POPULAR FRENCH AUTHORESSES OF THE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

MADAME D'AULNOY enjoyed some celebrity in her time for a variety of clever writings. She was nobly born, and nobly married, and died a pensioner of the court at Madrid. She describes well, and an account she gives in a letter of her first journey to Spain, from Bayonne to St. Sebastian, where her husband was sent on an embassy, is lively and amusing, and might pass for a page of Madame de Sevigné. She tells of crossing the little river of Andaye, rowed by a party of young girls, who formed part of a community of somewhat remarkable habits and picturesque manners, besides being not a little martial and imposing.

"The little barks which bore me and my suite were ornamented with painted and gilded flags, and conducted by girls whose grace and agility were remarkable. There are always three in each boat, two who row and one who steers. These young women are tall and well made, with clear brown complexions, ivory teeth, and jet black shining hair, which they plait in tresses and tie with bows of ribbon. They wear a veil of muslin embroidered in gold and silk, which flutters round their heads and is fastened over their bosoms; they have ear-rings of gold or pearl and coral necklaces. Their bodice is close with tight-fitting sleeves, such as our gypseys wear. I assure you they quite charmed me, and their singular habits surprised me as much. I am told they swim like fishes, and form a sort of little republic amongst them, admitting neither men nor married women. They are recruited from many places, are very numerous, and are sent by their mothers to the community at an early age. When they decide to be married they go to mass at Fontarabia, the nearest town, where it is the custom for all the young men who wish to choose wives to repair. When the choice is made the lover applies to the girl's family, who apprize her of his offer and, if she consents, she returns to her home and the marriage duly follows.

"I never saw so great an air of gaiety as appears on all their countenances they have little cottages ranged in a line along the shore, and they are under the guidance of elderly unmarried women, whom they obey as if they were their mothers. All these particulars, which we listened to with much interest, they related to us in the most cheerful and agreeable manner in the world, when suddenly some evil spirit interfered to interrupt the harmony of the moment.

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My cook, who is a Gascon, and very brisk and forward, like most of his countrymen, happened to be in one of the boats and took it into his head to admire particularly one of these pretty Basque damals. He was not content with telling her this fact, but attempted to raise hay veil, and that not in the most gentle manner. She instantly few into a most indignant passion and, without a moment's pause, acized the boathook which lay at her feet and struck him violently on the head. No sooner had she performed this exploit than she became terrified at what she had done, and threw herself at once overboard into the water, although the cold was extreme. At first she swam with great, ww ́figuren, but as she had all her clothes on and the shore was at a omaderas distance, her strength began to fail her. Several of the young gra wh

were standing at the water-side instantly put off their boats to her sid meanwhile, those who had remained in the boat with my unlucky cá fearing the loss of their companion, threw themselves upon him like many furies, resolved to drown him. This commotion did not condus to the safety of the little boat, which was every moment on the point of overturning from ours we were witnesses of this quarrel, and y people had all the difficulty in the world to separate and appease combatants. I assure you the indiscreet Gascon got terribly the was of the battle and made a most woeful appearance. At length we reache land and had scarcely disembarked when we saw the young heroine the tale arrive, saved just in time by her friends, for she had begun ti sink when they laid hands on her to drag her out of the river.

"She came to meet us with about fifty others, each with an oar her shoulder. They marched in two long files, and were preceded by thre who played admirably on the tambour de Basque. The spokeswo advanced, and addressing me as Andria, a word which she repeate several times and which I found meant Madam (for it was all I could mak out of her harangue), informed me that my cook should only remain in whole skin on condition that the clothes of the adverse party should b paid for in proportion to the damage she had sustained.

"When she had finished this address the three performers on the tambour de Basque recommenced striking their instruments with violere uttering loud cries and accompanying them with an exercise of their which displayed considerable agility and a certain grace.

"Some paragons were distributed amongst this belligerent band, which their good-humour returned, and their cries and dancing becar louder and more animated as they wished me a happy journey and a s return, and we left this maritime colony, still dancing and playing the tambours with infinite vehemence."

