The Washington herald., 1911-09-17
PARIS GAYETY DELUSIVE:
ITS NIGHT LIFE A SNARE

1t is a rule of the house to serve nc
drink but champagne or something al
champagne prices, which, you will notice
are much above the ordinary. Those
countrymen of ours over there Che point
ed to two men and two women who had
a bountiful meal spread in front OF them)
will make up for what we don't eat, and
YOU can depend upon it that the house
will collect from them what We fail to
cough up.
"A glance about at the company
Which now filled the seats-1 may say we
were downstairs, which is the place tO
go-showed that with the exception Oi
three Argentinians, two Germans, and
one French couple all those at the tables
were Americans.
Gay? Not on your life. 1t never is
unless the wine mounts to some American
woman's head. 1t was funereal. Every
body kept looking a. everybody else, eX-
pecting-the others to do something. A
coon sang a song, and two of the Spanish
dancers who had BEEN performing over al
the Tabarin did some toeing in and out
of the tables. They varied this by COM
ing over and drinking the champagne put
in your glass, and one of them went up
to two elderly men from Detroit and
tremendously exciting.
Now for Maxim's,' said the women
after a time, and we started in that d.
rectIon We got seats at a long table at
which Tod Sloan used to preside In years
gone by, and the ordering was up to me.
asked for a bottle of wine and the wo-
men thought they fancied chicken sand
wiches. I got five. 1 forgot what they
charged for the wine, but the sandwiches
were so tiny the women ate them at one
mouthful and l paid 81 apiece for them.
Still when you go to MaxIm's you have
usually made up your mind to be soak
ed royalty. MaXim's is now a stock
company, and remember meeting some
years ago the Englishman who came
over to New York TO sell shares. I think
he mentioned that they expected to pay
dividends of 800 to 400 per cent.
Was II exciting? Well. some elderly
American couples quit the place a few
minutes after we got there. but l could
not see why. Except for half dozen
Frenchwomen everybody in the main
restaurant looked decidedly United
States. They finally cleared away the
tables from, the middle of the room and
some danced, but 1t was the Boston or
the waltz. and no less decorous than a
terrace garden soiree.
Then the Pre-CntaIan.
I'VE hung about until $50 expecting
something to happen, and then our guide
said it was time to make for the Pre-
Catelan.
THE drive up the Champs Elysees and
through the Bois was rather bracing at
that hour, but the Pre-Catelan looked dis
NAL as We approached. Several automo-
biles were about, but the only people we
saw when we got inside were a party OF
four American men who had apparently
hcen supping long and we'll AS we ar
rived somebody turned on a few extra
lights and then two or three couples
turned up and danced to encourage the
orchestra. We decided as clock came
that it was time to have breakfast
When l discovered on the bill that I
was charged 60 cents a cup for coffee
l became thoroughly awake.
We'll, we sat there until dawn came
stealing through the windows. and the
musicians dropped of one after another
and nothing happened, just the sensation
Of being so wicked in Paris that we