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." Inthe course of my chequered existence I have heard many varieties of"music," even to the Javanese Gamelang and a tin on a rosined string, butfor downright fiendishness of discord I should be inclined to give the palmto the orchestra of a French merry-go-round.The effect is heightened by thefact that just within earshot on either side a similar instrument of torture isplaying a different tune with equal energy.In another form of merry-go-round there are no horses.The actors in thiscase stand in couples, generally lady and gentleman, each grasping anupright brass pillar, extending from floor to ceiling of the machine.As thecircle revolves, a smaller circle, cut out of the flooring, and having the brasspillar for its axis, turns also, so that each couple moves round and round itsown particular pillar with a sort of waltzing movement, pretty enough to thebeholder, though I should think rather vertiginous to the partiesimmediately concerned.The movements of the Mer sur Terre, or "Sea onLand," must be even more trying.Here six good-sized yachts, with sailscomplete, are carried round the circle, each pitching fore and aft, andheaving up and down in the most painfully realistic manner.Each boatcarries ten or a dozen passengers, to whom certainly ought to be added asteward and stewardess, with the usual professional appliances.Tocomplete the illusion the affair is worked by a steam-engine in the centre,so that the fortunate passengers have without extra charge the genuine smellof the steam and of the fragrant oil used to lubricate the machinery.In another portion of the fair was a Montagne Russe, or Inclined Railway.The car in this case rushes violently down a steep incline, and by the forceof its impetus is carried up another, returning the same way.The speed withwhich it travels is alarming even to mere spectators, but to enhance thesensation the car is made to spin round rapidly on its own axis during itsflight.For persons who were less in love with danger, but yearned for violentexercise, there was another form of merry-go-round, mounted (instead ofhorses) with bicycles, solidly fixed in their places in the circle, the ridersthemselves supplying the motive power.Each rider seemed to work hishardest, and the speed at which they managed to send the machine flyinground was something almost incredible.Another "bicycle" merry-go-roundwas constructed after the fashion of the "race-game" so popular atContinental kursaals, the riders travelling in concentric circles, to thehttp://thelearnedpig.com.pa/magos/books/conjdick/023.html (2 of 5) [4/23/2002 3:37:21 PM] Chapter XXIaccompaniment of the demoniac "orchestra."The Tir or shooting-gallery is one of the most popular forms of amusementat all French merry-makings, and a considerable amount of ingenuity isexpended in procuring objects at once inexpensive and attractive for themarksman to shoot at.At one gallery the display was zoological.The noblesportsman could enjoy for a nominal consideration (and in perfect safety) ashot at the most ferocious beasts of the forest.The lion, the tiger, and therhinoceros spread their respective broadsides to his aim, and if he hit themin a vital part (indicated by a neat bull's eye placed on the spot) his prowesswas rewarded by the gift of half-a-dozen macaroons.In another gallery thechoice of the marksman lay between a very large and a very small soldier,the bull's eye in each case being placed (uncomfortable thought) just in thepit of the stomach.In others, the marksman took his choice of aiming at anyone of a number of suspended tobacco pipes, hanging so as to form neatand appropriate designs, and at once indicating, by flying to smithereens,when the shooter succeeded in hitting one of them.A prettier, but moredifficult mark, was a white ball, or a blown egg, dancing in front of a darkbackground on the top of the jet of a fountain.I pass over the wild-beast and other curiosity shows, which were neitherbetter nor worse than we find at fairs in England [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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." Inthe course of my chequered existence I have heard many varieties of"music," even to the Javanese Gamelang and a tin on a rosined string, butfor downright fiendishness of discord I should be inclined to give the palmto the orchestra of a French merry-go-round.The effect is heightened by thefact that just within earshot on either side a similar instrument of torture isplaying a different tune with equal energy.In another form of merry-go-round there are no horses.The actors in thiscase stand in couples, generally lady and gentleman, each grasping anupright brass pillar, extending from floor to ceiling of the machine.As thecircle revolves, a smaller circle, cut out of the flooring, and having the brasspillar for its axis, turns also, so that each couple moves round and round itsown particular pillar with a sort of waltzing movement, pretty enough to thebeholder, though I should think rather vertiginous to the partiesimmediately concerned.The movements of the Mer sur Terre, or "Sea onLand," must be even more trying.Here six good-sized yachts, with sailscomplete, are carried round the circle, each pitching fore and aft, andheaving up and down in the most painfully realistic manner.Each boatcarries ten or a dozen passengers, to whom certainly ought to be added asteward and stewardess, with the usual professional appliances.Tocomplete the illusion the affair is worked by a steam-engine in the centre,so that the fortunate passengers have without extra charge the genuine smellof the steam and of the fragrant oil used to lubricate the machinery.In another portion of the fair was a Montagne Russe, or Inclined Railway.The car in this case rushes violently down a steep incline, and by the forceof its impetus is carried up another, returning the same way.The speed withwhich it travels is alarming even to mere spectators, but to enhance thesensation the car is made to spin round rapidly on its own axis during itsflight.For persons who were less in love with danger, but yearned for violentexercise, there was another form of merry-go-round, mounted (instead ofhorses) with bicycles, solidly fixed in their places in the circle, the ridersthemselves supplying the motive power.Each rider seemed to work hishardest, and the speed at which they managed to send the machine flyinground was something almost incredible.Another "bicycle" merry-go-roundwas constructed after the fashion of the "race-game" so popular atContinental kursaals, the riders travelling in concentric circles, to thehttp://thelearnedpig.com.pa/magos/books/conjdick/023.html (2 of 5) [4/23/2002 3:37:21 PM] Chapter XXIaccompaniment of the demoniac "orchestra."The Tir or shooting-gallery is one of the most popular forms of amusementat all French merry-makings, and a considerable amount of ingenuity isexpended in procuring objects at once inexpensive and attractive for themarksman to shoot at.At one gallery the display was zoological.The noblesportsman could enjoy for a nominal consideration (and in perfect safety) ashot at the most ferocious beasts of the forest.The lion, the tiger, and therhinoceros spread their respective broadsides to his aim, and if he hit themin a vital part (indicated by a neat bull's eye placed on the spot) his prowesswas rewarded by the gift of half-a-dozen macaroons.In another gallery thechoice of the marksman lay between a very large and a very small soldier,the bull's eye in each case being placed (uncomfortable thought) just in thepit of the stomach.In others, the marksman took his choice of aiming at anyone of a number of suspended tobacco pipes, hanging so as to form neatand appropriate designs, and at once indicating, by flying to smithereens,when the shooter succeeded in hitting one of them.A prettier, but moredifficult mark, was a white ball, or a blown egg, dancing in front of a darkbackground on the top of the jet of a fountain.I pass over the wild-beast and other curiosity shows, which were neitherbetter nor worse than we find at fairs in England [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]