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Alas； they are rare！ Those blessed households where one has the delicious
sensation of being chilly and can turn with pleasure toward crackling
wood！ The open fire has become； within the last decade； a test of
refinement； almost a question of good breeding； forming a broad
distinction between dainty households and vulgar ones； and marking the
line which separates the homes of cultivated people from the parlors of
those who care only for display。
A drawing…room filled with heat； the source of which remains invisible；
is as characteristic of the parvenu as clanking chains on a harness or fine
clothes worn in the street。
An open fire is the 〃eye〃 of a room； which can no more be attractive
without it than the human face can be beautiful if it lacks the visual organs。
The 〃gas fire〃 bears about the same relation to the real thing as a glass eye
does to a natural one； and produces much the same sensation。 Artificial
eyes are painful necessities in some cases； and therefore cannot be
condemned； but the household which gathers complacently around a 〃gas
log〃 must have something radically wrong with it； and would be capable
of worse offences against taste and hospitality。
There is a tombstone in a New England grave…yard the inscription on
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which reads： 〃I was well； I wanted to be better。 Here I am。〃
As regards heating of our houses； it's to be feared that we have gone
much the same road as the unfortunate New Englander。 I don't mean to
imply that he is now suffering from too much heat； but we； as a nation；
certainly are。
Janitors and parlor…car conductors have replaced the wicked fairies of
other days； but are apparently animated by their malignant spirit； and
employ their hours of brief authority as cruelly。 No witch dancing around
her boiling cauldron was ever more joyful than the fireman of a modern
hotel； as he gleefully turns more and more steam upon his helpless victims。
Long acquaintance with that gentleman has convinced me that he cannot
plead ignorance as an excuse for falling into these excesses。 It is pure；
unadulterated perversity； else why should he invariably choose the mildest
mornings to show what his engines can do？
Many explanations have been offered for this love of a high
temperature by our compatriots。 Perhaps the true one has not yet been
found。 Is it not possible that what appears to be folly and almost criminal
negligence of the rules of health； may be； after all； only a commendable
ambition to renew the exploits of those biblical heroes； Shadrach；
Meshach； and Abednego？
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CHAPTER 12 … The Paris of our
Grandparents
WE are apt to fall into the error of assuming that only American cities
have displaced their centres and changed their appearance during the last
half…century。
The 〃oldest inhabitant；〃 with his twice…told tales of transformations
and changes； is to a certain extent responsible for this； by contrast； we
imagine that the capitals of Europe have always been just as we see them。
So strong is this impression that it requires a serious effort of the
imagination to reconstruct the Paris that our grandparents knew and
admired； few as the years are that separate their day from ours。
It is； for instance； difficult to conceive of a Paris that ended at the rue
Royale； with only waste land and market gardens beyond the Madeleine；
where to…day so many avenues open their stately perspectives； yet such
was the case！ The few fine residences that existed beyond that point faced
the Faubourg Saint…Honore； with gardens running back to an unkempt
open country called the Champs Elysees； where an unfinished Arc de
Triomphe stood alone in a wilderness that no one ever dreamed of
traversing。
The fashionable ladies of that time drove in the afternoon along the
boulevards from the Madeleine to the Chateau d'Eau； and stopped their
ponderous yellow barouches at Tortoni's； where ices were served to them
in their carriages； while they chatted with immaculate dandies in skin…tight
nankeen unmentionables； blue swallow…tailed coats； and furry ‘beaver〃
hats。
While looking over some books in the company of an old lady who
from time to time opens her store of treasures and recalls her remote youth
at my request； and whose SPIRITUEL and graphic language gives to her
souvenirs the air of being stray chapters from some old…fashioned romance；
I received a vivid impression of how the French capital must have looked
fifty years ago。
Emptying in her company a chest of books that had not seen the light
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for several decades； we came across a 〃Panorama of the Boulevards；〃
dated 1845； which proved when unfolded to be a colored lithograph； a
couple of yards long by five or six inches high； representing the line of
boulevards from the Madeleine to the Place de la Bastille。 Each house；
almost each tree； was faithfully depicted； together with the crowds on the
sidewalks and the carriages in the street。 The whole scene was as different
from the effect made by that thoroughfare to…day as though five hundred
and not fifty years had elapsed since the little book was printed。 The
picture breathed an atmosphere of calm and nameless quaintness that one
finds now only in old provincial cities which have escaped the ravages of
improvement。
My companion sat with the book unfolded before her； in a smiling
trance。 Her mind had turned back to the far…away days when she first trod
those streets a bride； with all the pleasures and few of the cares of life to
think about。
I watched her in silence （it seemed a sacrilege to break in on such a
train of thought）； until gradually her eyes lost their far…away expression；
and； turning to me with a smile； she exclaimed： 〃How we ever had the
courage to appear in the street dressed as we were is a mystery！ Do you
see