The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1898-04-08
The Magic Lantern show.


How dear to my heart are the scenes OF my
childhood,
AS fond recollections presents them 10 View"
But nose is as dear as tho OLD.
fashioned magic lantern show that
used to travel around the country
and give exhibitions at the school
houses. You needn't deny 1t, dear
reader, you've been there and, fur
thermore, you erjoyed 1t.
Some men wish they we're boys
again. / do not. AS old as am,
wouldn't be "a day younger II /
could. l don't want to be o boy
agein, not for a minute. What fun
can a boy have, always waiting
when there's company and being
obliged to wash his feet every even
ing in summer, whether they need
IL or not, and nursing stone-b bruises
and his big toe done,up in a quarter
section of old rag and the thousand
and one errands boy has to do
and never gets any credit for2
Men who played sissy boy all
their young days, and who played
with doll babies and kept their
little feeties In a pair OF dainty,
copper-toed boots with red tops all
summer, and who lay a-bed till
breakfast was over, and never had
to serve as cbambermaid to a lot of
hungry and vastly overestimated
spring calves that had to be taught
to get milk down their throats in
stead of up the boys sleeve. all
such boys write poetry, that never
gets into print, about how they
would like to be boys again. Why,
Mess them, they never were boys.
AT school, they always "told the
teacher" and at Sunday school they
knew their lessons and could COM
mt any number of golden texts
and things to memory, while the
real boys dug fishworms to 60 fish.
ing and never got drowned when
they went.
1t Is all right to wish to be a boy,
but is dead wrong in the actuality.
But there is one memory of boy
mood that perhaps every country
ooy cherishes fondly, and that is
he magic lantern show, which
came around as regularly as the
meas'es and whooping cough and
everybody caught it, too.
And the pictures they exhibited
to ii vastly Interested and motely
crowd Of open-mouthed, freckle-
faced youngsters! The director of
he school and all his family were
admitted eg.ONcio. l wasn't aware
then that he got ia that way, but I
nave since found it out. He didn't
know t., either. One thing clear.
ly remember, himself and family
were the envy Of the community
IN such occasions, and usually the
Snowman would stay all night at
the directors house, and to think
hat the director actually y conversed
with the man who ran magic
lantern show never got over SEEM
ing very daring thing to do.
The pictures that were thrown
on the screen for the delectation of
his constituents, who had paid
their admission in the coin of the
realm, and also the director, who
had comps were artistic IN the ex-
treme and not to be forgotten. If
q stranger should meet them In the
dark, he would he thrown into de-
iirium tremens on sight. The pie
lures of animals 10 ked as il they
mad ali been made with a square
and foot adj, the animals did, for
the corners and angles and Jumps
an bumps could never have grown.
We DO not feel competent to criti-
cize the Bible acc )unt of the deluge,
but when il says that old Mr.. Noah
had d psir Of each species of animal,
1t must be remembered that Noah
overlooked the magic lantern
! show.
No magic lantern outfit was
complete without several impossi-
BILE sketches of scenery, the like of
which the Lord in all his infinite
never felt able to undertake. The
scene was invariably a very life
like one, containing a sunset in
which the sun looked like a Dutch
cheese in fly time, except when the
program was Varied by Il moonlight
scene, where the moon seemed to
have had big chunk bitten out of
1t. AID the rapility with which
THESE planets changed bases would
have been the making of o base
ball player.
The machinery would hitch oc-
caslonally, but only temporarily
hniil the manager could adjust
some wheels that wouldn't go
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