The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1902-02-15

lhere was large mouse party, which
included the Princess Victoria, the
Earl and Countess de Gray, Lord Mar
Gus Beresford, Captain hampton, Roy
al Navy who was conspicuous at Lady
smith, the Portuguese Minister, and
many other notables. In small gal
lery in the extreme end of the ball
room we're the priecipal servants Of
the royal household. The entire par
ty were in evening dress, the conven-
tional garb of the gentlemen being in
the case Of the King relieved by the
broad blue ribbon of Carter, which he
wore across his breast.
"Then | began the regular pro-
gramme, which at the request of the
King was composed entirely of my own
compositions and those of other Amer
ican writer's. At the end Of the first
number, as | stepped down and made
my customary bow in response to the
applause, an eQuerry came forward
and told me that His Majesty desired
my march GLANDS Across the Sea-"
as an encore, to which / responded.
and then played the second number,
which was the Gel Captain" march.
Then the King sent word that he had
heard my opera during its run in Lon
don, and desired to renew his aqcuaint-
ance with its melodies, and according
ly played long selection from "El
CAPTAIN" The concert proceeded in
this manner to the end, the equerry
notifying me in each instance just
what encore was desired. ''The Stars
and Stripes Forever was received
with particular enthusiasm. At the
end Of the programme the equerry no.
titled me, that the King desired to
speak to me, and as Istepped forward,
His Majesty advanced q few PAGES to
meet me with outstretched hand and a
cordial grasp. He complimented me
highly on the excellence of my hand,
remarklng ''You don't give them
much rest, but they seem to be hearty
fellows" and spoke of the wonderfully
soft and mellow tone of the trombone
as played by Mr.. Arthur Pryor. Also
he said some nice things about my
music, and turning to the Queen, to
whom i had been presented, he said:
"He writes those wonderful marches"
At this / remarked that 1 would like
to have the honor of writing one for
His Majesty, to which he graciously
assented, remarking, "That's good
idea"
''Then the King thanked me for the
pleasure the concert had given him,
and asked me to accept the decoration
Of the Victorian Order as a souvenir of
my visit to Sandrineham, at the same
time handing me the medal in a boz
which he had taken from his aide-de-
camp. / expressed my thanks for the
honor az gracefully as possible, and
then the King remarked that, while
the concert was delightful, there
wasn't enough of it. Where upon l
offered to play all night If he so de-
sired, and then the Klngs said. SUP
pose you do give US another. Play the
King Cotton March, whereat the
Duchess Of Manchester also said, And
Mr.. Sousa, play another coon song,' to
both Of which requests / readily as
sented. The King then desired me to
close the concert by playing "The
Star Spangled Banner" once more.
"The whole occasion was an illustra-
tion Of the graciousness and tact Of
King Edward. There was an entire
absence Of stilted formality, and the
King put me very much at ease when
conversing with me. He impressed
me as very strong personality, man
assuredly born to command. He
seemed to be in the very best of health
and spirits, and his strong hand clasp
contradicted the report Of failing
strength. y AS Grand Opera House
Tuesday eAening.