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Black Republic of Letters

Note - Louise Michel

Louise Michel (1830-1905) was a French teacher, anarchist and activist. She participated in the Paris Commune in 1870, and subsequently spent time in as a prisoner in the penal colony in New Caledonia. She then went on speaking tours throughout Europe, promoting anarchism, working class rights, and the protection of animals. Learn more about Louise Michel.

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"Miscellany" Translation:
Louise Michel, Protector of Animals
In an international congress of vegetarians held recently in London, the famous speaker said that all of her friends in France were in agreement on this subject, along with the members of the assembly, and that she believed that it is impossible for mankind to be happy while they are making animals suffer so much.

Before the sessions had ended, the vegetarian congress decided to send a petition to the European Parliaments for the prohibition of living animals and the suppression of slaughterhouses.

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The Gouffé Affair
The dossier of the Gouffé Affair is finally complete. The Indictment Division will be called to examine it these days. It will pronounce the dismissal in front of the Criminal Court, of Eyraud and of Gabrielle Bompard. The debates will begin in the first half of November at the earliest.

Councillor Heurteloup will preside over the proceedings of this important affair.

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The Poor in Paris
The latest triennial census has revealed the existence, in Paris, of 40,081 indigents and 49,693 needy enrolled in the Administration of Public Assistance. In the category of the indigents are included the infirm, the elderly and orphans under thirteen years of age to whom regular and periodic subventions are allocated. The needy, conversely, are occasionally assisted, supported temporarily and susceptible, throughout the year, of being able to provide for themselves. This makes a total of 90,000 people to support; which gives a total of approximately one person to maintain out of every 24 in Paris, or a bit more than 4%.

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Baby Killed by a Blow from a Rock
A deplorable accident occurred in the Luxembourg Garden. Out of view of their caretaker, children often throw stones into trees to knock down the chestnuts that are currently ripe.

Last Sunday, a stone thrown thus came down, after hitting a branch, and crashed into the forehead of a baby of about two years old who was playing a few metres away. The poor young thing was killed instantly.

This accident, whose perpetrator has not been determined, has send terror through the whole population of mothers, babies and nannies, who frequent the garden.

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The Consecration of Modern Glory
It would be juvenile to think that the Chamber, the Academy or the Senate represents the supreme consecration of fame and talent. True glory, in this fin de siècle, is a wax statue in the Grévin Museum. When you've achieve this, you can considered yourself as having "arrived."

It has been announced that at the start of winter, this varied wax museum will inaugurate a collection of chosen heads, placed on the shoulders of artists and writers, of journalists and travellers, of statesmen and novelists in fashion.

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Alcoholism in Paris
The première of L'Assomoir inspired sad reflections on the corruption of the working class, of which alcoholism is the greatest and the most formidable agent. It is a fact that the worker is deserting family life more and more for exterior life, which has strong seductions for him. But it must not be hushed up: this enemy of modern society, this plague on the people, this supreme cause of demoralization and degeneracy, alcohol, has become a power that we do not dare to deal with. In France, the alcohol seller is a power in the State by his electoral influence; it is furthermore one of the most important factors for balancing the budget.

There are many laws against drunkenness, but they are never implemented. By a prejudice that is as dire as it is well established, the people think that alcohol is a source of strength and energy, when it inevitably has the opposite result.

The day is not far off when alcoholism will be the most pressing issue in the State, since depopulation, rickets, etc., all these ills that are threatening Europe surely have no other cause.

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The Argentine Republic and Drunkards
It seems that the Argentine Republic has a singular but very effective method of dealing with its drunkards.

A Frenchman, who went to make his fortune in the country, was arrested for drunkenness.

Instead of being released after paying a fine, the unfortunate was condemned to sweep the roads for a week. He was so humiliated that, when he was done, he quickly left the country.

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The Blind and the Advanced Certificate
Miss Joséphine Truffeau, former student of the French National Institute for Blind Children, and aspiring teacher for that school, obtained, in the last exam session in the Hôtel-de-Ville, the advanced certificate. It is the first time that a blind person has taken this difficult exam.

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Dogs and the Telephone
It is not only humanity that is improving itself through the progress of science, animals too are seeing their instincts refined in contact with civilization.

The following fact, presented as authentic in the scientific review La Nature, gives proof:

A notary in Dijon connected his study to his country house via telephonic line. A few days later, he left from his office, forgetting to bring his dog with him. Arriving at Bagatelle—such is the name of the property—he picked up the telephone and gave the order to one of his clerks to put the speaker of the apparatus up to the ears of his dog. The latter allowed this to be done, and his master called him: "Fox! Fox!" The dog hesitated for an instant, looked around and then came back to the telephone. His master called him again. He recognized the voice, and, after barking three or four times, he left out the door and made a beeline for Bagatelle, where he arrived half an hour later.

