Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-03-16

y
of the oldest members of the family
the parents-speak no English at
all. Their business houses will have
clerks able to attend to those who do
not understand French, but the lam
guage is their native tongue.
With wonderful tenaclty they have
clung to the customs of their Mother
country, and they still maintain an ex-
istence uninf1uenced by the rush and
crush of Americanisms which
have trenched so closely upon them.
These people are spoken of and
known in literature as Creoles. The |
common application of the word Gre
ole means "a person born in Louisi
ana of French parents" ."
The lovellest women in New Or
leans are of this race. They have
the clear, olive complexion, wonder
fal eyes, in which the vivaclty of the
French seems to mingle with the lam
guor of the Spanish; always fine hair,
usually pretty teeth, and their man
ners are the crowning grace of all :
no affectation, no ''airs," no mincing
pertness but dainty, graceful ways,
and easy, pleasant speech. Ask a
Creole girl to sing and one is sure
not to hear, 90, 1 can't sing I'm all
out of practice; | don't sing at all
days, so you really must excuse
me-" which we are all familiar with.
s'You love de moosick?" she may
ask, then, ''Ah! How | be rejoiced
| do sing ever so leetle, so glad to
make you happy, l am p And she
will sing song after song, glad and
happy as bird, until one wonders if
God did not make the sunlight lit
tie brighter because it was to shine
on these CHEEKY souls, who, in their
lives illustrate the text, ''Not to be
ministered unto, bnt to minister unto
others, came T."
The most elegant Creole homes are
mostly on Esplanade street, which
resembles Canal in its breadth, and,
like Canal. has a double row of trees
down it's center. beneath which lie
the car tracks. Many of the resi-
dences have ample grounds, and in
springtime they are very lovely, for
the French love flowers and display
their taste to good advantage in the
gardens.
On the narrow streets, connecting
Esplanade with Canal, the buildings
stand even with the sidewalks, with
hanging galleries projecting over the
streets. Most of these places have
business house on the ground floor
w I'LL ItSIutHCtS dDOtc. Ill lItG SlODS
many curious things may be found
and often, curious people. In some
of the old book stores are treasures
buried deep in dust, which, like pre-
cious stones, are found only by much
seeking. In pawnbroker's case one
may chance upon relics which are not
only quaint and valuable, but which
reveal volumes of the ron ance and
tragedy in the lives of those who
once held them as priceless.
Perhaps it requires little imagin-
alton to make the story complete,
but lacking that blessed quality there
is little use in any one looking beyond
the hard practicalities of life for en-
| tertainment. The woman who said,
Il like to be humbugged sometimes,
it is such a relief from having the
nose forever pressed against the
grindstone of fact" had the good
sense to know that disagreeable
shock is sometimes better than to be
left to 90 on forever in one round,
like the horse fastened to the wood
saw.
If one cares for birds, Chartres
street bird stores will delight and be-
wilder him. Nowhere can such vari
ETY. be found-birds from everywhere,
chattering like mad, and wearing
their handsome plumage as proudly
as boy does his first pants.
The buildings on these narrow
streets are not inviting in appearance,
but many of them are very old, with
marked peculiarities, and, sometimes,
with history most interesting. Wan
| dering down the streets one some
times finds door open, and peering
through the long, narrow hall, with
its cold fagging-stone floor, and bare
walls, catches glimmer of waving
green or the splash of fountain falls
on the ear. Could one stand at the
end of that "horrible alley there
would be seen flowers in profusion,
ferns, palms, oleanders, and often
times, a fountain, sending its cool
spray over the plants and furnishing
a mirror for the birds to admire them
selves in. Winding stairs lead to
the rooms above, and cling with their
tiny fingers to every bar of the banis-
ter. On May day one may find
thousands of white roses staring,
open-eyed from among the green
| leaves of the vine.
There was time when these love-
ly inner yards or courts were the por-
ton of all these buildings, but now
only those whose owners continue to
occupy them are thus blessed. In
the need for more rooms the space
has been encroached upon until only
the usual little side yard remains.
A notable building is the old
French Cathedral, on Chartres street,
facing Jackson square. The door is