A GIRL'S LIFE IN FRANCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 12027, 28 March 1903, Page 3 (Supplement)

A GIRL'S LIFE IN FRANCE.

It cannot be said thai in France, as in certain Oriental countries, tie birth of a girl is mourned over; still it certainly does not call forth the triumphant joy caused by the advent of a boy. In the aristocracy there is the question of a title; with peaisants there is that of land; and in all classes the unconscious reflections on the inequality of the lot of men and women. The tiny outfit has been tied up with blue ribbons, in expectation of the hoped-for boy; should a girl be born these are changed to pink. A little French maiden, however precocious she may be, is not asked to know any more by the time she is six than to read, play a scale and recite a certain number of fables. Her religious education was begun as soon as she could understand, perhaps a little earlier. When about seven she is given her first instruction in catechism, and up to the time she takes her first communion, between eleven and twelve, she goes to her parish school to receive special instruction for this. The children of the lower classes, in tie country as well as in town, all go to public schools, either secular or religious. Little girls .of the better class have an English or German nursemaid, who teaches them her language in such a way that it is often quickly forgotten, principally because there is no opportunity for practice; or they have a resident governess if their mother's occupations prevent her devoting herself entirely to them. "When they are sent to a board-ing-school they go to some convent, the Convent of the Sacred Heart being in every city the most fashionable of all convents, but in Paris cours which leave the girl most of the time at borne are preferred. Physical education, too, is becoming more and more popular. Formerly nothing was taught but dancing and swimming. Riding was reserved for wealthy girls in Paris, although in the country it was. more generally practised. Now all gymnastic and calisthenic exercises are in favour, and a great many young ladies play' tennis, skate, or ride bicycles, as they do in England. The programme of what a girl may do or may not do is drawn up very precisely. Unless she is poor and has to earn her own living she never goes out alone. The company of a friend of her own age would not be (sufficient to chaperon her. You will never meet a young lady on a train alone. Still, it must not be inferred that, because all initiative is denied her, she has

little knowledge of society. No occasion is lost to impress upon her that the principles of good breeding are. the basis of a most essential science. After she is fifteen years old she is generally allowed to be in the drawing-room on her mother's reception days, but must keep to the modest and secondary place assigned her; pouring the tea and presenting it x curtseying to her elders, answering when spoken to, listening and noticing a- great deal—in short, undergoing her apprenticeship. I The higher the social standing to which a girl belongs the more the intentional simplicity of her apparel is emphasised. She has but few jewels and under no pretext any diamonds. Custom does not permit her to wear costly things; nor does it give her the right, in general, to have a money allowance worth speaking of for her personal use. She receives a, trifling sum for charity, her books and gloves. She follows the degree oi elegance that her mother permits herself, but at a respectful distance. Society debuts are quietly made when a, girl is between seventeen and eighteen, usually at a bal blanc to which no married youn;r people are invited. The two sexes meet here for the first time since their childi hood, for boys are educated in public schools, while girls are strictly secluded. There is more liberty at such balls and parties now than in former days, but it is still extremely rare for marriages to be decided between him and her. They are almost • always prepared by the family and friends, , and the girl does not find this strange, feeing accustomed to look upon heTtelf as

one of the pieces in the harmonious mechanism of society, and to think of her role of wife and future mother as depending upon a host of considerations, among which love, it is true, forms a part, but does not overrule prudence. They meet in a pre-arranged way, the girl not knowing, or not being supposed to know, anything about it. After this her parents' house is opeu to the young man, and he is welcome to visit her. If all runs along smoothly, a month or two of almost daily bouquetsending follows. The rather short engagement period is filled up with a selection of the trousseau, ordered by the fiancee's family, and the corbeille, literally, a basket, but it may be a chest or another suitable piece of furniture containing the diamonds, laces, etc.—the groom's gifts. Although the marriage before the Mayor is the only one having any legal value, it is quite private and devoid of pomp. The family and the four witnesses alone are present at this ceremony. The bride wears a visiting costume and a bonnet. Next day, however,, she wilt drive to church in a coupe lined with flowers like a bower, and with orange blossoms, even on the coachman's whip, wearing the traditional high-neck bridal dress, wreath and tulle or lace veil falling the length of her white satin train.

It is high noon, the altar ■ is. glittering with tapers, the choir is decked with flowers, the resplendent beadle makes the pavement resound under his halberd, and the organ's swelling tones echo through the nave as the wedding procession makes its solemn entry. The bride comes first, leaning on her father's arm; behind her the groom, leading his mother; then come the two families intermingled with the witnesses ; the bridesmaids in bright colours, carrying huge bouquets, or, as is not infrequently the case, having them carried by their escorts. __ At all events, the girl's life is at an end. Yesterday she was still a mere zero, and up to the very last minute nothing in her habits or her dress had made any change in the unimportant position she held as a young girl. To-morrow she can go out alone, read everything, speak of anything, go freely to theatres, both high and low. For years she was nothing but the joy of the family, with no rights of any kind ; now she is a woman, and her life begins in realitv.