ITEMS FROM PARIS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1786, 10 March 1888, Page 4

ITEMS FROM PARIS.

f : (From our Co .respondent.) I Paris, January 14. LORD LYTTON's FIKST RECEPTION, The first reception at the British Em* braesy la Paris, since the days of Lord Oowley, 22 years ago, will ba piven by Lord and Lady Lytton on the l7ih mat. (January) Tf c recaption will be partioularly brilliant, Lurd Lytton having installed iv this bpauoful residence the . marvols which ha coHected m ladia at the I time when he wae Viceroy. ' FETES FOR THE REPUBLIC. ( The Thicd Kebublic is becoming more I and more Monarchical and Imperial. It - is vow rumor ad that the President ' mean 3to spent two or three months at ( Rambonlllet, and that ordera have already been given to pub the Chateau to eights, M. Garnet will thtn iuvlte parties of prominent people to come and spend a few days with him juat as ttapo'.eon 111. did at Oump e^ne aud Fentalneblean. THE POEMS OF A KING, An edition de luxe ot the .poems which have been written during the iast thirty years by the King of Sweden has just been published at Stockholm. It includes numerous works wh>chhavehltheito been only privately printed, «nd at the end is • sort of adiea to the reader, which Beems to intimate King Oecar'u intention of abandoning autno'ship. His norn de plttme ia " O«c«r Frederick " rachel'-s portrait. 0 ant Waitmski, bud of Rachel the eminent actress, has jaat presented the Oomedie Francaise wnh a magnificent protrait of bis mother, who ia standing upright and cobed- 1 m black velvet. This IB the only protrait taken of the tragedienne m costume db ville, and tbe only one for wbica Bbc sat. All -others had been painted from m emery or from photographs, the work ia ba eat up m the craahroom of the Theatre Franoats, where it will occupy the place previously •■signed to another portrait of Kachel. LOUIS XVI AND THE BiSTIILS. The •* i*igaro'' of me other day mentioned as a curious f<*ct that Louis XVI. himself, was at one moment on the point of saving the devolution the necessity of demolishing the Bietilie. On the year 1789 he was about to approve z plan for razing the fortress to tbe ground, and opening a garden on the Bite. This plan ia ac the Library of the city of Paris, AN ORIGINAL CHABIIY FETE. Several of the nob lay who have ot&teaux m the neighbornood of Pierrefoods propose giving this summer a grand charity le e ihey will tak« as tneir model the :e c given m 1406 y L vis d'Orleans, brother of Cnanuß VL, whu inaugurated the Listorio ClA.eaa de Pierrefonds by a 'tournament m the principal court, followed oy a grand dinner and ball is one of the large nails. Toe ladies of the day will ba attired m the rich and picinrecqna costumed of the fifteenth century, and gtntieuieu Will put on armour, cover their Bte.ds with ttiail, »nd indulge m joosto as m the feudal times. • it this ong.nal idea is carried uut the ie"ce will be une of the priuoipal &cdety ev^nt* • f next buinm*r SWnZGhLAJND AND 1887. The "JoUiu-i at>-Gcneve," iv its review of the past year, proudly sayß : — ♦' m the mldat of Europe, agitated and armed to the teeth iv order to maintain peace ()- -B*i!s3riand entirey pro-occopied win the development of us home interests aud the perfecting of its republican Institutions, appears like an oasis of peace and «ecqrity. POOR LIT3LB FELLOW. A little boy, bi ye are of age. concealed himself adaycr two ago m a satein tue effice ot his father, a Paris tradesman, with tbe view of playing " hide i.cd aeek " with him. fie probably fell asleop, for on coming into the offisa his father hoard no sound, aod being called away on buamer , abut and locked tbe aafe. The pour cbi' i( j for whom diligent Btaroh waa mad' lij day, was suffocated, his little body being discovered only on tne day folio wir WD6 n hit father cpenad the cafe as uar . B turning to business. A GOOD STORY OF DOST | £I)Ro The t Uo.JlDg story oC tr^ * mpe ; or ot Bnsil foralßhn a goo' a i>. Jaa tratioa of the Character of that y ifted monarch. The other tt^ at O dn n a, the editor of a trench faoioujtiSc Journal," waited upon his Majesty with the request that he wouid conttibuta some articles on matterß of ecientifio interest connected with his dominions. " Oe-nainiy," replied the Emperor, "but what rate of pay do you give V the mar. ot letters, though a little Burprisad, having named what h« was tn the habit of giving, Dem Pedro added wailing, ct Yeß, that will do"\ery well.' You ace, I would gladly write for nothing; but I am not at liberty to do B", bb ever since I began writing. I have given every penny I have earned by my braina to an orphan asylum m my capital," THE EIFFSL TOWBE, The four supports of tha JtGiffdl Tower have arrived at that point where the plat^ form, which will be the base of the tower propeiyls about to he constructed* The height of the platform is 55 metres. Work on the Eiffdi Tower ia prcoeediag buaily. THB FRENCH VINTAGE IN 1887. "Whatever n?ay be the c b se with other branchea of French agriculture, there can be no doubt thtt the condition of tbe departments which depend upon their Vines for prosperity h very bad, nor is there any sign of improvement. The returns published this week by the Minfrry of Finance show that the v ntaga of 1887 •was evun worse than that uf 188G wn*ca was itself the smallest record for upwardu of rhirty years, while the quality did not atone for the lack of quantity, the vintage beliig described as eu poor and thin that viuegrowers used more than 34 000 tone of BUgar m order to f-mify and 'improve" the produce of th-ir pressed. According to the figures issued by tbe Ministry ot Finance, the area nnder vineyard cv fciva* tion was ahnnr 38,000 acres lees thau ia 1886 ; or 4,860 OGO acre? altogether ac^ 4 and this area produced onjy 646 8 0 00,0 jsaflrn3 of wme aa cnapHred w'.t n 557 000 000 galioiiß ia IFB6 642 000 000 gai!onßii/18r-5, and 782 000,000 kh'.iuub m 18.84 the kvh agn f.., the last live, yaars being oijly 670,000,000 gnllone, or little more than n*it w .at it was before the phylloxera mad* its appearaDCfl. The great falliDg-off m the yi -Id of vineyards dorinit the last, four or five years is no attributed to ihe phylloxera alone, as the mildew and blbck'rot have done a great deal of damage m many districts, though it ia to the phylloxera tnat ia to be •scribed the deplorable fact that the yield ©f the vineyards In the Oharente and Charcnte ioferieure formerly bo noted for branay, has fallen from three hundred million gailcm to fifteen million gallons ; whilo the Gironde, or Bordeaux vineyards, which m a goad year used to produce a hundred *ailliou gallona of wine, have not of lt»' Cc averaged a quarter vi that total. r p hi , result of all this is that whereas ia igls the FreDch exports of wine wer s fVOP eighty million and tee import r Jnd "™! mmioK.g.Uan., the forme, h^r bB * deceasing, and are now estimated at fi tyfour milliona, while the » moor a col tributed chi- fly by Sp,i a „£%£ £* risen from m to two hundred and sixty laports hiveinpreaaed f or tp fold.