OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 118, 14 November 1925, Page 13

OUR PARIS LETTER

SEVERE WINTER NEXT YEAR

ABBE GABRIEL'S PREDICTION

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

PARIS, 23rd September.

According to a paper read before the Academy of Science yesterday, a very long and severe winter may be expected in 1926. This conclusion is arrived at by an eminent French astronomer and meteorologist, the Abbe Gabriel, who has observed that such winters repeat themselves every 186 years, or every fourth of a solar cycle of 744 years. Records show'that severe winters occurred in, 1553 and 1740; and also in 1503, 1694, and 1880, these dates being separated by intervals of 186 years. As these phenomena; have occurred with such, regularity in the past, it may he assumed that they will continue in the future, and that as the winter of 1740 was very c01d,'1926 will be the same.

A "ZOO" ARRIVES FROM

AFRICA.

Under the supervision, of Lieutenant Gerard, who has spent the greater part of hia life big game hunting in Africa, a sort of Noah's Ark arrived in Pai-is early yesterday morning, and was safely conveyed to the \ Zoo"in the' Jardin dcs Plantes. It comprised a: lion,, a white- elephant, a hippopotamus, all quite young; two mongooses, :a : chim: panzee; a baboon, three small monkeys, three buffaloes, an antelope, 'an anteater, two marabout cranes, two hooded cranes, and other birds. AH these creatures ■ wero captured in the vicinity of Lake Chad, and were conveyed in. 15 motor'lorries to Bangui thence.by special train to. Matadi, where a s steamer took" them oh boar,d and brought them to Bordeaux. The whole journey took nearly three months. The white elephant, which is just a year old, is not yet weaned, and during the journey his daily ration was six tins of condensed milk diluted ' with water. The hippo., quaintly called Seraphine, shows a gentle and retiring disposition.:, Her huge lips go back until they look as if they would meet at-the back of her head, disclosing a chasm of a mouth. :

WINE TOWERS TO STAND A FEW

TEAKS.

Many visitors to the Decorative Arts Exhibition have expressed regret at the prospect of all its beautiful buildings being condemned to demolition as '.soon as the exhibition closes at the end of October. It has been; suggested that some of them at any -.rate should be retained to form the nucleus of another exhibition under a different name next, summer; The idea has been discussed in offiqial quarters, but that is all that can be said; and its prospect of tuccess is ,nof great. Nearly-all the pavilions are lightly built, and are already showing signs of wear arid tear. The rainstorms in August damaged not a few roofs and winter would complete the work -of destruction. . The four wine towers, which are built of reinforced concrete, will probably, be allowed to remain for a few years, but the chances aro: that, all the other; copstructipns put up-specially for the exhibition will be ;»w'ept away.; -. ; '■ ■ ;;:"' ■'_" '■„!..•-.' ' '..

.;■'• '.'•: KREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS. * The present international 'exhibition, which up to the present has attracted ;about 8,500,000 visitors^ is the sixth has been built in Paris. At the ,;flrst; in 1855, there were 24,000 exhibitors and 5,160,000 francs. ' The expenses came to 11,500,000 francs,' and;,-the receipts to 3,200,000 francs.. The second, in 1867, was the' only one of 'the series to. show a theoretical balance on the right side of the account, the fe.ceipts, including subsidies, being nearly 3,000,000 francs more than the outlay. The 1878 exhibition . cost 55,000,000 francs, "of which only,: 17,500,000 francs was covered by receipts. The 1889 exhibition, for which Eiffel Tower arid the colossal Machinery Gallery \vere: built, was • visited by 33,000,000- people, and the receipts came to only 3,500,000 francs less than the outlay. The fifth in 1900, cost over 100,000,000 francs, but left behind it valuable permanent assets, in the shape of the Gfrand Palais, the Petit Palais, and the Alexander 111. bridge,; ..'..'■ „ ■■■-'.■.. ': . ~'X'-

JEWELS A NECESSITY.

Unproductive cap Hal, which M. Caillaux proposes to ta^ next year, is a broad classification of many kinds of property, such ■ as jewellery, pictures, statuary, and other works of art, and collections.of all kinds. It would be impracticable to assess such posaessiotisi.' as their value fluctuates continually. • Tho Treasury. officials vail therefore' base their- estimates oii insurance policies, so that, for instance, if M. X. pays 1000 francs a year to ii company to guarantee his collection against the risks of fire, he would be called upon to pay. the same amount to {he State every year as a tax on unproductive capital. There will, of., course, be a great deal of discussion'as to what is or what is not liable to the tax. A leading actress might, argue that in her case, jewellery is a necessity, because without it she would'be unable to keep up. her posU tion.in the eyes of the'world. "

FAMOUS CAFES CLOSED.

Two cafes, which, in their different spheres,, are Parisian institutions, have closed their doors temporarily while .the premises are being renovated. One is the famous Cafe du,Globe, in the Boulevard de Strasbourg. Here, for generations, actors'and actresses, cafe-concert artists, and music-hall singers have gathered. It was here often that contracts were-signed, here, all the news of the profession *vas handed round. Now, clean shaven, blue chin c'abotins, and buxom chauteuses and discuses have had to find ; new ■ quarters for soriie , months, until the Globe will once again be fit to receive them. The. other cafe that is temporarily closed is la Closerie dcs Lilas, at the corner of the Boulevard Montparnasse and the Avenue de l'Observatoire. Before the war the Closerie was .the rendezvous of poets and writers, and here Paul Fort, the "Prince of Poets," held his court.Eecently, an attempt has been made to revive its former literary glories, and no doubt when it reopens its doors, ■ the young poets and some of the old will go back to their former trysting place. Most of the old school have departed, but one there is still, but he has abandoned poesy. Spruce and bright he offers bouquets and buttcnjjjiles for sale with an old-time courtesy and a spiri-, tual word in the aafes and dance hallt of the Quartier Latin. > ; % -