Part 25
Favart, Justine, her parentage, 228; engaged at the Opéra-Comique, 228; makes her _début_, 229; her marriage with Favart, 229 and note, 230; her success in _Les Vendanges de Tempé_, 230; accompanies her husband to Flanders, 232; the object of a violent passion on the part of Maurice de Saxe, 239, 240; "possessed by the demon of conjugal love," 240; Maurice's letter to her, 240, 241; yields to the importunities of the Marshal, 242, 243 and note; refuses to continue the _liaison_, 244; confesses her misconduct to her husband, 245, 246; flies to Brussels, 246; Favart's letter to her, 247; continues her flight to Paris, 248; persuaded to resume her intimacy with the Marshal, 249, 250; again leaves him and declares that "her salvation is dearer to her than all the fortunes in the world," 250; her successful _début_ at the Comédie-Italienne, 252; her letter to her husband in hiding at Strasburg, 253; her father a tool in the hands of Maurice de Saxe, 254-255; _lettre de cachet_ issued against her, 255; leaves Paris to join her husband, 256; arrested, at the instigation of Maurice, and taken to Les Grands-Andelys, 257; her correspondence with her husband and Maurice de Saxe, 257-259; removed to a convent at Angers, 259; further correspondence with the Marshal, 259-262; exhorted by Mlle. Fleury to "become reasonable," 263; and by her sister-in-law, Marguerite Favart, to remain inflexible, 264, 265; terrified into submission to the Marshal, and is released, 265; returns to Paris, 265; her relations with the Abbé de Voisenon, 267; reappears at the Comédie-Italienne, 267; her extraordinary versatility, 268; strenuous for a reform in stage costume, 268; performances by her, 268-270; retires from the stage, 270; her last illness and death, 271
_Femmes savantes_, Molière's, 32
Fénelon, denounces the theatre, 120
Ferriol, Madame de, Adrienne Lecouvreur's letter to, 165-167, 169
_Fête de Vénus_, Marie de Champmeslé's appearance in, 92
_Fils ingrats_, Piron's, 155
Fléchier, denounces the theatre, 120
Flemming, Count, intrigues against Maurice de Saxe, 170, 176
_Florentin, Le_, Adrienne Lecouvreur's performances in, 155, 189
Floridor, 11; refused ecclesiastical burial, 70
Florimont, 55
Folleville, Président de, his affray with the Marquis de Cony, 282
Fonpré, Mlle., engages Adrienne Lecouvreur to play at Lille, 136
Fontaine, his portrait of Adrienne Lecouvreur, 137-139
Forcalquier, Madame de, 319
Fouché, Paul, (cited) 89
Fournier, Edouard, 9
Fréron, his attack upon Mlle. Clairon, 324-338
Fronsac, Duc de, lover of Mlle. Dubois, 329; interferes on behalf of her father, 329
G
Gaboriau, Emile, (cited) 37, 43 note, 203, 206, 215
Gaillard de la Bataille, his adventure with Mlle. Clairon, 283, 284; his libel upon her, 284, 285
Galitzin, Princess, 319, 320
Garrick, Sturtz's letter to him, 296-299; his opinion of Mlle. Clairon's acting, 299; commissions Gravelot to engrave a design in honour of Mlle. Clairon, 321; her letter to him, 333; offers her a loan, 334 note
Gaultier-Garguille, 4 and note
Gaussin, Jeanne, 275, 292, 306 note
Gautier, Mlle., 281, 285
Geoffroy (chemist), his report on the suspicious lozenges given to the Abbé Bouret, 184 note
_George Dandin_, Molière's, 33, 35-37, 145
Gesvres, Duc de, 158, 289
Gesvres, Duchesse de, 158
Goldsmith, Oliver, (cited) 295, 296
