Los Angeles herald., 1891-07-02
AMUSEMEN NTS.

The fourth lecture in the anonymous
series was delivered at Emmanuel Pres
| byterian church last evening by Col.
James J. Ayers in the presence OF a
large and noticeably intellectual audi
ence. The veil of secrecy which has
covered the identity of the previous
speakers had been withdrawn on this
occasion by the committee in charge of
the lectures, but the announcement was
made during the course of the evening
that hereafter the original scheme will
be strictly adhered to.
The lecture room of the church was
handsomely decorated with pepper
branches and immense bouquets, and
the hall was comfortably filled. The
evenings programme was inaugurated
by Miss Maud Priest and Prof. Arevalo,
who favored the audience with guitar
solo, which was so well received that
an encore was made imperative. Mrs.
DR.. j. S. Owens then sang Only Dreams,
and was recalled to accept the thanks OF
the gathering expressed in tumutuous
applause.
Colonel Ayers's lecture was entitled
An Evening with Shakespeare and His
Contemporaries. and proved learned
essay on the subject, eloquently rem
dered. The Augustan period OF the
drama and its leading exponents up to
: the time Of the appearance of William
Shakespeare on the scene, was treated
of in the opening lines, and the utter
uselessness OF any comparison of the
great bard with his contemporaries, or
his successors up to the present day, was
vividly shown. Indeed" said the
speaker, Shakespeare has no peer in
any department of the dramatic creative
art, and we are therefore reduced to the
only alternative left, of comparing him
with himself. But his best plays are SO
evenly balanced in merit, that even in
adopting this rule the critics are
divided. Who will say that Hamlet sur
passes Macbeth, or vice versa? Ii there
were only one copy extant OF Othello
and one of the Merchant of Venice, and
it became necessary that one should be
destroyed, who would dare to pass the
judgment"
Colonel Ayers took the best known
creations of the poet-dlamatist to illus
trate his wonderful genius and quoted
from each their most striking passages.
The lecture thus became reading as
we'll as criticism, and the dramatic
abilities of the speaker drew forth ap-
plause at every period. The lecture con-
Guided with the following eloquent trib-
ute to the immortal poet: "But Shake
speare's works shall live as long as
thought and language shall endure, and
they shall only perish from the earth
when the earth itself shall fade like an
'unsubstantial pageant into the limit
less bosom of eternity"
vote of thanks was passed to the
speaker for his learned discourse, and
also to those who had preceded him
since the beginning of the series. The
announcement was made that on next
Wednesday evening well-known attor-
ney will talk about Warmed-Over Wit !;
or the Stock Stories of Professional
Humorist.
Miss Priest and Professor Arevalo rem
dered another duet on the guitar, fol-
lowed by an encore, and the assemblage
adjourned to all adjoining room for re-
freshments.
Tomorrow evening at the Los Angeles
theater, where w. w. Conant is doing
the managers work, and doing it well, in
the temporary absence OF Mr.. Harry
Wyatt, will be presented the Grab Bag,
the latest farce comedy production of
the fertile brain of Mr.. William Mes
tayer, who plays in it a leading part.
Miss Vaughn plays the part of an opera
singer, which gives her ample opportun-
its to display her vocal ability besides
many fetching costumes. The company
is said to be composed of many fine spe-
cialty performers, and the performance
is described as sure laugh-maker.
***
The Liliputians begin their engage
ment at the opera house on the 7th.
The box Office will open this morning.
x*x
The benefit in aid OF the sufferers by
the recent Spring-street fire, takes place
tonight at the Grand opera house.
NV
The Delano concert last evening was a
decided success. A report will appear
in this column tomorrow.
Marriage Bells.
Yesterday afternoon, at her home at
No. 20S East Thirty-second street, Mrs.
w. A. Clinton, nee Crowley, was mar
ried to DR.. F. L. Talbot. The ceremony
was strictly private, and was performed
by the Rev. Father Landry, of st. Vim
cents. Most Angelefios of anything