Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-04-18
From our Special Paris Correspondents
a Week i'm Paris.
SECOND LETTER FROM COMMISSIONER Ma
CIR.
Manners and Customs Of the Parisiqas.

-hWHhtfN NNN btAtOHto oI tNtF I NffNt2ftN.
Editors RutlqRd HeraH Had I been
lied upon to narrate the events of each
day since my arrival here, ample mate
rial would have been afforded for seven
letters, any one OF which would have
been too long for newspaper article.
We were taught in our school books
that the French were a polite people,
This is emnently true. 1t consists not
in bowling and chewing words, but in
being courteous TO others, whether of
high or low rank, and striving to make
all happy. On arriving at the railroad
station | observed long rows Of car
riages in front of the depot, and the
drivers were silently standing by, or sit
ting upon them. No clamorous porters
were there to signify to the travelling
public that the Hotel they represented
was short Of patronage, and needed a
boisterous porter to keep it in running
order. When asked question they an
swered it civilly, but did not beg pat
ronage. think it is not wide of the
mark to estimate One.tenth Of the build
ipgs in Paris to be either Hotels or
Cafes. The latter are eating rooms,
in which games Of billiards, cards,
draughts, dOminoes, &C., are play
ed. But what is remarkable, very
few are said to gamble Il have
not seen an instance Of it since came
here, but have seen hundreds playing for
amusement. A few evenings since l
visited one in which there are said to be
10000 gas lights. I will not vouch for
the truth of the statement, as l did not
count them, but did count the billiard
tables in one apartment, and found there
We're twenty-five, and all were being
used. In that Cafe, which is the incest
one in Paris, noticed the labOrer in his
blue blouse sitting at one table and near
him at another table was one who had
the badge of the Legion of Honor" up
on him. Women as well as men, were
there, and am told that many families,
rich as we'll as poor, eat all their meals
at these Cafes. The rich person here
does not fail to be courteous to the
poor, and all classes seem to be happy.
The poor look cheerful, and are general
ly well dressed. The care.worn coun-
tenances so often seen in New York and
Boston, are not common here. The most
care.worn countenance I have seen was
that Of the Emperor Napoleon. His
struggles for the crown Of France, and
the labor Of retaining it, have made
heavy marx upon him but the En-
press is apparently as gay and thought
less as any shop girl in the city. AS
she is the reputed leader in fashions, I
will suggest one that all her 1rans-At-
lantiC yOtarics DO not follow. In her
walk through the Champ C EIars the
other day I could but notice tho atten-
ton she seemed to bestow upon the la-
borers who were fitting Up the grounds
for the exhibition. AS they stopped
their work and raised their hats 70 the
Emperor as he passed, she Courtesied
and bowed to them as though they were
Dakes or Lords. The laborers love Ma
poleon. He promised them employ.
ment, and has kept his word. Wages
are low in Paris, but there is ample en-
ployment for all. Public works are
constantly being inaugurated by the
Emperor, and these are often upon q
scale much grander than any thing of
the kind in America.
Narrow streets, once so common in
Paris, are fast disappearing and giving
place to Avenues or Boulevards wider
than Broe dway New York. Many of
these are already completed, and stately
buildings, more magnificent than those
OF Broadway, extend for miles along
their sides. Wide streets are now being
cut through from point to point, and
buildings of excellent finish, often seven
stories high, are being torn down to
make more room for streets or squares.
Paris, to-day, more closely resembles
Chicago than any other city in the
United States. | do not mean by this
that it is as low and level as Chicago.
but the wide streets-the various i'm
provements being made-the piles of
stone and mortar--the half finished
seweTs-the hustle and business Of the
two cities have strong points of re-
semblance.
During my weeks soiourn here, have
seen neither q beggar nor drunkard.
Wine is the common drink at the table,
but it does not intoxicate those who use
1t moderately.
had supposed vice and crime was as
common here as in New York, but am
informed that theft, burglary, defaulters
and swindlers are of rare occurrence.
Opportunities for thieving and burglary
are here IS we'll as in other cities. Articles
are often placed within the reach of those