Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1865-02-15
sfllstella
ssiVal Ventriioguis:s.
BY CUR & ED.

Once upon time" as the I" story
teilcrs y have It, we were sailing down the
| great . father of waters, the Mississippi,
III the beautiful steamer, " Goddess OF
Liberty" bound from st. Louis to New
! Orleans We had on board the usual
number OF passengers but for some unex-
! plainable cause an unusual degree Of mo-
! no;ony prevailed s'Tis true ); the card
players were at work, with their accus-
toned energy, and little groups of passen
gers were earnestly engaged over the quiet
game OF checkers" or draughts,"
while one little circle only were absorbed
| i'll that old, but new popular game Of
" chess A large number Of passengers
were sitting III the forward saloon, gazing
listlesaly at each other, apparently Iii stu
! pert:.ctIUn.
! l!clts OF All active temperament and
I fond OF excitement, We could not suffer
emu! upon such al occasion TO get the up
per hand Of Us, So with :. view TO kicking
up some Kind OF Il rumpus, for cur own
sake and the relict Of the passengers gen
tains office, and laid the whole matter be-
tJrc the distinguished commander.
''Me have no means on board" tie
captain remarked, . or we might wake
the passengers Gp with a little hop on the
light fantastic"
- VEIL, we replied Cooking earnestly
over the list Of the passenger roii) "we
must have some excitement, for the pas
sage is really wearisone."
i az ut thu: p,s;. cyss fatl
npon name distinguished in the annals
oi ctto5eras-no less parsonage than the
celebrated wizard and ventriioquist, Sig
nor BIiiz Here was indeed reason for
crying " Eureka" and, forthwith, we
proceeded III search OF the mysterious
wizard In a few moments, the Signcr
! was found, quietly repos!ng in his state
room, and the whole difficulty eloquentiy
| Che occasion called the eloquencc) laid
before him. KiItz consented TO create a
E:tic - harmless fun" as he termed it;
! bnt the sequel proved it more funny than
h.ilnless. but without anticipating. the
wiz ,rd entered the stewards apartment
AMI providing himself with few huge
slices OF bread and obtaining some Of his
little animate assistants, ne announced
himself prepared, but remarked that We
must select a good subject, for on that
election depends the fun. We entered the
forward saloon noiselcssIy, arinin-srm,
/ and advanced toward lhe quiet, sleepy
looking passengers, who were collected
! together without aim OF object. While
: running our eyes rapidly around the sa-
loon III search Of a victim, our attention
was attracted towards a young man
dressed iii deep suit Of black, who was
deeply absorbed in book, which he was
attentivcly perusing. We "nudsed the
Signor pointed Significantly at the young
man, and received from the former an
affirmative answer, by a quiet movement
Of the head. The Signor picked up a
! stool, seated himself uncerimoniously be-
/ tween the young stranger and the end of
the table near by. This movement ar
rested the attention of the stranger, who
looked up, inquiringly.
! % Iou seem to be much interested in
your book, sir" the Signor remarked.
"Yes, SIR" he replied, ga good book
! is to me preferable TO good dinner"
! Signor. r.-"That depends upon the
! length OF time you have tasted. BY the
way, did not see you at the dinner ta-
/ b!c?''
s5trangcr.-O, sir, I preferred my
book"
Signor.-" One dollar is high for sin
glc meal; | commend your economy"
Stranger Indignantly eat rhen
hungry, whatever the price ~
Signor-'' spoke OF economy, be-
cause observed some provisions in your
haiti
Stranger Gin an offended tone.) "Pro-
visions, sir ? | carry no provisions with
me ; | always eat at the public table and
pay for it, tool
The whole attention of the passengers
was now centered upon the speakers and
considerable interest manifested by the
company i'll the peculiar subject under
discussion.
Signor Qifting up the young gents hat
from his side, ard passing it under the
eyes Of the entire group.) "I do not
wish to offend you, sir but / see here
quite a supply of provisions -
This created not little merriment a.
the expense Of the stranger, which soon
increased to laugh, as the wizard drew
forth slice after slice OF the stale bread