Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-11
THE GREATEST ON EARTH
Brilliant Street PARADE of the Barnum &
Pailey Circus.
Witnessed by Crowds All Along the
Line of MarchAA Great Per-
formance in Utlle Tent.

When the blue sky and blazing sun gave
notice this morning that summer was in
deed here, there was but one thing needed
to bring the occasion to,completenass. That
was the presence of a circus. 1t was an
ideal day for such an event, for in the
| present development Of things pertaining to
popular entertainment the circus Is an
event which ranks with the most serious
and dignified affairs. At an early hour-but
not too early for the eXpectant thousands
| who had arranged themselves in dense
crowds on both sides of the line of march
the Barnum and Bailey establishment put
itself on dress parade on our streets. This
exhibition was amply worth price Of ad-
| mission, but the management gave it for
nothlng to stimulate the eVer-hungry Amer
lean public to the still more glttering
and wonderful attractions upon the in
side OF the main pavilion.
The Street Parade.
the parade was not the stereotyped af-
fair. or course, there were the FURNISHED
golden chariots, the gaudy uniforms of
the brass bands, the riders, the elephants,
the beautiful Goddess of Liberty and other
STOCK attractions that are absolutely neces-
sary TO keep a circus from being mobbed
in any respectable community. The power
OF man over the wild beasts of the forest
was illustrated by more than the usual oc-
cupation OF sick lions cage by canvas
man wearing tawdry uniform. The lions
den, spread open to the public gaze, was a
picturesque affair, the dreadful beasts hav-
ing the genuine appearance of savagery,
ana the Daniel of the occasion having a
bad eye"
In addition to this startling exhibition,
the cages of the tigers, panthers, leopards,
hyenas, etc, were open, with only iron
bars between the carnivorous beasts and
the fearful public. In each instance how
ever, the animals Lad been fed That is to
say, live man had been offered to. each
gang OF snarling ard roaring specimens of
zooioglca! savagery. The neverfailing wis
dom OF the management, though, came to
the rescue in each case Either the gentle
| men who entered the dens were so tough
that the animals did not want them or
We're SO stern In their manners and threat
eh-ng in their dispositions that the an...,4.>
were cowed Anyhow, the scene was n
| real live one, and it was an absolute boon
| to those who could not raise the price of a
circus ticket. To them nothing could be
better; and the stories told by the more
fortunate of the daring and skillful acts
| and dazzling splendor inside the tent will
| TO them ever be the productions of a NAL
| evolent fairy.
| Within the Big Tent.
Devote as much space as it might to the
| subject, The Star could not undertake to
| give the full details of all that was desery-
ing in the afternoon performance, which
was witnessed by an audience that was
only limited by the capacity of the NAM
| moth tent in which it was given. At the
hour the Star quits the tent there has been
enough going on to justify the title of
greatest show on earth" A veteran cyn:c
| IN criticism of the sawdust arena and the
| horse OPERA must find in Barnum and
| BaileyS concern return to excellence in
! horsemanship and the higher class of gym
nastics The performance seemed 10 be the
! beginning of the eformation-the return to
| the better things of other days, when we
had bareback riders who were world
| famous, and when art and not hppoirom-
| Ing was the recommended tons to arenic en-
| gagements. .
| The Meers sisters are marvels in eques-
trianism. They do an act which is truly
| wonderful. 1t is poetry of motion and DASH
ing audacity deity combined.
William Showles is a rider of distinct
merit, and indeed the whole equestrian es-
| adjustment was up to the highest standard
| of this day.
The Vastness of the EstabIishment
| The number of men, women and horses
connected with the Barnum & Bailey show
| is one Of the wonders of the occasion.
| They come in armies through the flaps in
the tent, and the beholder wonders where
| they all were kept before they entered the
| hippodrome track. The vastness Of the
| establishment is one of the prime features
of the show. There is so mucn of it that
| the generous and just man would go back
to the ticket wagon and give up more
money could he spare the time from the
| rapid succession of sights moving swiftly
before him like human panorama. Col
umns might be occupied in talking about
| the elephants, the riders, the races, the
| professions. the trained animals, the aero
bats, the dancers. the almost paradoxic
| feats of daring, the congress of nations,
| introducing representatives from every sec
| ton of the globe &c; but The Star is not
a kinetoScore, to reproduce in detail all
| that is to be seen.
comparison of the posters and small
bills on the one side and the actual ex-
hibition and performance on the otner
will show marked discrepancy. The bal
ance will be, though, with the show itself
| 1t is to be doubted if the talent in design
and the printing and LthogIaphic fac!l-
tiles are suff Client to cover .h4 ground pre-
sented by the show itself.
This mammoth concern will tarry in Enc
polite society Of the capital city tonight,
tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow nigh,
and then depart Cor L tour Of the country
leaving the small boy circrsless and mel
ancholy, except for recollection, ill the
May sun of 1897 lights up another SHOW.
which will be too da"zr., for the ewes CT
'96 to contemplate. The world moves. and
SO do Barnum & Bailey.