A DARING PERFORMANCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 131, 10 April 1879, Page 2

A DARING PERFORMANCE.

The Era gives the following paragraph about a new Lady gymnast: Leona Dare, the lady gymnast who is to make a sensation at the Oxford on the 30th inst., lias given to the world a few particulars of her history, From these we learn that she was born in San Francisco .in 1854; that her ambition to excel in gymnastic exercises was inspired by a visit to a circus; and that among the most daring of her feats is to be numbered a trapeze performance on a balloon, which has been thus described: The balloon was duly inflated and at a quarter to 8 was cut loose, and the fine-formed Leona, in circus clothes, dangling her head downwards from the trapeze bar, holding in her teeth a strap which encircled the waist of Tommy Hall, her companion for her first, voyage in the air, left terra firnia. Everything was still as death, and it was observed that Hall weakened a iittle, but the plucky Queen of the Antilles, Leona, was perfectly cool. Just as soon as they left the earth Leona commenced spinning Hall around until it made us giddy. After this performance, and about three hundred feet in the air, they commenced their liifalutin performances, and known in show language as the double trapeze. They performed all the difficult and hazardous feats at an altitude of half-a-mile with tho same reckless daring. Up, up they went, until they were scarcely larger than our hands, and when we looked at them through a glass we breathed free, and felt relief to that they had climbed upon their trapeze bar, and were enjoying a tete-a-tete while resting from their perilous labors. Tho balloon descended rapidly, and landed about half a mile from the starting point, in an open field, and our party rode up in time to witness their alighting. Hall was eilent, while Leona laughingly said to Warner, " How was that for high ?"