Reflections | Page 3

at the font as sponsor, giving
his name to that last light of French chivalry, Francis I. In 1515 he was
created a baron, and was afterwards advanced to a count, on account of
his great service to Francis and his predecessors.

The second count pushed the family fortune still further by obtaining a
patent as the Prince de Mar- sillac. His widow, Anne de Polignac,
entertained Charles V. at the family chateau at Verteuil, in so princely a
manner that on leaving Charles observed, “He had never entered a
house so redolent of high virtue, uprightness, and lordliness as that
mansion.”
The third count, after serving with distinction under the Duke of Guise
against the Spaniards, was made prisoner at St. Quintin, and only
regained his liberty to fall a victim to the “bloody infamy” of St.
Bartholomew. His son, the fourth count, saved with difficulty from that
massacre, after serving with dis- tinction in the religious wars, was
taken prisoner in a skirmish at St. Yriex la Perche, and murdered by the
Leaguers in cold blood.
The fifth count, one of the ministers of Louis XIII., after fighting
against the English and Buck- ingham at the Ile de Ré, was created a
duke. His son Francis, the second duke, by his writings has made the
family name a household word.
The third duke fought in many of the earlier cam- paigns of Louis XIV.
at Torcy, Lille, Cambray, and was dangerously wounded at the passage
of the Rhine. From his bravery he rose to high favour at Court, and was
appointed Master of the Horse (Grand Veneur) and Lord Chamberlain.
His son, the fourth duke, commanded the regiment of Navarre, and
took part in storming the village of Neerwinden on the day when
William III. was defeated at Landen. He was afterwards created Duc de
la Rochequyon and Marquis de Liancourt.
The fifth duke, banished from Court by Louis XV., became the friend
of the philosopher Voltaire.
The sixth duke, the friend of Condorcet, was the last of the long line of
noble lords who bore that distinguished name. In those terrible days of
Sep- tember, 1792, when the French people were proclaim- ing
universal humanity, the duke was seized as an aristocrat by the mob at
Gisors and put to death behind his own carriage, in which sat his
mother and his wife, at the very place where, some six centuries
previously, his ancestor had been taken prisoner in a fair fight. A
modern writer has spoken of this murder “as an admirable reprisal upon
the grandson for the writings and conduct of the grandfather.” But M.
Sainte Beuve observes as to this, he can see nothing admirable in the

death of the duke, and if it proves anything, it is only that the
grandfather was not so wrong in his judgment of men as is usually
supposed.
Francis, the author, was born on the 15th December 1615. M. Sainte
Beuve divides his life into four periods, first, from his birth till he was
thirty-five, when he became mixed up in the war of the Fronde; the
second period, during the progress of that war; the third, the twelve
years that followed, while he re- covered from his wounds, and wrote
his maxims dur- ing his retirement from society; and the last from that
time till his death.
In the same way that Herodotus calls each book of his history by the
name of one of the muses, so each of these four periods of La
Rochefoucauld's life may be associated with the name of a woman who
was for the time his ruling passion. These four ladies are the Duchesse
de Chevreuse, the Duchesse de Longueville, Madame de Sablé, and
Madame de La Fayette.
La Rochefoucauld's early education was neglected; his father, occupied
in the affairs of state, either had not, or did not devote any time to his
education. His natural talents and his habits of observation soon,
however, supplied all deficiencies. By birth and sta- tion placed in the
best society of the French Court, he soon became a most finished
courtier. Knowing how precarious Court favour then was, his father,
when young Rochefoucauld was only nine years old, sent him into the
army. He was subsequently at- tached to the regiment of Auvergne.
Though but sixteen he was present, and took part in the mili- tary
operations at the siege of Cassel. The Court of Louis XIII. was then
ruled imperiously by Richelieu. The Duke de la Rochefoucauld was
strongly opposed to the Cardinal's party. By joining in the plots of
Gaston of Orleans, he gave Richelieu an opportunity of ridding Paris of
his opposition. When those plots were discovered, the Duke was sent
into a sort of banishment to Blois. His son, who was