Julie Jeanne Eleonore De Lespinasse, a French lady remarkable for her intellectual gifts and accomplishments, born in Lyons, Nov. 19, 1732, died in Paris, May 23, 1776. She was the illegitimate daughter of the countess d'Al-bon, on whose death in 1748 she accepted a place as governess in the family of her brother-in-law, Vichy-Chamrond, and in 1753 she was engaged as companion by her mother's sister-in-law, the marchioness du Deffand. This lady was D'Alembert's intimate friend, and her house was a favorite resort of many eminent persons. Julie's remarkable qualities, both of the mind and the heart, made a profound impression upon all who were brought in contact with her. Mme. du Def-fand's jealousy became excited, and a separation between the two ladies ensued in 1764. To the small annual income which had been bequeathed to Julie by her mother, a pension was added by the king. Her house soon became a great centre of attraction for the notabilities of Paris. She enlisted the regard of D'Alembert, Marmontel, La Rochefoucauld, and other eminent literary men, while even Mme. Geoffrin made an exception in her favor, and not only admitted her to her literary reunions, from which women were generally excluded, but conferred upon her an annuity of 3,000 francs.

With D'Alembert her relation was fraternally intimate and enduring, but the warmth of her affections was reserved for the count de Mora, a Spanish nobleman, whose death plunged her into great affliction. Another object of love soon presented itself in the person of Col. Guibert, celebrated for his relations with Frederick the Great, but this passion was not reciprocated. Her letters were published at Paris in 1809.