The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-08-17
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WIDOWS in FRANCE.
Customs Which Make Their Lot Anything
But Pleasant.

| Ni"o"c UP VAGUE lS'oiiCS-
lions of the hc"eaved young person in "a
Trip to Chinatown" | humbly beg the
pardon of the real Paris widow. She is
much more like the oriental wives who die
on the funeral pyres of their husbands, and
she is often almost as secluded as if she
were buried alive.
Naturally this does not refer to 1.-THE
people, as the French call the working
classes. When the small grocery man dies
his widow, who has sat at the desk and been
cashier and book-keeper during his life
time, sits there still, and everything goes
on as before except that there is "Nve'
put before the name to show that Widow
! Neuve Maurice, " or whatever her name
may he, is at the head of the business
There is no attempt made, as their often is
in America, to give the impressions that
affairs are in the hands of man. The
women are too shrewd and experienced as
shopkeepers to need any such pretense.
With the women of society it is different.
1t is not easy for stranger to make OBJ
servations in this field, and above all in the
directions 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 estate. This is not
difficult Widows with money are the
prey of designing relatives and unscrupu-
lous guardians, so that there always plenty
of them who have been reduced to keeping
boarders, which, after the pawnshop, is
their sole resource.
''In France if husband dies without a
WILL leaving widow, but no children, all
his property, even though it 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 goes
to the children. The widow may live on
the income with her children, provided she
can arrange it with the guardian, but if he
is so inclined he can forbid her receiving
cent from her children and compel her to
earn ltl O"ll llNlIiS. IL 10 tClllblt, 1911 W.
1t was bright, attractive little French
woman of 40 who told me this. She has
been widow ten years, and although her
husband left her fortune of $780, 600, and
although she had her own dot of $12,0
she is now keeping boarders for the princely
sum of So week. Her brother-in-iaw, in
ha L har ,,ln,ol
failed at judicious interval after her hus-
bands death, and Nine. T. found herself
with young son to educate without in
come and without resources except small
country house. This she sold and put her
l5-year-old boy in college. By the advice
of prominent lawyers she set about trying
to recover her dot, which is supposed to he
the inalienable property OF married
woman. She failed, and in the meantime
had sold or pawned most of her jewelry
and furniture.
''Do ever wish had a daughter" said
Nine. T. when asked her the question.
''Oh, no. | can never be too thankful that
| have none, Without money she could
not marry well, and her life would he
ruined. With son it is different. His
career is entirely changed but it does not
make such hopeless thing of his life. If
l had money? Oh, yes. Then / would
wish for daughter because that would
make it possible for me to 20 out OCCASION
ally and mingle with the world
"But if you had no money, couldn't you
do that"
And then Nine. T. explained to me a
state of affairs which was appalling from
al American point of view. a French
widow becomes lost to sight and quickly
forgotten by society. She cannot go to re-
ceptons or halls or dinners or musicalts in
which the heart of woman delights. This
law of the conventionalities does not apply
to the period of mourning only. 1t is "A
perpetual lock and key on any spirit of
effervescence or natural desire to he some
thing besides a housekeeping hermit. If,
however, she has been blessed with a
daughter and enough money to make Il
pfesentable appearance in society she can
take her daughter out when that is old
enough. son is not Il sufficient reason
for this entrance in society. Therefore
blessed be the daughters Of widows.
But under no circumstances can she 20
into society before she takes her daughter
with her If she has intimate friends, she
may dine with them, but it must be strictly
en- familie. If these friends are of match
making turn of mind, they will occasion
ally invite some man to dine at the same,
and in this way the widow has an oppor-
tunity to speak to her fellow men.
"When these friends invite you to dine
with them and asked some man to meet
you, was it with the idea of giving you an
opportunity to find another husband?''
eyes," admitted Nine. r. They knew
that my life was practically closed if did
not marry again, and they wanted to give
me the chance
"And if you found acquaintance you
liked, why could ysu not invite them to
dine with you, and let them bring their