The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1867-07-16
LIFE I'm PARIS.
The EUery6odies and Euerythings Of the

| 1t is one o'clock in the morning. Every cafe
theatre and ball has been closed up half an hour
There Is a midnight excise law here no less
peremptory than New York's. The gas is
| lighted In the streets, but not in the dwellings,
| The great hotels even must illuminate in Paris
with candles, as the city makes barely enough
| gas for public uses. The practical civilization
of Paris is only grease-spot compared to the
full blaze of our Western cities. There are no
/! hydrants here to speak of. Water must be car
ried into your house from the public fountains,
| or served to you by barrel wagon at so much
subscription per week. In this silence of the
night, sit you down on the broad stone quarry
beside the Seine, where the Tuieries looms
darkly up in the night, and in the swift river
there are darting fires, where all the miles of
street and boat lamps fling their reflections
Up yondcr in the central pavilion there is one
window afame-the Empcror's. Whether for
a statesman's vigil or sensualist's carousal, he
is awake; and at his portal below you see now
and then the fash of the light upon the bayonet
of the Turco that guards him. Through the
dark gardens are other guards, revealed by their
steel flashes. Now, all alone, noseless, like a
great creeping glowworm you see the most
wretched man in Paris steal up to the palace Of
the most powerful the chifouier is under the
windows of the King.
The chiffonier is the Paris rag picker. He
has great funnel-shaped basket tied to his
back; lamp drops to his feet; by its ghastly
light he discovers whatever in gutter or ash
heap is worth his notice, and this he tosses with
dcxterous movement of his iron hook into the
basket The motion is so rapid, and the hook
long and thin, that you can with difficulty see
the transfer. The lamp glares at the chiffoniers
feet alone; the rest of his body is only hunch-
backed shadow, and in the light he seems to be
some monster eating the offal of the highway.
There are seven hundred chiffoniers in Paris
They live, in main part, on the Rue Monffetard,
and if you 60 thither of morning, you will see
their wives washing out the rags they get, and
asserting the old bones. Here they have ball
called the Old Oak, and every Sunday night
there are several hundred of them here dancing
the cancan. The most remarkable chiffonier n
Paris is CASTOR, the HiJon, or Owly CASTOR.
He is sixty-fve years old, and bald as SOLE
leather trunk. Forty years ago he was beau
and dancer, owned bali in the Faubourg st
German, and claims to have invented the can
can, which is the most shameless aad popular
ballroom dance extant A love of gaming and
worthlessness ruined CASTOR at thirty -fve; he
married one of the girls he had hired to dance,
and while one OF them went to the hospital to
wrestle with death, the woman took her crook
and basket and perambulated in the night She
found diamond of great value at the cleaning
out Of the Pont Neuf canal, and this so excited
the cupidity of CASTOR, that when he was con.
valescent he turned to mud larking himself and
coaxed into the same business several of tne
broken down bellies he had known. They found
no more diamonds, but CASTOR was shrewd
enough to become tho common patron of all bis
converts, and is alleged to be well off, He is
~, r.
badly been into every sluice, sewer and passage
under the city of Paris. 1t Is related that Baron
Haussmann, who has projected grander system
of sewerage for the metropolis, sent for CASTOR
some time ago to confirm plan of the subter-
ralean bitches he had ordered to be prepared
The veteran rag picker took the map and ex
pored the whole under world of the city, being
absent six months, and travelling and retracing
nearly thousand miles of filth. Haussmann
gave him years pay of policeman, and
pioneers decoration.
TWO o'CLocK-THE NIGHT TROOPS.
When the dull lamp of the cbifonier has got
round the corner, you hear the tramp of hoofs
10 concert, and directly company of mounted
policemen come sweeping up the street, with
guides out in advance, as if for a skirmsh with
some enemy. These policemen wear brass he'll
NETS, like Roman Generals, with red horse
tails streaming out behind carbines are slung
around them; they carry naked sabres Riding
along in the night, they make the city seem
conquered one, full of conspiring citizens. On
the opposite side of the river, as if riding down
concertedly to sweep an enemy from the quays,
a squadron of regular cavalry is seen bearing
along, their FURNISHED accoutrements glittering;
and bugle call streams over the Seine, an
swered back by the gems d'drn,e So in the
dan kness supporting columns move over the
whole capital the forty great barracks of the
city and its dependencies are never quite
darkened, but in their guard rooms telegraphers
and sentries keep perpetual vigil four thousand
policemen walk all nj ght in cooked hats and
wherever taper burns past its
season, there is cold eye in the street fixed |
upon it. Sixty thousand men of all arms are
distributed over Paris, and horses stand day and
night to pursue revolution or crime. Within
every place of frequent resort the nouchord, or
spy, abdes-no introduced agent 10 general,
but your friend, bed.fellow or school -mate-he |
to whom you are free to unbosom every indig- |
nation and purpose of your life, purchased by |
natural deceit or treacberous political regimen |
to deliver you up for your thoughts as remorse- |
lessy as for your deeds Said M. Vivien, Of
old, the Prefect of Po.e:
"There ia no lack of candidates for spies. |
They come from every class. Every day a hun. |
dred offer themselves. Our mail is filed with |
volunteer letters betrayng some friend or rela. |
tive. Conscience is low priced among my coun-
try men"
The "Felon's Biography" consists of 400 |
registers and of forty book cases filed with their
leaves, making grand catalogue |
of French criminals and suspected people, con-
tanning 900 900 names This remark able book |