The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-05-12
LETTERS FROM A COUNTRY GIRL
IN PARIS.
No. S.

4NSs o.
QUARTER LATIN, PARIS, April 2s, 81.
EDITORS 1NTELL1GENCER: Many things
in Paris interest and amuse me to such
an extent that 7 must tell you Of them
along with the amusements Of the Paris
ians. The street cries are very funny
sometimes, and often very musical and
sweet. There is an institution here for
teaching these cries, and the quaint
French words set to their appropriate
music are very pleasant to the ear. The
woman who sells chick-weed sings
"Little salad for the little Birds" and the
vegetable woman says, "Here are your
pretty little red radishes." Sometimes,
though the words are commonplace, the
music is lovely. English can't express
the sweetness of the words.
Now that Spring has come the Partisan
lives out of doors. After his little
breakfast" which consists of a roll and
cup Of coffee or chocolate, he takesa walk
in one of tho beautiful gardens of Paris;
or, if he is a business man, he works I'M
til about II o'clock, when he sits at a lit
tie table on the sidewalk and orders his
..breakfast with a fork" This meal is
almost as substantial as dinner. Some
time in the afternoon he takes a drink of
some kind at a garden restaurant, walks
or rides in the Bots and goes to a cafe for
an elaborate dinner at 7 or 8 o'clock.
Cycling is very popular here, and the
costumes are wonderful to behold, es-
pecially those of the women. A few
days ago a woman appeared on her wheel
in the Bots dressed in pink tights and
wearing no hat. One wheelman after an
other fell in line behind her, and happen
ing to look back she found herself with a
following of three hundred men, all
cheering her as they rode. She took re-
fuge in q cab-stand and has not been seen
on her wheel since. The French are pref
ty tree and easy but they draw a line
somewhere.
It is very strange to US to see women in
80 many professions" i'll may use that
term. They invariably keep the books
in small shops, and almost altogether in
large ones. They always serve the GUS
toners in barrooms and cafes, while their
bles and milk. They pull the carts OF
flowers and wares of all kinds along the
streets, while the men walk along beside
them and do the advertising.
Tbs women of the lower classes are al
most invariably seen bareheaded on the
streets in snow, rain or shine, and l be-
lieye that it is one way of accounting for
their beautiful, abundant hair. Women
clean the streets In the early morning
when the ~"chifoniers," or garbage-gath-
erers, come along with their funny two
wheeled carts with four and five immense
horses tandem. The work horses, as q
rule, are splendid, big, intelligent crea-
lures, and their drivers are the most bru-
tally cruel I ever saw. After a horse has
been mistreated and beaten almost to
death he is sold to the butcher. Fortu-
nately for the fastidious a horse-butcher
is compelled to have q gilded horse-head
over the door Of his shop.
The dress Of the common people is such
as to distinguish them from their sup.
posed superiors. The men wear a long
blue shirt as a rule. The grocers wear
white shirts reaching to the knees. Ma.
sons and stone cutters dress in white
trousers and shirts, and boys up to the
age Of IA wear black aprons with a belt
around the waist.
In the common restaurants where the
"cabbies" dine, wine is furnished free OF
charge. It is called Ordinary" and a
man can have a quart of wkite or red in
ste / of water. Nobody drinks water
Q except "those peculiar Americans and
English"
The French hate the English and Ger
mans, and in the studios and colleges
there are frequent rows and riots among
the students. The French beginit usual
ly by calling out what few English words
they know. They think 'apple pie' is
pretty bad, but if they want to be really
insulting. they shout "plum pudding at
the English and Americans, and our
boys take it as they mean it. and so q
great commotion is stirred up. The
Americans generally have things their
own q The Studios are not managed
after the fashion of ours in America, that
is, they are not carefully governed schools
where one may study all he likes. The
owner of the Studio simply furnishes
model and pays certain great artists to
visit the Studio once a week and c~riticise
the work of the students. The students
themselves do the rest. They sing cho.
ruses if they like, occasionally, and a man
may dance a jig just once in a while, but
if anyone keeps up an incessant row Of
singing or talking the others all come
down on him with shouts and misses
Sometimes they find it pretty hard tc
shut him of but they manage it some.
how.
Saturday night being Easter Eve with
the Russians, we visited their church fol
the midnight service. BY eleven O'Clock
the church was pretty we'll filled, every
body standing, as they have no seats
there. Then We waited for the Embassy
to arrive. First came the Russian Am
bassador, dressed in the most gorgeous
ed with badges and decorations, blazing
with Jewels. He was followed by other
officers with their wives and daughters
all in full evening dress, no hats, and
sparkling with diamonds. After q bil
the music commenced, and it was the
strangest, loveliest music I ever heard,
The priests then came out carrying the
| cross and Icon and followed by the am.
bassador, his wife and daughter, march
cd down the aisle singing and carrying
lighted candles. Everybody in the con.
gregation then lighted a candle and held
it'll it was burned out. Afterwards they
all threw themselves face downward on
the floor, crossing themselves foul
times with the Greek cross. It was 6
very extraordinary sight. We did moi
reach home until about two o'clock,
and were awfully glad to get into oul
beds.
The Opera House in Paris is the finest
in the world. There are dozens Of mag
niicent theatres, among them Sarah
Bernhardt's own theatre. the Renais'
sance. She has things her W way there
and the Parisians 60 wild over Ter. 1t is
very funny to me to see the men in the
audience crying like babies whe. ~.
thing q little bit touching is played,
Fancy our men crying in public like
that.
The French people are very embarass-
ipgly frank about their love-making,
Any time of day or night you may see q
man walking along the street with his
arm around his girl, stopping every five
minutes or so to kiss her. or curse this
is among the working people. Theydon't
kiss as we do; the man puts his hands on
the girls shoulders and she turns to him
first one cheek then the other. That is
the "French kiss" The Scotch start out
in the same way, but really kiss the air
about 2 foot away from your face. I
don't say they neve kiss in any other
Wav.
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