The times., 1899-10-12
LEARNING FRENCH IN HARLEM.
Table d'Hote Walters Used for Test
ing the Accent.
From the New York Journal.l

(From the New York Journal.)
Where is the watch of my uncle's
brother in -law-the watch that l gave to
the jewelers. grandson to have repaired,
and which the daughter-in law of the ex-
pressman promised that her father-in n-law
would deliver early this morning to my
grandmother's niece?"
This is the sort of talk that resounds
all through Harlem. The pep lie who talk
it are well l-conducted citizets, who pay
their taxes, and wash their faces. They
are not laboring under emotional insanity.
They are simply learning French.
Every American outside of d penal in
stitution is going to the Paris Exposition
next year, or says he is. From Keokuk to
Portland the natives are practicing French
upon each other In some households the
girls of the family have adopted French
as their language and ask for the butter
with the worst possible kind OF an accent
which they think is genuine Parisian-
French professors are working overtime
perfecting their pupils in the language in
four lessons of three quarters of an hour
each. French servant girls are in enormous
demand. The French table d'hotes are
overrun with people who go there to prac-
tice, so that when they patronize the bou
levards next year they will not be taken
for foreigners.
real Walters III QtSpdlT. aSS
go about with a hunted look trying to ig-
ure out whether the man who threw some
French at them just now wants a fried
sausage or a dish of hominy. They dare
not ask him, as that would ruin all their
chances OF obtaining tip.
What, sir!'' the French waiter says to
them, you American; that l never believe.
rarely. When you coined in l thinks 5nu
was a Paris man" This after the Ameri-
can has said TO the waiter, "Garsong, doc
pang, toot SCOT.
In order to teach Americans how 10 speak
French in time for the Exposition the Chew
alier F. Berger has just brought out a little
book that is a great improvement over the
old-style dialogues which invariably began.
please give me a plateful OF medlars." 7"
The medlar is a species of plum that grows
in France but not in this country 1t was
mentioned in his work by the first man who
wrote French dialogues for victim to COM
NIT to memory, and so great is the conser>
vative feeling of the school book makers
that they never succeeded in eliminating it.
Mr. Berger, however has brought out
work that does not contain any reference
TO medlar. Whether this is a misprint
that will be corrected in subsequent edi-
tions remains TO be seen.
The novelty in the work is the printing
of pictures, such as appeared In the old
time spelling books. The reader looks at
the pictures and then reads off little dia-
logues which tell what the pictures are.
For instance, there is the cut OF the i'm
possible little spelling book girl with the
saucer eyes, looking af if she is going to
be kind to a cat or something of that sort
Attached to the picture is the following i'll
French and English:
Il see there pretty little girl. Her
name is Mary Berger. She has blonde.
curled hair falling on her shoulders. She
wears a black velvet dress trimmed with
lace and bows of ribbon. She holds bou-
quet in her right hand. Her left hand,
placed on the knob of the door, indicates
that she goes to her grandmother's, whose
birthday it is, and to whom she wishes to
offer flowers