Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-04-03

| comic song, which perhaps precipltated
my decision. l asked him to tell Pro
/ fessor Beda that the audience would be
i glad to speak to him for minute OF
| two. went round
Il am glad to see you, sir, said the
professor. Pray be seated. May
You are gentleman of the pzess,
sir, l understand"
Yes. l represented The Post and was
there to do his show.
- thought, sir, l would give you a
specimen of what can do. and if you d
like it l am quite prepared to go through
the whole entertainment.
| explained that there was no occa-
sion for that, because | could write
about it quite as well without seeing it
perhaps better. If ""gentlemen of
the press" Were to confino themselves
tC what they see. the business would
soon go to the dogs.
We had some whisky and water, and
the professor began to talk less formally.
We'll, sir. they told me down south
Alexander was one of the best pitches
in the profession II doesn't look much
like ii. Seems to me about the one
horsedest place ever l was in, except
Naipaw, and that ain t even a one don
key place Not Il soul in the house but
you, sir, and this here blessed show has
cost me out of pocket ej 10. Paid in
advance too. \ couple O. pound for
the hall and the lights, a pound for the
pianncr, couple o pound for fixing up
the rope and 10 bob for money taker.
Think of that. sir! Ain it hard? Amt
it cruel? Ten bob for money taher!
That did seem hard indeed, but l ex-
planned that thought that shows usual
Iy took especial care to have money
taker of their own for obvious reasons.
SO they do, sir, and so do l. My wife
takes the money always always has
done ever since l took to the business
but my luck dead out. She 5 up at Brit
ten 's-you know. sir, the hotel-in bed
with smashed foot. Some clumsy fool
on the Star of the South as we were
coming here from the south lets Il great
packing case right on her foot and
smashes her The doctor says she II be
a fortnight or better. Ten bob for
money taker! If it ain t the cruelest
thing as ever | hear! And then the
rain! Did anybody ever see it rain like
it? It's been a-coming down, down,
down like this for three blessed days.
Not a soul in the house. Ten bob for
money taker! Help yourself, sir.
l suggested that he might have better
luck the next night and Corroborated
the opinion he had heard down south
that Alexander was an excellent place
as a rule TOR performances of all kinds.
No. sir. The luck's out, and I'm
about broke that what | am, and |
ain t got the money. There's the hall,
they will have it in advance; there's the
pianner, they wants that in advance,
and there's the advertisements not a
line they II give me till I've paid for to-
day 5 ads, nor Il line, not The Post, nor
The Independent. nor none of EN-. 'Ad-
vance New Zealand. That's their mot
to. is it: Pay i'll advance it ought to be.
Ten bob for Il money taker.
Then brilliant idea occurred to me.
The professor was stone broke. So
was |. | knew what the professor did
not apparently that these black nOl -
casters at Alexander never lasted more
than three days. In all probability the
next day would be bright and lovely,
cold and sunshiry. If so, the sloppy
roads would in a few hours be hard,
firm and dry, for the so is limestone.
l krew how prone the Peep e of all con-
dijirmS were 10 shows. The money for
tie hall and the "pia ner'' could Dor
row rom Clifford. The ads | could
with little persuasion, not I'M
nixed with cheek, and as to the money
tAkcr I'd he my own, so that 10
bob" and the modification attaching
thereto would be saved. Happy Thought!
IA risk it
Professor Beda. said l, " otherwise
Harry Becker he gave start-''yes,
I've grown beard since and
altered a good deal no doubt. Now.
professor, Ill tell You what III do. II
pay for the hall and the 'pianner, and
the ads tomorrow. You do your enter
tainment. Ill take the money, and aft
er go we'll share the receipts"
Il should never have known you, sir,
with that beard. The old Forest ran
gers. Do you remember Captain Ross
being shot alongside me and you, SIT,
at Waiapu? How he did bleed! l should
never have known you, sir. Well, sir,
Ill tell Won what it is, it amt no risk
to me. and I'll do it. l cant be no
worse off than | am. How | m to leave
the town and pay the hotel and doctor
and passage money on TO Tauranga,
blessed if | know. I'll do it, sir. Shake
hands on it. It's bargain. Me and
you divides after 10 pound.
We ccmentt d that arrangement with
another whisky, and away l posted to
the office Of The Post The venture
looked unpromising enough. The rain
was still sluicing down with purposetul
pertinacity. l half repented of my bar
gain. But the bond was as binding as
though it had been signed, sealed and
delivered and witnessed by all the at
torneys on the rolls So l sloshed my
way to the office of The Post knee deep
in mud and water. The odd brute"
had not turned up and was, in fact, on
one of his bursts, as certain fits of
temporary alteration are called in the
colony. l propounded the matter to
Clifford. He was more cautious than to
me appeared good. But l wOoed him
with my golden tongue, not only out of
the harmless necessary 6veI, but out of
a letter to the other papers, guarantee
ing the money for the next days ads.
How about the show said Clifford.
" Magnificent! You wait and see what
| write about it when return" And
away l went to The Independent and
The Herald. polished up the professor
ads, and as no report had been done at
either place wrote as putting para
graph as thought they would stand for
each paper and then hurried back to
The Post to concOct as flaming an ac-
count as l could contrive. and think /
may say that it was strong. l may
even venture to go further and to say
that it was about as glowing as such
notices can be made. Repeated appli-
cations to Roget's Thesaurus were neces-
sary. Clifford, who was reading my
slips as l finished them. objected once