Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Novelists -- Fiction; Secretaries -- Fiction; Voyages and travels -- Fiction; West Indies -- Fiction
Her gown and skirts naturally dropped in a mass over her head, leaving
the hosiery and minor lingerie in full exposure, with a liberal supply
of what was undoubtedly silken tights, but was meant to simulate the
flesh of her lower limbs, in full view. For a second she remained in
this posture, and then regained her seat on the trapeze, smoothing her
skirts into place, with a pretended air of chagrin at what was intended
to be considered her accidental fall.
Next, with a bit of pantomime which indicated that concealment of her
charms was useless after what had happened, "Charmion" stood up on the
trapeze and began deliberately to disrobe, in full view of the audience,
composed nearly equally of well garbed men and women, and completely
filling the house.
She took off first her immense "picture hat," black with great ostrich
plumes, and let it fall into a net spread beneath her. Then she slowly
unbuttoned her basque and removed it, exposing some very shapely arms
and shoulders. Next came the corset, followed by a delicious rubbing
with the hands where the article had closed too tightly around the form.
The skirts tumbled to the feet, then the remaining garments, and the
woman stood in her long black stockings, blue garters encircling the
lower portion of the thighs.
At this stage I noted a special expectancy in the occupants of the front
seats--men leaning forward, with outstretched hands--the cause of which
was soon apparent. The fair occupant of the trapeze seated herself,
untied her garters and, with a moment of hesitation, cast them, one
after the other, into the crowd, where they were seized by the most
agile or most lucky of the spectators, and retained as souvenirs. Then
came, last of all, the hose themselves, and the actual work of the
performer as a trapeze artist began in earnest.
I will do Charmion the credit of admitting that her act was truly
wonderful. Suspended first by the insteps and then by nothing,
apparently, but her heels, she passed easily from one round of a
horizontal ladder to another, backward and forward, hanging head down
in mid-air.
But it was easy to see that the marvellous exhibition of skill was not
what had drawn the immense audience. It was the risqué undressing which
had done that. So far as I can learn, she had gone several paces beyond
anything in this line hitherto permitted in any reputable American
theatre.
For myself I am glad I saw it, though I would not care to see it again.
I was like the young lady who consented after some demur to take a ride
on a very steep toboggan slide. "I wouldn't have missed it for a
thousand dollars!" she exclaimed to her escort. "Let us try again," he
suggested. "Not for a million!" she responded, with equal fervor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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