in general.

After the death of Louis XIV., society passed under the rule of the
regent, the Duke of Orleans--the personification of gallantry and
affability, of depravity which was a mania, and of licentiousness
which was a disease. From this atmosphere the salon of Mme. de Lambert
became a refuge to those who still cherished the ideals of the good
old times of Mme. de Rambouillet; it was distinguished by its
refined sentiment and polished manners, which were like those of the
seventeenth century at its best.

Mme. de Lambert believed that the demands of the time were just the
opposite of those of the seventeenth century: "What a multitude of
tastes nowadays--the table, play, theatre! When money and luxury are
supreme, true honor loses its power. Persons seek only those houses
where shameful luxury reigns." In her own salon, none might enter who
were not of the small number of the elect.

Very little is known of the life of Mme. de Lambert. She was born in
1647, and, in spite of the unfavorable surroundings of her youth and
of a dissolute, extravagant, and unrefined mother, the observance of
decorum and honor became the actuating principle of her life. Until
her marriage (in 1666) to Henri de Lambert, Marquis de Bris en
Auxerrois, she was in the midst of the grossest licentiousness and
freedom of manners; when married, she entered a family the very
opposite of her own.

She was a woman who believed in the power of ambitious energy. To her
son she once said: "Nothing is less becoming to a young man than a
certain modesty that makes him believe that he is not capable of great
things. This modesty is a languor of the soul, which prevents it from
soaring and rapidly carrying itself to glory."

At first she lived in the Hotel de Lambert (in the Ile Saint-Louis),
renowned for its splendidly sculptured decorations, painted ceilings,
panels, and staircases. Her famous Salon des Muses and Cabinet
d'Amours were filled with the finest works of art and the most
exquisite paintings. There the elite of all classes were entertained
until the death of her husband (1686), when the hotel was closed; it
was not reopened until 1710.

Though left with immense wealth, her affairs were in a very
complicated state. While actively employed in untangling her
difficulties, she at the same time superintended the education of her
son and daughter. After long and trying lawsuits, she managed to put
her fortune in order and established herse