The Van Buren press., 1894-09-29

There Is little pause in the pro-
gramme while the arena was cleared
and new and much larger and heavier
paraphernalin were set about, and .
gentleman with well-groomed hair and
q very shiny hat entered and announced
..the worlds greatest lion tanner. :"
Then he went away and the tanner
came in and stood expectantly by the
side of the entrance, there was another
short wait and the band struck a long
minor chord.
And then they came In. one after the
other, with long, crouching, lurching
strides. not at all good-humoredly,
like the dogs or the elephant. or even
the bear, but with low-hanging heads,
surly. watchful, their eyes cleaning
with the rage and hate that burned in
their hearts and that they dared not
vent. Their loose, yellow hides rolled
and rippled over the great muscles as
they moved, and the breath coming
from their hot, half-opened mouths
turned to steam rs it struck the air.
A huge, painted see-saw was
dragged out to the center, and the
tanner made sharp sound Of COM
mand. Slowly, and with twitching
tails, two Of them obeyed. and clam
bering upon the balancing-board,
swung up and down, while the music
played see-saw waltz. And all the
while their great eyes famed with the
detestation Of the thing and their
black upper lips curled away from
their long fangs In protest of this
hourly renewed humiliation and deg
radiation.
And one of the others, while wait
ing his turn to be whipped and bullied,
sat up on his launches and faced us
and looked far away beyond us over
the heads of the audience-over the
continent and ocean, rs 1t wcre-as
though he saw something in that
quarter that made him forget his pres
ent surroundings
"You grand old BRUTE" muttered
Toppan; and then he said: "Do you
know what you would see If you were
to look into his eyes now? You would
ses Africa, and unnamed mountains,
and great stony stretches Of desert,
with hot blue shadows, and plains OF
salt, and lairs in the jungle-grass, and
lurking places near the paths the stein
box make when they go down to water.
But now he's hampered and caged-is
there anything worse than Gagged
lion?-and kept from the life he loves
and was made for'-just here the
tanner spoke sharply to him, and his
eyes and crest drooped-''and ruled
over" concluded Toppan, "by some
one who is not SO great us he, who has
spoiled what was best in him and has
turned his powers to trivial, resultless
uses-some one weaker than he, yet
stronger. All, we'll, old brute, it was
yours once. we will remember that"
They wheeled out a clumsy velocipede
built expressly for him, and, while the
lash whistled and snapped about him,
the conquered king heaved himself
upon it and went around and around
the ring while the band played a
quickstep, the audience broke into ap-
plause and the tanner smirked and
bobbed his well-oiled head. ! thought
of Samson performing for the Philis-
tines and Thusnelda at the triumph of
Germanicus. The great beasts, grand
though conquered, seemed to be the
only dignified ones in the whole busi-
ness. hated the audience who saw
their shame from behind iron bars; l
hated myself for being one of tkem;
and I hated the SNUG, staggering
tanner.
This latter had been drawing out
various stools and ladders, and now
arranged the lions upon them so they
should form pyramid, with himself
on top.
Then he swung himself up among
them, with his heels upon their neclss,
and, taking hold Of the jaws of one,
wrenched them apart with great
show Of strength, turning his head to
the audience so that all should see.
And just then the electric light nbove
him cachled harshly, guttered, dropped
down to n pencil of dull red, then went
out and the place was absolutely
dark.
The band stopped abruptly with q
discord, and there was an instant o.
silence. Then we heard the stools and
ladders Gathering as the lions leapet
down; and straightway four pair o.
lambent green spots burned out of the
darkness and travelled swiftly about
here and there, crossing and recross
ing one another like the lights O.
steamers in storm. Heretofore, the
lions had been sluggish and inert; nov
they were aroused and alert In an in
slant, and we could hear the swift pad
pad of their heavy feet as they swung
around the arena and the sound O
their great bodies rubbing against thu
bars of the cage as one and the othel
passed nearer to U.S.
| don't think the audience at all ap
preciated the situation at first, for nj
one moved or seemed excited and one
shrill voice suggested that the bant
should play when the electric lights
60 out"
keep perfectly quiet, please!'
called the tanner out Of the darkness
and a certain peculiar ring in his voice
was the first intimation Of a possible
danger.
But Toppan knew; and as we heard
the tanner fumbling for the catch or
the gate, which he somehow could not
loose in the darkness, he said, with 9
rising voice: HE wants to get that
gate open pretty quick"
But for their restless movements the
lions were quiet; they uttered nc
sound, which was bad sign. Blink
ing and dazed by the glarish blue
whiteness of few moments before,
they could see perfectly now where