Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1851-04-04
Barnunl and the On

gress at the West is very great already.
N. 7. Dry Goods Reporter.
Barnum the One-Eyed Horse, Mt Ne,v-Orleans.
About an hour before Barnum took his leave of our
goodly city, Monday last, mysterious placard,
in English and French, was posted up on the street
corners and public places of the First Municipality
announcing that strange animal of the horse kind,
with face ike child, and large revolving eye
in the centre of his forehead after the most approved
Cyclops fashion, was on exhibition in room at the
corner of Exchange alley and st. Louis street. The
announcement struck the eye of the enpresario into
extreme optical establishment; and, thereupon, he
determined not to leave the city till the Cyopian
wonder was made manifest, not only to his visual
but his mental ken In fulflment of this determna
ton, the great curiosity caterer started with hasty
strides towards ST. Louis street During his perigri-
nation, strange visions of Rocky Mountain ponies
clad in WOOL to suit the exigencies of climate, of Tom
Thumbs ponies, (mirac1es of smalness and of all
other ponies. that he had ever seen or heard Of
danced through the Barnum brain. After revolving
and re-revoving, resolving and re-resolving the
cluson was at length adopted that the horse with
the face of child, and with the Wild rolling eye in
the centre of his forehead, the horse of horses,
the curiosity of curiosites and the greatest of yet
discovered wonders in the animal republic. There
could be no humbug in the animal in question: for
the tiny showbill of the present proprietor de-
clared that humbug in the premises impossible;
and that not only in the Anglo-Saxon but the Fran
tongue. Another proof of the genuine pretentions
with his single eye on the verdant banks of the Mis-
sissppi There could be no mistake about his being
horse, living moving and wonderful keen-slght-
ed horse, when the two-tongued air of truth in the
show-bil and the Mssissippan birth of the wonder
were considered: and moreover" truth is stranger
than fiction" The entrance fee to the exhibition
room being twenty-five cents Barnum threw down q
half dollar piece, and passed on without waiting for
the change He was two eager to see the wonder to
think of cents for dollars and Cyclops in his
| lid re %ho noFf fl &c
presorio when Cyclops turned out to be the stuffed
hide of an exceedingly juvenile colt the skin of whose
head was distorted into horrible semblance of a
human face and the forehead disGgured with large
and glazing eye of glass, most villanously green
The enpresario was sold humbugged, excited, mad
dened and forgetting for the moment his religious
tendencies he swore good round oath, that whoev-
er humbugged him the next time, should be rewar-
ded with a measured vengeance. He had gone to
see living wonder, and found nothing but stuffed
outlines of paltry cheat. 1t was too much to be
endured by mortal patience and so the empresario
thought, when he rushed to the door and demanded
the money he had paid The door-keeper, who spoke
nothing but French could not understand the de-
mand but the ire of Barnum, who was determined
not to be cheated, brought him to his senses He
then offered him twenty-five cents but no, Barnum
must have his fifty. The Frenchman demurred-
He had right, he thought: to give back the TWEEN
ty-fve cents, which had been rendered in munif-
cence But he had to do it though-and Barnum
but to allow the of Lethe to roll their obvous
current over his visit to the CyclOps
! New Orleans Delta March y.
The soIemnity of an Oath.
One of those rather peculiar geniuses known upon
the Apalachicoa timber getters, went down to the
port of that name with very valuable raft of cedar
and other choice timber that he desired to ship for
Cowes and MARKET some other town of equal
Importance. One of the requisites to make clear
ance to make certain oath before the Collec-
tor for which purpose he appeared before that dig
nitary who made out the form of oath, which, among
other things stated" you do solemnly swear that
no part OF this timber now sought to be shipped by
you, was cut upon the public lands Of the United
States, and
Stop, stranger. What is that you say? must
take my solemn af6davy to that 2"
"And that can't ship that raft of mine if don't %
eyes"
"And does other fellers what comes down here
with RATS take that oath O.
h {: SOmetimesn
"You may go ahead, stranger-I can't lose that
timber-it has got to be shipped, any way you can
/ fix it."
"Uncle Sans land,n said he, as he walked off,
after taking the oath" how in thunder do know
where his lines l reckon that oath is nothing
but form, no how."-N. 7. Spirit Of Times.
The CRYSTAL PALACE BY MooNL1GHr-The clear
nights and the full bright moon says Leigh Hunts
Journal have enabled US to see the Crystal Palace
in new ight-that of moonlight, and certainly,
like Melrose, You must see it by moonlight if you
would see it rightly Under the blue cloudess azure
of the heavens studded with its gttering star eyes,
the traveller westward its elegant proportions
sail out into exquisite relief above the long line of
Knightbridge Barracks like delicate caprice of an
evenings FROST gracefully disclosing its chaste beau
ties to its own chaste moon. Approach nearer and
hundred moons sparkle in the tall arched transept
and the broken light of stars" smile st you thro
the web of iron network, and silver glitter, che
ward till it loses .sef in the dark distance of the
park