The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-08-02
STRIVING TO PLEASE.
THE ADVANCE AGENT TELLS HOW HIS
FRIENDS OBSERVED THIS RULE.

Didn't Want to Disappoint His Audi
enoe-A Monument Which Proves That
Bis Efforts Were Appreciated.
IL always strive to please, remarked
the dramatic editor, as he scratched the
words "big thing" out of the advance
notice he was writing and substituted
'megatherian aggregation. "
Thanks, ann sure" said the adj.
vance agent, as he read over the ten
lines the dramatic critic was giving to
him, and carefully put back into his
pocket the half column notice he had
first drawn on the d. C,
g presume smiled the d. c., THAT
you always strive to please, too, don't
you?"
"Not always sin a somidisappointed
tone" but 1 used TO have friend who
did. He really was the most self deny
ing chap l ever saw, and what he
wouldn't do to please an audience |
wasn't worth doing"
''Where is he now?"
Dead"
"Dead?"
Eyes, it killed him. ltwas this way:
He was in the pyrotechnic branch OF
the dramatic art and used to give shows
at one of those imitation Conev Islands
to be found on nearly every sand bar in
nearly Ger river tributary to the Mis-
sissippi He had been the originator OF
the fireworks feature at this place, and
his phenomenal success had made him
so proud that he would sooner have died
than had failure. One Fourth of July
he was going to give the grandest dis
play of his life, and the feature III the
biggest letters Oh the bill was set
piece, 100 feet high, with an enormous
balloon loaded with fireworks to go up
from the top as grand finale. There
were ten times as many people there
that night as there had ever been, and
my friend was feeling so good you could
see it in his walk.
Everybody was on edge, too, for the
grand blaze Of glory the management
had been advertising for weeks, and
when, promptly at the hour OF ~
o'clock, my friend stepped forth like
peacock to set off the great display with
| his own hand there was round OF ap-
plause, followed by dead silence as
! the audience sat breathless watching for
the burst of blazing glory. But some
how it didn't burst. The professor fired
the train and retreated to safe place,
but the powder wouldn't burn. 1t fizzled
and went out instead. Once, twice,
thrice, it fizzled, sputtered and went
out. and then the crowd began to growl
and guy, as crowds always will, and
the professor began to get wild.
"Several other attempts TO SET tine
niece off were no more successful, and
at last with a smothered scream OF
crazy rage, he shot up the ladder OF the
tower to its very top, where he had
platform stored with all sorts of inf1am-
mable and explosive things arranged &c
90 off at the proper time. lie stood
there moment silhouettcd against the
skv, the crowd indulging in glbes ano
ieers. with now and then threat as &c
what he might expect if he would only
come down to the ground. Ihis was MS
time to show what he could do to please
his audience, and in a minute, and be-
fore ANYBODY had any idea what Dc
, would do next, he caught up an armfu
of the explosives about him, fastene'
them To his clothes and hung wreath
and rings over his neck and shoulders
: and. setting the whole thing afire, III
swung out into the air in the balloon
which was already Juggling at It's anchor
q "As the balloon shot up it was ter
rife sight, and the poor devils shrek
/, added to the intensity of the scene, al
= ready lurid with red and blue lights
t while the air was filled with all manne
. of bursting bombs and crashing expo
+ sives. Women tainted, men ran help
b lessly about shouting, and still the bal
, loon swept upward with its fiery freigh
= and messenger, until, when 1t ha
g reached point 1000 feet above tn
d earth. il caught fire and the Who'll
n burning mass shot like blazing bal
8 straight to the ground.
h "You will be safe in betting thos
,, neonle never saw such an exhibition @
. that before, nor will ever again III a
L Is probability, and when it was over
IS concluded the agent, 1.-THE audlen'
n seemed to realize what the profess(
lie had done to please them, and they chi
10 ned in and built him q monumei
s. where he fell, having OH it, besides h
co name and the proper dates, no other II
T. + scription except He strived to please.
- The dramatic critic was at least ma
$. n minute in recovering his speech att
in the recital of this remarkable tale an
IN before he could ask any questions I, u
st advance agent had folded his tent III
10 a circus and stolen away to the ONCE
n the next dramatic critic he had TO ca
~ upon. Washington Star.