OUR PARIS LETTER.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 339, 6 June 1885, Page 16

OUR PARIS LETTER.

[Weitten tob the Obseeveb & Fbee Lance.].

Paris, March % As sun-worshippers the restaurant proprietors in the Champs Elysees are greater devotees than the Persians. They have repaired and decorated sign-boards, tables and chairs, and with blandest smiles invite the crowd to perform expected devotion. Spring has arrived, but not exactly in seven league boots ; the almanac and Nature are one this season. Poets attest the factj_j,nd so do the repoi-ters. Despite the Gregorian calendar, or " old style," the year always commences with spring; it is from there that date youth, love, poesy, all regrets and all hopes. Instead of a lady saying she has sixteen summers, let her adopt the sweeter term of sixteen springs. For ladies of riper years, of the Balzac age perhaps,, spring is the halt, where they inter thelast hopes of vanished youth. In the heart of the winter, they can deliver a final battle, engage in a forlorn hope to exhaust the last resources of art, but the first rays, of the sun dissipate all deceptions,, eclipse the prodigies of chemistry, and themiracles of perfumery and pharmacy. Then one must decide to have their age — or a. little near it. Hence, why young and advanced Hebes can never agree about matinees. M. Octave Feuillet maintains the theory,, that it is in spring all our crises take place. Asks M. Jules Ferry what he thinks of that, philosophy and hints, it must have been at the vernal equinox that Eve indulged! in forbidden fruit. If natives to themanner born and dwellers beyond Mesopotamia seek relief out of doors in thehappy sunshine after hibernation at fire sides, less attractive objects also leave their chrysalis-; condition — the beggars. These move likeshadows, but not so depart ; the most sturdy bow to you like Mandarins; those on crutches* stare at you like statues, while the most nimbleoccupants of a self-propelled dust-box rush, on you like Arabs at a zareba. They are an element in the motley gaiety ; but it has been, remarked that in Paris the people you likemost you see least, and those you detest themost, oftenest. Fine weather softened the rigors of Lent — rigors that every year makes more mellow.. There was a time when a butcher could noli sell meat during careme without a special^ license, vi.se by the clergy — a time when the sick even had to accept herrings in place of beef, and those who obtained meat surreptitiously were whipped or placed in the stockswith the forbidden steak, chop, or plain joint round their neck. The Princess d'Arenberg has this Lent instituted " double dinner " parties, where fasters and non-fasters had thedishes their conscience permitted or theirscrupulous stomachs exacted. If in the matter of abstinence severity has been blunted in costumes, sackcloth and a shes no longer recall penitence. The fashionable world, while insisting on its secular rights, is accommodating ; if silk be out o£ season during forty days, there are beautiful woollens. Elegance too, can be religious. Parisiennes can be fashionable and Lenten,, and they can be fair penitents without being downright frights. The three days for merry making, werenot brilliant, save Mid - Lent ; at this fete if few troubadours appeared, there wereswarms of laundresses in vans, wearingmuslin dresses. It is said that is the onlyday when laundresses wear the linen of theirclients. If so, the upper Ten can hardly be complimented on their cliiffbns, as viewed, swathed round sturdy lasses, seated on pedestals like the statues on the Place-de-la Concorde, which symbolize' the citiesof France. The unexpected trouble in the political world, has thrown a cold shade over Societyprogrammes. There are many strangers in Paris, buc they are undecided what to do ;. there is a goodly sprinkling of English and. Americans, but- not what Parisian shopkeepers and hotel proprietors call "the paying class," who will be so stupid as not to buy the same articles they can get at home 25 per cent cheaper. Nice has sent back crowds of sturdy invalids, familiarly known aspneinnonists, these require pleasure in orderto live. They only go in for matinees till Easter arrives with its more varied and moresubstantial attractions. In the case of literary and musical matinees, thelrule is now ! to have an entr'acte devoted to legerdemain.. If the salon be of limited dimensions the-^ gentlemen stand in the back ground, as. wall-flowers, but there ought fcb be room between the rows of chairs to permit thegentlemen to have a short chat, or to pay a compliment to the occupants. This freedom to come and go, is next to the key of a successful fete, but necessarily limits thenumber of invites. Overcrowding will spoil any entertainment ; if guests accept th&invitation, they ought not to be left outsideon the flags. The Mongols, Thibetians, &c. , have a tiger,, bull, hare, dog, jay &c. Now, the Countess, de Leical is very fond of pups, and poodles ; ! she recently gave a matinee, where seventeen of her lady friends came, accompanied. with their pets. Some kept Tresor or Bijou under their arms, or placed them on theirchairs. The hostess was not prepared for these unexpected guests, and requested thetoy dogs should be sent to the vestiary, to ; join cloaks, furs, and wraps. This was. viewed as cruelty to animals, and several adies withdrew. -