tte does not live only on
the support of her lover. She is often a dressmaker or a shop-girl,
and makes arrangements with a lover so as to live more comfortably.

When the grisette acts as her lover's housekeeper and lives with him
on terms of the closest intimacy, the _liaison_ takes a more serious
character and there is a certain degree of affection or even love.
However, all these concubinages are generally limited to a few weeks
or months, so that the natural love of the woman becomes blunted by
successive polyandry. It is always more or less a question of "an
accessory business."

There are all kinds of lorettes and grisettes, but as a rule they are
generally attached to small tradesmen, students, workingmen, etc.,
rather than to rich men. It is a kind of contract for a limited
period. This system is very widespread in large towns, where the
inhabitants do not interfere with each other's affairs; but is
difficult to manage in small towns, where every one knows everybody.

=Mistresses.=--These may be called the aristocrats of the species.
Here we see more distinctly the transition from venal love to free
concubinage based on mutual love. The _hetaira_ of the ancient Greeks
(vide Chapter VI) corresponded more or less to the modern mistresses,
especially to the intelligent mistresses of men in high positions. In
certain respects we may say that George Sand, for example, was a
_hetaira_ from pure love, while among the Greek _hetaira_ money played
a great part. Some mistresses are paid; others live on terms of
equality with their lovers; others again maintain their lovers. We
must also distinguish between mistresses who live with married men,
and those who live with bachelors.

The most typical case is that where a bachelor who wishes to remain
free takes a mistress, whom he also makes mistress of his house, and
who thus becomes an illegitimate wife who may separate from him when
it pleases her. Some women contract this kind of union without being
actually paid, simply for their maintenance, in return for which they
do the housework. Here there is no actual sale of the body. The
contract may be indefinite or limited. In such cases the effect of
money on the attitude of the man toward his mistress is evident; his
tone is generally less respectful toward paid mistresses than toward
those who are not paid. The love of the paid mistress is little more
durable or more intense than that of the grisette, the situation bein