Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-05-24
PECULIARITIES OF PARIS.
Some of the Things in Which that City
Differs from Others.

Some of the Things In Wh1ch mat CAfy
Differs from Others.
1t is proper to bow on entering store,
and also on leaving. :,
Writing material is furnished ID all
cafes.
Absence of pie.
When a funeral passes in the street
you take off your hat.
Freight and merchandise wagons are
forbidden on many streets.
Streets instead of being numbered, are
named after great men; the streets near
the opera, after musicians; those near
the national theaters, after dramatlsts,
Toothpicks used and teeth picked in
restaurants.
Very few high buildings; no "sky-
scraperS.
Octroi stations at all the gates OF
Paris, where a tax is collected on all
food brought in.
Large business concerns have shabby
Offices; the richer the concern, the shaO-
bier the Offices. !.
Chairs on the sidewalks in front of
cafes; even in winter people dine OUT OF
doors.
Bootblacks are licensed; do not run the
streets; few stands; no boys-mostly olo
men.
Rubbers are seldom seen; thick-soled
shoes are worn.
Men take off their hats to each other;
grown-up sons kiss their fathers:
The city economies in gas; after MID
night a man goes along and turns the
street lamps down to half-cock.
Fruit scarce and dear; for instance, at
a modest shop, February 10, 1897, APP
pies, 80 confines apiece Q6 cents apiece;
oranges, SO confines 40 cents apiece;
mandarins, 80 centimes (6 cents apiece.
No fire escapes on buildings.
Full dress is common at the theaters
only on first nights. No return coupons
are given.
Charge for theater programmes is COM
mon, but not universal.
No place under theater seats for hats;
there is, however, a hook on the back OF
the chair in front, on which the hat may
be hung.
No hurry in the streets; no hurry to
catch bus or train.
Buses and trains are allowed to carry
only certain number of passengers; no
overcrowding; transfers are given from
one line to another; excellent service.
Paintings Of the nude are very common
in shop windows; everywhere photo
graphs that would interest Anthony
COmstOck.
The women of all classes lift their
dresses higher-when walking in the
streets-than in New York, or than
seems necessary. They wear embrOid-
cred silk petticoats, often very beautiful.
Breakfast takes at least two hours
usually three 1t is the chief meal. It is
better to ask man to breakfast than
if he is married.
In restaurants prices are burned into
the dishes, for instance, "4O'' in the
saucer of your dish of coffee.
No labels on the wine bottles-except
the old and expensive wines.
Men tell you they are poets, as calmly
as an American would say he is an eiec-
trician; they think it is business; !,
Many of the streets are lined with
trees; if tree dies, another Of the same
kind, age and size is brought from the
state forests and put in its place; the
cost is tremendous. but Paris is the most
beautiful of modern cities.
The streets are kept clean without the
aid of bands of schoolgirls and shoolboys.
At crowded crossings there are islands
in the middle of the street.
A Frenchman never says "Oul;" he
says "Oui, QUIZ at least and often a
dozen times.
Statements (even when made in the
presence of witnesses) do not count in law
must be in writing and on stamped paper.
The decanter with liquor brought you in
a cafe is graded in centimeters to show
how much you have taken.
Many women have mustaches; they are
not unpopular.
The Frenchman has no conception of
feet or inches, quarts or pounds.
Few negroes seen here; they are treat
ed like white men.
Finger bowls common; mouth gargle
is passed around between courses at
restaurants and in private homes.
No French mustard" in France; the
sweet stuff is called German mustard, and
Irish potatoes" are called English.
Bus drivers blow horn to clear the
way.
Coal is dear-$1O ton-and is exhibit
ed in glass dishes in shop windows.
No newsboys; old men only.
French playing cards government mon
OpOly) much larger and narrower than
ours; no small numbers in the corners.
Babies are placed backward in peram-
bulators, so the nurse can face them and
watch them.
Nurses wear caps with long ribbons
streaming to their heels. Many of them
are comely.
The French love pantomime; they will
sit for hours, without signs of restless
ness, watching nothing being done on the
stage.-New York Home Journal.
Heat and Cold from Compressed Air.
Many scientists are devoting their at
tention to the difficult task of rapidly and
cheaply liquefying the air. This, when
accomplished, will be of great value for
many purposes, among which refrlgera-
ton and the moving Of engines, station
airy and locomotive, may possibly be
counted. In Germany engines are en-
ployed for the purpose of producing liquid
air, which is condensed under pressure