The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-06-05
Women Workers i'm Paris,

w hSiO VIC LII W 1aDOr IS NOR
generally conceded to women than il
France. In the early morning one is help
ing to sort the refuse from the houses
See that basket with bits of paper. Her
Is pile of nice green salad leaves, an,
there basket of bits of bread. Per
maps they have little Gonkev-cart t.
haul these out of the city, where the,
will feed the provender to rabbits
chickens, etc. These people in genera
have not the degraded look of our rag
pickers. How few people in Franc,
have a degraded look! Perhaps two
hfths OF the women in Paris wear caps
and did not note dirty one. See
women helping to sweep the streets witt
big heavy brooms made of twigs. Other
women, hard-looking but tidy, l see
waiting on the Place St. Augustine fol
some one to come and hire them. One
woman sets down heavy basket o1
bread and takes loaf into grocer's
another has a great load in her apron,
her long apron whose ends are tied over
one shoulder. In her hands she has
three of those long slender loaves that
are cut into bits at the restaurants. The
loaves are about two yards long, looking
like poles or stakes She wears no bon.
net, and to rest herself she sets the ends
OF them down on the pavement, or rests
them against the wall. How much they
carry bread uncovered in Paris! Once
on the street saw one of the infinite
number of cap-wOmen seated behind the
little box on which she cleans shoes.
She had fallen asleep, and her knitting
and folded newspaper lay on the box
before her. l see woman walking the
street and knitting. Did some of the
women of Paris really take their knit
ting and sit down in the street to see the
heads cut off in their great Revolution?
Paris is the grand hotel of the world.
1t is now full of guests. Paris is con-
tent. But what if Paris were sullen or
sad? What if Paris were desperatep
At the Restaurant Duval, at the Ex-
position, notice the force of walters with
black dresses and white caps and hand
kerchiefs. One says that they used to
pay on coming each morning a franc
and half, but now they must pay two.
On bench in the Garden of Plants sits
woman working button-holes in ma
chine made collars-military false col
lars. She is working them beautifully,
five in each collar. She gets 10 sous for
the dozen collars, and she can earn 80
sous day. Poor woman! In the same
nejghborhood l go into little creamery
and get bowl of chocolate for five
sous. A woman says that the shop is
hers, and she has small custom. Her
husband works on the railroad, and her
two children are boarding with her par
ents, who are alone near the Vosges
Mountains. Not far off, upon the street,
a woman is frying potatoes merry nicely
She has stove in which she burns coke.
She sells her potatoes for one and two
sous, and sells good many at break
fast and dinner time. She has cubby-
hole or recess in the house front, and
pays 10 sous rent day Riding on the
circular railway to the Exposition, there
is nice young woman in the car with
a basket and can. She buys milk and
makes that soft cheese of which the
French are so fond. She puts hers up
in bits of cloth, and lays each pat into
bit of basket. She has q custom at
the restaurants outside of the Exposi-
ton. In her can is the cream to pour
over and make .tronsage III creme,
She has been married year, and
her husband sells flowers near
the Madeleine Church. How many
women are helping to pull hand-carts,
or pushing them themselves! Here is
one loaded with flowers, there another
with meat and fish. In the corner of a
courtyard sits woman carding wool
for mattresses. They can open the
mattresses. card the wool, land put it into
a clean cover. My porter's wife tells
me that this wool is mixed with hair. |
60 one morning to the grocer's and find
only woman there; and when | 90 to
the Office of tobacco near us-the Gov
ernment office-to buy postage-stamps,
what pretty woman is at one counter
ready to sell stamps or the precious
taxed weed! l 60 to the druggists land
find Mrs. Apothecary at the desk on one
side with her crocheting, and the ac-
count-book open before her. After her
husbands death the law allows one
year to settle his affairs.
At the Exposition l see my friend
Mrs. c., from "the provinces ~
Her husband exhibits, and she explains
that she must see that the sales-women
are polite. visit a public school where
three of the four teachers are married.
The directress or head teacher tells me
that she has taught in the public schools
II years, and has been married Is. Her
son is 12, and attends the college -,
where his father is professor. She tells
me that Lying is very dear.
In the Louvre gallery, among the art
lists at work, there are number of
women. One of them is drawing from
Paul Veronese's picture of "The Mar
riage at Cana in Galilee."
Widows are engaged in business at
Paris. 1 go into a bookstore and find a
She says that she is all alone.
and gives me her card" Widow -"
She asks me to send my friends, and
sells me pretty note-paper at two sous
Tor six sheets. At the Exposition, in
plantation of trees, see a board set
bearing "Widow Durand, Bourg-la-
Refine" On hand-bill in the street
Ire the names of Widows Renon, Maulde
md Cock, printers, Rae de Rivoli. My
andlord jestingly says that their hus-
oands were printers, and that after hav-