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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1868, by J. W. Burke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia.
VOL. 11.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
THE CIRCUS.
S j ~ RANI)FATHER,” said Her
bert, one morning, running
into the study where I sat
reading, “ there is going to be
a circus in town, with ever so many
monkeys and ponies. I saw the show
bills stuck up at the old burnt lot near
the hotel, and there’s a great big picture
of an elephant and a band
wagon, drawn by twenty-four
horses. Mayn’t I go, grand
father, when it comes ?”
And the little face looked
into mine so longingly that I
waited a moment before re
plying to his eager inquiry.
“ Herbert, my dear boy,”
I said at last, “will you let
me tell you a true story be
fore I answer your ques
tion ?”
“Oh, yes, grandfather;
but is it a true and true story
of what you saw yourself?”.
“Yes, my boy. Take a
seat and I will tell, you of a
little boy I once knew, who,
like you, was attracted by
the flaming pictures of a cir
cus bill, but, unlike you I
trust, to liis. own ruin.
When I was about your age I lived,
as you know, in the little village of
W ,in Middle Georgia. One morn
ing, the boys and girls of the town were
thrown into a fever of excitement by the
arrival of a gaily painted wagon, drawn
by two spotted horses', which were driv
en through the main street and stopped
in front of one of the two hotels. It
happened to be Saturday, and it was
not long before nearly every boy knew
that an advertising agent of a circus was
in town. In the course of the day the
huge posters, with their gaily-colored
pictures, were put up in a conspicuous
place, and were being read by old and
young; and I am afraid that some of
the boys and girls in W thought
more of the circus next day at church
than they did of their prayers.
One of niy schoolmates, Bob Hough
ton, better known as Pont Houghton,
was nearly wild at the idea of going to
the circus. He could talk of nothing
else, and I am afraid could think of no
thing else, for his lessons were never
learned,for a week after the circus agent
passed, and the teacher was obliged to
punish him nearly every day, in conse
quence.
At last the long looked for day arri-
ved, and with it came the advance guard
of the circus. Two or three wagons,
with the poles and canvass tent, came
in early in the-morning, and it was soon
known that the tent was to be erected
On a vacant lot, almost in the heart of
the village. It happened again to be
Saturday, and nearly all the boys were
present to see the huge tent raised.
Pont was there, of course,* inspecting
everything very carefully. At lenglji,
the tall centre pole was hauled up and
firmly secured in its place, and the
men proceeded with other portions of
their work. Pont began to amuse him
self by climbing up the centre pole and
then sliding down. He was as active as
a cat, and could climb almost like a
squirrel. At last, the man who seemed
to have charge of the work, asked him
MACON, GEORGIA, AUGUST 15, 1868.
if he thought he could climb to the top
of the pole. It was fully forty feet
high, I should think, and any other boy
would have probably answered no, but
Pont, after a glance at the top, said
“ yes.”
“Well,” said the man, “ if you will
climb to the top I will give you a free
ticket to the show.”
In a moment Pont’s jacket was off,
and he went up the pole like a monkey.
It was quite small towards the upper
end, and bent and swayed even with his
light weight, but nothing daunted Pont
kept on until he reached the top. He
then slid down the pole and received
his circus ticket.
How the balance of us envied him
that ticket, and wished that we were as
active, so that we might get one in the
same way ! If we had known then what
we knew afterwards, we should have
considered ourselves fortunate, for that
ticket proved poor Pont’s ruin, in this
world and the next, I fear.
My father did not approve of the cir
cus, and advised my brother and myself
not to go, but as such things were rare
in those days, and we had never seen
such an exhibition, he gave us money
and allowed us to go to the day perform
ance. There was an elephant and a
few other animals, and a considerable
lot of monkeys and birds, and I spent
some time after I went in looking at
these.
At last the band began to play, and
the performance soon commenced.. I
shall not undertake to tell you all I
saw, or what I thought of it.
One part of the performance I was
particularly delighted with, and that was
when a really funny looking
monkey came out on the
back of a dog, and rode
around the ring in imitation
of the circus riders. The
little chap had on a red cap,
with a feather in it, and a
red coat, and he stood up
on the dog, and held his
whip just as Le had seen the
men do.
The next day was Sunday,
and I can recollect, even to
this late day, that my head
was so full of what I had
seen the day before that I
could not study my Sunday
school lesson, and I asked
myself whether my visit to
the circus had done me more
good or harm. But when,
later in the day, I heard that
my schoolmate, PontHough-
ton, had run away from home and gone
with the circus company, I made up my
mind then that the thing was “ evil and
not good.”
“But, grandfather, did Pont never
come back home again ?”
“ Not for many years, my son. His
father, as soon as he found that he had
gone with the company, went after him,
but the man who had decoyed him off
was too smart to let him be found. As
soon as they had discovered Pont’s agil
ity and aptness to learn the tricks of
their profession, they set about persuad
ing him to go with them, and he, poor
silly child, was only too anxious to be
come one of their gaily decked ciowd,
and readily consented to leave his home
and family to follow the sinful fortunes
of a circus company. Fearing that they
NO. 7.