This agreeable writer goes on to describe her onward progress Vittoria, and thus introduces us to the theatre of that town."As soon as I entered the house cries of mira, mira !'-look, lock'-' were heard. The decorations were not particularly magnificent; stage was raised on trestles and the boards were uneven, all the windy were open and no light borrowed from torches or lamps, so that you imagine how much the spectacle gained by that circumstance. The pa was the Life of St. Anthony, and whenever any of the actors said thing to please they were rewarded by loud cries of Vittoria, Vittor which is, it appears, their manner of applauding. The only difference mu in the dress of the devil from that of the other personages was, that stockings were flame-colour and he wore a pair of horns to disting him. The drama was in three acts, between each of which was enacte farce full of drolleries, in which a character, called Gracisso, appeared buffoon who, amongst a quantity of stupid things, sometimes says a one; dances, with harp and guitar accompaniment, filled up the ti intervals, the female dancers having castagnettes and wearing a s hat; when they dance the saraband they appear not to touch the grow so light and nimble are their movements. The style of dancing entirely different to ours, they have too much movement of their am but they pass their hands frequently over their heads and before the faces in a manner which possesses a certain grace sufficiently pleasing its way.

"You are not to think because these actors I describe were in a s

town that they are very different from those at Madrid. I have heard that the king's company is rather better, but all act the same Comedias famosas, and it must be confessed all are equally ridiculous. For instance, when St. Anthony says his confiteor, which he does very often, all the audience fall on their knees and give themselves such violent blows to accompany their miâ culpás, that it is a mercy they escape without putting an end to themselves."

The character she gives of the Spaniards is not devoid of correctness, and her observation shows that they have not degenerated.

"The Spaniards have generally been considered proud and vain ; theirs is a grave pride, and they carry it to an extreme. They are brave without being rash, and are accused, for that reason, of wanting boldness; they are passionate and vindictive without exhibiting their anger; liberal without ostentation; abstinent and sober, too presumptuous in good fortune, and too much humbled in adverse circumstances. They adore their women, but their passion is such that mind has but little to do with their attachments. They are patient to excess, obstinate, = idle, precise, philosophical, and, on the whole, are an honourable people, considering their word as precious as life itself. They have a great deal of wit and vivacity, comprehend rapidly and explain themselves quickly in few words. They are prudent, outrageously jealous, careless of economy, disinterested, cautious, superstitious, and apparently very good Catholics.

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They compose verses well and readily, and are capable of acquiring the highest perfection in science if they would condescend to apply. They have much greatness of soul and elevation of mind, firmness, natural seriousness, and a respect for the female sex nowhere else to be met with. Their manners are quiet but affected, and they are fully convinced of their own merit, seldom rendering due justice to others. Their bravery is shown in holding themselves resolutely on the defensive without shrinking before danger, but they do not care to seek it, and are not naturally prone to the love of it; this is, however, an effect of judgment rather than timidity, for knowing peril they avoid it.

"Their worst fault, in my opinion, is the passion of revenge and the means they employ to indulge it; the maxims they hold respecting it are utterly at variance with Christianity and with honour, for if they receive an insult they assassinate, and this not so much from vengeance as from fear that, if they are not beforehand with their enemy, they will themselves fall victims to his blow. They have many futile arguments to support their reasoning, and, besides this, the impunity they meet with encourages the custom, for the churches and convents in Spain afford sanctuaries to criminals, consequently, as often as they can, their crimes are committed near some shrine that they may have as little space as possible between the action and their refuge: it consequently happens that one frequently sees a wretch clinging to the altar with the dagger still reeking in his hand with which he has committed a murder."

The time at which Madame d'Aulnoy wrote was before and just after that of Charles the Second of Spain's marriage with the Lee of Lois the Fourteenth she gives some amusing particulars reporting the event of Philip the Fourth when he married Anne of Astra, daughter of Ferdinand the Third, mother of Charles.

"When Anne, the young Queen, was on her way from Germany to Spain, the first town she stopped at that wet the King's sway,

happened to be celebrated for the manufacture of woollen petticoats and waistcoats and silk stockings. A deputation arrived to do her honour presenting a quantity of this merchandise of the best quality and da variety of colours; but the Queen's Major Domo, who was a min etiquette and whose Spanish gravity nothing could disturb, felt him shocked by this offering. He took all the packets of silk stockings threw them contemptuously back to the deputies of the town, who p sented them, exclaiming indignantly,

"Know, base men, that the Queens of Spain are without legs! 'Meaning that their rank is so exalted that they do not allow the feet to touch the ground like the rest of their sex.

