Year: 1862

two Foscari - the spineless Siamcsc Of Syria !


"Wcll, sir, from that moment Ranford and be
gan to do well; but am sorry to say that ourgood
luck only caused my partner TO drink the harder,
and in consequence, to behave more badly to his
wife. His child he certainly was very fond OIL
partly, l think, because he had only known her for
u short time for Ranford was one of those men who
liked new faces. AS soon as he met n stranger he
was all life and spirit, and he would do anything
go anywhere to oblge him; but when he had
known man for some time he didn't care for him,
but grew cross and contradictory.


"At last we got nu engagement at garden near
London, where was grand gala night every week,
on which balloon ascendcd. | scrapcd acquain-
tance with the sronaut, aud one evening went up
with him. The sensation was singular. can not
describe it; but liked it very much. The eronaut
showed me how he managed to steer through the
air, when to throw out the sand, and how to des-
cend. As we were sailing over London, he said to
me


"You couldn't do the slack rope up here, Fosca
ri, could you2' .. .e. .s-...


"Why not?' I said and as I spoke the idea
flashed upon me what splendid feature in the pro-
gramme it would be ;-' Perilous performance of
the two Foscar Brothers, who will go through their
inimitabe evolutions on a slack wire suspended
from balloon thousands of yards above the sur
face Of the earth = balloon, thought, could
bear the weight Of two men outside it. The wire
could be fastened to the sides of the car and when
at a sufficient height, we could get out and per-
form.


As soon as I reached the ground went to Ran
ford who first laughed at the notion, and then agreed
to it. The proprietor of the garden asked us to
name our terms. We did so. He tried to beat us
down, but at length consented, and we went up ana
did it," .a...


interrupted him by asking il the danger was
not extreme.


"Not bt," replied my patient If fall from
| a wre fifty feet from the ground, the chances are
that l should break my neck if fell from
height of fifty miles l could do no more. Then if
our feet miss, we have our hands to hold on by
However, we went up, aud when VIC had risen
certain distance, got out of the car and conmcnc-
cd the performance. 1t seemed odd to me at first
tumbling and swinging in the air, with the gardens
and the audience and the houses and the trees such
| a depth beneath us but what struck me most
curious, was when we hung head downwards, and
looked up at the clouds. | used to feel that the
earth could not be so far distant for high as we
had risen, the sky seemed as far off from us as
| ever.


"Our performances gave great satisfaction, and
were favorably noticed in the daily and weekly
papers. We were told that the act that thrilled the
audience most, was the performed last be-
fore descending. Ranford who was heavier man
than I hung head downward, then taking hold of
both his hands with both mine, l swung by their
| by of | iptu my.
left hand and hung only by my right never te
| the least fear. We knew each others grip and it
| was all right.


"At first the eronaut went up withus, but after
few times We were able to manage for ourselves so
| we'll that had accident happened TO one, the 9TH
er could have gone safely down.
"We earning great deal of money but
noticed tha. Mrs. Ranford looked pacr and more
carcworn every day and l knew how her husband
was conducting himself by that She often told me
that she wished they were poor again, as he had
been much kinder in those times.
Gone night shallnever forgetit-Iwas return


ing home from the gardens, and passed the
door Of Ranfords lodgings little Eyelinas nurse ran
out to and said


"For heavens sake, sir 60 in. Master and mis-
sus have had dreadful quarrel, and mssus is a
going to kill herself


Il ran into the house. found the parlor door
| open. Mrs. Ranford in the room alone her
back was towards me, but could see her face in
the large mirror that stood the chimney piece.
She had razor in her hand. and was about to use
it on herself when she caught the reflection of my
face in the glass. She s'oppcd, turned round, and
fell upon the floor in fit. picked up the razor,
put it in my pocket, and placed the poor woman on
sofa. Ranford came into the room half drunk,
half mad, and scowled at me like a demon
| xpostulated and tried to reason with him him ;
but he only made me jeering replies, such as Oh,
/ understand better than you think for I'm not
a fool!' Il have got eyes and can see = and so
on, and left the house with heavy heart.


"Next day the nurse girl told me that Ranford was
jealous, and that he and his wife had quarreled
about me. We assembled that night. He never
spoke to me, nor to him. We both twirled and
tumbed up in the air without exchanging word
"When we got down felt inclined to give him a
| good thrashing for his unjust suspicious but |
kept my temper for the sake OF the poor woman,
and so we went on for eight or ten days.


"0ur next ascent took place on the gala night of
the United Order of Ancient Toxopholites. 1t was
q still summer night, without breath of wind. We
ascended till the gardens and the streets, and the
churches looked like Dutch toys, and then got oul
upon the rope. ..... ...


GAS took my seat behind Ranford, notified that
he had been drinking more than usual. He had
lately taken to old way of knitting his eyes and
smiling with his lips tight pressed together, and
what with knit brows, white tights, spaugled trunks,
and the bit of ribbon round his head, with paste
star in the centre, he looked as he sat swinging
backward and for ward in the air, more like an
evil being than man. .- .... . ... --.


We went through our performance, all but the
last trick. As was swinging from his two hands,
the thought came into my head, if he should not
hold on


GAS letgo with my left hand, and swung only by
my right, heard his voice above me.


Keer,' he said, are you guilty or not?'
! al asked what he meant. ...
"You know he answered. Confess that YOU
have wronged me speak tie truth. They are
your last words / have but to loose my grip and
down you go'


"l tried TO seize the disengaged arm, but he held
it above my reach, and put his other in such posi-
tion that could not catch at it, but swung entirely
at his mercy.


al lesped to reach the rope with my feet, and so
hang by my heels, but failed. l shut my eyes
and prayed Heaven 70 forgive me. Every act of
my past life rushed through my brain at the same
time was perfectly conscious of everything about
me-the blue sky, the quiet evening, the rope the
I