necessity of immediate release. The conclusion was obvious. The
Abbe Fleuret was horrified by the conviction that this pretty
young nun was in love with himself, and used his influence to
secure her transference to a secular order at Neuville, where as
chanoinesse, she had many privileges and few restrictions. Here
she became at once a favorite, as before, charming by her modest
devotion, and amusing by her brilliant wit. Artfully, and by
degrees, she convinced those in authority of the need of a
representative in Paris. This office she was chosen to fill.
Playing her pious part to the last, protesting with tears her
pain at leaving a life she loved, and her unfitness for so great
an honor she set out upon her easy mission. There are many tales
of a scandalous life behind all this sanctity and humility, but
her new position gave her consideration, influence, and a good
revenue. "Young, beautiful, clever, with an adorable talent,"
this "nun unhooded" fascinated the regent, and was his favorite
for a few days. But her ambition got the better of her prudence.
She ventured upon political ground, and he saw her no more. With
his minister, the infamous Dubois, she was more successful, and
he served her purpose admirably well. Through her notorious
relations with him she enriched her brother and secured him a
cardinal's hat. The intrigues of this unscrupulous trio form an
important episode in the history of the period. When Dubois
died, within a few months of the regent, she wept, as she said,
"that fools might believe she regretted him."

Her clear, incisive intellect and conversational charm would have
assured the success of any woman at a time when these things
counted for so much. "At thirty-six," wrote Mme. du Deffand,
"she was beautiful and fresh as a woman of twenty; her eyes