The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1884-08-02
CURIOSITIES IN PARIS.
Grotesque Advertising Schemes-M king
royalty with Their rnouts-A Soap
Mans Enterprise.


Mans Enterprise.
From Paris Dispatch.
? stranger upon first coming to
Paris must be amused by many strange
street sights. Although the present
writer has lived in Paris much of the
time during the last eleven years she
never returns to it aft. an absence
without finding her attention caught
by some novel device in the way of
street advertising or some new and
perlpatehc street profession. Thus,
yesterday was seen handsome landau
drawn by pair of housekeeping thor
oughbreds covered with silver-plated
harness, driven by coachnan in styl-
lsh livery with tiger beside him in
the same. The landau was occupied
by two elegantly dressed women, who
recllned back on their seats with air
of languid hauteur, and by two dis
tlnguished-looking men, whose breasts
were covered with ribbons and medals
as If decorations from every court in
Europe. Probably an eye educated to
tins elaborate science of official decora-
ton might have seen something to
smile at IN this snowy display of parti-
colored ribbons and variously painted
bits of metal, but the first coup doeil
was effective enough, and that proba-
bly, was the only result aimed at; for
this distinguished party of stylish
foreigners was occupied-that is, the
masculine half of tin scattering
printed bills broadcast through the
streets announcing that nowhere in
the wide world could so good a dinner
be obtained for thirty sous as at the
restaurant Quelquechose, Rue Bonnie
Fourchette.
This display of apparently distin-
guished people reminded me of an :
cident which once happened to Miss
Dudu Fletcher, author of Kismet,"
Mirage" "Head of Medusa. and other
works. Her book Mirage" closely fol-
lowing the great success of "Kismet,"
had made her a marked parsonage in
London society, as well as one to be
pointed out any day in Regent Street
to that vast portion of the London
world which is not 'In society,"" but
subscribes to Nudes Library. Miss
Fletcher is an exceedingly snowy girl,
with profusion of fluffy pre- aphaelite
blonde hair. She was always stylishly
dressed, with perhaps slight tendency
to somewhat over much of picturesque
or theatrical effect in her costumes, es-
peclally for sober London. She was at
that time visiting the daughters of
Richard Golden, the great free trade
agltatOr and reformer. These daugh-
tiers, four in number, were at that time
also somewhat marked members of the
higher Bohemia of the London literary
and artistic world. They enjoyed am
pie fortunes subscribed for them by
their fathers political friends at the
time of his death, and lived together in
an unconventional fashion, each one
with a hobby to ride, and each
one as eccentric as the other.
One was philanthropic, and went
about the country founding temperance
tea and coffee rooms for laboring men,
and preaching the Malthusian theory
of limiting families and populations to
their wives! One of these coffee rooms,
l remember, is called "The Good-N
tured Woman" in compliment to an
other of the sisters who has hobby Of
private theatricals, and who played the
comedy of that name for the benefit of
her sisters enterprises. It was with
this rather eccentric but very widely
known and highly respected quartet of
sisters that Dudu Fletcher was visiting.
One morning one or two of the femi-
nine household saw an elegant open
carriage drive up to the door. 1t was
perfect in all its appointments, horses,
coachman, and tiger, everything COM
plete. Presently Miss Fletcher was
called into the drawing-room where she
met polite individual, who, with much
preamble, announced his business
Would Miss Fletcher, the elegant, the
accomplished and celebrated novelist,
in company with the distinguished and
accomplished daughters of Richard
Golden, do him the honor to make use
OF the handsome equipage at the door
as their own, during the entire season,
free of expenses, with the sole condition
that they carry large placard, marked
Pears Soap suspended at the back of
the brougham, whenever they drove in
the park, stopped at shops or made
calls?" Such is famel