The sun., 1900-04-22
/, TRIO OF PARIS CAFES.
x,, rOyB, HELL avn HEAVEN As
p,,TTRED ny FRENCH FANCY.
mink. At High Prices Served by Under
,,L.r.. Devils and Angels-Performances
rn,t 90 with tho Drinks-French Liking
80, pI,,-,sbarcts Of Another Kind.

Ihat 90 WIN mo bThhs-SFe"sh bA'hb
far Play -Isbarcts Of Another Kind.
p.v,. Npnl il-Somebody tried To give New
t,b.r, hare fever few years ago by starting
,,, If skull and .crossbones cafe In the Casino
lIio, The disease didn't take. Judged
,L. ,.ryih Of time II lived. the CATO should
90 .n,rtrd butterfly, not a skull. as an em-
go The New York cabaret was an Imitation
,.b.,r IN Paris. bu, the one over here has not
.,,,, M the ghost all its features are ghosily-
,,. 8, easily Exposition visitors will give II
n,.lc,, summer Of It's existence. After that.
,,bcr,,ne ss dead ~ one Of the skeletons which
,mits chief urnaments
r,, paris cabaret district is on Montmarre.
rlle. Americans have vague idea, II they
..,e any at all about MontmariIe. They have
L,.,1 much about tho Latin quarter which they
,h,,L o, asa Kind OF continuous vaudeville per-
,,,m,nre not in tended for women. As a matter
-, t,,t. the Latin Quarter Is generally fhiiadei-
,hi,p in IN, rrsprctabllity, compared with Mont
',,,,re No1tm,rtrc, though the highest part OF
~. c,y. is the abode Of the submerged tenth and
of,n,,hrr tenth that ought 10 he submerged but
mt n. II il aao tho native heath of the
csbare,s
ust a, these nondescript institutions are TO 10
,op,d near the Place Pigalle. Three ot them
xblch form a sor, Of sequence. are In the same
poc. and probably under the same shrcwd man
.ysr,,nt The frst Is the one which was the modei
o., III. funeral specimen in New York. IL ~
c.Isd the Cafe du Meant which means Gale OF
>o,hingncss or Of Death. Across tho street.
side by side. in convenientif unnatural proximity,
ara The cafe lie l'Entsr and the Cafe du 'iel III
oth,r words the Cafes Of He'll and OF Heaven
Thes. three are very good samples OF what may pe
e1peced Of a Paris cabaret
One ought 10 begin with the Cafe OF Death
In III. first place it comes first In the sequence
In the second place ii Is the worst OF the three
and the sooner one Is through with II the better
TN. front is painted black, the doorway Is hung
with HACK and above 1t Is a sickly green light
I,sld, the place there are coins for tables skele-
tons for corner cupbeards, and eroQuemorts for
waters \ croQgemori IS professional pail
h,,r., and IT il certainly not his fault II French
funerals are not the aaldcst in the world. With
his s.edy il.htting dress suit his vanished
high hat. and his business-like handling Of the
dead ssif he were loading = secondhand melodion
into a moving van, he produces gloom which
n,tryen the candles nor the wreaths Of glass beads
can overcome
one Of these cheerful beings brings high-col-
lin. sticks bit Of lighted taper into hole In the
coain lid, one taper for each person. The beer
costs eight cents glass but the less said aboutit
IN. better The eight cents is really tho price
o, admission. As the tables, that is 10 say. the
co1ina. begin to fll up, head erocwmor takes
the centre OF the room and with some lugubrious
Jokes on the subject OF death in general says that
be will show the ladies and gentlemen" choice
assortment Of ways Of dying. that they may be
able 70 make q selection to suit themselves
Then one by one, a series Of transparent pictures
around the upper part OF tho walls are lighted
md famous and CHASTITY deaths, by poison fire,
N. guillotino and other means are portrayed and
aippantly commended TO the company.
Next. the visitors are requested 70 pass through
a black door, where monk counsels them in
hollow tones TO leave all hope behind. Themes
through a sitting black passage, into long,
narrow, black room with only dim light on a
stage at the far end Here everybody steps OH
everybody else's toes and walks on trailing skirts
and falls over small platform; the air If 1t were
not already as foul Is that Of a real tomb would
be heavy with polite French swear words An
other monk says:
"Sh-shl Do you not know that you must show
respect TO the tomb
Where are the ghosts demands somebody,
They are coming" says the monk in tones
which are at least forty feet below ground.
