The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-22
HER LITTLE MAN.
French Wife With ANY Money Doesnt
Want Him to Work.

Frenehmen would sink into innoeuous
disuetude, says the Boston Herald were
| II not for their females Paris In partic-
ular. is the paridise of the incompetent
and lazy good locker.
And really. when a young husband
brings a lump sum equal to his wifes dot
our American ideals may remain shocked
at his contented laziness, but we ma II
hard to criticlse with logic.
Pretty little Agnes b, for example,
had a $4,000 marriage portion from her
mother and she was engaged TO faul
C..
"Do you give her only $2O,Oo0?' asked
paups mother Make It $4,000 and l will
give Paul same"
Agnes mother reamining obdurate, and
Pauls refusing to make an unequal par
gain. the young folks started like on w.
900 each In gilt edged bonds, producing
Joint income of $l50O-snd mere comes
the point Paul had promised Agnes not
TO work ipGl
'If | quit father and mother 1t will not
he to live my days alone she said,
while to Paul she murmured: You VIII
rather be with me all day than go out
and make money!"
After marriage 1t was up to Paul 10
make good
put we have only $500 a year" he
he accepted a congenial situation at 30
per. And his young wife fell sick OF IL
His own mother was uneasy and his
mother-in-law scolded. His congenial oe-
| cupatlon ought to be to jolly Agnes. Agnes
grew anaemic, pned. had headaches ana
| emotional anxiety.
| In the end they had to spend A,a0 IN
| travelling to get her health back. Paul
no longer works and all Is well.
No other country has anything like TINS
proportion of incomes from long FAMILY
accommodations, whS>e breaking into capt.
| tai is considered a crime. One conse-
| ouence is that women quite as frequently
as men may have their own revenues
Now, as Jules Simon pointed out the
! Erench married woman wishes, above all.
| security for the enjoyment of her little
| man. She fears change and is an enemy
] to enterprise French girl with go
| 900 marriage portion will certainly prefer
a husband bring the same or more-on
| condition that he be 'serious'-say at
| once obedient
| But having sure income of her own
| of say $3.50 she will Just as certainly
prefer an obedient young husband earning
| 40 per week in a government office with
| short hours and a moderate pension, to a
hustler who might double or quadruple
| her capital. And If she have $3.50 per
| yfar she will still more certainly prefer
| all ODe0lenL young nusDdnu cdIiill6 NUN
| ing to wonder OF enterprise-who is
| always at his office!
| This explains the immense vogue in
| France of those professions called 'of
| perfect repose" The phrase refers TO re-
pose of mind in that these professions
| seldom tempt men to risk capital In I'M
certain Investments; but repose of body Is
no stranger to their walks They are
army officer government functionary,
| lone French voter in ten Is govern
ment functionary), barrlster, doctor en-
glneer and university professor.
| Engineers either of civil or military
speclalties or OF private enterprises, are
quoted high, but rather special. Often they
| are men who work. Sometimes they
vandageously. 1t is a trihe too uncertain.
| too energetic, too masterful
The mass of young Paris doctors, bar
! risters functionaries, prefessors-and all
army officers--can be depended on to
| make model French husbands. | know
| the case OF a young doctor whose ambi-
| ton Is to write a book on the French
watering places. To my certain knowledge
he has three fine girls with ample mar
| riaAe portions chasing after him. The
mother of one said the other day:
81 told him would make Berthes por-
| ton $50 600 and pay my own expenses If
| he would agree on his word of honor that
| | should go with them"
"A dream of OF happiness" her gossip
| replied Your only daughter pigeonholed,
swell son-in-law. with nothing to do,
always beside you"
And the relations, my dear-think of
| his relations (She referred to his prafes-
sonal relations) We should fit from one
watering places to another, hotels at half
price, douches and inhalations for moth
ing, jump Immediately into the best medi-
cal sets of Vichy, Bourboulle, Uriage,
Contrexyille, Vittel Plombieres."
while he is writing his book"
Exactly my dear! Provided he doesn' t