Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1873-05-08
.A.White Hair.

The Paris correspcnde1it of
the New York World tells the
following: AS city Paris is
"dreadfully" quiet. Nobody
makes any noise in. the streets
Except, the draymen cracking
their whips. There are no hand
organs, no cmbstone monkey
shows, no tangling of horses
fand carriages, no screeching, no
fshouting-eyerything is syste-
lmatic, mechanical and solemn.
An overwhelming sense Of pro-
priety lies thick in the very
air. Nobody laughs aloud in
the streets but Americans; no
ibOdy violates the laws of taste
but the English. AT the pres
lent moment Partisan society is
chaotic, 1t has neither head,
end, nor middle. There are no
Nine. de Staels, no Mime. Re
camiers or DoIphine Gays to
icentralize society. One cause
for this disunity- may be due to
the lack of a fireside: another
to the fact of smoking. One
rarely sees a fire in a French
parlor. There is one In lmadame's
room, which is her bedroom,
and around that the family
gathered; such portion of it as
may not be smoking the eve
ming away in a club-room or
restaurant. Every lady has
her reception day, which is a
grand economy day, the same
set of candles doing for a large
company as well as a small one;
and the larger the company the
more fiattered is the grand dame.
But to suppose from this state
of affairs that French women
have little or no influence upon
national affairs is to make a
wrong inference. Collectively
they WELD an immense political
influence. Individually nobody
hears of them. As patriots
they are almost without parallel.
To hear a French woman glor;-
ly France and villify its enemies
is to feel your own blood tingle.
l heard, only the other day, of
an incident quite apropOs to
this. A French lady, who mar
ried a German baron some fiji
teen years ago, and who lived
at Berlin in a style beftting
her wealth and rank, had at din
ner not long ago some fifteen
Or twenty Prussians seated a.
round ertable. Notwithstand-.
ing her marriage she had re-
nained French at heart. In the
course of conversation the
Prussians began to bewail Par
is, poor Paris, which was no
longer Paris, and to predict that
N ten years Berlin would be
he capital of the world. She
listened angrily, until no Ion
ger able to withhold her indigna-
ion she freed her mind to the
effect that Paris was Paris vet,
would always be Paris, the most
brilliant, most attractive, most
civilized and artistic city in the
world. Moreover, she would
ay a wager that her Prussian
friends might select the most
Igly and the most insignificant
hing they might find and Paris
would make of it an object Of
beauty, such us Berlin would
not dare to attempt. The wa
ger was accepted, and the next
lay the lady received a small
box, which upon opening she
.Ound to contain but a single
white hair. What could be ,
made Of ore white hair: She
lid not know; but concealing
ler embarrassment, she sent the
lair to Paris accompanied by Il
etter giving an account of the
the circumstances, etc.
In due course of time she re-
;eived the box back from Paris.
And what think you Paris had
made Of the white hair? 1t
lad been beautifully inclosedin
IN open trench Of gold, which
,rossed a medallion surrounded
With brilliants. At the top Of
he medallion the Prussian ca
gle in black enamel, with wings
held the white hair in
is claws. Then suspended
rom the hair was little es-
in white enamel bear
ng this inscription, "Alsace and
lorraine. You. hold them only
'y hair" 1t is not very prob
lble that the Prussians were ca
ger for another bet.
John Van Dahm, Of Fort
Wayne, saysthe CIsreLaDd Lead