The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-08-15

sented from our pulpits and in our re-
ligious papers, that We are beginning to
think it only fair that the readers ol
this paper should have an opportunity
of seeing some of the advantages that
accompany this very popular instltu'
ton. We are prompted to this discus
sion by the fact that Barnum's circus
has lust folded its tents like the Arabs,
and as silently stolen away from our
city: and thus we have had fresh OPP
portunity of noting the various bless
ings which it brought to our highly
favored community.
And first: On the score OF health,
we have much to be grateful for. A
number of excellent women, during
the recent protracted spell of damp
weather have been martyrs to neural
gia, rheumatism and other chronic
ailments which had defied the Skill
of our best physicians and had pre-
vented the good sisters from attending
their beloved church, were suddenly
cured of their complaints, and turned
out on the 2Sth of June to see the cir
Gus.
Secondly: The decided improve
ment in our peoples facilities for trans
portation was quite notable circum-
stance. Church members who had
not been to church for nearly year,
because they "had no conveyance, and
it was too far to walk" found, upon
further consideration, that they could
hook up the old roam to the milk-wag-
on, or the Jersy heretofore regarded
as unsafe), and make perfectly safe
and highly enjoyable trip to New Bed
ford to see the circus.
Sociologists, and other writers upon
the progress of civilization, tell us
that a peoples means of transportation
is one of the surest tests of their civil
ization, and if this be sound doctrine,
who will he bold enough to deny that
the circus is,a great civilizing agency?
We know pastor who, on the day of
the circus, hired a buggy and drove
many miles to visit some members of
his, flock who had not been able to get
to church once in four or five months,
! and he failed to see them because they
fhad gone to the circus. What an ad-
tmirable commentary upon the time
honored proverb, "Where there is a
will there is way"
Thirdly: The circus aroused and
kindled so much hitherto latent inter-
est in children. A large proportion OF
the adult Christians who attended the
circus here seem to have cared little
for the performance on their own ac-
count; but they had children who
were tsanxious to see the animals"
and the grown folks went "just to
crafty the children"
Some unmarried ladies of uncertain
age, who had not shown any special
interest in anybody's children for
good while back, were suddenly
stricken with q powerful and praise
worthy impulse to be of service to
some of their little nephews or nieces
or cousins or neighbors, and good-na-
turedly volunteered to see the little
ones safe through the menagerie and
the circus.
Fourthly: A manifest improve
ment took place in the financial con-
dition of the community. Many peo-
pie who, for long time, had been
confessedly anxious to "pay that lit
tie bilr' at the bakers or the grocer's,
nay, several church members who had
been earnestly desirous of raying their
church dues, were seen in their holi-
day clothes, paying street car fares
and riding to the circus. Of course it
took money to do this and as they
chad no money" last week, when the
baker called for his bill, and as they
did have money on the day of the cir
Gus, certainly their financial status
was improved.
Filthy: The circus was a great
help to that maligned class, the grog
sellers. There are some ill-contrived
people here who do not hesitate to say
nay, have voted-that the grog shops
in the city must be closed. But these
people are not at all conservative" on
the liquor question, and the sober
minded grog seller can hardly be ex-
pected to pay much attention to the
rawlings of the radicals" So long as
the grog shop was a illegal institution"
of our city, of course "conservative'
people "stood by it'' except when too
drunk to stand, and then they fell by
it.
Now Burns defended the theiving
mouse in lines which will live
as long as the English tongue is read
and the poets argument is that the
mouse "must live" and who does
not know that our amiable grog sellers
have fallen heir to Burns logic? And
if they must live, then who will say
that it is not a good thing to encour-
age them and who can doubt that
that the circus brought them many q
customer on the day of the exhibi-