How did the fire eater Mayhew interviewed become one and what was his early life like?

The the fire eater was the son of a barber educated in private schools. He was expelled for cutting school and helped his father in the barber shop for three months. Struck by the desire for a more interesting life, and travel, he ran away when the Greenwich Fair came to town. He first worked the door for a show, then began performing as a singer for tips, then apprenticed to a fire eater.