The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-20
MME. LAHBER,S SALON.
The Rendezvous of Distinguished
Parisians and she Birthp place Of
HLa NOuvelle Revue,

The Rendezvous of Distinguished
Parisians and she thplace Ol
"La NOuvelle Revue.''
Paris Letter to the New York worldl
Perhaps if Nine. Bonaparte-P Patterson
had lived to know Nine. Juliette Lam
Der, she would not altogether have de
SPARED of Republieanism as a means O
social success. Mime. Lamber, or to cal
her by her real name, Nine. Adam, ha'
all the distinction that Madame Patterson
sighed for. She is very rich, she is yer,
charming, she keeps the salon of Paris
, Everybody worth knowing must &C
there 1t is like those star centers oi
the map of Paris, whence the roads radiatt
to everywhere. Its hostess is the Nine
Recamier of the day.
She may almost be said to have revived
the salon; for what with the war and
what with the change of manners this es
sehtally French institution has been in d
languishing state for long time past
She has revived it too in the interest OF
the republic. Her house is great po-
litical center as well as home She has
trumped the last card of the Legitimists,
the last card of the Orleanists. The LIE,
gitimists said that you never could have
influential reunions without birth; the
Orleanists said that you could never have
them without wealth as we'll; and of
course both meant you to understand
that you need not look for wealth or
birth outside their ranks.
Now Nine. Lamber has the two within
her charmed circle. Her late husband
was Republican millionaire. There is
some story told of his having saved Gam
bettas life at the risk of his own, and he
certainly spent his fortune freely for the
cause. He was a Republican when it
was rather a bold thing for man of
wealth to wear the badge of that party.
He WAS by Gambettas side in the dark
est hours of TIE war, and when he died
he left his faith in Republicanism to his
wife. The other part of the heritage
consisted of some odd millions in money.
Nine. Julette Lamber-let me 90 on
calling her by this pretty nomde plume
Immediate y set up a salon. 1t is easy
to set up AIN institution of this sort, but
not 80 easy to make it flourish. She did
| both--the last because she was content
to bide her time. She knew that salon
could not be made in hurry: it is only
the American ladies here who think
that.
She began in a small way after the
Communist troubles, and little by little
her house has become sort of ante
chamber of Parliament. There are two
conditions of entry; eminence and l was
going to say faith in the present French
Constitution, but that is hardly exact.
If you can not bless the existing form of
government yon are required not to curse
it-that is all. Nine. Lamber exercises
large hospitality, and those whom she
can not welcome as brethren in belief, she
is sometimes glad to see as possible con-
verts. 1t may seem an easy thing to any
one with fortune, a charming presence,
amiable manners and SO on, to make pub
lie profession of any form of political
opinion; and so it is in quiet times. But
Der kept social conventicle for Repub-
Leans almost at the risk of her personal
safety.
A night or two after the 10th of May
few men sat in her rooms with every
prospectus they thought, at least--of
finding the police ready to hurry them
off to a prison when they reached the
street. Louis Blame, Gambetta Girardin
were of the number. 1t was time of
the widest rumors. Every newcomer
had his story of the intention of the De
Broglie Cabinet to make coup d'etat.
One has heard from friend in the Min
istry of the Interior that the list of pro-
scription had been drawn up. Another
had seen the police waiting at the doors
of the destined victims. All this was
little absurd, perhaps-so was the talk
of the hunted beasts in the fable-but
we must remember that many of Nine.
Lamber's guests were old foxes who had
felt the teeth of the trap during Nape-
Icons coup detat. Two people alone in
that salon persisted in believing there
was nothing in it. Louis Blanc was one.
He demonstrated "mathematically" that
CleIc Coulu uot ut coup eIaG, anu IOf
once mathematics was right.
There could not, he said, because the
circumstances were no longer the same as
at the time of the old attempt. Napo-
leon succeeded because the Assembly was
unpopular; but the present Assembly be-
ing popular, MacMahon would never ven
ture. Nine. Lamber did not reason about
it; she only smiled. Perhaps she feared
as much as the rest, but this was her way
of putting heart into their deliberations
When Gambetta left in his carriage at
about midnight the others followed him
as a sort of amateur body-guard all the
way to the Chaussee dAntin, ready to
raise the populace and rescue their leader
if the police attempted to take him off.
Nothing came of it, but Gambetta was
none the less grateful to his hostess for
her courage in this supreme moment of
trial. At dinner given at her house
some time after he proposed her health
in highly eulogistic terms, as one who
had been the friend of the republic in ad-
yersity and who would he ifs armament