Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-08-20
THE RlcH-PooR OF PARIS.
A Lesson in the Art Of Keeping Up Appear.
anceS

There is no such thing as measuring
the dimensions of Frenchman s
house. He may live at the top of a
magnificent white marble palace in
six rooms at rent Of 800 or 5000.
And yet, when you have climbed up
there, have sounded the bell, and
have been admitted into the hall,
which, with its highly polished mirror,
will deceive you at once in regard to
the size of the little box, You are con-
vinced that he revels in luxury. OPP
posite the hall glass, open the folding
doors into the parfor, which is a long
room with still more mirrors TO aid in
increasing the perspective. Off this
room are yet other folding doors, two
of them leading into the dining-room,
which is always fitted up in exquisite
taste, and, with studied carelessness,
left visible to the caller. Try the
doors at the other side of the room; it
is hard to open them. Probably lock
ed? Most efectually locked! They
never move upon their hinges. Still
they are not quite as useless as "a
painted ship upon a painted ocean"
for they serve double purpose; they
dispense with the necessity of pictures
to fill up the bare walls-for who
would hang pictures on doorsf and
they give one the impression that vast
apartments stretch beyond.
Madame will receive you in the most
charmingly >languid manner, if your call
chance to occur in the daytime. She
has just arisen; went you have coffee
with her? This if she means, by gen
erous courtesy, to make friend of you.
Now you find your way into what she
calls her private apartment, which,
like, the other rooms, opens into the
par!or. 1t is really quite gem in its
way You wish yoa were French, or.
at least, that you might understand the
art of living as French people do. But
a little closer acquaintance and mod
crate increase in your experience will
teach yousthat these people work and
strive only for the sake of the appear
ance they make. They comprehend
what the elegances of life consist of,
and they will live without the common
est necessities in order to deceive you
as to their real condition A family of
seven persons will actually live in two
small rooms, and make their beds up
late at night on the floor of the apart
ments in which, but a few moments
before, they were chattering with you
upon the impossibility of economizing
in Paris, since the war Even they, in
their modest style of living, find that it
takes fortune now TO spend year in
Paris. You are shocked to hear them
suggest that theirs is simple mode of
life; you never thought of being SO fine
at home. In reality, these people that
| speak Of live like paupers. They
sleep on the floor the year round and
often ON the kitchen floor at that
This last is convenient, as they can get
up and put the coffee over the spirit
lamp, and retire again, until it is pre-
pared. Coffee is taken in bed, Of
course.
For the benefit of the girls at home,
who may admire and envy this lady Of
luxury that graciously askes you into
her boudoir at IL o'clock, declaring she
has just arisen, and invites you to take
coffee with her, will tell them some
thing of her toilets, and the singular
way in which they change with the
hours Of the day. Madame goes to
market as early as possible. No
body is out in the early mornlng-that
is to say, nobody before whom she
cares to keep up an appearance-and
as the market people always measure
customer before setting a price, it il
wise to go to the market stability dress
ed, not only because no one will SCI
her, but as matter of economy. Sc
the toilet Of the day is not made unit
this duty has been performed. In ex
change for the great, airy, bath room
with its abundance of hot aid colo
water, and its fresh, clean towels, which
Americans cannot live without, mad
anne has, in little dark hole between
the kitchen and her bed room, pint O
water in basin the size of finger bowl
} For water is too precious commedit,
to be used unless sparingly. 1t has t.
be carried from the street up fv,
flights of stars, and servant must b,
paid five cents all hour to do it. NJ
further arguments than these are nec
essary with madame. With the aid O
dirty little bowl, forclothes must b,
washed away from home-there Ii
neither room nor water to do it il
these papier mache boxes-our lady
will succeed in making herself yer,
tidy. have really begun to wonder
there is not such thing as dry wash