National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1873-08-05
Paris and the Parisiuns-Thc French Girl.
and the English Giris-Among the Cafes.


PARIS, July 10, lisa
This Is Paris. You may know that II Is
Paris by the sound Of strange voices under
your window; by the jingle of households in
| tho street; by curious foreign slgn-boards
over the way; by long lines Of high, cream
hucd walls; by one boundlcss contlguity Of
Mansard roofs. You may know that 1t is
Paris by the groups Of little rcd-leggcd SOL
dicrs mastering and clustering here and
there. Yon may know that 1t Is Paris by the
occasional rattle of kettle drums, and other
martial strains, to say nothing Of the fire.
quent display of tri-cOlorcd flags, which
strengthen and lend certain picturesque
suggcstivcncss to the marks Of broil and bat
tie that meet the eye wherever II wandcrs
through the town. Its Paris and early morn
ing. There are pretty bare-headcd shop
girls fitting hithcr and yon, and looking for
all the world like the figures which appear on
china vases. The white muslln-cap Of the
concierge and the gaudy kerchief of the
| fruit-yender bob whimsically among the
throng Of blue smocks and black cOais that
make never-endng procession along the
| Rue St. Honore, from the pa.als Royal to the
broad open place In front Of the Madelainc.
| The sun shines as II can only shine In France,
| and the stranger, who has never been here
| before, begins to understand at once the
charm which has made Paris u sort of pinch
beck paradise to good Americans.
The woman who has the best turned ankle
In England, and you might 80 even higher
still without impairing the perspective, as
sured me only fortnight ago that the French
girls are singularly wanting In statuesque at
fractions, aud pointed with pride to clump
OF British yestals, each one OF whom, she as
sured me, realized llogarth's line Of beauty
so perfectly that the tape that measured Pow
ers' Greek Slave or the Medci Venus would
sci We them all as WE'LL. It may be so. The
English girls arc strapping set, beginning
with the pink-faced lady and going down to
the yellow-ha harlot. But when II comes
down to the matter of codntenance their
claims upon once admiration are exceedingly
indirect. The girls of Paris, on the other
hand, conceal whatever deficiencies Of fg-
ure they may have inherited by costumes the
most tasteful and naive, looking out at you
in sweet, bcwitching way as Il they meant
to have you believe that II Paris Is heaven
they are Its angels. The English girls, high
or lIw, remind you Of the hay field and tie
COW lot. There Is In them and about them
an offensive ma;erialism rcdolent Of the mo
above the rose. The French girls ore ethc-
realized. They call DIP visions Of dance and
| Provcincal song, Of moonlight aud banks OF
violCts, aud are redOlent OF the rose above
the mold. And English girl will smirk before
q looking-glass until the very quicksilver gig
giles end grows dim and como away drab
for all her inery. A Fronch glyl has only to
clap on hg leaf and a bit Of ribbon to APP
pear dressed Id the height of the fashion
Forgive these familiarities. 1t is Paris, and
one must needs feel little sinful. II 1t be
J the wickedest city In Christendom, which
take leave TO deny, II Is In every respect the
least disgusting In Its wlckcdncss. II 1t be
the most artificial, 1t is the most brilliant and
delightful. The most beautiful woman that
| pyar I saw and the woman who lIp sanl n, nst
exQuisitely, was cen little careless of her
self. Perhaps she paid so much attention TO
her clothes that she had no time left for her
person. At all events, beneath the array of
silks and laces aud linens, she was dirty
baggage. That Is Paris. 1t is clean and gay
to look upon, but Il now and theu smells, and
is the worse for th lack Of u little more cold
| water. A city of fountains, II Is not city Of
mops and bro0ms. Yet one grows used To
Its dirt and Its odors, which, 1t must be
owned, are chiefly human. Indeed, In spite
of their frivolity and their filth, the French
English, In whose very bluntness and
| brlisquerle there arc the elements of du-
pllcity. The French are too transparent to
deceive. Their swindlcs are small and COM
ical. There Is something fantastic In their
| larcenies and their lying, which one is dis
| posed 20 discount in favor Of the next bottle
Of claret.
This ciaret tastes nowhere 50 well us In
Paris. Drink II Us you will, 1t Is not the same
fluid you made wry faces at Just across the
channel. But 1t goes best with the hcts and
the t-uiiies, of which, thanks to the pigs OF
| Perrlgord, there are still abundance. AT the
Cafe Voisin, which is presided over by the
man who makes the best salads In Europe,
| and who, for that reason, has been nick
named Sultan Saladln (though do not know
how many wives he has or whether his porte
be really as sublime as the memorialist OF
gourmandizlng has represented I'D At the
Cafe Voisln they serve you an omelette with
truihcs In more satisfactory way than they
do at the Brevoort house, because they do
not stint the trutiies at the Cafe Voisln,
whereas they do at the BrcyoOrt house &c.
rlously, there is In America but one Brovoort
house. whereas In Paris there are two or
three, small In Size and not very impressive
In aspect, but full of invitations. Still 1t Is o
mistake that good food Is got here Chcaply
| To be sure you may get n dinner OF several
courses fOs three francs; but IL will not be a
| good dinner. Al the NOisin II good dinner
VIII cost you fifteen or twenty francs. At the