Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-16

agility of the riders and the beauty of some
OF the animals.
The circus stood in the market place, sand
all the youths were standing in the front Of
the entrance gate laughing and joking
chatting and teasing each other like young
fellows will do when they are together in
great numbers. But if they had only passed
jokes among themselves it would not have
mattered much, but soon few OF the ruder
bows commenced to make remarks about the
people passing by.
When the young men began to show
their iIl-behavior. little Charles, the cob
bler's son, of Jackvilre, objected. But his
playfellows did not take the least notice OF
his show of displeasure, and they kept their
sport up for quite while.
Presently an old, decrepit-looking man
tried to grope his way through the crowd
on q big crutch, and as soon as the young
men in the crowd saw him approach their
game commenced on him.
"Make room for the old party" said one
of them, she is going to hire himself as a
monkey in the mepagerie."
"Maybe he is going to have a bout with
the clown" said another, and 81 believe he
is going 10 try his luck at rope dancing, !"
said third.
Charles stood Indignantly by, and never
said a word. The old man had to pass
through the midst of the rude fellows, and
one OF them held out his foot to see the man
trip and fall to the ground. The brutal
fellow would probably have succeeded had
Charles not been watching him Before he
could thrust his loot before the aged man
Charles took hold of him by the shoulder
and pulled him away.
leave the old man alone" he said,
'maybe you will be old yourself some day.
How would you like to be ill-treated by the
young people?"
The old man thanked Charles and walked
into the circus, but the young man whose
shoulder had been pulled was very mad, and
it was with the greatest difficulty that he
could be prevented from making an open
attack upon Charles.
While the quarreling was still going on
among the young men, and the noise and
the music in the circus had commenced, it
suddenly began to rain. First the drops
falling from the clouds were small and in
significant, but gradually they grew in size
as well as number. Now the rain came
down in torrents, thunder filed the atmos-
phere, lightning pierced the clouds,
and the wide heavens looked like Dano-
rama of fire and water. As the hours went
by the storm increased in its terrible
force. Several houses had already been
set ablaze by the rapidly descend
ing streaks of lightning. The streets
began to be covered with water. The gutter
grew into a stream, and the river, which
was wont to float through the town in a
calm, even manner, changed into roaring
torrent The rIpples of an hour ago were
now transformed into wild waves, threaten
ing to roll over the banks in tumultuous
rage.
In the meantime the circus was a waste
plain. The sightseers from the town had
run for their homes as soon as the rain
poured in through the canvas roof But,
before all had succeeded in getting out Of
the enclosure, the heavy waters had soaked
through the entire tent The pillars were
loosened in the ground, wavering of the
frail structure, shaking in its weak founda-
tions, and, behold, the entire building col
lapsed, burying hundreds beneath it. Still