there the traditions of the seventeenth century were
perpetuated.

Sainte-Beuve said that Mme. de Caylus perfectly exemplified what
was called urbanity--"politeness in speech and accent as well as in
_esprit_." In her youth she was famous for her extraordinary acting in
the performance, at Saint-Cyr, of Racine's _Esther_. Mme. de Sevigne
wrote: "It is Mme. de Caylus who makes Esther." Her brief and witty
_Souvenirs_ (Memoirs), showing marvellous finesse in the art of
portraiture, made her name immortal. M. Saint-Amand describes her work
thus:

"Her friends, enchanted by her lively wit, had long entreated her
to write--not for the public, but for them--the anecdotes which she
related so well. Finally, she acquiesced, and committed to paper
certain incidents, certain portraits. What a treasure are these
_Souvenirs_--so fluently written, so unpretentious, with neither dates
nor chronological order, but upon which, for more than a century, all
historians have drawn! How much is contained in this little book
which teaches more in a few lines than interminable works do in many
volumes! How feminine it is, and how French! One readily understands
Voltaire's liking for these charming _Souvenirs_. Who, than Mme. de
Caylus, ever better applied the famous precept: 'Go lightly, mortals;
don't bear too hard.'"

She belonged to that class of spontaneous writers who produce artistic
works without knowing it, just as M. Jourdain wrote prose, and who do
not even suspect that they possess that chief attribute of literary
style--naturalness. What pure, what ready wit! What good humor,
what unconstraint, what delightful ease! What a series of charming
portraits, each more lifelike, more animated, still better than all
the others! "These little miniatures--due to the brush of a woman
of the world--are better worth studying than is many a picture or
fresco."

CHAPTER VII

WOMAN IN RELIGION

The entire religious agitation of the seventeenth century was due to
women. Port-Royal was the centre from which issued all contention--the
centre where all subjects were discussed, where the most important
books were written or inspired, where the genius of that great century
centred; and it was to Port-Royal that the greatest women of France
went, either to find repose for their souls or to visit the noble
members of their sex who had consecrated their lives to God--Mere
Angelique, Jacqueline Pascal. Never in the history of the world had