Goncourt, Edmond de, 298 note, 318
Gozlan, M. Léon, (cited) 236, 240
Grandval, 180 note, 195, 280
Grimarest, (cited) 21, 43 note, 36, 53, 62 note
Grimm, (cited) 203, 204, 247, 315
Gros-Guillaume, 4 and note
Guénégaud, Théâtre, 76 and note, 77, 78, 79
Guérin d'Estriché, marries the widow of Molière, 83-85
Gueullette, M., (cited) 111
Guichard, attempts to poison Lulli, 12, 13; repeats the accusation of Montfleury against Molière, 13; accuses Mlle. Molière of immorality, 82 and note
Guiche, Comte de, his supposed relations with Mlle. Molière, 45 and note, 46, 47, 51, 57
Guise, Duc de, 100
H
Hardouin de Péréfixe, Archbishop of Paris, issues an order against _Tartuffe_, 70
Harlay de Chanvalon, Archbishop of Paris, his conduct in regard to the funeral of Molière, 63, 64, 65, 68
Hawkins, Mr. Frederick, (cited) 292
Henley, Mr. W. E., (cited) 37
Henrietta of England, Duchesse d'Orléans, 12, 27, 96, 97
Hérault (Lieutenant of Police), his conduct in _l'affaire_ Bouret, 181, 182, 184 note, 187
Hermite, Jean Baptiste de l', 19
Hermite, Tristan de l', 19
Hervé, Marie (mother of the Béjarts), 1, 7-10, 20
_Histoire de Mademoiselle Cronel, dite Frétillon_, libel on Mlle. Clairon, 284, 285
Holstein, Princess of, 240 note, 242
Hôtel de Bourgogne, its amalgamation with the Théâtre Guénégaud, 84
Hugues de Giversac, d', admirer of Mlle. Clairon, 304
I
_Impromptu de l'hôtel de Condé, l'_, 11
_Impromptu de Versailles_, Molière's, 11, 27, 33, 34, 35
Innocent XII., Pope, 121 note
_Iphigénie en Aulide_, Racine's, 100-102, 116
J
Jal, Auguste, (cited) 8 note
_Journal de Police_, (cited) 217, 218
_Judith_, Boyer's, 114-116
K
Kemble, John, 351
Klinglin, Comte François de, his _liaison_ with Adrienne Lecouvreur, 144, 145
Königsmark, Aurora von (mother of Maurice de Saxe), 169, 170, 174
L
La Chalotais, Marquis de, 158, 163, 164, 168
La Fare, Marquis de, 107
La Fayette, Madame de, 103
La Fontaine, 16, 17 and note, 96, 107; (cited) 95, 106
La Grange, Charles: _see_ Varlet de la Grange
La Grange-Chancel, 116
La Guérault, Antoine, 89
La Harpe, 324, 325
La Janière, his reports to the Lieutenant of Police on Mlle. Clairon, 285, 286, 287, 301, 303
Lambert, Marquise de, 158, 160
La Morlière, 313 note
La Motte, Mlle., 251, 252
Lancret, his portraits of Mlle. de Camargo, 221
Lang, Mr. Andrew, (cited) 10
Languet de Gergy (curé of Saint-Sulpice), his conduct in regard to the burial of Adrienne Lecouvreur, 192, 194
La Noue, 281, 285, 286, 289
La Paute, 101 note
La Popelinière, 287, 302
Laporte, Abbé de, (cited) 93, 94
Larive, 339, 340, 342, 343, 347
Laroque, 93
Larroumet, M. Gustave, 129; (cited) 4, 15, 18, 19, 22, 29, 43, 44, 48, 49, 54, 62 note, 81, 111, 122, 123, 136, 138, 143, 157, 190
La Thorillière, 97
Lauraguais, Duc de, 289
Lauzun, Comte (afterwards Duc) de, his supposed _liaison_ with Mlle. Molière, 45-47
Lawfeld, Battle of, 244, 245
Le Boulanger de Chalussay, his _Élomire hypocondre_, 13, 14
Le Brun, Père, denounces the theatre, 120 note
