Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1914 — Page 2

Side Show Sidelights

Diverting Chronicles of Circus Life

By FRANCIS METCALFE

THE HYPNOTIC BEAR.

The doctor shook his head as he flipped his ophthalmoscope into his ipocket, and Rey, the trainer, who had Ibeen holding the bear’s head still 'while the oculist made the examine* Ition, opened the door of the cage for (him. The bear —a medium-sized black animal—wandered aimlessly abcut, ■tumbling over the water pan and knocking its head against the bars, its eyes, which were evidently sightless, shining like two fiery opals as they reflected the electric light. "I am sorry to ten you that it is a hopeless case,” said the physician to the proprietor, who was standing with the stranger in front of the cage watching the examination. “Both optic nerves are atrophied, and the anlimal must have received some serious (injury, possibly a heavy blow on the (forehead.** The proprietor, who has the reputation of being a “good loser,** thanked him and gave some directions to the trainer about the care of the 'animal before leading the way to the 'table in front of the Arena, where the Ipress agent was waiting for them. “It is rather unusual to call the most famous specialist in the country to examine a menagerie animal,” he said, after the doctor hurriedly left “But I was willing to pay anything In reason to restore the sight of this particular specimen, so I sent for the best-known oculist in New York. The (decision which he has just given will (probably mean a loss of thousands of 'dollars to me, but that is one of the risks which I have to assume. Would It interest you to hear a rather unusual romance of the menagerie busiincss?” The stranger gave eager assent, and the press agent settled himself comfortably and lighted a cigar. “You have no idea how many animals are offered to the owner of a menagerie and from what unusual sources the offers come,” said the proprietor. “Travelers in far countries bring back strange animals as I pets or curiosities; people buy young (wild animals which get beyond control when they mature and become veritable white elephants on their hands, land their owners have to dispose of them. I have had everything from monkeys to lions brought to me, and so it did not surprise me when an artist came to the hippodrome in Paris last winter and asked me if I didn’t want to purchase a bear. He seemed anxious for me to see it immediately, and at his earnest solicitation I got in a cab with him and drove to hia

They Would Sit Facing Each Other by the Hour.

studio, which was situated on the far side of the Seine. The bear which you .saw examined tonight was in a small room adjoining the studio, chained to is ring in the wall. “The apartment was luxuriously furnished, and I realized that it was not lack of ready money which made the artist so anxious to dispose of the brute; but he seemed in a desperate hurry to have me take it away, and offered It for such a low price that il closed the bargain at once. I suggested sending one of my men for it in the evening, but he insisted upon my taking it with me, and as the bear •was evidently as gentle as a kitten I called a closed cab and drove away 'with it The bear sat comfortably on the seat beside me and gave no trouble, but as we drove along I got to i thinking the matter over and the whole proceeding seemed a little strange. I had Mephisto, as the bear was named, put in a cage well away from the other animals—a sort of quarantine precaution which I always take with new arrivals—and as there was apparently nothing unusual about him eve him little attention, there being r the moment no group of animals training for which he would be available. I soon noticed that during the intermissions, when the audience [wandered about and examined the anJmals in the cages, there was always a tarowd of women about Ms den; but I (thought that it was because he was Much an inveterate beggar, and had > habit of standing at the ban with ihis mouth wide open, waiting for some one to flick a lump of sugar into it “The bear had given us no trouble,

(Coßvrisfat by W. G. Chapman)

about him; he seemed to have an aversion to cats. The bodies of three of them had been found in front of his cage, although we had never seen one killed. The cats about a menagerie instinctively keep out of harm’s way, and it puzzled me to know how Mephisto had managed to get them within reach of his heavy paw. Jack Bonavita, who fusses about his lions at all hours of the day and night, solved that mystery and incidentally saved his pet cat, Tramp, from an untimely ending. Tramp has been with Jack for years and appreciates the folly of venturing within reach of the animals in the cages, but Bonavita came across him in front of Mephisto’s cage in the middle of the night The bear was absolutely quiet, lying with its head on its paws and its eyes, which glistened like two points of flame, fixed on the cat Tramp was staring at it in turn and slowly drawing nearer to the cage, apparently struggling against some influence which was stronger than its will. Bonavita watched them for a few minutes, but before the cat ventured within striking distance hepicked It up and carried it away, while Mephisto, growling with rage, tried to break through the stout bars and get at it

