Evening star., 1895-11-02

| to set up. and the execution, under the
| surveillance of appointed ladies, of needle
| work.
The third series comprises five oral trials.
| The explanation of the meaning OF given
Piece of prose or verse, together with its
| con struction and grammar. Mental arith-
\ nietic and the metric system, elementary
| French history and geography, with map
drawing on blackboard. Very elementary
ques ions and exercises of solfege. Ele-
| msntary physcal and natural science.
| Chances of Failure.
| In order to have been permitted to stand
| examination In the second series, the fair
| aspirant must have obtained an average
| 30 per cent result in the first series. And
| so on for the third series. And so. as
! morning after morning passes the light
| brigade must suffer fearful loss. They
| know it, and they tremble in suspense. In
vain mamma coaxes Marie at the noon
| sortie, in vain she takes her to the res
| taurant to offer her the dishes that she
loves best in her happier hours Marie
| does not care, she is not hungry. she has
grave thoughts, she 1orgets 10 eat LOOKS LOOKS
| vaguely out of the window at the people
passing.
Come, Marie, eat your pear now, my
childr'
"Oh, mamma, you know, l begin to be-
| lieve l was wrong. 1 ought to have divided
| 200 meters 60 into parts in proportion as
| 8 Is to in order to arrive at the dimen-
sions of the rectangle-
| "Yes, yes, we will see. Eat your pear"
"And 1 ought to have had the surface
Of the property equal 9e ares. 81 centaires'
| 6S64-"
| "Yes, yes. Eat your pearl
| "And then the grocer had 1000 francs
of income
Girls are very much the same all over
the world. but teachers vary. The methods
| of these French examiners would exasper-
ate an American girl, no longer child,
but over sixteen years OF age (as required
/ It'll. .l,t
| titions) even married. These well-grown
| girls are treated though they were little.
1t Is the Interpretation of the meaning OF
| a given piece of prose or verse.
| Page 224, Embellishments
| And then is heard trembling voice, mur-
| muring that beautiful chestnut: The Blind
| Man and the Paralytc."
| Heaven! Mademoiselle, what have you
| just been reading aloud to us? Now, read
| it again to us, not with that warblng in
| tonation, 1 implore you. Stop, stop! Mad
emolselle. you singing? If you are sing
| ing, you are singing badly; and II you are
simply reading. why do you sing?"
| The examiners are not bad hearted. but
| only teasing. Often bright face and intel
| ligent manners will save girl who ought
not to pass at all, at all.
| III the examena for the elementary bre-
| vet the examiners considering the tender
| years of those who stand before theml do
| not resort to that form of amusement
| which they permit themselves in dealing
| with the more mature asprants for the
| brevet superieur, catch questions" or
| celles dexamen, as they say in the French
| schools Such as:
| "At the door of a church where the beg
| gars stand there is always an old woman
and blind man or a cripple. A lady sent
her son with 80 francs, saying If you find
| the old woman and the blind man you will
| give three-fourths of the money to the
| blind man and one-fourth to the old wo-
| man; if you find the old woman and the
cripple, you will give three-fourths of the
|
the cripple The boy found all three beg
gars at the church door at the same time
How should he act with the 81 francs in or
| der to realize the intentions of his mother?"
The correct answer is: He ought to re-
turn tc his mother state the fact and ask
| for further Instructions.
| Higher Grade.
The brevet superieur Is a much more am
| biticus diploma to try for. The program is
vast and it is seldom that one succeeds at
| the first trial. 1t is, therefore, all the more
snowy when obtained, and even for posi-
| tions for which 1t is not absolutely required
| 1t is a strong recommendation-sucha as to
| be a cashier in one of the Duval restau-
| rants, or telephone girl, or governess in
| a private family.
The examination program consists OF two
| series, each being naturally subd1vided
| First series-D A composition comprising
two questions. (a) one in arithmetic. and CO.
| one on physical natural sciences. -Four
! ~
ton, literary or moral. Three hours c0
| crayon design after model in relief.
Three hours. (D A composition In mod
ern language with dictionary, the Ian
guages being at choice German, English,
Spanish Italian or Arabic.
Second series-D Questions on morals
and education. (2) The French language.
(3) Memorable epochs, great names and es-
sential facts of the history of France and
of Europe, principally of modern times, i.e.,
since the year 1853. 4> Complete geography
of France, with accurate map drawing. 6)
Complete arithmetic, with its application to
| practical operations and bookkeeping. 90
General notions of physics, chemistry and
natural history. O Oral translation (at
sight) of an easy text in one Of the modern
! languages. This second group of examina-
tions being oral, fifteen minutes only is al
lowed to each.
1t will be noticed how we'll developed
is the literary side of all this. The one
written composition in arithmetic must
be reasoned out in proper language, as If 1t
were the account of an interesting fact in
the candidates experience. The physical
and natural sciences require a deal of in
formation, but 1t is just as important that
the candidate should be able to set down
her information in an orderly and appetiz-
ing essay.
The literary examination demands. no
technical literary knowledge, but 1t calls
for what the French term un grand fond
personnel, and 1t Is exactly this-the per-
sonality, the judgment and the reasonable
ness of the candidate-for which the exam
iners search.
In the modern foreign language examina-
tion the examiners are very lenient. But
the trial in la langue Franchise is exhaus-
tive. In France everything connected with
France is sacred. The trial consists in an
explained reading from any of a listed
series of French authors, published by the
minister of public instruction every three
years. together with questions of literary
history, limited to the principal authors of
the sixteenth. seventeenth. eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. All this, of course, is
oral examination.
What all this can have to do with a
young lady whose desire it is to continue
adding up figures in the general freight ac-
count department of the Paris, Lyons and
Midi Railroad Company doth not immed-
lately appear. Yet she was side-tracked on
account of literature. This teaches us that
the French are a nation quite apart, and
| that they have their own ways of doing
| things. STERLING HEILIG.
A GREAT NERVE TONIC,
HOrsfOrd's Acid Phosphate.
| DIR. I. HARRIS HALL, State Lunatic Asylum
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