The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-04-03

Dame Qu barry. Inc style OF edcl
bespoke the character of the famou
occupants in no uncertain manner.
After that we circled the Crane
Trianon and the gardens; wen
around the great palace and stopped
in a little side street at a buildin,
where the concierge was induced tt
let us into the most interesting plac,
of all-the place where the Frencl
revolution had its inception. 1t il
called the Sale du Jeu de Paume ant
under this inscription over the humble
door in English are the words, 'Th'
CRADLE of the French Revolution.
The spelling of the word "Cradle" ev
identity has annoyed many an English
speaking person besides myself fol
the attempts to cross off the super
fiuous I'd" are apparent. The build
ing consists of an ordinary hal
where Louis XVI played tennis. Here
the deputies met after they were ex
Guided from the palace after the
formation of the National Assembly
and swore never to dissolve until q
constitution had been formed. How
many times it has happened in the
history of the world greatest
events, the greatest characters, have
their beginnings in the humblest of
places.
So much for Versailles. We will
return, no doubt, to investigate the
palace, like the good tourists we are.
p
Mardi Gras, better known to Amer
leans as Shrove Tuesday, has come
and gone and with it a severe head
ache. The day is one of the many
fetes in France and by four o'clock
in the afternoon the boulevards are
thronged with people in all sorts of
costumes. No one thought of staying
home, least of all the other Innocent
and myself. 1t rained, so most of the
merry makers Abandoned the dance on
the boulevards and went to places of
amusement, principally dance halls.
Six of us went to Moulin Rouge (the
Red Mill where we watched the peo-
pie and consumed much beer until
half past two. Every conceivable
get-up was to be found on the floor.
AS usual many men dressed as women
and vice versa, the men being much
more clever in the change than the
women. A large proportion wore
nothing worth mentioning. Occasion
ally the floor would be cleared for
solo dances, either by paid performers
or by an inspired guest. Afterwards
we went to LIE Rat Mort 1.-THE Dead
Rat) restaurant famous for its on
ion soup where we stayed and ate
drank (what does one do with soup?)
until nearly dawn. Morning is the
time for onion soup in France. The
concoction may not sound especially
palatable but it is delicious beyond
description.
The longer I stay here the more I
am impressed by the quietness of
the French people. In spite of the
fact that Mardi Gras is the occasion
for great celebration the people make
no noise about it. In America there
would be much shouting and singing
but here all gayety is of quiet sort.
1t is the same at any time. Sunday we
promenaded along the Champs Ely
sees with several thousand Parisians
and although the boulevard was black
with people the avenue was silent. So
it is every place-there is never
noise, never undue haste. | like it
One has time to relax and to thor
oughly enjoy everything.
Another thing that impresses me is
the lack of intoxication here. Practi-
cally the only persons we have seen
under the influence OF liquor are the
Americans and English. Mardi Gras
night we couldn't help bue he amused
and at the same time saddened, over
a young Englishman who had come
over for game of rugby with his
Leichester college team. Evidently he
had done nothing but drink for two
days and he was perfectly picked
when he attached himself to our party
at LIE Rat Mort. By that time he
had lost his overcoat and hat and was
not in the least concerned over the
calamity. He also had forgotten
where the team was staying and al
most everything else he ever knew.
AS soon as he discovered that we
spoke English he abandoned the
street walker who had seen his bank
roll and sat down at our table. He
was a charming chap in spite of his
condition and while we would have
liked to have got him back to his hotel
he was at that stubborn stage which
no amount of tact could surmount.
The girl finally got him back, made
him buy her a meal and logged him
off. AS he went we hoped that he
was just at the right point of drunk
enness to suddenly decide to find his
team then and there in spite of every
thing. However the girl was a past
master and / suppose she got the rest
of the bank roll.
The French, of course, are aghast
at the American love of fresh air at
night. Our French teacher was CIV
ing us her conception of America the
other day and ended up with the fol
lowing:
"And / do hear that in some parts
of your country people actually sleep
out of doorsp She said it almost un-
der her breath and her eyes begged us
to tell her it wasn't so. I think her
opinion of US fell considerably when
we told her it was so and that we were
among those who had sinned thus. OF
course you all know how the French
close their windows at night. They
have them open all day but they have
theory that the night air is harm
full. Strangest of all, two Americans,
who have been here for several years,
assured us that they no longer opened
their windows at night and are con-
n Al Il = A 4 . l. 4