The Brookhaven leader., 1883-05-03
ACROBATS AND GYMNASTS.

ACROBATS AND GYMNASTS.
The practice of lofty tumbling with
out u net is SO manifestly reprehensible
that it needs neither comment nor con-
demnation here; but it is curious fact
that many more accidents are recorded
of ground-tumbling than of aerial gym
nastics A member of the HanlOn-Volta
troupe, who has been doing sensational
business all his life, told me that he
never met with mishap but once, and
that was in descending from bar only
his own height from the stage, when he
sprained his knee rather severely. And
it is u significant circumstance, which
cannot be too strongly noted, that the
comparatively few accidents which have
happened to gymnasts have nearly all
occurred through defects in the "lifc-
saving apparatus" the net. When this
belongs to the performer, it is generally
spread under his own supervision, and
the strength of its texture and fasten-
ings carefully tested, and renewed if re-
quired but where the net is a stock
property of place of entertainment, or,
worse still, is provided by an entire
preneur who, not performer himself,
find all the appliances, damaged ma
terial and insecure attachments are apt
to be overlooked
The descent into the net itself is said
to be not altogether devoid of danger
and an impression is current among
these people that to fall upon the side
of the head will inevitably break the
neck. lam not aware, however, that any
case has been known. to bear out this
theory. Many gymnasts now dispense
with the rugs or carpets with which the
net is commonly padded, on account of
their interfering with the view of those
seated underneath, and come down upon
the naked meshes without injury. A
certain Little Bob''-a fine young
man now-who has been celebrated for
pre-eminently high dives ever since he
was a very small boy, sometimes max
ing a headlong perpendicular descent of
eighty feet or so, where the building is
lofty enough to permit of it, says that
he would have no objection to plunge
from height twice as great into net
of proper tension, and that he has never
suffered any Inconvenience from the
transit through the air or arrest of mo-
ton. He comes down in a slightly OBJ
lique direction, with the hands extended
for effect, after the fashion of diver;
when he sees the net "getting near"
the arms are withdrawn to The sides and
the head is tucked in on the chest, so
that he falls upon the shoulder-blades
and rolls over. In connection with this
part of the subject, the elegant and
wonderful "diyes" of Zazael at the
London Aquarium will doubtless be re-
membered by many readers.
Your special commissioner being
taken up to an exceedingly high and
dusty place to see some very ingenious
mechanism recently invented by gym
mast, was induced by the enthusiastic
arguments, protestations, and twice
repeated example of that individ-
ual, to take the direct route to
the lower rcgions-in plain words, to
drop from IA swinging bar into the cush-
Toned net some fifty feet below. Fin
gers seemed to assume an iron grip, and
the bar to become magnetic, even after
the trapeze had been brought to stand
still, and the legs drawn up at right
angles with the body in a sitting pos
ture, as directed. Now then, 9On
was shouted more than once, before |
couli uuDtut IlOSS WHICH
apparently acquired persistent rigidity
of their own; then the bar and roof with
its beams and girders flew away from
me, and tremendous repentance of the
folly | was committing rushed upon
me, with II distinct presentation of
every detail of every story | had heard
of people falling through nets improp-
erly fixed or badly mended, and a to-
tally Independent calculation of the
surgical effect which the legs of the in
verted chairs l had observed piled up
in the area below the apparatus would
produce upon the human frame falling
from a height; the whole accompanied
by a perception that l was gradually,
very gradually, inclining backwards;
which opened a new vista of the proba-
bilities of my demonstrating the truth
of the sideways neck theory. l seemed
TO be suspended between earth and sky
for about week, and was always
reconciled to the position, when l sud
denly and Unexpectedly found the GRIM
son mattresses billowing up about me
and surging over my face, and woke to
the fact that | had really fallen.
landed on my back, fiat; but there was
no shock, nor, indeed, was l conscious
OF having stopped; which perhaps was
due to the elasticity and rebound of the
net: The only part of the adventure
which was disagreeable physically was
the walking, or rather stumbling and
crawling, over the net to the ladder at
the farthest end, a very quaky, sea-sick
sort of business.
Acrobats and gymnasts usually prac-
tice during the morning on the stage of
some theater. Even when not working
at any new trick, they always practice
once day, if their engagement does
not include two performances. Some
times they have TO go through as many
as six or seven. When a man intends
TO bring out some novel and special
feat, and wishes TO keep it profound
secret until its production, he hires an
empty school-room or public hall, or
even a theater. for his own exclusive
use, and there exercises with his appli-
ances and assistants until he is perfect.
No stage performance is ever rehearsed
at home. 1t is somewhat disappointing
TO find that the music which seems such