National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-01-15
LETTER FROM PARIS
A VERY LIVELY CITY ON SUNDAY
ThIrty-Oae Theatres In FSIl BIaSt--A Trim Aro..,
the Gay Capitalize Hotel deS Inys.
lides-Tembeau de PEnpersuF
ct ses Generates.

ct ses Generates.
Special Correspondence Of The National Psr,,5,,..
PARIS. Dec q, 1SS0.-Paris, fair, smiling -
beautiful as if arrayed in holiday garb n.y.
sents a striking contrast and relief to the a..
after the smoke and fOgof London. Parisis a e;,-
of pleasures par e1celeRce 1t is said whoever o..
not find pleasure at his feet in Paris eitba.
does not know how to look for it or Is not amns
able. The city has nearly two million Of ipboL
itantS. It abounds in restaurants, some with g.
prices for meals others varying, according "a tbs
quarter Of the city, and the reputation Of ,bs
house. A feature of the city is the SOM,
houses where you can get an excellent bowl 4,
soup for twenty eentimes. Then there are IN,
cremeries where you get coffee rice, milk. ego,
or chocolate for from twenty to thirty eentiroas
| The French cafes, which are justly celebrated an
over the world are very numerous and general
resort for all strOlers The finest of theseare fnd
on the Boulevards, and their luxury brillisprv
and decoration are as enchanting TO the eya :,
their viands are to the furnished stomach Go IA
these cafes at ten O'Clock in the evening and Won
will see Paris in all its animation its glitter and
its beauty.
There are, including the varieties and cifss s,a-
llcdTlE OF
are open on Sunday The largest and finest of these
is the Theatre Rationale de TOpera. This verv fine
piece OF architecture was erected at the cost ~
100000 francs. The sculpture and characterization
are very fine. The grand staircase has in sculpture
"Le GrOupe de la Danse," by Carpeaux In tia
centre is the figure of woman with tambourius
in her hands She has wings, and is evidently the
angel of the dance At her feet plays little child
while dancing around her are half a dozen female
figures. There are also other groups by d'Aisns
NIillet which is element of attraction for hOss
who admire the great creations of genius. They
are now playing Les Compile Dry" by La KO7rl.
game.
The Theatre Francois is the standard theatre az
the nation. The chief works of the French litea
ture are here produced, and the actors are the best
OF the French comedians. III the vestibule is tia
statue of Talma and the statue of Tragedy and
Comedy. The green-rOOm contains statues Of Vol.
taire and Rachel. At the Theatre Francois thsy
are playing L Epreuce" by Jean Baudry.
lie Palais de rHippodrome is one of the curiosE.
ties of Paris 1t is colossal monument Of a won.
derful conception. 1t is of vast proportions and
built entirely of iron. The roof is metallic andH
glazed. popularity of the HippOdrome aud aa
original idea is that over head is vast opening
which displays the sky and allows abundance Of
air to penetrate the interior. In case of rain the
luStAitt9 DI III
tallic dome which rolls intoits place railroad
DE LHorEL DIES ISvALIDEs
This hotel for invalid and WORKOUT soldiers was
commenced in 1911 and finished in 1910. The
principal entrance is a vast esplanade, divided
into avenues covered with trees arranged method
ically. In the esplanade, each side of the gate
are placed eighteen cannonS. This is a battery 70
announce to the inhabitants important EVENT.
One of the cannon was taken at Vienna In 1851
II has engraved upon it this motto: d" Eriulr at
NergD' -"Yanquish or die" There are eight can
mons that were taken at the battle of AuSterlitz
and there are other cannOns with Arabic iuscHp-
tions. On each side of the grand entrance are
posed two beautiful statues of Minerva and Man
The building enclOses a large square court. The
walls are covered nearly their whole length
with historical paintings which are pro
tected from the weather by a kind of balcony
or awning. There is a very pretty Catholic
chapel for the benefit of the soldiers. In
this chapel are inscriptions to celebrated per-
| sonages and former governors of the hotel There
is one to Duke de COigny, marshal of France and
governor of the hotel who died in 1921 also one to
Duke lie COncglianO There are thirty-ihree other
| inscriptions among which is one to Madame Dc
| Yillelume nee de SOmbeime, who was allowed 70
become an inmate of the hotel by special de
cision The church of the sOldiersis separated
the COuldlLlS tIllU VI
Napoleon T. and his brother Jerome, by a vast I'd
drapery fringed with gold, and a ehiseled iron
door The kitchen and refectories are very neat,
reminding one somewhat of our Soldiers Home at
Washington. The soup boiling, in large iron pots
with copper tops, we were allowed to inspect, and
it looked and smelled savory. In one Of the re-
factories is table painted by Van der Meuen,
with pictures representing the principal battles Of
the reign of Louis XIV. To be entitled to this
hotel the soldier must have served his country
thirty years, and must also receive pension.
TONBEAU DE L ENPEREUR.
The chapel or tomb which contains the remains
of Napoleon I. consists of three circular rotundas,
the largest of which is surmounted by a gilded
dome. Entering reverentially, we cross the marble
floor to theeentre rotunda and gaze solemnIy down
to the crypt where repOse the ashes Of Frances
greatest hero. The crypt is circular in FORM and
supported by twelve marble pillars Each pillar Is
a colossal figure representing victory Of the En-
perOr. The floor is inaid in enameled mOsaics the
outer circle forming star and the inner, next TO
the sarcOphagus wreathS of laUrels. The >arcOph-
aglis i formed of red stone of Finland. of ma
teral which will not decay, and which recalls the
/ Porphyry of antiquity, It was first employed by
| VI de MOntferand. architect 70 the Emperor Of
Russia and was used i'll the Temple of St. Isaac at
Petersburg The manufacture of the material. tho
have been unable 20 attain. The sarcophagtls IS
formed of four blocks the vat the cover, and two
supports. 1t is placed upon base of granite. The
last casket, which contains the cedar coffin brought
from St. Helena, is made of a substance called al
gala Theentrance to the cryptis through bronza
door over which is the inscription in black marble;
"Je desire que mes cendres repOsent sur les
bOrlS de la Seine. al milen de &c peupie, Francois
que jai tant Anne.
C'I desire my ashes to repOSe on the banks otth5
Seine. in the midst of the French people, WhpmL
so much love-
This inscription is extract from the will OF the
Emperor Near the door of the crypt are the
toombs of NapOleon's faithful friends, Generals
Bertrand and DurOc. In the back portion Of The
rotunda. from which one looks down upon the
crypt is a small chapel. At the foot Of the altar
are two angels in golden bronze supporting Two
twisted columns Of black marble, of q kind used
by the ancient Romans but the secret Of whichS
lost to the architects of the present day. The altar
is surmounted by marble Christ affixed to 5
bronze cross. The architect has cunningly deylSed
windows ofyellow glass. through which in rain o.
sunshine constantly streams luminous golden
light, enveloping the Christ and cross in soft and
mellow glory. l. NJ u
Mr. Lanes Mistake.
It is amazing how knock -kneed some people a;t