The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-26 00:00:00

WALKING ACROSS NIAGARA FALLS ON A
ROPE:
(From the Buffalo Courier, June 7.) •
Yesterday, according to widely circulated advertise-
ments, Blondin made his first grand gymnastic exhibition
of the season at Niagara Falls, or rather at Suspension-
bridge. Stepping from the cars a few hundred feet be-
low the bridge, the preparations which have been made
by the distinguished acrobat are readily comprehended.
The rope, which is new, and of Manilla, about two inches
and a half thick, costing $1,500, is securely anchored by
an iron pillar on each side. Thirty-two guys, fixed
laterally on either hand, extend from the rope, and are
fastened with windlasses on the bank. By this means
the rope is steadied, and can be drawn in any direction.
On the Canadian shore the depot of the rope line is a
rustic summer house, which makes a very pleasant point
of observation for a chosen few.
Between three and four o'clock the crowd began to
gather within the fences and upon the bridge. Alto-
gether, we should judge, about two thousand people
witnessed the daring passage.
The hour fixed for the crossing was four o'clock, but
a number of preliminaries had to be attended to, and it
was five o'clock when Blondin stepped upon the ropes
on the American side. He was fancifully attired, some-
what in Indian' style. He wore a cap of waving many-
coloured feathers, and over his yellow tight. a light
tunic of Indian bead work. His neck and arms were
bare.

The almost incredible exploits of last summer have,
in a great measure, prepared people's minds for anything
which Blondin may choose to do. There is.tbat in his
cool, self-possessed, and unwavering demeanour, which
takes away from eye witnesses of, his feats any feeling
of nervous horror which ought to be felt *under the
circumstances. The rope actually seems to be as safe a
pine for Blondin, as the sidewalk is for common people.
The masterly manner in which he does the deed takes
away half the marvellousness to the unreflecting looker
on.

The rope is 1,300 feet long ; its deflection is 60 feet,
and at the lowest point is two hundred and thirty feet
from the seething "hell of waters" which dashes madly
down the awful gorge of Niagara. Biondin ran briskly
down the manila slope, pole in hand, for a few hundred
feet, when he stopped short—threw out one foot, and
stood, poised above the chasm, on the other, presenting
from the opposite shore the dimensions of a large-sized
gnat. A little further on he sat down, resting his pole
—the one used by him in St, James' Hall—across his
knee, and here, in the most unconcerned manner, he
rested, waving his plumed cap to the spectators. In
the middle of the rope he again stopped, and this
time lay down, almost disappearing from sight, his
pole meanwhile lying across his breast. Up the hill
again he took his perilous way, and within a few
hundred yards of the Canadian bank he halted, struck
an attitude, and stood for a few minutes statuesque
and motionless. Nothing could more completely illus-
trate the triumph ,of human nerve over the terrors of
Nature in her wildest moods. Above the thunderous
turmoil of the torrent stood Monsieur, slim and dimi-
native, yet sublime in the consciqusnese of his nerve and
pluck, and looking for all the world as if he were the
presiding spirit of the scene. He landed on the Canadian
side in seven and a half minutes from the time of, his
start, rather pale and dejected, but not a whit the wOrse
for the journey. He complained of the sun, which had
shone directly in. his face.
About a quarter of an hour afterwards he drank a glass
of lemonade, and started on his return trip. Fifty yards
out, he went backward, and again assumed the statuesque
pose, when Mr. Evans, who was at hand with his appa-
ratus, took a photograph of the hero of the rope. Ha
crossed on his return in about five minutes—and so the
exhibition closed.
This is stated to be only the opening of a series of
much more surprising feats, which will doubtless draw
immense crowds in the course of the season. We under-
stand that Madame Blondin yesterday witnessed the un-
paralleled exploits of her husband at the Falls, for the
first time.

The Princess Mary Anne of Saxony, wife of Prince
George, has just given birth to a Princess at Dresden.
The truffle returns of the railways in the United
Kingdom, for the week ending the 16th of June,
amounted to £524,460, and for the corresponding week
of last year to £541,000, showing a decrease of £16,640.

The exact number of volunteers under arras in Hyde
Park on Saturday was; according to the official returns,
18,460, of which number the metrapalitatcorps sup-
plied 13,226.

The Right Ron. Joseph Napier, ea-Chancellor of
Ireland, has been appointed a member of the Judicial
Commitee of the Privy Council in England. This office
has attached to it, it is stated, the emolument of £l,OO
a year.

