4. The Fashion of Memoir-Writing—People who wrote memoirs: Mademoiselle de Montpensier. Marquis de Dangeau. De la Porte (the King's valet de chambre). Duclos (Memoires secrets). De la Rochefoucauld. Brief biographies of these people.
Books to Consult—Duc de Saint-Simon: Memoirs. 3 vols. (Translated.) Letters of Madame de Sévigné. (Translated.) Emil Bourgeois: France under Louis XIV. G. F. Bradley: Great Days at Versailles. Imbert de Saint-Amand: The Court of Louis XIV.
Notice the striking change at this time from former dull and tedious historical writing to the brilliant and fascinating personal sketches of people and events. Read descriptions of the King and the court from Saint-Simon and Saint-Amand. The engravers whom Louis brought from the Low Countries made portraits of many of the society people of the time; show reproductions, and describe the dress of the period.
CHAPTER XVII
Forestry
The study of this subject is a novel one for women's clubs, but it is of great interest. Women who desire an intelligent view of their own country should certainly take it up and understand what is being done to-day and what is planned for the future. Books to be read are: A First Book of Forestry, by F. Roth; A Primer of Forestry, by Gifford Pinchot; and The Forest and Practical Forestry, the Department of Agriculture.
I—INTRODUCTORY
All uncivilized nations ruthlessly cut off their forests for fuel and timber, both ignorant and indifferent to the result of the destruction. Where there are no trees, the water-supply dies away, the soil then becomes infertile, and the population is threatened with famine. China is practically denuded of trees, after unknown centuries of waste. India has numberless hillsides and plains once wooded, now bare and parched; and so of many other Oriental countries.