PETERSFIELD.
Agent—Miss DUPLOCK.
PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT.—On Monday evening last, Mr. Macfarland, head master of the national schools in this town, gave an interesting and instructive entertainment in the school rooms, consisting of a series of first rate transparencies exhibited by means of a powerful magic lantern, illustrative of the motion of the heavenly bodies and other astronomical phenomena, also a great variety of subjects in natural history interspersed with some very laughable designs and a few very beautiful chromatropes. The exhibition was accompanied with a sort of running commentary, embodying a large amount of useful information in the form of descriptive remarks and amusing anecdotes. There was a large and highly respectable audience on one side of the screen, and an equally large but justice compels us to add, not an equally respectable assemblage on the other side. The lecturer in his desire to instruct and amuse all classes had announced admission to the back seats at the low charge of one penny and a large number of the working classes availed themselves of the opportunity, many no doubt, with the laudable desire of profiting by the occasion, but some few evidently for another purpose, and these, taking advantage of the partial darkening of the room, behaved in a most discreditable manner greatly to the annoyance of those who wished to hear as well as see. It is to be hoped this conduct will not be repeated. The Rev. J. M. Sumner kindly presided on the occasion.
Hampshire Chronicle - Saturday 11 December 1858
A very pleasing lecture, interspersed with anecdotes, was delivered at the Swan Hotel Assembly Room, Alresford, on Thursday evening, to the members of the Literary Institution, by Mr. Macfarland, of Petersfield, on a ‟Tour in Ireland,” which met with great attention from a large and respectable audience. A vote of thanks was passed to the lecturer for the very pleasing manner in which the lecture was delivered.