The sun., 1900-07-14
IHE PARIS EXPOSITION
Travellers Feel more Interested
in the People Than the
Big Show.
VISIT OF OSCAR OF SWEDEN
The SUMS Correspondent Says Best
Way to Understand the People
is to Let Them Talk
and Reveal Them-
/ EeIyps
VISIT OF OSCAR OF SWEDEN
selves.
From The suns Regular Correspondent.

ul traveller has doubtless felt how much
more interesting are the people of
than are their monuments,
museums, or even their in.
,ernational expositions. But how can a
writer tell about the people of country
DR. portray them, or catch the million
flashes by which they show
all the litt,eness and greatness OF their /
character The French are said to be |
shallow and volatile race, but is M.
Taine shallow? Can any one after read
ing sLourdes,n Rome 'sParis," and |
his stern heroic defense OF Dfeyfus call |
Zola volatile? There are hundreds of
Frenchmen no less serious and scarcely |
less distinguished. And for every great
writer of the other sex in our language
it will not be difficult to mention De
Stael or Sand. These are exceptions,
Of course, but the great Frenchmen have
not written without readers, and their
great scientists and philanthropists are
not without honor in their own eonn.
try. Nevertheless, outside the books, or
paintings or statuary, we do not like the
French, nor do they like us. This mutual
antipathy, however, does not perhaps
prove more than mutual ignorance and
pre- ejudce. We do not like anything un-
like ourselves. Think of our vanity in
this! The best way to understand the
people OF country is to let them talk
and reveal themselves, and | shall, with
your permission, give your readers some
literal specimens of French journalism.
For week, King Oscar of Sweden, has
been in Paris. Last Sunday he went with
the President to the Grand Prix, or big
gest horse race OF the reason, and during
the week he has been "doing" the Expo
sition, and the following is literal re-
port from Paris paper of his last day in
Paris:
"The King of Sweden and Norway
consecrated the last day of his sojourn in
Paris to visiting the pavilions in the
street of nations at the Exposition. The
| Spanish pavilion was invested with a
peculiar grace and solemnitv by the pres
ence of the Infanta Eualie Who insisted
upon doing the honors of the occasion
to Oscar the Second in the palace of her
country on the Seine. That one respect-
fully kissed the hand of the princess.
who saluted him with gracious bow.
The princess had around her M. de Leon
v Catillo, ambassador of Spain; the
Marchioness Arco Hermoso, her dame OF
| honor; the Duke de Sesto, Commissary
General of the Spanish Exposition; lie
Compte de Belloncia don Juan, le Mar
quis de Villalobar." No wonder the
country is in decadence when SO much
time is lost in remembering and giving
such titles. The King particularly ad
mired the magnificent tapestries OF the
10Th century which cover the walls Of
the different salons. He missed the best
thing ii he failed to see Boabdl ll's sword
and tunic in the second story front.
Gin the German Palace the King o1
Sweden was more than once surprised
1t is magnificent he said transfxed
by the rich reproduction OF the famou;
salon OF Sans Souci, and he added with
an exactitud4 that was somewhat crue
France has not as beautiful a collector
Of the French school OF that period.
I'm Finland the King was received
with significant cordiality and one O
the Swedish Commissioners was over
heard to say, Our lost province is today
a Grand Duchy OF Russia.
'As his time was limited his Maiest,
passed hastily .hrough the pavilions O
Belgium, England, Hungary, Bosnia
Austria, the United States and Italy, not
however, without friendly word witt
the Commissioner General of each coun
try.
SIN one of the halls of the Hungarian
Palace, King Oscar remarked the entir,
side of the room decorated with th
: headings of all the newspapers of Hun
gary. 'Zu viel! Zu We'll trop! trop!
Too many! Too manyI exclaimed tn
J king. What would the monarch hay
said if he had seen displayed the title
of all the French papers? (The Unitet
States has ten times as many as France
But there is something else the Kim
wishes to see, another attraction b
; wishes to enjoy, it is the rolling pave
: ment. And now behold all the suite Q
: the monarch on the platform. Oscar
! the second, stepped on in the most nat
: ural way in the world, and langhe,
much to see himself thus carried along
and to see all his aides de camp ste
from one platform to the other. (Ther
are two parallel platforms moving il
the same directions at different veloci
ties.
Meanwhile the hour had arrived an
0 the King profiting by the lessons of hi
aides de camp stepped off the platforr
like real Partisan.
:, Naturally | wished to approach th
! King and to receive from his own mout
: the good words which he has expresse
0 to the personages OF his encourage pend
ing his sojourn here. l would have like
s to have heard him repeat that he love
y France and adores Paris, but alas! tn
y procotol lifts itself as an impossible bal
I. rier between the sovereign and simpl
P journalist. Nevertheless l have, all th
: same, compensation and consolation
Ii had not seen the King have bee
y received by M. lie baron d. Akerhieln
his chief secretary and this is what b
said to me: "His majesty quits Paris al
solutely ravished and not without n
# gret. The King would have liked {
:, stay longer in Paris. He loves Franc
S and Frenchmen from the depth of hi
is heart, and he is deeply affected by th
Is warm friendly reception, so truly SINGER
d which has been accorded him in the o.
e ficial world, and also by the Parisia
y people. As for your Exposition, th
o King considers it a veritable marve
d He has visited it every day of his sta
is and could scarcely quit it to return I
,e his palace. In short you cannot exal
II gerate how much my master is enchan
re ed. There can be no other word abol
his trip to Paris. He is contented wit
everything and everybody (content q
tout.et de tous).