New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-10

firms house though not reoogItzed q is6sIs -
the reform party. It was one OF those sLn a u
little irOnies Of life that Nine Georia %n9 ,ron
nlaZue who once said to Dfderot, What better
sa 90 6 vi" t I pT5dn spirit Of the salon which
was to speak the nursery OF 5ne to bs
had the greatest influence on the thought OF the
time were written ~ nST 5 Pc 81 6e saionsI esDrt
des lois by Montesquieu. the pioneer; DE T. rs
i said, ne had gathered in The salonS IS ne
ystee de Ia v 81 DdeTot on and Aebert
assisted by a large band Of contributors All four
Ro2s nag me ben Torn and burned By the common
hangnan in the Place de Ia GreVe-
OF all these personages the author gives Us
most picturesque gllmpses, with a wealth OF
piquant anecdote. II they lent distinction to
Madame Geoffrin's house they received from
her constant kindness and helpfulness:-to
dAlembert, indeed. she gave a pension which
enabled him to wori, without anxiety as to his
daily bread The story Of the break in her
friendship with Montesquieu conveys a lesson
to the incautious recipient OF a book from it's
author He sent her one OF the earliest copies OF
'L'esprft des lois and, delighted with the gift
she returned a letter Of thanks and praise quite
too soon to admit Of proper perusal OF the
work He discovered that all she knew Of it
she had gathered from listening to some brief
extracts read aloud by her daughter; whereuD-
on the pride of the author being wounded, he
turned his back on Nine, Geoffrin and her salon.
and even IN letters to viIlanous little Italian
able left her legacy OF cruel yexation-
Another habitue Of her salon. one for whom
she felt a truly maternal affection, was the
young Polish noble who became King Stanislas
Auguste Of Poland. His father begged her to
keep an eye on the boy, and while he stayed in
Paris she petted him. scolded him and helped to
pay his debts. They coresDonded for years,
and the great event Of her life was her visit
to his court when an old woman nearing sew
enty. The Partisan bourgeoise whom stanislas
Auguste calls his mamma" is met at the foot
Of his staircase by the King who catches her i'm
pulsively in his arms; the whole court reYolves
around her; from his majesty to the lowest Of
fetal all are concerned to make the old ladys
visit constant delight If there was disappOint-
ment in it, It was probably for a very natural
reason; Mamma" Goeffrin and her "son, the
king did not quite agree the management
Of the kingdom. It IS to the credit Of both that
their friendship survived the visit It would. in
fact have been hard for a reasonable man to
quarrel with Marie Therese Geoffrin. she was so
reasonable herself. she had so much common
sense tolerance, charity and wealth Of heart
Some OF the pIeasantest passages in this book
dwell on that kind heartedness which left her
no Joy SO great as giving. They said Of her that
she was constantly searching for some way Of
making those around her happy, and If
week days she entertained the great, the witty
and the wise Of the earth she regularly spent a
part Of her Sundays in tying UP little bags Of
money for her pensioners among the Door.
The accompanying portrait gives a very just
idea OF this much loved Sa1oniere. She was
plain Of feature. and she always dressed
simply, if daintily in soft. dull colors with i'm
maculate muslins and laces- She never wore
rouge or patches in days when few women who
could buy them were without them; she rarely
wore Jewels Those might well be left to lesser
women; the attraction Of that homeIy face, with
its expression Of humor mental quickness and
sympathetic kindness. never failed.