THE MATRIMONIAL AGENCIES OF PARIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6213, 15 October 1881, Page 7

THE MATRIMONIAL AGENCIES OF PARIS.

As occasional correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, writing from Paris, says :— "Out of every twenty marriages among the upper and middle classes here, five are the work of the matrimonial agencies." Such is the astounding statement made the other day by a journal which claims to be a high authority in social matters, and which, at any rate, may justly claim to be the most truly French, the most truly Parisian, and the most widely read of all the journals. Your readers may perhaps ask, "What is a matrimonial agency ?" In reply I take up a number of the newspaper quoted—the Figaro —and glancing down its advertising columns, under the head "Divers," I draw their attention to the following : —" Marriages, Riches. Mme. Ernst, 11, Rue Manheuge. 30 Orphelines, 90 Demoiselles, 18 Venues, dot 100 a 5,000,000 francs." "Marriages iSucccs assure, par Ie J'nal I'Alliance des families, 3, rue Milton." There are several others of the same description. It is said, indeed, that fifty or sixty of these agencies are in existence, some of them very large concerns. They all profess to secure rich brides for enterprising suitors, or at least to put the enterprising suitors in the way of securing the rich brides for themselves ; and, as a matter of fact, it seems that in numberless cases they are able to carry out what they profess. The writer of the article in question tells us that one day he received a visit from a man, well-mannered, and very well dressed. The business on which he came led the writer to question him as to his profession, and the man, who, it appeared, had formerly been valet de chambre to Count Cavour, told him that he and his wife were now the scouts of a great matrimonial agency. His wife, it is to be remarked, had also been a domestic in a family belonging to the beau momle. "I pricked up my ears," says the writer, "and I heard some things which I lost no time in jotting down in my note-book as soon as I had got rid of him." The two worthies gained at their profession not less than £400 a ye?r. Their duties were to point out to the agency which employed them any young girls of a marriageable age, especially, of course, such as had large or considerable dowries, and to give any information that they could about them. In pursuit of such information they were frequent attendants at weddings in the churches, and at the midday masses, the places where the ladies in Paris are most likely to be found accompanied by their young daughters. Having thus got their eyes on their quarry, they would follow it to its nest in some aristocratic square or avenue. In tho neighbourhood they would have little difficulty in finding one of those third-class cafes which are to seen here in curious constrast with the grand houses about them, and which form the nightly resort of the valets and concicrgesof the quarter. There the scout would operate, paying for the information he wanted if he could not get it otherwise, and thus lie would shortly be able to place in the hands of his society a series of sketches of several young girls, giving their age, their appearance, the probable amount of their dowries, the connections of their family, the names of other families with whom they were intimate, and even the names of those who were acquainted with these other families. Besides these regular scouts, however, there are numbers of persons who may be called occasional scouts, who spend their spare time in obtaining such information as that above describe:!, and when obtained sell it to the regular scouts, or direct to the agencies. The duties of the next class of employees—"the introducers" , —are of a more highly paid and more delicate character, and for their performance something above the class of valet, of course, is required. The "introducer" is to be found among the "decayed" ladies and gentlemen who have kept their entree, of the salons. It is not uncommon to find a certain degree of luxury in the households of 3ucli people. Tlie public, knowing their poverty, are astonished, and wonder where the money comes from that keeps it all up. It comes not unfrcquently from the agencies. An "introducer's" first duty maybe somewhat analogous to those of the scout. He has to complete the information received from the latter. AVhen the scout has given in his account of the young girl's age, appearance, probable dowry, and tlie circle in which iier family moves, the next thing to find out is their views with regard to her. With this object the " introducter" pays a visit to some friend or acquaintance of the family, not unfrequently to the priest, sometimes perhaps the doctor. He excuses himself for trie liberty he is taking ; he says he has been sent by some one whom he is not at liberty to name, but whose position in life is extremely good to ascertain if an offer of marriage on his part to tho young lady on whom the agency has its eyes would be likely to be acceptable to her