lion to sit down, and while in that position opened the animal's ponderous jaws with his hands, and torust his face down into the lion's throat, wherein he souted, and there held his head nearly a minute. After this he held up a common hoop for the tigress to leap through, and she did it frequently. The lion seemed more difficult to move to this sport. He did not appear to be excited by command or entreaty; at last, however, he went through the hoop, and having been once roused, repeated the action several times; the hoop was scarcely two feet in diameter. The exhibition of these two animals concluded by the lion lying down on his side, when the keeper stretched himself to his whole length upon him, and then calling to the tigress she jumped upon the man, extended herself with her paws upon his shoulders, placed her face side. ways upon his, and the whole three lay quiescent till the keeper suddenly slipped himself off the lion's side, with the tigress on him, and the trio gambolled and rolled about on the floor of the den, like playful children on the floor of a nursery.

Of the beasts there is not room to say more, than that their number was surprising, considering that they formed a better selected collection, and showed in higher condition from cleanliness and good feeding, than any assemblage I ever saw. Their variety and beauty, with the usual accessory of monkeys, made a splendid picture. The birds were equally admirable, especially the pelicans, and the emew. This sixpenny "show" would have furnished a dozen sixpenny" shows," at least, to a "Bartlemy Fair" twenty

markably docile and temperate. She is the property of Mr. T. Checketts, of Bel grave-hall, Leicestershire, and will be exhibited for a few days as above."

This mare was well worth seeing. Each of her hind legs, besides its natural and well-formed foot, had another growing out from the fetlock joint: one of these additions was nearly the size of the natural foot; the third and least grew from the same joint of the fore-leg. Mr. Andrews, the proprietor, said, that they grew slowly, and that the new hoofs were, at first, very soft, and exuded during the process of growth. This individual, besides his notoriety from the possession of this extraordinary mare, attained further distinction by having prosecuted to conviction, at the Warwick assizes, in August, 1825, a person named Andrews, for swindling. He complained bitterly of the serious expense he had incurred in bringing the depredator to justice; his own costs, he said, amounted to the sum of one hundred and seventy pounds.

SHOW VI.

Richardson's Theatre.

The outside of this show was in height upwards of thirty feet, and occupied one hundred feet in width. The platform on the outside was very elevated; the back of it was lined with green baize, and festooned with deeply-fringed crimson curtains, except at two places where the money-takers sat, which were wide and roomy projections, fitted up like gothic shrine-work, with columns and pinnacles. There were fifteen hundred variegated illumination-lamps disposed over various parts of this platform, some of them depending from the top in the shape of chandeliers and lustres, and others in wreaths and festoons A band of ten performers in scarlet dresses, similar to those worn by beef-eaters, continually played on clarionets, violins, trombones, and the long drum; while the performers paraded in their gayest "properties" before the gazing multitude. Audiences rapidly ascended on each performance being over, and paying their money to the receivers in their gothic seats, had tickets in return; which, being taken at the doors, admitted them to descend into the "theatre." The following "bill of the play" was obtained at the doors upon Leing requested ::

"SAMWELL'S COMPANY."

Another penny show: “The Wonderful Children on the Tight Rope, and Dancing Horse, Only a Penny !" I paid my penny to the money-taker, a slender "fine lady," with three feathers in a "jewelled turban," and a dress of blue and white muslin and silver; and withinside I saw the "fat, contented, easy" proprietor, who was arrayed in corresponding magnificence. If he loved leanness, it was in his "better half," for himself had none of it. Obesity had disqualified him for activity, and therefore n his immensely tight and large satin acket, he was, as much as possible, the active commander of his active performers. He superintended the dancing of a young female on the tight rope. Then he announced, "A little boy will dance a hornpipe on the rope," and he ordered his "band" inside to play; this was obeyed without difficulty, for it merely consisted of one man, who blew a hornpipe tune on a Pan's-pipe; while it went on, the little boy"danced on the tight rope; so far it was a hornpipe dance and no farther. "The little boy will stand on his head on the rope," said the manager, and the little boy stood on his head accordingly. Then another female danced on the slack-wire; and after her came a horse, not a "dancing horse," but a "learned" horse, quite as learned as the horse at Ball's theatre, in Show III. There was enough for "a penny."

SHOW IX.

