The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1871-12-07
MAKING IT EVEN.

/ am an animal painter. l have
studied my art in nearly every men
agerie in the country. aud SO have
come in contact with strange people,
and have seen uncommon sights and
thus it was that in order to draw at
NV leisure some newly arrived crea
lures with the wildness Of the desert
and jungle still within them, l joined
travelling company for the summer,
and so beheld the thrilling scene |
here record.
The owner of the show was a good
hearted soul OF the rolling stone sort,
who never gathered as much moss as
he deserved, aud yet allowed no fun
gus of funds to interfere with social
fellowship or kindly action; and
consequently the people about him
worked with friendly will, and ex-
cept during the necessary journeying
and labor there were generally jolly
times among the employees of the
Grand Unrivaled Cosmopolitan Men
agerie. There was only one man who
never larked and sang, never joked
aud never grunbled; who, always
silent without being surty, took his
share ofthings to do, and seemed to
set himself apart from his comrades
In sheer loneliness of. spirit that
shirked no toll and yielded no conf
dence. Gradually it fell upon him,
as from his own choice, to attend the
cages, and to perform all the jobs
that the boIdest sometimes shrank
from as dangerous, though be show
ed no signs of fear, and evinced no
distaste of his exceptional employ
ment. / watched him often as be
busted himself about the beasts, and
had to admire in this common look
ing and uncuI,ivated man the uncon.
sclous GOODNESS and courage with
which he accomplished his selfap-
propriated tasks. AT length my Gu
rIosity concerning him W as sufficient
Iy excited to cause me to ask Mr..
Kingsley, the proprietor of the men
agerie, ii he knew anything more OF
his every day surface.
Mr. X ng.ley hesitated a moment
before he answered, and then slowly
said a:
i am rather sorry you question me
about Quiet Bili-that's what the
men call him you know--for no one
else has cared to guess that there
may be more connected with him
than just the business he seems to
| belong to and all of the folks in this
cararansary he and / are the only
ones that know what he was before
t e came here and if l tell you, it is
just because you see mans a man
Tor a that, and because know you Ii
keep the secret. don't suppose yru
remember. as the papers are SO .ull
of murder nova days, one was CON
united five years sgo in the little
county town of G.. Not a cold
| blooded atrocity, though, but the re
suit OF jealousy, provocat'on and
liquor, aud not altogether unjustitia
bic ther. Bill vas the chap thai
lid it, and only escaped hanging
through having a smart lawyer, and
got off i'll about the same way that
mot proven sets a man free after a
Scotch trial. But the people where
he lived would haze nothing to do
with him, and he staid among them
like an outlaw, for he had neither the
money nor chance To go away, and
could scar, el y get stroke of work
that would earn his daily bread. /
was head of a small circus then-not
such stunning concern as this on
hand now and when we put up the
cent for single day at G, this
Bill watched an opportunity to get
hold of me alone, when no one else
would notice him, and told me his
whole story, begging me to give him
something to do to keep him from
starving and suicide; and he had
such a hunted down and woe begone
look that | couldn't help p tying the
poor fellow and though I wasn't
very able TO take on another soul just
then, | gave him what change l
could spare ana babe bin slip off to
the next place and join as there, so
that the rest of my men should not
know anything about his history, and
chaff him about the past-for they
are rough lot sometims, and not
over particular about hurting feelings
either in sport or spite. And so he
has been along with me ever since. /
have had hold of several ventures
besides that and this, but make or
fail, pay or put of, Bill has stuck by
me through all. There is real grit as
well as use in him, and I have seen
it sharply tried more than once, and
have never been sorry l gave him
helping hand in his time Of need
But it often seems to me-though be
never sp-aks of it-that be always
thinks he is serving out bis time for
that old affair by taking up the hard.
est things he can do; for do believe
he has on his mind some rude idea of
personal atonement for the blood he
shed. And now you know all | have
to tell. Do you not let it speak ont
OF your eyes to him, even though
your tongue amt likely to let it slip
| have no occasion to guard my.
elf thus, for, now | knew his story,
It was plain to me from his face that
Qniet Bill had suffered and | always
held the doctrine that where a sin j.
ihot onghly repented of, men should
allow to die out of remembrance that
which the good God forgives and
so after silent fashion. he and be.
came rather friendly; talked to HIM
and made him talk some also about
the creatures in his charge, and
praised him once or twice, and saw
the dark blood sweep up to his brow
like a girls blush and after while,
when he had leisure, he would come
and sit near me while | was sketch
ing, and take curious but wordless
note of my work, and occasionally
shyly suggest to me slight points that
caused me to wonder at his close and
quick observation. Mr.. Kingsley had
always CHEEKY something to say to
aim and as | look back now | am
glad to think that Bill seemed to take
an unusual comfort, as time went on,
ont OF his distant companionship with
IL two.
The season had been extremely
bot, and August fairly blazed with
the fierce, dry heat of long drouth
1t was one Of those scorching, electric
kind Of days that make men feel list.
less. and beasts restless and wicked
To deal with, that we halted in the
-uburbs of GROWING ..ifv and snraad