The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-12-07

way onward, step after step. If he fails
to insert one foot before freeing the other,
we.know the inevitable result. In one ex-
hibition, several brass rings were sus-
pended in a circle, and the performer
made his way from one to another, hold
ing on by hands or by feet as the case
might be. A netting, spread out some
distance under him, or soft mattresses
placed on the ground, lessened the proba-
bility of broken bones; but the very pro-
vision of such precaution sufficiently
shows that peril is known to be involved.
Ut may here be remarked that there was
a netting some distance below the trapez-
ist to wAom tile accident lately happened !;
but it failed in its intended service, and
she Tor hey fell heavily twenty or thirty
feet to the grOund.)
/ ~Tightrope walking is one of those
achievements in which the slightest mis-
hap of footstep, the slightest failure of
nerve, brings the gymnast to grief The
famous Blondin eclipses all other exhibit
ois in this line. The baskets on his feet,
the blindfolded eyes, the wheelbarrow
trundled before him, the chair, the table
set out with refreshments, all balanced on
a stretched horizontal rope-these are
marvels, indeed. 1t shows what NOR
bid state OF feeling, however, is engen-
dered by this exhibition, when Blondin
pretends to miss his feothold once now
and then, and regains it after quivering
movements of the body and limbs, in
order to send a thrill Of terror Through
the spectators! One of his achievements
is to carry Nine. Blondin while lie walks
his 900 feet or so of rope; but this has
been found too much for English taste to
bear, and it is not included in his regular
programme. The veteran may possibly
be so completely void of bodily fear and
nervous trepidation as to be nearly as safe
on the rope as on the ground, and may die
quiet, natural death when his course is
run. But his example has not been with
out evil effect. There have been and stlil
are English Blondins, -" Female Blon-
dins," and Juvenile Blondins,' who
initiate some of the perilous exploits as {.
means of earning a livelihood; many and
many a limb has been shattered or neck
broken III consequence. In the days OF
our fathers, or perhaps grandfathers, one
Nine. oaqui obtained great notoricty for
her achievements on the tight-rope; if we
remember rightly, her career was cut
short by frightful accident; but whether
SO or not, it is certain that a Female
Blondin' only a few weeks ago came
down with a crash while attempting to
cross the auditorium of a theater on a
rope-with what result we need not say.
The slack-rope has its heroes and hero
ines as we'll as the tight rope-and its vic
Tins also. Why the performer does not
fall Off, while sitting on the rope in full
swing, with arms folded, and no hold or
grasp by the hand, is a mystery and mar
vel to many of the audience, and
the greater the marvel the greater
the attractiveness-acco to the
logic of showmen and exhibit
ors. The fact is that the performer is
familiar with law of dynamics without
knowing or caring about its scientific
meaning; law which tells him that he
must incline his body backward during
the onward swing of the rope, and for
ward during its reverse swing. A Won
derful exhibitor appeared amongst us
many years ago, though not so many as to
be beyond the recollection of some of us;
an Italian Or Spaniard who chose to as
sumo the professional title of I'll Diavolo
Antonio" His slack-rope swinging was
daring beyond precedent, and he had few
followers who could equal him. The
pendulum movement of his body during
the full swing of the rope was in Il curve
OF very wide sweep. While sitting on the
rope in sweeping oscillation he would tie
his right ankle TO it with piece of cord
half a yard or so in length; then, when at
the utmost extremity of his onward course,
he would fling himself from the rope and
hang head downwards, attached to the
rope by one ankle only; assuming very
nearly the traditional attitude OF Fame
blowing the trumpet" he played on a
horn or bugle, accompanying the Orches-
ira in the ''Overture to Lodoiska,' with
his head farther from the rope than any
part of his body and limbs, and conse-
quently swinging in a greater arc than
even the rope itself. What applause!
What thrill of excitement! What a fas-
cinating horror at the supposition of the
cord breaking or the ankle fastening be-
coming loose! But look little behind
the scenes. Many coroner's inquest has
recorded the dismal end of some or other
OF these rope-swingers; poor mangled
creatures who have died in giving "pleas-
ure'' to others. We must "take the gilt
of the ginger bread' before we can right
ly estimate these things.
Circus-riding, when kept within mod
crate limits, is often very elegant. 1t H.
illustrates two scientific principles that are
ever operative in such exhibitions. One
is, that the horse and his rider must both
incline the body toward the center of the
ring, else the centrifugal force of the cir
cular motion would soon bring them to
trouble, pitching one or both at a tangent
over among the spectators; and the higher
the speed the greater must be the angle of
this inclination. The other is, that the
rider, standing on horse, may leap up
and down in various ways, and may jump
over bars and shawls, or through hoops or
casks, and yet alight upon the horse a gain,
although in gallop. This is because the
rider partakes of the onward motion of
the horse, and is really moving ON when
he seems to be only jumping up. But oh,
the falls, bruises and disasters that have
to be encountered before the smiling, be-
rouged, tinseled performers are fitted to
make their bow or courtesy to the public
An "Ella,' or an Elise" or an can
gelique" has to pass through a wearisome,
long continued, prosaic discipline before
she can appear as fascinating equestri-
enne, jumping through hoops Of fire, or
dancing in a pas de deur with male per-
former, on two horses. How many broken
limbs occur during the apprenticeship the
public never know; the profession"
does not talk of those things; but Mr..
Frost, who has written some singularly
curious books about showmen, circus
riders and other public performers, has
much to tell concerning the ordeal which
such persons have to undergo-the frac-
lures, the bruises, the heartaches, the pow
erty, the disappointments, too often end
ing in untimely death. 1t is noticeable,
he remarks, that they are mostly quiet
people in private life rather serious than
" jolly" and very little prone to drinking.
The necessity for maintaining keen eye
sight and steady nerves in an occupation
naturally perilous day after day, makes a
man cautious against quitting an enemy
in his mouth to steal away his brains.''
Perhaps it is an effect of reaction that
those who earn q living by making others
laugh are often melancholy rather than
gay when removed from the glare Of
stage-lights. Such was Liston, and such
was Grlmaldi.4 When the performance is
intended to excite wonder at feats of peril,
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