Page:A cyclopaedia of female biography.djvu/375

This page has been validated.
GUE. GUI.
358

On one occasion, having hunted purposely near her chateau, Henry sent word to Madame de Guercheville that he would sup and lodge at her house; she replied that all possible attention should be paid to his accommodation. Henry, delighted at this answer, hastened to the château, where he was received by his hostess, elegantly attired, and surrounded by all her household. Having lighted the king herself to his room, she bowed and retired. When supper was served up, Henry sent for the lady, but was told she had just driven from the house, leaving this message for him:—"A king, wherever he is, should always be master. As to myself, I also choose to be free."

GUEST, LADY CHARLOTTE,

Was born in Wales, and has done much to elucidate its language and literature. She has translated, from "The Mabinogion," an ancient Welsh work, four tales into English, adding many valuable notes, which show much antiquarian lore and just philosophy. She has been a contributor to the Cambrian Quarterly; and her researches and translations have been highly commended. Another lady, Anna Gurney, of Norfolk, niece, we believe, of Mrs. Fry, has also given much time to these antiquarian pursuits. Through the unwearied efforts of these two women, much of the early history of their country has been sought out, set in order, and thus will be preserved.

GUILLAUME, JACQUETTE,

A French lady of the seventeenth century, who wrote a work entitled "Les Dames Illustres: où par bonnes et fortes Raisons, il se prouve que le sexe feminin surpasse en toute sorte de Genre le sexe masculin." In this performance, published in 1665, the writer attempts to prove the superiority of the female over the male sex, through the whole human and animal creation. The style is elegant and unaffected, and the examples and observations shew knowledge and research. She did not, however, dwell sufficiently on the kind of superiority she claimed for woman over man—that it was moral, not mental or physical power which the female sex was ordained to wield. Nor did she distinguish sufficiently between the manifestations of the distinctive characters of man and woman: that the power of the first was centred in the reason and the will; of the last, in the conscience and the affections. She had never studied the Bible, which is the grand charter of woman's rights, and the only true expositor of her duties.

GUILLET, PERNETTE DU,

A poetess of Lyons, and a contemporary of Louise Labbé, was illustrious for her virtue, grace, beauty, and learning. She sang and played exquisitely, understood several languages, and wrote in Latin with facility.

In Pemette du Guillet, it is said, "all that is lovely in woman was united."

GUIZOT, CHARLOTTE PAULINE,

Was born in Paris, in 1773. Her father, M. de Meulan, lost all his fortune by the Revolution, and dying in 1790, left a widow and five children almost destitute. Pauline de Meulan, the eldest, com-