Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1853-05-21
THE DAILY TIMES
FRANCE.

|
IN THE PLACE DE La CoNcoRDE-FRENcH
AT NINEyEH-A New INTERNAL MAo4INp
&C., &c.
Correspondence Of the New York DAILY Time.
PARIS, Thursday, April 2S, 1853.
botanist at Orleans has been trying the eff
fect OF chloroform upon plants and flowers. Hi
best experiment seems to have been made upo
a Sensitive Plant. As you know. this flowe
contracts Immediately upon contact with, or eve,
| at the approach of any foreign substance Strange
to say, it made no objections to the vicinity of /,
sponge containing chloroform, and after havin,
experienced its full effect remained constantly
| open, allowing itself to be handled and smellec
of, without the least shrinking or covering. Il
even consented to be probed with lancet OF
some other instrument of the naturalist; who
thinking he might never have such an opportuni.
ty again, dissected the oviary and its most vital
organs, meeting with nothing but the most bland
resignation during the whole autopsy As the
effect of the narcotic passed off the petals SEEM
ed to curl convulsively up, but, beyond that,
there was no further evidence of life or sensiLili-
| ty. The proclamation to which it had been SUBJ
jected during its sleep, combined with the ruth
lessness of the lancet, had killed it. 1t never
stirred again. On the same stem another flow
| er, to which chloroform was not applied,
preserved throughout its unwilingness to be
be approached, and during the process of dissec-
blinds closed, the curtains drawn, and daylight,
impertnence and science hopelessly shut out.
charity concert was given last week under
curious circumstances at the Sale Herr. You
have heard probably OF the publication of an al
bum composed entirely of musical and poetical
works of Queen Hortense. They have never been
put in print till now; the publication has been
made under the auspices of the Emperor, and
with luxury of paper, type and binding never
surpassed. The mayor of the Third Ward obtain.
ed permission to give what is called an saudi
ton" of this album, the proceeds to go to the
poor of his district. The services of the best ar
lists were obtained, and the use of the hall was
granted gratuitously by M. Herr. The tickets
were not sold, but were distributed, as the Ma.
yor thought judicious, ten days beforehand
had the distinguished honor of receiving one
myself IN portentous envelope, stamped with
the Seal of the Empire and of the Third Ward
My name was divided into two parts by hyphen
and each half commenced with a capital letter.
The enclosure consisted of sheet of note paper
the first leaf of which was the prospectus, and
the second the programme. No price of admis
sion was fixed the hat would be handed round
in the course of the evening. when the generosity
of the audience for really the Mayor found his
resources small in comparison with the increasing
poverty in his densely populated quarter) would
| be confidently counted on. At the bottom of the
page was note to the effect that those who could
uot dIteuu duu participate Ill CQe COlIeCtlOn,
might send their tickets back to the Mayor
Every body made haste to profit by this permis-
sion. 1t was astonishing to see how many people
were ill., or were engaged for that evening-ten
| days of-or were going to the country, or never
went out after shutdown. The returned tickets
were at once dispatched to other persons, and
before the day arrived, the Mayor had descended
so far as to consult the Directory, and to make
out invitations to the B s and C's, in alphabetical
order. There were not three hundred persons in
he concert room when the hour for the perform.
| ance arrived, and [ am assured that over six
thousand in all had been invited to attend. Such
indifference is difficult to be explained The ar
lists were the best in the Paris-Herz, Godefroid,
the harpst; Purchard, Nine. Sabatier, the queen
of parlor concerts, &c. / suppose the fact TO be,
| that no one entertains very high opinion of
Queen Hortense, either as woman or compo-
ser, or cares about going into raptures over the
mother of the Emperor. Ten francs is the price
of admission to all musical entertainments here
and no one gave less than this sum-some few
gave MORE But all paid in gold. 1t is said that
not five franc piece was received.
! An Englishman, passing the winter at Paris
saw one day, selling flowers and fruit in the
street, poorly clothed woman, taking care of a
child of about six years old. The child so close
| ly resembled son he had lost some time previ-
ously, that he asked the woman if she would sell
him. When she recovered from her SURPRISE she
replied that she sold flowers, not children. The
Englishman offered her large sum in gold J;
promised her a comfortable position for herself
and all her family, and a brilliant future for her
son. The woman hesitated and asked time to
consult friend. The friend counselled res
pectful refusal, which was at once sgnihed to
the Englishman. A few days afterwards, wo-
man called at his hotel; she said that she had
heard that he was buyer of children, and as
she had seven-a great many more than she
| I'D Oh had - Al 4
take his choice. The Englishman reproached
her for her want of maternal affection, and the
whole commune swelled with indignation against
the unnatural mother. They made such TODD
that the unfortunate creature, with her seven
children, was actually obliged to quit the town
and to seek an asylum where her antecedents
| were unknown.
1t is really quite unaccountable that the editors
of the Paris papers allow them to remain, from
month to month, In the same continual routine O
tedium. 1t would be so easy to enliven them
little by TRANSACTIONS from some of the Amer
can papers, all of which, even the most sobel
and didactic, have funny column, or a corner
for varieties and anecdotes. Day before yester
terday, the De5ats actually had a small item from
a Massachusetts journal-not at all favorable
specimen of American humor-about an edi-
tor who offered prize-a magnificent tin goblet
to the writer who would produce the long.
0SI oitiCio upou oil uulutereSIuS SUBJECT, using
the most words, and yielding the least sense, and
introducing Latin quotation every other line
This is not very happy effort certainly. But
notice the success it had. The Debats gave il
one day; seven Paris papers gave it the next, and
to-day l find it in all those which did not have il
yesterday. One puts it in it's summary of the
News of the Day! 1 see it. too, in several o
the country papers, and it will go all over France
probably. A joke from Punch is experiencing
the same treatment, too. If these things are Sc
good that they are worth such extraordinary
publicity, why not have more! There are plen
ty others where that came from, and better.
would seem like the effort of discovery and trans
lation is the only difficulty in the way. And ye
l had always supposed that effort indispensable
and that difficulties were expected in a newspa-
per office. tits perhaps because the editors o
| Paris al reluctant make affort and Inn