ANECDOTES OF THE CONCERT PLATFORM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 116, 16 May 1906, Page 6

ANECDOTES OF THE CONCERT PLATFORM.

(By Madame Clara Butt-Rumford.)

After singing "Kathleen Mavourneen" as an encore at Cardiff, a few years ago, an amusing little incident occurred to mc in connection with an old Irishman whom I found waiting for mc when I left the concert halL With tears in his eyes he caught hold of my cloak and, falling upon bis knees, bsgan to bless mc in his rich brogue. "Bedad," he concluded, "I don't know -who wrote the song, but, shure, if he's dead, 'twould make him turn in his grave to have heard the beautiful way ye sangit to-night"—a compliment which Borne people might think was rather a doubtful one. ~

Such an incident as I have just described is not at all uncommon. Sometimes I am met at the- stage door by people, who, after thanking mc for having sung, have asked my permission to bring along their sick father, or aged mother, in a Bath-chair, in order that I might sing to them, as they were perfectly sure it would make them better. Particularly after I have sung "Abide with mc" do I get requests of this kind. Not infrequently has that song made such an impression upon some members of the audience that, before n0w,.1 have received gold watches and other pieces of jewellery, accompanied by touching letters which state that the gift is some highly prized family heirloom presented to mc as a sort of thank-offering. Of course, I invariably return gifts like these when it is possible to trace the giver, and I am happy to say that I have been successful in almost every case in restoring such presents to their rightful owners. One of my most curious presents I found awaiting mc when I went to sing at the Albert Hall recently. It took the shape of a large pear, which had been carefully packed and sent through the post. Unfortunately, owing to some mistake as to the date of the concert, it had arrived several days earlier and was quite uneatable. The letter which came with it was from a poor woman who told mc that it was the finest pear in her garden. "You have given mc so much pleasure in the past," her letter concluded, "that I wish to give you a little in return, and am sending you this pear to refresh you after the concert." Not long- ago I received an impoeinglooking letter, on quarto-sized, crested notepaper, from a gentleman who offered to disclose a novel system for «in- i ning at roulette. He wrote as follows: "Madam, I take the liberty of writing to inquire whether you would be interested in learning particulars of an entirely novel system of winning at rouleA*». "I have recently returned from a protracted stay at Monte Carlo, where 1 have exhaustively tested the success of the methods of play I have discovered, over a vast number of fluctuations of the roulette wheel. I should still be playing there, but that the excessive heat made mc so ill that my medical attendant ordered mc back to England, though I propose returning to Monte Carlo directly the cool weather sets in. In the meantime it occurs to mc that I might impart particulars of my system to someone eke who may be interested* m roulette.

I do not wish to bargain for any prepayment, but am scr absolutely certain of the success of my plan of playing, that I am willing to give you full written particulars and instructions if yon will give mc in exchange a promise to pay mc a certain amount at the expiry of say three or four months. This will enable you to actually play, and thoroughly try the system before I receive one single farthing. I may say that my system is extremely simple and easy to play, needing no complicated calculations or reckonings. It is played with a level stake, and there is no doubling up or increasing the original stake whatever. Playing about two hours daily, with the minimum ptake of five francs, it returns an average weekly profit of from £80 to £110, and with the maximum stake a weekly profit of from £2800 to £4000. Should this proposal recommend itself to you, I shall be pleased to furnish farther details, Yours faithfully.

After the little incident on the Thames last summer, -when I ran some risk of being drowned, I had a very amusing letter from a lady in New Zealand congratulating mc on my escape, and Baying that the occurrence had given her courage to write to me—a thing she had been intending to do for a long time. She said she had once read an interview with mc in. widen i 1» was stated that I was very fond of monkeys, and she therefore felt perfectly certain that we must be near relations, because 'her mother bad* also been passionately attached to monkeys.

Quite different from the people who are anxious to do something for mc, are those who are anxious for mc to do something for them. I had « long letter from a.man once, asking -whether my husband and I could go down to his native place one Wednesday evening in the spring of 1905 and sing at a concert he was getting up, the proceeds of which were to enable liim tio maintain his son in college until he could take his degree. He. offered to fill in/ the remainder of the programme with himself and friends, and said that he, had a piece of plate which he proposyed to present mc with as some recompense for my trouble, and a scarf pin, set with what he believed to be a peatrl, for my hueband. "We have excursions to London every Wednesday," he said in conclusion, "so that I could bring the plate and pin for you to see.they are genuine, and explain things to you.; but I should like to present them to, you in our large Town Hall at an interval, and not for the public to know you were unpaid, at least till afterwards. I know you have a kind disposition, because you sang at our -workhouse once, and the inmates always talk about it now."

These that I have quoted are but a few of a large number of letters which I have received and am constantly getting by almost every post, and you would be surprised if you saw what a pile of letters like these reach mc in the course of a month.