Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-12
The system Of Routine in Paris Groar

The System OF houtIut IN Ahh7 Ae7 NNANe~t
Inconveniences.
A Paris correspondent writes thus;
The doors Of the theaters open q few
minutes before the commencement OF tne
performance. A long line OF people IS kept
standing in the street outside, the rain often
uouripg down upon their unprotected
shoulders; and not for worlds would the
director permit the tickets to be sold mo
mont preyiously to the hour fixed, and thus
allow tho audience to obtain seats, without
hurry OF scrambling. The patience OF the
Parisians, in this respect, is some thing
positively miraculous and, it after waiting
for a long time, exposed to the inclemency Oh
the weather, the house should be filled las II
often isl before the end of the line reaches the
box Office, the amusement seekers go away,
without even a murmur of disappointment.
So it is, too, with the railways. In no
country do people travel more comfortably,
once fairly started, than in France; yet, at
every station, the tourist encounters the
same vexatious adherence to rigid rules,
which can not, on any account, be intringed.
A Parisian sets out we will suppose on
trip to Italy. He arrived at the Lyons sta
ton, accompanied by the amable Madame
Prudhomme, the lovely Mad ,moiselle Prud-
homme, and hopeful Master Prudhomme.
On the top of the cab which brings the
family to the depot, is piled a formidable
array of trunks, valises and band boxes
particularly band. boxes-most of which be-
long, as a matter of course, to Madame and
Mademoiselle P without counting the work
baskets, carpet bags, India-rubber cushions,
cloaks, blankets, and parasols all OF which
are the sacred property OF the eshmaole
matron and her daughter. When poor
Monsieur Prudhomme sets foot inside the
great hall of the station, his trials begin.
His first natural thought is to have his bag
gage weighed and registered. To get all
these frightful parcels and boxes off his hands,
and be enabled peacefully to forget their
number, will be great relief. A couple of
porters, in expectation of fee which the
company expressly prohibits their receiving
and which they never fail to demand, pile the
Prudhomme plunderupo truck on wheels,
! generally doing no further damage, in their
| zeal, than smashing the top of the very
carton which contains Mademoiselle Prud-
| homme's most bewitching chGpeQu, and, OF
| course, reducing that triumph of art tc an
| irretrievable wreck. Mr.. Prudhomme is de-
| lighted to avoid the lamentations of the
| ladies, by following the truck to the weigh
| ing Office. The clerk in charge demands his
tickets. 81 havn't bought 'em yet says
| the old gentleman, his countenance falling
"We don't register any baggage without
the passage tickets" says the clerk.
The unfortunate P. goes back to the great
| hall, to buy the Indispensable tickets. The
| wicket is closed, and will not be opened unit
| a quarter of an hour before the train starts
| In that quarter of an hour, all the passengers
\ must pay their fare and register their bag
| gage NJ. Prudhomme struggles with The
| crowd, already gathered around the wicket
| and, after heroically sustaining repeated as
sauits upon his most cherished corn, sue
ceeds in obtaining the four precious bits o.
pasteboard which confer upon himself
Madame P, Mademoiselle P. and Master
| Alptopse P, jr., the privilege of occupying
seats to Marseiles. His courage is rewarded
by an approving smile from his better-half
and the baggage is actually safely registered
ten minutes before the train is to leave.
You innocently imagine, perhaps, that tn
family has now nothing to do but quietl.
enter one Of the cars, take possession of tn
corner seats, and make themselves com
Portable? Oh, by no means! There woult
be no system, no routine, in that Th
Prudhommes, having satisfactorily accom-
plished the regular formalities, are nov
ushered into the waiting-room-an oblonl
cage badly lighted, overheated, and wretch
| edly ventilated. Here, ell the passenger
are huddled together, until, just as they ar
| thinking of breaking the windows to saw
themselves from downright ,suffocation, tn
doors are thrown open, and out they all rush
pell NELL into the depot. The young, tn
hardy, the impudent, the brutal and the MIN
BILE, obtain the best places in the train, an
the principle observed is "every body fo
himself" The Prudhommes are eithe
separated, or are obliged to content then
| selves with inferior seats.