Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1914-09-17

80 IL were NOT LOT CAP drivers, one =
81 FIRST weeks In Paris would be
81 robbed OF linguistic comfort
These men---the drivers Of taxis,
all young and with eyes sharp and
excited, and the drivers of carriages,
all old and with eyes dull and heavy
arc trained to catch direction on the
wing, and never ask to have II re-
peated.
The wan consciousness of talking
French badly Is not always the por.
ton OF those who talk. It worst. 4
certain self-assured type OF American
women employs II with confidence
unaffected by originality and pecan
cy of accent. American men and
sweet mothers of ambitious daughters
"a domestic combination with which
Paris is filled-are least prone to make
use of French; yet when they do, It
is invariably with a charming if linn
tied perfection,
Fortunately oHt-of-door Paris speaks
q language that is beyond the tongues
of man, that voices itself In ef2abie
civic beauty, in long vlstas, in gener-
GUS skies, in wide avenues that lead
into fountain-spraytng squares, which
widen like the transept of cathedrals,
and through which course In and out,
round and round. like fine skaters. the
autos and the peoples OF the world.
To see the Arch OF Triumph from the
Carousel, the softening sun still high
over the low" built city and pale
enough to be looked at, TO see the
long avenue across the thin mists OF
evening that fall like protecting
veil, Is TO feel a troubled. unreachable
presence: the sense of beauty, a
sense that was given us unfinished. ar
rested in the making. and with fades
unattained into mystery.
Strange Waite Beauty.
The green Of Paris grass and the
blue Of Italian skies surely are the
most vivid colors In the world, and
from this green OF grass and from
beds OF flowers, Paris builds itself In
vivid white.
The newest building glaring In
cleanliness. and the oldest grown gray
and darkened, invariably conform to
this coIorlessness In this most colorful
of cities. Building material huiked
on the river shore like the backs of
waiting elephants. is all white white
stones are wheeled through the
streets. white bags Of mortar N'' the
weighted boats. while sand lies piled
on the white embankments, and along
the white streets. anonymc 10 and
similar and bIanched. stables and
stores and dwellings wall themselves
against the sidewalks. Adding the
note Of artistry that unconsciously
prevails everywhere, workmen In
these new white buildings wear long,
white coats. white shoes, and form
groups OF Whitehead figures az fittiss
sidewalk inns.
Paris is handmade. Every embroid.
cred linen flower and every stone of
every wall has the look of minute
and detailed attention. There is no
big machinery. The small steam der
rfcks that unload the deep sunken
barges hoist but one barrel at a time
And results grow huge under this In
dividuaI toll.
In Walt Whitman'g Leaves OF
Grass" he sings praise to the strong
curb OF city streets. Did he know
Paris, too. and the high. white walls
of It's river banks. the masonry of long
flights of stairs descending to the
shore, the profusion OF stone bridges.
many srched. everywhere masonry
and uninterrupted securing curbs?
How prodigal Paris In OF architec-
turaI decoration, of unenfing eIab1ra-
ton. II is its soul, the expression Of
its ardent quest for variety, It's I'M
willingness to continue uninterrupted
a line or a curve. They place bronze
horses that rival the gold of the sun
ON their bridges, they fiji their gar
dens with white marbles. they cover
their walls with chiseIed gariands,
they asd beauty to beautJ and by
some magic never arrive at making
beauty overdona.
There ia a spell in standing or the
Bridge OF Alma toward the close OF
day when the sky Ii blue and dct y
rated in great banks of white clouds.
and the Eifgei Tower rising from its
nest or trees beres into the heavens,
and Rp into regions further OF than
anything made On solid earth.