[67] Anne, Louise, Bénédicte de Bourbon, Princesse de Condé, who married the Duc du Maine, the illegitimate son of Louis XIV. and Madame de Montespan. She disliked her husband, whom she considered socially beneath her, and who was very ugly besides. The lines quoted above are probably not hers, but Malezieu's, "her poet in ordinary," who also organized her amateur theatricals.—Editor.
[68] Idiomatically, "the bores, the spoil-sports, or wet-blankets."—Editor.
[69] A character of one of Molière's plays, who lends her name to the play itself, and who, with her provincial clique, apes the manners of the court.
[70] Mesdames Du Barry and Pompadour.
[71] "Équipage" is the right word. Applied to any but military or hunting uses, it is out of place, though frequently thus used.—Editor.
[72] My translation by no means renders the vulgarity of the sentence. The French have three words to express their contempt for a speaker's opinion, se moquer, se ficher, and se ... I omit the latter, but even the second is rarely used in decent society.—Editor.
[73] It is a mistake. Not to mention Camille Desmoulins, who, when asked his age by his judge, replied, "The age of another sans-culotte, Jesus." Esquiros frequently spoke of "that good patriot, Christ;" Lammenais began the draft of his constitution with "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and by the will of the French people."—Editor.
[74] Of course, David meant the spot where the remains had been interred at first.—Editor.
[75] In 1782, when Heurtier, the architect, submitted his plan of the building which was intended for the Italian singing-actors, the latter offered a determined opposition to the idea of the theatre facing the Boulevards, lest they should be confounded with the small theatres on the Boulevard du Temple and in the direction of the present Boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire. This extraordinary vanity was lampooned on all sides, and especially in a quatrain, which I forbear to quote even in French.—Editor.
[76] Alexandre Dumas referred to a story in connection with the Comte de Saint-Simon and Madame de Staël which is not very generally known. One day the head of the new sect went to see the authoress of "Corinne." "Madame," he said, "vous êtes la femme la plus remarquable en France; moi, je suis l'homme le plus remarquable. Si nous nous arrangions à vivre quelques mois ensemble, nous aurions peut-être l'enfant le plus remarquable sur la terre." Madame de Staël politely declined the honour. As for the epithet of "l'ignorant" which Dumas was fond of applying to himself, it arose from the fact of Dumas, the celebrated professor of chemistry, being spoken of as "Dumas le savant." "Done," laughed the novelist, "je suis Dumas l'ignorant."—Editor.