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76
London who wish to find some outlet for their energies,
and at the same time to benefit others, might well
follow the example set there.
"In a small street in the Montmartre quarter is a
modest looking window, with 'Cantine Maternelle'
written across it. Push open the door and see the rows
of benches and tables laid with plates, knives and forks,
and glasses. And note that there are only women here;
women with babies in their arms, who have entered
quite unceremoniously and taken their places at the
tables, waiting to be served. But this is no restaurant.
It is a glorious institution for feeding the mothers of
young children, mothers nursing their infants, who
require good and regular food. There are numbers of
charitable organisations in Paris, but none are conducted
on such noble lines. A woman has only to be poor, and
a mother, to find a welcome. No recommendation is
required. She is not asked who she is, whence she
comes, her religion, nor her country; neither are
questions put to her relating to her marriage. Her
baby is her introduction. She comes timidly the first
day, scarcely believing what she has heard. Can it be
possible that no questions are asked? This seems to
surprise her more than all the food they may give her.
But she soon grows accustomed to the gentle, tactful
way in which this charity is conducted, and she arrives
once or twice a day, smilingly nodding to those near
her. And she comes sometimes for six months, day
after day, as long as she nurses her baby. The ladies
at the head of the 'Cantine Maternelle' keep in the
background. They go into the kitchen to see how the
food s prepared, but they never show themselves in the