The Portland daily press., 1897-08-21
In PARIS.
4 Tour Of the City's Noted
Churches.
A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING IN
A BUS.

Discomforts of the Passage of the English
Channel-Paris Viewed from the Tro-
cadero-Experience in Paris shops
The Paintings in the Luxembourg.
Especial Correspondence Of the PRESS
Paris, August 8, 1897.
"Breathes there woman with soul so
dead
Who never to herself hath said''
Paris! my dream, my lOnged for land!
Even if in order to realize the dream,
and reach that city of light, she must
cross the ever-dreaded English Channel.
When the day Of departure was decided
on, we began to take account as it were,
of stock French phrases. Up to that time
we had not been troubled with doubt,
but that our formal" acquaintance with
Ollendorf, Fasqurlle and Otto-it had
never been sufficiently familiar to be a
speaking" one-would suffice for all &C
tual needs. However, we thought it the
better part of wisdom, to try q few pre-
liminary questions and answers in pri-
vate, so set aside sixty seconds or SO for
that purpose; never did we SO acutely
realize as in those moments, how SEN
fences committed in youth would cling to
ones memory. 'Avez-y ous les sontiers
rouge de ma tante'? we glibly ratified off
interrogatively. "Oui jai les soutiers
rouge de votre tante ct le CHEN noir de
votre oncle,' we cheerfully made answer;
but as we repeated such gibberish the
thought darted across our brain, of what
hi &C., Oh, hull
as this? The question at issue is, can we
call for vanilla ices, chocolate almonds,
and such sensible necessities as any
American woman in Paris would desire?
After thinking with all our "Cheiro"
concentration, we decided with disgust
that we could no more ask for ice-cream
in French than we could In Choctaw,
and that there was nothing left for us to
do but depend upon our knowledge of
pantomime. There are some subjects to
which the feeble powers of woman cannot
do justice, and one is the passage between
New Haven and Dieppe by night-boat;
"the Channel is all right declared one
man, sthe trouble is with the boat"
and indeed the water was scarcely stirred
by ripple it was SO still, but the steam
er instead of carrying her allotted 40
passengers was packed with. 40! There
were 81 plush-covered narrow boards, on
which $50 first cabin females were to en-
joy {? ia refreshing nights rest. We
never prided ourselves.on our mathemati-
cal dexterity, and we were surprised at
the rapidity with which we subtracted 81
from 100 and found that exactly SO re-
manned. We were OF the elect few who
secured berths, the unfortunate so were
stretched in corners, across chairs, sans
air, sans sleep, sans everything; there
was nothing left for them to be thankful
for but calm sea. At four q. m. we hud-
IL Il IL e.
gen, miserable looking group of objects,
declaring that one such experience would
last a lifetime. The country between
Dieppe and Paris may be charming-to
our sleepy. eyes it looked monotonous, the
patchwork cultivation of the few gentle
slopes, whose grains showed varying
shades of brown and yellow, was its most
noticeable feature. Soon the Eiffel Tower
was outlined against the sky, then Paris!
Paris at last' we cried, and then hur-
ried forth to meet the modern Circe.
Our first desire was to get a general view
of the city from a height, and though
that blot upon the landscape, the Eiffel
Tower, was in our path, we passed it to
reach The Trocadero." Not only is this
building beautiful in itself, with it's odd
wings extended far on both sides, but
from the top noble panorama lies be-
fore one; not blurred and fattened as
from the Eiffel Tower, but separate struc-
lures can be identified. The towers of
Notre Dame, the gilded dome of Napole-
on's tomb, the Pantheon, all doomed up
before us, and with at least faint concep-
ton of the magnitude of the noted city
we began our tour of the churches
While st. Eustache is the most venerable,
the Madeleine impressive, with its entire
absence of windows, being lighted only
from above, yet Sainte Chape1le rightly,
named the jewel chapel, fairly blinded
our eyes with it's blaze of brilliant stained
glass. The four sides are one mass of
gorgeous colors; the robes of the marble
saints and apostles studded with emer-
aids. rubies and diamonds. The red and
gold of the ceilings, the inlaid floor all
formed a striking contrast-as later, we
sat outside the open door-with the mar
BILE carvings of the exterior. The Holy
of Holes to the French people is
"Notre Dame.' What story, what ro-
and towers. We looked at the ugly gar
goyles, which Victor Hugo's hunchback
thought were kin. Slowly we walked
down the nave followed by the sacristan
who showed us the sacred relics brought
from Jerusalem centuries ago by the good
King St. Louis; golden vessels and pre-
cious stones of inestimable value, aside
from their association. Four days in
Paris, and not even glimpse inside it's
fascinating shops, is record OF which
few women can boast; it may be well to
explain that this self-denial was more
compulsory than voluntary. When tour
lists are conducted, it is Ego now to
this or that, or lose it, This like most
things in this world has its advantages
and disadvantages about equally divided.
1t is for the Individual to decide if the
comfort of having no care of tickets, or
hotels, 10 distress of mind concerning
luggage, to leave the cliff and find box
and bundle already in ones room offsets
having everything planned to moment,
no lingering in pet places. and being
eyed. as member of one of those abom
nations personally conducted par
ty. We number but few over twenty, and
have more liberty than many; personal
tastes are consulted in an unusual way,
and gratified when in any way practi-
cable; we can easily go where and when
we please, provided we count the cost,
which means additional expense, almost