Under the Government of July, and also when the Second Empire came, many of the old families were averse to entering the diplomatic service, where their names would have been a pledge of welcome abroad. Resort was therefore had to what are called in France hommes de carrière. These had not, and could not have, any other authority than their talents gave them. This was not enough either for the Government or them. They were, therefore, made barons and counts. Some of them acquired their titles from foreign Governments. The Court of Rome, while not prodigal, rarely refused to grant a title of count when asked for it. Several French chargés d'affaires, and even ambassadors, got their semblance of nobility from Rome. Some still exist which had no other origin. The operation was at times rendered awkward by the too plebeian form of the name. Ne change pas de nom qui veut, but with a little smartness and the help of the Chancellor's office the difficulty could be got over. If the name began with De, which is the particle indicative of nobility, it was an easy matter, the only thing necessary being the separation of the initial syllable from the rest of the name. For instance, Monsieur Delamare became Monsieur de Lamare; Monsieur Delestrade was transformed into Monsieur de Lestrade, and Monsieur Dervilley signed 'D'Ervilley.' But the operation became a little more troublesome when the name was a very commonplace one, such as Durand, Regnault, or Dupont. In that case the name of a town or a political division was added, and the gentleman called himself Dupont de l'Eure or de Nemours; Regnault de Saint-Jean d'Angely; Durand de Romorantin, and so forth. When no name of a town or village was available the would-be nobleman applied for permission to add his mother's maiden name to his own, especially if it had an aristocratic sound. In this way a certain ambassador, whose family name was a ridiculous one, but whose mother's name, though plebeian, was easy to disguise, dropped by degrees his own name and retained only the maternal appellation, just prefixing the particle de' and the title of baron conferred on him under the Empire. In the elevated circle in which he moves, thanks to his intelligence and superior education, no one suspects that his real name, if he went by it, would associate him more intimately with kitchens than with diplomatic salons.

A fair idea can be formed of French society as it exists to-day. A tenth part, at most, consists of old families that have survived the revolutions, and who live generally in retirement, far from the busy, noisy world. Many have placed their sons in the army, and a number cultivate their land, some of them with an energy worthy of being imitated by professional farmers. Nearly all their names can be found in the list of the Agricultural Society of France, mingled in equal proportion with the names of the men most esteemed in scientific agriculture. Three-tenths at least, belong to what is called la noblesse de la contrebande, while another tenth are con

nected with the higher liberal professions, literature, the sciences, pure and applied, the different classes of the Institute, and the upper professorships. The remaining half consists partly of politicians, many of whom have held office, and partly of great financiers, a large number of whom are of foreign origin, some of them occupying, owing to their intelligence, their wise conduct, their generosity, or the circumspection they display in their delicate position, a very high place in public esteem.

Such are the elements forming French society at the present time. It has no pronounced vices, little pride, enough vanity not to care to be caught in fault, a sufficiently moderate thirst for pleasure to allow others, sprung from the ranks, to take the lead, fairly broad principles, measured convictions, elevated judgment in matters of taste and intellect, a love of country that has nothing narrow about it, and, to crown all, a charity so beneficent, so efficacious that slanderous tongues attribute it to a selfish desire to satisfy oneself in helping others. For our part we look upon this kind of egotism as being equal to a virtue.

ALPHONSE DE CALONNE.

FANCY CYCLING FOR LADIES

Girls no longer go for of the evening, when

CYCLING as a fashionable craze is played out. a spin down to the Tower Bridge in the cool the City streets are almost deserted, before they dress for a ball; nor do they race round the square in their ball gowns at 4 A.M. on a summer morning before retiring to bed. But we question if cycling as a convenient means of locomotion will ever entirely be dispensed with. For country visiting, when carriages are not available, or for shopping in London for those to whom the dangers of the traffic have no terrors and are only looked upon as a pleasurable excitement, cycles will always hold their own; especially as the long-talked-of motor car seems likely to end in smoke-and a bad smell.

There is also another form of cycling which appears to find favour with the young and active, and requires considerably greater skill even than dodging in and out among cabs and omnibuses. I refer to what is called trick riding, and the execution of an endless variety of military rides to the accompaniment of music.

Some people may affirm that there is nothing to be gained by learning to perform tricks on a bicycle; and they will argue that if you put a circus rider on a hunter he will not be able to ride across country; but I can assure them, from personal experience, that a very few lessons given to a timid and inexperienced rider will be of greater assistance in helping her to have command over her machine as well as confidence in herself than any amount of ordinary riding. Even the great and unforeseen danger caused by the sudden skidding of a wheel is minimised by a proper attention to attitude when turning corners; for if the body be inclined in a direction contrary to that in which the cycle is going, the wheel is bound to skid, and a nasty fall is inevitable. Another point is that riding out of doors after riding on boards will be found as much easier as skating out of doors after skating on artificial ice; and for the same reason, namely, that boards and artificial ice have so little grip in them that one takes time to get over a certain feeling of insecurity which is experienced when travelling swiftly over them.

