people were in the habit of paying great deference, because,
after she had fashioned them a little, it was a passport for
entering the world; but this plan did not succeed, as Mme. de La
Fayette was not willing to give her time to a thing so futile."
One can readily understand that it would not have suited her
tastes or her temperament. Besides, her health was too delicate,
and her moods were too variable. "You know how she is weary
sometimes of the same thing," wrote Mme. de Sevigne. But she had
her coterie, which was brilliant in quality if not in numbers.
The fine house with its pretty garden, which may be seen today
opposite the Petit Luxembourg, was a favorite meeting place for a
distinguished circle. The central figure was La Rochefoucauld.
Every day he came in and seated himself in the fauteuil reserved
for him. One is reminded of the little salon in the Abbaye-aux-
Bois, where more than a century later Chateaubriand found the
pleasure and the consolation of his last days in the society of
Mme. Recamier. They talk, they write, they criticize each other,
they receive their friends. The Cardinal de Retz comes in, and
they recall the fatal souvenirs of the Fronde. Perhaps he thinks
of the time when he found the young Mlle. De LaVergne pretty and
amiable, and she did not smile upon him. The Prince de Conde is
there sometimes, and honors her with his confidence, which Mme.
de Sevigne thinks very flattering, as he does not often pay such
consideration to women. Segrais has transferred his allegiance
from the Grande Mademoiselle to Mme. de La Fayette, and is her
literary counselor as well as a constant visitor. La Fontaine,
"so well known by his fables and tales, and sometimes so heavy in
conversation," may be found there. Mme. de Sevigne comes almost
every day with her sunny face and her witty story. "The Mist"
she calls Mme. de La Fayette, who is so often ill and sad. She