The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-05-21
French W omen Described ny u French.
man.


Paris correspondence London STAN
dard: "At the present day the educa-
ton of girls is nearly exclusively in
the hands of the clergy. The con-
vents have organized regular mo-
nopoly Of female educati0n they have
rendered secular competition entirely
out of the question. 1t IL easy to UNI
derstand that the clerical party should
wish TO retain that monopoly. Ina
few years some of these girls will take
the veil, and the convent where they
were brought up will reap the benefit
of their unreserved cooperation and
their fortune, and they will be thus IN.
strumental in paving the way for the
influence of the clergy OVER the next
generation. The greater number OF
them will marry and have children.
They will bring up the children In the
same way that they themselves have
been trained in. They will receive
the mot dOrdro from the clerical party;
they will promote its collections, its
associations Its works OF charity aud
propaganda; the influence they may
have over their husbands, their fami.
lies and their friends, will be used for
the benefit of the clergy. Now, this
education which women receive Is de-
plorahle. 1t Il equally Objectionable
for what II does teach and for what It
does not teach. AS regards Instruction
II Is absolutely insufficient. IL one
could get glimpse into the intellect
OF girl leaving school, one would be
terrified at the huge gaps existing In Ii.
No philosophy, no science, no philol-
ogy, no history. The practice OF arith.
nletic does duty for mathematical sell
ence, and the principles and theories
are seldom or never touched upon. As
for natural science, they have to rest
satisfied with few experiments akin
to those which delight children at the
conjurors on the Boulevards. On the
other hand, they are Taught sacred his.
tory with great miputeness, and what
that history is like Is enough to make
one shudder. A glance at the books
in the converts will show that facts
are distorted, characters altered, events
accommodated for the greater glory OF
the Ch0rch of Rome. The men, at all
events, ignorant though they be, have
" VI Nilt tAlSltuCt OI SUCH
a thing as scientific method. But
there Is no phenomenon so rare as
woman having distinct notion Of
what science means. Mysticism Is at
the bottom OF the conventual system of
education, and instead of developing
and sharpening their reasoning facui.
ties, the imagination, with all It's NOR
bid tendencies, Is unduly put through
forcing process. In short, with q
few happy exceptions, female eduoa.
ton In France does not rise above the |
level of professional training. Accord.
ing to the social class to which they
belong, that professional training va. |
ries. Some who are meant for milli- |
ners learn to sew, to use scissors and |
work the sewing-machine; others, In.
tended for cooks, learn TO light fire,
to truss chicken and to clean sauce.
pans; others, who are Intended TO |
shine In society," are trained to hold
their heads up, TO bow gracefully, to
play on the piano aud to talk about
frivolous gossip without looking bored.
All equally are taught to spell and
make themselves agreeable. The only /
difference between them IL that some
Of them wear cap and others bon
net some are attlred In silks and
satins, others In cotton, and some wear
larger quantity Of artificial hair than
others. Internally the difference is
not considerable. A psychologist who
merely heard them arguing without
looking at their hands, would be often
greatly puzzled 10 make out which was
The grand dame and which was the I
q There Y an enormous difference