Evening star., 1909-04-19
WOMAN AS PREMIER
Nine. SOreI'S Influence Stronu
With French Ministers.
HOME A COUNCIL CHAMBER
Popular Actress Protege Of Presi-
dent Felix FAure.
HISTORIC HOUSES TORN DOWN
Many Famous Paris Landmarks Dis
appear-Novelist Discovers Burg
lar Who Liked jam.

lar Who Liked jam.
Special Cablegram to The Star.
PARIS April 19.-Much has been said
OF late. publicly and otherwise. OF the
weakness Of the government Of France
the rotten condition Of the navy. arma-
ments. etc. Doubtless many factors have
contributed to bring about these condi-
ticns. but an eminent Frenchman. In talk
ing over the matter this week, remarked
| that the French government was much
more occupied in keeping power than In
maintaining the strength of the army and
navy. The council OF ministers. he said.
meets nearly every week at Nine. Sorels
OF the Coincide Francaise. Nine Sorel. It
appears, was a bonne annie OF President
Felix Faure. and Felix Faure got ner
into the Comedie Francaise. At hrst she
could not act at all; but she Is woman
Of great personality, and soon she began
to show q real aptitude for certain roles:
She is now perhaps the best exponent OF
the coquette on the French stage NOT
only does more than one minister consult
her, but 1t Is fact that the council OF
ministers meets very frequently at her
house Nine. Sorel Is q sort of feminine
prime minister and she undoubtedly has
good deal to do With the government
| OF the country.
One sees In the London and New York
newspapers from time to time protests
and complaints at the disappearance OF
ancient buildings-most OF them OF MS
| torical interest-and regrets the destruc-
ton Of these glor!es at the hands or the
| 'housebroker" in the interest Of what is
termed progress" But the hand OF the
destroyer Is even still more busy In Paris
and buildings that possess memories OF
peculiar interest to all lovers OF history
- by
year falling with astonishing rapidity-
and this without a word Of notice or pro-
test. To the man to whom the haus-
mann boulevards mean everything IN
tions are nothing: but to the poet. the
historian or the student the destruction
of Old Paris can only be as depioraoie
as the remarkable Indifference exnioiteu
by the Partisan toward the chief monu-
ments of the former glories OF his city.
Old Landmarks Gone.
A ramble through the lie de la Cite. the
lie de st. Louis and the Marais section OF
Paris reveals the rapid demolitions that
are going on at the present time. For ex-
ample the Hotel de Prevot. in the Pas
sage Charlemagne, in the Antoine quar-
ter, has just been pulled down. This
building was erected in the fourteenth
century as the residence OF the Mar
mousets Ia popular name for the coun-
selors OF Charles W, and this monarch
afterward bestowed 1t upon his prevot,
Aubriot Its beautiful turrets and open
stairway, together with the caryatldes
and ornate windows facing the court,
were a fine feature of the house. Gone.
too, is the Tour-de-Dagobert, fifteenth
century house in the Rue Chanoinesse;
under the shadow Of Notre Dame. i,Nt ana
YoGkmshn at tn this a pfaas nie, ae n,e, and the
interesting Amphitheater de Medicine.
with its Gothic arches and curious circular
theater near the Sorbonne.
| Not alone Is the work OF destruction
going on; quite as notable In proclaiming
the vandalism Of the city is the shameful
neglect Of existing buildings. The Hotel
de Sens a fine stone building in the Cite,
is now a glass warehouse. This building
which was erected by Louis X1, takes Its
name from the Archbishop OF sens ios
whom 1t was intended. A hundred and
| twenty years after 1t was the nome OF
Queen Margot, the Inflated wife OF Henry
| Quatre. In the seventeenth century IL was
! a coaching inn, and from Its courtyard
swung out into the night. on Its long
Journey. the famous Lyons mail. In the
revolution of 1880 an attempt was mace
to destroy it. and q cannon ball deeply
| imbedded in the masonry over one or the
windows exists to this day, telling It's
| silent story of perilous times.
Given Over to Base Uses.
Near at hand. too. is the beautiful Hotel
Sully. a glorious stone building In the Rue
Antoine, where Henry of Navarre's great
minister, Maximilien Bethune. Due de
Sully. lived; now 1t Is given up to shame
full uses, disfigured with trade signs and
advertisements, and the gateway, rlcn
| with the splendid decorations OF the time:
begrimed and bespattered with dirt ana
damp It's front facade has been spoiied
| by the building Of q modern addition be-
tween the two pavilions and by the intro
duction of shops beneath. but the gate
way and inner court remain as tney were
In the days Of Sully. It was to TINS mouse
to inquire as to the health of his great
minister when he was assasstnated. In
the same street stands the Hotel May
enne. once the residence OF the famous
Diane de Poitiers, and later the Due de
Mayenne. Today a grocer and money
changer hold possession OF the front OF
the hotel with their shops. but fortunately
the inner court and buildings are used as
school for boys. Fortunately, sa TOO me me
Hotel Fieubet. has also been converted to
a similar use, and has thus been saved
from decay. Here lived Fieubet, the
minister of Queen Anne Of Austria, In
1911. The house. the front of which pre-
sents one mass Of finely carved stone
work, is q fine specimen or the arcnitec-
| ture Of the period.
The Hotel Beauvais, In the Hue FRAN
co.'s Miron. Is now used for the lgnobie
purpose of a lodging house. 1t was from
its balcony that Cardinal Mazarin watch.
ed the state entry Of King Louis XIV
into Paris with his bride. The gates and
courtyard remain exactly as they were,
but they have fallen into squalor.
| Nearly ten years ago. while NJ. Lucien
Descayes, the novelist and playwright,
was away in the country. his house In
Paris was broken into. The police never
found the culprit or culprits. and the
ant adventure. But the burgiar-for 1t
was one man who had done the 1ob-hap-
pened to remember. and, being arrested
| for some other offense, told the pol p
that he was the long-looked for house
breaker who had robbed the writer. At
his trial he proved an engaging ana po-
lite burglar.
Liked the Authors jam.
Il have done so many OF these Jobs in
my time," he told the judge, that can
not for the life OF me remember them all.
You may not believe 1t, but l actually
never knew the names or addresses Of the
people I burglarized. just looked out q
likely place, and went for 1t. and never
knew to whom 1t. belonged or remembered
where 1t was"
The prisoner seemed rather to pride
Then" said the Judge. how do you
explain your remembering. your burglary
at NJ. Degcaves' so well?"
"Oh. your honor. 1t was the JAM
THE jam? What jam?'
NJ. Descaves' jam. 1t was the very best
jam ever tasted. 1t Is ten years
since ate it, and remember It still.
rfro o1,,o hi Ice In nAs