The Craft Abroad.

, cou i , j for Royal Arch Masonry , and felt sure that their fforts would be crowned with success . He also thanked romp- Caldwell for the able manner in which he had conducted the installation ceremony , and stated that had it not wn for that exalted companion the Provincial Grand fhapter would not have been re-constituted . The ceremonies were beautifully carried out , and witnessed by a

Lra-e number of visitors , amongst whom were Comps . Sir R . Stout , P . Z . ; T ; S . Graham , P . Z . ; and r , de Longueville Graham , P . Z . The chapter was closed in customary and ancient form . The companions afterwards assembled at a banquet given Kv Comp . Court in honour of his installation . After the usual loyal and Royal Arch toasts had been honoured ,

Corap . Sir R . Stout proposed " The Health of the Newly-Installed Prov . G . Superintendent , " and in doing so on behalf of the English chapters , stated that they would do their best to support that companion in his high position . In replying , Comp . Couit , P . G . S ., intimated that , accompanied by the Prov . G . S . E ., Comp . Neill , he intended visiting all the chapters in New Zealand , and hoped to

bring back favourable reports . He also hoped that he would supervise Royal Arch Masonry as well as Comp . Sir K . Stout presided over the interests of the colony . "The Health of Comp . W . Caldwell , P . Z ., " was then drunk , and , in replying , that exalted companion said he hoped that the ceremony of the evening would be productive of mod for Royal Arch Masonry throughout New Zealand ,

and he for one intended to closely watch the actions of the Provincial Grand Chapter . The other toasts honoured were "The Visitors and Comp . Sir R . Stout , " "Sister Chapters , " " The Prov . G . Scribe E ., Comp . H . Neill , " and " The Press . " During the evening a number uf companions sang several songs , & c , and the companions separated shortly before midnight , thoroughly satisfied with the success of the ceremonies and social gathering .

The Theatres.

THE THEATRES .

On Saturday a play was brought out at the Princesses called " Held by the Enemy , " by a Mr . Gillette , an American author . It is to be put in the evening bills on Saturday , and we hope to notice it further later on as we hear from those who were there that it is a splendid play , and in the words of managers , has " money " in it .

Miss Grace Hawthorn has taken a wise step at the Olympic , and brings to the west-end the famous drama , " A Dark Secret , " which has been played for a long while at the Standard , and is chiefly famous for a scene in which Henley Regatta with its house-boats , rowing boats , steam

launches , and the river Thames are all introduced in a tank . We hope the stage will be able to bear the burden of all this . Miss Hawthorne wii ) , in a short time , produce " The Golden Band , " but whether at the Standard or at the Olympic we have not heard .

On Saturday Mr . Hawtrey " puts up" his marvellously successful farcical comedy , "The Private Secretary , " with the original cast , and we entertain no doubt that it will receive its old welcome , and that the

Globe will resound with roars of laughter at Mr . Penley ' s comical representation of the Reverend Mr . Spalding , and Bro . Hill ' s Uncle Robert . Although played for two years recently we do not think Mr . Hawtrey will make much mistake in reviving "The Private Secretary , " at any rate for a time . J

Robinson Crusoe " is nearly at an end at the Avraue , and we advise our readers who are fond of a good and hearty laugh to look in at the Avenue during the next two weeks . They will have witty sayings and catching songs from Bro . Arthur Roberts , graceful dances of Miss

Hroughton , a more than ordinarily clever dialogue of Mr . ^ "on , songs from Miss Yeaman's , whose "Sally in our alley is alone worth going for , and a variety entertainment not to be surpassed anywhere . " Madame Favart " | s shortl y to be produced here , with Miss Florence St . John '" , " er original part . We expect the revival will be welcomed .

» # * Miss Fortescue has just returned from a very successful tour in America , where she has made a goodly sum . She is now on a provincial tour in England with „ , ou . f ! - " " Pygmalion and Galatea , " and her other E"ays . Miss Fortescue has , we hear , made a great advancewent in her acting since she left England . In America she

off T" hearts of everyone whom she has met , and ? v - vj •none •Petnaps , when she sees her way clear , she will give her London friends—and their name is legion"" opportunit y of seeing her . Miss Fortescue will only do wh l ! advised by her clever manager , Mr . Charles Terry , is h arranged all her American and English tours , and ousy with one for Mrs . Conover and a new play , whilst fn ? f same time acting manager for Mr . Edward Upton ' s old comedy company .