“Two days before we were to sail for America I was sitting at my desk arranging some of the last details of shipment, when the door burst open and a well-dressed, handsome woman rushed in, followed by the artist who had sold me the bear. She was in a tearing rage and jabbering excitedly in a language which I did not understand, while the artist was trying to quiet her. She pushed him aside, and opening a purse which was well stuffed with banknotes, she asked in French, which she spoke with a marked foreign accent, for how much I would sell Mephisto. The artist protested, but she turned on him and gave him a tongue lashing of which I could guess the meaning, although the words were unintelligible to me. I couldn’t grasp the situation, but the strange hypnotic power which the

bear apparently exercised over cats had excited my curiosity, and I wished to investigate it at my leisure, so I politely but positively refused to name a price, and told her the animal was not for sale. The artist seemed relieved and she was very much disappointed, but she quieted down and asked me what I intended to do with the animal. I told her that I was taking it to America, where It would be put in a mixed group which Rey was to

train, and after Inquiring when we were to sail, they left the office. “I regretted that I had not taken the opportunity to find out something about the history of the animal, and looked over the audience to try to locate the couple, but they had left the building. One of the keepers told me that she had screamed when she recognized the bear and called it by name. She was trying to bribe him to let her go into the cage when the artist came up and expostulated with her, and they had an awful row before coming to my office. I heard nothing more from them and we shipped the animals at Havre the following day. The traveling dens were placed in the ’tween decks, which is not a pleasant place to be when the ship is tossing about, and I was surprised the second day out to find the woman who had tried to purchase Mephisto standing in front of his cage in that smelly place, talking to the bear as if it were a child. She laughed when I came up to her, and told me that as I would not part with the bear I would have to take her with the show. I, too, laughed, for I have a large family of daughters, and I knew that the simple traveling gown which she wore had cost more than two months* salary of my best trainer, but to my great surprise she was in dead earnest, and asked me seriously if I would not let her train a group of animals.” The press agent grew very attentive, but the proprietor told him that he was not talking for publication* and that a name which occupied several pages of the Almanack de Gotha was

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

“And she does carry that name and was born to it” he continued, “but I can’t tell you what it is. She didn’t tell it to me and it was not on the passenger Het but the ambassador from a great European nation came on from Washington to see her and remonstrate with her and to influence me to exclude her from the show. I wouldn’t consent to that, but I am afraid that the accident of the bear’s going blind will be the cause of my losing an act which promised to be sensational.” “You have kept it quiet enough,” said the press agent with a trace of resentment in his voice.

“As I told you, there are reasons why I can’t exploit it,” answered the proprietor. “I am counting upon it for my opening sensation at the Paris hippodrome next winter, and I don’t intend to discount it before a Coney Island audience. But to get back to my experience with her on the steamer. I found that she occupied the most expensive deck stateroom, and had a maid and a man servant traveling with her; so that I refused all of her renewed offers for the bear when I found the powerful fascination it had for her, and I finally consented to let her try the experiment of working with a group of animals. You know the class from which trainers are usually recruited, and you can imagine the Interest I take in a woman who possesses an. absolute fearlessness which is inherited from generations of ancestors who have never shown the white feather, in addition to education and intelligence. The only thing which puzzled me was her motive, and that I have not discovered yet, although the ambassador, who had received all sorts of communications about her from his own government, told me her history. It seems that she has always been noted for her eccentricity and her rebellion against the strict laws of convention which were supposed to control her life, and this is not the first time she has defied them. She had commissioned the artist —who, by the way, is one of the most celebrated men in Paris —to paint a portrait of her. At the same time he was painting an exhibition picture to be called the ’Dancing Bear,* and had purchased Mephisto for a model. The picture was to represent the bear dancing on Its hind legs opposite a woman, to the music of a flageolet played by a man bear leader —such an exhibition as is commonly given at the country fairs throughout Europe. He had no difficulty in getting a male model, but he was in despair about the woman dancer. He tried model after model, and although they started In all right each one became so nervous after a sitting or two that they refused to continue. The bear was chained to the wall and they were posed safely out of reach, but each of them asserted that the animal was like a serpent and trying to charm them so that they would come close enough to be caught. They were all afraid that they might yield to the fascination and be seriously injured. Tramp, the cat, would probably have told the same story if he had been able to talk.

“He mentioned the latter during one of the sittings for the portrait, and the lady, being curious to see the animal, came to his studio — and then the trouble commenced. She developed a most unaccountable attachment for Mephisto, and he was as gentle as a lamb with her. They would sit facing each other by the hour, and the artist swore they talked to each other and understood each other perfectly. The animal never attempted to harm her, but the'artist became alarmed for fear there should be an accident, and believing that there was something uncanny about the brute, he decided to get rid of it and sold it to me.

••Well, I watched her with the bear on shipboard and since we landed, and I can’t yet understand her control over It for It does not control her in any way. There seems to be a sympathy between them which makes them absolutely understand each other, . and through it she understands the other caged beasts. The act which I had framed for her when I found that she was absolutely in earnest was a dance to be given In the midst of a group of adult lions. The lady is absolutely fearless and approved the plan, but stipulated that she should select the lions.

