The Letters of Madame De Service

Front matter

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. Meehan tam 2 eae oS eine fevigne cop.a | Letter& of Madame de 1497 fevigne i

Preface To The Revised Edition

Tue Editress has set forth so fully, in the introductory sketch of Madame de Sévigné’s Life and Times, her object in offering this book to the American public, that any further prologue may seem superfluous ; yet there are one or two things to be said which seem to find their most proper expression in a Preface. Since the date of the “rst edition, the changes in the manners and feelings of the time — -e been rapid and continuous; and they have operated in a ty ‘ord manner,

In the first place, we have become as a nation more thoroughly acquainted with French literature, and better able to appreciate that world of the past in which the grcat letter-writer lived. Madame de Sévigné was a woman who lived in and for others, — for her daughter, her friends, and, at a greater distance, for the brilliant circle of distinguished men and women of which she herself was so important a figure. Her letters are made up of incident, of meetings, of conversations: they are full of references to the topics then uppermost; they draw half their charm from the “personality of the writer. Literature of this sort cannot stand alone. To enjoy it to the full we must know with some minuteness the history of the times in which it was written, and of the people to whom it was written. The knowledge of these things is now spreading wider every year, as we become familiar, through originals or translations, with the masterpieces of foreign lanzuages; For instance, probably the best French sketch of Madame de Sévigné is from the pen of M. Sainte-Beuve, the great critic whom Mr. Arnold acknowledges for his master. This sketch has deen ‘translated by Miss Preston, and published within the last cop a.

iv PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION.

year.* Our limits forbid quotation; but to every one who can enjoy a criticism at once delicate and profound, we recommend this incomparable study.

Again, the times themselves in which we live call for the exercise of just such an influence upon the mind and style as might be wielded by these letters. We in America are almost all educated up to a certain point; few of us, unfortunately, are educated be- — yond it. The national character is pushing, energetic, ambitious; — setting great value upon money and material luxuries, but without appreciation of the refined enjoyments that consist with a moderate purse, or the’ delicacy of feeling that marks a sensitive but . well-balanced mind. The vortex of politics or of business draws into it all our energies; we have nothing to spare for reflection, for the observances of friendship, for the amenities of social inter- ‘course. <A life so vulgarizing alike to the mind and to the style, ‘finds its best antidote in the letters of Madame de Sévigné. Here is a beautiful existence centred in home and friends; here are thoughts occupied by love for the dear ones around, and by sympathy with their joys and sorrows. The tumult of the outer world is heard faintly. The writer’s mind is busied in a calmer sphere, and the exquisite tenderness of her heart gives that transparent grace to her style that has been the wonder and the despair of two centuries. ’ :

We are a letter-writing people; and no better models for letters exist than Madame de Sévigné’s. We are a practical and energetic people; and no better complement to such virtues can be found than the tender affection and delicate refinement of Madame de Sévigné. ;

PHILADELPHIA, Noy. 26, 1868.

* Sainte-Beuve’s Portraits of Celebrated Women.

MADAME DE SEVIGNE AND HER TIMES.

Aw honorable celebrity has been universally accorded to Madame de Sévigné. For nearly two centuries her ‘ Letters” have been the admiration of all lovers of elegant literature. The natural grace, the ‘‘ curiosa felicitas” of these epistles have rendered them remarkable as to style, and the artist-like pictures of manners, the lively accounts of cotemporaneous incidents give them very great value as aids to the study of history. Then they are trustworthy documents; every word, every circumstance is read with particular satisfaction, because the character and position of the writer assure us of her perfect intent to com- ~ municate truth.

Madame de Sévigné lived in what the French consider their Augustan Age. Great men in arts, in arms, in literature gaye glory to the most splendid monarch that ever sat on the throne of France. At the same time the position of women was both active and brilliant. The social existence of the women of the higher classes was one that gave scope to talent and opportunity to energy. In those days the great dame was occupied with the administration of her property and the exaltation of her family. Far from being absorbed in a narrow routine of personality, she considered the sacrifice of private feelings to family greatness a positive duty, and the sacrifice of family greatness to the king— that is, the state—a still more imperative obligation.

