The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-08-14
Horrors of the TrapeZe.

A scene of considerable excitement occurred Ut
the American theatre, on Walnut street, ABOVE
Eighth, on Saturday evening, during the nyInS
traneze performance of two artists announced on
the bills as Lila and Zoe. One OF their ieats
consists in Lila, a full grown young woman,
swinging herself by means of two ropes suspended
from the ceiling, from a platform erected IN 'front.'
of the gallery, entirely across the auditorium,
until she touches with her feet n tfapele thae
hangs Mt considerable altitude over the orchestra.
Securing herself on this trapeze with her feet, her
body swings downwards, and she remains IN that
p~osition while Zoe, n child of ten years OF age,
mounts the platform in the gallery ana selzinS
the iron rings attached to the ropes mentioned,
throws herself off, and darts towards Lila, and
when nearing her the child throws a somersault
in mid-air, and her only chance from beng
crushed to death by falling from the dizzy hlght
among the audience in the parquet, is being
caught by Lila, who hangs with her head down.
wards from the trapeZe.
Certoin death would be the result Of the slight
est mistake by either of the performers. On Sat
urday evening the feat was successfully performed,
il is true, but Lila barely caught the child as she
reyolyed in the air. AS the latter was descending,
however. to the stage, the man whose duty IL was
TO catch her from the hands of Lila, failed to do
so. and the poor child fell to the platform placed
over the orchestra, a distance of several feet, and
struck her head and otherwise injured herself.
The child was picked up, when she Immediately
placed her hands to her head, and 1T was appar-
cnt that she was seriously huie-
ing this she was almost inhumanly ordered to re-
mount the platform in the gallery and repeat the
feat. The child obeyed, but such conduct on the
part of those having charge of the exhibition was
too much for the audience to stand, and there
was n unanimous cry of @ No, Mo-" "Shame,
shame - = Take her back - Take her back !. -
etc. In the meantime the child mounted the
platform, and then stood ready to repeat the feat,
but the audience rose en- masse, to their great
credit, and prevented the ropes from being handed
to her. Unable to combat such n display of
public Indignation and disapproval, the child
was ordered to retire, which she did amid the
most tumultuous applause. Now, whether she
could have performed the feat again in her then
condition will be seen from the following:
After she had retired, the stage manager adj
vanced and stated that she desired to perform
another feat, and that she was not injured, and
the consent of the audience was asked. There
was a general cry of No, no" and considerable
Kissing but, taking advantage of a few cries of
g go on" from the boys in the gallery, the child
again appeared, and mounted the platform, took
hold of the rings and swung herself off for the
purpose of catching the hanging trapeze with her
feet and then making Il somersauit while descend
ing INTO an outstretched net. As the audience
felt would be the case, the child essayed the feat
but failed to catch the trapeze, owing to her ner-
vous state, which was natural, under the circum-
stances, but she was saved from injury by her
commendable presence of mind in not letting go
of the ropes. The consequence was that she
swung backwards and forwards amid a scene of
much excitement and was relieved from her per-
ilous position by the audience, who caught her
and carried her to the stage.-Phiadtiphia In
quirer, June 4th.