Chapter XI (2)

One day, when the menagerie was at Greenwich Fair, a powerful-looking negro accosted one of the musicians, saying that he was a sailor just returned from a voyage, and would like a berth in the show. The musician communicated the man's wish to Manders, and the negro was invited to enter the show. His appearance and confident manner impressed the showman favourably, and, on his being allowed to enter the lion's cage, at his own request, he displayed so much address and ability to control the animals that he was engaged at once, and "the gingerbread king," as Strand was called, was informed that his services could, for the future, be dispensed with. This remarkable black man was the famous Macomo, who for several years afterwards travelled with the menagerie, exhibiting in his performances with lions and tigers as much daring as Van Amburgh, and as much coolness as Crockett.

One of the finest tigers ever imported into this country, and said to be the identical beast that escaped from Mr. Jamrach's premises in St. George's Street (better known by its old name of Ratcliffe Highway), and killed a boy before it was recaptured, was purchased by Manders, and placed in a cage with another tiger. The two beasts soon began fighting furiously, upon which Macomo entered the cage, armed only with a riding-whip, and attempted to separate them. His efforts caused both the tigers to turn their fury upon him, and they severely lacerated him; but, covered with blood as he was, he continued the struggle for supremacy until the beasts cowered before him, and he was able, with the assistance of the keepers, to separate them.

It is worthy of remark, in connection with the causes of accidents with lions and tigers, that Macomo, like Crockett, was a strictly sober man, never touching intoxicating liquors of any kind. "It's the drink," said the ex-lion king, who was interviewed by the special commissioner of a London morning journal two years ago; "It's the drink that plays the mischief with us fellows. There are plenty of people always ready to treat the daring fellow that plays with the lions as if they were kittens; and so he gets reckless, lets the dangerous animal--on which, if he were sober, he would know he must always keep his eye--get dodging round behind him; or hits a beast in which he ought to know that a blow rouses the sleeping devil; or makes a stagger, and goes down, and then they set upon him."

Macomo's fight with the two tigers was not the only occasion on which he received injuries, the scars of which he bore upon him to the day of his death, which, contrary to the expectation of every one who witnessed his performances, was a peaceful one. He died a natural death in 1870, when he was succeeded by an Irishman named Macarthy, who had previously been attached in a similar capacity to the circus of Messrs. Bell and Myers. While performing, in 1862, with the lions belonging to that establishment, he had had his left arm so severely mangled by one of the beasts that amputation became necessary. This circumstance seems to have added to the _éclat_ of his performances; but he had neither the nerve of Macomo, nor his resolution to abstain from stimulants. Unlike his predecessor, he frequently turned his back upon the lions, though he had frequently been cautioned against the danger he thereby incurred; and it was believed that his disregard of the warning was one of the causes of the terrible encounter which terminated his existence.

Macarthy was bitten on two occasions while performing with Manders's lions, prior to the disaster at Bolton. The first time was while performing at Edinburgh, when one of the beasts made a snap at his remaining arm, but only slightly grazed it. The second occasion was a few days before the fatal accident occurred, when one of the Lions bit him slightly on the wrist. He lost his life in representing a so-called "lion hunt," an exhibition which was introduced by Macomo, and consists in chasing the animals about the cage, the performer being armed with a sword and pistols, and throwing into the mimic sport as much semblance of reality as the circumstances allow. The exhibition is acknowledged by lion-tamers themselves to be a dangerous one, and it should never be attempted with any but young animals. For their ordinary performances, most lion-tamers prefer full-grown animals, as being better trained; but a full-grown lion does not like to be driven and hustled about, as the animals are in the so-called "lion hunt," and when such are used for this exhibition they are frequently changed.

Macarthy was driving the animals from one end of the cage to the other when one of them ran against his legs, and threw him down. He soon regained his feet, however, and drove the animals into a corner. Whilst stamping his feet upon the floor, to make the animals run past him, one of them crept stealthily out from the group, and sprang upon him, seizing him by the right hip and throwing him down upon his side. For a moment the spectators imagined that this was part of the performance, but Macarthy's agonised features soon convinced them of the terrible reality of the scene before them. As he struggled to rise, three other lions sprang upon him, one of them seizing his arm, from which he immediately dropped the sword.