family. The priest, or the doctor, or the acquaintance, as the case may be, now becomes the unconscious employee of the agency. He transmits the request to the parents ; they are puzzled, and search in vain among their connections for this mysterious being. They end, most probably, by sending a reply, which, though vague, is sufficient to give the agency a general idea as to the sort of client who might be acceptable ; and out of the immense number it has on its register it is highly probable that it may find one who will suit. When a client wishes to be placed on this mysterious register he is made to sign a document to something like the following effect:—"l, the undersigned, X, promise to pay, one month after my marriage, a sum of money, equal to the eighth part of the dowry that Mille. will bring me, to pay the trouble and expense of M. Y." The name of the future bride remains blank until the marriage is concluded. Under the French law it appears that such an engagement is absolutely valid ; at any rate, tho threat of exposure would ordinarily prevent it from being disputed. The client, having signed his contract and made known his wishes in tho way of matrimony, is introduced by some of the agents of the company either to the family itself or some of its connections, through whom he makes the desired acquaintance; and it must rest with himself even whether he will be able to achieve the object that lie has in view. In very great numbers of cases there is no doubt that ho does achieve it. Such is tho last outcome of the French system of raumajes de convenancc. "What can bo more painful, what more poignant," says, with force and truth, the writer quoted, "than the sight of some of these poor children of great millionaires whose footsteps are dogged from morning to night by a crowd of scoundrels." They are followed with tlie caution, and yet with the persistency with which the angler follows the salmon, and landed probably, at last, in spite of all their watchfulness and all their circumspection. For there is—there needs must be, indeed— watchfulness and circumspectiou on the part of these young girls, such as their poorer sisters everywhere, and even the rich in our less artificial society, arc, to a great extent, free from the necessity of employing. The rich Parisian young lady knows well what is an " agency ;" for her it is a word of terror. Amid the whirl of the waltz, perhaps, hur heart stands still as she asks herself whether her partner has not been sent to her by an "agency." She marries ; she hopes she has escaped. The day, however, comes when she learns the truth. She has been tho victim of a plot more cunningly devised than any that preceded it. In some exceptional circumstances, perhaps, her husband's crime is condoned. Who can wonder if the more common case is that tho lady reflects with a bitter satisfaction, as one such lady is reported to have reflected aloud, that " lie who paid 50,000 francs for me to the agency, could not, at any rate, take a guarantee for the future." It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the work done by the agencies is always of this underhand and indeed fraudulent character. It might even fairly be maintained that, taking into account the constitution of French society, it is frequently useful. In a large city like Paris there are many men who find themselves left outside of society of every sort, and who are too much occupied with their business to devote any time to the work of forming acquaintances, or, perhaps, who have not the qualifications necessary for forming them even if they had the time. There are aho, of course, imny families similiarly destitute of acquaintances, in which the girls—even girls with moderate dowries—occasionally find themselves forgotten by the world. The agencies are often the means of bringing such men and such families together! with full cognizance of the state of the case oil both sides. It may be said that the fact of a young lady allowing her name to be put down on the register of an agency as a candidate for matrimony would argue a want of delicacy, -which would be a bad omen for her future. To suppose that she would be likely to do this, however, would be to misconceive altogether the manner such things are managed in France. It might be done by her family. : It js.more probable, however, that the mere fact of her family making no jjecret of her- and their wishes iu the matter jvould reach'; tho' ever-alert ears of some employee of one of these organisations, and thausome

of its clients would shortly present themselves through the medium of a mutual acquaintance. One cannot help asking himself is the system confined to Paris, or is it possible that, unknown to ourselves, society in London and in other of our great cities is undermined by a similar organisation? It seems probable, when we looTt at the Matrimonial News, that the agencies are not altogether unknown in London ; but it is probable also that the constitution of English society will prevent them from ever assuming the proportions that they have assumed in France.