The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-10-22
THE NEWS AND GOSSIP or PARIS.
Dueis-Ths Pavilion nu Barry-sseiety In
1ss9-Feminino Attire--yyinter Fashions |
Fashion In Furniture-A Modern Re- |
naissnnce Paince-Ssrdou's New Drama, |


Fashion In Furniture-A Modern Re.
nnissnnce Paince-sRrdou's New Drama.
PARIS, Oct. ct was Ludwig Borne who
systematically remarked the admirable skill
that the French have In pushing discussion
TO the limits OF of1ensiveness without overstcp-
ping those limits. and in gesticu lating with
their fists under each others noses without
actually coming to blows. There arc days.
however. when they do como TO blows. beard
pulling and hat-slammng-ph which.
according to the requirements OF the laws of
honor. are invariably followed by skeworing
duel. 1t was thus that two days ago M. Arthur
Meyer. editor Of the Gau'ois newspaper and NJ.
CASTOR Dreyfus fought with swords until NJ.
Meyer was wounded slightly on the chin and
honor was satisfied. The cause OF the duel
WAS this: Tho head OF the banking firm OF
Drcyfus put an advertisement in tho Paris
papers announcing that he would not be re-
sponsiblo for the debts OF his prodigal son.
Thereupon the prodigal son inserted disre-
spectful counter-notice in the Gouiois stating
that he was in dire necessity owing to his
fathers severity and begging his friends to
send him help. particularly gifts in kind. cold
chicken. veal pies. and such. M. CASTOR ORGY
fus. brother OF the prodigal son. biackguarded
NJ. Meyer in the Stock Exchange on account of
this note. and hence the duel.
This ingenious Arthur Meyer founder OF tho
Mus6e Grevin. Spectator. editor Of the Gau-
lois. defender OF the rights OF the altar and Of
the crown. and. above all. as he prides himself.
a man OF the world. is one of the many queer
characters that we have in republican Paris.
He is a clever humbug who has come to believe
in himself. While remaining tho keeper Of
waxwork show and a smart newspaper man.
as things go in Paris. he would have one be-
licve that he is moro royalist than the Comte
de Chambord-which. by the way. would not be
di1icult-and moro mindful Of the interests OF
the Pope than the Pope himself. Intimately
connected by bushes % relations with the Ca
mondos. who are Portuguese Jews. Arthur
Meyer attempts to give varnish OF elegance
to the dinners and fetes which the elder Ca
mondo's Dulcinea gives in her house at Louve-
clenncs. and this house is no other than the
splendid pavilion formerly inhabited by Nine.
Du Barry, the mistress Of Louis XVI IL not
this at once a sign Of the times and an oxplana-
ton of the ardent royaism which character
iles the editor of the Gaulois ?"
Society under the third republic is indeed
droll mixture. Take the brilliant crowd that
throngs the Avenue des Acacas-the Rotten
Row OF Paris-and fills the Champs Elysees
with its equipages and luxury. what is 1t
composed Of? Bookmakers. clever rascals of
oil kinds. horse dealers. exotic millionaires.
courtesans. and few honest folk sprinkled
thinly here and there. like the plums in what
used to be called. in economical households.
Shouting pudding" The tout Paris OF
1882 is not what it was twenty years ago-the
elite of the Parisians who were distinguished
by their birth. their talent or their beauty. AS
Albert Wolff remarked the other day. there is
no longer any line of demarcation between the
different fractions of Partisan society. The fu-
sion is complete and there arc perhaps none
but the workmen of the Faubourgs. the dust
men, and the scavengers, who do not claim
Nevertheless. our epoch Is as Interesting as
any epoch has ever been. Paris itself contin-
attention Of the civilized world and to furnish 10
the philosopher and to the dilottante an mex
eT. are obsspyns u the French ali the me Sat
not with the ardor and versatility that the
f5snSh sr dprS s in shat a
anecdotc. and document the present genera
9n is w2 hdry for e SECOND whine d
his Souvenirs" The eminent conservative
critic. the Comte Armand de Pontmartin. is
Memoirs, Jules Claretie is writing, his
daS BY day. w &C. too b Is Nine
brated novelist, CIaretie and Nine Daudet
intend n.r to keep their mgm9 3h for many
other hand here is another writer who has seen
much Of the men and events OF his time. Al
Volumes Of Msmors." to be published next 9
February; " Pm under the Empire" and
nnecdotai history Of twenty-five years OF Paris
ian life. Then We have anecdotal seres like
ographs devoted to the celebrities and fashions
toral work Of Gavarni. q. Daumior. and 0. the
Ingenious artists of publications like the We
We Eieean't &c. What age too has had finer
portrait painters than the PRESENT. When have
the eiegancieS OF refined life found moro tx
Guisitc interpreters than painters like De Nittis
and Alfred stevens:
1t is the weakness Of many to compare dis
"a ust q
profess an exclusive admiration. some for tho
Ksnaissance, others Tor the art Of the print
tives others for that OF China and japan. In
shi IN S ,e ~ tne OF o the paS f ARE
nine attire should venture to dfler With them.
Exquisite. delicate. ingenious. refined as were
the toilets of the eighteenth century. i venture
10 think that those OF the latter half OF the
nineteenth vii, ccmpare favorably with them.
aak what are, The latest fashions. There are
tho charm OF it. Every woman may dress to
hor figure. to her complexion. u her ta,;n. In
variety of tho Revolution and Of the Directory
shapes. together with the notifications OF CON
dcmi- toilets and ceremonial dresses there is "a
greater variety 81 material than the eighteenth
out pushes, embroidered silks chi,ollcd vol
vets brocadcs. surahs. mcrvciicus saiis
hundred years ago for Marie Antoinettc. For
more modest dresses we nave cloths ana wool
Ten stuils of a supplcness and softnoss UNI
known until within the past twenty years.
Then again. to my mind. tho wooden panicrs
ALWAYS gave a certain hardness To the lines Of
the eighteenth century toilets and rendered
impossible that elegance Of fold and subtle
Charm Of draping which is the triumph OF our
Partisan artists. Even the simplest Partisan
dresses are drapcd with freedom, n style. II
SENSE Of decoration that renders their makers
worthy OF the name of artists.
In the, matter of furniture IT must be con-
ieeecd that our century Is not remarkable. in
spite of the immense demand now cNating for
artistic work even Of the most expensive do
scrption. At tho remarkabe exhibition Of
decorative art now open at the PalaIs de In
du9trie under the auspices Of the Union Cen
trai1 dcS Arts Dicoratiis, the cabinetmakcrS
oi the past triumph over those Of tho present
day in almost every artistic point. In the ro-
Prospective section Of tho exhibition the his
tory OF French furniture is represented by
splendid specimens from the time OF the Re-
Nuisance UP to that OF tho empire: in the
modern section the first Partisan houses of the
present day exhibit their choicest work. Now,
strange 10 say. at least half the best houses
simply reproduce the models of tho past, while
the other half produce slight notifications or