, 1880-04-04
A Letter About Cafes from a Cor
ner Of a Cafe.
Distinguished Rabituts In Antiqlpsted Trio
Juvenile 0ttogenarians Walters.

| his pafiah-ehurch, and !" sits among bis bows II
When he Is seized by a longing for extraordinary
amusement, he generally consults his wife.
II ING lady is willing, he probably
| taRes MS amusement at the theatre
! dGtifutly and decorousy, in hercompauy There
are few exceptions. I am told,-mon who
lounge at Clubs and ltngor late at Ludgate- Ill
Dars or podegas; but these arc the black sheep
III tne nocK, anu Society is pretty unanimous In
| condemnlng them Americans ure not unlike
! Englishmcn in most domestic matters; believe
at all events In their love Of home md the
dutiful Difference Of husbands to their wives,
| (Dfd detect a smile, then?)
The average Parisinn is
| NOT DOMESTIC ANIMAL.
Hc takes his pleasure seldom ia his wife's COM
pany, and ho never sets among his boys at bis
plrfsh-church. Indeed, the odds arc, he could
not tell you which was his parish, il you asked
him. He' is all tncorrigiblo haunter ct cafes,
and, II he can nfforu 1t. Ut theatres. Moreover,
nobody thinks the worse OF him for it.
There was time when Paris salon was the
most delightful place OF entertainment In tho
world The art of conversation had not died
out then, and no stiff barriers had been raised
to check the natural intercourse Of the sexes
1t Is very different now. The reception" and
the "soirte dansante" Of to-day are miserable
delusons. Small talk, inspidity, and con-
vendon have replaced the charming wit
and abandon Of another age. Men
and women drift further and further from each
other daily. Dress-coats on one side, pctticoats
on the other. It's the same story over and over
agnn Of every reception. The gentlemen bow
t3,d1 t9 the ladies', and throw them few common
done that, oil they go into a corner to
plugue each other with their politics,
The The. ladies', for lask Of better employment,
confessors How could the art Of conversation
tu nd VI pG,asn a1a .n sucn unnnturat rashions9
nna a. ~ WAL nave we left IN plnce Ct tl The dull
nnt know lRher. th fs,,t is o. gUssp 81
nn nen nnt mpo ~ ~ 1a renaps tne women Even
and politeness @ M sxo S<lonS nave Tor VII
for instance There no women enter but the
fur hostess: ! should nut dare to draw any
Besdcs Is 4.asf sfoer as ha
In taste. Politics are the staple subject OF con
xersation IN ner salon; and she hersslf H. at oil
nightly review passing for profound. A
very clever woman remarked to me, tho other
day, that, IN the s, long list Of contributors up
male name appears, except "Oufda's." Now.
"Ouida'' Is, as every one knows as masculine
Is 1,s}tn n!'etse Lamoef me Adam, II
eusy Of access us the Cafe Voltairc. uow-why,
VIC might cure less for the Cafe Voltaire.
tended us a :" pun for the Caf6 Voltaire. If
We're acquainted with my other equally pleas
ant, intellectual, and literary, should give 1t
special prominence. [ confess to IL deep -seMted
eafe, not the man, you please. Is not
p brilliant, gilded. spck- and-span+ noisy place.
like the Cnfe Reche or the Cnfe du Cardinal The
Gr.ano 18 the more sfately anu Imposing; the
ariston.ati ,t 4l,ey 1nmo - +ha1 a is ta'e
arlstoctae1c; Dut tney none o1 tnem nave the
0sn'e e"lA1"'aoa lor 1nc.
am at home. For 80 ceutimes I can enjoy "a
feast Of reason and Il how OF soul " i'll the soci-
Of artists ana eptnors
Elisha Of the Eltjuh who wus Auguste Conte.
Ny neighbor OH the left Is Ranc. once OF tho
Commune, c1-Deputy for Lyons.-at present u
Francaise, aud IN intimate friend Of Gambetta.
In front of me st knot OF rising
dramatlsts and PoFs. among them u
bly, OF Hebrew origin, nnmed Picrre Elzear,
whose adaptation OF Daudet's "Nabab" :" Is
shortly to be played at the vaudeville. 4 little
Laboulaye, derisivcly nicknamed the American
Senutor, on account Ut his enthusiastic adisiru-
ton of American Institutions He is not e. e.
Actly popular at the Moment but he is none the |
less interesting. AS speaker nnd writer he has
not many rivals. Pity that his political honesty |
} 3houid bc open to suspicion The ray-haircd
gentlemen on the other side Of the room nrc atl
s. Littrd. the eminent lexicogrupher Positivist,
and Acnacmcian WAS. t1!1 ho 1sil III, . 1afnlllar
'na1v ~ ,siIcd iuu s and "iIant H'o WiersIawsk
.hort t}mo hcfope bfs death vear or two veers
,uos' a1t ''''o 'clofe us o0e'n e"' wv
II yoq we're to drop in at our s cate any eyen,
IN ~ ~ NY nn1t"e ''' ' 'oA n0'
~ ~ ,'y 4.1n, ,,>> ~, .,,r,o,r,r,.e
b, ana "oaoos neo ho'd nho oid M 1ontemen md one
equally build. but exceedingly smali-deeply ao-
orbed in Agume of domnoes. The little old