Marie de Rabutin-Chantal was born on the 5th of February, 1626. The family name was Celse-Bénigne de Rabutin, Baron de Chantal, of the elder branch of the house of Rabutin: her mother was Marie de Coulanges, an heiress of an illustrious house. She was only a year old when the English made descent on the Isle of Rhé, in aid of Rochelle and the French Protestants. M. de Chantal opposed this invasion, at the head of a muster of the neighbouring gentry and their tenants, who had assembled as volunteers to defend their coast. The Baron de Chantal was killed in the defence. Tradition says, that he fell by the pistol of Cromwell, who was engaged as a volunteer in this expedition. Historians have praised the valour of this nobleman: yet his proud independence gained him more respect than favour at court, where we gather, from his daughter's letters, his biting and caustic spirit could not descend to the humble tone which the great French lords began to assume in presence of the terrible Richelieu.

Mademoiselle de Rabutin lost her mother shortly after this fatal event; and

T-VOL, VIII.-MARCH.

in the year 1636, her maternal grandfather, M. de Coulanges, undertook the education of the little orphan. He died, however, before the end of the year; and her uncle, Christophe de Coulanges, abbé de Livry, then supplied the place of a father, and an excellent one he doubtless proved; since on her widowhood, we find her placing herself again under the protection of this kind relative, and fifty years afterwards she deplores his death with all the sorrow of an affectionate daughter.

Meantime, her grandmother, the Baroness de Chantal, was earning her canonization, which was afterwards effected by the pope's bull, by founding the nunnery of the Visitation, under the auspices of St. Francis de Sales. But we do not find she yet took any care of the orphan of her son. Madame de Sevigné, in her letters, says, that she always tarries on her journeys to Paris with the sisters of St. Marié, her grandmother's protegées, whom she seems, in some degree, to have regarded as her relatives.

At the time of her presentation at the court of Louis XIII., or rather at that of Richelieu, his imperious minister, she was

considered a very handsome young woman, having a fine expression of face, rather than possessed of perfect beauty; a charming figure, and good height; a redundancy of fine light hair, a blooming colour, a fair complexion, a bright vivacious eye always full of laughter, a pleasing voice, and, above all, excellent health and lively spirits, which gave lightness and grace to all her movements. She sung sweetly, and had as much knowledge of music as was common with the accomplished in those days. She danced gracefully and with skill. We find from her letters and portraits, that the defects which counterbalanced these charms, were a nose a little too square, and partycoloured eyelids; on which defects, her cousin and correspondent, Count Bussy Rabutin, is constantly rallying her. Notwithstanding the misfortunes of the nose and eyelids, Henri, Marquis de Sevigné, a Breton noble, of ancient family, fell in love with her, and married her in her eighteenth year. For some years this was a very happy union, till the insidious Ninon d'Enclos stole the heart of the Marquis de Sevigné, and rendered his wife very unhappy.

Nothing is more common, when a wife is injured and ill-treated, than that a seducer should be found persuading her to retaliation. The Count Bussy Rabutin, her cousin, took that opportunity of declaring his passion: he was handsome, brave, full of talent, and the confidant of her husband, and well able to furnish her with a provoking list of his sins. Let men say what they will in praise of women who are weak and ignorant, a fine understanding is the best defence of female virtue, particularly when abilities are strengthened by moral principles. A woman who possesses these high qualifications, sees the ugly traits of selfishness and sensuality beneath the specious mask even of a lover, whose designs are dishonourable. Such was the character of the accomplished and amiable woman whom Bussy had to encounter. He was repelled with such a lecture from his cousin for his vicious passion, that he felt sore all his life after, from the remembrance of this scene. Years afterwards, she did indeed permit him to renew that brotherly and sisterly correspondence, which is seen in their letters; but had Madame de Sevigné guessed the malicious epigrams which this disappointed

Madame de Sevigné had drawn forth the ill-natured imputations of her disappointed lover, by being a little too free in some of her letters, taking advantage of the liberty of expression then allowed to married women, by the coarseness of the times. A libertine never makes any allowance, and is always the most cruel and inflexible judge of virtue, mental or personal, woman can have; interpreting her most innocent gaiety into an inclination for moral turpitude. This ought to be a lesson to women in general, who fancy that a married life gives greater license for freedom of expression, either by tongue or pen; and let them here see how their acts are interpreted, even when the times allowed coarseness in the common routine of life and conversation, which, if practised now-a-days, in these degenerate times, would amaze the world.

