The Mena weekly star., 1906-10-18
CORNERS ON MEMORY.
Should Be Brushed Off, Now That the
 Circus is Coming to Town.

utiipodIuS ana barns to the ex.
 cluslon of all else and tue fair
 female on the horse, leaping
 through the hoop, rivets your eye to her pictorial charms, if becomes time to brush off the cob
 webs that have somewhat be-
 logged your memory and harken
 back to the days of the dear dead past. Can words describe the sensations you experienced when
 you beheld for the first time in
 Jour life circus parade? Prob
 ably not. Most of us were in
 arms and too young 10 become
 thoroughly interested. But a
 little later in life, when you were old enough to walk and could un. dersfand the name of things and
 could distinguish between brass
 band and a steam whistle, or a dump cart and gold chariot it was at that age that you really saw your first circus parade, for that age is probably as far back as memory can carry you. It was about this time that circus day took precedence over every other day on your calender. You look ed forward to the Fourth of July and tue ten weeks summer vacation from school and Thanks giving and Christmas were on your list, but the circus led the procession and trotted Tn a class by itself. You recall how the first advance car arrived in town, then the pictures on the bill. boards; then a little later the posters iu the store windows. From this time on everything went by the board in anticipation of the circus. You began to save your pennies and you were especially good to your mother. You ran errands without com plaint and begged to be asked to run more. You never cried, you were never cross, and you went to bed early for weeks without registering the semblance of a kick. And how you did buckle into that woodpile! But those are all memories of the past. The day of days dawned when the circus arrived. When you were very young you arose at 3 a. in., after sleepless night, and with big brother or father wend ed your way to the place of un- loading. A little later in life you did not go to bed, but sat up all night and convinced yourself that the night before circus day was tue longest in the year. After the first number on the days program -thc unloading ot the show came a short inter mission, then the parade. You stood on the sidewalk, the curb stone, or in doorway; or per naps you were perched in a tree or on a lamp post. How you did stretch the cords of your neck looking for that first chariot with the band, And how you imagin- ed every three minutes you heard the band and would look again in the direction from which the parade was to come. Then II did come. First the big chariot with glass sides and with the band on top. Then more gold chariots drawn by four six or eight horses. Then some cages with animals and then more wagons and more cages. Then perhaps riders on horseback and another band. Finally the lum- bering elephants preceded by the man on horseback who shouted: "Hold your horses!"
 We'll, that was your first circus parade. That was the first real circus thrill that tingled the blood in your veins. From that time on you had the fever and circus day became the star day on your eng cement book. Circuses have changed since those days and parades have changed. Year bv year they have become better, larger and more gorgeous. Year by year have been added teats of greater daring, animal perfor.