Sentence:  Here Jones, having ordered a servant to show a room above stairs, was ascending, when the dishevelled <WSD>fair</WSD>, hastily following, was laid hold on by the master of the house, who cried, “Heyday, where is that beggar wench going? Stay below stairs, I desire you.” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex'; also as a collective singular, women.