The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-18

"bl0omirr '~dnd bloody" A-goo6 man
or thing is "a rum IN" A shilling is a
bob, a sovereign is "quid. a donkey
is ''mOke," cab horse is cats meat"
to drink liquor is to take a wet a glass
OF ale is "tankard o. bitter" every one
accosted is ''guv-er-nOr," and a woman
domain or a Cow" This sort Of
thing may possess certain sociological
and literary interest when confined to
the characterize class from which it ema-
mates; but every one of these pretentious
cockneys, whether met in London or on
their rutfianly travels about the world,
should be set down for precisely what
they are. They are no more representa-
tive Englishmen than New York dude
carrying the manner, epithets and cloth
ing of Bowery boy about the world,
would be typical American. They are
simply cads; disgrace to intelligent
English people and an insulting human
parody upon the ignorant though sturdy
and genuine COStermongers they sadly
mimic, possessing more than all their
vices and totally lacking the least of their
humble virtues.
The longer one studies these
curiously lowly folk of London, the
greater is the wonder that they
have not proved a more fruitful subject
for the novelist, or at least for such mas
tiers of character painting as Thackeray,
Reade and Dickens. They have always
been utilized as the butt of quips and
guirks by the penny-a-liner, the wits of
Punch, the newspaper photographers, and,
in low sort of way, to raise the lOudest
outlaws at the myriad music halls of
London. But not until quite recently has
their characterE been seriously studied by
and traits appealing to universal human
recognition, been portrayed by man of
subtle perception and ardent sympathies
That man is Albert Chevalier. OF
French, Welsh and Irish extraction, he
was destined by his parents for the priest
hood. But instead he became a success
full actor of the legitimate comedy under
the BancrOfts, the Kendals and
later at the Court theater under
self a popular leading comedian withoutan
engagement. Offers came to him for en-
gagements in burlesque as second come
dian. This was going backward; some
thing London actor cannot afford to do.
Some of his work in comedy had brought
him among the coStermOngerS for charac
ter study; and he remembered that
any song he had sung in his vari-
Gus characters bearing on these droll
folk, had been received with peculiar
favor. He suddenly resolved to turn music
hall singer, a resolution which carried
out in London ordinarily means complete
social Ostracism. But from the time this
determination was reached, Chevalier
must be considered in the light of poet,
composer and singer. He continued his
COster studies with a positive genius, a
splendid education and a successful
actors alert perception of what is neces-
sary, as with the painter, to not only
reveal by true realism, but to
reveal in the subtle power of
suggestion, behind them and the re-
suit was that since his first singing of
THE Coster's Serenade" at the London
Pavilion in February, 1891, he has held
the extraordinary position of being the
only performer upon any stage, so unique
in his line of rendition and so masterful
in his artistic skill as to prevent the
slightest attempt at rivalry.
He is but 30 years of age, yet his income
from his nightly performances at four
leading London music halls and from
royalties on his songs is from 5000 to 81 600
per week-nearly equaling the salary of
the President of the United States; and
all this from merely discovering the coster-
mongers of London and revealing them to
the people of London 1t has been done
in a way to reach their hearts as well as
their sense of humor lastingly, as is shown
in the fact that his present engagements
are permanent for period of five years
He is a quiet studious fellow, and while
his Incompatible success has opened
to him the doors of the
great and noble houses in Lon
don, where his genuine scholarship and
refinement would render him a social &C
QUESTION without the glamour of success,
he leads a modest life in his own pretty
home alongside the Thames, almost under
the shadow of Windsor castle, where his
books, his punt and fishing rod are his
chief companions.
This much reg arding the mans person
atty. To con vey to others who are unac
quainted with cOstermongers themselves
the peculiar conditions of London life and
society which make it possible for man
to derive princely income from creating
and interpreting-for CheValier is more
than a mere singer upon the stage-two
or three coster songs each year, is a diff
cult task London is almost a great world
in itself. Its costers, distinctive in char
aCter, vocation, speech, traits, habits and
customs, had previously remained an al
most unknown people to what may be re-
garded as intellectual London. If Charles
Dickens were living and had written
great work Of fiction in which cOster life
and love had been delineated so power
fully that all London stood amazed at its
own ignorance of its own lowly, the coster
man and woman could not have been more
firmly set upon the pedestals of senti-
ment than has Chevalier placed them,
through his strong flashlights and bold,
broad strokes of delineation in character
representation and song. He has brought
to almost universal attention the mirth-
full and serious sides of coster character.
He has shown that there are cOster
comedy and tragedy like that possible to
your life and mine. In one after another
of the marvellous song representations
like 'The Coster's Serenade," "The
Coster's Courtship,n 1.-The Future Mrs.
'Awkins," .'Wot Cher, " "The Nasty Way
'F SEE It." and ''Our Little Nipper," he
has brought the very heart throbbings 0
this uucouth class, often through pa
thetic tenderness, so close to those of his
hearers, that the great London public,
from prentice boy to prince, have awak-
cned 10 the fact that costers are actu-
ally human creatures, possessing at least
some of the common attributes of human
kind.
Chevalier found that the cOsters really
made love to each other; that there were
rude homeos and Juliets among them and
such hints as these are given of the gentle
passion between pearl-buttoned Jackeys
and their "donahs'-
You amt forgotten yet that night in May
Down at the Welsh Arp, witch is Endon way?
You fancied wrinkles an pot o tea;
-Four alf, - I murmured, b" g good enough for
me;
Give me q word of 'ope that may win
You prods me gently with the Wrinkle PIN;
We was as 'appy as could be that day,