OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1927, Page 25

OUR PARIS LETTER

HISTORIC CASTLE

CRUMBLING AWAY

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

PARIS, sth January. Vincennes Castle, so often mentioned in French and English history, is reported to be in an increasingly dilapidated condition. Visitors'are no longer admitted to the covered gallery round the keep, in consequence of the state of the roof, which is falling to pieces. The chapel is described by the "Intransigeant" as a sort of damp cave, which. is slowly turning mouldy. The engravings once hung on the walls have been taken away tq preserve them from the damp. There is a :.*rge hole in the chapel roof. A broken window-frame lies on the floor of the room in which Henry V., King of England, died. The reason for this state of things is, of course, purely financial. IN MEMORY 0? RICHELIEU. . Cardinal Richelieu is one of the- illustrious Frenchmen whose memory their countrymen unite in keeping green from one generation to another. In .1646, four years after the great statesman's death, his niece, the Duchesse • d'Aiguillon, made an agreement with the heads of the Sorbonne whereby a service was to be celebrated, on the anniversary of his demise, in the Sorbonne chapel, where his remains were interred. In eourre of time, the custom fell into disuse, but it was revived about five years ago under an arrangement between the Cardinal's descendants and the council of the University of Paris. This year's service, which all university professors and students are asked to attend, will be celebrated next Saturday morning at 10 o'clock in the Sorbonne chapel. PUZZLE FOR FORGERS. With a view to the discouragement of forgers, the Bank of France has begun to print its eques on a new kind of paper, which is white on one side and yellow on the other. It is slightly porous, and takes up ink more rapidly than ordinary paper. Erasures cannot be made without removing the surface and showing the second colour beneath, and if chemicals are used, a stain shows itself on the yellow back. MUFP-LIKE CUFFS. Now that the cold weather has come, apparently to stay, male passers-by with a little imagination might think themselves* twenty years younger. Nearly all the women look as if they were wearing muffs. On closer inspection, it is found that the illusion is created by the fashion of crossing the hands. As every woman who follows the dictates of fashion wears a joat with broad bands of fur round the wrists, the aspect is just like that of a woman carrying a muff, and it continues until the cylinder of fur parts in the middle and the hands begin to search in the vanitybag for the powder-puff. It is one of the iin/merable transformations of the eternal feminine. . CHANCE CLUE TO THEFTS. Thr<>-.gh mere chance a Paris furrier named Sermann obtained a clue to thefts which have been committed on his premises at various times during the past; six months. While he was in a cafe, Max Altabaum, a Pole, asked him if he would like to buy some skins, of which he produced 'specimens. On examining them M. Sermann noticed that they strongly resembled some which had disappeared from his storerooms. Without mentioning his suspicions, he made an appointment for tho following day, and informed the police. Altabaum came to Mio meeting-place with a large bundle of furs and was arrested. He stated that he. obtained the goods from M. Sermann's own warehouseman, Byrman Sabol, who when questioned by tho polico admitted the thefts. Three other men, all Poles, were also arrested as accomplices. TO SAVE DANCER'S HOUSE. Much satisfaction will bo felt at the news that an effort is being made to spare Mme. Isadora Duncan the loss of her well-known house in Neuilly. , It will-bo remembered that tho house, wlnV.h has many strong sentimental associations with the dancer's career, was sold ltv, auction in the Paris Law Courts laßt Thursday in consquence of a debt originally a loan of 4000 francs—which becamo much increased by interest and costs. The sale does not become valid for a week from the date it took place, and a group of Mme. Dunca/i's sympathiser- are collecting 00,000 francs, the amount needed to save the house for her, between now and Wednesday. It is believed that many of her old admirers nmbfrieuds would like to help in the effort. EDUCATION BY WIRELESS. Education froin^ the fountain head will be spread by wireless when the arrangements now in progress aro completed for broadcasting Sorbonno lectures froi" tho Eiffel Tower station. It is intended to make a start on 15th January, when lectures will bo given from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to '9 p.m. 1 Lessons in English, spoken in English, will be one of the features of these courses, and it is intended that the teacher shall speak slowly and clearly, chiefly for the benefit of schoolchildren. Other subjects include one on women's work in relation to the home. M. Lapie, the Rector of the Paris University, is quite enthusiastic over the now method, and points out that -it will be, above all, useful in carrying education to the child who cannot otherwise easily obtain it. PREFECTURE'S "AXE." Remarkable figures, revealing to some extent, the economy policy of the Prefecture of .the Seine, are given by M. Bouju in a letter sent to M. Joseph Denais, a Councillor of the Department. These figures show that no fewer than 3504 posts have been abolished since 1918, and their suppression has been confirmed in the report of a Commission of Inquiry appointed for the purpose of further cutting down administrative expenses. Of the 3504 abolished posts, 1250 are in connection with the octroi.