Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-07-16
Isfed If they get something to eat once

a day. But can it be believed that the
cigar stumps form a considerable
article of trade at the great Hallep Yet
such seems to be the case. The market
gardeners make out of them fluid to
kill the insects and grubs on the vege-
tables growing on the immense plain
of st. Denis, ard the SmGkers Of the
capital supply the necessary material
for the sprinkling.
A little boy is crying at the corner
of a street-of course on one of the
gratings of the sewers. The poor boy
has evidently lost something; in few
seconds fifty curious people have gath
cred around him, and we hear the sad
story. His father, a harsh, severe man
Gt is often, too, a sick mother), haff
sent him to the bakers with a dollas
piece; at the corner he was thrust or
the pavement by the crowd, fell and
lost the coin in his fall, which slipped
through the grating and was, conse-
quently, hopelcssly lost. Is not this a
sad story! If the boy plays his part
cleverly, if he howls, and cries and
tears his hair. swears that he dare not
venture home for fear of his father, who
will beat him to death, or because his
sick mother will now have nothing to
eat, as it was her last money, he would
sooner throw himself into the Seine
and so on, compassionate gentleman
gives him n ten cent piece, others follow
the liberal example, and the lost dollar
is thus easily made up. The whole
thing, however, is only trick, in which
two or three are generally engaged,
and hundred steps further on the &C.
complice awaits the fortunate result.
If, as at times will occur, the policn
interfere, the father himself comes up
and confirms his sons statement; but
more often the unhappy boy bolts on
the appearance of the sergeant de
vile. The Parisians are well aware of
these tricks, but this does not prevent
them from being taken in again and
again. but foreigners are tie principal
persons on whose purses tie swindlers,
great and small, speculata. Thus,
some years ago, man went from hotel
to hotel in the Faubourg ST. Honore,
who knocked at every door aod begged
for aims, $50 that he could bury his
only son, who had died yesterday"
The man, though he wore q blouse,
looked perfectly respectable and hen
est; he wept bitter tears at tho same
time, described his sons illness and
suilerings circumstantially, and in con-
cluson produced a sum of four dollars,
which he had Already collected, but he
must have eight, as the funeral cost
that amount. This man had been liv-
ing on his sons burial about two
years.
With the nightfall other industrials
are visible, who can only show in the
evening. A man comes up and posts
himself in the middle of the road, puts
his hat cautiously and mysteriously on
the ground, with candle by its side,
and then begins his pathetic address.
His object is to attract public attention
to what is hidden under the hat
"Never, so long rs Paris has existed
he eXclaims, "Ras any thing so cheap.
so fine, so remarkable been seen. Tie
greatest savants are not agreed as TO
the solution of the MARVEL" The hat
sill remains at the same spot; at times
tie orator prepares to raise it, but hes
itates, and begins his speech afresh
This lasts good quarter of an hour
and longer, according to the impa-
tience of the hearers, who at length
throw him couple of pennies so that
he may raise his hat, What is then
visible is naturally not worth the
trouble; q gold watch chain for five
cents, small gold" rings, with ''rear'
stones, for two cents, or something of
the sort. Many go away annoyed and
abuse the humbug, who probably has
not breakfasted yet though it is nine
o'clock at night. The chairs on the
boulevards on fine afternoons, although
there are thousands of them, are all
engaged: you seek In vain an empty
one. 1t is of no use. "a kingdom
for chair!" A clean lad at once of
fers ua two for monsieur ct madame;
he has engaged them at his own risk,
and paid two cents apiece for them, so
we give him ten cents,
For the following trick IL gamins
'hO hNouSui "uo thVJ aiO caollJ lOuiu'
An elegant gentleman comes up, who
is glad to get of the dirty macadam on
to the clean trottoir. The gentleman
steps daintily through the mud, but,
unluckily, gamin stumbles against
his stick, which falls in the dirt. An
other gamin (the accomplice), how
ever, runs up at once, picks the stick
out of the dirt, wipes it clean and
hands it to the gentleman, who is glad,
at any rate, to save his new gloves.
This service is worth its couple of
cents, "Why do not the rasGals
workP" one may ask. Well, the truth
is, the Partisan gamin is vagabond,
and if he worked like other honest
people the French capital would be
poorer by one of its most interesting
types. Besides the gamins are not so
very bad, for nearly all, as they do not
know what else to do, volunteer in
their seventeenth year and become cap
ital food for powder. Brooklyn Eagle.