The females whose portraits and histories we have given, were so intimately blended with the occurrences of the times in which they lived, that readers of history (an occupation on which time spent cannot be better bestowed) whether they be inclined or not, must become familiar with their names and characters. Let our readers, then, view these important memoirs as the instruction of history, and rejoice that a change of times will not permit events of a similar character to have such important effect upon the morals of a nation, and the lives of kings and nobles, by placing women of doubtful virtue, however talented, as participators at the head of affairs; yet the instruction may be taken home to their bosoms, that whilst virtue has its own reward, there were few of the many of the celebrated women, of the French court more particularly, who did not undergo, in return, the utmost of personal sorrow, disappointment, and suffering.

Madame de Sevigné was only twenty

when she refused the

four years of age Count de Balzac. This was in the early part of the year 1650. A few months after, her husband was killed in a duel. The cause no one knew: indeed, duels were so common in the reign of Louis XIII., that it is not easy to trace the motives; for not unfrequently the combatants themselves were at a loss to account for the encounter.*

Notwithstanding the ill-treatment she had experienced from M. de Sevigné, her grief was extreme at his tragical end. She was roused from the indulgence of it by her uncle's information, that her extravagant husband had involved their fortunes in the most ruinous embarrassments; although she had brought a dowry of a hundred thousand crowns as a Burgun dian heiress, her ready money was all spent.

This widow of five-and-twenty had to turn all the energies of her mind to the double duty of educating her infants, and repairing the family fortune. In this good work she was assisted by her kind old uncle, whose protection she instantly claimed. We have none of her letters dated at this interesting period; but she says afterwards, "My uncle extricated me from the abyss into which I was plunged at the death of M. de Sevigné."

Her good sense, natural love of rectitude, and laudable pride, gave her a bias for economy. Her mind, notwithstanding her literary accomplishments, had a turn for business. She learned to sell or let estates, and receive her rents; she understood planting and agriculture, and soon was capable to direct her builders as well as any land steward. It is very interesting in her letters to trace the progressive account of her plantation of woods at her seat of Les Rochers.

She had many lovers, honourable and dishonourable. Among the latter, we may mention the Prince of Conti, brother to the great Condé; and Fouquet, the financier, who made a point of being in love with every fine-looking woman he saw. She was also in correspondence with her husband's relative, the celebrated Cardinal de Retz. Again she quarrelled with her cousin, the Count Bussy, who had once more commenced his insidious

See the translation of the second act of the historical drama of" Marion de Lorme," two acts of which appeared in the spring numbers of the Lady's Magazine and Museum.

siege, and who now endeavoured to corrupt the principles which opposed themselves so successfully to his progress. "Why," said he, "do you give yourself so much trouble about a reputation, which a calumniator may destroy!" He was himself that calumniator. He attacked her in a libellous work incognito, in which he pretends "that she presents a moral paradox of a woman with an impure heart and irreproachable conduct." She deeply felt this sting.

There is a hiatus in their correspondence from the year 1649 to 1654. In the year 1647 he wrote to her half playfully, half in earnest :—

"I must tell you, madam, that you take a method of reproving me which has more the tone of a mistress than of a cousin. Take care what you do, for if I have the punishments, I will have the indulgences of a lover."

After their cousinly correspondence is renewed, he says, in a letter dated

1654:

"Nobody but yourself in the whole kingdom could bring a lover to be content with friendship; there are few women who have the sense and temper to continue on good terms with a man that they do not agree to love. That woman, I am persuaded, must have extraordinary merit, who does not convert a disappointed lover into an enemy."

By the hiatus of four years in her correspondence with her cousin, we lose the expression of her feelings when she was suddenly left a widow with two infant children. Her son was born, seven years after her marriage, in the year 1647; and her beloved daughter, Francoise Marguerite, the next year. It was fortunate for her that she had not a more numerous family.

