Quick as a flash came the answer which gave the Duke an inkling into
the situation.

"Je commande un corps où vous servez depuis longtemps," replied
Pécour.




CHAPTER XI

Ninon's Lovers--Continued


A counter attraction has been referred to in speaking of the Hôtel
Rambouillet, where a fashionable court was established for the purpose
of drawing away from Ninon the elite who flocked to her standard.
Mademoiselle de Scudery gives a fine description of this little court
at Rambouillet in her romance, entitled "Cyrus." There was not and
could not be any rivalry between the court in the Rue des Tournelles
and that at Rambouillet, for the reason that Ninon's coterie consisted
of men exclusively, while that of Rambouillet was thronged with women.
But this, quite naturally, occasioned much envy and jealousy among the
ladies who devised all sorts of entertainments to attract masculine
society. One of their performances was the famous "Julia Garland," so
named in honor of Mademoiselle de Rambouillet, who was known by the
name of "Julie d'Angennes." Each one selected a favorite flower, wrote
a sonnet in its praise, and when all were ready, they stood around
Mademoiselle de Rambouillet in a circle and alternately recited the