Fitzgerald Bros. Circus.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7768, 16 February 1904, Page 5

Fitzgerald Bros. Circus.

A Successful Performance. - That a circus is an irresistible attraction for the ■ average man,; woman and child, was fully demonstratedtby the: patronage accorded Messrs; Fitzgerald Bros. last>evem'ng, their huge tent/prbi' yided to accommodate the^audiences of I:owns^:larger than'PalmerstiinHbeing miedto.over.crowding in all departments; The .audience'were;una^impusin: their verdict that the circus was^ aii excellent one in;every respect, and/their applause was frequent and. hearty. Even the clowns introduced new .business," some of it: particularly clever and amusing. The .specialties promised were how ever, ; the-Vgreat;, attraction of the eyeniDg; and;; rumour, on .this occasion, had not proved a lying jade Mdllei Onra, -a damty lady m dainty afternoon; walking costume, pleased everyone by her graceful and confident wire rope walking, and the ease with which she, at a later stagei disrobed on the wire and appeared in the orthodox j apparel of lady ...wire rope .^artists, was marvellous and surprising.. Mdlle Millie Dagmar was equally entertaining with, her highly educated horse Napoleon and her fox terriers, Tomj Dick,' and Harry, the..,'quintette'.going'througha series'of. clever/evolutions that fairly; brought down tlie house. ' Mazohia's trio of canines also demonstrated in a wonderrul degree the intelligence of the ordinary dog, thß act being one of the most meritorious on a distinctly good programme. Gilleno with his quaint musical marvels was quite new, and his melodies from aluminum pipes, elongated white gloves, belltopper, the homely' bellows, "dead birds," and other astounding instruments _ were rewarded with the. lavish applause they deserved. The trapeze and horizontal bar work was dis tmctly good.the aerial blindfold flights of the Mying Meteors creating a sensation,.mingled with apnrehensionfor the safety of the artists, that was only dispelled when they were safe in their midair perches again. The equestrian , acts were qmte on a par with the' other ''turns," while under Mr Montgomery, the horses of the circus performed a number of new tricks that were in every particular clever and diverting. Special interest of course, centred in the appearance of Dr Gordon, the strong man of the combination. As a prelude to his subsequent performances he gently dallied with, dumbells and barbells of 851b, 1451b and 1751bs weight and then, to break the monotony, clayed 7£ ,,the combinecl .weight of' the. whole, 4aolbs, swinging the dead- weight with his teeth' as' though it were" quitevan every-day achievement.. Dispensing with the iron, a pony is given a ride roundthe ring by the modern Hercules, and tnen he caps all by carrying an ordinary back. 8751bs weight;, up several steps of a ladder. With a chese expansion of 20 inches Be breaks links of chains, and leather straps with an ea?e that; 13 petfeotly astounding. It was a wonderful and inspiring performance and Ijsud3 one <o wonder when the Jimit of the thoroughly dovelopea human frame will be reached. The peiforrnancs concluded with high lumping by th 9 champion Uppers Nowhaven and Stockman, the former getting over a jump closely approximating his Australian record amid the planditn of the huge audience. The circus will be repeated to-night.