Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-15
THIS AND THAT


If any one thinks for an instant thai
modern living is not far superior tc
living in the good old days" as q
general proposition, he would do vel
to read the elder authors.
Books of Alexandra Dumas, for in
stance. written many years ago ano
dealing mainly with people, scenes anc
times anterior to himself, give striking
evidence of the progress of humanity
Especially is it true that the state
of the average city dweller is vastly
improved, compared with the status Of
his brother of 100 to $50 years ago
Even so little as that. for a century
is not very much, after ALL compared
with the total of known history.
If one may believe Dumas-and one
may, In the main-the last Kings OF
France, just before the Revolution, fol
all their splendor and for all their alb
solute power in many ways lived fal
worse than the poorest people Of today
Take the case of Louis XIV. He was
brilliant" monarch, so history tells
us. He did just about what he pleased
which is still some peoples idea Of
complete Heaven. but his last days
were worse than terrible-they were
horrible.
at Versailles, and as the disease grew
worse courtiers and retainers fed. The
great King, the very sun of France
did not receive one ne-hundredth OF
the attention and care which the poor
est persons would get today. The dis
ease was a mystery. Nobody knew
anything about sanitation except in the
most rudimentary form.
Before the disease reached that stage
however, when most left, he was
harassed by efforts of contending par
ties at his bedside, some aiming to get
him to publicly denounce Nine. Du
Barry, the favorite. It is said that
when he died there was complete
exodus from the palace, and only
scavengers from Paris could be induced
to place his body In the lead casket.
The Paris of those days and earlier
and still 1t was not SO very long ago
at that-seened to have been a place
where anything was allowed, just Sc
long as one could get away with it. y
Dumas, in his various romances placed
in many reigns, makes this unnnis-
taxable. In very interesting volume
"Ascanio," based on the life of Ben
venuto Cellini, an interesting picture is
given of city life as it used to be.
While one must admit that Dumas
liked his stories rich and colorful, and
was not above embroidering the truth
for the sake of effect. 1t is also true that
his facts check, in the main, with au-
thentic history.
When he details, therefore, how
Cellini, having requested King Francois
to grant him certain chateau then
occupied. proceeded to take 1t by force
when the noble occupant would not
give 1t up, we are not so much con-
cerned with the fact that this assault
Is fiction as we are with the fact that
undoubtedly such goings-on were toler-
ated in the Paris Of that day and age
Cellini assaulted the place with 10 81
his apprentices and finally took it after
one of the besieged was killed and three
of them wounded. Just as the hostili-
ties had commenced some spectators
had called the watch, and six police Of
ficers had responded, but they had con-
tented themselves with merely reprovine
Cellini, after which they had left tc
permit the sport to go on uninter-
rupted.
There were few, if any, street lights
and impromptu fencing bouts were
nightly occurrences. Swords were worn
not only as ornaments, but more for
solid protection. ANY night one went
a-viSiting he was as likely as not to be
met by an enemy with few hired
braves anxious to run him through.
Men of noble blood could do the