Evening journal., 1918-02-20

We knew from his grin and his glee-
ful eye that this was the lanky young
Americans first visit to Paris; that,
like most OF us, he had gained his
earliest impressions OF France from
postcard pictures Of naive, scantily-
lingeried young women kicking at chan
deliers, and that he expected to step
fright of the train into a swirling satur-
MALTA OF cussedness. His Gay P'ree"
never did exist, but we had an
aching apprehension that the truly gay
Paris which we had known and loved,
would be sombre and sad; the tremen-
dous courage with which she has met
these past dreadful years must certainly
have been at the sacrifice Of her bright
and happy spirit. We feared TO see
Paris In her depression.
Depression? Why, the boulevards are
thronged, and there is laughter, and the
bells OF the cab horses jingle as mer-
rily as II the big cannon were not
ceaselessly pounding and roaring less
than 20 miles away; the shop windows
blaze with such a collection Of pre-
cious gems as Aladdin never saw, and
the boulevardier, though huddled now
against the wintry chill in blue uni
form, sits, as OF old, at his little table
beneath the dripping awning Of a side
walk cafe, and sips his hot coffee, while
The world swarms by him on the pave.
He's lust back from the trenches on
leave-his medals show that-but to
look at his face you would never know
there was or had been any grim
thought in his mind. His cheeks are
pink, and his mustache is nattily curl
ed, and he has a dancing eye for each
pretty woman who passes. Everybody
walks nowadays. since gasoline is so
scarce and since practically every motor
vehicle has been commandeered for mill
tary purposes. Amid the kaleidoscope
uniforms OF all the Allies, as the process
sion iostles and chatters past, there are
mingled the snappy little boulevard
girls. considerably in evidence, but not
much more so than Of old. and the shop
girls, and an entirely new elements the
grand dame Yes, the grand dame walks,
too, and is cheerful about II; and pam
pered pets now walk which never soiled
their paws before. As the philosophical
Frenchman says, with a smile and a
shrug OF his shoulders: but, yes, 1t Is
the war"
OF course there are a few taxis, run
principally by eX-soldiers who have
earned the right to become civilians.
But you are not lordly with a taxi
driver any more; you do not stand at
the curb, hold up your finger until a
taxi races to your feet, brusquely give
your direction, step in, and slam the
door; not so You wait until one stops
in yoir block, or the next one, to dis
charge a passenger. then you rush to 1t
imploringly, and tell the pOtentate
~ II ha
cares about driving into that neighbor-
hood, away you rattle lickety-split at
hair7raising speed; It rests entirely with
him. however, whether he will walt to
bring you back. AS likety as not, he
won't.
The reason lies not in any lack Of
humanitarian interest in your welfare,
but in the fact that he is only allowed
so many litres Of "essence" per day, and
he must make every spoonful count.
Naturally, mutual necessity promotes
the flow OF the milk Of human kindness.
We had an important errand, and
rushed to meet the first taxi which stop
ned at the curb, but the lady who
alighted smiled. and held up a warning
hand.
I'm sorry, I'm not through with it,
she apologlzed. what direction are you
goingG"
We told her.
"splendid." she said. 'My place is
right on your way, and If you don't
mind while / run in 10 buy this chauf-
feur a pair Of Christmas gloves-he's
been so nice-you may take me home,
where / will pay him on, and you may
have him from there on"
She smiled again.
"Taxis are so dlfflcult to secure. We
must all help each other"
"That fact was further illustrated In
the bureau where we had the important
business. We had a few minutes to
wait, and the concierge, one Of the most
pleasant and affable old men to be met,
, explained with extreme politeness and
extreme volubility that monsieur might
smoke II he liked, that there was posi-
lively no rule here against smoking, and
that monsieur must make himself per-
fectly at home.
Monsieur did not at all feel like smok
Ing at that moment. but, being further
urged, saw the point and brought out
the cigarette box.
OF course, the temporary host was in
vited to have a smoke, and the pleasure
with which he accepted It, added to the
fact that he would not light 1t then, but
saved it for after dinner, brought sharp
ly to mind that cigarettes are luxury
In Paris.
For fully 20 minutes the concierge,
whom we came 10 know very well as
Philippe, entertained US with droll
stories Of how "stingy" he was with
himself, now that he was putting every
franc into war loans, and we left him
with a feeling that the only thing he
considered was TO make US comfortable
and happy while in his little room.
10 was not until afterwards we learn
ed that Philippe has lost three sons, one
son-in-law, four nephews and seven
cousins in this warl
We went down TO the Louvre, with
many misgivings, to flnd II a quaint
jewelry shop we had known Of old was
still in existence. Still there, and the
little old jeweler, not much more
shrunken since the bygone days, recog-
nized as at once and came forward ra-
diant with greeting.
How was business, we asked after a
while. There was none to speak OF.
The different poilus on leave bought
occasional trlnkets, and the shop might
as well be closed as open until after
the war; except that II was not good
for Paris to have blind windows; so
he kept the shop running, while his
former constant companions, madame
and the dog, lived in the country,