philosophy of her race. Perhaps she has revealed the secret of
their fascination, the indefinable something which is as
difficult to analyze as the perfume of a rose.

A history of the French salons would include the history of the
entire period of which they were so prominent a factor. It would
make known to us its statesmen and its warriors; it would trace
the great currents of thought; it would give us glimpses of every
phase of society, from the diversions of the old noblesse, with
their sprinkling of literature and philosophy, to the familiar
life of the men of letters, who cast about their intimate
coteries the halo of their own genius. These salons were closely
interwoven with the best intellectual life of more than two
hundred years. Differing in tone according to the rank, taste,
or character of their leaders, they were rallying points for the
most famous men and women of their time. In these brilliant
centers, a new literature had its birth. Here was found the fine
critical sense that put its stamp on a new poem or a new play.
Here ministers were created and deposed, authors and artists were
brought into vogue, and vacant chairs in the Academie Francaise
were filled. Here the great philosophy of the eighteenth century
was cradled. Here sat the arbiters of manners, the makers of
social success. To these high tribunals came, at last, every
aspirant for fame.

It was to the refinement, critical taste, and oral force of a
rare woman, half French and half Italian, that the first literary
salons owed their origin and their distinctive character. In
judging of the work of Mme. De Rambouillet, we have to consider
that in the early days of the seventeenth century knowledge was