The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-03

Billy Morgan speaks of Senator
Longs political house" and its firm
foundations. There will be some curios-
ity whether this refers to that 100000
mansion in Washington
The threatened disappearance Of tim
Der in this country which economists
say is bound to come If the present
worry the small boy, provided the shin
gle and the peach tree switch will dis
appear along with it.
THE FIRST CIRCUS.
This department has always had a
warm spot in it's heart for Robinson's
circus. Once in the dear, dead days
when life was young. as the poet says
or words to that Neffect-the individual
who makes these entries went to Rob-
inson's circus. 1t was his first circus.
With another boy he started on four
teen-mile walk at sun-up one summer
morning for the town of Clyde, Where
Robinson's circus was showing that DAY.
They walked seven miles before they
caught a ride with a farmer going their
way, but being used to blowing corn
they didn't mind a little thing like a
seven-mile walk-when circus was at
the other end. The pair got to town
just as the parade ended. but never hav-
ing seen a circus they didn't know what
they missed-and so were happy. The
free performance in front of the Big
Tent was just commencing, and never
until years afterward did 1t occur TO
one of the boys, at least, that he forgot
to eat dinner that day.
It's the first circus that counts. Per-
haps John Robinson's show wasn't as
big as some of those that have come
since. but it was plenty big enough, and
Glorious did not begin to de-
cuses and circuses since, but
none to compare with that first one
in daring deeds and gorgeousness. And
thrills-why, there was never anything
quite so thrilling as when the girl in
pink was drawn to the top OF the big
tent-it seemed a tremendous height in
those days-and as the snare drum
trilled, dived through that awful space
into the net. The scenes of no other
circus are half so vivid as that first one.
A girl rode one of those old-fashioned
bicycles across the tent on high wire
away up in the air. A man swinging on
a trapeze beneath the bicycle made 1T
impossible for her to fall, but that made
1t only the more thrilling to twelve
year-old boy. There was bareback rid
ing of ali kinds, and juggling, and tum-
bling and trapeze work-my, but 1t was
great And lot of actors turned flip
| flaps off of springboard over five ele-
phants and two camels. And clowns
there never were clowns half so funny
as those old-tinlers! They don't raise
clowns like that in these degenerate
days.
The boys went out to the fair grounds
| the other day to see the glories of Rob-
| inson's show once more. They say it is
| bigger than it used to be, but the
| acres of canvas are not half so spac-
| ious as they once We're No circus car
riesc more comfortable seats than those
Robinson's show had Monday, but they
| were mighty hard in comparison with
| the top board at the end of the tent
back in the eighties. There are still three
times as much as one person can see,
| but the program is not nearly as thrill
| ling as it once was nor is there as much
of it.
1t takes boyhood and such hard sacri-
| fee as a seven-mile walk or carrying
water to the elephants to realize the
real merits of circus.