The Bath Keepers; Or, Paris in Those Days, v.1 / (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume VII)

A series of interconnected episodes portrays Parisian life in earlier times, alternating between public baths and aristocratic interiors. The narrative follows a rakish young noble whose seductive, violent conduct alarms bath attendants and provokes gossip, while the older marquis of the family watches over ancestral duties from his mansion. Scenes emphasize social rituals, duels, and domestic tensions, sketching a gallery of manners and character types and balancing lively anecdote with moral observation about class privilege, reputation, and the contrast between public revelry and private authority.