Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-14
THE STREETS OF PARIS,
With Description of ParIsian Houses and Other Objects of Inter- est.

PARIS, Jsn. 25. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 In our study of the material aspects of Paris 1t has been a perennial source of pleasure, and very great help, to find at every corner, within easy focus of the side walk, signs of uniform appearance, an- nounoing in dIstino. characters the names of the various steaets. In this matter the authorities have been 50 exact that in mak- ing your way about you feel like thanking them at every turn. And it Is equally gratifying to find that the houses have been go carefully numbered, and that the numerals which mark them, instead of running continuously on one side of the street and then jumping to the other side aud starting back, as they do in many other continental cities, arc ar ranged here on the convenient American plan of odds and evens opposite to each other.
 Two things, however, have given us a little trouble. One is that the numbers change so slowly, and that in searching for particular domicile or shop, one has to travel so far before reaching 1t. Speaking generally, Parisian houses are all large. This is because they are near ly all built for apartment houses. The typical Parisian lives in flat He will never speak to you of his home or his house, and In fact the use of such. terms would be monstrously egotisticsl on his part, fo- the house he lives in is occu- pied, as rule, by dozen other fsmi- lies. Hence your home in Paris is al- ways referred to-allowing for exceptions as your appartement.
 As for the typical Parisian house, this around court. It has a frontage of | seventy five to one hundred and fifty feet and.stretches back greater distance still. In height 1t Is six stories, with another story in the roof. The windows are deep and they all open like doors, window sash being apparently quite un- known here. The only entrance from the street is central arohway. Pene- | trating this, you come at once to the | lodge of the caretaker or concierge. A l little beyond, on both sides, are large stairways If you pass into the court yard you will find other stairways, and | by means of these, if you have very | good pair of legs, you may hope to find your way gradually into the different 1 compartments and rooms. Such house | as this you csn see anywhere in Paris. It is the prevailing type. Rich and poor alike live in houses modelled upon this plan; and 1t is only the truth to say that, if the read CT will take our little sketch, and vary 1t somewhat, bearing in mind that nearly all the houseR in this city have stone fronts, real or imitation, that they all look as much alike as peas in the same pod, and that there are a sufficient number of them l to closely pack some three or four thou sand streets, he will have a fairly correct l idea of what, in its architectural and resi- dential aspects, the city of Paris Is ss 6 whole.
 The other thing which troubles you a little in finding your way about Paris is the mania which the city fathers have de veloped for hauling down familiar street names and putting new ones in their places. | It is quite true that the names of the streets are in full view at every turning, but fl doesn't at all follow that the name you see to day is the one your map gives ol the one which was there yesterday. It ie affirmed as an extreme instance that the name of one street was changed three times
 within six monthe. The cause of this ma
 rIa must be looked for in the radical and
 eeculeristic sentiments of the municipa
 council. These are republican times; hence names which stand for monarchy and op