The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-03-25
IN THE FRENCH QUARTER.
HOW THE ORIOLES LIVE IN THE
CRESCENT CITY.

HOW THE ORIOLES LIVE IN THE
CRESCENT CITY.
fhcIr Outward Customs-A Visit to
the Creole Shops in CIV Orleans
-Ahsinthe Saloons.
A correspondent of the New York
Telegram, writing from New Orleans,
says: The first object of interest the
Northman or the wise visitor from the
East asks to be shown is the ''French
quarter" and a great many have taken
rooms in that %antiquated portion of the
city, under the hallucination that they
will learn French purely by absorption.
But there are no people more exclusive
than the C~reoles, even to the lodging
house keepers, who let rooms as a regu.
lar business and never invite you to be-
come one of the family. They naturally
suppose that you have your own circle
of acquaintance and friends, and that
YOU do not amount to much if you do
not.
The visitor only sees the outward Gus
toms of Creole life. just as he views the
quaint dwellings and curiosity shops OF
the native foreigners" who refuse to be-
come Americanized, even to the extent
of learning our language. Their lack of
industry and enterprise has measurably
retarded the growth of the city, but
more especially their section" l am
told by a city official that the entire real
estate property in the French quarter has
decreased in value from fifty to sixty per
cent. within the past fifteen years.
Their shops somewhat resemble coun.
try stores in the matter Of the variety of
articles kept. For instance, in a jewelry
store the keeper repairs jewelry, sells
jcwelry, and in addition takes jewelry
on pawn and buys old gold and silver.
On entering these OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
shops" the eye rests upon q large ''pla-
card, Ladies' and children's ears
punched a specially" Next door to one
of these mixed shops is a waiter-girl
saloon, kept b. an ex-committing magis.
trate, where undoubtedly h~ead-punching
is a specially. A notion store admits
q portion of the truth in a sign that arti-
cles can be bought "dear or cheap"
The secondhand bookstores refused pur.
chasing, a few weeks ago, at any price.
They all tell the same story-over-sup-
piled. Their shelves are actually bend
ing beneath the weight of story volumes
and ever entire libraries, sold by people
who have experienced more prosperous
days. The works are mainly French, of
course, and were sold at about what
the postage or transportation cost
the owner. Being great novel
readers, volume after volume of fiction
can here be found, as we'll as the torn
and tattered files of the Partisan story
papers. The ''young blood" though
clinging to his ancestry and the tradi-
tions of his fathers, is Americanized to
the extent that he cares little for the
romance or history Of a country he has
never seen, yet which he calls his own.
So, in a financial strait, he sells the
library Of his sire to n secondhand
dealer, and drops q tear to his memory
as he pockets the proceeds and heads for
the Royal or st. Charles street to tempt
the tickle goddess at his f~avorite rouge
~et-noir, or perhaps to play baccarat in
the back room Of an "absiuthe MILL"
There are saloons were absinthe is
made a specially, and which arc mainly
frequented by absinthe drinkers, who
never p~atronize whisky saloons, as they
drink nothing but absinthe. except at
meals, when their favorite claret is part
of the menu. The sign "Absinthe Sa-
loon" causes the visitor to stop and Curl
ously peer in to see what kind of al es-
tablishment it is. But it is to the French
man what the 'coffee saloon" was to the
American years ago when whisky ga
looms were known by that deceptive
title. A few of these landmarks still ex.
ist, and coffee and cakes are sold at one
end of the rickety counter by a de.
crepit, veteran-looking woman. On the
narrow streets facing the old st. Louis
cathedral are little shops resembling an
undertaker's. where collins, wreaths, holy
candles, cruci6xes from IN inch to three
feet high, and all imaginary church reliq-
uaries are sold. Holy candles are kept
burning as long as the shop remains open,
and a quietness prevails which gives the
Law place of barter a solemn aspect, in
addition to its half weird and mournful
appearance and surroundings. The
patron is awed into the subsection Of re-
moving his hat, bartering is conducted
in an undertone and the proper change
handed over in a solemn and dignifed
Manner. But the chink Of the coin, the
high prices paid and occasional mis-
representations no doubt remind the
purchaser that, Notwithstanding the
solemnity of the places, they are of the
"earth earthly" and are after the dollar
of our daddies.
Adjoining the ancient cathedral is the
old state arsenal, where the flower and
pride" of the State were mustered into
the Confederate service, many Of
whom never returned. On the
next block is a "blood and thunder"
variety theatre, where the chief qualifca-
ton Of an actor is shooting, scalping i'm
aginary Indians an. robbiig stage banks.
As the admission is only ten cents, the
place is nightly crowded. A few doors
further and the visitor hears, eagle bird
by chance" followed by an indistinct
w-h.i.r. He knows what it is. But even
the roulette man has raised his prices, or
rather increased his percentage. Poker
rooms are more numerous even than faro
banks, and the percentage they take is
about on a par with the profit of stopping
an express train or the flight of a bank
! cashier to Canada. In "seven up" each
! player in the game is charged twenty-five
cents an hour. In poker one chip is taken
out of each pot when the hand is called.
The checks are generally ten cents
sometimes twenty-five cents. At this
rate it is easy to figure how, after a
nights sitting, each player would retire
loser and the "house" the only winner.
These ''rooms are chiefly patronized by
clerks and young men about town, VINO
play small, or as long as possible, on q
little money, and are elated with small
winnings. Faro and all banking games
are Il felony under the State law, but
tacitly licensed by the city authorities.
A prominent official on being asked by
your correspondent how the city officials
could override a State law, he said;
"Well, they don't exactly do that. We
give the proprietors of these houses to
Understand If they will pay 500 or 5000
a month, according to the standing OF
their bank into the city treasury we
will let them run. That money goes to
the hospital fund. Might as we'll do
that rs to let the police blackmail the
gamblers" concluded the official, in o
matter of fact way.
A Great Russian Gambler.
Prince Demidoff's gambling exploits
have furnished The matter Of more than