Inside the Circus Tent | Paisley City | The Emerald Coins
~
“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. His name is my name too.
Whenever we go out, the people always shout, 'There goes John, Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!' Da! Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!”
~
The Master of Ceremonies, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt sang his own song, complete with a black top hat and an elegant gilded black cane. It was still early in the day, but the fire-breathing sorceress had already started her act near the MC.
The Persian Princess kept a drink stand near the entrance, but tonight she had brought seven emerald coins with her. The coins were encased in gold, perhaps by King Midas himself and then given away under a willow tree in northern Persia along the Caspian Sea in what is now present-day Sari, Iran.
The coins were towards the back of the circus tent as part of a new display of curiosities and collectibles put up by the Circus staff in order to raise money for circus operations. The coins were kept in a clear, glass display case on a counter covered in burgundy velvet with red and purple streaked paisley fringed silks. The counter display ran almost half the length of the circus tent, but if entering from the tent's Main Entrance, a visitor had to walk all the way to the back half of the tent in order to view their display.
An African-American couple in their 40s walked in arm and arm. They stopped briefly to speak with the Persian Princess and then headed towards the display area in the back.
The first item they saw was a gilded, electric blue violin. The man turned to his wife and asked,
"Does this look like an expensive violin to you dear?" The woman pushed her glasses further down her nose and squinted for a better view.
"I'm really not sure, honey. Perhaps we could find someone to ask?"
Just then a petite blonde woman appeared behind the counter's display. She smiled at the visitors,
"Did you have any questions about this mask?"
The couple admired the carnival mask's delicate beauty and continued their stroll around the tent's back side.
The African-American lady lightly traced the etchings on a gilded tiara and checked her watch.
"Does this look like something someone might collect Joe? Her partner scratched his head and checked the train schedule in his newspaper.
"Why don't you give them what they're asking for it and we can catch the next train heading out of town?"
~
Notes
[1] See Ciro Marchetti's "Tarot of Dreams" tarot deck and The [4] of Cups
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jacob_Jingleheimer_Schmidt
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