Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-08
MARKETS OF PARIS
They Are Many in Number and All
ofThem Interesting. =.
PICTURESQUE BUYERS and SELLERS
J!
The Great Carts That Bring Prod
uce in From the Country.
WHERE FLOWERS ARE SOLD

WHERE FLOWERS ARE SOLD
| 1t goes without saying that the intelligent
| visitor to the French capital this summer
| will find much that is picturesque and en-
| Pertaining there outside the exposition
| Those who make special arrangements to
view the markets of Paris, for instance
will be well repaid for their time and
| trouble.
Nightly soon afted IL o'clock, while the
| boulevards are still teeming with life and
| gayety. steady stream of market carts
| filed high with farm produce begins to roll
| INTO the city along the Rues de Rivol.
| Turbigo. ST. Denis and St Martin on their
way to the various halles and marches
| There is something strangely pastoral in
| the rumble of these carts in the early hours
of the morning 1t is accompanied by an
| impressive rhythmic sound-the slow pom
derous tread Of great Normandy draft
| horses-which is easily distinguishable in
| the night stiffness from the half lame trot
| of the tired iacre horses. In the Rue de
Rivoli. especially, where many hotels
patroniZed by American visitors are stu
ated, the rumble of the market carts in
| the very early hours is ceaseless and often
disturbs the slumbers of the newly arrived
tourist. but 1t Is remarkable how quickly
one becomes accustomed and even attached
| to the dull, persistent wave Of sound.
As often as not on top of turnips and
carrots and cabbages or boxes filled with
poultry, butter or eggs, the driver lies fast
asleep and in perfect safety He can rely
on his horse finding the way, for at most
he has only to follow the vehicles that
have gone before. On the return journey
the carts are filled with street sweepings
through capital arrangement of the Paris
Street Cleaning Company, which thus dis
poses of refuse that would otherwise have
to be carted from the city at the company's
expense, and which the thrifty farmer is
glad to buy, since 1t makes excellent fer
tilizer.
The Paris Market Women.
The first markets of Paris were held over
a thousand years ago in the lie de la Cite
Getty Island). Occupancy of the booths
were hereditary, and they were mostly kept
by women, who rented them direct from the
king. For centuries these women were
famous for the freedom of their tongues
and the strength of their arms in a light.
Les DANES de la halle were conspicuous
during the stormy time of the revolution.
and enjoyed the distinction Of being the
only women permitted to keep their Jewels
ard finery, probably owing 10 the aforemen-
toned qualities of tongue and arm.
Nowadays this Is all changed The mar
ket women Of today not like the no.
torious viragos of the past. Some Of them
are wonderfully pretty, and most of them
ingly good-natured and charitable, hence
the collection Of outcasts known Ia
gouape who, lodging the police, prowl
about the markets in the early hours of the
morning going from booth to booth. pick
ing up what they can: most tattere1 and
woe-begone contingent, the lowest dregs Of
a great city's lowest class. Just most
of these market women have charity, So
too. most of them have the passion for
gambling, thus. displaying two traits Of
character that often are seen together
They delight in lotteries and betting
horses. Large numbers Of them were vic
tins of the great Panama swindle and
they are always ready to invest in finan-
cial schemes, no matter how wildly ridicu-
lous. provided they be launched with the
promise Of fabulous interest. They are an
exceedingly hard working and thrifty Glass;
however, and, although nowadays they wall
over the change in the times and the profits
of other days they still manage to live
comfortably and save money.
French Thrift.
A curious functionary Of the Paris mar
kets is the egg tester He is an official who
sits with lighted candle, before which he
holds every egg admitted to the market in
order to test it. Another set Of odd charac-
tiers are the MERCHANDISE harlequin. OF hash
dealers. These harleIuins buy from the
lower class restaurants of Paris all the
refuse of the larder from day to day and
sell to the very poor. who have only a few
sous to invest in a meal. Even broken pas
try Is disposed of in this way, and what Is
left over to the harle1uins Is boiled to-
gether in one vessel and made into a paste
FOR cats and dogs. This demonstrates
French thrift admirably. Nothing is
wasted.
The terms "halle' and "marche" have
been Unfortunately translated by most
writer's into market but there is a diff
ference. the halle being a covered market
where merchandise is brought both for
storage and SALE whereas the marche is
simply market place where merchandise
is for sale only during certain hours.
One Of the oldest marches in Paris is
that of st. German. in the ACCOMPLISHMENT
of the Luxembourg. dating back to the
year 1916, where Charles VIII signed a H.
cense or permit establishing the Foire St
German an annual event. The old
fountain in the center Of the market place
was formerly surrounded by a statue of
Liberty. but 1t was destroyed by a hurri-
cane few years ago. Besides the old
fountain. little save the actual space in
closed exists as it did in the fifteenth CEN
fury. The Marche ST. German is situated
at the extremity of the Rue de Seine. near
the Luxembourg and is one of the most
picturesque of the Paris markets.
The Flower Markets.
Nearby is the Marche Fleurs, or
flower market held twice a week, on Mon
days and Thursdays, In the Place St. Sui
pice. Another flower market is held each
Tuesday and Friday in the Place de la
Madeleine. but 1t is on the Quai aux F'leurs
back of the Tribuna, du Commerce. and
quite near the Cathedral of Notre Dame
that those who. like horticultural displays
can best feast their eyes. Roses of every
kind and color, mignonette in baskets, lilies
of the valley with the dew still hidden
in their waxen cups; lilacs. vioets, mi
mosa. carnations by the thousand, group
ed with that unerring artistic instinct for
color possessed by the true Partisan, are
found here in the spring and early summer,
but later in the season giving place to the
crimson and purple glory of asters. dahl
las and gladioli.3s Roses may be found,
however. at .all seasons of the year. In
winter they are Somewhat scarcer, but
they are to be hadI and cheaply, too. meas
ured by the American standard of price.
Then there are ported pants. azaleas,
palms. ferns and eacti. all of the rarest
and most beautiful
Altogether. IT may be said OF the Paris
markets that ftheff extreme cleanliness