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Miss Eve. I have read a song, their liberty, went to America, and which treats of some eminent ladies who have been mistresses to monarchs; of Madame de Maintenon it says,

both died when Mademoiselle d'Aubigné was very young. She returned to France to live with her aunt, whose name was Villette. When she was between fifteen and sixteen years of age, she chanced

She that so long in France did rule the roast,
Was nought but Scarron's leavings.
Do you know any particulars of to lodge in the same house with
this lady?

Paul Scarron, an eminent comic writer. As she was a very interesting girl, Scarron took great pleasure in her conversation, and felt much compassion for her. He was somewhat deformed in his person; and one day when he was alone with her, he is said to have addressed her in the following manner:

Miss K. Her maiden name was Frances d'Aubigné. Her father, when he was very young, was thrown into prison at Niort, on what account is not known, it is supposed for being a Protestant. The keeper of the prison had a daughter who fell in love with the youth; she procured the keys, unlocked the gates, and fled with her lover, who soon afterwards married her. Returning to settle some affairs in France, he was again seiz-sible of the uneasy circumstances ed and confined in the same prison; and there this celebrated female was born the 27th of November, 1635. Her parents, ou recovering No. LIX. Vol. X.

"Mademoiselle, I am not a little moved with your misfortunes, and the great sufferings you have undergone; I am likewise very sen

under which you labour at present, and I have for some days been contriving with myself how to extricate you from all your difficulties. At

LL

to be desirous of that way of life which would give her the most fre

gratitude to him. Scarron, who was prepossessed with the flattering hopes of passing his life with a person to whom he felt himself so strongly attached, was charmed with her answer. They both agreed, that he should ask the consent of her aunt that very evening: it was given without reserve, and this match, so speedily concluded, was the introduction to all the future greatness of Madame de Maintenon. She was married in 1651, at the age of sixteen, and made a good wife to Scarron, with whom she

last I have fallen upon two ways of doing what I so much desire: I leave you to determine accordingquent occasions of shewing her to your inclinations in the choice of the one or the other, or of neither of them, should you refuse them both. My fortune is too narrow to enable me to make your's answerable to your merit; all that I am capable of doing is, either to make you a joint partaker with myself of the little I have, or to place you at my own expence in any convent you shall choose: I wish it were in my power to do more for you. Consult your own inclinations, and do what you think will be most agreeable to yourself. As for my person, I do not pretend to recom-lived nine years happily, and wantmend it to you; I know I make but an unseemly figure, but I am not able to new-mould it. I offer myself to you such as I am; but yet, such as you see me, I do assure you, that I would not bestow my-been before her marriage. The self upon another, and that I must have a very great esteem for you ever to propose a marriage, which of all things in the world I have hitherto had least in my thoughts.joyed. In order to this, petitions Consider, therefore, and make up your mind either to turn nun, to marry me, or to continue in your present condition without repining, since all these depend entirely upon your own choice."

ed no conveniences during his life; but at his death, in 1660, at the age of fifty, she lost all, and found herself again reduced to the same indigent condition in which she had

friends of her husband exerted all their influence to prevail upon the court to continue to her the pension which Mons. Scarron had en

were frequently presented to the king, which always began with— "The widow Scarron most humbly prays your majesty," &c.-All these petitions, however, were of no avail, and the king was at last so weary of them, that he was heard to say peevishly-" Must I always be pestered with the widow Scarron?" Her friends, neverthe

Mademoiselle d'Aubigné returned Mons. Scarron the thanks he so well deserved. She was too sensible of the disagreeableness of a dependant state, not to be glad to ac-less, resolved not to relax in their cept of a settlement that would place endeavours to serve her. her at least above want. Finding, therefore, in herself no call towards a nunnery, she answered, without hesitation, that she had too deep a sense of her obligations to him, not

Some time after this she was advised to seek all occasions of insinuating herself into the favour of Madame de Montespan, who was "the king's mistress, and had an ab

justing her looks to her thoughts in such a manner, that all she said went directly to the heart. The king was astonished at the first interview; he soon became strongly prepossessed in her favour, and after conversing with her a few times, began visibly to cool in his attachment to Mad. de Montespan, whom she at last completely supplanted.

