Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-08-08
2 ! ~ - = - 2 -
IN A BoWERY MUSEUM.

Between Performances on . Midsumme,
Day-A Serious Curiosity"
The Bowery museums feel summer dull
ness
''Going to give stage performance soon!'
was asked, before dropping ten cent piece at
IN entrance.
Performance begins in the auditorium in
ten minutes" was the sententious reply.
Inside the museum there was nothing
lively except glass case of tropical snakes
which were reused from their dormant con-
dition by the heat of the weather. A seal lay
on q chunk OF ice, possibly comfortable as to
his lower side, but away out OF his latitude
as to the rest Of him. Some Brazilian mon
keys in cage were lazy in the high temper
AZURE, and the Circassian girl and the tat
tooed man were tanning their about equally
exposed surfaces. The third human curiosity
was q chap with enormous legs. Those mem
bers were not less than treble the size OF
usual legs There is no deception in his case,
however, for the immense limbs were unclad
he was a fellow Of solemn visage, and he was
perusing a large book with the air Of a stu
dent. He looked up listlessly, and began his
rigmarole 81 am "a years DID," he said,
land was born in Boston. My legs began to
outgrew the rest Of my stature when l was a
boy, and"-
"What are You reading?" the visitor il
quired
BE stopped in his set speech, and turned the
open page toward the inquirer. The book
was a medical work.
81 am studying up my case" the curiosity
said in a confidential tone, and with glance
around to see that there were no other listen
ers ~ want to know what Is the matter
with me, and all about it"
From what he said further, and perusal
of the matter in the book, it was learned that
be had the disease called elephantiasism.
There were as yet no outward signs of un-
healthiness in his disproportionate legs, and
he was getting $40 a week as an exhibit.
According to the best light can get" be
said, 81 have got just about another year to
live Probably I won't be able to stay in
this business more than half that time. Then
I'll 60 to hospital and die. I'll go sooner if
they don't pay my wages regular, and they
amt been doing it lately"
No wonder the poor fellow was the most
serious looking person on the premises, ex-
ccpting the manager, whose depression arose
from the poverty Of the summer business.
was about to depart.
"Hold on" he interposed, "we'l give a
show as soon as there is fifty cents in the
house"
He kept HIS word. When five visitors
were gathered together he reappeared in our
midst and ordered the curtain rung up. The
entertainment consisted Of a few feats in
Iegerdemain by = consumptive, seedy and
clever expert When he came to the point
where he desired to introduce the trick of
taking numerous articles from a hat he made
the usual appeal for the loan Of that article.
The writer handed one to him.
''Thank you. sir, thank you," he said, in
singularly heartfelt voice "You're the first
gentleman today that has trusted me with
his hat. You'll get it back, upon my honor"
When sleight Of hand show is so mea-
gerly patronized that the performer can't
borrow hat, surely the show business may
be said to suffer from lack of public conf
dence. -Eew York Sun.