Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1878-10-22

one of the public, proceeded to the Rue .
Drouot TO participate in wholly gratu-
itous entertainment There are so very
few places in Paris, apart from the public
museums and picture galleries, which can
be seen for nothing; and with regard TO
the establishments above the portals OF
which "entree libre" is written, / might
counsel you to bear in mind the wise max
i'm which bids us to beware Of the Greeks,
and Of the gifts which they give. TO be
admitted ostensibIy free gratis, and for
nothing to a Champs Elysees concert, TO
be privileged to listen to bad instrumental
music and worse singing, and to be called
upon to pay three francs fifty confines Ior
glass OF sour beer, or cup of chiccory
coffee, may be humorous from the propri-
etor's point Of view, but 1t Is scarcely
comic transaction so far as you are con-
cerned. | rejoice, however, to remark
that ala consommation' was not obhga-
tory in the Sale des Depeches in the Rue
Drouot. No waiter importuned me to
give my orders; nor did anybody ask me
to buy anything, although there were
good many articles on the walls which l
might have purchased, such as pictures
and water color drawings sent here for
sale. Telegraphic dispatches from all
parts of the world are here duly displayed,
and you may learn the latest news from
Bosnia and Herzegovina, from China and
Peru, from Capel Court aid from GRIM
Tartary. The fluctuations of native and
foreign bonds and shares can be studied,
and the latest state of odds on horse races
ascertained; but the Sale des Depeches
through which, it is calculated, some
twenty-five thousand persons pass IN the
course of every twenty-four hours-serves
other purposes than these. The room is
Kind of bazaar for works Of art, and a
great advertising hail, in which highly re-
mUnora,iye prices are obtained for wall
space. To the Partisan, born lounger
and stroller, this eleemOsynary lounging
place must be source Of constantly-re-
newed delight. So much to stare at and
nothing to pay, Dispatches from Bosnia
aud Herzegovina, Chapel Court, and Grim
Tartary are mingled with glowing poly
chromatic prooIamatious from the renown-
ed ChocoIat Patapouf, aud Rahout DIES
Arabes. Ninou de d Eucios Tooth Powder,
Robert Macaire's Moral Cough Lozengcs,
TO Josn Of Arcs Aromatic Sticking Pas
ter, and Cumus Dentatu's llippopotamus
Horn False Teeth 1t there Is anything
odd or out of the way, floating about
Paris it is picked up by the Figaro, and
exhibited in the Sale des Depechcs.-
Recently there was shown specimen Of
the wretched ration Of forage allowed by
the Compagnie Gnnerao deS OmnibuSeS
10 their overwork,d horses should not
bc surprised 10 see Peter the Greats will,
or the sabre which was 1.-The happicsi
thing" OF the life Of NJ Joseph Prud-
homme, or the keys Of the Bastille, or
Robespierre's skull when he was a young
manor the pistol with which Booth killed
President Linco displayed in the Sale
des Depeches Of the Figaro The astute
proprietary OF the journal are no losers
by their generosity. The Sale was for
merry wine shop The Figaro bought
out the marchand de wins at a very heavy
figure; but the revenue a,cruing from the
advertisements Is already beginning to
yield a very large profit; the institution
ii>et-ieebiy initiated by another journal
or tSo-enhances the prestige and the
popularity Of the Figaro, and who shall
~ but that. in many instan -es, the ap-
parently Improbable faneur comes from
the Sale des Depeches metamOrphosed
into that being SO dear to the proprietorial
journalistic Leart, full fedged abonne-
a yearly subscriber to the astute journal
with the g.ittering Eye. But must sus-
pend for the moment my travels in the
Rue Drouot.