gallantry. They culled choice expressions and
epigrams from the literature of the day, employing their memories to
conceal their paucity of original wit, and practised upon their
imaginations to obtain a salacious philosophy, which consisted of
sodden ideas, flat in their expression, stale and unattractive in
their adaptation.

Ninon's coterie was the very opposite, consisting as it did of the
very flower of the nobility and the choicest spirits of the age, who
banished dry and sterile erudition, and sparkled with the liveliest
wit and polite accomplishments. There were some who eluded the
vigilance of Ninon's shrewd scrutiny, and made their way into her
inner circle, but they were soon forced to abandon their pretensions
by their inability to maintain any standing among a class of men who
were so far beyond them in rank and attainments.

Not long after her return to the pleasures of society, after the
convent episode, Ninon was called upon to mourn the demise of her
father. M. de l'Enclos was one of the fortunate men of the times who
escaped the dangers attendant upon being on the wrong side in
politics. For some inscrutable reason, he took sides with Cardinal de
Retz, and on that account was practically banished from Paris and
compelled to be satisfied with the rough annoyances of camp life
instead of being able to put in practice the pleasant precepts of his
philosophy. He was finally permitted to return to Paris with his head
safe upon his shoulders, and flattered himself with the idea that he
could now make up for lost time, promising himself to enjoy to the
full the advantages offered by his daughter's establishment. He
embraced his daughter with the liveliest pleasure imaginable, taking
upon himself all the credit for her great reputation as due to his
efforts and to his philosophical training. He was flattered at the
success of his lessons and entered upon a life of joyous pleasure with
as much zest as though in the bloom of his youth. It proved too much
for a constitution weakened by the fatigues of years of arduous
military campaigns and he succumbed, the flesh overpowered by the
spirit, and took to his bed, where he soon reached a condition that
left his friends no hope of his recuperation.

Aware that the end was approaching, he sent for his daughter, who
hastened to his side and shed torrents of tears. But he bade her
remember the lessons she had learned from his philosophy, and wishing
to give her one