Then he asks II any young man will kindly
enter a coffin which is standing end on the stage,
and an especially rosy, blooming young fellow,
doubtless hired by the week, goes up The one
really interesting thing in these cabaret perform
snces aside from the conversational by-play
between audience and Snowman, Is the use made
Of reflected light by which some really clever
Illusions are produced In this case, the young
man is gradually reduced to skeleton and as
slowly rebuilt into his rosy self again. The
same trick is repeated with young woman and
then person on the Stage Is apparently surround
Fl with figures Of other persons visible only 70
the audience, and TO it only az reflections The
entertainment is broader than it is long. 1t Is
all over IN fifteen minutes and the company Is
rsurrected BY way Of a side passage leading
tllhA open air and life Of the boulevard. Al the
ext stands the m)uk, shaking collection bag
aud REPEATING lhe formula which one hears IN
every French church
for the souls in purgatory, If you please
A'r this bret and not too pleasant solourn
In the tImb there is something peculiarly inviung
shout the warm, red glow across the street, marx
ing the entrance TO llaies 4 Mephistophelian
p-rsouage IN red, with perky horns and long
tail Nhlch he carries over his arm, plays he ruil
o' p4I'rIn tJr thus particular inferno Inc
entrance initiates the NOUN Ot a cave, nuIk
with slaacutes and ruddy with the light from
redSluOtd electric lamps The puller-in opens
dOIr. ushere the visitor into another cave and
shuts him IN Immediately hall a dozen red
iml> call ont Ioyiai welcome and invite hlrl
I. NJ down and recupera,e with some oi the
D4y! IS pulls
The path which leads to destruction has the
Reputation ot being broad but this ladies' IA mar
T." enough when you get into IT. IL has room
for row Il small tables down each side close
against the wall and enough space between
l'' ,To rows for the imps 20 prance back and
i"7h b'arlng the devil pills These pills, by
The Sai are cherries Ia poor imitation OF cock
L., ia" pncr Of The drink, or ConSOmmdi,0ny
~ the French dlscrerty call these ttlngs Is 20
SNS VI this sum about cent and a hal! IL
lt lh' cost ot the drlnN. The rest IL Tor rent.
Looked Al from this point Of view the coUSOHlmd-
l>n 50 "N pnuSlve lyOOklng al A. however,
l. !. iu! PAINT OF view is better Than drinklng IL
hal'~ Ems 81 cheerful and picturesque alter
VI" hollow Ickery Of the eight-cent iUmD across
u" street tgal one is ready Ia swallow almost
a}NllNE except the pills The place Is Lhr u
''E ." gr''to, hung with S,aacutrS VI hrst
'' '"' y ~" that among tnes" eXcrescences
I'A u' walls and low ceiling ar" hgures IN rellei;
Hln'l bangs tortured by gnnnAg imps who
F| lN"r Victims with ptChiurks or nap their
ca 'nI nose, WITH his pincers The whole
EhASI'". palI"r-r!ache and l. bldeUuSH reAusuc.
~ ''a'i d "pIl4 seem hidhuuS II IL We're not Tor
,' ''pf'i glow over every ding, the prancing.
. u1' maps HuJ The faces uf the inevitable ladies'
80 A.. '1l .u, NuE" pi whom lpOk aunt" at home
y .''", all .hrS had found their level Most
a. U' up u' rNcH table l. NJ thick ground glass,
's'., from beneath with either red or green
y ~.n u newcomer ~lt~ down at a liable II
q" 'A,n. wn"r.. Dn he inevitably demands
IFS .-U' has E.i.'uIt
HHh7."I Nas only 10 breath upon the glass,
Oh. u.aI IMP
'.1 mu.-.r4f hrrathea upon the glass for
". y '.' ur-' 10 aHia hing, about the French
'..r NI H.rurss tl play. the head mp sImul
..tH ttlrIt ~ .V.4T.1 IaiHN -