Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-04-23
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9 GOING TO
; TEE CIRCUS
: Ey GA SPA r DEAN
Copyright, 1909, by r. C. Mcclure

"Why, bless your heart, l never went
to a circus in all my life" 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 90 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
byteiian-everybody but me-and they
won't even attend camp meeting If
lemorade is to be sold on the grounds
l don't exactly know what my religion
is, but il | went t. a circus nobody
would ever speak to me again"
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 n barn on the Red Mill road
been thus defiled. 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 Bidwell 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 a long
minute the good old man thought his
eyes deceived Eim, 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 few 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
er cheerful and he called back from
the gate:
"Yes; / s'pose there IL be camels
there with two humps. mebbe with
three, and they'll be wuth 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
81 Want to Be an Angel when the
coIored posters suddenly confronted
him. There were short sklrted, long
legged damsels poised on barebacked
horses or jumping through paper COW
cred hoops lie stood and gaZed and
felt cold chills 90 up his back. He
drove on TO the farmhouse, half ex-
pectng to find the Widow Bebee try
ing to turn handsprings over a kitchen
chair.
81 wouldn't "a believed it, widder-I
wouldn't IA believed itr' he began as
he entered the house. ITS the awfulest
thing | ever heard of, and you know
I've bin in Chicago twice and seen
some awful things"
The widow had a reply ready 1t be-
gan with hyenas and worked up to ele-
plants, taking In lions, tigers, grizzly
bears and sea lions as 1t rose upward.
She talked so earnestly and well that
when Deacon Burton was ready to go
he reluctantly admitted
mo, / don't 'spose it's any more
harm to look ut lion than to look at
woodchuck II you don't git mad and
rip and swear over It,"
There were others besides the dea-
cons. There was old Mrs. Gaynor, for
instance. She wasn't exactly a zealot,
but she never took dozen eggs TO
market without asking Heaven TO bless
them and make the price ii cents n
dozen. She wasn't a bigot, but she
contended that her own brand OF re-
ligion was the only one to be saved
by. She wasn't narrow minded, but
when she heard OF those circus posters
she went down to see Aunt Sarah and
to say:
''I've just stepped In u mint to say
that IL you go to that circus / can't
never let you enter my doors ag'in."
Aunt Sarah started in to argue, but
old Mrs Gaynor was on her guard
against the wiles of Satan and
In cn, tat IL
The day of the circus arrived, and
the widow drove into Medina to at
tend It, For some reason not to be ex-
planned a dozen farmers around her
had business in town that day and
made an early start-some OF them be-
fore daylight. Some of them also lin
gered and drove home after dark
II was all over the neighborhood that
Aunt Sarah defied public opinion, and
1t was old Mrs. GayDor who deter
mined to bring her to book. She went
about It In malevolence. She got up
what she called n quilting bee and
asked the three deacons and their
wives and three or four others and at
proper hour Aunt Sarah was sent for
TO be crushed. She arrived, and when
asked II she had anything TO say she
very calmly replied
81 didn't intend to gee nuthin' but the
animals but when | got in there Satan
bccl,oncd me into the circus tent, and |
went. The jokes of the clown ticllled
me almost to death. That's all I've got
to say"
"Dcacon Danforth, what do you think
OF such conduct asked Mrs. Gaynor
as she folded her arms and rolled up
her eyes.
"Nuthln', 'ccpt that | sat Jest behind
Aunt Sarah and was tickled, toor' he
replied.
"And you, Deacon Bldwell"
"Waal the hosscs was wonderfully
trained wonderfully. | can't skarse-
ly make out how they do It."
And yon. Deacon Burtoni You ain't
goin' TO tell me you was there too!'
81 got kind OF tired loolin' at the two
hump camcls, and as one ticket ad-
mltted TO all | went Into the circus
part" admitted the deacon.
"And where did you all git tlcsctsf"
demanded the accuser as n sudden
thought flashed across her mind
"Aunt Sarah gave us deadheadsT'
answered the three deacons In chorus.
"And left me out when shc knew I