The keepers now hurried to the unfortunate man's assistance, some of them endeavouring to beat off the infuriated lions, while others inserted a partition between the bars of the cage, with a view to driving the animals behind it. This was a task of considerable difficulty, however, for as one beast was obliged to relinquish its hold of the unfortunate man, another rushed into its place. Heated irons were then brought, and by their aid, and the discharge of fire-arms, four of the lions were driven behind the partition. Macarthy was lying in the centre of the cage, still being torn by the lion that had first attacked him. A second partition was attempted to be inserted, but was found to be too large; and then one of the keepers drew the first one out a little, with the view of driving the fifth lion among the rest. More blank cartridges were fired, without effect, and it was not until the hot irons were applied to the nose of the infuriated brute that it loosed its hold, and ran behind the partition.

Even then, before the opening could be closed, the lion ran out again, seized the dead or dying man by one of his feet and dragged him into the corner, where four of the beasts again fell upon him with unsatiated thirst of blood. The terrible scene had now been going on for a quarter of an hour, and, even when all the animals were at length secured, it was found that they were next the entrance of the cage, the opposite end of which had to be broken open before the mangled corpse of the lion-tamer could be lifted out.

As lion-tamers are well paid, and this was only the second fatal accident in the course of half a century, it is not surprising that, as soon as the catastrophe became known, there were several candidates for the vacancy created by Macarthy's death. Mrs. Manders had resolved to discontinue the exhibition, however, and the applicants for the situation received an intimation to that effect.

Mrs. Wombwell retired from the menagerie business in 1866, and was succeeded in the proprietorship by Fairgrieve, who had married her niece.

Fairgrieve retired from the occupation in the spring of 1872, when his fine collection of animals was sold by auction at Edinburgh. As the public sale of a menagerie is a rare event, and Mr. Jamrach and Mr. Rice do not publish prices current, the reader may be glad to learn the prices realised.

The first lot was a racoon--"a very pleasant, playful pet," the auctioneer said--which was knocked down to the Earl of Roseberry for one pound. Mr. Bell Lamonby, another private collector, became the possessor of a pair of agoutis; which he was assured were "sharp, active little animals, and could sing like canaries," for an equally moderate sum. Then came a strange-looking and ferocious animal called the Tasmanian devil, of which there is a specimen in the gardens of the Zoological Society, and which the auctioneer assured his hearers was as strong in the jaw as a hyena, but not to be recommended for purchase as a domestic pet. Bids were slow, and even the prospect of purchasing the devil for three pounds did not render buyers enthusiastic; so that Mrs. Day bought the animal for five shillings more.

Then came the baboons and monkeys. The Diana monkey, a white and rose-breasted little animal, was purchased by Dr. Mackendrick for seven pounds; while the Capuchin monkey, full of intelligence, and belonging to a kind fancied by Italian organ-grinders, was knocked down to Mr. Rice for thirty shillings. Mr. Jamrach purchased the drill, "a playful little drawing-room pet, worth twenty pounds to put on the kitchen shelf to look at," for five guineas; and Mr. Rice paid thirty pounds for a male mandrill, five for a female of the same species, eighteen guineas for a pair of Anubis baboons, and fifteen pounds for five dog-faced baboons.

Passing on to the bird carriage, the first specimen submitted to competition was the black vulture, one of the largest birds of the species, and in excellent plumage. Mr. Rice bought this bird for three pounds ten shillings, and the condor, which had been forty years in the show, for fifteen pounds. Next came the emu, "a very suitable bird for a gentleman's park, and a nice show thing for the ladies in the morning, after breakfast," which Mrs. Day secured for her collection at seven pounds. Mr. Jamrach gave thirteen pounds for the pair of pelicans, bought at the sale of the Knowsley collection, and which had been trained to run races. The fine collection of parrots, macaws, and cockatoos was dispersed among a number of local fanciers of ornithological beauties.

