The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-06-14
Her ChiId-Life Study
the Subject of a Book.
Dorothy Mendes Said Be Youngest
Describes the Flowers of Babyhood That Lend Bright
to Every Land

: for joy and for sorrow. for winter and for
summer. The boys of St. kilda sing a Joy
Gus song on the coming of the swallows.
Here in the Highlands modesty of speech.
dead are characteristics of the children.
The children are brave and hardy. They
love to climb giant cliffs and scale imprac-
ucable places where birds nests are.
CHILDREN OF ERIN
In spite of the dirt and rags. in spite of
gray skies, bare legs and gnawing hunger,
Irish children are probably the happiest in
the world. though to many they must seem
, unfortunate. A vivid imagination sids
their sordid surroundings and lends halo
10 everyday objects. To them the mud out
slde their houses is peopled with tiny laugh
ing. mischievcus little elves who play-end
less FRANKS. The Welsh children and the
IRISH children are Very much in earnest
oEer their COLLINS and dragons Every
W elsh CHILD has favorite dragon of its
very own, IN whose existence it believes i'm
phcity. who is lar more Of joy to it than
any ordinary doll could possibly be-
ne clothing, of these children is almost
invariably made of a saffron-colored ma
terial designed in sympathy with dirt. an
Inspiration IN economy which proves the
irish superiority over the pretonS
CANADIAN SNOW BOYS.
Perhaps no country is SO perfectly adapt
ed to the enjoyment and well-being of chill
dren as Canada. In the winter there are
Skating, tohogganing and SNOWFALL tourna-
Ments and in the summer boating hunting
hshiiS and lacrosse. Children learn TO live
9ut OF doors in all Wsathers. and more than
nal1 their time Is Spent In the open air.
sport TO young Canadians. as To ali young
Britons. at home or beyond the seas
amounts to passion, and they play them
WIN al their Nigor and skill. The most de-
ilshtful characteristic of Canadian children
Is their healthiness. They se4m, one and
all, TO inherit evenly balanced. sainds good
maiure9 temperaments and sound weIl-de-
Eeioped bodies. Very early in Life they learn
10 wage war with the elements to bulld
siedses and canoes. and even the smaller
cfllGren are wonderfully deXt.rous in fash
i4n2s playthinss out of snow and ice. Both
me boy ana the girl they grow oiGer
begin TO make themselves useful. BECAUSE
tiiey md that the main object of every ones
existence in Canada is to work. They make
themselves useful in the harTes. field. fol-
lowing the reapers and binders and prop
ping up the SheaveS as they are thrown out
of the machine.
Like the Canadian. the Australian chill
dren are hardened TO every weather. The
Child of the bush gains health without cere-
mony He scramoIes from the bare to tine
SAND ana wears nothing that he can spoil.
II he wants to get down into the mud pud-
dies he can, ana mud puddes seem to have
world over.
Australian children are familiar with
snakes. know how to send the pigs to xiii
them l.. and how. when sturg: to tis string
cut off slice of flesh. Every chi.d~carries
with him a sharp knife and a piece of
string. 1t is as much a part of his ward
robe as a pocket handkerchief and a pair
OF gloves would be to an American boy.
The Australian girl is not interesting
would have outSrown childish delights she
is woman in miniature, not easily abashed.
with eyes that have long ceased to look out
upon the world with wonder.
THE CHIC FRENCH.
There is no ''enfant terrible in France
10 Ira.- III, l;,.
day with the same amount of joy that an
American ycungster does. and. on the
whole. he is not so brave or plucky. But the
real child life in France is not to be found
in Paris or among the poor peasant class,
but among the farmers children. You see
little dots in blue. with big sabots, making
hay, and you stumble over bundles which
turn out to be babies lightly swathed in
appear and pair OF arms so up for bot
lie of cider, which is the French substitute
for milk
Bells rung when a child is born. and
great ceremony is gone through. during
which baby is catalogued and recorded: ali
f q, wh ~ ,n Is serious mattel ,s for if mis-
unable to be chrstened or married or even
to die and be decently inferred.
They are entirely ignorant of the outside
world Paris and perhaps England"
are far away names to them They are new
er permitted to eat at the same table with
their elders. and the greatest cric,e is to
must swallow everything. sristle and ali.
or he considered ill-bred. All dressed in
white and blue. the colors of the Virgin
Mary, under whose special protection they
are
The Breton children are like TIE Irish in
that they have pigs and dirt for compan-
ions through life They are pious. super
stitious.. stolid strong. patient and very
thorough. The girls are intellectual and in
teresting. They are the mainstayS of the
family child of 10 undertakes II SUPER
intend both household worl; and TIE farm.
The boys are more or less stupid. handsome.
bronze-facee country louts. Pee culture
seems to se the favorite occupation of the
bidding. and will even cover him from head
to foot without singing.
AMERICAN CHILDREN.
Miss Menpes's observation of child life in
Lcndoner. she sees American children. of
course. from the standpoint of an English
woman.
When one meets American children" she
says, AT hotels or steamboats, one is in
ciined TO form rather an unfavorable orin-
ION OF them. They seem rough. boisterous,
and self-opinionated: they have much assur-
and express their opinions loudly ami noisi-
~. Their mothers seem TO be unkin6ly kind
to them; they sacrifice everything to the
clever sayings and doings OF these small
persons are related and enlarged upon un-
I'll they are made to consider themselves
people OF some importance in the world.
All this is quite superficial opinion the
idea that one forms at first sight. Look
more deeply into their natures, associate
with enc or two of them for few GAYS, and
American childrsn are in reality every whit
as well brought up as English children and
they have certain vivacity OF mind. a
quiet determination ard seif-control. that
adYni-inr