“For the past , three days she has been anxious and uneasy about the bear and has insisted that it was rapidly going blind. She says that the bear is her teacher about things in the animal world, and that she can tell what it is thinking about Its eyes look perfectly sound, and it is only for two days that we have noticed anything wrong with it Mephisto knew its way about its old cage so well that it gave no evidence of blindness, and a bear is naturally clumsy in its movements, but when we moved it to a strange den it stumbled over everything. I experimented by bringing Tramp in front of its cage, but with the loss of sight the hypnotic power has apparently deserted it, and the cat paid no attention to it Finally I called in the doctor and you heard him pronounce his verdict” “How do you account for it all—her infatuation for the bear and her intuitive knowledge of the dispositions of the lionsT’ asked the stranger.

“I don’t try to account for anything. It is one of the thousand things about animals and the million things about women which no mere man can understand,” replied the proprietor, laughing. “I have simply given you the facts of the situation and you can draw your own conclusions, but the bear’s blindness upsets my plans and possibly prevents a sensation in circles which approach royalty!”

TRY CAKES WITHOUT SUGAR

Use of Sweetening Is Declared to Make the Popular Morning Dainty Too Heavy.

When preparing griddle cakes it is a mistake to add much if any sugar, as sugar is believed to make them heavy. They do not rise quickly if much sugar is used. A liberal measure of baking powder should be used, however, because this kind of cooking has to be quickly done. The cakes must rise and cook before they are brown enough for serving. A couple of spoonfuls of the cornmeal in place of an egg are often used by economical housewives, who declare that the difference cannot be detected. More than one or two eggs are apt to make an ordinary wheat griddle cake tough. Eggs should be liberally used in the French and German cakes that are very very thin and either rolled up or soaked with fruit juiees, because they require a batter that is cohesive. Ordinary griddle cakes, that are, of course, much thicker, are better for crumbling or. breaking “apart easily when touched by a fork. *

RECIPE FOR MORNING BREAD

Especially Recommended to Those Who Prefer the Home-made to Baker’s Preparation.

For three, loaves dissolve; one compressed' yeastcake in one-fourth cupful of tepid water. Sift two quarts of flour into mixing bowl, add two level teaspoonfuls of salt and"one teaspoonful of sugar. Measure cupfuls of milk, to which add the same amount of boiling water. Stir this into the flour with a spoon, then with the hands, adding yeast when .tile dough is mixed. With spoon work in more flour until dough is easily handled. Knead on a floured bread board until pliable and elastic. Place in a greased bread pan, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, then divide into loaves, knead each until smooth and place in bread tins, letting rise again until twice its bulk. Bake' for three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. A good brown crust should form in ten minutes, growing richer and deeper until bread is done.

Wash Blankets on Windy Day.

Wash your bed blankets on a’ clear, windy day, if possible, says the Dallas News. Prepare strong suds by melting half a bar of any good white soap and putting it into half a tubful of hot water, then add half a cupful of salt and two tablespoonfuls of ammonia. Shake the blankets free from dust and lint, then them in the tub of water and sop up and down until the dirt is removed; rub the dirty spots with the hands. Squeeze the water out, put the blankets in a second tub prepared the same as the first, and treat the blankets the same as when in the first tub of suds, Rinse in a third tub, then put the blankets through a wringer. Stretch them slightly while drying. When dry, lay on the ironing board and with a very stiff brush brush the blankets the same direction as the wool nap.

To Stew a Beef’s Heart.

Clean heart and cut it lengthways into large pieces. Put them into a pot with a little salt and pepper, and cover them with cold water. Parboil them for a quarter of an hour, carefully skimming off the blood that rises to the top. Then take them out, cut them into inch cubes and, having strained the liquid, return them to it, adding a head or two of chopped celery, a few sliced onions, a dozen potatoes pared and quartered, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Season with whole pepper and a few cloves if you like. Let- it stew slowly till all the pieces of heart and the vegetables are quite tender. You may stew a beef’s Kidney in the same manner. The heart and liver of a calf make a. good dish cooked as above.

Pastes for Sandwiches.

Remember the sandwich pastes when you are planning to make sandwiches. A pot or tube of some sort of paste can be kept on hand always, and so the task of making dainty sandwiches at short noticd to serve with the cup of afternoon tea becomes easy. These pastes come in many flavors. A sizable tube can be bought for about 25 cents, and a litle pot, containing an ounce of the paste, costs about the same price. Sardine, anchovy, salmon and even such substantial pastes as beefsteak and other meat flavors, are made.

Glazed Onions.

Glazed onions require a mild onion. Melt one-half cup of butter in a saucepan, put in one dozen medium sized onions and move about until all are well coated with butter; then sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, just cover with strong soup stock (salted), and simmer until the onions are tender; then uncover the saucepan and let the stock boil down to less than one-half. Glazed onions should be served in a hot dish as an accompaniment to a roast.

Salmon Patties.

