CIRCUSES, more than most things, ' are not what they wore.' Some would go so far as to say that there has never been a circus since John Astley 's famous circus stood behind St. Thomas Hospital in the Westminster Bridge Road. There in a building that was both circus and theatre nightly performances were given that resounded with cannon-roars, horse-tramping, and trii noise of battle. There it was that Ducrow. the greatest showman England ever saw, nightly ruled this host with a discipline that was as effective as it was rigid. Dickens has given an eloquont picture of the Circus in ' Sketches by Boz,' and other writers, including Thackeray, have paid tribute. Mr. Willson Disher, known to readers of The Radio Times for his articles on vaudeville and variety, etc., will describe some of the characters that made Astley' so world-famed.