"CLARKE FROM ASTLEY'S." This was a large show, with the back against the side of" Samwell's Company," and its front in a line with Hosier-lane, and therefore looking towards Smithfieldbars. Large placards were pasted at the side, with these words, "CLARKE'S FROM ASTIEY'S, Lighted with Real Gas, In and Outside." The admission to this show was sixpence. The platform outside was at least ten feet high, and spacious above, and here there was plenty of light. The interior was very large, and lighted by only a single hoop, about two feet six inches in diameter, with little jets of gas about an inch and a half apart. A large

VOL. I.

circle or ride was formed on the ground. The entertainment commenced by a mar dancing on the tight-rope. The rope was removed, and a light bay horse was mounted by a female in trowsers, with a pink gown fully frilled, flounced, and ribboned, with the shoulders in large puffs. While the horse circled the ring at full speed, she danced upon him, and skipped with a hoop like a skipping-rope; she performed other dexterous feats, and concluded by dancing on the saddle with a flag in each hand, while the horse flew round the ring with great velocity. These and the subsequent performances were enlivened by tunes from a clarionet and horn, and jokes from a clown, who, when she had concluded, said to an attendant, "Now, John, take the horse off, and whatever you do, rub him well down with a cabbage." Then a man rode and danced on another horse, a very fine an mal, and leaped from him three time over garters, placed at a considerable height and width apart, alighting on the horse's back while he was going round. This rider was remarkably dexterous. In conclusion, the clown got up and rode with many antic tricks, till, on the sudden, an apparently drunken fellow rushed from the audience into the ring, and began to pull the clown from the horse. The manager interfered, and the people cried-"Turn him out;" but the man persisted, and the clown getting off, offered to help him up, and threw him over the horse's back to the ground. At length the intruder was seated, with his face to the tail, though he gradually assumed a proper position; and riding as a man thoroughly intoxicated would ride, fell off; he then threw off his hat and great coat, and threw off his waistcoat, and then an under-waistcoat, and a third, and a fourth, and more than a dozen waistcoats. Upon taking off the last, his trowsers fell down and he appeared in his shirt; whereupon he crouched, and drawing his shirt off in a twinkling, appeared in a handsome fancy dress, leaped into the saddle of the horse, rode standing with great grace, received great applause, made his bow, and so the performance concluded.

This show was the last in the line on the west side of Smithfield.

SHOW X.

The line of shows on the east of Smithfield, commencing at Long-lane,began with "The Indian Woman-Chinese Lady and

2 Q

1 gro, who was rescued from her Black Parents by the bravery of a British Officer-the only White Negro Girl Alive.— The Great Giantess and Dwarf.-Six Cu riosities Alive!-only a Penny to sec them All Alive!" While waiting a few minutes till the place filled, I had leisure to observe that one side of the place was covered by a criminal attempt to represent a tread-mill, in oil colours, and the operators at work upon it, superin tended by gaolers, &c. On the other side were live monkies in cages; an old bear in a jacket, and sundry other animals. Underneath the wheels of the machine, other living creatures were moving about, and these turned out to be the poor neglected children of the showman and his wife. The miserable condition of these infants, who were puddling in the mud, while their parents outside were turning a bit of music, and squalling and bawling with all their might, "walk in-only a penny," to get spectators of the objects that were as yet concealed on their “proud eminence," the caravan, by a thin curtain, raised a gloom in the mind. I was in a reverie concerning these beings when

the curtain was withdrawn, and there stood confessed to sight, she whom the showman called "the tall lady," and "the white negro, the greatest curiosity ever seen-the first that has been exhibited since the reign of George the Second-look at her head and hair, ladies and gentlemen, and feel it; there's no deception, it's like ropes of wool." There certainly was not any deception. The girl herself, who had the flat nose, thick lips, and peculiarly shaped scull of the negro, stooped to have her head examined, and being close to her I felt it. Her hair, if it could be called hair, was of a dirtyish flaxen hue; it hung in ropes, of a clothy texture, the thickness of a quill, and from four to six inches in length. Her skin was the colour of an European's. Afterwards stepped forth a little personage about three feet high, in a military dress, with top boots, who strutted his tiny legs, and held his head aloft with not less importance than the proudest general officer could assume upon his promotion to the rank of field-martial. Mr. Samuel Williams, whose versatile and able pencil has frequently enriched this work, visited the Fair after me, and was equally struck by his appearance. He favours me with the subjoined engraving of this

This was only a penny" exhibition, notwithstanding that it elevated the king's arms, and bore a fine-sounding name. The performance began by a clown goin round and whipping a ring; that is, making a circular space amongst the spectators with a whip in his hand to force the refractory. This being effected, a conjurer walked up to a table and executed several tricks with cups and balls; giving a boy beer to drink out of a funnel, making him blow through it to show that it was empty, and afterwards applying it to each of the boy's ears, from whence, through the funnel, the beer appeared to reflow, and poured on the ground. Afterwards girls danced on the single and dou. ble slack wire, and a melancholy looking clown, among other things, said they were "as clever as the barber and blacksmith who shaved magpies at twopence a dozen." The show concluded with a learned horse.