Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1901-190?, 1902-02-15
ACROBATS PRACTICE.
FAMOUS RESORT IN LONDON FoA
STRANGE SPECIALISTS.
Men and Women Tumblipg, Walking OF
Their Hands, and Comforting Their
BodIe, In "a Gymnasts' school for Pro-
fessionals Some Specisltles.

There are very few Londoners who
know that down in the unsavory New
ciit, on the right hand side as one
goes toward Waterloo road, Is a little,
g,iny windowed coffee shop. Above
the door Is the legend-familiar enough
hereabouts-"B sixpence a night,
lt IS obviously poor mans hotel
Yet any weekday, from 10 to II IN The
morning up till 1 or in the alter
observe passing in and out a never
ceasing stream Of well-dregsed and
wcllset-up men, clean shaven, spruce
and ale.t, the very last sort OF in6i-
viduais one would imagine TO patron
ize for its board or lodging an cstlo-
lishment such as this. Nor, as mat
ter of fact, do they do so. Follow any
one Of them ana YOU will find that he
posred straight through the little shop
down dark passage to emerge oven
tually into a lofty hall, around the wall
of when are ranged all kinds of gym
nastic apparatus. And on the floor,
suspended from rings in mid-air.
dangling from trapezes near the cell
ing are men-and women-tumbling
flying, swinging. walking on their
hands, standing on their heads, throw
ing somersaults by the score and
twisting themselves into every conceiv-
able contortion to which the human
form divine Is capable of lending it,
self. For this is n professional ac-
D rAIat1s gt.. 4
fame are known from end to end of
Europe, and indeed, all over the world
wherever gymnasts and such like folk
i travel. and they travel far. They are
largely foreigners. these people Lis
ten to the babel of tongues. Regard the
various types. Yon little dark-eyed
lassie, who is turning catherine
wheels" with such zest, is Neapolitan
and a debutantc. apprenticed to a
troupe by parents who were too poor
to keep her Like it? Ask her. She
knows today, poor child, for almost the
first time in her hitherto sad young
life what 1t means to go to bed un.
hungry. Here is an Austrian lady
training under Mr.. Harry Ara. II,
has only been few months with thu
troupe and already (he tells you proud
ly) he can turn forty "flipfaps" with
out pausing for bre I'll. A child wo
man. with black eli locks and Jew
ish cast of countenHnce, is solemn,
engaged in throwing her arms and legs
about and around, low ike the sail!
of windmill, anon ike the tentacleI
OF some strange species of octopus. Sh'
is an Armenian, the sole survivor u
her village, at the time IL was raidet
by a band OF Kurds early last winter
OF the inanlmate things that al
ranged round the walls, the most ar
not what they seem. A billiard table
for instance, which looks as solid a
one OF the best so guinea match ones
proves OH investigation to be fitte
with a dummy bed" of green baiz
covered canvas, upon which the per
former can fall headforemost, IL nee
be, from almost any height withou
hurting himself Originally one OF tn
habitues of the place, says the Londo
Mail, this curiously situated pract.c
hall was penny gaff' Of the az
proved type. On the little stage :
the back. blood and thunder. melC
dramas were presented night afte
! night to. admirlng audiences of boy
. and girls. For the better part of
3 couple of decades afterward the bar
gaunt hall, masked by the grimy co
, fee shop, remained closed and wei
: nigh forgotten until one day an entel
: prlsing pro. acrobat in search of
place wherein to practice discovere
G II and made it known to his broth'
and sister pros" since when 1t hs
c taken on a new lease OF life and pro
S perlty. Every day acrobats pass in an
: out, bent upon learning new tricl
which they have conceived. but whiC
they are not as yet perfect In. I'll
little room is in fact training colleg
4 and IL never lacks a full complemel
: OF adult pupils and learners. No pu
lie audience sees the tricks before thu
o are presented on the stage, but criti
i, In the shape of brother pros" a
plentiful.