Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-06
A FRENCH CLOWN.

SuOCOtub CutIlo tTOHl llulUl Uuo liHo morning and mado his debut in a private family as valet. Not successful in this role, he ran away with madame's pet femme de chambre and later turned up at the Nouvcau Cirque as a clown.
 Chocolat Is the blackest interpretation of a negro on record, the darkest, jolicst translation of laughter oxtant. He is the most famous black clown in Christendom and tho only one I know whose face is made up for him by Providence without the addition of aoccntuated lines of exag geratod paint.
 There arc two Chocolats-in the ring and out. In he is got up in white duck or flannel, ridiculously cut in exaggerated parody of the latest fashion, with white cotton gloves, every finger of which is stretched wido apart from it's fellow and used as a means of expressing the most ridiculous sentiments in the most unheard of way. He does not do the funny clown who antics etcrnally, and whom we all so well know. On tho contrary his role is to pretend to be fearfully awkward and stum- ble over everything In and out of sight OK haustively, to tho uproarious delight of all the small and large boys in the delighted audience.
 Out of the ring ho is the successful ne- gro, full of mischief and jokes and dandy ism and vanity and ineenuouspcss and good nature. He puts his hat on tho back of his head at the races, like any other man, and, his thumbs in his armpits, struts from tho tribune to tho betting stalls, with cigar between his lips and benign smile for his admirers
 Then there is Foottit, famous for in- venting new situations and conducting them from the old standpoint, which ad- mits of bad French langlais, bad jokes ad libitum and horse play, with a round- up of something really clever. Somer- snults with Foottit have developed into things of beauty and infinite redundancy forever, and with his little red eyes, and his long nose, and his clowns getup, with its grotesque buttons and short waisted opportunities fully lived up to, he is as delicious as his little cardboard prototypes in the shop windows.
 In private life MT. Foottit is noted for his weakness for his friends wives plus his own; but regrettablo though it may be, this trait of his thus far has only served to augment his fame.
 Last summer he fled the town with a lady who jumped through rings for live lihood, which probably explained her care lcssness as to tho necessity of a ring in private lifo.
 Then thcro is Mcdrano. He is ring mas ter at present. Raised from the ranks of ticket seller and general factotum, he cracks jokes nightly in public with Choco. lat and Foottit.
 His fame fell in this wise: Tho Baron de Reinach of Panama fame, who was noted for his affection for circus riders md coryphccs, used him at fancy ball oddly enough. The ball in question was given at one of the most elaborate fin do socle houses in Paris. It was fairy scene Electric light and flowers and money and human naturo filled up the gap made by those who "rcfused to be present for req sons which wcro obvious"
 The ball was over. Shepherdesses and Marie Antoinettes and German officers and vivandieres and queens and gypsics, one and all had removed their masks and were striving to cool of in the giant conserva tories, whose fountains played pcrfumcd water, when Q clown sprang into the room, but such clownl Flashing with dazzling jewels, clothed in cloth of gold and brocade, stiffcncd with magnificent embroidery and precious stones, but masked. A dream of clown, who leaped and whirled and turned gigantic somer saults and stole innumcrablc kisses, then off again, in and out between the flower and tho electric lights, into the shadow again, with diabolical gestures of cxaggcr- ated importancoa and little fine suggestions of indescribablo charm and grace, lodged here and there until they all went mad over him. and like flock of varicolored sheep, followed him from room to room begging him to remove his mask, but he would not. Ho eluded them again and again, and finally, when they wcro rouse1 to frenzy of excitement and curiosity, he led them to tho flower twisted staircase upon which the tapcstricd walls frowncd and just as they had their arms about his neck and were asking riotously: "Who aTc yon? Oh, who are you, pretty clown'" he once moro slipped from their grasp, ar with flashing leap through the vitiated air disappeared. Later, as they sat down to supper, ho appeared among thom with out his mask It was tho Baron do Rel mach.
 Later still all Paris rung with tho news of his suicide, which Panama disclosures induced, and then Medrano remarked to frcnd "Thcre were two of us that night. l was tho clown who executed tho prou- cites. He went in afterward. He hired two costumes exactly nike and gave mo my orders. Twas my last appearance in that capacity. If he had paid mo by check, instead of in bank notes, who knows, Mon Dieu, but l, too, might have become in volvod in Panamas ''-Stanlcy Clark in San Francisco Argonaut
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