The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-02 00:00:00

PERE COUPE-TOUJOURS.

At the junction of the Boulevards St. Martin
and du Temple, in Paris, there lives a confectioners
whose shop is about the size of one's hand, and yet
the business which the owner drives is so consider-
able, that he will probably enough become the
founder of a family. If ever he sets up an equipage
the most appropriate crest to affix upon the panel
of his carriage would be a muffin. " From morn
till dewy eve" he is engaged in the vending of this
grateful cate, which differs somewhat from those to
which we are accustomed in London, being baked
in an oblong form, and then cut into little squares.
Our confectioner cuts up and disposes of many
thousands of these in a single day. He is related
to have been more than once seen for fifteen hours
in succession cutting away at these dainties. Hence
comes his sobriquet "Coupe-toujburs," which at
this day is the only name by which the old man is
known amongst the good folk of Paris.

It is doubtful whether there is a single Parisian
unacquainted with this true civic hero, his old es-
tablished gastronomic celebrity, the most popular
of rich men, and the richest perhaps of hommes
populaires. His name, you know it already.
Doubtless be has some genuine and inalienable
patronymic, and has received at the baptismal font
some sainted addition, by which he is known to
his own family and his immediate neighbours, such
as " Jean," " Pierre," or " Bainabe ;" but his
veritable historic name, as sounded by the trumpet
of fame, is that of " Pere coupe-toujours." He is
the emperor of dough, the regenerator of stiffly-
kneaded paste, the Napoleon of hot muffins and
crumpets, and dearly prized by all these sacred titles
to thousands of throbbing hearts and grateful
stomachs. Yet this day is he forced to undergo
the fate of all great men ; and even Coupe-tou-
jours has his enemies—witness Madame Barbillon,
that aged lady who has " pulled him up" before
the Juge du Paix.
Madame Barbillon (to the Judge)—Le voila I
I am forced to bring him before you—the seducer
of youth, the endoctrineur of boys in petticoats.
I place him in your hands. He is the cause why
my Fifi will never become an avueat.
Judge—Who is this Fifi ?
Madame Barbillon—A little boy of mine, who
was born in '22, the year of the great frost. Figure
to yourself a youth, who was evidently born to end
his days as Chancellor of France, a garcon who
could speak for a whole evening without so much
as spitting. Eh bien ! Pere Coupe•toujours pre-
vents him from succeeding. Muffins will mar his
career.

Pere Coupe-toujours—Quelle betise I Muffins,
indeed, mar the success of a man of mind I Ask
of M. Thiers, who did me the honour a dozen years
back to eat them at my place with M. Felix Bau-
din. They used to take 15c. worth between them.
Ask M. Thiers if muffins marred his advancement.

Madame Barbillon—'Tis all malice. The per-
sons he mentions ate 'cm—they didn't make 'cm.
Fifi makes them in cartloads, but doesn't eat 'em
—not he. That's the fact, and it's not very fattening.
Judge—lnform me, Madam, of what it is pre-
cisely you complain.
Madame Barbillon—Let him give me back my
son, whom he has thrust into his oven.—(Gene-
ral laughter.) You must know that I sent my son
to Paris to study under his uncle, who has the
honour to be an under-clerk in an office at the Ecole
de Droit. I thought him already more learned than
a bailiff. I arrived in Paris eight days since, de-
scended from the diligence, and ran de suite to the
Boulevard St. Martin, where my brother has his
domicile. I felt myself monstrous hungry, and, see-
ing a patissier's on my way, I stepped in and asked
for a couple of sous' worth of muffins. " Enlevez le
bceuf !" was the answer, and they flung me the
pastry. Grand Dieu I that " enlevez" made me
shudder. I cast my eyes on the being who han-
dled the comestible, and although he wore a cotton
night cap, which was not of the cleanest, I recog-
nised him at once. It was in son I What I want
to-day is that man to restore him to me—that
man qui exploite mon enfant, who has plunged
him up to his armpits in his kneading-trough.
Pere Coupe-toujours—l respect your maternal
sentiments.—(Laughter.) Oui c'est vrai ; but 1
must be permitted to make one observation. It was
your own son who solicited permission to enter my
establishment, and be taken as my apprentice. The
coquin loved muffins much better than the seven
codes, and asked permission to make them.

Madame Barbillon—What does that matter to
me ? Why did you listen to his nonsense ? I

am determined to-make him an avocat, will he, nil
he. A youth with a precious avenir is not to lose
it so easily. Yes, a youth who has an uncle an
under-clerk in an office at the Ecole de Droit—ma
foi, oui

Pere Coupe-toujours—Mais, Madame, he is al-
ready d'une jolie force at the kneading-trough. He
will make you a cake like a sexagenarian patissier.
I really thought you would have been delighted to
hear of his progress.
Madame Barbillon—Delighted I Vile patissier
An enfant destined to wear a robe and a square cap !
Flattered, forsooth, to see him with his shirt sleeves
tucked up, his face all over flour, his throat bare,
and his head wrapped up in a cotton nightcap, as
if he was created and placed in the world for no
other purpose but to make brioches. C'est beau,
par exempla
Pere Coupe-toujours— Everybody might have
been satisfied. If he chose to be a baker from
twelve till five, he might have gone to the Ecole de
Droit in the morning. I never would have pre-
vented that. He might have crammed himself with
law in the morning and with muffins at night. Believe
me, madam, the latter are more savoury, and, like
many other folks, I prefer them. Your lawsuit
strips the ribs, your muffins cover them.--
(Laughter.)
Madame Barbillon—Yes, and if it came to be
known when he went to plead ? _ _

.
Pere Coupe.toujours—He is apprenticed to me,
and I am entitled to his services.

Madame Barbillon7—But what will the gentle-
men of the bar say twit ?
Judge—There is no dishonour in it, although it
certainly is a little bizarre. Besides, Madame, the
existing arrangement, if pursued, will prevent the
necessity of pronouncing judgment, and will provide
the boy with the means of support.
The proud mother, after some hesitation, con-
sented to allow the cause to be erased from the list,
with the understanding that her son should be pro-
visionally partitioned into two equal parts—one
half apprentice avocat, the other half apprentice
patissier. _ _

Pere Coupe-toujours—You have acted, Madam,
with a true eve to the interests of your son. For,
voyez-vous, if he turns out a " cake" at the bar, he
can fall back into the kneading-trough. He thus
will never be without a crumb to pick up, or a crust
to eat, and that is more than can be said of all
the gentlemen of the long robe.
The parties then left the Court, all in an appa-
rent state of high satisfaction. The " dough-ty"
barrister in futuro pulled out a cake from his poc-
ket, and ate it very contentedly.

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