Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-03-21
LIFE IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

A DAY AMONG THE COMMON PEo-
PILE IN NICE.
The Curious Way They DO Their Laundry
Eat-How Much They Earn and How
They Amuse Themselves.
Especial Correspondence
NICE, Feb. 6.-The visitor to Nice who
confines his walks to the fashionable prone
nades along the Mediterranean and to the Sec
ton of the, city north Of the Paillon gets no
idea of the life and character of the genuine
Nicois, certainly not of the working men and
women. If he would know how the great
mass of people live here, if he wishes to see
the most interesting and instructive sights of
the place, let him first of all get acquainted
with the lively little torrent which divides
Nice into two distinct districts, to the north
the new and practically foreign town, to the
south the old and essentially native. This
stream, the Paillon, is not merely a boundary
line. 1t has an interest all its own, for it
plays IN important part in the domestic
economy of the toilers of Nice, and along its
banks some of the most striking features Of
their life can be studied. It is a small river,
fed from clear mountain torrents and flowing
over a bed more than half of which is dry.
Walls Of solid masonry fifteen or twenty feet
high have been built along either side, and
near these the water is turned in two slender
streams, leaving through the middle a broad
strip of round, smooth, shining stones. Here
every week day, and even on Sunday, you
will see, as far as the eye can follow the two
threads of clean, sparkling water, rows of
kneeling women, in spotless skirts, short,
bright colored jackets, with heads bare or
covered with gay cotton handkerchiefs.
These women are not at their prayers; they
are not doing penance; they are not engaged
in any Christian or heather rite. They are
simply performing the homely task of wash
ing the dirty linen of the town. Some of
them are gray, bent, wrinkled and aged.
Some are young and supple, ruddy checked
and bright eyed. The greater part are strong,
vigorous mothers Of middle life.
To reach this great public laundry of Nice
you have only to go down any one of the
flights of stone steps that lead from the level
of the quay to tho bed of tine torrent. Here
/ followed early one morning a young wo-
mar carrying on her head a long, shallow
basket packed with soiled clothes. She re-
turned my salutation pleasantly, as she dex-
terously swung the basket from her head and
emptied out the contents. Then, fixing the
basket firmly in the pebbles close to the wa
ter, she stepped into 1t, knelt down, tucked
her skirts gracefully about her ankles and set
to work. Her tools, which were Just like
those of the hundred other women in view, con-
sisted of a planed board about eighteen inches
long and q foot wide, a %scrubbing brush, a
piece of plank eight or ten inches long and
two or three inches square used as a FOUNDER,
and a big bar of white soap. Rather a primi-
tive outfit for a city laundry in these days of
steam and machinery, but the tools were
welded to good purpose. In a half hour my
friend had rubbed, squeezed, pounded and
brushed dirt and buttons from a couple dozen
pieces. These she spread out on the hot peb-
bles and consigned them to the friendly
power of the sun. While they were bleach.
ing she ate a scanty lunch of bread and wine
offering to share the latter with me-and
chatted with me Familiarity and politely on
the science of washing as practiced in Nice.
"Oh, we never use hot water she said, in
reply to my inquiries. "The water of the
Paillon and the good sun of heaven are all a
Nicoise needs to have as clean clothes us the
rest of the world. But if strangers want their
linen boiled and whitened in the house, why we
take it home and soak it in lye. But we bring
it back here for the last drying" I could be-
lieve that at least q seventh of the weeks
washing of the town was in the Paillon, in
some stage, that morning. "Do you pay my
thing for your privileges here?" I asked,
Inv cNnJ,1I ypo rov2 Who,, 1l,o,1 xz
pay?" she nswered with curiosity. "Who
owns the sun and the water? Oh, no. We
all have our places here, to be sure, but we
fix that up among ourselves"
Just then a new conner shook out a mason's
blouse into her small section of the river.
The mortar and sand invaded every other
washtub down the line. and a protest went
up instantly from a dozen women. No heed
was paid to them, however, and the protest
at once changed to banter and r%aillery.
Work had to be suspended for a rod or SO
until that garment was beaten clean. Then
the offender rolled it up and fastened it down
in the stream with stones, where it served as
q dam to deepen and still the water.
The bleaching process was soon at an end.
It was a matter Of a few moments to gather
up the garments, rinse them thoroughly and
stretch them on the line where they were to
hang exposed to the sun until evening. SIT
seems to me" I ventured, as we gained the
quay once more, 'it seems to me that you
Nicois get your living largely from the sun.
You sell it to foreigners. You nave your
fuel and food from it, and here I find it doing
your washing. Life must be pretty easy
here" She shrugged her shoulders, pointed
over the river to a tangle, of narrow streets
sprawling along the northern slope of a hill,
and said: "You might go there and see for
yourself. That's where We all live"
I crossed the bridge and struck off in the
direction indicated. A slip of a girl with a
big basket jostled against me as I stopped to
contemplate the scene in the first street into
which ! turned. looked around. She was
taking her breakfast at a chestnut vender's
stand near by-a cents worth of roasted
chestnuts. She had on a calico skirt which
touched the ground, a queer little red wooden
waist and a yellow handkerchief on her head.
I opened conversation with her. She had Just
come up from the market, where she made
her living delivering purchases for house
keepers. SHOW old are you7" l asked.
Fourteen, madam"
"Don't you go to school!"
"No." .
"Can you read2" 'Es D.
"No, MOI" she said a little impatAatly,s g
have to earn my bread, d
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