The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-17


bright. vivacious. young matron and per-
suaied her not TO vary her ordinary rou-
tfae. but to make me one of the family
for a day or two.
had easily accepted the comfortable
middle class habit Of breakfasting at
or 10 in the morning. 1t was not joy
full experience. therefore. TO be reused at
H. m, nor was it pleasant to dress in
q room the cold stone floor and damp
walls of which suggested some ancient
dungeon. However. 1 had earnestly
sought this very privilege. so I wrapped
myself in discreet silence, and a thick
steamer rug, and strove to appear cheer
fui.
I'M the kitchen L found madame prepar-
ing coffee over tiny alcohol stove Mon
sieur a cooper by trade. was arrayed In
his working blouse and just going to the
bakery. Extreme simplicity characterized
alike the table service and the break
last. Three earthenware bowls and a
loaf of coarse bread were set on the bare
table. I can still taste that bowl of black
coffee. 1 had readily adopted the GUS
tom Of drinking d tiny glass of cafe
nor" after dinner, but it tastes very dir
ferently in the morning. l thought il
worse than the cheapest brand used in
the United States and there was neither
milk nor sugar available to modify the
flavor. However, l managed to take my
bowl with due pohteness. and furtively
looked around for some butter to make
the bread more palatable. But there
wasn't any. The loaf was broken in three
portions and we breakfasted by dipping
the bread in the coffee.
Madame disposed of the kitchen work
Ply simply rinsing the bowls and cOffee-pot
I'D cold water. She said We would make
the chambers at the noon intermission AS
We We're clearing the table l said to ma
dame; Don't you Ike coffee with milk
and sugar?"
"Oh, yes, yes, it is very good" she said
quickly. ''but VIC do not afford ii. Sugar
costs twelve cents a pound and milk four
cents pint, Soffee alone is very dear. We
/ simply gasped when she mentioned
the price; but / afterwards paid $l.OO
pound, myself, in a vain attempt to dupli-
cate me quality sold in the United States
for thirty-nve and forty cents.
Maudme nau no cOquetry about her per-
sondl appearance on working days The
severely plain dress of common, dark cot
ton, was made with a loose jacket and
shirt. The small, tight sleeves were eX-
planned thus, by madame: Il have balloon
sleeves in the latest mode for my best
dress; but they take too much cloth for
working costume"
She made so much noise Gathering over
the stone floor that / was curious about
her shoes. Truth compels me to say that
they were not entirely of wood. Leather
tops and wood soles made a durable,
though not an elegant foot covering. Shoes
of this sort cost $l.40 a pair My friend
was ted mo money on head-gearr foF. every
day wear. A sort of wollen hood was put
on the head and the ends fastened about
me waist. Yet madame, being young, pref
ty, and tolerably neat, looked rather at
tr&ctive in this coarse attire
Everybody takes two hours at midday
for "dejeuner,' and the family returned
at II a. m While making" the cham
bers, l looked over the furniture and the
rooms People here like to live near
their work, and il is the custom to hud-
die the tall stone houses into a labyrinth
the tenement quarters Of New York
city The mild climate tempts people TO
economize fuel, though l think it is at
the expense OF health and comfort. The
thick stone walls keep the houses cold
and damp, even when the atmosphere is
quite warm. The people live out of doors
and in the cafes as much as possible, re-
gardlng home as place N which to eat
and sleep.
My friends fiat consisted of three tiny
rooms on the fourth floor. There was
neither city water nor sewerage. The
narrow street and tall houses effectually
shut out the sunshine. but madame did
not seem to care about that. THE sun
shines every day in the factory" she
said. The room assigned 10 me con-
tanned only the most necessary furniture.
The wardrobe and dressing case in mad
ame's room were rather clumsy and
looked at least a century old; but the de-
sign was Qaint, and the wood had ac-
CURED a beautiful colcr. Sire had pur-
chased these articles from "a secondhand
dealer al marvellous bargain, and as
sured me that few working people had
anything like that in their homes" The
bedstead was adorned with an elaborate
canopy of chintz curtains.
The kitchen had a shelf for dishes, a
table and three chairs. The only APP
proach to a stove was tiny stone re-
ceptacle for charcoal, built out from the
g. Z wa M " IA
however. They bought cooked food at
shops in the vicinity. The simplicity IN
house furnishing eliminated much of the
work usually incidental to housekeeping;
The house seemed rather lonesome, and
/ remarked to madame:
You have no children?
"Oh, yes, little boy, two years old"
l hadn't seen or heard him anywhere,
SO 1 said tentatively: He is not here?"'
mo, no. he is at village in the Mari
time Alps"
ION a visit to some relatives perhaps?"
With an impatient shrug at my stupid
lty madam explained: It's the custom to
I'D our children away to be reared di-
racty after birth. Almost the only eXcep-
ton is when one has to support an aged
mother at home. In that case she may
1t took me some time to fully assimu-
late this remarkable piece of information.
You see the baby often?' | ventured.
NO" said the mother briskly. "Once,
maybe twice year. 1t is expensive to go
SO far" -
Are you not lonely for him.
Madam assured me placidly that she
was not lonely, and found her factory
companions more interesting than a tiny
Child. 1t cost 81 a month for the child's
care; and while this was heavy expense
IN proportion to the wages earned by the
couple, they evidently never questioned
the wisdom of the plan. Madam grew
hilarious when 1 tried to describe Ameri-
can home life.
so droll! So very extraordinary" she
exclaimed, for a married woman to stay
al home with her children, instead of
earning wages to help her husband Any
now, it would be impossible here, for
man does not earn enough to keep a wife
and children"
The latter remark really explained the
custom. 1t is an absolute necessity for the
WIe TO work every day and supplement
s'e husbands earnings. The families are
Usually very small; one or two children is
ne usual number OF course there are ex-
Cgptons, One woman in the tobacco fac
cory mad six children, the eldest only sew
~ Years old; yet she had never been alb
SeAl from the factory more than seven
Neehs at any one time. The women re-
sdIded that matron and her family with
stern disapproVal.
" ny do you marry when YOU have
Hsltuer home life nor the comma nior 6 n in