The Portland daily press., 1878-11-21

designs carried out with skill and effect. Be-
fore all of them constantly stood groups Of peo-
pie, guessing out the charactsrs-not difficult
to do, SO appropriately were they arranged.
Shortly after eight clock the stage curtain,
the people meanwhile bling entertained by
Chandlers orchestra, rose aud the
following prologue, written by sMiss
Elizabeth S. Jones, was admirably recited by
Miss Sara T. Chaddock
Prologue.
Enter Player as q Dream, -ss-----e...
ask good will Of ye, that for an hour,
My player people now shall come before
Your presence in merry masque to play
Awhile to pleasure ye, if so We may.
First, ye must know me fairly as seem,
Not as player-woman, but Dream
Lately come forth from out the Ivory gate
Behind whose doors all dreams and visions wait;
And am habited in hood of gray,
The color of the time 'twixt night and day,
And wear Sleeps poppies-so that may lead
You far away from this day and its deed
To other times that were, and other things
That had no place, save as some poet sings
Or some magioian's mighty pen awoke
And gave them life,s But look-my player folk!
(The Masquers pass over the Stage.)
(The music.)
They are passed as visions. These of whom we read
Live they not in the world of dreams indeed
These men and women who no foot have set
In any land? And yet, ye answer, yet
We know the deeds OF them, the wOtds they said;
These live not-yet they are. They are not dead
That on the earth were not. All! then make clear
The wonder, say ye, that these folk appear.
Methink ye, if ye will, wandering dream
Gave ye to see these shadows as they seem;
Yet soon to music* shall the curtain rise,
And ye shall see them with your waking eyes.
I bid ye now farewell-as with the day
And wakeDing of men, dreams pass away. (Erit
(*7'he mustc.l
Then airy creations of the brain came to the
sound of stately march, and after ftetting
their brief moment on the stage, withdrew to
the booths, there 70 be sesn again. The cur
tain again went up and little lady came for
ward and spiritedly rected "One love, two
love- &c. To her came Mother Goose, and
the daintiest little Miss .Muffett ever seen (not
a bit dismaysd by her adventure with the
spiderl, and Jack Horner with his pie, and
Jack and Jill, and Little Boy Blue, and discon-
solats Bo Peep, and the Bun Boy, and wicked
Tom the Pipsr's Son, and merry Tom Tucker,
and Mistress Mary with her pretty maids all in
row, and Jack Spratt and his wife in a row
too Contrary to the legend.) and the Man who
went to London to get him wife, and the
Chinaman. They went through a pretty little
comedy, that delighted the audience. The
credit for this portion Of the entertainment be-
longs to Mrs. G. G. Fobes.
After a proper wait the Arabian Nights
tabeaux were given: Morgiana and the Oil
Merchant, the Marriage Of Aladdin, and
Aladdin's Wedding Feast. They were rich
and splendid in color and picturesque in
grouping. The chief feature of the programme
followed, the tableau by the Chestnut Street
people, the court of Queen Elizabeth, and the
madrigal concert by the double 9uartette.
Lack of space forbids further mention of the
really fine concert, and those who wish to
know more of it are referred to this evening
Carnival Reporter in which doubtless full
report will be found
After Christmas Eve at Wad3e's, charmingly
done. the entertainment closed with the fan
drill executed by twelve young ladies under the
direction of that accomplished drill-master,
Mr.. Elbridge Gerry, Jr. 1t was pretty sight, a
sight we would like to see again and again, the
spectacle of the feigned coauettes gracefully
and archly carrying out the satirical suggestions
of the English humorist handling fans, dis
charging fans, grounding fans, recovering
fans, huttering fans, and going
through the angry futter, the modest fatter,
the timorous futter, the confused futter, the
merry flutter and the amorous hutter. The
"passions of the fan" surely never received
finer illustration. The drill was one Of the
happiest conceptions of an unusually we'll
planned and most amusingly conducted enter
tainment Would that the fan could be
restored to its proper place, and that vulgar
substitute, the handkerchief, put in pocket
Nota few find it difficult to maintain life
through an evening on "the sweet food of
sweetly uttered thought" To them the re-
freshment room is recommended. 1t was lib
orally supplied with great variety last eveu-
ing, and the service was excellent. The table
of the Abyssinian Society received many COM
pliments. This evening the refreshment com.
mittee are from st. Luke's, st. Stephens,
High Street. Chestnut Street and Free Street.
The great audience went home delighted with
the entertainment and impatient for the next
night to come.
The following is the programme this evening ::
overture-Dido, Mercadante; and Selections,
Chandler'S Orchestra