The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1881-02-22
OUR PARIS LETTER.
Special Correspondence of the Gazette.
DAn,e Eob n 1905

PARIS, Feb. z, 1881.
A few days or weeks in Paris will
only initiate the visitor into the gay
out-of-door life q the citizens. Let
ters of introduc ion are not expected
to open the doors of private houses
and live The bearer familiarity with
the home life, as with us. A mere
glimpse Of the privacy in which Euro
| peans encase themselves is all that can
be hoped for under the most favorable
circumstances. Even relationship, UNI
less It be very near, does not enable
the visitor to enter the privacy of a
| home, either in Great Britain or on
| the Continent except in hospitable
Ireland, where the hospitality is gen
orally in the inverse ratio to the abili-
ty of the entertainer.
An Engllshman 10 whom you pre-
sent such letter, will invite YOU to
dine with him at a hotel, perhaps ac-
company you to the Opera, and con-
slider himself absolved frJm further
duties in social way, unless there is
a specific purpose. A Frenchman will
dine you once or ftener at a Cafe,
will show you the attractive sights, or
tell you of them, take you to theGrand
! Opera, and, if he takes particularly to
you, will continue to show you small
attentions. But the home door is
never opened to you. This is, in
measure, because the Frenchman real
| ly has no home life in the sense in
which 1t is regarded in the
"Home, Sweet Home"
1t is not, as with us, the place about
which our best and fondest hopes.
loves and affections cling, and around
which cluster our sweetest and hottest
m mories, but rather convenient
! place to stop at and start from and to
stay when there is no more attractive
place TO so to. For all social entoy>
ments and all amusements they 20
elsewhere. They therefore require
less room III their houses than do we
who consider our houses the place of
all places. Very few of the French
families occupy entire houses. Even
the wealthy who keep their horses and
carriages rarely occupy more than a
floor or "Aat," which is suite OF
rooms upon single floor; and as most
houses are built with from five to sew.
en- stories, there ars generally that
number Of families in the house. and
oftener double the number.
Both funerals and marriages take
place in the churches, which are all
| arranged for such purposes, and are in
a measure as public as the regular
church services. In most ufthe Catho.
lie churches the display in such cases
is III accordance with the tinaneia
ability Of the parties, aud both wed
dlngs and funerals are costly. Ii
cases of the funerals Of the wealthy
D hundreds OF yards of the Grape or clotl
+ are used for draping, hundreds Of can
dies burned be the time either night O
day, and the best of muse, both voca
and instrumental often the singers Z
t the Grand Opera are engaged aud Ia
/ rarest and loveliesJ flowers are used i
, protusion.
For weddings there is always pro
fusion of Whine flowers and rose buds
and the same, or a much more varir
dispay, in the music. The dressing i
= something wonderful in color, rich
4 ness and brilllancy of ornamentatior
We have before alluded to both flu
9 neral solemnilies and wedding cert
d monies as we happened to see them i
y the churches. Last week we attende
ia a wedding, by invitation, in a Frenc
- Protestant Church, and witnessed al
u other IN the Synagogue.
t. The latter was ON Sunday afternoo
Id after the services in Trinite. in II
q Rue de Bayard. We were lonkina G,