PARIS LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 4057, 26 February 1876, Page 2 (Supplement)

PARIS LETTER.

Paris, December 25, The Monarchists are the real ‘ ‘ die-hards; ” their last intrigue is ,to absent themselves from the Assembly, and thus stop all legislation by -securing a “count out,” These tactics would prolong th§ life of ttye Chamber as long, as that of the Assyrian Kings—- ■ “ for' ever.” Men/ certain not to be re-elected pecome feckless at the moment of dissoluIt is all no use creating childish im i pediments •. events are stronger than factions, V add events, are on fho side of the Republic. . ..; Th? latter is. out of danger, since threefourths: of: the life senators are Republicans—a great difference when compared with the ’.‘JoyaKst inanqeuvre to exclude them alto-' gather.. There are now 225 senators to elect, .; and if the. Republicans gain but ninety-five of those seats, at the lowest computation they will have the majority hi the senate. They arq certain to,have the majority in the . Chamber 6f Deputies, and in both instances f the representatives pf the Republic will be m(aa f: pf action and energy, No trim*njers, above all. J Qrieanism" being beaten along the whole line, as its underhand plotting deserved, that If ism” has nothing to fall back upon but .Ijhe:Duc..d’Aumsde,;a£i' candidate—President pf the Republic—-in 1880. 'Of course he has ,;ftß,the other parties, banded tpa man against . /him- He.has not .the slightest chance, he has.no fotlpwers in the country ; the people fdi ijwbn-poph Orleauism. If the Republic fail, r, .Empire will inherit its, interest. Bnt t v;j;;iailure is nptto be anticipated, as .after the jit- general elections at. farthest, the present noMinistry will.be voted into oblivion, . and its successors will be the loyal friends—,.v for the .ficst .time in power—of the Third Republic, '..The present Ministry has been' . sobeatin.tbat; it can exercise neither a moral . nor a - influence on the elections. ; and have no intention to jeopar- . flise thepr prospects 1 for a Minister without a ~ whose .occupation of offices , ~.iß not certain Veypndja dozen weeks. ‘ 1; - : r /. ~ Since the coalition to eject Thiers in May, ; . the bpst of the mediocre stock of 'i ; pnbHc men have been" ‘fused’ up,” simply because they opposed the" wishes of the i intrigued,j for, a *monarchial ,-. molt'conspicuous, of these' > .demecl all his.li|)eral past, proved’ he' had no ana rejected everywhere , t by.,.puflfages—of colleagues eveii-r-he finds . mmsqlf with a political terminated. Eyen. Naquet, who “ ■ munistato be pardoned,* m order, as he Says, a to "escape "being tortured" to death ■ by the Caledonia—his • proposal and misrepresentations. give lumh}oyp‘ than the politi- , eajly defttnctTJe Broglie. I Municipal Council cqhtinue to actively ; - Wige war against. any remaining iiwignia. of. ■ ' Imperialism oh the public 'buildings, “ Liberty,- Equality; and-Fraternity,” remain bn • thß' Contrmy cverywhbfei conspicuous. A - : project is prepared ;to change the name of ■ff all - thoroughfares in Baris recalling the glories of the' fitst Empire or suggesting >'■ the infamies of the secohd.’ Such may in ■■ part,'be carried—in time,-but- then the re- ; Ihiniscences themselves will have ceased to

' be great attractions. There are back lanes ■ 'and blindalleys, called after kings and.notabilities that have figured in B’rance since 1815 ; they seCm to b« . a terrible satire on the past. - To keep the memory of le petit ; taporal, green in the soul, ‘ his tinkered ■. ; ' statue has beeii at last placed on the summit ' " of the re-constructed Yenddme Column that the Communists toppled over in’order to " correct its artistio blemishes. , v The mistress of the late Emperor, Marguerite Bellenger, is receiving much public notice at present. Was she, or was she not, the daughter of-the ex-guiUotinist HeiU- " drioh ? That’s the question. It appears iy'she Was'only his niece. Even headsmen •" have their honor to look &fter. La Bellenger is the' daughter of : humble parents, 1 and ! in her early days herded geese' The. ' Cabin where she was 1 born, in the vicinity of Saumnr, is still occupied by her mother, but the discarded courtesan has a chateau of her Own near Tours. Not very far from, her resides another celebrated impure, Cora Pearl. '; After a life of -sin, an old age of luxury* The “Upper Ten soiled doves” eyer pre--s>are agaiiprt the rainy day, and are particuar formating their sepulchres in advance. ■'f ■ ' One of the life or immovable Senators deaei yes the honor thrust upon him. = He is J the inventor* or rather re-discoverer, of ' ** Immortal;' Pills,” thus eclipsing the best ; : TOOdtfCtjon. of Old Parr. Chemist distiu- > gufshedi the Senator in question found : vhO famous secret' of Comte de Cagliostro ; ’ hd a receipt fop the preparation..of dfainonda-r-pity he:dbesqotbring 1 i ? tßie -when every

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person is perplexed to find something new in the way of presents for lady friends. The age of Caguostro was never known. His valet de ckambre, when questioned, declared his ignorance, simply adding, “I am 150 years in his service.

