to English literature, supplying what had hitherto been lacking. At
most it stimulated what already existed.

The _memoire_ was not the only setting for French portraits at this
time. There were the French romances, and notably the _Artamene ou
le Grand Cyrus_ and the _Clelie_ of Madeleine de Scudery. The full
significance of the _Grand Cyrus_ has been recovered for modern
readers by Victor Cousin, with great skill and charm, in his _Societe
francaise au XVIIe siecle_, where he has shown it to be, 'properly
speaking, a history in portraits'. The characters were drawn from
familiar figures in French society. 'Ainsi s'explique', says Cousin,
'l'immense succes du _Cyrus_ dans le temps ou il parut. C'etait une
galerie des portraits vrais et frappants, mais un peu embellis,
ou tout ce qu'il y avait de plus illustre en tout genre--princes,
courtisans, militaires, beaux-esprits, et surtout jolies
femmes--allaient se chercher et se reconnaissaient avec un plaisir
inexprimable.'[9] It was easy to attack these romances. Boileau made
fun of them because the classical names borne by the characters
were so absurdly at variance with the matter of the stories.[10] But
instead of giving, as he said, a French air and spirit to Greece and
Rome, Madeleine de Scudery only gave Greek and Roman names to France
as she knew it. The names were a transparent disguise that was not
meant to conceal the picture of fashionable society.

The next stage was the portrait by itself, without any setting. At the
height of the popularity of the romances, Mlle de Montpensier hit upon
a new kind of entertainment for the talented circle of which she was
the brilliant centre. It was nothing more nor less than a paper game.
They drew each other, or persons whom they knew, or themselves, and
under their real names. And they played the game so well that what was
written for amusement was worth printing. _Divers Portraits, Imprimes
en l'annee M DC LIX_ was the simple title of the first collection,
which was intended only for the contributors.[11] When it reached its
final form in 1663, it contained over a hundred and fifty portraits,
and was offered to the public as _La Galerie des Peintures, ou Recueil
des portraits et eloges en vers et en prose, contenant les portraits
du Roy, de la Reyne, des princes, princesses, duchesses, marquises,
comtesses, et autres seigneurs et dames les plus illustres de France;
la plupart composes par eux-memes_.[12] The introductory