REMINISCENCES ON TOUR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1563, 5 October 1912, Page 11

REMINISCENCES ON TOUR.

BY CLABA BUTT.

f. Although very many interesting little incidents frequently occur, it is.not at nil an easy matter to recall them when . > it come.3 to setting them down in black and white, for events crowd ono upon the other so rapidly, and'so many fresh things arise to occupy the mind that one s amusing reminisconces are like shadows in tho limbo of the past. However, my husband has a drawer full of amusing letters and memoirs in his smoking-room, bo I will search thero for inspiration m> the hopo that, when onco started,.my pen will flow more easily. One of the first things I come across is a iette.r in verse, which I received a year or two ago from a schoolboy, who wanted my autograph. Here it is:— Of autographs of those of fame . I've gathered not a few, But one illustrious name I miss, And, madam, that is you. So kindly send one little line * A schoolboy's heart to cheor, - And make his autograph book A thousand times more dear. And as we cannot see what tiino . May have for us in store, And I may bo Lord Chancello* - (Or even something more), When that event takes place, I'll see That you shall have a, line from mo I .:. Why They Wero Related.. • Of the hundreds of amusing letters that >I have received at ono time or another, ■I think that perhaps tho very best was one-which was delivered to me at the stage door of a provincial town which I \ visited in the course of a ■ tour not very long ■ after a slight boating accident in tho Thames,-which we had some years back, and I think it will very likely amuse the readers of this article it I givo it hero in full:— y. ■ Dear Madam,—l am writing to express to you my deep gratitude that you wore not drowned on the occasion of your boating accident in the Thames not long ago. Your escape is an event which gives me courage to write to you—a thing I have • been intending to do for a long time 'past. A year or-two ago 1 read an . interview with you, in the course of which yon stated that you were very fond of monkevs. Now, madam, ever since I read that interview I have been quite sure that we must be related, for my mother ■was also passionately fond of monkeys. I have fined in vain to trace the name of Butt in our family, but, although my second cousin married a Mr. Budd, I cannot find the name of Butt anywhere in 'our .family tree.

The fact that you were married at Bristol is-another proof that I am right, for my mother onoe lived there. I hope one day to hear you sing, but whether I do 60 or not, I feel it an honour that you 6hould be connected with our family. Believe me, dear madam, Your affectionate relation, New Zealand Episodes, Yet another amusing epistle was -written to me when we wero touring in Australia and New Zealand. This was from a boy who, after taking three foolscap pages to explain that he wished to become the finest pigeon shot in; Australia, added a. postscript to the effect that alt he wanted to enable his ambition to be fulfilled was a rifle, which ho hoped we would present him with. .' • While on the subject of this tour in tho antipodes, I recall several amusing little incidents which happened to us there. One afternoon we arrived at a place called Wellington, in New. Zealand, and went to tho principal hotel to engage rooms, but to our.astomsTiment the proprietor, who was a man.- of the stern •Puritanical type; refused to accommodate us because, as he put it, ■ "lie "did not hold with play-acting folk!"' ' . As a contrast to this came our reception at another New Zealand town, at which we arrived very late one night, and feeling particularly tired and hungry. We alighted from tho train with a sigh of relief at the prospect of driving straight to our hotel for supper and rest. But to our astonishment we found that the town was illuminated, and the whole population had turned out to welcome us, the Mayor being present'in state upon the platform to deliver a long and formal address. When this at last came to an end, a procession was formed to escort our carriage all round the town, and it was nearly one o'clock before we were allowed to retire, by which time it was too late to get anything to eat, and we were utter-' . ly worn out with fatigue. ■ ■ The Mourning Coach. I One more small incident occurred in. ' New Zealand, which was so intensely humorous that I think I shall-never forget it. At a certain small town wo visited, the only carriage available to meet us at the station was that usually used for funerals. The jet-black horse and the black trappings lent the conveyance a very sombre air, but the .coachman, though likewise attired in his funeral suit and 'hat, was a man ) of brilliant ideas. . Not only did he substitute a white dress tie for the black one he usually wore, but, as he held the door open for us, ho whistled a lively and popular tune in order to dispel the gloom which the appearance of his equipage might other-' wise have inspired us with! To come back to England again, I remember once, after singing in Bristol, when I happened to include "Kathleen Ma-vourncen'* in' my programme, I was accosted upon leaving the hall by a dear old Irishman, who, -apparently anxious to pav me a compliment, kissed my hand, and said that if the man who, wrote tho song could, have heard me smg it he would' assuredly have turned m his grave. Needless to say in tho course of a tour froin place to place, bo it in this country ,or abroad, one is frequently approached by would-be vocalists who seek advice as to how to get on, and so on. I was once interviewed by a young lady in Birmingham, who told me that although she had -never tried to sing seriously, sho had been informed by a doctor that her month and throat were particularly well adapted for singing. She went on to saj that she

had often heard of voice-producer 3, and she asked mo if I would mind telling her what kind I used, or whether I could give her a special'.'prescription. She seemed firmly convinced that singing was entirely a matter of physic, and I am sure sho went away under the impression that J. was deceiving her because I told her that a voice-producer was a master—not j a medicine. , . Another curious intorview I had, in Huddersfield, as far as I remember, was with a lady who told me. that she was a skirt dancer and .contortionist, Sho thought it would make a welcome addition to my concert party if she figured on the programme!—(From tho "Weekly Scotsman.")