The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-06
WONAN'S VICTORY IN PARIS
.u,R or INDEPENDENCE FOUGHr
AZ, iNERICAN GIRLS.


Y hhi'N' " "s'' Wv" W.
r,rI, French Male Prosecutors.
pam, \prl q. There are, all told. should
=, ,nout one thousand American women
n,.rr uorr.ur less alone and unprotected In
-, ,or the purpose Of acquiring the language
,, .r.Iy.nr art ur music, " said a successful
s,r., I'D Tie Latin quarter the other day. 1t
..,,l. both furlorn and dangerous, doesn't
4 ,l.r I say they ar" living alone and un-
,r,,rcirI and really thirty years ago, when
ers, rama ~ Par, that sentence would have
Ir,j.d an isolation from all that IL sweet,
.,f, and wholesome In n womans life, and
e~,.re ~ all that is hard TO endure
.,,, Par. Is rot any longer the Paris of my
rud,nt DAYS. The real revolution in this
,,y rty has been created by American women
ch.Hy first and foremost by the girls ~ The
,,tiu uuartrr. who have robbed that locality
=. ,ho,r presence of ona-halt its snares and
drcuitips and ugly reputation, and then by
Tho horde, OF fair travellers from the States.
who are coming over in thousands this sumner
IN \mcr.cnni1n tho lle'on the foreign streets
a frontier mining tow was nbont as SAFE
And comfortable n location for a hlgh-souled.
yeI.brcd Young woman ms the latin quarter
then, particularly IT she insisted, as our girls
do now. on having her own studio and living
r,ght in aud of this Bohemian life. A couple
Of nice girls voyaging about on their own hard
earned money to enjoy a vacation abroad
Jaw less Of what | may call the scamy side.
bit unless they were well chaperoned and
escorted the Partisan street customs mace
theirs a hard road to travel. When | first
cane here from Ohio ii took me about three
DAYS 10 discover that I.wasnt wanted anywhere;
not IN the ateliers. where the male students
restcrrt and insultod me, often TO a fearful
crisis. not by the landladies. who wanted moth
Ing to do with so eccentric and suspicious
character ms n young woman alone, and not
on the streets, whore only servant women
and market girls in that day went unescorted,
can assure YOU that had il not been for a few
other American girls here enduring the same
bitter initiation. | would, in sheer fright and
loneliness. have gone back TO Ohio. Why.
in my student days n decentlv good-looking.
idly dressed girl could not walk twenty steps
from her own door without suffering the inn
pndencs or unpleasant fattery. which. ! am
sorry to say, even the most G-ntlemanly Gaul
thinks it his privilege to thrust upon the lonely
woman. To-day, though the man in the
street has not quite foresworn his old habits,
It 10 being more and more forcibly borne in,on
him that the daughters Of Uncle Sam are neither
umorous nor easily forced to give ground.
lie has discovered that If by her digniNed bear
ing she fails to gain his respect she will not
hesitate to enforce her rights, like the girl from
Kansas City. at the point Of her umbrella.
Down in the Latin Quarter. where the mas
culine art and literature students assumed far
more license than even the absinthe Slippers OF
the bouleyards. It was the girl from Kansas City
81. ro,io IL, lrolrn ,ho looL 80 oil o,nDsitio,
10 the peaceful coming and going of the fem
mine artists. She was a pretty creature OF 81
"a hard working an artist as there was in the
city. and rs she fastened home one historic
spring day to her luncheon she carried N one
hand her portfolio and In the other a cherished
umbrella. rolled to perfect slimness. At tn,
corner OF a broad avenue. right where a mum
Der Of people sat in front Of a big cafe. sh'
turned calmly. but with a peculiar sparkle
in her eyes. to confront her tormentor, whc
had been following her for several blocks
insistcntly repeating his dislike OF the hat she
wore. She knew him for one OF the youthful
poets Of her ncighborhood and a lender that
spring Of a students crusade against the sailor
hats worn by the American and English girls,
and she determined 10 make an example o,
min. As he walked behind her he fred balls
Of bread and paper on the new hat, and that
super6uous annoyance had nerved her to do
her best.
$50 You wish mo to take of my hat, mon
sieur, do you?' asked Miss Kansas City in an
on.nouslv sweet tone
AT once, mademoiselle.' commanded the
a nk-lockcd, baggy-trousered youth. who wore
a very dingy. but TO him very precious, silk
hat on hi, own unkempt head.
We'll. in America. she replied gently, the
gentlemen always remove their own hats when
making any request Of the aides. Allow
me, The tightly rolled umbrella described
a half circle in the air and struck the top ha,
a blow that sent it spinning into the middle
Of the boulevard. and while the poet, COM
Iletely paralyzed with astonishment. watched
is demolition under countless wheels and iron
shod feet, the bystanders broke into wild and
generous applause. and the girl disappeared
safely down a narrow side street. From that
day 10 this straw sailors have been unmolested
in the studio region, and the girls have been
no longer troubled by tho superfllous atten-
tons Of the embryo Byrons. De Mussets and
Dald"ts. who. in costumes absurdly initiative
o. their respective literary heroes. prowl about
the region Of the Luxembourg Gardens.
Constant Snubbing will wear out the cour-
axe Of the most i%nsolent. and again and again
have | heard young Frenchmen admit that
sheer cowardice alone often prevents their
disturbing the serenity and security Of the fair
stranger within their gates.
You never know what one Of those Ameri-
can girls will do complained a lively Young
artist 10 inc not long ago. Then he admitted
with a laugh that this very spring he plucked
up the courage to address a tall. pretty Crea-
tlre IN a gray golf dress who was walking
alone down the Rue de Rcencs holding a map
open IN her hands, He Informed her in his
pouieNt language that he considered her a
goddess Of beauty. and "a he was going in
her direction he would bear her company.
When his compliments fell apparently on to-
tally deaf ears he deliberately stepped in front
o. her and thrust a smiling face over the edge
Of the -tll outspread map, But his smile
died INTO a frozen grin and then into n sickly
grnlacn, and then he retreated in pathetic
CSprt,r
What id she do TO YOU ] inquired
Nothing but stare he answered. She
maj lavsa and rather mournful brown eyes.
ana She stared without a flicker Of an eye
lash, as 4 | had been a curious insect. and
al lU" while She walked steadily forward.
In'nn me- with the edge Of that beastly
MAJ end | walked helplessly backward like
an iuorrI" T ght INTO the gutter, and If any
bods ever tells me that there ID not a froellng
rowe % the human eye, II will DO because
..' never met one OF those tall Americans
On gi Wy .l ~ S'rape an acquaintance Win her
("n can very easily guess that French