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Show WHERE ALI) IS PLAY PARIS THE RECREATION SPOT OF ALL NATIONS. Dull Care Has No Place In the Thoughts of the Inhabitants of the Gay Capital Many Forms of Amusement Amuse-ment La Bello Paris Is tho cry of tho truo born Frenchman and echoed by tho civilized world of today, for Is not the French capital tho gay city par excellence? ex-cellence? Generations have labored to drivo away dull care, and only the Frenchman has solved tho problom. Thoro Is caro and labor and striving in France, as is tho lot of human kind everywhere. But tho Gaul, with his Mlml. genius for precision, has resolved to havo ono placo whoro one may at all 'times exercise tho dull specter of 'lives that must at somo stage knit its brows; whero llfo may be gay and Joyous in any measuro, from the sober, so-ber, scdato pleasures of tho steady-going, steady-going, to tho wildest fantasies of the 'foolish spendthrift. All aro served at jParis, whether bright or dull, rich or ipoor, sordid or spiritual, banal or not, The French havo always said so, and the world to-day makes the fair 'city on tho Solno Its play-yard. Amuse-mont Amuse-mont has there become a fine art. How It is done becomes thcrcforo nowadays worthy of a serious study. F. Berkeley Smith has ventured, not porhaps a very serious attempt, hut a light-hearted commentary by one evidently evi-dently having a full knowledge at first hand of his subject. His "How Paris Amuses Itself," published by Funk & Wagnalls, bears on Its face tho impress of the real observer, who tolls not how It may bo done elsewhere, for that would need a Parisian tradition tradi-tion to make possible, but how Paris meets tho task of amusing. "What shall we do next?" says tho weary now arrival In Paris, and Smith shows whnt ho may do. Thoro aro tho cafes, open as the air, where tho passing pass-ing throng may, If It will, appraise your menu, or envy your appetite. .Thero is everything to see, often too much for sensitive souls, but art is not all staid and prim, and why the art of amusing? Tho restaurants tempt for the evening, glittering or not, as the purso may prompt tho choice. Here good tnsto and refinement rule; thero, thoy do not:, and, having dined,, there are tho smart circuses, permanent and complete llko the Cirque Medrano, tho Nouveau Cirque, tho Cirque d'Hlver not tho draughty temporary world of canvas tho rest of tho world delights ,in. There is a choice of "pops" from ;tho small Bouts-Bouls, through tho open-air concerts of the Champs-Elysces, Champs-Elysces, the Concert des Ambassa-deurs Ambassa-deurs and the Alcazar d'Ete; tho music halls, like tho Folles Marlgny, the Jardin do Paris, tho Folles Bor- A Popular Chanteuse. gore, tho Casino and tho Olympla; then tho Opera, tho Opora Comlquo and tho Bouffcs Parlsiennos; smallor but moro serious, musical affairs llko tho Concort Itougo; tho shows and ca-larots ca-larots of Montmartro nnd tlioso In tho loft shore, llko tho Noctambulos and he Grillon; tho cheap and decent suburban su-burban theaters, as woll as tho oxpon-sivo oxpon-sivo and not so decent Palais Royal and Rabelais In tho heart of tho city; the daring, independent Thcator Libre, tho original Theater Antolno, tho scenic displays of tho Chatolet, light comedy at tho Vaudovlllo Interpreted hy Rejnno, tho divine Sarah in her now theater, and tho historic Francals tho list Is woll nigh cndloss. Tho Paris restaurants "rcstoro": thoy nro not merely places whoro ono gots something to eat. Tho choice is ondless. Hero Is tho placo whoro tho cnef resigned a year ngo becauso tho proprietor put prices on tho menu. As if, forsooth, ono could tell beforehand whethor i. "fllot d'ours a la Francois Joseph" would bo worth f.10 or f 20 when served. Yet oven In thoso exquisite ex-quisite restaurants thoro Is to bo had an edition of tho menu with prices thnt is apologetically handed to you when tho maltro d'hotel discovers you I are not a mllllonalrn or a fool. I H The story that Mr. Smith tells so I charmingly might better bo ontltlod, H "How Paris Amuses," not "Itself," but' B "Others." Paris amuses itself, as Bos- I ton amuses itself, soberly, decently, L& cheaply in the main, or, at least, eco- - Wt nomically, sacrificing nothing to esten- JF tatlous spending of monoy, unless a, jfl good profit is within reach. For the H foolish visitor painting tho F'yrvfij, I man's beloved town "rod," tho ParlsdaS will spread delectable traps Mr his I money, traps that work with uniform success from every point of view, whethor In immediate cash box results or in training unconscious advertising, agents, who will spread tho famo abroad to other gudgeons of tho charms of tho city by the Solno. It Is thus that tho banalities of tho numerous cafes, concert halls and small theaters earn a rich harvest. Thus nt, say, tho Rabelais, whero tho curtain falls discreetly upon situations so risque that even tho Rabelais must) draw tho lino. Yot thoro nro many places llko tho Bodlnlero, for example, that a Sunday school convention might safely lncludo In Its program. ' All tastes aro served. Tho sober and decent de-cent enjoy thoir intellectual treats, tho othors enjoy the other kind, and are to bo noisiest in comment at homo, cither in frank approval or In tho fa-cllo fa-cllo criticism of tho lapsed and reconverted. recon-verted. It la possible at tho "Quat-Z'Arts" for a modest sum to hear Bonnaud sing. Ho has been secretary of Prlnca Bonaparte, been around tho world sov- oral times, and is an accomplished; man in many ways; or to hear, in tha IHi old songs of France, Batalllo, who haq T been a successful lawyer and was oncq secretary to tho minister of the In-terlor; In-terlor; or to hoar Georges Tiorcy, of; tho samo tyjio of man, or Paul Delmet, or Honrl Fursy, or Mile. Odotto Dulao, or Mmo. Lawrenco Deschamps. One may applaud and enjoy their talent and not bo ashamed to tell of It. Thoso nro tho bal masques, tho side shows, the fetes des foralncs, and then In the Bar Du Helder. H tho programs, for It appears that throe- vJHl fourths of vaudeville artists are Amcr- fBI leans, English or Austrlans, and In H Paris tho lady billed as "Miss Daisy Smith, Queen of the High Wlro," will H appear in London as "Mile. Daisle H Smythe, Rolno du Fill de Fer," Just H as In London or Now York what Is on IK tho bill of faro as "Chateaubriand aux IB pommes soufllecs" becomes in Paris IB "Steak and fried potatoes." Thus does "Paris Amuso Itsolf." Boston Herald. |
