With the exception of the standing swing and the feet swing, all the exercises of the _fixed bar_ can be performed on the trapeze. Some special swings are also risked, such as the _passe ventre_, which is executed by throwing one’s self over the trapeze. But the most popular of these exercises is the simple flight from one trapeze to the other, with a few yards’ interval to be crossed between them. This infatuation is explicable, for there is no doubt that this performance gives us the best opportunity of admiring as in apotheosis the beauty of the human form, and this is the reason why the idea of placing young girls upon the trapeze was so quickly grasped. With the advent of woman, passion and crime made their appearance in the serene atmosphere of the aerial realms; which, like the republic of Aristophanes’ _Birds_, extend beyond the reach of human perversity. You have all felt the anxiety which seizes the heart during the _flight supported_ (_voltige en porteurs_), when one of these young girls hangs by the feet to her trapeze—hushes the music, and in the sudden silence calls to her companion— “_Are you ready?_” The youngest of the two acrobats is mounted upon her [p263] saddle; with eye and muscle strained she watches the trapeze, which advances towards her in waves of rhythmical movements approaching nearer each time. [Illustration] Suddenly the word is given— “_Go!_” [Illustration] The youthful body launched by the trapeze like a stone from a sling, crosses the whole width of the circus, and the [p264] flying girl clasps the hands of her companion. The shock causes the two bodies to sway together for an instant, then they free themselves, and with a double somersault reach the net. You can imagine how easily a jealous girl can rid herself of a rival in those few minutes. An imperceptible movement of the loins, the delay of one-tenth of a second, and the girl flying through space is condemned to death. This misfortune recently happened through an accident, but there are some criminal cases of it. One of these incidents has been related already. The two heroines were called “Ohia” and “Nella.” The advertisement styled them “sisters,” but they were only companions in their aerial work. They detested each other with the indescribable artist-jealousy, in spite of their entry hand in hand and their stage smiles. It happened that the applause was warmer for Nella, the vaulter, than for Ohia who caught her; and on this [p265] account the miserable girl hated her companion so intensely that she resolved to kill her. One day, therefore, when after the great spring Ohia grasped Nella by her hands, an abrupt movement suddenly precipitated the young girl outside the net. Fortunately the shock was not too violent to allow Nella to catch hold of the cord as she fell. She remained suspended, dazzled for one moment, clinging to the saving line.