In “The Ways of Men,” the chap­ter explores the birth and flour­ish­ment of a unique artis­tic com­mu­ni­ty cen­tered around Mont­martre, Paris, through the pio­neer­ing efforts of young Salis and the estab­lish­ment of the icon­ic cabaret, “Chat Noir.” Salis, dis­tin­guished by his excep­tion­al taste, crit­i­cal acu­men, and busi­ness acu­men, trans­formed an obscure café on Boule­vard Roche­chouart into a cel­e­brat­ed hub of artis­tic expres­sion. By dec­o­rat­ing the new locale in the rue Vic­tor Masse with a blend of medieval aes­thet­ics and offer­ing an envi­ron­ment where beer flowed freely and wait­ers donned peri­od cos­tumes, Salis not only invig­o­rat­ed the spir­it of the Louis XIII era but also fos­tered a renais­sance of lit­er­ary and artis­tic cre­ativ­i­ty.

The “Chat Noir” became a mag­net for aspir­ing poets, musi­cians, and racon­teurs, pro­vid­ing them an inti­mate space to share their works with the warmth and cama­raderie of a close-knit cir­cle. The charm of these gath­er­ings lay in their infor­mal­i­ty and the mutu­al encour­age­ment among the bud­ding artists. Despite fac­ing fierce oppo­si­tion from estab­lished enter­tain­ment venues, which viewed the cabaret as a threat and launched a legal onslaught, Salis secured the sup­port of Pres­i­dent Grevy, ensur­ing the sur­vival and pros­per­i­ty of his ven­ture.

This chap­ter also nar­rates the pro­lif­er­a­tion of cabarets in Mont­martre, each with its unique con­tri­bu­tions to the cul­tur­al land­scape. Estab­lish­ments like “4 z’Arts” and “Trombert” blos­somed, extend­ing the tra­di­tion of artis­tic cama­raderie and inno­va­tion. For exam­ple, the inven­tion of “shad­ow pic­tures” by Caran d’Ache intro­duced a nov­el form of sto­ry­telling that cap­ti­vat­ed audi­ences. Fur­ther­more, the chap­ter sheds light on indi­vid­ual tal­ents such as Jules Jouy, whose poignant songs received acclaim, and Aris­tide Bru­ant, whose “Mir­li­ton” cabaret echoed his deep empa­thy for soci­ety’s out­casts.

The nar­ra­tive under­scores how these cabarets, from the “Chat Noir” to “Le Mir­li­ton” and beyond, not only sup­plant­ed the Latin Quar­ter as the heart of Paris’s Bohemi­an life but also rev­o­lu­tion­ized artis­tic expres­sion and pub­lic enter­tain­ment. The blend of satire, song, and the dra­mat­ic arts with­in these venues carved out a new cul­tur­al iden­ti­ty for Mont­martre, mak­ing it a bas­tion of cre­ativ­i­ty and a sanc­tu­ary for the avant-garde. Through their resilience, inno­va­tion, and mutu­al sup­port, the artists and poets of Mont­martre chal­lenged con­ven­tion­al norms, cre­at­ing a lega­cy of artis­tic free­dom and expres­sion that res­onat­ed far beyond the con­fines of their inti­mate gath­er­ings.