414 THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



The French 

 Schools 



Graceful 

 Accomplish- 

 ments 



which were established in New Rochelle were eagerly pat- 

 ronized by the English and Dutch, whose daughters 

 hitherto had possessed few educational advantages. 

 These schools were the originals of the young ladies' 

 seminaries and fitting schools, or finishing schools, 

 which held the field until the day of women's colleges, 

 which was ushered in by a Huguenot descendant — Mat- 

 thew Vassar, founder of Vassar College. From the first 

 the French language was taught, and all the '' ladylike 

 accomplishments" of the time were imparted. English 

 teachers were employed to teach the grammatical use of 

 their own tongue, written and spoken ; but it may be 

 imagined that this was not considered as of nearly as high 

 importance as the more showy accomplishments, which 

 could be acquired at these schools only. These accom- 

 plishments included enough of music to enable a young 

 woman to play a little for dancing, or to warble a few 

 songs in her fresh sweet tones to the accompaniment of 

 the spinet ; enough of French to read it easily, write it 

 fairly well, and hold a not too monosyllabic conversation. 

 Then much was made of instruction in the arts of paint- 

 ing and embroidery, and more of that truly high art, 

 gentle manners — the manners not only of persons of gentle 

 birth, but of those so early taught by precept and example 

 that their graces seem to have been born with them, a part 

 of their very selves. The pupils were taught how to avoid 

 all awkwardness of movement or carriage ; how to bear 

 themselves gracefully erect ; how to enter and leave a 

 room, to greet properly all ages and conditions, to ar- 

 range and preside at a dinner table wiih elegance, to 

 dress with tast^ and effect, and to dance gracefully. In- 

 cidentally with all these things, a great deal of valuable 

 instruction was given in the finer graces of courtesy and 

 courteous speech, and all that gentle consideration for 

 others which is at once the flower and root of good breed- 

 ing. Who shall say that this education was not fitting, 

 and that the colleges of to-day, with their maunishness, 



