The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1891-05-21

IT TIA SIZES GOOD. 2
*~=Ias-<AGs.assassasasas
moral success according TO horace Gzrs
ley's standard-viz., that more peopI
staid in than went away during tn
show-yet when this boy called me cap
tain. here in land where you can ge
enough majors for mess in twenty
minutes, concluded that possibly I haG
missed it in Mississippi. All railway
conductors in the south are captains
Captain Taylor, of the Santa Fe, sale
that they used to do very poor bust
ness between Galveston and Houston
Once, he said he played to- fifteen cents
a round trip. think he Used this term
in order to make himself clear.
Speaking of the show business reminds
me of pleasant afternoon and evening
with Mr.. Griswold, the old "Fat Con
tributor," only few days before his
sudden death He was a most gentle
and genial man to meet, and when / use
the oTerworlzed word s'genial" l do so
because it did really fit him. He told
me about his experience as lecturer in
a little place, think, in Pennsylvania.
| This town had made laudable reputa-
| ton for itself twenty-five or thirty years
ago because it could and did break up
everything in the hne--of a show that
had come there for years. What a glo-
rious ambitionl Just as some of the
tough schools of the woolly wilderness
used to clean out the teachers who tried
to educate them. remember one case
where a consunptive bow teacher was
virtually murdered by big boys in such
a school His successor only remained
one day, but he conquered the school.
He entered at o'clock with Bible, a
valise and an armful of beech gads. He
opened with prayer. Then he read a
chapter and opened his valise. He took
out hammer and big nail. He drove
the large nail into the door frame over
the latch. Then he took big revolver
out of his valise, and with that in one
hand and big beech whip in the other
he went at that school, and with won
derful generosity and hberality, and
commendable equity, he whipped every
boy in that school so that people passing
by thought there was a carpet re4ovat-
ing establishment inside. He did it so
well that two of those boys are now said
to be in the ministry, and two of them
doing time in congress for a term of
years.
Then he took his valise and left the
place. He never asked fer any salary,
but those who saw him last saw him
with his little valise in his hand, crying
over the grave of his brother, the poor
consemptive teacher who preceded him,
and who gave his life to this tough and
heartless school
Well, 1.-The Fat Contributor" was ad-
vertised to "argy' at the hall on a GER
tain evening in the town | speak of, and
as he did not know anything about the
place or this record, which, am told, is
now forgotten almost, he had no fears
about it. and SO went there to honestly
please and entertain people as well as he
could, knowing that if they did not like
his methods they had the divine right to
remain away.
Well, after the owner of the hall had
received his fee, and had fled it carefully
away in the dried pancreas of s'beef
critter" was the popular purse in
that town-he told "Gris" that they had
the reputation there of breaking up
every show that came, no matter what it
was. Not because the show was poor,
mind you, but because the town had a
reputation to sustain.
"Oh, yes" he said, 1.-The last thing |
was what's called the blind voca1ists. |
Come back here and I'll show you where |
they had to jump out Struck down |
there, about thirty feet, on that lumber |
pile. | bet you it was rich. One of em |
was def, and she lost her bearings and |
her head agin that blacksmith |
shop over there. Oh, they lit out like a |
scared coYey Of quails, you bet. One of |
'em broke his wrlsJ wnen ne TeIi, cause
he tried to save his old fiddle from get |
ting busted. Said it was all he had to |
get living with. You better not fool |
with these fellers, tell you. They're |
mighty spirited boys, these is"
Well. Griswold said that he had agreed |
to lecture there, and he believed that he |
would try it. He began and showed /
good nerve. You can imagine, how
ever, the feelings of a man who is try
ing to wiring laughter from an audience
who came to mob him, and who had
not been above mobbing a helpless little
uand of blind singers. He got about
half way through when the noise was
too great for him, 'and then his wife
came forward. Her eyes blazed The
noise ceased for moment.
"You miserable loafersP' she said.
''Cowards, every one of you! dare you
to make a move toward this stage Here
IS a man who has come to please and en-
5ertain you, and you who dare not singly
touch a hair of his head unite together
to mob him You contemplate coyotesi
You haven't the courage to even rob a
corpse until it is cold
Then the lecture went on Griswold
had to knock down two or three toughs
at the door, but he said he did not mind
that. People at the door were liable to
knock down something anyhow.