St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-05-13
STUDENTS !. CAFE, PARIS.
A Place Where the Initiation Fee
is Always a Song.
The MAN Who WOULD NOT SING.
A Graphic Picture of the Singing Cafe
The Man Returns q second Time
and is FOrced+to Sing-The Gay
Crowd Treated to a Tragic
Scene.

E It was students cafe in the Latin Quar-
ter, Paris, which, though in many respects a
typical place of its kind, possessed one feat
ure that made it peculiarly unique, and gave
it an extra touch of originality among these
odd Bohemian rendezvous. The cafe itself
was situated right in the heart of the Quar-
ter, in what might be called cellar-that is,
it was reached by going down a fight of
steps, and they were very rickety steps, from
the street. If you had paused half way down
these stairs any Saturday night, or better
still, on a particular Saturday night in the
middle of the last school year, the picture
before you would have been something like
this:
You would have seen large, low-ceilinged
room, filed with small tables and chairs, and
students and girls and tobacco smoke, all
arranged around common center, which
was occupied by an old piano. On the walls
you would have seen many pictures, mostly
caricatures by the art students, who consti-
tuted larger part of the audience, and
which, though quite in harmony with their
surroundings, would without doubt have
created sensation if displayed in an art
window on the Boulevard. And you would
have heard noise, a confused tumble of
clinking glasses, and the cries of the waters,
and laughter, and then the discussions. Dis
cussions on anything and everything from
the respective abilities Of two opposing can
didates for the Academy, to the not less APP
preciated merits Of two rival concert hall
singers. Anything for argument is the
motto in students cafe. And blending with
and seeming to lead this chorus Of gossip
and chatter, you would have heard voice
raised in some kind Of a song, reckless
drinking song, or tale of student life.
Singing was the distinctive feature of this
particular cafe. For it was the unwritten
law of the place that every newcomer, before
taking a drink or engaging in any of the
aforesaid endless discussions, should go to
the piano and sing song. It didn't make
any difference whether the person could sing
well or not, or whether, in fact, he could sing
at all; for students in a cafe are not apt to be
very discriminating, and then, although there
was as a rule little lull in the storm of
clinking glasses and loud laughter and the
flood Of verbosity during these renditions, it
was as general thing hard to tell whether
any one was singing or not. And then, hav-
ing viewed this odd scene, you would de-
scend the steps. and, if you we're wise, go to
the piano and sing your song, or yell it. be-
fore going to your table and adding to the
volume Of noise, Of perhaps sitting back,
quietly smoking d cigarette or favorit
pipe. you would calmly observe your COM
panions. for it was good place to study hui
man nature. Many different nationaiities
were represented there, mostly Frenchmen.
al INIT I,oro cp1c ;p1y
ling of English, Germans, Spanish and Ital-
ians, besides negroes and Japanese. and the
bright uniforms Of few soldiers OF duty
added to the color Of the picture. The stu
dents alone or in groups came in, sang their