AMERICANS IN PARIS.
The American Colony is not nearly so large as the English in Paris, but
it is important and influential. According to the last census there were
5,000 Americans resident, or in hotels, while there were 12,000 English.
The reason for this difference in numbers is not far to seek. America is
too distant, and the voyage too expensive for the poor to readily cross
the great Atlantic; while for a few shillings anyone can traverse the
little “Manche” between England and France and try their luck in the gay
City—generally looked upon in England as one vast pleasure ground. Alas!
these poor people often find tears where they looked for laughter, and
poverty where they looked for gold. An American in distress from poverty
is a rarity. The few who are stranded in Paris find many liberal helpers
among their own country people.
There is no doubt that Americans thoroughly appreciate the beauty and
comfort of living in the “Ville lumière,” and there are many residents
who have chosen it as a place of residence when free to live anywhere.
Then there are others who are married to French, and thirdly, those who
are studying painting, singing, or architecture, or whose children are
being educated in that thorough way we in England know so little of.
The English Chaplain comes into close contact with many Americans, both
socially and ministerially. Though the beautiful Church in the Avenue
de l’Alma was built for, and by, Americans, the English Embassy Church
counts among her faithful worshippers many an American cousin. Doctor
Morgan, who has for many years ministered to the American Church, and is
so much beloved by all, quite recognised that we must exchange many of
our flock, and it would not be possible, nor desirable, to keep to the
nationality of our congregation, especially as we are in communion one
with the other.
Socially, the English Chaplain must necessarily meet many Americans.
Naturally, those who speak the same language (or nearly so) must draw
together in a strange country. But there is more than that, as everyone
knows, in the relationship of English and Americans. Their outlook on
life from childhood for education, both in the home and school, is the
same. Until one has lived in a foreign country one hardly realizes how
this affects one.
The difference in the way a Frenchman regards the question of morality
and religion makes a barrier which is not often bridged. The truly
sympathetic friendship between the Anglo-Saxon and the Frenchman is the
exception, and not the rule. In this way the American and English in a
foreign land draw closer together, and consider themselves very much as
one family, with the same tastes and sympathies, while they regard in
quite a different light those they call “foreigners,” though they may be
living in that “foreigners’” land, and would be quite offended if the
term were applied to them.
We made many friends among the Americans, and we can never think of our
life in Paris as separate from those dear ones. Indeed, the house which
my family and I have come to regard as a second home, and where the
welcome is always that of a kind sister, belongs to an American who was,
and is still, one of the most regular attendants at the English Church. I
cannot too often testify to the liberality of the Americans in Paris in
helping the British poor. They were ready at all times to give of their
money and time for this purpose, and I cannot remember a single instance
when I appealed in vain for their aid. At a large working party formed
for making clothes for the British poor, we had not only the attendance
of many Americans, but the beautiful and commodious rooms of the Hotel
Powers were lent to us free of charge by their American owner.
When we had bazaars for the Church, several stalls were taken by
Americans, and at concerts given for charitable purposes it was in many
cases to the American Colony we owed both the talent which attracted the
large attendance, and also the results we generally obtained.
Perhaps one of the most notable of the American millionaires when I
first went to Paris was Mrs. Ayer. She was almost mobbed when she went
out on account of her wonderful jewels, which represented a large
fortune. I have seen people standing on chairs in a drawing-room to get a
better sight of her—or of them! Indeed, royalty could hardly compete in
notoriety with this little old lady.
Mrs. Astor in her beautiful flat in the Champs Elysées (which she called
only a little “pied-à-terre”) gave most enjoyable soirées, and her
beautiful manners added not a little to the pleasure of her guests. She
had the great charm of making no difference in her welcome, whether
the guest was a prince or a poor curate, and one went away with the
delightful feeling that you were the person she had most wished to see,
and you had given her much pleasure by your presence!
The late Mrs. Warden-Pell also entertained a good deal, and she often, at
her afternoon receptions, when great artists delighted her audience, gave
young students an opportunity of being heard—an opportunity which was
worth a great deal to them, and which they were not slow to appreciate.
Mrs. Whitelaw-Reed, who has since become so well known as the wife of
the Ambassador in London, did a great deal for the artists in the Latin
quarter, and her work has borne much good fruit.
I must also speak of Mr. and Mrs. Mason, the American Consul and his
wife, who have for many years won the love and admiration of all
nationalities and classes in the most cosmopolitan town—Paris. Their
house is always open to those who require aid or sympathy, and it is
not only Americans who seek it there. Mrs. Mason may be seen at all
gatherings in any way connected with charity, and we English often
forgot that we had no real claim upon her and, I fear, trespassed on her
kindness.
I have spoken elsewhere of Mrs. Hoff and the good work she helps so
liberally. The annual banquets of the American Chamber of Commerce
and the July celebrations were always important functions, and I have
thus had the great pleasure of listening to some of the most eloquent
speakers in America and France. It was the usual custom to have present
a contingent of the “Garde Républicain,” and their bright uniforms added
much to the brilliancy of the scene. At one of these functions quite an
ovation was given to General Horace Porter. He was the means of restoring
to America all that was left of “Paul Jones,” the founder of the American
Navy. General Porter paid all the expenses of transport, etc., which were
enormous, and the body was taken through the streets with great pomp and
“éclat,”—both in Paris and New York.
I cannot mention the many Americans whose kindness to me was
unfailing, and can only add that without the Americans in Paris the
English Chaplain’s life would be less agreeable, and his financial
responsibilities more difficult to maintain.