The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-01-18

WRITE: -yEpAY REPUBLIC.
- so bl,!. ~ ,:rliest memory. l fine
myself a caiid ia lrdia in 1857. the year O
the mutiny. My father was then a chaplain
in Calcutta.
At the period OF which L speak We wer,
all up I'm a hill station near DarjeeIing.
[ can recall. as in a dream, one fearful
night when we were all sitting on the fiat
roof of a bungalow. l saw fires burning al
round US; I could hear guns firing: 1 shud,
dtred al the yells of the enemy. Mount
Everest doomed far away in the distance. ]
recall my frightened ayah.
The English troops had only that morning
marched away.
Some one set off after them and brought
them back. But the rebels had already
fired the residency and the lines. The sol
dierS rescued US.
/ can distinctly remember that a few days
afrerward, we all went on board a big ship
and sailed for England.
My next memory is of our house in st.
Johns Wood. Ny nurse shut me up in a
room one day and went of and left me
alone while she did some shopping at Shoot
bred's.
l have hated the name ever since. How
frightened I was! 1t seemed as though l
spent years alone in that room.
About this time my father, who had been
appointed to st. Marks. Hamilton Terrace
where Canon Duckworth now on1ciates-
was made a Queens Chaplain.
He went ON an expedition TO Palestine for
the Morning Post. while Labouchere trav-
eled for the Daily Telegraph.
l have often heard my father describe that
expedition and laugh heartily as he told his
friends how he and Labouchere quarreied
over the source of the Jordan. one saying
it was one stream. the other arguing in IA
vor Of another. They each camped out by
their respective waters and glared at one
another from the opposite banks.
| Then my father came home, and with two
| other cIergymen started a school in st.
| Johns Wood in connection with St Marks.
| About this time Fechter. the great German
| actor, came over to London. and well do
1 r~ecollect his coming daily to study elo-
| cution with my father. l used to hear my
| father drilling him in Hamlet's solloquy.
TAUGHT TO FENCE BY
CHARLES FECHTER.
Tha, was my first contract with the
| theater and theatrical people. and my
| first romantic ideas of the stage were
formed by Fechter, who, with old Bertrand,
taught me first to fence.
~ likNAV ioNSh
Grammar School at Lancaster. 1 was orig
inally intended for the army. but some
how or other I drifted on board the train
ingship conway. All my old Conway
friends are now men high in
some of them being in the Royal Navy.
From the Conway l went straight to sea.
For four years / stuck hard at it, but a
terrific voyage around the Horn rather
drlled my ardor for the life, and so 1 yield
ed to the wishes Of my friends and re-
solved to try life on shore for a spell. !
obtained, through my fathers interest. a
berth in Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell & Cos,
Office.
I never realized who 60" was until one
day a rather overdressed. clerklike fell
low who used to get himself up in a volun-
teer uniform every day at four, told me to
90 and get him some paper. I replied.
go and get 1t yourself. and then I threw
an enormous postal directory at his head.
He at once gave chase. I kicked him out
and then left the Office forever. This was
Co" himself.
The office would have taken me back.
but 1 had had enough Of life on shore, and
determined to go to sea again. So 1 was
ordered Off to join the celebrated sca-clip-
per Rodney for China 1 wouldn't go at
~ Sioi SNANS- AAStS VNa
pay! However. 1 got another ship. and
put in five more years at sea.
At the end of that time a connection Of
my father's-Field Marshal Nugent OF
Austria-got me a commission in the Irish
cavalry regiment in Austria.
Unfortunately, Lord Cross, who was then
Home Secretary. pointed out to my father |
a certain clause that no one was allowed |
Ito fight against ourselves or our allies, ;" ,
30 that little dodge was nipped in the bud. !
Then l set OF TO the colonies with a let
ter of introduction to Gavan Duffy, who |
offered me a post as census collector.
ADVENTURES IN !
AUSTRALIAN GOLD FIELD.
That didn't come to much. for at that
time In Melbourne there was being exhib-
tied a big show which represented the
Franco-Prussian War. 1t was a sort of pam
orama. and Doctor W. H. Russell. the IA
NOUS war correspondent. has written a lee
ture for it.
George Coppin came to me and asked me
IL l would give the lecture, which / gladly
to do.
The show took place in the local Madame
Tussaud's. 1 did this for seven weeks.
Then l applied for a post at the Melbourne
but without success.
After that came a great gold rush. and
l went up country. Here 1 had great luck.
and made quite a little fortune. But it did
not last long, and again / was on my BEAM
ends, doing everything that men do" do
in Australia when the luck has turned
them-sometimes working as a min
sometimes on a station. often a sun
downer. begging my way from station to
bushing, looking after sheep. a
newer of wood and a drawer of water.
One day luck came. / painted a big white
lion for a public-house sign and got $50
for IT.; then ensued an epidemic of white
lions, and for a while 1 lived on the fat of
the land.
Alas! fever came, everyone died, and my
chum and 1 started a burial ground. where
we not only buried the dead. but read the
service over them, too. A food came then.
and he and l bniit a special boat which is
still running. ,
After this I went south to civilizations.