All good things have an end, the visit of the Brough Comedy Company not the least among them. On Friday they made their last appearance here—at any rate for some time—and the evening passed in laughter and cheers. "Niobe" had been chosen as the last performance, the farce which has convulsed thousands of theatre-goers all over the world. It goes without saying that the Company played with that even ability and well-balanced skill which have made all their performances so artist tic. From Mr. Brough as Peter Amos Dunn down to Mr. Hards as John, the servant, the characters were presented in the true spirit of farce, and with a careful precision that evidenced complete and painstaking rehearsal. So it has been all along. No smallest bit of "business", but has been thought out by minds skilled to the work, and the result has always been production smooth, flowing, and, as we said, artistic. Mrs. Brough made an admirable Niobe, and Miss Temple played well as Caroline Dunn. The sisters, Helen and Hattie were capitally given by Miss Bessie Thompson, and clever Miss Evelyn! Martheze—a thoroughly useful member of the company.
Miss Grace Noble could not fail in whatever she undertook to be graceful and pleasing, and was so again as} Beatrice Silleocks, and Miss Gillies Brown looked and acted well as Madeline Mifton. Mr. W. T. Lovell, Mr. Leslie Victor, M. Majeroni, and Mr. Gregan McMahon completed the excellent cast. Throughout the piece the crowded house laughed unrestrainedly, but after it they changed the tune. Then came cheering, hearty and prolonged, which had its first intermission when Mr. W. u. Bayne, Chair-' man of the Shanghai A.D.C., made a speech.
Mr. W. G. Bayne said—Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to detain you one moment to say—and I am sure that I only echo the voice of everyone present when I say—that we all feel the deepest regret good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Brough and their admirable company this evening. They have nightly charmed us with their admirable art; they have added to our store of happiness; they have played with equal skill upon the keynotes of laughter and tears. Everyone here present, will feel that it would be ungracious and ungrateful on our art to allow them to depart Sithout wishing ther God speed, success in all their future undertakings, and a; quick return to Shanghai. Join me, then, in three cheers for Mr. and Mrs. Brough, and their admirable compans—their admirable, charming, and delightful com-Pathe cheers were given with lusty force, any. i and the ear-splitting "tiger" finished when Mr. Brough advanced to the foot) lights to reply. He thanked them all, on behalf of his wife and his company, for the reception they had thus accorded them. He was pleased to hear the com-/S pany styled admirable and charming—that was his opinion of them. He thanked the} audience for a tribute such as they had accorded them, for such tributes were more than gratifying, they were encouraging and stimulating. They conveyed, moreover, the expression of that good-will and, friendship which he was sure was heartily reciprocal. He wished to thank them, too, for the support which had been accorded the company right through the season. It might interest them to know that the financial result bad more than satisfied him. In fact, it had exceeded by far his most sanguine expectations. He thought Shanghai was a very wonderful theatre-supporting community. Shanghai had grown very much, and if it continued at this rate it would in a very short time rank with Calcutta as the most remarkable of theatrical communities in the East. If it went on, as he said, a good theatrical company would be able to come to Shanghai with profit and pleasure, and stop for eight or ten weeks, or even longer. If that was possible he hoped to be the frst to hare the benefit of such a desirable state of affairs. When he first came to China he did so with a good deal of fear and trembling. He really did not like bearding the local theatrical lion in his lair. Still, he came, and he did not think the encounter had resulted in severe wounding on either side. Rather, he thought the influence had been beneficial to both. He was complimented to know that the A.D.C. were among their most ardent supporters. He could only regret that they had not had the pleasure of seeing them in their war paint. Shanghai owed a great debt to its A.D.C. They were solely responsible for the upkeep of the theatre—and it was by far the most up-to-date theatre in the Personally he owed them, and their secretary, a debt of gratitude for the kindness extended to him at all times. Apart from the professional side of his visit, there was the social. Again he had to tender thanks, for off as well as on the stage they had bad a very fine time. He only hoped that there would remain with them all the recollection of a few pleasant evenings spent in looking on at their performances. They left Shanghai with genuine regret, and looked forward to seeing friends again in the near future.
These were the last words, and the audience filed out to the music of "Auld Long Syne." Mr. and Mrs, Brough and Miss Temple had one other engagement to full, however—a farewell supper-party ven by Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Maitland, hich ended the evening most pleasantly.
Another scene of leave-taling was ¢n-acted on the German mail jetty on Satur-@ay morning, when the company left for the N.-D.LS. Konig Albert, on which they journey:
to Hongkong. An enormous crowd was th here, for in addition to the ladies and gentlemen who for the past month have given us such very keen plea~ sure a number of our residents were leaving. There was the usual handshaking and wishing of success, exaggera ated by the unusual number of those pre~ sent. Finally, after some delay the tender moved out, with a cheer from the waiting crowd, and a returning shout and waving of handkerchiefs and hats from those om board.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.