Morning journal and courier., 1883-11-07

Rotterdam-A PsrlsIan's Impression of
 New York Architecture-Safnt Sulpice
 in PaEis-Pere Lachafss-The Great
 Auction Rooms or the Rue DrOuOt-
 What is Going On In Parfs-The 'sIn-
 coherent Arts'' Exhibition, Etc, Etc.
 PARIS, Oct. 15, 1883. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 I ended my last letter with our arrival at Rotterdam, although I wrote the letter at Paris. I did not visit the gallery of paint iDgs at Rotterdam, and there seemed to be little else of special interest that could be seen in passing along. I did, however, oross the stone bridge which connects the old city with the newer part, and in looking down the river the general contour of the landscape struck me as bearing 8 strong re- semblance to the view as you look up the East river from ferryboat crossing from New York to Brooklyn. Less life, of course, and less height to the buildings, which are of 6 uniformly light color, and none of them disfgured by staring placards and advertise ments. While on the bridge I noticed two things that were new to me. One was 8 Et- tie steamer with an adjustable smoke stack. It came sailing up to the bridge, the arches of which are quite low, and as 1t passed un- der the smoke stack, by means of some crank adjustment, suddenly took horizontal posi- tion, resumfng the upright upon coming out on the other side of the bridge, the smoke during the whole time continuing to pour out as usual. The other new thing was the name of Smith, painted upon the stern of the little steamer, but spelled Shit, F. Shit, jr. Speaking of the invariably light colored buildings reminds me of some impressions of Q Parisian upon this same subject which read in Paris paper yesterday. He says, Ak. ,I-,II lowing to convenient contiguity to 8 rich stone quarry it has come to pass that New York is one of the sombrest looking cities in the werid. The dream of the rich New Yorker Is to live in brown stone house. The height of responsibility is to live in brown stone-fronted house-that is to say, to show a bold veneer of brown stone to the world that passes along the main street, put ting of your neighbors at the back with or dinary brick. No words can adequately con- vey 8 notion of the depressing shade of the New York brown stone house. To do the New Workers justice, no ordinary canons of art deter them from experiments. The brown stone fronts are backed with brick painted brilliant red pointed in black. Add to this Venetian shutters of bright green and sun blinds of crimson stripes and you will get result joyously achieved in many of the streets of New York. In the month of July 1t Is sometimes said that the brown stone fronts are out of town If this were literally true 1t would be great deliverRnce for New York"
 One can understand this from a native of Paris, where all the buildings are originally whiee or of @ very light color as you know, though, to be sure, many of them are dark and brown, and even black with ''time's touch of sombre coloring." Old Saint Sul- pice, for instance. One would hardly sup pose that its walls were ever fair and white. [ can see corner of the higher portion of 1t from the window of my room. This old church of 1646 strikes almost everybody at first as honely, with it's incomplete looking towers, but its grand proportions grow upon you if you see 1t often from different points of view and in the different lights, and es- pecislly when the great bell is changing out, and to finger in one of it's aisles and indulge for moment iR thought of eternity is helpful to the soul.
 I spent an hour yesterday at Pere La chsise, another great city, but silent one. stayed only long enough for 8 visit to tho short distance to the right from the main en- trance. Some who are familiar with it may have forgotten that the little Gothic chapel, which is the form of this tomb, was built of some of the ruins of the abbey Of Paraclete, founded by Abilard, and where Heloise was the first abbess, and that the sarcophagus AbilaHd had constructed before his death in 1142. Rather an unusual procession came into the cemetery while was there. It was headed by two hearses side by side, both deo- orated with magnificent wreaths of purple flowers. The carriages, as Is common with carriages used for such occasions, were coY- cred with black cloth, the horses were black and the drivers wore black suits and cockade hats. It was the funeral of an aged father aRd mother, and two young and fine looking men seemed to be the principal mourners
 The funeral invitations, specimens of