Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-01-17
The French, Girl OF the Period.

the grave the body Is taken out wrapped in a
blanket, aud buried, when the coffin is returned
to the owner.
The French Girl OF the Period.
From the st. James Gazette
There is no country in which democratic prin-
ciples in politics exist together with SO strong
feeling OF conservatism in all social matters as
In France. In spite of all the talk about lib
erte egaite ct fraternite"-to which the ter
rofists used to add, lou la mort''-the distnc-
ions between the different social classes are BY
all outward signs at any rate, more strongly
marked there than in England. Even on Sun
day the ouUrler proudly wears the clean new
blouse which distinguishes him from the petit
bourgeois; and whereas the British maid of all
work II sent on an errand only three doors off,
must don her jacket and feather hat the Pari-
Sian bO9ne cheerfully retains the white cap and
| apron which are the badges OF her servitude
| In all family matters this adherence to ancient
custom Is even more noticeable; and the prnci-
pie OF parental authority for instance is far
more powerful In France than among ourselves
| In country where no man. whatever NAV be
| MS age can marry without at least going
| through the form of asking the consent of his
| father and mother, and where girl is hardly
| consulted at all upon the important subject of
matfimony.it is not surprising that unhesitating
| tial submission should have come to be looked
! upon az a matter of course Great therefore is
| the dIsmay of French parents of the old school
on discovering that strange spirit of revolt has
| been silently but actively at work In their
| daughters minds, and that the model French
de1nO1Sete OF their youth is gradually developing
all the pecuiiarlties and diosyncrasies OF what it
was few years ago the fashion in Eng
! land to term the girl of the period" Nihilism
! has Invaded the nursery; socialism Is RAMPANT
| i'll the schOolrOOm; while the state of affairs in
! the salon and IN the Bots can only be described
as being. in the eyes of an old-tashoned
| French father. completely anarchical
| Whatever may be the primary cause of this
| change-Whether it owes its origin to the gem
erai spirit OF instruction against all authority
| or. as many trenchmen think. to the evil ey-
ample OF those incomprehensible Anglases and
| Amercalnes-of its reality there can be no
! doubt. The modern French girl has not vet at
| tanned to such sublime heights of independence
| as her American sister. who receives her adj
| miTerS III her own private drawing room &C
| companies them to the theater without chan
eron. and unheSltatingly accepts from them
| gifts OF flowers, bon-bons. and even iewelrv;
but yet does all these startling things with such
| innocence and simplicity that the sense of pro-
priety is scarcely ever shocked. But while still
| falling tar short Of this lofty ideal the French
girl OF the period is very different being from
| the penStOmld5re Of twenty Years ago fresh from
! the Convent des OiseauX or the Sacre Ceur
| with her downcast eyes, her monosyllabic an
! swers and her never-falling air of extreme re-
| serve and mOdesty. Mddle-aged men can easily
| remember the days when a French girl OF the
middle or upper classes only joined in dancing
| to the extent of mild quadrile with some pre-
| VlOusly-approved-of partner, and when drive
| III the Bots with mdn1an or performance of
'Athale' at the Theater Francois made I'D the
| sum-total of her daily dissipation Now the
waltz. mathematical by Byron, has no longer
| any secrets for her; her laugh Is heard at the
! Palas Royal and the Varieties; the TRANSACTIONS
of Walter Scott and Miss Austen. which once
satisfied her mothers literary cravings are dis
! carded for the novels of Daudet and Belot and
| in spite of all that NJ. Max O'Reli NAV say to the
contrary. she is positively learning how to firt
Now Irritation. which the writer lust mentioned
has rather neatly defined as ''des attentions sans
| intentions, is an almost objectionable crime in
| French eyes when practiced by an unmarried
! young lady. Where the attentions" are visible
! the Intentions are always assumed. English
| parents are generally inclined to take different
| view of this matter, and to look with indulgence
on IA harmless little Irritation" which they be-
| lIeve can be attended with no danger to girl of
| good principle and we'll balanced mind. A
| Frenchman would remark on this that though
! the ascent of Mont Blanc is attended with no
| danger to man gifted with a steady brain and
! great bodily activity. cautious parent would
| not choose to see his inexperienced boys frolic-
| ing among the crevasses and glaciers of the
! Grands hulets. There is popular sport among
| Mexican horsemen which consists of riding full
| tilt at yaWning precipice. the steed being
| A French
| novelist has not lnaptly compared the game of
Irritation to this form Of sport; the zest of the
| amusement being in each case derived from the
avoidance of catastrophe by the closest possi-
| bic shave Since this is the universal French
| view of the subject there can be no SURPRISE that
| Tart de firteT' as practised by unmarried girls
| forthe word as well as the art itself has become
| GalliclZed), should be looked upon with stern
| reprobation by the more sedate section ofFrench
! society. But parents, like other people. are
powerless to struggle against 1.-The spirit of the
age" The existence of the French girl of the
| period is an established fact; and SO rapid has
| been her progress in what, for lack of a better
word, we must term ''fastness," that she bids
! fair before another generation has passed away
| to leave her English prototype far behind in the
race. That, however, might have been expected
| from the first.
! We have all heard and read a good deal about
| the French marriages de cOnvenancen Novel.
lists have familiarized US with the touching pic
| ture OF young and beauteOuS bride dragged to
! the altar by wealthy but elderly bridegroom
| while nourishng in her heart hopeless passion
for some youthful but pennlless sutton who had
failed to find favor with her stern and avaricious
parents such very sad cases do occur. no
doubt; but not SO often as may be Imagined
| French girls generally have a very clear notion
OF the value OF money and position: and even
now, when they are beginning to claim voice
in their own matrimonial arrangements, their
| choice, as a rule falls on q sutton whose worldly
! position is by no means unsatisfactory But
then the number of bachelors willing to turn
benedicts has of late become much smaller
For this the young ladies have only themselves
to thank The average Frenchman is quite pre-
pared to frt with the modern .'fast' Young
| lady, but in nine cases out of ten he will care
fully draw the line at marriage ONLY a dot
Of unusually large dimensions could induce a
Frenchman to marry f1irt-a girl known to-
have had many lovers; and even this consider
alton might tail to atone for what he would
look upon as positive pre-nuptial denouencies.
| Thus it appears that at time when statistics
| show decided falling off in the number of mar
riages contracted in France-a fact generally
attributed to the prevailing financial depres.
son-the ladies themselves throw new and nm
necessary obstacles in the path of possible suit
ors. Retrospective jealousy is a very marked
| trait in the French character; and it will be LONG
before Frenchmen are educsted up Cor down.
| to the English standard of feeling on this noint
Must She Always .@Eush.,,
| From the Pittsburg Chronicle
very little girl, who is also very noisy one
asked her mother the other day with all a child's
I ~I..A~