OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 83, 9 April 1928, Page 2

OUR PARIS LETTER

A FRENCH POET MEMORIAL TO RACIRS (From "The Post's" Representative.) ■ .PARIS," Ist February. It is curious that '-..Paris, which never seems ' to ''. omit : to.' "commemorate illustfious figures who have, in one way; or another been associated with its life, contains no statue of Racine other thaa the bust and medallion in the CoincdioFraneaise.' Yet there is a wcll-knowa memorial to Shakespeare, and as an 'example of the interest taken in latter-day; foreign, poets, attention may be drawn to the bust, recently placed in the littlo garden of the church of Saint-Severiu, of the Belgian Emile.Verhaern. True, it may bo urged that the author of Athalie needs no block; of stone to perpetuate his memory but:- tlio-;-.-group of pbopla known, as the Sooiete dcs Amis do R-a cine think no harm would bo done by. including their favourite ainonig the other great men, who have been uo honoured. . It may bo mentioned, that the ■■ great, poet and dramatist has a street . called after him, and.there; is a tablet in the Church of Saint Etienne-du- Mont , which was .removed Soil Port Royal ' where he was first buried.' ' PRIZE BOOK CRITICISED. It. is. .unusual, for. a book honoured with the Prix Gonconrt, to arouse criticism on other grounds than that of literary merit, but this is taking place in the case of M... -Maurice Bedel's novel "Jerome, OODeg. latitude'north "recentiy selected by the- Goncourt Academy, The work deals with Norwegian life, and gives, from si-French point of view, pictures or manners and morals oi' that' Scandinavian ppoplo to which a number of French writers take exception. Writers, like M. Luciea. ilaury, who have spent a number. of years in Norway, charge M.'Bedel with inaccuracy, while others are-, .disposed to regard tho novel as the •; effort of a: young man whose judgment is immature. Andre Gido compares it to the amasing "Los Transatlantiques " of Able Herlnant, and . pointingl.y . adds. that tho protests. may -have ho other effect than, to increase the sales- of the book. . It is said the work has aroused a storm of protest iii Norway. ' HOW TO DEIWK WINE. The art.of drinking wine was described by.- M. ■ Louis .Forest • president and founder of the 'Club dcs Cents whose exposition in- view of the fact that on doctor's orders ho Was obliged to demonstrate with a glass of mineral water, was a'fine art in itself. Speaking after the first luncheon of the seasou, M. Forest humorously remarked that he was very much in favour,of pro- : hibition, as otherwise, at the. presentrate of exchange, there would not be agood bottle of wine left in France. A wine.'s. flavour, he. pointed out, depends' largely.on. its, temperature. The. wineglass tpp, J. Has much to do with its' taste and five •yfe'ars experimenting to' find the perfoct'-'container have shown that a glass must .be very thin and' -almost' invisible, so "that one may fully appreciate the nectaivwithin. Good wine, ho declared,'must.first be drunk with'the eyes, and when its colour has fully' impressed itself on . tho .mind, the wineglass niust be held properly "by; the bottom of the stem, given a rotary motion in order to agitate .slightly the wine and then passed under the nosej so that its full- aroma impregnates the senary: ;nexves.' v.'Qnly:^ may one take a sip of-the G,od-given liquid, and gur•gling ate,.slo.wly- .its thV.uirfuth permit .".the'-boquet-of'tbc'TOne to spread it- . self like the' tail of a pe'aeoek." .."MISPLACED ■ CONFIDENCE. Once again the simplest, kind of domestic robbery has been'perpetrated-by; a " gang of. two. it all sounds so easy that one wonders there are not more daring people in',the world to relieve others of there accessible property. In . this case, tho victim is Mrs. Rachel Astor, the American artist.' Mrs. Astor engaged a femine ide chanibre some,days ago and found'he*., so 'satis.fa'ctory'lthat, in her absence from;Paris;..she entrusted the maidservant with the selection of a valpt. After interviewing' several the maidservant decided that an elegant young man, who. called himself Andre, would be the most suitable. . So he came, but shortly after he. arrived the maidservant herself .gave :iiotiee. However, Andre proved to be a very efficient person, and his first luncheon could not have been better served. But at dinner a certain lack of poise was explained by his having toothache. Next morning Andre's toothache had departed, and by nine, o 'clock Andre had departed too. A_ couple of hours later Mrs. Astor missed a million francs'worth of jewellery from a casket which she kept ia her bedroom, and '30,000 frs. in cash the total' about equivalent to £8,300. 1000 PRS. MEAL. A correspondaht writes me as follows- , "Can you give mean idea what one. should expect to pay in a first-class. Paris restaurant for dinner? I am a new comer to the city, and, being an, inveterate diner-out, I have been trying one or two places which, for obvious reasons I will not: mention, but which certain- ■■ ly have famous names and are largely frequented by Britishers, Americans and other . foreigners visiting Paris. At : each of- these- establishments, We have .been a party of four:' We have had a simple meal consisting 'of something not extraordinary:; soup-; or ' hors-d'oeuvre, fish, a chicken and- spine' sweets. This, with some champagne, has brought up the bill in each caso to sqmething over | ljOOOfrs.., that is,, to say, in .English money, more than £5...... Are .-these the current prices for ull similar establishments?."; ■.:■•■• . . AN OPEEA PRWILEGE. Subscribers to.tho Paris Opera, are up in arms 'against, the new rule laid down by' M. Rouche," the' director, prohibiting them visiting the wings and tho dancers' green room, during inter- ' vals in" the pcrfornanee. For as long. ; as can be remembered, the wealthy patrons of the Opera, have->had the privilege of going behind and rubbing shoulders0 with all the illustrious artistes, and* the: green .room of the; Opera has often resembled a "fashionable club. ..Now all this-is to.be abolished, and subscribers: havp' been informed that if they visit the .green -.room, the only, way to do so will be by: having a subterranean passage., built ■ under the stage. Many protests-have been .made to M. Rouche; and..an,:offort. is'Tioing made to ■ persuade him to .reconsider,his decision.