The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-13
THE CRUELTY OF ADJUSTMENTS

For weeks past, flaming posters have an
nounced to the populace Of New York that
"Prince Leo, the wee acrobat" was exhib.
iting at the Tivoli gardens, and those who
were attracted therety-and we are told
that the Tivoli was nightly filled with Gin.
"mense crowds"-found there e remark
ably sweet and interesting boy some seven
years of age, with an intelligent counts-
nance, but of puny physique and under
size. Nighlly lie was put through" his
acts by a man named Walter Leonard, the
proprietor of the gardens. The child has
now been rescued from his brutal master,
who is undergoing an investigation before
the courts of New York city, and the
scenes both of his training and of his per-
formances have been graphically described
by his rescuers and others. At about nine
o'clock in the evening, he was usually
brought on to the stage, and, although
trembling from head to foot he was com
PEELED to take heavy piece of gas pipe as
balancing pole and walk backwards and
forwards over tight rope stretched hor-
izontally across the stage. With increased
trembling, spasmodic twiching of the mus
cles and with a countenance expressive OF
excessive terror, he was blindfOlded and
again compelled to traverse the rope. Later
in the evening, rope was stretched, at an
angle of about forty-tive degrees, a distance
of sixty feet from the ceiling to the floor,
and up this rope, clinging thereto with
his toes and holding balancing
pole in his hands, this child painfully
climbed, and on reaching the top, stretched
his foot backward grasping the rope be-
tween two toes and then with fearful velo-
city slid down the fearful descent and was
caught in the arms of his master. In case
of an accidental fall, there was nothing to
catch him, save only that cord was tied
tightly around the boys abdomen, the
other end being passed through block in
the ceiling and held by Leonard-and in
this rope was "slsck" of six feet, SO that
if the boy had fallen he must have been in
evitably cut in twain.
oaeh "oo VIZ huu tno
manner and result of the boys training are
thus given. He was taken from an "Or-
"phans home in Philadelphia by Leo
nard, upon representations that he and his
wife wished to adopt him and would bring
him up in comfort. The boy has never
been sent to school, and is ignorant even
of the alphabet; he has been forced to re-
hearse his parts in cold, cherries rooms,
and has been kicked and beat to urge him
on. One of the ballet girls testifles that it
was only by cruel beatings that he has been
taught his feats, that, week or two ago,
after whipping him, "terribly," he was
told to perform new feat and, endeavor-
ing to obey, overcome with fear, he fell to
the floor, when Leonard, instead of ascer.
tanning whether or not he was injured, beat
and kicked him, put him to the trial again
and threatened him If he should fail again.
The physicians state that the boys spine is
abnormally curved and his abdomen distort-
ed as the result of his feats, and that con.
tinuance would produce permanent defor-
nifty and, perhaps, idiocy.
We have narrated these facts because the
public is, just now, Mortified and excited
over the disclosure. But who is RESPONSE.
BILE for this brutality? Leonard was the
brutal instrument, but he was simply pan.
dering to the tastes of his emplOyers-the
great public. The public demand such ex-
hibitions, there is money in them, and
there are Leonards all over the country to
supply this demand and take the peoples
money therefor. 1t such exhibitions did
not pay" they would not be held. They
are not confined 20 the city, but we have
them in the country. Every year the large
country towns are placarded with these
flaming hand bills, and the newspapers are
filled with advertisements, announcing
some circus or other exhibition. the main
attraction of which is an infant prodigy of
some kind, 1t may be "wee acrobat or
q child bareback rider-and 1t is to see
those abnormal specimens of infancy and
witness their "wonderful feats" that the