Royal, are cafes that figured conspicuously in the French Revolution,
and are closely identified with the French stage and literature. Meot's
and Masse's were the trysting places of the Royalists in the days
preceding the outbreak, but welcomed the Revolutionists after they came
in power. The Chartres was notorious as the gathering place of young
aristocrats who escaped the guillotine, and, thus made bold, often
called their like from adjoining cafes to partake in some of their plans
for restoration of the empire. The Trois Freres Provencaux, well known
for its excellent and costly dinners, is mentioned by Balzac, Lord
Lytton, and Alfred de Musset in some of their novels. The Cafe du Grand
Commun appears in Rousseau's _Confessions_ in connection with the play
_Devin du Village_.

Among the most famous of the cafes on the Rue St. Honore were Venua's,
patronized by Robespierre and his companions of the Revolution, and
perhaps the scene of the inhuman murder of Berthier and its revolting
aftermath; the Mapinot, which has gone down in cafe history as the scene
of the banquet to Archibald Alison, the 22-year-old historian; and
Voisin's cafe, around which still cling traditions of such literary
lights as Zola, Alphonse Daudet, and Jules de Goncourt.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A TYPICAL PARISIAN CAFE OF THE EARLY
NINETEENTH CENTURY]

Perhaps the boulevard des Italiens had, and still has, more fashionable
cafes than any other section of the French capital. The Tortoni, opened
in the early days of the Empire by Velloni, an Italian lemonade vender,
was the most popular of the boulevard cafes, and was generally thronged
with fashionables from all parts of Europe. Here Louis Blanc, historian
of the Revolution, spent many hours in the early days of his fame.
Talleyrand; Rossini, the musician; Alfred Stevens and Edouard Manet,
artists, are some of the names still linked with the traditions of the
Tortoni. Farther down the boulevard were the Cafe Riche, Maison Doree,
Cafe Anglais, and the Cafe de Paris. The Riche and the Doree, standing
side by side, were both high-priced and noted for their revelries. The
Anglais, which came into existence after the snuffing out of the Empire,
was also distinguished for its high prices, but in return gave an
excellent dinner and fine wines. It is told that even during the siege
of Paris the Anglais offered its patrons "such luxuries as ass, mule,
peas, fried potatoes, and champagne."

Probably