Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-08-18
From Our Regular Correspondent
Paris Letter.
PARIS, France, Aug. l, 1880.

PARIS, France, Aug. L, 1851.
The inhabitants of the nineteenth arron-
basement enjoyed the privilege to day of
acclaiming their political friends and
gratifying their musical taste at the same
time. A grand meeting of radicals and
free thinkers hal been announced, and the
event came of this afterr Don at the Sale
Chayne. in the Rue d Alemagne. under
the presidency of NJ. Henri Rochefort,
the political programme being relieved
by interludos of music and singing. The
locality of the hall borders on Belleville,
so that of course the ouUrier element
largely predominated; but rs those who
are not provided with tickets showing
them to be- members of the free thought
association had to pay ten cents admission,
an entrance was effected without any seri
Gus degree of crowding. Nevertheless the
interior of the hall was closely packed.
Some two thousand people were collected.
The only special decoration, except IA few
IL US, was u pltoNcI uuoI vi tuO iOP"iO
wearing the Phrygian cap and scarlet
sash Of course NJ. Rochefort's advent
was hailed with loud and enthusiastic
cheers; indeed to-days meeting may be
called the first introduction of NJ. Roche
fort to the people of Paris since his return
from exile, as yesterday s punch d honne"r
was rather private than "a public cere-
mony. The audience itself was composed
principally of the more respectable class
of workmen. A goodly sprinkling of the
every day blouse was, however, visible.
while here and there closely-cropped-
repulsive, hagglrd face reminded one of
the days when Paris was a prey to the
fury of the most disreputable and ahan-
doned portion of her population.
Citizen" Rocehfort, in reply to the
hearty greeting with which he was
received, spoke a few words of thanks
with excellent taste. He expressed the
difficulty he felt in adequately thankin G
his hearers for their enthusiasm, and re-
quested them to extend their sympathies
to those of their political friends who,
more unfortunate than he, had spent long
years in prison far from their country and
many of whom had been amnestied only
by death. He begged to join the thanks
of these men to his own for heartiness of the
cheers with which he was greeted After
the cries of "Vive Rochefort' had died on,
the choir proceeded to carry out the first
number of the programme by singing an
overture, evidently composed for the
occasion, the refrain of which includes
The word "ESclaveS qu' etaient nos pcre'
lei nous SOnanseS procedures The mex
portion of the entertainment was of {
political nature, consisting of speech 10y
the citizen Raoul Canvet on the taking OF
the Bastile. The speaker in forcible
language endeavored to show how much
and how little the people had gained by
the actions of their fathers in '89. He
said the real Bastille, the Bastille OF princ
pies, existed in the present day, just ~
it did before the destruction of the ma
terial Bastile of stone and iron. The
speaker was making some remarks abou
the Tirnquet election when some luckles'
but courageous wight in the body of thu
hall ventured to cry, "VsUe Ganlbetta. '
A voice in the gallery at once repie'
with word that would not look well il
English, and the meeting gave itself VI
for some minutes to the widest disorder
The patriots Immediately surrounded tn
luckless advocate of legality, threatene'
to tear him to pieces or eject him will
violence; but the throng was too dens,
for such IL summary proceeding, and hi
opponents had to be content with yelln!
and shaking their fist at him.