OUR PARIS LETTER

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 6

OUR PARIS LETTER

M. BRIAND

MANY .-BRITISH FRIENDS

(From "She PostV Representative.) PAEIS, 7th May.

r" M. Briand has paid so many visits to \' England, especially in connection with j' diplomatic conference duties, that he r. must c Sly hold the record for journeys a- in this respect among his colleagues. It s" is not surprising, therefore, that ho has s ' become a familiar figure in London and s. has made many friends, s. He is gifted with a happy adaptabil- • ity, added to which is his natural bonj* homie. In the matter of food he is fond of several English dishes, and is ,' one of the few Frenchmen who arc al- ' ways well disposed to enjoy a breakfast of eggs and bacon. As it is widely known that he is a keen angler, he has received innumerable invitations to go fishing in various parts of the country when he has been on the other side of the Channel, some of them having been sent from Scotland. One. Scottish admirer of the French statesman recently sent him a splendid fishing rod, accompanied by a noto on which was written: "L 'amour de la peche predispose a I'amoui' do la paix." -. ' ' NAPOLEON'S DEATH BED. The bed on which Napoleon breathed his last at Saint Helena is a subject of litigation in a Paris Conrt. It was bequeathed by ' the Emperor to General Montholon, is referred to in the general's "Memoirs do Saint" Helcne," and was treasured by- Ins descendants through many years. At present it is in the hands of an antiquary to whom the relia, according to Paris-Midi, was confided by Mme. de la Perouse, the last descendant of the general, the object being to sell it. . Now the general's descendant is-try-ing by legal means to recover possession of the bed. The antiquary, who is also in possession of papers proving the authenticity of its origin, is making counter-claims. After hearing both sides the Court has decided to reserve judgment till a later date. A LANGUAGE TEST. Natives of Auvergne are comparable with Scots in that they play as prominent a role in the business life of Paris as the latter do in London. They are equally prone to indulge in social entertainment and are as jealous of their native manners and tongue. The other night the Auvorgnats of Paris gave a dinner. Among the guests were one or two people who thought they knew France well until they tried to read the menu. This seemed easy at first when, they read soupo o 16 crenio, but the next item was trenels depierrouno, which turned out to, be pig's trotters. Next came moungils c moungetos, but these were just beans. As the menu was made up of no fewer than fourteen dishes and the Auvergnat language grew more incomprehensible as the "foreigner" read on, the guests became distressed. After partaking of a dish of pouleteh de lo f esto Creisrels, they were relieved ,to find that ensolado d'api c de repountchous was a simple salad. Boumbo Gealado, they interpreted correctly, and they were also successful with bis (wine) del moeounais c de Chablis and Bour-deus-Champagne que juso, the last word connoting "fizz. 5' JANE MARNAC'S FOUR-FOLD ROLE Tho versality of Jane Mavnac stamps her as one of.the.most gifted of the young actresses of the Paris stage. She has already a long list of successes to her credit, but it may be ; doubted if she has ever been seen, to better advantage than in "Au .temps dcs Valses," the French adaptation of Mr. Noel Coward's operetta "Bitter .Sweat,".now .being played at the Theatre Apollo. Mmc. Marnac loves her work. It is not easy to catch her in her moments of leisure and you may deem yourself fortunate if you gain an audience in her pretty flat in the Avenue Poch. Like her husband, Major Keith Trevor, sho owns a racing stable, but when she is engrossed in her stage work, it is to be feared she forsakes a good deal of her interest in sport. Her mobile features and her gestures are geared into full action as she talks about tho play, and her animation is infectious. Apart from her singing and acting in "Au Temps dcs Valses," she makes a series of charming pictures in her four-fold. role, of an old woman of today, a middle-aged prima donna of the middle nineties, a musician's young wife in Vienna, and a girl of the early seventies. In each she wears a dregs of the period with ease and grace, and especially is this so in respect of "the green satin frock, with full skirt and balloon sleeves, of the year 1895. SEWING- MACHINE'S CENTENARY. The "little French dressmaker," whose sewing machine is her livelihood, and whose fame has long since been spread abroad, owes that marvellous invention, now a hundred years old, to a poor little French tailor who nearly ruined himself while he thought it out. Barthclem'y Thimonnicr, a Lyonnnis, when the idea first came to him, knew nothing of the elements of mechanics, but an extraordinary sense of ingenuity stood him in good stead. His first effort was an embroidery machine, and he then tried to apply the principle to a machine which should sew seams and do the plain work of a tailor. He worked on. his invention for four years, ignoring his business until it wont to rack and ruin, and finally, in 1830, completed the first sewing machine. He owed his final success, however, to a mining inspector who, happening "to see the invention, and realising its immense possibilities, brought, the tailor to Paris and installed him in the rue de Sevres. But, like every pioneer, Thimonnier had to face the hatred of those who disbelieved in him, in this case, tho workpeople, who thought that the machine would throw them out of work. Something very like a riot occurred, and the inventor fled, not receiving official acknowledgment of his genius until several years later.