Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-11-12

tue Irincesse de bagdaQ. tray
Hairs only is faithful on the occasion, at
the souvenir of which he rekindles the fire
of his youth, but as lumbago and rheumatic
pains have become his companions he is
forced to avoid the night air, SO that s.La
vie de Boheme" " more rarely makes its an.
pearance and remains always a shorter
time abroad. The number of
RoMANcEs AND TRAGEDIES
That have begun the thread of their work.
ings in the Quarter Latin, to be termina.
mated in broader fields, are not to be count
ed, and although young men cast away
their student habits very much as their
old boots, and break with their old &C.
qusintances when entering seriously upon
life, they on more than one occasion find
themselves closely united to the past.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and
nowhere else than in Paris, the strange
city of romance par excellence, would the
following romance take place: A young
student in medicine had made the acquaint-
ance of young flower girl, who was q
grisette of the QUARTER Latin, ana al
though vows of eternal affection had been
hastened to dismiss from his mind the
Lisette of his frolicsome days. He grew
to be physician of great fame, and was
much astonished one day to odiscoverinalady
patient the little flower girl whose bright
eyes had made his heart beat. The past
affection, although buried deep, was sud-
denly reawakened and the vows of youth
were again taken up, mellowed by the seri-
BUSINESS of maturer years. The couple
soon, however, drifted apart, and the lady
afterward appeared upon the scenes as
Nine. H., the wife of the well-known Mr..
H., and was 80 honored and entertained
for ten years, at the end of which time the
gentleman died, and it was then discov.
cred that the lady was unable to produce
her marriage certificate. But the woman
was yet to prove herself a person OF
MANY RESOURCES, 10
And that her career was not yet finished.
During the war she entered the service of
the Prussian Government, and sent them
much valuable information from Paris with
regard to French affairs. She finished by
captivating both the affections and graft
tude of Prussian officer high in favor
with the Emperor, and who decided on
marrying her. Much opposition was made
by the officers family, and by the Prussian
Government as well, but to no avail, and
although the lady is not received at the
German court, she is courteously treated
by the high officials on account of the
services she has rendered. She at
present occupies one of the handsomest
private hotels on the Champs Elysees,
where she reigns queen over small
court of gentlemen only, composed for the
most part OF Bonapartists and Legitimists,
as Republicans are too patriotic to ap-
proach her. This princely palace, through
whose open windows may be discerned
the surroundings of a luxurious life, is the
one object of interest to all the flower
girls of the French capital. In the twilight,
and when the shades of night have fallen,
they haunt its stone walls and watch the
brilliant lights through the closed blinds as
they repeat to themselves, "She was no
more than am 1. Some are filled with awe
and others weep with envy and impatience,
while all would part with one half >the
years of their existence to learn from her
the secret of her success. Tho etudiante
of the Quarter Latin has more than one
brilliant example before her of worldly
success come to one of her own kind, and
since she firmly believes her star is bound
to shine as bright, she throws away all
thought of the morrow and dances at the
Butler with increased spirit and violence.
Indeed there is SO much to encourage her
on the road she has chosen, and so little
effort made by society to turn her frcm it,
THE HABITANT
Of the Quarter Latin no longer resembles
those of fifty years ago, for the general
tendency of the assimilation of habits and
customs has robbed the student of many
Of his peculiarities, besides the greater
liberty of action permitted has had the
effect of modifying his characteristic de-
fance. One has but to listen to the
account of the first representation of
" Hermann" when all Victor Hugos friends
of the QUARTER Latin turned out in full fo,ce
tobattle for the romantic school. Thetableau
they presented, as they stood before the
Theatre Francais waiting for the doors to
be opened to them, was most extraordinary
and picturesque. Theophlie Gautier wore
flaming crimson coat, with his hair down
upon his shoulders others were as fan
tastically dressed, and although the sun
shone bright, they appeared to have
just left some fancy ball. They de.
lighted in exaggerating their eccen-
tricities and horrifying the sedate and
severe bourgeois, but to-day the bourgeois,
the poet and the bohemian are too closely
allied for the same distinction to exist,
and no one is longer Mortified. The
Quarter Latin has been the home at
some time of the famous writers of
France and the majority of the men
Of letters have trod its classical streets,
while from its attic windows genius has
spread its wings in search of stores with
which to enrich French literature. All
incidents which occur in the Quarter
Latin excite the interest Of Parigians, for
the title itself awakens in the mind of
very many the souvenir of college days.
And are they not pleasant to remember
Those days when the whole universe
seemed concentrated within the college
walls, and feelings and ambitions were SO
intense that the world seemed small to
hold them, but which, alas were soon
dissolved in space on that vast sea Of life.
VAL.