“A goodly volume might be filled with her _naïvetés_ and unconscious witticisms; for it was her total indifference to the good things that she uttered, and her contempt for the effect which they produced, that constituted their greatest charm. “I shall never forget the effect produced in the _salon_ one evening by an event which occurred a short time before the prince’s embassy to London, and which served to _égayer_ the society for some time. Among other ancient traditions of the courtly life of former days which she loved to keep up, and one, too, which completely coincided with her tastes and habits, was the custom of the _petit billet_, a usage which has been completely lost since the time of the great revolution, and which might be taken as a specimen of the time-killing, fiddle-faddle occupations in which the _noblesse_ of that day passed their lives. “This custom of the _petit billet_ still exists in many of the old families wherein courtesy and etiquette are still maintained, at least among the elder members. It consisted in writing a short note of inquiry every morning to the person beloved, who answered it likewise in writing, for no verbal message would have been received. Of course the contents of the note could not be much varied. There could be nothing to say but day after day the same ‘good morrow,’ with inquiries how the night had been passed, and other questions of small interest, which the present generation, who live deep and fast, expending their sentiments and energies on greater things, have no time to make. I myself know a married couple of the old school who, like all married couples of the old (French) school, have been separated _de corps et de biens_ for the last forty years, and who have never missed once during the whole of that time sending the _petit billet de matin_. I was once thoughtless enough to rally the lady upon this constancy, when she replied, angrily, ‘Monsieur, although Monsieur le Comte and myself may not choose to live together, yet our mutual position, and the rank we both hold in society, prevent our enjoying the privilege of dispensing with the common customs and formalities of the circles in which we have both been bred. In renouncing all idea of love for each other, we have not renounced good breeding.’