Lecouvreur, Adrienne, her attraction for French writers, 129; her birth and parentage, 130; comes to Paris, 130; takes part in a performance, by children, at the hôtel of Madame du Gué, 131-133; and at the Temple, 133, 134; receives lessons from the actor Le Grand, 135, 136; accepts an engagement at Lille, 136; her career as a provincial actress, 136, 137; her portrait by Charles Coypel and Fontaine, 137-139; her beauty attested by her contemporaries, 139, 140; possesses a very susceptible nature, 140, 141; her early love affairs, 141, 142; her letters to the actor Clavel, 142-144; her _liaison_ with the Comte de Klinglin, 144, 145; her children, 145; her brilliant _début_ at the Comédie-Française, 145; her natural style of elocution the principal cause of her success, 146-148; her debt to César du Marsais, 148, 149; bitterly opposed by the champions of the old school of declamation, 149-151; her triumph assured by the support of Baron, 151, 152; her wonderful by-play, 152; contemporary criticisms of her acting, 152, 153; her faults as an actress, 153; her principal rôles in tragedy, 152, 153; quarrel between Voltaire and the Chevalier de Rohan in her dressing-room, 154, 155; does not excel in comedy, 155; her costumes, 155-157; her unique social position, 157-159; complains of the burden of her social duties, 159, 160; her favourite occupations, 160, 161; her reputed lovers, 161; her relations with Voltaire, 161, 162; resolved to abjure _la vie passionnelle_, 162, 163; rejects the advances of La Chalotais, 163, 164; the object of a violent passion on the part of d'Argental, 164, 165; her letter to his mother, Madame de Ferriol, 165-168; becomes the mistress of Maurice de Saxe, 171; secret of her devotion to him, 172; disposes of her jewels to assist him in his candidature for the throne of Courland, 175; unjustly accused by him of infidelity, 177; charge against the Duchesse de Bouillon of having attempted to poison her, 179-188; her last appearance on the stage, 188-190; her death, 190; the question of poison considered, 190, 191; the scandal of her burial, 191-195; her _éloge_ written by Voltaire, 195, 196
Le Duc, Mlle., supplants Mlle, de Camargo in the affections of the Comte de Clermont, 216-218
Ledoux, plays a trick upon Président Lescot, 80-82
Le Grand, 134, 135 and note, 193 note
Le Kain, 156, 292, 313 and note, 330, 336 note
Lemaure, Mlle., 199
Lemontey, 129; (cited) 162, 172, 173
Lenclos, Ninon de, 108-111
Le Roy, Philippe, lover of Adrienne Lecouvreur, 141, 142
Lerys, François Joseph, father of Mlle. Clairon, 276
Le Sage, (cited) 115
Lescot, Président, his adventure with Mlle. Molière, 78-82
Loiseleur, M. Jules, 57; (cited) 9, 10, 15
Loret, 16
Loo, Jean Baptiste van, 137
Loo, Carle van, 300; his portrait of Mlle. Clairon, 319 note, 350
Louis XIII., 6, 19
Louis XIV., 12, 27, 64, 84, 114, 206
Louis XV., 338
Louis XVI., 325 note
Löwendal, Maréchal, 231, 247, 265
Lulli, 12, 13, 75, 82
Luxembourg, Duc de, 302
M
_Machabées_, Le Motte's, 123
Maintenon, Madame de, 121 note
_Malade imaginaire_, Molière's, 32, 61-63, 71
_Mariage forcé_, Molière's, 29, 33, 35
_Mariamne_, Voltaire's, 154
Marie Leczinska, Queen of France, 154, 326
Mariette (_danseuse_), 204
Marlborough, Charles Spencer, Duke of, his propositions rejected by Mlle. Clairon, 287 and note
Markheim, Mr. Gegg, (cited) 53, 54
Marmontel, 269; his relations with Mlle. Clairon, 307-313; assists in her apotheosis of Voltaire, 335; (cited) 243 note, 293 note, 336
Mars, Mlle., 30
Massillon, denounces the theatre, 120
Maugras, M. Gaston, (cited) 120
Maurepas, Comte de, 192
_Maximes et refléxions sur la comédie_, Bossuet's, 119
Mazarin, Cardinal, 68
