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INTRODUCTION TO LETTERS I--A Hazardous Undertaking II--Why Love Is Dangerous III--Why Love Grows Cold IV--The Spice of Love V--Love and Temper VI--Certain Maxims Concerning Love VII--Women Expect a Quid Pro Quo from Men VIII--The Necessity for Love and Its Primitive Cause IX--...
When Ninon had reached the age of sixty-five years, there were those among the beauties of the royal court who thought she ought to retire from society and make way for them, bu...
16. Chapter 16The daily and nightly doings at Ninon's house in the Rue des Tournelles, if there is anything of a similar character in modern society that can be compared to them, might be fai...
12. Chapter 12A counter attraction has been referred to in speaking of the Hôtel Rambouillet, where a fashionable court was established for the purpose of drawing away from Ninon the elite wh...
15. Chapter 15Some of Ninon's engagements following upon one another in quick succession were the cause of an unusual disagreement, not to say quarrel, between two rivals in her affections. A...
13. Chapter 13Party politics raged around Ninon, her "Birds" being men of high rank and leaders with a large following. They were all her dearest friends, however, and no matter how strong pe...
4. Chapter 4Anne de l'Enclos, or "Ninon," as she has always been familiarly called by the world at large, was born at Paris in 1615. What her parents were, or what her family, is a matter o...
11. Chapter 11Notwithstanding her love of pleasure, and her admiration for the society of men, Ninon was never vulgar or common in the distribution of her favors, but selected those upon whom...
9. Chapter 9Ninon's return to the gayeties of her drawing rooms was hailed with loud acclamations from all quarters. The envy and jealousy of her female enemies, the attempt to immure her i...
14. Chapter 14It has been attempted to cast odium upon the memory of Mademoiselle de l'Enclos because of her connection with the second Marquis de Sévigné, son of the celebrated Madame de Sév...
3. Chapter 3The birth of Ninon de l'Enclos was not heralded by salvoes of artillery, Te Deums, or such other demonstrations of joy as are attendant upon the arrival on earth of princes and...
10. Chapter 10Mademoiselle de l'Enclos never forgot a friend in a lover, indeed, the trait that stands out clear and strong in her character, is her whole hearted friendship for the men she l...
8. Chapter 8It is not to be wondered at that a girl under such tutelage should abandon herself wholly, both mind and body, to a philosophy so contrary in its principles and practices to tha...
6. Chapter 6It was impossible for a maiden trained in the philosophy of Epicurus, and surrounded by a brilliant society who assiduously followed its precepts to avoid being caught in the me...
7. Chapter 7Having decided upon her career, Ninon converted her property into prudent and safe securities, and purchased a city house in the Rue des Tournelles au Marais, a locality at that...
5. Chapter 5Examples of the precocious talents displayed by Mademoiselle de l'Enclos are not uncommon in the twentieth century, but the application she made of them was remarkable and uncom...
1. Chapter 1INTRODUCTION TO LETTERS I--A Hazardous Undertaking II--Why Love Is Dangerous III--Why Love Grows Cold IV--The Spice of Love V--Love and Temper VI--Certain Maxims Concerning Love...
2. Chapter 2To write the biography of so remarkable a woman as Ninon de l'Enclos is to incur the animadversions of those who stand upon the dogma, that whoso violates one of the Ten Command...