Proceeding to the larger mammals, the auctioneer knocked down a male nylghau to Mr. Van Amburgh, the great American menagerist, for twenty-six pounds, and a female of the same species to the proprietor of the Manchester Zoological Gardens for ten guineas; while Mr. Jamrach secured a llama for fifteen pounds, and Mr. Rice a young kangaroo for twelve pounds. Professor Edwards, who had come over from Paris to pick up a few good specimens for the Jardin des Plantes, purchased the white bear, "young, healthy, and lively as a trout," for forty pounds, and a jackal for three pounds. A Thibet bear and three performing leopards were knocked down to Mr. Jamrach for five guineas and sixty pounds respectively. Another leopard, advanced in years, realised only six guineas. Mr. Van Amburgh secured the spotted hyena for fifteen pounds; while a performing striped hyena brought only five shillings above three pounds. Among objects of minor interest, a pair of wolves were sold for two guineas, an ocelot for six pounds ten shillings, three porcupines for ten pounds more, a wombat for seven pounds, a Malabar squirrel for five pounds, and a pair of boa constrictors for twelve pounds.

The large carnivora excited much attention, and fair prices were realised, though in some instances they were less than was expected. Mr. Rice gave a hundred and eighty-five pounds for the famous lion with which Signor Lorenzo used to represent the well-known story of Androcles, two other lions for a hundred and forty pounds each, two young ones for ninety pounds each, and a lioness for eighty pounds. A black-maned lion, said to be the largest and handsomest lion in Britain, was sold to Mr. Jackson, for the Bristol Zoological Gardens, for two hundred and seventy pounds; and his mate, in the interesting condition of approaching maternity, to Mr. Jennison, of the Belle Vue Gardens, Manchester, for a hundred guineas. Mr. Jamrach gave two hundred pounds for a fine lion, and a hundred and fifty-five pounds for the magnificent tigress that used to figure conspicuously in the performances of Signor Lorenzo.

Mr. Rice, who was the largest purchaser, bought the gnu for eighty-five pounds, and the zebra for fifty pounds. The camels and dromedaries, bought principally for travelling menageries, realised from fourteen to thirty pounds each, with the exception of a young one, bought by Dr. Mackendrick for nine pounds ten shillings. Menagerists restrict the word "camel" to the two-humped or Bactrian variety, and call the one-humped kind dromedaries; but the dromedary, according to naturalists, is a small variety of the Syrian camel, bearing the same relation to the latter as a pony does to a horse. The dromedaries of Mr. Fairgrieve's collection were, on the contrary, taller than the Bactrian camels.

There was a spirited competition for the two elephants, ending in the magnificent full-tusked male, seven feet six inches in height, being knocked down to Mr. Jennison for six hundred and eighty pounds, and the female, famous for her musical performances, to Mr. Rice for a hundred and forty-five pounds. The former animal was described as the largest and cleverest performing elephant ever exhibited. In stature he is exceeded, it is said, by the elephant kept by the Emperor of Russia at the gardens of Tsarski-Seloe; but, while the performances of that beast have been confined to the occasional killing of a keeper, the animal now in the Belle Vue Gardens at Manchester, besides performing many tricks evincing great docility and intelligence, was accustomed to draw the band carriage, would pull a loaded waggon up a hill, and had for the last eighteen months preceding the sale placed all the vans of the menagerie in position, with the assistance of a couple of men. The entire proceeds of the sale were a little under three thousand pounds.

I do not remember ever visiting a travelling menagerie that afforded me greater pleasure than one of the smaller class which I saw some thirty years ago at Mitcham Fair, and subsequently at Camberwell Fair. There were no lions or tigers in the collection, but it included four performing leopards, a tame hyena, and a wolf that seemed equally tame, if such an inference could be drawn from the presence of a lamb in its cage. The showman, who wore neither spangled trunks, nor a coat of chain-mail, but corduroy breeches and a sleeved vest of cat's skin, entered the leopard's cage, with a riding whip in one hand and a hoop in the other. The animals leaped over the whip, through the hoop, and over the man's back, exhibiting throughout the performance as much docility as dogs or cats. The whip was used merely as part of the "properties." The man afterwards entered the cage of the hyena, which rubbed its head against him, after the manner of a cat, and allowed him to open its mouth. The hyena has the reputation of being untameable; but, in addition to this instance to the contrary, Bishop Heber had a hyena at Calcutta which followed him about like a dog.