_Médecin malgré lui_, Molière's, 29, 49
_Médée_, Longpierre's, 116, 300
Meister, Henri, 347
_Mélicerte_, Molière's, 49, 56, 85
Melun, Comte de, carries off Mlle. de Camargo, 208-211
_Mercure de France_, (cited) 24, 148, 152, 153, 155, 288, 301
_Mercure galant_, (cited) 25
Merlin, Père (curé of Saint-Sulpice), refuses ecclesiastical burial to Molière, 63, 68
Meusnier (police-inspector), 229, 255-256, 257; (cited) 214, 242, 253, 254, 265
Michelet, 139; (cited) 137, 138
Mignard, Pierre (painter), 53, 60
_Misanthrope_, Molière's, 29, 31, 33, 37-39, 53, 54, 55, 78
_Mithridate_, Racine's, 99, 100
Modène, Comte de, 5, 6, 7, 9, 18
Modène, Comtesse de, 5 and note, 9
Molé, 292, 330, 337 and note
Molière, his marriage with Armande Béjart, 3; abominable charge brought against him by Montfleury _père_, 11, 12; the accusation repeated by Guichard in _Élomire hypocondre_ and in _La Fameuse Comédienne_, 12-15; question of his relations with Madeleine Béjart considered, 15-20; becomes the lover of Mlle. de Brie, 17; allusions to his relations with his wife in his plays, 33-40; his jealousy, 40; separated from his wife, 48; supposed conversation with Chapelle at Auteuil, 49-55; resumes his _liaison_ with Mlle. de Brie, 55; but still adores his wife, 55; reconciled to her, 55, 56; goes to reside in the Rue de Richelieu, 60; his health failing, 60, 61; insists on playing in _Malade imaginaire_, 62; his death, 62, 63; refused ecclesiastical burial, 63; compromise made, 64; effect of his _Tartuffe_ upon the attitude of the Church to the theatre, 69, 70; his funeral, 70-72; not entirely blameless for his domestic unhappiness, 73, 74; his genius not fully appreciated by his contemporaries, 83
Molière, Madeleine, 85
Molière, Mlle.: _see_ Béjart, Armande Monaco, Princesse de, 100
Montalant, M. de, marries Madeleine Molière, 85
Montausier, Duc de, 38
Montespan, Madame de, 105, 106, 212
Montfleury, _père_, his abominable charge against Molière, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 40
Montfleury, _fils_, 11, 40
Monval, M. Georges, 130, 132, 163; (cited) 139, 193 and note
_Mort de Pompée, La_, 156
Mounet-Sully, M., 138
Myesses, the Demoiselles, prosecute Favart, 249, 251
N
Nantes, Mlle. de, 212
Navarre, Mlle. (mistress of Maurice de Saxe), 243 note, 307, 308
Necker, Madame, (cited) 270
Nicole, Père, denounces the theatre, 69
Noury, M., (cited) 90, 113
O
_OEdipe_, Voltaire's, 189
Oligny, Mlle. d', 325 and note, 326
Orléans, Gaston, Duc d', 6
Orléans, Duchesse d' (Princess Palatine), 125, 213
Orléans, Regent d', 125, 213
_Orphelin de la Chine_, Voltaire's, 294, 295, 300, 314
P
Paléologue, M. Maurice, (cited) 139, 140, 171, 172
Parabère, Comtesse de, 189 and note
Parfaict, Brothers, 72; (cited) 25, 95, 111
_Parisien_, Charles de Champmeslé's, 84, 85, 113
Parmentier, 231, 235, 239
Peterborough, Earl of, 161
Peter the Great, Czar of Russia, 145
_Phèdre_, Pradon's, 103-105
_Phèdre et Hippolyte_, Racine's, 102-106, 112, 290, 291, 351
Piron, 158
Poisson, Mlle., (cited) 24, 25
Poisson, Philippe, satirises Adrienne Lecouvreur in _l'Actresse nouvelle_, 151
_Polyeucte_, Pierre Corneille's, 135, 136
Pompadour, Madame de, 214, 322
Pont-de-Veyle, Marquis de, 158
Préault (sculptor), 138
Préville, 292
Prévost, Mlle, (_danseuse_), gives lessons to Mlle. de Camargo, 200; intrigues against her, 202, 204; supplanted by her in the affections of the public, 204-206
