Untitled

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 2383, 9 February 1876, Page 3

THE WORLD RENOWNED BLONDIN. This celebrated performer on the tight rop e is now iv. Auaklaud, aad is asLoaidUiug the people there by his feats. The Southern Cross says: — M. Blondin is so celebrated that not to have seen him, at tome time or other, go through his wonderful feats, is to be unlearned in coteruporary history. No name for the last tweuty years has occupier greater prominence. His person is more familiar to the inhabitants of the great world than that of any other man of the time, and the source of thu groat popularity he enjoys lies probably in the fact that he has divested a. species of performance unutterably perilous and sensational of every vulgar element of haznrd and danger. Mons. Blondin is a chevalier of the very old aud distinguished Civil Order of Spain, conferred by Queen Isabella of Spain. He has many valuable presentation medals, souveuirs, and testimonials, worth much money-. He io a man of about the middle height, with a determined, stolid expression of countenance; a man uot to be unnerved by the roar of Niagara. His frame is well-knit and muscular. Off the rope he dresses. plainly, iv fact he might be mistaken for an ordinary farmer, or a retired soldier. His gait is peculiar, in fact a little awkward, and no casual observer would believe him to be such an ex- | traordiuary equilibrist, or funambulist, as he is classically btylud by Americans. On the rope he appears to move entirely from the hips, keeping the upper part of his body inflexibly steady, and his foot seems to cling to the rope with the grasp of an ape, an animal j whose feats he has imitated and outdone in public. | From particulars gathered by the reporter | of the same paper, we learn that when crossing the Niagara Falls for the first time, his feelings were " nothing sit all." He always knew the men lie carried over. Their lives depended upon the steadiness of their nerves, | and they were generally very cool. During j his performance at the Crystal Palace, many officers of the Guards made wagers that they would go over on his back, and the number of. ! aspirants for the honour became so great that he had to charge a considerable fee for it. He has performed for forty-live years on tho rope, and only had oue accident, wliich nearly cost him his life. He had wheeled a barrow across the rope, but tho awkwardness of an attendant, placed on the platform to receive the wheelbarrow, tilted him oil the rope. He caught thy rope in his fall, hung by one leg, and recovered himself. The audience thought it was a sensational trick, and cried out " encore .'" He uses a pole about 30 feet lon& weighing 10 Ib. His preparations are simple. He does not chalk the soles of his feet., as tho ordinary rope-walkers do. He usually performs in the dress of an Indian chief, but in his great feat of carrying a stove and cooking a meal on the rope, lie dresses ala Soyer. Tho fn-bt man he carried over tho Niagara Falls was an American, named Harry Golcord. He weighed 1 ir>ll), the Chevalier only weighing l_slb. Another man whom he took over asked him to pay tlio money to his mother, if ho made a midakcJ" At Buffalo ho carrried a theatrical manager, named Carr, who previously made his will, and never tried it again. He has appeared at different: times to assemblages of 20,000, 153.000, and 85,000 persons. At the Ciystal Paluco ho used to wheel his little daughter along the rape in a wheel-barrow, but the authorities stopped it. ]t was in 18.18 he conceived the idea of crossing a rope stretched across the falls of Niagarn. In 1859 he took rooms at the Tails Hotel, und got his rope stretched. He was then called "The crazy Frenchman," and everyone believes the proposed feat impossible. On tho liOth Juno, 1851), ho crossed in the presence of lij.OOO people. Ou the lth July, he crossed with his legtf iv a sack. Ou the ; 19th August ho carried over v man heavier than himself. On the 27th he crossed with ! his hands shackled, stood on his head, walked | backwards with his feet in wicker baskets, ! and walked blindfolded with his head iv a sack. Le Chevalier Blondin gave his first pcrforI mancc in Aucklaud on the 29th January, in v ' large canvas enclosure erected nt tho rear of Government House. The enormous structure is capable of holding from 8,000 to 10,000 persous, but the assemblage was small when considered jn comparison with the capacity of tho largo area enclosed. - There were, perhaps, from 1,200 to 1,500 persons present, amongst whom was observed Sir George Grey, a largo

