New-York tribune., 1907-05-11
THE COURT OF LUNEVILLE
The Mmquise de Boufers and the
Society of Her Time.


La Marquise de Boufflers ct fls le
Chevalier de Boufiers'' is the title of the third
! and last volume Of that fascinating series in
! which NJ. CASTOR Maugras has undertaken TO
revive the atmosphere of a celebrated
! Court That was the Court of Luneville, where
the indugent epicure. King Stanislas. and his
captivating friend. the Marquse de Bouffiers,
reigned after the gay fashion Of Louis XIV and
the Marquise de Pompadour at Versailles-of
which Luneville a kind of miniature In
La Cour de LunevilIe au Dix-Hultieme Steele"
NJ. Maugras gave delightful sketches OF
the persons who surrounded the last nominal
ruler Of the Duchy Of Lorraine enlivenng the
book with anecdotes OF Voltaire and the Mar
quise du ChAteet. Les Dernieres Annees de
la Cour de Luneville' described the levity and
/ luxury of the Court up 20 the moment Of the
pathetic death Of old King Stanislas The
wadded dressing gown given To him by his
daughter, Queen Marie Leczinska, caught fire
and enveloped him in Il blaze from which he
received .irreparabe injuries. In the present
volume the historian follows the strange careers
OF the Marquise de Bouffiers and her SON and
of the witty courtiers whose dongs and sayings
at Nancy and Luneville were so characteristic
of eighteenth century frivoIity The death OF
King Stanislas was catastrophe FOR those two
cities, which soon afterward sank to the level Of
provincial towns of the second order
In 1865 the Marquise de BouHiers left I.une-
Vile, and all the members OF her joyful coterie
who could afford it followed her to Paris In
the succeeding summer she accompanied her
brother, the Prince de Beauvau to Plombieres
and her accounts OF the daily life at that water
ing place in the Vosges are exceedingly anus
ing, All those who took the waters were first
subjected to course Of blood letting to render
the treatment more efilcacious. \ favorite pas
time was TO visit In his mountain hermitage an
old bonesetter who cured many of the ia sh-
ionable people that the rival physicians tried TO
assasslnate him This book contains spirited
pictures Of the social movement at Versailles
There descriptions OF the marriage of the
Due de Chartres in 1863. the reception at court
Of Nine. du Barry, and the fetes given on the
occasion OF the visit OF the King Of Denmark
NJ Maugras also prints interesting letters writ
ten by Voltare the Due de I.auzon the Duchess
de ChOiseul. Walpole. Nine du Denand and
Nine. Vigee- Lebrun. There is a capital narra-
tive Of the desperate passion OF Nine. de Bouf-
fIers's son Elzear Chalf- brother Of the Cheva-
lier) for Nine. de Stael 1t returned by that
impressionable lady, but this only made matters
worse and the ndscreet young suffered
arrest and imprisonment
The Chevalier de Boufiers OF
brilliant attainments and. though not hand
some. was a great favorite with the women Of
the Court IN de Bouffers." wrote the Prince
de Ligne was successfully able. a soldier
a writer, administrators, a deputy and a phi
osopher and of all these conditions the only
one for which he was untitled was the first.
never met any more kindhearted or more
witty" Rousseau in his Confessions" is by
no means enthusiastic. He describes the
Chevalier as a Jack Of all trades and master OF
none Nevertheless the Chevalier made a
member of the Institute of France, was deco
l,Iy for hiS
culturist and was appointed librarian of the
Mazarin Library Cnow the National Library
by Louis XVIII He died on January 10, 1915.
in his modest apartment in the Rue du Fau
bourg Saint Honore. His mother, the Marquise
de Bouffiers died at Scey-sur-Sa0 in July.
1885
NJ Maugras has succeeded in painting n
charming picture of the easy, luxurious life OF
these clever people. His work. just published
nv Plon forms a valuable contribution TO that
class Of anecdotic literature dealing with the
waning phases Of French Court life in the eigh-
teenth century, which seems to possess peren-
NAL interest. & l. 10.