The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-02-21

ming fell. the arms dropped poveress, tne maA
sank slowly down. his eyes wide open and staring
on the lion, his face whittier than ashes tne Diooo
nonrinr along his side In scarlet torrent
Women were fsinting now in the audience
children were shrieking, men we're springing ior-
ward the people Of the nenagerie were running
70 get some weapon, an AK pistol. anything.
and snatch bis prey from the dreadful thing which
wonid devour Il before our very eyes for all we
knew. and which dragged IL few steps and tneE
settled himself upon il with growi IKE me rum.
BILE of an earthquake, while bartoulo ssdss ~ az
him. the color now OF . corpse long dead. ana NJ
terly parslyzed and insensble alike 70 pam or seI
ror in the Ietherey Of the beasts benumDng
stroke. ,a,t a
hall Of Are shot through the air from one enc Oh
the care to the other. II was the leopard, WY
had sat sentinel. In Q moment his mate heo Io,-
lowed. One had no time TO note tneir supeIp
beauty. nor to wonder At their furious spnns nj
fore the tiger had hurled himself after them, ana
all three had fallen with yell on the Lion, wno
tore his claws away. and bali forgot Bartouro' 10
Whether IL WAS love OF their master, or whether
some ferest.scent. still lingering about the wild
byute had reused the never. before awakened rsge
| Of their blood no one can say; they were giving
| their lives for Bartouro--so much was CERTAIN
And Bartouro Law there and looked 81 them, anu
nov that he was free foyget to stir. or could not
| The peope were shouting TO him to save hmseil
their voices seemed to reach him Ike mere ecnoes'
| dozen miles away; he neither moved noE Iose'
| His own lion came and bent over MIN csIessnsS,
| mis- long name sweeping across Bartouro put ~
his touch, as il some giInmer OF sense returned ~
| a sudden fash, Bartouro must have felt that tne
| animal should not lap away. however innocensiy
r the blood that was s streaming aS s SSsu to
his feet With that he was . man again-a soosr
man too in one sense but IN another sense, more
mad with rage than he had been before WIN
qss for be- s sds n IN
| OF his own creatures.
"Come out out!' We cried, In one voice.
"Oh, you are mad, Bsrtour0i"
he did not deien rs look; but his voice rose
over the snsrl and roar and cry OF the struggling
beasts, and over the uprosr awakened in tbs
neighboring cages, hse blast Oh WIND Anu
| leave nv leopards to die!"
In moment he had darted forward. the help
| less arm dangling from his shoulder, put ms righ
hand erasping his Whit; and IS the lion, turnina
at the side-gance which he caught OF ms nrsI -
| ssilsnt. regardless OF peopards or tigers, shooi
them Of with mighty thudder, and collected him
| self for q second leap Upon him. Bartouro ran ~
with his whip, and suddenly. with the precision O
| q marksman, he had tlecked its thong hrst Ia ON
eve of the lion, and thin the other, slipping asd'
| as the lion rose its 9pring with yell oil pan
| and agony, and fell sprawling and rolling over
striking against the iron sides Of the cage, gather
ing himself together again, and crouching as SUI
Another ray of light never entered those thong
fecked eyes-the lion twas stone-blnd nom ina
/. day.
The whole scene hai not occupied three min
utes. AT its close, Bsttouro caught his two leop
ards and tossed them into the other end OF the 70
, | CLOSURE. snple.srmed, drew his tiger, alread
, badly mairned. away hy the claws, changed dow
the iron door between. stepped out. shut the Gag
! | behind him, bowed % the agdience-iust as tn
ripc.naster and his assistants dashed In with CUR
| and swords-and ran OF as If he had no more ina
= trod upon fly.
But a. il was necessary that something shoul
appear to testify to the terror Of the occasion,
tainted away myself 4 and never since that tim
Z have stepped inside the pavilion OF any gre
O moral exhibition.