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1、AFAIRPENITENTAFAIRPENITENTbyWILKIECOLLINS1AFAIRPENITENTCharlesPineauDucloswasaFrenchwriterofbiographiesandnovels,wholivedandworkedduringthefirsthalfoftheeighteenthcentury.Heprosperedsufficientlywell,asaliteraryman,tobemadesecretarytotheFrenchAcademy,andtobeall
2、owedtosucceedVoltaireintheofficeofhistoriographerofFrance.Hehasleftbehindhim,inhisowncountry,thereputationofalivelywriterofthesecondclass,whoaddressedthepublicofhisdaywithfairsuccess,andwho,sincehisdeath,hasnottroubledposteritytotakeanyparticularnoticeofhim.Am
3、ongthepapersleftbyDuclos,twomanuscriptswerefound,whichheprobablyintendedtoturntosomeliteraryaccount.ThefirstwasabriefMemoir,writtenbyhimself,ofaFrenchwoman,namedMademoiselleGautier,whobeganlifeasanactressandwhoendeditasaCarmelitenun.Thesecondmanuscriptwasthela
4、dy'sownaccountoftheprocessofherconversion,andofthecircumstanceswhichattendedhermoralpassagefromthestateofasinnertothestateofasaint.TherearecertainnationalpeculiaritiesinthecharacterofMademoiselleGautierandinthenarrativeofherconversion,whichareperhapsinterestin
5、genoughtobereproducedwithsomechanceofpleasingthepresentday.Itappears,fromtheaccountgivenofherbyDuclos,thatMademoiselleGautiermadeherappearanceonthestageoftheTheatreFrancoisintheyearseventeenhundredandsixteen.Sheisdescribedasahandsomewoman,withafinefigure,afres
6、hcomplexion,alivelydisposition,andaviolenttemper.Besidespossessingcapacityasanactress,shecouldwriteverygoodverses,shewascleveratpaintinginminiature,and,mostremarkablequalityofall,shewaspossessedofprodigiousmuscularstrength.ItisrecordedofMademoiselle,thatshecou
7、ldrollupasilverplatewithherhands,andthatshecoveredherselfwithdistinctioninatrialofstrengthwithnolessapersonthanthefamoussoldier,MarshalSaxe.NobodywhoisatallacquaintedwiththesocialhistoryoftheeighteenthcenturyinFrance,needbetoldthatMademoiselleGautierhadalongli
8、stoflovers,--forthemostpart,personsofquality,marshals,2AFAIRPENITENTcounts,andsoforth.Theonlyman,however,whoreallyattachedhertohim,wasanactorattheTheatreFrancois,afamousplayerinhis
