Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1877-06-28


and day after day for months he must
practice his lessons and when his
little wearied limbs refused to beal
him up longer, keen, stinging toucf
of the lash taught him that his arms
and limbs belonged to his master.
Many the falls and bruises he must
have sustained before he is skilful in
those unnatural performances. God
never designed his active, graceful
body for such purposes. At night he
had no loving mother to kiss him
goodnight and teach him a little
prayer before he went to rest on his
nice clean bed. Circus actors do not
pray. He was made to sleep, no
doubt, in any-out-of-the-way corner,
upon pisss Of stage rubbish or in the
company's wagons, when not obliged
to perform or practice. Horrid oaths
and dreadful language constantly fell
on his ear, and he was obliged to
learn early how to avoid the kicks and
blows of all the other performers
when out of humor or excited by
drinking. Do you not think your
pleasant home, and your fathers and
mothers care would be a happy ex-
change to him for such life as he is
leadiIg!'
/" Yes, indeed, dear mother. l
wish [ had poor little Gazellie here,
1 w.uld make him happy if 1
could"
lie would no doubt be very bad
associate for my boy. Such training
makes the nature very depraved and
degraded. You would no doubt find
him, off the stage, very sullen and ill
tempered, with his little heart full of
envyor hate for those about him. He
will early learn to stimulate himself
with brandy when he is wearied out
with lis practicing, and yet is obliged
to perform at night. He will soon
grow hard and unfeeling toward
other. Scarcely any class of people
thinkmore lightly of human life or
sutfeing. A company performed in
the own where l once lived, and |
Y:ss told a horse stumbled, which a
ladywas riding, throwing her off and
striking her head with great violence
on tie hard earth. She was quickly
bornt out from the sight of the ter
rifiedspectators, and the manager an
noumed that she had only tainted
she would be quite recovered in 4
short time. The people who frequent
such place are easily satified, and the
night they went out and privately
buried the dead woman in the village
without even a prayer
over her grave. A mother, who be-
longed to another company, used to
throw her little child into the arms OF
another woman, when both were stand-
inc on the backs of swiit-running
horses. But one time, for some cause,
the woman failed to catch the babe,
and the poor little one fell under the
horses hoofs and was instantly killed.
son an average, | think three
wears are considered long life for
common circus actors. H'there were
no other objections, do You think it
would be right to keep up an institu-
ton which makes such sacrifices of
life for the idle amusement Of others
Not only life is wasted, but all
that maks life lovely and beautiful
are wasted too. Though the actors
seem so smiling and pleasant before
people, / am told that there is always
the extreme of bitterness, and hatred,
and jealously among them, and that
they are in reality most wretched,un
happy. r
"a man once came to French
physician for cure for his melan-
choly and general wretchedness. lie
was afraid that insanity would be the
result unless he obtained relief.
$50 and see Carlini,' said his
physician, IF that does not dispel
your gloom your case must be des-
perate.'
"sAlas!' said the wretched man,
II am Carlini. While 1 divert all
Pairs with mirth, and make them al
most die with laughter, l myself am
diving with melancholy The end of
that mirth is weariness. If it is not
right for the actors to engage in such
business, it is not right for Others toi
90 to see them. Every spectator
helps to keep up the business. If
there were none to attend, there would
soon be none to perform
81 am sure / could never be anus
ed by the performance of the poor
horses, when thought of the tortue
they must have endured before they
could be taught these unnatural
tricks.
"God made us and them, dear
BERTHE, to serve some useful purpose
in life : and all the associations of the
circus are only those which tend to
make us idle and useless, as well as
degraded 1 hope as this is the first
time my boy was ever at such place,
il will also be the last. 1t will give
us no pleasure on our death-beds to
recall such scenes, and it will never
secure for us any real happiness in