Page 140

140       MIRROR OF THE GRACES.
   As lessons are best taught by example, I
will, for a few minutes, turn back upon my'
steps of former years; and for the sake of
edifying my young friends give them a slight
sketch of the appearance and manners of the
most distinguished women I met in the van.
ous realms I have visited.
   As Paris was the first foreign court to which
I was presented, I will give it that precedence
which itcertainlydeserved under themagic sway
of the beautiful, and since unfortunate, Antoin.
ette. In speaking ofperfection ofmanners IsW
not select as examples queens and princesses;
the sphere in which they move demands an en.
tirely different air from that of ladies who, how.
ever exalted in rank, are yet daily in the habit
of meeting equals and superiors. On these
grounds I shall not discourse on the mien of
the queen of France, or the deportment of
madame Elizabeth; my model for Parisian ele-
gance was the young and charming Comtesse
de M. She was of a moderate stature, her
shape easy, and her complexion of a clear
brown, brightened by a rouge not so-strong as