The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24
HUNTING 4 CHANCE 10 sing.
SROC AIEA 90 TRR atN WR0
SFFhA 4 PGAeR ~ 4 CHOGR

ssaaWl,s Win IAmas ~ Sstty aVan Hne
lpaFteas HPaaatga esuHteAs fef .
thetvA TRat Was N need ~ . TeHsf
'Hy lhs way, kow 10 n that ycu asenT
singing to.hiehei' aassd tha . Win ,he
bic cleAf
Thr ystas man VIA waa toppiag N Ma
SUNDAY night tahla dTh6ts With eteme ~
msntbe eavs . sniie that wss Intended Ia
H. aafdonlc,
n, fslnalasa's has rslsaasd me- aid N,
'seleased youi'
yes, I Thought I knew mora about my
solos than ths orsaalst did, - ~
didn't Get along very well together, !
va ioohina fcs ~
'DidaJ you w Zoe soms ether oholf''
EMO. ! GOT q RAILS down 81 tho ohice this
spring and ! dsetied 70 cut u oua, You
give too much for what you get. YOU
havs 10 got up early on Sunday. You
give up your Sunday evening and you
waste an evening besides On Rehearsal
And what do you Get for II ALI Not enough
20 take q girl out to tho theatre. tel
you there's nothing In II.
'0f courHe II everything had been pleas
n at 81. lsinglass's I would have kept on
o while: but I wouldn't 20 through the wear
Of looking for another Job for double the
money. IT'S the most d~iscouraging and
humiliating game n man ever tackled.
when I came down TO New York from
Mohawk county I was quito undecided
whether I would engineer a corner in some
thing on Wall Street and become q trust
or take the town by storm with my voice.
I soon found that Of the two the Wall Street
shot was the easier.
Il had lifted up my classic tenor In every
village in Mohawk, and both party news
papers in tho county seat had predicted
a brilliant career for me on the operatio
stage. I thought I had only to open my
mouth and sing and all the churches In New
York would be after me. My first idea
was that I would call on all the organists
in New York and sing for them, and I was
wondering how I would find out who they
were when / heard accidentally that there
was q vacancy for O tenor In q church in
Brooklyn. OF course It was in Brooklyn,
just because I lived In Harlem. Anyway, I
started for it ono Friday night after q hur-
ried dinner.
Il had the address on 9 alp Of paper,
and az soon as I got across tho bridge I
showed 1t to a cop He glanced at 1t and
pushed me toward a car that was just
starting OUT Iran after the car and caught
II, and after a decent time had elapsed I
showed my slip to the conductor and asked
him to let me off when We got there. He
said he would. After a while 1 wondered
II that car bad lost its way. When I tried to
interview the conductor he told me to sit
still and he would take care OF me.
"He did. He put me of In q wilderness
Of vacant lots where ! could 500 the Statue
Of Liberty, but no church. I walked a mile
over paved land lighted streets without a house
on them and than met another policeman,
who wa 90 lonely that he was actually
grateful to me for speaking to him. He
read my clip carefully and told me It was all
q mistake, my church was ten miles away,
In the Greenpoint section, In a street with
tho same name or number or something.
Then he took me O short cut across lots;
put mo on q car that saved ten minutes
on my trip to the bridge and babe me good
night almost with tears. It was 10 o'clock
when I got there-too late for churches.
Il made another try the text Friday.
I out out dessert and coffee 80 as to make
An early start i got the right car and ]
.rrived Just In time to find the sexton
up the church; the organist had had
. toothaohe n cut the rehearsal short.
THE third Friday I tried a new tack.
I cut out dinner altogether and went
to the church from the office.
This time I was an hour too soon and far too
I realized, to do myself Justice.
determined to use up the time getting
something to eat. but n or two inquiries
showed that the nearest restaurant was at
east two miles away. Eat I must, how
sver, 20 I bought crackers and cheese and
! banana at a grocery store and ate them
a vacant lot.
"The organist was very polite, but he told
at once that there was some mistake:
1e wasn't looking for a tenor. However, as
had come 80 far, he would hear me sing. |
shudder at the recollection. I sanR with |
ny stomach. The cheese stuck in INV
throat and the banana gripped me around
he chest The other tenor stroked his
nustache and looked contented. He
,ame and shook hands with me later. The
told mt that he'd let me know II |
,e heard Of anything that might suit me, |
have never heard from him. I suppose
,e has never heard Of a vacant Job as For.
,orn at n lighthouse station.
Il did some mental arithmetic the next
lay. 1t had taken me three weeks to dis |
pose Of this church. I had asoertained that |
here were 600 churches In the 20 mile circle |
.bout New York City Hall. At three weeks
'aoh, they would take 1900 weeks, or about
hirfv- Ave veAra That uaa ratknx - -