The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-07-09

Punctually at noon the grand midday
| procession set out to parade the streets, in
all the splendor of gold and silver tinsel,
waving banners, and tawdry fnery, accom-
| panied by tie blare and crash of a brass
band. The market-place was deserted save
| for one or two swarthy attendants, who
! lounged in aud out Of The tents. Occasion
| ally, above the distant strains of the band,
could be heard frantic shout of delight
| from the multitude who witnessed the pro-
cessioD.
The oblong tent was set apart for the
menagerie. Inside, the close fetid aimo-
sphere seemed to have drowsy effect upon
the solitary custodian, for he lay stretched
| face downward on pile of straw in the
cnrner, his head pillowed upon his arms.
| The great breadth Of back, the girt and
snswy hardness of his powerful limbs, pro-
canned bin To be a veritable HercuIes He
Was none other than the renowned and
much-advertised lion-tamer, Signor Petro
Farrelli; otherwise, plain Peter Farrell
At the fur'ber end Of the tent stood a long
cage, capable of being divided into two COM
paTtments by means of sliding barrier. 1t
contained the lions. Gaunt, SIX inny, hungry
looking brutes they were, the bones sticking
out sharply through their tawny hides
From end 10 end OF the cage they naoped in
ceaseless, nsonotonous tramp. like restless
spirits who know no peace. Every minute
or so one Of them would rear up his head
suddenly and glare through the bars, as if
contemplating an imaginary crowd, and
then resume his weary round.
The Polar bear seemed 10 vie with them
as TO the extent of ground he could cover,
but the brown specimen sat upon his
L.. Il Il II
out of sorts. Signor Farrell slept through
it all. An occasional growl or q snarl did
not appear to disturb The quietude of his
slumber. But when the two byenas became
engaged in a lively discussion over the thigh
bone of a horse, he raised his massive head,
and glowered around the tent with sleepy
eyes.
With sudden twist of the body he rolled
over on his back and for some minutes lay
there contemplating the fluttering canvas
overhead. Then he INDUCED in mighty
yawn, shook himself, and sat upright. In a
listless sort of way he plucked a straw from
the heap, and began toying with il indolently.
His manner was thoughtful and preOccupied
it almost seemed as If he had something on
his mind-something, perhaps, which had
been suggested 10 him in his sleep
Having given the matter, whatever il was,
five minutes grave consideration, he dis
missed it with an impatient "pshawl - and
sprang to his feet. Lounging across the tent,
he went up and stood before a cage which
contained the latest addition TO the menag-
erie. 1t was black panther, full grown
specimen of this somewhat rare variety,
known to be the most ferocious of the whole
species. Farrelli had been trying his hand
at tanning the brute; but as yet, though his
reckless daring often prompted him to fool
hardy feats, he had never ventured into the
cage for more than q second or two at q
time.
Striding up and down, with the stealthy,
gliding motion OF a cat the fierce beast kept
its head persistently turned toward the man,
and regarded him with savage, blinking eyes
With his face close to the bars, FarreIli
watched every movement of the animal as if
each had significance which he alone un-
derslood. Then he seemed to drop back into
reverie; and in this fit of abstraction he
commenced striking idly at the panther
with the straw in his hand.
loud shout outside, the cracking of
whips aud rumble of wagons, announced
the return of the procession. The lion
tanner swung round on his heel, and stalked
off TO prepare for the afternoon performance
As he moved away the black panther stood
still, with head erect and glared after him in
way that suggested implacable hatred.
An hour or SO later, the tent was denseIy
packed from end to end When Farrelli
| appeared on the scene, armed with his short
whip, and marched boldly up to the lions
den, the hush of awe fell upon the spectators
| lie proceeded TO lash the cowed brutes
round and round the cage, made them leap
| through hoops of fire, and perform other sur
prisiug frats all Of which elected shouts of
applause from the multitude. The display
wound up with what was designated "a lion
hunt" in which there was tremendous
flashing and banging of pistols, and a wild
skurry on the part Of the beasts 10 get into
the corners.
When it was all over, and the tanner had
backed out Of the cage. the manager mounted
the steps to address the crowd. He extend
ed a cordial invitation to all present to attend
the performance that evening, promising