A very rare suicide has taken place—that of an apothecary, who prepared a dose of laudanum for himself, declaring he was the victim of rejected addresses. By a singular coincidence, the brother of the young lady who drove the apothecary to suicide, and a medical student, destroyed himself at the same time, having discovered his mistress to be false. It would have been a greater’ discovery to have found such creatures true.

It is observed that since the extensipn of railways people with comfortable balances at their bankers find few attractions iu their homes at Paris. For example, hundreds of people on the approach of the “humid,” rather than the'cold season at Paris, betake themselves to Nice for the winter ; learning that Paris is safe and beautiful in Spring they return, but only to depart for the sea-side when the weather becomes hot, and wbeu the fashionable bathing town is visited by September the birds of passage fly off to their country seats. Thus a mansion at Paris for such people implies its occupation only- for two months of the year. Before railways, however, the period of residence was on the all-the-year-rouud principle. These kind of. families move in groups, or flock like migratory birds, and following in their wake is a whole army of milliners, dressmakers, professors, two governesses, and even doctors. The undertakers are also on the wing, but keep in the shade. Now that official candidates are the order of the day, a good anecdote is related of Choron, and the Prefect of Chartres—the Comte d’Estourmel, and the author of the popular ballad, “ The good King of Dagobert wore his pantaloons inside out,” till one of the saints prevailed upon him to dress like his subjects. Choron was a professor of music, and among his celebrated pupils were Duprez, Mine. Stolz, the Duthese De Berrie, and the ladies of the Court. Choron called ou the Comte, to solicit his influences to obtain some “voices”; puzzled, and thinking Choron was canvassing for a seat in the Chamber, he gently insinuated that Choron, not being a local taxpayer, could hardly be proposed. “What has paying taxes to do with singing?” asked Choron. “Then you do not solicit to be deputy ?” • “Is it that I desire to make the Chamber of Deputies sing?” At last the Prefect learned that Choron came to Chartres to secure “ voices,” it is trqe ; but bass ones tor the opera, and not for the hustings, and so requested the assistance of the Count.

Dolls were never more sumptuously drepsed than this year; all are in the Grande Duchesne type, to judge by the shop windows. Now dolls have their special dressmakers and milliners, and the art of making a doll’s toilette, exacts not only, ability, but long apprenticeship. . Whenever a new robe, coiffure, hat, or mantle, appears, it is exactly reproduced doll-pattern, with the fidelity of a photograph ; everything is on a microscopic scale, but accurate, These dolls not only are intended to amuse children, but are subscribed for as if they were a newspaper, by the dresspapers, milliners, &c., in every part of the world. A most useful innovation has been adopted in Paris ; attached to some prominent building, in a leading thoroughfare, is a plated indicator, in which is set forth the plan of the streets, its branches right and left, and the numbers of the houses, where will be found the post and telegraph offices, tobacconists —very important, as they- sell postage and other stamps, as well as weed ; the addresses of the clergymen, doctors, bailiffs, commissary of police, and the principal restaurants and cafes. These indicators almost supersede policemen. On each side of the plate is a thermometer and barometer. There is an old Marquis at Sevres, aged 87, who in his. salad days was a mighty sportsman. The riding passion is still strong with him, as every, fine day his valet rolls him in his bath-chair into the garden, places in his hand a saloon rifle, then-an- old hen is marched alongside the 'bath-chair, and the valet announces “the pheasant of Monsieur le Maquis advances.” The old man takes aim, the fowl ‘ ‘ skedadles ’ ■ to return to fill the same role half an hour later.The old sportsman giggles with delight. The bml has been thus pelted at since six years. It. ought to be decorated for bravery. The Sultan might purchase it for his palace pleasures; it would afford more fun than his cargo of 10,000 perroquets that he lately ordered. "When Louis XV. was stricken with age, his chief amusement consisted in angling,carpi'" in a large" basin from the hed. Fishing was "an hereditary sport with the Bourbons. A very extraordinary occurrence has taken place at Gfrenelle, a ,distant district in Baris, and which is worthy of the attention of agriculturists. . ,JL farmer Had a pig iii training-for the.show of fat live; stock to be held nekt :month. , The animal was so' fat that it could not get up without assistance. In its helpless condition it was attacked by battalions of rats from the river, and was completely devoured. The bones remained as a protest that the hog did not disappear by spontaneous combustioh. ; In the wine dep6t’ at Bercy, seventeen new purnps have been erected ; sixty-three already existed there. This incident may explain how an ec'oriomic person can purchase this year’s vintage at the rate of eight, soiis the quart. The t|ranl- shops assert that it is not wine that pays' when adulterated, ,buf cognac, and, above all, absinthe. As for “bitters,” they 1 are a glut in the market, and as a consequence the hospitals never ’wait patients. • '