Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-10-20
AIUIil: I&l'IiSAAl..
A glimpse at One Feature of Beig in n
Life.

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lAte.
iM d. Conway's Os,end Correspondence of the
Cincinnati Commercially
If any one would see microcosm of
pure, fashionable and fast Europe, let
him visit Ostend Kursual in the highest
of the season. He will find ont how
much of the world he never saw before,
nor knew the existence of. 1t almost
provincializes Paris. The Kursaal is an ed
itice covering about anacre of ground. 1t
1t somewhat Byzantine ns to architecture.
with arched windows and doors, and sew
eral small domes. The chief part of it
is a vast rotunda, in the centre of which
bands play all the afternoon and up to
nine o'clock in the evening. The music
is lighter i'll the afternoon, and by reei-
mental band in the evening there is n
symphony, besides the lighter pieces
1t is always thronged, and various amuse-
ments are always going on. To say
nothing of the never ceasing and album
dant Irritation, there is always gambling.
To be sure the the Belgian Legislature
has suppressed the public gaming table
at Spa, which is porishing in consequence,
but the Kursaal requires an admission fee
of half dollar, and gambling is sup
posed to be thereby limited to respect
able" people.
Two tables are going night and day.
The game is always ecarte. The com
pany around the players are invited to
bet, and with every game about $500
changes hands. Then there is fencing
saloon. Professional fencers are always
on hand to show the marvels of their art
The faces of the combatants are covered
with wire gauze, much like covers to keeI
of flies from cold meat and the slender
swords, which easily bend but never
break, are tipped with buttons. One
would say, after observing these encoun
tiers, that there are people in Europe who
toll after skill with the sword as the
saints toiled after heaven. There are
billiards always going on, and chess ant
backgammon and every kind of game
The ladies are dressed in the most brill
liant way, the men being the most gener
Gus in Europe, therefore the party to bt
: caught rather than catcl never don any
thing but ordinary dress unless it be {
stray American wearing white cravat il
the morning, and getting himself re
garded as a clergyman. The gentlemen
are always smoking and it ia wonderful
how patiently the ladies' bear it; til,
smoke OF tnelf torment does not ascend
but settles down on the crowd like blu,
fog. Some of the ladies adapt themselves
to it by themselves smoking.
The rotunda is always crowded unit
the saloon for dancing is opened, whicl
relieves it little. The dances are al
ways round and of the most furiou
description; the partners wliirl like tee
totums. There are n great many beau
ties, and great many rich people. Tn
Kursaal has been spoiled as to prices b.
the fact that majority of the men her
prefer to pay big prices for the ices o
other treats they order for ladies'. Al
ice costs 30 cents. 1t is amid perpetua
buzz of talk that the music goes on
Last night the band played Lito If
overture, lie Dernier Jour de Ia Tel
reur," which ends with tremendous vai
iations on the Marseillaise. 1t seemed
strange thing to look from the happy an
merry crowd to the reign Of terror, whe
so many throats fair as these were cu
But l wonder why, in French, terro
should be feminine. 1t is the Salic la
that Frenchmen are not to be governed b
woman, but for once. it seems, ther
was a reign of "la Terreur." l observed
too, the streets placarded with Lecocq
opera lie Jour ct la Mutt" Why shoul
day be masculine and night feminine?