_ As our views of moral responsibility extend, the intellectuai horizon enlarges. The woman who was accustomed to dwell upon considerations beyond mere fireside comforts or fashionable display, who went from the individual to the family, and from the family to the state, must of necessity have enlarged her understanding in proportion to the elevation and extent of her

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6 MADAME DE SEVIGNE views. It is only by a just development of the intellectual faculties that the heart can be properly regulated, and nowhere is this truth more strikingly illustrated than in the life of Madame de Sévigné.

Her passionate love for her daughter was always made to yield to the dictates of a wise prudence and just propriety. Though born with excessive sensibility, great vivacity, amiable instincts, and warm imagination, that is to say, with the qualities and feelings most likely to lead their possessor astray or into indiscretions, yet this youthful widow managed her estate and her children with admirable wisdom, and so regulated her own conduct as to be above the slightest censure in a court of relaxed morals and of many temptations. This was accomplished because her brilliant qualities rested on the solid basis of serious and valuable acquirements, a practical knowledge of business, and a trusting and sincere piety.

To make the example of this excellent woman more widely and familiarly known in America is the main object of this volume. As a model in private life, her conduct and character deserve to be studied. Her “‘ Letters” are referred to by the best authorities, as the most charming speciinens of epistolary art extant, yet no edition has ever been issued in this country. Nor would one be profitable, because the complete work is too large Still it is desirable to have access to this treasury of beautiful sentiments and entertaining sketches; and we have here selected such portions of her correspondence as will make her virtues known and give those lessons of practical goodness her life so happily illustrated.

In order to do this we have arranged the correspondence on a new plan. Hitherto the “Letters” have been thrown together according to date, and the reader was compelled to change from one correspondent to another, even on the same page, often finding similar details in several consecutive epistles. In this volume each person addressed has his or her own department—thus the Letters to Madame de Grignan, the soul of the correspondence, form one unbroken series. Much care has been taken to keep the fine and often sparkling threads of narrative inwoven in the Letters continuous, and errors in the only English translation we have seen (published in London, in 1811) have been cor: rected by comparing it with the best French editions of the

AND HER TIMES. 7

“Letters."* And now we will endeavor to sketch the life of this lovely and lovable woman, though the events are in no wise remarkable, and the truest portrait of her character and genius must be sought in her letters.

MARIE DE RABUTIN-OHANTAL was born February 5th, 1627, in the ancestral chateau of Bourbilly, between Samur and Epoisses. Her father was Celse-Bénigne de Rabutin, Baron of Chantal; her mother, Marie de Coulanges, was daughter of a Secretary of State, and belonged to a family celebrated for wit, and, generally, remarkable for integrity. The baron was slain during the siege of Rochelle, fighting against the English in their descent on the island of Rhé; and it was thought he was killed by the hand of Cromwell. The little Marie was then but eighteen months old, and soon afterward tvas, by the death of her mother, left an orphan indeed. The Baroness de Chantal, her grandmother, seemed the person naturally destined to have the guardianship of the child, but that lady was occupied in religious duties (she was afterward a canonized saint, and known as the ‘Blessed Mother of Chantal,” and seems to have deserved the distinction, according to-the feeling of those days, as she founded eighty-seven religious houses), and, therefore, permitted her granddaughter to pass into the hands of her mother’s relations. She was first taken by her grandfather, M. de Coulanges; when he died, shortly afterward, the orphan, then about nine years of age, passed into the family of her uncle, Christophe de Coulanges, Abbé de Livry. This was a fortunate event for the young girl. She was brought up and educated with her cousin, Philippe Emanuel de Coulanges, enjoying the advantages of the most intellectual society of the age; her learned uncle was her companion, and encouraged her to cultivate her talents. This last advantage can hardly be estimated now, when feminine education is common and popular; but then the instruction of young ladies was usually limited to the accomplishments of reading, writing, dancing, and embroidery. Marie de Rabutin had the entrée to her uncle’s

* The explanatory notes, which afford useful particulars concerning personages and events mentioned in the Letters, are partly from the French, and partly by the English translator and the present Hditor.

