New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-28
THE GOSSIP OF PARIS.
THE STORY OF THE EOIS-WAUNEhlAN
OPERA-RAPID TRANSIT.
Paris. Nav Is

Although tho Rois do BoulOgnc may De salu u
constitute the lungs of Paris, theFe are ie" Peo
ME here either natives or foreigners WHO ar"
ACQUAINTED with the history OF 'ills iho,' WA
feature of metropolitan anatomy rms Is al 'he
oa.onish;r,, inasmuch the Bots plays
far more important part III ''o oAN'cn'c u,
pa,;s;ans both rich and poor, than either Central
va ~, York or Hyde Park in London.
:. n - .to pois that all the principal races are
" - =; :, the Bots that the rich take their
-, -; an horseback, in carriages or on foot.
" a ,nhore the poor spend their holidays with
49,. t.milics picniciing under the shady trees
49, rass OF all these however, who pass
.'-.,,rh the gates of the Bois every day there
soorcelv any who are aware of the fact that
"i0 .ho r,ccconrse Of Longchamps. right opposite
a.. crandstand, there is large and ancient
.aretsrv with numerous tombstones, the latter
., a distance of a couple Of feet below the sur
foca Of the ground. In the ancient maps OF
Paris if figures as the Cemetery of Boulogne, ana
tho last sleep Of those who lie there must D"
sincularlg agitatcd by reason Of the NOISE an"
turmoil overhead, especially on the day OF the
C,ond Priy and of the annual 14th of July
review. Just where the two Longchamrs race
courses form junction there are the ruins OF the
.ob of a famous Russian General who died at
the time If the occupation OF our city ny the
o,lied troops after the battle of Waterloo. Inc
windmill which forms picturesque Il feature
Of the park around the racecourse dates PACK
IN the year 1913 and the creneated ana S'ihi-
ruincd tower close by belonged IN oldeh 'lncs
TO the Abbey of Longchamps founded pS 'he
sister of ST. Louis. In the eighteenth century
prima donna of the opera suddenly aoai"'"oO
the stage to become nun, ana 80 superpN u''"
she TO sing the "Tcnebres" that court ana soci''\
WAS wont to flock to hear hcr on every "'o'
ant N l.On
Friday The custom of DRIVING ou' u i-o"9
champs every Good Friday afternoon rcin'i"''
in force long after her death, Uhtl IT." s'"
ago. although the people ny 'lla' 'i'iio nav
gotten the origin of the custom
The Bots as now laid out. is indebted Tor us
existence TO Napoleon III, who, on re'urhIh- "'''
after his long exile in Ensland de''fni"'" ~
endow the good city of Paris with parH Sih'',''
10 those of the British metropolis. IL ""S why's
however in 1858 that Napoleon ana h"H''
cotber drew up the first pIan which was elaoo-
rated by the architect Ware and nave seen one
Of the earliest drafts of the plan IN whlch '"e
.oou,s and tho lakes that now exist were painted
in groom by the hand of Empress Eugene herself
Tho lakes are entirely artificial. and the ear'h
which was removed from their site has bcch ureu
% construct the so-called Butte Mortemart. Inc
buce rocks that adorn the Bots in such plc'ur-
osoue manner were all brought down Seine from
the Forest of Fontainebeau at an enormous COSY
Hills were constructed here. valleys thefe' ""'c
the old straight drives and rides were convene
into serpentine avenues. which now lorlh 'o'''
length of 100 kilometres. 1t Is dlihcuV 10 io"i~0
,hat all This arrangement of the Bots is OF re-
cont date and of SO artificial character IL all
seems so natural. thoroughly haphazaro' anu
vet everything down to the very location oil eaci,
tree was carefully provided Tor peiorehahu' an"
the whole Bots must be regarded as Pcr'cc'
tr;u,nnb Of landscape gardening on a mammoth
scale II was ony few decades ago 'hat NihS
Iouis Philippe and King Charles y were wont
10 shoot partridges. hares and pheasah's "Iho"
were preserved there for the Use of the sovereign
T., usad at that time to form part of the forest
AZ Cl;cbv and with the exception of LongchahpS'
,ras very neglected, wild and abandoned. Never
theless it is well to bear in nina tha' IL was III
1902 that the first long trousers were 1hangura'eo
q, Iongchamps: that il was there TOO that ''c
first balloon made its ascension IN l7s5; 'lmt 1t
was Al Longchamps in 1926 that the pcaru Ihaue
its REMEMBRANCE on mems faces after an absence
of close upon two centuries. IL was III 'H' boi'
de Boulognc that potatoes We're 1irst grown III
France. Tie number of duels that have taken
,laca in tbe Hois is simply legion. of the most
lannon's being that between the Duk" OIL Bourbon
and the Comte d'Artois who subsequently became
most picturesque features of the Bots visible
sro,, IopCcbamps are the eXquisitclv lovely
chateau and gardens of Bagatelle, now belonging
20 tho widow Of Sir Richard WALLACE. The
chateau, Notwithstanding its size was bnlt III
loss than sxty-four days a. the result OF wager
between Queen Marie Antonctte and the Oom'e
d'Artois above mentioned.
II i the avenue leading from the Arc de
Trion,nhc to the Bots which forms the happy
hunting ground of the children of people OF w"aNh
and social standing. In the morning 1t Is rc9u-
lar kndercartcn in the literal acccptatlon OF the
matchmaking but small children babies. wet
nurses and maids The nurses are robust lot
Of women. dressed in gorgeous colored cloaks and
still more gorgeous caps, with long tails OF rlopoh
falling 70 the ground French babies look very
nretty lust now being all dressed III 1851 cos
TUNES with enormous white linen or co"red SIX
or satin Quaker bonncts and dresses of silk mus
lin with tiny flowers and other designs sprlnkl"d
over a 20 Ored sky-bluc or pale rosy @r"uhu
These dresses are made very long, with piece Ic'
in at the top. empieccmcnt, they term IL hei''
and sort Of waist starting from under 'iie arm.
The sleeves are very short and fulh ms sort OF
costume makes the little creatures look very
quaint but il has its charm. and the great bonnet
certainly shows of their tiny features 10 au-
vantage, besides eflectually guaranteeing 'lem
against draushs and against the sun. but "apics
and nurses are not the objects of interest III the
Avenue At the entrance on the left we nave
what is called the Cercle DIES Pdnes. Ahgnc",
THE IIardup Peoples Club This gathering
j. held under the magnificent foliage OF the ches-
nuts. and is supposed to he frcqucnted by persons
who cannot afford a carriage to drive to the boi''
but who yet want TO Sec and, above all, 10 pc
s.cn The accommodation consists OF arni-clialrr'
which are paid for at the rate Of four cents d
sitting and the pebeian bench, which costs noun
ing Manageable young ladies with their chapc-
rones muster there in force the lookout for a
lord or master. Men also frequent the spot. lhey
are of all ages. from the pert. downylppcd ai0icS-
cent fresh from college 10 the made-up old beau;
Every one is well dressed and iDpecunious, ana
tho on. scN cXcrts al its efforts TO deceive the