They
are, in fact, quite accomplished, not only learning singing, drawing and
other accomplishments, but are able to take part in dramatic
entertainments. Two performances were given by the boys, two by the
girls, a little play being followed by a recitation; and I must say I
never heard anything of the kind in a village-school in England.
These children acquitted themselves of their parts remarkably well,
especially the girls, and their accuracy, pure accent, and delivery
generally, spoke volumes for the training they had received; of
awkwardness there was not a trace. Of course there were speeches from
the Mayor, M. le Cure, and others, also music and singing, and a large
number of excellent books were distributed, each recipient being at the
same time crowned with a wreath of artificial flowers.
It is to be hoped that ere many years, thanks to the new law enforcing
compulsory education, the excellent education these children receive
will be the portion of every boy and girl in France, and that an adult
unable to read and write--the rule, not the exception, among the rural
population in Brittany--will be unheard of. A friend of mine from Nantes
recently took with her to Paris a young Breton maidservant, who had been
educated by the "Bonnes Soeurs," that is to say the nuns.
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