Evening star., 1905-10-29

E a.
wv nually so as to cause the utmost
w concern TO their friends at home
and even to Frenchmen who have
the fair fame of the country at heart. Few Of
the cases are brought up before the police
for they do not result from battle or MUIR
der or sudden death. ile disappearances
are not physical, but mental, altering peo-
pie so that their best friends think them
selves deceived by resemblance on meet
ing them by accident in the Paris streets
after a separation OF a few months.
There are, Of course. many Americans
who are not inflicted with eccentricity sim
ply because they have come to Paris The
tourists who "do" Paris in three days and
return home knowing enough about France
to stagger the natives in an argument are
far from being lunatics in any sense of the
word. Also. the Americans who marry into
French families OF good standing. or who
have friends in this circle helping them to
know the same class OF people that they
would frequent at home, remain purely and
Charmlngly American
The Duchess de La Rochefoucauld, who
was Matte Mitchell Of Washington; the
Comtcsse Boni de Castelane who was An
ma Gould; the CONT tesse de Chanbrrn Rep-
resentauve Lougworth's sister; the Com
tesse de Gontaut-Bron Ambassador Ielsh-
mans daughter Martha, and many others
who could be named, have lost aothing of
their American simplicity while acquiring
the French grace Of word and manner. aud
are glad to entertain the Americans, NGo
are. or We're, their real friends. though they
may sometimes be criticised for not well
coming all the stray compatriots who may
claim fictitious acquaintanceship.
But as the tourist element represents the
vast ajority of Americans coming each
year to Paris. so the element with French
ties of marriage or friendship forms the
infinite minority. Between the two stand
the legions. some poor and some wealthy,
some good and some bad, some artistically
talented and some socially ambitious, seek
ing study or amusement. as the case may
be- and for the greater part not only grow
ing un-Americau with startling rapldity.
but developing traits which leave serious
doubts as TO their sanity.
x =
These Americans are divided into two
general sets. the social element. called the
American colony. living in the Etoile quar-
ter and most frequently along the Champs
Elysees the Pare Monceau. the Avenue du
Bois de BoUlogne or the Avenue de pAlma;
and then the artistic element, living in the
so-called Latin Quarter, IN the left bank
OF the Seine. The two sets mix little and
surrounding each are little cliques, which
do not mix at all.
no one has ever succeeded in estimating
even approximately, the number of Afneri-
cans living In Paris: according to the di-
TectOries, there are not much more than
5,po0. But old American residents place the
figure much higher, and the Rev. Dr. Nor
gan, rector of tne American Episcopal
Church Of the Avenue de rAlma has ex-
pressed the opinion that there must be not
far from 10000 Americans in Paris.
After passing a considerable part of my
life here he was once heard 10 say II am
still amazed every few days TO hear Of
American families who have lived for years
in Paris without their presence being sus-
pccted by me or anybody l knew. 1t is in
fulfilling the duties of my calling, for fu-
nerals. baptisms marriages that | learn
for the first time CT these families; and as
such events are not of frequent occurrence
in families, and as there are other religious
sects with their American Clergymen in
Paris, can only guess vaguely the number
of Americans who must be here, but l know
that the number must be simply enormous,
and far above any statistical figures ever
published. l admit that | only guessing,
but it Is my impression that there must be
not less than 100000 Americans in Paris"
Though the forms taken are somewhat
different It is in these two sets, the social
colony and the artists quarter, that the
extraordinary eccentricities break out. The
French can scarcely be held to blame for
this, first, because Americans out of one of
the two colonies remain perfectly sane, and,
secondly, because few French people, and
none of any consequence, mix in these
colonies whose members generally learn
not a word of French, and leave Paris, after
a residence of many years, without know