Women of Modern France

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d'Epinay, Mme. de

, the wife of the great minister of finance, and the atmosphere in which she lived, makes the study of her a most interesting one. Born in Switzerland, the daughter of Curchod, a poor Protestant minister, "with patriarchal morals, solid education, and strong good sense,

er moral education and her pure ancestry of the strict Protestant type. As a girl of sixteen, she had given evidence of remarkable mental ability and had acquired a wide knowledge-physics, Latin, philosophy, metaphysics-when she was sent to Lausanne, possibly with the idea of meeting a future husband with whom she could become thoroughly

r of his fiancée, a calamity which left her poor and necessitated her teaching for a living, the Englishman, by his actions and manner toward her, compelled the breaking of thei

ught in marriage by M. Necker, banker and capitalist; but, as she was unable to make up her mind to a definite answer, his attention was attracted to her young companion. The result was that, after a few months' sojourn in Paris, Mlle. Curchod bec

be you whom they congratulate, unless it is as my friend. Will money always be the measure of opinion? That is pitiable! He who wins a virtuous,

im ever since I learned to know him. At present, I see, in all nature, only my husband. I take notice of other men only in so far as they come more or less up to the standard of my husband, and I compare them only for th

hursday and Sunday at the Baron d'Holbach's,-Mme. Necker was compelled to appoint Friday as her reception day. She soon succeeded in attracting to her h?tel the best esprit of Paris: Diderot, Suard, Grimm, Comte de Schomberg, Marmontel, D'Alembert, Thomas, Sain

, but they were kept within the bounds of propriety and never attempted any gallant liberties with the hostess-except her ardent admirer Thomas, the intensity of whose eulogies upon her she was forced to

nces, disagreements, improprieties, or obstacles; she must animate it if it languish; she must see that conversation never takes a dangerous, disagreeable, or tiresome turn, and that it never brings into undue prominence one man especially, as this makes

poken, often showing a cutting harshness and a rigor which, as was said, was little in harmony with her bare neck and arms-a style then in vogue at court. She never judged persons by their reputations, but by their esprit; thus, it was possible for her to receive people of the most diverse tendencies. When the Marquise de La Ferté-Imbault, one of the few virtuous wom

virtuous and instructed, but emphatic and stiff. She does not know Mme. de Sévigné, whom she praises, and only esteems Buffon and Thomas. She calc

shows his anger aloud. Grimm and Suard laugh heartily about it, and my dear Comte de Greuze does not notice it. Marmontel finds the example worthy to be imitated, and you, madame, make two of your most beautiful virtues do battle, bashfulness a

uests were always called for and returned in carriages supplied by the hostess. It was in her salon, in 1770, that

very secondary r?le. In 1788 she and her husband were compelled to leave Paris; but being recalled by Louis XVI., Necke

of a salon leader; intelligence was her most meritorious quality. Her dinners were apt to become tiresome and to drag. A very

ew spiritual thoughts, he read without any scruples. It contained the plan for the dinner of that day, to which he had been invited, and had been written by Mme. Necker on the previous evening. It told what she would say to the most prominent of the invited guests. She wrote: 'I shall speak to the Chevalier de Chastellux about public felicity and Agatha; to M. d'Angeviller, I shall speak o

l life, upon entering Parisian society she set her mind to observing, and immediately began to change her provincial ways and to make over her esprit for conversation, for circumstances, and for characters; she adjusted her provincial spirit to that of Paris, thus making of it a

did between Mme. Geoffrin and her frequenters; her tie was always artificial. "She represented the Swiss spirit in Parisian society; those serious and educated souls,

s her countenance-was too properly adjusted to show grace. But a charm more worthy of her was that of propriety, of candor, of goodness. A virtuous education and solitary studies had given to her all that culture can add to an excellent nature. In her, sentiment was perfect, but her thought was often confused and vague; instead of clearing her ideas, meditation disturbed th

oman and all her aspirations the more admirable. Entering a Parisian society with the firm decision of becoming a woman of esprit and of being in relation with the beaux esprits, she was able to preserve the moral conscie

