Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-10-24

Paris Letter,
Through the "Figaroa omce.

/ had never, so far as / know
seen the G6onne or subscriber il
the flesh, and under gregariou
conditions; SO having poste'
some letters--a post-office let
ter box and a telegraph offic'
are among the facilities Offered
} TO the public in the Sale de,
Depeches of the "Hgdro"--
entered the offices of the jour
nal itself, and asked to be al
lowed to have a peep at some
aboane's if there happened tc
be any on the premises. There
were plenty. A kind of gen
tleman usher of mature age
who looked SO grave and reyer-
end that he might have beer
Gil Bias father-who, you viii
remember, became an escuderC
in his declining years, his wife
adopting the vocation of a duen-
na-conducted me up a large
and softly carpeted vestibule, and
then into. a spacious ante-cham-
Der, the walls hung with antique
tapestry, Venetian mirrors, and
trophies of antique weapons
and plentifully furnished with
fanteuils and divans. The pre-
yailing style of the decorations
was Hispano Moresque; and
this indeed is the keynote of
the architecture and embellish-
ments of the Figaro offices, the
facade of which looking on the
Rue Drouot, is adorned by a
bronze statue OF the Immortal
Barber himself, looking as ele-
gantly impudent and as anus
ingly knayish as he does in the
finest French comedy and the
finest italian opera of which the
latter years of the wicked, worn
out 18th century can boast.
The sculptor of this bronze eff
figy of the tonsor of the Plaza
San Tomas gained the prize in
an animated competition among
some of the first plastic artists
in France, and terra-cotta mod
els of the Figaros which did
not win the prize-albeit the
figures are of rare merit-are
displayed ON brackets in the
ante-chamber. The polite gen.
tleman who was my cicerone
next led me to a gallery, or log
gia, running round the quadran-
gular covered court yard, an
swering precisely to the patio
Of house at Seville; only in
the centre instead of q fountain
there was a monumental bust in
marble of Beaumarchais, and
round three Of the sides there
were handsomely carved oaken
screens, pierced with pigeon
holes, through which money and
papers were being continually
passed. / could look down on
row of spruce clerks sitting
behind the usual big ledgers,
while OH the other side of the
screens there was flock of all
sorts and conditions Of people
busily engaged in paying cash
and receiving documents. "Ahp"
/ thought, "these are the adyer-
tisers. An established race.
Blessed be the advertisers!" Net
at all. | was quite in error. The
Hispano-Moresque patio was
the Bureau of subscribers of
the Figaro, and the multitude
on whom I was looking down
were the abonaes-the quarter
ly, half yearly or annual sub
scribers to the most popular
journal in France. The major
ity of American journals pub
lish the terms on which they
can be subscribed for, and an
American resident, say in Italy
or the interior of France, usual
ly subscribes for some Ameri-
can paper or another Of course.
We have all heard in America
of the "Subscribcr from the
First" and pretty airs he gives
himself sometimes in his CORES
pondence on the strength of his
seniority in subscription. He
is the twin brother Of the "con-
stant reader" and / am inclined
to think that he is at least the
cousin-german of "paterfami-
has," that he knows the real
name of ssVindex," and that he
- <,of ,1,,obo 1,lxr hoe n hoxvs,.o. 80