Arizona republican., 1909-05-23
LIFE IN A SWISS
 BOARDING SCHOOL THE EXPERIENCES OF A PRES
 corr GIRL. Some Summer Months Spent at Neu-
 chatel.

. From the eastern and southern can : tons of Switzerland. as well as iron :. Germany. come many girls to westeTl . Switzerland to learn Ito speak French . Occasionally one will find minglin. . with these girls, English and Ameri . can women.
 , Wishing to avail myself of tho
 advantages afforded by a specia
 course at the college, I went to Neu.
 chatel in July and engaged board ana
 room at a mansion on the hill, iron
 whose dining-room an enchanting view of the lake, Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc could be had. Only the two upper floors were
 occupied by my landlady, with her
 daughter, a licensed teacher, and
 about twenty girls committed to their
 care During the summer months the regular classes at the college were not | in session. and these maidens had les | sons at the pension in the forenoon.
 In the afternoon they journeyed with their teacher to nearby towns or points of interest, or stayed at home
 and received instruction in domestic science. They were expected to pre-
 pare fruit and vegetables for the ta- ble, to sew on household linen, and to
 take turns in acting as waitresses.
 The older boarders, including myself.
 were exempt from this labor. We
 also ate at a later hour in the morn
 ing and had a little better fare. While the young misses were supplied with coarse bread and cocoa, we had fine white rolls with pre- serves or honey. They were hearty. robust creatures. and I would often see them munching crusts as they studied
 Our 12 o'clock meal. consisting of boiled meat, vegetables and sweets. was more satisfying.
 A German girl who worked for wages. and an Italian girl who ex- changed her services for lessons, acted as cooks. They quarreled outrageous ly, and madame was frequently called into the kitchen to settle disputes be- tween them. The Italian was little beauty, with flashing eyes and pink cheeks Doubtless she had been spoil ed by many compliments One thing the maids did which filled my soul with disgust-they blacked the boots
  True. he was the sole man in this assembly of twenty five. but that was no reason why he should be waited upon as if he were a sultan. Mons Edouard was faultlessly apparelled and he had no visible occupation save a few hours, daily study. Once a month his soldier brother walked home for a holiday. and Edouard suf- fered a temporary eclipse.
 There was a laundry in the base ment. and hither came a woman four days in succession every fortnight to attend to the washing and ironing. The expense connected with this mat ter was the only extra" at the pen sion I had a comfortably furnished room all to myself. table board, daily ] lessons in French and the use of the l piano for ninety francs a month
 The lowest floor of the house was 1 rented to a lawyer, but while he was | away for a vacation, we had the use l of his front yard, with it's iron | benches, vines and shrubbery. After l his return. we confined ourselves to | the paved court at the rear, shaded | by immense trees. where small tables | and frail chairs were scattered. In | clear weather we had our mid-after- | noon refreshments-fruit syrup and | once when madame | was entertaining guests from Stras- burg. I was invited with them to her | reception room. where tea and huge tarts spread with berries and sugar were served. The furniture in this room was covered with elaborately or crocheted scarfs.
 The girl pupils were distant and re- served in their behavior toward us Americans; it might almost be said that they resented our presence in the school. One of them, named Louise, was a sort of riDgleader, and she missed no opportunity to annoy us had wished to give lessons in Eng fish while there, but Louise declared that she would have none of my American accent and that settled the question They had no objection to taking American money, however. One of their number broke large and the next day we were in formed that they intended to pay for l new one by filling a dishpan with nome made prizes, covered with tis- sue paper, and then, after dinner. asking us to draw from it as many imes as we wished, paying one franc .ach time We drew. Thinking to ,onciliate them, we spent several 'rancs apiece in this way. Still, their conduct did not improve. The other Americans departed. and I was hay ng rather a sorry time, despite the ,indness of madame. She would try O coax me to join their afternoon excursions, but generally I declined. They cost quite a bit, and I wished O save my money for trips to other countries. In reaching these, I would see a great deal of Swiss cenery. I did accompany them to ;ouchard's chocolate factory, whose . manager treated us royalty. We ( asted chocolate in the various stages f its preparation, and were actually -iven (think of that in SwitzerlandD [
 dainty metal box, filled with loz- , nges.
 One after noon in August there ar ived at the pension an Asatian 1 eacher, who proved to be an object ! f greater aversion to Louise and her . hates than myself They mimicked
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