Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-08-18

PARIS, June 27.-The ambassador of
Turkey has just given a dinner to all
Paris. Unfortunately he had counted
upon the sun toTeceive in the garden. of
the Embassy, but the rain drove every
body into the parlors. Everything, how
ever, was lighted up giorno, the lawns
as well as the reception rooms. People
appeared extremely bored What
would you have2' said a great lady, to
whom the Sultan would have been glad
to throw his handkerchief; THE salons
Of Paris have lost their character. even
in ambassadors houses. You might
imagine anywhere that you were at
watering place or on an American ship
people know each other SO little. The
delightful intimacy of old times is
dead letter. Good morning and good
evening, that's all; you know nobody,
and do not want to know anybody. Rail.
roads and steamboats, have mingled all
nations together; you may know where
one comes from, but you do not know
where one is going. 1t has been said
that Paris is the worlds tavern, where
we pass and sup and do not stay" And
the great lady added ut is sad, for
there is no possibility of indulging a
serious passion. The man who threw
himself at your feet yesterday and swore
an eternal love, is already off this morn.
ing for trip round the world And we
are only at the beginning of this univer-
sal revolution. Yet. thiukl there are
people who still build houses"
The ambassador, passing by, said
Hush to the fair talker; don't talk of
building houses You know the Moslem
proverb says, Who builds house builds
his tomb.
The great lady was right. Since the
Revolution, that drama OF the Boulevard
Of Crime which is played in France be-
tween endless ent aetes, French society
has gone to pieces like the French char.
acter. Nevertheless society, if it is let
alone awhile, tries to reconstruct itself.
Under the Empire and under the Resto-
ration there was sort OF revival The
Revolution Of 1880 struck it down again
worse than that of 1889. Although the
citizen-king would have liked a court
worthy of the Bourbons, the burgeoisie
invaded the Tuileries and overshadowed
the heraldic figures as well as the intelli-
gent ones. And, Notwithstanding, no
royal family ever populated the great
chateau more aristocrstically. The
King sons and daughters proved their
race by their distinction, their heroism
and their love of art. The Orleans fam
lily would have liked to make the court
world of great names and great talent,
but the burgeoisie, having tue run OF the
house, prevented.
The Revolution Of l848 did nothing
for French society, but the Second EN-
pire made Parisian society, which was as
good as the other, as twas composed Of
the artistocracies, that of birth, of hero
ism, of the arts. Never was there SOW
ereign more hospitable to whoever
bore a name, as was shewn at Com.
piegne and the Empress Mondays. And
beside the court, society found other
refugees, the Sundays of the Princess
Mathilde, the Fridays of Nieuwerkerke,
the fetes OF the Duke de Morny, of Count
Walewski, Of the Princess of Metternich,
for example. But the fatal war Of 1870
scattered for a long time that slandered
society, which had, after all, its own vir-
tues What was called the unbridled
extravaganza of women never encroached
upon the share of the poor.
And now where is French society
The whirlwind has strewn everything
abroad, and French society is every
where without being anywhere. You
must go to the English or the Russian
Embasses-neutral ground-to find it.
The critics have an ideal Paris, as un-
discoverable to-day as the heroes and
heroines Of Balzac. Paris is no longer
a nation; it is hash of all nations
which come here to enjoy the game OF
love, luxury and life
1t is thus that the new Paris which has
grown up in the Champs Elysees emerges
over the old, and the Parisian socie ty has
ceased to exist, except among foreigners.
Even the courtesans who come to impose
their budget upon Paris are more for
eigners than Parisians, from Julia Bar
rucci to Cora Pearl, not to mention those
who have to-day the finest horses and
houses in town. Paris no longer belongs
to itself.
Will this state Of things long endure?
Will the natural sentiment create true
PARISH Unfortunately, opinions are
marking more and more the CULTS which
separate everybody. The family used to
be the ark of safety; but the revolution
has entered there. People live from
hand to mouth, enjoying to-day so as to
forget the morrow.
Decomposition has fully set in. Many
Parisians, adopting the Anglo-American
fashion, are ceasing to dine, under pre-
text that it takes too much time and
keeps them away from the theater. Per-
haps they are right. For few years
back there has been too much dining.
1t has come to grave, methodical, Off
cial matter. In fact, | may say it is
business demanding peculiar aptitudes.
1t is not everybody who can boast the
golden stomach of Charles Monselet. |
know of nothing more tiresome than a
dinner which is not amusing. Now, to
make dinner amusing requires guests
of some cleverness, and you cannot
always find them ready to your hand.
Some people imagine it is a very simple
matter to give a dinner party. Such
only succeed in giving boring parties.
You are liable after them to perish of
indigestion, for ennui is indigestible.
Among the dinners would advise any
one to avoid, are those Of ministers.
Cuisine always doubtful, icy faces, not
the first word to laugh at, and wines of