Nasby in Exile: or, Six Months of Travel in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, with many things not of travel
John Locke · en
"Dangerous! He et another trainer, and then I lost him. His widder was
actilly in love with her husband, and she swore the animal shood be
killed, and the people sided with her, and as the broot was gettin' old,
and the killin' made a sensation, I did it. But I made all there was out
of it. I insisted that the husband should have a gorgeous funeral. The
woman kicked at the idea of a funeral, for she sed there was nothing to
berry, as the lion had eaten her husband. But ain't the dear departed
inside the lion? If we berry the lion, don't we berry the dear deceast?
Cert. And we hed it, and it was gorgeous. We hed a percession, with all
our wagons in it--the regelar street parade--only all the riders hed
black scarfs on 'em, and the wagons and hosses and elephants and sich
was draped in black (mourning goods is cheap,), and the band played a
dead
[Illustration: THE GORGEOUS FUNERAL PROCESSION.]
march. The widder was in an open carriage, in full mournin' with a white
handkerchief, with a black border, to her eyes lookin' on his minatoor.
There wasn't no minatoor, but she held a case jist the same. That nite
the canvass coodent hold the people, and we run on that two weeks to
splendid biz. In two weeks, the woman got over her grief and went into
the lion trainin' line herself, ez 'Senorita Aguardiente, the Lion
Queen.' I give her some old lions to practis on, and in less than a
month she could do jest as well as the old man. She was a good woman,
too. She rid in the grand entree, and rid in the 'Halt in the Desert,'
did the bar'l act, rid a good pad act, and is now practisin' bare-back.
She juggles tollable, and does a society sketch song and dance in a
side-show. When I git talent I pay it and keep it. My treasurer changes
the names of my people every season, so as to have always fresh
attractions. Oh, I know my biz. But that wuzn't all I made out uv that
afflictin' event. I went and hed a moniment made and sot up over his
grave. This is the vig., inscription and all:
[Illustration: HERE LIES The Body of the Famous Ferocious Lion, EMPEROR,
which contains the body of SENOR SERONIMO CASTILLO The Celebrated "Lion
King," for many years connected with BLOSS'S Stupendous and
Unapproachable International Aggregation, The Best Circus and Most
Wonderful Collection of Wild Beasts and Natural Curiosities in the
World! SENOR CASTILLO was devoured by the ferocious animal while
exhibiting him under the spacious tents of the _International
Aggregation_, in St. Louis, August 10, 1871. He was a worthy man, a
talented performer, and died cheerfully in the discharge of his duty.
His place in the Great International Aggregation is more than filled by
SENOR TOMASO CREVADO, of the Royal Menagerie, Madrid, who daily enters
the den of a still more ferocious Lion than Emperor, at the RISK OF HIS
LIFE!]
And on the back uv the monument, I had this:--