The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-10-12

when the blessin's O genteel eddyca- tion, with French and the pianoforte thrown In, and all that, was denied to | poor folk.
 "One day, when was just about ten years of age, mother took drop too much and went down to see the 'ay barges a-sailin' on the river When week went by and she never came back again, Duckster hes took and kicked me out. So, ever since then I've been lookin' alter myself in manner a speaking. ..
 Mind you, was a pretty smart klnchen for me age, and in the tnmblin' line, which as always been my fancy, well, though I says it as shouldn't, there was few as could put me down. I used to go up to the city on bank 'oli- days and such like. and sometimes do business enough to keep me month. Iivin's cheap In the esat end, and If yer don't know the want O things, the east end can be west end, for all kid knows the difference.
 Well stuck at this sort O life till one day me and mate Ce got 'ung at the Cape aterward, they told mel, 'ad a bit O turn up wi a copper and slop- ed into Kent to lay by. As luck would have 1t, it was coping time, and, sec ling we was handy gaffer gave us a job straight away. Whilst he was there a bloomin' circus came into town and pitches it's tent in the market place. It was the first real show I'd ever seen, and Tor, I can twig it now.
 Me and me mate walked round and
 round watchin' them harness, fixin' the ring and riggin the tent, and think
 in what life it must be to travel
 through the country Weartn' grand
 dresses, and with nothin' to do but tumble at nights. That's the way with
 young 'uns, ain't it? They reckon that
 tights and spangles means all sunshine,
 and that life is like the pictures on the
 caravans, all bright colors and 'appi-
 ness.
 we waited and watched till the per
 cession started-heliphants, camels,
 'orses, chariots clowns, bareback rid
 CTS, and last of all, on two pieballs, the
 most beautiful girl I ever set eyes on.
 You, sir, will probobly know the way a
 chap gets knocked over all of a sud-
 den, by a slip O girl he could break
 a'tween his two fingers? Well, that
 was the way with me. I'd never seen
 Ter till that very moment, and there
 was a clean fixed on'er, and couldn't
 get Ter face out of 'ead try low I would. Twenty years afterward that bit of fool
 ishness got me five years ard labor
 with sermon from tthe judge pointin'
 out the effects Q what he called "the
 hevils resulting from depraved compan- , ionship.'
 "In course, that night me and my
 mate we went to see the performance and after the tumblin, finished I says S'help me Bob, Bill, If l couldn't do a
 blamed sight better than that I'd gc
 and 'ang meself' It was just the
 poorest performance you ever seen . But 1t was the other way about in a minute, when in comes the girl what
 rode at the end of the procession, and ; she done eight orse 'oop and skippin rope act, with Ter air 'anging down heI back and all dressed in gold and zeph- , yrs like a bloomin' archangel. 7 watched Ter till me eyes nearbust with l lookin', and one time when she comes close to me she looks down and smiles | "''Ullo, who's yer friend?" says me l mate, quick like; but 1t was no use 1T
 chaffing, for that look 'ad turned me off me cad"
 , The Senor stopped and fell to stal [ gazing. As he did so half dozen wilG
 duck, startled by my horse, rose iron t the water hole and flew off toward the
 rising moon. The train of though presently worked itself out, and he con tinued:
 5 First thing next mornin' I went tt
 our gaffer and got paid off, then I rar as ard as I could lick to find the circu! t manager
 l '"e was little chap wearin' fu l coat, and was a-sittin' outside th = l George, smokin' cigar. I went up t( s i'm as bold as brass and asked i'm Is { = didn't want a cove to do tumblin. II n course e said e did, so putin me ca r dey on the trough end. I set to worl = doin' catherines and stars packard t and fo1'ards on the dust to show in
 what me form was like. When T. e done e asked my figure, and because
 were dirt cheap e took men on. l. Next night was in the spangles a
 Senor Gonsalvo Gomez, doin' me tur1 :" with the company and 'ead over ear
 stuck on the girl as did the 'orse am l. cop business. Even by daylight Sh
 were prettier nor what the posters oI h the orin's made 'er; and if Ter moral ' weren't quite as straight as the ten
 pole, well, per'aps she weren't as bad a e what people painted 'er.
 At any rate, she was very kind t l. me, and by and by we pulled in to
 gether and reckoned to learn a res d good double act and try for musi IT all engagement.
 Well we thought and thought ii n at last we It upon a bit O business d which was so daring, that afore we d done 1t three times, it got us an offe e from a London manager, and off " I went to town. We was married tha lh day week.
 e "All that season we was the rage, an {? the railway stations and 'ordin's "a n big posters in four colors snoowin' u t a-fyin' through the air. The paper Q was full O good notices, and the man d agement made a fortune in a montl D but though we got big salaries q neve IT was much O a chap for spendin' me l. self) the missus made the rhion fly UT 1t til we were fair broke. Whats wors' d success turned her 'ead an she took r. brandy drinkin', and that spells deat is in our business as well as any other of For g. while I put up with it as bes