The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-20
TheRobinson- Franklin Shows
Take the Town.
A FIRST CLASS SHOW
AND A PAGEANT OF GORGEOUS
AND INTERESTING PARADE.
COURTEOUS
MANAGERS
THE
And Their Grand Army Of Clever Artists are
in Tented Grandeur and Excellence.

The circus train arrived at o'clock
girls at st. Mary's had opened their
dreamy eyes and green window blinds
the Cameron field, to the west of the
campus, had become a scene of life and
motion and big canvas tents were being
spread out upon the ground.
The merry ring Of sledge hammers and
the chorus of animals, rudely awakened,
served to notify the people that the
show had come. All the main tents are
new, and they cover about four acres or
ground. The cars were unloaded very
early, and as soon as the different sec
tons were uapacked and put on the
lot men were on hand in their accns-
toned places to pitch IN END put them
in their proper position.
The parade started OH time Even be-
fore, the appointed hour-12 o'clock
the streets were thronged with people
old and young, black and withdrawing
for the long line of cages, richly ca
parisoned horses gaily decked band
wagons and the tinsel glitter usual on
such occasions.
When the parade did start the crowd
dressed in closer and closer to the mid
die of the street to get near look at
the climbing monkeys, restless tigers,
blinking lions or lazy-looking elephants.
Every balcony and available window
along the street was utilized by people,
gazing wistfully at the flashing process
sion and the jamming crowd on the
street below.
The performance began at o'clock,
and in spite of the rain the crowd was
one of the largest in the shows history
- -, Earlt 90
ing at once with half dozen clowns do
ing the most ridiculous and unexpected
things. There were acrobatic feats that
won most generous applause from the
audience by their daring and skill. Then
here were charioteers, jockeys. bare
back riders, hurdlers. athletes and
trapeze performers until one grew tired
of saying All and applauding at the
wonderful things one saw everywhere
under that b.g canvas.
The circus brought three Showers
shower of rain. tremendous shower o.
PEOPLE and a perfect shower of rich and
rare circus entertainment IL has been
said that a circus tent is never fun. but
the Robinson Franklin people knocked
that SAYING into little atoms Of mot SOS
yesterday, for. despite the rain, tie
huge tent was flied from one end TO the
other TX was a great, well behaved
crowd. met together 10 see strictly
frst-cEass circus performance, and they
were all accommodated.
The fun began as soon as the doors
were opened with the young circus come
dian going about in front Of the gather
ing crowd looking for his pa"
..Have any Of you folks seen anything
Of my "a. old man Jewberry Meddlin
Montgomery. anywhere among you all.
He acted the lost country boy to per
lection. and the big fat. funny police
man helped TO amuse the gathering thou
sands.
Every opera seat was taken long be-
fore the performance began and every
other seat in the tent was filed. The
grand entry was a passing pageant Of
aiIded magnifcence set to music. The
horses were spick and span, handsome,
well groomed and as lively as the riders.
The band, led by the graceful female
cornetist, made the tent ring with stir
ring music, the fancy chariots moved
IN graceful time. The lady riders,
dressed in gorgeous costumes, rode their
spirited steeds with charming ease; the
clowns moved along in the grand march
furnishing merrment at which every
body laughed. 1t was a clean, neat and
artistic procession, exhibiting the circus,
or a large portion of it, in a few minutes
grand march.
The bell strikes, and "presto change
the grand march is at an end and the
three rings are teeming with exciting
and thrilling circus actors and actresses,
crowding each number for nearly three
hours, with as refined and as commend
able performance as has ever been tent
ed in Raleigh. Over it all Mr.. w. w.
Franklin, the model circus manager, was
the controlling spirit, passing from tent
to tent, from apartment to apartment,
in careful and gentlemanly supervision,
manifesting a deep interest not only in
the performance but in the comfort and
pleasure of everybody, giving calm and
courteous orders to his subordinates as to
comfortably seating the vast audience.
Passing over with friends and lovers
of fine horses to the immense tent where
100 of the finest horses that ever pulled
gorgeous floats or raced in hippodrome
were feeding and resting.
We do not say too much when we pro-
nounce this circus management one of
the best, most inoffensiye and most
courteous that has ever come this way.
The menagerie is not bulky, but it is
select, and the animals are all healthy
and interesting specimens, and are
among lne ptst speNAhhSAS mat law
been shown here.
The circus performance is not tiresome
nor burdensome. There are no unneces-
sary, weighty nor cumbersome features.
Every act is artistic, every actor, actress.
rider, leaper and acrobat an artist.
There is a vein of real genuine and
original humor running through the
entire performance. Not a smutty
joke about it, but rollicking, happy fun.
Mr.. Franklin has among his perform
ers many that have no superior in the
circus world. The beautiful Earle Sis
tiers, South Americas famous nymphs
of the air, are seen in dazzling trapeze
perfection; the French brothers in won
derful horseback feats,. a dozen lady
bareback riders, each an artist.
The circus is a good one. 1t charmed