The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-04-06

louS arrangement to the piano,
turned handle, and the room was
! flooded with music in second.
I "rhcn you are musical, Chevalicr!"
Yes, have played the harmonium
on the rope before to-day" Celestial
strains they must have been.
In 1851 Jean Francois Gravele
was performing in French provin-
cial town, when his agility, grace,
suppleness and intrepidity were re-
marked by certain Ravcl, himself
famous gymnast of his day. "Join
in" he said to the young fellow,
land come to New York Done"
replied Jean Francois. "But how
art thou called?" "Gravele. "
"'Sacre Dieu! we cannot bill such
name Then they fixed upon
Blondip, from the color of his hair.
Triumph after triumph followed,
! until his career was crowned at last
on the 30th of June, 1850, when he
crossed Niagara. "Sir, l was a
rope walker at four. My father was
gymnast. have never felt fear
no, not even when crossing Niagara.
In 1860 | crossed on stills. There
was danger in crossing Niagara.
In straining Il rope of that length to
the requisite tightness it was liable
to snap. The shorter the rope the
easier it is to walk on, for the dip in
the middle is less. l once offered to
carry the Claimant across rope,
but he declined with thanks, Il will
not endanger your life,' lie said,
'and do not wish to expose mine
A tight rope walker is born; nothing
can make him. None of my family
will ever appear in the arena, be-
cause not one of them has been born
q rope walker. 1 am always well
when l am working. When 1 am
lazy 1 feel a twinge of lumbago, and
that is ALL Not the least interest
ing of NJ. Blondin's collection of
mementoes is small library of
scrap books, containing cuttings
from all the world--Frcnch, English,
German, Austrian, American, Aus
tralian - critiques. reports, inter-
views, caricatures, jokes. He is
called the liking of the Tight-rope,"
The Lord of the Hempen Realm"
"The Emperor of all Manila. -
There are wonderful woodcuts. plain
and colored: verses too, e. g.:
The fearless Blondin walks. perchance.
into his tomb:
| His doubtless courage fails him not,
Fen tho thy roaring torrents be his
fatal lot.
ITcavenward he looks. and Inspiration
draws:
Each heart beats higll--he makes mo-
mcnt's pause.
Rests at full len 9Th upon his fragile rope:
One cheer ten thousand voices send of
earnest hope.
Here is another extract from "a
Noad To Mr.. Blondin -:
Remarkable pusson. enterprisin Strain
ger.
You probably Startid on to a railrode
on praps curb ston: then you took to
fensis:
Il then you SCARED to rafters of moo
houses.
Remarkable pussOn:
hi merely Il takin of n walk. you clear
1000 dolers necrly every time.
Then the hier you get the Str:iter you
kin walk.
this shows yon ain't III al like common
foaX.
wich cant walk mulch when they are
Elevated.
enid ,orvo,a torroro avar onnraSc
you, NJ. Blondin?" "Nevcr, sir,
never; not even when 1 first crossed
Niagara. Pouf! They laughed and
said, There's fool Of French
man going to commit suicide or Il
don't believe he'll ever try and so
on, but have crossed Niagara 800
times since then. carry three sets
of ropes, which are two inches in
diameter, with a body of steel bound
round with hemp. The balancing
poles vary in weight according to
the business, from 37lb, 40lb, Abb
and Alb" And the height at which
you PERFORM" "From 4Oft to loot,
according to circumstances. 1 am
indifferent"
Then ! went into the workshop,
for M. Blondin is an accomplished
carpenter and skilled blacksmith,
who makes his own models and fits
up his own apparatus. When life
depends upon the fixing of rope it
is best to trust to oneself. Then /
strolled to the stables, which were
filled with the Cbevalier's travelling
paraphernalia. In one compartment
was neatly stored away tent to
hold $4,000 people. Under wooden
shed stand two or three huge vats,
which are used to stow away the
ropes when travelling, and great
cases with BLONDIN painted in
big letters.
We might see the Chevalier at the
Alhambra if those terrible ogres, the
magistrates, would only allow the