Dear Lady Anne,

Miss Pickworth, in turn, wonders if your inquiry results from a genuine interest in her childhood. Or does the question, as may be surmised, indicate that you are attempting to learn Miss Pickworth's true identity? She will assume it is the former and answer your question, as politeness requires.

This columnist's upbringing certainly has not been typical in the least. Miss Pickworth has been blessed with an abundance of good breeding, a wealth of luxuries, and among the finest of educations. That is why she so easily mingles unrecognized among the _haute ton_ in order to report to her devoted readers on their deeds and misdeeds.

Most young ladies brought up during the Regency, however, have little to no education whatsoever. Their manners --taught to them by common, and often coarse, parents -- are sadly lacking. And they enjoy few if any of the accomplishments of women in good society. (For a listing of acceptable accomplishments, please refer to the letter from "Lynne.")

Children of the lower classes attend local charity or church-run day schools. Apprenticeships also provide some education for both boys and girls. Even less respectable are the twopenny Dame's Schools in the village.

Miss Pickworth is grateful for her rarefied upbringing, and she trusts that others -- who may not have been so fortunate as she -- will hereafter concentrate on matters of greater import rather than on any attempt to uncover the person behind her pseudonym.