French Women and Their Home Life
I Its. HENRY NORMAN has de
clared that, of all Kuropcau
women, those of France more
nearly resemble fie Oriental
tpe. Iteared In nlmnst Oriental
seclusion, under surveillance from birth
to marriage, nnd mnrrlago Itself "ar
ranged" In nliiety-nliie cases out of n
Hundred, with little regard for the
prejudices or convictions of the woman In
the case, this conclusion Is not to wide of
the mark as might at first appear.
The chief aim of n French woman of tho
higher clnsscs Is to plcnec; nnd to accom
plish this all that can enhance Dorsonnl
attractiveness nnd grnco of manner Is
brought Into play; coquetry Is In the blood,
and even those who engage successfully In
'i 'C v
bid their little daughter, aged 3, good night.
Tho child suddenly decided that her mother
must rcmntn at home; promises, bribes and
pleadings were of no avail. Tho fathor
then Interposed, when the child decided
that he also must not go. She further In
sisted that both should go to bed, nnd she
threatened to cry If they refused. This
would have been insupportable, so both
obeyed, nnd when the llttlo tyrant had fal
len asleep the abject parents rose, redressed
and kept their engagement, In spirit, It
not In letter.
It Is probable that this absurd Indulgcnco
has n fatal effect upon tho sons when they
reach manhood, who, Indulged and caressed
through their youth by their adoring moth
ers, are lacking In that sturdy self-reliance,
and Independence which reasonable discip
line develops.
With the doting lovo for children char
acteristic of tho Krcnch as a nation, al
though thcro Is always more or less diffi
culty In making desirable mntches for their
daughters they nro rarely over unwelcome.
From tho hour of her birth although thcro
are many Instances where tho child Is sent
to tho country with n nurse tho daughter
usually remains under tho mother's per
sonal supervision; she sleeps In tho eamo
or nn adjoining room, receiving her first In
structions nt home, sitting nt tho table
with tho family and nppearlng In tho draw
ing room upon her mother's reception days.
Unlike tho English girl of the same class,
who Is relegnted to tho nursery, who rarely
ever appears at dinner, or In tho drawing
room with her elders, tho Krcnch girl tins
acquired her knowledge of society In child
hood and with nn caso and unconscious
ness which her English sister seldom pos
sesses. In many families, nlthough her lessons
aro given under her mother's guldnnce,
she Is carefully Instructed by governesses
nnd masters, music nnd dancing being
obligatory as necessary as a knowledge
of reading nnd writing, slnco they flt her
essentially for tho place sho Is to occupy
In society.
When girls aro sent from homo tho
MONUMENT TO ZEBULON PIKE, DEDI
CATED AT PAWNEE PARK, Kan.,
SEPTEMDEIt 30, 1901 MRS. ELIZA
BETH JOHNSON UNVEILING THE
SHAKT.
serious Intellectual work arc apparently as
well versed In the ability to charm as thoso
who seem to think of nnd live for nothing
else.
While French women understand In all
lis perfection the art of dress, few are
it ally beautiful, although occasionally, oven
among tho peasants, raro types of loveli
ness aro to be found. Till 3 Is especially true
of tho women of Brittany.
Whatever may bo her faults, lndlftcrcnco
to her children cannot bo chnrged to the
l'rench mother. Sho goes to the other cx
tremu and Is Indulgent nnd doting to tho
Inst decree.
An English writer In Blackwood's Maga
zine, some years ago, gave an amusing inci
dent which assuredly discounts any legends
of tho American spoiled child that nro cur
rent in English society. A gentloman and
his wlfo had been Invited to a cercmonlou3
dinner; tho hour came, dinner was an
nounced, and they did not appear. After
waiting a sufficient length of tlmo tho
hostess decided to delay no longer, but to
proceed without them, At 10 o'clock thov
presented themselves, Hushed nnd breath
less, and the explanation which they mndo
entirely satisfied their hostess, who. under
tho same clrcumstnnccs, sho said, would
have dono the eamo thing.
Tho pair were dressed ready to leavo the
house, when they went Into the nursery to
schools In anything approaching the pat
ronage of the public schools In the United
States. It is n matter ot pride with the
well-to-do Frenchman to pay for tho tui
tion of his children of his daughter espe
cially, and he Is unwilling to place her
where he fears she tuny come In contact
with the children of vulgar people. Fur
thermore, he still looks upon state Instruc
tion as a species of charity nn estimate
that eventually will change.
As in other European countries n young
girl's conlltmntlon Is the most Important
event In her life. It Is preceded by caro
fill Instruction by the parish cure nnd
by special nets of penance; sho must go to
her llrst communion wltn n char con
science. When the day arrives she Is
dressed In white, half hidden In a volum
inous veil nnd forms one of the long pro
cession that flics toward the chancel nnd
kneels to receive the npostolle benedic
tion. This Important event Is followed
hi visits of congregation, gifts and fetes.
