 Lloyd and the troupe made their début at a mission in Nile Street , Hoxton , in 1880 and followed this with an appearance at the Blue Ribbon Gospel Temperance Mission later the same year . Costumed by Matilda , they toured local doss @-@ houses in East London , where they performed temperance songs , teaching people the dangers of alcohol abuse . Eager to show off his daughter 's talent , John secured her unpaid employment as a table singer at the Eagle Tavern in Hoxton , where he worked as a waiter . Among the songs she performed there was " My Soldier Laddie " . Together with her performances at the Eagle , Lloyd briefly contributed to the family income by making babies ' boots , and , later , curled feathers for hat making . She was unsuccessful at both and was sacked from the latter after being caught dancing on the tables by the foreman . She returned home that evening and declared that she wanted a permanent career on the stage . Although happy to have her performing in her spare time , her parents initially opposed the idea of her appearing on the stage full @-@ time . She recalled that when her parents " saw that they couldn 't kick their objections as high as [ she ] could kick [ her ] legs , they very sensibly came to the conclusion to let things take their course and said ' Bless you my child , do what you like ' . " 