IRISH MORTARAISM.--The attorney's clerk, M'Robins,
who carried off the font. Sherwood children from Gal-
way, has at length been arrested and placed in the
Marshalsea. There are now five persons in custody
charged with this kidnapping, but no intelligence has
been obtained as to the children.
A meeting has been held at the Woroootor Ouildhall,
at which those present resolved wholly to abstain from
the use of butchers' meat until a reasonable reduction
in its price be obtained. About 1,000 persons are said
to have signed an "abstinence pledge." The workmen
engaged at Messrs. Wright and Sons' railway carriage
woxks at Saltley, numbering upwards of 1,000 men, have
agreed to a similar resolution.
THB GREAT YARMOUTH FISHERMEN.—We are glad
to observe that a fund is being raised for the .relief of
the widows and children of the poor fishermen and
mariners who lost their lives in the dreadful gale which
devastated the eastern coast of this kingdom in May
last. Subscriptions are received by the Mayor of
Yarmouth,

During. an alarming thunderstorm which visited.
Coventry last week, several persons took'sheiter under a
large tree. This tree attracted the electric fluid, aiici
three men were struck down. They were couveyed to
the hospital ; but, on the way, onc of tibenx expired,
The others were also seriously injured.

BiROKETI4IS 1:0R LIFE-BOAT STATIONEL-,.The Na-
tional 1,4,fe-beat institution is about to place barometers
-wherever found praticahle--at each of its life-boat
stations round the coasts, in order that the seafaring
populatiao of the neighbourhood may be warned in time
of a coming storm.

FRENCH CATTLE. —The number of cattle annually
slaughtered in France is reckoned at 4,000,000, ave-
raging about 16 imperial stone each carcase, or much,
less than half the average weight of English, and the
Propertiou of cattle per acre is far belom ours. The
total production of beef from, such an extensive country
is comparatively email indeed. In fact, 2,000,000 oxen
are engaged in labour, so that a large portion of the
animals butchered consists of old beasts and. of calves.
In the north there is a greater produce of mikk and
meat, no breed of cows in Englaud surpassing the
Flemish, Norman, and Breton milkers; and the butter is
better than English hotter.commonly is, but the dairy-
ing of some districts—as - Limousin and Languedoc—is
extremely defective, butter being there little known,
and its place in cooking supplied by olive oil.

SAD AFFAIR.—A few days ago someyoung men were
playing at skittles on a public ground, et Loughborough,
when one of them, named Cross, rolled a, ball rather
sharply towards the other end of the alley, where one
of his companions was standing for the purpose of
bowling. The ball hit the young man on the shin bone
of the leg, and immediately he threw one of the balls
towards Cross, who was struck on the head, fell down,
and never spoke afterwards. At the inquest there
seemed to be some doubt whether the ball was thrown
out of revenge at the deceased, or at the pins; but the
Jury found a verdict of "Manslaughter" against the
prisoner, whose name -is Lydell, and he was committed
for trial. Bail was accepted.—The prisoner was much
affected as soon as he heard that the deceased was, dead,
and became so excited as to make an attempt upon his
own life.

AcctitatATl&A.vox. OF. ANIMALS.-It ia natural that
the labours and successes of the Sooike d'Acclimatisa-
ttoryof France should attract attention here, and, as a
consequence, that an English society should be formed
for similar purposes. The enlightened views of the
society over which M. Drouyn de l'Huys presides have
been taken up by an influential body of English gentle-
men, who, convinced by the results of the French experi-
ment, see that it is possible to add very materially to
the natural wealth and resources of the country by
systematically introducing and acclimatising in this
country the plants and animals of other regions. The
plan was first mooted in the columns of the Field news-
paper, and a committee has now been formed, comprising
some of our loading noblemen and agriculturists. A
preliminary meeting, for the purpose of organising the
bases of the society, is to be held au Tuesday (this
day).--Critic.
SINGULAR PfIENOXENO,N.-SHOWER OF METEORIC
STONES.-Our town was visited on Wednesday evening
with a violent thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy
torrents of rain, mingled with small black angular
shaped stones, somewhat resembling ironstone, but more
vitrified in appearance. Some folks affirm that they are
merely fragments of the Rowley rag with which a portion
of our roads are. laid, but, as they have been found not
only in parts of the town where this material has not
been introduced, but on the housetops, this explanation
of the phenomenon must fall to, the gromd, Not the
least singular incident connected, with this phenome-
non is the fact that amongst the numerous persons who
might have been seen, after the storm Puled, Over,
busily engaged in securing specimens was One lucky
cAstorner who actually picked up a half-crown piece.
If we could only be satisfied that the silver token in
question was the product of the meteoric. shower, we
should be inclined to welcome the acceleration of the
earth's motion " even," wittily observed by a con-
tributor to a daily, contemporary, "to the extent of
bringing Christmas twice a year." In some. parts of
the, town, more especially in the neiziahn_uthood of the
market place, the stones fell in such abundance as to
admit of their being taken up in shovels full:— waver-
hump:on atufmt4er.