Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-01-15
Our European Letter.
PARIS, FRANCE, Dec. 81, 1873.

grand preparations are mab in view oi
the Jour de I An" 1t is not only tina
shops exhibit their finest wars, but serv.
ants, chill dren, and all other human be
ings on the lookout for etremes put or
their best manners, rs if conscious that
the value of the gifts to be madethem on
the morrow of St. Sylvester's defended on
the amiabilty of their mien DUNG the
preceding week. There is an agreeable
side to this universal pleasantness # feat
ure, but also an Objectionable one. The
custom of bestowing etrennes has gown
by degrees till it has luxuriated TO the pro.
portion of an enormous abuse. Formerly
a man owed New Years gifts 10 the mem
bers of his family. to his servants, and TO
persons like the postman, dustmsn, sweep,
and waterman who rendered him casual
service in the course of n year, AMI the
tokens of affection lavished on these Divers
individuals represented Il pretty fair total
in money. But nowadays man must
carry tokens of his goodwill on the cca-
sion of the New Year to acquaintnces
who are not even friends, and to the sew
ants of these acquaintance. Etiqutte
requires that if you have dined ut a hose
in the course of year you should preset
its mistress with box of bonbons, ah
one or more of the servants with piee
of gold or silver. have noticed that gol
is more welcome than silver. Likewise h
the restaurants and cafes, the walters VIII
generally earn far more than your govern
ment clerks at home, make a point o
offering gilt comets of bonbons aRl littk
parcels of cigars tied with gay ribbons t.
habitual customers. The customer ma,
refuse this homage, and evade making thu
usual return for it, but if so, the best thing
he can do is to change his cafe thence
forth, as otherwise he will stand chance
of being very i'll attended to during the
ensuing twelve month. The proper thing
to do is to pocket one of the parcels o.
cigars, which cost lfpenny apiece, ant
are all vile, and to tender at least a five
franc piece in exchange. All this may be
easy enough for people to W HON II dollar
is "a small matter; but there are many
Frenchmen to whom this sum is equiv
lent to couple of dinners, and it has Il
ways been wonder to me how thes
unfortunates manage to weather tina
fearful cape of the Jour de I An. If YOU
60 into one of the large confectioner's
shops to buy New Year sugar-plums, you
find that the cheapest prescntable box of
these cdibles costs twenty francs. The
price of toys for which Partisan youngsters
will say Thank you" has risen in the
same proportion. No little French girl
endowed with any self-respect will care
for doll unless it be clothed in silk Il tire,
and has a bonnet of the newest fashion
and if you sound Il French boy touching
the kind of etrcnne that would best please
him, he glibly suggests complete militia
ry equipment, consisting of kept. epaulettc,
sword. and rifle capable OF firing off caps
and frightening the domestic CIT. | mus
say that sincerely pity the young Paris
ian who goes Il great deal into society and
likes 10 do things handsomely at the New
Year. lie cannot possibly acquit himself
OF his dues under fifty or sixty dollars,
and if he be at all large minded his taA
may amount TO double that. Then Of
course he has his years bill to pay: and
considering that the money which French
men draw from salaried posts is not large
insomuch that the chief justice of the
highest tribunal of the land gets only
about six thousand dollars year.
Instructions which have just been issued
by the heads of two or three government
offices in Franco with regard to the wear
ing of moustaches are not the first of the
kind for as far back as 1892 soldiers were
forbidden to wax their moustaches and
twist them into points, while later in the
same year the privilege Of letting the hair
grow on the upper lip was limited to the
grenadier corps. A few years later all
the cavalry, except the dragons, were
to wear moustaches; and in 1922
Victor, ut that itime minister of
war. extended the privilege to all infantry
soldiers and to officers in all branches of
the service. The last regulation upon the
subject touching the army was that of
Marshal Soult, who in 1882 made the
wearing of the moustache compulsory.
The growth of the moustachc has always
been prohibited in the French navy upon
sanitary grounds, rs the saline carnations
would, in the opinion of naval doctors, adj
here to the hair and cause the skin 10 chap =
but this cannot be the motive which has
always induced the directors of the Bank
of France to forbid their clerks the growth
of II moustache. The wearing of NOUS
taches by civilians did not become ut all
general until about 1880, when the "ro-
mantle " school of poets and novelsts
brought them into vogue; but they have
never been looked upon with favor by the
Judges, who us rule, decline to let bar.
risters plead before them if they have
The French clergy, with the
of missionaries, military chap
ains and colonial priests. are forbidden to
grow moustache, and in these exception
al cases beard must be grown us we'll as
4 moustache. Another class of persons
who never grow moustache are walters
in restaurants and cafes, and these latter
work so many hours n day that it is hard
% understand how they find time to have
themselves shaved
The action of Prince Louis Napoleon
Bonaparle against the Steele for libel on
he memory of his father, Napoleon Ill,
n alleging he had sold the state forests for
his private benefit, has come before the
Ippeal court. M. Brsson, vice president
If the chamber of deputies, counsel for
he Steele. renewed the demurrer over
ulcd by the court below, on the ground
hat the plaintiff did not describe himself