, 1889-02-13

unconVenLlonhl charm OF manner and AM
mated, natural CONVERSATIONAL these en-
chAnted me. One never felt awkward with
them Whereas with a French young girl l
could generally find nothing but absurd com
monplaces to say, in the presence of JON
athans merry maidens l lost my timidity,
and could chat away with as little embarrass-
ment rs l would with a young brother officer
of my regiment
tn American girl is still without rivals In
Partisan drawing rooms, where she Is moro
and more sought after. Men seek her for her
gayety, wit or beauty; mothers look favor
ably upon her for her dollars; the younger
women tear her to shreds-nothing is wnnt-
ing to her success.
And what spirit there was In their dane
tngl What animationi What eyes Lit up
with pleasurel Not a moments tagging:
they danced with as much suppleness at 8 in
the morning as at tho beginning of the even
ing. And why not, indeedl Such pleasures
are harmless, and 1t Is not because a woman
has danced much in her girlhood that she
should lead her husband a dance, when she
has one.
Good scholars nre as easy to discover In the
recreation ground Us In the class room. The
morality of a youth is In direct proportion to
the delight he takes In play; that of a girl
may be measured by her gayety and high
spirits
shall never forget a young American girl
who sat ut the Same table as myself on board
tho steamer. The dear child, who was about
II, performed prodigies. 1 could scarcely bo-
lievo my eyes, and watched her with never
nappfnr fntarng3 vrL.N u--z.GAu W.
little table d'hote ogressl trembled for our
supplies and wondered whether the company
had foreseen the danger.
First Of all, at Z in tho morning, tea and
bread and butter was taken to tho hungry
ono In her cabin. At half-past s she break
tasted. AT this meal, she generally went
straight through the bill of faro. AT IL, she
had beef tea aud biscuits brought to her on
deck Lunch time found her ready for three
courses Of solid food, besides pastry, fruit,
etc. At O O'Clock, she did vallantly again,
and at 10 sho was regularly served with a
Welsh rarebit, or some other tasty tride.
Notwithstanding this, l rarely met her on
deck, or In tho corridors, but she was MUNICH
ing sweets, gingerbread or chocolate.
After all, thero are so few distractions on
board shlpl Men smoke, play poker, or in
dulge In n little betting on tho run Of the
ship. Some people sleep, some try to think,
but unsuccessfully; others read; some ladies
knit The American girl eats.
The American girl likes mems society for
several reasons. First, because she is well
educated and able to talk on almost all topics.
She can talk knickknacks and pretty nom
sense, but II she knows how to describe the
"cunningest bonnet" lately invented in Paris,
she can also tell you all about Octave Feuil-
let's latest novel, or even Herbert Spencer's
latest work She likes mems society, because
1t enlarges her circle of acquaintance, and
also because it increases her chances of max
ing a good match. No matter how much
Of a butterfly she may be, she mover loses
sight of the future. She does not say, as she
sits musing on marriage: "What inc of man
shall | suitr' but "What kind of man shall 1
chooser'
Tho constant aspiration of these young re-
publicans is to be one day countess, marchion-
ess or duchess.
The number of European coats of arms
which have been taken out of pawn, or re-
gilt, with American dollars, is
Not long ago,ra writer on tho staff of The
Paris Figaro counted, among the guests in
one of the most select drawing rooms Of tho
Faubourg Saint-G~ ernain, thirty-seven Amer
lean Indies bearing thirty-ssven names of the
most authentic French nobility. To name
only those which are present at the moment
in my memory the Princesse Murat, mother
of the Duchesse dc Mouchy, is American; the
Mnrquise de Chasseloup-Laubat is American;
the Comtesse de Saint Roman, la Generate de
Charette, tho Comtesse do Chevigne and tho
Comtesse de Ganay are Americans The
daughters of the great democracy have be-
como not only French in heart, but as royal
list MS the most ultramontane of our old dow
ayers.
Every ono knows how many American
women the English aristocracy counts in its
bosom, and that that most Tory and most
powerful political association, called the
Primrose league, originated with Lady Ran
dolph Churchill, tho young end handsome
daughter of Mr.. Jerome of New York.
That passion for rich marriages, which
burns in the heart of so many young Amer-
lean women, often leads them to disastrous
results.
If one may trust ones eyes, American law
allows young girls TO marry their grand
fathers, or at least the contemporaries u
these WORTHLESS.
1t is not rare, may say it Is quite COM
mon, to see girls of IS and 20 married to men
of 20 and over.
An American told me that he once went a
long journey in Che same railway car with an
infrm, hoary old man of 50, who was accom-
pauied by n girl of scarce more than 20. This