In which the young communicant Is the
personnge of Importance; she has crossed
the boundary line between childhood and
girlhood nnd tho ceremony Is second In
Importance only to that great event which
has been kept steadily In view through
Infancy, through childhood and during her
school days her marriage.
This Is the Frencn woman's one enreer.
Like the civilization of China the social
system of Franco does not tnko Into ac
count tho unmarried woman. There Is no
plnco nnd no provision for bucIi an nnomnly.
Falling to mnrry through lack of attract
iveness, or, what Is much moro disastrous,
lnck of the nil-Important dot, the nrnuer
course for her to pursue Is to enter n re
ligious order nnd If sho refuse b1u mav ho
regarded with suspicion tho lnwful prcv
of any rouo who may bo disposed to pursue
her. Ot course, this happens only to
thoso who have no homes no parents or
brothers or other protectors. Hut there Is
no such honorable Independence possible,
except In very rare Instances, ns Is on
Joyed by thousands of unmarried women
In England nnd, above all other countries,
in tho United States.
Tho French woman, unless she should
MASONS OF BELLEVILLE, JEWELL CITY AND OTHER NORTHERN KANSAS
TOWNS AT THE CORNERSTONE LA YINO OF THE PIKE MONUMENT, JULY
4, 1901.
schools selected aro thoso under tho con
trol of the church, managed by various
religious orders. Many convents pride
themselves upon their excluslvencss, re
ceiving only girls ot tho higher clusses,
carefully excluding tho daughters of tho
bourgeolso tho wealthy trading and man
ufacturing classes and their ulumnao In
clude nearly avery name of the old no
blesse ot France.
In theso institutions, as in tho homo
training, while a thorough knowledge of
tho fundamental branches is requisite, yet
here, too, tho chief aim Is to make tho
pupil accomplished rather than learned, a
bcllo rather than a scholar.
There aro excclleut public schools, which
havo Increased In number and elllclcucy
under the republic and which aro attended
by both sexes, there being some difference
In tho courso ot Btudy in tho lower grades,
but nono in tho higher. Whero discrimina
tion occurs It is tho matter ot manual
training principally girls In tho industrial
schools being taught sowing, cookery and
other domestic arts, whero boys aro in
structed In tho uso ot tools Franco not
having yet advanced to tho equality which
prevails tbioughout the Bchools ot Scan
dinavia. Tho pooplo of tho wealthier classes, as in
England, do not patronize tho government
belong to n family holding very advanced
Ideas and theso aro steadily multiplying,
even In France remains a minor all her
life. If sho teaches or embroiders, or en
gages In any permissible business, her
earnings enn bo claimed by her father, and
she Is allowed Just what ho sees fit to
grant her. After marrlogo bIio still re
mains a minor, unless this should ho other
wise stipulated In tho nnto-nuptlnl contract.
Tho latter has been legalized under tho
republic, nnd by Its provisions tho wife ro
tnlns her Independence, transacting busi
ness, mannglng her own properly, but never
ncqulrlrg, oven then, a right to tho custody
ot her children, which are still supposed to
belong to tho father exclusively.
Tho women of France havo no political
privileges of any sort. Tho Salle law, which
excluded women from succeeding to tho
throne, bns Influenced all politics, and It Is
a Meld In which tho women of tho nation
havo not Intorosted themselves, except ns
It has afforded themes tor discussion in the
salon or motifs of lntrlguo In tho court.
Thoso who, llko Mndamo Do Stncl, know
enough ot statecraft to merit banishment,
havo been very few, nnd In this respect
they hnvo been In marked contrast with
tho women of tho higher classes In tlront
Britain, who are expected to bo thoroughly
conversant with public affairs.
There Is a mis
taken Impression
that tho French
woman anticipate
In nmrrtnge n lati
tude In certnln di
rections, of which
she promptly avails
herself. She Is In
deed relieved from
the trammels ot
leading strings, the
supervision of par
ents nnd teachers,
but she does not,
ns n rule, obuse
her newly achieved
liberty. She may
come nml go at
will, read tabooed
books, hear stories
nnd gossip, from
which her enrs
hnvo been care
fully guarded, but
sho occupies her
self mostly with
her houso nnd her
toilettes nnd with
her children. in
duo courso of tlmo
she becomes past
grand mistress In
securing tho maxi
mum of comfort
and elegance with
tho minimum of
expenditure n re
fined economy of
which she has too
much good sense to
bo ashamed, ond
which, on tho con
irory, is a credit
to her domestic
skill and her nnt
ural Intelligence.