s * * Messrs . Canon and Crauford ' s excellent monthly Pagazine "The Theatre , " edited by Mr . Clement Scott , Car n /» Wlth interest this month as ever . Mr . Lewis « rou ( Mr . Dodeson ) tells us in a dehVhtful article how

charm ™' t 0 write " Alice in Wonderland , " which has dramar , several generations of children , and which , Chruf ' ' Phased both old and young since last Thl . . as until 'he last few weeks at the Prince of Wales ' s 'inue th e hope Mr - Carro 11 wiu next Christmas con-° Ursel 8 °° d Wor - k he llas begun , and make us all forget beautif ? ' ^ ' * '' be for only a couple of hours with his Utirm Stories . Mr . P . ni 1 lr » u Turrw mnlnhitbc o f ^ H =

„ ,, "Sahonf ° Di . " , First n'ghts of my young days , " which tells Frank M £ P '" palmy d . > ' ? of Sadler ' s Wells - Mr . by the H S •" nas a c ' * criticism on the recent revival actore , ramatic Students ( a society of young and ambitious " 0 ur n presses ) of " A woman killed with kindness . " newest l s Box ' " kee P s us we " P osted U P with the hvo exrJn S on ' legitimate and amateur stage , and '" Won , i i Photographs of Mr Lewis Waller and " Alice Worth erland " make "The Theatre " a cheap shillings-

The Theatres.

Bro . Colonel Mapleson's fine military-looking face as he looked down last Saturday , from an upper stage box , might well beam with delight when he surveyed the tremendous audience in all parts of the house , assembled to witness the performance of " Fra Diavolo . " The Prince of Wales , the Earl of Lathom , and the Earl of Suffield , were in a box together . Italian opera , like Shakespeare ,

has long spelt ruin to managers , but we have always felt that it was their own fault chiefly . Colonel Mapleson has reduced the charges for seats this season , bringing Italian opera within the reach of all classes , the consequence of which is , that Covent Garden is full every night . "Carmen , " "Faust , " " La Traviata , " and "Lucia di Lammermoor , " are amongst his repertoire . The programme

is changed every night . An excellent company of operatic singers of which Miss Minnie Hauk , Mdme . Nordisa , Signor Ravelli , Mdles . Gutri and Lherie , are some ot the principals that have been engaged to place the favourite operas before the British public , who on their part seem to duly appreciate the Colonel ' s selection . We hope at the close of the season Bro . Mapleson will find he has reaped such a harvest as to warrant his taking Covent Garden

again . * * * Whilst Mr . Beerbohm Tree is rehearsing his company for his venture as a manager of a theatre , tne Comedy is occupied for about a fortnight with a new threeact farce which met with some approval at a matinee a short time ago at the Vaudeville . Mr . Calthorpe , the

author , causes his hero to appear to be married to three wives , and the scrapes he gets into in consequence of his apparent ' trigamy , ' and the clever way in which he extricates himself from his troubles produces a lot of fun . Mr . E . M . Robson makes a very good iKey Moses , and Mr . Harry Paulton as a Highlander is as usual very droll . On Mr . Charles Glenney falls the burden of the piece , and to his

excellent acting much of the success of ' ¦ the Mormon " must be attributed , that is should it be a success . We think it too long for the piece of the evening , and curtailed to two or one acts it would be more laughable . "Tne Mormon , " however , has the benefit of introducing to the London stage a Miss Lillian Gilmore , who comes ot a regular theatrical family , being the daughter of Miss Emily

Thorne and niece of Bro . 1 homas Thome and Messrs . Fred , and George , and Miss Sarah lhorne . Miss Gilmore has had some years caretul training in the country in many parts , and we hope her pretty face , her carriage , and neat acting will keep her in London , which is the ambition of all actors . * * * " The Great Felicidad , " produced at a Gaiety

matinee , is a cleverly written play , but it is a pity that Mr . Paulhtheauthor , who shows somuch talent tor construction , did not use a clearer subject . Tne play is entirely based on the intrigues of married persons , and we cannot see what good can be gained by a piece of this description . We do not say that such subjects are unfit for the stage , any more than the crime of murder , forgery , & c . ; but tuese should

be held out as examples , and the perpetrators denounced and punished , not depicted as heroes . When a man finds out that his wife is carrying on an intrigue with another man , and thanks God there is a Divorce Court , or that he will be able to release himself and marry the other man ' s wife , no result of a proper kind can accrue to an audience

witnessing such a play . It is such plays as " The Cenci " and the one we have alluded to above that the Freemason , will never encourage , because no good to morals can possibly result , or , at any rate , other tnings are brought into the mind which it would not otherwise conceive , and those things of which it is a shame even to speak are depicted , which are better smothered . # #

