The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-12-07
SAVED BY A HISS.

ly succumbed to his frenzied appeals
and went inside. We did this, | am
sure, partly to please the spieler,
who would have been dreadfully dis
appointed 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 remember
ToDpan as the man who married VIC
toria Boyden, and, in so doing, thrust
his greatness from him and became a
bank clerk instead of an explorer.
After he married he came to be quite
ashamed of what he had done In
Thibet and Africa and other unknown
corners of the earth, and after a while
seldom spoke of that part of his life
at all; or when he did 1t was only to
allude to it as passing boyish fancy,
altogether foolish and silly, like calf
love and early attempts at poetry.
Il used to think l was going to set
the world on fire at one time" he said
once. Il suppose every young fellow
has some such ideas. i only made an
ass of myself, and I'm glad I'm well
out of it. Victoria saved me from
that"
But this was long afterward. He
died hard, and sometimes he would
have moments of strength in his weak
ness, just as before he had given up his
career during the moment of weakness
in his strength During the first years
after he had given up his career he
thought he was content with the way
things had come to be; but it was not
40 and now and then the old feeling,
the love of the old life, the old ambi-
ton would be stirred into activity
again by some sight or sound or epis-
ode in the conventional life around
him.
A chance paragraph in a newspaper,
d slight of the Arizona deserts of sage
and cactus, a momentary panic on a
ferry boat sometimes even fine music
or a great poem would wake the bet
ter part of him in the desire of doing
great things. At such times the long
ing 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 un-
known winds blowing against his face
and unknown mountains rising be-
meath 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
go down to water
The most trifiing thing would recall
all this to him, just as a couple of
notes have recalled to you whole arias
and overtures. But with Toppan 1t
was as though one had recalled the
arias and 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 a box over the
entrance, and the whole interior was
lighted by an electric globe slung over
the middle Of the cage.
Inside the cage brown bear-to me
less suggestive of wild animal than
Of lab robes and furriers' signs-was
dancing sleepily and allowing himself
to be prodded by person whose cell
luloid standing collar showed white
at the neck above the green of his
Tyrolese 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
applauded 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 par
ticularly big French Turco-who had
lunch with his keeper and rang the
bell and drank his wine, and wiped
his mouth with handkerchief and
bedquilt, 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 their
stools and benches, wriggling and
pushing one another about, giggling
and excited like SO many kindergar-
ten children on a 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 audi
ence and apeared to do their tricks for
the sake Of the tricks themselves, and
not for the applause which followed
them. And then, after the usual pro-
gramme of wicker cylinders, hoops and
balls was over, they all rushed off
amid curious scratching of paws and
filliping of tails and heels.
While this had been going on we ad
been hearing from time to time a great
sound, half whine, half rumbling gut
tural cough, that came from somewhere
behind the exit from the cage. 1t was re-
peated at rapidly decreasing intervals,
and grew louder in pitch until it end
ed In short bass erunt. 1t sounded
cruel and menacing, and when at it's
full volume the wood of the benches
under us thrilled and vibrated.
There was little pause in the pro-
gramme while the arena was cleared
and new and much larger and heavier
paraphernalia were set about, and a
gentleman with well groomed hair and
very shiny hat entered and announ-
C0Q the WOrld's oraataot Iio,, tox,ox.