The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-02-23 00:00:00

PORTL&N D.

H.M.S. Si'. O.OIIOL —lt is reported that this ship-
which has been in Pi:wilted Elanda for three qr four
7ear4. is about to be removed to Splthead for Survey.
and that she will be relieved by the iron daa Black
itiee.

Palmeri oN.—Commander Leech, R.N., of 11.11. S
Snowmen, has been promoted to tbe rank of oaptain,
and retiree, waiting an appointment. Commander
Grant boa been nppointod to the Howetwen in hie room.
We u• sure that Captain Leseb telt."' with bin, the
aineereat esteem of every one on board and of all in
Portland to whom be wile known.

TI.XPIWICC LUTING. —On Friday evening laat
there wan a very good muster of the friends of the
teetotal cause, et the Bible Christian Chapel Wakeham.
Upwards of 100 were present, and Mr. John Attwooll
prerided. The singers of the Bible Christian Chapel
!tang several of the pieces introdueed by Mr. Drew. the
Lifeboat Volunteer. Mr. John Flew soontopanied on
th. harmonium. end the entartainment did the musicians
mat credit. The scanty under the Hill is in rather
a dspreated state ; but the friends intend to put their
shoulders to the wheel, and hops to advsnoe the good
01111.16.

The amateur per-
formers of H.M.S. Boseawen, by the kind permission
of Captain Leech, gave a theatrical performance on
Thersday evening last, on bo•ed the ship, and
Invited their Portland friends to enjoy the
treat, on the following terms, as humorously
'dated in the play-bill. " admission free to all parts of
the house. Children under 12 half-price r' The invita-
tion wao responded to by two very large boat loads of
visitors from the land, comprising most of the
principal inhabitants of the island. Nearly the
whole of the cadets of H.ILS. St. Grote' also
attended, and presented • very striking appearance
upon the poop. The number present was nearly double
that on the last occasion, and fortunately they were
favoured with eplendid weather, the evening forming a
delightful contrast to the let 000 chosen, when the
visitors bad to stay all night. To use the nantical
/Anse, the visitors were " taken aback" at what they
saw on the upper dock. Here was a stage twice*, large se
lase time, with splendid &awl &pp...prise° seeeery.peisteel
by one of the amateurs, and the waist end quarWr deck
presented the appearance of a large marquee. In fact
the whole of the arrangements were altogether very
superior to those of any entertainment the performers
berre prim before. The pieoes selected were the domestic
drama of "Th. Golden Farmer ; or the Lest Crime,"
and the farce of" The Irish Attorney." In the ern piece
the principal character is that of • highwayman who
having become &op/lilted with • virtuous young
woman, martins her and abandons his vicious life,
turning a honest fanner. By and bye he accidentally
meets with some old °winder'. who persuade him to
' commit another robbery, whereby he is to pin £360.
Be resolves that th 6 shall be his last crime; but he is
apprehended in the sat, carried off to prison, and
ultimately oondemond to be hanged. In the meanwhile,
however, his neighbours among whom he has been
highly esteemed, procure a reprieve, which arrives at
the last moment, just as the sentence is about to be
carried out. The oast was as foUows :
Thineolden Farmer 1111r._IF. Downer.

Z 47 m obb (a notation' blifhwnYlneu) • • Mr. t Heaney.
William Harvey .. Mr. J. B. Helga.
Harry Hammer .. • • . • • • • • Mr. J. Late.
Jemmy Twitcher .. Mr. H. Webster.
John sod Thomas Mews. J. Smith and J. Collins.
Jernieln and Mr. O. Elbe Hawn. .1. Hirable and C. Collins.
Elisabeth (wife of the Holden Farmer) Mtn J. A. enrage.
Louisa (her .. Wan C. Munro.
, Mrs. Hammer (wife of Harry Hammer) Mies J. Adams.
Mr. I)owuer, sating was, as everybody expected, so
good as scarcely to require comment ; but in the scene
where he is tempted to commit the crime, and resolves
that it shall be his last, the contending emotions were
finely displayed. Mr. Heaney played the eharaeter
with energy and won great credit ; Mr. Hobbs acted
with beelines, and spirit ; and Mr. H. Webster and Mr. J.
Late kept the house in one °optimal roar of laughter
throughout the whole of the performance, there being
almoet a leer of the other motors being interrupted
by the vociferous apphiuse. "Miss" J. A. Spragg's
female =she-up quite deceived "her" 1704113011151114, and
canoed the greatest surprise to those by whom "she"
was known. The most taking soma* woo in the attempts
at the double robbery, where Jemmy Twitcher is about
to steal some spplea at the lame time as the burglary is
committed by the Golden Farmer and the gang.
Jemmy pots the ladder on the heed of Hammer who
lying drunk is the !street, and letting go everything in
his surprise is caught on the spikes of the wall. At
the same time the police rush in to mann the burglar.
The lodicrous position and acting of Mr. Webster
redoubled the whams. In the interval there was an
hornpipe by Master S. Brown, ani two comic song* were
sung by Mr. J. A. Sorsa, who gained a warm sneers,
and, with a little more practice, no doubt will be able
able to "come out strong." The evening's entertain-'
meat concluded with the lame of "The Irish Attorney.'
Pierce 0. Hera was played witb great histronic power
by Mr. J. Posen, who, we understand, haa had a call
to the professional stage, and indeed he played the
free and easy but pagnatioue Irishman exceedingly well
and kept up the spirit of the piece. Great
praise is also due to Mr. H. R. Patterson,
who took the part of the English attorney, for
the remarkable ability be displayed. The other
characters were Saunders, Mr. Ellis; Hawk, Mr. A. C.
Ford ; Maidea, Mr, J. B. Hobbs, whose coolness con-
trasted well with the Sreeetisi of Pierce O'Hara;
Cberloote, Mr. J. Smith; Fielding, Mr. T. Heaney;
Biggs, Mr. J. Collins; Reggie., Mr. J. Diaible; John
Thomas, Mr. It Neal.; Charloote, "Men"
Matthews; fishy, "Miss" Adasne. From beginning to
end this piece was received with continuous clapping,
and was • °omelets gnomes. Great_prahe is due to Mr.
W. Downer, the stage manager, to Mr. J. Fegan, acting
manager, and also to Sergeant McCann, for the manner
in which the stage arrangements were conducted. The
juvenile band of the Boecawen were pieced In front of
the stage, and during the evening played the following
selection in good style, under the excellent leadership of
Mr. Roasabaun :
March

Pollicking.HAr!Fas

. ..... RAviere

Edl::... Fair 7 ,Polls ....
10.. ...... ....... ProUy Bird . • ...
on Ricolotto
_ .__
Fro blavolo ...
__ . _ .

• *hien,
..... Venal.
Aober

Sdeetion

Oalop

.11agby JuoUoo
Ick awl rock..

Coot*
liertell*

By the great kindoess of Captain Leach, refreshments
ware 'provided for the whole of the visitors, who are
very grateful to the gallant captain and his officers, u
well u to the performers, for the hearty manner in
which they were entertain.