mpression she desires to make. She makes use of
her advantages almost like a god--she permits us to believe that we
have a free will while she determines us. In general, she is more
feared than loved. She has much _esprit_ and gayety. She is constant
in her engagements, faithful to her friends, truthful, discreet,
generous. If she were more clairvoyant or if men were less ridiculous,
they would find her perfect."

On one occasion M. de Tressan composed this famous couplet:

"Quand Boufflers parut a la cour,
On crut voir la mere d'Amour,
Chacun s'empressait a lui plaire,
Et chacun l'avait a son tour."

[When Boufflers appeared at court,
The mother of love was thought to be seen,
Everyone became so eager to please her,
And each one had her in his turn.]

One day Mme. de Boufflers mumbled this before M. de Tressan, saying to
him: "Do you know the author? It is so beautiful that I would not
only pardon her, but I believe I would embrace her." Whereupon he
stammered: _Eh bien! c'est moi._ She quickly dealt him two vigorous
slaps in the face. All feared her; no one equalled her in skill and
shrewdness, or in knowing and handling men.

After her marriage to the Marechal de Luxembourg, she decided, about
1750, to 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 lit