The list of the professions practised at one time by women who have subsequently become prostitutes is alarming, from its extensiveness, including as it does no less than six hundred distinct trades, among which we perceive seamstresses, those in the linen trade, breeches-makers, flannel-waistcoat makers, glovers, upholstresses or tapestry-makers, darners and menders, strap-makers, botchers, milliners, embroideresses, gauze-workers, flowerists, feather-makers, those that colour or illuminate, knitters, lace-makers, fringe-makers, rope-makers, furriers, wool-workers, hair-weavers, machinists, cotton-spinners, silk-weavers, gold and silver gauze veil-makers, shawl-makers, bonnet-makers, and innumerable others; indeed, every trade may truly be said to be adequately represented in this social congress for the propagation of vice. There are also those who have once been much better off. For instance: seven had been shopkeepers in a very respectable way of business, three were midwives, one an artist, six were musicians and gave lessons on the harp and the piano, sixteen had been actresses in Paris and the provinces, and three (this is a very rare case, and an exception to the general rule,) possessed an income of 200 francs, of 500, and even 1000. It is not easy to determine what inducement a life of prostitution could hold out to these women.
The total number of women whose professions were known amounts to 3120.
The returns go far to evidence the evil effects of sedentary occupations upon the morals of young girls; then the fluctuations in the demand for labour are continually throwing the operatives out of work, and as a means of existence they naturally resort to prostitution to obtain a livelihood.
To show the extent to which education has spread amongst this class, we give the number of those who signed the register well, of those who signed badly, and of those who could not sign at all, out of 4470 girls born and brought up in Paris.
| Those who could not sign | 2332 |
| Those who signed badly | 1780 |
| Those who signed well, and sometimes very well | 110 |
| And of those who possessed no indication to show what they were | 248 |
| Total | 4470 |
Ignorance is the prevailing characteristic of the “femmes galantes” generally throughout the world, and we find it so in France, which is rather singular when we consider how comprehensive the scheme of education is in that country.
As far as religion goes, they are usually deficient in the knowledge of the most simple articles of belief. Sometimes they are fanatical to a degree, and always superstitious. This being the case, it will not seem wonderful that they always receive the rites of the Church on their deathbeds with the greatest confidence, satisfaction, and delight.
It is very well known that soldiers and sailors have a way of tattooing themselves on the chest, the arms, and sometimes the legs. The inscriptions are often of great size, and elaborately executed. One man will have a battle delineated on his skin, or the likeness of his sweetheart, but this of course depends upon his turn of mind. This habit has been adopted in Paris by those prostitutes who live in the houses frequented by the military. It may in the first instance have originated from a desire on their part to ingratiate themselves with their admirers. At all events, from whatever cause it may have arisen, it is now an established custom. Women occasionally have been seen in the hospital with as many as thirty lovers imprinted on the throat, the breast and other parts of the body, although it is customary for them to remove a lover who has been succeeded by one more favoured, and the means had recourse to, to effect this, are often prejudicial to the health of the girl in a fatal degree. They will not hesitate to employ sulphuric acid, which is as likely as not to raise an ulcer which has in very many cases ended in the death of the sufferer. Strange to say, the figures and inscriptions are rarely, if ever, immodest or indecent.
The shibboleth of this class is always “Vive la bagatelle!” When not actually engaged in the pursuits their avocation entails upon them, they seldom do anything. Their existence, if not altogether dreamy and inane, is certainly one marked rather by lassitude and inertness than energy and briskness. They are perpetually the prey of an irresistible craving after excitement, which devours them, and the morning and afternoon not unfrequently serves only to recruit the nerves shattered by the excesses of the night before. Reading is not a pastime with them, although some may frequently be found with books in their hands.
Most prostitutes pass under false names, and they even go so far as to change their names whenever they have an inclination to do so.