The sun., 1902-09-07
"SPECS" FOR CIRCUS GIANT.
nov I JEWELLER FILLED THE
BILL ON SHORT NOTICE.
lie stood al the second-story window and
Fitted the Big Fellow Win the Giided
spectacies That served as sign,
Il sing Umbrella Ribs for Bows.

sing Umbrella Ribs for Bows.
He never tired, the old man never did,
said the old circus man, -of working up
things to bring the colossal stature OF the
greatest Of all giants more vividly To the
mind of the beholder Many of these
things We're in the nature OF harmless prac-
tical jokes on somebody and often 1t hap
pened that the men on whom he sought to
play these jokes turned the tables on him,
But that never disturbed the old man.
He could take a joke as well As make one:
and. besides, out of whichever spout it ran
it was all grist for him Take, for instance,
a case like this one:
A day ahead Of the show tho old man
goes into the principal jewelry and optical
store in the town where the show IL going
to bc next day and tells the man that he's
got friend coming tomorrow who's only
going TO he there a day and who will be
pretty busy while he is there, and who
will want a pair Of spectacles. Can the
jeweller fit him out with what ne wants right
on the spot without waiting?
And the jeweller says Why, sure, that
there's no store outside of New York that's
got any moro complete stock Of glasses
than he has and he can III him ont In
minute.
so next day the old man brings the
great giant along to have him fitted with
the spectacles. The circus is there, and
they've had the morning parade, and the
whole town and all the country around Is
out, and right here is where the old man
works in the little Joke, in advance OF the
afternoon performance Followed, of course,
by a multitude, he takes the greatest OF all
giants through the streets 10 the store OF
the ieweller and there halts; the crowd won
dering what under the canopy can be up.
Leaving the giant with the crowd around
HIM, standing out in the street, in goes the
old man, into the store, 10 see the jrweler.
And he says to him: Well. I've got my
man out here now. Are you ready for
him?'
bring him right along in. says the
jeweller. briskv, and we'll 1T him out in
short order
: He can't come in very well, says the
old man, ,,,..-
jewelry man.
There's nothing the matter with him,
saws the boss, but he couldn't get in here
unless he should crawl in
And then the jeweller goes out and sees
the giant, towering up there, like light
house among lot OF people standing
around its base.
Think you can fit him. says the old
man.
TO r. says the jeweler. Just have
him step in ON the sidewalk close to the
front of the building, will you"
And, disappearing in the store, the
ieweller reappears moment later at a
second-story window, in close proximity
10 the giant. who had now, in compliance
with his request, been brought in close to
the front Of the building. Standing on
the window-sill of this second-story win
dow the jeweiler finds that. he can now
easily reach up to the level Of the great
giants eyes
ont over the window -ill the ieweller un-
hooks from the bracket to which they are
swung over his store door the big gilded
spectacles that serve there az sign.
You've seen EN- | guess? This pair had
frames about three feet long, the openings
being glazed with green glass. Getting
hack in with these spectacles the jewelier
stood up again on the window-sll and tried
'am across the giants nose.
IF they'd been made for him they
couldn't have fitted him better, hey?' he
saws. looking down at the old man, who
was standing there on the sidewalk in the
front of the crowd, and incidentally think
in q TO himself that this was one Of the times
"A hen the local man didn't come out second
best.
AN they want il pair Of bows the
iewpller went on. There really ISN'T much
demand for spectac Of this size and SO
we don't always carry EN- in stock fitted
up and you've just happened 10 hit us
when we hadn't any with the be ws on.
But We can put on pair IN minute.
In this store-and | guess you'd find
plenty of such places still--while they did
not sell them, they repaired umbrellas and
parasols. as they did clocks aud watches
and spectaclcs. which they did sell. II
was at the time when the once commonly
used whalehone ribs had been supplanted
almost entirely in umbrellas 10y steel ribs,
but before the Introduction OF the ribs
of angle steel now universally used, Tho
ribs used then were made of slender
steel rods.
-The ieweller took two spare umbrella
bows Of this sort and bent 'em at one end
To make the hooks to 60 over the ears,
and then in about a minute he fastened
the two thus made into spectacle bows TO
the ends Of the big spectacle frames and
then hustled upstairs with the now com
pleted spectacles and tried EN- on the
giant. He'd got those bows bent Just about
right at the first guess. and they didn't
need any al iustment
I guess he'll find them all right says
the jeweller looking down at the old man
below again and when the two had settled
on about how much was to pay for them
and as q matter Of fact the people rarely
tried 10 stick us on these things the old
man paid and then he and the giant, the
great giant looking more amazing than
ever in those green spectacles. started TO
walk back TO the circus lot with the whole
town following after.
"The parade had been great, but this one.
single, strange. curious and striking thing
was a better ad. for VA still.
And the old man was forever thinking
up things like this, which, no matter