Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-05-14


sufficiently warmed up, raised himself
at one pull, stiffening himself on his
| wrists.
The trapeze, violently thrown back,
| described a great arc, and letting 60
the bar, the man shot forward like an
arrow into space.
/ There was a feeling Of apprehension
| in the crowd and an "Ohl" of alright
uttered by thousand breasts The aero
bat reached the second trapeze and
calmly let himself swing in its decreas-
/ ing oscillations.
Slowly be thus darted II times,
calm and smiling as he made the tour
Of the circus and rejoicing at feeling
| beneath him the immense painting of
the throng.
At the eleventh trapeze he paused to
prolong this emotion-his glory-and
his eyes sought out Rita. The eques-
trienne saw him, aud with the handle
of her whip threw him kiss.
The elated Icarus, hanging by one
hand, saluted her. Then he brought his
trapeze to rest. He was about to com
plete his task.
Enough - said some voices.
mo! Bravol Encore'' cried the la
dies, eager to feel once more the per-
verse JOY of an entieing pain.
For the twelfth time the handsome
gymnast, stiffening his muscular arms,
essayed his terrible fight.
But an appalling cry of terror, a fran
tic shout, arose.
In an instant, suddenly, like a can
die put out by the flap of bats wing,
the thousand glstening lights of the
circus were extinguished all together
at the precise and fatal moment when
the man was darting into space.
At the same instant there rose from
the ring laugh, terrible, vibrating
with hate
Then in the black and hideous OBJ
security, in the pitchy darkness that fill
ed the circus, lately so blazing, poignant
shrieks rolled from row to row. Wom-
en- tainted. and the spectators. with
their hearts crushed in hopeless terror,
shudderingly sat as if petrified in their
places and peered into the night that
filled the dome. The net was empty,
the acrobat must be looked for in the
gloom. In the search lanterns were
brought and carried toward the top of
the circus. Five minutes-fve oentu
ries-elapsed Some one cried, Bengal
lights"
Then while here and there people
were trying TO relight the burners
blaze of violet and red, of green and
azure, flashed cut, and with powerful
illumination lit up at one flash every
corner of the circus with its fantastic
and trembling CLEANS.
And suddenly as in the flames of a
transformation scene, was seen, rigid,
clamped to the trapeze, Prince Icarus,
hanging motiouless.
An unheard of horror paralyzed him
in a supernatural frenzy. His hair stood
erect His distorted mouth grinned an
idiot grin terrible to see, and III his
face, whittier than that of corpse, his
haggard eyes, protruding from their
sockets, rolled eonvulsively.
Soon his comrades were near him.
With the handle of his knife Asop
struck the gymnast's hands and with
great difficulty detached from the bar
the clinched hands of the miserable
man.
The gas was relighted, and the crowd
silently and without a breath, watched
as it was slowly lowered down the de-
scent of the living corpse.
There is today near Marseilles. in the
asylum of St. Pierre, poor mailman
who stalks straight forward, his arms
held in front and contracted in an
imaginary grip 1t is frightful sight.
1t is Prince Icarus.
do not know what Jail holds Asop.
As to the fairy Rita, she is now prin-
cess somewh mere in Germany Adapted