New-York daily tribune., 1856-05-24
FRANCE,
a COvesIundent

g,,.n Our Own Cor esIondent
PARIS, Thursday, May :, looo
Aeops last Monday morning the conversation
turned an National charactcf!stlcS As all OF Us
were Americans we had it much Our own way. II
l,clarcd that the Freuch wee this aul the Amerl-
cans that. and nobody said us nay. After break
fact strol,d up the Boulevard a digestive pace,
ill found myself in the thch OF Ia petite B1ErS'.
II is possible that some of your readers in very re-
mote trans Mrsissippian distress do not know
what is the Latte Exchange. 1t is one OF the very
curious urorganizcd, unauthorized and even Illegal
ibsttutious OF Paris. II is made up of spectators
in the public funds, and in all kinds OF Stocks down
20 the most ancfu and fantasticsl who, after hav-
irp been driven from the Sale Paganini, from Tor.
tonis, swaI med again, then a few years ago upon
fra broad sidewalk OF the Boulevard des ltalIens,
between Rue Drouot aud Rue Lepelleter, where
now they hold their paripatetc assemblies In spite
of law and of the police Here they meet daily,
in the morning before Exchange hours, aud again
in the evening after the BOurse proper is closed,
aud DO a business in stocks ana funds on PaT0't,
which. according to law, can be done only at the
Bourse. Here. to the number OF one, two, three
or four hundred varying accordingt 70 the agitation
Of the money market at the time, they bull II and
M III.
Imp, rial births and European treaties, make and
lose fortunes. give local habtations and long
names to unworked copper mines III New-farana,
aud other such airy nothlngs. As YOU move amid
m, crowd your ear catches the cant phrases OF
6rsncial Technology, and the tail end of short
.entenccs ending always in three iOurths, "one
half" "734U." "5l2," or some other hguratiTe
form. Every here and jhere You meet Serge7t
4, nm, whose business Il is to break up the little
rroups of four or Eve speculators and bld them
:. circulate" This is all the police can do. 10
G,llv enforce the law constantly broken before
tIefr EYES. they as little pretend as though they
vsrre the agents of the NewlOrk Municipality!
Tie iudi, iduals OF the group however, Invariably
,rculate as they have been hidden, and ten min
utes after sud ten STEPS further on rcc0nglom-
crate Another policeman disPerseS them good
Iaiuredy. They good nSturedy rcassembe, and
SO ON until they have coucuccd their bargains or
concluded lot to conclude. aud then "enter into
rev cont nations.
But what was thinking Of having the conyer
sa,iop of tie brtaktast.tabie in mind was national
ctfriktics; and, though hod that ANY one
mans observations. u.hGt al Sry one point IN d
Gr,icn land are quite too narrow base Tor safe
,,neralizsiions upon the character OF lis inhahl;-
ants. fell TO studying mot, indeed, Tor the hrSt
time. the narrow phase Of character rs II was
presented 10 me here IN the outward manner aud
I'm the countenances of2OOo 800 rtnchinen' tor
ANYTHING could see IN these classes q o5fets, the
picture was not remarkably diaereat from the one
which used TO interest me years ago ia al
street The architectural framework Ia Whien u
was set-the local cOlOring, If may so SPEAK dIi'
fused OVER 1.-THE graceiuuer gesture III the Ups
ofthe bulls-the finer shrug of the besrs-all THIS
WAS indeed distinctive. But for Whist critics some.
times call the sentiment of picture, really coud
not discern between Paris and New-lork any
more difference than lies between q five franc
plsce and q dollar. The lack of genial eH-
preston, the speculative eye, the calculating look,
sss sS snS sgs