The Washington critic., 1888-05-26
THE TnrNon ouARrER
A Section of Now York of which Little


A Section of Now York of which Little
Is Known.
But few New Workers arc acquainted
with this petite Paris that flourishes in
the midst of them says a writer in the
New York Press. The enterprising news
paper writer by some mischance, has so
far passed it by, and its peculiar institu-
tions and their interesting habitues have
yet to be chronicled. Should they care to
inquire they would find the Quarter
Francals in that section Of the city which
is bounded on the south by Washington
Square, on the north by Grand street,
and on the east by Broadway, and strag-
Cling west in q way that defies the dis
covery of any boundary line. AT
first glance the place has quite
an American look, the streets are
as straight and the houses rs com
monplace as any American might wish,
and lack that touch of the picturesque, Of
the artistic, that lends such charm to
the old French towns. But the signs
over the doors of the shops and in the
windows of the cafes are nearly all
French, the language we hear all about Is
the same, and as we walk more into the
quarter an indefnable foreign atmos-
phere tells us that we have arrived at our
destination.
Wine shops and cafes and taverns
abound here on Greene and Bleecker
streets, for your Parisian wherever you
find him and whatever his station in life,
is famous epicure. Most of these places
of entertainment are in cellars, and you
descend two or three or half a dozen steps
to reach them. For we are going in. No
where can one learn so much about this
people as at the cafes, for here they are
truly at home. And it is well worth ones
while to sit at table and watch the hab-
itues at their pleasures. The obsequious
garcon deferentially hands you the
bill of fare and awaits your or
der. You are surprised at the prices
Surely no hungry though delicately
panying delicate purse, need take refuge
in Bowery eating-house. Here soupe
aux croutons can be had for five cents
and bmuf legumes for like sum- Celeri
salade and mouton la Ravigotte will be
twelve cents more, and bottle of passa-
bly, good claret, with a cup of black
coffee, will bring the dinner to thirty-five
cents. 1t is wonderful improvement on
dinner of like cost in an American
restaurant and many of the artists and
students who live about Washington
| Square find the cafes very convenient.
The counterpart Of the scene in the res
taurant we entered could only be found
ON the other side of the Atlantic The
rough floor is sanded and the little tables
set irregularly about. The habitues make
up varied company. Tall, soldierly
men and shabbily clothed music teachers
talk excitedly over the latest news
about Boulanger as they eat their
dinner or sip their chartreuse, while
others not so learned sit by and
listen. STILL others are absorbed in
ecarte, vingt ct un and piquet, and be-
1 oh In foc Al in,
copious draughts of vermouth and alb
sinthe. The walls of the cafe are almost
covered with flaming bills and posters
announcing various meetings and balls,
and on the table you will find ten days
old Figaro and the Petit Journal. The
Courier des Etats Uni, of to-day has Just
arrived, and the news is being read aloud
to group in the corner.
In the cafes you will find shabby gem
tIity at every other table, Now and then
you will run foul of q comte with q
threadbare coat, almost soleless boots and
trousers frayed at the edges. But the
breakdown goes no further. Gentleman
and nobleman bristles out all over and
his poverty does not take away his self
respect He walks as erect as in the days of
the empire, when he had wealth and hon
ors; his linen is irreproachable; and
though 60 years have whitened his luxu-
RANT hair and fastidiously curled nous
tache, they are, strangely enough as
black as ever. The dingy old tenement
with the sign, "Chambres Meublees ct
Pension" is occupied by many men who
have played considerable parts in many
political revolutions. Here also lives the
poorly paid professor of languages. The
halfstarved music teacher and now and
then an artist findsa home in q quaint
old attic, where the light is good and the
rental small. Here among these exiles
you will find the true, the only Bohe-
mians in the great metropolis. The streets,
the cafes, the theatre is the only home of
your Partisan, and what is true of him
in his beloved France is no less true OF
him here. Their easy-going philosophy
can perchance teach us lesson or two
If we care to study them. They are all
ofthem poor, some miserably so. But
one would not think 1t from the way
they seem to enjoy life. The exile sol
dier, the struggling artist, the poor pro
fessor, the unlearned mechanic are aS
mercurial as of old. They are down now
But why should it always be so? To
morrow may bring a change of fortune
and in the meantime we can dine and bt
happy. So they spend an hour or two
over twenty-five cent dinner of sil
courses, make merry over their feast anC
forget their sorrows in a good digestion
and in extolling the triumphs of the well
beloved chef,