The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-27

who come after him in droves Toa Grdphic
! representative, who successfully cornered
| nm, he talked very freely and with strong
| mixture of that hearty humor and drollery
that helped make 1.-THE greatest clown in
| the world" II there ever was a man who
mas had life of incident and event Dan
| Rice Is he Talk about vicissitudes,n said
Uncle Dan yesterday, Lord, child. there
never was man had Snch life as /. have
worked in glue factory, been a clown, a
| preacher, temperance lecturer, a hard
drlnker, had the JIM ia MS, been left for dead
time and again, fought man and beast, beat
EN- both, been rich and poor, up and down,
married and single, and I'm good for it all
over again Dan Rce's matrimonial
career has been marked by that variety
which Is said to be the spice Of life. His
latest header into the waters Of wedlock-
and this is his fourth venture-was taken
with the lady who stands beside him here.
She was widow for tue second time when
| Uncle Dams" huge shadow fell across her
| way. She was, moreover, "a lady richly
lowered" and uncommonly gifted with
business ability and very excellent judg
ment. She was Old enough to know her
own mind, willful enough to take her own
way, rich enough to afford to despise warn
lngs and advice, land so they We're married"
And it must be confessed that the marriage
has turned out WELL Tho convivial habits
which Dan Rice believes his temperance
| lectures fostered have lessened their grip
upon him, and with the energy of twenty
| years and the sanguineneSs of you h
CoL Rice Is ready, as he says, ito begin
all over again" The material for his Life"
tlls two large Saratoga trunks, which
Flora McF'lmsey might envy, and large
part of it consists of letters from eminent
men Like Peter Cooper, William II. Seward,
Charles Sumner and others, who all address
hum as friend He told funny little story
OF an interview with Hamilton Fish when the
| latter was Secretary of State, an entertain
ing account of meeting between a man Of
the classes and man of the masses. You
see, said Dan, Il wanted to get permission
to erect my pavilion on a plot of ground
partly owned by old man Fish. / found
that he was at his country seat up the Hud-
son, and as had to have the permission at
| once | decided to beard the lion in his den,
SO went up on Sunday. gave my card
to the pampered mental who came to the
door, and he presently returned, saying
Mr. Fish was engaged. Now that riled me-
SO said you just 60 back, and if he can't
read the name on that card, you tell him it's
Dan Rice, the circus clown, wants to see
him. The servant again came back, saying
MIR. Fish was closeted with foreign min
| ister." You go back" roared Dan Rice
IN voice that would shame the Biblical
bull of Basan, and tell him that | am an
American citizen whom his predecessor,
William II. Seward, called friend, and I'll
wait until he can see me-" This vigorous
English brought out Secretary Fish, who
with the nObiesse oblige of his race accorded
| the clever clown gracious reception. The
| regnant Mrs. Rice is a woman of large DOS
sessions in Texas, where she is at present
She is perfectly devoted to her husband.
whom she thinks the finest man in the
world, a devotion he repays with uustinted
! liberality. Physically Dan Rice is in superb
| condition, a condition which makes it i'm
possible to believe he was ever a wreck ="
His hair, which is very thick and soft, is
| SilvereI over, and the tuft of beard on his
chin is as white as was his wonderful white
horse Excelsior, but his eye is bright and
merry, his voice strong and jolly, the grip
of his hand often painfully powerful, and
his nature apparently childlike aud indis-
putably amiable. It's funny beyond words
to hear him talk of the tricks of the trade
If he has a grievance, it is against Mark
! Twain, who steals my jokes" he declares
Even to this late day circus proprietors
make Dan Rice offers for his name, his
services, or both. He has had as many
poems written i'll his honor as fascinating
! Selma Dolaro. There are two things upon
which he especially and justly prides
| himself--the fact that never in his highest
| higats of humor has he by word or gesture
offended the most fastidious taste, or caused
blush to mantle the cheek Of maid or
matron;n or has he ever IN what we will
mildly call his moods of widest hilarity
! forgot the respect due to woman
We who did not see Dan Rice as a clown
see him with his learned pig for which he
traded off a prosperous livery stable his
trained mules, his wonderful blind horse
Excelsior that danced the minuet and now
lies under superb monument; we who
never heard his jokes, which were al, new
then and as bright and spontaneous as a
ray of sunlight--we may perhaps be par
doned if we sigh and say that we have
| lived in vain.