The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-12-03

masters in the plastic art, comfortable
| benches scattered along miles of avenues
and scores of more comfortable chairs
under the trees of the broader streets and
squares, countless restaurants and ca fes
with their immaculate tables inyitingly
installed on the broad sidewalks and
lastly the famous boulevards-the bou-
levards from the Madeleine to the Mont
martre-the like of which, for an indie
scribable something, are ID be found
neither in London nor in any American
city, overlooking, especially on Sunday,
with good natured crowds of men, women
and children in gala dress
But a description of the attractions of
Paris on Sunday would be quite incom-
plete without some mention of the
charms and entertainments in it's imme-
date vicinity. Here belong the horse
races, offered in great variety nearly all
the year around, at Longohamps and
Their suburban tracks; the Seine boats
oearing their happy human freight to
the Vincennes wood, in one direction,
and to the superb alleys of st. Cloud in
the other; the neignboring, town Of
| SUeaux, with its garden dedicated to
Robinson Crusoe and Friday, and its din
ing tables perohed in the easily accessible
branches of towering chestnut trees; ST.
Denis, with it's tombs, and Versailles
with its picture galleries, and, still fur
ther away, but one of the favori5e Meccas
OF the more well-to-do Partisan Sunday
sightseers, Fontainebleau, with its his
torlc apartments and it's grand forest
Such are some of the more inviting as
poets ofsexternal and, exterior Paris on
propitious Sunday. Now word about
few of the internal, the within doors
allurements. of this same captivating city.
The magnificent Louvre, with its i'm
mense collections of paintings sculpture,
Tor, fif,rri 9TH, ~ o,,I
seums, is thrown wide open on Sunday,
year In and year out, to the delighted
| crowds who throng its galleries from
morning till night. The same thing is
true of the fine military museum at the
Hotel DIES Invalides, of the Trocadero
chronological and architectural collections,
of the Guimet exhibition of Oriental re-
ligions, of the modern painting and sculp-
ture at the Luxembourg, of the Canaya.
let museum SO rich in souvenirs of the
history OF Paris and true, also, of half
dozen or more other museums, collections
and exhibitions of greater OF less impor-
tance 1t is on Monday that these public
resorts are closed for the weekly cleaning
and sweeping, not OH Sunday, when
all the population is free and can visit
them.
The two state theatres-the Francois
and the Odeon-and the opera house, are
not only open throughout the year, winter
and summer. but never dream of closing
their doors Oh the Sabbath, In fact, on
that day the Francois and the Odeon
and, as rule, all the Paris playhouses.
offer two performances, afternoon and
evening, when the programmes are made
as popular as possible and the prices of
admission reduced. In word, the man
ayers seem to vie with one another in an
effort to entertain the public, striking
instance of the democratic spirit which
nQrV1GpS the pariC
Furthermore, the best musical concerts
OCCUR on this same day and it is on Sun
day, too, that the military bands perform
in the parks. When the great annual
picture exhibitions are in progress, the
price of admission is reduced, as in the
case Of the theaters on Sunday and at the
old Salon no charge whatsoever is made
in the morning, when one may see lines
| OF people, four or five deep and q block
long, filing in through the gates in order
to feast their eyes on the best work of
| the leading artists of the world
| Now, how do the people of Paris use
these privileges of a French Sunday? In
answering this question we may separate
the population into two grand divisions.
The leisure class, that have amused
themselves during the week, generally
remain at home on Sunday; or if they go
out they complain Of finding the streets
too crowded, the cabs taken and the the
aters fulL Speaking generally it is the
masses who take possession of Paris on
Sunday; and they evidently get so much
enjoyment out of it and must be so much
benefited by the esthetic surroundings,
that even a Puritan would have to admit
that Some good thing can come out OF
Nazareth.
| The big stores and most of the small
ones do no business on this first day of
| the week, SO that the army of clerks are
free. MANY of the great public admins
trations, such AS the post and telegraph
offices, close early Sunday afternoon, and
add large contingent to those bent on
rest and innocent amusements The me-
chanics and a vast majority of the day la
| borers, the shop girls and home servants,
the university students-probably from
| Is, 600 to 10000 in number-tne cadets
from the various government schrois in
jaunty uniforms, and the multitude OF.
| school children, all, in their way, give
vivacity and variety to the joyous scene.
M. Leon Say, and several other phil
anthrop1sts, have founded an oragniza-
tion whose aim is to secure the cessation
of all labor on Sunday, and they are
meeting with considerable success. The
number of the ''Sunday unemployed is,
consequently, ever on the increase in
Paris, so that Partisan Sunday is con-
tinually growing in popularity and uni
vap itv