I thought a little, and then said:
"Would you kindly explain the question? I do not understand it in the least."
The butler said:
"Well, you must know, the laird is a strict Presbyterian, and all the guests will be strict Presbyterians, and he wants to know if your entertainment will be consistent."
"Now I understand you," I replied. "Certainly, my entertainment will be quite consistent. I am always very careful, and shall only sing Presbyterian comic songs."
He made a note of my remark in the most serious way, and left, saying:
"The laird himself will write to say if he can accept the terms."
That occurred nearly ten years ago, and the laird has not written yet.
Giving entertainments in private houses is a constant source of delight to me, and I feel both pleasure and pride in my work. I take sometimes enormous pains in writing and composing the sketches, and have often devoted several hours a day for a week or so in arranging and composing a musical illustration which will only occupy a few minutes in performance, and which may pass almost unnoticed by the majority of the audience. But when the connoisseur picks that illustration out from all the rest of the entertainment as his choice, I feel am I more than rewarded for my trouble.
All sorts of stories about me appear from time to time in the cheap weekly journals of the coloured paper or wrapper type, and I suppose they are amusing to the readers. The amuse me sometimes. I never mind chaff.