* Mrs . Brown Potter has got herself so successfully advertised that everyone will be going to the Haymaiket to see this lady from America to form their own opinion of her capabilities as an actress , and as a professional beauty . In both capacities our judgment is that she is somewnat a failure , notwithstanding ail the high patronage she has

been launched with . As an actress , Mrs . Brown Potter has a great deal to learn and to unlearn . The writer did not see "Man and Wife" when played some years ago at the Prince of Wales ' s Theatre under the Bancroft management , therefore writes without prejudice , and free from comparison . Like all plays written for a purpose , this one lacks some interest , nevertheless , if one can forget that

" Man and Wife " is not p / ayed to show the absurdity ot the Scottish law regarding marriage , it is well worth a visit . The cast is a most efficient one , and the piece has been rehearsed with that care which the Haymarket plays always are . Mrs . Brown Potter ' s pronunciation of English is not always pleasant , she lacks repose , and should try and keep more still . Continual movement is not acting . Our latest

addition to the stage would , we should say , be best in an emotional part in melodrama . Bro . Kemble , as the Baronet , is much better than we have seen him for a long while . We cannot help feeling that Mr . W . Maid , as the Coward , makes his character too repulsive . A man who has been educated at a public school and gone through the university , and is a nobleman's son , although a villain , still has

the polish of a gentleman upon him . Mr . Willard ' s Delamayne is what one might expect from a man dragged up in a stable . Miss Agnes Hewitt , not only by her good looks , but by her pretty playing , pleases all . Miss Lindley , as Lady Lundie , could not be better . She is one of our best actresses of these parts . Mr . Herbert is manly , both in appearance and acting . All the other parts are done full

justice to by their several representatives . Special praise must be accorded to Mr . Charles Collette's excellent rendering of the Scotch waiter at the little inn where the sensational part of Mr . Wilkie Collins' drama is situated . We cannot expect the present piece to hold the

boards for long , but we believe that many will be attracted to the Haymarket not only to see the new actress , but to witness a strong play which they may or may not have seen before . We found a good house assembled , and the audience evidently intently interested in the revival of " Man and Wife . "

On Thursday , the 31 st ult ., Bro . VV . Watson , P . M ., of Leeds , delivered an address , entitled "A Brief Sketch of the History and Antiquities of Freemasonry down to A . D . 1813 , " before the members of the Phoenix Lodge , Rotherham . The address was illustrated by a few rare and valuable curios , and proved most interesting , Bro . Watson having a most valuable collection of Masonic works ,

A Busy Dramatist.

A BUSY DRAMATIST .

CHAT WITH BRO . HENRY PETTITT . We extract the following from the Hampshire Telegraph . I met Henry Pettitt on Monday ni g ht , the 7 th ult ., pensively gazing over the back of one of the boxes at the Theatre Royal and watching " Harbour Lights . " There

was no mistaking that figure . There was the tearless blue eyes , the flaxen locks , the finely chiselled nose , which flashed upon the inner optic of the American interviewer . As he stood intently following the changing scenes of Mr . Boughton's stage , he looked like one of the heroes of the Family Herald , who are always ready to release fair damsels from the meshes of the betrayer , and to brm * the

wicked baronet to his knees . But Mr . Pettitt was not engaged in any such heroic enterprise on Monday night . He nad run down to Portsmouth with his friend , Air . Stephanotis Gaiti , the manager of the Adelphi , and Mr . Sidney , the veteran stage manager of that famous house , to see the first performance of the new " Harbour Lights " company , which has been formed out ot the two old

companies playing at the Adelphi , and which Mr . Pettitt tirmly believes to be the best company playing in the provinces at the present time . Before we lett the theatre I got into the secret of Mr . Henry Pettitt ' s extraordinary popularity among all sorts and conditions of players . " When 1 am pleased , " he said , " I make a point of saying so . " So we wandered

round behind the scenes , where , in response to a modest knock at the door of a dressing room , an infinitesimal portion of Miss May Whitty appeared to receive the thanks of the author for the exertions of the ladies of the company . No such delicacy attended the entrance to the leading gentleman ' s dressing room , where we found Lieutenant Kingsley in a costume thac would have driven the Lord

