Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-16
A TEXAS GIRL ABROAD.
Description of Winter in Paris-COm-
fort in Cold Weather Not Expected.
Private Schools Who're Young 6Ir's Study for
GOyernesses-Christma Eve and Christ
mas Day in the Great City.
For the Gazette.


Of hot water are in the railway carriages;
cabs are marked "chaufee, which
means a can of hot water tor the feet;
street car conductors and small boys pull
up the big, pointed hoods of their blue
capes, which the poor people wear in
place OF overcoats, and all this signifies
that 1t is winter in Paris.
As for us, we have a few more rugs
put down in the white paneled, gilt
edged salon, and the one stove in the
study blazes day and night. We have
an open fire in our room, at which Toast
my nose and freeze my back, then toast
nv back and freeze my nose. The bare,
polished floor is like a desert of ice in the
morning, though, TO be sure, we have
two Towering GASES in the shape OF two
rugs, and / have adopted q series Of mo-
tions by which I am able 20 move around
the room and still keep on my preserves.
1t is not the French fashion to have car
pets; the people generally wear heavy
shoes Of felt in the house. I am
thoroughly convinced that only the
Americans
KNOW HOW TO LIVE.
These people do not expect to be COM
Portable IN cold weather. We asked an
knglishmau last summer how he kept
warm in the winter with nothing but
open fires. and he said, "Oh, 90 out
Of doors to get warm!' We have had
q steady cold, but no severe weather;
we have seen snow only IN the air, and
the grass on the avenue is green as en-
erald in spite OF the white frosts in the
mornings.
The necessity of homes for English
governesses in fereign city was a mys-
terry TO me till we came here, but every
dav of our stay realize more fully the
real charity of such an institution as
this, and how much needed in Paris.
The English girls who wish to support
themselves by teaching, after finishing
their education at home, come over here
to find situation as governesS in some
French family, or she enters a school 10
teach English in return for French les
sons. The most enterprising go on into
Germany TO perfect themselves in gut
uralS as well rs nasals; then, on their re-
turn to England, provided they can teach
music as well, they can obtain situa-
ton in an aristocratic family. While
they are In Paris waiting for a situation,
d IL
sorry life for such refined young women
if there were not some pleasant home
like this of Miss Pryde's where they San
live in the incest part of the city at a
price
SUITED TO THEIR MEANS.
The home is largely supported by
wealthy English people, as is another
English home in Paris. There is also
home for German governesses.
Miss Pryde's pleasant rooms here on
the Avenue des Bots de Boulogne are
filled with a throng of young people,
some of them waiting for positions,
others studying art or music. There are
two Americans besides ourselves Guilt
vatiDg magnificent voices with perhaps
the finest vocal teacher In Paris, Nine.
LAGRANGE. One of them is from Texas,
and is true Southern lady, charming in
manners and appearance. There is a
resident French governess also, who
speaks not q word of English and OF
whom we can all have lessons without
charge. Dear little fidgety, faithful
mademoiselle! She is just a tiny bundle
of nerves and feelings, the condition of
which is indicated By the attitude of her
spinal column; its normal condition is
straighter than that OF most baCkbOueS,
but when Size is ready to fiy into q dozen
pieces, it bends over backward to a most
alarming angle.
am fast in the tolls of this all-stuck-
together "langue Franchise. - "Do
dogs sWim?'' "Can ostriches fly?' are
the questions that have to be settled
daily in my exercise book for the inspec-
tion of mademoiselle. l recite with
big English girl who remarks in paren-
thesis: THAT s American, 1 suppose, -
whenever my ma leaves the door open or
l happen TO knock her book of the table,
but IL accuse her of installing my ex-
ercise book for hers she replies con-
clusively: "That would not be Eng
lish.' She agEravates me
CLEAR THROUGH TO THE BACKBONE,
and the worst Of 1t is that she is always
so good natured and considerate that 1
cannot have the satisfaction Of disliking
yer. We are reading Nine. De Sevigne
for practice in pronunciation. What
wild adventures we have together, Mime.
DE Sevigne and 1! First, Miss Great
Britain traverses page or two with slow
and stately pace; then madamoiselle
screws up her nervous little mouth, puts
her hand behind 10 feel that her back
bone is straight and, turning TO me,
says, "a vous. - At that signal the
muscles of my throat become absolutely
rigid, / grip Nine. Sevigue with des-
perate grip and plunge frantically down
the page, carefully pronouncing all the
endings OF the verbs, third person plural,
grooming over nasals and finally getting
inextricably tangled in q thicket of small
particles. l look up nervously; there
is a strained agony on mRdemoiselle g
face; further uD goes her han behind to
prevent the spine from collapsing utterly
on the wrong side. Meantime she pro-
nounces the words for me, and l perse-
we're, feeling as If ] bad been appointed
chief thumb screwer at the lnQuisition.
The poor dainty little bundle of nerves!
1t is great solace 20 my pride that she
thinks l am ouly fifteen years old though
she does ''baby'' me and ''bulIy' me
in consequence. For instance, she reads
the papers aloud to us in the evening,
skipping all the theatrical and social
news in order 10
COME DOWN HEAVY ON POLITICS,