New-York tribune., 1903-02-04
VI. DE BLOUITI.
anecdotes of the "4mbGsSadem- du
Times.
Times.


himself to any great extent week before ms
ieath on the eighteenth Of last month. he re-
marked to a friend II have some very curious
hings 10 say. things which no one suspects as
10 my early youth With every temptation I"
indulge in personal renniniscence he seems 10
nave confined himself in his anecdotes TO puoiic
aersonages and affairs and to his professloha'
experiences. Accordingly. even in the greae
English journal with which he was identineu
sS PARIS correspondent for nearly thirty years
he long obituary Of him. covering more 'iian
aaCe tells us comparatively little about nus
,arlier years. being devoted Of necessity TOT 'e
greater part. to the journalistic achieN eiiie
hit made him famous. 1t is known nc nc
was born somewhere about the year 80 a.
SlavsEd in Bohemia. and brought up there on ms
-ather's r,ronerfv in the Czech language, and the
Roman Catholic religion, until the age oI
sleven~: that he then spent eight years In Euro
aean travel broken by short stays at dii1ereh'
universities and that at the age OF niiielee"
7e was a good linguist and contemplated Visltlhs
America II is known that. owing TO q chah0e
meeting in France with the Minister OF fupie
instruction he embarked upon the career OF d
Professor and that on his marriage AT MAJ
seilles in 1859. he ceased TO teach he thre"
himself into politics. and as early 1869 he
disclosed his gifts for playing the part tna'
was thenceforth to absorb all his energies 'he
nav, of q man with an influence upon public
affairs and the part in which his biographer
must find his sole account
He il was who through the possession OF Ger
tain information. and the bestowal or IL upon
an editor raised a storm in French politics anu
caused De Iesseps to lose all hope in his cam
paign against Theirs and Gambetta. Thereafter
he rendered other good services TO Thlers. anu
The latter offered to make him consul genera
at Riga At about this time he met Laurence
Times" and through his influence obtained the
onnor1unitv to do the work OF the regular Paris
correspondent while that gentleman was tempo
rariiy absent. II is stated that although he hao
heard Of the PAPER, he had never seen copy OF
II From this point on biographical details be-
rome more numerous. and they all relate to
Rlowitz the journalist rather than to Blowioz
the man in any intimate sense From the oolto-
airy already mentioned. we take the following
passages:
There is or was. widespread belief that
fsloyifz owed his appointment as Times corre-
spondent to THEIRS What happened was simply
this: Finding that the authorities at the Qual
d'Orsay Were 10th to confirm his appoliltllen. x
to Riga Blowitz finally told Theirs OF his olIef
of a place on The Times and asked MS do-
vice Theirs. rejecting. no doubt Ihat a IILeIu 'n
was more likely be useful as Times corre-
spondent in Paris than as consul genera al
Riga advised him TO accept II, whlch ne ac-
cordingiy did He bade farewell to Marseilles'
and came with his wife, who at first strongly
disapproved of the whole arrangement. TO live
In Paris. where he took apartment in the
Avenue Josephine
In 1873 Oliphant resigned. leaving Blowlt2 10
work under Frederick Hardman gentleman
Of the old school. whose continual use OF note
book and pencil and old fashioned methods eX-
cited nothing but wonder and pity IN the bTeaSt
Of his enterprising subordinate Hardman, how
ever died in the autumn of the same year his
rnd probably hastened by the special Parls
wire which had lately been introduced by The
Times BowitZ's suggestion; and fuH op-
I'oTtunity WAS now given TO BloWltz 10 prove
the value of the innovation for which he was
responsible and which was an entireiy ne"
departure in Journalism. The incident to which
the idea Of special wire was primarily cue
occurred a year or two before. and is worth
recalling example of that wonderful
memory TO which Blowitz owed much Of his
success In 1872 Mr.. Delane. Editor Of The
Times" went to Paris and was present along
with BloWitZ at sitting of the Chamber at
N~r1ailes the whole OF which was taken up
by "A ma gnifcent speech by Theirs. As Blowitz
him off that evening at the Care du Nord.
Delane remarked What a pity we can't give
the whole of that speech in to-morrow's paper!'
The thing. of course, was impracticable. as the
report of the speech would only arrive in Paris
after the closing of the telegraph. When the
train had gone Biowitz had what he called
magnificent inspiration. by means of a curious
faculty which / have always possessed. ] shut
my eyes, conjured up the image Of the Assem-
bly, and that of VI. Theirs at the tribune, and.
as I had followed him with rapt attention I
seemed TO hear his very words. On realizing
this. he the telegraph Office, asked for a
room retained the wire and by this peculiar
method Of his managed to reproduce and tele-
graph almost the very words Of Thiers's speech.
which duly appeared next morning. to Delane's
astonished eyes, in two and half columns Of
THE Times
His exposure in 1879 OF the plans of the mill
tary party in Germany against France with its
happy results, and his publication in The
Tines of the Treaty of Berlin at the very
hour when il being signed, are too well
known 70 be traversed again. But one or two
more incidents in his career may be quoted
in 1883 he went to Rome on the invitation Of
the Roman Press Association. by whom he was
offered banquet During his visit he had the
honor of audience of King Humbert, and the
very next day received by the Pope with
whom he conversed for two hours. OF this con-
versation he never published word, and the
only information he vouchsafed when asked
about IL that ii the most extraordinary
interview that he had ever had He went, in
deed, SO far TO say that its publication would
have "boueverse le monde"
IL about this time that Blowitz, who was
great mana az anticipating events before tney
occurred, announced in The Times" that the
Russians going Merv-a piece Of news
that was Immediately contradicted by the Rus
sian Government, and, therefore. dsbeleved in
England where ministers, rather than face what
might be rather awkward truth. contented
themselves with facetious remarks about ''Mer-
vousness." Count Leontief to Paris
assure BlowitZ that he had been duped and
asked him publish a contradiction. Blowitz
promised to 90 so if Leontieff would come back
IN six months and repeat his assurances Need
less TO say the count never back, for
within six months Blowitz's prophecy was full
filled.
In 1892 a great disappointment befel him In
tfat year he sent article to The Times"
vealing the conclusion Of military convention
and forecasting alliance between Russia and
France But, nobody but Blowitz seemed TO
know anything about such a convention his
information was not published, and 1t was not