New-York tribune., 1901-02-03

could see both sides Of a question. she was just
even to those who could not understand her.
In the ten years that elapsed between her
marriage and her death Madame was the chief
feminine figure at Court the stiff Spanish
Queen having few social graees. The young
Englshwoman's fine tastes and clever conver-
sation brought a element into that artificial
life. Her real love for literature found express
sion In many directions. Moliere. Racine. La
Fontaine. Boileau among her friends.
Racine she helped in the beginning of his
career. defending his first works against the
prejudices of the Old school; the weary and dis
appointed Molere brought her his plays To read
and was comforted by her sympathy. We know
from himself how tired he was of the thankIess
task of seeing his plays performed before fools.
and what strange pleasure it gave him TO meet
with single understanding soul" Madame de
Scudery wrote of her: 1T is certain that she
had more mind than any other lady at Court
and that she alone knew how to recognize real
worth Her Saiety vas imaginative. innocent
and elevated and the festivals that under her
guidance were marked by dainty culture and
hnement became after her death. Madame
de Sevigne reminds us. merely dun and spirit
less With the passage OF years Louis XIV.
grew truly fond of his sister-n-Iaw. and SO
appreciative Of her high qualities that ne
eagerly welcomed the opportunity to conduct
political negotiations with Charles H. Her
lively intelligence. her remarkable tact her
clear honesty and her loyal devotion 10 both
Kings served them we'll and easily gathered
from the personal letters printed in this volume
The correspondence is exceedingly interest
ing one and is not To be found in SO complete a
form elsewhere. The letters of Charles 10 his
Minette his "deare. deare sister" show him at
his best and manifest. and leave the reader
with more liking FOR that royal scamp than
might have been thought possible.
But poor Minette. Honored BIZ two kings and
many statesmen. the bright particular star OF
the most brilliant Court of the age she was still
an unhappy girl She was mated to a fool a
fop and petit-maitre. whose passion for her
was as shortlived il was ignOble He was
incapable of understanding her noble qualities
but was nevertheless resentful of them and
Jealous of the esteem with which she was re-
garded- He encouraged his hangers-on 10 insult
her and plot against her and tOrmented her
With childish tyrannies. II would be hard to
reconcile his behavior with the idea OF sanity
II we did not know that il was the result OF
an intolerabIy bad education The Queen and
Mazarin had aimed to keep him "a child all his
life." lest he might be troublesome in politics.
and his efYeminate tastes and weak vanities. his
selhshness and meanness, We're a natural con-
sequence. We are told that his favorite amuse-
ment was 10 dress himself up in wOmen's clothes
and 10 wear patches. and the King said OF him
that he was enchanted to hear of his uncle's
death, so that he might have the pleasure OF
wearing trailing violet mantle That biting
critic. Saint-Simon writes of him: ~ woman
but with all the faults of a woman and none OF
her virtues; childish. feeble. idle. gossipping
curious. vain. suspicious. incapable of holding
mis- tongue. taking pleasure in spreading sIander
and making mischief Such was Philippe OF
Orleans. the brother OF Louis XIV" What a
husband for soc noble and soc sweete I,
LadyeF' To die at tweuty-six could have been
no hardship after ten years of submission to the
whims and injustice of this contemptibIe fellow
Madames death was sudden and so painful that
she believed she was poisoned, and this belief
was widely shared. It thought that il was
managed by the Chevalier de Lorraine her
husbands favorite, who had been banished
from Court largely on account of his intrigtIes
against her; but she had been in falling health
for long time. and her passing may Justly
be attributed 10 natural ills and the boundiess
ignorance of her doctors. The funeral Grafton
which the great Bossuet preached above her
tomb in ST. Denis is famous still He too had
loved her with paternai tenderness and ire
sIstible sorrow spoke in his measured eIoauence
ana moved his audience to tears and sobs
Mrs. Ady has shown much taste skill and tn
IN vt.,,,