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the capacity for which he was thus led to deny.* Madamede Maintenon adds, in her portrait, “ M. de Roche-foucauld had an agreeable countenance, a dignified man-ner, much intellect, and little knowledge. He was in-triguing, supple, foreseeing. I never knew a friendmore constant, more frank, nor more prudent in his ad-vice. He loved to reign : he was very brave. He pre-served the vivacity of his mind till his death; and wasalways lively and agreeable, though naturally serious.”

The latter part of his life was embittered by the gout,which seldom left him free from pain. The society ofmadame de la Fayette and other friends were his re-source during the intervals of his attacks, and his comfortthroughout. Madame de Sevigne makes frequent men-tion of him in her letters, and always in a way thatmarks approbation and respect. She often speaks ofhis fortitude in suffering bodily pain, and his sensibilitywhen domestic misfortunes visited him severely. Hiscourage never abandoned him, except when death de-prived him of those he loved. One of his sons waskilled and another wounded in the passage of theRhine. " I have seen,” writes madame de Sevigne ,“ his heart laid bare by this cruel disaster. He is thefirst among all the men I ever knew for courage, good-ness, tenderness, and sense. I count his wit and agreeablequalities as nothing in comparison.” It is from herletters that we gather an account of his death. Men-tion is made of him, as well and enjoying society, in the

* We doubt the exact truth of these assertions even while we writethem It is true that Rochefoucauld detects self-love as mingling in manyof our actions and feelings, but he does not advance the opinion that nodisinterested virtue can exist, and, still less, the Helvetian metaphysicalnotion that self-love is the spring of every emotion, which it is, inasmuchas it is we that feel, and that our emotions cause our pulses to beat, notanother’s ; but is not, inasmuch as we do not consult our 'own interest orpleasure in all we feel and do. Madame de Sevign6 relates an anecdote ofan officer who had his arm carried offby the same cannon-ball that killedTurenne, but who, careless of the mutilation, threw himself weeping onthe corpse of the hero She adds that Rochefoucauld shed tears whenhe heard this told. Such tears are a tribute paid to disinterested virtue;and prove, though the author of the “ Maxims ” could trace dross in orewherever it existed, yet that he believed that virtue could be found inentire purity.