The Topeka state journal., 1899-02-07
A CIRCUS TRAGEDY.

TFrom the Chicago Times Hera1d.1
Gugusse, the favorite of the Winter
Cirque, which stood in the shadow of
the Kremlin, was not a handsome fellow.
He had neither the wit of the clown,
| the grace of the chariot driver nor the
versatility of the ringmaster, yet he
was more popular with the Muscovites
! than all the three together He owed
his popularity a good deal to nature,
who had sent him into the world equip
| ped with an enormous head, large. fan
| like ears and a hunchback balanced
| upon slender legs. which bowed be-
meath their weight. He was the king of
| the dwarfs and the idol of the mob
| for, to a mob, grace, wit and strength
are nothing compared with hideous de-
| formity.
Yet he was a man. He had passions
like other men. He had heart within
his bony breast as capable of human
| affection as that possessed by any of
the public who applauded his tricks.
And this heart he had thrown at the
feet of Mile. Nina, daughter of Adolphe,
! the equilibrist, the handsomest horse
woman in the circus.
When she appeared at the circus for
the first time he was dazzled by her
beauty. She danced into the ring in a
cloud of gauze, among which spangles
glittered like diamonds. white rose,
suspended from pearly teeth, contrast
ed with the rich red of her cheeks and
coils of jet-black hair, which streamed
luxuriantly down to her waist. She
was proudly, insolently beautiful, and
the dwarf-whom the whim of a circus
| manager had taken from the cobbler's
1apstone-was completely daZzled by
the sight of such radiant 1oveliness.
AS time went on the star dropped
from the sky. The distance between
them grew less and less as the illusion
faded from his eyes. Every morning
he used to see the dazzling beauty of
the previous night, in a dirty morning
wrapper, patching her scanty wardrobe
as she watched the pot boil in the open
air. He began to talk with her, and
then he began to dream, and in his
dreams he saw Nina walking by his
side radiant with happiness.
Nina laughed at his gibes, screamed
at his jokes and shouted Encore
Gugusser' when the love-stricken dwarf
made some grotesque movement which,
he hoped, would be interpreted as an
exhibition of affection! The fair horse
woman occasionally caressed him as
she would have caressed a dog He was
less than a dog in the eyes of the circus
people. Jealous of his popularity, they
cuffed him whenever they met him. and
the dwarf found it useless to protest.
One evening he told Nina that he
loved her. The girl stared at him for a
moment as if she had not heard Alright,
and then burst into fit of laughter.
Gugusse frowned, and drew himself up
to the full height of his little figure,
hoping perchance to impress her. Then
he tSld her how he had loved her from
the moment he first saw her, and how
life was impossible without her re-
gard.
Every word the dwarf uttered was
like a jest to the merry-hearted girl.
She sat in her chair and shook with the
exuberance of mirth. Gugusse stepped
forward and took one of her white
plump hands in his horny palm. Nina
jumped up with a gesture of disgust
drew her hand away, and struck the
dwarf a blow in the face.
A few hours later the circus rang
with cheers as Gugusse entered. But
the dwarf had no heart for his work
that night, and he was Missed from the
ring.
The next day the circus bills bore the
imposing announcement:
Unparalleled Novelty. Stupendous
Attractions. The Tragedy of Usande;
or, The Martyred Maiden. Mile. Nina
and Gugusse."
At o'clock the house was crowded.
The usual exercises took place-tight
rope, trapeze, horizontal bar-but they
passed almost unnoticed. The people
were waiting for the promised tragedy.
They wanted to see the white-robed
maiden devoured by the bear.
At last Gugusse and Nina entered the
ring and the pent-up excitement of the
crowd found vent in cheers. Nina was
witching1y beautiful in her white toga,
over which fell tresses of rich, dark
hair She looked like the white-souled
martyrs of old, for whom the stake had
no terrorS. She advanced to the center
of the ring, and Gugusse, looking as
alton, bound her securely to the post.
Nina claSped her hands together, and
lifted her large eyes skyward in an at
titude of prayer.
Gugusse disappeared and re-entered
the ring with a tame bear, which had
been his playfellow since he left his
Polish home. He held the animal by
the ear, and as the brute struggled and