Mary's education

[Donna McCreary]

Several people in Mary's social plane spoke French. Her sisters were taught French at an early age. One of her best friends had a French governess. Several members of the Lexington community had left France during the Reign of Terror. Mary's step-grandmother was well versed in French and read French novels. As Laurie stated, French was the universal language of culture.

Mentelle's was a boarding school. Robert Smith Todd paid $120 per year for Mary to board from Monday through Friday each week. She came home on weekends. However, some of the students were day students.

When reading about early 19th century education, I often find the terms "English education" and "Classical education." Classical included Latin and/or Greek. Some announcements for schools mention a "solid English Education" with extras such as sewing, knitting, muisic. Apparently the term was so common to the 19th century reader that a course list for the basic education was not inlcuded.