PEEPS AT PARIS.

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18247, 7 February 1931, Page 15 (Supplement)

PEEPS AT PARIS.

(Specially written for the Waikatc Times, by Melanie.) A Christmas Scene. % You may have been taught, as I \va: at-school*, that the French do not keef up Christmas. Quite a myth, for „tc pass through the thronged /streets these last few days you might easllj imagine yourself in London. Even th( humblest shops have some sort oJ decoration, tree or otherwise, while the big emporiums such as the Louvre Lafayette and others vie with each other to shine in great glory, hence the truly wonderful schemes of electric signs that rejoice young and old alike from early in December till Nev> Year’s Day. The Louvre this year has covered its immense facade with the man in the moon, surrounded by stars and shooting forth toys to the earth they are received- by a man with a telescope and others, and all this is constantly in motion. Another place “La Belle Jardiniere,” has erected a fountain that pours forth toys, Lafayette’s specialises in a diorama, or a gallery of moving toys depicting some scene or story. This year it does not seem to me quite up to its usual standard, partly because all have huge Noah’s Ark sort of wooden figures, as crude as you like and of no artistic merit. Worse than this though, there is a marked tendency to jeer at what should be treated at least with respect. Imagine a drawing-room of the powder-and-wig epoch, complete Avith footman, spinnet, a fiddler, ’cellist and flautist, all life-size, and housed In fine surroundings. Unfortunately the splendidly dressed lady who is singing is shown as a travesty , of female beauty, having a huge mouth 'projecting teeth, and claw-like hanus. At her feet howls a doggie, purple green and yellow I All the musicians and bright red noses . . . and so on, and this is what thousands of children are brought to gaze on. Christmas Eve, . 4 To-night, Christmas Eve, the grownups will celebrate-Reveillon while the youngsters fondly put out their shoes or stockings. The'traditional custom is to go to the special midnight mass (and so great is the crowd that you must buy a ticket for the Madeleine or Notre Dame if you want to enjoy their magnificent musical service), where a decked “ creche ” with the Infant and Mary make a charming scene, and then off you go to a dance or hotel for the ample dinner, with of course a turkey stuffed with chestnuts. So little is the English pudding known that a French friend of mine the other day told me that when they had one given them they tried to eat it as it was, cold and suety and thereupon decided that the British stomach must be a marvellous thing! " Thus, then for Christmas, which is given to joy and feasting. The real family gathering takes place at New Year, when “ postie ” delivers innumerable visiting cards, for all from highest to lowest send this token of remembrance instead of our Christmas card. The French are - so practical. A Romantic Corner. There are perhaps few names more known to the world at large than that of Montmartre —the hill of the martyr, St. Denis, who is said to have carried his head under his arm to his burial place a mile or two away, and yet the visitor of to-day, unless he knows exactly where to go, may and will suffer a grievous disappointment. Bit by bit this spot, famous in literature, music and painting, the haunt of bygone genius, is being transformed into hideous and most expensive studios •by those that vainly hope for' the mantle of their ancestors. However, there are still to be found a few delightful nooks breathing the life of centuries gone by, and the other day it was my good fortune to be introduced to a slice of French life that has an unbroken record of at least 300 years; it has the added glory of real romance for it was within a few yards that the French king, Henry IV., (about the time of our own glorious Queen Bess) housed in a fine chateau his mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrees, and he himself came a-hunting of the deer. On a steep slope of the old hill we can still enjoy ourselves in ouc of the huts where this debonair monarch quenched his thirst. The main room of the cottage (complete with beams and old plaster walls) measures about 27 x 18 feet, and into this small space are nightly stuffed hundreds of French of all ages, who gather to listen to brother artists trolling out songs hoary with -age, and who also often join in hilarious choruses. No entrance fee is charged, only the price of your cherry-brandy (8 francs or about Is •id), which is somehow conveyed safely to you over the heads of the crowd, provided you catch the necessary eye. The best time to go is at 9.30 p.m., as you can then get a corner of an old wooden bench, at 11 p.m., you must stand in the narrow passage outside waiting for some to come out and leave vacancies. The resulting meeting of these two streams in a space not wide enough for two persons is best left to the imagination, especially when to add to the confusion you try to pay at a counter that lacks drawers for change and everyone cracks jokes at (he top of the voice. This is the last place of the sort now left and it 100 is threatened with the march of modernity. A Tip Works Wonders. By the way, in connection with this cottage we have an example of the ease with which names change to the confusion of the historian. A judicious tip opened the lips of the lady who presides over the wonderful collection of brass pots and pans that were in use generations ago. The hut is called Le Lapin Agile, hut 1 noticed that the old name was Lc Lapin a Gill, and that among the paintings left' by various artists on ils walls were some by Gill. “ Yes,” she said, “ about GO years ago an art student named Gill used to come hero for a dish of cooked rabbit for this was then open country, and as he found it good he brought some of his fellow-students who onp day in fun nicknamed if Le Lapin a Gill, after his name, lie became famous later, and people came to sec one of his haunts, and so through carelessness and a likeness in sound the word changed to ‘ agile,’ and of course a rabbit is agile and so it remains so lo this day.” Perhaps 1 ought to mention that “ Gill ” in French is pronounced “ jeel ” and so the muddle was quite easy.

Favourite Fashions. The other day being at the Russian Opera, there to enjoy among other good things the singing and wonderful acting of Chaliapine, I gave a careful eve to the toilette of the elegant women in the promenade between the acts for here you see all that is beautiful in the world of women. The result of my researches emphasised what a noted dressmaker told, me a short while ago. The era of long . evening dresses is here, and nothing above the ankle is fashionable, but trains, uneven and flowing draperies are very up-to-date, provided that they fall from yoked hips, not straight from the waist, there are exceptions of course and in the “ robe de style,” or period’dress with tight-fitting bodice the ample skirt can spring straight from the waist. The upper part of the dress should outline the figure, sloppiness no longer being countenanced. Evening cloaks are more sumptuous than ever, and ermine, white or dved is popular among those who can afford it. Failing fur. heavy satins arc suitable, velours or artificial silk., (which holds itself better in place than the pure kind), and in many cases these are bordered with a heavy flounce, and hang down behind. Ihe cloak nowadays should be a kind of foil lo the gown, and so wc find that the chic woman wears a white oiie on a black dress, and vice versa, or a red wrap on a black gown. This as you see means that tire day of the matching. cloak is done, and we are all for contrasting colours, in dresses too, the most liked combination at the moment is black and white for evening, or better still all white or all black with a dash of colour in jewellery, girdle, shoes that carry on the touch, but not much more. A fine rival is red, red in every known hue, but to be most carefully chosen by the blonde. Materials used for this colour tend more to laciness or organdi or embroidered tulle. For afternoon affairs, when something on simpler lines is wanted the latest tones are port, tobacco and Bougainville, all on tlie mournful side, and therefore of necessity, made of delicate materials to counterbalance. * Scarves, berthas, cuffs and colours in i dainty stitching help to liven the effect, and of course the hat must be part of the complete costume. Tailor-mades are still reasonably short, and quite comfortable for all practical purposes, but 1 notice a dislinct tendency to lengthening in overcoals, many of which now reach not very much above the ankle—-and quite ugly to us after our long spell of 1 smart shortness.