, 1890-07-17
WlTHTHE OLD CLOWN
An Hour With the Veteran John
Lowlow in Spokane
Falls.
He Rel ates Some of the Amusing
Incidents OF Circus
Life.

y
the embodiment Of philosophy and
wit, while the older fellows tolerate
him solely out of respect for his
preservation of the venerable Jokes
that were grizzled with hoary hairs
when they were boys, over half II
century ago. The circus clown
lives a dual life, but he is seldom
seen without merry twinkle In his
eye unless some of his klnsmen or
associates In the show are In dis
tress. Usually the clown Ia IA mar.
ried man and much devoted to his
family.
A CIRCUS FUNERAL
When William I.ake-Old Bill
Lake, IA he was called--was muir
dered by a rui,ian at CRANKY, Mo-,
there was considerable hesitancy
among the preachers as to the pro-
prlety of holding religious services
over the corse of u circus man.
~ will preach his funeral SER
mon,n said the Mr.. MerryuIan of
the company, "and will convince
them that Old Bill Lake had
heart In him bigger than meeting.
house,
He would have done 1t. too, but
the clergy finally decided to conduct
the service. The veteran show
mans wife and children were there,
atlircd In robes of black, instead of
the spanglcs with which they ar
raycd themselves when treading the
slack-wirc for the ediiication of the
public, The old clown was there,
too, attlred in black broadcloth,
and rivulets of tears trickled down
the gulches In his rugged cheeks, as
The good minister retold the solemn
tale of the golden bowl that was
broken.
"i'or the first time in my llfe," he
afterward said, my voice failed me.
When the congregation struck up
the hymn, that was dolefllly echoed
back from the giant oaks in the
crude country graveyard, | tried to
lift uD my voice, but the sacred
words.
Asleep In Jesus,
Blessed sleep
perished on my lips. | was think
Ing of old Bits goodness to all the
show people"
SOME OF LowLow's jokes.
Those thousands who attended
Robinson's circus Friday proba-
bly, observed that Mr.. John Low
low, the principal clown, studiously
avoided all the coarse .jests, border
ing on obscenity, that some unintel-
Iectlal clowns impose upon the pco-
pie as circus wit. His Tests In the
arena are refined and all the more
laughablc for the cultivated manner
Of their delivery. .4l.
In social life he Ia even funnier
than when in the sawdust ring. He
Is the possessor of rich fund of
anecdotes, In which he usually fig
ures as the victim. None of his
stories are over three minutes In
length and they all culmInatc In
side-splitting climax. He never
cracks smile until the Joke has
taken effect on his listeners, and
when they catch on he expands his
broad chest, opens his capacious
mouth and emits from the depths of
his deop-toned lungs n laugh that is
apparently designed as a sure cure
for melan choly.
HE WASHED TUE TIGER.
ave had a German fellow with
us" he says, "while the old man
Robinson was living. The old man
was fond of n practical joke, but was
50 occupied by business that he sci.
dom carried one out to completion.
On this account he came very near
causing tragedy, The German
was very industrious and ambitious.
lie wanted to work all the time.
One day he approached the old man
"'Vell, Mister Ropinson, vat can't
| now do?'
"'Have you washed out the IT,
GERS cagc?' the old man in
quired.
"'faas,' he replied, the tigers
cage vas all washed oud.
Did you wash the tiger?
"No.
"'Then wash the tiger
"rhe faithful employe hurried
away, and the old man went on
about his business. Shortly after.
ward he passed the tigers cage, and
was astOnished TO see the German
hoist the gate and crawl in. Know
ing the terocity of the beast he cx-
pected to see his employe chewed
into mincemeut and stood dunn
founded. Nobody else had ever
dared approach nearer than four
or five feet of that cage. The man
was in, however, armed with a
bucket of soapsuds, u sponge and
stiff brush. He washed the tiger
thoroughly on one side, turned him
over and washed the other side,
sponged him dry and came out,
pulling down the gate behind him.
"'l haf washed the tiger he said
TO Mr., Robinson, vat shall next j
do?'
down at Charlottesville, n. G. -
MIR. Lowiow said, 81 overheard an
amusing conversation between two
aged colored men.
"I'se been votin' de democrat
ticket eber since emancipation, said
one.
40, you hush yo' mouf,' the
other replied, you doan know what
you talkin' about, Niger; you neber
voted no democrat ticket in all yo'
bnwn days.
"'Neber voted nothin' else the
old man persisted.
"'How gwinc make dat out?' his
companions inquired.
"'Ain't de man | gifts my ticket
from democrat"
YES
"Aiu't de man what takes It froo
dc winder a democrat?
"'Its.'