■*■ An Acrobat in Trouble. 41 p 



The evening before our departure, the Consul for Hamburg 

 had requested from the Commander of the Expedition the 

 favour of a free passage to Madras, on board our frigate, for 

 a native of Berhn, named Neupert. This man had come to 

 Ceylon a long time previously with a company of rope-dancers, 

 and had at first made a good deal of money as an acrobat 

 and juggler, despite the dangerous competition of the Indian 

 practitioners, but had afterwards lost his all, and had been for 

 some weeks in a pitiable plight. The request was at once 

 acceded to, and Neupert came on board during the ni"-ht. 

 His luggage did not encumber him much. However, although 

 the greatest part of his effects had disappeared in Galle, he 

 fortunately had kept his various apparatus ; and, by way of 

 showing his gratitude for the free passage that had been 

 accorded to him, professed his willingness, in the course of 

 the voyage, to give us some specimens of his skill on deck. 

 Accordingly, one fine afternoon, he gave us an entertainment 

 out on the open ocean, which not alone hugely pleased the 

 sturdy tars grouped together on the forecastle, but ultimately, 

 in consequence of a collection set on foot for the unfortunate 

 Berlin acrobat, procured him enough ready money to enable 

 him to pass the first week after his arrival at Madras free from 

 anxiety, besides supplying him with a fresh outfit. 



Within a few days after our departure from Galle, several 

 severe cases occurred of hemeralopia, chiefly among members 

 of the ship's band. Every evening, as darkness set in, these 

 men lost all power of distinguishing objects, and had to be led 



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