Another use that has been made of flagellations among polite people, and distinguished from the vulgar, has been to repress the aspiring views of rivals who pretended (unjustly, as the others thought) to an equality in point of birth, wit, beauty, or other accomplishments. On this occasion we might relate the treatment that was inflicted by two Ladies of noble family, near the Town of Saumur, in France, on the daughter of a wealthy Farmer, whose beauty had caused her to be invited to an entertainment that was given in a neighbouring Castle, or Manor: an affair which attracted the notice of the Public, at the time (A. 1730) as we may judge from the account of it being contained in the collection of _Celebrated Causes_ decided in the French Courts of Law. But our attention is called off by another much more interesting instance of the same kind, which happened in the reign of Lewis the Fourteenth, and made a very great noise. I mean to speak of the flagellation that was served by the Marchioness of Tresnel, on the _Dame_, or Lady, of Liancourt: a fact which by all means deserves a place in this Chapter, as being in itself an extremely illustrious instance of flagellation. Indeed, one advantage the Author is proud of, which is, that he has inserted nothing vulgar in this Book, nothing but what is worthy the attention of persons of taste and sentiment. The Story is as follows. The Lady of Liancourt was originally born of Parents in middling circumstances. Having had the good luck to marry a rich Merchant, she had address enough to prevail upon him to leave her, at his death, which happened a few years after their marriage, the bulk of his fortune; and, being now a rich, handsome Widow, she married the _Sieur_, or Lord, of Liancourt; a man of birth, whose fortune was somewhat impaired by his former expensive way of living. The Lady of Liancourt used to reside, during the summer, at the Castle, or Estate, of her Husband, near the town of Chaumont: and in the same neighbourhood was situated the Estate of the Marquis of Tresnel. The manner of living of the Lady of Liancourt, together with the reputation of her wit and beauty, excited the jealousy of the Marchioness of Tresnel, who, on account of her birth, considered herself as being greatly superior to the other: and a strong competition soon took place between the two Ladies, which became manifested in several places in a remarkable manner, especially at Church, where the Marchioness went once so far as violently to push the other Lady from her seat: the Lady of Liancourt, on the other hand, was said to have written a copy of verses against the Marchioness; and in short, matters were carried to such lengths between them, that the Marchioness resolved to damp at once the pretensions of her rival, and for that purpose applied to that effectual mode of correction which, as hath been seen in the course of this Book, so many great and celebrated personages have undergone, namely, a flagellation.