d'Epinay, from an estate his father, the wealthy M. de Bellegarde, had bought-a man who was really in love with her for a whole month after their marriage, but who, tiring of the pure affections of a loving wife, soon began to lavish his time and fortune upon a danseuse. The poor young wife was between two fires, the extravagance and wild dissipations of her husband and the rigid discipline and orthodoxy of her mother. Never was a woman treated so outr

by that passion, she cries out, in her memoirs: Francueil, Francueil, tu m'as perdue, et tu disais que tu m'aimais [You have undone me-and you said you loved me]! Such was the lot, as was seen, of most women of those days, who had noble intentions, but a woman's weakness. The century did not demand faithfulness to the marital vows; but when a woman had once abandoned herself to love, it required that the attachment be to a man

made her salon famous were gathered at "La Chevrette," where the actors and players soon drew the attention of literary Paris. After a year or two of attachment, Francueil became indifferent to Mme. d'Epinay and transferred his affections to an actress-the sister of M. d'Epinay's mistress. Thus

ject her father-in-law aided her and gave her thirteen thousand francs income. Mme. d'Epinay, in the midst of success, became acquainted with Mlle. Quinault, the daughter of the famous actor of the time, and herself a great a

for some time, been on the hunt for a "faithful mistress." This German by birth, but Frenchman in spirit, had championed her at a dinner, where she was the object of the severest reproach. She had burned the papers of her sister, Mme. de Jully, who had betrayed an honest husband. Stricken with smallpox, just before dying, she confessed all to Mme. d'Epinay. The latter owed Mme. de Jully fifty écus and

d together for about two years, and after her return to Paris she reopened her salon of "La Chevrette." Her reunions partook more of the nature of our house parties; the salon was an immense room, in which the members would pair off and divert themselves as they pleased; in that respect "La Chevrette"

y by the use of opium. Financial relief came to her in 1783, when the Academy awarded her the Montyon prize, then given for the first time, f

d to manage her own business affairs and those of her children, took an active interest in art, music, and literature, raised, with the utmost care, her grandda

which brought out in striking relief the peculiar whiteness of her skin, and large brown eyes. Her five lovers s

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ophical trend, and intellectual labor was their chief pleasure. After having passed through a career of excitement and love's caprices, she longed for a peaceful, quiet existence; at that point, however, her health gave way, and she entered upon a new territory at Geneva. There

of Mme. d'Epinay grew to be the most important and, intellectually, the most brilliant of the time. Rousseau, Diderot, Helvétius, Duclos, Suard, the Abbés Galiani, Raynal, the Florentine physician Gatti, Comte de Schomberg, Chevalier de Chastellux, Saint-Lambert, Marquis de Croixmare, the different ambassadors, count

tempted to rival them in their particular sphere. In her writings she displayed a reactionary tendency against the educational methods of the day, her chief work of real literary worth being mostly in the form of sound advice to a child. Being a reasonable, careful, and sensible woman,-in spite of the defects in her moral life,-she desired to show the possibilities of a moral revolution against the habits and customs of the time, of which she h

; it was her salon, more than any other, that quickened the philosophical movement of the day. Mme. d'Epinay made her reputation not so much through her esprit, intelligence, or beauty, possibly, as through the strength of her affection. Timid, irresolute, and highly impressionable, and amiable in disposition, she was cons

thority on intellectual matters as well, a fine story teller, a consummate artist, entertainer, and general charmer. Authoress, governess of Louis-Philippe, councillor of Bonaparte

o had fallen in love with her on seeing her portrait. As his relatives refused to welcome the young girl, she was placed in the convent of Origny, where she remained until 1764, after which her husban

eatrical and musical entertainments. After passing through this schooling, she stood the test of the court without any difficulty, and completely won the favor of her husband's family, as well as that of the court ladies and the members of the other distinguished households where she was introduced. With an insatiable appetite for frolics, quite in keeping with the customs of the time, she

the least her pursuit of pleasure. She even took possession of the heart of the duke himself, and in 1782 was made "gouverneur" to his children, the Duc de Valois, later Louis-Philippe, the Duc de Montpensier, the Comte de Beaujolais, and Mlle. Adela?de; for the education of her pupils she had the use of several chateaux. Many a piquant epigram and chanson were composed for the e

am delighted to dine often with my mother, I am deeply sorry to give only thr

fter midnight; I was the first one to have the good fortune of wishing her a 'Happy New Year.'

