The Van Buren press., 1894-09-29
"A Gagged LION.
How q Bank Clerk Saved a Tam
er's Life.

How q Bank Clerk Saved a Tam
er's Life.
In front of the entrance q "spieler"
stood on starch-box and beat upon
piece Of tin with stick, and we weak
" succumbed to his frenzied appeals
and went inside. We did this, ! am
sure, partly to please the "spieler,"
who would have been dreadfully disap-
pointed II we had not done SO, but
partly. too, to please Toppan, who was
always interested In the great beasts
and liked to watch them.
1t is possible that you may remem-
Der Toppan as the man who married
Victoria Bnyden, and, In 30 doing,
thrust his greatness from him and be-
came bank clerk instead Of an ex-
plorcr. After he married, he came to
be quite ashamed Of what he had done
in Thibet and Africa and other un-
known corners Of the earth, and, after
awhile, very seldom spoke Of that part
of his life at all; or, when he did, it
was only to allude to it as a passing
boyish fancy, altogether foolish and
silly, like calf-love and early attempts
at poetry.
II used to think was going to set
tho world on fire at one time" he said
once. Il suppose every young fellow
has some such IDEAS l only made an
ass of myself. and I'm glad I'm we'll
out of II. Victoria saved me from
that"
But this was long afterward. He
died hard and sometimes he would have
moments of strength in his weakness,
just rs before he had given up his ca
reer during moment Of weakness in
his strength. During the first
years after he had given up his
career, he thought he was con-
tent with the way things had come
to be; but it was not SO, and now and
then the old feeling, the love of the
old life, the old ambition, would be
stirred into activity again by some
sight, or sound, or episode in the con-
ventional life around him. A chance
paragraph In a newspaper, sight of
the Arizona deserts of sage and cactus,
= nomentary panic on ferryboat,
sometimes even fine music or q great
poem would wake the better part of
him to the desire Of doing great things.
At such times the longing grew big
and troublous within him to cut loose
from 1t all and get back to those places
of the earth where there were neither
months nor years. and where the days
of the week had no names; where he
could feel unknown winds blowing
against his face and unnamed noun
tains rising beneath his feet; where he
could see great sandy, stony stretches
Of desert with hot, blue shadows, and
plains of salt, and thickets of Jungle
grass, broken only by the lairs Of
beasts and the paths the steinbok
make when they 60 down to water.
Tho most trifiinR thing would re-
call all this to him Just as couple of
notes have recalled to you whole
arias and overtures. But with Top
pan Il was as though one had recalled
the arias and the overtures and then
was not allowed TO sing them.
We went into the arena and sat
down. The ring in the middle was
fenced In by great circular iron
cage. The tiers Of seats rose around
this, band was playing in box over
the entrance and the whole interior
was lighted by nm electric globe slung
over the middle Of the cage.
Inside the cage . brown bear-to me
-
of lap robes and furriers' signs-was
dancing sleepily and allowing himself
to be prodded by person whose cellu-
loid standing collar showed white at
the neck above the green of his
Tyrolcse costume. The bear was
NANCY and his steel muzzle had
chafed him, and Toppan said he was
corrupted Of moth and rust alike, and
the audience spplauded but feebly
when he and his keeper withdrew.
= After this we had clown elephant
dressed In bib and tucker and vast
baggy breeches-like those OF a partic-
ularly big French Turco- who had
lunch with his keeper and rang the
bell and drank his wine, and wiped
his mouth with handkerchief like a
bed quilt, and pulled the chair from
underneath his companion, seeming to
be amused at it all with strange sort
Of suppressed elephantine mirth.
And then, after they had both made
their bow and gone out, in bounded
and tumbled the dogs, barking and
grinning all over, jumping up on theiy
stoo and benches, wriggling and
pushing one another about, giggling
and excited like so many kindergarten
children on show-day. / am sure
they enjoyed their performance as
much as the audience did, for they
never had to be told what to do, and
seemed only too eager for their turn
to come. The best of 1t all was that
they were quite unconscious of the
audience and appeared to do their
tricks for the sake of the tricks them
selves, and not for the applause which
followed them. And, then, after the
usual programme of wicker cylinders,
hoops and balls was over, they all
rushed of amid furious scrattling Of
paws and filliping of tails and heels.
While this was going on. we had
beer. hearing from time to time great
sound half-whine. half-rumbling gut
tural 00ngh, that came from some
where behind the exit from the cage.
1t Wa rspeated at rapidly decreasing
int 5S&le and grew lower in pitch un-
Gil u onded IN short bass grunt. 1t
sounded cruel and menacing. and when
at its full volume the wood Of the
llenches undar ms fhrillad and xi-