exceptions.

It must be observed that in the middle class the young girl grew up
with the mother and was given her most tender care; surrounded with
wholesome influences, she saw little or nothing of the world, and,
the constant companion of her mother, developed much like the average
young girl of to-day. At the age of about eleven she was sent to a
convent, where--after having spent some time in the _pension_, where
instruction in religion was given her--she was instructed by the
sisters for one year.

After her confirmation and her first communion, and the home visits to
all the relatives, she was placed in a _maison religieuse_, where the
sisters taught the daughters of the common people free of charge. The
young girl was also taught dancing, music, and other accomplishments
of a like nature, but there was nothing of the feverish atmosphere of
the convent in which the daughters of the nobility were reared; these
institutions for the middle classes were peaceful, silent, and calm,
fostering a serenity and quietude. The days passed quickly, the
Sundays being eagerly looked forward to because of the visits of the
parents, who took their daughters for drives and walks and indulged
them in other innocent diversions. Such a life had its after effects:
the young girls grew up with a taste for system, discipline, piety,
and for a rigid devotion, which often led them to an instinctive need
of doctrine and sacrifice; consequently, in later life many turned to
Jansenism.

However, the young girls of this class who were not thus educated,
because their assistance was required at home, received an early
training in social as well as in domestic affairs; they had a solid
and practical, if uncouth, foundation, combined with a worldly and,
often, a frivolous temperament. To them many privileges were opened:
they were taken to the opera, to concerts and to balls, to the salons
of painting, and it often happened that they developed a craving for
the society to which only the nobly born demoiselle was admitted. When
this craving went too far, it frequently led to seduction by some of
the chevaliers who make seduction a profession.

The marriage customs in these circles differed little from those
of to-day. The suitor asked permission to call and to continue his
visits; then followed the period of present giving. The young girl
was almost always absolute mistress of the decision; if the father
presented a name, the daughter insist