The Forrest City times., 1899-06-02
DAVID GOES TO THE
CIRKIS
n,T COME along to a time when
By Edward Noyes Westcott.


was 'twixt - an IA. The was
Ills billed to show down here in
uomeyille, an ev'ry barn an shed fer
niles around had pictures stuck onto
em of ELEPHANTS, an rhinoceroses, an
,r,rv animal that went into the ark;
N, girls ridin' bareback an jumpin'
through hoops, an fellers' ridin' bare
hack an turnin' summersets, an doin'
turnoyers on swings; an clowns gettin'
,,bipped. an ev'ry kind of thing
that could be pictered out; an how
the was to be a grand procession at
ten o'clock, 18th golden chariots, an
scripteral allegories, an the hull
bus'nis: an the gran performance at
two o'clock; admission, rs cents; chill
dren under Il, at cetery; an so forth.
Va'al, | hadn't no more idee o goin' to
that cirkis n had o fiyin' to the moon,
Int the night before the show somethin'
know how twas. I'd ben helpin' mend
fence all day, an gen'ally l never
knowed nothin' after my head strucf
the bed till nornin'; but that night,
ANYHOW, somethin' walked me, an L
went an looked out the windo', an
there was the hull thing goin' by the
house. The was more or less moon, an
| see the ELEPHANT, an the big wagins-
the drivers kind O. noddin' over the
dashboarls-an' the chariots with can
vas coyers-I don't know how many
of 'em-an' the cages of the tigers an
lions, an all. Wa'al, | got up the next
mornin' at sun-up an done my chores;
an after breakfast / set off fer the
ten-acre lot where l was mendin' fence
The ten-acre was the farthest off of
any, bonneville way, an / had my din
ner pail so't needn't lose no time goin'
home at noon, an, as luck would have
it, the want nobody with me that
mornin'. Wa'al, l got down to the lot
an set to work; but somehow couldn't
git that show out o my head nohow.
As / said, l hadn't no more notion of
goin' to that cirkis N | had of kingdom
come. I'd never had two shillin' of my
own in my hull life. But the more !
thought ont the uneasier / got. Some
thin seemed pullin' an haulin' at me,
that procession anyway if it took leg,
an mebbe l cd git back 'ithout nobody
missin' me. 'Tany rate, I'd take the
chances of lickin' jest once-fer that's
what it meant-an' / up an put fer the
village lickity-cut. l done them four
mile lively, / en- tell We, an the stun
bruises never hurt me once.
when l got down to the village it
seemed TO me as if the hull population
of Freeland county was there. I'd
never seen so many folks together in
mylife, an fera spellit seemed to me as if
everybody wasalookin' at me an sayin':
That's old Harum's boy Dave playin'
hockey an | sneaked round dreadin'
scmebody'd give me away; but / fin'lv
found that nobody wa mt payin' any at
tention to me--they were there to see
the show, an one red-headed boy more
or less want no partic'ler account.
Naal, putty soon the percession hove
IN sight, an the was regular STAN
pede among the boys. an when it got
by, run an ketched up with it agin,
an walked alongside the ELEPHANT, tin
pail an all, till they fetched up inside
the tent. Then l went off to one side
II must "a ben about 'leven or half-past,
an eat my dinner had devourin' APP
petite-an' thought I'd jest walk round
spell, an then light out fer home.
But the was so many things to see an
hear-all the side-show pictures of fat
women, an livin' skeletons; an wild
women of Madygasker, an wild men
OF Borneo: an snakes windin' round
women's necks, hand-orgins, fellers
That played the Gordon. an mouth
pipes an drum an cymbals all at once.
an such like-that I forgot all about
the time an the ten-acre lot. an the
stun fence, an fust / knowed the folks
was maxim fer the ticket wagin, an
The band began to play inside the tent.
he taNin' yonr patience over the linn
NJ? said David, breaking off in his
story and addressing Mrs. Cullom more
directly.
NO, l guess not she replied II
was jest thinkin' of a circus | went to
once, she added, with an audible sigh.
Wa'al," said David, taking last
farewell of the end of his cigar, which
he threw into the CRATE, "mebbe what's
comm III int'rest We more'n the rest
on I has. ! was standin' gawpin' round,
"st MIN to the band an watchin' the
folks git their tickets, when all of a
suddin | felt twitch at my hair-it
Tad q way of workin' out of the holes
IA my old chip straw hat-an' somebody
says to me; 'Wa'al, sonny, what you
.mnIiin' OFF, he says. l looked up, an
"ho do you s'pose it was? 1t was Billy
.. Cullom. l knowed who he was,
Ter I'd seen him before, but, of course,
&c didn't know me. Yes, ina am, it was
cilly p, an want he rugged out to
kill"
LIE speaker paused and looked into
.te lire, smiling. The woman started
forward facing him, and clasping her
hands, cried: MY husband. What'd
dc have on?"