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

ming fell, the arms dropped powerless, the mah
sank slowly down, his eyes wide open ana stsnng
on the hon. his face whittier than ashes. tne oiooo
nourinr along his side In scarlet torrent.
Women were fainting now in the audience
children were shrieking, men were springing for
ward the people Of the menagerie were running
to get some weapon. an ak, pistol. snytnms.
There was not one who dared to enter the cage
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 then
settled himself upon it with growi IKE tne rum.
bic of an earthquake, while bartouro sszeo up AZ
him. the color now OF corpse long dead. ana ut
terly parayzed and lnsensible Alike 70 an VI s
ror in the Iethergy Of the beasts benumDng
stroke. ;,.,a,t a
ball of nre shot through the air from one enc oI
the cage to the other. II was the leopard, wy
had sat sentinel. In moment his mate hso Io,-
lowed. One had no time to note tnen supe s
beauty, nor to wonder at their furious spring De,
fore the tiger had hurled himself after them, ana
ali three had fallen with yell on the Lion, VINO
tore his claws away, and half forgot Bartouro' 10
Whether il was love of their master. or whether
some ferest.scent, still lingering about the via
brute 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 lay there and looked at them anu
now that he was free, forgot 10 sur or ovuu ne.
The people we're shouting 70 MIN 70 save nluisot'
their voices seemed to reach him Ike mere echoes'
| His own lion came and bent over him caressingiy,
/ his long name sweeping across bartouro put ~
his touch as il some glimmer OF sense retuineu ~
l sudden fash. Bsrtouro must nave IeI. enas .lo
| animal should not lap away, however innocensiy
! AT fra. the blood that was streaming down his
| own side: aud he pushed him of and sprang 10
| his feet With that he was q man sgain-a SOBER
man, too. in one sense but announcer ssnss ;,S
sE for he BsrtourS s g an sn na 81 p ogo
OF his own creatures.
"Come outcome out I" We cried. in one voice.
"Oh, you are mad, Bsrtour0!"
he did not deign rs q 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, like blast OF WIND. AND
leave my leoBsrds to die,"
In a moment he had darted forward. the help.
less arm dangling from his shoulder. but his right
| hand Qraspinc his whip; and as the lion, turning
ct the side-glance which he caught OF his hrst as
| ssilant regardless of leopards or tigers, shook
them OF with Q mighty shudder, and collected him-
| self for q second leap upon him, bartouro ran up
with his whip and suddenly. with the precision OF
| a parksman, he had hecked its thong hrst In one
eve Of the lion, and then the other, slipping aside
az the lion rose on its spring with yell Oh pam
| and agony, and fell sprswling and rolling over,
striking against the iron sides Of the cage gather.
ing himself together again, and oroucning as sun
81 the sphinx.
Another ray of light never entered those thong.
fecked eyes-the lion was stone-blind from that
The whole scene had not occupied three min
utes. At Its close, Bartouro caught his two ieop'
ards and tossed them into the other end Oh the ~
, | closure, single-armed. drew his tiger. already
, badly MANNED away by the claws, Changed down
the iron door between, stepped out. shut the cage
, | behind him, bowed TO the audience-lust as tue
ring master and his assistants pasned IN win gun
and swords-and ran Off as if he had no more thai
!, But as il was necessary that something should
appear to testify to the terror OF the occasion,
tainted away myself and never since that tint
Z have stepped inside the pavilion of any grea
q | moral exhibition.