Love In The Circus

"Ahí" "Oh!" All the spectators of the piant leap or life in the circus tent held their jreaths with terror while the lithe acrojat phuiged forward, released his hokl nd shot throngh space, to be seeurely ittght in the firm grasp of his partner, 'ho hang from his toes from another reacherous trapeze. Twelve thousand nine bundred and inety-eight persons caught their breatha gain as th fettt was accomplished. 'he two remainiug persons of tlie 13,00 - a big circus tent always holds 13,00 persons, you know - watched the jroceedings with an air of perfect, nonhalance, as if a swing for life was no more serious matter than signaling au lectrie car. Well might they be caira, for they vere retired circus performers, and the lerils of the tents were old stories to hem, and then, as the show went on, :hey began e&changfng reniiniscences. while the listen ing Journal man forgot all about what was before him in his nterest in these yarns. "That jump reminds me of the way Sam Myers proposed to Annie Johnson en years ago. ' ' The Journal man noticed that the vet'eran circus man omitted the "Signor" and "Ma'amselle" from his couversation, so that Sam Myers and , nie Johnson did not bear in private life ;he names which adorned the circus rogramme and the particolored litho;raphs which inflame the circus going jropensities of Young America. "You see, Sam Myers and Pete Wilson and Annie Johnson were albinia that season and did a great act on the flying trapeze, in which Annie made ever so inany junips across the tent and was caught by Sam, while Pete was performing on a third bar way up above them. One jump after another was made all right by her, and sudden ly everybody was surprised to see Sam lift Annie in the air as he caught her and kiss her before she turned to make the leap back to her own trapeze. Every body wondered what it all meant, and after the act was over they soon found 1 out. "It seems that Sam and Peto had botli fallen in love with Annie, and just bef ore the act Peto oonfided to liis chura his intentions-of proposing to the pretty partner. Sam made up his mind that he Nvould not be left in a case like thi.s, but he had lio chance to speak for hm., self ontil they began. " Win n Aunie made her first jump, he started to pop the question, and the proposal continued with interrnptions as the young lady would swing back and iorth and jiimp to and fro in the regular custem of her performance. Pinally the question was asked just a& fihe swung. Sam, hanging by bis toes, waited until she made the uext leap and as he heard hei' say ' Yes' he lifted her up and kissed her with such a smack that it could bo heard all over the big tent. "Everybody congratulated the pair but Pete. Somehow he had the impression that he had not been treated squarely in this proposal, and the firm broke up then and there. " "That remüids me of another team which was with a circus that I wasperforming in a dozen years ago. The Hovland brothers were doing a doublé trapeze act, with all sorts of daring jximps, mnch the same sqrt as the one we just sa-w. In the same circus the leading rider was Jennie Dunbar, who was the cleverest little woruan who ever jumped through a hoop, and both the boys feil in love with her. " She was really fond of both of them, 'out wben they proposed she accepted Will and told Fred thafc she could only 'oe a sister to him. When Fred proposed, we were performing up in Canada, and the proposal was made jast before the afteruoon peiiorruances. Wheu the boys came up for their turn, we all noticed that Fred was pale and nervous, whilo Will was just the reverse. Their act went ou j-Rht the saine as usual, and finally came their laat jninp, wkich was the most daring of all. Frcd hung by his toes, and Will made the swing clear across the tent. Wc never knt-w how it happened, wbether Fred was so nervous that he lost his grip or whether he did it deliberately, but just as Will camo flying through the air Fred trembled and dropped from his hold down iuto the net, while Will shot through the air and feil in the ring clear beyond the edge of the net. When theyran to him, he was dead. Jennie was almost crazy with grief, and Frcd had an ;ttuck oí brain fever, from which he did uot recover for months. "No one could teil whether bc deliberately dropped to get rid of his rival or whether he was so sick that he could not hold himself longtr. At any rate, as soon as he got well he proposed to Jennie again and was accepted. The y are married now and retired frorn the business. "-