The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-01-14
BY IA VOYAGUESE.

permanent or transient, the same COM
forts 10 which they are accustomed at
home, and the French themselves are
beginning to realize that they have
much to thank these Americans for,
whom they few years ago considered
rather a nuisance
Conditions of life here are continual
ly changing and although it might
have been thought that little trans
formation could be possible in the
case of the additionally gay and fash
ionable French capital. the altera-
ton during the last decade or two in
the style of living is conspicuous. 1t
has affected all classes of society in
some degree There is more luxury
as we'll as more comfort. People are
not content with the mode OF life that
suited their fathers. Everyone who
can afford it must have what is term
ed modern dwelling and an estab-
| lishment in keeping with it. The old
fashioned fiat with it's narrow ante
chamber, cramped kitchen, and bed
rooms looking on a dreary courtyard,
often f1anked with a row of stables, is
being deserted for smart apartments
in palatial edihces, well heated, illum-
mated with the electric light, and pro-
vided with pantries, arrays of cup
boards and last, but not least, with
bath rooms. Time was when the bath
room was conspicuous by it's absence
in the average Partisan fiat, and when
! 1t was the custom for anyone who
we rtn to IL. no
it was rare luxury then-to apply to
the nearest establishment which pro-
vided the commodity. Presently there
appeared in the street a small vehicle
with mighty cask, and hip bath
drawn by pony, and great was the
sensation among the neighbors who
rushed to the balconies and flattened
the house at which this wonderful
ceremony was about to take place
The driver first bore the hip bath up
to the fiat, and then carried up the
warm water in two buskets, repeating
! the ascents until the cask was empty
Such spectacles are few and far be-
| tween now. First of all, some tiny
chamber was fitted up as a bathroom,
but of recent years no apartment has
been constructed without one. Whole
streets have sprung up in the western
districts, especially at Passy, and
many more houses are being built
around, with each fiat taken before it
is finished, but no landlord would VEN
ture to be behind the times or to allow
any flaw in the matter of comfort.
1t is thought when all this extensive
building was entered upon that the
cost of rents would go down owing to
the competition. But for various rea-
sons the very reverse has been the
case.
! The Metropolitan railway network
and the automobile enable men who
formerly lived at or near their places
of business to push further afield and
to breathe good country air in the
suburbs. Is it the automobile or the
American girl who has helped to
bring about the transformation which
l am describing? Some authorities at
tribute it to the one and some to the
| other 1t is probably combination Of
both. The automobile has certainly
/ rendered many people less stay-at-
home and more nomad than of yore
Hosts of people think nothing of plan
ming some excursion at moments
notice, and of touring for days togeth-
err. thus coming into contact with nov
ell styles and fresh ideas formerly I'M
dreamed Of
The American wife and daughter-in-
law, too, have brought about trans
/ formation in many an Old-fashioned
family, where simplicity had been the
rule. The homely man-servant with
the perpetual apron and the two or
three maids have given place to a reg
ular staff of flunkeys in gorgeous liv-
cries who line the staircase at recep-
tons. In many a house where the
hosts were Eat home" on one evening
in the week, and where brilliant con-
versation was the one thing needful,
the tea, chocolate and biscuits that
were served being quite a secondary
| consideration. elaborate parties are
, now given with profusion of choice
flowers and expensive suppers, while
instead of simple though elegant cos
tunes, creations of the costumer's
art for which $500 to $500 or more are
paid are worn.
Many people, who are extremely
well off, groan over this sometimes
and deplore the old days. But there is
little alternative. They must either
follow the lead or drop out, and so
become socially extinct More and
more has foreign influence affected the
French capital of late years Besides
the French families in which wealthy
foreigners have married, there are
Americans from the north and south
and representatives of every country
in Europe. Any number of people who
have made their fortunes abroad, flock
to and take up their abode in Paris,
while the purely native element is
largely recruited from rich manufac-
turers, financiers and commercial peo-
pie. who have prospered exceedingly,
the wealth of the country having in
creased under the aegis of protection
by leaps and bounds. The simple, old
fashioned style is now almost exclu-
sively confined to the Faubourg St.
German, but the real French aristoc-
racy. having no longer any activity in
public life open to it, has a tendency