Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-29
MAX O'RELL'S LECTURE.
Womankind of France and America Bril-
 liantIy Treated,

 views of womankind, as he gave them last evening to large audience at OBrien's opera house.
 Frenchmen are more often witty than humorous. Their intellectual illumina- tions are generally flashes; they usually lack the sustained warm glow of humor. Max ORell is both witty and humorous, and being very much of a man of the world, having traversed it as much as many an English globe trotter, when he talks upon subjects that interest him he does not fail deeply to interest and charmingly to entertain his hearers. His delivery was an agreeable surprise. Not many famous writers are successful talk CTS to public audiences; but MT. O 'RelP s style of speech, while it is conversational, is, like his writings, graceful and forcible and full of the warmth and color of a sanguine nature, subservient to most orderly and maSterful mind.
 MT. O'Rell was given cheerful intro duction by Mayor VanHoose. He caught the interest of the audience at once and held it captivated to the close of his ad- dress. He began by saying he had to confess as a Frenchman that his people, of ak people, knew least and cared least about foreigners; that the average Frenchman would be more concerned about dog fight on a Parisian street
 
 election of president of the United States. "They are not prejudiced against foreigners" he said. 70, no; they like them, but they pity them. They know, too, that all the people of the world are concerned about them They are modest, like the Americans. Frenchmen possess ed a lovely and preposterous ignorance of the rest of the world.'
 The speaker held told of how nine years ago, in a little Brittany town, where his good mother was born, married and rear ed her little family-himself-he had told her of his engagement to come to America on a featuring tour, and how 1t astonished her. In her provincial naiVete she thought him mentally out of balance to think of coming to America to lecture, and expressed wonder that he would try to speak in English. He had been asked if they spoke English in America, and had answered, 70 yes. fairly we'll So he had come, after sweet letter rom his loving mother, and 1t had postscript to be sure, (women are full of after thoughts) ip which she said: Make where you have gone" He had visited all nations, and for superior virtues and qualities he placed the women of France and America first.
 People of the upper ten were all alike in their fashions, fads and foibles; but If one wishes truly to learn of people he must study the masses. An amusing story of the origin of the high handshake was told. 1t had started five years ago in his own country at an entertainment given by a leader of fashion in Paris. He had travelled this country from Winnepeg to Florida crossed the continent and gone to Honolulu, with its happy looking, ever smiling people living in a paradise of sunshine birds and flowers, and they had the high handshake there.
 Along here the distinguished foreigner poked fun at our society papers and newspapers with society columns. There were none such in France. His people didn't care to know whether on the day before Mrs. Jones had taken tea with Mrs Brown. He had read recently in New York paper a description of a so- ciety woman as looking "thrillingly love ly in electric blue" "If an editor were to write that about my wife" said MT. O'Rell, "and she's that in anything, I'd pull his nose for his impudence.
 In France woman is queen and her em- pire is perfect and unquestioned. She is the confidant and partner of her husband in business. The women, he said. were really the fortune of France. Their hab- it's of economy and familiarity with their husbands business interests kept money In that country from being congregated in the hands of a few. In France 7.500.0 people owned the land and 70 per cent of the houses in Paris were owned by the occupants.
 He attributed the wonderful recovery of France from her backset in 1870 to the, character and influence of the French women Between the French woman who lived in the highest style in the Bois de Boulogne or the Champs Elyssees and the milliner or seamstress there was no difference in the dominant intent to be-not beautiful. but interesting. Each understood that love lived on trif1es He paid a superb tribute to the women of France, answering the charge that they were frivolous or that their husbands knew too little of them before marriage. He thought that If other wives were as thoughtful of the trifies that pleased and won mems hearts there would be more kissing after marriage instead of before He attributed much of the strength and genius of the French nation to the inti- mate initiation of French wives in the af- fairs of their husbands. And of the thou sands and thousands of French husbands the fewest belonged to clubs, and wom- ems clubs were unheard of.
 Two years ago ir Chicago he was en- tertained by young man who was the owner of fortune of $20,00O, 900. He had a most accomplished wife and a lovely the man. The little girl took to the speaker and he told her stories; her fa- ther was always too tired to do that. That father he had recently learned, was a wreck and had but few months now to live. The incident was the occasion for serious reflection upon the intensity and wearing of life with Americans.
 The solution of the woman problem MT. O'Ren thought, was partnership be- tween husband and wife. An epigram in this part of the lecture was that at mar