CHAPTER I. SALONS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Characteristics of French
Woman—Gallic Genius for Conversation—Social Conditions—Origin of the
Salons—Their Power—Their Composition—Their Records
CHAPTER II. THE HOTEL DE RAMBOUILLET Mme. De Rambouillet—The
Salon Bleu—Its Habitues—Its
Diversions—Corneille—Balzac—Richelieu—Romance of the
Grand Conde—the Young Bossuet—Voiture—The Duchesse de
Longueville—Angelique Paulet—Julie d'Angennes—Les Precieuses
Ridicules—Decline of the Salon—Influence upon Literature and Manners
CHAPTER III. MADEMOISELLE DE SCUDERY AND THE SAMEDIS Salons of the
Noblesse—"The Illustrious Sappho"—Her Romances—The Samedis—Bons Mots
of Mme. Cornuel—Estimate of Mlle. De Scudery
CHAPTER IV. LA GRANDE MADEMOISELLE Her Character—Her Heroic Part in the
Fronde—Her Exile—Literary Diversions of her Salon—A Romantic Episode
CHAPTER V. A LITERARY SALON AT PORT ROYAL Mme. De Sable—Her
Worldly Life—Her Retreat—Her Friends—Pascal—The Maxims of La
Rochefoucauld—Last Days of the Marquise
CHAPTER VI. MADAME DE SEVIGNE Her Genius—Her Youth—Her Unworthy
Husband—Her Impertinent Cousin—Her love for her Daughter—Her
Letters—Hotel de Carnavalet—Mme. Duplessis Guengaud—Mme. De
Coulanges—The Curtain Falls
CHAPTER VII. MADAME DE LA FAYETTE Her Friendship with Mme. De
Sevigne—Her Education—Her Devotion to the Princess Henrietta—Her
Salon—La Rochefoucauld— Talent as a Diplomatist—Comparison with Mme.
De Maintenon—Her Literary Work—Sadness of her Last Days—Woman in
Literature
CHAPTER VIII. SALONS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Characteristics of
the Eighteenth Century—Its Epicurean Philosophy—Anecdote of Mme. Du
Deffand—The Salon an Engine of Political Power—Great Influence of
Woman—Salons Defined—Literary Dinners—Etiquette of the Salons—An
Exotic on American Soil
CHAPTER IX. AN ANTECHAMBER OF THE ACADEMIE FRANCAISE The Marquise de
Lambert—Her "Bureau d'Esprit"—Fontenelle—Advice to her Son—Wise
Thoughts on the Education of Women—Her Love of Consideration—Her
Generosity—Influence of Women upon the Academy
CHAPTER X. THE DUCHESSE DU MAINE Her Capricious Character—Her
Esprit—Mlle. De Launay—Clever Portrait of her Mistress—Perpetual
Fetes at Sceaux—Voltaire and the "Divine Emilie"—Dilettante Character
of this Salon
CHAPTER XI. MADAME DE TENCIN AND MADAM DU CHATELET An Intriguing
Chanoinesse—Her Singular Fascination—Her Salon—Its Philosophical
Character—Mlle. Aisse—Romances of Mme. De Tencin—D'Alembert—La Belle
Emilie—Voltaire—the Two Women Compared
CHAPTER XII. MADAME GEOFFRIN AND THE PHILOSOPHERS Cradles of the New
Philosophy—Noted Salons of this Period—Character of Mme. Geoffrin—Her
Practical Education—Anecdotes of her Husband—Composition of her
Salon—Its Insidious Influence—Her Journey to Warsaw—Her Death
CHAPTER XIII. ULTRA PHILOSOPHICAL SALONS—MADAME D'EPINAY Mme. De
Graffigny—Baron D'Holbach—Mme. D'Epinay's Portrait of Herself—Mlle.
Quinault—Rousseau—La Chevrette—Grimm—Diderot—The Abbe
Galiani—Estimate of Mme. D'Epinay
CHAPTER XIV. SALONS OF THE NOBLESSE—MADAME DU DEFFAND La Marechale
de Luxenbourg—The Temple—Comtesse de Boufflers—Mme. Du Dufand—Her
Convent Salon—Rupture with Mlle. De Lespinasse—Her Friendship with
Horace Walpole—Her Brilliancy and her Ennui
CHAPTER XV. MADEMOISELLE DE LESPINASSE A Romantic Career—Companion
of Mme. Du Deffand—Rival Salons—Association with the
Encyclopedists—D'Alembert—A Heart Tragedy—Impassioned Letters—A Type
Unique in her Age
CHAPTER XVI. THE SALON HELVETIQUE The Swiss Pastor's Daughter—Her
Social Ambition—Her Friends Mme. De Marchais—Mme. D'Houdetot—Duchesse
de Lauzun—Character of Mme. Necker—Death at Coppet—Close of the Most
Brilliant Period of the Salons
CHAPTER XVII. SALONS OF THE REVOLUTION—MADAME ROLAND Change in the
Character of the Salons—Mme. De Condorcet—Mme. Roland's Story of
her Own Life—A Marriage of Reason—Enthusiasm for the Revolution—Her
Modest Salon—Her Tragical Fate
CHAPTER XVIII. MADAM DE STAEL Supremacy of Her Genius—Her Early
Training—Her Sensibility—A Mariage de Convenance—Her Salon—Anecdote
of Benjamin Constant—Her Exile—Life at Coppet—Secret Marriage—Close
of a Stormy Life
CHAPTER XIX. SALONS OF THE EMPIRE AND RESTORATION—MADAME RECAMIER A
Transition period—Mme. De Montesson—Mme. De Genus—Revival of the
Literary Spirit—Mme. De Beaumont—Mme. De Remusat—Mme. De Souza—Mme.
