The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-06-30
LOVE FOR FLOWERS.
A PLEASANT CHARACTERISTIC OF
THE PEOPLE OF PARIS.

IA PLEASANT CHARACTERISTIC OF
THE PEOPLE OF PARIS.
A Passion Which Affects the Rich and the
Poor - Flower Sales Beginning at 3
O'Clock in the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of
the Flower Market.
An English writer once mentioned flowers
as the smiles of Cod Jules Claretie,
manager of tho theatre Francois, speaks of
them as "the poetry Of Paris" II there Is
another city in the world where flowers and
verdure are so loved as they are here, 40
not know it. In the salon of the fashiona-
ble lady, whose carriage door is coroneted,
and who nurses poodles and pugs, instead
of pretty little infants, cut roses III great
punches stand In real Sevres vases, and
and green plants and blooming flowers are
growing in pots imported from Japan; up
yonder by Montmartre, where the poor sew
ing girl sleeps in the little attic under the
caves. there are sous worth Of violets in
broken tumbler, while by the window is
ceranium, now almost leafless and slowly
dying, in ON earthen pot that poor man
threw away.
If the love Of flowers is instructive in hui
manity, then it is certain that in this re-
spect, at least, the people of this town have
human hearts which beat at fever heat
The Partisan has passion for politics,
passion for pictures, a passion for betting,
passion for vice, bu5 he has q passion Tor
flowers, and that is good deal in his favor.
The Towering plants, bushes in pots, pansleS
and crocuses in thick punches, CIRCLES,
pinks, roses-all the fora OF the smiling
month of April-are to be found now IN
every corner of Paris, filling the air OF the
city with the puriumed breath OF a long
spring.
WHERE THE FLOWERS GO.
We have use for flowers over here every
day of our money spending lives We send
them to The lady who has honored us with
an invitation to dinner We send them to
the lady whom we should be pleased to
have invite us to dinner We send them to
the parsons wife, and see to it that our
bankers daughters are not neglected we
see that they are carried to this or that act
ress, to this or that Lallet dancer, to this or
that grand dame who is Of great assistance
in making acIuaintances In society. Lille
is, so to speak, begun and ended with the
fragrant gifts They are placed in the Oelts
and on the brows Of blushing brides, and
bridesmaids carry them as they go about
the church collecting money for the poor.
Then, when the young mother or the baby
dies, flowers are the offerings which we
cast into the earth where she is laid away
until the mystery is solved at last The
traue in flowers amounts to several millions
annually, and their cultivation Transporter
tion and sale give profitable employment to
O great many persons Tho wholesale busi-
ness is all done at tue Halle6 Central or pub
lie market house, yonder by the Church OF
St Eustache
At mignight the wagons AMI carts from
the environs OF Paris begin to arrive tney
are unloadei bv market men, each basket
being placed in rows along The pavement
between the butchers pavilion and that
given over to vegetables. These baskets are
all pretty much alike and are placed side by
side one after the other. Zach lower mer-
chant must take his or her stand back Of
the baskets, never in front OF them, and
each dealer is compelled TO put up with the
place which happens to fall to him on that
particular morning At O'Clock the sa rs
begin in the midst of an lndes"rlbaole din
and O confusion which is sometimes quelled
only by calling the police. BY G:3O o'clock
everything is sold. tho customers are gons
and the empty baskets are being reloaded
in the carts and wagons Many OK these
horticulturists are rich, and some own whole
fields of flowers in the neighborhood OF Vim
cennes or Versailles. There ure rises and
falls in the prices and when the day threat
ems to be rainy and dreary bouquets can be
had for the asking almost Only cut flow
ers are sold in this flower exchange. Flow
ers in pots are never carried to Central
market The principle trade in al! potteI
plants and flowers is on the Quays, or river
banks, at the Madeline, and i'll tie Place du
Chateau d. Eau, or that Of St Sulpice.
THE FLORAL MARKET.
Formerly the only place in Paris where
flowers were sold at retail was sort OF mar
ket held ON the Quai de IL Ferraille, now
Ouai de ia Megisserie. In 1905 this market
was moved across the river to the island
known as the Cite, where it is still held on
the Lluai aux Fleurs That part of the Cite
now occupied by the prefecture of police,
the Hotel Diem and the Quai aux Fieuls was
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries q
network OF short, narrow streets, some Of
which were still in existence when / tirst
came to Paris In those other days these
narrow streets were the abode of the arls-
tocracy, and shabby as was the outward ap-
pearance of their mansions, there were vast
gardens planted with trees, shrubbery and
flowers behind them. Roses grown there
had great reputation, and the gardeners
and servants had the privilege OF selling
them to tho flower shops i'll the neishbor-
hood.
The most famous OF these Has ut the corner
of the hue dies TroiS Canettcs, and was kept
by handsome girl named isabelle. who was
such a coquette that quarrels on her &C.
count was OF daily occurrence Eetween the
Young nobleman and o.lt ers of t.ie guard
1t is only within tho last ten years that re-
tail flower markets have become quite num-
erous. For long time there were, besides
the one on the Iuai aux Fleurs only those
Mt tho Madeleine, in Ghe Place du Chateau
d'Eau, and on the sluaro of st. Sulpise
These four markets yielded the city n
a revenue of SS % a year, but in 1872
the charge for stalls was doubled
and then other markets wore
opened in various parts of Paris. The
uricc of flowers at all these markets varies
a great DEAL not only according to the sen-
son and tho temperature, but also according
to the caprice of the venders-J. Il Haynie.
An Enthusiastic Lover Of Nature.
Native ito tourist who is standing rapt in
contemplation OF all enormous roclv-l see,
sir. YOU are charmed by Sunset Rock, and l
don't wonder 1t is considered one of the
81 IL