European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 3, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Left the literary cafe Procope and a plaque listing some of its famous guests. Ernest Hemingway below left was a frequent customer and mentioned the Procope in several of his novels. Vladimir Lenin below Center is said to have spent hours at the cafe playing chess with Leon Trotsky. A Young Napoleon right once left his officer s hat with the cafe s owners As collateral for a Bill he could not pay. Rolland Apollinaire and Hemingway As he himself testifies in a moveable feast were regular customers. A table near the Entrance of the bar has a plate that claims Lenin occasionally played chess with Trotsky there. Lenin s apartment at no. 4 Rue Marie Rose is today a museum and can be visited upon request. On the Square Vert galant at the West end of the lie de la cite not far from the tour de Nesle is the site of the burning in 1314, of Jacques de Molay the Leader of the Templar order. Molay and his comrades were charged with being Sod mists and blasphemy its but historians agree the Royal House of France hoped to come into Possession of the legendary wealth of the templars by ridding themselves of its leaders. To this Date not a centimes of their supposed treasure has been discovered. Among the lasting accomplishments of the French revolution can be counted the Guillotine named after the parisian doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotine who began advocating his machine on dec. 1, 1789. The production of such a machine called for precision and Guillotine turned Over the task to a German craftsman Tobias Schmidt a piano tuner at the court of Versailles. As the German writer Joerg von Uthmann noted the French had a special weakness for being beheaded by germans. After the death of Henri Clement Sanson which ended a Long dynasty of French executioners the most popular hangmen were Heidenreich Deibler and Obrecht. Schmidt s Model was first tried out on a sheep in april 1792 right in front of his workshop at no. 9 Cour do Commerce St. Andre today a remodeler passageway with attractive Little shops. The test was successful so a few Days later it was tested on three cadavers in the Hospital of Bietre. On april 25, 1792, the Street robber Jacques Pelletier had the dubious Honor of being the first person to lose his life by the Guillotine. The execution took place on the place Greve. At no. 13 Rue de i Cancienne comedies is the Granddaddy of All literary cafes Procope. Founded in 1686 by the italian Procopio Dei Coltelli it eventually became the hangout for writers and philosophers. Beaumarchais drank wine Here while waiting for the reaction to the Premier of the marriage of Figaro in the nearby theatre Francais. It was a resounding Success. On the first floor of the cafe is a Marble table where Voltaire sat. It was supposedly a gift of Frederick the great of Prussia. The local revolutionaries of the Quarter gathered Here Danton lived around the Corner where his statue now stands. A it. Bonaparte once left his hat Here As a Security Deposit because he could t pay his Bill and at the end of the 19th Century Emile Zola gave dinners Here that were attended by Guy de Maupassant Paul Bourget Joris Karl Huysmans and other literary greats. Victor Hugo la Fontaine Benjamin Franklin Robespierre Balzac Gambetta Verlaine and Anatole France were All Procope customers. Oscar Wilde frequented Procope s. After being released from prison he returned to France and lived in a Small room in the hotel d Alsace 13 Rue Des beaux arts which was called hotel d Allemagne up to the outbreak of the Franco prussian War of 1870. Wilde was living in poverty and almost total apathy. His friends supplied him with food and drink and tried to convince him to undergo an operation for his ailments. When he did it was too late. On nov. 30, 1900, Wilde died in the arms of the hotel manager a m. A Poirier who often allowed Wilde s Bill to go unpaid for months. Wilde s reported last words were i am dying beyond my  in 1968 the hotel was renovated by a Texas architect and a Frenchman from top to Bottom and is now a luxurious Stop for the International monies classes. It bears the Subtle name a hotel which would have appealed to the Dandy in Wilde. Some of its famous guests have included Frank Zappa and Elizabeth Taylor. Wilde s old room no. 16, is carefully preserved and contains several pieces of furniture that he used but the Days when one could live there beyond one s Means Are gone forever. April 3,1986 stripes Magazine