where she is invited to all the fetes, and regrets that Mme. de
Sevigne could not be with her in that charming spot, which she is
"fitted better than anyone else to enjoy." No one understands so
well the extent of her influence and her credit as this devoted
friend, who often quotes her to Mme. de Grignan as a model.
"Never did any one accomplish so much without leaving her place,"
she says.

But there was one phase in the life of Mme. de La Fayette which
was not fully confided even to Mme. de Sevigne. It concerns a
chapter of obscure political history which it is needless to
dwell upon here, but which throws much light upon her capacity
for managing intricate affairs. Her connection with it was long
involved in mystery, and was only unveiled in a correspondence
given to the world at a comparatively recent date. It was in the
salon of the Grande Mademoiselle that she was thrown into
frequent relations with the two daughters of Charles Amedee de
Savoie, Duc de Nemours, one of whom became Queen of Portugal, the
other Duchesse de Savoie and, later, Regent during the minority
of her son. These relations resulted in one of the ardent
friendships which played so important a part in her career. Her
intercourse with the beautiful but vain, intriguing, and
imperious Duchesse de Savoie assumed the proportion of a delicate
diplomatic mission. "Her salon," says Lescure, "was, for the
affairs of Savoy, a center of information much more important in
the eyes of shrewd politicians than that of the ambassador." She
not only looked after the personal matters of Mme. Royale, but
was practically entrusted with the entire management of her
interests in Paris. From affairs of state and affairs of the
heart to the daintiest articles of the toilette her versatile