ITEMS FROM FRANCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1757, 3 February 1888, Page 2

ITEMS FROM FRANCE.

j (BT OUR PARIS COBRE6rOI?DBfIT,) ' ■ i Parts, November 30, .' THI LANGUAGE 0» COLOUR. ' Business people in Paris have long eince formed a eolor speech by which certain trades are easily recognised. Firßt of all the color shops are distinguished by being painted outside in squares and stripes of the most brilliant colors, Viennese leather bronze and trinket shops have begun to use the Austrian colors, y allow and black ; than the Spanish wine shops use yellow and red, the Italian green, white, and red. The business places where furniture carts for removal are kept. are painted yellow, as well as the waggons — why, not oven the proprietors know, Pastry chops are light brown outside, and within white and gold, bo that one is involuntarily reminded of the pastry itself Milk shops I are while and blue, both inside and out. The washerwomen now begin to paint the outside of their ironing shops of bright blue, while the carte that take the linen to the washhouses in the country are bright green. Wine houses are all paioted brown, or a dull red, which is exactly the color of the vin ordinaire mixed with cran • berry juice of logwood. Still darker its the color of tbe charcoal shops, which the dust soon renders completely black. Bakers are fond of light brown and white, with much gildiog and large mirrors. Many of their shops are decorated with paintings representing goddesses of p'en ty, gleaning, and similar subjects. OARIOVTUKE9. Parisians will soon have an exhibit'on of a rather novel and highly interesting kind, that is t> say, if the praiseworthy labors of thi oommittea which has been formed for its organis* > tion bn crowned with success This will i rte whpt is called an " Kxposition des charges," or a ' ollection of all the best 1 caricatures which have been prods ;ed in France since tbe beginoiog of the present century. A'l the celebrities from Bona paits to HouUnger will, it is rxpected, figure therein, and it 's to b hoped 'hat < toe Committee will make a judicious and > instructive selection from the vast oce in of " charges " which lie* before them. Foremost amoag th* caricahi ists will be Phiiipon, who founded tbe Charivari, and when tried for having dissimu ated the traits of his Majesty the •* Citizen King ' > under the appearance of '-a. pear," asked t his accusers how he could help tbe i resemblance between the Royal f.>ca,aod , the horticn tual objeot in question. Neither wi 1 the Committee forget those pictorial Pasquins of Paris, Robert * Marcaine and Be wand, who were avo i created by the lively penoila of M f Phi ipon and his j >yous companions. More modern carioatnrmts will be represented in tho forthcoming exhibition by Dauraier, Gara ni, " Cham " Gill, Nadar, and (Javan d' Aohe, who is -fast becoming famous. . IHB P RST IMVORTEO LIZARD * Tne collection of the Museum of Natural * History baa j-ist been enriched by a , remarkable lizard the fir/t brought to ; Europe, which has been presented by M. . Conrad Baer. It is known to science as the alamydo saurus ; it is nearly three quarters of a yard long, and comes from New Holland. It lives in trees, and has two air-tight curtains or membrane i, one on each side of tho neck, which it expands ' I at will, and thus supports itself in its t as rial leaps from branch to branch. » T. B "WIDOW OF M B'ttGNON. . M. Sadrue, Proaeoutor-General of Nancy, has just forwarded to Madame 5 Brtgnon, whose husband was killed at Yexainoourt, in the late frontier aooldent between Germany and France, 5 and 4 per cent bonds bringing in 2775 franos, as the proceeds of 62,500 francs, awarded her as s compensation by the German Govern- ] ment. rRKSIDBNTIAI, QUOTATIONS. The " Figaro " stated the other day that at the races at Colo tubes, the bookmakers * had a list of quotations for the Presidential candidates. The betting was 6to - 4 on M. de Fceyclnet, 5 to 1 agaisst fc Monsieurs Ferry, Floqoel, and Auatole f de la Forge, 12 to 1 against M. Badi Oarnot and Rlbit, 16 to 1 against General Hamster ai>d M. le Royer, 20 to 1 against M. Btlsson. 