Little Falls transcript., 1883-09-28

SUMNER STROLL IN FRANCE
| Among Some OF the Picturesque Watering
| Places at Which the Parisans Take
/ Their summer Outing. Nj.
A New and Eminently French Novel With
| Which Danes and Damosels Have Been
Willing Away Their Time. j
TRoUyILLE, Special Correspondence, Aug.
20, l8o3.-1 am on voyage Of Investigation
along the coast, studying morals and summer
| manners at French watering places. Thus far
into the heart of Normandy have / marched
without any great amount of impediment, and
like it very much. Etre,at is place for
| painters and respectable people who are hap
plest when they are gossiping scandal about
! their neighbors. Along about the year 1S4O
three Partisan artists set out to explore the
| channel coast on foot between Havre
| and Dunkerque. The country was but little
! known excepting to the native residents, and
| the journey thus undertaken by our bold ex-
curs1onists was a real voyage of discovery,
which, IN those days, something really ad-
! yenturous. Before leaving, they agreed with
their artist friends at Paris that, whenever they
discovered a neighborhood which seemed es.-
pecially rich in artistic motifs, they were to
! mark With white cross the first house in the
! village Saint Adresse, where Sarah Bern
| har2t fba r
| place discovered, and it was marked, as it de-
served to be; but when they reached Etretat
| they were so impressed with the magnificent
view that they enthusiastically marked three
| big white crosses on the first blank wall they
came across. This burst Of admiration came
! near costing them dearly. A woman of the
| place, who had seen the strangers marking the
| house Of her neighbor, ran over to warn him
that some deviltry was going on; the owner of
! the house made such fuss about it that the
whole village was convinced that our three
| painters were three wicked sorcerera; and but
for the majesty OF the law, repre-
sented IN solitary gendarme, the
Parisans would have been stoned to death. As
| 1t was. they were marched off to Monsieur le
! Mare, who was at last induced to give them
| their liberty. Now Etretat fully deserved it's
| three white crosses Placed in the center of
| some of the most wonderful scenery that can
| be imagined, the old Norman village hes
stretched out in 3 long line between two ggan-
| tic cliffs, which jut out into the sea as though
to protect the little matched rooted houses all
overgrown with moss. Although it has been
| nearly half century since it came under sub
| lection to Paris, and has been, 80 to speak,
converted into one OF the suburbs Of the CAPT.
tai, Etretat is still when seen from the sea, one
OF the most picturesque hooks on this coast
The scene has remained as nature made it, in
spite of mans attempt to improve on her
handiwork; but instead of the simple and
| moving drama of the sea it is now the comedy
Of the beach, made detestable very often by the
| habit which so many American ladies have of
! tttle-tattling. The performance lasts for about
two months, and even the natives Of the spot
| take part in it.
THE INFLUENCE OF CIVILIZATION
While the white cliffs OF Avail and Amont still
stand out against the constantly changing
horizon, and while the Aiguille still points
| majestically straight upwards, the old fishing
| boats are freshly painted and disguised every
year; the caloges, or fsherman's cottages,
are transformed into cafes and salons dc
conversation: instead of village women mend
ing nets, We see fashionable ladies embroider-
ing, reading and sketching. Formerly it was
the village folk who went down to the beach to
watch for the return Of their men with the in
coming tide. but now 1t is the Parisennes who
sit along the beach and find beauty in half
naked, hairy-breas1ed, knock gentlemen.
The old fishermen have become professional
! bathers; the lads Of the village study painting;
| mothers scheme to marry off their daughters,
| aud tho n1aidens dream Of entering the Paris
ns-ryatoire All day long there passes q
procession Of donkeys: carving parties of
fha RliS 10
| Passee to the Chapelle de Bon-Seeours There
is room for all who wish to traverse
the little tunnel which leads through the cliff
| of Amont to the Chaudron, and there is plenty
OF coid veal, sausages, stale bread and bad
wines for all who like to 60 picnicklng. Etretat
Is, however, the village d'artlst that is most
asslduousiy frequente by amateur painters
asked the number of artists Of all kinds in tho
place This season, but the person whom ques-
iioled could not answer me. 'tBut there were
over 4UO here last year, by actual count" said
ne; and don't doubt it. Yetit was only tn other
day that heard a great LADY say that art was
dying out The old inn of Mother Banquet, or
! that OF LA belle ErIestine," may not be any
longer in existence, but the ghosts of Lepo,tte-
vim. OF Dlaz, Philippe Rousseau, Laudelle,
Courbet, Blda, Alphonse Karr and host Of
Others, artists aud litterateurs, are over aud
| around the place, and Etretat will long remain
one Of the most charming spots thar pen or
pencil has ever attempted to describe
AT TRoUyILLE.
enjoyed myself most heartily at Havre for
a few days, and then boat built to accommo-
date 25O passengers brought about thousand
of us across the mouth Of the Seine and into
Irouville. This watering place, standing at
the foot OF yerdant hill covered by elegant
villas in every style OF picturesque arehi-
lecture and surrounded by gardens as luxuri-
ant In flowers and as umbrageous as those in
America, with a long stretch of golden sand
before 1t, is the one par excellence of the
beau monde and the demi monde Of Paris It
is the gayest, the most delightful place have
ever visited; for one can be at Trouville wise or
wicked, moral or immoral, slow or fast, as he
or she may select and there is room for all opin-
ions and pleasures; and the hotels are good
The casino at Trouville is not an ornamental
building, but it is useful and is we'll parronized
Ihere is al excellent concert every afternoon
anu evening, ball twice week. operatic and
dramatic performances very often, and gam
bling day and night When the tide is up thou
sands upon thousands of persons go in bathing
and swimming. The beach is divided into
three parts-one fpr the males alone, one for
the ladies and one for both sexes. There are
some good swimmers here. and one OF the best
is young American girl from Detroit. who
tells me she learned in Lake Erie. One of the
great pleasures Of the place. after those of the
casino and bathing. is the fishing. At low tide
| it Is great fun for the ellgantss to 80 out in
short-yes. very short, but at the same time
most charming-toIlets to gather mussels on the
black rocks up by the hotel. Another sport is
ia chasse de pequllle," which is sort of small
lamprey Astounding on these shores after each
high toe. When the eea goes out this little
silver eel burrows into the sand to await the
next high tide, and then it is that venus go
out with our little fork and basket to secure
our tnny prey. They are, when cooked, a
great dellcacy. Another amusement is to seat
ones self under q mammoth umbrella and read
the latest French novel By actual
count saw some twenty odd persons with the
novel, Autour de Marriage in their hands