New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-06-30
z U r O P E.
FRANCE.
TRAINING OF CHILDREN.


gosysspondspes Of Tie N. Y. Tribuns
PARIS, June 3, 1857
Twas speaking last week Of the children in the
arden Of the Tuileries, and how easily we'll
Behaved they were. Now passing among them,
i do not, on an average, hear squail or see
tears once al hour-not even from the Threats
OF on the cheeks Of the lttlest toddngs and suck
knss, who must be too young to be amenable to
moral suasion; whipping or ether gross corporal
discipline never see. Among the elder ones, az
NAV already have remarked, do not recollect an
instance Of a quarrel for possession of d ball. hoop
Or other disputed paything. Now our children--I
SPEAK a. general American, not in my individual
aud lonely capacity-are markedly different IN
their manners. In explanation OF this dis
crepancy Of infantle phenomena, | offer, az
becomes the philosOphic observer, two theories.
The difference lies, them say in race. The Anglo
Saxon baby il born bawly, squally, screechy he IS
imnstey grabby, scratchy, pIucky. The language
shows it; none of these words are of Latin or CALI
sO-Latn origin. As he grows up he brags, bulles,
xrasps, snatches grabs-all Saxon roots. Beats !
that il the expression of superiority, excellence,
eminence-" it beats the Dutch, beats the devil,
beats all nature" our prOverblal expressions
III one thing surpasses another it beats 1t. Next to
beat hardest worked verbs are verbs Of acqusi-
.ion and possession. We are par excellence traders
and property makers. Worth, that should mean
manhood and valOr, has come to mean bank stocks
and building stones-material ownership. We are
the great travelling race of the world running after
the climates and sights of other natOns and wlthal
the closest hOme-keepers For we will get, gam,
have, hold for ourselves. Nationally we develop the
same characteristics. From the time Of the Morse
men and Danes and SaxOns and NOmans, our all
cestors-from William the COnqueror to Gen.
Walker from Hengst and HOrsa to Kentuekan
horse alligator piOneers-wh Chinese wars and
ChOctaw expulsion East Indian acquisition aud Mex
lean annexation, We are always the same piratcal,
grasping, sef-absorbing people. And note here, that
when we conquer, drive out, consume, or absorb
instead of assimiating. The Spanlar1s IN South
America and Mexico, as the French in Canada, as
simulated and anal gamated with the indigenous folk.
With us half breeds the Western frontier
rare, ard 80 far as they exist our Southern plan
tstiOns il il but the increase of OWner'hp Of prop
erty. We tend to political democracy by force of
egotisc indvidualsn, as the French tend to social
equality by force Of a humanitarian gregarousness,
or a gregarious humanitaranism "a pair of good
long words, whose right of precedence cannot ia
the hurry of letter-writlng stop to decide upon)
The French baby like the French man or woman,
10 tminently gregarious. And fifty French bodies
being together are, just by sJtue OF the congomera-
ton content because their strong gregariOus sym
patty is satisfied They have an appetite for con.
trbution Fifty English or American bodies brought
together will be apt TO ange and interfere hOsely
with each others individuslism. They have all ap-
petite for acquisition and sole ownership. So the
Englishman loves his home because it is his; the
possessive is bis favOrite case. The Frenchman
loves public gardens fetes, balls, theaters, cafes
whatever places his fellows most cOngregate in, for
his enjoyments are doubled by participation /
might 20 on to say that the Englishman is substan
tive and the Frenchman is qualitative, and other
wlse grow profoundly misty and set your readers to
rubbing up their Dictionaries but must hasten to
my other theory, explaining the good behavior OF
French children.
1t is owing, as it seems to my observation, IN
large part TO the fact that the distance between
grown folks and little folks is not as great with the
French as with us. / think notice that when
man or woman here speaks to a little child, the man
does not look far down nor the yOungster so far
up as is generally the case similar intercourse with
us. j saw the other day in the garden company
of eight or ten little girls playing at rope dancing
The rope was swung by two WOmen-a bonnie and
mother, Judged. Whenever child missed step
she gave way " another competitor. The greater
number of continuous steps OF course the greater the
triumph. Gathered about the players was quite
crowd of grown people, who looked on with nearly
rs much apparent interest as the children. When
good dancer made about fifty steps they wrew quite
intense, counted aloud the increasing number with
increasing emphasis, and smiled or cried applause
rather admiringly than cOndescendiney. Whether
they had gone back in memory to their own merry
childhood, or went down direct to level of enjoy
ment with these children, or, what am more apt
70 think had never lost completely as We oitenest
do in advancing life their youthful emotions certain
il IL that there regned for the time sympathetic
equality that seemed to level distinctions of age and
stature, and yet not weaken the authority of the
elders.
And this reminds me, going out of the garden, to
remark, what may be very often observed in France
much ottener, should say, than in England or
America relation between father and son which
adds friendship to paternal and flial love. While
the father does not lose authority nor the son rever
ence, there grows up between Them securing both,
. confidence and sense of companionshp that en-
riches eithers love. Tutelage is exercised without
despOtism, and independence enjoyed without re-
bellion. Here, again, if you will have theory for
the pleasant fact, would refer the explanation to
fluent sympathy and French sense of equality. That
charming friendly French verb, utoyer, is instru-
mental in the practice.