The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1880-06-01
Psil Mall GAZETTE.

Pail Nall Ss.-i,e.
The most famous rope dancer of re-
cent times was undoubtedly Nine.
Ssqui. aud her long career would
seem to show that it the practice Of
rope dancing brings ..,,ne Of its pro
fession In sudden end. il must in
itself he far frum unhealthy. We
may fairly Infer that in her case it
Was conducive TO longevity, for she
had already made her reputation at
the end ofibs nineteenth century, and
va siill dancing less than twenty
years ago, when che had attained the
age at >eveDsv->ix. According to
some ausnoriIie. Nine. Ssqui was
boru Of French parsnts. Her father.
Jean Bap,i>te Lslanne. was himseIt
. distinguished acrobat. and be in-
trodUce'i his daughter To the public ut
. very early aye in a melodrama 90
the subject al "tienevieve de-
Brabant." the part Of Genevieves
child being confided tn the debuian,e.
II was as q dancer ON the ordinary
boards that the youthful Saqui made
her first appearance in public; hut
she soon aspired to higher things. and.
after the troupe of the ''grandes
dsnseuses dS roi" had been broken up
1t the time of the revolution, she
took . regular curse of Lessons in
rope dancing froiA friend If the
family. who divided the bent Of her
genius. The Counselor and instructor
whc discovered ard fostered her
talent for balancing herself on &. e
tight-rope was. Or had been. a medi.
cal student. who. t. escape the tedi.
ousnsss Of Lecturer. had turned
acrobat: and it WAS through his
earnest representations that the parent
If the future rope-iancing celebrity
! were prevailed upon to allow their
daughter to quit the regular -iage
for a less dignifi-d arena.
The child prscticed with ar,lor. and
vas soon able to maintain herself firm
and erect upon the rope without the
assistance IF the balaucing-pnle. Her
debut vas attended with the meet
brilliant success. and for upward Of
a half century this prima donna Of
dancing art Travelled from capital
to capital, spplsuded and feted
wherever she performed. There vas
no town in France. no country in
Europe, which she did not visit.
After q time she established theatre
Of her own at Paris. The Emperor
Napoleon, who appreciated her talent.
and was personally much pleased
with her, named her FIRST acrobat Of
France tital which 90 pleased her
that she had i, inscribed on the wagon
containing her costumes and ap
psratus BY which her travelling coach
was followed. Napoleon used to en-.
gage her for all public fete-. and
| fr, luently invited her to perform at
his Own private ente, tainments. She
was the spoiled child. moreover. of
all the princes and dukes. all the
marshsls and generals Of the empire !;
and she was as great q favorite with
the people as with the members Of
the imperial court. No Italian
singer, even in our own day, enjoyed
such popularity As fell to the lot OF
Nine. Saqui.
For q time her star seems to have
faded; or perhaps she retired ON the
immense sums of money which her
performances had brought her in.
However that may have been. CIR.
cumstances forced Der to reappear.
when she made q tour in Spain, in
Algeria, and in the principal towns Of
France. In 1852 she went to Paris
and gave a series of performances a,
the Hipp@lrome. The next year she
made sensational ascent Of the tight.
rope in the Champ de Mars. and the
Hippodrome was the scene Of Q final
performance given for her benefit in
1861, when. ut the age Of eeventy-six,
-he went through q series Of funam
bulistic exercises and fantasies which