Tigers are little used as performing animals, partly perhaps from being less easily procured, but also, I believe, from greater distrust of them on the part of brute-tamers. There was a splendid tigress in Fairgrieve's menagerie, however, with which Signor Lorenzo used to do a wonderful performance; and I saw, some five-and-thirty years ago, in a show pitched upon a piece of waste ground at Norwood, a tiger that played a prominent part in a sensational drama, the interest of which was evolved from the hair-breadth escapes of a British traveller in the wilds of Africa. The author did not seem to have been aware that there are no tigers in that part of the world, the animals so called by the Cape colonists being leopards; but, as the old woman who took money replied to my remonstrance that one tiger could not, without an outrage upon Lindley Murray, be called performing _animals_, "what can you expect for a penny?"

The old showmen are now virtually extinct, and the London fairs have all ceased to exist. "Old Bartlemy" died hard, but its time must soon have come, in the natural order of things. Its extinction was followed closely by that of all the other fairs formerly held in the suburbs of the metropolis. Camberwell Fair was abolished in 1856, and the Greenwich Fairs in the following year. I cannot better express my opinion as to the causes which have led to the decline of fairs generally, but especially of those held within half an hour's journey from the metropolis, and the suppression of most of those formerly held within a shorter distance, than by quoting a brief dialogue between a showman and an acrobat in 'Bob Lumley's Secret,' a story which appeared anonymously a few years ago in a popular periodical:--

"'Fairs is nearly worked out, Joe,' said the red-faced individual, speaking between the whiffs of blue smoke from his _dhudeen_. 'Why, I can remember the time when my old man used to take more money away from this fair with the Russian giant, and the Polish dwarf, and the Circassian lady, than I can make now in a month. Them was the times, when old Adam Lee, the Romany, used to come to this fair with his coat buttons made of guineas, and his waistcoat buttons of seven-shilling pieces. Ah, you may laugh, Joey Alberto; but I have heard my old man speak of it many's the time.'

"'There's good fairs now down in the shires,' observed the younger man; 'but this town is too near the big village.'

"'That's it!' exclaimed the showman. 'It's all along o' them blessed railways. They brings down lots o' people, it is true; but, lor'! they don't spend half the money the yokels used to in former times.'

"'Besides which,' rejoined he of the spangled trunks, 'the people about here can run up to London and back for a shilling any day in the week, all the year round, and see all the living curiosities in the Zoo, and the stuffed ones in the Museum, and go in the evening to a theatre or a music-hall.'"

The fair referred to was the October fair at Croydon; and I may add that views similar to those which I have put into the mouths of the acrobat and the showman were expressed to me in 1846 by a showman named Gregory, who exhibited various natural curiosities and well-contrived mechanical representations of the falls of Niagara and a storm at sea. He had just received from the printer five thousand bills, which he carefully stowed away.

"This fair don't pay for bills," said he. "I want these for Canterbury Fair, where there's more money to be taken in one day than in this field in three."

"Which do you reckon the best fair in your circuit?" I inquired.

"Sandwich," he replied. "That's a good distance from London, you see, and though it's a smaller town than this, there's plenty of money in it. This is too near London, now the rail enables people to go there and back for a shilling, see all the sights and amusements, and get back home the same night."

The fairs within half an hour's journey from London which are still held are in a state of visible decadence. I walked through Kingston Fair last year, about three o'clock in the afternoon, at which time Croydon Fair would, even twenty or thirty years ago, have been crowded. The weather was unusually fine, the sun shining with unwonted brilliance for the season, and the ground in better condition for walking than I had ever seen the field at Croydon on the 2nd of October. Yet there were fewer people walking through the fair than I had seen in the market-place. The gingerbread vendors and other stall-keepers looked as if they were weary of soliciting custom in vain; the swings and the roundabouts stood idle; some of the showmen had not thought the aspect of the field sufficiently promising to be encouraged to unfurl their pictorial announcements, and those who had done so failed to attract visitors.

Day's menagerie was there, and was the principal show in the fair; but the few persons who paused to gaze at the pictures passed on without entering, and even the beasts within were so impressed with the pervading listlessness and inactivity that I did not hear a sound from the cages as I walked round to the rear of the show to observe its extent. There was no braying of brass bands, no beating of gongs or bawling through speaking-trumpets. One forlorn showman ground discordant sounds from a barrel-organ with an air of desperation, and another feebly clashed a pair of cymbals; but these were all the attempts made to attract attention, and they were made in vain.

