A PARIS LETTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17246, 12 January 1924, Page 23

A PARIS LETTER.

i EVENTS IN THE GAY CITY. (Specially written for the “ Star.”) PARIS, November 15. j A fitting completeness marked the special observance of Armistice Day in Paris. Since it fell this year upon a ’ j Sunday, all Paris was able to witness [ the noble ceremony that lent a pro--1 ; founder significance to the anniversary jof the Eleventh of November. the | kindling of the Flamme du Souvenir. MORT POUR LA PATH lE. i Through streets literally black with ! thronging multitudes passed the im- ' posing military cortege with the flags 1 j of the disbanded regiments from the 1 ; Hotel des Tnvalides to the Arc de i Triomphe, whither they arc borne each year to render homage to tho French • soldier, mort pour la patrie. The an- | nual repetition of this fine little cerej mony of the colours in no sense ditnink i ishes its impressive character. And ! last Sunday it- reanimated, as in those first unforgettable days, the inexpressible commingling of pride and pain that is enshrined or ever within the heart of France. THE FLAME OF REMEMBRANCE. But if the ceremony of the morning was a touching scene, that of the even--1 ing was fraught with solemn drama. When tho Minister for War kindled the Flame of Remembrance, it was as if one saw illumined, as never before, tho pages of the world’s most epic story ; tho sacrifice aud the sacred sorrow ; tho invisible hope* and the immortal legacy. The Arc de Triomphe became the Temple of History : the vast multitudes the pledged guardians of an eternal trust. One holds the imperishable memory of Paris kneeling, j making the sign of the Cross: while from the ground, at the head, of the Unknown Soldier's tomb, rises the symbolic flame. Everv heart holds the echo of immortality : “Pour toujours!” THE GREAT LOVER. This was the Paris of the Great Pause. <’hi the morrow the F’aris that is the clearing-house of cosmopolis stirs again to the dubious activities that ; underlie her native and normal life. The rogues and vagabonds are busy: the sordid underworld and the bogus , grande monde pursues its labyrinthine [ j way. But- though jewel thefts are of . ! almost daily occurrence, and organised i - bands of < rooks continue their eternal game of hide-and-seek with the vigi- ! j lant police, the good Parisian bouri geois manifests less amusement than . ; usual. He accords scarcely a. passing interest to the story of the amours of ! the Baron Jean Gorlav de Farago de l Ledecz. Yet it is a tale that rivals | Arsene Lupin in his most enterprising gesture. You must know that our | famous Baron, declaring himself madly in lore with Miss Doris Kemp, a cele- . j brated dancer who has captivated the Paris that is not Paris under tho name j of the Comtesse de Araga. was invited , ; to take tea at the lady’s appartement. ' i H© arrived presto, in the company of ; his secretary, the Baron Nemeth, who was to serve as interpreter for the lovesick Baron to his charming Dujcinee. 1 Did one of the two Barons introduce a potent narcotic into the cun of the J Comtesse ? Qui sait? At all events, in a few minutes she had sunk into j a profound slumber. She awoke to i find that jewels to the value of 120.000 1 francs had disappeared—with her ecstatic lover. The affair had its denouement at the Correctional Court, where both th© bland Barons were sentenced respectively to terms of five years’ and : two years’ imprisonment. POLITICS FIRST. How comes It that the Parisian abstains from comment, these days, on such an affaire? H© who in the ordinary course is so avid of such stories? H© who rejoices in them naively, as if thev reflected in some sort, th© gallant glorv of his capital, and apostro- * phises them as “ bien francaises."’ ■ fchoiugb nine times out of ten the ‘ actors are alien and fictitious nobles? It is because he is entirely absorbed, for the moment, by tho reopening of ! the Chambre des Deputes. In the * boulevard cafes the talk is of nothing else. Events have inarched so swiftly of late, questions of foreign policy have become so complex, and the critics of Monsieur Poipeare so vehement. that the bon bourgeois is asking j himself whether the present Governi merit can remain in power until the I forthcoming elections. There are : questions to be asked in the Chamber that will doubtless giro some mauvais quarts d’heiare to those who regard j Monsieur Poincare as the one mail * capable of directing the destinies of France. But those who know well the President du Gonseil, and who admire liis cleverness and legal adroitness. if not his policy, are convinced that he will he able once asrain to t emerge triumphantly from a superlatively delicate situation. UNIVERSITY’ LIFE. ___ This year, the reopening or the Universities coincides almost exactly with th© reopening of the French Chamber. It is the lament of the authorities that the University of ! Paris is no longer attracting so many students as in former days. In the fir*t place, the exchange impasse ren--1 ders impossible, for a large number of students from the States of Central Europe, any idea of completing their studies in Paris. Moreover, the cost of living makes the University career almost equally prohibitive for manv a-nxitni s French pa ren fs : for t h ose small officials and tradesfolk who, before the war. so willingly made the necessary sacrifices to send their sons to the Sorbonne. Before the war, by the exercise of those superhuman economies possibly onlv to l'Yeneh , thrift, the little Receveur des C'ontri- i butiens Indirect©?, on an income of : from a hundred to a hundred and ' fifty pounds a war, sent his son to i the University!' To-day, of course, I state of affairs*, here & has° been I augur*ted at t be Maison des Etudiants ! 3 large restaurant, where students msv i obtain an excellent meal for the j modest sum of two-francs-fifty to three ! francs. The innovation a.!readv has ' proved a hug© success : and the stu- j dents themselves are discussing with ! vast enthusiasm the organisation of j Grand Ba] ay the Opera, in December ! to procure 'the necessary extension I funds • I THE FRANCO-CAN ADI AN FARCE, j After the distinctly cold reception accorded bv the French authorities to the exhibition of Canadian products the hold-up of the travelling trad© ! Gain on its arrival, already chronicled ! in this letter- -it is amusing to not© ! a change of attitude of ‘the most I marked! Moosier Poincare. sur ..! | rounded by numerous high personages ! both civil and military, presided “in i person at- the inaugural ceremony on ! Thursday last. Though there whs no j formal speech, M. Poincare expressed | language, his ardent hope for the I la tion s between France and Canada. | Thus terminates th© comedy, -bien [ ” TAPCOUREUR.” j