The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb - Melanie Benjamin [143]
I did not let on that I had heard; instead, I smiled brightly at my dining companions and told the story of how Queen Victoria had invited us to tea at Windsor and given us a beautiful grand piano, which we still displayed in our library.
But I remembered that remark; I remembered also that Mr. Belmont had once presented Charles with a nautical jacket and cap identical to his own. Charles had been so pleased, so proud; he had worn it every time the Belmonts invited us onto their yacht.
Finally, I remembered that Mr. Barnum had not liked that jacket; nor had he ever accepted any of our invitations to go sailing with the Belmonts.
I did not drop a note to dear Caroline the next time we came to town.
Naturally, we could not avoid Mr. Barnum altogether. We encountered him at occasional dinner parties, where he and Charles always greeted each other so fondly, I did feel guilty for keeping them apart. I sometimes caught Mr. Barnum looking wistfully at me from across the table, leaning forward, as if he could scarcely contain some thought or idea and was eager to share it. And it wasn’t only my grief and loyalty to Minnie that kept me from returning his gaze. I had bared my soul, shared my dark secret and even darker emotions with him—and now I was afraid of who I would see reflected back to me in those glittery, knowing eyes.
And so he would subside, hunching over his cigar. I would stir uncomfortably, and suggest to Charles, far too soon, that we think about going home.
Only when we took our leave would I allow myself to look at him; his shoulders were more stooped with every passing year, and at times I noticed his hands trembled when he lit his cigar. But his mind was as sharp as ever. He was filled with plans for this circus of his, talking boisterously of combining it with others, making it “the greatest show on earth,” he told all who would listen, and in fact I was not surprised the day I saw it advertised so in the newspaper.
I was surprised, however, to receive an invitation to join it in 1881. Our finances were at their lowest point; we were discussing letting out the house and moving in with James and his wife. I couldn’t exactly say what had happened; we toured, but our audiences were smaller than they once were. We were popular but no longer made headlines. Charles invested but saw little return. Yet we had to keep spending—new wardrobes as the fashions changed, new ponies as the old ones died. Without Mr. Barnum investing in our tours, we had to front the money ourselves, which wasn’t always easy.
So it was in desperation that I tore open the letter, the envelope embossed with the seal of “The Barnum and London Circus Company.” And I nearly fainted with relief at the amount he was proposing to give us for a season’s work; it would more than cover the stack of second notices piling up, alarmingly, on Charles’s desk. I telegrammed our acceptance right away; then I dashed off a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Bleeker, asking if they could accompany us.
Then, and only then, did I remember to discuss it with my husband.
INTERMISSION
From The New York Times, November 5, 1880
MRS. ASTOR ENTERTAINS GEN. GRANT
Mrs. John Jacob Astor entertained Gen. Grant last evening at her residence, No. 388 Fifth avenue. A dinner was given, and the company, consisting of both ladies and gentlemen, was very select. The occasion was purely a social one. Gen. Grant remained until about 11 o’clock. He was in the best of spirits, and, while making no speech, engaged freely in conversation with those who approached him.
From The Manufacturer and Builder, May 1881
ELECTRIC ILLUMINATION
It is daily becoming more and more evident that the near future will decide the question of the practicability of illumination with electricity in competition with coal gas. Never was there such widespread public opinion manifested in the subject as at the present time.… The indefatigable Edison has announced that he has