OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 3, 3 July 1926, Page 15

OUR PARIS LETTER

COMMUNIST SONGS

WHAT THEY ARE

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

PAEIS, 12th May.

Now that there are several million working men in England who have little to do except to make things generally uncomfortable for those who are trying to "carry on," it is only natural that the striking parties should vent their dissatisfaction in an occasional burst of song. Consequently, the conservative British public are having a liberal education in the various Red songs, including the "Internationale" and the more popular English refrain, "The Eed Flag," written by an Irishman, and recently banned from tho British Navy, when it became altogether too popular \vith the crew of the Vindictive.

Englishmen aro learning, for instance, that the "Internationale" was not written by a Russian, but a Frenchman, Eugene Pottier, a member of the Paris Commune in 1871. The music is b; Dcgeyter, who meant it to be sprightly, but the labourer prefers to sing it in a dirge-like tempo. There are any number of stanzas, most of them violent.

THE MAID OF FRANCE.

Prance turns back to-day five hundred years to pay honour to the memory of Joan of Arc, that girl from Lorraine ana from humble parentage whose extraordinary character and conduct make her one of the striking figures in all history. For those of her nation, no personality through the centuries stands out in more appealing fashion. Truly, the Maid of Orleans symbolises the spirit of Prance. In her the French are fond of tracing the qualities of which theythemselves are justly proud. Because she was of the plain people, the Maid of Orleans resembles another tragic figure in history. Like Lincoln, she had the common touch. She had his calm courage, and the good sense that goes deeper than things. Like him she appeared on the scene at the time of great national drama and therein played a part that was providential. Each saved a nation to unity. Bach at present is universally honoured, though not on that account alone. And Joan is perhaps the finer example of devotion to an ideal in. which self may be submerged.

TEA AND BACCARAT.

A story of a mild gambling hell for <.:d women was related in a case tried yesterday before the 10th Correctional Court. A teacher of singing who liked baccarat had two or three friends similarly afflicted, and it occurred to them one day to hold regular meetings at the teacher's house and play for small stakes. They enjoyed themselves and enrolled their friends, until, finally, they had a private club of fifteen members. The stakes were so trifling that nobody ever lost more than 70 francs in an evening. Everyone took turns at the bank, and sometimes tea and cakes were served. The lady of the house received lOfr. and sometimes 20fr. from the winners in return for the use of her premises. The club went on for about two years, but then a dissatisfied member sent an anonymous letter to the police, and a commissary made a "descent," and confiscated the stakes, which amounted to 31 francs. The teacher and another member who happened to be the banker when the commissary arrived on the scene were prosecuted, and after being mildly lectured by the presiding Judge they were lot off with a fine of 100 francs each.

CALVIN'S ALMA. MATER.

Another portion of old Paris' is about to disappear. Near the Church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, adjoining the Pantheon, the remains of one of the most ancient blocks in the city are being levelled to the ground. Amid this ruin there still stands the tower of the College de Foret, which dates back to the year 1391. As a religious institution the college once knew flourishing days, and it housed at various times among other students of divinity such illustrious men as Calvin and Ignace de Loyola. Tradition has steadfastly preserved incidents which occurred there in the life of Calvin—happenings which reflect the pugnacious character of the great reformer, for he is said to have in his young days frequently done penance in a cell in the tower. Ii was Napoleon who showed least respect for the sanctity of the place, but his plans to demolish the building entirely were not carried out. It has been loft to moderns* to complete the work of destruction.

SHOWING THE EAES.

It has just been decreed by a number of "professors" that whether women elect to wear their hair long or short the latest mode involves the clear exposure to view of tho ears. These authorities held a test in which seventy aspiring young hairdressers of both sexes were put to it to show their skill under the aforementioned prescribed law. The competitors hailed from Spain, Italy, Poland, and even Eussia, in addition to France, and while they "bobbed" and trimmed their subjects, an orchestra, formed by musical hairdressers, smoothed their labours. An hour was given to each candidate in which to produce his or her masterpiece. The grand prize went to a Frenchwoman, Mme. Calmette, and special awards were given to Miles. Paganelli and Poggio, of Italy.

BALS MUSETTES RAIDED.

Much activity continues to be displayed by the police in the efforts to cleanse certain night establishments hidden away in various districts—of undesirable strangers. Latterly they have teen keeping a watchful eye on bals musettes, the small dancing rooms generally_ attached to a marchand de yin, and situated in the poorer quarters of the city. During several of these raids quite a number of harmless sight-seeing foreigners, those who are disposed to seek thrills by adventurous plunges into alleged notorious resorts, have found more excitement than they bargained for and have been called upon to show their identity papers in order to be distinguished from people more liable to suspicion. The other night a number of foreign artists were held up in similar conditions. Bals musettes, however, are not necessarily places of illrepute.