"Be the meaning of the phrase what it might, the young Q knew too little of the Spanish language to feel its delicacy: she understood the words, and burst at once into a passion of tears, out, That she would return immediately to Vienna, and that if she known before setting out that it was intended to cut off her legs would rather have died there than have consented to go to Spain."

"It was not difficult to reassure her, and, tranquillity being restored resumed her journey. When she arrived at Madrid, this story was to the King, who was so amused at her simplicity that he act smiled, a circumstance worthy of note, for, from some unexplained reas it was remarked that he had never smiled three times in his life.

"The future fortunes of the Queen were less amusing, as her excl tion may show, when, on being forced to dismiss her confessor, whe odious to the people, and on finding that his enemies were too strong her, she threw herself on her couch exclaiming, with bitter tears, Alas, alas! of what avail is it to me to be both Queen

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Regent !" "

Amongst the anecdotes related by Madame d'Aulnoy of Mademois niece of Louis the Fourteenth, is one on which has been founded se romances, and the popular modern theatrical piece of "Ne Toucher à la Reine," in which she shows how, in consequence of a piece of quated court etiquette, the young King was nearly losing his bride, having been thrown from her horse, was dragged some distance be any knight was hardy enough to risk his own life to save hers, it be high treason to touch her; and even after two young lords had dev themselves, the Queen was obliged to entreat their pardon on her k in order to obviate the consequences of their generous act.

Madame d'Aulnoy has also written " Memoirs of the Court of Englan but they are not so amusing as those furnished by De Grammont, to speak of Pepys and many others of less note. The Duke of N mouth is the hero of most of her anecdotes, but there is a war reality about them, which deprives them of interest. She tells one s of a meeting of Buckingham and the Duchess of Monmouth in the Pa which might have suggested the well-known scene in the "Mart of Figaro."

The most entertaining part of these anecdotes is, perhaps, the extr gant manner in which the authoress spells the names of her Eng characters. This is little surprising when we find the very latest French novelists quite as far from the real orthography of our na Buckingham is spelt Bouquinkam, certainly not a very bad way convey the sound of the barbarous word to her ears.

In another of her professed romances she talks of the "

My Lond

1

Duglas," of the palace of "Withalt" and of the court of the King at "Medelan ;" perhaps this is sufficient to show that the briefer the notice of her English reminiscences the better for English readers. The romance, however, of the "Comte de Warwick" assisted La Harpe to the plot of his tragedy, and might have helped more than one dramatist also, who have given a fictitious picture of the love of Edward and the King-maker for Lady Elizabeth Grey.

It was the fashion, at the time of Madame d'Aulnoy, for almost all writers of fiction to indulge their readers in childish fairy tales, too tame and spiritless in general to excite any interest in the nurseries of the present day. The fashionable lounger of that period, however, not only endured, but discovered in them a charm which might make one think they were under the spell of the fairies, for the merit is invisible to modern understandings. There is no end to the common-place imitations. of the charming original fairy legends of old, which never lose their lustre and delight children in all ages, not to say at all ages.

One of the least insipid of these kind of tales by Madame d'Aulnoy is called, "La Belle aux Cheveux d'Or." The description of the heroine is pretty :

"This King's daughter was so beautiful that she was called The Fair one with the golden hair,' for her hair was finer than the finest gold, marvellously fair, all waving and falling as low as her feet. She always appeared with her hair curling in this manner, bound with a circlet of flowers; her robes embroidered with diamonds and pearls, and she could never be seen without being loved. She sat on a throne of gold, ivory, and ebony, which sent forth a balmy odour, and the ladies who surrounded her played on divers instruments and sang softly, in a manner not to disturb any one."

This latter virtue in the attendant ladies is certainly beyond praise; probably the authoress wrote feelingly in her description after a noisy

concert.

The fairy tale of "Fortunée" is not badly told, and was considered a chef-d'œuvre at the time, but it is merely necessary to name those works which are far inferior to her letters, the latter forming her claim on the reader's attention.

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VOL. XXXI.