, 1880-04-11
1--we AND FINANCE.
c.rversatfon in French snlon-The
WV Cost of a Vyifc.

-
s,tton in French Salon-Th
Cost of a wife.
co1rsoond<,,ce Nfsu York Sun.
r March q, 16S0.-In France maj
40 made not in heaven, but in the n
aak. n.r}or. j man with position WORT
sns s,eh ran marry wife with a dowr,
20 49, mnch. 1t is all reckoned &C
o. a7d,ne n to q sliding scale. Theoretical
oola o. tha wife ought to have q dowry, tn
y Ni.o+est ~ on the capital of which i
pse a, n amount to the annual earning Of TIL
eqaht eqahand n This is the theory; the practic,
nusof n.s+s fro1n it but very slightly. Marriage
asp 'ars are rare, and marriages OF reason arr
o. n the increase. I do not propose in this
sa no. ~ IN treat the question of marriage
ie'T. I.,nce from the point of view Of
II .l4;ss it which would more than bea1
sA'.~ 49, statement above; I will simply
ou. + rom the point of view Of q
eessaa,hman, esa ,aby reporting as faithfully as !
80 remember conversation which I hap
pened = %he Tw'el salon vas in the Boulevard
4se,, 4se,,..harhes. in one of those luxurious
!Alasss Aaisss where the modern stockholders
spooTft lie nTi1ces. Two men, still young,-
AZ n1o ~ say. on the right side OF 40,-were
I1ouassnsinr Ioss = in corner Of the room, with
!!ossegIasses !oarIhes fixed and restless eyes, seeking
1sther to see than to be seen.
~ .ienal E for fresh quadriile the elder said
spa9enF a4 ~ nv M friend, there is the charming
,,,so1, whom ] wished to show you"
pea:TThh peaThat little brunette with white rose in
be! sz!fess 9s:Iss
~fsT f9 pzgg:;;ty, indeed; large blue eyes and
oafW aWeiI, !eII you bare only to ask her hand, in
N Zone inc question! Permit me. What is the
ns9ii ..Th1ee re- hundred thousand francs.".
II mere nothing! lmigl!t as well at once
buy rope to hang myself With Nercd, mon
'.s aWhat! Vhat Three hundred thousand francs;
do ron I cail that nothing?"
.Explain yourself, I pray.'
aThree hundred thousand francs In 1880.
The game is not worth the candle"
"For safety's sake, in order to avoid bank
1uptcy, a dowry Of $4,000 francs would be
$!s;. IS II i railway stock guaranteed by the
Consequently It does not bring in 5 per
cent. Nevertheless, let us suppose that the
doWry when invested does bring in S per
cent: that means an income of 5000 francs.
The little brunei with white rose In her
hair would cost more than that"
aAh! you don't mean that?"
"You will see. My. dear fellow, I 60 to the |
Bourse every day, and must be allowed to !
know something about arithmetic. Now. let |
Us consider and make our calculations. The |
little brunei is pretty; therefore she must be |
seen, and therefore she must be well dressed.
She must hare at least two dresses each sea-
These costumes will cost the trifle Of COCO
francs at the least considering the present
price OF ribbons silk, velvet, and dressmak-
ers' work."
@Good; 600 francs"
"Love, and BY love mean marriage, likes
Hsn white ha;. q s,siE|na dyen SNOW Linen 1;ee
yin cost, say 1000 francs, and that is
tidiculously small sum. Then I have not
7eckoned Shoes She has the feet Of fairy.
and 50 she needs silk stockings, chamber
brodoquins like those Of Cinderella, and
what not. Put another thousand francs.''
"Well, that will bring itup to 900 francs"
hcial flowers, feathers, wells, mutfs, false
hair?-for the fairest use false hair. No!
Well, let me be liberal for once, and not reck-
N those items Still there are certain small
expenses which are Indispensable; there is
be piano and the tuning Of it, new music,
1ew novels, an illustrated journal, Vie Pa
tstenne, writing materials, postage stamps,
og, E1icE-knacEs to to be- u bought, 1t ali aims IS to to
e given. For all that let Us say 1,500
ou will remark that I have.
qt Of pure naagnanimity, not said word
bout BOY the necessary things Of life,-house
Q, because in the actual state Of society it is
Omitted on all hands that a wife is no longer
2 object Of utility, but an object Of luxury.
Ee must, therefore, continue our calcuIa-
ons on this hypothesis. Now madame,
avlng bronght with her dow1y of 100000 ,
ancs, thinks herself almost Princess.
es,oes he other servants. she must have ]
'fviee- The wages, board, lodging, and |
res reseSnts Is, Ct this chambe1maid will cost at
Very good; L, 500 francs"
Ihere is an item which I ought to have !
enaoned among the first-it Is that Of
ss9qmg; qags;s F831rmeIe!y washing was nothing.
eEenheIess aattered themselves On 0e be-. i
st T,ery little, because much less T linen N ]
as shown than Is now the case: and then 2
a9 It was the custom for ladies, even If :
ss"e5e pf1ncesses, TO look after their own |
'en ssa. put a!l that has been changed. Now \
- 90 ~ lnsle Is not petite bourgcofsc who q
es not spend fifteen hundred francs wear 2
washing. therefore propose this figure T
= ad;s. ~ I1sS oI making my contemporaries | :
aalate a. J; their countenances with smile Of /
+ fourteen thousand francs is our present :
:, Waitl During the winter madame will \
naT3;as nfa IN society, at the theatre, at din
g amer IS vacation time for the women Of M ~
~ IA r ,fa1s rivals Zanzibar in heat. It r
ula oe almost Indecent for pretty face fn
zen se mere, and so We must 20 to watering IS
'e,-W oWltzerland, to Meudon, or to +
&c @eS,ue. Madame will throw her =
Ina Il f4nn9 h;t1 q her husbands neck and /
tha nn nat II IS the usage to leave Paris p
;nso ny SIMPLY q month with your wife and q
114tsepalaole cflambermaid, will cost saw y
. tanes. Ian defy you to do it for less. we
y 'oa noM gone beyond our income of 1900 +
,1s, rcs a44 ,eare you to be the judge Of my "
IT,; IT,. Wei, this is nothlng.'' =
a. ei'en ga Thousand francs for having COM e
!, u1aI1aony; do you call that moth L.
10, no., my @ dear fellow, it is merely the be- E.
t4g; ,st J., Just think for moment Of the "a
'aaa;1 90 an;ev1table consequences Of marriage. =
.etpaas . fpaas strictly to the program that T +
~ aaefa; py using the income of the an
d;asss a. nave supposed, by working, by =
ohtag h,eg nothing on superauities on his ~
* - a plovlolng for the household ex. r
III tn rano,.t t!.' q naA AAsn% 1uu ~ OF
ara .cpeHt OF having married. But | By
a.f :. :. aware why society advocates mar os
:, = u. IS IN order to perpetuate the race. r
"a e. euppose that yon have only son and y
ss!teI, or what the BOURGEOIS call | M sta