Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-25
PARIS AS SEEN
BY AN AMERICAN
Ry CHARLES ID. MERRILL

You are on the Rue Boissiere, golhe
+o +be Metro on a rainy evening at
o'clock. Everything glistens with th'
moisture under the many hghts' anu
the rain is steadily falling. Under an
umbrella at the outer edge OF the Walk
is a Young couple, cozily standing TO-
oather talking and caressing in as
simnIe and sincere a fashion as ever
graced the ancient Arcadia. Ihey
might be in those storied WOODLANDS
and meadows as far as their conscious
ness of improperly Is concerned anu
one of e commonest sights each day
in the parks and upon the bouleVaros
of Paris is that of lovers walking manu-
in hand or with arms about each otnef,
and innL cent of any breach or street
etiouette or propr1ety - as simple
hearted and free of guile as the deni-
zens of the most simple country VII
lage. o-,.oo+
refned metropolis of the world, where
vet the refinement has not destroyed
that greatest of all human rights-the
right of open and innocent loVe-mak-
ing as an actual and implied neces-
sitv of human existence. These young
lovers have no other place to meet (no
doubt and their inherent rights are
respectl and admired by every pass
erby. , -.
You turn a corner at noon where the
little tables of q restaurant stand upon
the walk. and at several of them are
the Worl.men from a neighboring build
ing under construction. Their whole
meal is a plate of meat with one yege-
table or two, with bread; or large
bowl of soup, without meat, ana plt
of bread and wine. 1t is probable that
for nine out of ten of all Parlslans the
simplest meals sutfice-one or two plain
courses of the most economical and
nourishing food.
All over Paris the street doors of all
fiat and apartment houses and dwell
ings close at exactly 10 o'clock p. m.
Tt is understood that at that hour the
dav is done and the time for sleep mas
come. and for nineteen out or twenty
of it's citizens this is true. Every per-
son who comes to the outer door after
10 o'clock must ring the bell ana give
his name to the concierge, who opens
the door and permits him to go TO ms
room or flat.
The habits of all those who live in
a building, whether it accommodates
one or fifty families, are known to
those who have charge of the house.
A thief finds 1t hard to enter such a
house after nightfall, as every tenants
voice and form are known.
So regular are the habits of families
In the flats of a dwelling that you have
set your watch correctly by the grind
ing of the coffee next door at $50 a. m.
or by the moment-a quarter to ten
when the family above draw out the
trundle bed. You know the minute at
which you will be wakened next morn
ing by the great garbage van in the
street or by the call OF the milkman at
your door.
Among a vast number of people in
Paris. one living room sufflces, with
one, two or three bedrooms, according
to the size and wealth Of the family.
The kitchen, pantry and closets in such
cases are inches and bays in the COM
mon living room, where everything is
snugly slowed away when not In use.
How the occupants of such apartments
can come forth to the street and shop,
neat as a pin each day. is. a mystery
of space that Anglo-Saxons have not
solved, for the Partisan on the street
is universally clad and gowned with