In ovcry French
household tho sup
plies nro regulnrly
purchased each day,
oven to tho sugnr
nnd coffee. Nothing
Is wnstcd, nothing
left over; even tho
and chop nro broken
to simmer In tho pot
ALL THE GAME THE LAW ALLOWS-SNAPSIIOT OF A NE
BRASKA HUNTER WHO HAS KILLED AS MANY BIRDS
AS ARE PERMITTED TO A SIMILE OUN UNDER THE
NEW STATUTE Photo by n Stnff Artist.
bones ot Joint
up nnd placed
nu feu the stock
for Innumerable soups. Tho water In which
tho cauliflower nnd other strong-llavored
vegetables are stewed Is saved In tho snmo
manner nnd such n menu may be prepared
In tho closet-like kitchen over n handful
of charcoal ns would hardly bo undertaken
In n largo American kitchen, crowded with
now Inventions of every description.
Almost nil French women nro natural
cooks and cookery Is u part ,of every girl's
education except among the very highest
classes. Even these, reduced to poverty,
have exhibited surprising nptitudo In whnt
might almost bo called tho nntlnnnl voca
tion. In tho country the peasant child,
who must work ns soon ns she can walk,
begins by caring for tho poultry or herding
cattle In tho fields, then shu secures a
plnco ns an under-servnnt in a good family
In the village, progressing from dish-wash-Ing
nnd preparing vegetables to cook's as
sistant and dually, becoming very profi
cient, nblo to undertake the most dllllcult
nnd complicated dishes. Finally sho emi
grates to Paris, whero she earns good
wages a largo part of whlcn sho saveB
nnd Invests, that sho may return to her
native village In the courso of time, live
out her last years In peace, be hurled
amongst her kindred and bo certain that
the requisite masses havo been said for
the reposo of her soul, which has certainly
earned repose.
Asldo from supervising their households,
French women of tho middle nnd upper
lower clnss havo n decided talent for busi
ness. As In England, many of them mnn
age and niannge admirably hotels nnd
largo pensions. Others nro competent
bookkeepers In such establishments, and
they nro employed in tho snmo capacity
In many of tho largo shops.
Stenography nnd typewriting havo not
been mnstered by French girls ho gen
erally as by American nnd English girls,
but tho demand for their services In this
capacity Is Increasing. Hundreds aro
employed ns saleswomen In tho shops,
and, occasionally, ns telegraphers.
Nursing, heretofore, has been nlmost
wholly monopolized by tho religious sis
terhoods, ot whoso work It was consid
ered a legitimate part. But of lato years
tho profession has commended Itself to In
telligent young women with thu approval
ot tho moro liberal of tho French medical
profession.
In France, ns in other countries, there
aro thousands ot women teachers most of
tho instructors in tho private schools for
girls being women, while tho extension of
tho government schools has given employ
ment to hundreds In tho girls' departments
ot grammar, high nnd normal schools,
where tho teachers must bo trained for
their work.
Strangely enough, for many years women
havo enjoyed special opportunities for
studying medicine, tho sciences and urtB,
In Purls, obtaining degrees long before
such recognition was accorded them In Lon
don. The legal profession was tho last to ylold,
mid within tho present year Mine. Petit
was admitted to the bar and Is now practic
ing In Paris. On tho occasion of her ad
mission she was highly complimented for
her attainments by the Judge before whom
sho appeared.
Journalism has also proved a Held In
which clover French women havo distin
guished themselves. No editor lu France
wields a wider Inllileuco than Mine. Adam of
tho Nouvello Revue.
Tho successful woman artist lu Franco,
lu Pulls especially, enjoys tho most dis
tinguished privileges nml honors. She Is
a law unto herself, living llko a princess
lu sumptuous npartments where she re
ceives tho dlgnltnrlcH of the government
llko a sovereign holding a luveo.
It Is doubtful If any woman of tho stage
oven tho great Surah Slddons has over
proved such u distinctive social and ar
tistic forco as Is Sara Bernhardt today lu
Paris. Past Til), sho Is I ho Idol of tho
multitudes, still young, still charming, and
exercising that wonderful magnetism which
has proved Irresistible.
To (leorge Sand was accorded, by com
mon consent, tho right to don male nttlru
nn eccentricity of genius that no one
presumed to question.
Honorific distinctions have also been
liberally grunted, the Cross of tho Legion
nt Honor having been bestowed upon Mine.
Dodu for military service, upon Rosn Iloti
heur for artistic achievement nnd upon
Mine, Ilugelot for her great charitable
work.
MARY H. KROUT.
m
til
fa
& V
at the Candy booth
frir
'J
VftlSTOfWItCOWttBUi.
It
Jf If
u
iW .oj Jl . w
THREE SCENES IN CONNECTION WITH THE FLAG BAZAR HELD RECENTLY AT FRANKLIN SCHOOL, OMAHA Photo by a Staff Artist.