CHAPTER XXII.

A CIRCUS IN THE ATTIC.

How to Make the Horses and Other Animals, and How to Make the Costumes.

In all mimic circus performances the boys of a generation ago were sadly handicapped by the want of horses; sometimes goats and dogs were pressed into service, but these animals flatly refused to allow the youthful circus riders to mount their backs, and as substitutes for horses proved good for nothing but the creation of confusion.

When

The Goat

was supposed to canter around the ring, he had a way of standing on his hind legs and coming down head-first, which utterly demoralized our ring-master, and even caused the clown to do many “stunts” not down on the programme. The dog would wag his tail and bark in a manner very unlike a true circus horse.

It sometimes happened that one of the performers was the proud owner of a real live pony. Alas! even a pony had its objectionable features, for however willing the animal might be to climb the stairs, for reasons unaccountable to us, our parents put forth such strong objections that the pony had to be left out of the show.

Since the Writer’s Circus Days

the safety bicycle has made its appearance, and as a consequence every boys’ show may now be supplied with circus horses which the boys can ride, and which will neither butt nor bark; furthermore, parents will not object to the presence in the attic of rubber-shod hoofs, which make no noise.

The “Arab Steed”

is made by fastening a simple framework of sticks and hoops to an ordinary wheel. The head may be made of the canvas cover of a ham, stuffed with excelsior, or a piece of cloth sewed into the form of a ham-cover, and stuffed lightly with excelsior.

A Feather-Duster May Do Service as a Tail.

Fig. 262 shows the wheel, with the backbone rod, A B, lashed to the top tube of the frame and the feather-duster made fast to the tail-end of the rod, A B.

The Neck-Bones

are the two rods, C D and E D. The rod C D is bound to the saddle-post, below the point where the head and top tubes join under the handle-bar. The lower neck-bone, E D, is lashed to the top of the bracket-tube at E, just out of reach of the pedals, and to the upper neck-bone, at D.

The Ribs

are made from ordinary wooden barrel-hoops. Fig. 263 shows front-view of wheel, with one hoop in place. The first hoop is tied on the neck-bone, in front of the handle-bars, and the next two hoops are lashed to the backbone, behind the saddle-bar, as shown in Fig. 264. The head is tied to the end of the neck-bones, at D, and eyes, mouth, and nostrils, painted on the ham-cover head.

The Frame

now only needs to be covered with a cloth of some kind, to make a most speedy “Arab steed.” The covering for the horse may be gaudily colored paper muslin, with the addition, perhaps, of some quaint figures cut out of gold, red, or black paper, and pasted in place, as shown by the illustration. Two sheets may be made to do duty as a horse-cover; or two old shawls, properly draped and fastened to the skeleton or framework, will answer the purpose; but it is, on the whole, best to buy the paper muslin, as this may be cut and sewed at pleasure. Cut it so as to cover both head and neck, leaving eye-holes and holes for mouth and nose, also a large opening where the fearless circus rider is to sit and work the pedals.

The Reins

may be made of ribbons and run from the mouth to the handle-bars. The horse’s blanket should be stitched to the first hoop on the neck, and not allowed to hang loose, as it would be certain to interfere with the free movement of the front wheel and bring the Arab steed into trouble not down on the programme, causing him to act more like a bucking Western bronco than a gentle, well-trained circus horse.

The Moa is the Giant Bird from New Zealand,

and is simply made, as a glance at Figs. 265, 266, and 267 will prove. Fig. 265 shows a cone made of card-board, the edges of which are stitched or glued together, and the whole covered with white or yellow paper. Fig. 266 is the neck-bone, a stick with a pad of rags or paper tied over the upper end. A sheet, or other plain-colored cloth, is stitched to the cone in such a manner that the drapery will fall down and hide all but the feet and legs of the boy holding the neck-bone (Fig. 267). Some black paint or ink can be used to mark the eyes and mouth on the paper cone, and the only living example of the moa, the giant bird of New Zealand, is ready to be led around the ring before the eyes of the awestruck spectators. For an extra charge the strange bird will even allow one of the smaller spectators to ride its back (the boy’s shoulders) around the ring.

