young life were the only fruits of the war of the
Fronde. Madame de Sevigne, who was with him
when he heard the news of the death of so much that
was dear to him, says, "I saw his heart laid bare on that
cruel occasion, and his courage, his merit, his tender-
ness, and good sense surpassed all I ever met with. I
hold his wit and accomplishments as nothing in com-
parison." The combined effect of his wounds and the
gout caused the last years of Rochefoucauld's life to
be spent in great pain. Madame de Sevigne, who
was {with} him continually during his last illness, speaks of
the fortitude with which he bore his sufferings as
something to be admired. Writing to her daughter,
she says, "Believe me, it is not for nothing he has
moralised all his life; he has thought so often on his
last moments that they are nothing new or unfamiliar
to him."

In his last illness, the great moralist was attended
by the great divine, Bossuet. Whether that match-
less eloquence or his own philosophic calm had,
in spite of his writings, brought him into the state
Madame de Sevigne describes, we know not; but
one, or both, contributed to his passing away in a
manner that did not disgrace a French noble or a
French philosopher. On the 11th March, 1680, he
ended his stormy life in peace after so much strife, a
loyal subject after so much treason.

One of his friends, Madame Deshoulieres, shortly