It' was not long before Louis purchased for his new favourite the estate from which she assumed the name of Maintenon. Never was there an instance of a favourite having so great a power over à monarch as she for many years maintained. It was indeed his wish to make her his queen, but some powerful reasons, urged by the great men whom he consulted, and which are to be found in her Memoirs, prevented its gratification. This celebrated lady held the monarch captive till his death, which happened Sept. 1, 1715, after he had reigned 72 years and lived 77. She survived him near four years, and died at the convent of St. Cyr, April 15, 1719, aged 84.

solute influence over him. Madame Scarron accordingly obtained an introduction to that lady, and spoke to her with so good a grace that Madame de Montespan, pitying her circumstances and resolving to make them more easy, undertook to carry a petition from her to the king, and to deliver it with her own hand. The king, upon her presenting it to him, exclaimed, "What! the widow Scarron again! Shall I never see any thing else?" Indeed, sir," replied Madame de Montespan," it is now a long time since you ought not to have her name mentioned to you any more, and it is rather extraordinary that your majesty has done nothing all this time for a poor woman, who deserves a much better condition, as well on account of her own merit, as for the sake of her late husband's reputation." The king, who was always glad of an opportunity to please Madame de Montespan, granted the petitioner all that was desired. Madame Scarron waited upon her patroness to thank her, and Mad. de Montespan conceived such a partiality for her, that she insisted on presenting her to the king, and afterwards proposed to him to give her the appointment of governess to their children. His majesty consented; and Madame Scar-ing, and before the Revolution had ron, by her address and good con- large revenues. It was designed duct, won the affections and esteem for the education and support of of Mad. de Montespan to such a young ladies whose fortunes were degree, that in a short time she be- inadequate to their birth: none came her favourite and confidante. was considered qualified for this Madame Scarron was elegantly place but such as could produce shaped, had a noble air, fine eyes, sufficient proofs of the nobility of and a delicate mouth, with fresh, their family on the father's side for ruddy lips. She possessed, more- 140 years; besides which, it was over, the art of expressing every necessary to have a certificate of thing with her eyes, and of ad- "their poverty under the hand of

Miss Eve. I think the abbey of St. Cyr stands in the park of Versailles?

Miss K. Yes; it is a fine build

her power of charming. Her beau tiful figure and majestic step in the character of Auna Bullen, drew the admiration of all who saw her. She was very tall, and had she been happy in abilities to act characters of consequence, she would have been an excellent partner in tragedy for Mr. Barry. In the vicissitudes of itinerant acting, she had often been reduced, from the small number of players in the company to which she belonged, to disguise her lovely form, and to

their bishop. The age at which females were admissible into this institution was between seven and twelve. It was also required, that they should have no defect or blemish of body or mind; for which reason persons were appointed to visit and examine them before their reception into the convent. When these young ladies were once admitted, their parents and friends were relieved from all farther trouble and expence on their account. They were provided with all the necessaries of life, main-assume parts very unsuitable to so tenance, and education. When they attained such an age as to be able to chuse a state of life for themselves, they might either be placed as nuns at some convent at the king's expence, or be married to some gentleman, who received from this establishment a portion of 500 pistoles. Most of these marriages proved successful, and several gentlemen by these means made great fortunes, and were advanced to very high employments.

The description that is given of Madame de Maintenon's person, reminds me of Mrs. Jefferson.

Miss Eve. Who was she?