8 MADAME DE SEVIGNE library and his encouragement, if not personal instruction, in her literary pursuits. She was taught Latin, Italian, and Spanish ; her instructors were Menage and Chapelain, and other professors of polite literature. The result is before the world—that the woman’s mind is as susceptible of cultivation as that of the man’s, and that she is made happier, better, more lovely, and more capable of doing good by a liberal and careful cultivation of her intellectual powers.

Jn person and manners Mademoiselle de Rabutin is represented as very attractive, if not positively beautiful. M. Ph. A Grouville, her French biographer, thus describes her:

“ An exact portrait of her person would savor of romance, and would be out of place; we may, however, represent the young Rabutin to our imagination as a truly handsome woman, with more character of countenance than beauty; with features more expressive than commanding; an easy figure, a stature rather tall than short, a redundancy of fine light hair, excellent health, a fine color, a brilliant complexion, eyes, the vivacity of which gave additional animation to her language and agility to her movements, a pleasing voice, as much knowledge of music as existed in those days, and of dancing, in which she excelled for the times. This is the idea that her portraits, her friends, or herself give of her. And certainly her nose, tending a little toward the square, which she herself ridicules, could not spoil her whole appearance as much as the age of eighteen embellished it, when, in 1644, she married Henry, Marquis de Sévigné, of an ancient family of Brittany. To this appendage of merit and charms she added a dower of a hundred thousand crowns, which, at that period, were not of less value than seven hundred thousand francs.”

The Marquis de Sévigné was also rich, moreover he was young, handsome, and gay. Her good uncle doubtless believed he had secured the happiness of his niece by this connection; but the sequel proved otherwise. The marquis soon showed himself to be weak, vain, extravagant, and, finally, a profligate. Though he always admitted the charms and merits of his wife, yet, after . a year or two, he began to neglect her for unworthy associates. The siren of that age, Ninon de 1’Enclos, drew him to her side, and for that wanton the happiness of his horie was sacrificed.

Bussy de Rabutin, cousin of Madame de Sévigné’s father, an

AND HER TIMES 9 unprincipled man, but distinguished for wit and talent, had always admired and loved, or pretended to be in love with his fascinating cousin, and she had always laughed at his flattery and rejected his suit. He took advantage of her husband’s infidelity to offer an insulting proposal, that she should take her revenge. He was reproved in such terms of cold and calm. severity as put a final repulse to his gallantry toward her. Though their intercourse continued friendly through life, yet, judging from the tone of her letters to him, always constrained, and confined shiefly to his own affairs, we feel that, though she acknowledged their relationship, she never esteemed the man.

Her husband was killed in a duel, about seven years after marriage, and Madame de Sévigné, at the age of twenty-five, was left a widow, with two children, the eldest, her son, the youngest, that idolized daughter, who made the light of her mother’s life. 8

In spite of the faults and vices of the Marquis de Sévigné, his sudden and shocking death gr eatly afflicted his wife. She was, for a time, nearly overwhelmed with sorrow, but soon found devolying upon her the hard and painful duty of endeavoring to extricate her estate from utter ruin. The follies and waste of her husband came near making her and the children penniless. She retired to the country,’ and, aided by the counsel and encouragement of her uncle the abbé, entered on her. new duties. We quote from one of her French biographers, who seems to have searched out her history with great care:

“* Madame de Sévigné’s good sense, natural rectitude, and laudable pride, gave her a taste for economy, and the advice of her uncle taught her to understand it. Her mind, notwithstanding the habit of sacrificing to the Graces, had no repugnance to business. She well knew how to sell or let estates, receive her rents, direct her workmen, etc. She did not trust to her beauty. alone for gaining law-suits. Ménage relates, that one day, recommending an affair with great ease and simplicity to the President de Belliévre, she felt herself at last a little embarrassed with the terms to be used, when she said, ‘ At least, sir, I know the air perfectly, but I forget the words.’

