sexes, which are scattered about in four provinces, that they all acknowledge as their universal prelate, the abbess of Fontevrauld, a distinguished monastery, which is no less famous for being the theatre of nobility, than of virtue; for they reckon among their prelates, fourteen princesses, five of whom were of the royal house of Bourbon. Lady Montemar filled this high employment, much to the satisfaction, and edification of the world, and also to the benefit and increase of her congregation, exhibiting a woman, commanding the men with dignity, and who in the opinion of those who were under her direction, if she was not superior, was at least equal in point of understanding to the wisest man living. She died in 1704, full of merit and much esteemed. CXXIII. _Maria Jacquelina de Blemur_, a Benedictine nun, who the most learned Mabillon, in Estud. Monostic. Bibliot. Ecclesiast. Sect. 12, tells us, composed a work, called the Benedictine Year, of seven volumes in quarto; and another, intitled Eulogiums on many illustrious Persons of the Order of Saint Benedict, of two volumes in quarto. CXXIV. _Anna la Fevre_, commonly known by the name _Madam Dacier_, daughter of the most learned Tanaquildo le Fevre, proved equal to her father in erudition, and superior to him in eloquence; and also in the faculty of writing with elegance and delicacy, her own language. She was a critic of the first rate, so that in this particular, at least with respect to profane authors, there was not a man of her time, neither in France nor out of it, who excelled her. She made many translations from Greek authors, which she illustrated with a variety of comments. Her passion for Homer, excited her to write many dissertations, the object of which was maintaining the superiority of the Greek poet Homer, over the Latin one Virgil, in which, the vivacity of her genius, and the rectitude of her judgment, shone forth with equal splendor; she was chiefly stimulated to do this, from a desire of replying to, and confronting Mons. La Mote, who was a member of the French Academy, and of a contrary opinion; this she did so well, that some partizans of the Latin poet, who had sided with Mons. la Mote, could not deny, that his judgment in comparison of her’s, had but little weight, for want of his having a competent knowledge of Greek, the language Homer wrote in, which his opponent understood to perfection. With regard to the merits of the case, it should be observed, that there are only some Latin authors who give the preference to Virgil, but that there is not a single Greek one, who will allow him to be superior, or even equal to Homer. The circumstance of this last, having in his favour all the Greeks, and many Latins, among whom, one of the most conspicuous is the celebrated historian Velleius Paterculus, who bestows on him the high eulogium, that there never yet was any one who could imitate him; and declares further, that, in his opinion, there never will be any one capable of