Anonymous

“ If we picture to ourselves the whole frontage [5] of the Crystal Palace, 1,584 feet in length, tier upon tier affording accommodation to thousands of spectators, and overlooking a combination of natural and artificial scenery such as is hardly to be matched in England, we may justly claim that the Coliseum of Rome in all its glory did not afford a spectacle so picturesque, and with the additional advantage that the performances at the Crystal Palace will be entirely free from debasing elements. ”

“ Elephant performances have been a feature of modern hippodromes, but it was reserved for Mr. Myers’ coadjutor, John Cooper, to rediscover the lost art of elephant training and performing, as understood by the ancients. Music has played an important part in the education of Mr. Myers’ troupe of elephants. They waltz with pachydermatous grace, and in perfect time; they execute complete ballets with [13] an accuracy and confident knowledge of their respective rôles, which many a human performer might envy. They perform dramatic scenes with a perfect appreciation of the situation. ”

“ Myers, and with such a company of equestrians, it is, of course, inevitable that the scenes of the circle will be on a commensurate scale. Mr. Myers has enlisted the services of almost all the best-known riders, and his horses fulfil all the requirements of the circle, both for high breed, for docility, and for training. There is not a more accomplished and graceful horsewoman in the world than Mrs. Myers; and her performance on her thoroughbred steed “Cromwell” will form one of the most pleasing features of the exhibition. ”

“ Myers set himself with all possible speed to adapt his new acquisition to his purposes, and the great range of warehouses at the Château d’Eau was in a very few weeks transformed, at an outlay of not less than a million of francs, into a place of entertainment which has been one of the wonders of Paris since December 19, 1875, when it was first opened to the public. The great circus into which the central court was converted accommodates an audience of more than 8,000 persons, and the establishment is described by La France as a complete world in itself. ”

“ We have before alluded to Cooper’s fondness for animals. One incident is worth recording, as illustrating both that trait and his dauntless intrepidity. While the lions were one day engaged in their performances, springing over the head of their master, bounding from one side of the cage to the other, a favourite lioness failed to clear the movable barrier which the trainer uses to separate the animals when necessary, or, as in the present instance, as a kind of hurdle over which they are to leap in traversing the cage. ”

“ There is an eclecticism even in Circus business, and Mr. Myers has excelled the doings of his predecessors and contemporaries, not merely by employing nine elephants where they used to employ one performer and three or four “dummies”; by doubling the usual number of the band, of the horses, and other component parts of such an establishment: but he has taken care that his horses shall be the best bred; that his elephants shall be the most highly trained; that his equestrians shall be the most finished and daring ”

“ It is but natural that the greatest Hippodrome of the world should be quartered at the greatest pleasure-resort of the world, and the arrangements made at the Crystal Palace for the reception and performances of Mr. Myers’ Company will fittingly occupy the first place in this brief account of his establishment, and of the entertainments which will be offered to the public during his visit to England. ”

“ As a fashionable and invigorating exercise, Skating stands unrivalled. With Ladies and Children the delightful art of Skating is more easily acquired on roller than on ice Skates, and the newly-laid patented floor is universally considered a superior medium to asphalte or Portland cement. The amusement afforded to onlookers rivals any of the numerous attractions of the Crystal Palace. ”

“ The horses each occupy separate stalls; the floor is of concrete, and the whole is lighted with gas whenever necessary. The elephants and camels are housed in specially-erected stables (E on plan) at the north end of the Second Terrace, [4] near the bear-pit; and the lions are caged on the north lawns, being transported daily with their cages to the various places of exhibition.
The performances take place in various locales—in fact it may safely be affirmed that no arena in England could be found better adapted than the Crystal Palace for the display of Mr. Myers’ resources. ”

“ Some of the most beautiful of the classic myths are based on this dominion of man over the animal creation. The Centaurs were but early trainers and riders of horses, the vulgar imagination amalgamating the horse and its rider into one strange creature whose beneficent deeds rendered him worthy of deification. ”

“ Four camels and an elephant are also gifts of the soldier-king. John Cooper has trained, while with Mr. Myers, 42 lions, 16 elephants, 25 camels, besides monkeys, bears, hyænas, and other animals. It is a popular fallacy that trainers of such animals begin their task while their pupils are in infancy. Cooper does not commence with lions till they are five years old ”

“ The area of the stabling and harness-rooms at the Crystal Palace is no less than 27,456 square feet; and the dressing-rooms alone occupy 3,472 square feet. The elephants, horses, and camels require about 10,000 pounds of corn, 8,000 pounds of hay, 8,000 pounds of straw, 2,000 pounds of bran, and 3,000 pounds of potatoes per week; while the lions consume 400 pounds of beef per week.
Career of Mr. Myers.
Mr. J. W. Myers, the proprietor of the largest Hippodrome in the world, was born in New York in 1828. ”

“ Myers; and the press of these places has been unanimous in its laudatory notices of his establishment and its performances.
Animal Performances in Ancient Times.
The love for spectacles in which animals take part is inherent in human nature, and directed the current of popular amusements at a very early period of the world’s history. There is a natural pleasure in witnessing performances which illustrate the sovereignty which man’s intellect enables him to obtain over the largest and fiercest of the brutes. ”

“ Myers’ experience of a quarter of a century with lions tells him that, contrary to popular belief, lions born in captivity are less intelligent and much more fierce and nimble than those born in a state of liberty. The victor in the above-related fight was born in captivity. But whether born in the great forests of the tropics or the narrow cages of the travelling menagerie, all fierce animals are alike cowed by the magnetic power of John Cooper, and Mr. ”

“ Myers’ establishment may be, in some degree, estimated when we state that its performances employ no less than 200 persons—as equestrians, acrobats, clowns, musicians, children, &c., and 200 performing animals, comprising 132 horses, 18 ponies, 9 elephants, 7 lions, 6 camels, besides monkeys, dogs, and mules. ”

“ Elephants are peculiarly susceptible to the influence of music, and the Romans took full advantage of this susceptibility. They were trained to march into the amphitheatre to the rhythm of musical instruments ”

“ Little Red Riding Hood next appears, with her basket, and is surprised by the wolf, but is for the time being saved from danger by the appearance of a host of little hunters, whose horns terrify the savage beast, and who chase him on their tiny ponies till they unfortunately lose his track. ”

“ FREE DELIVERY OF GOODS to any Railway Station within 50 miles of London to Shareholders holding Four fully paid-up Shares, and no further liability or payment.
FREE DELIVERY OF GOODS to any Railway Station within 100 miles of London to Shareholders holding Five fully paid-up Shares, and no further liability or payment.
FREE DELIVERY OF GOODS to any Railway Station in the United Kingdom to Shareholders holding Ten fully paid-up Shares, and no further liability or payment. ”

“ A ring of 44 feet outer and 30 feet inner dimensions, has been formed by constructing a sunken circle about 12 inches below the level of the original floor, which is rendered capable of removal to just such an extent as will disclose the ring, the boarding being replaced to form the ordinary promenade, at such times as the circus performances are not going on. ”

“ But these animals were used mainly for the venatio, or exhibition in which they fought against each other, or against man—the contrast between the old Circensian games and the modern performances being all in favour of our own times as regards humanity. ”

“ Especially wonderful is the business with the bamboo ladder, up and down which, while it is supported on the chest of one of the performers, the other runs with the greatest rapidity, standing on his head on the top, creeping in and out between the rounds ”

“ The elephants and other animals will be brought from their stables in the basement and park to the centre transept along an inclined plane of about 250 feet in length, and of ample width to allow both human and quadrupedal performers to pass or repass. ”