of the Pulpit,"
as he was called, or "The great Pan," as Madame de Sevigne, loved to
designate him. His renown for eloquence and piety reached Ninon's ears
and she conceived a scheme, so it is said; to bring this great orator
to her feet. She had held in her chains from time to time, all the
heroes, and illustrious men of France, and she considered Pere
Bourdaloue worthy of a place on the list. She accordingly arrayed
herself in her most fascinating costume, feigned illness and sent for
him. But Pere Bourdaloue was not a man to be captivated by any woman,
and, moreover, he was a man too deeply versed in human perversity to
be easily deceived. He came at her request, however, and to her
question as to her condition he answered: "I perceive that your malady
exists only in your heart and mind; as to your body, it appears to me
to be in perfect health. I pray the great physician of souls that he
will heal you." Saying which he left her without ceremony.

The story is probably untrue and grew out of a song of the times, to
ridicule the attempts of numerous preachers to convert Ninon from her
way of living. They frequented her social receptions but those were
always public, as she never trusted herself to any one without the
knowledge and presence of some of her "Birds," taking that precaution
for her own safety and to avoid any appearance of partiality. The song
referred to, composed by some unknown scribe begins as follows:

"Ninon passe les jours au jeu:
Cours ou l'amour te porte;
Le predicateur qui t'exhorte,
S'il etait au coin de ton feu,
Te parlerait d'un autre sorte."

CHAPTER XVI

A Remarkable Old Age

When Ninon had reached the age of sixty-five years, there were those
among the beauties of the royal court who thought she ought to retire
from society and make way for them, but there appeared to be no
diminution of her capacity for pleasure, no weakening of her powers of
attraction. The legend of the Noctambule, or the little black man, who
appeared to Ninon when she was at the age of twenty years, and
promised her perpetual beauty and the conquest of all hearts, was
revived, and there was enough probability in it to justify a strong
belief in the story. Indeed, the Abbe Servien spread it about again
when Ninon was seventy years of age, and even then there were few who
disputed the mysterious gift as Ninon showed little change.

As old age approached, Ninon ceased to be regarded with that
familiarity