The Worthington advance., 1879-01-02

with it, and then carrying 1t round, to The
s,4S. s:gine 'o'nttymsn n Offering 4 I'5jgh' to
Siof course 7 was, always in = I condition
Of professional preparation dur1ng mn
reign as a Fire-king. One evening. aftei
as1ccessfalt performance at U Uxbridpe. !
entered q Atap.room' in = little town.
had hardly sat down before was reauest.
ed, as being nearest the fire, to rive it q
stir up II A glance round convinced me
that I was gOin,; to be made tie victim
ofA plot. + seized. tue large bali Which
formed the handle Of the poker, and Which
I saw at a. glance had been preyious
heated to redness for the benefit of the
frat unsuspecting conner. The tick was
at the time much in vogue, and neve,
failed to elicit shouts, of derisive laughter
at the expense of the victim. The noker
iwas cooling down from red hot. I stirred
the fire teisurely. AZ u I" >'::''' ~ >
Don't you find it rather hots" remark
! Cd the lumpy host, wihking at his neigh
'Not at all,"1 replied; ''aot warmer
than could have expected it near such a
jolly fire. Feel it YOURSELF,
Il placed the ball in his hand; He ut
tered some strong language, and danced
round the apartmsnt, slapping his singed
hand on his thigh, much :, to the delight
cf tine assembled yokels..
II was al. this same time, if I recollect
Alright, that I performed, q "wonderful
swallowing feat, 1t was a trick, and
the only trick I ever resorted to in the
way OF actual swallowing. There were
many in the town who would not believe
IN the genuineness of my sword-swallow-
ing feat; so announced that I would
swallow three iron rods Of nine inches
each in length, and not only swallow but
digest them. I employed a confection-
er of the town, who was a little bit of a
Snowman in his way, to make me three
rods of jujube mixture, and coat them
slightly with tinloil. At the appointed
time, before large and excited audience
[ produced the sham rods, and knocking
them together, made them ring in such a
manner that their metal could not be
disputed: The ringing was done by q
brother actor, who stood at the side-wlngs
and ratified three genuine iron rods to.
gcther: Bit by: bit swallowed the sweet
stuff, thus keeping my promise and 81.
lencing the uz believers.
| On one occasion I entered country
'tap-room and put down small pape,
parcel on the table. Looking at the fire,
remarked TO the potmAn that did no,
think it capable of cooking a steak. He
agreed with me. Then said ifhe would
bring me a red-hot poker IRON the kitch
en-, could manage for myself. The po
.ker was brought; licked the end Of il
| once or twice, and then, in disappoint.
cd manner, said that it was not nearly ho>
enough. He offered to heat it again.
! 'No," said; "you haven't fire In the
village that can heat it up to please me
Take itaway, or I'll eat it up before your
eyes"
On the following morning entered
the same public house and called for s
glass Of ale.
II cannot serve you," said the land
lady, sternly: g! am not licensed to sell
drink to the Evil One!'
l may in conclusion introduce little
feat which was no trick, and which
occasionally performed. acquired the
taste and the power through practice
while at Tcbago. I could swallow {
spoonful of Cayenne pepper as easily AZ
if it were sugar. At tavern parler il
Hitchin l was talking of my tondness
for taking capsicu n or Cayenne pepper
to any amonnt. Unfortunately l could
not prove my words, as neither of them
could be produced. Before the company
parted Tor the night the butler of gen
tleman in the neighborhood invited me
| to give performance on the following
evening IN the servants hail. I did so
| A banquet worthy of a Lord Mayor fol
lowed. I was made the lion of the party
Neither capon nor turkey was good
enough to set before me. TIL: COOK had
exerted Ill her powers in concocting 8
dish expressly for me The dainty NOR.
sci, for It was little more sine!lei and
looked temptingly l wished to share it
with the others: bat that wa< not to be
p:rmitted was hungry, as showmen
always are, and nothing |oath tc set TO-
The first mouthful Informed my palate
that the chief ingredients Of the dish
were Cayenne and hotter spices, if hottie,
there be: I ate with an appetite; no ex
pected tears came into my eyes; I made
no demand for a glass of water or beer.
left not an atom ot the cook's achieve
.ment,. and laid down my knife and tork
satisfied with myself, and at the same
time complimented the cook on her skill.
A hearty laugh rung all round; sntl she
explained that the dish was suggestion
Of the butler Chambers Journal. !,