OUR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS Edited by WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON. 12ᵒ. Illustrated. Each, net $1.20. By mail, $1.30 _NOW READY_ =French Life in Town and Country.= BY HANNAH LYNCH. =German Life in Town and Country.= BY W. H. DAWSON, author of “Germany and the Germans,” etc. =Russian Life in Town and Country.= By FRANCIS H. E. PALMER, sometime Secretary to H. M. Prince Droutskop-Loubetsky (Equerry to H. M. the Emperor of Russia). =Dutch Life in Town and Country.= By P. M. HOUGH. =Swiss Life in Town and Country.= By ALFRED T. STORY. _IN PREPARATION_ =Spanish Life in Town and Country.= By L. HIGGIN. =Italian Life in Town and Country.= By LUIGI VILLARI. G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON OUR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS EDITED BY WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON FRENCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY [Illustration: THE PEASANT AT HOME—THE CANDIDATE _Michelena_] FRENCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY BY HANNAH LYNCH ILLUSTRATED G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker Press 1902 COPYRIGHT, 1901 BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS Set up and electrotyped March, 1901 Reprinted August, 1901; January, 1902 The Knickerbocker Press, New York [Illustration] CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I FRENCH RURAL AND PROVINCIAL LIFE 1 CHAPTER II PARIS AND PARISIANISM 28 CHAPTER III SOCIAL DIVERSIONS AND DISTINCTIONS 58 CHAPTER IV THE ARMY AND THE NATION 87 CHAPTER V SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 112 CHAPTER VI NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 147 CHAPTER VII HOME-LIFE IN FRANCE 173 CHAPTER VIII PEASANT AND ARTISAN 202 CHAPTER IX THE PRESS AND THE PEOPLE’S COLLEGES 229 CHAPTER X THE PARISIAN LECTURE AND SALON 250 CHAPTER XI