The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-21
Sings old Circus Ditty,

Utill hale and hearty. the near mona
genarian returned the compliment by
singing entirely through. without a skip
or miss, and in a musical, though
slightly cracked voice. the ancient circus
ditty known the country over 1.-THE Fly
ing Trapeze' the first stanza Of which
goes like this:
Once I was happy, but now I'm forIorn.
Like an old coat that Is tattered and torn.
Left In this wide world to fret and to
Betrayed by a maid in her teens
me girl that I loved she was handsome.
But 1 could not please her one-auarter so
Like that man upon the trapeze
At the very end OF the ballad, when
there was scarcely a dry eye in the
house, Mr.. Fryer was Joined in the. rem
dition by the noted photographer. Harry
station, and together, with immense
spirit, they gave the final heart rending
quatrain:
She floats through the air with the great
You'd think her a man on the flying
trapeze.
She does all the work while he takes his
ease,
And that's what's become of my love,
RinEIinss Receive Guests.
Naturally the party broke up then
various episodes had been exploding for
well on to five hours. At the very be-
ginning the Ringlings and their gifted
young men received the guests who in
cluded Mrs. Daysye Edytbe Thompson
and her husband, Paul. a photographer;
Joseph Jefferson Omen. Miss Corene
Uzzeh, representing the celebrities of
the motion picture screen: Robert H.
Davis. the greatest bass fisherman who
ever tried to edit a magazine and got
away with 1t: Mr.. and Mrs. Charles
Bedelius Falls, Howard Chandler
Christy. Mr.. and Mrs. Frank Ward
O'Malley. Flora Isabelle. Tom Powers
Glare Briggs and Tad Dorgan. the same
being the pen and ink testers OF note
Martin and Mrs. Green. Miss Helen Hill
ton and about 200 others who were visi-
BILE from time to time in the sawdust
haze.
The buffet supper. served in the res
eaurant room of the Garden. lacked this
year one of the especially distinctive
features of past circus parties: that Is
to say the guests did not take nourish-
ment arm in arm with Zip the What
Is 1t. George Anger, the Giant; the
Princess Wee-Wee and the Baron, halt
portion midgets: Nadia the Snake
Charmer and Isabel. her seventeen foot
boa; Lady Clifford, the Sword Swal-
lower, and the Man Ape and the Ape
Man. At past affairs freaks and guests
sat cozilv together discussing the topics
Of the dry or nudged elbows at the soda
water fountain and the root beer stand
but last night the Human Oddities didn't
get bid. Perhaps 1t is we'll not to dc
more than refer to this matter, since Il
created a great deal of rancor. freaks
being naturally sensitive and especially
insistent on preserving every iota Of
their social standing
At all events as the supper trickled
onward boos and means were quite audi
BILE, coming. obviously. from the variou,
cages now completely draped. where the
Strange People were sulking. Zip. tn,
Oldest freak in the world who has nc
more manners than wartncs, was thu
most disagreeable of the flock. emitting
piercing bowls and rafting the bars o
his Limousine frantlcally.
The Real show Begins.
The real show. the novelty OF a trul,
old time circus performance under can
vas and with the rube town woodel
seats technically known as "star backs.
was produced in the first ring immedi
etely after supper. When Boss Johi
Ringing and his principal assistant o
the evening. Lew Graham, decided tina
the guests had eaten enough Lew led
procession from the restaurant room Il
the arena. Lew was dressed for hi
part as an old fashioned ringmaster
swapping whip and all. He was mad
up In an extreme belltop plug hat. sucl
as has not been seen in these parts TO
a few decades surely; barndoor front
doeskin riding breaches as tight as Ton
Sharkey, hightop patent leather boots
Powered silk waistcoat patterned like
Kirmanshah rug and frying pan dia
mond stud in his Ascot scarf.
Take 1t all in ALL the circus's sid
now manager and announcer was abou
ths gayest looking human being tina
exc could light upon or ear could hear.
when Lew got his crowd through tn
marquee leading to a real big top. tina
In to say. when he had them all insid
the canvas surrounding and topping tn
first ring and everybody was seated on tn
star backs, the old time Stat seats OF hal
a century ago. he made the preliminary
nowery namboyant announcement tina
went out OF fashion about the time tina
Samuel j. Tilden thought he had wo
a Presidency: and thereafter. as tn
acts. all of them selected as old fash
toned acts. came on, Ringmaster GrahaI
made a similar sort of alliterative ir
PRODUCTION. The atmosphere was ther
IN chunks and 1t was difficult to beliey
that the exhibition was actually bein
held In New York In the year Of grac
1919.
Veteran Clown sings.
Fred Egener, one of the vetera
clowns of the Ringing Brothers an
Raruun, q Railey Combined Circu