, 1884-08-27
sHowMEN AT Loao BRANCH.
Those Who Give Entertainments
SIngIe-Handed--Dan Rice.

Those who Give Entertainments
Single-HRnded--Dan Rice.
LLong Branch Cor. Chicago Journal
The summer residents at the fashionable
resorts are tortured n great deal. and amused
a little, by the numerous professional enter
tainers who com along and try TO give shows
single handed. Whoever can 10 that Success
fully Is IN command Of a fortune, but rare
talent Is requisite.
l met Dan Rice, the old circus clown, "a
short time ago, and he said that he was about
as bankrupt as usual. Tho times had moved
past him, ho thought, and he saw no good
reason 10 believe that he would ever catch up
again. Il have never made money 50 stead
ily, pleasantly or heavily" he remarked, "aI
when / ran my one-horse show. lguess that
vas rather before your day. I had an eU.
ceedingiy clever trick horse. and a moderate-
sized tent. The beast and l did our level best
10 make folks laugh, and we succeeded, The
admission price was only 10 cents, with 10
more for a best scat; but the expenses were
Light, and nearly all we took in was clear
profit, 1t was In Dan Rice's one-horse show
that 1 made my reputation as a clown, and
gained enough capital to lose in big circus en-
terprises. / wish to goodness I'd stuck 10 my
original line Of business
Artemps Ward, Heller the magician, An
AcfaOn t11 hALAfuf dna HtNGAul OAAtlHr hhfc
demonstrated the financial value of talent
which can individually provide an evenings
amusement for an average audience. The
fakirs who wander from one summer hotel "
another are not to blame, | suppose, for
making efforts in the same direction; but /
do think that their victims arc culpable for
not retaIiating with capital punishment.
They announce themselves, usually, as min
les and elocutlonists; but they might just as
well declare that they are n menagerie, or a.
whole hand Of minstrels, for they are as
much one of those things as another. Abso-
lutely devoid Of the POI to entertain intel
ligent people are most of them; and yet 50
eager are FOLKS to get something for nothing,
hey will all a hotel parlor to listen painfully
to a bad reader, simply because little or
nearly nothing need be dropped into the hat
that Is passed ut the close. One of the worst
OF this lind capped and climaxed his crimes
by deliberately and horribly reciting Twas
but a little faded flower" He did not even
sing 1t, bear in mind, but spoke it
There were symptoms Of mob violence, and
1 don't know what might nave been done to
the poor, little, ~weasened, dried-up performer
II a diversion Of sentiment had not been
effected. William n. Conner, the jocose
business partner Of John Mccullough, the
tragedian, at that moment appeared in a
doorway Ut uhu hllefea WIN tue AceA
His acquaintance cried Speech Speech
when I recently visited the Egyptian mu-
scum at Boolak," he said. while travelling
abroad, l saw a collection OF dried garlands
of flowers that have been found with mum
mics coeval with Amenohotep l.. They con
sisted largely Of lotos leaves, and were as
bright in color as though dried hat same
week. For a fact, they were more than
1900 years old. some had been taken from
a mummy dated 1000 years before Christ.
1 mention this to convince you how venerable
this gentleman ought to be to you, and how
much esteemed for his antiquity. Ho is but
a little faded flower II the lotoses on that
other mummy had not faded in 5000 year,,
think OF how many, many ages this one
described as actually faded-must have been
preserved by my persistent friend. / trust
that you viii reward him properly The
coin that was la~ughingly dropped into the
hat was so heavy that the crown threatened
TO give way.