Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1872-05-04
A HIGH CALLING.

A HIGH CALLING.
1t was done away with long enough
ago. Parliament took it up, said it was
dangerous, and put stop to it. Per
haps it was dangerous, and perhap,
Parliament was right to put a stop to it.
But didn't like il then, for it was my
bread, and meant five pounds a week to
me; and when it was stopped my pro
fession was ruined.
don't look like it now, for you see
I've made flesh, and am close on fifty
but fifteen or twenty years ago, when
was in my fleshings, | 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 won
derfully in the bills, and our manager
said it would be utter madness to an
nounce ourselves as Benjamin and
Thomas Kitchens: so we used to be in
blue letters all over London, " Les
Freres Provenceaux," and the people
came to see us from all parts.
We were engaged, you see, at the
Royal Conduit Gardens, and did the
trapeze work. Now, dare say you'll
find plenty of people who will say it was
known long before, but don't you be-
lieve 'em. Pm the man who invented
the trapeze-at least, I'm The boy
that is, | invented it when | 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 it put out his
shoulder.
You see, it was from experimenting =
on that swing. hanging by my legs, by
one hand, by two hands, and up,iie
down, that sowed the seeds of all
those wonderful trapeze exploits that
have, as we say in the bills, thrilled
expectant audiences in every nerve and
fibre of their frames.n
From doing things on the rope, we
took to tumbling little on the ground,
tying ourselves in knots, walking on our
hands and | shall never forget the day
that first threw a somets!ult without
touching the ground with my hands.
That day was marked one for me
first, because of the pride | felt as |
ond, because Tom was 50 Jealous that
he took lun and a jump, and came
down on his back, making it so stiitand
bad that he couldn't move hardly for a
week.
At last, having done all this for our
own amusement as boys, we had to give
it up, for times got very hard at home.
Poor father, who had only been a jour
neyman painter, fell i'll and died, and
mother moved to London. where, after
a deal of trying, we boys got job
here and a job there at rough painting,
for, from helping father at home,
we were both pretty handy with the
brush.
Times, however, were very hard with
us, when one day we heard of chance.
The Royal Conduit Gardens were being
done up in a hurry, the lessee having
taken them as it were, at the eleventh
hour; and, being at high rent, of
course he wanted to get them open as
soon as possible. Redecoration was
the order of the day, and every man
who could handle brush was taken
on, painters being scarce in the Spring.
Well, We went, and were soon busily
at work, painting arbors and arches,
and touching up orche stla and artificial
sky till the Gardens were opened, when
the manager, who was very civil fel-
low, gave Tom and your humble ser
want ticket Tor the opening day.
That was treat for us, for we
were in good spirits, having a few shil
lings in our pockets. We saw the thea
tricals, heard the music, looked at this,
looked at that, and We're thoroughly
enjoying ourselves, until we joined the
circle about towitness the performances
of the Tantipalpiti family and there
we stood for some time seeing them
walk on their hands, tie themselves in
knots, and do few clumsy somer-
saults. Then Tom looked at me, and |
looked at him, and we went away
laughing togetht at what we had seen.
why said Tom at last, stopping
short, and giving himself tremendous
slap on the thigh, " if | couldn't do that
tiy-over better than any one there, I'd
eat my boots"
1t was poor, wasn't it ?" said.
Poor = echoed Tom " it was shame
ful."
We walked home that night in ST
lence; but no sooner were we in our
room than Tom whips off his coat and
Walslcoat and kicks away his boots, and
then goes through halfa-dozen of our
old trlcks-rather st fly, but better than
anything we had seen.
" Have try, old boy" he said; and
l had try and the next day we
nearly frightened our landlady to
death, and sent her off searching for
help to cut Tom down, because he
had hung himself from hook in the
ceiling.
They got used to our antics at last
and took no notice of us, as we tried
hard to get off that stiffness, for the
same idea had struck us both-that we
had better take to tumhlng than paint
and starve.
1t strikes me" said Tom, that il
we get rope or two, and some cAss
bars fixed, we can rather astonish some
of them anyhow, we'll see"
l quite agreed with Tom and, a shor-
time after, as bold ss brass, we appliec