CHAPTER XXVI
THE GRAND CIRCUS OF THE TWO WORLDS
In about an hour Moukounj returned, joyous, and as he came near me heembraced my trunk.
"Ah! my brave companion! My faithful friend! How great is the wisdom ofthe Sage who says: '_He who is clever will be a stranger in no country;for him who is contented with little, there is no anxiety; for him whois wise, there are no surprises; for him who is determined, nothing isimpossible!_'--How true are these sayings! And equally so is this one:'_The life of mankind is as uncertain as the reflection of the Moon onwater; for this reason we must practise Virtue!_' ... Yes--yes--we mustpractise Virtue; and it is because I have done so, and because I haveso cheerfully endured my misfortunes, that to-day the Gods have sent mebetter luck!"
He ceased speaking, and danced around me, clapping his hands. Then heresumed:
"Yes, yes, old fellow! life is, indeed, as uncertain as the reflectionof the Moon on water. When I was young and was studying books ofwisdom at Lahore, I would have laughed at anyone who told me that Iwould one day be employed in unloading ships on the wharf at Calcutta;and yesterday I would have laughed at him who said that to-day Ishould belong to the troupe of Mr. John Hardwick, Director of the'_Grand Circus of the Two Worlds_'--and nevertheless--that is what hashappened!"
He hugged me again, and continued:
"Oh, my friend! My saviour! thou, who, for all I know, may be GanesaHimself!... Henceforth, we shall have a sure refuge! We will no longerhave to sleep in a ditch by the roadside on rainy nights.... We willnot have to go hungry! No! we shall live in comfort, well-paid, and fedby the kind Mr. John Hardwick.... Good Fortune has found us at last!"And thereupon he told me of his interview.
"I went to the Hotel Victoria," said he; "I asked for Mr. JohnHardwick, and was shown into the presence of a man, still young,but of so serious and grave an appearance that I felt timid andembarrassed--I who had never before felt fear! (For, what says theSage? _'In the forest, in the jungle, on perilous roads, in fierceencounters, and in troubles, under the threatenings of swords--Virtuousmen feel no fear!_) Mr. Hardwick had with him the young man who spoketo me the other day, whom he called Mr. Oldham. On seeing me this youngman said:
"'Ah! this is the man I spoke to you about, who has the cleverelephant,' And he began at once to sound your praises, talking aboutsomething which I could not quite understand; he spoke continually ofan 'iron ring' with which he had seen you playing....
"Mr. Hardwick then asked if I would sell you.
"'I?--Sell an elephant sent to me by the Gods ... who perhaps is a Godhimself?... Never!--Never!' said I.
"'That is a pity,' said Mr. Oldham: 'for this elephant wouldundoubtedly be a great addition to the attractions of our company.'
"'Well, it cannot be helped,' said Mr. Hardwick.
"I was about to retire when Mr. Oldham signed to me to remain, andaddressing Mr. Hardwick, said:
"'Perhaps matters might be arranged in a way that would be satisfactoryto all. How would it do to engage both the elephant and his master?"
"'Give me five minutes to think,' said Mr. Hardwick. Oh! there is a manwho knows how to make up his mind in a hurry! The five minutes beingended, Mr. Hardwick turned to me and asked:
"'Will you agree to form, with your elephant, a part of our Troupe?'
"As for me I had no need to ask time for reflection; it took me buta minute to make up my mind, and accept!... To tell the truth, I didnot exactly understand in what way Mr. John Hardwick was expecting toemploy us; but he seemed to be a man of wealth, who would at any rateprovide us with a living. So I said, 'Yes,' And I do not think that Ishall regret it."
And once more, singing and laughing, he capered around me. Then, all atonce becoming serious, he added:
"Mr. Oldham later on told me something of Mr. Hardwick's business.It seems he exhibits trained animals; and the members of his companyperform feats of strength and skill. So now, my friend, in place oftoiling and exhausting yourself in hard work, you have only to amusethe public with your accomplishments--and we shall never know wantagain!"
I must confess I was not so delighted as my master. Although I hadbeen glad to divert dear ones like Saphire-of-Heaven and Parvati, Ifelt very disinclined to entertain those to whom I was indifferent. Mypresent life was certainly hard enough, but at least it afforded mean opportunity to indulge my regrets; while I understood that I wouldbe called upon to be gay at stated times, even if the most melancholythoughts were at the moment distressing me. However, I could not spoilthe happiness of Moukounj, and I responded in a friendly manner.