This was on Saturday afternoon, too, when a large number of the working classes are liberated who could not formerly have attended the fair at that time without taking a holiday. There was a good attendance in the evening, I heard; but, however well the shows and stalls may be patronised after six o'clock, it is obvious that their receipts must be less than half what they amounted to in the days when they were thronged from noon till night.

Fairs are becoming extinct because, with the progress of the nation, they have ceased to possess any value in its social economy, either as marts of trade or a means of popular amusement. All the large towns now possess music-halls, and many of them have a theatre; the most populous have two or three. The circuses of Newsome and Hengler are located for three months at a time in permanent buildings in the larger towns, and the travelling circuses visit in turn every town in the kingdom. Bristol and Manchester have Zoological Gardens, and Brighton has its interesting Aquarium. The railways connect all the smaller towns, and most of the villages, with the larger ones, in which amusements may be found superior to any ever presented by the old showmen. What need, then, of fairs and shows? The nation has outgrown them, and fairs are as dead as the generations which they have delighted, and the last showman will soon be as great a curiosity as the dodo.

INDEX

Abbott's theatrical booth, 358

Adams, the dancer, 154

African dwarfs, 80

Albinoes, 295, 310, 313

Albion dancing-booth, 263

Algar's dancing-booth, 263, 328, 333, 355

Allen, the dwarf, 205

Ambroise, the showman, 189

Amburgh, Van, the lion-tamer, 260

American juggler, 294

Annesley, Mrs., the dancer, 164

Appleby, the showman, 63

Arthur, the comedian, 144

Astley, the equestrian, 211

Aston, the comedian, 109, 121

Atkins's menagerie, 258, 277, 302, 304

Baker, Mrs., the theatrical manageress, 196

Ball, the showman, 271, 303, 309

Ballard's animal comedians, 169

" menagerie, 232, 241, 287, 303, 305

Banks and his performing horse, 23

Barnes, the showman, 63

" " pantaloon, 246

Barnett, Mrs., the actress, 349

Basil, the showman, 191

Baudouin, the comic dancer, 131

Bearded women, 33, 47

Belzoni's feats of strength, 216

Berar's _optikali illusio_, 311

Biffin, Miss, the armless portrait painter, 210, 231

Billington, the comedian, 349

Birds, performing, 178, 182, 188

Bisset, the animal trainer, 177

Blacker, the dwarf, 167

Blight, Helen, the lion-performer, 337

Boheme, the tragedian, 96

Booth, the theatrical manager, 94

Bradshaw, Miss, the actress, 144

Breslaw, the conjuror, 187, 192

Bridge's theatrical booth, 152, 163

Broomsgrove, the showman, 313

Brown, the showman, 272, 300

Brown's theatre of arts, 315

Brunn, the juggler, 189

Bullock, the comedian, 78, 95, 105, 107, 114, 119, 132

Burchall, the showman, 314

Burnett, the trapezist, 359

Cadman, the flying man, 145

Campbell, Mrs., the actress, 344, 349, 355

Canterel, Mrs., the actress, 110

Capelli, the conjuror, 307

Carey, the actor, 223, 230

Cartlitch, the actor, 246

Cats, performing, 178, 307

Chapman, Mary Anne, the albino, 314

" Miss, the lion-performer, 337

" the comedian, 114, 119, 127, 132, 138, 143

Chappell, the actor, 353

" the showman, 272

Charke, Mrs., the actress, 114

Cheshire girl, wonderful, 49

Chettle's theatrical booth, 151

Chetwood, the prompter, 105

Chinese jugglers, 302, 309

" lady, 292

Christoff, the rope-dancer, 20

Cibber, the tragedian, 107, 114

Circassian lady, 290

Clancy, the giant, 313

Clark, the posturer, 59

