rooms or find a quiet family pension on some little street of
the quarter and attend, for some time at least, the lectures
and recitations of the schools. Then lie will learn a little of
how French students live and will cary away some valuable
experiences of the Latin Quarter.
French students as a rule rise early and a cup of coffee,
or rather chicory, with a couple of rolls, or some bread, make
up the premier dejeuner, or breakfast, of the average Parisian
and suffice for his needs until noon. Classes generally begin
at eight, though sometimes at seven, and the students are
all supposed to be in their places, ready and waiting for the
professor, as soon as the hour has struck. A dignified
personage then enters bearing a tray with a carafe of water,
a glass, and some lumps of sugar. He is the janitor with
the eau sucre without which a French professor would
probably feel lost. The professor himself bustles in_ soon
afterwards and delivers his carefully prepared lecture.
Many of the courses at the University of Paris are public
ones and can be freely attended, others are only open to
students studying for a degree or such as are specially quali
fied to attend. In the public courses one often sees curious
figures who have wandered in, attracted by the crowd enter
ing or by idle curiosity. It is no unusual occurrence for one or
more of the auditors to go to sleep and cases have been
known when the snores from some sleeper so disturbed the
quiet of the lecture that the janitor had to escort the
offender from the room, amid the smiles of the onlookers.
In winter time the warmth and shelter of the university some
times attract stray wanderers from the streets who enjoy a
quiet snooze while the professor lectures. The work for the
morning is over at twelve o'clock and there is a tremendous
rush for the various cafes and restaurants of the Quartier.
Everyone is hungry and wants dejeuner as quickly as pos
sible. This is the first solid meal of the day in France and
is fairly substantial, though not to be compared in this re-