Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-01-25
LIVINGSTON'S CIRCUS.
A RICH AND ECCENTRIC NEW YORK.
ER,S STRANGE PERFORMANCE.
driving About Florence with Twenty fous
in Hand-A Passion Which Has
Taken Complete Possession
of an American Jshu-

Florence Cor. Louisville Courier Journal
Standing in front of the Hotel Washington
u,e day soon after my arrival in this city
uw q strange sight coming. A rather cd
dish. but well preserved looking man sat
upon the high fore seat of an open vehicle
driving six horses-a pair next the wheels
and four tandem Behind were two We
hicles, each drawn by six horses, with coach
men and footmsn in livery. The coachmsu
were dressed in the regulation English COS
tune, but the footmen wore green and black
short coats, with caps to match, and cream
colored trousers The old man in front, with
his plug hat and peculiar face, handled the
reir,s with skill and spoke occasionally to his
gayly trapped and bobbed steeds. His mind
seemed to be set upon his work / said to
the porter of the hotel: what Is thatf Is
1t circus|
The Italian, who spoke English very well,
smiled and said: at is Mr.. Livingston, an
American"
OF course / concluded that Mr.. Livingston
was some vulgarian who had suddenly
struck oil found out his full history soon
afterwards, and imagine my amazsment
when was told that he was one Of the dis
ting uis he'd Livingston family Of New York
and a man of brilliant education, speaking
several languages fiuently. But he is a
crank, all the same, and good coachman
1t appears that he has been living in Flor
ence twenty or thirty years, and he has kept
up this hippodrome or street possession all
these years. Horses are his hobby, and he
spends nearly all his surplus money on
them. They cost him, twenty -four head,
SO, 900 a year. They soon eat their heads
of, and the sums the old crank has squan-
dered in this way is a shame He is now 81
years of age, and old enough to know better.
His horses are splendidly groomed and quar-
tered and give him no trouble as he makes an
annual contract with the head coachman,
who relieves him of all responsibility. On
himself he does not spend 81 900 year
He takes his meals at a cheap cafe and takes
his seat in the pit at the theatre.
Formerly he drove a. many as twenty
four horses in hand himself. He always
drives himself and sometimes his leaders"
would be far around q corner and out of
sight before the vehicle got into the turn
He had runaway picnic three years ago
and was thrown from his perch and his arm
broken. This did not deter him, however,
and it was not long before his string Of stssds
took fright again and dashed through the
streets Of Florence, scattering CONSERVATION
and destruction as they went A cab was
utterly demolished and the driver so badly
bruised that he Afterwards died at the hos
pital The authorities stspped in at this
stage of the game and informed Mr. Liv-
ingston that hsnceforth be should not drive
more than six horsss in hand through the
streets The old man was nearly heart
broken because his pct luxury had been SO
fssrfully curtailsd, but the officials were
firm, and six horses are all that he can now
handle. But he will have his stable out
and has always from twelve to sixteen head
following his coach. This passion or craze
seems to have taken complete possession of
the old jehu.
A few years ago he lost his wife, and
shortly afterwards married q beautiful
Italian woman with rather . soiled reputa-
ton. 1t was not long before the young
bride ran of with her stepson, youth
hardly grown, but the old man kept on
driving his horses After q round at Paris
and about the guilty couple returned, and
the old man has so far forgiven his beautiful
bride as to settle an annual sum for her
benefit! Now one Of his sons is lying at the
hcspital at deaths door, but the old man
drives his horses just the same. Nothing
short of Gabriels silver trump would stop
bis prancing steeds