New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-16
TWO SONG AND DANCE MEN.
BY FREDERIC wADswORTH LoRISG.

From Old and New for October.)
We were in the cars between White rive
junction and Concord In the seat beside
me was a fat man of garrulous tendencies
who had made several attempts at CONVEX
satiOn with me, all of which had sternl,
repressed, being engaged at the time il
looking over some old newspapers contain
ing my celebrated series of articles on tn,
agricultural resources of our country, a,
applied to the question OF a protective tariff
As laid the last paper down in my lap, the
voice of my fat companion was again heard
81 am the man that can tell all about those
men, sir; | made them what they are" and
large hand pointed to the column OF
deaths, where | read
SAT White River Junction, January II,
1862, Thomas Knight. aged thirty-iive years
and four months"
Who Thomas Knight was, did not know,
nor did understand how. by any pOssibili.
ties of English grammar. he could be alluded
to DIS ''thosc men" Accordingly l looked
interrOgatively at my companion.
"YOu know who Tommy knight was,
don't You y he asked.
"Let me see," said L; '.was he one of the
Knights Of
mo" said the fat man, interrupting me
with degree of asperty that was entirely
uncalled for, and an indifference to gram
NAUTICAL rules that was simply shocking, "he
want one of the Knights Of nowhere. He
was Knight of Knight & Cottle, he was.
You must have known about them"
my dear SIR" replied, to say that
did not know about them, would be to say
that l had Travelled through the country
with my eyes shut. Why, I've seen their
names on every board fence from Portland
to Peoria"
"Well, sir" said the fat man again, g.
made them boys what they was; and, until
they give up a performing, was the one to
whom they naturally turned tor sympathy.
They was the best song and dance men in
the country; and it was to me they owed
their success. Them words was Knights,
and likewise COttle's also"
"What made them stop performing!"
asked.
"The old story, sir said the fat man, sol
EMMY.
"Oh, see :" said |. Drink"
"NO, sir, you do not see," responded the
fat man, warmly. Nor was it drink. A
steadier chap than Knight never stepped.
unless it was COttle: and both OF 'em may
be regarded as paragOns. ParagOns is what
| should call EN-, sir. if allowed my choice
of language
"Out with your story" said 1: 'for 1 see
there is one, and that you are dying to
tell it."
well. it amt much Of a story, SIR said
the fat man: land. moreover, when l tells
thing always tells it rambling; but if you'd
like to hear about EN-, sir, why, I'm ready
to accommodate"
It's good many years ago, sir since run
a show along the Mississippi river. We
didn't locate in no one spot sir, for no one
spot would pay very long; and we couldn't
stay MDre'n IA month in place without
getting all chawed up in fights. We did the
reg'lar minstrel business, with our head
quarters, for the most part, in New Orleans.
Well, one day we was to Natchez. Natchez
is apretty rough place. sir-about rs bad as
any place on the river; and one day there,
] found a little shaver, about two feet high,
hanging around the stage door.
"What do you want here 7" says L.
Il want to join your show says he.
"What do you suppose your father and
mother will say p says l.
II amt got no father nor mother to say
nothing" he answered back again, as sharp
as you please. 49,
asks him.
Another variety of what you does,' says
he; II loafs."
Well, sir, the long and the short of it was
that the little chaps manner pleased me
it was SO quick you see-and | took him
along with us. This was knight, sir; him
as afterwards went with COttle. Well, he
picked up no end of general information;
thumb want no bigger than a bean, sir,
and the way he did catch the popular melO-
dies up, sir, it really was surprising. Well,
sir. he run on errands for us. and made him
self really quite useful until, one day, when
was a sitting and meditating in the shade,
we was at Plaquemine then, which is about
as rough place as there is on the river,
sir, l says to myself, "Look here, Buster"
says to myself-Buster not being my real
name, which is Briggs, but nick
name, which l often uses in con
versing with myself-.'Look here, Bus
ter" says, ''double-clog dancing is just a
springing up, amt it J" Then 1 answers
myself, affirmative, "Of course it is" says
L. Then, Buster says. .'if you was to
pick up some other little chap like that
Knight there, and train him and Knight to
dance together, in the course of time, they
might come to do something really worth. |
calling fine art And slapped my knee:
and rose up, and said |, "I'lid it, Wen, |
] called Tom, and told him my plan, and |
Tom took to it wonderful; and directed |
him to hunt up his own mate, SO that he |
might be sure of getting some one congenial |
Congenialness is a great thing. sir, whether |
in business partnerships or matrimony So |
about week after-we was in Cairo Hi |
nOis, then, which is about the worst place |
on the river, sir-in come Tom with a little |
fellow, who was, without exception, the
dlrtlest and TaSgedlst and hungriest looking |
pill ever see. And yet, sir, that chap was
Cottle. So says to Tom, who's this q
Its my mate says Tom, very deter
mned-like.
So, seeing his heart was set on having
Cottle, had him cleaned up. and begun to
train 'em both. Well, both Tom Knight
and Charley Cottle, they took to their work
loving. They was born dancers, sir, both
OF EN-; but they never would have been
what they was without the education and
polish they got from me. had EN- training
over year before brought 'em before the
puoiici partly to improve em as much as
possible and partly because they were both
very young, and didn't wish to have them
injured ny the incensng of hattery.
>, Wen, finally, one night, brought 'em on
the stage at Vicksburg-which is as u"Iv
place as there Is on the river. strand tIeI-
achieved an unparalleled success dnny
think l shall ever forget the burst of a,,
plause, when them two little Mills sto,, %
on the stage with their little red and White
suits, and begun their clog together. The
house, it kept encOring, and encorine. till
/ was forced for to go on and beg them off
and then we took up from the stage, when
they was through, more than fifty dollars
in various denominations of coin, two
bowie-knives, and lot of faro chips sir
which was f1attering.
Well, sir, the years passed on, and the
the boys grew up. Nothing keeps as it is,
sir, but it either improves or it goes down.
1t was treat to see 'em dance, sir. They