and on March 15, the faces of Messrs. PICKWICK, BRUSHWOOD, and TINTINNABULUM as well as that of Mrs. NESBIT were absent from the stage; others like Miss WALTERS and Mr. PETREL had remained. Making their debut were Mr. ADOLPHE, \"gifted with both self-possession and a good voice\"; Mr. WITHAM who, as Cuttle (in Take that Girl Away) \"displayed a steadiness and a clearness of enunciation calculated to make him a valuable actor in 'utility' parts\"; and Mr. NATIVE whom the reviewer thought \"better fitted to shine as a sentimental than as a grotesque lover\". Miss WALTERS was \"dressed to perfection, played as well as ever (can we say more!) and was charmingly feminine\". In A Fearful Tragedy in the Seven Dials, there was the first night of Mr. C. AITCH as Slumpington for whom **a great future success in 'character parts' was predicted. These hopes were not realised, however, for I have not found his name again. For the umpteenth time, the Herald judged the pieces that were represented weak - to put it mildly. (NCH 18.2.1860).\n\n15.3.1860 (Thur)\n\nT. TAYLOR: \"Still Waters Run Deep\" (1856)\n\nT: Comedy (3 acts)\n\nJ.M. MORTON: \"Poor Pillicoddy\" (1848)\n\nT: Farce (1 act)\n\nC: Amateurs\n\nF: Music by the band of H.M.S. Imperieuse\n\nTh: N.N. (F)\n\nN: Second performance of the season\n\nR: This second night took place in a house that was \"crowded in every part\" and proved \"in every respect highly successful\". The \"Man on the Bund\" had no longer a say in the theatrical reports, and the piece about which he had been so dissatisfied (see 23.4.1857), Still Waters Run Deep got a far better critique now: \"in that scene in the second act in which the villain Hawksley is unmasked, the interest was raised to an exciting pitch and sterling dramatic ability displayed by the performers\". No actors were mentioned, but in Poor Pillicoddy, a \"young gentleman made his first appearance",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214853,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1999",
        "page_number": 268,
        "title": "RAS-1999",
        "content_text": "236\n\nThese symposia were mostly held in the gracious old Hong Kong Club building, completed in 1897, which had a wonderful ambience. I fell in love with its splendid Victorian lavatories which, believe it or not, still actually flushed. In 1954 in England, a septuagenarian surveyor, Harold Palmer, said to me:\n\n'When you get to Hong Kong, Dan, see if some of the buildings designed by my architect grandfather, Clement Palmer, are still standing.'\n\nI reported back after I arrived here that the old Hong Kong Club building was still basking in its glory. Sadly, it was demolished in 1981. There, before World War Two, you had four waiters for a table of four guests. A fifth 'senior' waiter oversaw the four waiters.\n\nAn RAS member who lived in Hong Kong for approaching 30 years wrote a couple of years or so ago from his home in England:\n\n'No, I do not miss the present-day Hong Kong one little bit. But I do miss the Hong Kong of the 1950s and '60s.'\n\nTo what degree does nostalgia creep in? Let us take a wander down memory lane. What was the Colony really like when our Branch was re-constituted in 1960?\n\nOur first Patron was the then Governor, the late Sir Robert Brown Black, and he honoured us by chairing one of our RAS meetings. In his South China Morning Post obituary, on 7 November 1999, the heading read, 'Farewell to “Golden Days” Governor'.\n\nA few months before he left Hong Kong, in 1964, a petition signed by many Chinese was delivered to the Colonial Secretariat to try to get the 'powers-that-were', in Britain at the time, to grant Sir Robert an extension.\n\nA similar request for an extension had also been submitted in the case of his predecessor, Sir Alexander Grantham, Governor from 1947 to 1957, one of Hong Kong's early post-World War Two 'architects'. But certainly, in those days, everything was not rosy. After 1949 we had our 'backs to the wall' and entrepot trade with China had ceased.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1999.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x",
        "rank": 0
    }
]