, 1884-07-27
THE PARTISAN POOR.
What Becomes of the Fragments in
the Great City.
Among the buyers and Eaters -
~CroNvdinE Around the soup
Kettles-A Miracle OF
Multiplication.

NSO All SOlileT III DtoLDh IleTuiu.I
Have you ever heard how thousands of the
very poor OF Paris arr fed, and how cheaply
they buy their foodf have been told some
thing about it, but did not quite get all the
social machinery of the matter into my head
until | went and saw 1t.
You know well enough that there is no
such thing as wastefulness in all France, the
French people not only nave economy, but
they have a more useful virtue even than
that. They have facility. They not only
can save, but they can make the most out of
what they save. Here is the way this
thing is managed. Everything that cannot
possibly be used and reused at the
hotels is scraped together, and it he
comes the p~erquisite OF the chief of certain
other domestiques of the establishment. Bits
OF meat of every sort, bread, butter, vege-
tables, pastry and sweets are gathered to
gether in a heap ready for the buyer. Men
and women, young and old-usually old
come round to these hotels and restaurants
and large houses and buy up all these leav-
ings, which they take away in great baskets
swung upon their backs. The less prosperous
dealers, doing business on the capital OF IA
few francs, take their stuff away wrapped in
old newspapers; and all this food goes to the
markets. Here, in the night, it is assorted
meat, vegetables, pastry put into separate
piles, and then arranged in due proportions
on plates to be sold. Many families-~I am
told thousands OF families-ive wholly upon
these leayings, year in and year out
The woman OF the family comes to the
market and buys what she wishes for the day
or can afford to buy-and takes it home
with her, either in a basket or in Il bit of
newspaper, as her means may enable her. In
other instances many come TO the market
and do their eating here, buying their plate
nf VtpttroIG mud ttatNalU Kattfn1 a niaa4. nf
fresh bread from an opposite stall. These
plates of food are sold anywhere from 2 cents
to IL cents. l am told that a family consist
ing of five persons can be fed on as little as %
cents n day. You would suppose all these
scraps OF food-the leavings of the leavings-
would look uniIEgiting. Not 50. Remember,
a French hand has touched it all, and, as il
by magic, 1t is turned into slightly and appe
tizing meal.
When 1 was in the market 1 sawo old wo-
men bringing masses of this food wrapped in
newspapers, which they sold for a few sous,
and-in II few minutes it was all assorted and
transformed into rather inviting dishes. Then
there were the buyers and the eaters. Perhaps
in all there were 100 in the market where
was, eating their food standing at the counters.
Families of working people sometimes are a
bit ashamed to buy of these dealers, which
nevertheless they do under the pretext Of get
ting the food for the dogs. However, this is
all perfectly understood.
By this time the crowds of the INDECENT
poor were gathered around the s~oup-kettles
ranged along the sidewalks outside the mar
kets, and 80 l sauntered out and along with
the crowd. My eyes were opened. Here WAS
a side of Paris life | had never seen. |
know the poor in London well-theira animal
ism and border-land of starvation. did not
know there was just the class in Paris. l
really saw stones converted into people. 1t
was in this wise. Around one soup kettle,
where an old woman sat, l saw, L should say,
ten half-starved, pinched, chilled men and
boys and girls. These were waiting for
some generously disposed person to come
along and buy them a bowl of soup. AS each
gentleman or lady approached the soup
woman, these miserable creatures would
crowd up, but would not persistently beg,
though their eyes would look imploringly
toward the soup. Well, now for the miracle.
l saw four miserable looking men, and as
many half naked boys, and 1 handed the old
woman a franc to give them each a BOWL of
soup. Instead of my eight, instantly
there were eighty around mel
Where ON earth they came from |
do not know, how they came, and all the rest
Of it, left upon my mind the impression of a
miracle wrought before my very eyes. The
stones were converted into people. 1 went to
the other side of the market and selected a
soup-kettle about which l saw a boy and a
girl standing and shivering. wished to Sue
IL again this marvel of multiplication could
be wrought | cast about me and saw, other
than the boy or girl, a few passing and re-
passing. As quietly as 1 could-almost as
slyly-I handed tine woman u franc, and 10
aud behold, there were not less than a score
OF like wretched men and women, boys n
girls, imploring me for soup, and this-in all
its seriousness was in the twinkling of an
eye. This soup smelt savory and looked pice.
A large bowl had bread broken into it, and
with u ladle the bowl was filed from the ket-
tie, in which a bone and n sausage and yege-
tables were boiling. Two cent a bowl !
That is all. Good, tasteful soup at 9 cent?