New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-24
THE PARISlENNE.
A COSMOPOLITAN DESCRIBES HER.
HOW SHE APPEARS TO AN ENGLrsHMAN WHO
KNOWS HIS PARISH CREATURE NOT
LIKE ANYBODY ELSE.

There Is no woman In the world who IS so difficult
TO describe the Parisienne the most inconsistent
paradoxca unreasonable and altogether astonishing
member Of her The poet liene described her and
her sisters as the "comediennes ordinares, du bon
Dieu." which would sound blasphemous II translated
into English La Rochefoucaud and Montesqui0u
have both tried their hands at portrnync her but with
out success. so. too. have Gavami. Bnlzac and
Arsene 1ionssaye. According to the latter, In order
TO be Parisienne II Is necessary TO be born gourmand
nn'asiical and coquette. lie adds that she is born
under the tree OF knowledge. and that her grand
mother. Eve, Invariably puts serpent in her cradle
the result being that she is forever playing With fir,
She fears nothing. not even the devil. Indeed. she
could more than hold her own with him. and Arsene
Houssaye that she possesses even more
dcviltry In her composition than the split Of evil
What renders II so difficult to portray or describe
the Panscnne Is that she Is for two days to-
gcthcr the same Indeed her great art may be said
consist In resembling herself She constitutes
everlasting and Kaleidoscope succession OF meta
mOrphOses, each one more startling than the last,
the consequence being that can profess to know
her character. / doubt II she even knows IL herself
or dreams OF studying 1t, for she IS not the
Kind Of woman who wraps herself up in her own
thoughts. She lives neither for the past for
the future; her thoughts concentrated on the
present. Unlike the ordinary Frcnchwoman. she has
no sense of economy. and has thought of tie
AS long as she can live rich II Is Indifferent
TO her whether she dies poor; all that she needs
is 10 feel that enough will remain 10 enable her to
be buried In bastc and with n bouquet OF vioe;s
on her tomb sho knows full we'll that she will not
have TO pay for dresses in the next world
II one 10 believe the Pariscnnc. one would
gather from her assertions that She Is the most
economical OF women. She IS Invariably cvclaiming
that she spends literally nothing. True, she Is per
fecty ready to forero the ncccssacs as long as she
can have the lnxuiies: aud her sense Of the value
OF money may be best illustrated by the fact that
for the sake Of cnccting a saving IN expense
she goes 10 the Iallcs Centrsl-s or metropolitan mar
kc for the purpose Of buying half pound Of shrImps
or @ couple OF ponds OF chops, she hires carriage
by the hour When II is pointed ont 10 her that the
money saved by buying the chops at the market Is
than spent IN paying Cor the carriage she
replies that she Is not rich enough TO go on foot
since. II she do so, she would stop at almost
every shop OIL tho way.
The Parisienne child Of darkness. that Is to say.
she only begins really TO live toward dusk. At
midnight She Is at her best. Their" Is great strain
Of BOhcmlansm In the plrsicnnc. which often becomes
apparent when she Is diSper sing hospitality. She j.
fond Of receiving, even when she has but little 10
offer in return. She has not the flntcst idea how
10 make tea. but She serves il with such grace In the
dantest little cups Of scvrcs SAKE Japanese Tor
cclain and with such n captivating smile, that the
tea becomes intoxicating than the most fiery
alcohol. II She gives dinner she dcvocs far more
attention TO thc flowers and fus upon The table thhn
10 the salmon the pheasant the dinner Is served
anyhow" and She passes on any hitch that may
arise with witty remark which puts everybody In
good humor. The result I, that every one Is content
excepting herself on The morrow. when she makes up
her accounts with her cpok-for The Parisicnne has
prcicnsicns TO order. in The mlds, OF her dis
order
While the Partisan himself IS thorough going demo
crn convinced that he I, the equal II not the superior
Of every Of his fellow creatures. the Parsichn"
the contrary Is thoroughly aristoclatc In her ideas
How could IT he Otherwise. aud how T. II possible
for her to bccv" in the doctrines Of equality a. long
rs she has a cook and femme de @ h,mhrc At her
command She Infinitely prefers prince To pie
bcian in her salon. and unless man Is either
celebrity or remarkably handsome. she Ards II difficult
TO forgive him for not having been bora what 81"
considers a gentleman. The Psisisnnc l. not braatl-
ful from n sculptura aesthetic point Of view, but
She combines In her pcron what NAV h" seribed A.
the elementary features OF almost every known KIND
OF beauty She has neither the distinctive signs OF
southern nor yet Of Northern birth. bat she reflects
In her person AT and the same time the r"v"rb"ra-
lions OF tho Arctic and Of the tropical sun She
may be described -, having the American eve. the
spanish pcrnancc. The Italian brio the Japanese gacc
Mc English grccdlncss and the German tendency
toward seniu,, niallsm. Her beauty /, what may he
described as the bcautc du dIablc- but this parIc
ular form Of beauty, which lasts rarely longer than
for Two or three Seasons with pr0vlDcias or for
cicners Is retained by the Parl,lcnnc often for
quarter Of century. In church she has
a peculiar way Of kncclng. Of raising her
eyes heaven and Of listening TO the priest
which Is enough 10 tempt even ST. Anthony. Perhaps
the explanation Of this may be- found IN Che fact that
the PasIcnnc. matter what she does. IS forever On
scene do not Ike TO the word posing for
II would suggest too mnth the Idea OF artificial pose
Eut She /, always laying herself out for the gaze Of
others and people have tho bad taste 10 neglect TO
bpk at her she loois AT herself Her bedroom ana
toilet In fact all the rooms peculiarly her OWN,
are adorned with quantity Of mirrors which enable
her - herself from every point OF view and II one
her with trcSs or lock Of hair ont OF place one
may assured that she has intcnonally dShrrnng'd
II for the purpose Of ccnccallng the hct that her
attention is concentrated upon herself.
The rari,l,nnc does not follow the fashion. She
herself is the fashion, AID she Is. consequently. In
accordance herewith. no matter what she docs or
what the cxtravarnncts Of her toilet. When pro
vcia or a foreigner passes along the boul ward. sh"
will Invariably attract attention By the newncSs oi
her The drcs, Of the Pnr>iennr. however. Il"
matter II II has left The hand Of fne conturcr but
on hour BEFORE always looks II IL had already been
worn for a day or two The nonIarIsennc IS dressed
by hcs dress whereas the Parsienne may be laid TO
dfcss hey dress. 80 other woman possesses Ia such
perfection the AL Of a,slmatIng herself to her dress
The ao seem 10 have been made for one another ana
10 De I'm perfect harmony II The dress Is long, lis 'rll
ing ndocnt train IS In Keeping with the hall INDECENT
half sentimental state Of mind OF It's wcarer at the
sine. II the t. short and sprighy, II Is once
more In harmony WITH The HE ana vim Oh lis iar
vcarcr at the moment.
PERHAPS the best description OF n ParlsicnDc that
bas ever been given is that Of alzac who describes
he. as the eighth capital sin pcrsoniicd.
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nFy,v RI arms