The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-03

ing on sand. and their high, natural saddles He
sees the solemn hlear eyed, dingy skinned ele-
plants enjoying their ease and clean hay. He
observes the hog creatures, the rhinoceros and
hippopotamuS. The boy has pet pig of his own
at home-its mother ''whelmed all her
young but one" and it was raised on
milk and lives, not in the sty'
but in a clean nest in the smoke house, and is
the finest, neatest pet. knows its name and all
sorts of tricks, and jumps up in the boys lap.
| The boy looks with fond eye on the animals.
| The loveable cat creatureS-the lions ana tigers
| are balls OF soft fur, and are comfortably
| gnawing bloody meat The polar bear sleeps
| on his icy floor, now and then lifting his
| shrewd phiz to glance at his old trlends-the
| children standing round his cage-and the
| black bear is coled away costly, as if in his
| forest den. The African animals, with their
| full, melting negro-eyes and dark, silky fur,
remind the boy of the wild hot deserts where
the hunters found them. He would like to be
! Snowman, travelling from Maine to Arkansas.
He observes the kind and gentle look of the
| American animals, and he looks at the monkeys
and yaks, and a million curiosities, till the
silver snarling trumpets" call him to the ring
| performance.
The boys heart beats when he sees the vast
sweep of seats filed with circus goers
in the immense, magic twilight OF
the circus tent. over them the large
white tent-roof etched with prodigious tangle
| of ropes. What delicious smell is that of the
bruised turf! Green is the sod far below the
seats. The festooned edge of the roof blows in
and out. A boy crawls under the tent wall, and
is snaked out by policeman. There has been
a shower, and, therefore, men with long poles
poke up the baggy hollows and let the rain
stream down on the outside of the tent And in
comes pageant of Bagdad or old Cairo, long
procession of dromedaries, elephants and camels,
covered with purple and gold and ridden by
swarthy and magnificent drivers, of ponies bear
ing monkeys in scarlet silk, of countless horses
and their gorgeous riders Then come the aero
bats on horseback. One young Antiheus ele
flxy fnxra iYAc
| to the crowd as he slips lightly from his horse,
| and the farm-boy thinks it must be fun to be
that youth and rush round in the air of circus
he would like to go leaplng with the
| high spring board and then jump off
into space over five elephants backs, turning
two or three somefsaults in the air. and sailing
over like swallows, with downward pointing
feet ano lighting at last on pile of carpets
A stalwart performer rides naked horse, glee
fully drinking the wind of his own speed. in
blssful physical ease and strength. A light
taper creature, "all pink and ilnpudenee, with
sunshine ON her spangled hips" climbs 10 her
trapeze in the tent roof.
Lo, she is launched, look-ae, the fairy!-how she
fees
Der all those heads thrust hael-meuth, eyes, one
No scrap Of skirt mpedes free passage through the
air.
Till, plumb the other side she lights and laughs
again"
Then whirling steed plunges about the ring,
ridden by slim girl softly plight in lilac silk,
the mistaken Queen of the side-saddles is she,
and she has "a brow of pearl, tressed with redo
lent ebony in the boys eyes. But oh
Dockrill's tthe' Empress of the Arenal eight
gray steeds take their places in the ring without
being driven. She rides them like the wind,
laughing and kissing her hands. People may
say what they please, MINNIE. Dockrili in blue
satin ana white lace, straddling eight horses at
once, is a gladdening, inspiring sight o, It's
joy to see this bright-eyed gadiatrix with free
limbs and wiry muscles, freed from mincing
steps and cluttering clothes The boy says she
is straight as single. The hired man says she
looks like a hen on three dozen eggs The
healthy, the frank, the honest rejoice in these
springing figures of the circle, chasing each 9th
er from one intensely active pose to another,
and they enjoy the circus as well as if born in
heathennesse thousands of years ago-before
people took notion" that the human frame
was an Objectionable object MARY DEAN.