of whom
Cardinal Mazarin said that they were "capable of governing and
overturning three kingdoms." The others were the intriguing Duchesse de
Chevreuse, who dazzled the age by her beauty and her daring escapades,
and the fascinating Anne de Gonzague, better known as the Princesse
Palatine, of whose winning manners, conversational charm, penetrating
intellect, and loyal character Bossuet spoke so eloquently at her death.
We catch pleasant glimpses of Mme. Deshoulieres, beautiful and a poet;
of Mme. Cornuel, of whom it was said that "every sin she confessed
was an epigram"; of Mme. de Choisy, witty and piquante; of Mme. de
Doulanges, also a wit and femme d'esprit.

Linked with these by a thousand ties of sympathy and affection were the
worthy counterparts of Pascal and Arnauld, of Bossuet and Fenelon, the
devoted women who poured out their passionate souls at the foot of the
cross, and laid their earthly hopes upon the altar of divine love. We
follow the devout Jacqueline Pascal to the cloister in which she buries
her brilliant youth to die at thirty-five of a wounded conscience and a
broken heart. Many a bruised spirit, as it turns from the gay world
to the mystic devotion which touches a new chord in its jaded
sensibilities, finds support and inspiration in the strong and fervid
sympathy of Jacqueline Arnauld, better known as Mere Angelique of Port
Royal. This profound spiritual passion was a part of the intense life of
the century, which gravitated from love and ambition to the extremes of
penitence and asceticism.

A multitude of minor figures, graceful and poetic, brilliant and
spirituelles, flit across the canvas, leaving the fragrance of an
exquisite individuality, and tempting one to extend the list of the
versatile women who toned and colored the society of the period. But we
have to do, at present, especially with those who gathered and blended
this fresh intelligence, delicate fancy, emotional wealth, and religious
fervor, into a society including such men as Corneille, Balzac, Bossuet,
Richelieu, Conde, Pascal, Arnault, and La Rochefoucauld--those who are
known as leaders of more or less celebrated salons. Of these, Mme. de
Rambouillet and Mme. de Sable were among the best representative types
of their time, and the first of the long line of social queens who,
through their special gift of leadership, held so potent a sway for two
centuries.

CHAPTER II. THE HOTEL DE RAMBOUILLET

_Mme. de Rambouill