Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1875-11-26
The Cruelty of Amusements.

| SLOT6us
The Cruelty of Amusements,
For weeks past, flaming posters have
announced to the populace Of New York
that " Prince Leo, the wee acrobat .
was exhibiting at the Tivoli gardens,
and those who were attracted thereby =
and we are told that the Tivoli was
nightly filled with immense crowds "
found there remarkably sweet and
interesting boy some seven years of age,
Intelligent countance, but of puny ply
sique and under size. Nightly he was
put through his acts by the name of
Walter Leonard, the proprietor of the
gardens, The child has now been res
cued from his brutal master who is I'M
dergoing an investigation before the
courts of New York city, and the scenes
both of his training and of his proform.
ances have been graphically described
by his rescuers and Others. At about
nine o'clock in the evening, he was usu-
ally brought on to the stage, and al
though trembling from head to foot, he
was compelled to take heavy piece of
gas pipe as a balancing pole and walk
backward and forward over tight rope
stretched horizontally, across the stage.
With increased trembling, spasmodic
twitching of the muscles and with a
countance expressive.o of excessive terror
he was blindfolded and again compelled
to traverse the rope. Later in the eve
ming, rope was stretched at an angle of
about forty-fve degrees, 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 with fearful velocity
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 a
cord was tied tightly around the bows
abdomen, the other end being passed
through block in the ceiling and held
by Leonard-and in this rope was
Z" slack y of six feet, so that if the bow
had fallen he must have been inevitably
cut in twain.
Such was the entertainment" and
the manner and result of the boys train
ing are thus given. He was taken from
an Orphans home in PHILADELPHIA
by Leonard, upon representation 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 rehearse his parts
in cold, cherries rooms, and has been
kicked and beat to urge him on. One
OF the ballet girls testifes that it was
only by cruel beatings that he has been
taught his feats, that, a week or two ago
after whipping him, terribly" he was
told to perform a new feat. and. endeav-
oring to obey, overcome with fear, he
fell to the floor, when Leonard, instead
of ascertaining whether or not he was
injured, beat and kicked him, put him
to trial again and threatened him if he
should fail again. The physicians state
that the boys spine is abnormally curv-
ed and his abdomen distorted as the
result of his feats, and that continuance
would produce permanent deformity
and perhaps idiocy.
We have narrated these facts because
the public is, just now Mortified and ex
cited over the disclosure. But who is
responsible for this brutality? Leonard |
was the brutal instrument. but he was
simply pandering to the tastes of his
employers-the great public. The public
demand such exhibitions, there Is money
IN them, and there are Leonards all over
the country to supply this demand and
take the peoples money thereof IfI
such exhibitions did not "pav" thew
would not be held. They are not con |
fined to the city. but we have them IN
the country. Every year the large
country towns are placarded with these
flaming hand bills, aud the newspapers
are filled with advertisements announo.
ing some circus or other exhibition the
main attraction of which Is an infant
prodigy Of some kind, it may be wee
acrobat, or child bareback rider ana
1t is to see those abnormal specimens ofI
infancy and witness their wonderful
leafs that the crowd attends The
respectable and disreputable 90 alike !
ZACH cheerfully paying his money and /.
III eager for front seats that they NAV j