The herald., 1916-01-20
THE FRENCH HOME
There the Servant Is Like a Mem.
Der of the Family.
IMPORTANCE OF THE NURSE.
She Is the Real and Rational Ruler OF
the Turbulent Children Who, as
General Rule, Are Spoiled by Their
Too lnduleent Parents.

The French people have not. 50 Tar.
produced a spiritually sCrvile class.
The occupation most dangerous t" the
soul-that Of personal Service-haS not
resulted for the people of France III
iunkyiSm on the one hand and su
perior airs on the other.
There is something in the poiSe and
motion of French working girls. in
their fearless eyes and vibrant voices.
that suggests a tluid ana mobile social
structure which drcpcnS the impress
sion of rigidity in the life across the
channel and beyond the Rhine French
people of the more favored classes are
never heard bemOaning :he decay of
proper" servant class On the con
trary. if YOU speak 10 them of the
striking contrast between the French
proletariat and that of other countries
theirs 50 natural and gay. the others
50 humble or 80 sullen or both-they
instantly expand with pride. Exact.
ly," they cXCiaim. 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 houSckecper nor an Indifferent
mother Ii 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
tel!igence and character. woman oft
en- young and mtried. 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
spOnsibility. Father. mother. all the
older relatives. vie with one another in
admirinS and INDUCING them. With
this understanding of the term and
scope of the child's autocratic reign.
one can afford To laugh at turbulent
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
| has. SO far. exercised any rational au-
| thority over him, the person before
whom he feels the beginnings of shame
| at doing wrong.
The bonnie is the most important per
son in the family group. so far as its
material well being is concerned. And
morally. spiritually. she is true mem
Der of the family. 1t is not for nothing
that the word "bonne" means good"
! as well as nurse"
Ii may be that the prevailing good
relation between masters and servants
] in France has a very simple eXplana-
| tiOn-simple and yet profound. Ii 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 10 keep alive the TO
nance Of friendship. of love and even
of that inherently bad relation. master
| and slave.
! The French servant who has no fam
i lily ties-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 serve-she
must be loved. And the French master
and mistress understand Each one
idealizes the sentiments of the other
In 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 othess.-J. Fran
ceS Cooke in New RepubIic.