Miss K. A lady of the theatrical profession, mentioned by Davis in his Life of Garrick, who, though || of no great abilities as an actress, merits attention. That writer observes, "There is something in Mallet's Masque of Britannia that deserves remembrance. Britannia was represented by Mrs. Jefferson, the most complete figure in beauty of countenance and symmetry of form I ever beheld. This good woman-for she was as virtuous as fair-was so unaffected and simple in her behaviour, that she knew not

delicate a creature. When she was asked what characters she excelled in most, she innocently replied,— "Old men in comedy;" meaning such parts as Fondlewife in the Old Bachelor, and Sir Jealous Traffic in the Busybody. She died suddenly at Plymouth, as she was looking at a dance that was practising for the night's representation. In the midst of a hearty laugh, she was seized with a sudden pain, and expired in the arms of Mr. Moody, who happened to stand by and saved her from falling to the ground.

Miss Eve. I have heard that Mr. Moody was an excellent actor. Have you a list of gentlemen who have met with success in this profession?

Miss K. Here is an alphabetical list of many of them-above 150 names of actors, many of whom were the darlings of their days, or rather, of their nights-but Garrick, Betterton, Booth, Wilks, Henderson, and G. Powell are supposed to have been the most excellent. I never heard that Shakspeare, Jonson, Otway, Lee, Farquhar, or Savage, possessed much

excellence in this way; though some have said, that if an actor can feel what he speaks, he will be excellent; and those who wrote the best were surely capable of feeling.

Miss Eve. I have seen Booth's monument in Westminster Abbey, near Garrick's.

Miss Eve. Where was Joe Miller buried?

Miss K. At St. Clement Danes, with this inscription and epitaph, by the Rev. Stephen Duck :

"Here lie the remains of honest JOE MILLER, who was a tender husband, a sincere friend, a facetious companion, and an excellent comedian. He departed this life the 15th day of August, 1738, aged 54 years.

"If humour, wit, and honesty could save The hum'rous, witty, honest from the grave,

Miss K. Garrick and Betterton were buried in the abbey, as was also Henderson; but Booth was interred at Cowley, near Uxbridge; Wilks, in the north aisle of St. Paul's, Covent-Garden; and Powell, who was much given to drink-The grave bad not so soon this tenant found, ing, in the vault of the church of St. Clement Danes. Victor, who wrote above 40 years ago, thus describes Booth :

Whom honesty, and wit, and humour crown'd:
Or could esteem and love preserve our breath,
And guard us longer from the stroke of death,
The stroke of death on him had later fell,

Whom all mankind esteem'd and lov'd so well."

"Barton Booth was of middle stature, five feet eight; his form inclined to the athletic, though nothing clumsy or heavy; his air and deportment naturally graceful: he had a marking eye and a manly sweetness in his countenance. His voice was completely harmonious, from the softness of the flute to the extent of the trumpet; his attitudes were all picturesque; he was noble in his designs and happy in his execution. It was this actor's peculiar felicity to be heard and seen the same, whether as the pleas-pressive powers of action with a ed, the grieved, the pitying, the reproachful, or the angry. One would almost be tempted to borrow the aid of a very bold figure, and, to express this excellence the more significantly, beg permission to affirm, that the blind might have seen him in his voice, and the deaf have heard him in his visage. As to his abilities he was an excellent scholar, and had a fine taste for poetry, painting, and statuary. Of these he has left us eminent proofs."

Miss Eve. Can you repeat the inscription on Booth's monument in Westminster Abbey?

Miss K. It is as follows:-" In memory of BARTON BOOTH, Esq. descended from an ancient family of that name in the county of Lancaster. In his early youth he was || admitted into the collegiate school of Westminster, under the celebrated Dr. Busby, where he soon discovered and improved a genius, which, favoured by the Muse he loved, so happily combined the ex

peculiar grace of elocution, as not only to procure him the royal patronage, but the grateful applause of a judicious public. He died in 1733, in the 54th year of his age, justly regretted by all who knew how to estimate abilities in an actor, politeness in a gentleman, and fidelity in a friend."

Miss Eve. Miller and Booth died about the same age. Busby was an excellent schoolmaster, and taught. many great men, but is said to