The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-18
IAN ACTRESS
 IS POWERFUL sls ~ She Figures in Affairs
 of France. THE LANDMARKS DISAPPEAR
.THE LANDMARKS DISAPPEAR
Hand of vandal is Heavy in
 P5fis.
'Hlstsrsc Houses Are Tsrn Away--New York Idea sf skyucrapers is Mak- : ing Headwsy--Pelite Burglar
 Compaimentea the Jan.
,nv x. V. I,AssoRnux.


 FEY A. W. L,AsGoRnUx.
 4 Paris. April 17.--Much has been said of late, publicly and otherwise. of the ,weakness of the Government of France sxfle rotten condition of the navy. ar imaments, etc. Doubtless many factors have contributed to bring about these conditions, but an eminent French man, In talking over the matter this week, remarked that the French Goy- ,ernment was much more occupied In keeping power than in maintaining the strength of the army and navy. The CounciI of Ministers. he said. meets nearly every week at Madame Sorefs of the Conedie Francaise. Madame SoreI, 1t appears, was a boflne amie of President Felix Faure. and Felix Faure got her into the Comedie Francatse. At first she could not act at all; but she is woman of great personality. ana soon she began to show . real aptitude for certain roles. She is now perhaps the best exponent of the CO., uuette on the French stage. Not oniy does more than one Minister consult her. but 1t is fact that the. Council of Minfsters meets very frequently at her house. Madame Sorel is sort pr feminine Prime Minister and she vn- doubtedly has a good deal to do with the government of the country
 E. "A
 one sees in tho London and New York newspapers from time to time protests and complaints at the disap- nearanca of ancient buildings-most of them of historical interest--and re- rrets the destruction of these glortes at the hands of the s'housebreaker" in the interest of what is termed prog ress." But the hand of tthe restroyer is even stiIl more busy in Paris and buiiu- ings thats possess memories of pecuIar interest to all lovers of history and stu- dents of ola Paris are year py year failins with astonishing rapfdity-and this without a word of notice or pro- test. To the casual visitor, the man iso whom the Haussmain bouievards snean everything in Paris worth con- aiderinr. these demoiitions are noth- sng: but to the poet. the nistorian, sor the student the destruction or uiu Paris can only he as depiorapie as the gemarkableS indimerence exhlpateu .nA ..f snents Of the, former sieries of his city. -
 ! A rambie through the He de Ia Cite, she He de St. Louis, and the Msrais section of Paris, reveals the rapid demolitions that are going on aL .nS present time For example. the Hotel de Prevot in the Passage cnarIemss sn 2. in the Antoine Quarter. has just been uulied down. This building was erect @d in the fourteenth century as the resfdence at the Marmousefs tA popu- lar name for the counseilors or ChaEies ". and this monarch afterwards be- Sstowed 1t upon his Prewot, Aupriot, Tia beautiful turrets and open stair- way. together with. the caryatides ana nrnate windows facing the court were " nN h0u89a Nf0u0, 4ao. is the Tour-de -Dagobests nf- seenth century house in the Rue Chan s,inaasa. Under the shadow of Nctro. Tau,e. and workmen at this present r,ornent are busy demolishing the old Hotel-de-Ddeu and the interesung Ampitheatre do Medicine. with us Cothio arches and curious circuiaf theatre near the Sorbonne-
 Not alone is the work of destruc- s,on ~oing on; quite as notable in pro ciaininr the vandalism of the city is i tha ehaIaezui neglect of existing build- snee The Hotel dc Sens. me stone hniIdinx in tho Cite. is now 3 glass xvarehouse. This building. which was arected by Louis xI. takes It's name rom the Archbishop of Sens. Tor whom st was intended. 4 hundred and tWen- ~ vears after 1t was the home Of sG,,asr Mergot. "the iii-fated wife ot Henrf oautra. Tn the seventeenth Z centurv 1t was Q coaching inn, and .srorn it's courtyard swung out into tne Inixft. on tts long journey. the famous Y,vons Mali. In the Revolution of lSs0 an attempt was made 10 destroy It. ana A cannon ball deeply imbedded x an the masonry over one or sne ",n- m Vows exists to this day. telling it's silent story of perilous times.
 The Hotea suIly.
 1x.ar aA hand, too, is the beautiful @yntel gufly. c glorious stone building 1r tha Rue Antoine. where Henry or Nssvsrra.s great Minister, Maximiiien ysethune. Due de Sully. lived; now Y se given up to shameful purposes. ois- Firured with trade sikns and adve.- tisAments. and the gateway. Itcn .n The eniendid decorations of the tune, ha~rimmAd and bespattered with dirt ssS damn. It's front facade has been srotIt hv the building of @ modern ad- Sitlcn hetween the two pavilions, and Ss, tha introduction of shops beneath. hnt the gateway and Inner court re- main as they were in the days or Suiiy. It was to this house that the King was proceeding ip his coach ~o inauiIe as Fo the health of his great Minister when he was assassinated In the came atraats stands the Hotel Mayenne onoe the residence of the famous Diane 6a poitiere. and later the Due de May enne. Today grocer and money changer hold possession of the front of fhe hotel with their shops, but. for tunately. the inner court and build ings are used as q school for boys. fortunately, too. the beautiful house on the Quai Celestins, the Hotel F4eu- bet, has also been converted to sim- liar use and has thus been saved from decay. Here lived Fieubet. the. Minis fer of Queen Anne of Austria, in 1871. EAe house, the front of which presents one mass of finely carved stone work, is a fine specimen of the architecture of the period.
 The Hotel Beauhais, in the Rue Francois Miron. is now used for the tRnoble purpose of a lodging house. It was from It's balcony that Cardinal Mazarir watched 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.
 Police Entered.
 Nearly ten years ago, while M. Lucien Descaves, the novelist and playwrightt, was away in the country, his house in Paris was broken into. The police never found the cuiprit or culprits, and the writer had almost forgotten his unpleasant adventure. But the bur sIar-for 1t was one man who had aone the Job--happened to remember,