Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-10-15

sisnai LOT the curtain. There are
nh"onIlt balconies. where thosA Who
wish Inay stroll there are places for
observing the promenaders, and this
part OF the program is alinGk a inter-
esting as the fine performance hself II
was when scurrying back to our seats
that one Of the party stepped snuarelv
on tli" toe of n young man. Turning
Quickly, The said. in rather Door French.
"Pard"nnez moi. monsieur" to which
monsieur choerfully responded. with
good Yankee accent: "Oh, don't men.
ton it,
s" one might go on, through all the
varied sights Of Paris as there is some
| thing for evcryone-for the student of
history. art, literature, music. human
nature; for the religions, among tho
many churches; for the statesman n
watching the workings Of the republic
in wf;@tcver wa the inclination leads
| the cry stands ready to point the way
| MaHbe. after all. 'twould be as well
| I" ten some o: our experiences among
the Frcnchinen, in order to prepare
those who will some day make their
| iIrst grand tour. for the difficulties of
using United States French in Paris
| Things are made as easy for the ten
derfoot" as possible and it would nor
take long. when living among those who
speak tic language, to acquire a fair
| kEo"ledSe, at least, Of the more COM
| mon expressions. But during a short
stay one whose French vocabulary is not
| large, just begins to put words into SEN
| fences, when time for departure comes
When one IS lost and doesn't know the
way home, the driver Of the taxametre.
(the ten cent team" of Paris. with a
little dial attached to denote the proper
fare.) who is otligingly and often op-
pressively near. immediately seeing
your perplexity has you in his carriage
before you realize it. The policemen,
or Gardens de la Park, give little as
sistance as they lock at you in helpless
hind Of way. when you talk broken
French to them. 49, -
| In the larger shops as the Bon Marches
the Magasin du Louvre and others, you
| have only to say "Anglais" to the floor
\ walker Tor even before you say II, roa !
| If We would, we could not easily dis
| guise our identityD and he sends for
clerk who speaks English. The shops
! and "bazaars' are, of course, quite
| dreams of delight" but it was only in
| gloves and few other articles that We
fSGnd any special reduction in price.
"a longer stay might reveal many bar
EGzins," however While some things.
| such as exclusive costumes and the like,
| books published on the continent, pic
lures and other articles which come ur-
der the customs list are doubtless found
in Paris to greater advantage For
general articles the high. class depart
| c&H Of V<>vI nd al
| large American cities. seemed to one to
be superior.
I OF course many funny things happen
I recall goingsHrto a small store and
| saying to the keaming young lady who
came forward: "Parlez-vous. Anglais?"
''Oui ,ssshe said. in pleased manner.
| 81 W6ul1siike a shawl strap an
nonnced ~Odi." mademoiseile.r she re-
piled sinltSsisappeared tosFeturT pres
entity ,and handed me a cake Of soap, /
witt q triumphant smile. Maybe she
Thought Isheeded it more than a shawl.
straRt
Il Owin&xab the French volubility sot
speech Ind fierceness of expression and
EEesturs+ when talking, one IL often
I Under sthe| impression that A man is
angry whenFhe maybe simply talking
about the weather. This is not always
| Sol however. In a tram car one day.
scrambling inside because we hadn't
| time to climb the spiral stairway, we
gave the conductor the fare We had
| usually paid. He looked at it and
| shook. his head. We shook ours, and
gave him another centime. He grew
| angry and finally throwing our money
on the floor, went to the rear Ofsthe car
, muttering and gesticulating. By call
| ing convention Of the passengers and
| talking things over, we found there
| was an extra charge for riding inside.
which we did not know as we had al
ways preferred the seats on top, where
| we could look down on the heads OF the
populace.
Once, having a letter of introduction
to present. and being left ut the
| wrong number by ana accQiysn odating
little French girl who hz4 S4n9unteered
| to show US the way, swithO6e noticing
shy error. rang the helIT the gate
l+opened and / entered the court yard to
| find myself facing two. brass cannon.
| 1t was trifie startling but one gets
used to many things-in Paris. Avery
funny mix-up followed In which
| figured, beside myself. the excited
voluble and indignant concierge. tthe
| servant in charge) her somewhat
mildcr husband. who shook his head In
Eaespair over this stranger from tine
Estates arrived unbidden in their midst;
Investigating little girls. who brought
i ofths their English school books, and
/ IkSidly. turned the leaves to find the
4 arrange words II was using: the
ffAigniffed Monsieur Of the fortress, and
gnallN. a very polite French gentleman
who rescued me from being annihilated
| by the concierge-Or the cannon!
One of the members of our party
tells of an amusing experience when
she went to have some Of the dust and
cinders removed, which during the
| frequent railway journeys had lodged
| in her luxuriant locks. She says sne
| found little place near the hotel
| This is the way Miss Michigan tells
| it:
I went in somewhat timidly and
| found "Monsieur lie Coiffeur'' a portly.
bourgeois, who beamed broadly at my
broken French
Que desirez-vous," he inquired.
1