The Manicora

is an imaginary beast, once thought to inhabit America. From all I can learn from old prints it was supposed to be a sort of lion, with a human face. If any of your circus company own a French poodle, or any sort of long-haired dog which can be shaved like a lion, he can make a beautiful manicora by sewing a skirt, long enough to reach below the dog’s collar, on to a cheap false-face. With a little patient work the dog may be taught to walk around the ring with a false-face on. The mask is held in place by tucking the cloth under the dog’s collar.

By using

A Little Ingenuity,

any number of fierce and strange animals can be made, to astonish and please the audience; every boy knows how to make an elephant of two boys covered with a gray shawl, and a giraffe can be made by adding another boy to the moa, so as to give it four legs; but the limited space at my disposal forbids my introducing more diagrams.

The Dignified and Self-sufficient Ring-master

must dress in black, and have high boots, or at least what appear to be high boots. This appearance can be made with a few cents’ worth of black paper muslin, sewed over two cylinders (Fig. 272) of pasteboard. These, when finished, will look like top-boots (Figs. 273 and 274.)

Tight-fitting Knee-breeches,

black or some dark color, and a dark coat, will be all that is required for lower parts; but the head must be adorned with a high hat, and if an old silk hat of the proper size cannot be procured, you can make one by fitting a muslin-covered pasteboard top on to an ordinary black derby hat (see Figs. 268, 269, 270, 271, and 274.) A standing collar and a flashy or plain white necktie will finish the costume. Of course the ring-master must have a long whip, with which he makes believe to whip the clown when the latter tries one of his jokes at the ring-master’s expense.

A Jersey or a Tight-fitting Undershirt

will do duty for the circus rider’s upper garment, and if he can induce some one to make him a pair of light-colored trunks he can appear in his underclothes, and no one will know but that he has on the regular showman’s tights.

A Girl’s Old Turban Hat,

set jauntily on his head, will add to the effect, especially if this head-gear be decorated with a long, curling feather.

If the reader is not fortunate in the possession of some accommodating female relative who will help him out by kindly making the trunks, he may take an old pair of loose-fitting

Knickerbockers,

and cut the legs off, just below the thigh; then cut slits near the bottom, through which he may run a piece of tape, as the pucker-string is run in the top of a marble-bag.

To put on these trunks he must turn them

Wrong Side Out

and put them on upside down, then fasten the string as high up on his leg as it will go, after which he can reach down and turn the breeches up until they come to the proper place around his waist. It will then be seen that they are not only right side out, but that the cloth folds over and conceals the pucker-strings as neatly as if the trunks were made by a tailor.

Take an Old Soft Felt Hat

(Fig. 275) and soak it well in warm or hot water, then put it over the blunt end of a bedpost, or any similar object, and firmly but steadily pull down the rim (Fig. 276), until the crown is given a conical form (Fig. 277). If you pull too hard you will run the post through the hat; but with a little care you may shape any old soft felt hat into the typical head-gear of the clown (Figs. 277, 278).

Your father’s, big brother’s, or uncle’s

Pajamas,

will make an excellent suit of clothes for the clown. Hoist the pantaloons up under your arms and fasten them there; then put garters around the ankles. Belt in the upper garments at the waist, and put elastic garters on your wrists. Persuade your sister, mother, or aunt, to make a ruff for your neck, from a piece of stiff white muslin, and you will have as good a clown’s suit as appears in the real circus, (Fig. 278). When

Making-Up

for the ring, take some common flour and put it in a piece of mosquito-netting; with this, powder your hair, face, and neck, until all is as white as the driven snow, then wet a towel and mark out a big, laughing mouth.

You are now ready to caper into the ring and throw your peaked hat at the ring-master.