The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-12-21
The Toad Market Of Paris.

By the Jardin DIES Plantes, in the old
and quaint quarter of st. Marcel, you
will find, every Wednesday morning (if
you are an early riser), from spring to
autumn, very curious market place.
1t is as simple as a tobacco "brake'
and more enliyening than your coffee
market, at the same hour, at least
Passing down Rue Geoffroy, st. Hillaire,
at this early hour (seven to nine a. n.y.
your attention is called to an open
space of ground, separated by a board
ing from the street by noise like unto
that which greets the ears of tired Sen
atOrs when the sun of day is meeting
the twilight hour, and all freedom on
the banks of the Washington canal is
chorously joyous and loud We APP
proach this market place so full of sim
plicity and sound. Young men in blue
blouses, black silk caps Qike those our
tourists are wont to put in their peck
cts in America), pert faces, jaunty
airs, big tinger-rings, dandy boots,
greasy hair-parted down the middle
and prim mustaches, are the vendors.
In one hand they hold little stick, and
when the sounds alluded to grow heath
enish, whack! goes the stick on the top
of a barrel whence these diabolical
noises emanate and silence reigns. The
toads are momentarily dumb. We
know there IS a great deal of unlovable
sentiment arrayed against toads, yet
toads are full of love sentiment. A
toad carries all its young in most
loving and sentimental manner, and
why should not like beget like, if there
be any truth in the doctrine of Aris-
totle? Much bad blood and malignity
is got up against toads. This one of
the young men in blouse tells me, in
foppish, half-philosophical way. Bar
rels of toads Think of it! Barrels
packed like barrels of potatoes! "Sell-
ing at two francs; forty to forty-siX
francs a dozen, prime toads! nice
toadsn' Who buys them? Vegetable
gardeners. Why? For the reason that
tOads devOur the insects that otherwise
would devour the vegetables. Who de-
YOURS the toads? Contrary to some
ideas-not the French people. But
toads are being sold now, not devoured,
and it is with the selling we are inter-
ested. How do they vend them? Young
man in blouse bares his arm and thrusts
his open hand into the Shiny swim and
brings up two, three or four gymnastic
toads, wriggling and writhing. He
points out their merits and delivers
them in box by the dozen to the eager
market gardener, who takes his choice
and pays his price. The buying and
selling is done eXpeditiously and quiet
", the only noise being tOady-like, and
that is subdued much more readily by
the vender's baton than larger and
more noisy creatures in Congress COM
ply with the Speakers mallet. The Ii
oonse revenue to the Government is
great, while the profit to the vendors is
greater, arising from this other peculiar
Partisan baseness, the selling of tOads.
| address myself to one of the mer-
chants. Permit me to ask you if you
have been long in this business?" Mer-
chant looks at me and laconically re-
plies: Born in itn' Then | resume
and say, encouragingly: "You know a
good deal about it?'' He looks at me
again and replies: "Alln' l am I'M
easy as to his feelings, therefore change
the attack by asking: docs it pay
well?" He delgns not to look at me
now, but replies: "lt dOes." begin to
think he is as monosyllablic as toad,
and wonder if he has caught their hab-
its, as some people do certain peculiar
tiles that mark them in their trades,
such as tailors, shoemakers, carpenters
and printers. ''Do you suffer much
loss by death in packing the toads all
of a mass in a barrel?" 81 do notr'
"Is it expensive to cultivate them?n
cit is!' (''I vow the fellow is a
toad" l mentally say to myself.) Chow
do you care for them and propagate
them?" owe don't care much, and
they propagate themselvesm (Now |
know he is toad.) "Where?"
Marshes and rockeriesr' "Do you
never feed them?" "Never!" How
do they live?" "Pretty WELL" (Vile
toadD "Have you large supply?'
"Too larger | now look upon him
as the concentrated assemblage of many
toads, and | leave him, as he sings and
looks as simple as a Rafaelle in blouse
selling toads Inner Paris, indeed thou
art full of paradoxes and peculiarities
seldom seen outside!-COr. Baltimore
Sun.