The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-09-23

flaming public announcements of Christie
pheF and the Fairy had borne profitable
| fruit. Not only were the seats packed ali
the way up to the caves, but rows Of extra
seats had been provided on the level ground
facing the ring Several acts were done
! before the manager announced the new
performers, which he did in the following
| graceful manner:
Ladies' and gentlemen. 1 now have the
| pleasure to introduce to you the most cele-
brated performers of her majesty's Aus
! tralian colonies - Christopher and the
Fairy. You will see for yourselves that
Christopher is the largest and most power
| full elephant in captivity, and that the
Fairy Justly deserves her reputation for
being the most graceful and daring flying
trapeze performer in the world The per-
formances of these two renowned individ-
uals will consist in ground acts in which
they both take part, followed by the flying
trapeze act done by the Fairy alone, Chris
topher meanwhile standing below and
looking on, at the same time giving sig
mails to the Fairy and otherwise encourag-
ing her in her daring and perilous per-
formance high in the air."
When he had finished, the elephant came
slowly walking out, and thereupon rose a
mighty shout of applause and a great clap
ping of hands. Sitting on the massive
shoulders of the enormous brute was the
Fairy, glittering with spangles. She was
so small and fragile and dainty, and Chris
topher was so overwhelming and majestic
and stern, that the strange picture caught
the audience with sweeping force, and the
applause became deafening. Christopher
calmly marched into the ring and pro-
ceeded deliberately around it, the Fairy
meanwhile guiding him with gentle hand
pressure on one side of his neck or the
other, while with the other hand she threw
kisses to the audience Her bare, dimpled
arms and smiling, dimpled cheeks, her rosy
mouth, her large black eyes and curling
black hair in which diamonds shone, won
every heart for her in that immense crowd,
for so much sweetness and grace and dain-
tiness they had never seen all at once in a
circus ring before.
The circuit of the ring completed, the
elephant stopped and listened gravely to
the sorry Jokes of the clown. He had
heard them before and was not to be
amused. The Fairy bounded to her feet
on the great animals back, and there
found room for some entertaining tricks
of agility. Then she gave him tap with
her slippered little foot, and In response he
brought his long trunk around, caught her
by the waist and sat her gently on the
ground. This made the audience applaud
until the Fairy was almost deaf. Other
things, some old and some new, were done
by the two such as his walking over her,
stepping ever so carefully. as she lay on
the ground; recovering her handkerchief
from the clown, who had stolen it and hid
den it in his blouse: throwing her high in
the air and stepping forward in time to
have her alight nimbly on his back, and
things like that. Then came her act on
the flying trapeze.
To prepare for this the clown fetched her
flag, which she gave to Christopher to
hold in his trunk. Then the clown threw
tape over trapeze hung high in the air,
and with a few parting caresses and whis-
pered words to Christopher she sprang to
the tape and climbed it like a squirrel.
She sat moment on the trapeze bar and
then glanced down at Christopher, who,
sitting back on his launches the better to
look so high, was gravely watching her.
The band had stopped playing. A clear,
musical voice from above, dropping like
"How was that, Christopher"
The elephant waved the flag and gravely
nodded his approval
Then came the real work of the act-all
sorts of agile tuYnings and graceful leaps
from the main bar to one hung higher
still; and after every one of these feats,
each more daring than its predecessor,
she would call down in her musical, pearly
voice:
"Was that all right, Christopher"
And Christopher would wave the flag
and solemnly nod his approval, as much
as to say: "Of course it was all right; but
we expect that from you, little Fairyp
Finally came her greatest feat-it was
to leap clear across the ring from one
trapeze to another. She rested awhile be-
fore undertaking it, and Christopher,
knowing what was coming, braced him
self, all his massive muscles going on
tension, as though trying to give her
strength and alertness for the dangerous
task The band played a spirited air while
the girl sat still on the bar; then the music
ceased, and deep hush fell on the audi
ence. The Fairy caught the bar in hen
hands and swung underneath it, and her
clear voice rang out again:
keep a sharp eye, old Christopher"
The elephant nodded and waved his flag,
but with less stateliness than before. The
Fairy began TO swing backward and for
ward in the direction of the distant trapeze,
which she was to catch after her flight
through the air. Farther and farther did
she swing, higher and higher, back and
forth, her glittering spangles looking like
a shower of meteors. A ringing voice cried
out:
"Now we go, Christopher" and she
loosed her hold and went flying away
across the tent, higher and higher to the
apex of graceful parabolic curve, then
down toward the trapeze, still so far away,
while the people held their breath and
many closed their eyes. Down sailed the
small and graceful figure coming quickly
closer to the goal; two eager hands were
outstretched to seize the bar; one hand
touched it and clutched it desperately, but
the other missed its aim.
The momentum sent her flying far be-
yond, but she still held the bar with one
hand, and the ropes which held it creaked
as the strain came upon them A hold
with one hand was not enough, and the
Fairy had not time to bring the other to
bear when the bar found the end OF its
tether The small hand slipped and the
girl went flying toward the ground. A
suppressed cry of horror rose from the
audience as the frail little body struck the
ground at the entrance to the waiting
room, falling with a heavy, cruel sound
that went into every heart in that vast as
semblage and that made the strongest men
shudder and groan and cover their faces
She fell near the feet of Centerpole Tom,
w uhn rrns standing hehind the musicians