Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1873-10-15
WILKIE COLLINS.
The First speech OF the Author OF
..Woman In WHITE In america.


The following is the brief speech
of Wilkie Collins to the Lotus Club
at the reception accorded him on
Saturday night last:
MR.. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN
Many years agc-more years than l
now quite like to reckon-l was
visiting at Sorrento, in the Bay OF
Naples, with my father, mother,
and brothers, as a boy Of -. At
that time of my life. / was an in
satiable reader OF that order OF
books for which heavy people have
invented the name Of light literature.
| Laughter In due course of time
I exhausted the modest resources OF
the library which we had brought to
Naples. and found myself faced
with the necessity of borrowing
from the resources of our fellow
travellers, summer residents of Sor-
rento like ourselves. among themwas
a certain countryman Of yours, very
tall, very lean, very silent and very
| melancholy. In what circumstances
the melancholy of this gentleman
took its rise l am not able to tell
you. The ladies thought it was
| a Disappointment il love. The men
| attributed it to cause infinitely
| more serious than that, mean indi-
gestion. Whether he suffered in
heart, or whether he suffered in
stomach, I took, l remember,
boys unreasonable fancy to him.
passing over dozens of other people,
apparently far more acceptable than
he was [ ventured to look up to
the tall American-it was q long
way to look up--ard said in trem-
bling voice: Can you lend me a
book to read 2" He looked down to
met was long way to looh
down and said: u have got but
two amusing books. One of them
is the Sorrows Of Werter, and the
other is the Sentimental
Journey Laughter. You are
heartily welcome to both those books
Take them home, and when You have
read them bring them back and dine
with me, and tell me what you think of
them" l took them home and read |
them, and told him what l thought Of
them much more freely than l would |
now. And last, not least, l had an ex-
cellent dinner, crowned with cake, |
which was an epoch in my youthful ex
istence, and which, l may say. lives
gratefully and greasily in my memory
to the present day. [Applause.l
Now, Mr.. President and gentlemen,
1 venture to tell you this for one reason.
1t marks my first experience OF Amer
can kindness and American hospitality. |
In many different ways, this early X
preston of your kindness and hospital !
ity has mingled in my after lie, now in
+ ngland now on the Continent, until
it has eliminated in this magnificent
reception from the Lotus Club. | am
not only gratified but touched by the
manner in which you have greeted ne,
and the cordially with which the re-
marks Of your president have been re-
ceiyed. | venture to say that l see III
this reception something more than "A
recognition OF my humble labors only.
| think | see 4 recognition OF English
literature, liberal, spontaneous, and SIN
cere. which, | think, is AN honor TO You
as well as ali honor to me. In the name
of English literature, beg gratefully to
thank you. On my own behalf l beg to
assure you that l shall not soon forget
the encouragement you have offered to
me at the outset of my career III Amer
lea. Permit me to remind you that l
am now speaking the language of sill
cere gratitude, and that is essentially a
language Of very few words. Applause.