The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-10-30
CABBIES OF PARIS.
AN AMERICAN WHO WAS FRIGHT
ENEO EY THE HACKnEN

They Pass Away Their Idle Moments.
His Absinthe and Bad Tobacco.
Two years ago 1 saw here in Paris great
fear shown frequently by one of the biggest
gamblers of New York. He has been a sport
ing man. all his life; he has been the referee
at several prize fights; he has had to do with
roughs and crooks of all kinds since he was
a boy. \ bettor on horse races, he also
"bucks the tiger" and plays for big money at
short cards" Noted always as a man of
iron will, nerves of steel and unflinching
bravery, he has more influence over thieves,
gamblers and ruffians generally than any
American ever knew. For some time he was
the manager of John l.. Sullivan shall
continue 10 write very respectfully of that
individual as long as his cleft duke" holds its
own-and was the only ono ever able to make
that-you know what | mean-behave him
self
Well, a few years ago, this very particular
sport passed some very miserable days in
Paris, simply because he became thoroughly
frightened 10y The public hackmen. He was
very anxious 20 her Patti, then singing at
the Nations. II was only few steps from
his hotel to that theatre. and 1 suggested that
he hal better walk there. Walk Catch
me i'm the street on foot. | wouldn't walk
from here to the other side of the boulevard
u
l take my life in my hand, and / tremble
with fear until get back again. There
cabmeu out there who do nothing but wait
for me. When they me attempt to cross
the boulevard or the rue Scribe, they head
their horses straight at me and try their best
to run over me- II finally happened that he
wouldn't walk q block, if by doing so he'd
have 10 make n crossing. He always got into
fiacre private carriage.
PECULIAR IN THEIR WAYS.
Their i, no doubt about it, Paris cabbies are
very peculiar in their ways, and iu certainly
does seem rs if some OF them were bent on
driving over all pedestrians whom they can
possibly find i'll their way. But L am rather
inclined to think that this is not because of
any vicousness on their part, but rather be-
cause of ignorance. It is astonishing what
poor drivers the public hackmen of Paris are.
Chevaliers of the whip private carriages
are as good here you viii find in any city,
but the 'cocher de fiacre" is as stupid and in
different a lazy and uncomfortable, rs any
communist that ever was
Still. If there is one class of persons with
whom we have more to do with than another
it is these same public hackmen. Here more
than elseNhere he i the necessary collabora-
tor in the three great events in the lives of
the inhabitants. He will drive a merry we'd
ding party in the morning to the Butes Chau-
ers behind the hearse to Perela- ChaiSe or
Montmatre cemeteries; and then, on his way
back, is as likely as not called on to take a
new born babe TO the marie of its ward for
registration as a French citizen. He drives
lovers to their rendezvous, gaping tourists
though noisy thoroughfarcs. and business men
to Wholesale houses. Travellers engage him
going to and coming from the trains; all the
world are his clients, and few of us can man
h.
were not Il drinker of absnthe or bad brandy,
an eater Of garlicky dishes and n smoker of
vile cabbage leaves or cut straw he would be
n great deal better fellow than he is now. He
has contracted the habit of passing his time
when unemployed in the drinking saloon near
est to his stand. and he leaves on the zinc bars
of these merchants de wins not only his earn
ings but also his health, his politeneSS, good
nature, and all the other qualities which the
exercise of his calling demands. When You
go up to Il Paris cab stand the chances are
that the driver IS not in his box; presently he
comes out of a saloon, his face red with the
bad stuff he has been drinking, and he IS not
at all well disposed toward you for having
prevented him from waning another dram
He gets angry if you ask him to drive faster,
manages to run into another vehicle, to let
his horse fall down, or to do something else
which delays you and if he does not do this
the ears of his wrctched beast, meanwhile
taking good care to holI it in at walk all
the time.
NUMBEE IN EXISTENCE.
The business of street hacks was COM
menced III Paris during the reign of Louis
XIII, at which time they got the name of
fiacre, by which they are now universally
known all over France, from the fact that the
owner of them kept his vehicles in the stable
IF nm inn hDd "a riptrra m EIncrp
on its sgnboard Louis XIV made certain
regulations concerning fiacres, but Napoleon
was he first mouach to require them to have
numbers and fixed places at which to wait
for customers OF late years their number
has increased rapidly. There were 5000 in
ISL, hut there are now more than three times
that number, principally owned by two large
companies, the Generate and the Urbaine,
besides which there are two or three Others
of lesser Importance, also n certain number
owned by drivers or hired by them from
stablemen volume would hardly suffice
10 contain all the complaints Parisians are in
the habit of making against these "chevaliers
du fouet" They are never satisfied with
their pourboires, they walk their horses when
you take them by the hour, and they arrogate
the privilege of accepting or refusing Gus
toners according TO their personal fancies
1t is true that one can force a "coacher' to
drive him if one can manage to get into the
fellows vehicle, but he generally takes care
to find out where the fare is going before he
lets them do that, and then, If the distance
is too long for the pourboire he feels sure he
will receive, he declares that his horse is tired
and that he Is on the way to the stable to
change it. On holidays he insists on charging
special rates and sometimes the rates are
quite rs high rs Il fine livery carriage would
have cost you FOR the same service, and when
he is in q had humor, he tries to run over
people. an exploit quite frequently accom-
plished AMI for which he generally escapes
puniShlunut-P1 Paris Cor. Boston Herald
4 New ChilLren's Disease.
Professor Icmaistre, of Limoges, describes
a new diSs;Isc which Is at the present time
quite prevalent among the school children of
Erancn Ii l. known among the common