cy. Bear, kangaroo, ostrich,
yak, etc., varied the bill of fare for those who could afford to
eat them.

Men of wealth who had lost everything, took their misfortunes
cheerfully. While the worst qualities of the Parisians came out
in some classes, the best traits of the French character shone
forth in others. A great deal of charity was dispensed, both public
and private and on the whole, the very poorest class was but little
the worse for the privations of the siege.

The houses left empty by their owners were made over to the refugees
from the villages, and many amusing stories are told of their
embarrassment when surrounded by objects of art, and articles of
furniture whose use was unknown to them.

At first the theatres were closed, and some of them were turned
into military hospitals; but by the beginning of November it was
thought better to reopen them. At one theatre, Victor Hugo's "Les
Chatiments" was recited,--that bitterest arraignment of Napoleon
III. and the Second Empire; at another, Beethoven and Mendelssohn
were played, with apologies for their being Germans.

The hospital parts of the theatres were railed off, and in the
corridors ballet-girls, actors, and sisters of charity mingled together.

Victor Hugo was in Paris during the siege, but he lent his name
to no party or demonstration. The recitation of his verses at the
theatre afforded him great delight, but the triumph was short-lived.
The attraction of "Les Chatiments" soon died away.

The most popular places of resort for idle men were the clubs. On
November 21, one of these was visited by our American observer.
He says,--

"The hall was filled to suffocation. Every man present had a pipe
or cigar in his mouth. It was a sulphurous place, a Pandemonium,
a Zoological Garden, a Pantomime, a Comedy, a Backwoods Fourth of
July, and a Donnybrook Fair, all combined. Women too were there,
the fiercest in the place. Orators roared, and fingers were shaken.
One speech was on the infringement of the liberties of the citizen
because soldiers were made to march left or right according to the
will of their officers. Another considered that the sluggards who
went on hospital service with red crosses on their caps were no
better than cowards. Then they discovered a spy (as they supposed)
in their midst, and time was consumed in hustling him out. Lastly
an orator concluded his speech with awful blasphemy, wishing that
he were a Titan, and could drive a dag