The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1878-11-01
From our Regular Correspondent.l

| 1O1EL OO hOONhE,
PARIS, Oct. 5, 1878.
Delightful as Paris Is, without doubt
on clear bright day, when the sun is
shining and the fountains on the Place
de la Concorde seemed to be charged
with diamonds instead of water, yet l
know of no city that looks so dull and
dismal when it rains London has its
fogs; but one expects them, therefore one
would be disappointed, in fact, if it were
not foggy, as if we had missed part OF
the show but, somehow or other fogs
and rain do not assimilate with the Paris
atmosphere, and the gay and glittering
butterflies which people its busy streets
look dismal enough when the rain is
pouring down on dreary October after
noon, like to day. The famous painting
by Edward Detaille, "Le Regiment gui
passe," which was exhibited az the salon
of rs, and is now owned by the Corcoran
Gallery at Washington, I believe, is an
excellent delineation of a rainy day IN
Paris, from the forlorn look of the poodle
dog that trudges in front of the soldiers,
to the dreary aspect of Porte st Martin,
in the foreground. The omnibusses
loaded with umbrellas, the dripping po.
licemen' the yellow mud in the street,
the clammy looking houses-all this
makes up perfect tout ensemble, which
no one who has seen Paris on rainy
day can fail to appreciate.
Itison such days as these that j,
acres, or Paris Hacks make their richest
harvest. According to official reports
here are not less than 1900 of these
vehicles in constant use in Paris; they
may be readily known by the red waist
coat and shining hat of the driver, and
by the little wooden sign on his seat,
which indicates whether his vehicle is to
let, or not. If this sign is turned so as to
show the word lone, then the facre is en-
gagged; if not, it is open to engagement,
at the very moderate rate of two francs
(forty cents) an hour, or thirty cents for
a trip, or course as the French call it,
any place within the walls of the city.
The omnibusses, of course, are still bet
ter patronized, and it is next to impossi-
bic to get seat in one except at the ter
minal stations, every one showing the
sign of Complet, which means, simply
translated, no room. And that reminds
me of an anecdote, oft told here, yet
doubtless new to most of your readers
An American who had just arrived from
the mother country was startled at find
ing all the street cars and omnibusses
showing this sign. He wanted to go to
a hotel, but found every omnibus crowd
ed, and the passengers apparently all
going in the same direction, viz to q
place called "Complet." "What popu
lar place that must be" be thought, "thai
even here in Paris, everybody crowds
there; and, strange to say the Guide
Books say nothing about it," 1t was
some time before he found the meaning
of this mystic word and learned that
every omnibus has seats, outside and in.
side for only certain number ofpeople
and when these are all filed, the con.
ductor shows the sign "Complet" for
ward and aft, and cannot be induced to
stop to pick up more passengers on any
part of his route. All the whistling, hol
loing, swearing and shaking of umbrellas
in Christendom would not induce hin
to do it,
The anchored balloon in the courtyard
of the Tuilleries is still doing fair bust
ness, although the price for trip Coz
metres up in the air has not been reduc
ed. As the aerial voyage lasts only abou
twenty minutes, the price charged (fou
! dollars) seems rather high. Ihave mad,
! the ascent twice, once in fair weather
, and this forenoon in the rain, and founC
8 the last trip the most interesting. Afte
, we had got up about two hundred ani
fifty yards, we could see nothing at al
under us, except dark gray cloud
Paris was completely hidden in the ran
Z with the exception of the Arc y Etrile
!, the outlines of which could be faintl.
e traced through the underlying mist
D Twice that height we had passed com
pletely through the rain and the SIX,
E looked bright and blue above us, al
though the sun was still hidden b,
higher clouds. The last hundred yard
t did not change the appearance ofthing
\ with the exception that one of our lady
4 passengers got seasick no rare occurr
ence when there is little wind and ths
, balloon sways to and fro Ike ship in {
heavy sea-
The effect of this balloon ascension OF
a clear day, when all the objects below
are distinctly visible and Paris, with it
! immense network of streets and boule
!. wards, lies spread out like a map, is very
l peculiar. As the balloon, which vii
s carry sixty two passengers, gradual!
3 rises, the ground seems to sink below
and the balloon itself with its occupant
to remain stationary in space; it is tn
same optical illusion, but in revers'
order, as that to which one is subjec
| when while sitting in railroad car, no
in motion, another train passes by, AM
+ it seems as if YOU were moving and tn
: other train at stsndstill. The immens
buildings of the Tuilleries and Louvr
! gradually diminish in size; in a I littl
a while, the triumphal arch on the Piac