HARRY LAUDER'S YANKEE EXPERIENCES.

NZ Truth, Issue 142, 7 March 1908, Page 8

HARRY LAUDER'S YANKEE EXPERIENCES.

His Life m the Stokehold.

Some Funny Stories.

Harry Lander is back' again safeand sound. His Scotch accent (writes a Scottish exchange) has not suffered from his sojourn with tbje.; 'Yankees. 'If anything, his Scotch is ! more pronounced, and his humor stilt maintains its power of "tickling."' The Car-mania, m which he arrived aft Liverpool, was detained for upwards: of. 30 hours at the outset of her journey, through toeing stuck fast m the mud of New York Harbor. There was a '^ig crowd of admirers waiting to welcome Harry, and it is m no sense an invidious selection to say .that the great comedian, who was accompanied by his wife and son, Mr John Currie Lauder, was the most notable personage aboard. Mr Lander was, as Mr Cf. W. Clarke, the " purser, aptly phrased it, "a general favorite— a sort of ray of sunshine throughout the trip." He sang at the concert organised by the firstclass passengers on behalf of seamen's charities, at which £51 was raised -• He contributed ' no fewer than five songs. At the cpnoert of the second-class passenger's he was too hoarse to ' sing, but made a speech of characteristic humor ; £22 was realised for charities. Amongst the third-class voyagers HE WAS BOTH LIONISED AND IDOLISED. . He both presided and sang at the concert, and the outcome was that £10' was collected for the charities.. In New York city the great Scotchhumorist had a "braw time,"-.. His affection for his son may be Gauged by the fact that he purchased for him ■m the States a Panhard motor-car at a cost of about £1000. Naturally, the first question he was invited to answer was as to the manner in ' which he was received by the American people. To this he made the .prompt and hearty response, "I never had a better time m a' my life,?' he assured a reporter, and "m fact, I'd just go back the morn, if I could, I think so much o' them, and they think so much of me— though there's nae sa-e muekle o' me efter a'," he added. The observations of an American lady who at this moment stretched ' out her hand and bade Harry "adieu," with tlie warning "monition that he must not say anything but what was kind of America, led him to emphasise his earlier expression by the "aside." of her, ''I'll no say anything that is na beautiful and nice aboot your country and your people, for a' the folk wis goodness itself to me." Turning to the interviewing pressman, he continued— " "I just never had a greater reception m my life. I was there five weeks m one theatre m Broadway. New York, and

I HAD AN AWFU' FINE TIME.!' Just then the American lady, obviously loa^h to say farewell to Mr Lauder, gave Mm a final gocd' wish

m -these terms : "I hope you'll have as good luck here as you had m America." "Ob," rejoined Mr Lauder promptly, "there isna ony (loot aboot that. I've built up a reputation here that'll tak' a truid bomb shell to knock it 00-t o' place." As to the character of the entertainment he purveyed for the delectation of his American patrons, Mr Lauder said he put on "just the same show as herer-just as 'broad' m the accent. Three parts of mv audience' were composed ' of Scotch or ScotchAmericans, but the press over there said if there had been no Scotch there at all the people would have appreciated me just the same. The fact • was that the American folk could not get the seats because the Scots had been there first and taken the lot." Giving; Ms opinion of what he found to be the most effective of his songs m New York, he said, "THE SAFEST O. THE FAMILY" aiid "I love a lassie" were the best liked, he thought. "English and American audiences," he explained, "have strong points of contrast. In* America they give you a! welcome when you go oh, and then they wait until you have finished before they explode, but when they do £_xplode, man!.' : Am tellin' ye, there's a big 'burst. In America they have two , performances a day— one m the afternoon and the other m the evening. W£ hadn't a yacant; seat at any of 'the performances. . I was on' an hour at every performance, and the last night I was there-M/hat was a week past last Friday— l was on for an hour and 57 minutes ; they simply wouldn't let me go away. I'm richt glad they've stopped Sunday shows an New York ; they stopped them just 'after I finished 'ray engagement. I •Was. on twice a day; Sundays as well ; as week days. There's quite A DIFFERENT SORT OF AUDIENCE ON A SUNDAY : there's a kirk audience on a Sunday. I think it's a quid tiling to stop Sunday shows, for a working man needs one day's xest m seven, and < .I'm speaking now not only for the artists, -but for the stage hands, and other folk about the theatres.. I'm really very pleased to see the" musichalls of, New York are closed en Sundays, and I hope they'll keep closed— and the public-hooses an' a' on Sundays. I see there's an aeitation to close the publics here m England, an' I hope it'll succeed, too, for if a man canna drink a' he needs m sax days he ought to gang dray on the Saflvhath." Haying relieved himself of this wholesome homily, the #oi>ular entertainer again went into raptures over the jenthaisiasm with wliich he had been received m the States. "Ye a' ken they were gled to see me' an', man! they micht ha'u been just as gled to see me. aff, for • THEY BROCHT OOT THE PIPES,, and played doon to the pier m gran' stv.le." Facetiously alluding to the mid-bank incident which delayed the C'armania m New York Harbor, Mr ■Lauder said : "Man, thoch't it wis juist a wee bit w-ait for breakfast, it was sac fine and pleasant." He W,ent on to say that it was ouite true that on the voyage horne v he went down to the stokehold and .fired up the -boilers'; "'bxit I think I was the safest of that family, onyway. for they tell't me, if I didna stop the Mlers would gang aff -the bile," At this stage a somewhat impertinent 'ornery was put by a bystander to Mr Lauder regarding his disbursements m the States. "We'el, I djd the fair thing," he good-humored ly replied. "IT WAS LIKE THE LOWLAND TODDY— hauf and hauf. I spent a tlioosan' m the States, and I brocht a thoosan' hame ; an'- that's what I'm, working for.'' The comedian went on to speak with enthusiasm of the presentations made to him abroad, including a handsome gold medal from the Eastern Professional Golf Association, and a loving-cup from the Sphinx Literary Club. While hewas mentioning these circumstances, a Scottish friend nmde.a dart at Mr Lauder, and shouted, "Man, Harry, wje thocht we'd lost ye ! .': ''What ! Did ye no get ma' message?" u Hoch, . aye." <'Weel, did Ino tell ye no to be fear.t ? An' here I am."- In* conclusion, Mr Lauder bestowed unqualified praise upon the steadiness and comfort of the Carmania, which, he said, using a ncwlv-imnorted Americanism, with his strong Scottish accent, "It's, just the limit ? nane o' ■us. missed a single meal, and' some o' us had extra, ahes."