Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-09-23

n
I;Ssad them all round as they lay In
their beds. sleeping with their mouths
open like hungry young chainnenes III
a nest, dreaming of worms. -,
Our family, sir, was good oen hhe
one of those long tales IN the perioui,
Gals: rather spun out, like. got tlre9
of it about the sixth NUMBER ana
Thought it might Just as well WIND up
there: but it didn't. 1T was SUN 10
he continued" and somehow, when the
new characters were introduced, got
70 like them, and so the interest was
sustained to the end.
Rat the problem now was, what to do
with them all? What to put them to
dos MY own career in the theatrical
profession had not been so brilliant that
/ should wish to put them to that. No
sir. l wouldn't wish dog of mine to be
a pantaloon, and the CLOWNS position is
a prize in that lottery that you must
have luck to draw. / know by expert
ence that talent won't do it without
luck. So said to myself, 81 won't let
any of them go nigh the theater; but
hi give them bit of schooling, and
do my best to fit them for business or
something of that sort.
Sam being the boy-he was about
twelve then-I took him in hand first.
/ had paid sixpence week for him at
day school in the neigborhood. but
he had not made the progress L could
have wished. He could read and write
little, and that was all. But nothing
had been done to bring out his. genius
like; so 1 tackled him myself.
'sWhat's this boy cut out for?' L said
to myself; and being a bit of a phrenolo-
gist. / took opportunities while the boy
was eating-which was the only time ne
was ever still-to study his intellectual
DEVELOPMENT. But it would have puz-
lied Mr.. What s-his-n anne himself, sir, to
make out Sans intellectual develop
nent.
He was such boy for tumbiing about
and humping himself all over the head,
that Won could not tell which was the
accidental. / think it was causalIty,
sir, that Sam was strongest IN. Well,
sir. tried him with arithmetic, with
an ultimate view to mensuratlon and
surveying, which have heard they got
a guinea day at; but he stuck fast at
the beginning of the multiplication Ia
bic. Five times licked Lin. Give him
three times FIVE, and III few minutes
when he had counted up on his fingers,
he could answer you quite correct; but
ask him five times three, and he was ali
abroad. soon discovered that figures
wasn't his line.
Then 1 tried him with geography, in
case he shonld have genius for nayi-
CATION, and discovering places like Co
4. II hrArr rrh
an old map of Europe in a rag and
bottle shop, and hung it up for Sans
benefit in the parlor; but though only
paid ninepence for it-on account OF
Spain and Portugal being mildewed-it
was a waste of money. / was In hopes
that 1 might be able to rouse Sans in
terest by the familiar example dodge:
and tried to make him know Italy by
its being shaped like boot.
But Sam couldn't see it. OF course,
in our days, sir, we wore Wellingtons,
AMI then Italy lcGs like boo, but now
with Balmorals and spring side, the
likeness amt so striking. After that
tried him with astronomy, and the use
of globes, and all sorts of things, ham,
mering away at him day after day to
no more purpose than If / had been
trying to drive nail through a brick.
Sir, / found i had made the mistake
so often made in education. L hadn't
sufficiently studied the direction of the
lads talent i found it ont at last
quite by accident You must know, sir,
there is beer shop two or three doors
from us; and one afternoon, when / was
sitting in the shop, hears a stamping
of feet to the tune of a tip whistle, and
people laughing and crying ''bravo." i
goes to the door, and what do you think
is the sight that meets your eyes? Why,
Sam dancing an Irish jig on the cellar
flap outside the beer shop, and a regu-
lar crowd round him, applauding
"COme here, my dear, and see this, -
1 says to my wife; and when she sees
Sam performing she looks at me and /
looks at her, and from that moment l
know have been making grand mis-
take about Sam, and hammering at the
wrong end of him.
So resolved to let Sans head alone,
and devote myself to the cultivation of
heels. It's astonishing what flow of
aptitude boy discovers when you tap
him in the right place. / showed Sam
all the first steps, which, as you know,
are the necessary foundation of all good
dancing, and he picked them up in no
time. L was thinking OF him for har-
lequin, when my old friend, Jenny 10:
rum, who OF that time took the chair at
the Polyhoptieon Music Hall, came
in one afternoon and saw Sam dance a
Jig.
"Jemmy," I said, 81 was thinking of
the how for n harleuuin
Harlequin be hanged" you ought
to know better, having been in the line
yourself, and knowing what it is to be
out for nine months out of the twelve,
unless you have an academy and con-
nection. You've been out of the world,
ALI, since you gave up the profess
sion"
"Since the profession gave me up,
Jenny" said
"Well it's all the same thing. What
] mean is that since your connection
with the stage terminated, you've been
out of the theatrical world, and don't
know what's going on. Why, there's
score of music halls sprung up since
then, where talent like that your boy
possesses is in constant request. It's
becoming better game than the stage,
can tell you. Four turns a night,
thirty pound week If you're tip-top,
and brnugham to drive you from one
hall to the other. Lor' bless you,
there's many walking gentleman who
a few years ago couldn't earn two pound
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