Clarke's circus, 268, 307, 332, 341

Clarke, Miss, the rope-dancer, 308

Clarkson, the showman, 191

Clench, the whistling man, 80

Coan, the dwarf, 167

Cooke's circus, 249

Corder, the murderer, head of, 303

Cornwell, the showman, 61

Corsican dwarf, 155, 188

Cousins's theatrical booth, 154

Cow, a double, 161

Cox, the comedian, 37

Crawley, the puppet-showman, 83

Crockett, the showman, 341

Crocodile, the first exhibited, 167

Crowther, the actor, 322

Cushings, the pantomimists, 150, 165

Dale's music booth, 64

Dancey, Mrs. and Miss, the dancers, 131

Day, the showman, 298

Day's menagerie, 355, 375

Dawson, the dwarf, 313

Derrum, Miss, the female tumbler, 115

Doggett, the comedian, 74, 79

Dogs, performing, 85, 169, 178, 307

Drury's menagerie, 310

Ducrow, Madame, the rope-dancer, 335

Dunstall's theatrical booth, 175

Dupain, the showman, 313

Dutch boy, wonderful, 70

" rope-dancer, 53, 150

Dwarf family, 298

Dyan, Ursula, the bearded woman, 47

Edmunds, the menagerist, 337, 355

Egleton, Mrs., the actress, 108

Elephant, performing, 284

" escape of an, 288, 347

Elliston, the theatrical manager, 236

England, the flying pieman, 240

Esquimaux youth, 294

Evans, the wire-walker, 172

Ewing's wax-work exhibition, 306, 310

Excell, the duettist, 123

Fairgrieve's menagerie, 365

Farnham, the dwarf, 313

Faucit, the actor, 221

Fawkes, the conjuror, 110, 112, 117

" " showman, 116, 123, 139, 150

Ferguson's wax-work exhibition, 310

Fielding, the novelist, 103, 107, 110, 113, 119, 124, 127

Finch, the posturer, 313

Finley, the acrobat, 73

" Mary, the rope-dancer, 73, 78

Fitzgerald, Mrs., the actress, 110, 123

Fives Court drinking booth, 333

Flemish giantess, 47

Flockton, the juggler and showman, 191, 200, 202, 206

Ford, the gingerbread vendor, 99

Fossett's circus, 358

Frano, Mdlle. de, the dancer, 131

Frazer, the conjuror, 303

Frazer's acrobatic entertainment, 341

Freer, the tragedian, 344

French, the single-stick player, 158

Gaetano, the bird imitator, 187

Garrick, the actor, 165

German rope-dancers, 50, 63, 73

Giffard, the theatrical manager, 106, 130

Gipsies' drinking booth, 333

Girardelli, Josephine, the fire-eater, 235

Glee-men and glee-maidens, 19

Gobert, Madame, the athlete, 244

Godwin, the showman, 151

Goodwin's theatrical booth, 143

Gouffe, the man-monkey, 306

Gregory, the showman, 374

Griffin, the actor, 107, 114, 137

Grosette, the actor, 225

Grove's theatre of arts, 341

Gyngell, the showman, 207, 238, 254

Haines, the fire-eater, 311

Hales, the Norfolk giant, 350

Hall, the rope-dancer, 43, 45

" " actor, 108, 119

Hall's museum, 192

Hallam, the tragedian, 107, 114, 119, 127, 131, 138, 143

Harper, the comedian, 96, 103, 109, 111, 114, 118, 137

Harris, the cat imitator, 182

Harris, the showman, 313

Haydon's theatrical booth, 320

Heads, lecture on, 186

Heidegger, Master of the Revels, 139

Herring, the pantomimist, 322, 336

Hewet, the comedian, 109

Hilton's menagerie, 336, 341, 359

Hilton, Miss, the lion-performer, 336

Hind, the actor, 121

Hippisley, the tragedian, 108, 110, 113, 119, 127, 132, 138, 143

" Miss, the actress, 162

Hipson, Miss, the fat girl, 289

Hoare, the showman, 243

Hocus Pocus, the King's conjuror, 30

Hog, enormous, 154

Holden's glass-blowing exhibition, 299, 301

Holland's, Lady, mob, 125, 201, 256

Horses, performing, 20, 23, 43, 83, 164, 178, 202, 305

Horton, Mrs., the actress, 94

Howard, the actor, 348, 355

Hoyo's wax-work exhibition, 310

Hulett, the comedian, 105, 109, 114, 120

Hussey's theatrical booth, 145, 151, 153, 156

Hyenas, tame, 308, 371

