Often it was little enough, perhaps. The doom of ennui lay upon whole districts, including the suburbs of great capitals. And it was terrible and its effects were vicious. That is altered, and is being still further altered. Society has organised itself better for work, and better also for pleasure.
Life is made to yield more than it used to yield, and yet life lasts longer and youth lasts longer.
It is due, that is to say, to improved work, part of which work is done by the modern girl herself. And since work precedes pleasure, and the energy of the modern girl is finite, she is very unlikely to carry pleasure to excess. If she did, it would as usual cease to be pleasure. Much is said about the modern girl's craze for dancing. But seeing that the modern girl dances with the modern youth the alleged craze cannot be charged against one sex only.