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Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1978, 14 January 1907, Page 4

ENGLISHMEN AND FRENCHMEN. (By a Frenchwoman.) A good authority said recently that an Englishman dispensed more easily with woman’s company than she with his. It is true. It is one of the first things that struck mo horo.’Givo an Englishman his cosy corner at tlio club, his favorite paper, the cigarotto of his spocial brand, and his whisky and soda, and, for many hours at any rate, his follow-biped might become an oxtinct product ol the creation. Perhaps I oxaggerato; but one fact certain is that an Englishman can bo quite satisfied far from the company of woman, and that tho most devoted father, husband, or son will, oil tho whole, spend very little of his timo with his womankind.

Of course wo huvo many bachelors, too, in Franco but no woman liator. . . . Tho worst of French husbands is more in the company ol his wife than is tho ideal husband in England. ... 1 know many a jouno Idle in Franco who is kept in gloves, perfume’s, and bouquets by her brother, and who is accompanied and chaperoned and spoilt b,y him. Until be marries she monopolises a great deal of bis leisure, for with Frenchmen the love of club and sports is more often than not only a poso, which they are pleased to consider chic. HEALTHY LATITUDE. Ono of the delights of England for my countrywoman is that healthy latitude 'anti independence that the Englishman's courtesy enables her to enjoy. Englishwomen, who are used to going about free and umnolossted, do not know wliat it means to the girls of France —their first outing in London without a chaperone, walking alone , without being followed, looking at shop windows without beipg spoken to by the inevitable vieux mareliour, sitting in a public carriage without being subjected to annoyance by tho cad opposite or tho man next her. Though in Loudon woman takes it for granted, to the Parisienno respect front the man in tho street —at least, freedom from insult at every turn —is a delightful, almost iucrediblo, novelty. I do not assume that these oldworld, virtues have survived hotter in England than with us, but the English, at least, possess still the essence of politeness, which, after all, is tho best part of it, and which in Franco is fast evaporating. The Englishman may not bo charming, but ho is respectful. It is possible that tho Englishman gets much of his well-bred correctness from the fact that tho woman with whom ho mixes aro of liis own class; whereas, apart from tho women lie meets at homo, the Frenchman’s lady friends could not ho received by his mother. When you met him in the part of chevalier servant to somo fair companion, you may he sure tho lady is a close relation of his, or some one whom his fomalo relatives woidd pretend not to see. So the Frenchman has to cultivate two different vocabularies and two different 'behaviours, and it is no wonder if he not seldom gets confused in his somewhat complicated code of manners. If this is one of tho real reasons for our men’s decadence, much benefit to the morality and politeness of young France might bo brought about by a freer association of nice girls with their brother’s friends; but in tho present stato of things, what French mother would he disposed to try the experiment ? THE RESULT OF FAMILIARITY. If the Englishman’s life is chiefly spent with male companions, if lie keeps business and home apart from one another, it may, as a compensation, cause him to idealise woman. While in France woman is mixed up in every phase of man’s life, while she is his helpmate, li is partner, his companion, and not seldom his servant, perhaps Ids constant familiarity with her has the contrary effect. There is still in every Frenchman a great deal of the Oriental way of looking at woman. And tho French wifo knows it, hut she goes on helping her “man,” he she duchess or midinette. She will forgive again and again, she will let him squander her dot, and will learn how to do with fewer frocks (the delight of every Frenchwoman) in an ever-pitiful attempt to patch up the fortune and happiness he has wrecked. If she happen to bo a shopman’s wife, lie needs no bookkeeper or manager ; she will be there from morning till night, the slave of the ledger, careful of every centime; while ho too often will leave the heavier part of the business in her capable hands, and turn his attention to a domino party at the nearest cafe. If she he a peasant's wife, no one on tho farm will slave harder than she. There is scarcely any labor which she will not undertake. In every sphere woman is too often the man of the house. Nowhere is feminine influence more active, more felt, and less recognised than in France. And nowhere among the civilised nations is man more dependent on woman, more attached. to her, and less respectful.

A STRANGE STORY FROM CAWNPORE. The-Cawnporo correspondent of the Indian Daily Telegraph,' Lucknow, sends tho following extraordinary starry-of; an occurrence in the "Etak district. ,A traveller by the Grand Trunk roild, fairly well to do, who had two bags of money • with him, was benighted and halted at an outlying police station for safety. He entered tho ‘tlianna and asked the sub-inspector in charge to let him rest there and to place his money bags there as Tie feared to continue his journey on*account of dacoits and robbers. The sub-inspector declined to place tho money bags in tho Malkhanna,. but gave the traveller permission to rest in the thaniia and provided him with a. cliarpoy, advising liim to place his hags, under his head. He assured tho man he had nothing to fear as there would be a constable oh sentry duty. Thus assured the traveller made himself comfortable on the charpo.v, placing his money bags under his head. The sub-inspector and his subordinates, tempted by the money bags, planned to murder the traveller and share tho money. The sub-inspector directed some of his men to dig a grave largo enough to hold tho cliarpoy and tho traveller, while he went to his evening meal. Roth parties having gone on their respective errands, tho traveller, who was lying awake and. had overheard their murderous intentions, got away with his money bags and climbed a shady tree. The sub-inspector returned and found the charpo- empty, but forgetful of the plan arranged between himself and his subordinates, laid down on tho same cliarpoy, and covering himself with a cloth went to sleep. The grave diggers also returned and waited for tho sub-inspector, but as he did not come they decided to despatch the traveller, who, as they thought, slept on tho .cliarpoy. They went to the sub-inspector’s quarters and obtained his sword, and with it sot to work on the sleeper. Being convinced that he had been killed, they searched for the money hags under his head. The cloth from the head fell off, and to their horror they saw their mistake. They then hurried off with tho cliarpoy and the remains of the sub-in-spector and his sword and placed these in the ready-dug grave. Thr traveller on the tree had seen all this, and through fear could no! sleep. Next morning a -European police officer happened to pass tin tree on an official visit, and the traveller hurried down and begged hit protection, and detailed the entire occurrence to him. Tho officer took tho traveller with him to the tlianna, where the murderers were identified and secured. The grave was opened and the murdered sub-inspector’s body was found. The parties concerned have, it is believed, been seut up for trial.

For five thousand dollars an American amateur had the luck to pick up in an old curiosity shop in Poland a curious Renaissance piece of furniture in iron, apparently some sort rf miniature tabernacle, having small iluted columns and a gracefullyshaped cupola. The dealer supposed that it had been used for the celebration of Jewish rites in private houses during times of persecution. The curio bore every sign of age, and the amateur bought it and put it in a place of honor in his collections. Ho has since come to Paris, and taken the electric underground for the first time. On the platform he beheld new and freshly painted replicas of his Renaissance Jewish tabernacle. The five thousand dollar curio was the top part of a peimy-iu-tlie-slot chocolate machine. ANXIOUS MOMENTS. One of tho most anxious times of a mother’s life is when her little ones have croup. There is no other medicine so effective in this terrible malady as Dr. Sheldon’s New Discovery; It can lie safely given and depended' upon. No mother should ever be ! without a bottlo in tho houso. For sale b,y A. W. J. Maun, Agent, i Chemist. I