The New York herald., 1922-04-02

houses close. From miles and miles away,
from the hills and the valleys and the
farms and the crossroads store the raw
boned rural folk come in to the circus-to
the parade and the show and the yellow
popcorn rectangles and the red lemonade
An hour-two hours-a day of general
joy, infants in arms, who cry in the me-
nagerie; proud, inquisitive little boys and
girls; adults who are as happy as irrespon-
primitive bearing of pleasure behind new
assumed dignity.
How the Modern Circus
Was Evolved Gradually
That is picture of the power of the
circus. 1t is an institution. Perhaps life
could not go on without it. Certainly
spring would not come with her accus-
toned grace without this fine companion.
Mind you, the circus is not merely for
the folk of the outlands 1t is cherished
and anticipated by the operagoers and the
theater public. 1t is for everybody. 1t is
festival and tonic.
1t has had a curious growth. "The circus
of modern times has little in common with
the institution of classical Rome" That
is the opinion of the Encyclopedia Britain
MICA, and maybe it is accurate.
Nevertheless the Circus Maximus of
Rome was the ancestor of the circus Of
to-day. The form of the amphitheater is
but slightly changed. The animals that
the Romans saw were wild and ferocious,
while the animals of the modern circus
are trained to perform The circus started
it's wanderings from Rome. 1t traversed
Europe and Britain and came to America
where it found its great field.
Horsemanship still is of paramount inn
portance-as any visitor to Ringlng's
nowadays soon realizes Artists of
decade ago found the acme of grace in
the lovely equestrienne poised tiptoe on
the broad back OF the sleek circus
horse. She was painted and feted and
toasted. She was the figure of grace. The
glamour which built itself about this poised
figure has not been dimmed by even the
persistent scintillation of stage stars of
greater personal magnitude. Once the thea
ter did not have the grip upon the public
that 1t now has; then the circus. rider.
short skirted, muscular, adept, confident,
held the place in the public heart which
was later usurped by such as Lillian Rus
sell. And still the circus rider holds some
portion of the public heart
The drolleries of the clowns are not only
for the outlanders. Their ingenuities do
not fail to strike the sense of humor of
the great and the near great as well as
the mediocre and the naive.
The new day of the circus came with
p. T. Barnum. He realized the tremendous
tradition-the fine tradition-that the cir
Gus owned. He felt that II deserved ex-
plotation.
The circus made its debut in America
in 1880, when a circus performer by the
name of Ricketts, performed before George
Washington. Then in the early part of the
following century two American circuses
were organized and they gained great
popularity. They travelled all over the
United States. and by 1920 the love Of the
American for the sawdust and the glitter
and the rumble of wheels that move in the
night was established definitely and per-
manently.
Ricketts, had come from England, where
the circus had gained much favor. II is
still popular in Great Britain Germany,
too, likes 1t. France had the travelling
circus as far back as the Middle Ages. In
those days the circus organization was not
really an organization. II was formed of
group of brawny, athletic fellows who
would undoubtedly have been in circus
had they lived in this day instead of that
earlier era. They were minstrels at heart,
but their voices were not to be lifted In
song and their minds were not inclined
to lyric and to rhythm. They could not
sing, they could not twang the Tyre, nor
could they compose. But they could do
neat physical tricks and perform feats OF
strength and miracles Of horsemanship
They formed type and the type was
governed by complex-although the poor,
benighted fellows did not have the per-
spicacity to understand that 1t was com.
plex-which was an urge to minstrelsy.
So they were led on by their ministrel's
legs and necessity made them circus per-
formers.