The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-04-09

that the improvised dealer suddenly
breaks Of in his speech, seizes his table
and bolts with it, to the great surprise
of his hearers, who look after him, and
of whom only the initiated are aware
of the true reason of his hasty flight.
A sergeant de vile has shown himself
at the next corner, for whom all the
street sellers, who have no cards of
licenses, entertain great respect, as he
simply takes them by the collar and
leads them to the prefecture, aproceed-
ing which always ends badly. We see
that the daily bread of these poor fell
lows is not lightly gained in Paris.
Further on stands another man, also
at a small table, but he has no cause to
fear the police. He is an artist, as he
says, recognized by the Government,
and stands under the special protection
of the Minister, His Excellency, he in
forms Us, has repeatedly offered him a
situation in the writing and reckoning
schools, but he declined it in order to
serve the public. At the same time he
is a perfect artist with the pen; with
rapid, sure and graceful lines he draws
ia a few instants an eagle with out
stretched wings or well executed like
ness of some well known public char
acter. He then offers them to the spec
tatOrs gratis and merely for the honor
of having his talent recognized
by an amateur. At the same time
he sells steel pens, which are good
and cheap, and honestly declares that
his art is based on the pens, which per-
sons need only buy in order to draw
and write like him. at only requires
a little practice" he adds, with know
ing smile.
A colleague on the other side of the
boulevard loudly offers twenty dollars
to the man who can mend china better
than he. Twenty dollars-Heaven
knows where he got them from or if
they are real-lie on his table before
| him and attract not a few gamins. Il
could, he relates, ''long ago have been
a rich man if 1 would have sold the Sc
cret of my composition to the Govern
ment The director of the great pOr-
/ celain factory at Sevres would give
half his fortune for it; but then my dis
covery would only benefit the few,
while now it is common property, 5"
and so on. The bottle costs only ten
cents. He then feels in a heap of gay
/ pieces of china, and very cleverly com
/ poses of the pieces of china plate or a
] cup, which he strikes in order to prove
/ the solidity of his composition, and
/ finally assures us that he once mended
/ n broken gun-barrel, with which its
/ owner still goes out shooting. Really,
| more can not be expected.
Wherever there is free spot on the
/ boulevards, formed by retreating houses
/ and broader trOttOirs, it is at once Occu-
4 pied by a singer, an acrobat or a Jug
/ gler; a large circle is formed round the
/ artistic, who first harangues the specta-
/ tors in the usual way, and then displays
! his skill. Such is Paris every day, and
while we are swimming with the uni
/ versal stream we will loiter on, no mat
ter where, for we are sure to see some
thing amusing. We need only join that
| crowd from whose center we merely
hear the words: "Forty cents, gentle
men, no more; fifteen, sixteen, twenty
lit wants twenty cents more; forty
cents, that is all. From time to time
we hear coppers falling until the art
iste suddenly eXclaims: ''Stay, gentle
men; do not throw any more; there are
already three cents too many. l only
requested forty cents, and am a man OF
honor" But what will he give us for
the forty ceutsP He is a tall, thin fell
low, hungry looking and shabby. Be
fore him, on the ground, there is a
wooden box; it is very small, and yet
he promises to get into it and have the
lid shut on him. ''Impossible!' every
body cries, for boy would scarce have
room in the box, much less so tall g
man. The posturer laughs condescend-
ingly, and simply repeats: Forty
cents, gentlemen, and you will see. .
When the money is subscribed he gets
into the box, a gamin jumps on the lid
and he is really in it. This posturemaT
daily shows this trick ten or twelve
times in Paris, and so earns about foul
dollars.
Let us go into the cafes-that is t.
say, sit down outside in the shade o
the awning, if a place is to be had
The large cafes on the boulevards ar
filed from eight o'clock in the morn
ing till midnight or past. On the in
ner bOulevards there are at least on,
hundred cafes, which all do a roarin!
trade. We have secured a table and
, couple of chairs and survey the heav
ing mass, but have not been seated fiv
minutes ere we are laid under contri
button. The flower girls, of WHOM
there must be legions in Paris, are tn
, first. When sent away they lay small
: bouquet on the table and 60 aside. TIL
stranger or novice who is not up to tn
trick probably takes up the bouque
and snells it; at once the girl is bac
and asks for two cents. She will sa
i quite boldly: "You have accepted
and YOU must keep it, sir. Wha
can you do, surrounded as you are by
hundred ladies and gentlemen, and il
, all public localities in Paris you mus
, be very careful not to make yoursel
, ridiculous.
A man approaches our table wit,
+ most lamentable gestures; he is dea
and dumb He hands. US a small
f printed paper, on which which we fin
| the sign language of the deaf and dumb
T above it is the motto: ''Have pity for
/, poor deaf and dumb" Although w
, are beginning to feel annoyed at bein
, so necessarily pestered, still the woe
! begone face of the man in the midst o
! this merry, rejoicing world moves us
! We give the man ten cents, but he ha
d hardly taken it ere a sergeant de will
! seizes him rather roughly and lead
\ him off with the words; ''Have l caugh
l you again, you vagabOndP" We dis
! tinctly hear the deaf and dumb ma
imploring to be let go this time, but tn
, man in uniform is ineXorable. Err
now fear has been known to restor
speech is the consolation we adopt TO
, having been swindled. We light
second cigar and naturally throw tn
! glowing stump on the ground. But a
, the same instant an old mans greed
hand is stretched out to it, and he put
! it in a bag. The cigar stump collector
; are nearly all old people, who hav
q selected this wretched trade as a las
resort to keep them from starvation
1 For these poor fellows are hungr
. twice a day regularly, but they are sat
. isfied if they get something to eat one
: a day. But can it be believed that tn