The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-08-22
The Love Of a Living Skeleton.
Peck's Sun.

The Love OF a Living Skeleton.
Peck's Sun.
The living skeleton followed the
giant very soon to the land where
side shows are unknown, because
there everything is given under one
canvass, at one price of admission.
The living skeleton shuffied off his
mortal coil, or what there was of his
mortal coil to shuttle of, early this
week. aud as be gave his bones to
Belbone hospital. n. Y. they were
taken there and laid out on a scant-
Ng in the morgue, where he was
visited by many students who were
very much interested. The living
skeleton is said to b v died Of dyspep-
STA, though it is believed the cause
of his death, BY those who travelled
with the show this summer, was un-
requited affection. 1t SCENT that his
place in the side show was near that
occupied by the fat woman. and the
acquaintance, or Irritation, began by
her tanning herself and holding the
fan up to her face, and smiling with
her eyes over the fan. Her friends
say this was habit she had. and that
she did not mean anything by it, but
the living skeleton was mashed before
he knew it, and one word brought on
another-you know how it is-until
he was clear gone. He used to wink
at her, and buy peanuts from the
candy butcher for her. and after the
doors of the side show were closed,
and the crowd had gone into the big
tent, they would sit on the raised plat
form and look into each others eyes
with inexpressible tenderness, and it
is said by canvassman that she
would allow. him to kiss her around
the selvage of the mouth. though he
never got very near, owing to his fear
that he would fall, of and he all broke
up. A skeleton cannot be too care
full about falling. because there is no
flesh to ward of the conclusion, and a
bone of skeleton once broken,
his occupation is gone. He has been
heard, when speaking of his fat loves
face, to say that there was good kiss
ing all around there. The course Of
true love is no more apt to run smooth
in side show than in = mansion, aud
it is not surprising that the Chinese
giant made il hot for the skeleton. The
giant was not in love with the fat girl.
but he took pleasure in annoying the
skeleton. He would take the skele-
ton by the collar. and pull an imagi.
nary string down by the pistol pocket
of the skeleton, and make the legs
wiggle. and then he would look at the
fat girl and saw, ''Look at it. 1t is
alive" Then he would laugh, the
fat girl would blush, and it seemed to
the skeleton as though he would. sink
with modification. At another time
the giant would take the two shin
homes of the skeleton between his
fingers, like a minstrel, and rattle
them, while the bearded woman would
play Oh an imaginary banjo with the
fat woman's gaiter. To add to the
unfortunate condition of the living
skeleton, the albino girl fell in love
with him, and she was jealous of the
fat girl. and when the albino would
come into the tent and see the fat girl
holding the skeleton on her lap, and
wrapping his legs in her shawl, to
keep them warm, the albino would
ask her what she was doing with that
glove stretcher in her lap. Then the
fat girl would tell the albino girl she
had better 60 to sheep shearing and
be sheare1, and then the orator who
sells tickets at the door would have to
come in and separate the albino and
the fat girl. and take the skeleton by
the coffin handle that was sewed to
the back of his coat tail and lift him
up from the ground, and file him
in a chair. Though almost helpless,
the skeleton had fiery disposition,
and would fight at the drop of the
hat, as was witnessed one day at Kala-
mazoo, when a countryman threw his
dirty straw hat down the neck of the
fat girl, as she was on exhibition with
her dress decolette at the neck. Re-
assuring the fat girl, who was ner-
vous, by telling her not to mind it, as
she could get the girafs to fish the hat
out and eat it, the skeleton bounded
toward the countryman and would
have Glove him to the ground had not
the giant reached out with his thumb
and finger and taken the excited