Life, 1884-03-20 · page 12 of 16
Life — March 20, 1884 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis for Modern Readers **The Top Cartoon:** Depicts police raiding what appears to be an illegal gambling operation disguised as a circus or entertainment venue. Officers are actively breaking up the establishment while patrons (depicted as small, undignified figures) flee. The sign reads "Educated Fleas" — a common circus attraction used as cover. The satire criticizes "The Finest" (police slang for themselves), suggesting their efforts to stop gambling are chaotic and ineffective theater. **The Article Below:** Praises P.T. Barnum and the circus as wholesome Americana, celebrating his showmanship and innovation. Notably, it defends Barnum as honest despite calling him a "humbug" — meaning he delivers entertainment value even if manipulative. The piece nostalgically contrasts the modern circus with "old-fashioned" versions, mourning lost simplicity while acknowledging progress. **Context:** This reflects Gilded Age attitudes toward entertainment, advertising, and police corruption, presenting gambling raids as performative while celebrating commercial spectacle.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
RENEWED THE CIRCUS. HE circus is upon us once more. We lay our esthetics aside and glorify Barnum; Barnum the arch-prophet of sawdust and of hippodromic, mastodonic advertising. It is use- less to say that the circus is not an objet de vertu, or that it does -not represent high art. Our fathers have sworn that it is im- moral, the enemy of peace and of the Sunday-school ; our intel- lectual friends regard it with disdain, But we have, all the same, our own opinion about the circus. We gaze fondly once a year at the lovely Miss Gazelle in pink tights, balancing herself on the chalked back of a carefully-trained steed ; or at the clown who, now-a-days, is good enough not to crack his stale jokes; or at the famous Japanese juggler from Cork ; or at the nonchalant young creature who permits herself to be blown gracefully from the mouth of a cannon. When we see these things again, we are thrilled with roseate recollections of our childhood, and we recall our youthful depravity with unmixed satisfaction. ACTIVITY OF “THE FINEST.” ‘THE POLICE SUCCEED IN BREAKING UP ANOTHER GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENT. But the old-fashioned circus has disappeared with the old- fashioned clown. The old-fashioned circus was.a simple affair. I need not describe it to you, since you know all about it. The old-fashioned clown, a wit and humorist in his manner, a prede- cessor of the comic journals, has given place to the tumbling buffoon and pantomimist. Yet, oddly enough, the career of Barnum covers nearly the whole career of the American circus, a fact which exhibits the progressive spirit of this incomparable showman. Barnum has never lagged behind his time. There has never been anything too new for him. There are few corners of the earth that he has not ransacked. I am almost convinced now that Barnum is a permanent fixture in this mundane life, and that his imagination is projecting itself at the present moment into the next generation and into an unheard-of world of phe- nomena. Barnum is not, of course, in active business. His young part- ners attend to his enterprises and make liberal use of his name and photograph. When you observe the beaming visage of Barnum glowing on you from a brick wall, you are, so to speak, inspired ; for you are assured at once that Barnum has made ample preparations for your comfort and entertainment. He may be a humbug; but, although this may sound paradoxical, he is not a deceiver. That is to say, he gives you the worth of your money, and that is more than most persons who are not humbugs do. ‘I have referred to Barnum as a great advertiser. It is hard comicbooks.com