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1921 REVIEWS OF BOOKS 273 families of the middle class. In Paris social barriers were first broken down, so that nobles, capitalists, and men of letters or of science mingled freely on more equal terms than elsewhere. M. Carre has adduced many- particulars to illustrate the oft-described luxury and splendour of this brilliant society, whether in Paris or in its magnificent country-houses. The life of the provincial noblesse has been less studied, and the evidence on this subject collected by M. Carre is fresher. In France, as in every other large country of that day, every provincial city above the smallest was something of a capital. Such of the provincial noblesse as were in easy circumstances had their hotels there, and, during the season, emulated in a modest way the social life of Paris. But there remained a multitude of gentlemen too poor or too primitive in their tastes for even this amount of display. Almost as immovable as their ancestral trees, they lived and died in the old manor-house where they were born. Their lives, as depicted by M. Carre, were singularly monotonous. Many had the mania for field sports so common in old Europe. The ladies sometimes devoted them- selves to good works and led really admirable lives. Very often this class of gentry cherished a high sense of honour and of duty to the king, who for them personified the state. With little hope of promotion or reward, they entered the army generation after generation, served many years, received many wounds, and retired on a trifling pension, which frequently fell into arrear. The poverty of nobles of this class was in many cases extreme. Often they had not the means of repairing their farm buildings, of educating their sons, or of providing the dot necessary when a daughter entered a convent. Some laboured on their own land, others became game- keepers or tax-collectors, and others were reduced to living on charity. The second part records with a wealth of illustration the successive phases of public opinion respecting the noblesse. The old doctrine that it was for the noble to fight and for the citizen to traffic was atone time held by all classes alike. In the states-general of 1576 the third estate declared that the nobles should be forbidden to take land on lease or to engage in commerce. Under the influence of Colbert the old restraint was removed in so far as concerned commerce with foreign countries. But a prejudice which even such men as Montesquieu and the elder Mirabeau could not discard was too strong for the ordinary French gentle- man. In the eighteenth century, if nobles engaged in business, it was under some kind of screen or concealment. One remarkable exception was seen in the colony of San Domingo, where many retired officers became planters, and even secured a large measure of self-government. But, for various reasons, this singular French analogue to the society of Virginia and Carolina was short lived. In the army the courage of the noblesse was beyond cavil. But under the feeble rule of Louis XV the luxury of the chiefs and the lack of discipline in all grades contributed to disasters which helped to ruin the noblesse in public opinion. The flagrant disregard of private morality and the neglect of education for their children shown by the court noblesse contributed to the same result. An interesting chapter is devoted to the relations of the nobility with men of letters, actors, and actresses. Everybody is aware that many French nobles in the eighteenth century sought the society of authors VOL. XXXVI. — NO. CXLII. T