Widnes Examiner. — 1895-11-30 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

CONVERSAZIONE IN THE EVENING.  In the evening, a conversazione was held in the Hall, presided over by Alderman Bolton. Mr. T. J. Down's well known orchestral band was in attendance, and performed a number of selections from many well known composers. The artistes who took part in the programme, were Mrs. Stevenson, Mrs. Atkin, and Mr. Fryar, who gave every satisfaction. Mr. William W. Whittle was the humoristnf the evening, and was very successful in arousing the risibilities of the audience. The programme was an excellent one throughout, and the conversazione was in every way a great success. Alderman BOLTON at the commencement of the proceedings, observed that that show was the greatest success the Society had had yet, and he thought that there had never been a better flower show in Warrington. Ho hoped that they would be still more successful next year. (Applause.) During the course of the evening the Rev, Morley Stevenson gave a very interesting address on the chrysanthemum. He said that he ipoke a few words to them some twelve months ago, and, therefore, if his sermon was dry and uninteresting they must not'blame him,but blame the committee who had asked him. (Laughter.) When a person prepared a sermon the first thing he did was to turn about for a suitable text, and herefore, he (Mr. Stevenson) thought that he could not find• a more suitable text for that evening than that suggested to him by what he saw around him at that moment. His text would be "Chrysanthemums." The fret thing he would say about them was that he thought they all owed them a debt of gratitnde for two things. First of all, they knew that they came in all their beauty at a time of the year when it was extremely difficult to get other flowers. It was exactly 100 years since the chrysanthemum was grown in this country in the nursery at Chelsea, and if they had lived 100 years age, they could not have seen, and could not have had the chance of seeing such a magnificent sight as they saw around them that evening. Not only would they have had no chance of seeing such a sight, but they would have tn.d no other flowers with which to replace them ,and though they might have met together and have had a very pleasant evening,there would have been no flower show. In the dark and gloomy November, when almost all flowers were dead, and all the trees had lost their leaves, it was a happy thing that they should be able to bring together in such a town as Warrington such a collection of beautiful and lovely flowers as they saw there that evening. (Applause.) The other debt they owed to the chrysanthemum was that, although they could not get some flowers to grow in Warrington—he had never heard of roses being grown although they might get to that yet they could grow the chrysanthemum without the slightest difficulty. Some people liked smoking, and others didn't. The chryanthemum did like smoke, at all events it did not object to it. There was also another thing which he reSpected the chrysanthemum for, and that was that it had risen in life—very considerably indeed from the ancestors from which it sprang. He dared say that many present would know that in reality the chrysanthemum was a magnificent, cultivated, well educated relation of the common daisy. If they took a common daisy and looked at the little white florets which encircled the golden netals which formed its centre,and then looked at the chrysantheinum before it had been doubled,they would see that was neither more  After the vote had been heartily carried Mr. GUEST suitably responded, and the meeting shortly afterwards closed.  R6)bert Ward, landlord of the Crown Inn, High Wycombe, on Saturday murdered his housekeeper.a woman named Bannister, by shooting her while she slept, and then committed suicide.