Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-10-27

D EEAA ADA u lew EOl6 III SAAAlAEAT anu A1-
ten 10 the interesting conversation Of
authors, artists, and Journalists
From this passage we see that the
Paris cafes have long played important
parts in politics and literature Several
establishments, some Of which are still
in existence, merit special notice. The
English author who said that the histO-
~ Of the French cafes was the history
Of the French nation was not SO far from
the truth as one might think at the first
glance.
The Oldest and perhaps most remark
able of the historic eoffee-hOuses in Paris
is on the left side of the Seine, in the
now Rue de FAncienne Coincide. 1t
was started by a Sicilian named PrOcO-
pic CUltelli, and was consequently
known as the Cafe ProeOpe.
1t wa fitted up more elegantly than
any similar establishment had been up
to that time. 1t was not long till it be
came the meeting-plaee Of most Of the
political, literary and art magnates Of
the day. Actors and painters, authors
and philosophers, here sippedtheir dengj-
tdssss as they exchanged their ideas,
and thus contributed, each in his way,
to bring about the great revolution Of
1883. Here stood the pale and frail
figure Of Jean Jacques Rousseau by the
hour, behind the chair of a chess
player, and watched the evolutiOns Of
knights and the tours de force Of the
castles, while his mind was, perhaps,
busy with those reeOlleetiOns which he
has immOrtalized in his Confessions
In the meantime, right and left, there
were eagerdisputants. Marmontel and
BOindin discussed questions Of govern
ment reform and religion; and DiderOt,
surrounded by a circle Of eager listeners,
aired his fiery elOquence. He respected
no authority, and spared no prejudices;
Of independent thinkers he was the
most independent.
Occasionally these imprOvised OratiOns
We're interrupted by q remark that
turned the current of thought in another
direction, OF provoked a hearty laugh en-
the part of the little audience. 1t was
NOltaire, the great ~satirist, who usually
chose this manner of making his pres
ence felt. What Others could only con-
vey in long ~discOurses, he expressed in
a single epigTam.
Unfortunately, the Cafe PrOcope is
among the many cafes which have late
", from want Of sufficient patronage,
been compelled to close. A plaeard on
its door lately announced that IL was for
sale. Oflate years, it was nearly de-
serted by the hteTdtj, and received its
I chief patronage from the Radicals.
Next to the Cafe PrOcOpe, that of the
Widow Laurent, in the quaint old Rue
Dauphine, deserves mention. Here as
sembled a similar, if not quite so dis
tinguished, circle as at the neighbCring
cOffee-hOuse of the Seicilian- ROsseau,
NOltaire, DiderOt, MarmOntel, and 9TH
ers, who were the regular guests of Pro
copiO, made occasional visits at the cafe
of Madame Laurent. Rosseau, espe-
cially, was so frequently at the widows
that she almost considered him one of
her regular customers; but, much pains
as she took to please the poet, she was
not destined to succeed in securing him
as an HG6itUe.
ROsseau was exceedingly sensitive.
In every little outward circumstance he
was inclined to see evidences OF an in
trigue or conspiracy. At such times he
seemed to lose ali control over himself.
His CapricieUE, owing in a measure
to the incapacity of the actors, was q
signal failure. Soon afterward a come
DIV of little merit, by another author,
was produced with decided success.
That was too much for the irritable
Rousseau. He told the habitues of the
Cafe Laurent to their teeth that, in bis
opinion, they were, individually and
collectively, a set of enyi0us fellows;
that their shameless jealousy dictated a
cabal which made the success of his
piece impossible. With this he brought
his fist down on the table with such
force as to make the cups CHATTER, swOre
he would have nothing more to do with
such people, aud left the room, never to
return tot it.
Still more celebrated than the Cafe
Procope are the coffee-houses Of the
Palais Royal, and especially the Cafe de
Ia Regenee and the Cafe de Foy. The
former has three important epochs in
its history.
The first, before the great Revolution,
if we consider the talent and literary
fame of the visitors, was the mosi bril-
liant. DAlembert (the editOr-in-chief
Of the great DietiORRdire Eaeycl0pe-
diQIe), Diderot, Bernardo de st. Pierre
the gifted author o f"Paul and Virgin
ian, MarmOntel, and other celebrities,
met here in the afternoon, when the
weather made it unpleasant to go so
far as the Rue de PAneienne Coincide.
During the Revolution, RObespierre and
other nOtables hOnOred the Cafe de Ia
Regence with their presence. Robes
sphere was in the habit Of spending the
time there yer a game Of chess, with
sometimes another eitOgea, aud although
be was a miserable player, it is said that
he new lost a game. No q dared to
beat him. From its infancy the Cafe
de In Regence was much ~frequented by
lovers of the ''rOyal game.n
The second epoch is characterized by
the name of General BOnaparte. The
great strategist here routed the LOuvet
knights and pawns as easily as he had
routed the princes and plsbs of Austria.
The third epoch will be eve memOTa-
bic for the melancholy brillianey that
charaeterizes it. Its hero is the gifted
Alfred de Musset. Many a long after
noon the poet Of despair, of wretched-
ness, and RihaiSmUs, sat here before a
eness-board, and concentrated all the
force of his genius on the solution of
problems, which, in spite Of all the
paeans chanted by enthusiastic chess
men, is at best only an intellectual pas
time. Instead Of giving voice to the
sublime thoughts with which his
brain teemed, as he knew so web
how to do in his better hours;
instead Of assuming his place among the
leaders of human thought-he would sit
hour after hour, porting over the black
and-white squares Of q ehess-board with
the earnestness ola P~ythaeoras, debat-
ing whether this or that move would be
most likely "a battle his adversary. He
would often play a dozen games in the
course Of a day, and smokes dozen eli
garetts during each game lie at mis-
elbow always stood the portsntous alb
sinthe glass, which the Eurc9n was
called from time 70 time to refill. His
thin, heshless hand trembled as he rails
ed the glass to his lips; around his eyes
there were deep, lead-cOforrd circles;
and his cheeks were red witt fevedsh
flush.
The Cafe de FOy played al exclusive
ly political role. The PaIais Royal, at
the beginning Of this century, was the
most frequented point in Paris; it was
then what the Boulevards are now. UD-
der its arcades the latest events were
canvassed. The Cafe de Fog was # the
time, the center Of Paris.
The brilliant Camille D~esrd1aslfoa was
often seen here, seated at one ~ the side
tables, his head resting on his hands.
his eyes ~halfeiosed, absOrHd Il thought.
Suddenly he would sprinE % bis feet
and hasten away to deliver enc o. those
fiery speeches which we're received BY
the excited populace as the Afbe1ians
were wont to receive the pthippicB OF
DemOsthenas.
Under the Bourbon restton The
Cafe de Foy lost its original pqstlpn,
1t never succeeded in reeai1IuE.
During the reigns Of Louis w I'D
Charles \ the most notable coffee Rises
In Paris Were The CAFE LeHbll4 and
Cafe Yalois, both IN the Pal4s h97aL