66 to 1 against General fioalanger *nd M, Goblet, and 100 to 1 against M. Jules Simon. A list of quotations for > first or second place Is also given, ! LONG HAIR. > It is the fashion this winter to le v . the , hair fall do*n on the neck, and to wear it high on the head as formerly. Young ladies with pretty neoks are said to rebel at this deoree, but it la believed that they will all yield gracefully before the end of the season. THE KING ASD THE MAYOR. The following anecdote is told of King Leopold : — A rural Mavor received the Belgian monarch, and offered him an exr oellent glasi of wine, bis M»j >s*y oompllmeoted the functionary on bis good „ oelUr "Bat I have better still, sire," ', replied the filtered Mayor. "I advise r you, then, to keep H. for a better oo ' oaslon," answered the King with a cunning ' wink of the »-ye. ; GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY A daring gang of burglars entered the . premises of M.Lepe* , jeweller. Boulevard de la Madeleine, and stole some of the \ Crown diamonds which had been disposed of at last year's sale, and which vera 1 valued at 500,030 franos. The robbery was committed under remarkable ciroum- ; a ar.ces, the theves having closely studied tbe shop and i's approached and having | entered it by a r.ther circuitoas route. It is supposed that the gang entered tbe block by • door of the adjacent street. O.ioe there 'hey osuld only reach the shop Itself by passing through an unoccupied suite of apartments loot In? out on to the Boulevard. I i order to prevent the police from giving them ohase in the event of a surprise, they had carefully wedged the inner doors, and taken the preoantlnn to screw the wedge to the fl or. From the no occupied room they broke Into, the rear of the jeweller's shop, whioh thoy quietly pillaged, leaving the empty oases scattered pell-mell about the fl >or. They reapeoted a safe in the corner of the shop, although provided with tools for tbe purpose of forcing it open Besides the tools whioh they lefo behind them as a a <nvenlr of their visit, and ■ which the police find to be of good English make, they abandoned two pi Irs of felt slippers. HAIRDRESSING CO v PETITION. Soms days ago a balrdressirg competition took place in P*rfs. Thirty young women were operated upon for the space of about forty- five minutes by a bedy of rival hairdressers ; the first prfza of 500 ' ] franos and a cross for professors was ' awarded to an operator named Nessi, while * a pnpil won a gold me4 a 1 and 300 franos for ( turning out the best coiffure in the shortest J space of time. Ailor the competition "fan- * tasias" in hair-dressing were executed, 3 old styles being temporarily revived or e new ones exhibited. The proceedings ware B terminated with a ball, in which the suoceesful coiffeurs danced with the prettiest f of their subjects. i ALKTTER BST GAMBBTTA.. ( The following amusing letter by Gam- * bet*a dated 1863, fetched 40 francs, the 2 other day at -ft gale of autographs at an 2 ' auction room Hotel Drouofc. "My dear l Silveatre.— l am suffering from a laok of v money, and I should be under great ° obligations to you if you could send me the fees of Mute. Zoo's ease. I think P ohe will win her suit, for the sploßter Is }j on dor sldg» I write to you in l1 this matter, tfor I feel sure that you, ~ bettev th»n anybody etae, will fully api predate the nature of my disease a flat purse/ Send me a metallic response, > if rti ■•■ . , ■'•• THE JXHIBiriON OP I^Bs. | t M. Dantresme, Minister of Commerce, ' received ' the delegates from the French. . 3 jfjfadjoil Cfcambera » few days ego, 'audita

showed them over the Exhibition work! on the Champ de Mats After, going through the galleries m course of conutrbdion they paid a visit to the Avenue de Snffren, where the reproductions of the Bastille and thn Rne St. Antoine, as 'hey were In 1789, are being ereoted. The preparations for the Fiblbltlon of 1889 are nrw propreselng favorably. THE EX-BMPBESS OF TH* FRENCH. There have been rumors circulating for several daya to tbe efftct tbat the Empretl Euge' se is losing her mind. She Is now at Amsterdam, where she is being treated by Dr Mefz»er. A letter from .ber hss • few daya ago been received In Paris ia which she states that ahe : Is deriving great benefit from her treatment. This letter gives no evtdence of a weakening of tbe mental faculties. The ex Empress will not leave Holland until tbe middle of December, and it is her prerent Intention to spend the whole winter In Eogland.