The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-13
TO PREPARE FOR PARIS.
What to Read Before You Go, and
What to Do When You Get There.

Are you going to the Paris exposition"
asks Margaret Z. Caldwell In the April
st. Nicholas, and, assuming that you are
and that you are girl, she gives you some
useful hints.
All over the land. she says, young girls
are beginning TO plan trip to the Paris
exposition. By means of tourists clubs,
with their low rates and monthly pay
ments, many girls of small means, girls
who earn their own living will be able to
go. To these, and especially to such of
them as have travelled little, few sugges-
tons may prove helpful.
Do your looking up and reading now,
while you are at home and have the time.
But IL not used TO solid reading, do not
plunge boldly into a French history that
goes back beyond the days of Charlemange
and then feel sad and discouraged when
you discover that you cannot remember
the names and dates.
Read the story books of travel, but read
them intelligently. When you see in one
something about poor Marie Louise, whose
history was one of life's riddles" If you do
not know why her history was one of life's
riddles, look it up. Find out all that you
can about her strange career.
When you read something about Marie
Antoinettes Swiss cottage and the trouble
that it caused do you not feel interested
to know what the trouble was and why
a Swiss cottage caused it? Then, about
Marie Antoinette herself. Are you IA
miliar enough with her story to make your
visit to the Tuileries a double pleasure be-
cause you can in fancy people ii, as you
history there?
Unless you know the story of the people
who made the history of these places you
are seeing only wood and stone; you are
missing the best-the vital, breathing part,
the life. Every girl who has clearly set
tied in her mind any facts of French his
tory, who knows anything about the life
stories of Frances famous people or about
the places where the history was made or
the lives lived will find that her knowl-
edge has added wonderfully TO her enjoy
ment of the trip.
And now for another suggestion Guilt
vate the habit of observation If you are
weak in this begin to-day to develop your
powers. Many persons came back from the
worlds fair at Chicago with their minds
all a confused tumble. Ask them what they
saw and they would invariably reply, "Oh,
/ saw so much that / really can't remem-
Der any one thing" The objects that they
saw made on their brains no more lasting
impression than on the retina of their eyes.
They knew that they had a lovely time"
and often were "dreadfully tired, and that
their hotel was bad and, apparently,
that was nearly all that they did know.
Not being used to observing, they had seen
so much that they were not able to assimi-
late anything. Many people go through
picture galleries in the same blind way.
one impresses them sufficiently to take its
place on "memory's wall" Make UP your
mind that you will notice well. Make up
your mind that you will remember the best
of what you see.
The girl who goes to the Paris exposition
leaving no one behind for whose benefit she
is sightseeing is poor indeed. Surely each
of you has some one to whom you wish to
write, to whom you wish to describe your
trip so we'll that it will be her trip, too. If
you have such friend and If you think of
her when you see anything that specially
interests you, and If you say Now L will
tell her about this-she will enjoy it," you
have found the best method of cultivating
the memory.