Page:A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country (1804).djvu/141

Rh She composed two tragedies, Leodamie, printed in 1690, which had but indifferent success; and Brutus, in 1692, which was received with great applause. By the advice of her friend, Madame Pontechartrain, from whom she received a pension, she renounced the theatre: Lewis XIV. also granted her a pension of 600 livres (about 25 pounds); but, not being well paid, she explained that matter to the king in some very elegant verses. She many times obtained the poetical prize at the French academy. Her pieces are printed in their collections for 1691, 1695, and 1697. She was also three times crowned with flowers at Toulouse, and received into the academy of the Ricovrati, at Padua. She wrote many pretty novels. Voltaire did not disdain to borrow a thought from her play of Brutus. Towards the end of her life she suppressed many poetical pieces written in her youth, which she thought not likely to be useful; and though offered a considerable sum, would not consent to their publication. Mrs Thicknesse's Memoirs of French Ladies.

of a noble house, she was allowed the title of Dame, and is celebrated by Hall, Holinshed, and many others, for her uncommon learning, spirit, and majestic beauty. She delighted in masculine exercises, and was so