Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-06-15
CLOWNS AND cLowNIsANEss,


Hbhhl MtFrimHAcEh'
Times change and clowns change
with them. The clown of We olden
time was as conventional as the red wig
of Shyloclx before Kean smashed tradi.
ton and lifted himself into fame by
playing the hard-hearted money-lendcr,
minus the aforesaid red top-knot, The
clown of the old one ring circus was the
harlequin of the pantomine, with the
addition of a students voice and pair
of baggy trousers. His duties in life
were to be thrashcd by the ring-mas.
ter, with much swapping of the whip,
to ask that functionary unanswerable
conundrums, and to assist the gauze'
bcgirt divinity of the ring to mount her
barebacked steed. His jokes were ms
ancient as the hills and as unchange.
able as his costume.
The circus clown of to-day has more
shapes than Proteus ever dreamed Of.
His name is legion, he must be an
athlete of the first order, and usually
an athlete with speciality. His fun is
all told in action. His voice is never
heard except in inarticulate howls of
laughter-provoking intent. The most
stentorian lungs could not render the
best known of almanac jokes audible to
the thousands who crowded the enor-
nous amphitheater of the modern cir
Gus. The solitary clowd of former days,
who was thrashed around the ring
th,.a,,rha,,t tl,a anti,.n ia
now replaced by half score of spe-
cialties who have their exits and their
entrances and frequently play many
parts.
A big show this year has round
dozen of funny fellows who are con-
tinually racking their brains for new
make ups and extra idiotic per-
formances. One fellow with an enor-
nous artificial stomach gets himself up
in football costume and kicks the ball
and himself around the amphitheater
according to set of rules unknown at
Yale or Princeton. One of them APP
pears in the makeup of crushed
tragedian ont of job, and turns clip
fops" without letting down an inch of
his dignity. One or two others stumble
around on stills OF these the bright
particular star of the galaxy is a
chap whose legs grow longer every
time he takes a step, thanks to
some mechanical contrivance hidden
in his voluminous trousers. One pair
of speckled beauties burlesque the
fencer's arts and end up by breaking
their swords over each others backs.
Another couple pound away with enor'
nous boxing gloves
"Rube," the imitation countryman,
wanders about with his mouth open,
gets in everybody's way, climbs on the
Roman chariots only to fall off again,
takes part in the hurdle race for the
sole purpose of barking his shins OF
the timber and tackles everything that
strikes his fancy from an usher up tc
the westling bear. An illustration OF
the dangers which beset the clowns
life was afforded by the enforced re
tirement of Ruben for season after
the first week of the show. He worked
so hard with his heavy suit of Gay
clothes on that he got into a perspira
ton and caught pneumonia.
All is not gold that glitters, neither
is all mirth that amuses. The clown,
work is hard, his bruises many. HI
must stir his brains continually for new
"make-ups" and new acts. He must
keep his muscles up to the double sum
mersault pitch, though general disloca
ton stares him continually in the face
and if any one of the thousands WIN
laugh at the striped gentleman as h
tries to mount a wheel on top of pyra
mid of tables and tumbles to the ground
carefully humping himself on ever.
projection of the structure as he falls
imagines that it is really an amusing
performance-from the clownish poin
of view-let him try tn. Y. Tribune