New-York tribune., 1879-01-18
SOCIAL LIFE IN FRANCE.

FEMALE EDUCATION TO BE IMPROVED.
,,,,, ,o,.rr<r ar PRUSENT-FRENCH AND Eng
,,su ,,rruoDs CONrRAsTFD-THE EFFECT OF
1ur pRTsFxT SYSTEM PERNICIoUS-A PROJECT
To rsr,plISH GIRLS COLLEGES - GENERAL
GRANT AND FAMILY ENJOYING THEIR EURO
PFAN TRIP
,,vo,, -, REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRIBUNE.l
PANS Dee 27.-Ihe era OF peril is over; that OF
d;eiculties Is beginning, said VI. Gambetta on
Christmas Eve at the Commercial Travellers ban
onet. He meant by that that the Republican or
winning. party would soon begin 70 experience
th, dlSsolyent action of power and that their WIS
dom and patience wond be severely taxed IN sup
porting the test of Office. and IN the appetitcs ana
iealousicS which spring up in the camp OF inc
victorious. am happy TO say there Is one quc'-
t.on of major pori ance which will not be SUM
bling BLOCH either to the Legislature or TIE uoN-
eromeut. Ii is that OF aifordng higher IN
structoa at cheap rate, ana IN many
cases free of charge, to girls
Female education in France is III very hackwar"
state. We're il not since it is mothers who form
the masculine mind ard teach the yonng ldea no"
10 shoot that the quality of the feminine braih ls
.xccpt;nraIly GOOD i'm this country it would be the
most Bo,atian IN Europe. Arithmetic, music
md ,falnInar are well taught in young ladles
1eg@iops and in the converts devoted 70 pedagogy,
lut nothing else History i IA mere dictionary oi
dates. Its dry bone. alone arc given to the 1ar
pupil who as she is never LEFT TO herself ana theIe
fore never has an opportunity OF laihnS
into maiden meditation fancy free, Is unable
10 c1othe thc,n with flesh, ard TO lnfuse HE ana
.p.rit INTO them. English girlhood could not atahu
The stulifyipg regime to when frehch e!Ii
hood subjected for any length OF time without oe
coming idiotIc or hI s,cricaL There are no Walks
No gymnastics. no lcttcr-writng TO friends, no
o.. ...,f1,,t tirar- p.4ll1 u "
Cousins; no outings with brothers. no rccrea-
five books TO read, like ScOti's novels OF Ienny-
sons poems From Sunday 10 Sunday tie future Wl1c
and mother i, locked up, DINGHY dressed III dying
scnool-ro IN in which tie ink almost freezes III the
desks in Winter. She Tomps in garden deStltale Oh
heritage for bout an hour and a half each day. lhe
eve Of an under mistress Is never OH her. ana shc
feels herself IN, object of the most minute cSpioh
age. On Saturday night if she has relations within
walking distance, she goes home, and Is fetched
back tie night following by q boanc.
These little outings afford, it is true de-
lghtful visits on the great, active World
Partisan hoads of families, the day on
winch the young people are home from
school or college, are fond of spending the early
mart Of the If crnoon in public promenade, dining
in a restaurant, and finishing the evening at some
theatre where short play is got through 10y 10
friends. has no such resource. She is a prisoner
from October to the middle Of August. Pupils in
the Convent of les Oiseaux and in the Sacre CGur
pre not allowed 10 90 home often as those in lay
schools But as a Set-o!f they have finer gardens TO
romp in: their dolmltOUcs are beautifully clean,
ana there is a naive smple-mndedncss IN the Nuns
which renders them Conccnial school mlstresses.
In converts they also practise, to large extent
pretty litc industrial arts i'll the casS-rooms when
lessons are and the wcathcs too severe for gar
den exercise Most Of The valentines sold in London
at the fashionable stJtoneTs are done III conYentual
houses Of education. IheatPicalS, in which there
aIe not male parts, are Easter Tecreat0ns Inc
finding o Moses is a fay0rlte play. Moses, VINO ls
done 10y a wax doll, is the single character that Is
not rosebud Dramas of the rosebud spe-
Cic are apt to be iasipid. But young ladies who are
not suffered to look out the street, and cut OFT
from the family circle, are easily amused. When a
human interest is wanting they throw themselves
into the scenic accessories In the Advent there Is
no small amount of plcasurable excitement pro-
duced by the creole, OF stable, in which
Jesus was born. in Bethlehem. The wax
figures of the Shepherds, of the Angels,
the HOLY Family and the Wise Men, which
have been under lock and key for eleven months,
pre taken out of presses. busted and fWbished up,
AID grouped with asses, sheep and oxen. The chici
exercise for the pen and the imagination Is III
writing letters Of petition To the Sacred Heart ana
tothc VIroin. The mlsSiycs are laid on the aitaT'
ana when there is a coodly pile of them they are
consumed with incense III burner. 1t Is supposed
that the PRAYERS written in them are waited up TO
heaven in the pcrfumed smoke. Naturally the
Superior before tho buning takes place, has
peruscd them, and submitted those which struck
her as being remarkable to the COntessOT of the
convent. lie is more often than not jesuit. lou
can easily conceive the intimate knowledge the
Order of Jesmts i'll this way acquires of the hearts
md souls of future leaders of society. Decorating
the chapel and its altar at certain festival periods
affords another against stultfylng tedum,
and teaches girls how to use their fingers. Arull-
.ial howcr-making is gone INTO with entAu-
siasm by nuns and pupils and the mimic
bloom serves TO brighten up inches sacred
10 images of the Holy Family.
But + taste and fancy are cultivated in the con-
tsinwhich the daughters of the rich are educat-
ed there Is nothing done to strengthen the intellect,
outside of the arithmetic class, and vast deal of
mains is taken TO infuse false IDEAS of life History
is given in more interesting 1mm than i'll the lay
acB>io,S but i; is iaSited from beginning TO end.
In girls schools Of every kind nothing can he more
unsatisfactory tban The notions gwen OF tcra' are,
Ancient and Modern. The " school Readers are Of
the most ,cr3ppv kind. and 20 to ncuicae the false
moral that virtue j. always rewarded IN this
life. which any one gifted with observing power
and experienced in things mundane knows
10 he untrue. the organ in the Convent
Chapel attuncs the ear of the pupil to harmony.
This advantage is altogether wanting III the young
ladies' neutrality-suspicious.. where instrumental and
vocal music are taught Oh old WORKOUT pianos,
which are not often enough tuned. What saves III
France the female mind from being distorted and
crippled il carly marriage and the complete cman-
cipation which follows il. There is no more de-
voted mother noI ancctionate wife in existence
thnn thr IIcnchN0man who has made up IN a