The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1902-04-26

THE BACK S0MERSAULT
BY THE LITTLE GIRL
She Won the Day, Even Though Some
thing Dreadful Bothered Her.

The little girl who does the back somer-
sault on the big white horse in the mid
die ring at the circus was walking behind
the entrance gate at the eastern end OF
the Garden waiting Tor her act to be
called, says Lindsay Denison, in the New
York Sun" Her feet were thrust into
thick-soled. rosin-dusted ring sandals
She had a brand-new ballet skirt. which
stuck out as crinkIy and straight as
though it had been cut from white tissue
paper. and down on the shawl which she
held about her bare shoulders her hair
hung in TWO long braids, with pink rib
bOns at the ends.
No; it's not Dolly she said. very
graveIy. It's DaIIie. It is only Dolly on
the bills And then, while she held the
shawl with one hand she counted out with
the fcrefnger Of the other the six letters.
Like this, she said, "D-a-l-I-i-e DaIIie
Julian.
And the fine gentleman in the top hat
and dress coat, who was going TO lead
her out TO the ring. and the two lady rid
eTS, who, though twice as old and expert
enced as the little girl. had to take second
places in the side rings, and the stable
men and the khaki-cOated arena attend
ants listened approvingly as the little girl
with the braids thus explained how her
name was spelled and regarded her with
the sOlemnity due to the only Principal
Somersault Rider OF Her Sex Now Before
the Public. i" For the back somersaut on
a horses back is very hard thing to do
and the little girl with the braids is the
first female rider who has done ii sue
cessfully, so the circus people say, since
Dolly Somebody else did it eighteen years
ago. And So though she has just passed
fifteen, and does not come up to mans
shoulder, and has such red cheeks that
she doesn't need but the least bit of rouge,
/ even under the Iimelight, she is very i'm
| pOTtant person indeed
Suddenly the little girl leaned forward,
| saying quite despaiTingly: "Oh, dear me,
/ this is twice today
The immaculate gentleman in evening
| clothes whipped out q handkerchief from
! his coat. one of the lady riders drew an
other from the bosom Of her Iow-cut
ousIy to the little girl with the white
/ braids.
What's up? What's wrong?" said the
| canvasmen and the boys holding the heads
| of the big white horses. The immaculate
! gentleman turned around.
| "'Dallie's got the nosebIeed,' he said
| And then. while the little girl was leaning
over TO spare her spotess new skirt and
| was laughing in despair as she held the
/ handkerchief to her face, and everybody
was gathering round and saying sorrow
! fully, 10000 the great entrance gates
| swung open and the band in the gallery
| changed its tune.
| The audience saw q smiling little lady
| trip into the arena with her skirts bobbing
up and down. and saw her smile and throw
| kisses to the gallery as the fat white
| horse went clupety-clUp around the ring,
| and they wondered very much why she
! should choose to carry that handkerchief
| in her hand. But behind the entrance
/ gates were tho French acrobats who do
stunts IN their evening clothes, and the
/ man who rides on one wheel up and down
| the spiral tower, and there was a crowd
| of canvasmeE and stable boys who were
| looking with quite another sort Of inter
est through peep holes in the fence They
/ knew it is no fun turning somersaults
| when one has a nosebleed, and particu-
| larry that 1t isn't an easy thing to do on
) a horses back, where if you take or a
few inches too far forward Of the horses
launches you'll lose your spring, and If
you start i few inches toe far back the
| horse viii 90 from underneath you, and
| you'll land on the ground
Round and round the sleepy horse
ambled while the band in the gallery
I doomed, and still the little girl stood
/ straight and motionless, with her hand
| held most curiousIy TO her face All AT
/ once she took it down and her fists
| clenched. Up and over she went, ard
! down light IS a thistle On the horses
broad back. round OF applause came
/ down from all over the house, the fat
| horse slowed up and the Immaculate gen
| tIeman handed the queen OF the arena and
the riding star Of the FoTepaugh-Sells
Brothers Shows TO the ground. 4 mo-
| ment more and the entrance gates had
! closed behind her again, and smiling and
! flushed, she was slipping her feet into
| the thiek-soIed ring sandals 4 crimson