Portraits of the seventeenth century, historic and literary . alwayssaid: Since the overthrow of our house; Youwould really think she was talking of the overthrowof the Greek empire, says the malicious Tallemantdes Reaux. The Scuderys claimed, in fact, to haveissued from a very noble, very ancient, and everwarlike family of Neapolitan origin, but establishedfor centuries in Provence. In transforming into hernovels the persons of her acquaintance under theguise of heroes and princes, Mile, de Scudery felt her-self among her own kind. Having lost her parents while very young, she wasbrought up i
Portraits of the seventeenth century, historic and literary . alwayssaid: Since the overthrow of our house; Youwould really think she was talking of the overthrowof the Greek empire, says the malicious Tallemantdes Reaux. The Scuderys claimed, in fact, to haveissued from a very noble, very ancient, and everwarlike family of Neapolitan origin, but establishedfor centuries in Provence. In transforming into hernovels the persons of her acquaintance under theguise of heroes and princes, Mile, de Scudery felt her-self among her own kind. Having lost her parents while very young, she wasbrought up in the country by an uncle, a well-in-formed and worthy man, who gave great care to hereducation, which was, in fact, much better thanyoung girls were accustomed to receive in those , spelling, dancing, drawing, painting, needle-work, she learned them all, says Conrart, and shedivined for herself what they did not teach her. As she had, continues Conrart [first secretary of the FrenchAcademy], a prodigious imagination, an excellent memory, an ex-. MADEMOISELLE MADELEINE DE an old print. /IDat)emoi5elle ^e 5cu&eri(?. 59 quisite judgment, a lively temper, naturally inclined to understand allshe saw done that was curious, and all she heard said that was laud-able, soon taught herself other things: such as related to agriculture,gardening, household management, country life, cookery, the causesand effects of illness, the composition of many remedies, perfumes,fragrant waters, and useful or delectable distillations for necessity orpleasure. She had a fancy to know how to play the lute, and tooksome lessons with fair success. But the lute took too much time, and, without re-nouncing it wholly, she preferred to turn more par-ticularly to occupations of the mind. She learnedItalian and Spanish perfectly; her principal pleasureswere reading and choice conversation, of which shewas not deprived in her neighbourhood. The pic-ture that Conrart gives us of her early
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