The first thing to learn in bicycling is the mount and dismount. The best way to mount a bicycle is to stand with the waist close to

the handle bar, to step quietly on to the off pedal, leaning your weight on the handles, and to let the saddle slide slowly under your body, instead of bumping on to the saddle, which is the usual method of mounting. This mount should be practised from both sides of the machine, until it can be accomplished slowly and deliberately.

Next comes the near mount, and for this you place your left foot on the left or near pedal, and cross your right leg over the saddle. This should also be practised from both sides of the bicycle, and it will be found more difficult to learn than the ordinary mount.

Lastly there is the flying mount, and for this you do not touch the pedals at all, but, running a few steps by the side of the machine, you lean on the handles and spring lightly into the saddle. It will be found in the flying mount and in the near mount that the skirt, especially if it be divided at the back, will not set properly on the saddle. Instead of grabbing at it first with one hand, then with the other, to get it into place, a more graceful method is for the rider to stand forward on the pedals so that the skirt hangs straight down, free from the saddle, and then to sit back quietly again.

The way to dismount slowly (say on the right side) is to stand on the right pedal when it is at its lowest point and to step on to the ground with the left foot over the right. To dismount, when going fast, you must wait till the pedal is rising, then stand on it and lightly jump clear of the machine, holding it by the right handle with the left hand. The weight of the body thrown suddenly on to the pedal, as it rises, will check the machine, and by jumping forward your dress will be clear of the saddle peak. If you try to jump off when the pedal is going downwards the weight of the body thrown suddenly on to it will jerk the machine forward and a fall will be the result. If the rider has perfected herself in the mount and dismount she should be able to raise herself up by the near pedal, catch the off pedal with the other foot, and dismount on the off side without touching the saddle. It is also good practice to put both feet up on the foot rests immediately after mounting in the ordinary way, and to see how far the impetus of the push off will take you in a straight line.

Any one who has ridden with both feet off the pedals will find it an easy matter to ride sideways; that is with one foot working the pedal and the other placed on the foot rest on the same side. But it is by no means so easy to ride when only using one hand as with one foot; and to ride without using either hand requires considerable courage at first. The speed also must be increased when riding without hands, and the rider must pedal very smoothly.

To learn how to stand still on a bicycle requires practice, and to the beginner it seems almost impossible. It is achieved by turning the front wheel completely sideways, thus bringing one of the handles between your knees. The pedals should be as nearly level as possible,

and by standing up on them and continually pressing them backwards or forwards in a direction opposite to that in which the front wheel is inclined to move, you are able to keep the bicycle stationary; an expert cyclist will then turn the wheel back into its proper position and ride on without having had to dismount.

When learning to ride backwards you do not use the saddle at all, but stand on the pedals with your back to the handle-bar, leaning against it, and steering with the handles.

The Siamese ride is extremely pretty and not nearly so difficult as either standing still or riding backwards. Two people ride side by side joining hands. The hands are held high and the arms kept rigid. At the word of command the riders slacken speed and at last stop altogether. When quite steady, each looses the bicycle handle, and they remain sitting still supported only by their two clasped hands. At the word of command each again holds the bicycle handle and they pedal slowly on, still clasping hands. Any number of people in a row can execute the Siamese ride by placing a hand on the shoulder of the next rider. The difficulty consists not so much in riding all together, or even in standing still in a long line, but in getting the pedals in such a position, when stopping, as will enable the riders to pedal on simultaneously at the word of command.

There is another somewhat similar figure but rather more difficult to execute than the Siamese ride. Two people come very slowly and steadily towards and close to each other, as though they were going to pass. When they are side by side and almost touching, each clasps the other's handle-bar, and one rides slowly backwards as the other rides forwards. It is supposed to be the meeting of two friends who wish to stop and talk; and when they have finished the conversation which is being carried on between them as they ride backwards and forwards together they loose each other's handle-bar and ride off in different directions.

Bicycling is, to a certain extent, like skating. In both accomplishments there should be a proper attention paid to attitude, and a graceful inclination of the body in the direction in which you are turning. Many people who pass for being good skaters will incline the body as far as the hips in the right direction when skating a circle on the outside edge, but from the hips upwards the body will be bent in an opposite angle. And it is just the same with cyclists. The feeling of a beginner is that she must fall if she bends over with the machine; but the fall is really caused by the body, from the waist upwards, being inclined in a direction contrary to that in which the machine is circling; as the weight of the body being in the wrong place will make the wheels skid. When circling to the right skaters put the right shoulder forward, but cyclists should begin to learn by putting the left shoulder forward and the right back, as this

VOL. XLII-No. 247

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