The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-29

tion or abbreviation of the Italian Pun chinello who in Naples was known as Polieinello or Pulcinello and whom the French converted into Poichinelle.
 The Britain delighted more in the pny- sical distortion of his fool than in the grotesqueness of his garb consequently Punch became d short hump-backed, hook-nosed puppet with a squeaklng voices and given to strangling his child, beating his wife to death and De- laboring policemen. His wife, Judy, is purely an English invention, but the origin of Toby the dog, is shrouded in mystery.
 The American product of all this an eestry is the circus clown so dearly be- loved by the children and not uninter- esting to the adult.
 With us he is a widower, for he has lost his Judy and his dog has been con verted into the trick donkey. There Is nothing left in him of Zany or Hans wtust, but his pied clothes and his point ed hat.
 AS home is not home without a mother, so a circus is no circus at all without q clown, but there are clowns who can be serious and whose prayer may be likened to that of the court jester of old-'.Lord pity me, q fool. | have heard of one who beneath the varnsh of ribaldrY possessed the attributes of gentility and the en- vironment of pathos. The story is not long, but it is pretty and while waiting to see the old year out and the new year in one might pass a few moments quite agreeably in hardening to it's 1e- cital
 Story of a Clown
 They were q cultured couple, husband and wife, born and living in Virginia. Their only son had gone to the far west to seek his fortune and finally notified his parents that he had married daugh- ter of the prarie and settled down TO life upon the frontier Parental instincts were strong and in a few years father and mother were both possessed with a burning desire to learn what kind Of a helpmate their child had chosen and to see how he was getting along in the world The war between the states lad left them in straiShtened circumstances, but with considerable economy they managed to obtain enough money to de fray the expenses of transportation 10 their sons western home. Reaching their destination they found q cabin and pretty but uncultured and ordinary daughter-in- n-law. Time passed agreeaby enough for q while, but they soon SAW that the sons wife was out of her ele- ment and ill-at-ease in their company; in fact she was growing tired of her
  the pleasure of a reunion had somewhat abated. The visiting couple turned p thought to the comforts of their eastern home and for that home the father com menced to pine. The mother saw this only too we'll but they had no means with which to make the homeward jour ney and their son was unable to 2ep them
 Woman like, the mother concocle1 a scheme. A circus was billed to shortly visit the place and smothering her south ern pride she determined to conduct a small cake stand in the vicinity of the tent and with the proceeds of the sales take her home-sick husband back 10 Vir- gnia. She invested her all in flour and sugar and syrup and for weeks she id nothing but bake cakes and make candy
 The appointed time arrived and with 1t came the circus. Amid confusion, smoth- cred pride and many doubts the woman loaded down the little deal table which her son had constructed. with sweet meats and confections and awaited pat ronage. Here an unforeseen obstacle presented itself and the lady proprie- tress stood aghast; q rough backwoods- man had entertained the same idea for making money and displayed his wares upon rival table to which in loud voice and with questionable jokes he in