The American in Paris, during the summer - being a companion to the "Winter in Paris;", or Heath's picturesque annual for 1844 (1844) (14779519034)

Identifier: americaninparisd00jani (find matches)
Title: The American in Paris, during the summer : being a companion to the "Winter in Paris;", or Heath's picturesque annual for 1844
Year: 1844 (1840s)
Authors: Janin, Jules Gabriel, 1804-1874
Subjects:
Publisher: London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans
Contributing Library: The Centre for 19th Century French Studies - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto



Text Appearing Before Image:
we now only wait the heroes of the enter-tainment, the princes of the day. Sound, ye trumpets ! andyou, herald, open the field ! What a drama ! what efforts ! what assembled beauties ofdifferent kinds ! what vigor ! How boldly the nimble coursersthrow themselves into the field; what power, what energy! Yousee them,—now you see them no longer ! They leap forwards,—you think it is the race ? No, it is mere play ! they run aleague to take breath. Thus they try the field, they recognisethe earth, they look at the men, they look at each other andadmire each other, and already think that the palm will bedifficult to gain. At the given signal, they suddenly start. At first you wouldthink they were walking, next that they run, then that they fly.The fascination is at its height, each one holds his breath, inorder to see them better; so many hopes are placed upon thesenoble heads ! What pleasure ! the course of Chantilly ! theattentive crowd ! the ladies, who forgot to observe each other,
Text Appearing After Image:
THE GOLD CUP. 109 that they may look at a horse ! bets in which pride has yetmore interest than fortune ! This is the drama! this is thetheatre; and for actors, you have the most beautiful, the mostartless, the most charming, the most modest, the most admir-able creatures. To tell you, victory by victory, the name of the rivals, totell you, word for word, the details of the race, would be im-possible. And besides, how can I describe a defeat, which isdecided in a quarter of a second ? How can I take uponmyself, to put in the first or second place the eager competitorsof the race course ? Let us leave these little particulars to thesporting gentlemen, and as for us, as the French fabulist says,Ne forqons point notre talent. Very soon, another race is announced, the race for the goldcup. The cup is passed through the ranks, so that every onecan see it. This time, it is not a large piece of gold or silver,without shape and without style; it is an elegant work, artisti-cally formed by one