The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877Various
History
The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877
Various
American literature -- Periodicals
The cage which he entered contained two lions. One was large, grumbling,
and fierce, who had passed a part of his life in the wilds of Africa;
the other, and smaller of the two, was an emasculated beast, born behind
the bars, and was as tractable as the animal usually is that has never
known freedom. The performance consisted of three parts. The first was
of the kind common to menageries. The tamer entered by the little door
in a corner, with the celerity which all tamers employ, and stood for a
moment in the statuesque immobility to which they are also given, in
coming before the public. Having done this, he started forward with the
black rod in his left hand, approached the animals, driving them to the
end of the cage, the end of the rod nearly touching their faces. Here
they stood under protest, growling. Then he raised his whip, struck the
smaller beast, making it run from one end of the cage to the other, and
leap over his shoulder in a way familiar to people who have visited a
menagerie. He threw it down, put his foot on its prostrate body, and
folded his arms in the character of victor. He lay down on it, pulled
open its jaws, and inserted his head therein. Then he jumped up and
dismissed it, with a cut of the whip, to one corner. During this time
the larger lion had been an indifferent and surly spectator. The tamer
approached, touching him with the rod, when he jumped forward with a
growl, half crouching. Quickly the tamer caught hold of his upper jaw
and tore it open, as great, rebellious cog-wheel growls issued from the
mighty throat. Then he spurned him with his foot, bowed to the audience,
went to the door, let himself out like a flash, the two animals making a
bound against it as he disappeared.
"A, B, C," said Rounders. "Nothing new about that."
During the interim venders went about holding up photographic portraits
of the tamer, lustily shouting his professional and private virtues.
Their voices were, however, soon drowned in the clash of the brass band,
which played a prelude to what was coming. At the conclusion of this a
lone and last voice cried out, "Ice-cold lemonade," but it was promptly
suppressed by those near the crier, as Brinton again appeared.
The second part was a short drama enacted with the larger animal, whose
name was Brutus, the smaller one being driven into an adjoining cage. In
the drama Brutus was the faithful friend of his master, the tamer, who
is attacked by his enemies--a dozen supernumeraries in rusty spangles,
who simultaneously thrust their spears through the bars from the outside
of one end of the cage; when the spears are thus thrust through the
bars, the master calls on his faithful servant Brutus to save his
master's life, and rid him of his enemies, giving the command in the
words:
"To the rescue, Brutus! Down with the miscreants!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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