The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-06-25
Ladies Who Never Miss Church and Cent
men Who Never Visit Mabille.

Ladies Who Never Miss Church and GENTLE
men Who Never Visit Mabille.
THE Parisian.l
By the many things told and written about
our American colony, the common idea to
the Gentiles must be that its members are
given up to the pleasures and absurdities,
vieing with the most frivolous native Paris
ians and forgetting or ignoring the precepts
and teachings of our strict and stern old
forefatbers-for we have forefathers and a
history, and those who deny our rights to
these traditions only repeat arguments
which should be obsolete, ana stamped as
can't. For in these days. when history is
made by machinery and breechloaders and
written by electricity, pedigrees are not re-
quired of any great length, and ance stors
are not necessary. A few years ago society
only demanded the existence of a family
grandfather, but the traditional grandfather
is no longer asked for, for who can not deny
that in the present time one generation can
create gentleman? And of our beautiful
American girls the titled foreigner does not
even ask If they have competent dowries,
or "who was your father?" But our colony
is not unlike an American village. The
usual number of eccentric characters who
make the talk and gossip Of the place are to
be found, while the mass live quiet digni-
fed life, in perfect harmony with that of
their friends and relations on the other side
of the ocean. Their happiest moments are
when they receive 'letters from home," and
many a drive or evening entertainment is
refused because they have ''letters TO write"
and then the daily or weekly paper which
arrives by the foreign post, perhaps jour
nal of one of our great cities, or poorly
printed provincial sheet, but giving items
of local interest from home-they all re-
ceive it and look for its coming. They look
carefully through the list of arrivals in the
local papers before reading the fashions,
although the fashions are not forgotten.
They are interested In home politics only
and attend church every Sunday. Think of
lady. and we know one, who has lived in
Paris many years in luxury, and fond of
enjoyment, the grand fetes, ilitary re-
views and races, who has never seen Grand
PrIx, and will miss the next, because they
are always run on Sunday And there are
many other ladies in the colony who stay
quietly at home on that Partisan gala day.
No one that knows them thinks OF arguing
or of trying TO change their convictions,
and if new acquaintance puts the familiar
question, Are you going to the Grand
Prix?" the answer, mol" is given with
such repose that tho questioner is silenced.
We also know the wife of an artist who did
not go to the Salon on vanishing day, al
though having the much envied privilege
of entering on that day of days, because
this years vanishing day came upon Sun
day. We know of ladies who have passed
several winters In Paris during the gay sea-
son, and have never been TO party or the
tneatel on ouuudy evening, ano, strange rs
it may seem to those who only know our
colony by hearsay, there are American men
who have lived in Paris for years who have
never seen the inside of the Jardin Mabille.
Ali do not consider it necessary to ''go just
once" to such places and then to explain at
length how they have been shocked. IL i
grand to see the energy of some of our ladies
IN combining duty and pleasure, which is
essentially Partisan, and only acquired after
years OF residence. We have known a
mother of young family to spend Satur-
day afternoon in making visits, and after
dinner help the little ones with their les
sons for Sundsy-school; then dress for ball.
and, with eyes upon the clock, stand all be-
decked and bejeweled while she puts on her
long gloves and listens to the long recital of
the first days precepts; and on the next
morning she was TO be found in church,
with her little brood about her, before the
Erst