The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-12-17

behind the lights, and expectation
in front.
Tho green curtain drew up, and
Mr. Yates walked on in black
dress coat and white kid gloves,
Ike u private gentleman just Ian
ded out OF a bandboX at the
/ Queens BAH He was the boy
To talk To- the public; soft sawder,
i-digaIfied reproach.-friendly in
teicourse,-he had them all at his
fingers ends. This time it was
the easy tone Of refined converse
ton upon the intelligent creature
he was privileged to introduce to
them [ remember the discourse
as well as if it was yesterday.
1.-THE elephant" said Mr.. Yates,
sis a marvel of Nature. We are
now to have the pleasure of show
ing her to you as taking her place
in art" Then lac praised the wis
dom and beneficence of creation.
Among the small animals, such
as cats and men, there is TO be
found such thing as spite; reach
cry ditto, and love of mischief,
and even cruelty at odd times;
but here is a creature with the
power TO pull down our houses
about our ears like Samson, but
heart that will not let her hurt a
fly. Properly to appreciate her
moral character, consider what
thing power is; see how it tries
u.s. how often in history it has
turned men to demons. The ele-
plant, added he, sis the friend of
man by choice, not by necessity
or instinct; il is born as wild as a
lion or buffalo, but, the moment
an opportunity arrives, its kim
dred intelligence allies it to man,
its only superior or equal in rea-
soning power. We are about"
said Mr.. Yates, ''to present play
in which an elephant will act a
part, and yet act but herself, for
the intelligence and atfectionate
disposition she will display on
these boards as an actress are
merely her own private and do
nestle qualities Not every one
OF US actors, gentlemen, can say as
much"
Then there was a laugh, in
which Mr.. Yates joined. In short,
Mr.. Yates, who could play upon
the public ear better than some
fiddles Il name no names) }, made
his de6utaRte popular before ever
she stepped upon the scene. He
then bowed with intense gratitude
to the audience for the attention
they had honored him with, retir-
ed to the prompter's side, and, as
he reached it, the act drop flew up
and the play began. 1t common
ced on two legs; the elephant
did not come on until the second
scene of the act.
The drama was u good speci-
mon of its kind. 1t was a story
of some interest, and length, and
variety, and the writer had been
sharp enough not To make the ell
ephant too common in it. She
came on only three or four times,
ahd always ut nick of time, aud
to do good business as tbeatri-
Gals say, i. c. Tor some important
purpose in the story.
a king of Siam had lately died,
aid the elephant was seen king
her part in the funeral obseQuies.
She deposited his sceptre. etc, in
the tomb of his fathers, and was
no more in that act. The right
full heir TO this throne was a
young prince, TO whom the ele-
plant belonged. A usurper OPP
posed him, and battle took place;
the rightful heir was worsted and
taken prisoner; the usurper con-
demned him to be thrown into the
sea. In the next act, this SEN
tence was being executed: four
men were discovered passing
through wood carrying a long
box. Suddenly a terrific roar was
heard; the men put down the box
rather more carefully than they
would in real life, and fed, and
the elephant walked on to the
scene alone like any other actress.
She smelt about the box, and sud-
denly tore it open with her pro-
boscis, and there was her master,
the rightful heir, but in a sad ex-
hausted state. When the good
soul sees this, what does she do
but walk to the other side, and
tear down the bough of \ fruit tree
and hand it to the sufferer? He
sucked it, and it had the effect of
stout on him: it made a man of
him, and they marched away to
ge ther, the elephant trumpeting
to show Ler satisfaction.
In the next act the rightful
he IRIS friends were discovered be-
hind the bars of a prison at a
height from the ground. The or
der for their execution arrived
and they were down upon their
luck terribly. In marched the ell
ephant, tore out the iron bars,
squeezed herself against the wall,
half squatting in the shape of a
triangle; so that the prisoners
glided down her to the ground
slantendicular one after another.
| w uCu I1c civil HdE ut4u IaSISu
long enough to sicken both sides,
and enough widows and orphans
had been made, the Siamese began
to ask themselves, But what is it
all about? The next thing was,
they said, "What asses we have
been! Was there no other way of
deciding between two men but
bleeding the whole tribe?" Then
they reflected and said, We are
asses, that is clear; but we hear
there is one animal in the nation
that is not an ass; why, of course
then she is the one to decide our
dispute. Accordingly, a grand
assembly was held, the rival
claimants were compelled to at
tend, and the elephant was led in.
Then the high priest, or some
such article, having first implored
Heaven to speak through the
quadruped, babe her decide ac-
cording to justice. No sooner
were the words out of his mouth
than the elephant stretched out
her broboscis, seized a little
crown that glittered on the usur-
Der's head. and waving II eyraoa-