Inchbald, Elizabeth, the actress, 196

Irish giant, 52

Italian rope-dancer, 40

" sword-dancers, 154

Ives, the showman, 191

Jack, Manchester, the lion-keeper, 260

Jackman's theatrical booth, 358

Jano, the rope-dancer, 115, 130

Jefferies, the actor, 225

Jobson, the puppet-showman, 191, 202, 208

Johnson, the showman, 317, 320

" and Lee's theatrical booth, 321, 325, 336, 341, 343, 348, 352,
356

Kean, the tragedian, 214, 221

Keith, the clown, 358

Keyes and Laine, the conjurors, 303

Killigrew, Charles, Master of the Revels, 50

" Thomas, the King's jester, 49

Lacy, Mrs., the actress, 121

Ladder dance, 85

Laguerre, the actor, 119

Lane, the conjuror, 191

Laskey, the showman, 341

Lee, Nelson, the theatrical manager, 247, 254, 320, 346

Lee's theatrical booth, 102, 106, 108, 111, 114, 119, 121, 132, 138,
152, 163

" unlicensed theatre, 255

Legar, the actor, 132

Leigh, the comedian, 95

Leopard, escape of a, 232

" a tame, 287, 310

Leopards, performing, 368, 371

Lincolnshire dwarf, 294

Lion, a tame, 32, 274, 285

" baiting with dogs, 261

Lioness, escape of a, 241

Lion-tiger cubs, 277, 285, 304

Little, the comedian-hawker, 324

Living skeleton, the, 305

Lorenzo, the lion performer, 368

Lorme, Madlle. de, the dancer, 106

Luce, the dancer, 106

Macarthy, the lion performer, 362

Mackenzie, the hermit, 314

Macklin, the comedian, 144

Macomo, the lion performer, 360

Madagascar woman, 294

Mahoura, the cannibal chief, head of, 298

Malay savages, 290

Manchester Jack, the lion keeper, 260

Manders's menagerie, 359

March, the clown, 50

Maori woman, 292, 351

Mare with seven feet, 291

Master of the Revels, office of, 30

Matthews, the dancer, 164

Maughan, the showman, 289

Melville, the actor, 349

Menagerie, the first, 88

Mermaids, 162, 298

Miles's music booth, 64, 85

" menagerie, 209

Miller, the comedian, 75, 77, 107, 114, 119

Mills, the comedian, 107, 114, 119

Monkeys, performing, 20, 23, 40, 169, 178, 314

Monstrosities, 22, 32, 60, 161, 204, 217, 291, 310, 314, 346

Morgan, the comedian, 121

" Miss, the dwarf, 205

Morgan's menagerie, 287, 302

Morosini, the rope-dancer, 115

Mullart, the tragedian, 111

Mussulmo, the rope-dancer, 151

Mynn's theatrical booth, 86

Negro, wonderful, 168

Newman and Allen's theatrical booth, 323

Newsome, the lion performer, 359

Nichols, the comedian, 109

Nokes, Mrs., the actress, 104

Oates, the comedian, 105, 114, 119, 134, 162

" Miss, the actress, 114, 120

O'Brien, the Irish giant, 194, 229

Ogden, Mrs., the dancer, 154

Oronutu savage, 154

Orsi, the singer, 204

Owen, the clown, 196

Oxberry, the comedian, 221

Paap, the dwarf, 236

Pack, the comedian, 95

Palmer, the theatrical bill-sticker, 165

Parker's theatrical booth, 79

Peep-shows, 289, 305, 307

Penkethman, the elder, comedian, 71, 79, 95, 106

" " younger, comedian, 106, 108, 113, 120, 132

Penley, the showman, 200

Perry's menagerie, 159

Persian giant, 290

Peters, the comic dancer, 131

Petit, the showman, 115

Phantasmagorial exhibitions, 311

Philips, the fiddler and clown, 54, 57

Phillips, the posturer, 113

" " showman, 164

" " comedian, 133

" Mrs., the dancer, 134

" the Welsh dwarf, 294

Pidcock's menagerie, 186

Pierce, the gigantic Shropshire youth, 313

Pig-faced lady, 303, 305

Pigs, learned, 178, 243, 297, 301, 314

Pike's theatrical booth, 303

Pinchbeck, the mechanist, 110, 116, 123, 134, 139

Pinkethman, the puppet showman, 83

Polito's menagerie, 187, 209

Powell, the comedian, 105

" " fire-eater, 179

" " puppet showman, 83

Price, the equestrian, 309

Pritchard, Mrs., the actress, 113, 120, 127

