Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-05-08
.|(ircu5PeoDfe
!. |. in UndfeS5
New York sur.

! hood-the old-fashioned ideas which eau
tious parents of a possibly less liberal
minded age than this had deemed advis-
able to impress upon young minds In or
der to offset the glitter and glamour OF
the performance. the tumult OF untamed
beasts and the glow of pink tights. Ger
| tainly il was a spangleless spectacle that
J unfolded itself to them as they made their
way up the sharp incline and into the big
| empty-seated garden.
The great tan bark oval with its rings
and stages and idly swayfng trapezes
seemed to them In the uncompromising
daylight the Endless Ellipse" which the
dexterously aIliterative program said 1t
was And, moreover. It was peopled with
much the sort OF men and women their
preconceived ideas of circuses had led
them to believe they would find there
swearing clustering men m shirt sleeves,
women with towsled hair and pink wrap
pers. Yet the longer they remained in the
Endless Ellipse mingling with the men
and women in the shirt sleeves and the
pink wrappers the more insistent became
the suspicion that something was radi-
| cally wrong with their childhood notions
OF the domestic side Of circus life.
They were rather an old-fashioned
couple who knew more about character
than circuses and when a man who
knew personally the manager OF the
| EFOTepau&n- DIOd.I
fury Colossus invited them to see the
show between performances they had &C
cepted the invitation as a compromise
between 4heir consciences and their de-
sire to see the circus.
1 The manager received them with q
| courtesy and a quiet dignity which they
| had not expected from a circus man. He
| assigned to them an assistant as guide
and one of the first things they discovered
/ was that they were not the only guests
/ Of the manager. There were a great many
other men and women who were being
/ chaperoned by guides, and seeing the cir
Gus between performances. seemed to be
| quite function in itself. ~
| There were number Of rehearsals going
| on in different parts Of the enclosed space.
| In one corner, Brien, the assistant ele-
plant trainer. was alternately scolding
] and caressing a little old elephant named
John. John had the sulks. He is star,
and of course he has right to sulk.
The guide escorted his visitors over TO
that corner and introduced them to Mr..
| O'Brien He was perspiring-
You must excuse my appearance" he
1 said, wfping his forehead with hts sleeve.
| "But when you've got an elephant on your
4 hands that's pouting like a comic opera
star you hain't got no use to dress up"
| eft must be a very dangerous vocation, "
| said the woman.
O'Brien ignored the implied compli-
/ ment.
| aPye been round elephants, you might
/ say, ever since could walk an I've been
| a close student of elephant character" he
/ explained 'but I don't know no more
about that little old Johnnie than you do.
st can't make up my mind whether he's
| a rogue that hain't got sand enough I let
/ me have ii or whether he's just wise old
| guy that's bin kiddin' me along for twelve
1 80 often he strike
/ and during them times he tries his pretti-
/ est to get the other elephants TO go out
] with him-kind Of a sympathetic strike.
Gle can't stand prosperity. guess
/ that's what ais him. Every time we drop
into a soft place like this he gets proud
| an naughty. See him winkin' at me now
/ with one o. them little Baxter street eyes
of his; he's sayin' not on your life!'
The visitors, never having devoted much
/ time to a conscientious study OF elephant
| character, could mot interpret the wink.
but they condoled with O'Brien and the
man said that Johnnie was probably try
ing to organize union or else he was an
| elephantine practical joker. And then
/ they all laughed difhdently, as people will
/ when they speak to one another in diner
/ ent dialects OF the same language.
In the ring nearest the Fourth avenue
| entrance a young girl in a very unfiounced
/ bathing suit was turning somersaults
/ from a broad backed placid white horse.
AS the 1.-the young figure whirled through
the air. and landed with unerring pre-
cision on the exact spot where It had left
the horse, the guide unconsciously lapsed
/ into the professional circus barker.
THAT Is Dollie Julian" he announced
/ with a gesture that embraced both Miss
| Julian and four Shetland ponies. She
i is the only female somersault bareback
rider in the world. In youth. beauty. skill
| He FY,o f.a
/ euuestrienne in all circus history.
| He caught the eye of the only female
| somersault rider and beckoned to her.
"I want you to meet her." he said.
The couple gasped simultaneously.
isn't It dreadful the woman whisper
/ ed tragically to her husband. why. do
/ you know, I am actually embarrassed.
j What in the world can we say to herr"
About as bad as being presented at
court-or to the new shop" the hus-
bard responded with husky attempt at
| gayety, you. however, will certainly re-
| frain, my dear from asking her where
| she has her dresses made"
But much to their surprise and relief
| they found Miss Julian quite a different
person from what they had reason to ex-
! pect from the guides grandiloquent des-
| cription of her. She was delightfully."-
| ingenious young woman and in very few
| moments she had made the visitors quite
forget that they were In the presence OF
and were actually conversing with the
only Female Somersault Rider in the
| " I'D.
To be sure she confined her converse
ton rather strictly to bareback subjects
but she spoke of them with the simplicity
of a schoolgirl. She invited the woman
visitor to meet her guardian, a famous
| equestrinne herself, in her time, she ex-
| planned. and now the mother of three
young girls whom she was ringing up 10
| follow n her own sandaled footsteps.
while the woman was gone. the
| guide took her husband into another ring
and introduced him to Frank Melville.
| the old-time bareback rider. Mr.. Melville s
connection with the circus now is that Of
professor emeritus Of equine education.
The day before he had received a re-
quest from three women-English women
to show them how to teach a horse to
| kneel. The three women were in the ring
when the guide and his visitor entered IL
/ and the professor emeritus was giving
| them a practical demonstration Of his
method Of making a, horse, in spite OF de-
cided views to the contrary, kneei down,
| or sit up or roll over or 90 any other I'M
dignified thing he requested him to.
The three women were giving the pro-
/ fessor their undivided attention. Obvi-
/ ously they were very much in earnest.
Now, madame" he was explaining TO
| the eldest of the three, a woman who
could not have ridden an ounce under
fourteen stone. when you wish TO teach
horse to kneel and to do so without
n