New-York tribune., 1884-10-25

and amisblc but they ensrvate us From the 70 yoke k
81 the mother We pass, after somo moments OF I'D
ertv more or less utilized, undcr the yoke OF the
wife From. the cradle TO tho tCmn wo"Sn; Sn,ds m
Eraucc lead us by the nose. Charming ponas,
adorable slavery! All this Is very hne' out IL !"
slavery" 80 a.,
The Euqlishmau, on tho other hand. LEAVES his
mother without more emotion or ceremony than VIC
should feel or employ In leaving our landlord. IL
he Is married. he tells his wife that he has dcciocd
70 start for Australia the next day. Shc pack his
trunks which takes less time than In France, ana
oil he goes" And this is his Inference:
"Ths maternal influence, SO great in France, so
small in England explains the men OF tho Two
countries In the Frcnchman arc mingled win ire
masculine qualities the characer'stcs ana urLec,s
which belong to the nature OF the woman whcrc.
as IN the Englshmah there IL no SUCH tenperinR oi
the natural masculine qualities. and so he IS SUP,
ject to excesses-tO avalanches OF virtue or oi
vice." .u
OF course this theory Of the absence of mater
nal influence in England is altogether ab'u ri, but
the conclusion is very French.
English hospitality, Orch unhesitatingiy de-
clares to be the most eminent national char
actcrstc:
And since il is difficult in making observations
upon foreign country, TO avoid comparisons,
will add at the risk of being charged with want OF
patriotism by the Jingocs who are pleased TO pelevs
the English semi-barbaIians who dwell IN a klnd OF
perpetual night will add, say, that English
hospitality is much bcartier and more generous
than French hospitality. -. Go to see a
Frenchwoman in, the country. IT you are III shc
will offer you glass Of eau sucrte II yOu dance at
her house she will give you piece OF cake ana
of chocolate TO Obtain seat a. her & table bic, you
tend beyond her family circle. country ne
in England is much gayer and more intelligent. 1t
s more sociable and freer The yonng poPc cmSs mGet
and constantly gather together in the nelghDorlne
fields to amuse themselves. These reunions are
again frequently the occasion of excursions and
HAY in IN fc
another Impromptu dances. mus'cdt.s, not 70 SPEAK
of religious and phiianthropic meetings. Mi up the
time"
But our Gallo critic draws the line at private
concerts and conycrsaziones. These he describes as
being uuspeakably tiresome and narrowing to
the soul. The music is bad at the con-
certs At the conversazOnes they do every
thing but converse. In fact. lie compares,
the pain inflicted by the "soree musicale" to the
imaginary effect of " tOothachc in the stomach.
For the Queen and the members of the royal
family he has only the most respectful and admir-
ing comments In his remarks on the English gov
erness he says only what has been said frequently
before namely, that she has a very dubious and
disagrecable position, and that the British Phil
istine treats her more impertinenty than he would
dare to treat either the cook or the butler.
Servants, he says are mere machines. 1here ex-
lists no confidence or sympathy between them and
~ Il
earnings upon dress, and usually marry mechanics
to whom they make bad wives because of their ex-
travagant habits. acquired when they were vast
ing the fuel and food which other people paid for
He tells strange story about friend of his who
visited America in 1876, and who received an ln-
yitation to visit the country home of a certain
United States Senator, some miles from NashlnS-
ington. The Frcnchman on retiring put
his boots outside his door. In the morn
ing he found that they had not
been cleaned and while he was wondering what to
do his host came up and said: "Oh. my friend,
how stupid ami | forgot to tell you last night
where the blacking and brushes were"
We hope the United States Senator who makes
his guests clean their own boots will reveal him
self to an admring people.
There is a good deal Of rlcuie of the English
dissenters and the Anglican Church, though not OF
a bitter or malignant kind and the British conVic-
ton that the people of the tight little island" are
the cream and flower of creation Is satirized IN
what must be considered rather clumsy way.
The episode of 1.-The Wears Wife" is in this line,
but it is a very mild kind of wit which informs it.
The worst feature of the book is one which 1t
seems almost impossible for the Frenchman who
writes about women at all TO keep free from. We
refer TO latent suggestivcness which Is simply an
imal and gross and which must offend all who have
pure minds There was excuse for this. For
the most part il is actually forced into the discus
sion unnaturally but its presence shows what
long course of French novels has done for modern
France in the way of degradation, and II tends to
spoil a volume which, without possessing any pre-
tensions TO eminent merit. would otherwise have
been sufficiently entertaining, and which Is not
without some just and acute oDscrVdiions, shch as
an intelligent foreign observer IL more apt 10 make
than a native Of the country criticised.