Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1903-06-30
GOING TO
THE CIRCUS
BY cASPAR DEAN
Copyright, 1908. by r. c. Mcclure

VSVSVSVoVoVoVX
Aunt Sarah Bebee after whose ia
Their Bebee's Corners had been named.
was widow past fifty the day a
| sporty looking man drove up to her
farmhouse in a fancy rig and wanted
to arrange with her TO cover the front
of her barn with circus pictures.
why, bless your heart, never went
| to a circus in all my lifer' she ex-
| claimed in reply.
| But you are not too old to begin,
he suggested. LET me put the pic
lures up, and I'll leave you ten tickets
of admission. You can go and take all
your friends"
| Land o. massy, but you don't know
Bebee's Corners! Everybody around
here is a Methodist or Baptist or Pres
everybody but me-and they
won't even attend camp meeting II
| lemonade is to be sold ON the grounds.
| don't exactly know what my religion
| is, but if went to a circus nobody
would ever speak to me gain"
| The circus man wanted his bills on
| that barn, and he argued and reasoned
| for half an hour. He saw that Aunt
Sarah was an independent character
and that If he could get her started
she'd be ready to defy public opinion,
The result was that she finally said:
"Well, go ahead with your pictures.
| never saw an elephant or lion or tiger
in my life, and I'll go and see the
menagerie part anyhow. There II be
an awful row around here, and folks
will think that Satan has got hold OF
me, but I'll have to stand it,"
The pictures were hardly up when
Deacon Danforth happened along the
highway and saw them. He turned
pale and trembled. Not in twenty years
before had a barn on the Red Mill road
been thus defled When he had recov-
cred little from the shock, he walked
to the house and confronted the wild
ow. For the first fifteen minutes the
conversation was devoted to Satan,
hades, Lots wife, Judas Iscariot and
other interesting subjects. But it grad
ually tapered off to hyenas, boa con
strictors and alligators, and the deacon
was almost smiling when he left the
house.
Next day Deacon Bidwcll saw those
pictures as he sat in his buggy behind
his old white horse. The horse saw
them before he did and stopped so sud
denly that the deacon was pitched
against the dashboard. For long
minute the good old man thought his
eyes deceived him, but the true state
of affairs finally dawned upon him,
and he groaned and sighed and drove
up to the widows gate.
"Widder Bebee. have you sold your
liyin' soul to Satan?" was his greeting,
and then the fur flew. 1t was nearly
an hour before he left the house, but
he wasn't signing and groaning as he
went. On the contrary, he looked rath-
or cheerful, and he called back from
the gate:
Yes; / s'pose there II be camels
there with two humps. mebbe with
three, and they'll be with lookin at"
There was one more deacon in the
neighborhood. Deacon Burton. He was
driving to town to get a pitchfork
mended and was humming the air of
Il Want to BE an Angel when the
| colored posters suddenly confronted
| him. There were short skirted, long
legged damsels poised on barebacked
horses or jumping through paper GOV
| cred hoops. He stood and gazed and
| felt cold chills go up his back. He
| drove on to the farmhouse, half ex-
| pecting to find the Widow Bebee try
ing to turn handsprings over kitchen
| chair
II wouldn't "a believed 1t, widder-l
wouldn't "a believed itv' he began as
he entered the house. Its the awfulest
thing l ever heard of, and you know
I've bin in Chicago twice and seer
some awful things
| The widow had reply ready. 1t be
| gan with hyenas and worked up to ele
| plants, taking in lions, tigers. grizzly
| bears and sea lions as II rose upward
She talked so earnestly and well thai
when Deacon Burton was ready to e
he reluctantly admitted:
mo. / don't 'spose It's any more
harm to look at lion than to look at {
woodchuck il you don't git mad and
rip and swear over it"
1 There were others besides the dea
cons. There was old Mrs. Gaynor, fol
instance. She wasn't exactly a zealot
| but she never TOOK a dozen eggs Il
market without asking Heaven to bles.
them and make the price IA cents {
| dozen. She wasn't bigot. but sh,
/ contended that her own brand of re
ligion was the only one to be saved
| by. She wasn't narrow minded, bu
| when she heard of those circus poster,
/ she went down to see Aunt Sarah ans
| to say:
'.I've just stepped I'm a mint to sa,
that If you go to that circus / cam
never let you enter my doors ag'in."
Aunt Sarah started in to argue, blu
old Mrs Gaynor was on her guars
against the wiIes of Satan ant
wouldn't wait for further talk
The day OF the cifcus arrived. an,
| the widow drove into Medina to at
tend it. For some reason not to be ex
planned dozen farmers around be
had business in town that day an
made an early start-some of them be
fore daylight Some OF them also lin
gered and drove home after dark.
1t was all over the neighborhood tina
Aunt Sarah defied public opinion. AM
1t was old Mrs. Gaynor who deter
mined to bring her to book. She wen
what she called quilting bee an.
asked the three deacons and tbei
wives aud three or four others. and a
y r,re,,ay bo1.r Amt Sarah uas sent fo