Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-08-26

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t<s p~p.r<l~s olofy.
The giories Of tbs Preach market in
New orieAns haze been told for tuo
gensrstioak The tirne k2s seeminsis
come when So requiem + 20 be sung.
The frrneh market u thsrs L. al lie
psesiiArsty Of sAape ard stall ossring<
faere sse The saaas golden hssps ef
orarge- frum the lndian river, iem0ns
from Nessina and CALIFORNIA;. tropissi
gapes With their parple color - rich
In them that nothing haferAl Cesar
ever wors eoad vie With ths'r beauty.
fyranias Of yellow squaslles haon the
Losiaians low Lands AID beans and
hsess and berries IA sndiess profcsioa
and confusion There Is the sane
noisy chatter 81 foreign tongues. there
4 ne dlminntioa Of the crowds who
dicke and chatter around the wooden
stalls. but. aecorkiay ~ the Philadel-
phia Press. thu glory 81 the market.
the old creoies. the be~atsous fnaidens
with stout .'rnammy' and ehunky
negro boy. baskst-iadened. tagging
after theta: Slender, why. neryous
man with n gray-mirei solersd map
trudginy along al his side with bas,st
filled with the good things Of the earth
--ali are gone aud the French market
Is French low In nothing hut name.
Another tongue IL fnst supphlnting the
liquid tones 81 the language OF old
France The Italians. dark-hued,
Sowing men. with fierce Neapolitan
and Corskan oaths in their beards,
stout women OF swsrthy race. heavy
features. bare arms and ponderous girth
stand and call their goods aud wares
10 the passer-by These are the peo-
pie known by the discriminating sail
ors and careless Americans Is ''da-
goes" and they almost rule tho mar
ket.
To those who have never seen thu
French market In its glory IL may 10
said that IL Is simply q succsssion Of
roofs upheld by great. square, squatty
pillars OF Trick work beyond Jackson
square and within a stones toss of the
yellow Mississippi It's proximity TO
the old French quarters of New Or.
leans; the fact that in It's beginning
and At It's zenith il was the grand bazaar
Of the crcoles of antebellum and post
bellum days, and that even now in It's
decadence the flavor Of It's former
prestige in the markets Of the world
still clings TO IL In the strange aud fas-
cinating tongue of che emigrcs, makes
IL place worth visiting. There was
time when these great vaulted arcadea
were peoplcd with men and women.
black aud white. rich and poor, all of
whom spoke the pathos that George
w. Cable has enshrined In ''old Creole
Days" Then were the times when the
Marchandes were picturesque figures
in the midst of the wealth of color that
stood out IN glariDg masses, from every
known edible product of the vegetable
world. against tho black background
of the old buildings themselves. Those
were days worth recalling. Those were
the times when the mighty racers OF
the Mississippi. the Lee and Eatchez.
vomited volumes OF black smoke from
smokestac< slcoves. while down below
q dozen darkies were passing coal. and.
as the legend goes. smashing mp tierces
of hams 10 feed the flames. with
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS rousta-
bout roosting on the safety valve. Il
was I'm this period that the French
market was at It's best, but the racers
will race no more rs in the old days,
and the beauteous maidens and hand
some men and gentle masrons of the
creole days are sleeping In the old
Bayou cemetery