Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1898-05-12
THE ROPE WALKERS ROMANCE.

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No one who saw the tawdry fnery
of his tinsel trappings and the cheap
appointments Of the famous Signor
Salviatoria as single handed and alone
he prepared the paraphernalla 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 romance. The sig
nor was a peripatetlc perambulator OF
the rope, and his field Of performance
lay in country towns, where it was his
wont to stretch his narrow pathway
across a street from roof to roof OF
houses whose owners were willing to
extend that privilege to him in ex-
change for tickets to "The Great and
Only Megatherian Concert, which
followed the outdoor exhibition. Yet
he had romance, and there was in
it those elements which one greater
than Signor Salviatoria might easily
have crystalized into melodrama that
would have stirred the applause Of a
thousand galleries.
The greatest act l ever done, he
said, with a natural and easy dlsre-
gard of accent and syntax, 81 done in
an Ohio town about ten years ago. l
was doing my turn there for week,
and it was the county fair season, and
was following their trail like sleuth,
for they brought people to town and
helped my business, never none too
good. The third night Of my perform
ance, which was a half-hour exhibition
in midair before the concert had be-
gun, I had gone up on the roof to git
things ready, and while | was potter
ing around snuggin' up the rope and
seeing that there wasn't any loose cogs
to be dropping, heard a 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 give me han d pull
on my nerves, but | flew over to see
what the matter was 1t was my land
Iady-and here | want to say that
when l stop for any time in a town l
90 to a clearinghouse 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.
"In this case l not only stopped at
this clearinghouse, 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 hus-
band 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
a Jealous fit, which was every time
she had new boarder that was any
thing for looks and style.
Signor Salvistoria stopped a moment
at this remark, stroked his little chin
whisker and smiled retrOspectively.
"She had only been polite to me be-
cause l had been polite to her, as any
gent should be when there is pretty
woman around, and the landlady was
the prettiest little woman, about as
big as a piece OF soap, l 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 1t with
her jaw set and trying to stick her toes
into the roof to help hold it down. In
a mighty few words she told me her
husband was on the chase after her
with a hatchet to kill her, and he
would be up from below in minute.
She wasn't as bad scared as l was, for
l didn't have much experience in that
kind of business and didn' know what
to do. didn't have anything to de-
fend myself or her with, either, and
the more l thought Of the situation the
more l began to think how many
things there were that was more dam
gerous than walking tight rope 80
feet above the earth, and NE as inno-
cent as babe. The little woman told
me to bring a barrel half full Of sand
there was over in one corner of the
roof, and we'd set it over the cover of
the scuttle to hold it down. l done it
as fast as l could, and when we had
the barrel there and about fixed, the
crazy husband came slashing up with
his hatchet. AS luck would have it
the sand fell in on him and knocked
him off the ladder below, and the bar
rel got stuck in the hole, so the little