interesting glimpses of the Grande Mademoiselle, the "adorable"
Duchesse de Chaulnes, the Duc and Duchesse de Rohan, who were
"Germans in the art of savoir-vivre," the Abbess de Fontevrault,
so celebrated for her esprit and her virtue, and a host of others
too numerous to mention. The sculptured portals and time-stained
walls of the Hotel de Carnavalet are still alive with the
memories of these brilliant reunions and the famous people who
shone there two hundred years ago.

Among those who exercised the most important influence upon the
life of Mme. de Sevigne was Corbinelli, the wise counselor, who,
with a soul untouched by the storms of adversity through which he
had passed, devoted his life to letters and the interests of his
friends. No one had a finer appreciation of her gifts and her
character. Her compared her letters to those of Cicero, but he
always sought to temper her ardor, and to turn her thoughts
toward an elevated Christian philosophy. "In him," said Mme. de
Sevigne, "I defend one who does not cease to celebrate the
perfections and the existence of God; who never judges his
neighbor, who excuses him always; who is insensible to the
pleasures and delights of life, and entirely submissive to the
will of Providence; in fine, I sustain the faithful admirer of
Sainte Therese, and of my grandmother, Sainte Chantal." This
gentle, learned, and disinterested man, whose friendship deepened
with years, was an unfailing resource. In her troubles and
perplexities she seeks his advice; in her intellectual tastes she
is sustained by his sympathy. She speaks often of the happy days
in Provence, when, together with her daughter, they translate
Tacitus, read Tasso, and get entangled in endless discussions
upon Descartes. Even Mme. de Grignan, who rarely likes her