bition than comported with her mental calibre or her force
of character; she had taken it into her head to govern, by turns
promoting and overthrowing the ministers, herself proffering advice
to the king, sometimes to good purpose, but still more often with a
levity as fatal as her obstinacy."

In _The Old Regime_, Lady Jackson has given an unprejudiced estimate
of her: "She was the most accomplished and talented woman of her time;
distinguished, above all others, for her enlightened patronage of
science and of the arts, also for the encouragement she gave to the
development of improvements in various manufactures which had stood
still or were on the decline until favored by her; a fresh impulse
was given to progress, and a perfection attained which has never been
surpassed and, in fact, rarely equalled. _Les Gobelins_, the carpets
of the Savonnerie, the _porcelaine de Sevres_, were all, at her
request, declared _Manufactures Royales_. Some of the finest specimens
of the products of Sevres, in ornamental groups of figures, were
modelled and painted by Mme. de Pompadour, as presents to the
queen.... The name of Pompadour is, indeed, intimately associated with
a whole school of art of the Louis Quinze period--art so inimitable in
its grace and elegance that it has stood the test of time and remains
unsurpassed. Artists and poets and men of science vied with each other
in admiration of her talents and taste. And it was not mere
flattery, but simply the praise due to an enlightened patroness and a
distinguished artist."

If we consider the morals of high society, we shall scarcely find one
woman of rank who could cast a stone at Madame de Pompadour. While
admitting her moral shortcomings, it must nevertheless be acknowledged
that she showed an exceptional ability in maintaining, for twenty
years, her influence over such a man as Louis XV. Such was the power
of this woman, the daughter of a tradesman, mistress, king in all
save title. She was, however, less powerful than her successor,--that
successor who was less clever and less ambitious, who "never made
the least scrupulous blush at the lowness of her origin and the
irregularity of her life,"--Mme. du Barry.

Mme. du Barry was the natural daughter of Anne Bequs, who was
supported by M. Dumonceau, a rich banker at Paris. The child was put
into a convent, and, after passing through different phases of life,
she was finally placed in a house of pleasure, where she captiva