ANECDOTES OH ANNETTE KELLERMANN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 288, 29 August 1908, Page 11

ANECDOTES OH ANNETTE KELLERMANN.

Miss Annctto Kellerman, this famous swimmer, tells the story in "Tatler" of the narrowest escapo she has ever had from drowning. Curiously enough, it did not' occur when she was- away out in open water, but in some- nice comfo.-tablo harmless baths, j It happened this way:—"l was in Sydney at the time," says Miss Kellerman, "and ! on visiting the baths thero one day, a lady who ivas in the water was ■ seized with cramp, and although in no immediate danger lot' drowning,, she called upon me for assistance, v/horeupon I immediately jumped in, i and after a severe tussle—she scaled the more feather-weight of.. 14st. or thereabouts—succeeded in getting her safely ashore. | ' "On recovering the lady asked me to leavo my name with the lessee of tho baths, nlid although I protested, sho was insistent, as she said she' wished' to. make mo a present for having saved her from what might havo been a watery grave. . Well, she did leave a present—a whole sixpence! The lesseo when I showed him the truly princely gift I had received was simply furious, and declared that when next he mot tho lady— to bo quite frank, I am not suro that- lio did call,her a "lady,"' but no matter—lie would indignantly point out to hor that if sho valued Tier life at so low a figuro, I placed a higher estimate on mino, to say nothing, of -a fierce, coal-black eye I had received as the result of a kick sho had accidental}' administered to me when I was towing her to dry land. I should like to tell you of some of the curioup letters I sometimes receive' from .unknown correspondents. lam asked: all sorts of strango questions, from 'Whether 1 swimming is good for babies with measles' 1 down to 'How much I shall charge to give a blind man swimming lessons.' One letter, however, I prize very much. It was written by a gentleman in Scarborough, who once told me that .ho . had felt' chronically ill for years. , I advised him to try a course of seabathing, and mapped out a programme for him. Six months later he wrote thanking me for having restored him to good health once more., After that cure I seriously thought of writing tho mystic letters M.D. after my name."