St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-28
Paris Letter.

flavor which.fOr
IL want of better
"@ s s5Psi n sslli E.
Do mol make any mistake and think
mean garlic, for l don't. After the
cold, darkSome summer, these SepteH-
Der DAYS. so flied with beauty, must
set PariSian hearts to beating. You
cannot imagine Paris as gloomy, yet
what else can you call the dull skies
and icy winds that have prevailed
here for the past three months? 1t
stirs the blood now to be out OF
doors, and one can realize why the
French people do not know how to live
in their houses. Unless Paris smiles.
she is very, very disagreeable. A pretty
woman should never Sulk: fTOWnS do
not become her. And so it is with this
enchanting. beWildering Coquette. this
world we know as Paris. Her very
sunshine is different from ours; it gilt
tiers: it is soft and mellow; it seems to
hang over the streets like a golden veil,
and the shadows it casts are
eyasiYe and teeting rs dreams.
When it is fair and bright like this
you take no thought Of the morrow; it
is Lethe; simplya JOY merely TO exist;
you do not care a sou where you 90 or
Nudb NOu SlO. 81 suit fOu lIGtt I14NLC
is nothing better anywhere, and it must
last forever. Every one says that Sep
TENDER here is not an attractive month.
but | have not found this true. and L
doubt if any American would know the
difference between the seasons after
less than wears residence. Tout
lie monde may be at its chateauX
and at fashionable watering places,
but who cares for tout lie monde" when
the streets are filled with life and there
is list as long as ones arm OF sights
to. see? TO the student OF human nature
the Partisan. per Sc, is million times
more entertaining than 4 few hundred
SWellS daShing along in elaborate turn
outs. The shopkeepers at their doors
are far more amusing to me than the
Baroness de Rothschild or the Princess
de Sagan, neither of whom would be
caught in town this time of year-H
they knew it. As to the shops them
selves. they are concentrated Cempta-
ton. | now comprehend the passion
for shopping which the air Of France
develops in my countrywOmen. Poor
souls.
IT IS A DISEASE WITH THEM
for which there IS no incubation, no
remedy, except blindness. or an empty
purse. 1t is MY opinion that his satanic
majesty was formerly Paris shop
keeper. In no other way can one ac-
count for the insidiouS beguilements OF
the craft. and the ease with which we
all tumble into the shopping mania.
The fact is. Lucifer knows all about it.
! He has been behind counter; he has
! seen weak man and weaker woman
gazing into the splendid shop
windows of the Rue de Rivoli,
and with devilish promptneSs displays
novelty on novelty, until the American
very likely faintS on the sidewalk or
goes in and ruins herself, just to have
| it over. How we'll these sh0pkeepers
know US! Not only by the cut of our
| jibs, or by the peculiar French we
| speak, but by the remarkable facility
| with which we buy, buy, buy. What
| gOdsends Americans are to Paris is
| patent to every thoughtful observer. We
/ have been largely instrumental i'll pay
/ ing the national debt, for no mich
/ COW ever yielded a richer flow than
| the bank account of the very least of
| our miilionaires, and it will be sad day
| for the prosperity Of Paris when Amer
| lea goes dry.
| 1t is really ffattering to be taken for a
| millionaire on every hand, even though
| it is rather inconYenient. Nothing is
| cheap here: everything is dear-but, on
! the whole, | must make one or two ex-
| ceptions to the latter charge. Tops OF
! buses and trans. and the freedom of
| the streets, with their panoramic shows.
| are cheap. 1 cannot in conscience say
| that anything else is so. You pay the
| same for neceSSarieS as at hOme-per-
| hapS a tri1e more than in BoStou-and
| only clothes and wines, which
! YOU can do Without-if not given
| to the folly of dress and
| are not fastidiouS as to your liquors
J can be classed among the cheap delights
! of Paris The Partisan dispiSeS econ
| omy in anybody but himself. With
| him it is virtue. for outside barbara
| ans, especially those with a Cooks
| ticket in their hands and red Baede-
| ker under their arms, it is the chief Of
! vices. But one cannot keep up a diet
| of Felix gowns and champagne and
| Burgundy without running down. and,
| consequently. you are apt to go in for
| the more solid comforts Of good table
| d'hote of the frSt-clasS pension OF
| your own cosy little apartment.
where servants can cheat you
out of your eye teeth while you
play at being at home. But let me give
| this fascinating devil its due-yOu get
| YOUR moneys worth. You do not pay
| for inferior food nor inferior pleasures.
For the rich Paris IS the cheapest place
| in the world. Alas. that SO many of us
| are only rich in desire, and mill
ionaires" in theory, especially as it
causes these crafty children Of France
such disappointment to learn the con-
trary It's too bad to diSabuse them.
| but You have to do it sooner or later,
and the quicker you walk UP to the can
mons mouth and have it over with. the
better it will be for all parties con-
| cerned.