“With regard to education, not only do the merit of her son and daughter, as well as their virtues, show the extent of her capacity in this respect, but it would be easy to extract from her

10 MADAME DE SEVIGNE letters a series of maxims upon the subject, by which it would be seen that, far from adhering to the false methods in vogue in her days, she had foretold many of the improvements of which we are justly vain in ours.” ; Though she devoted herself seduously to the duties of her family, yet Madame de Sévigné did not long live a recluse. She saved her property, returned to society, and passed much of her time in Paris, where she was the idol of her circle, people of the first rank in letters and worth of character, as well as stars in the fashionable world. She was also a frequent visitor at court, where the king, Louis XIV, always received her with respect. Madame de Séyigné had many adorers, among whom were the Seigneur Turenne and the Prince de Conti, and her friends were most devoted—Fouquet was one of them, and she was true to him in his great misfortune, as her letters show. But she appears never to have had the least intention of a second marriage; to promote the happiness of her children and the enjoyment of her friends, was the object of her life. Her son, the Marquis de Sévigné, who entered the army, was very frivolous, weak, and dissipated in his youth; his mother’s watchful care and patient. forbearance saved him from utter degradation. About middie age he married an amiable wife of noble family, left the army, and cultivated a taste for literature. To effect this mar- ‘riage, and thus secure the reformation of her son, Madame de Sévigné gave up to him so large a portion of her estate that she was afterward in comparatively straitened circumstances. But the daughter, Margaret Frances, was her mother’s glory, the idol that seemed to claim the worship of the mother’s soul. Passion rather than affection possessed Madame de Sévigné when writing to or of her “infinitely dear child.” That the daughter did not reciprocate thjs love in its full flow has been urged to prove that Madame de Grignan was cold in temperament or selfish in feeling. We do not find evidences to support this charge. The mother, ambitious for her daughter, and wishing to keep her in Paris had married her to the Count de Grignan, who was rich, and of the high nobility, and had a place at court. » But-he was also Lieutenant-Governor of Provence, and ordered, soon after his marriage, to his government. His wife had to follow him; she seems to have loved and respected her husband, as was her duty. She had children; she was at the head of a great es-

AND HER TIMES. 11 tablishment, and she could not give the whole of her heart, thoughts, and time to her mother, as the latter did to her daughter.

The separation was a terrible privation to Madame de Sévigné, but it was the cause of her moral and literary improvement, as well as of the series of ‘‘ Letters to Madame de Grignan,” which, of, their kind, are unequaled in any language. The mother’s genius lives in this correspondence; her pen gives importance to the most trifling occurrences, and makes hard facts as interesting as fairy stories.

Among other advantages of life, Madame de Sévigné retained her good looks, as she did her cheerful disposition, to the last; hence the name of Meére Beauté (Mother Beauty) given her by M. de OCoulanges, Her constitution was good, and she managed it with great judgment. In thirty years the only disorder she had known was rheumatism. Happy all her life by the exercise of natural affections, Madame de Sévigné thought less of the ravages of time; and when death terminated her existence in 1696, her illness, the result of the fatigue and uneasiness she had endured for some months on her daughter’s account, took her by surprise, and was announced by no syinptom. It wasshort. In her last moments she was resigned, and perfectly calm. Thus died Madame de Sévigné, aged about seventy years, and was interred in the Collegiate Church of Grignan, leaving to posterity in the record of her blameless life, as in her exquisite writings, the brightest and purest model which her age affords. |

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‘ : re SS ‘ ets Us eas +4 | br ies ens Bed ‘a 8 eten mat ‘ Lied .

