DEFFAND, MAnIA DE VICHY-CITAMROND, Marquise du, 1074780; a leader in the fashionable literary society of Paris during the greater part of the 18th century. She was born of a noble family in Burgundy, and educated in a convent in Paris, and soon developed the cynical and skeptical turn of mind which so well suited the part she was afterwards to fill in the philosophical circles of the capital. At the age of 21, her parents married her to the marquis du Deffand, without consulting her inclinations. The union was unhappy, and a separation soon followed. Young and beautiful, she did not, according to the common belief, keep herself uncontaminated by the abounding vices of the age, and it was said that she was for a time the mistress of the regent. A reconciliation with her husband was made, but of short duration. Without heart and without enthusiasm, she was incapable of any strong attachment; but her intelligence, her cynicism, and her esprit, made her the center of attraction to a circle which included nearly all the famous philosophers and literary men of Paris, besides not a few distin guished visitors from abroad. In 1752, she became blind, and took up her abode in
apartments in the convent of St. Joseph, her rooms having a separate entrance from the street. This became the frequent resort of such men as Choiseul, Boufiers, :pontes• quieu, Voltaire, D'Alembert, David Hume, and Horace Walpole. In 1764, the society was divided into two parties by the defection of her companion, Mlle. de L'Espinasse, who took with her D'Alembert and several others. Madame Deffand had most affinity of nature with Walpole, who made several visits to Paris for the purpose of enjoying her society, and who maintained a close and interesting correspondence with her for 18 years. Of her innumerable witty sayings, the best known is her remark on the cardinal de Polignac's account of St. Denis' miraculous walk of two miles with his decapitated head in his hands: " It is only the first step that costs."