CHAPTER V

CLIMBING TO FAME AND FORTUNE

I give an impromptu show at the Palace Theatre--“Chuck him out!” --I seek out Mr. Wieland again--At the Crystal Palace-- I adopt my present make-up--“The Human Hairpin”--Charlie Coborn and “Two Lovely Black Eyes”--I do a trial turn at the Bedford Music-hall--Billed as a star turn at the Alhambra and Palace Theatres--And at the “Flea Pit,” Hoxton--My reception there--I work the Alhambra, Palace, Middlesex, Metropolitan, and Cambridge together--A record for those days--A Press “spoof”--Continental engagements--Paris, Milan--An overdose of Chianti--And its results--The night life of Milan-- A blood-curdling adventure--Murder most foul--Callous passers-by 54