Testing an Old Assertion That, French Would Rescue Their Own Country row Oce Ows Contesrosoest Paris Jan. 14.
A curious—one might almost say Pathetic—effort to extricate the Squntsy from its financial dear jes has been made by the village of Courtomer, in the Erne, 9 Norman department. It occurred to tone of the leading inhabitants to|® test the truth of the assertion that the French people would come to the rescue of their country, as they did in 1871, if the situation were properly explained to them, With the assistance of a few friends, he issued an appeal, called a meet went from house to house, ling the position. He did not ask for cash, but merely re= quested each villager to put his name down for what ever amount he felt disposed to contribute wards the sinking fund for the redemption of the national debt. Moving once grasped the fact that the depreciation of the frane is at the root of the high cost of living, the hard-fisted but patriotic peas: ants of Courtomer, with very" few exceptions, responded to the appeal and subscribed Frs, 100,000 in all, A neighbouring ham Haut, which has only 95, has now promised Frs, 20,000. this movement were taken up the same the floating debt would soon be reduced to reasonable—proportions and the national credit great-thened; but the success of Fuch initiatives is a matter of porsonal influence and enthusiasm, and tone cannot expect every village to produce a leading citizen able" and willing to devote his time to disinterested patriotic efforts of this Kind. It will be interesting to see whether the idea is taken up in other parts of the country, Invasion of Paris One of the numerous problems. connected with the presence of large numbers of foreigners France, and capecially Paris, is of hospital accommodation, Tt ted that 7 per cent. of the Paris hospitals are occupied 8 Parisians, who: pay for the upkeep of these estabishments, are unable to find room in them, and that some countr make a practice of sending their sick poor to Paris, s0 as to be re-Hieved of all" expense after the i's railway fare 4 wee hax reciprocal istanee" with some so that a French in London, for i treatment, just as a Briton in Paris would be'so entitled, Natives of other countries are not, of course, eft out in the cold, the claims of I ly being paramount,—but riy grant for expenses under this head ix only Prs, 500,000 and part of the cust of food and accommodation for these unwelcome and untreated strangers has to be met out of funds intend= ed for other patients, The French think that they lose by reciprocity in these matters, because there are so many more sick foreigners than: sick Frenchmen ies. Ap. that The foreign der wed for the simple reason the French themselves or will not produce enough children to do the work of the country, and therefore Isbour must be imported from abroad. One suggestion the establishment? of a riy cor don to check immigration by the physically or mentally unfit, but, a long land frontier such as ance's, it is difficult to see he such a cordon could be made effect The Bordeaux Fanaties Another exploit of the strange scet at Bordeaux mentioned in-my wt letter has come to light. On Christieas evening an unmarried woman' named Rose Morentt, 54 years of age, was found lying the pavement outside the oratory which the cult of Notre Dame es Pleurs is so profitably kept by its high priestess, the concierge Marie Mesmin. Rose 'Moreau' clothing was torn, and hier face was covered with blood. When she recovered consciousness she said'that she had had a fit of Biddiness, which caused her to fall. This being a plausible explanation, nothing more was thought of the incident.
Two days later a man named Parautel who acts" a3 Dane Mesinin's factotum, complained to the police that Roze Moreau had been creating n disturbance out? side the oratory. The same even-went to the mie aecompani= ed by a priest and also by Rose Moreau, whom they left outside in cab, They produced a medi cal certifiente to the effect that her mind was unhinged and that she to be pat under ree ie police commissary ad~ to take her to a lunatic asylum, y did, and—she was dotal "l, as she was set down ing from—melancholia though jot from dementia everything seemed—per= fectly regular, but those who knew the peculiarities of the sect membered that Rove Morea was the connecting-link between Notre Dame des Pleurs and Abbs Desnoyers, the parish priest whom the expeditionary force of fanatics so mercilessly flagellated in the vestry of his church at Bombon,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.