And he has really transformed his body by the practice of gymnastics. Now, well set up, although of medium height, he produces an impression of strength and agility. One feels that in him exists that spring of elasticity which raises a body from the soil and wrests it from the laws of gravitation. And indeed, or so it has been said, Pierre Loti joined a troupe of acrobats a few years ago, and appeared as a trapeze “novelty” in a circus in the south of France. The Naval Ministry would have been agitated by this whim.... Is this story true? At all events it is probable, and it proves—and this is all that concerns us—the high esteem which, at the present time, a gentleman can feel for an art which the last generation decidedly ignored too much. The men of taste, even, who clearly perceived the picturesque side of a circus, were not too numerous. The collection of M. Louis is perhaps unique in the world. Paul Ginisty, who has examined these treasures, has related his impressions, with much ability and grace, in the _Dieu Bibelot_. “Do you know,” he says, “the Montchanin Circus?” [p310] [Illustration] “You do not go into it through a large entrance, you need only knock at the door of a charming little hôtel. You do not [p311] find in it any of those odours usually noticed in hippique establishments, because it contains neither arena, stables, nor horses. The title of ‘circus’ is simply the familiar name given to the collection of an old amateur, who dwells in a calm quiet street in the Quartier de Villiers, and who has really a passion for everything relating to equestrian exhibitions. No one possesses as many traditions of circus art as he does. He has not only known all those who for thirty or thirty-five years have distinguished themselves in the arena; but he has also lived with every dynasty of ring-masters, Hercules and jugglers of the past. In fact, he has surrounded himself with an infinitely curious collection of prints and documents of all ages referring to the circus. It includes portraits of all the masters, specimens of costumes, placards, programmes, and advertisements of ‘phenomena.’ “Some of these prints, drawings by Carle Vernet, engravings of Grimaldi and Debucourt, are artistically interesting; others are simply typical. There is not one corner of the hôtel without some of these pleasing designs.” Another lover of the circus, no longer content with collecting portfolios full of beautiful equestrian placards, determined to quietly live the healthy existence of a circus performer for his own amusement. When first the public read in the paragraphs of the society papers that Señor Molieros had built a circus, in his private house, in which he was ring-master, and trained horses for the _haute école_ and other performances, people said: “It is simply a whim of a Spanish grandee.”