The Washington herald., 1914-10-16
PARIS REGAINING
ITS USUAL POISE
City of Former Gayety Still
Quiet, Though the People
Breathe Much Easier.
PREPARED FOR WORST.
Three Out of -Four Stores Closed and
All Able-bodied Men Have Long
Ago Joined Colors.
PREPARED FOR WORST

Paris, Oct. l5-To look for the first
time upon the subdued and demure face
which Paris today presents to the world
is to experience the surprise Of ones
| lifetime. No one familiar with the French
capital under normal conditions-its ex-
uberant gayety, its sleepless pursuit OF
pleasure, its crowded theaters, its
thronged boulevards and overnowing
cafes-could ever have imagined that
Paris was capable OF such an extraor-
binary change in the course OF a few
weeks. The metamorphosis is stAgger-
ing; it is almost impossible TO describe
II adequately in words.
Imagine, II you can. the wheels of
Partisan life running at quarter-speed.
Imagine, IL you can, the echoing quiet
ness of a Scottish Sunday descended
upon the fair face of the once vibrant
city. Picture to yourself, IL you can,
the grand boulevards, that are accustom-
ed 10 seethe with animation until mid
night, and long after. damped down. as
it werey each evening at or o'clock.
Could Play Tennis In Streets.
Think of Place de TOpera. ordinarily
palpitating with wheeled traffic OF all
sorts, now so quiet and still that you
might play tennis on the carriage-way
in broad daylight, and risk the oc-
CasiOnal interruption Of a passing cab
or military automobile.
Think of the Champs Elysees as
study in perspective, the Place de la Con-
corde, as a sort of Eeometric void. the
Rue de Tivoli as a comparatively desert
cd thOroughfare.
But the people of Paris. or as many
Of them as are still left within its walls.
seem in no way depressed by the sudden
change which has overtaken the course
of their daily existence. They are sub
duCd and chastened, perhaps. by the con-
temptation Of events that may still be-
fall themselves and their fair city.
Paris, responsive to the stilled voice
Of its street traffic. may speak in whis-
pers: but II is perfectly calm now, and
even confident in the ultimate issue OF
the war be it long or short
Somehow I feel that a change has come
over the demeanour of the Parisians in
the last fOrty-eight hours. 1 fancy /
can read in their faces the improved
tone of the war news in the west, where
the British and French troops are doing
such great things But their resolution
is undaunted.
Prepared for the worest.
II they hope for the best they are yet
prepared for the worst, and they wf1i
face il philosophically. None the least.
it means a vast deal to them, and to
their peace OF mind, that the barbaric
invader has, for the moment at all
events, been baked in his design to
make his way through to their beloved
city, and dictate a humiliating peace at
the point OF his dripping sword.
At a rough guess, I should say three
out of every four shops in the heart
of the city-as the visitor locates the
heart-are closed on account Of the war.
The great numbering omnibuses that are
such a feature Of normal Paris have gone
long ago. and the number of taxis and
cabs on the streets is still immensely cur
tailed. though perceptibly greater than
it was only a few days since-another
sign by the way that Paris is already
beginning to shake of the paralysis
which the outbreak of war inevitably
imposed upon her.
On the other hand. at the Care de Lyon
today I saw the longest train l have
ever set eyes upon leave for the south
and southeast, crowded almost to sut-
location with passengers, very many of
whom were primarily bent, as 1t seemed
to me, upon showing Paris a clean pair
OF heels. And on the platform there were
left waiting almost as many people as
would have filled such another train.