Year: 1869




A scene of considerable excitement oc-
CURED at the American Theatre, on Wal
nut street, above Eighth, on Saturday
evening, the 18th inst, during the flying
trapeze performances Of two artists an
nounced on the bills as Lila and Zoe
One Of their feats consists in Lila, q
full-grown woman, swinging herself by
means Of two ropes suspended from the
ceiling, from a platform erected in front
of the gallery, entirely across the audi
torium, until she touches with her feet a
trapeze that hangs at considerable alti-
tude over the orchestra. Securing her
self on this trapexe with her feet, her
body swings downwards, and she remains
in that position while Zoe, child of
eleven years of age, mounts the platform
in the gallery, and seizing the iron rings
attached to the ropes mentioned, throws
herself off and darts towards Lila, and
when nearing her the child throws q
somersault in mid-air, and her only
chance from being crushed to death by
falling from the dizzy height among the
audience in the parquette, is being
caught by Lila, who hangs with her head
downward from the trapeze. Certain
death would be the result of the slight
est mistake made by either Of the per-
formers. On Saturday evening the feat
was successfully performed, it is true,
but Lila barely caught the child as she
revolved in the air. AS the latter was
descending, however, to the stage, the
man whose duty it was to catch her from
the hands of Lila, failed to do SO, and
the poor child fell to the platform placed
over the orchestra, distance of several
feet, and struck her head and otherwise
injured herself. The child was picked
up, when she Immediately placed her
hands to her head, and it was apparent
that she was seriously hurt. Notwith-
standing this she was most inhumanly
ordered to remount the platform in the
gallery and repeat the feat. The child
obeyed, but such conduct on the part of
those having charge of the exhibition
was too much for the audience to stand,
and there was unanimous cry of No,
no p "Shame, shamev' Take her back,
take her back" &c. In the mean time
the child mounted the platform and then
stood ready to repeat the feat, but the
audience rose en- masse, to their great
credit, and prevented the ropes from be-
ing handed to her. Unable to combat
such display of public indignation and
disapproval, the child was ordered to re-
tire, which she did amid the most tumul-
tuous applause. Now, whether she could
have performed the feat again in her
then condition, will be seen from the fol-
lowing -


After she had retired, the stage man
ager advanced, and stated that she desir-
ed to perform another feat and that she
was not injured, and the consent Of the
audience was asked. There was gen.
eral cry of No, no." and considerable
Kissing; but, taking advantage of few
cries of $50 on" from the boys in the
gallery, the child again appeared, and
mounting the platform took hold of the
rings and swung herself off for the pur-
pose of catching the hanging trapeze
with her feet and then making somer-
sault while descending into an out
stretched net. As the audience felt
would be the case, the child essayed the
feat, but failed to catch the trapeze, ow-
ing to her nervous state, which was nat
ural under the circumstances, but was
saved from injury by her commendable
presence Of mind in not letting go Of the
ropes. The consequence was that she
swung backwards and forwards amid
scene of much excitement, and was re-
lieved from her perilous position by the
audience, who caught her and carried
her to the stage. The entire scene was
disgraceful one, and was nothing but
wanton sporting with human life, and
had it not been for the conduct of the
audience the child would probably have
been killed in attempting to repeat the
| first act. ,s.ie


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