Ways of Living.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 422, 26 May 1904, Page 2

Ways of Living.

; CHILDREN IN TRAVELLING SHOWS £ 3K&MALK up! Walk up, ladies to Ll&fi&Jra aßd f?entlemen, and see the V gjJKMs wonderful living pictures!' It is not the voice of a burly Bhowman shouting with hoarse lungs to the staring crowd, but the shrill treble of a little child. She stands on the footboard of a caravan, and kissing her hand to a mob of country folk gazing at her with opsn-mouthed astonishment, points with a star-tipped wand to the curtains which conceal the entrance to the little theatre on wheels. ' * She is barely six years old, and looks even more tiny than she is, as she stands in her spangled dress in the glaring lights of the show, calling and smiling to the crowd of big, rough yokels, and invites them fo pay their 2d. and ' walk up.' While the Music Plays. Then presently the etaau-pipes of the 'orchestra' blare out a noisy tune as though a hundred trumpets, fifes, drums, and cymbals were competing against each other with rival discordance. After the first strains have ended the little showchild spreads her flircsy skirt and curtseys to the crowd. Then with a pirouette she begins to dance, her little feet going pit-a-pat to the harsh notes of the music, her little, body swaying to and fro with as much grace and elegance as three foot one can lay claim to. The country folk grin, well pleased at this performance, and nudge each other in the ribs with astonished interjections about ' the little 'an ' Then at the finish of the dance they accept the invitation repeated once more, and 'walk up,' Cmotrs Babies. Such is the daily task of a little girl whom we recently saw in front of a caravan in a big fair, and hers is only a type of the life into which all show children are born. As they lie in their cradles swung on the backs of the caravans, or tucked away into a cosy corner inside, their lullaby is the roaring of the beasts in the travelling menagerie, the crack of the whip in the circus, the shrill laughter of the clown, the barking of the performing dogs, and the din of music of the merry-go-round, and all tnose strange noises, blending into one confused tumult of sound, which accompany a travelling BUOW. Btbange Bedfellows. Bush a nursery makes its children acquainted with strange bedfellows. Very often the parents of a show-child are content to leave it to the tender mercies of other show people while they themselves tramp tff elsewhere. Then the little one has to get along as best it may, befriended by some woman with a motherly heart, such as the wonderful ' Fat Lady,' or the world-renowned 'Pig-faced Lady,' or maybe the kind-hearted wife of th* clown, who is not so merry in private life as he is before the public. About the Midget. All these monstrosities and marvels of the show are familiar and commonplace persons to the child brought up in their midst. The show children take a professional pride in the infirmities or eccentricities of the people to whom they belong, and in their own special ' line.' No one, for instance, could be prouder of personal attractions than is a certain little midget of our acquaintance of the diminutive stature of her parents and herself. Her glory is supreme-when she drives about in a tiny pony carriage, and the poople who have paid the large sum of 2d. to come to see her remark audibly, ' What a wee thing she is for her age!' Tbaining the Youngsters.

All the children of the show people have to work in some way or other as eoon as they can toddle. If they are not performers, they have to be the little servants of the household on the wheels, washing and wiping, fetching and carrying. The boys when they are old enough are generally put to look after the animals. A show-boy reaches the height of human bliss when he is promoted to the stables of the circus, for here he becomes the devoted friend of the beautiful circus horses.

It's all right to call a spade a spade, bat when yon speak of a red-headed girl, it is better to saj auburn. Man; men would be richer if they worked as hard after they were married as they had to do when they were making love. —— Professor (to girls leaving college): 'And now, young ladies, I feel sore you will all retain yonr high ideals through life.' :: Edith:' Heavens, girls! He must think we are all too plain to, get married 1' She: 'A faint heart never wbn a fair lady.' . Ke:'No. A faint heart usually goes ' with experience of fair ladies.' As an excuse for the non-attendance of one of his scholars a schoolmaster j received a note, consisting of the home-made word ' Uapatoratogoataturing.' It was. meant to convey the intelligence that. the boy was 'kept at home to go a 'tateriag.' Mr William Sharp, in his Lake Geneva article, in the Augußt 'Pall Mall Magazine,' mentions-the cutting rejoinder of the elder Dumas to Balzac, when the two great men were brought together at the house of a well-meaning friend. After neither had spoken a word to the other, Bilzac was about to leave when he said. vieiouslj : ' When lam written out, I, t)o, shall take to writing: dramas.' To which Damas at once replied : ' You'd better begin at once, then!' Wandering Walter: 'Loidy, could yer please gimme a hunk o' dat beautiful angel cake yer giveter me pal yesterdayP' Mrs New wed : 'Certainly, my good man. Do you want another piece for your companion aIBO P' •'£ "• •' ' Wandering Walter: ' No'm; he's in de horsepittel now, • an' I want to go dere, too.' Mary's mother one day gave her a penny to buy some sweets* As the little girl went.down the street she.discovered a beggar boy on the front steps of a neighbour's house. She was flye years old, and a penny seemed to her a good deal of money. She 'looked Urst' at the boy; and then at the coin, and finally said :■— * Here little boy, take this penny, and go and buy yourself a suit of clothes and and some dinner.'

One of the healthiest occupations in the world is that of signing wills. Expectant heirs will readily confirm this truth.