SCUDERY, MADELEINE DE, a once notable French novelist, was born at Havre in 1607. Left an orphan at the age of six, she, along.with a brother named Georges, was carefully educated by one of her uncles. While still young, she left Normandy for Paris, was admitted to the hotel Rambouillet (see RAmnourt.LET), and soon became one of the oracles of the brilliant society that assembled there. It was in this famous but showy circle that Mlle. Scudery gathered that immense fund of watery senti mentalism, platonic gallantries, "polished" conversation, dull ceremonial incidents, affectations of moral purism, etc., which make up the tedious contents of her romances —romans de longe kaleine (long-winded romances), as they have been felicitously nick named. Their popularity for a brief period was painfully wide. Everybody with the slightest pretensions to "taste," except the Port-royalists, Bossuet, and a few critics of the stricter sort, professed a boundless admiration for them. The bishops in general— as Camus, Mascaron, Huet, Godeau, Fleshier, Massillon—were in raptures, and studied the stately trash with an ardor that considerably diminishes our respect for their under standing. When the troubles of the Fronde had broken up the gatherings at the hotel Rambouillet, Mlle. Scudery organized a literary circle of her own, which met every Saturday at her house in the Rue de Beauee. These "Saturdays" began very well; but gradually they degenerated and became ridiculous—pedantic and blue-stock ingich they had been from the very first. Nothing further in Mlle Scullery's life calls for notice. She died at Paris, June 2, 1701, at the advanced age of 94, hon ored and respected to the last; and it is but fair to admit that she seems to have been worthy of the regard in which she was held, being herself a perfect pattern of those watery virtues and superfine excellences of demeanor that she loved to depict. Her
principal works (never again to be read in this world) are: Ibrahim, on l'Illastre Basset (Par. 4 vols. 1641); Artamcine, ou le Grand Cyrus (par. 10 vols. 1649-53); Mk, Histoire Romaine (Par. 10 vols. 1656); Almakide, ou l'Esclare Reine (Par. 8 vols. 1660); Les Femmes Illustres, ou les Harangues 1665); 10 vols. of Conversations Nou velles, Conversations Morales, and Entretiens do Marele (1680-92); besides Leltres, and Poesies legeres, etc.—See Victor Cousin's La Socztete Francais an Dixseptieme Siecle.
(Ital. shield), an Italian silver coin, corresponding tothe Spanish piastre (q.v.) the American dollar (q.v.), and the English crown (q.v.). It was so,called from its bearing the heraldic shield of the prince by whose authority struck, and differed in value in the different states of Italy. In Rome, where it is called the scudo Romano or seudo num, it is equal to 4s. 3d. sterling; and is subdivided into 10 Paoli or 100 lajocchi. Tie Venetian scudo, or scudo della eroce, was of higher value than the Roman one; while, on the other hand, the old scudi of Bologna, Genoa, and Modena are inferior to it in value. Scudi are now gradually disappearing from the provinces of the king dom of Italy before the new decimal coinage, but the name is sometimes given to the piece of 5 lire, equivalent to a 5 franc piece in the French ceinage. Scudi of gold were alsd struck ' in Rome, the scudo d'oro being equivalent to 10 scudi di argento. Sec PIASTRE.