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.