‘LETTERS OF MADAME DE SEVIGNK,

ADDRESSED TO THE COUNT DE BUSSY.*

LETTER I. In THE CountRy, June 26, 1655

I wap no doubt that you would take some opportunity of bidding me adieu, either at my own house or from the camp at Landrecy. As I am not a woman of ceremony, I am content with the latter; and have not even thought of being angry, that you failed in coming to me before you set out.

I have not stirred from this desert, since your departure ; and, to speak frankly, I am not much afflicted to find that you are with the army. J should be an unworthy cousin of so

* The Count Bussy de Rabutin, first cousin to the father of Madame de Sévigné, was, on account of his relationship, always on terms of intimacy with her. He was a famous wit and satirist, as his Letters and Memoirs show, but not of principles or character to excite Jove or esteem in the soul of such a woman as Madame de Sévigné. However, they were cousins, and though she refused his suit, she seems te have felt a deep interest in his welfare. She corresponded with him occasionally till her death, but her letters to him have less interest than those she wrote to others, especially to her daughter. We give a few of her first and best letters to Count de Bussy, as preliminary to - the real work of her heart and mind, her correspondence with Madame de Grignan.

brave a cousin, if I were sorry to see you, during the present campaign, at the head of the finest regiment in France, and in so glorious a post as the one you hold. I dare say you would disown any sentiments less worthy than these ; I leave weaker and more tender feelings to the true bagnio gentry. Every one loves in his own way. I profess to be heroic as well as you, and am proud to boast of these sentiments. Some women, perhaps, would think this a little in the old Roman style, and would thank God they were not Romans,* that they might still preserve some feelings of humanity. But on this subject I can assure them I am not so inhuman as they suppose ; and, with all my heroism, I wish your safe return as passionately as they can do. I trust, my dear cousin, you will not doubt the truth of this, nor that I fervently pray your life may be spared. This is the adieu you would have received from me in person, and which I now beg you to accopt from hence, as I have accepted yours from Landrecy.

LETTER IL.

Paris, July 14, 1655.

Will you always disgrace your relations? Will you never be weary of making yourself the subject of conversation in every carapaign? Do you imagine it can give us pleasure to hear that M.de Turenne has sent word to court that you have done nothing worthy of notice at Landrecy ?+ This is really very mortifying to us, and you may easily comprehend how deeply I feel the affronts you bring upon your family. But I know not why I thus amuse myself, for I have no leisure to carry on the jest. J must tell you, therefore, that I am delighted with the success which has attended your exploits. I-wrote you a long letter from the country, which I

* Verse from Corneille’s tragedy of the Horatii. + Mere jesting. Bussy had merited and obtained the praises of

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Turenne.

THE COUNT DE BUSBY. 21 fear you have not received. I should be sorry it were lost, for you would laugh heartily at its conteuts.

I was yesterday at Madame de Montglas’s; she had just received a letter from you, as also had Madame de I expected one likewise, but was disappointed. I suppose you were unwilling to effect too many wonders at once. I am not sorry, however, and shall some day claim a whole cargo for myself. Adieu, my cousin. The gazette speaks of you but slightly, which has given offense to many, and to me especially, for no one can be so much interested in your affairs as myself.

LETTER, III.

Paris, July 19, 1655.

