iage."

No woman at court had more friends and fewer enemies than did Mme. de
Boufflers, because "she united to the gifts of nature and the culture
of _esprit_ an amiable simplicity, charming graces, a goodness,
kindness, and sensibility, which made her forget herself always and
constantly seek to aid those about her." She made use of her influence
over the prince in such ways as would, in a measure, recompense for
her fault, and thus recommended herself by her good actions. She was
the soul of his salon, "Le Temple." The love of these two people,
through its intimacy and public display, through its constancy,
happiness, and decency, dissipated all scandal. Always cheerful
and pleased to amuse, knowing how to pay attention to all, always
rewarding the bright remarks of others with a smile, which all sought
as a mark of approbation, no one ever wished her any ill fortune.

The last days of the Prince de Conti were cheered by the presence of
Mme. de Boufflers and the friends whom she gathered about him to help
bear his illness. The letter to her from Hume, on his deathbed, is
most pathetic, showing the influence of this woman and the nature of
the impression she left upon her friends:

"Edinburgh, 20th of August, 1776.

"Although I am certainly within a few weeks, dear Madame, and perhaps
within a few days, of my own death, I could not forbear being struck
with the death of the Prince of Conti--so great a loss in every
particular. My reflection carried me immediately to your situation in
this melancholy incident. What a difference to you in your whole plan
of life! Pray write me some particulars, but in such terms that you
need not care, in case of my decease, into whose hands your letter may
fall.... My distemper is a diarrhoea or disorder in my bowels, which
has been gradually undermining me for these two years, but within
these six months has been visibly hastening me to my end. I see death
approach gradually, without any anxiety or regret. I salute you with
great affection and regard, for the last time.

"David Hume."

Hume died five days after this letter was written.

The last years of her life she spent with her daughter-in-law, at
Auteuil, where she lived a happy life and received the best society of
Paris. When she died or under what circumstances is not known. During
the Revolution she lived in obscurity, busying herself with charitable
work; she was one of the few women of the nobility to escape the
gu