Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-01-16
Special Correspondence.

an English Circus Crowd.
special Correspondence.
London, January S.-If I write again
Oh the Barnum and Bailey show. it is
because it is the most prominent
amusement feature in the London eye,
Tue most timely topic on the London
'onsue' the pertinent paragraph of the
Lonuon press. 1t is not to say any
'hing about the show itself, but rather
" give pen picture, as it were, Of
some entertaining peculialities of the
ii1ish pubic IN relation thereto. We
al KNOW what the big show is at
nome, all about its managers, their
methods of advertising, the slap-baag
VI circus life. But there is some
.nlnS mere wholly unknown to our
ueaI american public-much that
would cause them to open their eyes
~ Wohoefment-to crack their sides
Win laughter; so much, in fact, that
almost despair of my ability to place
the picture before them as it is IN
rolled before me from day to day.
London is circus mad. To state the
matter generally in any other terms
would be to put it too mildly in ex-
pressing the situation. 1t is simply
stark, staring mad-to bowls, mysteries
and ldolatrous idiocy. You must COM
prehend this first; then you will be
prepared to understand the amusing
details that spring from the prevalent
malady. When l think of this pro-
verbally cold, reserved, phlegmatic
race, and hear all this whooping and
bowling and see ali of this dancing
and prancing-and bear in mind that
London is the metropolis Of souls and
brains, and business Of the world
| am fairly engulfed in my own amaze
ment. Yet there are the long lines Of
Londoners waiting outside in the fog
and rain from ten in the morning TIL
ten at night, unbroken-pressing upon
the mighty doors of vast Olympia.
These lines attack both sides OF the
building, swelling at midday into thou
sands; at one, the hour set for the
opening of the doors, becoming
A HALF FRANTIC MOB.
Before the afternoon crowd gets in,
the night audience begins to accumu-
late in the rear, and thus the pressure
from without apparently goes on un-
ceasingly. And these represent maiu-
ly the one, two and three shilling
seats, the higher priced being disposed
of largely at various points in the city.
To get inside there is a degree of hust-
ling and showing; and other phases OF
physical force that would be impossi-
in, ic
+, about the ticket wagon on the road.
This continues for an hour-and then
\come the disappointment and rage Of
The hindmost, who get into the Hobbies
Il finally to find ffal1 seats for this per-
'epnly!" The last named are for a
p5hilling, and admit the holder to ev-
j arything but the circus and spectacle.
But one afternoon 5000 Of these were
/ disposed of, in addition to all seats.
n and still there were not less than 5000
persons outside | have seen the Bar
mum show under many favorable Cir
cumstances in city and country at
home, but nothing like this. And the
prices are higher here. too-S15 for
an arena box, $3.50 for a box seat,
against $12 and 81 at Madison Square
Garden.
The crush, however, is but an item
of the story. The London press has
teemed with notices, advance and con-
temporaneous, of the big show. 1t
will amuse every American journal
and journalist, I know, when ] say
that the advance" of the great show
came down upon London strengthened
by special writer's from home, and by
SKILLED LOCAL TALENT
en- the spot, and prepared to take
PAD IS of advertising, and on the
Astrdkgfh Of this valuable patronage
nnload>the customary notices. "spe-
cial stories" etc. familiar to us at
home Well, few Of the papers kind
y consented to give UP certain advcr-
Using space under certain conditions,
some would let the show in for one-
ourth, Tor less, of what was asked