The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-04-10
WIDOWS IN FRANCE.
CUSTOMS WHICH MAKE THEIR LO'
ANYTHING BUT PLEASANT.
Their Properly Rights Are Almost NJ
Their Chances For Social Kecognitio
Contingent Upon the Possession Of ,
Daughter or . Second Marriage.

Contingent Upon the Possession OF
Daughter or Second Marriage.
The Paris widow Is surprise. can
not toll exactly what had expected, bu
for soIno reason or other the thought O
French widows always called up vagu
reoollections OF the bereaved young persoi
I'm "A Trip 10 Chinatown" / humbt
beg the pardon of the real Paris widow
She is much more like the oriental wive
who die on the funeral pyres Of their hus
bands and she Is often almost as secludes
as II she were buried alive.
Naturally this does not refer to 18th
people, as the French call the working
olassos. When the small grocery maj
dies, his widow, who has sat at the desl
and been cashier and bookkoeper durinl
his lifetime, sits there still, and every
thing goes on as before except that ther
h 1--WE" put before the name to show
that Widow (Veuve) Maurice" or what
ever her name may be, IL at the head q
the business. There is no attempt made
as there often Is In America, TO give th,
impression that affairs are In the hands o.
man. The women are too shrewd ant
experienced as shopkeepers to need any
such pretense.
With the women Of society it Is differ
ent. It Is not easy for stranger TO make
observations in this fold, and above all IL
the direction Of widows. The easiest way
TO gain information Is TO cultivate some
widow who has seen better days and get
her to reveal the secrets OF her sad estate
This is not difficult. Widows with money
are the prey Of designing relatives an6
unscrupulous guardians. so that there ar,
always plenty Of them who have been re
duced TO keeping boarders, which, afte,
the pawnshop, Is their sole resource.
''In France IL husband dies withou,
will, leaving n widow, but no children,
all his property even though IL may have
been held In common during his lifetime,
goes TO his family. His widow has moth.
ing. If he dies without will, leaving
widow and children, all the property goei
TO the children. The widow may live OF
the income with her children, provided
she can arrange IL with their guardian,
but II he Is so inclined he can forbid hen
receiving cont from her children and
compel her to earn her own living. 1t Is
terrible, isn't it'"
10 was bright attractive little French.
woman of 40 who told me this. She has
been a widow ten years, and although
her husband left her fortune OF $780,.
900, and although she had her own dot OF
SIC, ,000 she is now keeping boarders foi
the princely sum of So a week. Her broth.
er-in-law, in whose bank her entire for
tune was placed, failed at judioious In
terval after her husbands death, and
Nine. T. found herself with young son
TO educate without income and without
resources except a small country house.
This she sold and put her 15-year-old boy
In college. BY the advice of prominent
lawyers she set about trying to recover
her dot, which Is supposed to be the In
alienable property Of q married woman.
She failed, and in the meantime had sold
or pawned most OF her jewelry and furni-
ture
"Do evor wish I had a daughter'"
said Nine II. when asked her the ques-
tion. "Oh, no. can never be too thank
full that have none. without money she
could not hope to marry well, and her life
would be ruined. With a son &c Is differ
ent. His career Is entirely changed, but
it does not make such hopeless thing Of
his life. II had money! Oh, yes. Then
would wish for a daughter, because that
would make 1t possible for mo to go out
occasionally and mingle with the world"
but II you had money. couldn't you
do thatf''
And then Nine. IT. explained TO me
state of affairs which was appalling from
an American point OF view. A French
widow becomes lost to sight and quickly
forgotten by society. She cannot go to
receptions or balls or dinners or musicales
or anything In which the heart of woman
delights This law of the conventional
tiles docs not apply TO the period of mourn
ing only. It is perpetual lock and key
on any spirit Of efervescence or natural
desire to be something besides housekeep-
ing hermit. II, however, she has been
blessed with daughter and enough mon
ey to make q presentable appearance In
society, she can take her daughter out
when that young lady Ia old enough. A
son Is not sufficient excuse for this en-
trance into society. Therefore blessed be
the daughters ofwidows.
But under no circumstances can she go
into society before she takes her daughter
with her IL she has intimate friends, she
may dine with them, but 1t must be strict
ly en- famille. IL these friends are of q
matchmaking turn Of mind, they will oc-
casionally invite some man to dine at tho
samo time and in this way the widow
has an opportunity to speak to her follow
men.
"when these friends invited you to dine
with them and asked some man to meet
you, was 1t with the idea OF giving you
an opportunity to find another husbandf"
YES" admitted Mime Il. "They knew
that my life was practically closed If did
not marry again, and they wanted to give
me tho chance"
And IL you found acquaintances you
liked, why could you not invite them to
dine with you, and let them bring their
friends, and so enlarge your circle, all In
very quiet wayf'
Because l couldn't. Because, again,
was widow. IL 1 had invited any gen.
tlemen, or IL they had come to sec me, the
concierge would havo complained of mo.
There are two classes of human beings
in France who have no liberty. They are
young girls and widows, and of the two
the former arc much the happier because
their seclusion does come to an end, since
they are almost sure to marry The wild
ow is liberated by the same method, but
the road is more difficult one. Paris