LIVELY REMINISCENCES.

Shannon News, 10 April 1923, Page 4

LIVELY REMINISCENCES.

CHAUNCEY DEPEW YARNS - Chauncey Depew, the famous Anieri. can publicist and wit, has been retailing- his reminiscences in ’a Hearst paper. Follows a characteristic ex. tract:-- il ' :X ' ' • ;; ip, f p. --Bamum, the showman, was a mUny.si'ded’and interesting character 1 saw milch of him "as he rented from thA'Hßrlehi Railroad 'Company the /liladison'*'Sptiare ‘Garden, year after year/Dafnum never’ had an'equal in his"prOfes'sion and was an excellent business man. In a broad way he was a mail of ’affairs, and with' his vast ' fund of anecdotes, and reminiscences very entertaining socially. 1 - An Englishman of note came to me •with: a 1 letter of introduction, and I asked' him whom lie would like to meet He'said:‘“l think principally Mr. P. T. ’Baruiii:” I tcUd this to Barnum, who knew alP'abod him, and he said: “As a gentleman- he' knows how to meet me.’’- /When -1; informed my English friend he'iexpressed his regret and at bnde sent Barnum his card and at an tfivitaf ioif" for .’.winner.At the dinner BArnUm ehsily'carried off the honours ■with'* liiS' wonderful fund of unusual adventures.' .An; illusion shattered 0

’ My .first contact w.*Ti Mr. Barnum occurred many years before, when I waa.a.boy up at Peekvkill. At that time, he,had a museum and a show in a building at the corner, of Ann street And Broadway; opposite the old Astor House.' "By skilful advertising he kept people all over the country expecting something new and wonderful and anxious’ visit the show. Therte' - had been an Indian massacre ; 6n ; the Western plains. The particu. laris 'filled/the' ’newspapers and led to action u by the Government in retaila. 'tiphl'' Dafnum -advertised that he had sucCo6d,ed in securin' the Sioux warriors wli'oiii th’e Government had captured, and? whci would re.enact every day the ‘bloody battle in which they were victorious, ; it was one of the hottest after, noons in August when I appeared there from tne country. The Indians were on the top floor, under the roof. Tne performance was sufficiently blood, curdling to satisfy the most exacting of a penny dreadful. After tne performance,’ when the audience left I-viras’too fascinated to go, and remain. fed* in’ ; the'fear of the hall, gazing at these dreadful savages. One of them fdbk ’bf liis head gear, dropping his 1 omdhavvk arid scalping knife,, and Said iri.'.tlie bi’oadest Irish to his neighbour “Mbike, if don,t cool off, I,; will’ be nothing but a grease spot.” This was among the many illusions yrhich have been dissipated for me in a long life. Notwithstanding that. I still have faith, and dearly love to be fooled, but not to have the fraud exposed.;- ■ For a tired man who has grown ■stale with years of unremitting work I know of no relief and recuperation BqiiaP to taking a steamer anv crossing the oceani tb Europe. T did mis for a few weeks in;ffiid_summer many times aid always* with splenuid and most re. iTeshing’ ’results. With fortunate intro’ductiohs; I became acquainted with nfany of the leading men in other 6'ountries, and this was a lioeral edu. cation.

THE SIK.OLOGICAL MOMENT There was invariably a concert tor charities’ to* help the sailors on every 'ship: ITiad many amusing experiences in presiding oh these occasions. I re. Member once we were having a rough night of' it, and one of our artists, a famous singer,who had made a successful tour of the United States,was a-lxttiWwoniah and her'husband a giant He cahie;t‘oi : me during the performance andVsaid: “;MTy wife is awfully sea.sick, but’'she wants to'sing, and I want her to;; In the intervals of her illness she is* in pretty 'gopd shape for a Tittle while V If you. wii± stop everything when/you see nie coming in with her she will dp her part.

I. saw him rushina' into the saloon with his wife in his arms, and imniedi. ately announced her for the next num. ber; She made a - great triumph, but at the proper moment was caug-c up by her' husband ‘ and carried again to the deck. He said to me afterwards: “My wife ’was not at her' best last bight because there is a peculiarity 'about' sea sickness and singers; the loiw6'r/bote's ; nr which she is most ef. fective' arfe not'at such times available or in working order.”

ADA . REHAN DELIGHTS THE “ STEERAGE

Augustin Daly did a great service to the theatre by his wonderful genius as .'.a manager; He discovered talent every, where and. encouraged it. He trained his company with the skill of a master and produced in. his theatres here and in. .London a series of wonderful plays 'He did not permit his artists to take part, as a rule, .in these concerts on the ship, but it so happened that on ; pne occasion we celebrated the Fourth ,of July I went to Mr. Daly and asked him if, he would not, as an American, take the management of the whole celebration. , This appealed to him and he selected the best talent from his company. Among them was Ada Rehan. ... I knew Miss Rehan when she was in the stock company at Alhany in her early days. With Mr Daly who discovered her, she soon developed into a. star af the first magnitude

~Mr. Daly insisted on my presiding and introducing me artists, and also delivering the Fourth of July oration. The celebration was so successful in the saloon that Mr. Daly had it repeated ths next night in the second cabin, and —e night after that in the steerage; The-steerages; did its best, and was clothed in the finest things which it was carrying back to astonish the : folks; in the Old Country and its enthusiasm was greater, if possible, than the welcome that had greeted the artists; among the first and second cabin passengers, After Miss Rehan had recited her part and been encored and encored, I found ,;her in tears. I said: “Miss Rehan, your thriumph has been so great that it should be laughter.’’ ;“Yes,’ ? she said, “but it is so pathetic to see these people who pro. 'bably never before met with the higheaiLwt,