DESHOULIER ES, ANTOINETTE DU LIGIER DE LA GARDE, a Freuch poetess, born of distinguished psrents in 1633. Great pains were taken with her education : she learned the Latin, Italian, and Spanish languages, and studied poetry under the poet Bement, who often assisted her in her juvenile compositions, and polished her verses when defective. Her life was rather a romantic oue. In 1651 she married the Signeur Deshoulieres, a lieutenant colonel in the service of the Prince of Cond6. She visited the court of Brussels in company with her husband, where she rendered herself suspected by the government, which caused her to be arrested aud imprisoned at Vilvorde, near Brussels. Here she passed her time iu reading the Bible and the works of the Fathers, until, after eight months, she found means to escape, with the assistance of her husband. They were shortly afterwards introduced to Louis XIV., and Madame Deshouheres was soon esteemed one of the literary ornaments of the age. Not bnly did she write a variety of poems herself, but she was an object of adoration to the contemporary poets, who hououred her with the title of the tenth muse. Ramo and Pradou having each written a tragedy on the subject of Phmdra, Madame Deshoulibres brought upon herself some discredit by takiug the part of the latter against the former, in ridicule of whom she composed a sati-ical puem.
Racine, however, soon had his revenge, fur Madame Deehoulieres brought out a tragedy which met with nothing but ridicule, aud affierded him an opportunity of writing a parody. She wrote several other dramatio pieces, but totally without success. The death of her husband, to whom she was greatly attached, was the occasion of one of her most popular Idyls ; indeed her fame rests on her Idyls alono, the rest c: works having fallen into obliviso. She died in 1691, leaving a daughter, Antoinette-Th6rese Deshoulieres (born 1662. died 1718). who obtained some celebrity as a poetess, and whose works are often bound up with those of her mother.
La Harpe, after saying that the Idyls are the only works of Madame Deshoulieres worth noticinse limits his commendation to three of them. lie justly censures her for treating books, flowers, &c.., as if they were living persons. Thus, for instance, she envies n streamlet for bearing fish without pain to itself, and asks it why it mut-inure when it is so happy I However, her little poem of ' Lee Oiscattx; cite l io La Harpee 'Ceara de la Litterature; is written with great lightness and elegance. and fully deserves the commendations bestowed un it by that severe thourh impartial critic.