The assault at arms given at the Lyceum Theatre on Thursday evening by the officers and men of B. Severn, assisted by a ras, by universal consent, one of the best performances, if not the best, ever given in Shanghai. No one could doubt that it is action which most allures us, who saw the Lyceum crammed asit was on Thursday (8th) from top to bot-Tooth," All nationalities wore represented, tom, so that there was hardly even standing-
and the scene was brightened by the dresses of the ladies, who were interspersed with naval officers in full uniform, and volunteers in their war pai no doubt, came to contribute their share to the object of the performance, the relief of the widows and orphans of those lost in H. M.S. Serpent, all to enjoy that most attractive of sights, manly strength disciplined and well-directed. 'The audience were received and directed to their seats by the ufiicors of the Severn, who performed this duty—by no means' a light one considering the erowd,—in the most complete and courteous man-and the appearance of the house, ad-ally lighted by two very erra lights at the proscenium, was very striking.
There has been plenty of discussion of late as to the materiel of the modern British navy, but there can be no question as to the quality of tke personnel, if the crew of the Severn is a fair example. The curtain drew up ona tableau, so striking that it brought down the house. It disclosed the stage to its full depth, decorated with flags and brilliant trophies of arms.
On one side the bluejackets were drawn up, on the other the niariues, while the town band, in uniform and under the conduct of Chev. Vela, was massed at the back. The programme was a sufficiently varied one, the first number being the exercises on the parallel bars, by Mr. H. Courtenay and Severns. These feats, in which some eight men succeeded each other, were received with rounds of applause, and their seriousness was lightened by the very amusing movements of a clown who was himself an athlete besides being funny, and always "within the limits of becoming mirth." Throughout the two-and-a-half hours which the performance lasted this anonymous clown was untiring, and completely successful, in his. efforts to add to the joyment of the audience. The second the first part were single-stick competitions for a special prize, the former competition being won by 6. Royou, petty officer, who. also won the final bout, and' the, latter by T. Jones, A.B, The cutlass: exercise, the third number, was admirably done the Severns, and, like all they did, slated the heartiest applause, nor less. was the applause bestowed on the hazardous fencing-bout between two bluejackets with baked cutlasses, Numbers 4 and 7 in the first part, and 3: and 8" in the second part, were boxing competitions: They were prefaced by a short speech from Mr. W. G. Moore, the Ring Master, who assured the audience that it was only exhibition sparring and that no lady need feel alarmed. In the first bout Hunt, a blue-jacket, had certainly the best of his competitor Todd, a marine. In the second bout, between Mr. Callaway and Salter, a bluejacket, the Shanghai man, though he had the best of the Secerns against him, bore off the palm, and the pair were deservedly recalled. In the third bout Bishop, a marine, who promises to make a very line sparrer, had the best of Paioplin, also a marine, The fourth bout, between Mr. 0. J. Holliday, heavy-weight champion for the Queensberry cup in 1868, met Mr. W. G. Moore, a very good boxer, and a head and shoulders taller than' his antagonist, and a very pretty display of the older against the more recent style of sparring at was. Mr, Holliday, though he las fast. come of the wind and activity of his championship days, was too good for Mr.
The utmost, gool-humour was maintained throughout all the competitions, which were of three rounds each, and the scientific way in which the seconds looked after their men in the intervals, assisted by the clown, was greatly admired. Numbsr 6 in the first part was bayonet exercise by the Severns, 30 well and precisely done that it was unanimously encored; and the firat, part closed with the sword dance, done to perfection by Sergeant Mackenzie of the Shanghai police, to the piping of Sergeant Ross.
The second part opened with feats on the horizontal bar by Mr. R..M. Lundt and Severns. It she versatility when a man leads the violins in a concert one night, and the next night leads euch feats as these, with the most_admirable race and power, as Mr, Lundt did. these feats, as one man succeeded and surpassed another, were immensely applauded, While the stage was being rearranged, the curtain was lowered and Professor Hercules-Saudow, otherwise the clown, had two enormous icon weights, marked Pls. 100 each, brought on the front of the stage, each by a squad of men, and proceeded to lift first one and then the other, and then both together. He then challenged the audience, and 9 well-known, light-weight accepted the challenge, lifting both weights—to the simulated discom-future of the professor—with the greatest ease. It was a capital interlude. The dumb-bell exercise, by a squad of Severns, was not only interesting jowing the precision of their drill; but there was nothing more admirable the whole evening than the gun drill (No. 6). The field gun, which was run on by the crew with its limber, weighs 848 Ibs. Around was fied and the gun was entirely dismounted, the mon sitting on the gear, in what seems the impossible time of seven seconds, It was reniwunted, wheels and al}, with a round fired, in frentysiz seconds. Tt was again dismounted, and all the gear, including the wheels, carried out of sight, and then remounted complete in twenty-nine seconds. Ibis needless to say and smart piece of work was simply over-that the applause for this wonderfully neat whelming. Great laughter was elicited by the next event, which was an unaimounced effect. Six tall marine artilleryman, under the orders of the clown, brought on a toy gun, which they fired, dismounted and remounted, and finally carried off in their hands, with all the gravity with which the real gun had been manwuvred. "The tug-of-war between Severn marines and bluejackets, in which the matines pulled the bluejackets over at once, came next. They then shifted end for end with the same result. The last number was the single-stick mele, blue versus white, in which the men played with a will. The
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.