Telegram-herald., 1891-05-10

snd in . childish treble inquired. ''h
thas al, captasnr / sid yes. and be
went away rather reluctantly. / thooght
That Is ths reason why ! went home
feeling rather dspDssed. fog although
regarded the lecture a. = haaueizl and
moral success according TO Horace Gree
leys stzndard-viz., that more people
staid In than went away during the
show-yet when this boy called me cap
tain, here IN land where you can get
suoagh majors for ness in twenty
minutes. | concluded that possibly had
uissed il In Mississippi. All railway
conductors IA the south are captains.
Captain Taylor, Of the Santa Re, said
that thsy used 10 do . very poor busi-
ness between Galveston and Houston
Once, he said, he played to fifteen cents
. round trip. think he used this term
n order to make himself clear.
Speaking of the show business reminds
me Of pleasant afternoon and evenin.
with Mr.. Griswold, tho old Fat Con-
tributor," only few days before his
sudden death He was q most gentle
and genial man to meet, and when use
the oversorked word genial" do 50
because it did really fit him. He told
me about his experience as lecturer in
. little place. think. in Pennsylvania.
This town had made a laudable reputa-
ton for itself twenty-five or thirty years
ago because 10 could and did break up
everything in the line Of . show that
had come there for years. What a gio-
rious ambition! Just a. some Of the
tough schools Of the woolly wilderness
used 10 clean out the teachers who tried
70 educate them. remember one case
where q consunptive boy teacher was
virtually murdered by big boys in such
q school. His successor only remained
one day. but no conquered the school.
He entered at 0 o'clock with = Bible, q
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 q big revolver
out Of his valise, and with that in one
hand and a big beech whip in the other
he went at that school, and with won
derful generosity and iberahty, and a
commendabls equity, he whipped every
boy in that school so that people passing
by thought there was . carpet renovat-
ing establishment inside. He did il 80
well that two of those boys are now said
to be in the ministry, and two Of them
doing time in congress for . term VI
years.
Then he took his valise and left the
place. He never asked for 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
consumptive teacher who preceded him,
and who gave his life TO this tough and
heartless school.
Well, "the Fat Contributor" was ad-
vertised to "argy" at the hall on a GER
tain evening in the town speak Of, and
- he did not know anything about the
plsce OF 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 IS well - be
could. knowing that if they did not fike
his methods they had the divine right to
remain away.
Well, after the owner Of the hall had
received his fee, and had filed it carefully
away in the dried pancreas Of "beef
critter"-which 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 tho town had q
reputation to sustain.
''Oh, yes" he said, "the last thing
was what's called the blind vocalists.
Come back here ard I'll show you where
they had to jump out. Struck down
there, about thirty feet, on that lumber
pile. bet you 1t was rich. One Of EN-
was def, and she lost her bearings and
thumped her head agin that blacksmith
shop over there. Oh, they lit out like u
scared covey Of quails. you bet. One Of