The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-05

they go cut Of themselves.
 Everything in the way of machin
 cry is on the most skimpy basis. Americans claim that the pipes of the plumbing are too small. and that
 they are always out of order. That
 Is the case In this room where I am
 writing. which costs me $6 a day.
 The electric current Is weaker than
 in America. In many apartments one cannot use an electric iron and an
 electric heater at the same time.
 Every One Wants a Tip
 And then the tipsl There Is a con-
 tinual drain of francs and sous.
 Every time your doorbell rings you
 had best get ready fee. for some
 one will expect 1t for the alleged
 services he has performed. The boy
 with a telegram or the postman with
 q special delivery letter will want at
 least 25 centimes, or two cents and a
 half at present exchange. The gro-
 cery man will expect a 10-cent tip,
 and the messenger from big depart
 ment store should have the same. At
 New Years every one who has served
 you in any way during the year,
 might say, comes to the door of the
 house and frankly asks for present.
 Moreover. they get 1t. This Is true
 of the man who sweeps the street in
 front of your house, the mechanic
 who greases the elevator shaft, and
 the girl who delivers the milk, as
 well as the janitor and all his family connections Every mechanic who
 makes repairs must have his tip, and
 the taxi driver Is cross unless one adds 10 per cent to the amount shown on the meter.
 Two Hours For Lunch
 The hours for meals are different from those of America. In France business starts later and the people is not open before or 10 o'clock, and
 most shops are closed from 12 until :30 or 2. This Is for luncheon, a very important meal because the first breakfast of coffee and rolls is so little. Almost every French busi- ness man of affairs goes home to his lunch. This is so even if he works in bank or commercial establish ment. He expects two hours eff al | that time, but when he comes back | to his desk at 2:30 he works there
 until well after 6. This makes the dining hour late, and in even modest homes the family seldom eats din ner until 7:30 o'clock. Our helr would consider this a hard custom but the French servants do not ex- pect to be through with their work until around 10 o'clock. The people say the long lunch hour gives then chance to have visit with their families, but the American residents l here miss the long evenings and the time we have for exercise in the late afternoon.
 It Is quite common In stepping into one of the small shops of Paris not closed at noon to see the entire fam | fly lunching in room at the side The business of such stores Is often run by the whole family. The wife does not think herself too good tc keep the books or wait on the GUS toners, or in fact to manage the shor when her husband Is out, and the children of over school age help. too 1 In fact. the whole life of the family l Is bound up in it as a cooperative I enterprise and in it they live .na greater part of their home life. The l French women are capable. and many | a war widow is runn'-rs~tne shop for
 merly kep. ',y her husband. I would | say 4llso sho does it we'll.
 The Cook Does tho Marketing The servant problem hardly exists | for an American housekeeper living l in France. Wages are not high from her point of view. and the servants | expect to work for what they get The general servant Is live institu- tion. She often does the cooking cleaning. and bedmaking for a family of three or four persons She blacks the shoes. mends the linen, and presses the suits of her master and mistress. She thinks she is wei treated If she has half day of every other Sunday, and she expects no time for herself during the week The chabermaid does all the mend | ing and sometimes makes dresses for | the ladies of the family. She gets g commission on the clothes bought by l her madam. One of these chamber | maids may do up whole house, serve l the tables and take care of the chill | dren. Not uncommonly she will dress l her mistress hair, making up tht | complicated toilet so much desired ! by the French.
 The French cook does the market | ing. and she counts upon this because | of the commission she gets from tho | dealer. Before the World war she received one sou per franc or one | cent out of every 20 cents paid fol 1 the foodstuffs she bought After the war the dealers were rather tardy ir l giving this rate. but 1t still existi | more or less.
 l Here are some notes made last Sunday morning while watching the | servants going to market: Int streets are full of women and girls | most tof them without hats and al plainly dressed. Each has a baskei