Morning journal and courier., 1893-03-29
CONTRASTS IN FRRNCH LIFE.

nant passenger got on 81 the next btauon.
Texas Siftipgs,
CONTRASTS IN FRENCH LIFE.
A Highly Seasoned PeopIe-FrugaI,
Yet Fond of Dress and Eating and
Observation-Disclosures womap-Poli-
tics-Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
PARIS, March s.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
Hardly anything in French life has i'm
pressed MS more forcibly than the many
striking contrasts It presents. We have
always known that humanity was q bum
die of contradictions, but our studies of
French humanity have strengthened this
conviction hundred fold. Assuming va
riety to be the spice of life, the French, It
must be admitted, are Q highly seasoned
people, and 1t is perhaps not too much to
say that, from this point of view, they are
the most interesting nationality In Eu-
rope. just as French artists excel in the
niceties of light and shadow, so 1t is in,
the daily life of the French people as a
whole. The lights are very distinct; and
these, unfortunately, are no more pleasing
ous. To begin with material things, 1t is
in France that you find frugality more
fully exemplifsd than In other modern ma
tions, and here also do you fnd the love
of dress and the craving for table indul
gences carried to such an unparalleled ex-
tent that 1t vitistes the morals, and, as
French writers themselves do not hesitate
to declare, acts ss 9 restraint on the uatu-
raj growth one sought to And In populs-,
ton. AS to money, people In France af-
feot to scorn It as q solsce for blighted sf
fections and wounded honor. In affairs
of this kind the revolver is preferred to
breach of promise suits, aud cold steel to
damages for libel. None the less, how
ever, French shop-keepsrs, to make all
they can out of o rapacious public, do
nearly all their trade on the bargain and
barter principle, and the people generally
are such evident lovers of the filthy lucre
that even marriage Is invested with q dis
| tinctly mercantile aspect. while In further
proof one needs only to recall the Panama
revelations, which indicate at once the
prevalence of the gambling instinct among
the poor of France. and the fascination
exercised by the gains of gambling over
many who are better of in the world.
To skip from material to religious ten
denotes, 1t may surely be said of the chief
city of France that 1t is city of churches;
and yet 1t is just as true, and far more
customary, to speak Of 1t as city Of
pleasure, not to mention tie still more uu-
savory names which are sometimes given
to 1t. Our Lady of Lourdes, with the su
| perstitions which cluster about her shrine,
Is no more really French character than
the lady of fashion, with crowds of weak
headed masculinity dragging in her train.
How much of open and incipient unbelief
there is in France is but too apparent on
every hand; yet side by side with this
there Is 30 much faith in the supernatural
that religious retreats are still numerous,
and nen and women to be found every
where 30 absorbed In the thought of o fu-
ture life that present hardship is Joy to
them. AS an English writer has said,
"Frsnce is the country of tie woman of
the world, Ia mondaine, and of the Car
melite nun, the one living in the utmost
luxury, and the other In the hardest au-
sterity, and gleam of hope or Q cloud Of
disappointment in the life of young lady
may determine for her which of the two
she 10 to be-"
Still looking for contrasts we turn now
to the social aspects of French life, begin
ming ss we ought with the home. Every
body knows how strong and tender are
family ties In this country, and the most
casual observer must also see what q pain
full lack there is of genuine home life. 1t
is the country of which we are told that
Its young men have q remarkable fondness
for their mothers, and by strange para
dox, 1t Ia also the country of which We
know that the place Of prediction for the
great mass of Its young life is, not the
home circle, but the cafe. In regard to
girlhood, the home and school surveillance
is 30 strict as to SAVIOR somewhat of the
Oriental system, while as regards large
section of It's female society beyond the
pale of heme life, the rules of conduct
are 80 lax as to suggest Orientalism of
quite another kind. It is only within
recent years that France has had q di-
voroe law. How she managed to get
along without one was always q mystery
to us, and when We now learn that the
number of divorces In 1891 was 8, ,752,
with the annual output steadily increas-
ing, our surprise Is deepened. Against
England's annual showing of less than
three hundred divorces, these figures ex-
hibit France In q dreadful light, and she
is evidently worse behaved In this matter,
though not very much 50, than her ais
ter republic over the eea.
Looking now at social life in its bread
er phases, the contrasts which meet us
are no less striking than those afforded
In the family and domestic circles, Un-
less the French are grossly overrated they
beat the world in politensss. For that
sort of polish which qualities people to
glide easily through the forms and re-
quirements Of society they have no equals.
Their language lends itself to this ac-
complishnent, and II would seem, too,
az though peculiar suppleness and grace
Of manner had BEEN given to them for
the same end. Nevertheless, the French
can be decidedly rude when their feel
ings are touched; and when ono remem-
bsrs how sensitive they are, this means
that they can often be rude, and that q
childish resentment may somstmes be
shown, a. their own writer's admit, where
there Ia no excuse for 1t. One thing about
the French impresses us very oddly, and
that Ia their habit of kissing each other.
We mean, of course, kissing between men
the other form In neither French nor
Continental, only human. But as to kss.
ing in France, one has to remember that
this country, where men are 30 effasivsly
sentimental ss to gush In this manner
/ Iof~ fall,xw Il al kha