This is the third time I have written to you since you left Paris, a sufficient proof that I have nothing upon my mind against you. I received your farewell letter from Landrecy while I was in the country, and answered it immediately. I see plainly that my letter has never reached you, and I am extremely vexed at it; for, besides its being written with becoming affection, it was in my opinion a very pretty composition; and as it was designed for you only, I am wroth that another should have the pleasure of reading it. I have since written to you by the servant you dispatched hither with letters to some of your favorites. I did not amuse myself by quarreling with you for not remembering me at the same time, but wrote you a line or two at full speed, which, however incoherent, would inform you of the pleasure I received from the success of your regiment at Landrecy. This intelligence came to us in the most acceptable manner possible, by some of the-court, who assured us that Cardinal Mazarin had spoken very handsomely of you to the king, who afterward | joined with the whole court in extolling your conduct. You may conceive that my joy was not inconsiderable at hearing all this; but to return to my story. This was the subject of my second letter, and five or six days after I received one from you, full of complaints against me. You see, however, my poor cousin, with how litle justice you complain; and hence I draw this fine moral reflection, that we should never condemn a person unheard. This is my justification. Another, perhaps, would have expressed the same thing in fewer — words. You must bear with my imperfections, in consideration of my friendship. Every one has his peculiar style ; mine, as you see, is by no means laconic.

LETTER IV.

Paris, November 25, 1655.

You affect great things, M. le Comte: under the pretense that you write like a second Cicero, you think yourself entitled to ridicule people. The passage you remarked, in reality, made me laugh heartily; but I am astonished that you found no other equally ludicrous ; for, in the way I wrote to you, it is a miracle that you comprehended my meaning; and I see plainly that either you have a greater share of wit, or that my letter is better, than I imagined. I am glad, however, you have profited by my advice.

I am told that you have asked leave to stay at the frontiers. As you know, my poor count, that mine is a blunt and honest sort of love, I am desirous your request may be granted. This is the road, it is said, to preferment, and you know how interested I am in your welfare; but I shall be pleased either way. If you. remain, true. friendship shall find its account ; if you return, affectionate friendship shall be satisfied.

Madame de Roquelaure is returned so handsome that she yesterday completely challenged the Louvre; this kindled such jealousy in the beauties that were present, that they have resolved, out of spite, she shall not be a party at any of the after-suppers, and you know how gay and pleasant they

THE COUNT DE BUSSY. 28 ere. Madame de Fiennes would have retained her there yesterday, but it was understood by the queen’s answer that her presence would be dispensed with.

_ Adieu, my dear cousin; believe me to be the most faithful friend you have in the world.

LETTER V.

Paris, May 20, 1667.

I received a letter from you, my dear cousin, when I was in Brittany, in which you talked of our ancestors, the Rabutins, and of the beauty of Bourbilly. But as I had heard from Paris that you were expected there, and as I had hoped myself to arrive much sooner, I deferred writing to you; and now I find you are not coming at all. You know that nothing is now talked of but war. The whole court is at camp, and the whole camp is at court; and every place being. a desert, I prefer the desert of Livri forest, where I shall pass the summer, ;

There are two lines for you, but I do not know whether I have heard them before, or have just made them. As itis a matter of no great importance, I shall resume the thread of my prose. My heart has been very favorably inclined toward you, since I have seen so many people eager to begin, or rather to revive, a business in which you acquired so much honor during the time you were able to engage in it. It is a sad thing fora man of courage to be confined at home when there are such great doings in Flanders.t As you feel, no doubt, all that a man of spirit and valor can feel, it is imprudent in me to revive so painful a subject. I hope you

# Waiting the return of our warriors covered with laurels. + Bussy was exiled to his estates.

will forgive me, in consideration of the great interest I ake in your affairs.

It is said you have written to the king. Send me a copy of your letter, and give me a little information respecting your mode of life, what sort of things amuse you, and whcther the alterations you are making in your house do not contrib- \ ute a good deal toward it. I have spent the winter in Brittany, where I have planted a great number of-trees, and a labyrinth, that will require Ariadne’s clew to find the way out of it. I have also purchased some land, to which I have said, as usual, “I shall convert you into a park.” I have extended my walks at a trifling expense. My daughter sends you a thousand remembrances. I beg mine to all your family.

LETTER VI.

Paris, June 3, 1668.

I wrote to you the last; why have you not answered my letter? I have been expecting to hear from you, and have at length found the Itahan proverb true: chz offende non perdona—the offender never pardons.