Saint Mary's beacon., 1900-07-05
EXPOSITION LETT

EXPOSITION LETT
IFrom Our Rsgalar csrrd nt
80 Rue Canmarsia, Paris II %.
The IMPOSITION i gradu ulls
ing itself into shape and ont
four weeks majority Of 4
ita win be fully installed. VI y
the middle OF July II viii CON
plete in all its details. r. San.
day was fine DAP and nss half
. million Of people passed rongh
the gates ana crowded the ,unda.
| say crowded Tor II was al1 sctdal
sznsh, naakiaszis g GO -
about. Il il interesting 70 be in .
crowd like this ; to hear the obser-
vations Of the sight seers and es-
pecially to note how many of them
speak English. IL is said there is q
permanent population ot $4,000
Americans in Paris and q floating
population of 10000. There are
doubtless more than twice 10 many
English here. / have been trying
to find Q hotel where no Eaglish Ia
spoken, because / am anxious to
improve my French, but hare found
only one-that in Latin Quarter on
Rue Bonaparte and too far from the
Exposition. At the hotel where i
am stopping oil three Of ths clerks,
the porters and the waiter, ct the
table speak English and more Eng
lish 10 heard in the dining room
than any other language. In all
the better shops English can be
heard and very many havethe sign
"English spoken" on the window.
These facts are significant. They
were not nearly 80 striking at the
two previous Expositions in 1878
and 1889. They indicate the GER
tain and accelerated progress of our
mother tongue and the ultimate
subsection Of all other languages to
it. Educated Germans speak Eng
lish frequently without an accent
having learned it with grammatical
accuracy from English professors
in the German schools. We know
from observation thss sonse-of our
German nitizsns in the United
States do not speak Engiisht cor
rectly after O residence OF twenty
years or more. 1t is the difference
between studying o language and
''picking it mp )" mixing il with
foreign idioms, using it before it 10
learned, and thus forming and con-
firming almost ineradicable errors
Of speech.
] met an untamed, immutable
American Girl from New Jersey,
employed by the Hygenic Optical
Company, of New York. As I
passed this Exhibit she extended q
paper and said in English: "Will
you look at our circular"
"WhY do you speak to me in
English ?"
"Because / thought you knew
the language"
"But you know French do you
not?"
"No, I don't know it and | don't
want to know it. / hate the lam
guage, and / hate the French. Oh,
| hate them? They have mo po-
liteness beyond too frequent tax
ing OF their hat, and saying "par-
dong madame. merci madame"
s'I suspect you are little home
sick"
eyes, am, Pve been here since
January and ell / want is to get
home and forget the sight and sound
OF every thing that has French in
it."
II
The Hygenic Optical Co., has q
spectacled horse with prismatic
lenses that make the ground appear
about fifteen inches nearer his nose
than it actually is. He therefore
lifts his feet high to reach it and il
thought TO be . high stopper with
knee action-a quality very much
desired By the swagger set. This
Optical Co., makes speciality Of o
glass 30 slightly tinted that the tint
cannot be observed unless the glass
10 laid on white snrface, but it ID
said to be restful and helpful TO the
eve. Specialists say that the anx-
ious wrinkled characteristic Of the
American face il due in part to tie
greater glare of the American sun
which has in recent years been in
tensiied By reflection from smooth
asphalt streets. We have certainly
. larger average OF dazzling daTs
in America than i'm Europe.