he energy and business skill which characterize the
French women, they are at least no more indolent and easy-going than
their male companions. The women of the nobility are often less educated
than their plebeian sisters, and for the most part lead a very narrow
and petty existence, which produces little but vanity and selfishness
and discontent. There are exceptions, however, and here and there may be
seen a gentlewoman who has studied and travelled, and made herself not
only a social but also an intellectual leader of distinction.

From a legal standpoint, the position of women differs in the various
provinces, for, while the written law may be the same throughout the
kingdom, local customs are often widely divergent. Villari, in his
recent book on Italian life, says that a woman's property is guaranteed
to her by law from any abuse on her husband's part; she has equal rights
of inheritance with her brothers, if her parents have made no will; and
there are few cases in which her rights are inferior to those of her
male relatives. Also, the woman is considered the natural and legal
guardian of her children, after the death of her husband. In spite of
this legal equality, the old idea of woman's inferior position still
crops out, and it is noticeable that a father, in bequeathing his
property, rarely leaves it to his daughters, but rather to his sons, and
often to the eldest son alone, as in the old feudal days. Social
conventions are not unlike those of other southern countries. For the
majority of women marriage is the one aim in life, and an unmarried
woman is shown little consideration and is the butt of much ridicule. In
the northern part of Italy, women are gaining a certain amount of
liberty in these latter days, and young girls of the better class may,
without causing much comment, go upon the street unattended. In the
south, however, the position of women is very different, and they are
still regarded in much the same way as are the women of Oriental
countries. The long years of Saracen rule are responsible for this
condition, which makes the woman little more than the slave of her
husband. It is said that in some country districts it is the custom for
the husband to lock his wife in the house whenever he goes from home,
and the usage is so well established that if the ceremony is omitted the
woman is inclined to think that some slight is intended.

With regard to the education of women, the law makes no disti