Page:The Prose Tales of Alexander Poushkin (Bell, 1916).djvu/432

 generally accompanied by fatherly advice and words of admonition.

According to the testimony of all historical accounts, nothing could be compared with the frivolity, folly and luxury of the French of that period. The last years of the reign of Louis the Fourteenth, remarkable for the strict piety, gravity, and decorum of the court, had left no traces behind. The Duke of Orleans, uniting many brilliant qualities with vices of every kind, unfortunately did not possess the slightest shadow of hypocrisy. The orgies of the Palais Royal were no secret in Paris; the example was infectious. At that time Law appeared upon the scene; greed for money was united to the thirst for pleasure and dissipation; estates were squandered, morals perished. Frenchmen laughed and calculated, and the kingdom fell to pieces to the music of satirical vaudevilles. In the meantime society presented a most remarkable picture. Culture and the desire for amusement brought all ranks together. Wealth, amiability, renown, talent, even eccentricity — everything that satisfied curiosity or promised amusement, was received with the same indulgence. Literature, learning and philosophy forsook their quiet studies and appeared in the circles of the great world to render homage to fashion and to obey its decrees. Women reigned, but no longer demanded adoration. Superficial politeness was substituted for the profound respect formerly shown to them. The pranks of the Duke de Richelieu, the Alcibiades of modern Athens, belong to history, and give an idea of the morals of that period. " Temps fortuné, marqué par la licence, Où la folie, agitant son grelot, D'un pied leger parcourt toute la France,