EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN A MENAGERIE.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1581, 18 March 1887, Page 4

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN A MENAGERIE.

A MESMKHIST AJIOSO THE I.TOXS.

A frightful scene has just taken place at Dijon. A mesmerist, 11 Torcy, ( accompanied bj his subject, a cataleptic young person, Darned Mdlle. Lucia, entered a cage of lions in Signor Salva'a menagerie. The animals teemed at first quite stupefied on seeing strange persons before tbem, but tbey soon began to show their mclar broadsides, and to prepare for action. M. Torcy lost no I' time,and, bavinptoldher to fix her gaze on the beasts and to place her arms before them, which she did with perfect impunity, she was then plunged into a cataleptic fit, her body was stiffened and her feet and legs fastened to two stools. The animals goaded by the keepers and by rigorous thrusts from M. Torcy's sticks, were made to jump several times over the young woman's body. This inhuman exercise was continued until the audience, wound up to the highest pitch of terror and excitement owing to ominous growling of the infuriated lions, cried out " Enough." The three actors in this extraordinary scene were loudly acclaimed by the spectators; but it is to be hoped, in the interests of civilisation, that authorities at Dijon will speedily put a stop to any repetition of the degrading spectacle, which was more worthy of an assembly of Cherokee Indians t*ian of the inhabitants of a large and prosperous French city.