Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-08-16
Barnum and Jumbo.

1t is doubtful II a circus ever was in this town
which exhibited so nearly what il advertised as
Barnums last Thursday afternoon and evening II
there was, 1t is not within our knowledge. In the
first place 1t largely discards the sensational meth
DDS OF advertising and in that respect at least the
managers are WISE for the people are not fools
and have been accustomed OF late to make large
discounts from the announcements made In fam
ing and turgid rhetoric. The beautiful lithOgraphs
which this company exhibits, while not entirely
truthful, are measuraby correct representations
OF what is actually exhibited under the canvas
Most circuses have menagerie annex, usually
comprising few scrawny specimens OF animals
not at all rare or curious. In this case the ami
mails were In good condition, and in several
cases were such as are rarely seen because OF
the great difficulty of keeping them alive for any
great length OF time in this northern latitude
notably the CRATES, of which there were several.
The street parade was fine one, and, while some
features OF 1t honored by antiquity there were
several which deserve special mention. Wemen-
ton only one OF many1the presence in several Of
true that animals which have been for a long
time kept in captivity are not as fierce and dam
gerous as in their native wilds, 1t Is by no means
perfectly safe to enter their dens. OF the circus
performance we have only one criticism TO make,
and that is criticism made by nine out OF ten
who visit circuses-there were too many rings
We are satisfied that the public would much pre-
fer one ring. Enough can be done in one ring by
thoroughly trained performers to satisfy and pail
the curiosity OF the average mortal. So many
thousands OF people, not only in this town but
wherever the show has exhibited, have seen the
daring and skillful acts of Barnums performers,
that any description we could give would seem
tame and commonplace beside the reality, and we
make no attempt, merely saying that this part of
the show was entirely satisfactory We have no
data from which to judge OF the number of per-
sons who visited the show but 1t can not have
been much less than twenty thousand That 80
large crowd should remain in the town without
appreciabe disorder Is largely due to the Joint
management OF the proprietors and our town au-
thorities,-indeed, the latter deserve special credit
We cannot close this long yet inadequate notice
without making special mention OF the manner in
which so large number Of persons necessary to
the conduct OF such an immense exhibition are
fed and cared for. The cuisine il a tent as large
rs those used by most circuses as their main tent
and everything In and around II was conducted
with perfect cleanliness and order On visit to
1t we were struck by the quiet and respectful de-
meanor OF every one connected with L. from the
highest salaried performer to the tentman, and
the management deserves much commendation for
their efforts TO exclude immortality In every form
The WAToHMAN staff is greatly indebted to the
press agent, MIR. d. S. Thomas for courtesies
extended. show which under any crcum-
stances would be very attractive was rendered
doubly so by his kind attention.