OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 144, 21 June 1930, Page 14

OUR PARIS LETTER

SENATE LUNCHEON

PREMIER ATTENDS

PABIS, 16th April,

M. Tardieu, the French Premier, has an engaging personality, and he may be said to bo devoid of that aloofness which used to characterise some of the older statesmen. He has a happy way of improvising and making himself at home in congenial surroundings, and British journalists, as well as French, found him very sociable during his recent visits to London.

The other day he paidfan unexpected visit to the Senate and took part in a function which has become an establisned custom among members of the Dpper House. This consisted of a cold luncheon which is prepared every day vfor Senators who are unable to; lunch at home or have' not • the 'time to lunch outside.' It is always a; simple repast, and generally composed of; hard-boiled eggs, meat, cheese, and pastry. As he was keen to' partake of this fare, M. Tardieu gladly accepted the invitation of. M. Doumer,-President, of the Senate to do so: He.was surrounded by political friends and adversaries, but it is tho custom not to discuss politics at these luncheons. The Premier, at the close, said it was one of the best luncheons he had had for some time. , PEGGY MAKES SEE BOW. * Discussing the .weather, three men dining in a restaurant near the Opera yesterday eventually compared their respective personal impressions of the first signs of iring. One pointed with some enthusiasm to. whst he described as "Nature's awakening," the budding trees, the spring-up of flowers, the bird's song, and so .on. '. The second of a- less poetical turn of mind, dwelt on the good things which spring brought to the dining table. "This, for instance," said he, raising a piece of asparagus, "is spring," And he added that his wife had bought a wonderful, bundle of asparagus at Les Halles, about a week ago, for 18 francs. The third man said, "I know spring has como when Peggy 'is busy in the garden.'.' '■ "Peggy," ho went on to explain, "is a tortoise. When the' cold weather comes, its quarters are in a bos in which it hibernates, the -box being placed in a warm atmosphere. As spring approaches my wife and. I listen for sounds from that box. Two days ago we heard a faint, scratching and .then we opened the lid and lifted- Peggy out. "The tortoise stretched itself,/took a long look round, and began to travel in the direction of the garden. Yesterday it was the busiest member, of our family. Before we had risen Peggy vas hunting for slugs' and other parasites in the garden with extraordinary activity. Wo knew spring had really come, but not before." ' "WILLIAM THE THIRD." One of the most popular figures in Paris at present is the little son of William Laurence (Young) Stribling the American heavy-weight boxer. The child is only two and a half years old, and is the great pride and joy. of- his family,—father, mother,: grandfather and uncle, all of whom travel together on the boxer's tours. He is called "William Laurence the Third," and has certainly seen more boxing than anyone of his age, for since ho was a few months old he has been present at his father's fights. ' ::-r". * - Following tho boxing ,■ exhibitions given at the banquet of the Anglo-Am-erican .Press Association /, the other night the-little, fair-haired follow was presented to the company together with his father and grandfather.,< The latter picked him up and held him aloft on his hand, after which the father turned equilibrist by deftly balancing him in a variety of attitudes. From this it will be gathered that the. Striblings " are acrobats as well as boxers. The grandfather, still a vigorous and comparatively young man, was himself a circus performer, and his son, the boxer, began his career as an scrobat.' The "Third,'' although he is true to .typo, takes great; delight in watching his father's fights. IMITATION GEM'VOGUE. It is curious how tho vogue for artificial jewellery persists. Not. only in the daytime aro women wearing ornaments made of obviously unreal stones, but in the evening long necklaces of "diamonds" which look as though encrusted on a rope are very popular together with "sapphires" nud dined to take tho enormous building, wit)! crystal. The result is very effective, especially as tho jewellery makes no. pretence of being real. The craze for crystal and its substitutes is not over, cither, and many kinds of ornaments in such stones have been introduced this season. One dressmaker offers a worth while prolonging its existence for evening wear, fitting close to the wrist, and then spreading out wide and deep Jiko the petals of a flower. ■ Another presents,jewellery in a kind of imitation jade, pink, and cloudy, in shapes which recall the thick, rather clumsy bracelets' which the ancient British women used to wear, the rings and necklets, w^ieh complete the set, are also copied from the same type of ornaments, and on a pretty slender hand and a white neck look very piquant. PRESERVING A PRISON. Tho Parisian, who is proud of his city, is by no means proud of the Saint-Lazaro Prison, and the decision taken by the authorities to demolish the place has been generally approved. The Commission in charge of historical monuments, however, seems to be inclined to take tho enormous building used as a women's prison, under ita wing. . ■ . It will be difficult to do anything with it. Tho prison has no beauty, either within or without, and the general opinion seems to be that it is not worth while prolonging its existence for the sake of souvenirs s of tho Revolution it still retains. :The gardens in which Louis XIV. is supposed to have •walked have long since disappeared. Those grim, grey walls, with their' barred, blank, window's, are monuments only to years of human misery and suffering—it was formerly a leper house, and Paris will not regret them when they finally disappear. PROVINCIAL FURNITURE. The vogue for "rustic" 'furniture seems to be growing in competition with those extremely modern pieces which are chiefly bright nickel and remind one unpleasantly of a dentist's waiting room. ' • A charming idea, however, is seen iii one of the big storos,- which has furnished five of its windows, after tho style of the rooms seen in some of the provinces of France. For instance, thero is a Breton room, with white-washed .walls, tiny' windows hung with checked cotton curtains, and containing a heavy carved marriagechest, table, and dresser, on one' wall hangs a round felt Breton sailor-hat of the type which small boys in England used to wear, transformed into straw, iv the summer. Then tho Basque country, contributes a room hung with striped cloth, and Lorraino and Alsace, and finally the Vendee, are represented. . ' Each of them, is typical, and it is interesting to compare 'tho difference- in the carvings on the dressers, which they all possess in slightly varying forms. Tho accessories too, are extremely well

done. It is noticeable that every room has a certain resemblance to the next, although fundamentally they vary; widely.

