Year: 1870

THERE was in our troupe remarkable
character by the name of Frank Lynch,
who played the tambourine and banjo. He
and the celebrated Diamond had been in
their youth among the first and greatest of
dancers. Too portly now to endure sIis-
tanned effort with his feet, he was yet an
excellent instructor; and was constantly
under his training


lie taught me- in addition to the legiti-
mate sleights of our calling, to aid him in
droll wayshe had of amusing himself at the
expense of the general public He initiated
me into the mysteries of beating the rolls
and drags on the snare-drum and then it
was our custom of a summer afternoon to
steal away to the top of the hotel, or more
generally to the roof of the hall where we
were to exhibit Placing ourselves so that
we could observe the passers-by on the
street, without being observed by them,
Lynch would strike up tune on the fife,
and | would accompany him on the drum ;
and, straightway, the whole thoroughfare,
for block or so in each direction, would
keep time to our music.


II was our delight to set our people all a
going faster or slower, at our will. Curl
Gus persons would sometimes look about
them, puzzled, to see where the music came
from; but, falling in that, they almost in
variably marched on to some brisk or mel
ancholy measure, as it CHANGED to be our
mood at the moment Any one who may
doubt this statement has but to observe
the foot passengers the next time he or she
hears band of music playing on the
street.


1t would sometimes happen, however
that our notice would be attracted by the
,,f ind h, ha1
little music in his soul that we could not
bring him into step In that case we would
perform Mohammed's miracle of the noun
tain, by accommodating our fife and drum
to his particular gait, and bring the rest of
the street into the same pace.


If we saw an elderly gentleman or lady
Lynch would Immediately launch forth
into the well-known "limping tune" of the
old man in the pantomine, and, as sure as
fate, our venerable actor or actress below
would keep time The conventional air
which heralds in Columbine on the Christ
mas boards was also brought into requisi
ton, with most remarkable effect when we
caught sight of a young lady or bevy of
young ladies, promenading beneath us in
spruce toilet.


On hot day am afraid we were some
times trifle cruel in the way we hurried
up tleshy people From our point of view
on the roof, and generally behind shady
chimney, the effect was, in truth, not un-
like that of diorama. But especially was
this the case when some stout old gentle
man, whom we had precipitated along a
whole block at a very lively, perspiring
rate, through hot sun, would, as if melted
or absorbed in the white light, disappear
suddenly from our gaze, as a brisk and fiery
execution of "The girl left behind me-
would carry him steaming around a corner


In short, our martial music was an end
less amusement to us, when time hung
heavy on the hands of the more dignitied
members of our company. BY some acci-
dent, | forget what we lost our small drum,
and were afterward confined to fife and a
bass-drum. This, think, only made the
effect Of our music more ludicrous in devel-
oping the peculiarities of individual pedes-
trians. Lynch seemed, | remember, more
than ever satisfied in this exigency, for he
stoutly maintained that any two faces are
more alike than any two "gaits," and that
for his part, he always wanted the top of a
house, fife, and at least bass-drum to
read character.-Ralph ReeIer's Vagabond
AdUeRtures.