mance more picturesque;
while others seem to do equally well without such adjuncts. There have
been performers of this class who play with sharp daggers while
maintaining themselves on thin and swinging wires.

Another class of equilibrists are those who maintain the upright
position resting on their heads with their feet in the air. At the
Hippodrome in Paris some years since there was a man who remained in
this position seven minutes and ate a meal during the interval. There
were two clowns at the Cirque Franconi who duplicated this feat, and
the program called their dinner "Un dejouner en tete-a-tete." Some
other persons perform wonderful feats of a similar nature on an
oscillating trapeze, and many similar performances have been witnessed
by the spectators of our large circuses.

The "human pyramids" are interesting, combining, as they do, wonderful
power of maintaining equilibrium with agility and strength. The
rapidity with which they are formed and are tumbled to pieces is
marvelous they sometimes include as many as 16 persons men, women, and
children.

The exhibitions given by the class of persons commonly designated as
"jugglers" exemplify the perfect control that by continual practice one
may obtain over his various senses and muscles. The most wonderful
feats of dexterity are thus reduced into mere automatic movements.
Either standing, sitting, mounted on a horse, or even on a wire, they
are able to keep three four, five, and even six balls in continual
motion in the air. They use articles of the greatest difference in
specific gravity in the same manner. A juggler called "Kara," appearing
in London and Paris in the summer of 1895, juggled with an open
umbrella, an eye-glass, and a traveling satchel, and received each
after its course in the air with unerring precision. Another man called
"Paul Cinquevalli," well known in this country, does not hesitate to
juggle with lighted lamps or pointed knives. The tricks of the clowns
with their traditional pointed felt hats are well known. Recently
there appeared in Philadelphia a man who received six such hats on his
head, one on top of the other, thrown by his partner from the rear of
the first balcony of the theater. Others will place a number of rings
on their fingers, and with a swift and dexterous movement toss them all
in the air, catching them again all on one finger. Without resorting to
the fabulous method of Columbus, they balance eggs on a table, and i