nd's until half-past twelve. No one in the world is so agreeable to me as is she." (February, 1791.) "I was at the assembly at Bellechasse, dined at the Palais-Royal, I was at the Jacobins, retu

he dining room the great historical tableaux were presented; in the theatre, built especially for them, they acted all the dramas of the Théatre d'Education. She taught them how to make portfolios, ribbons, wigs, pasteboard work, to gild, to turn, and to do carpentering. They visited museums and manufa

she opposed liberty of conscience. When, on the occasion of the first communion of the Duc de Valois, she wrote her Religion Considered as the Only True Foundation of Happiness and of True Philosophy, all the Palais-Royal place hunters, p

ss d'Oberkirch (it was she who disturbed Mme. de Genlis and the

carries about with her; she speaks about it when she hasn't it-she plays on a crust of bread and practises with a thread. When she perceives that someone is looking at her, she rounds her arm, purses up her mouth, assumes a sentimental expression and air, and begins to move her fingers. Gracious! what a fine thing naturalness is!... I spent a delightful evening at the Comtesse de La Massais's; she had hired musicians whom she paid d

land there was a widespread prejudice against her-a feeling which the m

oment I looked at her it was removed. There was a dignity with her sweetness and a frankness with h

, and teaching, until she was recalled to France, under the Consulate. In Paris she produced some of her best works-although they were written to order. Napoleon gave her

ans family, she was put off with a meagre pension. Like many other French women, she became more and more melancholy and misanthropic. She was unable to control her wrath against the philosophers and so

e of her a rather doubtful portrait; however, those who have written bitterly against her have done so mostly from personal or political animosity. She was so many-sided-a reformer, teacher, pietist, politician, actress-that a true estimate of her character is difficult. A woman of all tastes and of various talents, she was a living encyclop?dia and mistress of all arts of pleasing. She had studied medicine, and took

for the pantry; you might say she possessed the gift of universality. She was gifted with a singular confidence in her own abilities, infinite curiosity, untiring industry, and never-e

ing vigorously against the universal neglect of physical development, against the absence of the gymnasium and the lack of practical knowledge in the education of her time, in advocating the study of modern languages as a means of culture and

tionable stories, from laughter to tears, from Blind-man's-buff to Lotto. Some of the proverbs were quite ingenious and required elaborate preparations; for example, at one place Mme. de Lauzun dances with M. de Belgunce, in the simplest kind of a costume, which represented the proverb: Bonne renommée

bourg; it will be considered later on. The salon of Mme. de Beauvau rivalled that of the Maréchale de Luxembourg; she was mistress of elegance and propriety, an authority on and model of the usages of society. A manner perhaps superior to that of any other woman, gave Mme. de Beauvau a particular politesse and constituted her one of the women who contributed most to the acceptance of Paris as the

ds, and ladies. It had activity, authority, the secret doors, veiled and redoubtable depths of a salon of the mistress of a king.

rs, virtuosos and danseuses, ate, slept, and lodged as in a hotel. With Mme. de Blot, mistress of the Duke of Orléans, as hostess, the Palais-Royal ranked next to the Temple of the Prince de Conti; it was open only to those who were presented; after that ceremony, all those who were thus introduced could, without invitation, dine t

r him, above which hung his portrait. On a large stand were two registers, in which the rumors of the day were noted-in one the doubtful, in the other the accredited. On Saturday, a selection was made, which went to the

ccording to the Goncourt brothers, the greatest of these salons was that of Mme. de Grimrod de La Reynière, who, by dint of shrewd man?uvring, by unheard-of extravagances, excessiv

y of the month; to the latter functions were invited all the celebrities of the other salons, as well as artists and musicians-it was there that the famous quarrel of the Gluck and Piccini parties originated. The Tuesday dinners of Helvétius became

ainly on their wit and conversational abilities; they may be cla