The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-07-03

a. "bOlC tu1t tuC AtN VI =
young lady and her brother are on
the safe side. But it is difficult 10
avoid Indignation against much thai
o sees here. Shop keepers more
dtst'hJne IN appearance aud manner
than General Banks, aud dressed
like millionaire, will not hesitate 10
cheat you out of a sou. Now an
American does not like 10 DC robbed
on u smail scale. We are quite ac.
custvnied ~ having u member Of
congress pat a railroad in his peck
ct, and II Is rather sublime to see q
Boaanzl King defraud an immense
souiless corporation. There's mill
Ions IN it" An American under
stands this grand way Of doing things,
and he would much rather be gnIped
by an alligator, han 10 be nibhled to
death by pismires. But to have q
grand duke, OF his wife, who is 81
ways In the shop with him, cheat
you in making the change for sew
ing a button or your gsiter is dis
cordant, unexpected. Ycu enter the
shoe saloon OF the elegant aud refn-
ed looking cobbler, and make him uu-
d%eratand, By dint Of pantomime and
bad French, that you desire the ia
vor OF having q button attached to
your shoe. The cobbler understands
your business, aud be knows YOU are
an American. I: would be money
in your pocket if you could pass for
an Englishman. Some Americans,
who have been here for two or three
years, have acquired that dodge and
1t Is useful if not ornamental. You
hesitate to take off your shoe ia the
presence oftbat ETHEREAL woman, the
shcemaker's wife, who sits behind
the little desk; but what must be
your surprise when he passes your
big dusty shoe 10 The ETHEREAL being
to mend. She says: "Est &c qu
te bouton est perdu Mon.ieH, 2" Is
1t that the button is gone TO peidi-
ton, sir? She means to ask if the
button is lost. You say "C'est
perdu." That g you admit that it
is gone there Apropos of battons,
there can be no doubt of tie beauty
OF French women, not, of course, that
all of them are beautiful, far different,
but | think the average number Of
beautiful women il France is larger
than in America, except, of course,
that part in which out paper circu-
lates. Then the French women have
such au ineffIble grace Of manner,
and such exquisite taste in dress. |
think, | know the reason. IL is be-
cause the French have no home, as
the saying is; only little roomsl lined
all round with mirrors, which reflect
their every motion, every attitude
The French see themselves litter
ally as others see them, and years OF
selfcrlticism has enabled them to
eliminate much aNkwardness of &C
ton, and to supply by artificial
devices, many deficiencies Of nature
Could some Edison but invent q
mirror that would reflect the soul,
by which this conceited people might
see their inner life as others see it,
what a moral revolution might in
time be hoped for. The CONFUSION
of '93 would be peace in comparison,
and the suicides of the new era might
outnumber the tomicides Of the old.
But the French are no less graceful
in their department, in their address,
than they are in their dress; and
this ] think is also to be accounted
for by the fact that they are not q
homely people, but live on the
street, in public parks, and cafes.
What the school Of the portico was
to the polite and accomplished Athe
nian, the Boulevard, the cafe, and th.
garden are to the Frenchman, and
none the less to the Freuchwoman,
and this social attritiOD, continued
for generations, has produced an ease
and gracefulness in conversation, q
happiness of manner, and an amiabil-
ity and gayety of facial expression,
in short, a superficial polish, which
the superficial observer will mistake
for real refinement. But no people
so selfish, vain and cruel as the
French are, can be called refined by
any standard accepted by christea,
dom, outside of France. The French
abuse horses with more inhumanity
than a southern negro treats a mule.
They will take off their hats ID you
with q grace that has never been i'm
ported to u shores, and pass the
compliments Of the day 10 language
and style that is the very poetry Of
polite intercourse /; but they will al
low a oma to faint before they
will cfer her a seat in the car, or 10
the slightest degree incommode them
selves. As an instance of their want
of ~gallantrv saw a lady drop a
parasol from a cab while driving on
the Boulevard between the Madeleine
and the Champs Elysee. The boule-
yard was crowded, and muddy from
recent raiOs, not a Frenchman pre-
tended to pick it up for her; she did
not seem to expect i. She might
have held the rein5 Of the too quiet
horse while the driver would recover
the parasol, but she was q French
woman and knew the driver was not
paid for that. She took in the situa-
ton at a glance, was equal TO the
emergency and the civillzaiion-she
mt dnwn in the mud and helned