exceeding in splendor the restaurants. They furnish coffee, chocolate,
all manner of ices and fruits, and cigars. At these places one meets
well-dressed ladies, and more than once in them I have seen well-dressed
women smoking cigarettes. Love intrigues are carried on at these places,
for a Paris lady can easily steal from her home to such a place under
cover of the night. A majority, however, of the women to be seen at such
places, are those who have no position in society, the wandering nymphs
of the night, or the poor grisettes. It is not strange that the poor
shop-girl is easily attracted to such gorgeous places by men far above
her in station.

Outside of all the cafes little tables are placed on the pavement, with
chairs around them. These places are delightful in the summer evenings,
and are always crowded. A promenade through some of the best streets of
a summer night is a brilliant spectacle, and more like a promenade
through a drawing-room than through an American street. The proprietors
of those places do not intend to keep restaurants, but quite a variety
of food, hot or cold, is always on hand, and wines of all kinds are
sold.

I well remember my first visit to a French _cafe_. It was when Louis
Napoleon was president, not emperor of France, and when there was more
liberty in Paris than there is now. I dropped into one near the
Boulevards, which, while it contained everything which could add to
one's comfort, still was not one of the first class. Several officers
were dining in it, and in some way I came in contact with one of them in
such a manner that he discovered I was an American. At once his conduct
toward me was of the most cordial kind, and his fellows rose and bade me
welcome to France. The simple fact that I was a republican from America
aroused the enthusiasm of all. I found, afterward, that the regiment to