camels of the largest breed. The poor man, however, had not satisfied himself, and cried out bitterly that he had known the time when he performed in the presence of the King of Persia, and was able to boast that he was really a leaper. Old age and infirmities had reduced him, and deprived him of all his strength, and he had also since that time broken his arm and leg. What must have been the agility of this man in his youth, who in his old age was so vigorous? There is nothing more common in India than to see an athlete leaping over twenty people, whose extended arms form a sort of vault, or over a naked sword which a man holds as high in the air as possible. "The Tracts towards the History of Wonders performed at Fairs," Paris, 1745, mentions, as a marvellous feat, an Englishman's having, at the fair of Saint Germain, in 1724, leapt over forty people, without touching one of them!

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CHAPTER V.

ACROBATS IN ANTIQUITY.

Acrobatic Feats in Homer-An Ancient Banquet - Feats with the Hoop-The Sword Dance-The Young Hippoclides of AthensHe misses a Splendid Marriage.

LEAPING, though carried to extremes, was a natural and becoming exercise, which could without any impropriety be practised in public. This character entitled it to a place among the Olympic games and to the laurel crowns which were accorded to the winners. But besides classical leaping, there was another variety less natural, which among us is known as acrobatic tumbling, and is of very high antiquity. In the "Iliad" and the " Odyssey" it is mentioned as having been practised at the fêtes celebrated at the palace of Menelaus the Lacedæmonian, in honour of the marriage of his daughter, when two tumblers went through their performances before the assembled nobles. Upon the shield of Achilles Vulcan represented tumblers who leapt and turned themselves upside down. These feats were chiefly performed at wedding and holiday rejoicings, and were generally accompanied by the music of the flute. Women did not hesitate to take part in them; and the gravest authors of antiquity have condescended to record the achievements of the female acrobats.

Gallus entertained a number of friends at his house at Piræa, on the occasion of a victory gained in the public games by a young man of his acquaintance. Meeting

Socrates, with a number of his disciples, he invited them to join his guests. A great banquet was never complete without the attendance of a flatterer and a buffoon, and accordingly a certain person named Philip soon appeared, who united in himself the two offices. The repast finished, the table cleared, the company poured their libations, and sang the customary hymn in honour of Apollo. The amusements then began; amongst the performers was a very able player upon the flute, and a female dancer whose feats of suppleness and tumbling were remarkable. The former commenced an air upon his instrument, while an attendant supplied the danseuse with about twenty hoops; these she took, and while dancing, threw them up into the air with such skill that in coming back to her hand they fell marking the time of the music. Socrates, to whom the slightest incident was matter for reflection, observed that "woman is an intelligent being, quick to learn and to imitate, and would be second to man in nothing but for the want of physical strength." Afterwards they brought her a wide hoop, in the rim of which naked swords, with their points directed inwards, were fastened. Through this the dancer made a number of somersaults, much to the alarm of the spectators, who feared that she would lacerate herself, but she acquitted herself in the most daring and successful manner without a single accident. A number of wonderful feats were then performed with a wheel, and when she had finished, Philip, the

Ancient Tumbler.

buffoon, attempted to imitate her, but in caricature, and always purposely taking the wrong way. "It appears to me,” here objected Socrates, "that for tumblers to leap through a hoop mars the character of a gay and joyous festival, and, indeed, it is difficult to understand what pleasure there can be in witnessing such spectacles. Is it more amusing to see a handsome woman twirling and contorting herself in making backward tumbles than to see her calm and composed? When a couple of young performers dance to the sound of

Another Scene.

the flute, attired in the elegant costume of the Graces, the Seasons, or the Nymphs, well and good, the picture is a simple and a pleasing one."

Many of the feats and perilous leaps alluded to above are represented upon vases, sculptured stones, or other ancient relics which have been preserved to the present day. One represents a woman who walks upon her hands, while with one foot she seizes some vessel, and with the other ladles it into a cup, a second female regarding the spectacle with astonishment. Another tablet shows a woman throwing a somersault within a circle of swords fixed in the ground, their points directed upwards. In ancient times, however, a man moving in good society was not permitted to indulge in acrobatic feats, and young Hippoclides learned this fact

at very great expense, as may be seen from the following narrative, taken from Herodotus:

"Clisthenes, King of Sicyon, who had raised his family to the highest renown, had a daughter, named Agarista, whom he desired to see married to the most accomplished man in all Greece. At the Olympic games, after having carried away the prize for chariot racing, he caused his herald

to make this proclamation: "Whoever among the Greeks considers himself worthy to become the son-in-law of Clisthenes, has only to present himself at Sicyon within sixty days, or sooner, if more suitable. At the end of the year Clisthenes will name the man whom he prefers for his daughter's hand.' All the Greeks who thought themselves worthy set out for Sicyon as candidates. In order to put their valour to the proof, the king caused an arena to be prepared for wrestling and foot racing. Accordingly, they found themselves all gathered together on the appointed day. Clisthenes began by inquiring the country and the parentage of each, and afterwards kept them at his court for