Ninon de l’Enclos to
Saint-Evremond:
I defy Dulcinea to feel
with greater joy the remembrance of her Chevalier. Your letter
was accorded the reception it deserved, and the sorrowful figure
in it did not diminish the merit of its sentiments. I am very
much affected by their strength and perseverance. Nurse them
to the shame of those who presume to judge them.
I am of your opinion,
that wrinkles are a mark of wisdom. I am delighted that your
surface virtues do not sadden you; I try to use them in the same
way. You have a friend, a provincial Governor, who owes his
fortune to his amiability. He is the only aged man who is
not ridiculed at Court. M. de Turenne wished to live only
to see him grow old, and desired to see him father of a family,
rich and happy. He has told more jokes about his new dignity
than others think.
M. d’Ebčne who gave you
the name of “Curictator,” has just died at the hospital. How
trivial are the judgments of men! If M. d’Olonne were alive
and could have read your letters to me, he would have continued
to be of your quality with his philosophy. M. de Lauzun is
my neighbor, and will accept your compliments. I send you
very tenderly, those of M. de Charleval, and ask you to remember
M. de Ruvigny, his friend of the Rue des Tournelles.
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