Читать книгу Ways of War and Peace - Austrian Delia - Страница 4

I hate to think of Paris in a sombre tone, for Paris likes to be gay at all times. It is the natural tempo of the city, for whatever may be the follies of this Parisian capital, she is always beautiful, lively and gay. Her large, wide boulevards are now deserted, except for an occasional regiment of French and English troops that hurry along, or now and then an auto-car speeding up the boulevard carrying some high officials on an important mission.

Most of the fine shops in the Avenue de L'Opera and the Rue de La Paix are closed and heavily shuttered while their handsome stock of pearls and other jewels, fine dresses and furs, are hidden in vaults and put away in packing trunks. Even at noontime, when the streets are usually thronged with the working-girls hurrying to their luncheon or out for a half an hour's exercise, the streets are deserted except for the appearance of some tired-looking shopgirl trying to earn a few cents in spite of present conditions. The beautiful hotels, always crowded this time of the year, are empty except for a few Americans who are lingering, waiting for a boat to take them home. The large cafés on the boulevard are all closed. It is only the small tea-rooms and bars that dare hope for any business.

The smart people who live out near the Bois have heard too much about German Zeppelins to venture out on a beautiful day, and forbid their nurses taking the children into the park. It is only the poorer people in the Latin Quarter who insist in taking their children in the beautiful gardens of the Luxembourg for an airing. As night falls, the people gather in crowds to watch the skies. They have let their imaginations dwell so long on Zeppelins and bombs that many imagine they see these awful implements of war when they are watching harmless stars.

At the other end of the city, they gather round the Eiffel Tower, which now bears the highest artillery in the world. Here are placed immense machine guns. Up at Montmartre, the people gather in little circles to read the letters they have received from their soldier boys and to discuss the possibility of Paris being captured. They have forgotten all about their once lively dance-halls and cabarets. There are but few artists left in this quarter now, for they have either gone home or to the front, while the women and children amuse themselves reading the last extra or listening to an organ-grinder giving them many patriotic airs for a few sous.

How lonely and sad these vacant streets and boulevards look, contrasted with their appearance on the 15th of July, which is France's national holiday. Then there was dancing on nearly every street corner, made livelier by the throwing of confetti, careless laughter and much kissing. The Queen of Beauty ruled then, while now havoc and the cruelties of war are in supremacy. Except for a few soldiers and officers moving up and down in the Bois, that splendid park is quite deserted. The famous cafés, such as Madrid and Armoneville, have closed their doors. It is hard to imagine that these restaurants were visited by no less than five thousand people during an afternoon of the races. Less than two months ago, the great markets of Paris were crowded with country people hurrying in with their carts, horses and mules. In a short time they had distributed their splendid supply of meats, vegetables, fruits, flowers and small merchandise without and within. By seven o'clock the place was crowded with women of all social classes and wealth. Now the great crowds have dwindled, for the markets only display the barest necessities and the women only come and buy as they actually need them.

It is said that thousands of women have been thrown out of employment, for more than sixty per cent. of the women in Paris were working women. No sooner had war been declared than most of the small shops closed their doors and this threw hundreds of women out of work. A few of the leading dressmaking establishments carried their main business over to London, but they could not give employment to all their people. A few of the large stores kept open for a while, but soon their men were called to the front and so their business did not pay. I wonder what has become of the great numbers of designers and artists who were dependent on foreign purchase for their livelihood? Occasionally a pale, haggard girl passes by, as though she was seeking employment in a designer's studio or in an artist's atelier. But business is at a standstill and there is only employment for a very few out of many.

The flower markets which always made Paris so attractive have vanished, even the famous flower market in front of the Madeleine. It is only an occasional old woman who has the courage to try to earn a few pennies by selling roses or lilies of the valley.

The streets lack all energy, even in the afternoon, when there is so much energy in Paris. The women have neither the courage nor the money to start off on any shopping trips. The French women now appear in simple attire and are limiting their shopping to the few things they need. Many have been deprived of their large incomes, are managing to do their own housework and are looking after their children, while those who can still afford things are busy working for the Red Cross, visiting the hospitals and craches.

Even more deserted is the Latin Quarter with the Sorbonne called the Medicine and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Usually at this time of the year they are busy with their annual house-cleaning preparatory to receiving the many students that come from America, England, Poland, Russia and Germany. Their doors are closed so tightly this year they certainly will not be opened. The gaiety of the Latin Quarter is now a thing of the past. A few soldiers sipping their coffee out of doors is a commonplace picture for the gay-hearted artists that once promenaded the street with their pretty models and coquettes. There is now no dancing nor merry-making up at Montmartre, the real artists' quarter. The streets are now so deserted they are excellent dens for thieves and robbers, for gone are even the venders with their push-carts who made a noise as they hawked their wares. Even the museums and picture galleries are closed, and the only public buildings left open are those being used for military purposes. The few women and children seen on the street look frightened and worried. Any jar or noise seems to promise danger.

Sunday is like any other day, except that crowds of people hurry to the Madeleine or Notre Dame to beg for peace or for war to be over. All the stalls on the Seine are closed and the strand is vacant except for the soldiers that patrol up and down. All the cab-drivers left in Paris are either old men or women who find it hard to earn a few francs a day.

The country looks almost as deserted. Many a beautiful farm has gone to waste because there is no one to look after the harvest. Still, the women and children are doing their level best working on the farms and doing all they can to save their vegetables and grain.

Many of the vineyards have been trampled on by regiments of soldiers and most of the lovely champagne country is ruined. The hardest blow of all was the news that the famous cathedral at Rheims had been destroyed and all the famous buildings had either been laid in ruins or seriously damaged. The cathedral is supposed to have the finest rose window left in France and it was considered the finest piece of Gothic architecture. It was in this cathedral that Charles the Tenth was crowned and that the lovely Maid of Orleans saw the coronation of Charles VII which marked the fulfillment of her vision. The beautiful Church of Saint Jacques has commemorated her life in beautiful stained glass windows, while the museum, rich in treasures that memorialize her life, has also been destroyed. It is not therefore to be wondered at that the poor French people who love their country so well are brokenhearted as they look out on the approaching night, wondering what will happen next.