A GIRL'S LIFE IN FRANCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7667, 28 March 1903, Page 3

A GIRL'S LIFE IN FRANCE.

It cannot be said that in France, as in certain Oriental countries, the birth of a girl is mourned over ; still it certainly does nob call forth the triumphant joy caused by the advent of a boy. In the aristocracy there is the question of a title ; with peasants there is that of land; and in all classes the unconscious reflections on the >in%quality 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-pre-cocious 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 the 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 moat of the time at home are preferred. Physical educationj 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 gen•erally 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 nob 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 friendi 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 A curtseying to her eldfers, answering when spoken to, listening and "noticing a great deal— in short, undergoing her apprenticeship. The higher the social standing to which a girl belongs the more the intentional sim- , plicity of her apparel is emphasised. She has but few jewels and under no pretext any diamonds. Custom does nob permit he>- 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 'of 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 young people are invited. The two sexes meet Sere for the first time since their childhood, 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, being accustomed to look upon herself as

one of the pieces in the harmonious mechanism of society, and to think of her role of wife and future mother us depend'ing upon a host of considerations, among which love, it iis 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 open t> 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 tl:e' fiancee's family, and the corbeille, literally, \ 9, '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 nny 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 will 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. j ' It is high, noon, the altar is. glittering j 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 catty. The bride comes first, leaning on her father.'s arm ; "behind lie-r 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 vei-y 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, sp<2ak 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 reality. '