the streets, with one very important exception,--the
householder must not deposit any garbage, or mud, or broken bottles on
the sidewalk, he must wash his shop-windows only between certain hours
in the morning, he must not beat nor shake carpets out the window nor in
the streets, he must not put his flower-pots in the windows where there
is any danger of their falling on the passer-by, he must not keep
domestic animals in such numbers or of such a kind as to be disagreeable
to his neighbor, he must not burn coffee, nor card the wool of his
mattresses, on the public highway, and he must not set out chairs or
tables on the sidewalk. This last regulation, however, is practically a
dead letter, all the cafes, big and little, on the wide _trottoirs_ of
the boulevards and on the two-foot sidewalks of the narrow streets,
monopolize from a half to three-fourths of the pavement for pedestrians.
The latter file along cheerfully on the curb-stone, or turn out in the
street altogether, and make no protest. In the poorer quarters, a great
number of domestic occupations and maternal cares are transferred to the
street in front of the dwelling; in fact, the fondness of the French for
out-of-doors is one of their most striking characteristics. The women
and young girls will sit sewing or knitting in the streets or the public
parks, and the men at the open-air tables of the cafes, in the wettest
and rawest of days, and the women of the lower orders, concierges,
workwomen, small shopkeepers, etc., constantly go with their heads
uncovered. This healthy hankering of all classes for the open air
contrasts very strongly with their imbecile terror of fresh air, or
_courants d'air_, in a closed vehicle or under a roof.

[Illustration: LEDGER OF THE "LOST-AND-FOUND BUREAU," AT THE PREFECTURE
OF POLICE, SHOWING SKETCHES OF HANDLES OF FOUND UMBRELLAS.

Sketch by M. Martin.]

One of the most complete departments of the Prefecture de Police is that
of the _sommiers judiciaires_, in which are preserved the _fiches_ or
records of every person brought before the tribunals, giving his name,
age, place of birth, etc., and the date, the cause, and the nature of
his sentence. The recidivistes, the hardened offenders, have each a
regular bulletin, sometimes a variety of fiches if they have various
aliases. These archives of crime are contained in thousands of boxes,
filling a number of rooms, and are constantly consulted; their
inspection is strictly fo