The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-16
THE SALOON In PARIS
PLACE WHERE NICHOLSON,s BILL
WOULD BE A USELESS MEASURE.
Parisians Detest Screens and Bar
rooms and Drink Their GroE with
Delight on the Sidewalk.
Paris Letter in New York Press.

PdrlS Letter IN New YORK Press.
BY far the most interesting phase Of
Paris is the night street life. The Paris
cafes are an institution and a law unto
themselves. Their like does not exist
elsewhere. In Vienna there is n tenden-
cy in the same direction and in Berlin
a poor substitute. but nowhere are the
Paris cafes equaled. There is scarcely
a street in Paris which has not one or
more of them. 1t should be explained
here that in Paris there is nothing at all
like the American saloon, with its
screens and swinging doors, nor like the
the English public house, with its tiny
compartments. The travelled French
man regards both these institutions with
horror. Paris may be wicked. but it is
frank about it. 1t may be a city of hard
drinkers. but the weakness is not hid
den. Whenever the Frenchman wishes
to do thing he does ii. and he does it
in the sight of tout lie monde
All the world is at liberty to know that
he takes absinthe at o'clock in the
afternoon and that his wife takes hers
with him at the same time. He doesn't
lively story or risky photograph. The
Moulin Rouge is probably the most VIC
iouS exhibition i'm Paris. yet it is open to
everybody. and nobody thinks of denying
that he or she has visited it. 1t is as
much of an institution here as the Muse
UNI of Arts is in New York.
The cafes in Paris take the place of the
saloons in other cities. Most of the
drinking places and nearly all of the
roc to-, mt box oil 4ha;r
two or three rows of little round tables
on the sidewalk. The Partisan sidewalks
are so wide that this does not make a
serious obstruction. A large awning
covers them, and frequently glass
screens at the end shut off the wind.
These are the cafes.
The best are on the great boulevards
and avenues. The Boulevard des Ital-
lens, being the most popular street of
Paris Qt occupies a position like that
which Broadway holds in New York;. is
the location of the biggest and best of
them. OF these the Cafe Rich and Tav-
ern of Pousset are the most popular.
Next to them, perhaps, comes the Cafe
Terminus, an annex of the Hotel Term
mus on the Rue st. Lazare. 1t was into
this cafe that an Anarchist threw a bomb
a year or more ago.
Everybody frequents the cafes. In the
morning they get their coffee and rolls
there, in the afternoon, at about $3.50,
they begin 20 drink absinthe there, to-
gether with other facilitating concoc-
tons, such as vermouth cassise. In the
evening, after dinner, they go to the
cafes for their coffee.
BEER FOLLOWED COFFEE.
Coffee is not served with the French
dinner. After coffee, nowadays, comes
beer, although a long and bitter fight
was waged against the advancing popu-
larity of this beverage of the hated Ger
mans. Cognac is always served with
coffee at the Paris cafes. Unless one de-
to him in a glass, and with it little de-
canter of brandy. This decanter is
marked in lines and figures, as is med
icine glass, with the number of drinks
which 1t contains. When one calls for
his bill the waiter invariably holds the
decanter up to the light to see how much
brandy has been taken. The decanters
are, of course, filled afresh for each GUS
toner.
Whatever Is served at Paris cafe, be
it served in a cup or glass mug, in
variably stands at first upon saucer.
When this saucer is removed it means
that you have paid your bill. In the
cafes one is expected to give the waiter
a sum equal to 5 per cent. of his bill.
There are cafes where 10 per cent. is
expected.
1t is from the chairs and over the lit
tie tables of the cafes that one can get
the best idea of what Paris night life
really is. On pleasant evenings the
street procession is ceaseless from 8
o'clock till a. m, and all sorts and con-
ditions of men and women make 1t up.
Family parties stroll JOLLY by, tourists
walk slowly with the. unmistakable air
of sightseers, young men about town and
old men about town pass jauntily the
gay Parisenne, who is without an escort
unless she can find one in the crowd, trip
gayly by.
All kinds of vendors cry their wares
and exhibit them seductively to the peo-
pie at the tables, newspaper and flower
sellers being omnipresent. Young army
officers at the tables ogle the girls on the
sidewalk and from the sidewalk ogle
the girls at the tables. Staid matr0ns
class enjoy it comfortably, and now and
then a group Enthusiastically made up of
aristocrats is seen.
After the cafe pals, if it does, go to
one of the cafe chantants or music halls.
There are some where an admission Is
charged, but there are many where very
good entertainments are free to those
who drink therein. Down in the quarter
Iatin-from whence ''Trilby" came
there are one or two which are partic-
ularly interesting. Indeed, they are more
interesting than clean.
n CELLAR MUSIC HALL.
One. which is near to the Seine end
of the Boulevard st. Michel-known to
the students as the "Boul Mich"-is in
a cellar, and it said that from it some OF
the best cafe singers of Paris have devel-
oped. The singers there are not profess
SIGNALS. They are generally young men
and women who want to be profession
ais, but often the students themselves
take their places on the little rostrums
before the piano and sing the songs of
the Quarter, sometimes even telling good
stories. If you do not understand French
you will not be shocked either by the
guist, keep away.
cafes chantants. Some of them are very
are worth visit merely for the pur-
pose of seeing the pictures on the walls
Many famous artists have contributed
TO the decoration, and there are pictures
worth looking at which have been done
by artists who yet have their way to
make, and who take this strange oppor-
tunity OF getting their work before the
eyes of the public.
Near to the best known of these is the
Cabaret de Meant" or Cabaret of moth
ing-of the end. 1t was the original IN
tention of the enterprising proprietors of
this place to name it the Cabaret of
Death" and as such ii is generally
known in Paris, although the police