Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-04-22
AN ILL WIND.
And the Fortune It Blew to For
rest Marsh.

| podrome and Oriental Caravan started
out very much handicapped in the
| spring. There was a legacy OF debt
| hanging over it from the previous dis
astrous season, and it had been prophe-
sled that it would never move from its
winter quarters; but it did, contrary to
general prediction.
Bernhard was manager of rare abil-
| ity, but circumstances had conspired to
make his past season losing one. The
| incoming of the gigantic railroad shows
had eaten up the territory and drawn
the patronage of the crossroads by their
system of excursions to the centers.
He had hesitated to take to the rail
| himself when he was able to do SO, and
| had listened to the advice of his prin-
cipal adviser, an agent of advanced
years, who had spent lifetime in the
routing of wagon shows. The veteran
of the road could not cave to the newer
method of transportation, and had
hearty contempt for all shows moved
| by rail.
So it was that Bernhard adhered to old
methods until he had reduced his bank
account to an alarming condition, and
was barely able to pay off his company
and agents and winter his show. The
manager was now brought to position
where he must leave the turnpike and
| travel by train.
The sale of his surplus stock of horses
and extra wagons helped him out, and
printer, whom he had patronized for
many years, gave him limited margin
of credit. The reader is here put in
possession of all the facts of the un-
| favorable circumstances under which
Denhard's tent show started out in the
spring of 1876.
Forrest Marsh, the press agent, was
| one of the advance men who remained
in Denhard's employ, not SO much from
choice as from necessity. No offers for
his services had reached him from other
managers, and, being broke. and, more
than that, in debt, he made the best
of things as they were, and remained
under the old banner.
The writer of puffs and hurler of adj
jectives had had experience enough TO
feel shaky about the future of the
show, still he did not worry much about
his foreseen impending fate; he was too
much of Bohemian for that. If he
had a place to sleep and full stomach
he allowed the morrow to take care of
itself, and gave no heed to the future.
From the start things did not go well
with Bernhard. The people of the town
felt little interest in the show from the
fact of its wintering there, and the less
because they knew to the smallest boy
in town that the manager was in finan-
cial straits. The spring was late one,
and the snow clung to the ground with
no warming sun to melt it, and when
the thaw did come the breakup of win
ter was brought on by long and heavy
rains.
The receipts at the opening were next
to nothing, and Bernhard looked glum
1t would be tedious to detail the move
ments of the show for the first month,
but it moved, but salaries and remit
tances to the printer were omitted.
The manager did manage to keep his
advance corps moving and hold his com
pany together.
When the weather improved other
causes served to interfere with prosper
ity. The people had seen the great big
shows and no longer cared to patronize
the more modest outfit; then the route
agent had diversified the caliber of his
show and placed it in several of the
larger western cities which should have
been avoided.
Bernhard saw these errors of judg-
ment when the bills came in and the
local expenses wiped out the receipts.
If show has anything unusual happen
e. In ~ zssf., ss,
show in distress.
The mishaps were so numerous that
it was a frequent remark that there
must be a Jonah in the organization,
but who the ill-starred individual was
was never satisfactorily arrived at
In justice to the advance of the show
it must be said that they worked as
hard as men ever worked to create sue
cess. At times they grew faint-heartet
and seemed to realize that the show wa,
doomed, but professional pride would
come to the rescue and the elder of the
agents would recall seasons of the pass
in which they had under like circum
stances pulled through and won the
banner of victory in the very teeth OF
defeat.
Bad news travels fast, and even as
the men we're billing towns they heard
that the show was not doing well, and
it seemed as though it must suffer col
lapse at no distant day. Still it moved
because Bernhard was n master at his
trade, and all he had in the world was
invested in his show.
For nearly three months the manager
stood the strain with bold front, but
the anxiety was telling on him, and
when he received visit from the prin-
ter, who was importunate for funds, he
felt that the end had come. And it was
near.
The arrival Of the printer caused dis
may in the dressing-room, and the mu-
sicians discussed the situation in more
languages than ever heard before since
Babel.
Bernhard talked long and eloque ntly
to the printer, but he was importunate,
and said:
Bernhard, you have my sympathy,
but self-preservation forces me to pro-
tect myself. / cannot ruin myself to
save you"
Then came To an end Denhari's