The following is an excerpt from Louis-Sébastien Mercier's account of a typical day in eighteenth-century Paris (Evaluating the Evidence 18.2): "Night falls; and, while scene-shifters set to work at the playhouses, swarms of other workmen, carpenters, masons and the like, make their way towards the poorer quarters. They leave white footprints from the plaster on their shoes, a trail that any eye can follow. They are off home, and to bed, at the hour which finds elegant ladies sitting down to their dressing-tables to prepare for the business of the night."
Which of the following is suggested by Mercier's account?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mercier's account suggests that many ordinary Parisians were still working until dark and only after that did they return home and go to bed. Option (A) is not stated in the passage and (C) is contradicted by the mention of scene-shifters working at the playhouses at nightfall. There is no suggestion in the passage that being out on the streets at night was illegal, so option (D) is also incorrect.

The Following Is an Excerpt from Louis-Sébastien Mercier's Account of a Typical