The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-02-15
Tho Duplex Ridsr..-I Cfrcusman's
StOry.

Tno duplex Kder...A Cfrcusm2n'S
Story.
"No, I'm not native of any place
In particular althoagh I've been In
America, and most other parts, for that
matter, and I'd like to get back there
great place for circuses Is America. Can
charge more admission and fill q canvas
better than any other country in the
world. Spain is the worst. If you ever
60 into the circus business keep clear of
Spain"
promised. to remember his caution,
and asked for further explanations. He
again shifted knees and went on In an
even, unaccented tone, to relate about
his accident, as he termed it.
"You see, Zawduzt's great circus
went through France and Spain year
or two since and Il, joined. Prices are
not good on the continent, and most of
rs had to double or treble in some cases.
/ was Signor Zsmora, the pad rider, at
one time, and Mons. Gaillard, the bare
back rider, at another, and again, as the
Agile American. / turned q double
somersault over as many! horses and
mules as old Zawduzt could collect. As
Signor Zamora 7 wore side-whiskers
and q regular Spanish costume, and as
mnstache and goatee, and nobody could
tell that the same. person was both
riders. As the Agile American, i ap-
peared as I do now, of course, for false
whiskers are apt to come off when
person Is throwing himself around. A
person doesn't need to double in this
way in big shows, and that's why / want
to get into single line business. One
has to work too hard, and it's too try
ing on the constitution. It's about as
bad as the living skeleton line. We put
up our tent in town In the mountains
I near the boundary between Spain and
France, and that night we had about as
many Frenchmen as Spaniards in the
canvas. Old Zawduzt himself was
ringmaster, and he could talk half q
dozen languages; so he always intro
duced the artists in both Spanish and
French" F-r.p 90 -o-sH IL
.How did the clown get along with
his old Jokes in that mix-up?"
"Oh, they didn't care for any refined
humor, they didn't. The clown did
nothing but hop around and trip and
make faces and howl. and get out with
the whip. Once didn't notice him,
and let fiy some tobacco juice. 1t hit
| him square in the eyes and nearly
Bu0QtQ 4Ato pic6oc1 inc duu1-
euce So much that they went nearly
wild over it, and Zawduzt put it down
on the programme alter that; but he
had to raise the clowns wages two shil-
| lings a week for it. 1t was very popu-
| lar. That's the sort Of wit them Span
iards like. si,ilC 80 D. 55asbau p I
"Well, that night when Signor Fam
ora came on the Spaniards applauded
| dreadfully, and, when Mons. Gaillard
showed himself after the cannon-ball
mans turn-the French they applauded
| and some of the Spaniards hissed. This
made the Frenchmen mad, as they said
they didn't hiss the Signor and wanted
q fair show for the French rider. Old
/ Zawduzt did his best TO calm the row in
two languages, but it looked as II there
was going to be free fight AT last a
tall Esglishman arose and held=up his
hand, and somehow his quiet, cool way
| did more to settle things than all Zaw-
duzt's shouting. When everything was
quiet the Englishman said-now speak
| ing in French and then saying the same
| in Spanish-thst Signor Zamora and
| Mons. Gaillard should both come on to-
gether, and that each could be cheered
or hissed as the crowd. might like; and
then he said to the ringmaster in En-
glish that in this way it would be inn
/ possible to tell what they were kissing
no row. The Englishmana seemed TO
woader why old Zawduzt would hesi-
tate, for he never guessed that Monsieur
and Signor were the same person.
But at last Zawduzt consented, and
/ there was a big shout. He came into
the dressing-room, leaving the man
with the trick dogs to amuse the crowd,
and he told me to keep on my French-
man clothes, and he quickly helped the
cannon-ball man on with the side-whis-
kers and the Spanish togs. So soon as
the dogs were done he put the cannon
ball man on the padded horse, and /
| came out-on the bareback one. There
| was big yen as we came out. / took
the outside of the ring and the cannon
/ ball man kept inside, so they wouldn't
be SO apt to notice him. Well-we all
have our specialties-you have yours
and L have mine, and a! cannon-ball
man hain't much use for pad. He
seemed afraid to straighten himself up,
and the Frenchmen began laughing and
pointing at him, and the Spaniards
roared out all sorts of talk nobody could
understand. Old Zawduzt was wild,
uStand up, )" he hissed through his SET
teeth, and the poor cannon-ball man
went to stand up and fling around his
arms in every direction, and at last
backward he went over the horse's tail
to the ground, all in heap The clown
and ring-msster helped him on again,
Old Zawdust whispering to him how to
brace his feet, and be managed to hold
mp pretty well till he went to change his
feet as had done on the other horse,
aud he wabbled about so that his horse
seemed not to know what he was trying
to get at and so it stopped. The cannon
ball man wasn't prepared for that. and
he Just went clean over the horses ears
head first, and his false whiskers caught
in the bride and of they came. The
next thing knew them Spsniards were
| pouring over into the ring and they had
/ off my whiskers and mustache before
| you could draw breath They wrecked
the tent and we all barely escaped with
our lives. So you see circus life has
its ups and downs like other profes-
| sions."
Especially in the case of the cannon
ball man." remarked.
Yes, in the case of all of u.s." re-
piled the pad-rider, solemnly.-L,lkc
Sharp's London Letter to Detroit Free
Press.