New-York tribune., 1870-11-04
TIE WOUEN or FRANCE.

The Cable informed us the other day that
new Joan had arisen at Tours, and Frenchmen
were enlisting by hundreds under her banner,
to free their land from the pollution of the
invader. What chivalrous and sentimental
people like the French might not do under the
inspiration of a Nineteenth century Pucelle it
would be rash to say; but we have no hesta-
ton in predicting that the men who follow
the fortunes of the fair heroine of Tours will
never excel the deeds which the women OF
Paris are now getting ready to perform. A
public meeting of the fair sex has been held
within the beleaguered city under the presi-
dency of citizen Jules Allix, at which was ex-
hibited q remarkable engine of defense known
as "the finger of God" 1t consists OF an
india-rubber thimble containing tube charged
with prussic acid. Every patriotic French
woman will wear one of these thimbles. She
is approached by Prussian; she pricks him
with the point of the tube he is dead another
approaches; he also dies; another, and another,
until they are all dead and the modern Diana
stands unhaTmed, surrounded by circle of
cOrpses. 1t was beautiful plan, and though
the meeting broke up in q fight lowing OF
course to the admission of men, in the course
of which the Duke de Fitzames had scufle
with the chairman and upset both the chair
and the "lady committee" nobody can deny
that the proceedings were impressive if not
inspiritng to the highest degree.
But the women of Paris did not stop at de-
fensive tbimbes. They have demanded an
exchange of the poisonous squirt for the dead
ly rifle and pair of Zouaye breeches. A re-
cruiting Office has been opened for eight bat
taliOns of "Amazons of the Seine" who are
to serve in the OutwOrks, defend the ramparts
and barricades, and render their male comrades
what are rather vaguely described as "such
domestic and fraternal services as are COM
"patibe with moral order and military dis
"cipline.n They are to be uniformed i'll black
trowsers, with an an orange stripe, wOolen
blouse, black kept with orange band, and car
fridge box fastened to a shoulder belt. NM.
the gunsmiths are invited TO send in proposals
for supplying the corps with arms adapted to
woman's strength, and the ladies of Paris are
urged to sell their jewelry for the purpose
of buying the Amazons an outfit. The
officers are to be wives and daughters of mill
tary men. The surgeons, if possible, are to
be women. Certificates of good moral char
acter are required of all recruits The enlist
ments seem to be going on pretty fast but
we are panied to learn, from correspondent
of The London Times, that none of the ANA
IONS are good-lookng. The unsentimental
and unimpressionable scribe goes 80 far as to
say that most of them are hard-fisted daugh-
ters of toll, while many are actually too fat.
Under these circumstances we fear the black
trowsers with an orange stripe will not have a
pleasing effect, and the domestic and fra
:" ternal services" may be imperfectly appre-
ciated. The scheme, however, is one that will
repay study and to us in America, where
woman laments 80 necessarily the conven-
tonal limitations of her usefulness, it is per-
haps pregnant with serious consequences. At
the next plebiscitum, if France ever have such
thing again, the Amazons of the Seine will
hardly be denied vote. Military service may
thus be accepted az solution of the Woman
Question. Before the next election we may
in the streets of NewYork companies of
lovely target-shootcrs, marching TO East New
York in black glazed trowsers and red flannel
shirts; and bills presented in the Legsla-
ture to confer the privilege of the suffrage
upon the Stanton Fusileers or the Anthony
Inyincibles.