We soon left the wharf, and went to join Mr. John Hardwick. And thusit was that I entered the company of "_The Grand Circus of the TwoWorlds_."
That evening Mr. Hardwick introduced us to his Troupe. He had hired alarge vacant space on which his circus was encamped; it was a greatframework of wood and iron, which could be set up and taken down veryquickly. When put together it presented a very elegant and comfortableappearance, and no one would suppose that only a few hours would berequired to take it apart and pile it on the chariots. It was arrangedin two sections--the Circus proper with the Ring and the Benches, andthe Stables, with rooms where the grooms and inferior employees of thecompany were accommodated; the important members lodged at the Hotel,with the Director. When we reached the Circus, Mr. Hardwick designatedthe place I was to occupy in the Stable, and the room which Moukounj(who refused to allow anyone else to look after me) was to share withone of the grooms.
We were then conducted to the Ring, where all the company wereassembled. They were the very persons whom I had seen arriving threedays before.
The Director then made a speech, as follows:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you Monsieur Moukounjand his Elephant. My valued friend and assistant, Mr. Oldham, informsme that this Elephant is a remarkable animal, whom he has seen executea difficult and interesting exercise without any previous instruction.As a member of our Troupe, he will do honour to our Company, already socelebrated. I bespeak, therefore, a kind reception for the _Elephant_and his _Master_."
The Company came forward very politely, one after another, to greetMoukounj, and to caress me; and Mr. Hardwick, addressing Moukounj,introduced each one by name.
"This, Monsieur, is Mr. Oldham, with whom you are already acquainted.He is our Premier Clown, and Stage Manager.
"This is Mr. Edward Greathorse, our Ringmaster, and his wife, oneof the most distinguished Equilibrists in the world, and their twochildren, Master William Greathorse, who has not his equal for vaultingthrough a paper circle, and coming down plumb in the right spot on hishorse--and Miss Annie Greathorse, who has made a study of the Trapeze,and has acquired all the secrets of that difficult art."
Mr. and Mrs. Greathorse did not please me at all. Mr. Greathorse wasa very tall, thin man of about forty; one felt at once that he was inthe habit of speaking only to horses--and of speaking to them brutally!Mrs. Greathorse was about the same age as her husband, and quite astall. She was as fat as he was thin; her vulgar face had a look ofhardness, and her nose was extraordinarily flat. The reason of this Ilearned later on; it was occasioned by her specialty of balancing uponthat feature a pole with a heavy iron ball on the end!
Master Greathorse, who might have been about seventeen or eighteenyears old, displeased me excessively; he had a sly look, and seemed toenjoy nothing so much as playing malicious jokes at the expense of theother members of the company. The only one of the family who attractedme was Miss Annie. She was a very young girl, almost a child, not overfifteen at the outside, and very fragile, with arms developed out ofall proportion by her exercise on the trapeze. It was easy to see thatshe worked too hard and was a sufferer; she had a pale, gentle face andfair, pretty hair.
After the Greathorses there advanced six persons, all wonderfullyalike, although their ages varied from nine or ten to thirty-five years.
"The Smith Brothers, Monsieur," said Mr. Hardwick: "most interestinggentlemen!--Until yo
u have seen them form the 'uman Pyramid,' you donot know to what heights the Acrobatic Art has attained!"
The "Smith Brothers" all smiled at once, with the same smile, whichseemed to have coagulated and become a fixture upon their lips.
The next to come forward was a very pretty and elegant young woman:
"Miss Clara Morley, our accomplished 'Amazon'--you will have anopportunity to admire her in her clever equestrian exercises."
After Miss Morley came three men and three women, none of them eitherfat or thin, tall or short, handsome or ugly--but all very well dressedand civil.
"Our Riders, Mr. and Mrs. Crampton, Mr. and Mrs. Bampton, and Mr. andMrs. Mapton."
Mr. Hardwick next presented:
"Mr. Nilo Bong, the famous Gymnast from Tonquin--the UlverstoneSisters, Miss Jane and Miss Lucy Ulverstone, who every evening,Monsieur, astonish and delight the audience by their dexterity on theHorizontal Bar.
"Mr. Pound--to whom the lifting of a two-hundred pound weight is a merejoke, and Mrs.
"Mr. Pound, his wife, the '_Fairy of the Revolver_'--at 100 feet shewould not miss a nut!...
