39 $ 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE . 
entitled to.” Then he took off his cap 
and said : “Do you see a scar ? ” and he bent 
down his head so that I could look, and in- 
vited me to feel the lump on the left side. 
“ No, no 1 farther to the right,” he said, as at 
first 1 was unsuccessful. “ Ah ! now you’ve 
gone too far. There — a little more to the 
left.” When T touched what I thought was 
the lump he alluded to., he said : — 
“ Ah, that’s where I was once hit over the 
head with a chair. Can you feel it ? ” 
“ Yes,” I replied. I certainly thought T 
did. 
“ Well,” he went on , replacing his hat, “ how 
would you like that done to you ? ” And he 
stood up, looking at my 
expression of astonish- 
ment, 
“ Now,” he said, “ I ex- 
pect it’s time for lunch, 
isn’t it ? What time do 
you make it ? ” 
“ Oh, it’s about- 
began. “ Why , my watch 
has gone!” I exclaimed. 
“That’s it,” he replied; 
“ I took it while you were 
feeling the bump. That’s 
the sort of chap I am. 
Here’s your watch,” he 
said, handing it back to 
me. “ That’s only one of 
the many little tricks 1 am 
up to.” 
“ But you look so 
honest,” I cried. 
“Ah, yes,” he said, 
“ that’s it, you see ; that’s 
how I get aw r ay with it. 
But,” he went on, “ 1 will 
show you something to- 
night that you have never 
seen before. 1 haven’t 
got time nowv” 
And with this remark he hurried away. 
I didn’t see him again the whole of that 
day, and was just thinking of turning in 
when he came along the deck towards me. 
“ Oh, here you are ! ” he said, and shook 
hands with me. What an extraordinary 
thing, I thought. “ I want to give you some- 
thing,” he went on, “ just, a little reminder of 
me, and I want you to wear it.” With this 
he put a little button into my coat, a kind of 
Order of American Citizenship, with the 
American flag on it. And then lie looked at 
me as if he were going to tell me something, 
but had changed his mind. “ 1 promised to 
show you something to-night, didn’t I ? ” he 
said. “ I have shown you a good manv tricks, 
haven’t I ? ” 
“ Yes,” I replied. 
“ Well,” he said, “ have you ever seen this 
done ? ” And with that he walked straight 
ahead over the taffrail and disappeared ! 
At the time I didn’t realize what had hap- 
pened. In the morning 1 heard that the poor 
chap was missing, and I never saw him again 
—neither did whoever was waiting for him in 
New York. 
It was a strange ending I 
Previous to my next American trip I went 
on a short tour with the Kendals through the 
English provinces, playing Sir George Orreyed 
in “The Second Mrs. Tan- 
queray,” and in other plays 
by Pinero, R. C. Carton, 
Sydney Grundy, Tom 
Robertson (Mrs. Kendal’s 
brother), Georges Ohnet, 
and many others. Never 
did an actor have a better 
opportunity of speaking 
the best English. Imagine 
acting some of the best 
plays of these dramatists ! 
And Mrs. Kendal could act! 
It was in America, how- 
ever, that real serious hard 
work began, and the reper- 
toire was an extensive one, 
representing something 
like sixteen plays. It was 
owing to a very sad event 
that my promotion was 
effected. One of the mem- 
bers of the company who 
played a very prominent 
part in “ Impulse ” com- 
mitted suicide, and I was 
entrusted with his part. 
I resisted all temptation 
to follow his example. 
After this my work became more strenuous, 
but 1 remained with the Kendals for three or 
four years. I feel I cannot speak of my con- 
nection with them without saying how delight- 
ful I found them to act with. 1 have never 
known “ stars ” less selfish on the stage. Mrs. 
Kendal would frequently sacrifice some 
delightful “ business ” of her own to encourage 
some little bit of “ business ” of mine. 
Besides his talent for acting, Mr. Kendal was 
a delightful artist with his brush, and I have 
sketches of myself done by him in water- 
colours in nearly every part I played. T am 
using on page 395 one or two to illustrate 
my remarks. 
this picture or a papoose was 
GIVEN TO MR. HUNTl.KY WHEN VISIT- 
ING ONE OF THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS. 
