no man ends him with a merciful sleight!
But the =real= beast, the =beautiful=, =wild= beast,
Your eyes on =that=, _I_, ladies, only feast!

You see the Tiger, that habitually
Devours whatever falls before his bound;
The Bear, so ravenous originally,
Who at a late night-meal sinks dead to ground;
You see the Monkey, little and amusing,
From sheer ennui his petty powers abusing,--
He has some talent, of all greatness scant,
So, impudently, coquettes with his own want!
Upon my soul, within my tent's a mammal,
See, right behind the curtain, here,--a Camel!
And all my creatures fawn about my feet
When my revolver cracks--

(He shoots into the audience.)

Behold!
Brutes tremble all around me. I am cold:
The =man= stays cold,--you, with respect, to greet.

Walk in!--You hardly trust yourselves in here?--
Then very well, judge for yourselves! Each sphere
Has sent its crawling creatures to your telling:
Chameleons and serpents, crocodiles,
Dragons, and salamanders chasm-dwelling,--
I know, of course, you're full of quiet smiles
And don't believe a syllable I say.--

(He lifts the entrance-flap and calls into the tent.)

Hi, Charlie!--bring our =Serpent= just this way!

(A stage-hand with a big paunch carries out the actress of =Lulu= in
her Pierrot costume, and sets her down before the animal-tamer.)

She was created to incite to sin,
To lure, seduce, poison--yea, murder, in
A manner no man knows.--My pretty beast,

(Tickling Lulu's chin.)

Only be =unaffected=, and not pieced
Out with distorted, artificial folly,
Even if the critics praise thee for 't less wholly.
Thou hast no right to spoil the shape most fitting,
Most =true=, of =woman=, with meows and spitting!
And mind, all foolery and making faces
The =childish simpleness= of =Vice= disgraces.
Thou shouldst--to-day I speak emphatically--
Speak =naturally= and not unnaturally,
For the first principle in every art,
Since earliest times, was =True= and =Plain=, not =Smart=!

(To the public.)

There's nothing special now to see in her,
But wait and watch what later will occur!
Her strength about the Tiger she coils stricter:
He roars and groans!--Who'll be the final victor?--
Hop, Charlie, march! Carry her to her place,

(The stage-hand carries Lulu in h