, 1865-02-03
A One Legged Dancer.

Donate, the one-legged dancer, is attract,
ing much attention in London, and paper
there thus describes his feats:
"Wheu Senior Donate first presents him.
self hopping on from the side scenes, no
pleasura61e emotion is felt; on the contrary,
The immediate feeling rather partakes uf the
dieagreeable. To see 4 man in the very prime
Of life with one leg and stump without sup
port, coming forward smiling and pro1ering
TO do in state Of mutilation what few male
dancers, perfect and whole, Of the greatest
nrt and experience, ever could do, namely,
afford unqualified qualification, seems to shock
ouefs delicacy, no less than mock his creduE1-
ty. Senor Denato, however, cnl:sts your
sympathies pretty well before you have fln-
ished inspecting him. By his extraordinary
bounds and plronettes On his entrance he
fixes your attention in moment, aud you are
astonished ut beholding dancer accomplish
ing on one leg what you cannot remember any
professor Of the Terpsichorean art having ac-
compiisl,ed on two legs. Nor when astoniss,-
mcnt has passed oil, is your interest in Scnor
Donate exhausted. On the Contrary, you seq
auces every moment. until at last you &C.
knowledge that he IS not only one Of the
most surprising dancers you ever beheld, but
one of the most engaging; and such Is the
case: A"person may smile at hearing the
word graceful nsed in speaking Of 4 one
plicab!c 10 q male Tcrpsichoreau artist 1t Is
toS Senor Denote, whose motions, actions, gest-
ures and general deportmentarc instinct with
that natural ease and propriety which are the
essentials Of grace. In short, the fact Of
2enor Donate having but one leg is soon for
gotten by the spectators, and their sympa-
1hies are cnchnined in following his marTel-
lous teats Of agility and science, md these
are By no means easy to describe. Senior d.
nato enters bounding on the stage to the tune
Of some spanish dance. He accompanies the
tune with the castanets, which he phys with
more consummate skill than any one we ever
heard. This may be ttiac, but 1t Is q great
gain for him. His pirouettes are made with
Incompatible ease, and the dexterous manner
in which he swings his body round, perform
Ing two revolutions, is beyond al belief
Among the most ditficult feats he performs Is
placing castauet on the ground with his
right hand: at Iight angles to his body, and
ing his leg all the time. The practitioners in
gymnastics will understand the difficulty Of
achieving this feat standing On two legs
That part Of Senior Donato's performance,
however. which engages most attention and
creates the greatest excitement, is the cloak
around him, making 1t assume a1t sorts Of
faucilu1 Hhapes-now clothing his body with
It, Transforming it, as 1t were, into sea
shell; now waving the mantle over him like
banner; and nov changing it into floating
cloudland, making 1t descend like q mist
around h'm-must be seen to be understood.
Enough, let us hope, has been said to show
that Senor Donate Is one Of the most remar-
kable performers Of this or any age and that
London is about to do his talents full Justice,
following the example Of many Of. the towns
and cities Of the continent, is evident from
the crowds that attend Coventgarlcn night
II, and from the immense enthusiasm his pef-
fntmance erPnfpsn