St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-04-10
STREET SCHEMERS,
Plans Concocted by Parisians tc
Get Living.
The "Commissionaire" and His Cute Poodle
Hidden Observation-Disclosures, Cigar
Stump Collectors, Vagabonds
Flower Girls and Gamins

N Parls there are said to be seventy
tive thousand persons who wake in tn
morning without knowing whethe
they will have any thing to eat during
the day. But they must all eat, ant
they find their food, although their ex
istence is ephemeral, and truly from
hand to mouth. The lazzarone of Ma
pies, when he has earned the ten cents
which are sufficient for his daily bread
remains carelessly lying on the stairs
OF some palace or gazing across the
glistening sea at Capri or the small
smoke-cIad peak of Vesuvius, and will
not bestow glance on a stranger, who
wishes to give him chance of earning
something. The Partisan lazzarone,
his civilized brother, has similar man
ners and inclinations, excerpt that he
must earn more than ten cents, for his
wants as citizen of the French Capt.
tal are greater. But in return he is a
tax-paying citizen of the empire, and
able to vote if not to be elected.
l begin my account with the com
missionaire, who is in reality only a
shocblack, but in addition he is every
thing possible, and pei 'orrns commits
sions of every description, as his name
indicates. He is crafty, clever and dis
Greet, and, at the same time honest, so
far as such a man can be honest. The
COMMISSIONERS form separate carte,
one inscribed at the Mayor office, and
each has bis number, which he must
wear very ostcnsibly on a small brass
plate. There are about six thousand in
Paris, who, however, are divided into
numerous classes. The commission
aire of the inner boulevard stands at
the head, and those stationed at the
Boulevard DIES Italiens, and about the
Grand Opera are fine fellows who read
their paper IN the morning and smoke
their cigar and live more at the wine
shop opposite than at their corner of
the street. For two cents every COM
missionaire will clean our boots, and
tell US, while brushing, the latest oc-
currences of his quarter; there, a gas
explosion, or an omnibus upset; here
fire or an arrest; he has seen it all, and
on each occasion was the principal ast-
ing person. A Partisan commission
aire never has any small change, like
the coachman. This is princi-
pie, and the trick succeeds with
many persons, especially stran-
gers. They leave the poor devil
the ten cent piece in order not to wait,
for he inquiries at three or four places
for copper money and, strange to say,
can not obtain it anywhere, as he as
sures us, with the most serious face in
the world.
The story of the black poodle on the
boulevard Montmartre, though many
years old, is still told in substance.
This black poodle always kept faith
fully by his masters side and paid
great attention to the passers-by. If
handsomely dressed dandy came along
,he poodle thrust its forepaws in the
gutter and ran off to place them on the
1andy's boots. The natural result was
hat the gentleman must have them
cleaned by the nearest shoeback, and
his happened to be the poodle's mas
er. When the trick was known all
Paris wished to see the clever dog in
order to have their boots dirtied by the
poodle and cleaned by its master. The
after then appointed his four children
IS aids, as he could not himself satisfy
III his customers, and in the course of
few months he saved up small cap
tai with which to establish himself ]
lsewhere. The clever poodle was (
.ept till it's death as the benefactor of ]
he whole family, and held in high
onor. But the commissionaire is q
nan of rank among the Partisan
phemeral, and hence has no poetical t
ide. He is, with few exceptions, the '
rose of the boulevard
Our boots are bright, and with the |
thousand other people we