HALF AN HOUR WITH BLONDIN.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5723, 26 January 1876, Page 2

HALF AN HOUR WITH BLONDIN.

Thf newest sensation in Auckland is Chevaliir Blondin. The -wonders of Wilson's Palm e Circus, and the emotional excitement of tlio " Shaughraun " having had their day, tin gu \t funambulist comes upon the scene and in turn abso.bs popular attention. There are probablj i omparatively few persons in Auckland who saw the Chevalier in his never-to-be forgotten feats at the Crystal Palace, and in other parts of Britain in 1861, and 1872, and still fewer, if any, who witnessed his wonderful and unparallelled performance on the rope o\er the mighty roaring falls of Niagara. In fact.save what might be gathered from occasional paragraphs appearing from time to time in a fugitive way, the public know little of Blondiu, beyond entertaining a vague sort of belief that he is the mo-it extraordinary tight rope performer of the age, if not that the world, has ever produced We, theiefore, make no apology for devoting a portion of our space to a notice of the Chevalier, 1101 do we think it necessary to offer any excuse for the adoption of a com 30, somewhat unusual to us, that of sending a member of our staff specially to " inter\ it\v" him. So miuh has been written of Blondin, that it 11 not easv to say anything new of him. The lei<lm o '" linti-ili, Amcriun, t'oiitinental, Asiitio, ami Austiahan journals have e\h lifted the linguago of paneg)iic m t \tolling his feati, and then* mventne faculties in finding new titles for him. He has been dubbed "Kmpcr.ir of Manila," "1, >rl of the Hempen Realm," "King of the Tight lope," "Monaich of the Cable." and a host of other titles have been showered upon him. He has performed in the presence of the Piince of Wales and the anstociacy of Bntain ; the Emperor of Germany once set aside the Royal Hunting Gardens at Berlin for a performance, and detached 300 soldieis as a guard , King Victor Emanuel ga\e him the use of the Public Promenade at Florence, and e\eu P10 Nino deigned to give him a place in Home for a peif.mnance, though whether the Pope himself w as amongst the special pations on the occasion histoiy not. When Warsaw was in a state of siege Blondm was there. A performance was out of the question in the city, but the inventive genius of a smart agent got o\or the difficulty. By a personal interview w ith the authorities ke secured passes fiom the city for all who desued to witness a peifoimance outside, and by this 1 means 80,000 peisons were provided with egress. A personal inters lew with Blondin is by no means easy of achievement The Chevalu 1 has been 111 Anieiiea, and. after his experiences tlieie, is shy of leporteis. To vise his own words, " The)' a^>k so many curious questieiis. ' Two 01 three of these " mter\ieweii' were enough foi the Chevalier. Forthwith he registeicd a deep \ow that henceforth aud for ever ho would eschew those inquisitive "gentlemen of the Press" who asked him such ''curious questions," and for years past he has contnvedjto pass almost scatheless. In England he found an ad\cn<urous reporter, employed on the Iiu minghain New* "too many for him," and it remained fora representathe of the Dai ia Soctherx Cross again to penetrate the interdicted limits. It was, however, a matter of no little difficulty. The first attempt was an unmitigated failure "The Chevalier wag indisposed ;"" the Chevalier didn't want to see anybody ;" "the Chevalier was engaged at his evening's devotions;" in short, the Chevalier "had gone to bed" (at 9 a. in ), and it was as much as the life of Mons. Niand, the private secretary and A.D. C , or any one else was worth, to distuib him Disheartened, but not beaten, our repiesentative resolved to try again on a more favourable occasion. On Tuesday, just after the Choialici lia'l cnjoy^il an excellent luncheon, and might be fairly presumed to be in an agieeable mood, the tisk wa-> a^ain essayed. The handsome and obliging yo.ing lady who condescended to accept the " pasteboard " of 0111 repiesentatiVQ appeared to \iew the thing as an impossibility. To her unsophisticated mind the idea of a repoiter wanting to «ecure an interview with the distinguished occupant of the fashionable suite of r.paitments upstairs was something like attempting to penetrate the mjsterious veil that shrouds the J^npeioi of China or the King of Siam. Nevertheless, Mons. Niand, the polite, dappjr little Ficnchman who occupies the distinguished appointment of private secret uv and .