r furnished the rough
draft, the dramatic episodes, adventures, and the Romanesque part,
while she added the literary finish through charming character
sketches, conversation, sentimental analyses, and letters. With a
strong inclination toward society, and constantly fulfilling its
obligations, she would from day to day write up her conversations of
the evening before.

An interesting anecdote is told in connection with the travels and
cooeperation of Mlle. de Scudery and her brother; once, on the way to
Paris, while stopping over night at Lyons, they were discussing the
fate of one of their heroes, one proposing death and the other rescue,
one poison and the other a more cruel death; a gentleman from Auvergne
happened to overhear them and immediately notified the people of the
inn, thinking it was a question of assassinating the king; the brother
and sister were thrown into prison and only with great difficulty
were they able to explain matters the next morning. From this incident
Scribe drew the material for his drama, _L'Auberge ou les Brigands
sans le Savoir_.

At the Hotel de Rambouillet where Mlle. de Scudery was received early,
she won everyone by her modesty, simplicity, _esprit_, and lovable
disposition, and, in spite of her homeliness and poor figure, she
attracted many platonic lovers. She was one of the few brilliant
and famous women of the seventeenth century whose popularity was due
solely to admirable qualities of mind and soul. With her, friendship
became a cult, and it was in time of trouble that her friends received
the strongest proof of her affection. She preferred to incur disgrace
and the disfavor of Mazarin rather than forsake Conde and Madame de
Longueville; to them she dedicated the ten volumes, successively,
of her novel, _Cyrus_; the last volume was published after Mme. de
Longueville's retirement and partial disgrace.

After the brilliant society of the Hotel de Rambouillet had been
broken up by the marriage of Julie and the operations of the Fronde,
and after her brother's marriage in 1654, Mlle. de Scudery became
independent and established the custom of receiving her friends on
Saturday; these receptions became famous under the name of _Samedi_,
and besides the regular rather bourgeois gathering, the most brilliant
talent and highest nobility flocked to them, regardless of rank or
station, wealth or influence. Pellisson, the great master, the prince,
the Apollo of her Saturdays, was a