The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-12-10
ARE DARING ATHLETES.
MARvELOU, FEAT PERFORMED III
THE JORDANs.
Trocadero Performers Givea Trapeze tx
hibifion-Wouid Precipitate the Ac'ois
Forty Feet Below.

THE pesSimiSt VINO uecidHS aSai"'
this asa degenerate age holds that IN
hope for mighty men has passed, and MIN
like muscle has resolved itself into mere
fatty tissue. a prlmordial state forbiddnl
to vitality. Blindly gazing through the
monocle of prejudice, he rails at the ris-
ing generation Of colegians as race oil
football players and baccalaureate boat
men. and decries our bonny. buxom, broad
shouldered girls as lacking in the sem
timent and womanly graces that marked
their delicate grandmothers. Those brOa1-
er and more advanced, while not belitu-
ing our revered progenitors, argue that
the best condition for the coming man IS
sound body; it viii better frame the
vigorous mind and enhance the chances
! for success in life This, In a large meas
| ure accounts for the growing popularity
| of athletic sports. and battles with the
| theory that where wealth accumulates
men will decay, says the Chicago Herald.
"Our finest club" and one Of the largest,
| is the new Athletic Club. and it has not
been erected for any ignoble purpose
! The fact that Eugene SandOw has at
| tracted much attention is significant,
| and his stay In this city has been prOduc-
tive OF good in inspiring young men Of
sedentaTy habit to take new lease OF
life with simple dumb-bel exercises that
develop the strength. The peculiar pOpu-
larity Of the wonderful Schaffer family is
another evidence of interest in athletics.
There is really no danger of our boys and
girls becoming too athletic, for the ma
jOrty OF them after laying the founda-
ton Of strength will be satisfied. The
professional athlete usually follows a
family propensity, so that the market
is not liable to be overrun or the country
suffer from surplus of circuses.
athletes acTobats and rough riders can
point proudly back 10 the classic age for
their professional precedent and remark
historic fields famous for their prOwess.
Every schOolboy knows how the heroes
Of Oympan games raced abodt the top
less towers Of Troy" how hardy Thra-
clans leaped i'm the sandy arena of the
Roman Colosseum, or "the winged horse
men of Saladin" dazzlcd the stalwart
crusaders with oriental sword play Cast
ing the discus, lifting the weight, turn
ing the pirouette. or leapng from should
or TO shoulder may be clear ia derivation.
but who invented the flying trapeze. which
in its exercise Incorporates the skill and
graces Of all the others? Perhaps some
explorer in time past saw monkeys thus
Gisporting in the primeyal forest and thus
caught the idea of a new exercise in attn
letcis that should be a browning one in its
difficulties ard dangers.
'When a score of years ago the Brothers
Hanlon brought the trapeze into popu-
larity it assumed a prestige IL has never
lost. even the song writer's OF the early
day glorifed the daring young man on
the flying trapezeD 1t has an element
Of danger associated with its daring that
came n daring couple. Mr.. and Mrs.
Haynes. Hanlon-Volters succeeded the
original firm, and were a great card three
years ago. They were performing in
New York, at the Academy of Music,
when the youngest member Of the trio.
VINO was swinging from a little bar IN
the dome Of the theatre through the
breaking Of q rope, fen distance of
over sixty feet. striking the back Of an |
iron opera chair. The nervous shock Of |
such a fan would nave killed an ordinary |
man, but the plucky athlete was out in !
few weeks. and a short time after was 1
doing the same act high up in the /
Columbia Theatre. In the following sum- /
fner season he fell in the circus at Grand /
Rapids and striking ring pole. broke his [
neck. Such tate too frequently falls 10
the perilOus lot OF the trapezlst. The
father Of the famous Nadis sisters,
two OF the most daring female aerialists
in their time. while putting uD an an
paratus lost MS life by falling through
the skylight Of the Grand Opera House
Of this city. So many Of these ragc
events took place that legislative enac--
ment now cOmpels the use of the net in
aerial performances
Americans are the best general athlet
IN the world, and this is the home OF the
Boisettes and the Eugenes. the great ira
)eze teams now the current athletic Won |
lers OF Europe. The Jordan family, who |
are at present exciting such a sensation
At the TrocaderO, are TO this manor born
although they are favoraby known I'm All
he great centre of Europe, from ST.
Petersburg and Odessa TO Madrid and Lon
Ion. Many time during the past four
years of their stay abroad have they gat
ip in gilded domes of theatres and rocked
n their iron cradles and looked down on
oval heads accustomed to crowns and
'OrOnets.
Lewis Jordan is a tall. lihte. sinewy in
lividral. as acrobat from hs youth. who
S as much at home I'm the air as saudow
S upon the stage. He is strong cool and
calculating. His graceful consort. Mamie
ordan, is a demure. graceful, dimpled.
etite woman, about as different from me
ordinary female athlete as could be I'M
sined. Her figure perfect I'm its out
ines, is one that sculptors love TO study.
nd her movements in the air are 20
gnt and graceful that she might appear
S veritable aril in her fights and pi-
duties The child, little Rosy IS no
crobatic starvellng. but a BRIGHT con-
ented little miss Of l.. who enters her
'ork with as much Zest as she does her
lay. In the tiny central trapeze. forty
'et above The safety net, she whirls
erial circles, suspends herself by her
)es' ana goes through all the evolu-
ons or the most daring and iccom-
lished acrobats j
wv men Lewis Jordan, as receiver, hanSs $
eaa downward from a wildly swinging !
az ne measures distances with his eve
nu dlfects the whole performance with II
lew words 50 10 vOce. When he has z
lie requisite sweep his handsome con 4
'rt Mamie Jordan. who Is stationed an I
j aeflal perch twenty-five feet AWAY. p
oiding the bar of the sister traDeze n
wings gracefully off. The sections of Tho a
rcle described by these bars fntersect a
TN the nicely Of an Astronomical cal II
llatlon, so she throws herself free IN | n
lie air. She may turn a completa sor,or n
lult or make a half turn. accordino -, | e
r. calculation of the second or fraction Il
tne second, falling gracefully into tho y
'hds OF her husband Geometrically Inc b
sment OF the circle described by Mrs "
'Tdan trapeze is twice as large as that $,
'scrlbed by the one holding her husband. II
course the swing Of the two bars IL "
e same calculating from the rulcrrro h
lstaininS the ropes of the terapeze. In y,
e swing. she so times herself. thar abe M
above her husband and Tho ron q. - -