Pullen's theatrical booth, 105

Punch and Judy shows, 27

Punchinello, the puppet showman, 29

Purden, Mrs., the actress, 121

Quin, the comedian, 95

Rapinese, the posturer, 131

Ray, the comedian, 104

Rayner's theatrical booth, 105

" the tumbler, 149

" Miss, the rope-dancer, 149

Reader, the showman, 341

Reed, the actor, 225, 317

Reed's theatrical booth, 350

Reverant, Madlle. de, the rope-dancer, 115

Reynolds, the comedian, 104, 106

" " showman, 151, 154

Richardson, the fire-eater, 48

" " showman, 217, 230, 235, 239, 248, 264, 302, 306, 316

River, the tumbler, 115

Roberts, the tragedian, 121

Roberts, Mrs., the actress, 114

Robinson, the conjuror, 191

Robson, the comedian, 356, 358

Rose's, Miss, imitations of actresses, 187

Rossignol, the bird trainer, 188, 193

Roy, Madlle. le, the dancer, 131

Rudderford, the mountebank, 50

Ryan, the comedian, 95, 119, 127

Saffery, the rope-vaulter, 308

Saffry's theatrical booth, 50

Saker, the comedian, 256, 350

Salway, the comedian, 113

Samwell, the showman, 270, 309

Saunders, Sarah, actress and acrobat, 323

" the showman, 209, 219, 221, 231

Scotch dwarf, 61

" giant, 303

Scowton's theatrical booth, 230, 316

Seaman, the actor, 349

Serpents, performing, 190

Settle, the dramatist, 86

Shaw, Miss, the beautiful albino, 310

" the harlequin, 344

Shuter, the comedian, 174, 179, 182

Silver-haired lady, 301, 351

Simmett, the showman, 313

Simpson, the vaulter, 80

Skeleton, the living, 305

Slater, Miss, the columbine, 349

Smith, the hand-bell ringer, 179

Spanish youth, wonderful, 61

Spellman, Mrs., the actress, 110

Spiller, the comedian, 95

" Mrs., the actress, 109, 111, 121

Spotted boy, 301

" girl, 351

Steward, the slack-wire performer, 168

Stock, Elizabeth, the giantess, 300

Stokes, the vaulter, 58

Strand, the lion performer, 359

Strength, feats of, 40, 98, 168, 244

Sword dancers, 64, 85

Talliott's circus, 359

Tarvey, the clown, 197

Taylor, the dancer, 123

Terwin, the showman, 134

Thwaites, the actor, 225

Thompson, the comic dancer, 131

Tiger, a tame, 159, 283

Tigers, performing, 371

Tarbutt, the comedian, 138, 143

Turkish rope-dancer, 33, 151

" wire-walker, 144, 188

Vanbeck, Barbara, the bearded woman, 33

Vaughan, the actor, 225

Vidina, Signora, the singer, 204

Violantes, the, rope-walkers, 144

Walker, the comedian, 94

Wallack, the actor, 221

Walpole, Lydia, the dwarf, 290, 313

Warner's theatrical booth, 150, 163, 174

Waterloo giant, 299

Wax-work exhibition, the first, 31

Webber, Eliza, the dwarf, 313

Wells, the actor, 225

Welsh dwarf, 167

Weston, Priscilla and Amelia, the twin giantesses, 313

Whitehead, the fat boy, 298

Whiteland, the dwarf, 203

Wignell, the poet, 179

Williamson, Mrs., the actress, 109

Wombwell's Menagerie, 257, 273, 302, 305, 307, 310, 337, 341, 347, 355,
365

Woodward, harlequin and actor, 97, 138, 144

Woolford, Miss, the rope-dancer, 336

Wright's menagerie, 341

Yates, the comedian, 134, 138, 143, 162, 174, 180

" Mrs., the actress, 144

" Miss, the actress, 164

Yeates, the showman, 116, 131, 163, 168

" the conjuror, 116, 131, 133, 149, 151, 153, 157, 163, 168

" Mrs., the actress, 157

Yorkshire giantess, 299

THE END.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO.,
LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS.

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.

The original text includes an asterism symbol that is represented as [Asterism] in this text version.

The original text includes a right pointing hand symbol that is represented as [Pointing Hand] in this text version.