Widnes Examiner. — 1888-11-17 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

ELM. Customs, is local hon. sec. The fame of Mrs. Norbury's noble and selfsacrificing labours on behalf of the gallant lifeboatmen, had preceded her, and notwithstanding the boisterous state of the atmospheric elements, the hall was well filled with an audience gathered to give her a cordial welcome, and to contribute their mite to an institution in which Runcorn, as a port, and as the home of many a brave sailor, is deeply interested. A capital programme was presented. The recitals of Mr. and Mrs. Norbury formed a conspicuous and most enjoyable part of , the evening's entertainment. Mrs. Norbury exhibited a power of expression and a dramatic instinct that stamps the true artist, and after each of .her elocutionary efforts she was re-called by an enthu- • siastic audience, and she bowed her acknowledgments. In the murder scene from "Macbeth," and in the 'School for Scandal," her abilities had full scope. and as the tragical Lady Macbeth, and the gay and reckless Lady Teazle, she was equally successful. The parts of " Macbeth " and "SirPeter " were ably recited by Mr. Norbury. This gentleman also recited several other pieces, notably • Jud Brownin's account of Rubinstein's piano; which convulsed the audience with laughter owing to the admirable powers of description displayed by the reciter. The musical portion of the entertainment was no less deserving of commendation. Miss Zanetti (of Sir Charles Halle's concerts), a vocalist possessing a full clear soprano voice, gave an artistic rendering of "Tell me, my heart." for which she was re-called. Later on the same lady sang "The last rose of summer," with a pathos that called forth a hearty encore, and she raised the audience to a high pitch of enthusiasm by her singing of "Home, sweet home." Mr. Peploe (of the Manchester concerts) is the possessor of a bass voice of good, quality ' and great power, and he gave a capital interpretation of "The diver," and "Down in the deep." In response to an encore for the latter song, he sang "The storm fiend" in faultless style. Mr. Daniels, also of the Manchester concerts, contributed "The White Squall" and "The Sailor's grave," in which his expressive tenor voice was heard to great advantage. He also sang "Maids of Merry England" in response to an enthusiastic encore, in a charming manner. A couple of duets and a trio completed the , programme. Before the audience departed Mr. Norbury took occasion to thank the audience on behalf of his wife and himself for their hearty applause, and more especially for their kind patronage of the institute they were advocating. His wife and he had raised about .£3OO towards a new lifeboat, and had provided a lifeboat fr Ramsey at a cost of .£7OO. ',Applause.) A friend had also given them £3OO towards building a house for the lifeboat at Ramsey and also for providing reading and recreation rooms for the lifeboat crew and fishermen. (Applause.) He understood that some people in Runcorn were desirous of providing a mission room for sailors, and he was sure that would be a good thing if it could be accomplished. (Hear, hear.) He wished to state that Mrs. Norbury and himself . would be happy to come to Runcorn to take part in an entertainment for the purpose of raising . funds to carry out that excellent work. (Applause.)  ,