"Mr. Tom Liverpool, the Champion Pugilist, whom no one has ever beenable to vanquish!
"Miss Alice Jewel, who crosses the Ganges at its widest part on aWire!"...
All these people I found uninteresting and insignificant. Mr. Nilo Bongmight call himself a Chinese, and his eyes were a little oblique, buthis complexion proved him to be a European; Mr. Pound and Mr. Liverpoolwere huge men, but very unintelligent in appearance; Mrs. Pound was asmall woman--very thin, with a sharp expression; Miss Jane and MissLucy Ulverstone were modest, well-mannered young women, who bowedpolitely.
There remained to be introduced only four more persons, two men, andtwo women.
The two men were strikingly alike, and both bore a singular resemblanceto Mr. Oldham; but the features which in him were merely quaint andamusing, were in them so exaggerated as to be grotesque; and the oddityof their appearance was increased by an affected air of extreme gravity.
When their turn came to be introduced; "Mr. Trick and Mr. Trock,Monsieur" said Mr. Hardwick: "I should not hesitate to call them themost brilliantly amusing Clowns in the world, if they themselvesdid not recognize their superior in Mr. Oldham ... they are Gaiety'sfavorite children!"...
Messrs. Trick and Trock bowed to Moukounj, and a very handsome youngwoman with black eyes and golden hair approached:
"Miss Sarah Skipton, Monsieur--the divine Artiste to whom we owe the_'Dance of Light'_."
Miss Sarah Skipton bowed pleasantly, and last of all Mr. Hardwickpresented a young girl who seemed to me the very embodiment ofgrace--with hair of delicate blond, and blue eyes that were a smile inthemselves.
"Miss Sarah Skipton is, one may say, the Star of our Troupe; Miss CirceNightingale is the Pearl! She is the gentle '_Charmer of Birds_' andwhen you see her surrounded by her escort of warblers and nightingales,you would take her as one of your divine Goddesses!..."
Circe Nightingale smiled graciously on Moukounj, and caressed me withher pretty hand a long time--for which I thanked her, feeling thatalready we were friends.
To sum up, all these people, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs.Greathorse, young Greathorse, and Mrs. Pound, seemed fairly agreeable,and I felt that it ought not to be particularly unpleasant to live withthem. For four of them I already felt a certain sympathy; the eleganceof Miss Clara Morley pleased me; she seemed so gentle with animals,and it was evidently not by severity that she managed her horses.For Miss Annie Greathorse I felt a sincere pity; I was sure that shewas unhappy and badly treated, and thought that perhaps the timemight come when I would be able to protect her. I admired the radiantbeauty of Miss Sarah Skipton, and the exquisite grace of Miss CirceNightingale delighted me; and I said to myself: "I shall have here fourFriends--and four Enemies!"
When the Troupe had all been introduced, Mr. Hardwick said to Moukounj:
"This is our first evening in Calcutta, and I would like to presentyour elephant to the public as soon as possible; what is his name?"
"As it was at a time of distress that he came to me, from I know notwhere, and as he brought me consolation--I call him 'Devadatta,' whichin our language signifies 'Sent-by-the-Gods.'"
"Very good! We will then call him on our bills, '_The Famous ElephantDevadatta_'.... But, tell me, is there not one of your gods whom yourepresent with the head of an elephant?"
"The Divine Ganesa, God of Wisdom, has an elephant's head," repliedMoukounj.
"Excellent!" cried Mr. Hardwick: "'_The Famous Elephant Devadatta,Brother of Ganesa_, _in his various Acts_'--that is the thing! What doyou think of that, Mr. Oldham?"
"It will be admirable," replied Mr. Oldham.
"Now," continued Mr. Hardwick, "we must decide what exercises to teachhim. You are the one who discovered him, and it is to you that I shallconfide his education."
"I feel honoured, Mr. Hardwick," said Mr. Oldham; "his lessons will nottake long, and will be commenced at once. But first, I would like tohave him repeat before you the game with which he was amusing himselfon the wharf."
Mr. Oldham ordered the Iron Ring to be brought, and I understood that Iwas to play with it as I had done before. Mr. Hardwick was satisfied.
"That is very well," said he, "and if he could play with several at atime it would be perfection."
Some more Rings were brought; I threw them all into the air andcaught them all on my trunk, I did not miss one. And Mr. Hardwick wasenthusiastic.