MAXIMS.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5248, 18 April 1908, Page 6 (Supplement)

MAXIMS.

A PARIS RESTAURANT,

A DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. Idling with tho subject la a lively •pprocintivo manner the " Westminster Gazette” writes on 28th November :

Paris, those who have recollections of the French capital under the Empire are never tired of tolling us, is changing ; its people aro inoro neclutc, there is less irresponsible gaiety. Tho French spirit is coming closer to tho English, Just ns English influences arc noticeable in tho dress of tho men, in tho new passion for sports, In the development of tho taste for the ” live-o’clock.” There la littlo enough truth in tho allegation. Paris is still tho most gay, tho brightest of cities, and tho Parisian continues to live his day moro fully thun tho inhabitant of other capitals. Chong'es there ore in tiie almost imperceptible decay of the cafe and in tho moving of tho centro of life further West ; but Paris remains truo to itself and true to its ancient reputation ns tho centre of Euroixj, the pluco to which all men aro drawn sooner or later in their lives, even if it be untrue that tho good American goes to Paris when ho dies. AN EPITOME OF PARIS LIFE. If such a fate bcfcl tho good American, lie suro that he would regard ” Maxim’s” as tho centre of tho celestial paradise, for tho famous restaurant has an irresistible fascination to him in his life. New attractions spring up in Paris, and have their day ; fresh faces como and go, but the famous restaurant In the Rue Royalo remains unchanged In its fascinution, and ever presents the most hrilliunt feature of tho Paris that tho world likes to think uiKin. the Paris that is youthful and gay, that amuses itself, that lives its life in the full glnro of the electric light, ami that delights in tho pleasures of the moment. No other restaurant in tho world is so well known ; ” Maxim’s” has almost passed into every language. Tho name and tho plnco figure in most diverse branches of modern French literature ; they creep almost unobserved into sober memoirs, whilo Done of tho lighter and more popular novelists can avoid sooner or later endoavoring to depict for his reiulors tho scene in the famous restaurant when supper is in full progress. Tho color, tho sparkle, tho vivacity of thnt wonderful interior has fascinated tho writers and tho artists, and they have tried in many ways to record one of the most bewildering and withal delightful spectacles that tim French capital has to show. Most of them have failed to satisfy those who have been witnesses of the Beene, but that is because the whole is too elusive, too full of light ami movement to bo satisfactorily not. down in cold black and whito. Everybody who goes to Paris visits 94 Maxim’s” as a matter of course. The spacious, quiet front which faces to the lino Royalo littlo hints what lies behind. There is a dingy which suggests a dining-plnco for tho com-, ■nercin I magnates, tho lawyer, tho ■nun of affairs, and during the day the restaurant, with its wonderful tmr, stretching away on the left from the entrance, attracts many such ■who appreciate tho exquisite cookery, the ixTfection of serving, and the excellence of the wines for which tho house is celebrated. Hero may bo worn some of the most famous men in France, the politicians who make or unmake Cabinets, and tho advoc«tes who practise in the courts. •lere, in due season, come the visitors who flock to Paris, but during the dnytimo ” Maxim’s” remains typical of what is solid and responsible in the life which centres about the Palace du la Concorde. Only at «ight does it attain that glory which has given it u reputation unique in Europe.

SCENE UNIQUE IN EUROPE. When the theatres uro closing, when the houlevunlu are thronged with the life of Paris, when the city lias given itself up to merriment and the delight of life, then “Maxim's" Is indeed the i«nfcre of the capital. it i doom streams a smiling |«« • i a . .. gin ti. men and women, all alike in evening dress. TJio long bar is filled from end to end, the chatter of many languages fills the air, at the little tables to the right men of all ages and positions ■re consuming dainty dishes of the Specialities <.i the house. There is a seemingly endless vista of electric lights, of small tables covered with Mpotless linen, of smiling and imimtculute waiters, of the wealth anil Irftfiuty not only of Paris, but of |jjro|H* in its most vivacious and light-hearted mood. Jt is n scene of ordered confusion, n delightful medley of color, a representation of Pen . itself the imagination has Keen the capita). Away ut the end of that Vast vista ~f mirrors and tables and sparkling points of light, in a great room of Is'untiful proportions and rich and harmonious decorations, supper is being served to the hundreds of guests. All goes to the music, «,f the Tzigane band, whose melodies, now dAmical, now with a stirring tune which sets the feet moving in rhythm ■sen to give tune and harmony to the careless hubbub of conversation. The talk fs in .ill the languages of Kurope. for this is the most cosmopolitan of gatherings. English, Gor■loll Ru Ittl \ met h ans, Austrians, Italians, and Belgium* are all here, and all t*»nt on enjoyment ; while France, and •‘Specially young Frunri 1 , male and female, is always the Isr fast element. Everj whore is OV4 aing , and the toilets of the hoiltt are of the richest and the most wonderful. Yet, with all the noise, all the pleasures, all the movement, everything is decorous and pleusunt. The wee smu* hours are I Missing, but nobody thinks of going home while the music swings along nnd the champagne passes, for nearly everybody drinks champagne. The luind ever becomes more stirring and lively, the instrumentalists interpreting the spirit of the hour, until they swing into some dance measure, and tables are cleans! away and the customers whirl in waltz or move in «ilow fashion through the “two-step" which has captured the French heart. PERFECTION OF ORGANISATION. Amid all the stir of this wonderful scene of life the service remains perfection. The waiting is wonderful, the eyes of the waiters seem to taka in everything, so that every want is anticipated. Awuy behind nil this thcro must bo wonderful organisation ns well as splendid cooking, but one never suspects the machinery, till works in such perfect harmony. Nowhere can one get better cooking or wins* in greater perfection. Maxim 'y ' inis one speciality .which

