A LADY WRESTLER.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 4871, 24 January 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

A LADY WRESTLER.

A CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH. (Prom Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, December 5. “Lady” wrestlers have been quite a feature of Loudon music-hall performances during the past twelve months, and if the spectacle of a couple of buxom wenches in tights pawing and struggling and indulging in all tho antics and posturing associated with “catch-as-cateh-can” is not edifying it is on occasion diverting in the extreme. Last Friday afternoon a colonial friend turned vp, wishful to be shown some of tho sights of Loudon. Being mail day, I had renforce to “cry off,” and as he was at a loose end I packed him in a hansom .-.nd sent him off to see Miss Bradford and Miss Adelina Levey wrestle for the “Championship of the world” at the Rdyal Music Hall. Ho appears to have enjoyed himself mightily, and out of sheer gratitude has placed his experiences at ray disposal. He says;—“You put me on to a real good thing. First of all, a Johnny came on and gave a long explanation of what the girls were going to do, and then tho girls got to work. Levey was the bigger of the two, but Bradford went for her at once. Levey, however, wasn't anxious to got. to grips, and for about five minutes the pair of them wandered all over tho carpet, sometimes getting right out of sight behind the wings, _and next minute threatening to tumble into the orchestra. But they never got fairly hold of each other, and if I hadn’t known they were supposed to he wrestling I should have thought they were playing a new sort of blind man’s buff. Once, however, the show looked more like a prize-fight, for in trying to grab Levey’s ■neck Bradford gave that lady a traack in the face, whereupon Levey raised a threatening forefinger. Then they got together for half a moment, but the only result was a-n appeal from Bradford to Levey to “let my hair alone.” , So ended round one. In tho next stained-glass - attitudes and open-handed sparring, with Levey continually on the retreat and occasionally bumping hard against .the scenery ledfto remarks from the -audience. ‘Keep on* the carpet,' someone yelled as for the dozenth time the pair almost disappeared behind tho wings. This interruption brought forth another speech from the Johnny aforementioned. Ho explained that Levey had the right to retreat wherever she liked. The audience, however, seemed to think that as they had paid to see the ladies wrestle they had also some rights, and it struck me as only fair that if thgre was to be any wrestling it might to bo done where wo coull see it. What do yon say? However, the ladies continued to exercise their 'rights’ till the end of the round. By this time the audience was getting rather rude, so the Johnny made another speech. The gist of it was that Levey had hurt her arm the day before, and ilia I if she found she couldn’t go on after tho next bout she would forfeit her money. Levey endorsed this, but an unsympathetic brut© upstairs inquired ‘How about our money:' So the third bout started. The remarks of tho audience had evidently put the girls' backs up, for they sparred and hopped around in a ferocious fashion. They wore in deadly earnest, Bradford especially,, but beyond grabbing ono another's necks occasionally nothing came of it, except more remarks from the nud’ence. ‘Oh! do leave me alone;’ ‘Mind Die paint! ‘Oh-h, you do tickle:’ "Ware orchestra!’ were among the choicer expressions; and once a wag started to whistle ‘Dear - Old Pais.’ Throughout it all the girls worked nard, bumping the scenery and cavorting round generally. Once tremendous excitement supervened. A desperate neck grab by Lovey brought Bradford down on oneknee. But this, was the first, last and only time that any portion of either girl's body bar the feet touched the carpet. At the call of ‘Time,’ Levey retired, Bradford being awarded the stakes. The audience generally took their disappointment badly, and expressed their dissatisfaction in tho usual way, but I can truly say that X never regretted spending half a crown less. Dan Leno and Herbert Campbell couldn’t have put up a flintier show., The girls are going to wrestle ‘later on’ for .fi-iTO—perhaps. If they do I shall bo there to see them perform. even if it costs a ‘sov.’"