The record-union., 1898-08-22

over them at frequent intervals I'm
der this treatment they look almost
good enough to eat; but to taste them
breaks the charm
COLD CHRISTMAS WEATHER
|. We turned into the Cannebiere and
found the sidewalks crowded. but the
cafe tables and chairs, for the first
time, almost deserted The walters
walked disconsolately up and down,
Whisking their napkins instead of
sweeping away the bushels of scraps
OF. dirty paper that Uttered the pave
ment and clung to the table legs. These
Marse1lles walters receive no pay but
the small tips that every customer is
expected to give, and they tell me that
the Fete de Noel is their very worst
time. Everybody who has parent, sister,
cousin, or mother-in-law dimes zen
famille" and the restaurants are de-
serted. Strange enough the empty
chairs and tables looked, standing in
straighter lines than the French SOL
diers, with only here and there man
slipping lemonade. Some Of the Mar
seillaise, l think would do that if the
ground were covered with snow. No
matter how cold the evenings, you will
! drinking lemonade. AS we passed a
drug store we stopped to look at the
big thermometer in front, and found
the mercury at degrees Centigrade,
equal to 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit-about
31a degrees above freezing. But cour-
age, comrade! This is the South Of
France. This is the .neighborhood Of
the famed Riviera, that they would
ho Sc 40
climate. This is on the shore of the
warm, blue Mediterranean. This is
where the ever-cold Europeans come in
winter to be warmed. This is-but
never mind. If you could see me try
ing to write here on this Monday morn
ing, two days after Christmas, wrapped
In thick coats, fire of 1-centa pound
wood at my back, fingers stiff with
cold, you would know why the very
name Of the Riviera makes me shiver.
The Centigrade thermometer, the
only one in use here, is a great trial to
strangers who are accustomed to the
Fahrenheit; and the trial becomes
greater when we find how very much
better the Centigrade is than our own,
how much more. sensibly arranged.
With the freezing point for zero and
the 100 point for boiling water, it
leaves nothing to be desired but fa-
miliarity with it,
STREET SHOWS OF CHRISTMAS
EVE.
AS we went up the Cannebiere and
through the Rue Noailles toward the
Alice Meilhau we followed the exact
course taken by Monte Cristo when he
landed in Marseilles and went up to the
Alice Meilhau to see his father. But
Monte Cristo would not recognize the
Alice" if he saw it to-day. Within
a week they have built two long lines
Of rough sheds through the graveled
park in the center of it, and filled them
with everything likely to catch the eye
and the centimes Of Christmas shop
lpers-fowers, ferns, gingerbread, toys,
cheap cut glass, cutlery, penny lou-
lette wheels, almost every imaginable
cheap thing but popcorn and peanuts,
which are unknown here. / suppose
the climate is too cold to grow them.
The customers who crowded the open
space were largely from the neighbor-
ing country, all good-natured all tick
led with everything they saw, never
disappointed with the great Christmas
fair of Marseilles.
My young naval officer began to show
signs Of excitement as we approached
| the head Of the street. There music
| played in gaudily decked ephemeral
buildings and loud French shouts an
nounced that shows were in progress
within. Having mission to see every
thing possible, we stopped in front of
the first one, and found that we could
| go in for four sous or ten sous each;
and, being on a real Christmas picnic,
when expense counts for naught, we
handed over franc, and in a moment
found ourselves the only occupants Of
that expensive part Of the house. The
! four-sous part was crowded, but the
ten-sous seats were empty. The show
was a series Of tableaus representing
highly colored scenes in the Franco
Prussian war. In every picture there
were German soldiers, French soldiers,
and either priest or nun. Generally
French soldier was lying wounded,
with CORY bandage around his head,
and the Germans were about to carry
him off, when the nun whipped out a
crucif1x and held them at bay 1t
seemed to me that the Germans were
more afraid of the cross than the
French bayonets, but may have been
mistaken After seeing a dozen such
heroic rescues, I was ready to move
on, but my little Marseillais' lips were
quivering and his eyes wet, so I could
not suggest such a thing till the wound
ed soldier came out and began to grind
the piano organ. and it was all over.
A GLIMPSE OF FAIRY LAND.
Then we went into fairy land, which
was in the next booth. Music was
playing there, too, and the men and
girls in the vestibule were in Arabian
Nights costumes. The man outside
slipped circulars into our hands that
must have sealed our fates If we had
not already been captivated. For the
first time IN Marseilles! Sole and
unique of this day. The Palais de Cris-
tai Labrynthe, Thousand One
Nights With the Catacombs and the
marvellous Moorish halls and colon
nades! With mirrors rejecting 1896
times, and the garden of palms! LIE
grand Labrynthe a obtenu lie plus grand
success PExpositfon de Lyon en- 1894,
de Bordeaux en- 1885, ct de Geneve en-
1896. Allees de Meilhau-Champ de
F'oire. Ouvert de 8 heures du matin a
IL heures de soir. Prix d'Entree, 80
Confines" This abode of bliss proved
TO be such an ingenious arrangement Of
mirrors that although the whole prem
ises might have been put in a circle
thirty feet in diameter, it seemed to
cover several acres. Stand where you
would, you apparently looked through
long vistas of Moorish arches The
two or three groups of figures in won-
1erfui caves were multiplied many
times, though not quite the 1896 times
advertised. A half-dozen artificial