Identifier: aboutparis03davi (find matches)
Title: About Paris
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916 Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944, illus
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Publisher: New York, Harper
Contributing Library: Brigham Young University-Idaho, David O. McKay Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University-Idaho

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lamps and windows and on the lacqueredharness and polished mountings. Whether youview this procession from the rows of green ironseats on either side or as a part of it, you mustfeel lifted up by its movement and color and theinfinite variety of its changes. A man might livein the Champs Elysees for a week or a month,seeing no more of Paris than he finds under itsbeautiful trees or on its broad thoroughfare, andbe so well content with that much of the city asto prefer it to all other cities. There was a little fat man in his shirt sleevesone morning in front of the Theatre of the Re-public, which, as everybody knows, stands underthe trees in ihe Champs Elysees, on the RueMatignon, hanging a new curtain, and the fatman, as the proprietor and manager, was nat-urally anxious. Two small boys with their barelegs, and leather belts about their smocks, and anurse with broad blue ribbons down her back,and myself looked our admiration from the out-side of the roped enclosure. The orchestra had
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THE STREETS OF PARIS 33 laid down its fiddle, and was helping the manwho takes the twenty centimes to adjust thesquare yard of canvas. The proprietor placedhis fat fingers on the small of his back and threwhis head to one side and shut one eye. We wait-ed breathlessly for his opinion. He took twosteps backward from the ten-centime seats, andstudied the effect of the curtain from that dis-tance, with his chin thrown up and his arms fold-ed severely. We suggested that it was an im-provement on the old curtain, and one that wouldbe sure to catch the passers eye. ** Possibly, the proprietor said, indulgently,and then wiped his brow and shook his head.He told us we had little idea how great were thetrials of an impresario of an open-air theatre inthe Champs Elysees. What with the rent andthe cost of the costumes and the employmentof three assistants—one to work the marionettes,and one to take up the money, and one to playin the orchestra — expenses did run up. Ofcourse there was madame

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