Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-12-30
AMERICAN CHILDREN.
HOW MUCH THEY DIFFER FROM
PARTISAN LITTLE DARLINes.

French Children Taught to Behave Thorn
seives-Their Politeness Towards Elders
In Vivid Contrast TO Young Americas
Ways-The Secret of the Matter.
Speaking of American children have
often wondered why it was that they were
generally SO trying to the world at large
outside of their immediate families
French children are treated with quite as
much II not more injudicious indulgence
l nave known French parents to stipulate
before accepting an invitation to dinner
party, that they should be allowed to
bring with them their darling daughter.
aged six. And this was by no means an
Isolated or extraordinary instance But
no one ever saw French child swinging
on the back Of a visitors chair or poking
its fingers into the callers neck or crawl
ing under the table to investigate the
callers shoes or taking his or her UNI.
breila to ride cock horse on it, or playing
circus around the center table with whoops
and yells enough to deafen the bystanders
while visit was in progress
THE BAD BOY IN PARIS
Passing along the Paris streets, If you
see well dressed boy of or swinging on
all the iron bars in front of the shop win
dows, getting into peoples way, and
making nuisance Of himself generally,
you may be sure that the youth is all EN-.
bryo citizen of the great United States
On one occasion, in London boarding
house, two boys of 10 and respectively
tried to hoist up bowl of custard from
the hall table down stairs to the third
toor landing by means of a moose of cord.
of course the bowl was overturned and
broken and the table and carpet were
deluged with the custard Being left un.
punished, and even unrebuked, by their
parents, they lowered next day a sponge
into the soup tureen, and the family were
forthwith requested to leave the house
do not wonder that the landlords of flats
or furnished houses in America refuse
often to take families with children.
When one hears of set of furniture Gov
cred with fine stamped leather having it's
covering cut into strips by the children Of
an American tenant (this occurred in O
London hotel), one ceases to marvel at the
apparent cruelty of those proprietors who
seek to shut out such destructive imps
from their premises. Nor are these dread.
full young ones the scions of people in
class of life in which one would usually
expect to find ignorance of the finer in
stlncts of life. | have seen an American
boy belonging to one of the most aristo-
cratic families in the United States seated
on the floor at a juvenile party with a
plate piled high with delicacies between
his legs, and gobbling down the dainties
with uncouth noises and unrestrained
greediness.
Now, these dreadful small boys and
girls almost invariably grow up into well
behaved men and women. But the great
source of their i'll conduct in childhood
arises from the fact that American pa
rents seldom or never think it worth
while to teach their children manners A
French boy or girl is trained from its
earliest infancy to rise from it's seat when
a stranger enters the room, to sit per-
fectly still when making call, and not
to speak till spoken to, to remain quiet
when taken out driving and not to ask
for water or to complain of being tired,
to walk along the street like a lady or a
gentleman. never to touch the belongings
of any grown person, etc. | have staid
at the home of a French lady whose
youngest and idolized child was then
fine boy of 8. In the absence of his father
the young gentleman (Which he was, most
emphatically) would gravely enact the
part of host, offering me his slender arm
to take me out to dinner and to lead me
back to my seat, and always leaving me
with the profound bow required by French
etiquette.
PoLITENEss TOWARDS ELDERS.
The American boy or girl, even when
Nural1r IT,