El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-03-25
By
James Rutherford
Principal Clown with Bar
mum & Bailey's Circus.

without it either in England or on the
Continent
Harlequin, having undergone the
process Of transformation which con-
verified him from a demon pure and
simple into species OF Clown, adopted
the gilded sword and motley dress ap-
prOpriate to the latter. The Garb IN
which he appears today is much Ike
that OF the Fools Of the old dramatic
poets. It seems anciently 20 nave been
composed Of patches, rs il his ragged
clothes had been often mended-this,
indeed. being the apparent origin Of
the peculiar costume Of Fools. who
were supposed to be retained by the
nobility out Of charity.
Modern Clown Stage Rustic.
The clown Of modern pantomime, as
distinguished from Harlequin is
stage rusuc-a silly, boorish person
with suggestions of the Jester OF the
tlisabethan drama. He is to some eX-
tent composite. There has been good
deal Of puzzled inquiry about the orr
iEin of the tufted wig and the whttened
and queerly painted face. but the eN-
PLANTATION seems to be that these char
acteristics are handed down from rep
reservations Of devils in the medieval
miracle plays Likewise, perhaps, inc
I baggy dress.
In France. his birthplace. the agile
demon with the sword Of lath has been
, superseded to a great extent as
popular IakCflIG Oy HleFrol. ne HI
ter. derived from the Italian DUMB
drama, has the clowns white face and
! baggy costume but the dress always
/ white, is as dainty as possible, ana
Pierrot himself while of n freaklsh
disposition. is never grOtesque- ON
the contrary, he is romantic and
often pathetic fiEure-an incarnation
of merry thouEhtlessness. pursuing
with Pierrette, his feminine counter
part and complement a love affair
&c or1f q
Transferred to SRwdust Ring.
The clown of the modern circus is
simply the character Of pantomime
/ transferred to the sawdust ring lie
is always dumb, depending upon ges-
ture to take the place of speech. What
he has to do is Of more Importance
than might appear; for it is his bust
ness to fill i'm gaps between acts and TO
hold the attention of the audience
whenever it tends to flag. He must
be not only a clever pantomimist, but
also an accomplished equestrian ana
acrobat.
1t is related that, about the year 1910.
there lived near Naples Vintager
named Puccio dAniello, who, In addl-
tiOn a wit surprisingly acute, possessed
a physical aspect most grOtesQue and
drolls He was 4 humpback. and his
voice had a peculiar and iauEhao ole
eQueak; but his most remarkable tea-
tire was truly enormous nose. Be
/ ing induced to join troupe OF stroll
ing players, who presented III the
towns and villages Of southern Italy
such imprOmptu comedies as have al
ready been described. he made so firth
ful a success that, upon his death. other
actors kent on with his part. with the
aid of a mask. a hump. and an imita-
tion Of his voice.
beginning of Punch and Judy.
The name Of This notable persona &c
was LATER distorted to BuIoinella- the
French pOlichincl1e and the English
Punch. In the course Of time he was
transferred i'm effigv to the miniature
stare as a nuDDet Put he Il noticed
~ .'Prcb Of INDY drarns Of TODAY
is s+i1I an imDrompfu comedy Of the an
cent TYNE beine[ ituwritteu and the
lisIooue stumbled in more or less ex-
teTn00re faebion bv the Darcfnaetic
ebo1.msp
me- --bo hove e-ore r,os+ deen1y
into ne etlid,- Of e,Ich matters are or
oniDior tb9t lTr PuncL IiL-a Har1e-
0iIiD and clown is in direct line Of
le~itinate descent from the low
> comedy devils of the miracle nIavs. We
tbTee are ~ or ono aDcestry- which
may at least claim n great ANTIQUITY
even though if uossegses no other
-, -, -,
fuhch anu "uu! 'hahEeu'
Being comedy essentially OF the
unwritten. or tmpromptu,' order,
Punch and judy has been subjected
TO many alterations - its lifetime of
nearly three centuries. 1t has been
utilized in Italy and France for pO-
litical purposes. remarks being often
put into the characters mouths which
real people would not have been al
lowed to utter. and stay out Of Jail
The plot however does not seem to
have importantly varied. and the prin-
wavs been the same-thouEh in France
q car has sometimes taken the place Of
Toby the dog. who bites Mr. Punchs
nose i'm the opening scene. From the