Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-05
Copyright. 1907, by R. T. Hamilton.)

James A Bailey travelled with
him every summer and looked
after his comfort She had
beautiful home in New YORK
and plenty of money; yet she kept house
for him. with a colored cook, in his pri-
waite car en- route.
But Mrs. Bailey was the only woman
with the show proper who had no direct
part in the show itself. With such a vast
necessary outfit there is never any room
for deadheads: not for one. Wives of per-
formers frequently adopt some role IN or
der to travel with their husbands. but IL
must be one which is necessary or usefu!
TO the show-such as driving a chariot
caring for properties, etc.
The daughter of the tattoed couple be-
came a freak. known as 1.-THE moss-ha,rei
girl" so as to be with her parents. Nine.
White was costumer her daughter Emma
was ''Haute Ecoe" rider. and the latter's
husband was property man. Mr.. White
had trained dogs This family of four
started a third generation while en- route
abroad with a girl born to the young
couple in Germany and a boy born III
France The children were put out under
nurscs-and when the parents started 1oF
the United States, after the five years tour
they gathered up their progeny to find that
the girl understood only German and the
boy only French. The parents knew only
English. The charming young mother
who with two brief intermissions had ap-
peared in the ring all of that time, was
not able to understand her own children
and could not be understood by them.
Not infrequently more than two men,
bers of the same family belong to the
show-husband, wife, daughter or sou.
when
her little daughter was in the carrying
act and her husband was equestrian
director.
There are more married couples in the
circus business than In any other Some
times they play in teams; sometimes it Is
a whole family. Sometimes the husband Is
a clown, while his wife is a trapese artist
or the husband is at the horizontal bars
and his wife does the slack wire; or the
wife drives a chariot, while the husband
Is employed In the administrative depart
ment, and so on.
There is a sympathetic chord common to
the whole family of performers. and this
is danger Any dangerous feat Is always
the subject of general solicitation. man
may be painted and dressed as clowh,
but he can't very well feel funny when his
wife or daughter is poised high in the air
preparatory to a swinging catch or somer-
sault which may be her last act upon
earth.
I have often witnessed this tender So
ucitude which others did not see, and have
noted the deep drawn breath of relief
when the danger passed There are
many such anxious faces at every per-
Torrance, consequent upon the family rela-
ton; but dangerous feats have the SYM
pathy of all without exception. Even the
uniformed ring attendants look pleased
when the thing is over; while the father,
mother husband, wife, brother or sister,
not in the act, having watched it breath
lessly from some secluded corner, silently
thank God that the time which is sure to
come sooner or later has not yet arrived.
When you see these couples and families
huddled together in the shade of the wag-
ons or in remote cool corners of the big
tents between performances, the women
sewing knitting or crocheting, the men Cos
siping smoking snoozing, 1t would re-
uuire a stretch of the imagination for you
10 picture them in tights and tinsel on
horseback. the high trapeze or doing
the bars-they look so homelike, domestic
and commonplace.
On Sundays they enjoy grand rest,