To give visitors an idea where such types of furniture are actually used, a map is placed in each window showing the position of the province. m) poincare resumes his pen.

!■•' From .his charming home at Boque-: brune, •M. • Poineare is giving proof of renewed interest in public affairs.The great statesman, once he has decided to follow 'up a subject, is Fa ' scrupulously punctual correspondent. In-such eases ho writes his ■ own let tors,: in-a clear, small, hand,-, and has 'the gift of dealing" with , one point after another in logicaKorder. He is never obscure nor diffuse,, and he leaves the reader with . tho impression that he still harbours a wealth of further knowledge on the subject of his missive. He has just resumed a correspon donee, begun, some months ago, with "an ex officer who'distinguished himself- in the Great War and is now a political writer on the subject of the origin of the upheaval. In the epistle he mod. estly excuses himself for not having been able to attend to this matter owing to his illness, mentioning, that he has only written a few articles since his health improved. PEACEFUL NIGHT LIFE. Paris of a night,, for peacoablcness and security, may be compared favourably at present with _ any city in the world. This'is saying much, because no other city has such a diversity of cosmopolitan elements, nor so varied and extensive a night life. There are at least half a dozen places now where movement either for business or pleasure never ceases—Les ■ Halles, Montmartro—-which might be subdivid ed—Montparnasse, the Faubourg Montmartre, the Porte Saint-Denis. During- the past four or five years it has been as though an invisible hand were eliminating certain undesirable elements* At first M. Chiappe's men were almost unceasingly at work rounding up suspects' 'and investigating. Now one., rarely sees anyone held up for the examination of papers. SOBEEING TACTICS. With the change has come a more genial temper over1 the police at night. Mostly young men, they have gathered experience and poiso and feel themselves masters of tho situation. They can discriminate too. The agent now has something of his predecessor of years ago, in that he is. to a great, extent bon enfant—that is, unless you fray his temper. '• Many an unruly youth receives no more punishment than a fright. In such a case he is placed under arrest and is marched as far as the door of the police station. Experience has told the police that this stage of the proceedings very often has a sobering effect, and the prisoner is t given another chance to go home, in, peace. Should he persist in his ' mutinous spirit he -will be thrust-: into, the sta-, tion, where the eommissaire or his sec retary will deal with him, and ' even' here, unless he is a bad character, he will bo given another chance of becoming penitent. A street brawl is another test. From a small beginning it may grow. ■On the other hand, it may be as a puff of smoke. The other uight on the Boulevards two youths began to quarrel and a knot of people .formed. A young policeman stood near listening, his hands, in one of ,which was a whistle, behind bis back. Then ho moved ■ for1: ward and ordered the men away, and was obeyed. "Why did you not arrest them?" asked an indignant onlooker. The officer just shrugged his shoulders and moved away. himself. . TRIUMPH OF TEARS. The traffic boll rang at a crossing near the Opera yesterday- afternoon., the red light flashed a warning, and the mass of vehicles abruptly stopped, with the exception of a little open two-seater, which shot ahead. It was serenely turning a corner when two irate policemen, with shouts and whistles, brought it to a standstill.' , The driver was a pretty. ■ young' woman, a fact which immediately caused the crowd to becomo .sympath ctie. The agents, on. the other hand, were in no mood to let the delinquent off, and they faced her with sternness, note-books in hand. - "Didn't you hear the bell, madame; didn't you see the light?", '"Yes—no, I'm sorry," she stammered. "Your name if you please, madame," asked one of the men. She hesitated. The atmosphere was electric. Then, possibly remembering she had not yet used woman's most potent weapon, she burst into tears. She sobbed, forlornly into her handkerchief, while the policemen, speechless, fidgeted uncomfortably. At last: "Oh well, madame, perhaps it was an accident, but you really must be careful in future," said the older man paternally, and waved her on. And the crowd, as well as the agents, heaved a sigh of relief as she went.". DEER IN THE BOIS. The Bois is an enchanted ' playground to many of the poor childreirof Paris, but to tho wild things, which inhabit it, the doer, it is not even a sanctuary. There are not many of them left, it.is true, for each year their numbers decrease, but for those that remain, life is almost as insecure as though they were the prey of wild animals. Motorists are, perhaps, their worst enemies, especially at night, when cars rush down the long alleys, their drivers fascinated by their own speed. Not long ago a beautiful stag was killed outright and a wounded doe had to be put out of- her misery by the keepers. Dogs, too, pick up their scent and worry them, and now that the Bois has become less a quiet wood than a popular park, the poor creatures can find no place where they will be out !of the sight and hearing of man. Often the food supply fails in win-, ter and the deer are reduced almost to famine. • ' ;- • BACK TO LEATHER. ■ It is obvious, of course, that to buy substitutes for real leather is false economy. But it is not generally known that it is actually one of the causes of the high price' of meat. This fact gives a clue to tho inscription, which may bo seen in some of the butchers' stiops in Paris,,' to the "effect that if you.wish to pay less for your moat you should insist on your having your shoes soled with leather. Apparently last year so much imitation leather was used that there was no sale for the skins of 500,000 animals killed for food in tho French slaughterhouses. In other words, when a butcher killed five animals only four of tho skins were bought- by leather manufacturers. .