ENGLISH GIRLS IN PARIS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1533, 31 August 1912, Page 11

ENGLISH GIRLS IN PARIS.

A CITT OF LOST ILLUSIONS. ■ Why do' English and American girls (not to speak of thousands of Russians, Germans, Swedes, Italians, and Spaniards, as well as girls from tho provinces of Franco) fly to Paris, as though it wore'a land flowing with milk and honey—as though the very streets were paved with gold? -writes Eileen Elyce, in the "Daily Mail." If they think c-o, their illusion does not live many days after they have reached the gay city. Perhaps no other city wears a fairer mask to hide greater suffering and misery I Why Girls Go To Paris. Thore are-various reasons why girls come hero. Ono is that 011 leaving school many are faced with tho problem of having to gain their own livelihood, and they think that this can bo easily done in Paris, without any other qualification than speaking their own language, and sneaking it often very indifferently. Some girls wish to acquire good French with the idea of teaching it in England, and the fact that the Educational Departments .iiaist on a Parisian accent makes them go to the capital rather than to the provinces. • Then a girl may go because perhaps life at home is deadly dull, and some friend returning from Paris paints a vivid picture of its mietj' and pleasures, and asks, hor why she does not go there and "havo, a, good time," adding, "Oh, it is bo easy to get pupils! Evoryono learns English!" Certainly this last is, true, but that ; it is easy to get pupils is not true, and a girl must be prepared to fight, and fight with vigour, the dangers and difficulties that crop up at every turn of tho road, otherwise she will find herself in many .a • tight comer through inexperience and ignorance of the penis that will surround her. Mistakes and Difficulties. Another mistake girls fall into is thinking that beoause they are qualified and hold public school, or university certificates they, are certain lo find posts awaiting them. Not so. Knowledge is not influence. And what is more, they will find in the English "Miss" who speaks ungrammatically and unmusically with an appalling accent a most serious rival; for, there are many French families here whose children are taught English (?) by girls who originally came, abroad as general servants or scullery-maids, ind who have "bettered' themselves," as they call it." ' I have in my mind one French family in particular whose children speak Whitechapel English with aterrible Cockney accent.' Few foreigners are.in a position to judge for themselves whether a girl 'speaks, her language correctly or.not; all . they want is something cheap, and they'get it with a vengeance, very much to tho detriment of the educated class of girl with which the market •is overstocked. .... Then so many girls believe that Paris is-a regular mint; and they arrive with little or no money to speak of. Daily confirmation of this fact is forthcoming at tho English and American. Consulates and tho "British Charitable Fund," which are always aiding penniless and distraught maidens to get back to their own country. - The majority of those who cocie here seeking work, often have to wait three months or more before anything turns up, so they should never arrive., in this city unless, they have at least J-50,. that is 1200 francs, in hand. Moreover it must bo remembered that the month's notice given in England does not exist on this fide of tho Channel, and a girl will find herself dismissed from her situation with eight days' notice, and' sometimes an hour's, for the English -"Hiss" is seldom treated by her employer on a footing of equality, but is generally placed on a par with' the servants. Tramping from Bureau to Bureau. Instead of • visiting the museums and churches, and enjoying Parisian life with its music and gaiety, a girl finds herself condemned to tramp,' weary and half-starved, ;from bureau to bureau in search of ' fcmplOyhient:— any I employment. "We'll be pleased,' Mis l ;, to put ' your name down; but , An expressive shrug of the shoulders' tells her what sho has alieady found out—that there are too many English-speaking girls in Paris. Sometimes it happens in the end that some sort of employment is found for'her, but often it is with, a family of whicti her parents would in no way approve. French people do not yet understand the emancipation of women. Their ideas upon the subject are very' different from ours. Sensitive girls are out of place in Paris; and unless protected, and woll protected. should think twioe of coming to this city to earn their bread. ■