Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-02
Parfsfan Economies.

lFrom the Philadelphia Times
 Paris is a city of the most striking and queerest contrasts and it's hooks and corners are constant study. There is no necessity to travel very far to find out these social an tipodes, for under the roof of large apart
 ment house they dwell in close but unknown
 proximity. Le premier is often luxuriously fitted up and inhabited by millionaire, and
 as you ascend style and comfort diminish in
 an inverse ratio, until, perhaps, Ie sixieme is about to dispose of the last article of cloth ing for a meal The Parisians have one no- tieeable quality-they always put the best foot foremost, and excepting in cases of pro fessional beggary, are very tenacious about looking poor or shabby.
 Nothing ever goes to waste in this city of extravaganza and fashion, and a whole book could be filled with variety of ways in which people not only make 8 living, but amass q fortune. Ca Marchande de Toi- lette" is a well-known character. Her shop windows are familiar to habitues and are al ways curtained with shawls, laces and dress es, which relieved by articles of jewel1y and pawn tickets. These divinities are not always claw-fngered and wrinkled, might be imagined, but often pretty, plump and young though-cela sans dire-they are old in wickedness. They are on intimate terms with the Ghetto, the Jewish quarter of Paris, although not generally of the tribes of Israel. Pawn brokeresses and usureresses in every sense of the word, they scoTn the i'm putation and profess to keep within the strict letter of the law. The marchande de toilette will supply you with clothing, ball dresses, diamonds, money for ball or funeral You can hire from her a wardrobe for the season, or she will purchase for you an India shawl or an elegant dress from store in one of the fol 1O531 I all these on reasonable terms, but is a relent- less creditor in the end.
 1 The pawnbrokers of Paris and the Mont de I Piete, with its many pathetic stories, so that | its futtering spells seem full with pathos, ! have been profusely written up, but there are soi-distant honest pursuits and trades ! men who never come to grief, and frequently ! make fortunes on the refuse-the debris of \ the city Only Bohemians and searchers into ! human nature are conversant with this cor ner of the city. Clothes descend to all grades and all sorts of uses till they get to the shod- I dy mill and are ''reorganiZed." Some years I ago there a man in Paris worth over one l million dollars, made by selling "philoso- 1 phers." What philosophers" Why, | the uppers of cast-off shoes, whose soles l have become fable. These are sold to cob bleEs, the best of them made. over as new, l the worst used for repairing. They sell for 1 from two to eight cents pair. This dealer 1 in philosophers" /" unlike most of his coun- I trymen, always kept up mean and sloyenly appearance, had shares in railway stocks, I loans and owned valuable real estate.
 The chiffoniers- pickers-are we'll 1 known class, and have often been made sub- jects for the artists pencil and brush, their I very ugliness being a sort of picturesque recommendation. Many of these old ! and decrepit and live in misery while they leave bank account behind at their decease. I Once in while there have been stories told NoGI 4r~ ] shape of silver or jewelry which has been
 carelessly thrown out with the garbage. One poor old soul found valuable diamond, and I so anxious was he to preserve his secret and
 secure his wealth that he sewed it carefully
 in his dirty cap, which he wore day and 1 night. It was only accidentally found when 1 the poor wretch died, by crony, who s1s-
 pected something from his tenacity in always I keeping hold of his old cap. The further 1 history of the diamond is lost in obseurity.
 It may have been the nucleus of another for
 tune.
 As before mentioned, nothing is ever lost l in Paris; even the bread left at the restau- rant tables is toasted fer soup or carried off to less high-toned establishment, where it l undergoes successful transformations for the
 delectations of less delicate palates. What l will not French cuisinier turn to savory pottagel Though to do them justice the l French are no gourmands and are easily sat isfed with a very slender menu if their
 means are small. The wine shops of Paris are distinctive feature and of all grades,
 from those described in the old Rue St. An
 toine, where the spilling of a cask of red 1 wine set fire to the smoldering ashes of the first revolution, to the stylish resorts on the I avenues and boulevards. Since the time of 1 the communists beer has become common
 beverage in some places. In a small drink ing-shop much frequented by the communist I artist, Gustave Courbet, and his boon com panions, an old habitue said he had seen
 them drink forty glasses at a sitting. One feature of Paris wine-shop much needed in
 this country is FTange"-the angel This is
 placid-looking. individual. dressed in g
 blouse or loose shirt, who, when a customer
 becomes either incapable or otherwise unrea-
 sonable, coolly empties his pockets, secures
 his yaluables and by persuasion or other arts ! succeeds in conveying him home and placing
 him and his belongings in charge of his valet