Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1916-02-25
THE FRENCH HOME
There the Servant Is Like a Men,
Der of the Family.
IMPORTANCE OF THE NURSE.
She Is the Real and Rational Ruler Of
the Turbulent Children Who, as a
General Rule, Are Spoiled by Their
Too induIgent Parents.

the Turbulent Children Who, as
General Rule, Are Spoiled by Thei
Too induIgent Parents.
The French people have not, so far
produced spiritually servile class
The occupation most dangerous to thu
soul-that of personal service-has no
resulted for the people Of France il
tlunkyism on the one hand and su
perior airs on the other.
There is something in the poise an(
motion Of French working girls, ii
their fearless eyes and vibrant voices
that suggests fluid and mobile socia
structure which deepens the impress
sion of rigidity in the life across the
channel and beyond the Rhine. French
people of the more favored classes arc
| never heard bemoaning the decay of Il
proper servant class. On the con
trary, if you speak to them of the
striking contrast between the French
proletariat and that of other countries
theirs so natural and gay. the Others
SO humble or so sullen or both-they
instantly expand with pride. Exact.
ly!' they exclaim. Our brave French
people! Just as good as monsieur, as
madame. but also no better!"
The status of the French domestic
derives in part at least from the weight
Of responsibility under which she
serves. For her mistress is neither a
careless housekeeper nor an Indifferent
mother. 1t is precisely because the
Frenchwoman loves her children so ar
IDENTIFY, so Economically, one might say.
and because her quick. intelligent grasp
of material situations makes her an
excellent economist at home that she
requires and establishes in the house
hold not a common servant, not a
mothers helper but a woman Of in
telligence and character, woman Oft
en- young and untried, but with the
true ring, who is or soon becomes ca
pable Of assuming direct responsibility
for the care of the children and the
house-a woman who deserves and re-
ceives the consideration due to the
head Of an important department in
the management of the family life.
French children are VIGOROUSLY spoil
ed The little monarchs are kept on a
pedestal well into the age of moral re-
sponsibility, Father, mother, all the
older relatives, vie with one another in
admiring and INDUCING them. With
this understanding of the term and
scope of the child's autocratic reign,
one can afford to laugh at turbulent
scenes in which he puts to rOut every
adult In the house except his bonnie.
At the mere sight of her the little des-
perado begins to quiet down. He is in
the presence Of the only person who
thority over him. the person before
whom he feels the beginnings of shame
at doing wrong.
The bonne is the most important per-
son in the family group. so far as its
material we'll being is concerned. And
morally. spiritually. she is true mem.
Der of the family. 1t is not for nothing
that the word 'bopne" means good"
as we'll as nurse"
1t may be that the prevailing good
relation between masters and servants
in France has very simple explana.
tiOn-simple and yet profound. 1t may
be that it springs at bottom from the
warm affections Of the people. They
cannot live without love and senti.
ment Better than any other people
they know how to keep alive the ro-
nance of friendship. Of love and even
Of that inherently bad relation. master
and slave.
The French servant who has no fam.
lily Hes-and often the one who has
throws her whole heart and soul into
the family life Of her master and mis-
tresS.
She must love-she must serye-she
must be loved. And the French master
and mistress understand. Each one
idealizes the sentiments of the other.
In a word, the romance Of the situa.
ton grips them all. French literature
is crowded with examples OF mistress
and servant whose intimacy shows no
trace of condescension on the one side
or Of servility on the others.-J. Fran.
ces Cooke in New Republic