Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-09-19
An American Circus in Brittany.

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bigOted and picturesque. They come
to the markets clad in skins in winter
and in sackclOth in summer. They cul-
tivate the soil i'm the rudest manner
with wooden plows, and are content in
all the ways of life to live as their faith
ers lived.
We often hear of tine son standing in
the shoes of the father, and this may be
said literally of the Bretons. 1t often
happens that pair of leather shoes is
handed down from father to son. These
shoes last long time, for they are only
used on rare occasions rude wooden
shoes, or Sdbots, being commonly worn.
Not one in ten of the grown people can
read and write, and newspapers are a
luxury enjoyed only by the rich. The
people are simple-minded and credulous
but in money matters they are not too
simple to make exceedingly shrewd
bargains.
Now, in country like this, in a town
like this quaint, old-fogyish Quimperle,
just fancy an American circus making
its appearance. Here, in the public
square, a tremendous yellow-and-red
poster has been displayed for week
past, and crowds of admiring peasants,
more picturesque than tidy, have stood
before it in admiring wonder from
morning till night. Its long trains Of
mOttled horses, its hump-backed camels
and bulky elephants, have been COM
mented upon until their minutest points
are known to every peasant within ten
miles. A cOmmOtion was created one
day by cynical old one-eyed beggar
declaring that the proprietors of the
circus were emissaries of the PruSsian
government, and from that suspicion it
came to be pretty generally understood
that the man who drove the trirmphal
car in the painted cavalcade was Prince
Bismarck, although the bill announced,
in plain English, that it was the Anglo
American circus that was coming. The
people didn't quite tumble to the word
Anglo; but American was plain to such
of them as could read French, on ac-
count of its similarity to the same
word i'm that language.
As the writer was known to be an
American, he was called on many times
to give explanations of the figures on
the bill; and any ignorance regarding
them would have thrown doubt at once
on his nationality. Was that like an
American elephant? Does the Presi-
dent of the United States ride in coach
like that:-pointing to the musicians
car. How many ostriches could a good
sportsman shoot in a day in America
Do all the people in America wear
feathers like that red Indian on the bill.
All these questions. and many more,
were continually put and faithfully
answered.
At last the circus came. Bright and
early on that wonderful morning all
Quimperle was up and dressed in its
best clothes to see the grand entry of
the circus. Tramp, tramp, tramp into
the town, from all quarters, the people
came. All the sGbots clattered in one
direction toward the great square, where
busy hands were putting up the tent.
Every town iu Brittany has its distinct
i've coli, or women's head dress, and
every variety was here represented.
The men came with their huge pockets
stuffed with great buckwheat cakes.
and women brought loaves as big as the
top of pail, by way of slight refresh
ment at midday. Every man and wo-
man who had children brought them
all, from the carefully wrapped up in
fant to the gawky boys and girls who
are always tumbling over their own or
somebody else's Sdbots.
And the beggars. 1t was .'corn in
Egypt" for them. They came like bees
round n cask. There were blind beg
gaas-at least they said they were blind.
There were lame beggars, and sick beg
gars, and palsied beggars-in fact, every
kind of beggars but clean beggars.
They beset one at the doors. They
peered into windows, followed ear
riages, and stuck TO every stranger un-
til he was forced to empty his pocket of
coppers to be rid of them.
And the boys. Some of them had
saved their sous till the necessary franc
had been reached, and they were happy.
Some of them hadn't sou to their
name, and they were plunged into the
depths of misery. In an unlucky mo-
ment, remembering that some half 4
century back was boy myself, l gave
a franc to Il bright eyed little Breton to
go to the circus. In front of my win
dow is low wall, about fifteen inches |
high. 1t is about one hundred feet |
long, and is good place TO sit; nobody |
can go in or ont of the hotel without |
being seen by persons sitting on that |
wall. | gave the franc at three o'clock;
at half-past three that wall was covered |
with boys from end to end. You
without showing one off at one end or
the other. What were they there for: |
/ found out when | left the house. |
Each one had done me some service
or imagined he had-and came to ask |
for frame in consequence. It's aston
ishing what memories these boys had
upon what pretenses they dared to ask
for a franc. One had handed me a |
chair in church, another had asked to |
go rowing with me, and having volun-
teered to pull an oar for awhile, had /
just thought to ask pay for it: another
had brought me daily plate of straw
berries, for which his mother had al
ready charged me twice their market
price. Those boys were too much for
me. / fled.
At last the hour of performance came,
and such scene as / witnessed within
that tent-which, by the way, was a re-
ma-kably handsome tent. never ex-
pect to see again. On tiers of seats, one !
above the other, were rows of the broad,
velvet-banded hats, and snowy colts,
and underneath them full-fiushed /