Newspaper Page Text
1852.]
SUNDAY, (the 4th May,) IN PARIS.
[From Sir I rancis Head's Faggot of French Sticks.]
At nine o’clock ill the morning, with
my umbrella in my hand, I sallied forth
from my lodgings to behold the great
fete, the preparations for which had for so
many days engaged the time and the talk
of almost everybody in Paris. The
weather was dirty, moist; and as there
was every appearance that it would be
come more dull and more moist, I hasten
ed to the Place de la Concorde, the foun
tains of which, surrounded by people, I
found converted, as 1 have described, into
enormous gilt wicker baskets full of ros
es, red and yellow, variegated with rud
dv-faced apples as big as melons. The
goddesses’ heads were now completely
concealed by bushes formed of the tops
of young fir-trees. Encircling the whole
there gracefully hung, increasing in size
from the ends towards the centres,
wreaths composed of 212 ground-glass
globe lamps. In various parts of the
l lace several men were busily fixing fire
works; others, with large paint brushes,
rapidly converting a mass of huge wrood
en packing-cases into beautiful rocks,
among which, entire fir-trees had been
inserted, In every direction was to be
heard the tap and roll of drums, preced
ing masses of moving bristling bayonets,
dully shining over the heads of the crowd
through which they were passing. On
both banks of the Seine every vessel, and
especially the long low baths moored
close to the stone pier, were ornamented
with flags. As I approached the Pontde
la Concorde the concourse of people was
immense.
“Yoila, Messieurs!” I heard every
where, from voices, high, low r , male, fe
male, but already more or less hoarse
and worn out, “le Programme detaille
la description des Statues, du-
Roeher de Cascade, pour la bagatelle d’un
sou !’'*
“ Achetez, Monsieur !”f said to me a
stout woman, with a brown, honest,
healthy face, ornamented with a long pair
°i gold earrings, embedded in a white
cap, beautifully plaited, as she offered me
one of the armful of printed “ Program
mes” she was describing.
As l was complying with her request,
several other hands w r ere stretched to
wards her for a copy, which she supplied
j M th great alacrity, continuing unceasing
jy> but every moment a little more
hoarsely, to exclaim, “ Voila, Messieurs,
e Programme detaille,” &c.
up U m iddle of her announcement.
Pardon Madame.” she suddenly said to
one her customers, “ c’est une demoi-
Herc, gentlemen, is a detailed account of the
„ e e ’ a description of the statues and of the rocky
SCa e the trifle of a halfpenny.
tßu y, Sir!
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
selle!”* The lady took back the money
she bad paid, and in exchange gave her
the sou she had required.
“ V\ hat is a demoiselle, if you please 1 ?”
whispered 1 to the woman whose offering
had been rejected. “ Mais voyez, Mon
sieur !”f she replied, presenting to me a
copper coin, on which I saw the figure of
ol Britannia. She had offered an English
halfpenny instead of a French one.
Here and there were to be seen stand
ing bolt upright, or pacing backwards and
forwards, a “sergentde ville ” (Ang lice
policeman,) attired in a blue single
breasted coat, remarkably well made,
with long broad skirts, edged round with
small red cord, silver buttons—a silver
ship, the arms of the city of Paris, em
broidered on the collar—and a brass
hilted straight sword suspended perpen
dicularly by a black belt beneath the coat.
These men, usually well grown, well
made, and who, generally speaking, have
countenances highly intelligent, wear
mustachios, but no whiskers; in lieu of
which, from the end of their chins there
projects a sharp-pointed beard, which
seems to add, if possible, to the extreme
sharpness of their appearance.
After mingling with the vast concourse
of people, —some looking over into the
Seine —some at the new statues —some
at the colonnade in front of the National
Assembly, —1 reluctantly left the joyous
groups by which I had been surrounded,
and walked to the Champs Elysdes, where
1 found a scene of unadulterated happi
ness, nearly a mile long.
The first group I stopped at was sur
rounding a small oblong table, at the end
of which was a common wooden box
with four holes in it, each about an inch
and a half in diameter. Into them a num
ber of men in blouses were trying to
blow through a tube a little arrow. On
the top of the box, perfectly happy, sat,
qua kly nibbling cabbage-leaves—munch
ing a little, —and then, apparently uncon
scious of the presence in creation of any
beings but themselves, nibbling again,—
six rabbits and a guinea-pig. All of a
sudden I heard a slight general exclama
tion of triumph, caused by a competitor
having shot into one of the holes; and
almost at the same moment the blouse-co
vered arm of the man who had done so was
stretched towards the largest and fattest
of the rabbits, who, while in extreme
happiness he was nibbling a piece of the
green cabbage-leaf which he had just bro
ken off, was suddenly lifted up by the
ears, to be killed, skinned, fricasseed and
eaten by the conqueror; and yet his vio
lently kicking hind-parts were scarcely
out of reach of his quondam comrades,
when, —so like mankind, —the remaining
five went on, with their long thin eats 1)-
*Your pardon Madam ! this is a young lady !
tSee, Sir!
ing on their backs, placidly nibbling and
munching, utterly regardless of the game
of Death actually performing before their
eyes.
After passing several turnabouts, bil
liards and amusements of various sorts,
I came to a lad of about seventeen, dress
ed in a blouse, who, with a large table
covered with square pieces of gingerbread
of different sizes before him, was unceas
ingly exclaiming, “On les vend aun sou
et a deux sous la piece. S’ils ne sout
bons, on ne les paie pas! On a l’avan
tage de les gouter d’abord !”* Then look
ing upwards towards the clouds, from
which a few drops of rain were now be
ginning to fall, he said, appealing to me,
“Je croyais quo le Bon-Dieu etait
juste ! mais,” he added, covering over his
gingerbread with a cloth, “iln’est pas
juste du tout !”f
* * * * * *
I now proceeded to a large open space
in the interior of the Champs Elys6es, in
which, besides nearly thiity bands that
were playing different tunes at the same
time, showmen bellowing with their ut
most strength, w r ere, through speaking
trumpets, vaunting the wonders of their
respective exhibitions,in addition to which
were to be heard constant explosions of
gun-firing. As soon as I had a little re
covered from the stunning effects of these
extraordinary noises, under the shelter of
my umbrella—for it was raining steadi
ly—l endeavoured to ascertain the prin
cipal causes of. such a superabundance of
joy.
Around the square were arranged in
line —as in an English fair—canvas the
atres, on the exalted platforms of which
ladies in evening gowns, cut very low at
top and very short at bottom, —gentle-
men in brilliant uniforms, —and menials
with their faces powdered and with
cheeks daubed with red paint, were con
tending together for notice. A smaller
set of tents contained —to judge from the
pictures displayed outside —wonders of
all descriptions. In the middle of the
ground were whirligigs, montagnes Russ
es, wooden horses, each under a canvas
roof, which, turning round with it, shel
tered the rider from the weather, carri
ages and boats flying round horizontally,
long poles, soaped, with prizes at the top,
others surmounted by eagles for pistol
and gun practice.
As the rain was coming down very
! hard, I took shelter in a little theatre, on
one of three reserved benches (for w hich
l paid G 0?.,) each of which had a stuffed
seat and back. The remainder, which
were of white new rough wood uncover
*Going for a halfpenny and a penny a-piece.
If they are not good, you need not pay for them.
You have the advantage of tasting them first.
tl thought that God was just! but he is not
just at all!
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