_Princesse d' Élide_, Molière's, 28, 29, 45, 46
Prungent (intendant of the Duchess of Brunswick), 161
_Psyché_, 32 and note, 56, 57, 59, 60
Q
Quinault, Jean Baptiste, 135
Quinaults, the, 150 and note
Quinault-Dufresne, 180 note
R
Rachel, Mlle., 30, 129, 156
Racine, Jean, enraptured at Marie de Champmeslé's rendering of Hermione, 94; gives her lessons in elocution, 94, 95;
makes her his mistress, 95; his dramatic duel with Pierre Corneille, 96-98; his _Bajazet_, 98; his _Mithridate_, 99; his _Iphigénie en Aulide_, 100-102; writes his _Phèdre_, 102, 103; the Duchesse de Bouillon and Madame Deshoulières persuade Pradon to enter the lists against him, 103; production of the two _Phèdres_, 104; discreditable tactics of Madame de Bouillon to ruin his play, 104, 105; he eventually triumphs, 105; character of his intimacy with Marie de Champmeslé, 107, 108; breaks off the connection, 111; probable reasons for his withdrawal from dramatic authorship, 111, 112 and note; his letter to his son, Louis Racine, on Mlle. de Champmeslé's death, 122, 123
Racine, Louis, 112 note, 122, 123; (cited) 94, 96
Régnier, 129; (cited) 138, 148, 150
Revel, Comte de, 107
Riccoboni, (cited) 147
Riccoboni, Madame, (cited) 338
Richelieu, Abbé de, his supposed _liaison_ with Mlle. Molière, 44, 45, 46
Richelieu, Cardinal de, 58, 266
Richelieu, Duc de, 211, 329, 334, 336
Rieux, Président de, 216, 217, 218
Robinet, (cited) 29, 31, 60
Rohault (physician), 53
Rohan, Cardinal de, 82
Rohan, Chevalier de, his quarrel with Voltaire, 154, 155
Rotrou, Jean, 16
Roucoux, Battle of, 238
Roullé, Père, denounces Molière, 70
S
Sainte-Beuve, 129, 179; (cited) 146, 190, 242
Saint-René Taillandier, M. de, (cited) 242, 266 note
Saint-Marc (police-inspector), his reports to Berryer, 304-306
Sallé, Mlle., 219
Samson, 351
Saxe, Maurice, Maréchal de, his early life, 169, 170; comes to Paris, 170; his character, 170; becomes the lover of Adrienne Lecouvreur, 171, 172; her beneficial influence over him, 173; his candidature for the throne of Courland, 173-176; returns to Paris, 176, 177; unjustly accuses Adrienne Lecouvreur of infidelity, 177, 178; the object of an unrequited passion on the part of the Duchesse de Bouillon, 179, 180; present at Adrienne Lecouvreur's death, 191; unable to prevent the indignity offered to her remains, 194; invites Favart to accompany him to Flanders, 231; his entry into Brussels, 232-234; orders Favart to announce from the stage his intention to engage the enemy, 236-238; wins the Battle of Roucoux, 238; conceives a violent passion for Justine Favart, 240; his letter to her, 240, 241; steals Voltaire's verses, 241 and note; makes Justine his mistress, 242, 243 and note; discarded by her, 244; wins the Battle of Lawfeld, 244, 245; determined to recover his prey, 245; furious at Justine's escape, 247, 248; instigates the proprietors of the Brussels Theatre to prosecute Favart, 249; compels Justine to return to him, but loses her again, 250, 251; continues his persecution of her husband, 251, 252; persuades Justine's father to apply for a _lettre de cachet_ against her, 254; causes her to be arrested and conveyed to Les Grands-Andelys, 257; his correspondence with her, 258-262; compels her to submit to him, 264, 265; his death, 266 and note; Marmontel's liberties with his seraglio, 307
