CHAPTER I.

MATRONS AND MAIDS.

Artificiality of eighteenth-century life--The _rôle_ of the middle-class woman--Scotch domestic life--The old maid-- Admiration of foreigners for English women--English dress-- Public morals--Contrast between town and country life-- A country lady in London--Racquets, routs, and drums-- Education of girls--The boarding-school--Habits and manners of the middle class--Le Blanc’s opinion of the English 307