Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1872-03-30
A HIGH CALLING.
From Chambers JoErnal.l


1t was done away with long
enough ago. Parliament took it up,
said it was dangerous, and perhaps
Parliament was right to put a stop
to it. But I didn't like it then, for
it was my bread, and meant five
pounds a week to me, and when 1T
was stopped my profession was
ruined.
l don't like it now, for you see
Pve made flesh, and am close on to
fifty; but fifteen or twenty years
ago, when l was in my feshings, /
could have shown you such figure
and such muscles as you wouldn't
see every day. Me and my brother
were a regular pair, just the same
height, and wonderfully alike. 1t
was bit of CANNON, but it took
wonderfully in the bills; and our
manager said it would beHtter mad
ness to announce ourselves as BeDja-
min and Thomas Kitchens; so we
used to be in blue letters all over
London, "Les Freres Provencaux >
and the people came to see us from
all parts.
We were engaged, you see at the
trapeze work. Now, l dare say
you'n fiPd plenty of people who will
say it was known long before; but
don't you believe 'em. Pm the man
who invented the trapeze-at least,
Pm the boy-that is, invented it
when l was boy. on the swing in
our back garden, the one we made
under the old apple-tree, out of
mothers clothes-line, and rubbed
till it broke all to bits, and let Tom
down that heavy that he put out his
shoulder.
You see, it was from experiment
ing on that swing, hanging by my
legs, by one hand, by two hands, and
upside down, that sowed the seeds
of all those wonderful trapeEe ex-
ploits that have, as we say in the
bills, thrilled expectant audiences
in every nerve and fibre of their
frames"
Tom turned very sulky after he
put his shoulder out, and he would
not try any more tricks, till he grew
| Jealous of seeing me get so handy at
| them Che was a queer fellow was
| Tom, and never could bear for me
to be ahead of him, even in taking
medicine), and then he set to when
| wasn't by and worked so hard
that he got to shorten the rope,
and to hang by one foot quite clever
hadn't known anything about it.
he'd been so sly; so that l was quite
took aback one day when, after tig'
uring about in my boyish fashion
upon the ropes, he sniggered at me
and then to my great astonishment
q get down." he says, and sets to
| and does all l have done before, and
a great deal more too, till he ends
by hanging by one leg, when crash
| the rope snapped and down came
Door Tom on his head and shoulder
with a terrible bang.
Up cot Tom, and flew at me like
tiger, becouse L was laughing
and | put it to you, could l help it
and then we had a regular stand
up fight, which was not ended unit
our Mary charged down upon III
with q clothes-prop, and caugh
Tom by the throat with the bis
prong, so as she held him against tn
wall till he promised he wouldn'
fight any more. Tom didn't keel
]
boy for fighting, and many's the up
and-dowR set-tO we have had to
gether. Woe betide any boy, though
who touched mel 1t didn't matte
how big he was, Tom always tool
my part, and thrashed him.
From doing things on the rope
we took to tumbling little on tn
ground, tying ourselves in knots
walking on our hands; and I shal
never forget the day when l turneu
the first sOmersault without touch
ing the ground with my hands
That day was a marked one for me
first, because of the pride felt as
ran in the field and spun over; SCI
. ond, because Tom was so iealou
that he took a run and a jump, an
came down on his back, making
so stiff and bad that he couldn
move hardly for week.
At last, having done all this fc
our own amusement as boys, we hs
to give it up, for times got very bs
at home. Poor father, who had OF
" been a journeyman painter, fe
= i'll and died; and mother moved I
= London, where, after deal of tr,
ing, we boys got q job here an
there at rough painting, for, frol
helping father at home, we wei
both pretty handy with the brusl
Times, however, were very har
with US, when one day we heard
chance. The Royal CondOit Ga
;. dens were being done up in a hurr,
the lessee having taken them, as
!. were, at the eleventh hour and b
Y ing at high rent, of course he wan
: ed to get them open as soon as pO
: sible. RedecOration was the ord,
n of the day, and every man WI
5 could handle a brush was taken o.
! painters being scarce in the sprin
!, Well, we went, and were SOC
3 busily at work, painting arbors al
i arches, and touching up orchest
e and artificial sky till the Gardel
Il were opened, when the manage
g who was a very civil fellow, ga
Tom and your humble servant
ticket for the opening day.
That was q treat for us. for v