WILD BEAST CRAZE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18185, 23 September 1924, Page 10

WILD BEAST CRAZE.

DELILAH IN THE LION'S DEN. Parisians have indulged in the emit of 6trange beasts from time, to time, and the marmoset has provided the least excitement, while a leopard or so may be.said to haye:causeda maximum of epnsation,' declares a writer •in a. Manchester paper. Boa-constrictors, so far, have been at a discount, since, while fangs may be removed from a rattler with the prospect of rendering him harmless, it is a little difficult to persuade "the- boa that'constricting not popular in society.. ;•_ At the present moment society is getting its thrills in a more varied way than is possible merely by'keeping'one wild beast in the' drawing-room. It ia the height of fashion to enter the cage of a lion or tiger, .dressed rather like a Christian mariyr- in piire ;whitej there to declaim orto' sing without so-much as one sign trembling in the voice or limbs.. The travelling menagerie has always been popular in France, and is part of the many fairs that wander about the country! It is therefore noj difficult to find one in some quarters of Paris or the suburbs. Fashionable women visit the menagerie and select their particular wild beast, whether. . a lion or a tiger: So far snakes have been the objects neither of song nor of declamation.. Even a leopard has been known to serve, though lions on the whole are more reliable,: Usually some fete is organised for charity—for Paris loves anything that sairours of a bazaar or & rummage sale.. A "femme du monde" is advertised as being willing to.enter the lions' den, brought to the fete for trie purpose, thefe-to deliver an impassioned rendering of the great song in ''Samson et Dalila" or a speech from "Andromaque." The audience is Breathless: the "femme du monde" tries not to be. Thus the cause of charity is served. The fashion of entering the cages of wild beasts is not, of course, new, but hitherto has been given over.to actresses desirous of advertisement. Now that the. amateur has entered the lists, and, so far, has not- been eaten, it seems probable that the.professional will hmve to look elsewhere for sensation. Possibly she will not regret, too much this particular usurpation of her province.