Barnum's Angel (The Pale Chronicles Book 1) by Len Boswell

Author:Len Boswell [Boswell, Len]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2022-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

45

Barnum Residence, Grafton Street, West End, London, 8:30 A.M., Monday, June 24, 1844.

Barnum sipped at his third cup of coffee, a stack of newspapers spread out before him, some dailies, some weeklies, and each with a different story to tell about the “strange goings-on” at the Royal Pavilion Theatre.

The first story, brief and sensational, had appeared on Wednesday in the Evening Star: “Flying Beast Attacks!” screamed out from the front page, followed by just two paragraphs that would have made any reader run indoors and stay there. Large dailies like The Times, The Star, and The Examiner picked up the story on Thursday morning, adding more details, including brief comments by the theatre owner, Mr. Crawford. Thursday’s papers included breathless eyewitness accounts, and by Friday, the stories had moved from the front page to page three, most rehashing what they had already printed, but with additional details on the damage to the theatre or “new theories” about whether the monster was real or just an intricate piece of Barnum stagecraft that went wrong. By Saturday, even some of the small papers like Cleave’s Penny Gazette, Age and Argus, and the London Mercury had picked up the story, most copying the larger papers almost word for word, although their stories were overshadowed by a fully illustrated story in the Illustrated London News, which showed Lily three times her size, with teeth as long as knives. The most complete, almost rational story, including interviews with Crawford, Barnum, Partly, and Field, appeared on page seven of The Sunday Times. In it, Lily was portrayed as a freak with vestigial wings, an aberration of birth. Whether she flew or had been hoisted into the air by thin, sturdy wires was left to the imagination and conjecture. Source of the damage to the theatre was also subject to conjecture, some building engineers claiming that the roof itself was faulty, an “event waiting to happen.”

And now, on Monday morning, the story had all but disappeared, with The Times offering only a paragraph, printed deeper in the paper.

“It is like the Tower of Babel,” said Barnum, tossing The Times aside.

“And none on the mark,” said the General, his voice a bit difficult to understand.

“Do not talk with your mouth full. You did that last evening, in front of the queen.”

“She was right amused, I think.”

Barnum chuckled. “She was, she was, and very generous in the bargain. We shall go first class through Europe, I can tell you that.”

“And when shall that be?”

“At the end of the month. I have already booked us passage to France.

“Quelle merveille, monsieur!” said the General, affecting his best Napoleon.

Barnum had to chuckle. “Merveilleux en effet!”

They both seemed pleased, and settled back to the task at hand, toast with marmalade.

“So,” said the General between bites. “Any word from our Mr. Field?”

Barnum frowned. “Not so much as a peep. We have no doubt seen the last of him and our would-be act, more’s the pity.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.