r intensest display. Her _forte_ lies in the ornate
and elaborate exhibition of roles," for which she creates the most
capricious and fantastic garbs. She is a great manager,--omitting the
financial part,--quite a writer, somewhat of a painter and sculptor,
throwing her money away, except to her creditors, adored by some
and execrated by others. Her care of her physical self and her utter
disregard for money have undoubtedly contributed to her long and
brilliant career; rest and idleness are her most cruel punishments.
All nervous energy, never happy, restless, she is a true _fin de
siecle_ product.

Among the large number of women who wielded influence in the
nineteenth century, either through their salons or through their
works, Mme. Guizot was one of the most important as the author of
treatises on education and as a moralist. As an intimate friend of
Suard, she was placed, as a contributor, on the _Publiciste_, and for
ten years wrote articles on morality, society, and literature which
showed a varied talent, much depth, and justness. Fond of polemics,
she never failed to attack men like La Harpe, De Bonald, etc., thus
making herself felt as an influence to be reckoned with in matters
literary and moral.

As Mme. Guizot, she naturally had a powerful influence upon her
husband, shaping his thoughts and theories, for she immediately
espoused his principles and interests. In 1821, at the age of
forty-eight, she began her literary work again, after a period of
rest, writing novels in which the maternal love and the ardent and
pious sentiments of a woman married late in life are reflected. In
her theories of education she showed a highly practical spirit.
Sainte-Beuve said that, next to Mme. de Stael, "she was the woman
endowed with the most sagacity and intelligence; the sentiment that
she inspires is that of respect and esteem--and these terms can only
do her justice."

Mme. de Duras, in her salon, represented the Restoration, "by
a composite of aristocracy and affability, of brilliant wit and
seriousness, semi-liberal and somewhat progressive." Her credit lies
in the fact that, by her keen wit, she kept in harmony a heterogeneous
mixture of social life. She wrote a number of novels, which are,
for the most part, "a mere delicate and discreet expression of her
interior life."

Mme. Ackermann, German in her entire makeup, was, among French female
writers, one of the deepest thinkers of the nineteenth century. A
t