New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-30
RETURN OF L. I. BARNUW.


TALK WITH THE VETERAN SNOWMAN.
WHY HE WENT TO ENGLAND AND HOW HE WAS
TREATED THERE-UNCERTAIN ABOUT TAKING HIS
SHOW oVER-wIIHIN FOUR FEET OF THE ROYAL
BOX-THE JUMBO CRAZE.
The steamer City of Rome, of the lnman Lne,wmch
arrived at her dock about o'clock last evening
brought back to America i. /. Barnum, the veteran
Snowman who left New-York two months ago 1or
o sbor, visit TO England. Mr.. Barnum was found
hr = TpIBUNE reporter at the Sturtevant House.
Iie said he had had most enjoyable time III Eng
land and that the voyage each was very pleasant.
While abroad he made his headquarters at South
mort. Lancashire, popular waterng-place, some
what after the style or brighton, dls'ant
ahout eighteen miles from Liverpool, on the lrlsh
sea. Mrs Barnum's parents 1--we III Lancashire, ana
consequently Mr. and Mrs. Barnum were III one
midst of friends. clipping from Southport
naper shown the reporter by Mr. Barnum SHOWS
that while there he was treated very much like a
nrinco his various enterprises are discussed IN an
enthusiastic way, and the. article concludes by call
inc attention to the fact that Mr.. Barnuns appre-
ciation of southport was so great that he had be-
come a large shareholder in the new railway ol the
| Southport and Cheshire lines.
"What was your principal object III going abroad
this season. Mr. Barnum ~ asked the reporter
"WelI. [ went partly to see about taking my show
over to London and partly in order to secure new
attractions James Ii. Bailey, one of my managers
and Mr.. Davis, The man who had
charge of Jumbo, went with me- Our
idea was to make arrangements for taxing our SHOW
| over to London In November and exhibiting there
until next March, when we would return TO America
IL would cost us we found about 800, 600 to take
our show over ii would require from two to three
vessels; still we had no doubt about making large
Il Nhauy we
got over to London we began to look around for
some place in which to have our exhibition. There
| are at present. We discovered, only two places IN
| London large enough-the Crystal Palace and the
| Alexandra Palace-and, of course, could not OBJ
| tain either of them, any more than could get
! buckingham Palace st. Jamess if either were
large enough. We found that if we were to ex
hbt in London, we must provide our Owl
buildings; 50 we contracted for large piece OF
ground Oh the Thames EmbankInent, which we OBJ
tanned at u reasonable price, and upon 1T we pur
posed TO erect a large corrugated iron building
suitable for our purposes, Immediately. The stua
tion is near the Royal Hotel, the Temple etc. Well
about the time we supposed that everything wat
about settled, the affair began to be written abOu
III the newspapers. and the next thing we knew ",
were threatened with injunction by the pro
\ prietors OF the Royal Hotel and the others in th
neighDOrhood, who concluded they did not want any
Barnums show IN that particular place Under uh
circumstances We lid not begin any building in tina
place and ] DO not know YET whether we shall at
telnpt If or not. We found we could obt ain prop
crty in other localities suitable for use and
may 20 elsewhere. We have not fully decide ye
whether OF not to take the show TO London. w
have estimated the cost all the way through, how
ever including the lease of the land aud the cost
the iron building But our visit was PARTICULAR.
! exhluiion next year. Bailey and DAVIS examined
everything IN the curiosity line to be found III Lon
don. Paris Berlin and Vienna and they also wen
10 Hamburg, where they bought animals wort
over 100000, many OF them
rare species Various performers and other at
traatinns ware also engaged III the various elite