Fitzgeralds' Circus & Menagerie

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 144, 17 December 1895, Page 2

Fitzgeralds' Circus & Menagerie

After an extended tour through America, England, and the Continental cities of the Old World, Messrs Fitzgerald Bros, have returned to New Zealand with their already, famous New London Company, circus, and menagerie, the principals being — Madame Adeline An* tonio (from the -Royal Aquarium), Professor Peart (the champion high diver), the talking horse " Mahomet," the Brothers Eclair from Paris, &c, and in conjunction with the above combination we are to have the full strength of the circus and menagerie, both of which have been greatly added to since their last appearance in Feilding. The Taranaki Herald gives a very flattering notice of the circus, and says ; " The performance opened with the usual tumbling feats over horses, in which some dozen members of the circus took part. Horse after horse was brought out, and one tumbler created considerable applause by clearing the lot. The pony Commodore was put through several manoeuvres, including rolling a block, walking round the ring, and playing see-saw with another pony. Hurdle acts, bareback riding, and several other equestian feats were performed, all being executed in a clever and gracefnl manner. The first of the novelties introduced to the public was the contor- , tion acts of the Eclair Bros. The way these two acrobats twisted themselves about would lead one to believe that they had no spines, as they appeared to, be able to twist themselves into any shape. One of the brothers balanced himself in the air by means of a small mouthpiece fixed on a rod, which was placed on a table, the whole weight of the body being borne by the teethMdlle. Antonio, the Roumanian trapez. ist, gave a fearless exhibition on the swing and hanginp rope, and after a variety of exercises dived from the trapese into a net. The elite tumbling feats of the Alton Bros, were very cleverly and gracefully, done. The menagerie act, in which the younger acrobats of the company appeared dressed np as dumb animals, was as funny as the most exacting could wish. The programme concluded with the sensational dive by Professor Peart. Professor Probasco introduced the educated horse, Mahomet, and in a number of ways showed the audience to what extent the equine's intelligence can be trained."