Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-04-02

can bar" which in no way suggests
the oriental name Of the place.
The one cafe in all the quarter
which most definitely lived up to
the conceptions of old-timers was
the Cafe Procope. This historic place
has literally vanished for in its old
stronghold in the rue de rAncienne
Coincide is no cafe. at all. but only
the most commonplace of restaurants.
Even one who comes here for the
nrst time must feel a regret for the
days when Verlaine was a frequent
visitor there. and when Gambetta
found the first response to his fiery
oratory.
1.-THE Cafe Procope was the first OF
OF it kind established in Paris. its
inaugurator being Sicilian, Procopio
Cultelli. who opened its doors in 1889.
Volta1re was one of its many noted
frequenters: and Thackery was a de-
lighted student of this link with the
past and others in the vicinity, par
ticularly a certain restaurant on the
other side of the street, that is now
non-existant.
Balzac. who was often on the ru
from his creditors. during spells from
pursuit. and after a hard days work
would travel to Paris from his little
retreat in Passy to recruit his forces
on the famous "veau a la casserole"
dish of the Cafe de Paris. then at the
corner Of the boulevard des Italiens
and the rue Taitbout. where Alfred de
Musset. Alexandra Dumas and other
celebrities were wont to gather for
dinner. The said spells of relief were
between sunset and sunrise, when the
minions Of Frnch law are powerless.
SO that in summertime he could not
get to the cafe in time for dinner. But
he was fond of the boulevards and
| fond of exercise. and at one time,
when he lived in the rue Vivienne. he
would stroll about the Cafe de Paris
In the wee sma'" hours of the morn
! ing. and slip back home at daybreak-
| While not among the Oldest OF
| Partisan cafes, the Cardinal. where
the American Club of Paris gives its
bi-monthly lunches, is nevertheless
among the most interesting. 1t
stands on the site of the house that
Regnard. the great French poet and
| satirist Of the seventeenth century,
built for himself after his wander
ings through Europe and in which he
lived a merry life. The Cafe Cardi-
nal, which, so to speak, completes the
name Of the rue Richelieu, on the cor
ner of which it stands, has contribut-
cd not little to the making" of the
southern side OF the boulevard des
| ltaliens, for days were when life was
almost all on the northern side. That
| was during the first half Of the past
| century. when the Cafe de Paris and
other famous establishme were in
the centre of Paris" and the boule-
warbler seldom crossed the road ex-
cept to go to the Cafe Anglais or pos
sibly to visit the Turkish baths where
the Credit Lyonnais now stands.
Two establishments were principally
responsible for the gradual attraction
Of the southern side-the newspaper
Offices Of the Temps (Which was later
| transferred to their present location
in the new rue des Italiens. and which
has become SO we'll known to Amer
! cans during the war, because the
Stars and Stripes, the official news
paper of the A. E. F., was housed at
No. /, where the American flag still
flies from the windows of the con-
sulate generaD. and the Cafe Carci-
nal, or lie Cardinal, to give it is cor
| rect name. The Cardinal soon became
C. resort for literary men, and many
famous figures of the boulevards have
been among its habitues.
! Although the process of moderniza-
ton has robbed this corner of viz
tually all it's old-time aspect, histo-
rians have kept its past from COM
plete oblivion. The Marquis de
Rochegude has placed on record a
number of facts concerning the neigh
borhood. but it is now difficult to find
any real vestiges of what had once
| existed. On the corner of the rue
. an eighteenth century mansion. which
in 1896 became the Frascati gambling
house. On the present building, IN
l1S38, an admirer of Richelieu placed
a tablet in honor of the cardinal.
sWhile all the cafes Of Paris do not
yet enjoy the glamour of past his
tory. many of them are now in the
formative process, and each has its
special clientel. Thus the terrace OF
the Cafe Louis XIV is the rendezvous
Of provincial actors. who come here
to find engagements: the Cafe du
tGlobe. near by, is the meeting place
of music-hail artistes; the Tavern de
Namur of the movie" folk, and the
Cafe Ncapolitan. of writer's and jour
nalists-while the Cafe de la Paix is
tho melting pot" Of all cosmopolitan
Paris, with a preponderance OF
Americans.