Take a medium size can of salmon. Remove from can, put in bowl togeth* er with two eggs well beaten, and salt and pepper to season to taste. Then put in cracker crumbs until it thickens the mixture well enough t*> form into cakes. Roll cakes in cracker crumbs and fry. Fry well and serve hot with parsley or lettuce.

For Handy Boys and Girls to Make and Do

THE GAME OF RING TOSS.

By A. NEELY HALL.

Ypu will all declare this game to be jolly fun, once you have played it, and as it requires only simple apparatus that is easily and quickly made.

There is a target consisting of nine pins, arranged upon the ground in rows of three pins each, and there are three rings. Each player in turn tries to toss the rings over the target pins. The pins bear numbers, you will see by Fig. 1, and these numbers are used in determining the scores. The pin in the exact center counts 25 points, the four corner pins count 15 points apiece, and the remaining pins 10 points apiece. Nails 3 or 4 inches long should be used for the pins. Four-inch nails are the better length if you can get them. The ground would not hold these pins firmly enough, if they were driven directly into it, so you must drive a stake into the ground in the proper position for each pin, and then drive

the nails into their tops (Fig. 2). First locate on the ground the places for the pins, by drawing three parallel lines 6 inches apart, and then crossing these at right angles with three other parallel lines 6 inches apart. The Intersections of the lines will be the positions for the pins. Cut the stakes -6 or 8 inches long, and drive them down in the proper places so their tops will be even with or a trifle below the surface. Cut nine squares of cardboard from a cardboard box for the score numbers, and letter the numbers upon them with a soft pencil or a small brush and washing bluing. Make the figures large and heavy so they will be easy to distinguish from a distance (Fig. 3). Fasten th’e score numbers by driving the nail pins through them (Fig. 2). The rings are made from ends of tomato cans or other preserving cans,

not the smooth ends, but the ends having the small circular pieces soldered into them (Fig. 4). If the end of the cans have been soldered on, which is the usual method, it is only necessary to place the cans one at a time Jn a gas-burner flame for a minute. This will melt the solder, and if the end does not drop oft of itself, it will knock off easily by giving its edge a blow with a hammer. The little disk in the center of the end will also drop out. with the melting of the solder which holds it in place, and your completed ring disk will look like Fig. 5. A variation of the game of ring-toss can be had by using the small centers from the ends of the tin cans, and substituting open cans for the pins (Fig.

1). Different sizes of cans and flower pots may be used. A line from which to toss the rings or disks should be marked upon the trama 20 net away from fbh target

(Copyright by A. Nee!y Hall)

AN UMBRELLA PLAY TENT.

By DOROTHY PERKINS.

Every girl cannot own a«play house, perhaps, but she may have a pretty little tent that will do nearly as well to play housekeeping in, and the beauty of the idea is that she does

not have to depend upon father or biether to fix up the tent, for she can easily do the work herself, and, not only that, she can also make the tent by following the simple directions given below. Figure 1 shows the home-made tent and Fig. 2 is a view of it partly completed. A large umbrella is needed for the top. This makes a pleasing dome-shaped roof, which gives the tent a touch of elegance. It does not injure an umbrella in the least to use it for the tent; still, if you can find an old one that is not badly broken, it may be well to take it, because there might be such a thing as some one piercing it with a pointed stick; then, too, by using an umbrella that has been it will not be necessary to take down the tent on rainy days when every available umbrella is needed. A chair is required to support the umbrella handle, several sheets'or old draperies are needed for the walls, and some clothes-

line or heavy wrapping twine for ..braces... . . .. ' - The tent may be placed in the back yard, on the porch, or in the playroom. The first thing to do is to fasten the end of the umbrella handle to the chair, back, by strapping it to the cross bars with heavy twine in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. The twine braces for the walls are fastened to the tips of the umbrella ribs, and the best way to attach them is by using needle and thread audi sewing them to the little eyes in the tips. The lower ends of the braces should ,be tied to stakes driven into the ground, if the tent is placed in the yard, or to carpet tacks, thumb tacks, or wall push-pins driven into the floor, if the tent is placed upon the porch or in a play-room. In order to make the tent wider at its bottom, the braces are slanted away from the umbrella as in the illustration. Twen*

ty inches is a great enough slant T®get the right position for the stakes or tacks, first allow the braces to hang straight to the ground, or floor, after fastening the upper ends to the umbrella ribs; then measure twenty* inches away from the points whore the braces touch the ground or floor. The cloth covering of the sides of the tent may be pinned to the edge; of the umbrella, and to the braces. Figure 1 shows how the covering opens on one side, and how one brace is omitted, to make a doorway. The lower portion of the chair support is made into a cupboard by enclosing the legs on three sides with cloth, as shown in Fig. 3, and boards placed across the chair rounds form shelves. This will be a splendid cupboard to keep your dishes Tin