The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-10
THE STUDENT CLOWN.
Chance Meeting In Small Town In
Wake of Circus.

From the New York Sun.
Irony Pastors account of his connec-
tion with a circus as a clown, printed in
The Sun, reminded me of singularly
pleasant Sunday which I passed in the
company of a man who was the surprise
of my life"
The remark was made by a man who
was formerly on the road for big COM
mercial house In New York and who is
now one of tho firm.
II can't tell you his name. for reason
that will appear later on" he continued
"I was caught in a. small town in the
middle west out of which there was no
railroad train on Sunday. The Fore
paugh circus had showed In the town
the day before, and although it had
its own train the circus. like myself,
stopped over until Monday morning, when
it pulled out for the next stand, about
sixty miles distant.
"There was but one hotel In the town
where we spent Sunday. The manage
ment and high class talent Of the circus
were guests of the tavern, Tor 1t was
more OF a tavern than hotel.
81 was sitting on the shady side of
the building, fighting flies as 1 tried to
read a volume of Hugo The quietly
dressed man who sat near by was also
reading
II don't know how long he had kept
our places on tilted chairs when my ST.
lent unknown laid down his book and
asked me II 1 would see that no one
disturbed 1t until his return. While he
was gone I looked at the volume just as
any man fond of books would do. 1t was
a COPY of Horace.
"If I had been in New York or Bos-
ton | would not have thought anything
of seeing Horace, or any or the CLASSICS
for thai matter. But to find the DOCK
lying on stool pottonea chan oL - IL
| dollar a day tavern rushed me back
mentally to studies in the academic
! shades of my alma mater
"Contact with country merchants, one
| night stands at cross roads and travels
! In all sorts of conveyances had Just ABOUT
| knocked out all 1 had ever learned or
Horace When the man VINO had lett
me on guard returned, he thanked me
| and offered tigar. That breaks up the
| ice always between men,
| "Wben we had finished our smoke
| left my chair and book In the Keeping
| of the stranger and went TO my room 10
| replenish my cigar case. On my re-
| turn | offered the guard OF my seat
smoke. He had looked at my volume,
| FOR lie Sa1u Ill atSNPp16
my case:
you are to be congratulated You
| oan read Hugo much easier when light
| ing flies than you can read Latin poet
| whose lines, occasionally, cause you TO
| dig up some latent rule.
1I don't recall my reply. 1t was prob
! ably something stupid. But we got to-
pether on our respective authors.
HE read and translated, and then ne
quoted. ~.
"sNo wonder recall him saying, his
| friends Maecenas give him farm in the
Sabine hills. / have been in that very
eountry-in that market town OF Varia
"The flies bothered me no more Hugo
Les Miserables' was closed, and the
ebadows of the tavern had heightened
until they commingled with the shadows
Of the evening, when we had finished our
ran,hles We went into supper-they have
| no late dinners In the country town
| After the meal we had another smoke
LAS I was leaving him later he asked
me where was travelling. When toio
him he said:
'.There Is where I am going. I have
a special car. will you do me the honoi
TO be my guest tomorrow!
T gladly accepted. On the following
morning we breakfasted early and start
cd for the station. We walked over to
a side track, on which long and curl
|
why. this is Forepaughs circus train,
".To be sure replied my Horatian
| eriend Get abroad this COACH and he
/ indicated the one to which we mad come
when we had climbed IN, and after
| the train was under Roadway, ] Ventured
TO ask what connection my new FOUND
| friend had with the circus. Just then
| one Of the handsomest men ever sd"
! entered the coach
The Horatian student hailed him, and
turning IN me asked my name, apologize
| ing for not learning 1t before. When ]
| bad p,ven IL he said to the handsome
! man: -, ~
"aThis is Mr.. - of New York. He
has asked me what connection nave
with the show :,
,ectlv. they played with me in a clever
| sort of way until we reached the next
eve went to the same tavern. After
dinner the friend Of Horace asked me
| to go with him to the circus. When we
| reached the tent he took me in-dead-
| i,oadad me-then excused himself and dis
! appeared. ot,,
| tho fool in the sawdust ] don't know
| how If happened. but we did not meet
cat, ant / heard that he was a stu
dent and that he had chosen this way
| of seeing the world.
.IJe was. of course, acting the clown
under an assumed name. The handsome
man who was his friend. was Bob
stickney, the most graceful man that
| ever saw a saddle.
"All efforts on my part to learn some
/ thing more of the history of the scholar
clown failed. and | finally gave IL up
! ,,,tt;ne down the incident 7 have related
| as one Of the most interesting that ever
occurred in my checkered career of six
| ty years"