ECHOES PROM PARIS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1437, 10 March 1873, Page 2

ECHOES PROM PARIS.

[FROM OUR OWN" CORRESPONDENT.] Paris, December, 1872. Contrary to the toy weather bfctokeners, who make a lady come out in fine weather, and a man in fine weather—whenever you see the boxes of the National Assembly of France tilled with ladies, you may be sure a storm in the House is expected. Parisian ladies, indeed,, go to a sitting at Versailles just as you would «o to a rirst representation at a favorite theatre ; and, of the two, the French Senate is much more noisy than the lowest of Paris theatres, and its members far exceed our second or third-class actors in vehemence of speech and gesture. No one, however, can fully describe a storm in the Assembly ; no one, except only those who have seen such a storm, can have the least idea of it. A fight of schoolboys, a public-house quarrel, come perhaps newest to the shameful scenes which are but. too frequently repeated by the highest representatives of France. Almost equally shameful is the eagerness with which outsiders flock to witness these senatorial quarrels ; and, as I ha^e said, whenever you see the "boxes" looking their brightest, be sure, the atmospheric signs are at their blackest. The conduct of the ladies at these, sittings is worthy of remark. Some encourage their particular friends by looks, signs, and applause, while others again fiU up the time in prayer ! Thus, during one of our last too memorable seances, one of the greatest duchesses in France sat during the whole sitting, diligently .reading her prayer-book. Ladies in France also occupy a greater space in politics than the ladies of any other nation,, and often amid a group of elegant duchesses, countesses, and royal highnesses there is one who attends the sittings, not out of idle curiosity, but from the deepest interest in the nations welfare. Such an one is Madame de R&nusat, g, lady gifted in the highest degree with great intelligence and political tact, and who possesses the rare and marvellous compound-^experience, patience, and instinct. Sine« Madame de Staßl, indeed, no lady has attained so high a place in French politics as Madame de R&nusat. Before quite discarding politics for to-day, I must just mention a new and striking feature in the state of France at the present moment — that is, the universal call for prayer which now exists in almost every class. Such a spontaneous movement in France is all the more remarkable, as France is generally considered, and indeed boasts of being a " free " thinking nation ! When sorrow comes upon us, however, we fly to Him whom we neglect in our hour of prosperity. If this religious feeling would continue in France, it might perhaps go far towards healing the differences of political parties which now form the greatest evil afflicting the country, Respecting the parliamentary events which are still disturbing the public mind, I may say that even Paris begins to" feel low and depressed. " When and how is all this to end ?" ask the most unconcerned on the subject. You may be sure that Paris is a little anxious when I tell you that all the theatres have been lately nearly empty in spite of unusual attractions, which have been offered to tempt the most untemptable. Poor Paris, it needed no additional ill-wind to retard its progress towards reaching its old haven of prosperity, and to reshut the doors of its salons, which were just beginning to open, though ever so little. The only society we have at present consists in the receptions and dinners given by the foreign embassies. The Spanish society, also, round the ex-Queen of Spain-is profuse in hospitality, and a few Russians open their doors to numerous guests. Of balls, however, there is not even the most distant rumors. I may add that the Paris season, a la mode Anglaise, is becoming later and later in date, so that, outside political cirples, we are not thoroughly on train till after Easter. Among the dinners, most in vogue are. those of Count Pot'^wsky ; at these dinners covers are never laid for more than twelve, as beyond that number the greatest charm of conversation ceases, 4 and it becomes impossible for the master of the bouse to 4Uide the honors of his table. This reminds me of an anecdote of Madame Campan, one of the most successful teachers^of youth which France has ever known, It is said that~SmongSt " her classes was one devoted entirely to conversation. For dinners she divided her subjects thus :— For a party of twelve, travels and literature were the safest topics; for eight, Art, Science, and new inventions ; tor six, politics ; for four or three, anecdote, adventures, sentiment; for two, there was no conversation, a« each one would naturally»peakijolely of hiniielf. The

