St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-29
PARIS And ST. PAUL
Compared in an Interesting
Letter From the Gay
French Capital.
English Spoken Here Is a
Legend More Frequent
Than True.
French Urban Improvements
Seen Through American
Speetaeles.
The Gay French Populace in
the Worlds City OF Fash
ion.

day I'D again viewing. the grandeur ana
beauties of Niagara Falls and surround
ings. Staid two days in New York. L
was astonIShed to note the wonderful
growth and developments which had
taken place there in the last ten
years, the hundreds of magnificent
ten to twenty-StOry structures
ing fabulous SIMS of money.
the like Of which in business blocks are
not to be found in any city outside OF
America. Leaving New York early IN
the morning, we soon lost sight of her
great docks, crowded with shipping
from all parts of the world; gradually
her monuments, dOmes and spires faded
from our view. leaving us for the next
seven days nothing to gaze upon but
one vast expense of water, varied only
two or three times by the sight OF dis
tant vessel. and twice by icebergS, one
of them being of huge dimensions, dis
tant only few miles, the very picture
of loneliness and deSOlatiOn, as 1t
dTifted slowly away from its north
ern icy sOlitudes. The weather during
our voyage was exceptionally pleasant
neither myself nor wife being at any
time the least Sea-Sick. The fare and
service on the French line on which we
sailed are excellent; wine served free
and drunk instead of water, but l should
say in much larger quantities. For
Frenchman | should consider this an
ideal line, but for an American who
prefers to hear his own language
spoken, the White Star or Inman line
is much preferable. On Sunday, 3lst.
just eight days out, we
Landed at HaVre
one hour too late to catch the tide; con-
sequently everything had to be trans
ferred on lighters, taking about four
hours. We were heartily glad to be
once more on land, although everything
seemed very strange 10 US. and we could
not understand any one nor make our
selves understood, but we were finally
settled and securely locked up in
one of their railway carriages, and only
reached Paris. The scenery along the
route, although not grand, was very
beautiful; the country very old. many
of the towns dating back five to seven
hundred yeaas and more. After reach
ing ROuen we followed the river Seine
all of the waytO Paris, eighty-One miles.
The valley is extremely beautiful,
dotted thickly with towns so close to
each other that you hardly leave one
before entering another, all of them
having something ancient and interest
ing to the traveller, and some of them
having immense and grand cathedrals
Tor palaces gone into decay, built at
enormous expense, and dating back six
and seven hundred years. The cOun-
try is densely populated. very highly
cultivated. but seems to yield rather a
poor return for the amount OF
labor bestowed upon it. did
not see single good field
of wheat on the route. 1t was very poor,
and If fair criterion of the whole of
France they will need plenty of our
grain. The buildings everywhere in
towns and country are of brick or stone
mostly stone, plain and old-fashiOned.,
have not yet seen building since en-
tering France that is built of wood.
Their main highways everywhere are
models, all macadamiZed smooth as a
floor, and kept up in perfect repair. But
in their railroads and everything per-
tanning to them except roadbeds, which
are very solid, they are far behind US,
but not in charges. think our granger
friends that kick so hard and persistently
about American railroads ought to
Consider Themselves Fortunate
that they live in America. | do not be-
leve there is any country in the world
that furnishes as good and as cheap
railroad accommodations as the United
States. Here we are locked in, eight in
a compartment Gf filed. four facing
backwards and four forwards, to ride all
day that way. with no cOnveniences of
any kind, allowing you to get out every
rs to 100 miles, perhaps. The fares will
average four cents tirSt-claSS and three
cents secOnd-clasS, and the tirSt-class
cars are very ordinary in finish. Sleep
ing cars, which are used on only a few
of the roads. do not begin to compare
with ours in righteousness or cOnven-
fence, but the rates are more than
double or treble; for distance from
Nice to Paris, twenty hours ride, the
price is SIS for a single berth. FrelghtS,
| am told. are also high. Baggage cam
not be checked as with US, but the
anxious traveller must be on hand at
every change to pick it out in person.
The cost of living at hotels and travel
ing expenses generally is, think, fully
as high as with US. AmusementS in
Paris will average higher and not aver
age as good, excepting opera. as with
us. Neither do their theaters, opera
house, etc, average as good as with us
in finish and convenience, excepting, of
course, the Grand opera house, which
is the finest in the world, and cost, in
Guiding ground, $4,000. 600. Their lead
ing theaterS receive annual Su b.
sides from the government. The
Grand receives 100000; Theatre Fran
Gals, $4,000; Theater COmique, $4,000:
etc. Cab hire is the cheapest thing |
know Of here, and would make New
No., r1nNv ,t,Ac -
50 all hour for rig, tired. Thirty cents
takes one or two persons to any part of
the city inside the Notifications, OF 40
cents an hour, or 30 cents an hour if
occupied by four persons; also gratuity
TO the driver of about five cents an hour.
The new Notifications include an area
of about 400 square miles, and in 1910,
when built, encIrcled then practically
all of Paris. The are constructed of
splendid masonry, thir:y-two feet high,
nineteen feet at base, with heavy EN-
bankments. and a very wide, deep ex-
caVation outside, which can be filled at
any time with water. They cost SIS,
0O0, 900. The weather on the whole
since our arrival has been very
fine for sightseeing. but rather
too cool for comfort until now.
my spring overcoat being usually nee
0SSdTN, anu OCdSIOidily MY Wllller one,
l have been told that a person speaking
English only would have no trouble to
get along comfortably here. We
DO Not Find 1t So,
and were it not for the French that Mr..
and Mrs. Fraker have acquired, we
could not get around with any Satisfac-
ton whatever without keeping con
! Stantly near US an English-speaking
| guide, as it is seldom that you meet any
| one that can answer or understand q
single question in English A few OF
the stores have English clerks, but that
does not help one on the street or con-
veyances. | have only met one st.
Paulite here. Victor Robertson. W no re
mains here few weeks before o.
ceeding on his trip around the
word. Mr.. and Mrs. Stanford Newell,
| understand. are also here for the sum
mer. Well, suppose You would like
to know something more about what WE
have seen, and how we like Paris. A:
to its business and mercantile struct
ures. they do not begin to compare il
| beauty cost or magnificence to those OF