Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-08-23
ROYAL In PARIS.
FRIVOLOUS MISUNDERSTANDING
ARMles-MANNERs AND CUSTOMS.
4 might, Racy Letter from Our Rich
mend Lawyer-stil Harpiag ON Ma
Aam rramcaiss end the Debt.


mend Lawyer--Stiil Harping on Ma
AAm rrsncaiss and the Debt.
PARIS, August 8, 1891.
I61H Edaor Of Me Dispatch:
A number Of years ego whom I was a
bachelor paid great deal Of attention TO
very beautiful and charming young Ameri-
can lady At the White Sulphur Springs.
Who had spent most Of her life in Paris.
She had brieht-rcd hair. On one occasion
I referred 70 her red hair. ''AFrenchman,"
ehe said, would have spoken Of it as au-
burn" I was Of course properly discon-
eerted. ! mentioned the circumstance to
nv dear, dear old friend, Colonel Suber,
Of South Carolina. Eyes" said he, ana
you ought to have told her that French
man would tell lie in minute.
II / wore asked what trait in frencn
character has struck me most should an,
oWer, "A passion for what - frivolous.
You see It on all hands. Everything Is
aubiect for jcst--serious matters as wen
a. l{eht. II tho weather is bad they ex-
trnct from that fact laugh. IL tho
weather Is fair whole battalions OF persons
march out. Just across the Channei the
Fnalishu man takes o serious view OF every
thing. The frenchman Jests at wnatcVcr
occurs. The virtue OF married women,
the patriotism OF statesmen. the influence
Of homo-ali fall to the lot OF the baiefui
Seat until in the very surfeit OF fun you
look with disgust upon the grinning head
With cap and bells reminding you con-
versely Of q deaths head at feast.
II seems to mo there Ia nothing serious
here. Riding in q cab along o narrow
otreet few days back my csbman rnn his
Wheel against that Of another cab. Furious
sxclamations followed from the driver OF
The injured cab, replied to by equally III
nous retorts from my driver. ms was
kent up as long rs they were IN hearing Oh
each other and when they could no longer
be heard they brandished their whips. L
thought We were certainly going to have q
6cht Al soon as the other was out OF
aicht nv cabman turned back to me, all
convulsed with laughter, and said The
BLACKBOARD. l ran into him. but II 1 had
not sworn ct him little he might have
made me pay HIM franc"
Some evenings back 4 was stahuing az
the door OF my hotel, hght ram was ian,
Ing. . very short. squatty, very old woman
wsddlcd BY. without bonnet or umbrella,
fhs rain beating IN her face. She stopped,
aud looking up with broad grii. said !:
"Isn't this Jolly TO see young girl OF
eighty-two padding about alone IN the
rAin?" :.
The Enelishmsn prides himself. and
Justly too, upon his hospitality; the
frenchman prides himself upon his polite
ness. and they are the most poiite peopie
in the world.
A waiter always adds Monsieur or
Madame" to what he says. Ii you are
asked to do thing it Is always with stt
cous p.dt. When anything Is done. iercse
follows as q matter OF course. when a
Frenchman enters n railroad-car IN wnlch
O lady is seated he always touches MS hat,
and generally takes 1t on.
GOOD JOKE ON HIMSELF.
Speakine of railroad-cars reminds me OF
n little experience 1 had IN London on
their underground railway. 1t IS quite
natural for all Americans, except VIZ
gin,ans, in cold weather to shut door on
leaving room. Now, ~ railway-cars IN
England aye all in compartments, the idea
Is that on leaving one you shall leave the
door open. that new embarkers may see
what compartment is empty. got OH at
one of the stations. was very much alb
eorbed in something that occupied my
mind, and was indeed entirely obhvious 10
my surroundings. Obeylng the national
impulse, l slammed the door TO after me.
Now, it so happened that stalwaft Eng
lishman was getting out of the same COM
either struck him In the face or caught his
fingers: at any rate. II hurt him smartly.
He roared out q fearful oath at me, when
had the effect OF bringing me TO com
plete consciousness of the SITUATION, III
which the only thing that recognized De-
sides the oath was something ABOUT not
shutting the door. This opened the whole
subject 10 me. and without stopping for
word made of as fast "a my legs could
carry ma through the crowd.
IL I had thought the occasion one Justl-
fvlng argument might have held my own
fairly we'll by relating to the irate English
man an experience / had recently IN going
ut night from Richmond TO New YORK. 1
was IN the smoking apartment OF the
sleeper. standing. with my hand resting on
the lam OF the door. aud my new beaver,
which cost So, on the seat. A gentleman
came in, closed the door. and caught my
finger. Ii hurt accordingly. and while
was sachesing around and yelling as the
case demanded he was apologiZlng as hard
"a he could and in despair SAT on my new
hat and mashed 1t fiat.
POOR OPINION OF FRENCH soLDlERY.
A man who has once been soldier in
actual and terrible war never loses nis In
terest in ali that pertains 10 war. Conse-
uuently have found myself, both IN Ing
land and here, inquiring. hrst oil matters
concerning the army. l have seen cood
many French soldiers, and l am compelled
To "a, that never saw more sorry-iook-
ING lot. The universal consumption COM
pels all boys to serve three years as SOL
siiers. and the practical working of the
copscription makes the ranks consist
almost entirely OF boys between eighteen
and twenty-five.
10 look at regiment of French regulars
you imagine that YOU see the boys al one OF
fIhau "
and weeay youths. / cannot believe they
could stand q moment against the stall
vart steady. mature grenadlers OF the
Coldstream Guards or against any other
of her Majesty's regiments OF superb ana
mature soldiers. At Lutzen and at Baut-
zen and in Champagne Napoleon perform
ed wonders with conscrlpt boys, but tneh
they were led by Napoleon and the ranks
were interpreted with the veterans OF all
his campaigns. as the company and line
officers were veterans OF all Frances wars
30 In our fight we had many boys IN the
rapks-I was boy myself-but our RANKS
were leavened also by mature men, prl-
Yates. aud officers. Undoubtedly first
class soldiers can be made of boys where
they are sandwicbed IN between mature
men, but should not like 10 command an
army composed exclusively OF boys II had
to face such regiments as the regulars OF
Great Britain officered by her gentry. The
contest between France aud Germany Of
1870 is not one by which tips fair TO judge
what France Is capable OF. Germany was
ready, France was not. i believe, all things
being equal, that the Gaul has more en-
duranco IN him than the Teuton. In 1906
Napoleon DESTROYED the entire Prussian
monarchy by the single battle OF Jena.
prussia's armies surrendered at command
one after the other after that disastrous
defeat and he marched without opposi-
ton into Berlin. In 1870 France. unpre-
pared, sustained defeat after defeat, but
yet rallied after each disaster and held out
heroically, and her capital was never oc-
cupied until the Prussians had starved vt
into submission at the end Of six months
siege. But. with ali her powers of aggres-
SION and resistance, would France fare any
batter in another war with Prussia II she
places her reliance in an army composed
Of bOys2
STANDING ARMIEA
There Is something profoundly sad in
She armaments maintained by all Europe.
Here il France maintaining an army Of
more than two millions Of men, Ger
many maintaining one larger still,
Russia one much larger. and Austria
aud Italy armies that are all the peo-
ME can sustain. all of them sucking