The Iron Puddler: My Life in the Rolling Mills and What Came of It — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
The Iron Puddler: My Life in the Rolling Mills and What Came of It
John Stuart Mill · en
A hypnotist came to the opera-house and I volunteered to be hypnotized.
He couldn't hypnotize me. I felt rather bad about it. I was out of the
show. Later I learned that all of the “Perfessor's” best subjects came
with him under salary, and the local boys who made good were faking like
the professionals. The whole thing was a cheat and I had not caught on.
I was too serious-minded to think of faking. But several of the boys
took to it naturally, and among them was Babe Durgon, the bully. He
could be hypnotized and I couldn't. But several years later I had the
satisfaction of “hypnotizing” him myself, as I told about in my first
chapter.
Although I always regarded myself as a humorist, the impression I made
on my comrades was that of a serious and religious fellow. I quoted the
Bible to them so often that they nicknamed me “the Welsh Parson.” I was
the general errand boy of the town. Everybody knew me. And when there
was a job of passing hand-bills for the operahouse, or ringing bells for
auction sales, I always got the job. Every nickel that rolled loose in
the town landed in my pocket and I took it home to mother. Mother was my
idol and what she said was law. One night I heard the band playing
and started down-town. Mother told me to be sure to be in bed by nine
o'clock. I found that a minstrel show had been thrown out of its regular
route by a flood and was playing our town unexpectedly. The stage hands
knew me and passed me in. I was seeing a high-priced show for nothing.
But when it came nine o'clock, I went home. I told my mother that I had
walked out of the most gorgeous minstrel show. She asked me why and I
told her because she wanted me to be in bed by nine o'clock.
“Why, Jimmy,” she said, “I wanted you to be in bed so you wouldn't be in
bad company. It would have been all right for you to have stayed at the
minstrel show. All I want to know is that you are in good company.”
I guess mother thought I was a bit soft, but I had seen the best part of
the show, as in those days the curtain rose at seven forty-five.
Minstrel shows were the greatest delight of my youth. I learned to dance
and could sing all the songs and get off the jokes. Dupree & Benedict's
were the first minstrels I ever saw. I marched in their parade and
carried the drum. George Evans (Honey Boy) was a life-long friend. We
were born within three miles of each other in Wales and came to this
country at about the same time.
CHAPTER XI. KEEPING OPEN HOUSE