New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-12
A CHAT WITH BLONDIN.
HOW THE TIGHTRoPE WALKER LOOKS.

~ course only one man In the world couiu nav
made tina, remark and although It IS uis''n0"oA
have done what no other man OF woman oo,"' ~
tho ages has ever done, Jean Francois nun "a,
10 have In a measure survived himseh' -
,.."s,s nrrro no walked the narrow path OF hemp
.Novo the mad swirllng waters so dlszlN lar "eho"
~. ho,h the American and Canadian SHORES "o'o
black with bcholders who watched MIN wiz, a.
breath Now when he returns to America ai'o' uo
cadcs and exhibits the even moro s'ar.nne -
Of tripping bNthely on the hghtrope WIN o Is,arS
wears ON bis back sparse gathering Oh oo"'s is's
r,s,,ors look with langhd interest at the doughty
tunambulIst before the Sea Beach Pavilion
Sod N ran such aftermath Of gloryl NO woruor
that his melowing years care not TOT 70 tio"
bu, look with something OF prosy soicituoc al '"o
moro commercial gain which his doushV osS """
n.rv.s may win There is much of the same disso-
r.nce between the Blondin Of TODAY up aoft Oh ms
.eral halfway and the Blondn who treads the earh'
There clad in tights, and softened by inc enon"e
touches Of distance there is something Oh INC 49,
heroic about his physique despite his Pro'uoe |
abdomen. Straight as Crow INDIAN hoso,
the statue of Mcmnon, he stands until the orayihe
h,rd on the portco of the Pavilion breaks into
nmu,tuous strain. Then graspng his long balancing
pole he steps forth hardly and with an easuc ava"
DON on the rope. The cords stand out OH MS W.
and arms his hair has sort OF winds"ep' iooA a..
his straight ahead gaze firm and connoeh' aS H0
unblanching look of Fate
WDrSTANCE LENDS ENCHANTMENi
put on earth alas, no is stripped Oh all 'ha'' S
be came forth from the weather-stained tcn' q. ''
foot Of the mast afer he had completed his periorn
ance he was a middlcslzed, stocky, elderly man,
,r,csr after the type Of a ward poltcian-paie oiuc
.v.s NTH small pupils set lightly In his head' ms
nosc n hit awry, and 'lnder the prSlles vi mo imp
tcctlv dyed mustache the CLEAN OF tee,h "ni." o.
had not made beautiful No Biondn Is no' n.i ~,
Then he treads the earth though the breast oi MS
to,or stiu in the bourgeois commonplacenesS Vi
~. NINA walker there something that is ATTRACTIVE
His wonderful preservation the agility "hicn 'nN.'
his six and a half decades with the ROBUST wy, va
youth. tell of his moderate. carefully rsua'eo nlo
In the morning he takes breakfast OF eggs anu
wine or something equally light and then 'ouohes
oh,nc TIL after he has walked In tho evening" "nch
r.. tas.s hearty dinner and fingers at the board WIN
friends over some cordial, quiet, resuui' coh'on"
was thus saw him In Hcrtzbergs restaurant MS
Italian manager, Palavlcino, half dozen no"sPap0
man his son Henry a modest, unassumins young
man Of twenty seven, and lady In oaoyo DUO anu
maroon velvet "confection,n and small comets worn
.s earrings were his associates. The lady Is 'no
present wife Of Levy the cornetist Inc oanu Pas'"
~Fn Revenant de la Revue and repor'orai spnel0
NJ GOOD nature and cordially visiby contracted uue
:, while Rlond,ns faint blue eyes twinkled lie ap-
r,.uds vehemently at the end, his hands gntterihg
with large jewelled rings. He meets III s'iaeH
.,,u,rd unassuminr way a small battery of questions
levelled at him. s,,
"Do YOU feel any weakening or your po"oIs
aNone There is nothing that have ever done
which can not do equally well today" answered
plondin I'm French. / am slightly heaNiel' pu'
feel as active as I have ever felt
@Do YOU over stimulants?'
aNo Nothing more than glass OF some hqueur
after my dinner The music OF the oand 10 Vi sonlo
slight assistance, of course, in walking on rope Jus
as n &c TO any other sort of walk But have never
employed stimuIants of kind and my diet Is very
moderate and simple
A TRYING POSITION RECALLED.
3Have Won never felt any trepldadon on the rope
aNo OF course there is a certain tension u
r.s hu, am as cool as could wish have
rever had any accident or been hurt Once or twic'
lost my chair. l did this at Niagara o'o'sl'H
ally some of tho gear or guy ropes nave gwen way
hut have never been injured. The rope Is AWAY
snh,ectod TO a good test first. This one is capable
standng a pressure OF forty tons, so am NOT Nhci'
TO break 1t down. My son superntendS all Oh uics
details now, and l can feel the most perfect conn
dencc in the safety of everything
"Well. there must be some feat moro dih"ult thai
Others, is there not7' .
balancing with the chair IS the .nost difficult s
far as equilibrium goes But the bicycle WORK IS ID
most dangerous, recovery IN case OF d SIP WIZ
be so difficult If not impossible"
SHOW do YOU tell when the chair Is Just balance
Ia the mldilel'
at am not so particular about that so long as m
tentre of gravity is right tell that by my shoulder
and my balancing pole There Is sense OIL oen"
balanced which assures me it Is as 1t should De-
ain carrying a person over on your back, are 20
indifferent as TO who II is, or do you have perso
who is trained or specially qualified TO be carried
don't suppose you find many who covet the Trip
ooh YES There are plenty who are willing
take It, ] would carry ono as another II
las nerve But when feel anybody trembling
of him
Although their legs are through straps they cou
Zip out OF them II they wero TO get FAINT ana Ia
backward The mast sways somewhat and perst
,biect at all 10 vertigo will show IT when he gets l
there ] generally carry over my son. thougA b
wife e decidedly opposed TO his taking tho tr!
But 1t is perfectly safe. l am not as dangerous
bob.;an car as Of transi,'
WALKING THE ROPE AT DIFFERENT HEIGHT
ais your life insured, Monsieur Blondnl"
"No There is not a company who Will take
hsh"
"When you crossed Niagara did you find the ru
m the water below you ncrve-trylng thinc?"
"No For fortnight before l crossed used 10
and look down and see the waters sweep over; but
found that they had no unpleasant effect on me-
has been little annoying here at Coney Island VII
rome friends have taken me up into the tower a
then asked me II felt tho height. would as
walk a rope at one height as another The di
rulty rs IN stretching rope securely at such gr
height At the Crystal Palace my rope was l4o !
high and in Russia II was 1913 feet But al
Petersburg there something much harder II
that TO contend with. 1t was so cold could har
hold the POLE and there were snow hahes whill
IN my face and binding me all The way across
rmpress wished not 10 attempt the "aih, ou
Az, no, ,,,,c 70 give II Up on account of little difcu
and did II =, ..
"Have you ever changed your method at all =
"No My method is the outcome OF eNpcre
rather than theory began walking wheh ca
There IS such a thing as a genius Tor rope-"alN
as there is for everything else. 'hihh n"so
said Blordin mcdesly. " Now nv son. though he
CIT over a rope, is not ropewakcr lie Us d
all round athlete. but he has no decided 'a'en' l