Show THE SHOWMAN OUTWITTED A S OF THE the menagerie was in town A rare occurrence was an exhibition of the wild beasts lions tig tigers ners gers polar bears and ichneumons in baltimore at the early day of which we are arc writing P yet they came occasionally casio nally and this time were visited by old nat wholly a jolly majolly boat mail mill well known as an inveterate joker who never let any one get to the windward of him lie ile was furthermore farther more a of the dirst first class I 1 nat visited the menagerie al As he entered the was stirring up the tha mad man monkeys keys koys and tormenting the lion llon iron give giving elaborate eh barale barate descriptions of the various various pro politics pen pan gitles and natural peculiarities of each and all this ladies and gentlemen this I 1 say is the african lion liosi A noble beast lie he is lad dios dies tos tog and gentlemen and is called the king of th the eforest forest I 1 have heard hoard that be he makes no thing of devouring young creature creatures ef every emy when at home aze in the woods wooda that no other beast can whip him AI IM m ini wister mister ster interrupted do dc j y you bay guv ho he cs cz ci ca cant be clipped 1 I dw said sald 4 suld sTid the bwl v of lions and tigers win at ati 1 you b b bet bel I 1 clant cl el ant fetch a cri 1 whip MO hwo 1 I aint a bettin iw at all I 1 dont object to ake a small bet to that thet effect lii ill b b bet I 1 caan ca an f f fotch so methin w whip him what s say you to a hundred d d dollars now there were several merchants in the crowd who knew whatley VV hatley well and were fully convinced that if the bet was made lie was sure of winning so he had no difficulty in finding backers one of whom told him liim lie would give him ten gallons of rum if he lie won the menagerie men menagerie amerle amerie man glanced at his llis lion there lie he couched inthis in his cage his shaggy mane bristling and his tail sweeping the very picture of grandeur and majesty the bribe was tempting and he felt assured berting ting sir I 1 have no objections to old hercules taking a bout with any creature you may fetch IV V ve very w well said nat its a bet the money was planked blanked up and the next night was designated for the terrible conflict the news was spread over baltimore and at an early hour tile tiie boxes of the spacious theatre were filled the pit being cleared for the affray expectation was on tiptoe tip toe and it was with impatience the crowd awaited the arrival of lie ile at length entered bearing a large sack or bag on lis gis his shoulders which as he let it fall upon the floor was observed to contain some remarkably hard and heavy sub substance the keeper looked at it with indignation indig indignation dig nathon nation th th that ladies and ani gentlemen said nat gesticulating like a showman is a wh wh A whim bamper echoed the keeper certainly new anew feature in zoology and anatomy A well let him out and clear the tile ring or old hercules Her cules culea may make a mouthful of both of you the keeper was excited accordingly nat raised the bag holding the aperture downwards and rolled out a huge SMA priNG TURTLE while the cheers a and nd laug liter of the audience made the arches ring othere here lie he is said whatley What icy lcy as lie tilted the tile whim bamper over with both his hands and set him on his legs the snapper seemed unconscious of his peril the tiie keeper was about leaving the tiie room when wilen lie swore his lion should not disgrace himself by fighting such a pitiable foe V very vell well said nat if y lyou y you jy ch choose to g give me the hu bu u liun hundred red but it is unfair cried the showman sli sll the audience interposed and insisted upon the fight ficht there was no escape and the showman reluctantly released the lion making himself secure on the top of his caye care cage the majestic beast moved slowly around the ring snuffing and lashing while every person held his breath in suspense lions are prying beasts and this one was not long iong in discovering the turtle which lay on the floor a huge hume and inanimate massi mass the tile lion soon brou brought his nose in close proximity to it vilen when the turtle not thinking popped out its head and rolled its eyes while a sort of wheeze issued from its savage rous roua boudi the lion jumped back turned and made a spring uthe critter which was now fully prepared for his reception As the lion landed on him the turtle fastened his jaws upon the lions nostrils rendering him powerless to do harm yet with activity of limb he bounded rebounded around the circle growled roared and lashed himself but the snapper hung on seeming to enjoy the ride vastly go it whim bamper cried from the boxes the scene was rich the showman was no less enraged than the lion drawing his pistol he threatened nat with terrible threats that if he take his turtle off hed shoot him ta ta take him bioff oss off yourself your shouted nat nt in reply at this critical moment by dint of losing a portion of his nose the lion shook his bis dangerous foe from him and clearing the space between him and the cage with a bound he slunk quietly in to chew the bitter cud of defeat and pain it was a 13 fair fight all declaring that the whim bamper was tile the victor the money was paid over to nat who leat left the theatre delighted at the success of his whim the next morning he carried his turtle to market and sold him so this valiant champion after conquering the king of beasts served to make a dinner for baltimore epicures epi cures all ail A 11 that is herein written is supposed to be true though highly colored and is doubtless green in the memory of many old citizens of the monumental city odd fellow |