'A fanfare of trampots as the guests mounted the staircase of the Town Hall on Saturday evei indi unmistakably that no detail was to be omitted to ensure the complete success of the Entertainment and Ball a German Company (Pi louty of "Prussia) of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps in honour of the birthday of His Majesty the German Emperor. ' " What the Germans take in hand heartily, they do well" was a frequent' comment throughout the evening among the guests, and those who have been fortunate enough to receive, German hospitality in its own country quickly recognized that it had lost none of its charm by being temporarily transplanted to Shanghai. It waa certainly a happy inspiration on the part of the German Company to 'Voluinteci celebrations by the introduc-the programme of the manual tion of a Variety Entertainment before the Ball—happy at least as the event. proved, for it was clearly a bold move to ask' a" Shanghai gathering intent upon to wait nearly two hours before" it was allowed to dance, Nothing, indeed, would have justified such a court ovation bat the tunchallengeable excellence of the preliminary entertainment, and its promoters' are to be congratulated upon a most successful evening.
Festoons of evergreen, banners and flags provided a picturesque decorstion for the Hall. A temporary stage had been erected at the west end, and this with its approaches on either si served as sitting-out places during the Ball. For the purposes of the entertaioinent seats had been placed in position over half the floor, but needless to say they were not sufficient for third of the large gathering present.
The p ings opened with the rendering of Meyerbeer's " Coronation March" by the Town Band under the direction of Herr Rudolf Buck. Of this and the rest of the orchestral pro-fees? Goan " Faust" and Halrorfet igrate rons juppé's Light Cavalry," Fantasia
sen's Entrance March of the Boyars, it fs enough tosay that the musical part alone would have justified the entertain-tent, The second item was a one-Act Farce, entitled "Mufti," given by:
The F.-C. herald ano S. C..& C. Gagette,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.