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Family Notices

I Too Small to Find. I

OUR ART ALBUMS.

THE FATAL GLOVE FIGHT.

BRECON EISTEDDFOD.

LADY MARGARET.

Literary Staff.

Lerd Bute's Scotch Shootings.

[No title]

HEAD TEACHERS' SALARIES.

CARDIFF PIER TOLLS.

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

GROCERS' LICENCES.

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NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

SUICIDE SUPPOSED.

LATE REV. P. NEVILLE ANDREWS.

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Playing with a Python

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Playing with a Python SNAKE CHARMER AT THE CAR- DIFF EMPIRE. The Indian Princess Shows her Strang* Powers and TeUs of Hairbreadth Escapes. "No;, they're just in their wild state, but some are getting used to my handling of them," said Princess Nala Damajanti to one of our repre- sentatives, who had stepped round to the stages at the Empire, Cardiff, after he had seen thatl lady's performance with the snakes on Tuesday-' night. Just thea there was the sound of hissing, immediately followed by a jump and a shriek, the former from a huge python and both the latter from our reporter, who did not show such' supreme contempt for snakes as did the Indian Princess. The lady, by the bye, is a. native of Pondicherry, a. Freneh settlement ta India, and is of French descent. Takiaf the snake which had alarmed the pressman, aht said, in her pretty broken English, "t per- formed with this one. for the first time an M.. day night." "Then it has not been trained at a.ll?" "They are never trained, but come straight to me from the dealers in Hamburg and Ant- werp," answered the Princess; and again she laughed heartily at our reporter's expression of alarm when a couple of heads, from which the forked tongues were protruding, appeared above the top of the box. "Have you ever had a serious aecident with [ them?" queried the reporter. "No, but many narrow escapes. My manager, Mr. Palmer, hae maAY times had to run on the stage, and hasl only just tabea them off my neck in the nick of time. Oh, yes," she added to another remark, "I've travelled aU over the world with snakes. I was with Bar- Bum in the States a long time, and' have fecea touring altogether about eight years." At that moment ltr- Palner, the stalwart manager, came along, and N&la. ran to change her costume and left the reporter with the manager. "How is it done, you ask? Well, it's more the woman than anything else. She seems to have a wonderful mastery over the snakes, aad instead of them fascinating her, she seems to, fascinate them." "And what do they cost?" "That just depends on the market aad the size of the reptile. The dealers get a. couple of hundred over at once, but the price gene- rally paid for the large) ones is between JEW) and jBoO, whilst for the smaller ones I ha.ve paid as little as £10. You only keep the large kind now, I suppose ?" "Yee; only pythons and boa constriefcore. Formerly NaAa worked with saiaJler snake*, of the ring and green kind, but, thmk- ing the big snakes would create more excite- ment, changed." They need a lot. of cam, eff course?" Yes. Just look in this bo& and Mr. Palmer opened a box and began taking out a number of blankets, in each of which was wr«rvn< -3. a <>liakü- Th«ir J.aan;n«rutoti'«i;" ho con tamed, "mu."t always be carefully regu- lated, especially in the winter. Then they are torpid to some extent, but in the warm weather they are exceedingly lively, and, as a conse- quence, muoh more difficult to perform with." How many do you carry ?" "A uoaen." and, picking up a reptile about 16ft. long, remarked, This is a boa, and beautifully marked- Ah, would you!" as the snake opened his jaws, and then the manager dropped him into his blanket. How do you feed them?" Oh. on rabbits aDd fowls. We put them is ateve. and they eat them at their leisure. Sometimes the rabbits and birds crouch in a corner for hours quite hypnotised, and then of a sudden you hear a hiss and a squeal, and all is over." These saakes are not poisonous, are the.y ?" Oh, no; but they have tT-eiaendous crush- ing power, and frequently start to grip Mdlle. Nala. Once one caught- the Princess round the neck, and put on such a tremendous pres- sure that it made her nose bleed. She fell, and, seeing the danger, I rushed acd took i; off." And then the Princess came back, and smiled pleasantly as she caught a fragment of the last statement, and said, Yes; that was the most narrow escape I've had. I've hod lotp of bites, but always cauterise them, and nothing serious has followed. Ah, get dQW11 I" as a python put its head into her hand, and, as it took little notice, Nala quietly lifted it by its neck and put it to bed, as it were, in the blanket. Here Mr. Palmer interposed with the remark that to-morrow the pet., were to have their weekly hot bath, and added, "They want a« much looking after as children." Our reporter then wished the Princess and her manager Good sight," and weet off down the stairs, not, however, without many a glance behind him. The performance is (extremely fascinating". The stage is prettily set with a. square of steel netting and pillars. In the background are a couple of red boxes, and to the weird Indiaa musio played by the orchestra Princess Dwmar janti steps into the enclosure. and at Ollce commences to play with the snakes. Slie allows them to twist and turn themselves about her, and by resting them on the rails forms couch, upon which she reclines. Afterwards she places about half a dozen round her aecfe and so carries them around and drops them into the box. Afterwards a python about 15ft. long, a snake new to the business, and oilly just over from its native heath, is drawn frfm its blanket, and at once expresses its displeasure of the whole proceeding by frequent and pro- longed hissing, and jumps at the Pri»cess, wto. however, nimbly declines its advances, a|id finally pins it in a owner and lifts it by die neck and tail. Princes Nala has a wonderful power over them, and does almost what likes with them. Her eyes glisten even mftre than those of the s-snakeis, and on Moittiay night, it is stated, caused such aAajrm in the minds of one of the stage h&nds—the manafljer, Mr. Donelly—as to start him ringing the fire alarm. But that is only a statement, to which we do not give credence. Our business is with snakes. The audiencc during the whole performance stem to hold their breath, and at Che finish heave a sigh of relief, and reward the plucky and daring ladv with rowsd after round of applause. Without doubt t(ie show is fa** beyond anything yet seen at t'fce Empire, and is well worth a visit. —

!THE STATE CONCERT.

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