f the court and
nobility.

The salon of M. de La Popeliniere belonged to this class, although he
was ranked, more or less, among the nobility. There were the weekly
suppers of Mme. Suard, Mme. Saurin, the Abbe Raynal, and the luncheons
of the Abbe Morellet on the first Sunday 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
Helvetius became famous; it was at them that Franklin was one of the
favorites; after the death of Helvetius, he attempted in vain to
put an end to the widowhood of madame. No man at that time was more
popular than Franklin or had as much public attention shown him.

There were a number of celebrated women whose reputations rest mainly
on their wit and conversational abilities; they may be classed as
society leaders, to distinguish them from salon leaders.

Chapter X

Social Classes

The belief generally prevails that devotion and constancy did not
exist among French women of the eighteenth century; but, in spite of
the very numerous instances of infidelity which dot the pages of
the history of the French matrimonial relations of those days, many
examples of rare devotion are found, even among the nobility. Love of
the king and self-eliminating devotion to him were feelings to which
women aspired; yet we have one countess, the Countess of Perigord,
who, true to her wifehood, repels the advances of the king, preferring
a voluntary exile to the dishonor of a life of royal favors and
attentions. There is also the example of Mme. de Tremoille; having
been stricken with smallpox, she was ministered to by her husband, who
voluntarily shared her fate and died with her.

It would seem that the highest types of devotion are to be found in
the families of the ministers and men of state, where the wife was
intimately associated with the fortune and the success of her husband.
The Marquis de Croisy and his wife were married forty years; M.
and Mme. de Maurepas lived together for fifty years, without being
separated one day. Instances are many in which reconciliations
were effected after years of unfaithfulness; these seldom occurred,
however, until the end of life was near. The normal type of married
life among the higher classes still remained one of most ideal and
beautiful devotion, in spite of the great number of