The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-11-29

to the English mind the appearance or racing Paris was wonderful indeed.
 At first sight the men looked all Eng fish. Many of them were; yet you saw plenty of tall, straight-backed, broad shouldered figures, clear brown six ms, with blood beneath them, clean-shaVen chins and untortured mustaches, from under which issued the purest French. They caught the eye at first, but they were not the majority. For a more typical picture take this: tubby figure, yellow, puffy cheeks, bright, Vivacious eyes and untrimmad black beard var nished boots and white spats, tight, black frockcoat and trousers, brilliant tartan tie, black bowler hat, and rib bon of the Legion of Honor.
 And the ladies! l say the ladies, but for the life of you you could not tell which were ladies and which were something else. In November our la dies go racing in cloth skirts and covert coats; the French lady goes in lilac silk dress. sweeping the ground both before and behind when it is left alone; and when it is held up as it usually is, with both hands revealing violet silk embroidered petticoat and heaven KNOWS WIdl III tlipIOluSICu ploSh Sf7' As for their faces-well, one can hardly say; there are strata of rouge and pow der and bistre, but it would De rash to dogmatize about the face. Everybody does it--literally everybody. l saw stout grandmother of sixty moving in an aureole of floating powder, her up- per lip caught and pointed in the cen ter, and bistre under her eyes, l saw girl of fifteen, in short skirts, and with i flaxen hair down her back, upholstered | in exactly the same degree. I am even told that they begin far earlier in life than fifteen. I heard story of an English lady who gave a children's par ty, and had to send some little French girls up to wash their faces before they could come in to tea. By the time they are twenty these girls must either makeup or look like wax dolls that have been too near tho fire. But as l long as their only ambition is to dress and look like the reigning couretsan, what does it matter? They have even arrived just now at the paradox that the courtesan if often more quietly and becomingly clad than the lady.
 But we are straying away from the | races. Come and put your money on | before the next race starts, for at Au- teuil they get through four steeple- 1 chases and two hurdle races well with l in three hours. You go to the counter of the pari mutuel, mention the number
 not the name-of the horse you want 1 to back, whether to win or for place, ] put down your money, and get ticket in return. If you win, you take it to the window of the pay box. The total betted on that race has been added up. Seven per cent. is deducted-fve per | cent. for expenses, two for the poor and the remainder divided equally among the tickets that have been taken on the winning horse. Thus the odds adjust themselves. And it must be said that the French roll up to bet like men. But for that and the chance of accidents they care little enough about the sport. A lady will return and say: "Ah, it was a very dull day; not one jockey hurt!''
 Why, then, have races at all? Why not be content with lotteries and an oc- casional bullfight? But then you for
 get the snobs.
 The tall and broad men with clean complexons and English racing coats or frock coats and correct trousers and l tall hats=-these are the snobs Do not think that 'snob'' in French means what it does in English. In Paris a
 snob is one who is in the movement; it answers more or less to what we lately
 call smart" which word the French.
 to their delight. have lately discovered.
 Is it not the favorite word of the
 Prince of Wales?" For in Paris, at present, 'snobisme" roughly answers to
 the affectation of English ways
 I have twice had the felicity of meet
 ing tall young gentleman who wears
 a yachting cap, large check knicker-
 booker suit, briar pipe, gaiters half
 box cloth, half leather, and yellow
 boots. He is tres snob" The tailors
 in Paris exhibit such signs as High
 Life,' "The Sportsman" "The Gent e.
 man" 'Picadilly," and the like; nc
 true snob would have his clothes made
 by a French tailor. The snob attends
 to 'le bar" at "Pheure de cocktail' as
 religiously as he takes "le tub in the
 morning. After dinner he takes Buck
 inan"-or Buchanan; what snob worthy of the name would drink aught but Scotch whisky?
 It is the snob that started racing in : France, and keeps it afoot. The snot
 walks round the paddock and goes tc the little depressed ring of bookmalS. CTS, who are not allowed to call odds ; and backs the outsider-pronounc
 "ootseedare"-of his fancy. He is of , les racingmen" who play "le polo;' . while yet young he practices lie foot ball. 1e boxe."
 : The snob is naturally much chaffet by his fellow-countrymen. But to my , mind he might be very much worse em.
 ployed. Vive le snobisme!-Londor Mail.