The times., 1898-11-09
FRANCES DECAY.
One of Her People Predicts for Her n
Had Future.

Had Future.
frenchman was dining the other even
ing at a table d. d'hote restaurant in Twelfth
Street. and entered into conversation with
an American who had lived in Paris and
who liked many things French.
feared said the Frenchman. when
the war broke out that I might have TO
hight against the United States. for it look
ed as II France might be silly enough to
join In. and you know all Frenchmen are
soldiers. II Is SO silly to fight. anyway
Now. look at Germany and France.
france Is afraid of Germany and Germany
is AFRAID of France. But France will
never be satisfied until she gets Alsace-
Lorraine back. And yet that land has
always been more German than French.
But France has always wanted to
fight. That Is what Napoleon knew. Ma
poleon was a great man. but he cleaned US
-out He took the best men of the nation
and France las never recovered. We dom t
want another Napoleon A second time
would finish us quite
You Americans like us, our literature,
our beautiful Paris and our women, be-
cause there Is grace and intelligence
there All. yes. We have grace. but the
trouble Is that is all we have now, or all
| that we are beginning to want to have.
A Frenchman, as a rule. doesn't want
more money than he needs, doesn't want
fame, doesn't live for the future. What
he want is grace and happiness. He
wants charm In all the little things of
his life. He expresses himself well, and
puts much into it, understand, for grace
is not easily attained. But that is all.
and that means that he has reached the
top. and is about to subside. 1t is de-
lightful now for us intelligent men, for
without the torment of the infinite
without the future of the race bothering
US, we can live agreeably and pleasantly
and perfect all the small arts OF express
sion. Rocking chairs, for instance, We
now make superbly. but when the art of
making rocking chairs is perfected it
means that the race has had its day.
Some day We shall be like the Span
iards. with melancholy favor about us.
and that is all. Then some other nation,
perhaps the Americans. will take up our
grace. just as we did that of Rome, ard
make the perfect phrase, give the right
shading TO each feeling and thought. put
all their strength into the strange passion
OF detailed beauty. and then they viii get
where they don't care for posterity.
where they care only for fineness and
| happiness, perhaps for gentle game oil
dominoes on the boulevard. and for alb
| sinthe. and then. before long. they viii
| like the Spanlards, TOO, ana some o'h-
rougher., cruder and younger race viii
| take up the nameiess and dangerous pa $
| sion for grace and perfect finish them
| selves at the same time. But the pre-
! cess said the Frenchman. with gentiS
| smile. lis not disagreeable.
Paris. of course, is very nice II .s
very regular and beautiful. and you car
spend all your money very agreeablS
there, but all Frenchmen now want &c
\ be Of Paris. and that is very bad. My
| father was proud OF being a Norman. bu'
such Frenchmen you don't meet today
| Paris is the ruin and the delight Of
| France
1.-The best and noblest thing in our ma
ton is the women. They have grace
| too. are very charming, but they have
character efficiency and common sense
| The men amuse themselves too much
but the women rarely. They manas
their husbands as a rule. and prove them
selves superior in many ways.
That grace of ours is there. but tn
| trouble is that We know it; that We ar
self-conscious. An American can't tel
why his best work or his best phrase /
good. but we always know why. We hay
lost our naivete in expression, and whe
that is true there is a lack of life.
Yes" he continued, I'VE shall be lik
the Spaniaris. But let US drink to ou
dear old France. anyway. She has don
much for civilization, and has becom
weakened only through the ardor of he
devotion to SINE of the finest things"-
New York Commercial Advertiser