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Suppression of Tipping
It seems that the café waiters have recently taken the initiative to start a reform that, if it works out, will give great satisfaction to public opinion. It consists in prompting a congress whose object will be the suppression of tipping.

If court bailiff fees hit those who do not pay their fines and accelerate their ruin, tips hit those who do pay and prepare theirs.

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Fashion Reform
There is much talk about modifying the form of clothes which the ugly sex wear to their disadvantage. It is a question of frilled shirts and lace cuffs. Colourful suits and short pants are on the brink of being adopted.

Th good old days will be revived. It will certainly be very original at the outset. All the same! There are men who will be only mediocrely satisfied to be dressed like that.

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A Means of Getting Gold
A curious gold reserve for the future.

American dentists are constantly putting gold in their clients jaws, so mistreated they are by the Yankees' abuse of ice cream and soft drinks.

A French thinker, after having added up several statistics on the topic, came to the conclusion that the gold used for this purpose annually in the New World is no less than 800kg.

This represents the respectable sum of 2,500,000 francs and the precious metal is, of course, buried, after the death of the Yankees, with their jaws.

Supposing this lasted three centuries (this is still the statistic speaking) the cemeteries of the United States will contain a value of 750 million francs in gold, the equivalent of the gold money that is currently circulating in the country.

Those are rich and sinister deposits indeed.

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Miscellany
Chinese Ingenuity
Would you like to know the formalities that travelers in China must go through to obtain a passport? They coat the palm of their hand with oil paint, then press it onto a thin, damp sheet of paper, which retains the imprint of the lines. Since the lines on two people's hands are almost never identical, this prevents travellers from lending their passports to each other.

The subtlety of the Chinese has also discovered that the thumbprints of two different people or the thumbs of the same person are not the same. The Chinese police therefore simply keep the thumbprints of every criminal. Criminals can then shave and wear wigs; no matter what disguise they adopt, they can never change their thumbprints, which can be compared at any time with those stored at the central police office of the Celestial Empire.

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Ministerial Setbacks
Lord Salisbury recently had a minor mishap that greatly amused the people of London and Paris. Customs officers in New Haven seized one of his carriages containing a considerable supply of rum, cognac, cigars, and sugar, which his people were trying to smuggle. The coachman, refusing to pay the fine, was arrested.

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The other day, Mr. Goblet got on the bus without realizing he had forgotten his wallet. It can happen to anyone. The driver, showing no consideration for the former prime minister, made him get off. He was strictly within his rights. But the irascible statesman, sensitive to this affront, sent a strongly worded complaint to the company. The company replied: “The driver you are complaining about followed his instructions and observed the rules.”

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Gounod and Barnum
The author of Faust is currently involved in a lawsuit that deeply upsets his true friends. The subject of the dispute is very simple: Gounod—hard to believe—apparently promised some barnum in the United States that he would follow him and conduct an orchestra across the Star-Spangled Republic.

The deal must have been attractive. The Americans promised no less than a million francs for the French musician; they also undertook to pay his travel expenses and those of the servant who would accompany him. But at the last moment, Mr. Gounod withdrew his word. He apologized, saying that his age and health would not allow him to endure the fatigue inherent in such a journey, and... he received a summons from his opponents.

This trial brings to mind a typical anecdote in which a renowned French pianist was once the hero. The artist had signed a contract that required him to go and perform on the other side of the Atlantic. He arrived in a major city in the United States, where his manager had, he said, arranged a concert: the fee was regal, the cash register overflowing with dollars, the fruit of advance ticket sales for the venue. A huge round of applause was inevitable. The virtuoso was promised a triumph.

The pianist followed his barnum.

And indeed, he found an enthusiastic audience, a packed house, and a full box office; the men in black suits, the women in low-cut dresses...

But... but on the stage set up for the occasion, there was no piano to be seen!

The artist, initially delighted, soon began to show signs of understandable concern; he had planned to play Beethoven and Mozart. But on what instrument?

Slightly disconcerted, he stepped forward toward the audience and bowed, then turned toward his barnum:

“Where is the piano?” he asked in a low voice.

“The piano! There isn't one,” replied the American.

"There isn't one!" said the artist. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

“Sing them the Marseillaise, and they'll be satisfied,” said the interlocutor with a friendly smile.

History does not tell us what the pianist did.

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The Prince of Labourers
It seems that in the Prussian monarchy, the excellent custom of teaching all children of princely families a manual trade is still followed. Emperor Frederick was a carpenter, and Wilhelm II is said to be a skilled bookbinder. The three sons of Prince Albert of Prussia, two of whom are masons and the third a carpenter, are currently building a pavilion under the supervision of master craftsmen. And Prince Albert himself is supervising the work.

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Louise Michel, flower vendor
The famous lecturer preferred to set herself up as a flower seller in Covent Garden rather than let the French government lock her up as insane—which would have happened sooner or later.

We are happy to report that she is putting on weight, thanks to the countless beers she continues to drink in the company of German and Russian refugees.

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