The weekly Arizona miner., 1878-08-16
HELPING HANDS.
fTmu Inssa.y's Daily.[


 fTnu Ihssdsy's Dzllyl
 Fl According to announcement, the nev I Theatre Building was formally opened las 5: evening. and for the occasion the mauag5 ment selected Tom Taylors drama J l Helping Hands The building. althouff not finished inside, permitted of the coh. pAnys presenting the play in creditable apd satisfactory manner The stage fuhi. tire and scenery, which was all manufsc. ttred and designed by home talent, wSuld do credit to a metropolitan city. The open jag address was delivered by General Q. B. Wilcox, in language appropriate fof the occasion. He referred to the purposes for which the Hall is intended, and stated that the idea or conception of budding theIsame, wks, as it were, almost an accident, but no sobner had the thought flashed acrpss the minds of Prescott merchants and business men, than stock company was formed, sufficient money raised, aHd the public be- hdld the resnlf. The General then inferred to the settlement of new countries Iby the noble pioneer in the following languAge: lss On first coming to new country the
 
 ing so many fhings-fhe old homestead and fielas, pleasant friends and neighbors, churches and places of amusement He 6urns, so to speak, his plcasureshipsI behind him and feels that he is pushing out into 8 thing, and expecting to have a hard time, and he generally succeeds in findingit. But see what Prescott presents to the stranger. Churches, reading room, handsome court house. splendid union school and finally this hall. So handsome, large and cpmmo- dious, probably the best on the Pacific l Slope outside of San Francisco. It has | sprung up like flower in the desert, or like | a fairy playhouse amid the whispering pinci leaves of the forest.u Upon the conclusion of General Willcox's address opening our beautiful theatre, which | IS an ornament to our fast growing town, aAd an institution that every Prescottite should feel pride in, Bepj. Morgan, Esq. rehd the Dedieatory Poem, written for the occasion ly Mrs. Thomas Fitch, which we herewith present to our readers rer5atim ct 'itSrGtim:
 Hail to the scenic artl whose genial grace tCan lend lustre to the dullest face; |,
 Hail to the magic power, whose varied svsy
 All realms acknowledge. and all tastes oby; Whose tragic beauty. satiric skill, , Provokes to mirth, or summons tears at will N Becomes an oracle to every age, is
 And stirs the veins of verse from wit to sage. T
 When, ages gone, the histrionic art
 Played first, in choral odes taneful part, II
 The Grecian genius lnbored to combine -
 All that could please with all that could refne V Til, like the torch which brghtens in the blast, e
 It sped its radiance o'er the world at last $
 The triumph yet remains! No longer now fl
 Art sheds her light fair Athena's brow; The tyre she loved is broken, yet the strain Fingers in echo may wake again;
 But still It floats the graceful ruins OCT Bt; As the broad hillows haunt the sounding shore. <, 1o-night within these mountain hemmed walls n The music Of that echo faiutly falls; :, Ear from the pt lsing waves of either Sea VI Al arts kindred still-all thoughts are free. u The speaking canvass and the throbbing Tyre, n The sheltering roof-tree or the modest spire,-- This temple, eloquent of enterprise, W The measured accents that enchanting rise, g The animated speech or feebler line lol Al blend harlaonious in one great design, fir 'sro lift the soul by tender strokes of art, i1, To raise the genius, or to mend the hearty .; And no device with equal pleasure can . Reform the manners and transform the man. imu m
 Like the medallion, set in olden gold, n, few more valiant. and a few more bold aa, of spirit and of purpose, gathered grim s.s Dirt by historic Empires sculptured ri--
 Within this studded zone where day by day .1 ISwart hands made tragedies for men to play. o'
 And now another stage uplifts its height ;, Above the gray of Arizona's night, S, And on the painted canvass looms in sight .. ., Pictures of prophecy and promise bright, .n 2, Such as the "Master-son'' of Rembrandt even, tn Must fa;i-except he catch his hues from heaven. as
 Beyond these scenes of forest, pine, and ysw, III Of sea- and town, and attic, glides in view eA A horizon of hope. The caravan, co Back to her native East, recedes again, ct And in it's stead, caparisoned with steam, br Steelsinewed seeis span mountain gorge andsream Si And, phantom-like, across the unpeopled plain INT Moves the majestic world to life again. o We catch the shifting tableaux as they pass p' And fix them for moment on the glass; M We fear not sophocles with classic frown, No Nor even shakospere with his grim renown; .e We join no ranks with those defiant na Who have his curse and dare disturb his bones. m We tempt the ire of living Boucicault, Ioi Tom Taylor, and perchancc of Mrs. Stowe Sa Resolved, that if the world elude our eyes tht Wen 'play'' tle world at best in mimic guise. is No stage illusion mocks the wondering gaze nh No wandering sstar invites the public praise Ar Here in the charmed circle of our friends a. Our hopes are oen'ered, and our purpose ends. s'
 One orly boon ask-your charity Iik In judgement OF the tasks we would esEay; far Remember, that in life. that play sublime -. Where the Star Actor holds the "cue of Timey :'. We each may be ''cut of without oar speech WY And the Great Prompter's bell beyond our reach; n'
 Then, when the grim green curtain rlngs fau pos We would say, "peace'' and goodnight to all. the )f the presentation of "Helping Hands, n bv s difficult to speak justly without being Tin pected of partial criticism; but those tha O were present will, we are sure, agree pee th us in saying that the acting was fully ter, lal to the average of any first. class Con- ano " of professionals in a metropolitan con atre. Miss Pine played the part of argaretn in a ladylike, quiet, effective nner Mrs. Cartier, as "Mrs Booty.n n estedly brought down the house; and . $ Wilkins, as "Tilda,r was, to quote the "Ie io guage of an old theatre-goer, simply saa 2 ,a nense.n MT. Lloyd rendered the old as,; nS; ,msn musician to the life, and left sSn' ,s picion on the minds of his auditors that .So tSo' la.>rx. m I