This was “only a penny” exhibition, notwithstanding that it elevated the
king’s arms, and bore a fine-sounding name. The performance began by a
clown going round and whipping a ring; that is, making a circular space
amongst the spectators with a whip in his hand to force the refractory.
This being effected, a conjurer walked up to a table and executed
several tricks with cups and balls; giving a boy beer to drink out of a
funnel, making him blow through it to show that it was empty, and
afterwards applying it to each of the boy’s ears, from whence, through
the funnel, the beer appeared to reflow, and poured on the ground.
Afterwards girls danced on the single and double slack wire, and a
melancholy looking clown, among other things, said they were “as clever
as the barber and blacksmith who shaved magpies at twopence a dozen.”
The show concluded with a learned horse.