The sun., 1908-07-19
DULL FOR CHILDREN ABROAD
NO EFFORT AT FOREIGN HOTELS
TO KEEP THEM AMUSED.

TO KEEP THEM AMUSED.
One Mother Cut short Her Summer In
| Europe Beeauso Her Tcn-Year-Old
Daughter Pined for Heme and Excite
| mont--A Hint That We Overde It Here.
A New York woman who went abroad
| In May with her husband and their ten
year-old daughter to spend the summer
surprised her friends by appearing six
weeks later In Fifth svenue.
Hope nothing unpleasant has hap
pened. undentood that you had gone
to stay till cold weather.,
we came back because Katheryn was
80 homesiok.' she explained. Had we
stayed much longer I'm sure she would
have moped herself H.
Katheryn was the ten-year-old daughter.
Katheryn had been accustomed since she
was to spend the summer In populous
American hotels at popular resorts where
the entertainment Of small people Is looked
after even more carefully than the entertain
ment OF their elders. The child had been
accustomed to morning parties. afternoon
parties. evening parties; to picnics, lunch
| cons, dove germans, with favors and prizes.
dancing before lunch and to general dancing
every night after supper when there wasn't
ohildren's costume party or masquerade
on the programme. Katheryn's daily list
Of engagements was far longer than her
mothers. and her dress was changed three
times q day.
Her mother often sat long hours on the
piazzas with book or piece Of embroidery.
giving an occasional yearning thought to
New York's shopping district. and she
changed her dress only twioe day. Kath-
eryn never sat still anywhere except at an
entertainment. and as for sewing or reading.
she hadn't time to do either.
At one very large hotel where her family
stopped last summer the working force in
oluded o mistress Of ceremonies whose
sole duty was to plan entertainments for
the Juvenile guests and dancing master
who saw to 1t that few days passed with
out an affair Of some sort just for the
children. As result none Of the Juveniles
wanted to leave that hotel. and their
mothers, who seldom had found themselves
so care free, gladly prolonged their stay.
Katheryn wanted to 60 back to that
delightful hotel this summer and was con-
soled only by the promise Of stopping at
real English, German and French hotels
and Of meeting and playing with English,
German and Fpench little girls, father and
mother agreeing that while abroad they
avoid so-called American hotels.
Well. the party were on European soil
less than four weeks. and then sailed for
home resolving not to repeat the expert
ment until Katheryn Ia older.
The first week spent in London was not
80 bad. Katheryn and her nurse went
Sightseeing morning and afternoon with
father and mother. and in the parks the
little girl saw pretty little Enslish girls
driving In carriages or walking sedately
with an attendant, and although they did
not speak to her or act az II they wanted
her to speak to them, still 1t interested her to
watch them-for day or two.
After the fourth day she told her mother
with decision:
Il want to 60 to children's party
But ohildren's parties were not included
In the scheme Of entertainment at that
hotel. The few English children in the
house never appeared in the public dining
room at all except at luncheon. and the
small, lonely American youngster never
saw them at close range except when going
In or out the main entrance.
The only two children she spoke to in
the course Of her stay were Americans,
who went wherever and whenever their
parents did, and that was all the time.
From England the party went to France
1T will be ivelier In Paris for Katheryn,'
her mother said. noticing the child's droop-
ing spirits. On the contrary. in Paris it
was much worse. The Juveniles en-
oouptered In the Bois all chartered in
French. and they had q disooncerting way
Of pretending not to see strangers at all.
II one more venturesome than the others
responded to overtures from sightseers
her bonne would reprove her sharply.
The hotel they stopped at was called
a family hotel. and katheryn's mother
listened hopefully to screams and kicks
coming from a suite near her own the morn
ing after her arrival. Enthusiastically, abe
thought. there are children here There
were. At least one dozen children under
- years lived under that roof. and at the
end Of four days they and Katheryn were
complete strangers.
At two other hotels visited on the way
to Germany the nttle~girl had the Joy OF
spending an hour on two occasions with
two children whose parents were travelling
the same way. Although Katheryn's mother
ordinarily would have frowned on the
oompanionship. the strangers table man
ners being quite too shocking,' as she
expressed 1t, she hailed these occasions
with pleasure. In Germany things went
from bad to worse.
The small frauleins encountered were
sitter and more self-centred IL anything
than the small mademoiselles Of France
and unfortunately the American children
the party met were usually In too much Of
hurry. Like their parents. the most they
could do was to exchange commonplaces
and pass on.
Had Katheryn's party encountered friends
with children things would probably have
turned out very differently. As II was the
friends and aoquaintances encountered
here and there were grownups and there
fore powerless to al the aching void Of
Katheryns heart.
Adored by her parents. her listless man.