The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1884-11-14 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

BLONDIN AT HOME.  "Why, I thought Blomlin had gone to heaven long ago," said some one in a railway carriage the other day, as he conned an advertisement, in his paper which announced that the Hero of Niagara WKS walking the tight rope at the Britannia Theatre, in far-away Hoxton. To most of us Blondon is now merely a name, but he is almost as active as ever, and quite ready to chat about both the present and the future. The affectionate regard felt by the Chevalier for the Falls which made him famous is shown by the name which he has given to hie house. The visitor rings the ball at the gate and reads the legend inscribed in large letters, "Niagara Vales. "M. Blondin at home?" "I am M. Blondin." The intrepid one stands before me, short and stout. Hehasevideutly been a model of muscul .r compactness and nyinmetry, a Frenchman to the bone, with small twinkling eyes, hair thin and slightly streaked with gray, a moustache, and thick imperial. No spot is so dear to him as Niagara Villa, whither he retires to the bosom of his family for a few months during the year to take his well-earned rest. "When swill you say good bye to the fascinations of the rope, and cast off the tights and span2lee for ever ? " " Sir, it will be long, I hope. I am 60 now. Have I lost my nerves? No. Am strong and active? Feel the muscles of my forearm and my legs. lam fat. I admit it. Therefore I no longer assume the monkey's skin, as once I did." M. Blondin is as sound a man as he has ever been. He has only had one accident, and never a fall. He has never broken an arum, and the only wound I saw wee covered with on inch of sticking plaster. It is said that the reason why he never tumbled was the marvellous power of his forearm, which enabled him to carry a balancing pole of great weight. But when asked the secret of his sno-ess he tells you that " it was because I didn't want to tumble." He has never smoked, and if you ask him whether he drinks he tells you with a twinkle in his eye that he "does not wear the blue ribbon," and takes claret at dinner. In 1851 Jean Francois Gravele was performing in a French provincial town, when his agility, grace, suppleness, and intrepidity were remarked be a certain Ravel, himself a famous gymnast of his day. "Join us," he said to the voung fellow, "and corns to New York." "Done," replied Jean Francois. " via how art thou called ?" "Gravele." "Sacre Dieu we cannot bill such such a name." Then they fixed upon 131ond1n, from the colour of his hair. Triumph after triumph followed, until his career was crowned et last on the 30th of June, 1859, when he crossed Niagara. "Sir, I was a rope-walker at four. My father was a gymnast. I have never felt fear— no, not even when crossing Niagara. In 1860 I crossed on stilts. There was a danger in crossing Niagara. In straining a rope of that length to the requisite tightness it IVRA liable to romp. The shorter the rope the easier it is to walk on, for the dip in the middle is less. I once offered to carry the Claimant across a rope, but he as. (dined, with thanks. I will not endanger sour life,' he said, 'and I 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, because not one of them has ever been born a rope-walker. I am always well when lam working. When lam lazy I feel a twinge of lumbago, and that. is all." Not the least interesting of M. Blondin's collection of mementoes is a mall library of scrap-books, containing cut tinge from all the newspapers of the world— Freech, English, German, Austrian, American, Australian—critiques, reports, interviews, caricatures, jokes. He is called the " King of the Tight Rope." " The Lord of the Hempen Realm." " The Emperor of all Manilla." There are wonderful woodcuts, plain and coloured ; verses too. " Did nervous terrors ever oppress you, M. Blondin?" "Never, sir ; never. Not even when I first crossed Niagara. Pouf. They laughed and said, 'There's a fool of is Frenchman going to commit suicide,' or I don't believe he'll ever try,' and so on, but I have crossed Niagara 300 times since then. I carry three sets of ropes, which are two inches in diameter, with a body of steel bound round with hemp. The balancing pol.-a vary in weight according to the business, from 37, 40, 45, 47 pounds." " And time height at which .you perform " "From forty to a hundred feet, aocording to circumstances. Ism indifferent."—Pal, Jral) Gazette.  The death hi announced, at an mhe otre, of General Poole V. England. The docca.ed gallant officer, who entered the army )1.4 far heck as 1805, eerved in the Peninsula in 1813, itioluding the battle of Vittoria and the siege of San Sebastian. Mr. Masson has taken the oaths of office as Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. A new park waa opened at Brighton on Saturday, and the ceremony was witnessed by a grefil gathering of anectators.