Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-12-21
JACQUES BONHONNE
6 wAx 0RELL, Author Of Jonathan
sra His Continent" John Bull
and His Island" John Bulls
y Daughters," Etc
Nu-rHe FRENCH IN ENGLAND.

\ - 4Aeso Are Some Thirty Ano"s"""
= Thsa in 0rsss Britain--Resd what
1hsy Ars Iits.
4 Frcnchman out Of Franco Is very
Innch IKE f3sh out Of water.
OF Ill the European people, tho French
~ those who emigrate the least. Their
6uuntry 70 large and rich enough to feed
1hem and give them employment, the
lumily ties are very close, the ambition
a. great wealth seldom exists, and they
rrefer living on a snug little income In
Hnnce to acquiring large. fortune
sbcoad. Not one boy is brought up with
: view to being sent abroad when he Is
hxown up. Most Frenchmen whom you
1neet settled out OF France are men
Whose career was blighted by the politi-
a events Of tho last thirty or forty
yeAA.
Since England gave hospitable shelter
~ the crowd Of poor Huguenots who,
bounded out Of their own country after
the revocation Of tho Edict of Nantes, in
1855, came and settled In Spitalfields,
and created the silk weaving industry Of
En.land, tho country has seen many an
thrush Of French fugitives into her bor-
ders. The chief were those that took
place after the coup d'etat Of 1851, and
after the overthrow OF the Commune in
1871. At the present time there Is no
country where SO many Frenchmen are
to be found as England. Indeed, you
ilnd now over thirty thousand French
men settled there, and the number Is in
creasing every day. This colony is not
only important by its number, but 1t is
Iaborious and well united; and the Eng
lish need not begrudge them the hospi-
tality they receive, for they are most
useful members Of the community. In
twelve years (from 1874 to 1ssO only two
Frenchmen were condemned for acts Of
dishonesty committed in England, and
one Of these two was only a passing vis-
itor. A good many years ago tho French
residing in England did not know each
other, and, for that matter, did not
much care to make acquaintance.
Victor Hugo, Louis Blanc, Alphonse
Esquiros. settled on EDgland's hospitable
shores in the early part OF the year 1859.
With them were host Of industrious
and learned men, such as Charles Cassal,
ex-member Of the representative assem-
bly, Of 1S48, who was soon appointed to
the professorship OF French at the Lon
don university; Theodore Karcher, one
OF the leading journalists of France, who
was for thirty years professor Of French
at the Royal Military academy; Valen-
tin, the famous prefect Of Strasburg,
whose prowess during the siege OF that
tnwn by the Prussians is still engraven
on the memory of the French; Nadaud,
Tallandier, and many others. To these
men, or, rather, to their memory--for
most Of them are gone now-we French
residents in England owe great debt OF
gratitude They taught the English re-
spect for France, and tho French respect
for England. They helped, by their
writings, to make the people of the two
countries understand each other better.
They were the real engineers Of the Chan
mel tunnel, as once heard the late Lord
Houghton call them.
Besides the French Benevolent society
ard the FreEch hospital, there are now
IN London and in the provinces many
French clubs and associations, which
prove that the French in England no
longer shun one another's company, but,
on the contrary, seek it.
In these clubs and societies, where the
French can be seen ut home, as 1t were,
their characteristics come out in full
light. Gayety and good fellowship reign,
but tempered-if one may say so-by
the little national failings, jealousy and
yearning after elective titles. These So
cieties, we see, are subdivided into sec
tons, committees, commissions, etc.,
each having president, vice presi-
dent, q treasurer, a secretaire rapporteur.
secretaire archiyiste and what not.
For that matter, you will never see
half q dozen Frenchmen meet round q
table for the discussion Of anything but
good dinner without appointing one %
their number president, another vice
president, etc. Each ono must have
! Sitle; and II there are six members, and
who is left out sends in his resignation,
and goes about abusing the other five.
Il seems up to now as If the republic had
failed to make the French people real
republicans. We are destitute of the
FIRST requisites Of rcpublican-respect
and obedience to elected governors, and
{ Difference to the voice of the majority.
Universal suffrage may be absurd q
think it is): but having chosen to estab-
lish it, we should abide by its decisions,
whether they concern the government
Of society or of nation. ! am afraid
Il Is our misfortune TO have made q re-
= public before we had made republicans
y Of ourselves. However this may be. the
French societies in England are doing
good work, especially the society OF
French teachers, whose aim is to improve
the teaching Of French in England, and
70 help honorable and intelligent com.
patriots.
Now. something about Frenchmen
you may come across in England.
There is a type of Frenchman who,
after residing ten, fifteen, twenty years
In England, cannot speak English. He
Is proud CT it, and sometimes wonders
that, with so many Frenchmen in Eng
land, the English do not all speak French
BY this time. But he will tell you thai
the English have no aptitude for Ian
guages. Although he has lived fiv,
years in thesape apartments, could yo,
believe that his landlady still compel
him to give his orders in English? ii
I receives his paper from France ever,
day, and avoids reading an English one
Why should he try to perfect his knowl
edge Of the English language? IL
knows he speaks it badly, but he assure
you that you require very few words t,
= make yourself understood of the people
This worthy Frenchman carries hi
B patriotism to the extent Of buying all hi
. clothing in France. He would not 70
e the world invest in cravat or pair O
s gloves Of English manufacture. He dc
clares It impossible to wear English gai