New-York daily tribune., 1843-11-20
THE R N E.
Letters from Mr.. Weed ;. No. XXX.
correspondence Of the Albany Evening Journal

/ x..b;no about Paris strikes a stranger with
-.ns e,rprise than the quiet manner of conduct
";ts l" bnsiness. You see little or nothing Of the
.s.o ~ and hustle of other great cities. Neither
-. w., hum of commerce nor the din of manufac-
..,os WV is heard There is more stir about the
pssn at Albany, with greater demonstrations of
,ns;ness. than is to be met with IN all Paris. You
! won wonder how such vast population are sup
.Ssd with provisions; and the wonder how they
m support themselves is still greater. We,
boweyer, are strangers to the rigid system and
s,hts of economy that prevail here. l am as
sred by an intelligent American who has been
hng here, that the expense of vlcualLng Paris,
r;b IFS million of mouths, does not exceed that
f victualling New-Y Nothing is wasted
here. while in New Y orh enough is thrown away
asilv to feed an hundred thousand Parisans.-
French science in cookingis every thing to Paris.
Many of their most delicate, as well as their most
heQuent dishes, are made Of things which we re-
ect as garbage. Many of their most delicate
soups are compounded of materials which we
have never dreamed of eating. Indeed there is
no part of creature, from its horns to its hoofs,
out of which the French will not serve you up
savorv dish. came here with determination
10 eschew the refncmentS IN French cookery,
5ut nv resolutions and preiudlces have yielded
day by day, and dish after dish, until | now eat
vhateyer is set before me, taking care to smother
III that looks like horse steak, cat stew, or rat
Ge, in Tomatoes. have eaten as many varie-
ties of soups, since | came to Paris, as there
are subdivisions in a New England sermon, or
verses in chapter of the Book of Chronicles;
and for the most part must say that these "-Po-
tages" are excellent With beef and vegetables,
aFrench cook will serve you an excellent Din.
ner. in three courses, for one franc. The tenden-
cy Of French cooking is to diminish the quantity
Of meat, and to increase the proportions of bread
and vegetables consumed; and another and moro
important result of the perfection Of their art,
to greatly diminish the expenses of living. Bread
and wine, or perhaps | should say wine and
bread are the staples of life in France. You see
Ffenchmcn In Cafes, IN Gardens, and by the
road side, dining not only contentedly but cheer
fully upon red wine and dry bread. look from
my window into the apartments of an humble
French family, who dine daily from a single
soup, with wine and bread. The bread here, for
families, is baked in rolls yard long, and stands
BY the table with one end upon the floor, while
the other rests against the wall. In commencing
dinner the Master or Mistress Of the Family cuts
slice and then passes the loaf round the table,
each cutting for themselves, and then the rol! is
ayun placed upright against tho wall.
1t is said that from thirty to fifty thousand of
The inhabitants OF Paris rise in the morning with
out knowing where or how they are to get either
breakfast or dinner. This class, for the most
part neither work nor beg, but in some way or
another enough sticks to their fingers, during
the day. . enable them to procure the necessa-
ries of life-wine and bread
Paris abounds in HosplTALs, of which, in all,
including Charitable Institutions where medical
aid is furnished gratutously, there are FORTY.
There are separate Hospitals for nearly "all the
ills that flesh is heir to-" There are Hospitals,
also, for the Insane the Blind, the old and the
manned. There is Hospital for men and another
for women, who are afflicted with incurablc dis
eases. There are, also, Asylums for destitute
women and for children abandoned by their pa
rents before they are old enough to support them
selves. In all these abodes of wrctchedness and
suffering, those "Nllnlsteung Angels" the SIS
TIERS OF CHARITY, are to be found. Indeed there
is no form or condition of human distress which,
these half.dlvlnc women do not seek out, and as
far as charity and kindness can go, relieve or
mitigate. Their missions of mercy are executed
with fearlessness that no dangers can appal,
and no privatlons discourage. With a perscvc-
rance, devotion and fidelity SO high and hal
lowed that celestial spirits must look down ap-
provlngly upon them, these benevolent SISTERS
hnger about the bedside of the sick, administer
ing cordials and balms to the convalescent, and
soothing and tranquilizmg the dying with the
consultations of religion. | went through the
Hotel Dieu at Notre Dame, where there are beds
Tor thousand patients In all the wards Sisters
hon
ing the pillows, wettlng the lips, chatting the
hands, placing warm blankets at the feet, or In
some other way mnisterlng to the rehel OF pa
tents apparently in the last stages of disease
The Steward who accompanied us through the
wards, tan intelligent Soldier who belonged to
Bonapartes young Guard,) informed us that
these good Angels were lowering about the sick
and the dying, day and night; and every groan
brought one of them TO the bedside OF the sui
ierers; and that while others slept, they waited
upon and watched with those for whom there was
neither rest nor sleep. These Sisters of Charity
hye among the dying. Their lives are passed,
not IN promoting their own interest or happiness,
but in mitigating the sutterings, relieving the
distress, and soothing the anguish OF others
They endeavor to confer upon the unfortunate
and the miserable, what zee seltishy seek to OBJ
tam for ourselves. How incapable is our sex of
life of such pure, disinterested, seli-sacri6cmg
benevolence! To Heavens last, best gift to
man" alone can we look for such generous, free
will sacrifices to the cause Of Charity and Bene-
Violence.
Paris abounds, as you know, in magnificent
Churches, the Architecture OF which marks and
distinguishes the different eras of their cons,ruc
ton. Some were erected in the early, some IN
the middle, and others IN the modern ages. The
Church Of Notre Dame is supposed to have been
founded by the Romans IN 1865, and grew, from
century to century, into the splendid and impos
ing edlfce you now contemplate with as much o.
awe as of admiration. Any thing like a descrlp
ton of this stupendous Cathedral would fill page
Of the Evening Journal. We were half day
looking al It's nantings. IFS statuarY. It's carycs