Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-04-05
IN AND UNDER PARIS.
INTERESTING SCENES IN THE
FRENCH METROPOLIS.
Underground Ways-The Catacombs
and SeWers-Various Kinds
of Partisan Life.

blocks and are the largest in the world.
They provide that most stirring portion of
Paris with fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.
| At any hour of night there is stir and
hustle in these "Halles" During the
night wholesale and demi-gros business is
done, till retail opens in the early hours of
morning. A portion of the material Is
brought in under ground This circum-
stance leads me to speak of underground
: Paris of the existence of which few people !
| have an idea; for there is such 4 thing !
as an underground Paris In the first !
place it comprises that great network of
subterranean canals or sewers, which are !
mapped out and divided the same as the |
streets above. All the principal streets !
have their counterparts and cognomen |
below ground. These galleries form one |
of the curiosities of Paris, and are often !
visited, even by ladies. The common idea |
about sewers in general makes it difficult |
| to believe that these places can be visited !
with impunity, and yet such is the case |
Nowhere such perfect system of sewerage |
exists, and to-day Paris is the healthiest ,
large city in the world. The total |
length Of
| THIS NETWORK OF CANALS
! Is 10 kilometers, or about AGO miles The !
main galleries, called collectors, into which .
all the smaller ones empty, have a footway /
on each side and a water-course in the mid !
die Their large size renders their clean |
ing very easy, boats provided with flood
J ,f 81 I;,,,o,,-,tn,,s ba
course being used When this food-gate |
! is lowered, the water, which presses against !
| it, pushes il forward, thus driving the filth !
towards the opening Of the gallery. In /!
the smaller canals, a little car, running /
upon rails at the bottom of the course, is /
pushed ahead by the wort;men, who walk /
along the paths, when the water is insult I
| ficient to drive it. The waters of these i
sewers empty at Asnieres quite a distance |
| below town, so that the river at Paris is !
not contaminated The chief canal, which j
receives in the center of the city the water ,
| from all the other collectors, discharges !
| 5000 cubic meters of water per hour and /
this, together with constant cleaning, |
makes the sewers of Paris almost Us inof- |
fenSive as ordinary underground water |
courses Were all large cities to follow !
this example public health would be great !
| ly benefited.
TIE CATACoMBs.
Another interesting part of underground !
/ Paris are the catacombs," filled with the !
bones of the departed They are ancient !
! quarries already used for the extraction of
building material during the time of the |
| Romans These subterranean galleries, !
which extend beneath great portion of
| Paris, have over sixty entrances in differ
ent suburbs The principal entrance is near !
the Barriere d Enter They may be visited
by means of permit. Nearly a century
ago the remains of number of suppressed
cemeteries were removed into the cata-
combs. Transforming them into regular
charnel-houses. During the revolution an
immense number of bodies were thrown
into these cavities and the bones which
were brought from all parts, were piled up
in heaps Since then regular system of
arranging them in symmetrical manner
has been followed, giving this strange city
of the dead more decent appearance.
! The walls of the galleries and of the differ
ent compartments are entirely lined with
human bones, deposited carefully, and in
termixed with rows of skulls. Even
chapels, bearing different inscriptions, have
been erected with these lugubrious ma
terials.
A PEEP AT GAYER SCENES.
But let Us turn our attention towards
more amusing objects in the gay city.
There are in Paris about forty regular the
alters and hundreds of Cafes ChantantS"
or tiyolies. In the latter free entrance is
had, the refreshments consumed paying for
their maintenance. The motley and curl
Gus crowd, composed of all classes of society,
that nightly throng these places, is quite a
study to the observer. The celebrated
Mabille," 50 dear to the lorettes and
grisetteS, has ceased to exist it was sold
at public auction, to make room for more
useful buildings. a curious sight in Paris
is offered to the stranger on many out-of-
the-way squares and boulevards by the
daily appearance of wandering charlatans
or quacks fortune-tellers, tooth-pullers.
dog and monkey trainers, etc. They are
very numerous, and it is astonishing to
what
a VARIETY OF WAYS AND TRICKS
These people resort to make a living.
ANY day in the week these squares and
boulevards resemble regular fair grounds
A drum, fife or fiddle is heard a mo-
ment after a ring Is formed, consisting
chiefly of nurses, soldiers or idlers. and the
show of educated dogs and monkeys com
mences. Sous are raining in the center
of the ring if the audience is satisfied.
Close by greater noise is heard, and the
crowd is drawn in another direction to see
the acrobats, the legerdemain performers,
or the fortune-tellers and mediums. Exhi-
billions in France are given in the open air
and at the shortest notice tooth-pulling
and corn operations are done on the double
quick Charlatans and quackS travel from
one part of the city to another, some in
fanciful equipages Twenty years ago the
celebrated Mangin was in all his glory.
THIS KING OF CHARLATANs
Amas,ed a great fortune and travelled right
royalty through portion of Europe with
a four-in-hand, lackeys and a music band.
And do YOU know what he sold? Pencils,
gentlemen, at three for half a frame, when
the same could be had for less than half
that price anywhere else. But Mangin
knew how to sell his wares. He stopped
at the first hotels and when in good hui
NOR, standing in his carriage attired as an
armor-clad knight Of the Middle Ages, he
threw handfuls of money among the popu-
lace, assuring them that money was no OBJ
iect to him. OF a superb, almost majestic
appearance, his high and well-formed stat
ure and his full black beard descending be-
low his breast, gave him an imposing as
pect For hours he kept his audience
spell-bound by his inexhaustible wit and
satire, embracing often serious subjects,
such as politics religion and social ques-
tions, and those who first heard him took
him for something else but pencil
vender. There is
No LACK OF DIVERSION IN PARIS,
For the lowest and poorest as well as for
the richest The public Libraries, mu-
seums, national art galleries, geological
and botanical gardens, public ediices and
national palaces are thrown open free to
the public ut certain hours of the day.
Thus tEe palaces Of the Louvre the Lux
embourg the Hotel DIES lnvalidea, the
Pantheon AID other curiosities are aces
sijlc To the poor and rich alike The