Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-04-10
AN AERIAL ROMANCE

AIN AERIAL KUN A NUE.
No one who saw the taw(lry finery OF
his tinsel traDpings and the cheap APP
pointments OF the famous Signor Sal
viatoria as single handed and alone he
prepared the paraphernalia for his
tight-rope performance which had
brought him his glory would have ever
imagined that there was time or space
IN his busy life for a romance The
S1gnor was peripatetic perambulator
OF the rope, and his field of perform
ance lay In country towns, where 1t
was his Wont to stretch his narrow
pathway across street from roof to
roof OF houses whose owners were will
Ing to extend that privilege to him in
exchange for tickets to the Great and
Only Megatherian Concert" which fol-
lowed the outdoor exhibition. Yet he
had romance, and there was in it
those elements which one greater than
the Signor Salviatoria might easily
have crystalliZed into melodrama
that would have stirred the applause
OF thousand galleries
The greatest act ever done" he said
with natural and easy disregard of
accent and syntax, II done in an Ohio
town about ten years ago l was doing
my turn there for week, as it was the
county fair season, and I was follow
Ing their trail like sleuth for they
brought people to town and helped my
business, never none too good. The
third night of my performance, which
was half-hour exhibition in midair
before the concert had begun, l had
gone up to the roof to get things ready,
and while was pottering around
Il anuggin' up the rope r and see
ing that there wasn't any loose
cogs to be dropping, 1 heard screech
up through the scuttle hole leading to
the roof and the next second out
popped woman like one OF these here
jumping jacks. 1t gave me i hard pull
:, on my nerves, but l flew over to see
what the matter was. 1t was my land
lady-and here l want to say that when
l stop for any time in a town I go to
boarding house where can get a rate
that won't break me- Got to do it in
this line. Can't give it all to railroads
and hotels
I'm this case not only stopped at
this boarding house, but the landlady
let me stretch my rope from her roof
to the roof of the house across the
way, and as it was the main street OF
the town, it was convenient all the way
round for me. The only drawback was
that the lady had half-craZy husband
that never had done anything for her
when he had his senses, and now she
had to support him and take his abuse
of her every time he got in a Jealous
AT, which was every time she had a
new boarder that was anything for
looks and style
Signor Salviatoria stopped a mo-
ment at this remark, stroked his little
chin whisker and smiled retrospect
lively
She had only been polite to me be-
cause I had been polite to her. as any
gent should be when there is a pretty
woman around, and the landlady was
the prettiest little woman, about as big
as piece of soap, had met.
AS l was saying, when l got to her
she had slung the cover to the scuttle
hole over it and was sitting on it with
her jaws set and trying to stick her toes
into the roof to help hold it down. In
mighty few words she told me her
husband was on the chase after her
with a Ratchet to kill her and he would
be up from below in a minute. She
4 wasn't as bad scared as l was, for ]
didn't have much experience in thai
: KIND OF business and didn't know what
to do. didn't have anything to de.
fend myself or her with, either. and
the more thought Of the situation the
more l begun to think how many
things there were that was more dan.
gercus than walking a tight rope fifty
feet above the earth, and me as limo.
cent as a babe. The little woman told
me to bring barrel half full of SAND
there was over in one corner of the roo
and we'd set 1t over the cover Of the
scuttle to hold it down. done it as fast
4 as could, and when we had the barre
4 there and about fixed, the crazy hus.
4 band came slashing up with his hatch.
ct. AS luck would have it the sane
:Af fell in on him and knocked him off The
'*si 9duueI Uelo" anu tue DaTTeI got Stuch
In the hole, SO the little woman ant
me had minute or two to think. anc
she done the thinking.
Are you afraic?' said she.
Some says I, nodding toward the
Bcuttle hole.
"T mean Of me?' says she smiling.
Not much says I.
II Are you strong?' says she.
That's part Of my act says I, sbu
net against crazy man with a hatch
et,' says !, wondering what she would
do next and about how long 1t would
he till the crazy man was on deck witt
s> his stomal1aRk cleaning in the air. 4