The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-04-06
A VISIT TO TINE GREyALIER Rl0NDIN's
HOME,

w ny. thought Bl0nun npu
, gone to heaven long ago." said
someone in railway carriage the
other day, as he conned an advertise
mcnt in his paper which announced
that the hero of Niagara was walking
the tight rope at the Britannia
Theatre, in far away Hoxton. To
most Of us Blondin is now merely
name, but he is almost rs active as
ever, and quite ready to chat about
both the present and the future. The
affectionatc regard felt by the Chev-
alier for the Falls which made him
famous is shown by the name which
he has given to his house. The
visitor rings the bell at the gate and
reads the legend inscribed in large
letters, /" Niagara villa" IN.
Blondin at homer u am NJ.
Blondin." The intrepid one stands
before me, short and stout. He has
evidently been u model of muscular
compactness and symmetry, a French
man to the bone, with small. twink
. ling grey eyes, hair thin, and slightly
streaked with grey, a moustache and
thick imperial. "Come in," says
the Chevalier. - You see am busy
gardcning;" though it is only the
salt of the earth who can dig and
delvc with great diamond studs for
shirt buttons. And no spot is so
dear to him as Niagara Villa, whittier
he retircs to the bosom of his family
for few months during the year to
take his well-earned rest. When
will you say goodbye to the fascin-
ations of the rope, and cast off the
tights and spangles for ever" "Sir,
it will be long, hope. l AM sixty
now. Have / lost my nerves? No.
Am | strong and active? Feel the
muscles Of my fore arm and my
legs. ] am fat. / admit it. There
fore | no longer assume the monkeys
skin, as once l did" NJ. Blondin
is rs sound man as he has ever
been. He has had only one accident,
and never fall. He has never even
broken an arm, and the only wound
/ saw was covered by an inch of
sticking plaster. 1t is said that the
reason why he never tumbled was
the marvellous power of his fore arm
which enabled him to carry q balanc-
ing pole of great weight. But when
asked the secret of his success he
tells you that g it was because |
didn't want to tumble He has
never smoked, and if you ask him
whether he drinks, he tells with 4
twinkle in his eye that he ''does not
wear the blue ribbon" and takes
clarct 1T dinner.
g Now come in, and you shall see
the curios and relics which ! have
collected in my wanderings." For
the Chevalier is Il very Ulysses. He
and his ropes are known to the ends
of the earth--lndia, Australia, North
America, South America. Other
Blondins have stolen his thunder,
imitators have arisen. but there is no
Blondin like this one. We shall
never look upon his like again. AS
we enter he points with pride to II
well-stocked ayiary, and passing
along one notices dozen photo
graphs showing some OF the many
evolutions which he performs in
mid-air. He is--on the rope, Of
course-clad in suit of mail
armor, there with y ''masher - of
the period on bis back, here crossing
n dizzy height on Il bicycle. again
hlindfoldcd, walking on his head,
cooking an omelctte on the tightrope,
looking as much at ease before his
stove as the chef of the Reform Club
in his kitchen. Then we see him
eating his omelctte, drinking glass
of champagne, and-but there is no
need to say more. The hall is
adorned with trophies and relics of
the honorable past. There are port
rats of M. Blondin, of Mdmc. Blon-
din, of Niagara. In another room
is wonderful painting of the scene
of Niagara. There is the foam, the
rope, the hero-a mere speck on the
face of the canvas-with an excited
group, including the Prince OF
Wales, awaiting his safe arrival.
And here l rest for few minutes
while my host tells q story or two OF
his career. 'Ah," he says, "you
think people have forgotten my ex-
istence. Not at all. / perform in
the province sometimes, and every
year go to Frankfort or Berlin or
Vienna. There have special per-
mission to perform without net ;
for that is my condition. My fee
A hundred pounds night, less per-
haps in theatre" Nj. Blondin then
showed me his wonderful collection
of medals and his diplomas, each
with history of its own. Then lie
took me into another room, on the
walls of which were hung several
portraits of himself and his courage