, and then she gives
in, and lets them have their own way.

Another thing which follows from this want of nursery training is that
if, as sometimes happens, there are disputes between the parents, the
children are mixed up in them. You will hear a Belgian mother say to
her young daughter: "Imagine what your father has done!" Or if the
husband is angry with his wife, he will turn to his boy, and exclaim:
"That is just like a woman!" Of course, this is very bad for the
children, who hear a great deal which they would know nothing about if
they were not always with their parents.

From being so much with older people these children get strange ideas.
I know a lady who said to a small Belgian girl, who was an only child:
"Would you like a little brother or sister to play with?" "Oh! no,
no," replied the child, "because when my father and mother die, I
shall have all their money." Whereupon the mother exclaimed: "There!
the dear child; how well she knows the world already!"

The children of the _petite bourgeoisie_ are the most unruly. One sees
them often at the various holiday places, at the seaside or in the
Ardennes, where they dine, however young, along with their parents at
the _tables d'hote_, or public dining-tables, of the hotels. They eat
untidily, spill their soup, throw bread at each other, upset their
tumblers of beer or wine (for they are allowed to have whatever their
parents are drinking), talk at the top of their voices, and really
make such a row that the older people can't hear each other speaking.
The moment they have had as much food as they want, they jump up, push
their chairs noisily aside, and begin to chase each other round the
room. Their parents never think of stopping them, and care nothing
about the annoyance such unmannerly behaviour causes. It is curious
how few Belgians, old or young, rich or poor, consider the feelings or
convenience of others. They are intensely selfish, and this is
doubtless caused by the way in which they are brought up.

As you know, parents in England are forced by law to send their
children to school, or have them taught privately. There is no such
law in Belgium, and parents, if they like, may leave their children
without any education. The number, however, of those who do not go to
school is gradually decreasing, and most children get lessons of some
sort or another.

No religious instruction is given in Belgian schools, except in
convent schools, or in those wh