Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-12-30


| display great skill II he fails to get trip
| ped UP by a rafting bicycle, run through
| with a metal hoop, or Knocked nat py
| skater. 1t Is q gay and festive scene.
| The pedlers OF bright-colored balloons
| trudge along under great spreading
| canopy OF their wares, ana the Toy "ihu-
mill men carry their stock on crescent
| shaped frames, which may be seen Tor a |
mile. |
Day after day / passed a little French
man who always stood near the bronze |
statue of a bicyclist recently erected IN |
front of the Salcn du Cycle selling 1T
tie metal monkey, which would run up
a little cocoanut tree, grao cocoahut
and run down again. He was an oia
man, but in dealing with children MS
face had grown childish. He had way
of holding out his toy to n child that
was being led by with nurse and speak
ing TO IL with his eyes. when wouid
often bring the child back to him and |
omen the pocket-book of the nurse. lie
smoke fair French. and loved 10 TAX,
and I often stopped to ask him about
business lie always told me how many
monkeys he had sold that day, and he
loved TO inform me that he was prosper
ing. He pointed to his wife sitting on
the back row OF chairs in the oDen-air
punch and Judy theatre for children, |
and told me with an air OF pride that
they were his, and that he had a son only |
q years of age who had tobacco estap-
Ushrnent Of his own. He added that his |
son at the age of % was to marry
wealthy merchants daughter. and that
if his own trade continued so good in
MONKEYS he would have comfortable |
home by and by But a few days after |
This I passed him and he had changed. |
Ia was no longer hopeful and cheerful. |
THE TIDE TURNED.
When spoke to him and asked him |
how things were going, he groaned, Mon |
Dleui que je sus malheureusw and he |
showed me basket full of monkeys and |
shook his dingy fist at a little Frenchman |
who stood surrounded by eager children |
across the street The tide had turned. |
Monkeys that run up cocoanut-trees were |
out of favOr-the other man had monkey |
twice as large that would run up and |
down a string. Along this avenue can be |
seen almost every possible form of amuse- |
ment for children-nying horses. roller, |
coasters, swings, goat carriages. etc. But |
| II leads into the Bots de Bologne through |
the Arc de -riomphe, and the wooden |
pavements resound with the dull beat of |
thousands of horses hoofs. Here may be |
seen a long cnain of double-decked omni- |
buses. innumera be cabs, and whiriing |
electric vehicles. gay parties on horseback. |
hump-backed couples on bicycles, squads |
of bright helmeted cavalry. and groups |
of street musicians. and clowns.
AMERICANS IN PARIS.
AS much as we may say against the |
French for their love Of pleasure. there |
is no doubt that Americans as rule be-
lleve in seeing what they can OF 1t while |
over here on short stays. 1t Is amusing |
to see a prm. sedate American lady de-
Il. l., id H. ha1
lust little while for the sake Of seeing |
badness in the French. The other night |
the chaperon of a delightful party Of
New York society girls-giris who had |
come out under McAllisters wing into
society in New York, and who swim well
and drive well. and draw well at New
port-asked Palfrey and I for a private
interview after dinner. The girls were
whlte-faced and mute, ard they scarcely |
drew their breath as their chaperon led |
UP TO the important point She began
by saying that she did not approve OF
the French forms Of amusement at all,
but that she knew a great many highly
respt ctable people who believed there was
no harm in seeing how the natives Of
different countries live. She ended by |
confessing with a rigid look of expec-
fancy in her eyes. that they wanted TO
gee the Latin quarter at night.
w AN LII ~ pI<iJ lI1Tt DALI
"Why we can take cabs and drive you
right through the Boulevard st. Michel"
said Palfrey. "and get back easily by 10
o'clock; the shop windows and the cafes
are very attractive at night"
That was not what the mute row Of
girls wanted, and they looked at one
another in disappointment.
You don't understand" said the chape-
ron, I'VE know il Is very bad over there,
see-well, the way the students amuse
themselves at night you know
1.-THE trouble is" said Palfrey slowly,
"a man never can tell how bad a lot
of ladies want to be- 1 once took some
ladies' over there at their request, and
they had a rip-roaring time, but otter
they got home they told me they had
no idea would have the cheek to take
them to such dives. I think We ought to
be explicit about this"
1--WE promise not to blame you" said
the chaperon. "and the girls all Joined
in the assurance, for they said the mat
ter was settled. We told them We should
drive them to the gayest cafe in the Latin
Quarter first, and IL they wanted any
more we should go on.
IN THE LATIN QUARTER.
At II o'clock our cabs stopped at Cafe
d. Harcourt. 1t was ablaze with light
and ringing with the clatter of glasses
and the jibes and songs Of the students.
Before entering we told our party they
must really endeavor not to look so re-
spectacle, or We should be recognized at
once as sfght-seers and not regular
habitues of the place. They pulled their
wells down over their faces and tried TO
appear unconcerned as we went In, but
they all looked as If they were planning
to explode bomb. The great room,
shaped like an L, was filed with marble
topped tables. and almost every seat was
occupied. W. we're disappointed in our
wish to get in without attracting atten-
ton, for some half-drunken fellow near
the door gave a shout as we passed him,
and the yell went round at our expense
as we threaded our way through the
crowd to the farthest corner of the ROOM
They seemed to forget us. however, for
new sights after we got seats. We were
obliged to order something, so we called
for black coffee in glasses. We dian't
think there was anything so very novice
like In that, but the gay girls and boys
did, for they filed by our table and sang
wild song at our expense and pointed
at our innocent beverage, and FLASHED
their glasses together over our heads and
yelled. The young ladies were white in
the face. and one Of them whispered to
me that she could not speak to save her
A
dreamt OF anything like It. and the ex-
perlence was wonderful.
CUT UP FREELY.
student near our table started up a
tune, sitting astraddle OF the back Of
a chair, and the whole house Joined In.
even our chaperon beat time with her
eyeglasses. They had no respect for our
dignity, for they cut up az freely as they
would have done had we not been pres
erft The man who had started the tune
had a way OF knocking every newcomers
hat down over his eyes and then apollo
giving profusely as II II had been an
accident. We were. glad to see him get
his reward. for when he was bending
forward and singing at the top OF his
lungs 10 keep the tune going long-haired
student sprang leap-frog fashion on his
neck, and knocked the wind out OF him
for q minute. Our chaperon was fond OF
pointing out such ana such girls az like
Characters In "TriIby." She did not fancy
the bold ones at all though the girls al