In spite of all the talk about hard times, excessive competition, financial crises and the rest, there are still plenty of people with money left to travel about and enjoy themselves, if one may judge by the crowds of English, American and other foreigners pouring into Paris jast now. The ie the beginning of the "grande semaine", the term given to the wack between the Grand Steeplechase at Auteuil and the Grand Prix at Longchamp. During this short period life in the French capital reaches its: it is the height and it harvest of the best season of the year, and every day brings a long programme socialeventsof all Kinds. More any other period, it stamps Paris as the world's great city of pleasure, and brings within her gates the most cosmopolitan crowd that can be found anywhere, This year "the great week fair to establish " record. Hotels ery size are filled to overflowing, and many are fally booked up for two or three weeks The reading rooms and other large spartments in many of the big hotels have temporarily been turned into bedrooms, and visitors are also being accommodated in the garrets usually occupied by the servants. As for these, no man knows what becomes of them. Perhay they retire to the cellar or sleep on the kitchen table. In any case they can-tot be very much worse off than some of the travellers who, after wandering round from one caravanserai to another, are only too glad to find a place in which to lay their heads, A visitor from New York had the following somembat unusual particulars entered against his name in the book of one of the largest hotels in Paria the other day "Ground-floor dining-room, bed No 13, until Monday, afterwards secre office." Another transatlantic visitor slept in a telephone cabin. Probably he would have been more comfortable on a bench in the Champs Elysees and saved a good deal of money. But there is n0 accounting for tastes. A carious feature about the psychology of the well-to-do tourists who crowd into is about this time of the year is the unanimity with which they decline to consider the possibility of going small hotel outside the beaten track of big and Inxurious establishments. A shake-down in an exceedingly uncomfortable garret at the Ritz, Meurice, Majestic or Elysee Palace, seems to be held in much greater esteem than decently appointed room in some establishment not known in New York or London. Daring the past few years there has been a great increase in the number of first class and correspondingly expensive hotels in Paris, but there always seem to be enough customers to fill them at this time of the year at any rate, There is a tremendous catting down of expenses and reduction of staffs when the dead season comes.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.