\ DC to thj Chevalier, promise 1 to use his good oihees on behalf of our represcntatne Mons. Niand benj, niorcovei, a mm of tiet and ready sympathy, adopted one of those happy expedients whieh woild mt'ii Uly ociiu to the mind ot a pihtc French-nan, ami an experienced agcit, by handing our reporter a pimphlet entitled — ''Blondin on the Rope,"' the peiu-ul of which pamphlet aforesaid appeased his impatience, and prepared him tj meet the great ropewalker with becoming equanimity of mind. IIa\ nig devoted halt an hour to digesting the contents of this pamphlet, our lepreseutative was politely requested to "walk up " ChevaLeT Blondin was found playing a lively tune on the piano in the drawingroom, and the reception was conde seending The introductory hand shaking h id to be dispensed with, as the Chevalier's light-arm had not lecovcred from an injury sustained on the pis&age fiom Sidney, when a sudden hitch ot the steamer sent a nice little party into a heap on the deck, accompanied by a shower of di aught-boards and pieces. Mastering the almost impeicoptible expression of pain th it flitt.d acio^s his face ai our repoiter announced the object of his visit, the Chevalier motioned him to a chair, and resigned himself to his fate Reporter : You have a honor of repot ters, I observe, Chevalier Blondin : Well, you see, in America they are so very pi 1 •.rreraitf By gar, sir, they want to know everything. J aunt fnaiuotip />> mini It ur*, but sometimes, iW trap Mona. Nund : Yes, they used to come too often. Report* R : Do you think you will be able to perform on Saturday ? Blo.n din • Well, that depends upon the state of my arm. Mons. Ni ind. Le Chevalier told Dr. Goldsbro' that if he would cure him before Saturday he (the doctor) should be the first to be carried across the rope on his back. RhPORTER : Did he accept the offer ? Bi.ovmx : No. Ilia refill am la pi in ijnnul pohttwt. But Mons. Coombes, the niauhant d<' drop and tin des brant, has consented afom 1'tj.plutt (to do the feat). Reportfr (to Mons. Niand) : Do you not sometimes feel af laid when you are carried across the rope at a great height ? Mons. Nivvi). No, I have become etccoutuw a la c/zosc (accustomed to the thing) ; but I would not go over on the back of any other man. J'at um enth re conjiume 1 n fa t. (I have entire confidence in him.) Reporter • Do you not feel any loss of power, Chevalier, as you grow older (Blondin is within a month of .jO)— any unsteadiness of the nerves ' Rionjdiv: Qiiiind frtni^ jtmif j'uvaii fulltuitnt hardi, m<ti-< mainti nunt t'eit (out a fait nut) 1' <7<.*s. (When I was young I was foolhatd), but now it is quite another thing) I walk on the lope and do everything coolly, though I do things more dangerous than I did then Rfportfr : I believe you once offered to cairy the Prince of Wales over the rope across the Falls of Niagara 9 Blondin : Oh, yes. That was in 1860, when I crossed the rope on stilts. Le Prince tb' Clalh 1 was there with all la noble&a , and when I finished he said — "Thank Heaven it is over !" He was very much pleased, and he wasfooi eionne (much astonished); and when I returned to the hotel I received a letter from his secretaire with un pn -.cut. Reporter : What did be say to your offer? Bloxuik : Oh, le prince laughed with complakance, *nd us he i« couragtux, it

ftait possible that he might have ventiued, j but his sultt t'cntrtmaiawnt (interfeicd). | Reporter : And I have heard that j on offered wlrle in I omlon to carry the Tich borne Claimant on your back along a Hin. rope > Blondin (shiiigging his shouldeis) : Sa pristi ' (/ (fail trap (jro* (he was too fat) Ke said, "Let my case m the Couit be finished fiist I do not want to lose my f.")0,000"a-year, and jour lite." Mafui' d eta if plan df bond TlEroRTr.it . Do \ou not feel wearied of your long life of danger and adventure, and wish for retirement and rest ? Bloxdin • Jl »' y a point de danger (there is no danger at all) ; but I ha\e desned to see le vionde Depmt qmitre ani (since foul jeais) I have been sur la cordi (on the lope), and it is all the same as uwr<he -in le phuuhei (walking on the floor) Um foi* 1 ha\e settled for twehe months, but I was soon enmnje (tired) and nco/n >i»mut<> (began again) Kh-outkk : Possibly the love of applause may influence you '! Blovdin' : Jf pcu-e nui oiii nn pen (1 think so, a little), but I love to travel rt votr de* rUniji -, >i<>>n<?aiiL (and see new faces). In fmther conversation, we elicited the following infoimation • — When ciossing the Niagara Falls for the first time his feelings weie "nothing at all " He always knew the men he earned over. Then lives depended upon the steadme3s of then ner\es, and they weie generally very cool Dm ing Ins pcrfoimanccs