Ranimant de son Roi la mourante Vertu,
Releva son État, sous l’Anglais abbatu.’
On he went till he came to the couplet—
‘Magnanime Henri, glorieux Longueville,
Des errantes Vertus, et le Temple, et l’asile—’
Here Madame Cornuel interrupted with a gesture of apology—‘“L’asile des errantes vertus,”’ she repeated meditatively. ‘Am I to understand that Messieurs les Académiciens have decided that vertu is feminine?’ Chapelain made an awkward bow.
‘That goes without saying, Madame; we are not entirely ungallant; les Vertus et les dames sont synonymes!’ ‘Bravo!’ cried the Chevalier. But Madame Cornuel said thoughtfully,—
‘Poor Monsieur de Longueville, he is then an hôpital pour les femmes perdues; who is the Abbess: Madame his wife or—Madame de Montblazon?’ Every one laughed, including Mademoiselle de Scudéry, and Madeleine feverishly tried to repeat her formula ten times before they stopped. Chapelain stared, reddened, and began with ill-concealed anger to assure Madame Cornuel that ‘erring’ was only the secondary meaning of the word; its primary meaning was ‘wandering,’ and thus he had used it, and in spite of all the entreaties of Mademoiselle de Scudéry, Conrart, and the Chevalier, he could not be persuaded to resume his recitation.
Then for a time the conversation broke up into groups, Mademoiselle de Scudéry devoting herself to Chapelain, and Madeleine found herself between Godeau and the Chevalier, who spoke to each other across her.
‘What of Madame de la Suze?’ asked Godeau. The Chevalier smiled and shrugged.