De Duras—Mme. De Krudener—Fascination of Mme. Recamier—Her
Friends—Her Convent Salon—Chateaubriand Decline of the Salon
CHAPTER I. SALONS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Characteristics of French Woman—Gallic Genius for Conversation—Social Conditions—Origin of the Salons—Their Power—Their Composition—Their Records.
"Inspire, but do not write," said LeBrun to women. Whatever we may think today of this rather superfluous advice, we can readily pardon a man living in the atmosphere of the old French salons, for falling somewhat under the special charm of their leaders. It was a charm full of subtle flattery. These women were usually clever and brilliant, but their cleverness and brilliancy were exercised to bring into stronger relief the talents of their friends. It is true that many of them wrote, as they talked, out of the fullness of their own hearts or their own intelligence, and with no thought of a public; but it was only an incident in their lives, another form of diversion, which left them quite free from the dreaded taint of feminine authorship. Their peculiar gift was to inspire others, and much of the fascination that gave them such power in their day still clings to their memories. Even at this distance, they have a perpetual interest for us. It may be that the long perspective lends them a certain illusion which a closer view might partly dispel. Something also may be due to the dark background against which they were outlined. But, in spite of time and change, they stand out upon the pages of history, glowing with an ever-fresh vitality, and personifying the genius of a civilization of which they were the fairest flower.
The Gallic genius is eminently a social one, but it is, of all others, the most difficult to reproduce. The subtle grace of manner, the magic of spoken words, are gone with the moment. The conversations of two centuries ago are today like champagne which has lost its sparkle. We may recall their tangible forms—the facts, the accessories, the thoughts, even the words, but the flavor is not there. It is the volatile essence of gaiety and wit that especially characterizes French society. It glitters from a thousand facets, it surprises us in a thousand delicate turns of thought, it appears in countless movements and shades of expression. But it refuses to be imprisoned. Hence the impossibility of catching the essential spirit of the salons. We know something of the men and women who frequented them, as they have left many records of themselves. We have numerous pictures of their social life from which we may partially reconstruct it and trace its influence. But the nameless attraction that held for so long a period the most serious men of letters as well as the gay world still eludes us.
We find the same elusive quality in the women who presided over these reunions. They were true daughters of a race of which Mme. De Graffigny wittily said that it "escaped from the hands of Nature when there had entered into its composition only air and fire." They certainly were not faultless; indeed, some of them were very faulty. Nor were they, as a rule, remarkable for learning. Even the leaders of noted literary salons often lacked the common essentials of a modern education. But if they wrote badly and spelled badly, they had an abundance of that delicate combination of intellect and wit which the French call ESPRIT. They had also, in superlative measure, the social gifts which women of genius reared in the library or apart from the world, are apt to lack. The close study of books leads to a knowledge of man rather than of men. It tends toward habits of introspection which are fatal to the clear and swift vision required for successful leadership of any sort. Social talent is distinct, and implies a happy poise of character and intellect; the delicate blending of many gifts, not the supremacy of one. It implies taste and versatility, with fine discrimination, and the tact to sink one's personality as well as to call out the best in others. It was this flexibility of mind, this active intelligence tempered with sensibility and the native instinct of pleasing, that distinguished the French women who have left such enduring traces upon their time. "It is not sufficient to be wise, it is necessary also to please," said the witty and penetrating Ninon, who thus very aptly condensed the feminine philosophy of her race. Perhaps she has revealed the secret of their fascination, the indefinable something which is as difficult to analyze as the perfume of a rose.
A history of the French salons would include the history of the entire period of which they were so prominent a factor. It would make known to us its statesmen and its warriors; it would trace the great currents of thought; it would give us glimpses of every phase of society, from the diversions of the old noblesse, with their sprinkling of literature and philosophy, to the familiar life of the men of letters, who cast about their intimate coteries the halo of their own genius. These salons were closely interwoven with the best intellectual life of more than two hundred years. Differing in tone according to the rank, taste, or character of their leaders, they were rallying points for the most famous men and women of their time. In these brilliant centers, a new literature had its birth. Here was found the fine critical sense that put its stamp on a new poem or a new play. Here ministers were created and deposed, authors and artists were brought into vogue, and vacant chairs in the Academie Francaise were filled. Here the great philosophy of the eighteenth century was cradled. Here sat the arbiters of manners, the makers of social success. To these high tribunals came, at last, every aspirant for fame.