cumber indeed under such circumstances for a place liko Auckland, but exceedingly small , a_ compared with the immense concourse which at each of these performances more populous colonial cities could provide. Tho ropo on which so much depends is tightly stretched, and at intervals of 12 or li feet there occur lines runuing through a block, and thence to the ground, to one end of which is attached a bag of sand. These bags of sand can be dispensed with or made use of at pluaouro ; but the precaution is taken that a high wind may not cause a vibration to the rope, which might prove detrimental lo the performer. By these means, vibration is reduced to a minimum, and in a country like New Zealand, when 1 high winds occasionally prevail, the precaution taken can only commend itself to the spectator. Shortly ufter 0 o'clock Mouii. Blondin made his appearance at the door of his dressing tent, clad in a suit of mail, and gotting into a " sling," was ruu up to tho stage at the end of the rope in tho twinkling of an eye. The bnnd hero played a march, to the music of which Blondin, pole in hand, slowly paced over the rope from one end to tho other. Iv doing this, it was perceptible that the upper part of the Chevalier "d body was perfectly immovable, the whole of the motive power coming from below the hips, aud ns each footfall kept exact time to the music, the effect was extremely good. The Chevalier then returned the wuy he cairn«, as may be imagined, making a feint at falling on one or two occasions, by slipping one foot oil' the rope and apparently just saving himself from falling ; and after chunging his costume iv the dressing tent, one being j situated on the _tnge at either end of the rope, ! this time appearing in a tight-litting costume, the performer passed some little way along the rope aud calmly stood on his head, nnd brandished his legs in the air. This feat was loudly applauded. On passing to the stage at the Choral Hall cud. Mons. Blondin was next blindfolded with a handkerchief, aud a sack was thrown over his head. To those who had never seen him before, tho uumerous slips the Chevalier made in getting on to the rope might have caused a little excitement, but once fairly on his way, it was apparent that there was no dnuger of any fall occurring. To add to the difficulty of walking blindfold, Mons. Blondiu then lny on his back for a few moments, and recovering him6elf with ease, passed to the stage at. the western end to prepare for the next event, which, by the cooking stove being sent up, was evidently the act in 1 which the Chevalier gave evidence oi his j culinary skill. Taking the stove on his back, j the performer proceeded along the rope till he j reached two branching rails in the centre, ou which the legs of the stove rest. With scrupulous cave, and much mock cleanliness, Mons. Bloudin swept out his stove, dusted his plates, took out his frying-pan, and proceeded systematically to the manufacture of an omelette in the most approved style — aiding his operations with a gln&s of " phiz " (for himself, not for tho omelette) — and having given it an artistic toss, passed a small tray down for the ladies to try the taste of an omelette made at an altitude of oO feet. Mons. Bloudin's next feat was, perhaps, the c everest of Jiny. It consisted of a Oamber of bnlancing acts seated on a chair, and finally staudiug on it — the chair iv no way supported, and totally dependent for its equilibrium on the steadiness of Mous. Blondin himself. Another feat iv connection with tho chair, and which was truly wonderful, was placing two legs of the chair (on the same Bide) on the rope, and then balanciug. This feat was loudly aud deservedly applauded. Then Mons. Blondin took a ride over on his bicycle, and concluded tho performance bj r carrying his secretary, Mone. Niaud, across the rope on his back (a halt being made in the middle for the purpose of saluting the i assembly). This last foat again brought out great applause.

A Wakxinu- to Othuus.— The other night, a man who lives out on Columbia-street was kept down town by business until a very late hour, und his wife knowing how cold he would be when be got home, put an iron on the stove, nnd when she heard him open the gate she jumped up, and hurrirdh wrapping the iron in n. piece of flannel chucked it iv bed for him t^> warm his great feet by. The man was cold nud taciturn and cross. He crawled into bed with a growl, and shuddered with cold as he stretched himself out. Then he gave a yell that shook the roof, and jammed his head through the head-board, and screamed fire, aud waltzed out on the floor and round the room in the dark. When his wife lighted a lamp, they discovered v beautiful photograph of ajhand-iron on that man's foot, and it was found that the flannel had somehow got off the foot-wavmor. 'Jhe man says that hereafter, if he must sleep with a hardware store, he wants it put in cold. — Anuriean, paper. Taring Diplomas vor Domestic MaxagkMENT. — If young men whose incomes are under £500 a year were bound over not to marry anyone who had not earned a diploma iv domestic management and elementary ph) siology, a race might be produced by ii process of artificial selection who would be jible aud willing to do all that is required of them. This new race could not marry before five aud-tweuty, for, having to learn so man} things, they would have to continue their education much longer than at presont. This would, however, have the advantage of giving their constitution time to harden. But love, that unfortunate disturber of the best-laid schemes, eteals in, nnd laen marry pretty little nonentities without diplomas, for the foolish reason that they like them. The) must be prepared to lo take the eousequeuces, and uiusfc not expect the plem>nat girl they meet at the ball to turn into the housewife of the Proverbs, with the accomplisfimente thrown in. In households where there are grown-up spinsters, it is most desirable that they should help iv the work of the house. They should epare uo pains to add to the comfort and clcgsucies o£ their home. They ought to learn cooking and nursing, plain sewing and everything that is useful., On'thc other hand, it can scarcely be expected that a yonng tnarriod woman with children, and with only the assistance of a raw girl, should cook for hourd every day, dust her rooms, nurse her babies, keep up her accomplishments, aud retain her hold on society and her husband. Perhaps a little wholesome himplioity, and war to the knife with Mrs. Grundy, might do more for the happiuess of youug couples with limited means limn au attempt on the part of tho wives lo do the work of three servants, and to keep up nn appearance of nothing to do but to amuse themselves. — Saturday Ilevicn: