cost of these articles seems excessive; but beauty of design, ar- 

 tistic workmanship, and durability somewhat compensate for the 

 high cost. The workman is more an artist than an artisan since 

 he performs every step in the process of making his articles of 

 sale; and he attains complete mastery of his craft by life-long 

 application with the same kind of tools and materials. He is not 

 obsessed with the modern factory idea of maximum output in a 

 minimum of time; neither is he burdened with rush orders. 

 Moreover, he is his own master and is free from the necessity of 

 constantly having to increase his output in order to keep his job. 

 Again, he labors under his own roof and owns the tools of pro- 

 duction with which he works. His standard of living calls only 

 for the necessities of life. Social aspiration and social pretension 

 are alike alien to his nature. Hence he is under no compulsion 

 to work at fever heat in order to keep up appearances or to pay 

 for luxuries. Thus, relieved from the pressure of speed strain and 

 of economic stress, he is able to give undivided attention to the 

 labors of bench and forge, and to work leisurely and carefully as 

 many hours each day as he desires. The hours of labor and the 

 conditions under which it is performed approach closely the 

 Idyllic dream of some of our socialistic critics of modern indus- 

 trial life. 



The family is the economic unit of French rural life, each 

 household supplying the majority of its own needs. There are 

 very few transactions in which money is involved except in the 

 sale of manufactured goods. The farm, the garden, and the 

 herds supply the family with food. The cost of dress is neg- 

 ligible since social life is limited to church functions. In many 

 instances the rural dweller combines the labor of shop and farm, 

 a practice which recalls the medieval guild whose members were 

 required to assist in the harvest fields. 



6. Recreation. We have read of the social life of the various 

 European Capitols the gaity and glitter, the bright lights and 

 the great white way, the brilliance of court functions, the assem- 

 blage of wealth and wit, the murky, mysterious demi-monde as 

 well as the myriad activities that will bear the light of day 

 in fact a kaleidascopic variety of amusements and diversions to 

 suit all classes and to satisfy the most fickle and capricious taste. 

 This picture is descriptive especially of Paris which is acknowl- 



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