The bee., 1908-06-18
the OLD CIRCUS
MANS STORY
How the Great Giants Singing
NoIoe Hit the People

7 "A very curious thing about the
greatest Of all giants" said the old cir
Gus man. was the difference between
his speaking and his singing voice.
His speaking voice was that Of
man Of ordinary stature; his singing
voice was in keeping with his own gi-
gantic size. And we never discov-
cred this ourselves until he had been
/ with us for some months, not in fact
till the end OF the FIRST season with
us. when we'd gone into winter quar-
tiers.
I'VE we're sitting, the old man. the
| giant and myself, In that room that
I've told you about that we had ixesi
up for the giant by taking out a SEQ
ond-story floor and so carrying a
ground floor room up through two
stories TO give the giant head room
sitting there one evening about
couple OF days after we'd come In from
the road, and pretty soon we heard
the cook, over in the kitchen at the
other end OF the house, humming a
tune; and then the 1rst thing we knew
we heard the giant ainging II. And
singing? Why. you never heard any
thing like Il; and nobody would have
believed, II he hadn't heard II, that
anybody could have such voice.
''For comparison IL was like the
roar OF Niagara compared to the sound
Of a little waterfall over a stone In q
brook. Sound? Why I thought II
was going to make the walls bulge and
blow out the windows.
Z And II wasn't a harsh, rough voice.
you understand. either; IL was good.
smooth voice: not the most beautiful
voice you ever heard. but still a
smooth, round. deep voice OF the most
amazing volume. vastly greater than
anything you had ever dreamed Of in q
human voice, and II made the old
man and me SIT up In wonder
"And when the giant stopped we
found the whole circus was standing
around outside the headquarters build
ing-animal men. canvas men. drivers.
the whole OUTFIT had come up to hear
the giant sing. and these were mea.
you know. accustomed TO stranca
things. We had S0-odd acres in ou-
reservation, but you could hear the
giants voice in the furthest corner Of
It, and I didn't know then how much
further beyond; and at the first note
\ of 1t men had stopped their work and
then they had all come to listen.
AS | was saying to you. you could
hear the giants voice all over the res.
ervation, and ] didn't know how far
beyond; but we soon found out about
that The village was only about
three-quarters Of a mile away. and on
still nights aud when the wind was
right you could hear his singing then
plainly; and It didn't exactly scare the
people; they all knew the giant and
they all liked him, but they all went
to bed early, and that wonderful sound
coming TO them after they had gone
to bed did disturb 'em somewhat. And
so the old man got the giant not to
sing after nine o'clock at night; and
that winter he had him practice up on
a number OF songs, which Of course
he was going to have the giant sing
under canvas In our next season on
the road
TN those days. you know, we used
TO give concert after the show; send |
around men before the last act selling /
tickets for this concert; and then when |
the show was over people that hadn't
bought tickets would pass out, and |
those that had would stay to the con. |
cert, and sometimes half the people |
would stay. or maybe only a quarter
of EN-; but whatever we got that way |
was velvet. and what the old man was |
going to do was to substitute for the |
music and singing we used to give IL
that concert Ringing by TIE giant. And
he didn't miscalculate, fr the nra
time the giant sang ever 5body stayed
from curiosity, and after that they ali
stayed, everywhere. because they
wanted to.
eve used to stand the giant up on a
platform built around the center pole.
with the band around him, where
there was plenty OF room for him and
where everybody could see him. And
the band would play a tune through,
and then a flourish or two, and then
the giant would sing. with the band &C
oompanying him.
And he'd get the people from the
first note. II was a wonder Just to see
him standing there, but It was a far
greater wonder to hear him sing. He
didn't make fun Of 1t. you understand;
he took his singing seriously, and SO
did the people, for so tremendous a
voice had never been heard before, but
1t was not unmuslcal. and altogether II
came pretty close TO being awe-insplr~
ing.
"You see. the giant was by far the
greatest man ever seen, but his voice
was far greater still. Great as he was,
the giant was yet man like ourselves,
In human form, but his voice seemed
something more than human, and It IL
an interesting fact that in all the con.
certs the great giant gave he was never {
once encored. People were drawn as /
by a fascination 10 hear him sing, we {
10. = -, "a -.