Scanapiecq, Marie (mother of Mlle. Clairon), 276-281, 282, 284, 285
Schlegel, August Wilhelm von, (cited) 39, 135
Seine, Mlle., de, 150
Sévigné, Madame de, (cited) 59, 96, 98, 99, 108, 109, 110
Sévigné, Charles de, 107, 108-111
_Sicilien_, Molière's, 49
_Siège de Calais_, De Belloy's, 300, 328-331, 335
Soubise, Prince de, 302
Soulié, Eudore, 9, 15
Sourdis, Marquis de, 211, 212, 218
Sturtz, his letter to Garrick on Mlle. Clairon, 296-299
T
Tallemant des Réaux, 16
_Tancrède_, Voltaire's, 301
_Tartuffe_, Molière's, 29, 65, 70, 155
Taschereau, M., 43 note
Théâtre du Marais, its amalgamation with Molière's troupe, 77, 78
Thiériot, 161
Titon du Tillet, (cited) 72, 158
Tourelle (courtesan), personates Mlle. Molière, 80-81
Tribou (singer), 180 note
Turlupin, 4 and note
V
Valbelle d'Oraison, Comte de, _amant de coeur_ of Mlle. Clairon, 318, 319; offers to make her his wife and accompany her to Russia, 320; has a gold medal struck in her honour, 320; quarrels with her, 341
Varlet de la Grange, Charles, 73, 75, 76 and note, 78
Vestris, Madame, 171 note
Vigée Lebrun, Madame, (cited) 347
Villars, Duchesse de, patronises Mlle. de Camargo, 207
Villeguillon, M. de, 317
Villepinte, M. de, 322, 351
Villeroi, Duchesse de, 332, 337
Voisenon, Abbé de, his relations with Justine Favart, 267; his _bon mot_ at the first representation of _Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne_, 268; overcomes Justine's unwillingness to renounce the theatre, 271; (cited) 265
Voltaire, production of his _Mariamne_, 154; his quarrel with the Chevalier de Rohan, 154, 155; indebted to Adrienne Lecouvreur for the favourable reception of his _l'Indiscret_, 155; his relations with Adrienne Lecouvreur, 161, 162; present at her death, 191; demands that an autopsy should be held, 191; refuses to believe that she was poisoned, 192 note; endeavours to bring about a revolt at the Comédie-Française, 195; his poem upon Adrienne's death, 195; writes her _éloge_, 195, 196; his verses to Mlles. Camargo and Sallé, 275; his _Orphelin de la Chine_, 294 and 314 and note; triumph of Mlle. Dumesnil in his _Mérope_, 176; success of his _Tancrède_, 301; his admiration of Mlle. Clairon's acting, 312; visited by Mlle. Clairon at Ferny, 334, 335; apotheosised by her and Marmontel, 335 note
W
Walpole, Horace, (cited) 336, 344
Würtemberg, Prince of, sups with Mlle. Gaussin, 306 note
X
Ximenès, Marquis de, lover of Mlle. Clairon, 317; his love killed by a _bon mot_, 317; his retort, 318
Z
_Zaïre_, Voltaire's, Mlle. Gaussin's acting in, 275
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Edinburgh & London
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Their real names were Hugues Guéru, Robert Guérin, and Henri Legrand. Apprenticed to bakers in the Faubourg Saint-Laurent, they deserted their masters to play in a tennis-court near the Estrapade, a machine invented, in the days of François I., for the benefit of heretics. Turlupin usually played a roguish valet, Gros-Guillaume a pedant, and Gaultier-Garguille a supremely stupid old man. They eventually joined the company of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, whose popularity was immensely strengthened by their inclusion.--Hawkins, "Annals of the French Stage," i. 51.
