Juvenile Ball. xx - SThe Star Theatre was not large enough to hold the huge crowd that flocked to sce the Portland II.E.S. juvenile fancy dress ball, whiclh was hold in that building recently; and many were unable to gain admission. Those' who were present were well 'repaid for any discom fort they may have felt by the won derful sight of nearly two hundred children dre'sed in various fancy costumes, and dancing beautifully to a01o tinme tunes. Seldom has there been seen in Portland such a display of lovely fancy dresses as were-worn by the children that night, and no one envied the task of the judges as they wandered in and out of the dancing children, adding points here and there that they thought were deserved. The dancing of the children wa's a wonder to all present, and ;their knowledge. of the figures in the Lan-. cers showed that there was no need for an M.C. The fancy dresses of the. smaller children in the Roger de Coverly sets were a delight to every body, and the wee ones rose to the occasion by taking their steps lightly and daintily. They realised' their importance and carried It out to the letter. Tiny tots, too, were much- In evidence, and were greatly admired in their various costumes. Miss Evans' small pupils gave a'd?ip~iy of rhythmis which was most interesting. When 'the smaller children .had completed their items, the'i older ones came on for the Lancers' Each 'set marched round the hall so as they .could be - seen individually.. The "grand march" was the next item, and the formation of different figures was most spectacular. At the con elusion of the march each set;paired off to their allotted places for thle Lancers, and admiration was ex pressed on all sides as they wyint through the various evolutionst with out a hitch. An item worthy :of special mention was that old" but ever new dance, the "Minuet," -this being cleverly given by the early) Vic torian set, their 1830 costume's and white wigs adding dignity to the dance. 'Miss F.- Ro?y, vwho -trained them for this item, is to be com mended for the way in which they carried it out. The "desert" scene is also worthy of special mention, thi's being most unique, and the work of Miss Egan. Before the prizes were distributed, Mr. Christensen (head master of the school) thanked the Mothers' Club for the hard task they had un dlertaken. in teaching.the children to dlance, but he said they were well re warded for their work by the per-. formances of the children and the large assemblage present. He also I thanked the mothers who: had gone to a lot of expen'se and trouble in dressing their children, but he knew they would feel well repaid by seeing the boys and girls looking so .beauti ful. He explained that, in keeping with other schools in Victoria, Port land should have a tennis court at its school, and the ball held that night was to raise funds for that pur pose. - Thanks were due also to the judges, who carried out so satisfac torily a seemingly impossible task ; Mrs. Robins. who gave her services so willingly to play for the children whilst learning the different dances ; Mademoisello Louise, for the making of the wigs for the girls in the early Victorian set, and Mrs. R. Salmon, for making the boys' wigs in the same set. The teachers also deserve a word of praise for the big part they played in connection with the ball, one item alone being the cutting of over 1000 sandwichcs, which was no light task. And last but not least tihe public are to be complimented on the manner in which they patronised the function, making it a success fin ancially. The Mayor (Cr. J. L. Wyatt) presented the prizes to the various winners, but before doing so con gratulated everybody who had helpedl to make the hall such an outstanding success, and judging by the beautiful costumes that were worn by the children, he did not consider there was any poverty in Portland. lie was so delighted at the good work the Mothers' Club was doing for the school that he had much pleasure in lonnting £2/2/- towarlds the tennis court. lie opologiscedl for the aIi snce of Mrs. W'yntL, who was nnalile to be present owing to a hadl cold. In the absence of the Mnyorress, he Mayor accepted a nbeautiful bou jliet presented biy Mrs. Taylor, pire- sident of the Motheri.s' Cllub, on le mlf of that hody. The prizes dist'ibuilctd were as fol lows: Roger die Coverly--leanclh Set (Joean and Ken ILeishman,i Don An- I e!ri.oni, anld Dor)othly I)et) alndl Rid nlg Set (Molynn Jennings, Mervyn lhuker, Vernar El lhriilge andl Durg. Fiiugge'r), equial first. Lancers-Early Victoriin Set (It. I : Clobei, Mricel Iill, Trdohl Salmon, )a.,]y Cook, Iwynn Cook, Trudy How- t

den, Peter Christonsen and Alice Hedditch) and Desert Scene Set (Gavan Campbell, Horace Storer, Francis Patterson, Noel Bolton, Kecith Rigby, Lionel Phillips, . Alsal Donaldson, and Freda Lou'gthordn), equal first. Barn Dance-Nancy Patterson and Peggy Taylor. Polka--,largery Fugger and-B at barn Allen. Most Humorous Couple.-There was only one entry, that' of G. Toye, who generously' re-donated his prize to the committee. :Most Original. Character.-lJack Reed secured both prizes, as he was dressed 'as half boy-half girl., Prettiest Paper Frock.-Marnie Mloore. Best Posters.-Mary Quinlivan and Lorna Grenister (Tip Top Toffee.) The takings for the night am ounted to £31, which is .uost grati fying, and after expenses have been deducted, will leave a credit balance of £24/8.

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