open a salon in Paris; it became one of the real forces of
the eighteenth century, socially and politically. While her husband
lived, she did not enjoy the freedom she desired; after his death in
1764 she was at liberty to do as she pleased, and she then began
her career as a judge and counsellor in all social matters. She was
regarded as the oracle of taste and urbanity, exercised a supervision
over the tone and usage of society, was the censor of _la bonne
compagnie_ during the happy years of Louis XVI. This power in her was
universally recognized. She tempered the Anglomania of the time,
all excesses of familiarity and rudeness; she never uttered a bad
expression, a coarse laugh or a _tutoiement_ (thee and thou). The
slightest affectation in tone or gesture was detected and judged
by her. She preserved the good tone of society and permitted no
contamination. She retarded the reign of clubs, retained the urbanity
of French society, and preserved a proper and unique character in the
_ancien salon francais_, in the way of excellence of tone.

The Marquise de Rambouillet, Mme. de La Fayette, Mme. de Maintenon,
Mme. de Caylus, and Mme. de Luxembourg are of the same type--the same
world, with little variance and no decadence; in some respects, the
last may be said to have approached nearest to perfection. "In her,
the turn of critical and caustic severity was exempt from rigidity
and was accompanied by every charm and pleasingness in her person. She
often judged [a person] by [his] ability at repartee, which she tested
by embarrassing questions across the table, judging [the person] by
the reply. She herself was never at a loss for an answer: when shown
two portraits--one of Moliere and one of La Fontaine--and asked which
was the greater, she answered: 'That one,' pointing to La Fontaine,
'is more perfect in a _genre_ less perfect.'"

By the Goncourt brothers, her salon has been given its merited credit:
"The most elegant salon was that of the Marechale de Luxembourg, one
of the most original women of the time. She showed an originality in
her judgments, she was authority in usage, a genius in taste. About
her were pleasure, interest, novelty, letters; here was formed the
true elegance of the eighteenth century--a society that held sway over
Europe until 1789. Here was formed the greatest institution of
the time, the only one that survived till the Revolution, that
preserved--in the discredit of all moral laws--the author