The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-10-29
THE SAME OLD CIRCUS.
". y. uowciis Tells OF nis Joyous Visit
,o the wild Pleasures OF the Circus.

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:, n. uowcIis Tells OF his Joyous visit
70 the wild Pleasures OF the Circus.
Tho circus announced itself In the
,ood old way weeks beforehand by the
INST posters of former days and by a
nrof,lsion OF small bills which fell up
On the village as from the clouds, and
left II Uttered everywhere with their
festive pink. They prophesied 1t by a
name borne by the first circus ! ever
cav. which was also an animal show,
but the animals must all have died
during the fifty years past, for there is
now no menagerie attached to 1t. ]
aid not know this when | heard the
hand playing through the streets of the
village on the morning of the perform
ance. and for me the NANCY old camels
and the plmpled elephants of yore led
the procession through accompanying
ranks of boys who have mostly been in
their graves for half lifetime, the
distracted ostrich thrust an advertis-
ing neck through the top of the cage,
and the lion roared to himself In the
darkness Of his moving prison. / felt
the old thrill of excitement, the vain
hope of something preternatural and
impossible, and | do not know what
could have kept me from that circus,
as soon as | had done lunch. My heart
rose at sight OF the large tent (Which
was yet so very little in comparison
with the tents of the three-ring and
two-platform circuses); the alluring
and illusory side shows of fat women
and lean men; the horses tethered in
the background and stamping under
n,,h hn oil har hna ny,
grand chariot which looked like the
ghost of the grand chariot which used
TO drag nae captive in its triumph; and
the canvas shelters where the cooks
we're already at work over their ket-
ties on the evening meal OF the circus
folk.
Throughout the performance at this
circus l was troubled by curious
question, whether 1t were really of the
same moral and material grandeur as
the circuses 1t brought to memory, or
whether these were thin and slight
too. We all know how the places of
oar childhood, the heights. the dis
tances, shrink and dwindle when we
go back to them, and was 1t possible
that had been deceived in the splen
dor of my early circuses? The doubt
was painful, but | was forced to own
that there might be more truth in it
than in blind fealty to their remem-
bered magnificence. Very likely cir
cuses have grown not only in size but
in the richness and variety of their
entertainments, and l was spoiled for
the simple joys OF this. But l could
see no reflection of my dissatisfaction
on the young faces around me, and
must confess that there was at least
so much of the circus that / left when
1t was half over. l meant to go into
the side shows and see the fat woman
and the living skeleton, and take the
giant by the hand and the armless man
by his friendly foot, if l might be so
honored. But l did none of these
things, and am willing to believe the
fault was in me, if l was disappointed
in the circus. 1t was / who had shrunk
and dwindled and not it. To real boys
1t was still the size of the armament.
and was world OF wonders and de-
lights. At least | can recognize this
fact now, and can rejoice in the peace
rul progress all over the country OF
the simple circuses which the towns
never see, but which help to render
the summer fairer and brighter to the
unspoiled eyes and hearts they appeal
to. | hope it will be long before they
cease to find profit in the pleasure they
give,-Harper' Weekly.