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    OUR FRENCH CORRESPONDENT. 267

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    » Paris, November, 1862. Iw A Late Numbe...

    jgeneral and for ide man a is onl tliat y , althoug they were h , the made hard to experience live by bread of every alone day ,

    life teaches the contrary . The consequence is , that whatever , outside of the church door or accepted customsdoes not

    , directly tend to satisfy their material wants , is discouraged . It is therefore no mysterious dispensation of Providence which makes

    them so miserable at a period when the machine does or could do all the drudgery of labour , and gives pre-eminence to everything

    that is the product of thought , ingenuity or foresight , which , in most cases , are wanting in the ouvriere , M . Jules Simon saida short

    , time ago , in a conversation on this subject with an English lady , that in at least seven cases out of ten , the Paris workwoman

    knows nothing about the municipal societes de secours mutuel & ; and that when she does , she is unable to appreciate their value . He

    also said , that very frequently those who would wish to subscribe to them have not sufficient money to do so .

    This may seem incredible , as the sum required is so very small , for which reason it is well to give your readers some details

    concerning the price one pays at Paris for barely keeping soul and body together . The salary of females who take in work varies

    fcom 5 c . to 20 c . per hour . The best and most fortunate , by toiling incessantly during twelve out of the twenty-four hours , do not earn ,

    more than 2 £ 40 e . ; but the vast majority only earn 60 c . by work-, ing as hard during an equal amount of time . There is , however ,.

    ; a medium class which is numerous . Each of its memberson , -an averagegains by a hard day ' s work about If . 25 c . But when

    , _; a Sunday holiday is deducted from her week ' s earnings , her day ' s wages maybe calculated at If . 10 c . For women who throw .

    their earnings into a common fund to which the male members of a family contribute , lid . per day relieves > a great many wantSi

    But in Paris , and indeed all the great towns of France , there are an immense number of young women brought up in the foundling

    hospitals , women abandoned by their families , or who , under the pressure of temptations so strong that none other can estimate them

    have abandoned theirs . Then there are many widowsorwhat is , still sadder , women married to drunken husbands . The , difficulties ,

    against which each has to struggle are sufficient to break down the stoutest hearted or strongest minded female . Nearly every

    _profitable trade is closed against her . To women of business habits who possess sorne capital , as well as to those who have had the

    advantage of a solid education , there are many important branches of commerce open ; but for the mere ouvrierethe case is very \ .

    , different . With her scanty earnings , she cannot find the most miserable- garret in which to sleep and work for less than fifteen

    shillings per month . The competition of the convents obliges the her often needle to s sell and thre work ad whi greatl ch sh below e mus the t fu general rnish wh price ene ver Then she

    is given needlework to do , the washing of her clothes which _o ,

    is 2

    Our French Correspondent. 267

    OUR FRENCH CORRESPONDENT . 267

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1862, page 267, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121862/page/51/