so well they shall play it no more"; begging him to write some moral
or historic poem. Hence came the beautiful masterpiece _Esther_,
to which the young ladies seem to have done the fullest justice, for
listen to the testimony. The brilliant Madame de Lafayette wrote:
"There was no one, great or small, that did not want to go, and this
mere drama of a convent became the most serious affair of the court."
That the admiration was not merely feigned because it was the fashion,
here is the testimony of a woman of the finest taste, Madame de
Sévigné, given in her intimate letters to her daughter, who, in these
confidences, spared no one who deserved criticism:

The king and all the Court are charmed with
_Esther_. The prince has wept over it. I cannot tell
you how delightful the piece is. There is so perfect
a relation between the music, the verses, the songs,
and the personages, that one seeks nothing more.
The airs set to the words have a beauty which cannot
be borne without tears, and according to one's
taste is the measure of approbation given to the
piece. The king addressed me and said, "Madame,
I am sure you have been pleased." I, without being
astonished, answered, "Sire, I am charmed. What
I feel is beyond words." The king said to me,
"Racine has much genius." I said to him, "Sire,
he has much, but in truth these young girls have
much too; they enter into the subject as if they
had done nothing else." "Ah! as to that," said he,
"it is true." And then his Majesty went away and
left me the object of envy.