present rule of Parisian society is to banish politics from every re-union, small or great! Letters of invitation even, bear the words, "No Politics" in a corner. At afternoon "teas," however, the case is quite different ; here every one drops in d I'impromtu, just as the lady of the house is pouring out her tea into Sevres tea cups, and here the greatest diplomatists, artists, and literary celebrities meet, aud loudly discuss the " burning questions " of the day. Ladies and gentlemen, of course, apppar at these quasi receptions in walking costumes, as the receptions, themselves, are nothing more than "calls," the "cup of tea" being the excuse for prolonging the call beyond the traditional ten 'min tiles. With a cup of tea in the hand, and a spoon to play with, there is infinite scope for draiuaiic gesture, though tha Sevres may at times be in danger of coming to a final crash. In these Rococsdays, however, when every cup, like every piece of furniture, should be of a different shape and pattern, unmatched cuba are rather recherche than otherwise, and the unlucky wight who may happen to break a cup has the consolation of knowing that he will not be expected to replace it by a whole set. Next to politics the great talk of Paris is the marriage of Miss Anna de Roths- ' child with the hon. Elliot Yorke, second son of Lord Hardwick. The young lady's dot is reckoned at ten million francs, \ which I leave you to reduce into your owu coinage as among the very many talents of "Echo"— arithmatic cannot be counted as one. For this reason nothing could ever induce me to play at cribbage. Another talk of Paris is a wonderful Russian drink which Prince Orloff has introduced to our society during one of his late dinners. This drink, it appears, is composed of every known and unknown liquid in the world, and takes three days to prepare. The receipt is the property of the officers of the Russian Imperial Guards. Another subject of innocent gossip is a magnificeut "coral" bell, which Queen Victoria ha 3 presented to the infant son of the Prince and Princess Czartoryski. It is a marvellous piece of workmanship and studded with precious stones. An on dit also is running through Paris that the author of "Lofchair" is shortly to be amongst us, and is engaged on a new novel to be called "Regina." •He and his wife will probably pay a visit to Chantilly, where they will be received by the Duke d'Aumale. It was thought that the sale of the exEmperor's effects was terminated, but it appears not, for another sale is taking place in the former riding school, consisting of bedsteads, clocks, mattresses, &c, composing part of the Emperor's furniture. Everything still continues very dear in Paris, the tradesmen are more independent than ever, though they fill your ears with laments on the " bad times." Alphonse Karr, in his "Guesses," tells us facetiously, that ihe leasou of the present high prices is, that "there is no longer enough to eat — and everybody has larger appetites than formerly." Which means that our wants have increased and every kind of production has decreased. " In every age," he says, " there has been and must be a certain amount of poverty — that is, people who have not the luxuries of life ! But pauperism is a modern invention, and forms a fourth order of the State, and it is pauperism which is always armed, ready to war against every government, because no government has yet succeeded in putting it down." Unfortunately, also, owing to the late rains, there are severe inundations in many parts of France, and this, no doubt, will tend to increase the misery already too widely spread about the country. Two items, d plitme volante :■ Mr Henry

Plow, the celebrated printer and publisher, died this week iv Paris, at the age of sixty-six ; and a new paper, called the Resurrection, has made its appearance. At the theatres, two charming novelties are now delighting play-goers, One is Les Sonettes, a dialogue for Madame Chanmont and M. Dupuis. The play lasts for a full hour, and when it is over you would like to have it "encored." The other novelty is Le Ptehe Venial, an idyll iv one act, and in verse, something of the "Passant" style, and is a charming specimen of a poetic thought charmingly rendered. La Dame avx Camelias has also been revised, and promises to be as attractive now as it was to the youth of thirty years ago. Mademoiselle Pierson is the Lady of the Camelias, and proves herself to be a worthy successor of the celebrated Madame Doche, who created the part at its first representation. Mademoiselle Spaliers, who plays the part of Olymphe, is also a very pretty | woman, and dresses most exquisitely, which is the greatest attribute an actress can possess to please a French public. And this must close the week's echoes.