The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1894-08-25

| Aru Ut ruteen houerS y w ee2 IL NOS u
Unusual Amount for . Good Week,
| work-An Interesting Interview with the
Leader Of = travelling Hand.
II was In a little court off the Strand
where ] caught "Brudder Johnsingn with
his three minstrel friends They were just
moving off from that particular pitch" to
another. where the police were not SO anx,
ious that they should move on"
That's the worst OF our profession ere, u
began Mr.. Johnsing, a. the end men call
him. mo sooner arc you well fixed on a
good pitch than the bobby comes and moves
yer on. OF course II we can make our col.
lection before he comes it doesn't much
matter" And here he chuckled.
Then where can you make most money"
"Oh, Mt the seaside; but that is only dur
Ing the summer. In the late autumn and
winter we make for London. There we find
quiet street off one Of the big thorough
fares. or square in Bloomsbury, or far
Their away in the suburbs pays us best.
Our day Is long one. and ! don't know
how many times we repeat our songs and
jokes The money we collect on a pitch
varies greatly. Sometimes we make as
much rs I've shillings or six shillings,
which Is not bad business for half an hours
work. But then we may 60 from pitch to
pitch for whole afternoon or night with
out getting more than few coppers from
each"
But at what do you average your week
~ takings,"
We'll. that depends. A bad, wet season
keeps the average low. But, after all, in a
first rate company like ours we generally
mann m q M las t,ye> ~, H.
. week. That means working many hours
= day without rest. When we are at the
seaside We may even beat these earnings,
but IL we do it's good business. Wealwavs
do well in bloomsbury. You see, there are
lot OF foreigners who lodge there, and they
are always coming and going. Our pro-
gramme there Of course never falls fat
What caused you to turn to this bust
uess.'
Why, because had failed at everything
else. But ! had little talent as singer
Of comic songs and played on the banjo,
and one day became so desperate at my
i'll luck that it occurred to me to go into
the streets with u blackened face and try
my hand at negro minstrelsy. Well, the
first days earnings produced Is SID You
laugh, but it was godsend to me- The
next day did even better, and my earnings
for the first week came to twenty four
shiliingA
The next week ! bought an old fancy
negro minstrel costume from a secondhand
dealer, and as a result did better and bet
ter. In month had got together one or
two pals, and we then determined to storm
Brighton. We did so and made a lot Of
money. Each Of us WAS twenty pounds in
pocket at the end Of the season. We had
bought n concertina, tambourine and bones
for the fray, and these. with my banjo,
painted the town red
Here's something which you may or
may not like to put down. Not long ago
we always made pitch opposite house
in Bayswater and performed our full pro
gramme for the benefit OF little cousurno-
tive boy, whose mother wanted to please
him. We went there every day for month
every time doing something new. The
day after the end Of the month we again
went to the house, but the blinds were
down. \ servant came out and told us that
the mother had left us a ten pound note.
She had taken her little boy to Torquay,
where he was expected to die shall never
forget the merry way in which the young
ster laughed at our jokes" And "Brudder
JohnSing" looked as sad as he could with a
coal black face
How long are you going to keep up your
street work."
"Oh, as long a. it pays We have to con
tinually find something fresh to sing, and
If you've a joke or two about you we should
be glad to use them. Sometimes we gag "a
much rs Arthur Roberts, and other Of our
jokes we discover In the comic papers.
Talking Of Arthur Roberts reminds me
that many street Ministries have gone onto
the music hall stage. One man I know
makes quite ten pounds a week in winter
IN taking turns at the halls spending the
simmer time at the seaside. where he earns
quite rs much. Some day hope to try his
kind Of business.
What kind Of songs do we sing' Oh,
AM tina. are popular. You see, we may
sing As many as we care, whether they are
copyright or not, and I know a man in the
same line a. myself who can always get
crowd around him by singing some Of Gil
bert anti Sullivan's songs from the Savoy
operas. But some Of Chevalier's Songs 90
down quite as we'll No, there are not
many troops Of Ministries who perform in
the streets, although there are n mum Der OF
single performers on the banjo who 90
around the 'publics' and take their luck In
earning n copper"
BY this time the troop had reached an
other pitch, where | left "Brudder John
sing" who was at that moment erdeavor-
ing to explain to the obtuse "Brudder
Bones" an easy conundrum Of which ev
erybody else at once saw the solution. -
London Million.