may not bo obtained as it is served thero anywhero else in tho world. That Is tho " pommes frites" which thoso who sup at the small tables by tho bar eat in such profusion. A simple enough dish, those " pommes frites," but nobody who has not eaten them in tho Hue Royale knows what a delicacy thoy can bo. There they become transformed into something that gives a keener odgo to tho appotito of the epicure. Changes have come to "Maxim’s," as to other placos in Paris, but they have been changes which have added to its attractions. Tho wonderful has given efTocts which were not previously possible, the decorations have become more handsome. But snloon has grown, tho electric light (ho spirit of tho place has remained constant through all alterations, fdko tho Madeleine, the Opera, or tho Bois do Boulogne, " Mnxim’H” is one of tho sights of tho French capital, without seeing which nnd entering into the spirit of froedom nnd merriment no man can be proporly said to know Paris. One’s first suppor there is an experience to bo remembered through life, and to bo repeated with reuowed delight whenover possiblo.

BISHOP AND PRIEST. A PAINFUL EPISODE. IN THE GLOUCESTER DIOCESE. A correspondent of the “ Daily News" wrote on 24th December : The Dishop of Gloucester has resorted to the oxtromo measure of cancelling the license of the Rev. VV. Lockett, an aged clergyman, who was ordained priest in 1854, for the canonical offence of officiating in a Nonconformist chapel and refusing to give to his diocesan the assureneo that he would not so offend in tho future.

Mr Lockett retired from the incumbency of Littledean in 18 ( J0, ufter having held the living a quurter of a century. On his going to reside at Shepscombo ho was licensed by tho Bishop as an occasional preacher in the Diocese of Gloucester, and on Sundays and other days he worshipped at tho parish church. On tho change of rectors last yeur ho found the character of the services undergoing such ritualistic chungcs that he could no longer worship thero, and ho liecamo a frequent visitor to tho local Nonconformist chapel. His friendliness witli tho. Nonconformists led to his being invited to conduct, a service in tho chapel. Mr Lockett readily consented, but the Bishop objected, with the result above stated.

A long correspondence between Mr Lockett and tho Bishop nppoars in tho Gloucester papers. In his opening letter Mr Lockett wrote : " I have on several occasions officiated at that chapel, and 1 cannot promise pot to repeat tho offence. If I have done wrong, who Is to blame? At the timo of Mr Amps’ appointment as vicar of this jmiish I told you that I could never attend any service conducted by one who was a member of the E.C.U., C. 8.5., and H.S.C. By that appointment I have been practically lmnished from my parish church, and I am too old to go to a distant church. What was I to do ? Ought 1 to havo spent the rest of my days without any religious sorvico ? Being driven to that chapel, as I never heard anything that was not strictly in accordance with the Bible, why should I hesitate to take part in those services ? More than fifty-three years ago I was ordained to preach tho Gospel, and by God's help I mean to preach tho Gospel as long as 1 am able."

The Bishop, in reply, pointed out that tho Rev. W. Lockett was “committing an irregularity" which ho could not pass over in a licensed clergyman, nnd asked once more for tho undertaking that he would not again officiate in any Nonconformist place of worship.

Mr Lockett, in answer, said he must act according to his conscience, and the Bishop thereupon withdrew his license to preach. Mr Lockett remarked, pathetically, in conclusion, that after moro than fifty years' service in the Church of England, at the age of eighty, he was forbidden to officiate bocauso he could not conscientiously attend the ministry of one who held doctrines condemned l»y that Church.