The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-12-15
SEEING THE
CIRCUS
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1911, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

row escape. There was to be a circus
over at Darby's Ferry, and good
many Of the simple people Of Delhi
calculated on going. The ministers
and deacons and other Christian peo-
pie frowned upon the idea, of course,
and Deacon Spooner in particular used
all his influence TO keep people at
home.
Whatever got the matter with him
on circus day he himself could never
explain, but he got up at daylight and
walked seven miles, and when the per-
Torrance opened he had a front seat.
A hundred Delhi people saw him there.
but he didn't seem to care. In fact,
he appeared to be having the best time
possible, and he didn't even get con-
scious stricken over it when he got
home.
OF course, such break could not
pass unnoticed. When Deacon Tyler
heard of it he called Deacon Williams,
and the two together called upon the
minister and others, and it was decid-
ed to bring Deacon Spooner to account.
He got scared about it and wanted to
90 to Iowa and visit his sister, but
he was held on to and put on trial.
When he was asked il he wanted to
make a statement. he rose up and said:
II said l wouldn't go to the circus,
and advised others not to go, and
whatever got into me can't under
stand. / went to bed feeling that cir
Gus performances was invented by
Satan to trap the unwary and that
my face was set agin 'em like flint,
but / got up at daylight and headed
for Darby's Ferry and struck a gait
of four miles an hour. was there to
see the circus come in"
Deacon Spooner. does insanity run
in your family?" asked Tyler in very
serious tones. "Haye you ever lost
your mind for day or SO"
"If so l don't remember IT. I've been
told that / lost my mind when l came
pretty near marrying widow with
nine children. but dunno"
"And neither your father nor mother
was ever an inmate Of an insane asy-
lump
II don't think so, though my father
acted leetle Off at times"
"Then you couldn't truthfully say
that insanity runs in your familyY'
mo, couldn't"
"Could you truthfully say that your
mind was unchanged for the time
being? Did you seem to be yourself
or somebody else? If you was crazy,
of course, we can't hold you to blame"
mo, can't say as / was crazy" re-
piled the deacon.
"But do you lay 1t to sinful curl.
osity?" asked Deacon Williams.
81 guess I'll have to. I'd been hear
In about circuses for the last fifty
years and had never attended one"
But you found 1t sinful when you
got there?" asked Moses Schemerhorn,
who rings the bell for prayer meetings.
"No, l can't say as l did," slowly
replied Deacon Spooner.
There was long drawn sigh and
shudder all around, and the minister
said:
Deacon, you may tell us what you
saw there"
"Waal, the first thing run up agin
was four elephants. They was flap
pin their ears and eatin' hay, and
didn't feel no sinful thoughts as
stood and looked at em. Can't body
see elephants and be saved too?"
go on, deacon"
'Then / took in the camels and re-
bras and CRATES. I looked at 'em
over and over agin, but didn't boil
over and want to swear and fight.
Fact is, / felt powerful peaceful over
it. Is it agin me to look at critters
with humps and stripes and long
necksT'
"But they was connected with cir
GUS" protested Deacon Tyler.
"Yes, I believe they was, but
couldn't help it. After I got through
there / went over to look at the rhi-
noeeros. BY gum. but he was a hefty
critter! He weighed as much ss two
cows and a calf. admit that felt
a little hit sinful when lookin' at him.
/ made up my mind that If critter
like that tackled me in the road at
night I'd bust my suspenders tryin' to
knock his horn Off. Is it too much to
ask that my sin be overlookedw
eve will hear further" said the
minister, who wasn't looking so sol
emn as he might
''Waal, they had an ostrich, two alli-
gators, four hyenas and sacred bull
from India. If was hurt by seem
them critters and things I'm willin' to
give in, but I'm sayin' that don't
feel like calm any one liar"
"And you didn't feel that you had
queried Moses Schermerhorn
as he shook his head in solemn way.
mot a feel. even wanted the
bosses to go faster and the fellers to
fipfop the harder. When q Teller
came climbin' around with pink lemon
ade and charged me 10 cents for
small glass did wish had him in a
ten acre lot for about two minits, but
the feelin' passed Off as soon as | had
drunk the lemonade. ! guess you'd
have all felt the same. wouldn't your
The deacon was turned out Of the
room, and the investigating committee
went into executive session. and an