The San Francisco call., 1910-08-15
FOREIGN TONGUES
ARE SOCIETY FADS|
Matrons of Smart Set Teach
Babes to Lisp French
And Study, Too
By MARGARET M. DOYLE

4 AVE- you a TAU w
II ing, golfing? Do singing and
music lessons occupy part OF
your time. or are your social duties
so many and strenuous. or your house.
hold tasks so grave. that you have
leisure for little else but your three
square meals day and afternoon tea?
Because the day of culture is at
hand, the day when you are no longer
in style unless you can speak at least
two languages and when even your
children must learn to lisp their
French with their English baby talk
you," for so the social fates have de-
creed. 1t is the fashion and as our
pompous friend. Mr.. Pecksniff, would
say, Let us be fashionable or die
Those outside the sacred pale would
be surprised could they see the really
busy lives. apart from the receptions
and entertainments, that many of the
wealthy women of the exclusive set
lead. for they are teaching their chill
dren to lead before the days of their
earliest A B C's. And taste for lam
guages is one of their greatest hob
bies.
Mrs. Eugene de Saba heads the
list, perhaps, for in spite of her sew
eraI European trips and her nearly
perfect French accent she still takes
her daily lesson in French, Just to
keep in practice" as well as her
weekly music lessons; and her three
daughters, Mrs. Clement Tobin and
Miss Vera de Saba and Leontine. are
almost as fluent in French as in
English.
Doctor de Marville's young daugh-
ter, Cora, who is at present in Paris
receiving the finishing touches to her
education, could from her babyhood
converse easily in English. German
and French, and only in moments of
rare excitement did she get mixed and
speak in a deliciously mingled jargon
of all three.
1t is more frequently the long suf-
fering nursegirl who gets mixed, how
ever, as witness the young woman
employed in that capacity in the fam
lily of the Frederick MeNears. Mrs
| McNear and her children are passing
| the summer at Del Monte, and the
other day with a number of friends
| they boarded Monterey streetear to
| invade the shopping district. the
nurses in one compartment with their
| small charges.
Suddenly getting musical and finding
| life pretty good after all, one of the
| little McNear boys burst into melody.
his singing. strong enough to the SEN
sitive ear, scarcely coming under the
| generic term of music. Still he ex-
| ercised his vocal powers in spite OF
| the withering remark of his small
| friends. Finally his mother took the
matter in hand. Leaning over from
| her seat in the front compartment she
called out. mentioning his name.
."Weinen nicht." (Which. of course.
| literally translated, means do not
| cryi")
| He's not whinin', ma'am,' explained
| the nurse. hurriedly. hes just hol-
lerin'," and Mrs. McNear thought it
! wisest to resort to English. Her
| children are fair scholars in both Ian
! guages, and the three little daughters
| of Mr.. and Mrs Charles Clark speak
| French even better than English. Mrs.
| Clark is another who keeps up her
studies. a daily chapter in French and
| German being included in her regime,
while she also has q good knowledge
of Spanish
Even Esperanto has come in for its
share of attention in the smart set.
! Mrs. William C. Hitchcock having set
! the style. She has decided to get up
/ class for it's study in HiHsboro,
having already acquired the fad her
self. and being able to carry on a fair
! conversation in it, should the occa-
| sion require. If her class plan holds
] good, doubtless Mrs. Norris Davis. Mrs.
| Tom Driscoll, Mrs. Robert Hooker and
| 10 or IL of the other women down the
peninsula will shortly be gossiping
| in Esperanto over the afternoon tea.
Long before the children of the Jack
PARROTS, now abroad, spoke English
i at all, their French was rema arka BILE,
/ and, like all their wide family connec-
| tions, they now know English. French,
German and Latin we'll, and their read
| ing and converse tion includes a range
of all four. As a family they keep up
/ their language studies, Miss Barbara
| Parrott having been a member of the
French class in Burlingame that in
cluded in its members Mrs. Tom Dris-
| coll Miss Frances Howard and the
Misses Amy and Nora Brewer. In con-
nection with this class they tell joke
on Mrs. Driscoll. When they reached
| the lesson on volcanoes and their play
full antics, the French teacher endeav-
i ored to teach her the proper expression
-''vomit feu," she explained with much
patience.
''Oll, | don't like that expression
said Mrs. Driscoll. La montaine pisht
would sound much better" and she
| used that form for the rest of the les
son. much to the despair of painstak-
ing instructor. She dips into her
French books every day. however. and
is one of the many Hillsborites who be-
lieve in putting their knowledge to
! everyday use.
/ Mrs. Charles X. Harley is another
| who keeps up her French even when
away on her summer trips, so as tc
speak it as well as English to the two
small Harley boys. and Miss Sophie
4 Beylard seldom uses any other lam
/ guage in speaking to her father. Du-
! pleyssis s. Beylard. So if you are ambi-
tious, why not emulate their example.
For in spite of the society side. many
of them lead just as many busy lives
as the rest of the world and still MAKE
the most of opportunity. And in the
coming generation every one will sneak
some foreign language with the ease
of his native tongue. Why not get in
the game?