BOHEMIA

Shannon News, 8 June 1926, Page 4

BOHEMIA

NIGHT LIFE OF GREAT CITIES. Conventional respectability is, not usually associated with Bohemian life. If someone is dubbed a Bohemian the impression that it prim- i arily conveyed to the average citizen is that the someone so referred to} is not all all that* could be desired J —from the moral standpoint at least. Undoubtedly to a certain extent that j is true (says the "Age"), but there j are many, many cases in which it would be grossly unjust to harbour j such a thought. As in every section { ;of the community there are different) classes, and in the Bohemian life of any community there are at, least two classes —namely, those who are Bohemians and those who would like

people to think they were. The latter class have increased enormously since the war, a fact which gives rise to considerable psychological speculation. These poor creatures—- - poor because of their ignorance of moral values —have erroneously formed the opinion that in order to be a true Bohemnian one must be immoral, which, of course, is a disastrous conception. A Bohemian is one whose genius is somewhat unconventional, and it is probably because of.their unconventionally that they are so picturesque —indeed, so attractive. With complete justice to this much-maligned section of the people it may be said that in their scheme of things there is no room for cant or humbug, and if so much could be said for a certain kind of social reformer, 'who in turn composes another section of the community, it would indeed be praise, a praise which would earn for the

many proposals which emanate from that quarter at least the consideration which should always be accorded to sincerity.

Following on these philosophical meanderings, it may be well to remark that they have been occasioned by the perusal of a strange kind of book which has just been published, written by Ralph Nevill, who received his education at Eton,- and who possesses the added distinction

of being related to some of the famous nobles who adorn the peerage. 'Alluringly entitled "Night Life, London and Paris —Past and Present," one would expect to be regaled with a sumptuous banquet of wit and wisdom as conceived by those gayer people who are wont to frequent the haunts of pleasure, whilst ordinary folk slumber. For many pages the i reader is told of the doings of bibu- J lous heroes and demi-mondaines who j were admittedly at the head of their ancient profession. However, it should not be imagined that the book is not worth while; on the contrary, it is a rare contribution to contemporary literature, inasmuch as it forms . a decidedly entertaining

psychological study. Throughout the book the author indulges in much sarcasm, some of which is in good taste and some in very bad taste. Here is an example of what may surely be termed good taste sarcasm: After remarking that the chorus of the light musical comedy stage has furnished a considerable number of <iuite presentable wives to the aristocracy, he continues thus: "The successful marriages which have been made within recent years by act- ■ resses have altered the way in which

the upper and middle and professional classes used to regard the lighter forms of the drama. To-day many well-educated girls, quite rightly regarding the musical comedy stage as the best marriage market in. the world, go on to the boards, though they have no need to do so. As an authority on this sort of thing I

recently remarked: "the Gaiety ana Daly's are about the best finishing academies for young ladies in England." So great, indeed, is now the run on these two elevating London institutions that parents have been known to put their daughters' names down for them, as ] fathers do those of their sons for good houses at

Eton! The matrimonial .prizes to be secured being so valuable, no wonder that homes of austere respectability have been saddened by a daughter failing to qualify for the chorus!" There are many passages wherein the author lashes out with sarcastic fervour in a very clever manner. Indeed, his style may be termed bulldog in its biting capacity.

To review unrestrained pleasure with no jaundiced eye is the perpetual plea which he makes, but when such pleasure consists of drinking- to get drunk, and then sallying forth to light the world, one wonders why he should be so severe as to declare that those who oppose such doings are decidedly peculiar mentally. The pleasures indulged in by bright young men during ,the early part of the nineteenth century

were, indeed, strange. It is related how, on a memorable occasion, a .noble marquis caused a great, sensation by releasing a sack full of rats whilst the spacious floor at Mott's, in Foley street, was being used by hundreds of happy dancers. The confusion which ensued was further increased by the lights being turned off just as the sack was opened. Many of the ladies, fainted; but everything was eventupJly put right by copious draughts of champagne, paid for by his lordship, who, though fond of frolics, was the best-natured and most generous of the rich young sparks who at that time made the West End hum —so one is assured. There are some diverting sketches of evenings passed at Vauxhall and Ranleigh, where ladies whose grammar rcsembldd their morality in not being bound by close rules were much sought after by dashing young fellows, who desired to experience that sensation which comes to one whose soul stands entranced on the giddy

pinnacle of passion. Then in London ! during the eighties there were rendezvous known as lounges that were usually attached to some- popular

place of entertainment. What the author terms "Puritan , killjoys" denounced these places ' for their low moral tone. The famous Empire lounge was to them the centre of moral contamination, and they contrived to have it closed. Eventually it was agreed that the lounge part of the place should be partitioned off, and to that end an elaborate erection of barriers was

set up. The first evening under the new arrangement was one of considerable turmoil, the barriers being torn down by, a party of rioters and speeches made by the ringleaders, of whom the chief seemed to have been a young man who now is a distinguished member of the present British Government. The author here manifests some tact by not mentioning the impetuous gentleman's name. But the "Puritans" were not to be outdone, and in 1916 all music-hall iounges were abolished, and they nave never been opened since. The author deplores that, because, as he painfully explains, the result has been to flood a number of the smaller West, End streets with a crowd of wretched women who, hounded from place to place by the police, are obliged to wander about throughout the night. Such cruelty, this ■ highsculed gentleman cannot abide. The logical inference to be taken from his remarks on this subject—one that he manifests a great liking for —is that in Christian charity the lounges should be reopened, so that those harpies of the metropolis may ply their trade or profession in comfortable surroundings, where they 'can meet their clients without fear of molestation. . - It is when he commences to write about so-called Bohemian clubs that he shows how incompletely he knows the true Bohemian. To him a real Bohemian club is a place where men and kept women sit drinking and smoking half the night. Indeed, if such clubs did flourish in Bohemia, they would certainly be symptoms of national degradation, and that such places can in any way make for the betterment of a nation is a contention too idiotic to waste argument upon. Whilst discussing the old music halls and the stars he expresses sorrow that the old-time vulgarities which characterised the turns should to-day be wanting. There was a time when no lady would be seen at such a place, but to-day they attend in great numbers. What a place this world would be if we were all as careless of the . refinement as this vivacious gentleman! The tales of Paris night life are indeed illuminating, and his knowledge of Parisian cocottes past and present appears to be extensive. The better-class ones were delightful companions, with ladylike ways, and they had an elevating rather than a degrading effect. One of the most famous of the old school married the Comte de Chabrillan, who, as French Consul, died at Melbourne in ISSS. These ladies were very fickle and at times witty. One who suddenly decided to leave the man whose money she had spent, when asked to grant the poor fellow a final kiss for charity's sake, replied: "Impospossible. I'v<! got my own poor to look after." Amusing episodes of the night life of that cosmopolitan centre are told in a , very agreeable manner, as are the gay doings at balls, at. which beautiful models appeared in a costume as modest as that of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Undoubtedly the book is entertaining, and it emphasises the fact that we of the twentieth century do not make such a tremendous fuss about sowing our wild oats as appears to have been the case some fifty years ago.