The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-05-27 00:00:00

THE LATE CONCERT.

How inconsistent is our friend, the Gaarginia. In
one portion of its last issue it accuses the Teleran of
making certain ungenerous remarks relating to the con-
cert, and concludes an extraordinary little incompre-
hensible article with these words :—"Out opinion was
that on the whole the concert went off very creditably,
but then we only went to be eatritsterd, "td "4 60
Cl.gloll. Not more than three columns distance
from these good natured words we observe another
article, dealing thunderous blows at the " Indiscri-
minate Puffer, ' who, in some other local Maw, give.
an account of a concert, at which he, too. apparently.
went to be sidertansed and liar to criticise. This is
how the Onaninin, in its wonderful inconsistency,
deals with the " Puffer :"
" Recent reports of concerts show that the speciee
' Indiscriminate ,Puffer' is by no means extinct. It
seems to be taken for granted that if a numoer of
ladies and gentlemen agree to give • concert, the fact
that "the proceeds (if any) will be devoted to a
charitable cause is enough of itself to make everything
divine. Now I never could see the force of this. I like
calling thing. by their right names. I think there is
no reading so sickening as one of these reports. They
do nobody any good. They are grossly unjust. They
withhold praise from Unmet° whom it tide. by making
them indininguisbable from those who are altogether
unworthy of it, and they puff up the latter, who,
under the impression that they are geniuses, take no
trouble to improve. Performers always look forward
to the reports of their performances in the paper, and
the reporter often has it in his power to point out an
error, to say something which may have been often
said before but has been unheeded, or to suggest an
improvement. Reporters who undertake musical
criticism no doubt have plenty of opportunity of
cultivating the ear, and of forming • just judgment.
They may not be performers themselves—it is not to
be expected of them—but they go to all the concerts,
hear the best singers, know the beet music, and can
tell what's what. Then why not say it? Why not
report things as they are? If they said this was good
and the other was bad, that one part went dreadfully
out of tune and another did not, that this was
musicianly and that the other showed that the per-
former had no ear and had oetter turn his attention to
something else, how much better for all it would be
The deserving would be encouraged, the slovenly
corrected, the unfit dissuaded, and last, but not least,
newspaper readers would have placed before them
something intelligent and readable."
Now these are the very lido; on which all our
musical reports run. We go to a concert to criticise
as well al to be ente tained. Mr. thierslite, pray be a
little more couenteat if it is your intention to pull to
pieces reports a .itten by fully competent prawns, and
published in a paper old enough to be your grand-
father.
a license was very well—he had since died—and as the
dog, a greyhound puppy, annoyed him at night, it was
Put out to keep for a day or twa—Superintendent
Batty said all the trouble would have been saved if
the license had baqi produced. A summons had (nen
taken out.—The Bench dismissed the first case, impos-
ing a fine of 10a. in all in the second.
Henry Blandford, farmer, of Christchurch, and
Henry Deane, his drover, were charged with removing
three cows from Hants to Dorset without making a
declaration.—Superintendent Batty said he had made
inquiries, and he found the defendant had been
advised that no declaration was required.—The
magistrate* dismissed the case on the payment of I.
and costs.

--fienry--- Fronde, wood labourer, W AS summoned to
show cause in respect of the child of Eliza Jane Wilcox,
domestic.—Tne cave was adjourned for the attendance
of the sister of the applicant, who is also a domestic
in London.