wrote and signed a written pledge
such as no woman had ever executed, and fortified with this pledge,
the Marquis hastened to respond to the call of duty.

Two days had scarcely elapsed before Ninon was besieged by one of the
most dangerous men of her acquaintance. Skilled in the art of love, he
had often pressed his suit, but Ninon had other engagements and would
not listen to him. But now, his rival being out of the field, he
resumed his entreaties and increased his ardor. He was a man to
inspire love, but Ninon resisted, though his pleading touched her
heart. Her eyes at last betrayed her love and she was vanquished
before she realized the outcome of the struggle.

What was the astonishment of the conqueror, who was enjoying the
fruits of his victory, to hear Ninon exclaim in a breathless voice,
repeating it three times: "Ah! Ah! le bon billet qu'a la Chatre!" (Oh,
the fine bond that la Chatre has.)

Pressed for an explanation of the enigma, Ninon told him the whole
story, which was too good to keep secret, and soon the "billet de la
Chatre" became, in the mouth of everybody, a saying applied to things
upon which it is not wise to rely. Voltaire, to preserve so charming
an incident, has embalmed it in his comedy of la Prude, act I, scene
III. Ninon merely followed the rule established by Madame de Sevigne:
"Les femmes ont permission d'etre faibles, et elles se servent sans
scrupule de ce privilege."

CHAPTER IX

Ninon's Friendships

Mademoiselle de l'Enclos never forgot a friend in a lover, indeed, the
trait that stands out clear and strong in her character, is her whole
hearted friendship for the men she loved, and she bestowed it upon
them as long as they lived, for she outlived nearly all of them, and
cherished their memories afterward. As has been said, Ninon de
l'Enclos was Epicurean in the strictest sense, and did not rest her
entire happiness on love alone, but included a friendship which went
to the extent of making sacrifices. The men with whom she came in
contact from time to time during her long life, were nothing to her
from a pecuniary point of view, for she possessed an income
sufficiently large to satisfy her wants and to maintain the social
establishment she never neglected.

There was never, either directly or indirectly, any money
consideration asked or expected in payment of her favors, and the man
who would have dared offer her money as a consideration for anything,
would have me