During her widowhood, Madame de Sevigné received many advantageous offers of marriage; but she had seen more of men's tempers and evil traits of character than were agreeable to her, and she rejected all with a firm refusal, and centered her affections on her children. Her daughter (whose memoir and portrait will follow this) she herself almost idolized. This beautiful girl was presented at the brilliant court of Louis XIV., in the year 1663; and was one of the ornaments of it at a period of magnificence that has not yet passed from the memory of France, notwithstanding the blood and tears of her many revolu

ions. Madame de Sevigné, although still admired for her own charms, felt enjoyment only in the admiration bestowed upon her daughter, then in the first bloom of loveliness. Mademoiselle de Sevigné took part in the ballets in which the king himself danced; she was in the character of a shepherdess; and Benserade often celebrates her charms on these occasions in his little pieces written for the court. Six years passed before this beautiful girl married: her mother had broken off two engagements, when on the eve of marriage, owing to discovered flaws in the morals of each of the lovers. Madame de Sevigné had suffered too deeply herself on account of a husband's proflicacy, to trust her beloved child with a man who was likely to use her unkindly.

At last Mademoiselle de Sevigné was married to the Count de Grignan, the first nobleman in Provence, and lieutetenant-general of the province.

Marguerite de Sevigné was the third wife of this nobleman; but it does not appear that any son of such former marriages was living. He was many years older than his bride. If we may trust various traits in the letters, he was very plain in face, but had the finest figure in France, and handsome jet black hair. With these advantages, he could scarcely be the perfect fright that all Madame de Sevigné's correspondents insist upon calling him. Perhaps they admired However, light-haired, fat, florid men.

he made an excellent husband to the fair Marguerite, whose loving mother scraped up 100,000 crowns for her portion, though she owned that the count ought not to have been paid so handsome a portion for marrying the very prettiest girl in France.

Count de Grignan, soon after his marriage, was ordered to his government of Provence; then began that delightful correspondence between the mother and daughter, and occasionally the brother, whose letters are very spirited, and worthy of his family: these letters are familiar to most of our readers. Madame de Grignan in due time made atonement, in some measure, for her own absence, by sending her mother a baby to love and doat upon. Her eldest child was a daughter; and the passages in which Madame de Sevigné mentions this little girl, are ámong the prettiest in the letters written to this vice-queen of Provence.

The next child was a boy, for whom the parliament of Provence stood godfather, and named him Louis Provence.

"My child, you doat on him," says Madame de Sevigné; "but resign him to Providence, that he may be preserved to you."

"Your little girl is very pretty; the sound of her voice goes to my heart: she has a thousand little engaging ways, which amuse me, and make me love her."

"Your daughter has just such a complexion as Madame Villeroi; a clear, welldefined white and red, and fine blue eyes, with black hair, and a chin like wax-work. She never cries, but is all gentleness and affection. She can speak five or six words already; in short, she is a lovely creature, and I love her dearly."

"Madame Scarron (Maintenon) sups with us almost every evening, and is the most agreeable companion imaginable. She takes great delight in playing with your little girl, and thinks her rather pretty than otherwise. The little creature yesterday called the Abbé Tetu her papa; he denied the relationship, and we believed him."

In another place she gives her little grand-daughter a character something like that in which Lord Byron describes his Allegra :

"You tell me of your son that his beauty grows less, but his merit increases. As for your daughter, she is quite the reverse; her beauty increases, and her merit dimi nishes. I assure you she is very pretty, but as obstinate as a demon. She has her little wills and little designs of her own, which divert us extremely."

Here we find what French babies beginning to talk had to do to make themselves agreeable to their elders :—

"Madame de Pai du Fon will not let me bring my little girl with me, she says it is running a great risk (of the smallpox). I would not willingly put her little ladyship's person in danger, for I love her most sincerely. Her complexion, her throat, and her little figure, are admirable. She does a thousand little things; she talks, she caresses, she fights, she makes the sign of the cross, she asks pardon, she curtsies, she kisses her hand, she shrugs up her shoulders, she dances, she coaxes, she scolds, in short, she is quite a pet. I amuse myself for hours together with her, and I would not she should die for the world."

"I dined yesterday at La Troche's with the Abbé Arnauld. After this, little Mademoiselle de Grignan arrived with her gentleman Beaulieu, her governess Helene, her woman Marie, her little page Jaquot,