Cnamoerlain to desperation , even in a Gaiety burlesque , ana torn Djssiler rapidly divesting himself ot sea colour , rienry Pettitt was a schoolmaster in his early days , and , strange to say , Tom Dossiter was one of his pupils . On one occasion , wnen th e master and pupils had gone tor an outing on the penny sttamer between Waterloo and Nine lilms , Tom Dossiter fell overboard just outside Vauxhall

Bridge . A strong tide was running , and Tom was being carried rapidly down stream , when the master , who had not at that time attained proficiency in the art of which he is now such a distinguished expert , plunged into the water after him and saved his life . From that moment Tom Dossiter determined that his fortunes should be shaped by his master's , and when Mr . Pettitt abandoned the scholastic

proteasion for the stage , Tom Dossiter subdued those clerical aspirations thac might have made him an archbishop , and took to playing comic sailors , lhese and other incidents beguiled the time in the dressing room until the stage was draped in gloom , and an appeal from the lower storey to the upper reminded Mr . Henry Pettitt that it was time for supper .

Seated in a cosy arm chair at the Grosvenor Hotel , where Mr . Pettitt was staying along with Mr . Gatii and Mr . Sidney , our tain naiurany driited into a theatrical channel , and 1 learned tor the first time that" Harbour Lights " was principally writcen in Portsmouth , and that the entire play sinacus ot the Solent . Most of it was prepared at the Cjueeu ' s Hotel in the autumn of 1 S 85 . Lord Robert Bruce ,

a retired naval commander , took Mr . Pettitt over the Minotaur , which was then lying in Portsmomh- Harbour , and explained everything in detail . Mr . Pettitt returned to London , where ne joined Mr . G . R . Sims , and together they worked away diligently at the play . Subsequently he paid another visit to fortsiiiouth with Mr . Gatti and Mr . Bruce Smith , the well-known scenic artist . They again visited

the Minotaur while the business of the ship was going on , and there on the deck they worked out the details of the third act . At the first production at the Adelphi Theatre nearly all the people on the deck were men of ihe Naval Reserve , and the officer of the watch was played by Lieut .

Wyatt , Koyal Navy . Mr . Pettitt had the satisfaction of knowing that the trouble he took to secure an accurate representation of duty on board ship was not throivn away , for the Duke of Edinburgh said the scene on board H . M . S . Britannic was the most perfect ship scene he had ever witnessed .

"And now Mr . Pettitt , " I said , "tell me something of yourself and your plays . " Mr . Pettitt , who is the soul of sociability , responded willingly , after giving me an opportunity of studying those drinks that are dear to dramatic authors . Mr . Pettitt has been a lite long teetotaler , although he has nut taken an active part in the movement owing to the prejudice against

it in the protession . Mr . Gatti drinks rum and milk , and so particular is he as to the freshness of the beverage that he carries about his own cow with him . " 1 have been a writer for thestagelor I 2 years , " said Mr . Pettitt , "and have wiitten 40 plays . My first collaborateur was Paul Merritt , who was in the City while 1 was working for a degree . I found the prospect so in viting that I threw up my college

appointment . I started as an actor , but was so bad that they turned me oil . Then George Conquest invited me to write for the Grecian Theatre . In studying the requirements of that famous house , where Sims Reeves , Robson , Mead , Fernandez , and others who have since become famous graduated , I practically learned my business . Then came an afternoon at the Adelaide Gallery , in the Strand ,

where , over a festive cup ot coffee , Mr . G . R . Sims and I resolved to join forces . The result was 'In the Ranks . ' Chatting away on the same topics , Mr . Pettitt told me that " Haroour Lights" was the most successful and profitable of his plays . It had been running tor 14 months at the Adelphi , where considerably more than a million people had seen it , and the receipts are as good now as during the

first week . Mr . Pettitt has written another play for the Adelphi , but there is no chance for its production for many months to come , as anyone who passes the house at night , with its inevitable notices of " stalls full , " " pit full , " will understand . Mr . Pettitt modestly says that he is ashamed to make so much money . During the present week his dramas are being played all over the world . From newspaper reports just received he was able to tell me that on Monday

"Human Nature" was being played at Melbourne to 3000 people ; at the Surrey Theatre to other 3000 . " The Black Flag " was being played in San Francisco to 3000 ' people , and somewhere in England by a provincial company . "The Run of Luck" appeared onlyat Southampton , but will open at the Grand 'Theatre , Islington , next week . " Harbour Lights " provided entertainment at the Adelphi to 3000 people ; at Wallack ' s , New York , to 3000 more :