at the Crystal Palace many offioeia of the Guauls made wngeis that they ■would go o\ er on his back, and the numbei of aspirants for the honoui became so great that he had to charge a considerable fee for it. He has performed for 45 years on the rope, and only had one accident, which nearly cost him his life He had wheeled a bairow across the iope, but the awkwaidne^s of an attendant, placed on the platfonn to lecene the wheelbanow, tilted him oft the iope. He caught the l ope in his fall, hung by one leg, and lecovercd himself The audience thought it was a sensational trick, and cnod out "dkwi '' He uses a pole about 30tt. long, w eighing 401b His preparations ai e simple. He does not chalk the soles of Ins feet, as the ordmai y rope-walkers do. He usually performs in the dress of an Indian chief, but in his great feat of carrying a sto\e and cooking a meal on the rope, he dresses « fa jSoyer. The first mm he earned over the Niagara Fall ■> was an American, named Hany Colcoid He weighed 14.">lb , the Chevalier weighing only l^olb Another man whom he took over asked him to " pay the nionoy to his mother, if ho m<id< a iiu*t((l'< '" Ac Buffalo he euned a thcatiieal managoi, named Cur, who pi eviously made his will, and never tncd it again Ho has appealed at ditteient times to assemblages of "20,000, 33,000, and S">,00 ) potsuiis At the Ci y-tal Palaej thu lope w \s llm in diameter, ISOft. fiodi the pavement, and 31S!t long At NiagaiA it was .'500ft high and 1,100ft. in length. The length ot the iope in the monster pa\ihon behind Government House will be about 2 >Oft , aiul the height neailv .">Oft At the Cijstil Palace lie uscil to wheel lii^ little dang'itei along the iope in a wheelbairow, but the authontn s stopped it It was in IS.jS he conceived the idea of noising a ropJ stretched acioss the fall*, of Xia^-ua. In ISoi) he took rooms at the Falls Hotel, and gut his iope sti etched He was then called " TIk- ca/.y rienehman," and even one bche\ed the proposed feat nn . ])ossiblo. On June 30, lS.">0, he crossed m the pitsuice of l.">,000 people. On July 4 he ckvslI with his legs in a aajk. O'ltlie l'lth August he earned over a man how icr than himself On the liTth he crossed with hi-, hinds shackled, stood on his head, w ilked back w aids with his feet in wicker b\,kets, and walked blindfolded with his huad in a sack. But this is not all. He li^j on his baek on the rope ; turns soinersiults backwaids and foiwards ; stands on one leg ; hangs on by one leg ; pretends to staggei, and, aa an eye-witnes^f writes, " recovers his balance at the moment when the pale lookers-on below expect to sec him come tumbling down ;" carries a table and chair on the rope, and sits down and di inks wine ; carries a stove weighing 301b. , dishes, food, &c , and cooks an omelette ; walks and dances along the rope on stilts ; climbs over a chair ; turns somer&aults on the rope all the while plajing a tune on a violm ; ditto with a dium ; nins along the rope on a bycielc ; goes over amidst a bhower of fneworks from his helmet and a wheelbanow, and gene ally does all manner of mipiiulleljd, extraordinary, and highly sensational feat Moiu Blcndin is a chevalier of the\eiy old and di^tnmuis'ied Civil Older of Spam, conferred by (,» ie mi I-jibelli ot Spa-n He has many valuable presentation medals, souvenns, an I tj&'unmials, woihh much money He is a man of about the middle height, with a detn mined, stolid expression of countcnanance : a man not to be unnerved by the roar of Nixgira His fiame i a well knit :<nd muscular Oil the rope he drosses plainly, in fait he might be mistaken foi an ordinary farmer, oi a retired soldier. His gait is peculiar, in fact a little awkward, and no casual observer would believe him to be such an extra0'illllirv e.(Ulhbnst, or hinambuli^>t, ailio ij classically stjlud by Ainencans On the ropj he appc.us to move entuely fiom the hij)^, keeping the upper pait of his body inflexibly steady, and Ina foot seems to cling to the rope with the grasp of an ape, an animal whose feats he has mutated and outdone in public. Those who wish to see Blondin " oil the iope " may gratify their cuuosity by \ lsiting the site of the monster pavilion in couise of erection in the paddock behind Government House Here they may see a stout plain looking man, with a determined soldieily type of face, superintending the w ork, and often assisting with his own hands. Of Blondin's exploits a volume might be written, but in the above we have glanced at some of the more interesting points We have said enough, however, to give our readers a foretaste of what may be witnessed a few days hence.