The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

_
LEONTINE ; or the COURT of LOUIS XV.
A Novel. 3 Vols. By Mrs. Maberly.
Occurring between the gorgeous sovereignty of the
grand monarque, and the melancholy downfall of his un-
fortunate descendant, the reign of Louis XV., is not de-
void of interest ; and its caracter corresponds well
with its situation, combining many of the features both
of the preceding and the following reign, it shared in
the faults of the one, and contributed to the misfortunes
of tha other. It is hardly possible for the unprejudiced
spectator, looking back upon those scenes, after the
lapse of years, to restrain his surprise and indignation
that such things ever were. Let no one speak of the
horrors of the revolution without first analysing the
epoch which preceded it—he will there find excuse for
its excess, perhaps palliation of its enormities. It is of
this epoch, its king, its court, and its customs, that the
volumes of " Leontine" furnish a picture. We are
initiated into all the mysteries of those corrupted circles,
where sin and shame reigned supreme ; where pleasure
alone was sought by all, and happiness found by none.
And yet, amid all their gaity and insouciance, the shadow
of coming evils was felt even by the reckless—it was
only the shadow, and they cared not. The prophetic
exclamation of Madame de Pompadour was apparently
the conviction of all—" Apres nous, le deluge." Apart
from the interest attached to the narrative, a tale of
French life, of that period, and consequently not very
attractive, save as regards the heroine—the gentle, meek
and noble-hearted Leontine—devoted in love, and self-
sacrificing in devotion—apart from the interest attached
to the narrative itself, these volumes will be regarded
with attention, from their historical bearing. The cha-
racters of the King and Queen are very vividly por-
trayed ; the sorrow of Louis on the death of his mis-
tress, the beautiful Duchess of Chateauroux, is described
with great force and great feeling. The fortunes of the
celebrated Marquise de Pompadour, so conspicuous in
history, occupy a considerable portion of these volumes.
She appears before us in her innocent girlhood ; as a
neglected wife, longing for gaity and admiration ; and
then as the sovereign of a court, mistress of the King,
and real ruler of the country. The following is a sketch
of her at the time of her elevation :

"In a word, everything and nothing in the same moment.
Imagine the lightness of a butterfly, with the depth of a sage ;
the dignity of a queen, with the playfulness of a child ; the
grace of Terpsichore, with the stern wildness of Medea ; the
softness of a woman, with the decision of a man ; imagine any
two things, or twenty things, and twenty others diametric-
ally opposite, and turn them, and mix them together in
every direction, and then you will have a pretty clear idea of
the character of the new Marquise de Pompadour, while she
will retain the advantage of appearing in all her disguises
equally fascinating."
The real hero of the tale is the famous Richelieu—not
the Cardinal, but the Duke, " the glass of fashion, and
the mould of form," the favourite of the King and Court.
A description of him will be interesting of itself, and it
serves as a type of the men and manners of the times.
" One of the ruling passions of Richelieu was an inordinate
love of money. Although possessed of ample means, he was
continually in distress, for in order to support his taste for
effect, the most lavish expenditure was necessary. Popu-
larity and a reputation for generosity were also among his
cherished desires, and as he well knew this was not to be
effected without some means more tangible than words or
smiles, he had never failed to draw largely upon those re-
sources which his official position enabled him to command.
During the time of his embassy to Vienna, the Duke de Ri-
chelieu had squandered sums of unheard-of magnitude. His
entry into that city had fixed by its magnificence the atten-
tion of all Europe. Thirty-
six carriages, whose velvet panels
blazed with gold and precious stones, followed in his train ;
but as a proof that he desired others to share in his advan-
tages, he had caused all his horses to be shod with shoes of
solid silver, affixed to their hoofs by only a single nail, and,
of course, in a very short time not one retained its original
position, and the spoil being abandoned to the populace, the
name of Richelieu was lauded to the skies. The rest of his
equipments fully corresponded with this display; but so great
were the advantages to be produced by the negotiation with
which he had been entrusted, that the Government of France
hastened to comply with every extravagance of demand
which he thought proper to make. The success of his under-
taking, and the splendour of the talents which he had mani-
fested, encircled him with such a halo of intellectuality and
renown, that the murmurs of the more prudent were hushed,
and as long as his position could warrant it he continued his
career of profligate expenditure. When his mission was con-
cluded, and he returned to his comparatively private place
at Court, his habits lost nothing of their former magnifi-
cence; but his fortune, though large, could by no means
withstand the inroads made upon it by constant dissipation.
Nothing daunted, however, he persevered in his profusion,
but the time had arrived when the want of money began to
be felt at court. The public revenues were continually
drained by the expenses of the war, and the habits of the
nobles were such as to insure sooner or later the ruin of their
class. Even in the article of dress, the etiquette of court
exacted enormous sacrifices. Many thousands of pounds were
expended upon a single suit, and no one with any preten-
sions to fashion could present himself more than once in the
same costume. It often happened that the whole property
of which a man was possessed might be found upon his per-
son, and but too many thus situated hastened to supply the
deficiencies of fortune by means the most dishonourable, and
which ill accorded with the high tone and courtly manners
by which society was then distinguished. In these practices
Richelieu by no means suffered himself to be outdone by his
friends, and his wonderful powers of fascination, and great
position in the world of fashion, afforded him opportunities of
enriching himself of which hen ever scrupled to take advantage.
Many of the lesser nobles deemed themselves honoured by
the fact of being numbered amongst the ereditm s of Riche
lieu, who thought them amply repaid by an invitation to
supper, or a word of friendship or good fellowship scattered
amongst them in public. Untrammelled by any principle or
feeling. save that of his interest or will, he continued to re-
volve in his brilliant orbit, the envy and admiration of the
whole court."