Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-08

the "refectory," or great dining room.
where they stand In rows before the long
tables until the word IL given TO sit down.
What they sit down to for their breakfast
which may be called soup. potage or puree.
1t Is full Of mashed vegetables, rather
thick. With It the boys wash down their
hunk OF bread. And note. these are not
They are the mass Of well-to-do boys Of
good middle and upper-class republican
families; and the boys of the religious
schools do not fare wonderfully better. AS
government schools. bowl of coffee-and-
milk Is given Thursdays and chocolate on
Sundays. Until q few years since, In the
military schools, no breakfast at all was
to hunk Of bread. which they washed
down with water in the school yardI Many
French folks declare now 1t was good
thing, as 1T hardened the boys and kept
their stomachs clean.
A Formidable List.
I saw the two little American students at
the end Of their first two weeks OF this
sort Of life. So far their pride forbade
them to complain to outsiders Of their par
ents choice Of schooling for them: but
from the list Of hours that the elder Of
judge what his opinion Of the system must
be.
8:45 to 7:45 am, study.
7:45 to Sis. breakfast, recreation.
S:15 to 10 am, classes.
10 to 1880 am, recreation.
1880 to noon. study.
Dinner twenty minutes (silence in the re-
fectory).
1920 to 1:15 pm, recreation.
lis to 1:45, study.
1:45 to 2:15, recreation.
2:l5 to 4 pm, classes.
to 5 pm, afternoon tea, recreation.
to pm. CD, study!
Supper. Bed.
You seem to have a good bit Of recrea-
ton timer" observed to him.
Yes he replied. ''but in them you must
subtract a lot that is not play. In our
recreation hours we do our obligatory gym
nastics, fencing, horseback exercise and
boxing-French boxing"' he added win
nike pride and shame-"boxing with the
feet, as we'll as the hands!''
IF we should try that on at home, we
should get killed." added his younger broth
er meditatively.
These boys do not know much about the
regulation studies yet but they could tell
me all about the food and the general dis
cipline.
For dinner we sit by tens at different ia
bles,' they told. "One of the boys at each
table is appointed, for one week, to serve
or deal out the food. The dish is brought
on, with ten equal portions, already divid-
ed. He who deals them out is watched to
see he does not help himself and his friends
better than the others. 1t is toughr'
I'VE may keep on our caps In the dining
room" added the younger brother. I'VE
do it, too, because there Is no f1re!'
when we are all seated, the 'surveilant
cries out: Serve the first dishr After q
few minutes he calls out again: Serve the
abundance"
'It is a big bottle of red wine watered
down to light pink" interrupted the young
er brother. ct is more like water than
wine. but 1t squenches thirst"
I'VE are not allowed to drink before we
have eaten five full minutes explained
the other. THAT is for hygiene. Then
few minutes later the 'surveillant' cries:
Serve the second dish! The time for eat
ing varies with the dish. If 1t be arti-
choke or fish, five or eight minutes more
are given than for plain boiled beef We
have two dishes Of meat and one Of vegeta-
bles for dinner"
During their long hours of study and
class almost nine hours day, If the boys
really study in their study periods, they
applied to the matters on which they
will be questioned by the state examiners
at the end of the year.
The program of these examinations is
drawn up by the proper authorities of the
university, and Is the same for all schools
in all France. Though the programs are
constantly being changed of late years,
certain things always remain. From the
beginning the boy is grounded thoroughly
in his own language, so that when he is
grown up he is always able to write clear,
well-eXpressed exposition Of any thoughts
he may have.
The history Of France is also drilled into