Evening star., 1900-07-07
One Reason Why Americans Are Dis
appointed in Paris.
MISS THE REALLY GOOD THINGS
And It's All Because the People Do
Not Talk English.
III E A TIE R s AND RACES
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

/
| PARIS, June %, 1900.
| They are disappointed with Paris. rs
| that ALP Is the phrase Americans who
live in Paris know is coming after their
| best efforts to amuse the tourists They
had thought Paris gayer brighter nosier.
is that all?' They had thought Paris
nauGhtier. 1t happens with such regularity
1t is comical- Il put myself in your hands
| absolutely" says the visiting bore conde-
| scendngly.
| It's the swell night ct the OPERA" sug-
gests the unpaid guidc-interpreter.
| Mm-nlm-mm, We nave heard so much
grand opera at home" objects the visitor
| TRY Sarah Bcrnhardt in L'Aiglon? 6"
| ventures the other
'Mm-mm-mm, 1 lave seen Sarah in
America replies the visitor
There is O gay piece ct tho Palais Royal,
| with three of tho prettiest actresses in
| Paris"
| ters'
1t is plain the visitor desires to make his
Paris debut by way of a music hall.
| Lets go to the Folies- -Marigny," the resi-
| dent cries cheerfully. "Eurekar'
Mm-mm-mm. we have so many Of those
| variety shows at home
The Paris resident smiles in his sleeve.
1 NoH
| Only a Blind.
| Isn't there a place, mm-mm, they call
| the Moulin Rouge?" Ard there You are
1t often seems that tourist Paris. with its
shoIs, its promenades ito museums and
historic relics. its art. its all is only a blind
for the Montmatre and Latin Quarter dance
fhal!s. And in the end the tourist asks: rs
| that all?"
Tho sentiment Of the average conscience
| troubled American while toling after pleas
ure through the Paris garden is exempIified
| well In the confession Of young fellow
| who has just been telling me his disap-
pointments. For my part I cannot find
| the boasted gaicty Of Paris. You Ameri-
cans who hive here are tho easiest pleased
| men 1 ever saw. After dinner you go to
a cafe and sit there. kalf a dozen of you
| talking. talking, talking. Is that what you
| call Paris life? 1 myself have had one
| good time in Paris, one real Paris day and
| night, such as had expected. 1t was the
| fete Of mid-Lent when the population went
| wild throwing confetti. 1 was out all day
ard half the night 1 got half fall.
bought and threw at least So worth of
| chopped paper. fiirtei With hundred girls
| almost got arrested. had two fights and
| rollicking old time. But whct fun are these
promenoirs? No one drinks enough to get
| up any liveliness. You see men sitting
| thero cool-headed, unashamed and making
| social equals of these creatures. Before /
| can 90 that sort Of thing 1 have to stun
|
| keep your Paris promenoirs and give me
| rampaglng. cussing Colorado dance hall.
Theaters Really Worth While.
Tt at Americans are disappointed with the
| Paris theaters would scarcely be correct,
| because they DO not give the theaters a
| try" In a capital where the theater Is
| the one almost perfect thing remaining.
| not to take continual pleasure in 1t is ut
| terly to miss ones chances. This is just
| what our tourists regularly do. The gov
| ernment Theater Francois is giving a won
derful series of Molerc. to say nothing Of
| the modern repertoire: the Opera Comique
| Is running that remarkable musical nov
elty, LOUISE" SaIah Bernhardt Is enjoying
| the greatest of all her successes in a splen-
didly pictorial romantic piece. Il Aiglon.
| with all Its post-Napoleonic interest: at the
| Chatelet a spectacular fairy piece. La
| Poucre de Psrlinpinpin' revels in the most
| expensive stage setting ever seen in Eu-
| rope; at the Porte Saint Martin Is Coquelin
| in 'Cyrano:" at the Vaudeville 1t 10 the
| original cast Of Madame Sans-Gcne" and
! Rejane: the Theater Antoine Is giving a
socialistic problem-play that is the talk OF
Europe-'.La CIairiere:" not to speak Of tho
| utterly Parisian and "Frenchy' pieces Of
| the Palais Royal and the Vcrieties. to which
| the King Of Sweden hsstened Immediately
on his arrival in Paris. I have tried the
| experiment Of asking nearly every Amsri-
can meet how many of these plays he has
seen. He has seen none Of them
One Way to Learn French.
| Convinced that the best way to learn
| French was to frequent the fauteuils dor
chestra of the Paris theaters. an American
| friend Of mine arranged a complete course
| of self-instruction. In each case he was. to
buy the book of the play and study 1t up
beforehand. With his professor Il was the
profsssor) he was to take front seat.
close to the stage. Between the acts. and
| even during the course Of the piece, his
professor was to make clear whatever he
| had missed. The plan-which is a good one
I-even contemplated visiting the same piece
| several times. Four nights a week, at
| least. we were to pursue his studies of the
| language in this pleasant fashion. The
| third night found us at the Folies-Bergere
| Music Hall The fourth night it was the
| promenoir of the Folies-Merigny. And the
| next time-which was the last-he unblush-
| ingly proposed to make me his guide-inter-
| prefer at the Students ball! Yet who can
blame the tourists for eschewfng entertain
| ments where they must sit listening to the
incomprehensible? This barrier of Ian
| reality, responsible for half the disappoint-
| ments Of Paris At the Cafe de Paris.
| when, at am, the sporty hubbub is at Its
| height. when bejeweled beauties in decol-
| lete corsages and flushed young men and
| old. in evening dress, lift up the voice and
| glass in common homage to the golden
| calf. our friend also would be gay and
| rollicking. Helas. 1t may not be! Like the
| hero of the latest chronique scandaleuse
of the colony. he Is tempted to drown his
| embarrassment in the sparkling amber
| beverage that some Of US look on as the
| specific for French gayety.
A Night at Maxim's.
This young American had been dining
with party OF choice spirits in the Latin
Quarter and they know no better way to
finish on SO glorious an evening than to
have an after-midnight supper at the cele-
brated Maxim's. 1t is rather the notorious
| Maxim's at the present moment, when too
| much success has transformed the man.
agsmsnts original servility into insolence