The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-26
PARIS VIE DE LUNE.
Outside Life of the Great COcOttes.
No One Knows whence They Come.

No One Knows Whence They Come.
G. w. Stevens, in the London Mail
Then who is it that leads the life OF
luxury ?"~I asked.
They are fllibusters, monsieur" replied
the barber mo one knows whence they
come nor whittier they go. Each year
there comes new ones. and then they dis
appear. The year after comes another
with carriages still more gaudy and en-
tertainmeuts stin most costly, and giving
more splendid jewels to the great cocottes.
| Then he is gone, and the bills are not
paid. Yes. They are flibusters, mon
sieur-but simple flibusters."
1t is quite evident TO the merest stranger
that among the score of distinct Parises
| there must be one which is engaged in
| nothing Csc but spending and pocketing
money. There are certain parts of the
world that make their money and spend tt f;
others that lay themselves out to assist
the spending of money made elsewhere.
| From the Casino of Monte Carlo to the
| back-street lodging house at Margate--at
some point or other in the scale-you must
know them. or all the places engaged
in this business the quarter of Paris in
the immediate neghborhood of the opera
! is the chief.
! FROM INleiSDuIB 10 lDutuOS AyINS, IIOln
! l<londike through Jerusalem to Johannes
| burg, it seems a law of nature that he
who finds himself with money should go to
| Paris to spenFit. And Paris devotes her
| hoard of accumulated civilization, her
| taste and tact, her cooks and winners, her
| upholstorer and coach builders, her paint
| ers and musicians and playwrights to
make it more easy and agreeable to spend
great sums of money In Paris than any
where else. Where was the vie de luxe?
AT last l found it. At midnight went
to the Cafe de Paris Broughams with
/ snowy horses stood at the door; one | OBJ
| served with wonder, was painted in a kind
of basket pattern of black and yellow
! Inside the room was a-dazzle with mirrorA
! afioat with music, ablaZe with jewels Tae
| decorations were gold the furniture satin.
| The litLe supper tables were almost all
| full, and people were still crushing in. The
| walters were so many and so busy thar
| the room seemed full of them on my
| right sat a dark young man of Greco
| Jewish cast of face, eating supper in an
| opera hat. Revealed beyond him, in brief
yet generous visions, were white arms,
| white neck and bosom. Under branching
hat appeared a dead-white face with rich
! ly REDEEMED lips and cheekbones and large
| exDressionless eyes underlined with blue
| black. Neck and hands twink.ed in rip
pies of light; she could hardly hold her
knife and fork for rings For the rest,
| she sat rigid; only her eyes moved with
the stealthy, side-iong glances that mean
rivalry and the habit of prey.
Looking around, you become aware that
this pair were the type of the whole as
! sembiy. Most or the men wore hats. all
| the women. Most of the men were jew
ish or Greco-Jewish, or Greco-Roman. or
something else exotic. Only a few were
| English or American-among them cou-
PIE of English boys stared with wild
amazement at everything-by what error
! had they got hene?-and few more were
Russian They talked steadily, unceas-
ingiy, but listlessly, withoupt waiting for
replies, saying things, apparently, without
having anything to say, eating without
appetite and drinking without thirst
There was a stir and a rustic, and to-
ward the empty table on my left came a
little group, three men and a woman.
The maitre dhotel and squad Of walters
salaamed before them. The woman was
small. painted and powdered, Of course.
but with face half pretty vivacity. half
low impotence. She slipped out of her
heavy fur cloak-seemed to slip out of her
| clothes altogether; but a glance below the
waist showed that she had a gown on II
was made Of a kind Of black aauze, COW
cred with shining things of the nature of
| sequins. The cut-but how can l describe
the cut? The gown appeared to be glued
| on to her. for it nodded every line of the
body. had no apparent support al The
shoulders, and certainly got no purchase
on the bosom. Under the arms il was cur
away, with a sweeping suggestion of
nakedness, then reapDeared some where I'M
der the shoulders and ran down IN a V
to an inch above the waist But what
she lacked in dress she made up in jew
els. A thick collar of pearls with dia-
mond clasps round her throat, strings and
strings Of pearls on her fingers that stood
out like chalk stones. She set herself
bolt upright and looked about her-half
queen, half Rutterbrat all courtesan.
Then with jerky movements like a cana
RVS she began hastily eating figs.
I was in luck indeed; ! was sitting with
in a yard Of the most fashionable woman
in Paris Paris. you must know, now
that the old nobility Is extinct or impov-
erished, and even the Napoleonic families
are dying away, finds It's fulcrum Of fash
ion in what they call the great cocottes.
The lady az my side Will 20 70 the great
rnan-mllincr Of the hour-Paccard or
something. he Is called at present-and
say. MAKE me a gown for the Grand
Prlx such 90 nobody else's." Thereon he
creates such "a gown, ana on il alone he
souanders all IBIS genius. n b. nothing
10 her what II costs. for she viii easily
drd man 10 pay for e. u 81 nothing to
him how be- ncgleeta bic other Dafrong
for he VIII have everybody coming 10 him
afer The Grand Prix Tor similar ad0rn-
naota n " nothing ~ anybody fhat
srteb "a fashiOn-infvitabiy loud ana yuiuar
~ n would not be sufficiently noticed
ioeers ihe whole standard Of fashion For
h 49, We ~ iuKe gOod taste 10 longer er-
$3.50.
HoY couA if. Nhfn iiF CENTER ia fhe great
foeoffs -fhf Kind 0f lady who lives ia a
49, an1 two przf nghfefs ~ 1mgse hor.
snd Rhoff halrdfs seer a fucb great man