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7>ius, who possessed 'uncommon strength of body, insomuchthat he could break a horse’s jaw with the blow of his fist,break the thigh of the same animal by kicking it, and draga couple of oxen at his pleasure ; but, upon recollection,this man should not be classed with those before described,for his personal strength was equalled by his uncommonsize and gigantic stature: his wife’s bracelet served him fora thumb ring. Ilis appetite bore an equal proportion tohis other powers, having the allowance of loity pounds offlesh and six gallons of wine per day, without a debauch ineither. He had been originally a Thracian shepherd ; wastaken into the body guard of the Emperor Severus ; firstattracted royal attention by beating sixteen horses following,in running; then having outrun several men, and lastlytired the Emperor ’s charger. s

A feat of the former description of persons was frequentlyperformed by one Firmus, or Firmius, in the fourth century.He was a native of Seleucia in Syria , and he attempted toset himself up as an Emperor of Egypt , but was eventuallyexecuted by order of Aurelian . He could sutler a commonsmith’s anvil to be beaten upon his breast, at the same timesupporting his weight upon his feet and shoulders, betweentwo pillars, so that he appeared suspended in the air, hisbody forming an arch; which Desagnliers explained ina course of experimental philosophy, delivered in London ,anno 1745.

The ancients had several names for different sorts ofrope-dancers, as schwnobata, oribatce, neurobat a, petami-narii, funambuli, 8cc. which appear to have been giventhem from the different manner of their performances.Rope-dancers also abounded in the middle ages ; in 1237they were common in Italy ; and in 1393 they were atAugsburg, in Germany ; their pay there was from eachspectator, three German halfpence. They sometimes ex-hibited on ropes suspended from the "masts of shipping.The present Madame Sachi, astonishes the London people,bv ascending or descending a rope reaching from the top ofour theatres to the stage, which she performs with her feetalone, carrying lighted flambeaux in her hands.

Equilibrists, are also of the same business, and what arecalled wire-dancers; we have in London , daily, very cleverpeople from all countries, in those bodily exercises ; withmany dextrous horses in the amphitheatre, Westminster-

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J Roman History.

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