[2] The Civil Lieutenant was, after the Provost of Paris, the first magistrate of the Châtelet; to him belonged, among other functions, the supervision of guardians and trustees of children under age and of _conseils de famille_.
[3] He was a child of seven or eight, and his father's object in inserting his name in the _acte de naissance_ was probably to annoy his unfortunate wife.
[4] This is Jal's conclusion. While compiling his famous _Dictionnaire critique de Biographie et d'Histoire_, he made an exhaustive search of the registers of all the old parishes of Paris--there were sixty-eight--but failed to discover either the _acte de naissance_ of Armande or the death certificate of Joseph Béjart, which two events must have taken place within a few days of each other.
[5] Jal, _Dictionnaire critique de Biographie et d'Histoire_, Article "Béjart."
[6] His real name was Zacharie Jacob. A gentleman by birth, he had been educated for the army and had served the Duc de Guise as page, but his passion for the theatre led him to become an actor. In spite of the ridicule to which he was subjected by Molière, he was an excellent tragedian, and in parts made up of "transports and bursts of rage" much admired. His death, which occurred in 1668, is said to have been caused by over-exertion as Orestes in Racine's _Andromaque_.
[7] _OEuvres complètes de J. Racine_ (_édit. d'Aime-Martin_), vi. 136.
[8] See p. 33, _infra_.
[9] M. Gustave Larroumet, _La Comédie de Molière, l'auteur et le milieu_, p. 85.
[10] Hawkins, "Annals of the French Stage," ii. 61.
[11] They were both married women and the wives of actors, who joined Molière's company at the same time. At this period, and indeed for long afterwards, actresses bore officially the title of "demoiselle," as did all women other than the wives of the nobility, or of ennobled citizens, or daughters of noble parents who had married citizens: these were styled "dame" and "madame." Thus, we find Colbert, before he rose to fame, "offering a coach to _Mademoiselle_, his wife;" the mother of La Bruyère described in a legal document as a "_demoiselle veuve_"; while La Fontaine, in his correspondence, invariably refers to his wife as "_Mademoiselle_." People spoke also of _la_ Du Parc, _la_ de Brie, _la_ Béjart, _la_ Molière, and so forth, a custom which has continued to this day. This _la_, which appears so contemptuous, was not the exclusive property of actresses or of women of the people. Madame de Sévigné and Saint-Simon employ it for ladies of the fashionable world, but, by preference, for those of medium virtue: _la_ Beauvais, _la_ Montespan, &c.; and eighteenth century writers frequently make use of it in referring to the mistresses of Louis XV.: _la_ Châteauroux, _la_ Pompadour, _la_ Du Barry. Nowadays, however, it is no longer a term of contempt; "it has become a particle which confers nobility and immortality on great singers and _tragédiennes_, if the race is not extinct."--M. J. Noury, _La Champmeslé_, p. 94.
[12] M. Henri Chardon, _Nouveaux documents sur la vie de Molière: M. de Modène, ses deux femmes, et Madeleine Béjart_.
[13] Jal, _Dictionnaire critique de Biographie et d'Histoire_: Article "Béjart."
[14] M. Henri Chardon, _Nouveaux documents sur la vie de Molière: M. de Modène, ses deux femmes, et Madeleine Béjart_.
[15] M. Larroumet, _La Comédie de Molière_, 105 _et seq._
[16] _La Comédie de Molière_, p. 134.