File:The meccas of the world; the play of modern life in New York, Paris, Vienna, Madrid and London (1913) (14597090909).jpg

Identifier: meccasofworldpla01cran (find matches)
Title: The meccas of the world; the play of modern life in New York, Paris, Vienna, Madrid and London
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Cranston, Ruth
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, John Lane company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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w and then with a flash ofthe profound. Probe him, and what do you find?A cynical, world-weary degenerate, who will laughat you when your back is turned, and make love toyour wife before your very eyes! And why not? You should appreciate the com-pliment to your good taste. It is when he begins tomake love behind ones back that one must bewareof ones French friend; for he is a finished artist atthe performance, and women know it, and are pre-pared in advance to be subdued. He is by no meansa degenerate, however, the average Frenchman; hehas to work too hard, and besides he has not themoney degeneracy costs. He may have his petiteamief generally he has; but quite as generally she isa wholesome, well-behaved little person,—a dress-maker in a small way, or vendeuse in a shop—contentto drink a bock with him in the evening, at their fa-vourite cafe, and on Sundays to hang on his arm dur-ing their excursion to St. Germain or Meudon. Justas a very small percentage of New Yorkers are those
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THE CURTAIN RISES 83 who dwell in Wall Street and corner stocks, so a very-small percentage of Parisians are those who feedlouis to night restaurants and carouse till morningwith riotous demi-mondaines. It is a platitude that foreigners are the ones whosupport the immoral resorts of Paris; yet no for-eigner seems to care to remember the platitude. Thebest way to convince oneself of it forever is to visita series of these places, and take honest note of theirpersonnel. The employes will be found to beFrench; but ninety-eight per cent, of the patrons areEnglish, German, Italian, Spanish, and North andSouth American. The retort is made that neverthe-less the Parisians started such establishments in thefirst place. They did; but only after the strangerhad brought his crude sensuality to their variety the-atres and night cafes, stripping the first of theirracy wit, the second of their rollicking bonhomie,taking note only of the license underlying both—andblatantly revelling in it. Then i

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