Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-23

| her mouth and poured forth a shrill
| stream of chatter which rose higher and
| higher as each one tried to be heard
above the others. The din was ear
blistering. 1t was as if every lIttI 9
| mouth had been stored full of fermenting
words, like so many bottles full of cham
payne, which popped out the instant the
corks were removed. 1t is no easy matter
to keep these little French mouths
corked; the words Will sizZle out in whis-
pers even in the class room under strict
surveillance. 1 wondered at first as to
the amending and everlasting subject of
conversation among these girls who are
together all day and all night and never
go out; but now 1 understand that
French girl talks just as she breathes,
and, though Psychologists have not dis
covered it, there is some connecting
chord between her tongue and her heart
which makes it a necessity that they
should move together. If she does not
talk all night, she dreams of talking all
night.
The devil plays very conspicuous part
in the French school girl s conversation,
everything being compared to him and
different degrees of comparisons being
denoted by the number of devils men
toned. 1t is impossible to begin a SEN
tence without "Mon DieuI' or "Grand
Dieu!' nor to continue it without ''le
diable.' Thus does
ONE EXTREME FOLLOW ANOTHER
in French girl IS mouth. For example:
"Mon Dieu, you are demI-diable! or
"Grand Dieu, you are as late as thou
sand deyils!" When she says simple
yes or no, 1t means absolutely nothing;
oui is sometimes the most absolute and
hopeless kind of a negative, for it means
that your request will not be granted and
leaves you no room for an argument.
"Oh, yes! Certainly! I assure you?''
will perhaps signify affirmation, but she
expects you to politely question her re-
mark even then. She does not intend
you to believe all she says, and it will
take considerable French swearing on
your part to really convince her of what
you are saying.
You hear one girl say to another, In an
ordinary, conversational tone of voice:
'fPray for me. 1t is meant quite Sc
riously, and they do pray for each other.
What delightful religion it is! No
ideals toward which every mental muscle
must be strained, no despairing of re-
suits, no daily struggle to know which
path to choose; say your prayers, go to
mass, confess your sins and be polite-it
is all done, you are good Catholic; and
even if you should go to purgatory your
friends on earth will pray you out again
These 200 girls all love their religion,
and say their chaplets night and morn |
ing, and, IL they have q spe-
clal examination to pass, say
extra prayers for their success. In |
fact they are all good Catholics. |
Could it be said of two hundred Amer |
loan girls that they were all good |
Protestants? Once month the pupils |
take holy communion, and confess. |
Then there is a buzz of, ''What did you |
confess? and 'sWhat did the priest /
say to your and when Mile. Annette
comes in to give me my lesson she ex-
claims, "Me VOLTA, pure CONNIE un lis!"
The other day 1 strove in vain to ex-
plain to her why Protestants do not go TO
the theater on Sunday, and what is the
protestant idea of the Sabbath. Bishops |
all closedl Read the Biblei Oh, I'm
glad I'M not Protestant, for I don't
like the Bible-that is what I hear the
priest read at massi" "Yet, - she said
''once with a glow in her black
eyes-''I'd die for my religionl"
THE FRENCH COURTESY
is delightful Sometimes play with the
irst GLASS after dinner. and am always
received by q cordial eohrus of fsbon
Jour Meesln and polite inquiries after my
health. Atthe end of the half hour they
not only say s.bon soir, - but each one
comes up to shake hands and say sleep