Sophie Arnoild, a French actress, born in Paris, Feb. 14, 1744, died in 1803. Her father, an innkeeper, gave her a good education, in addition to which she possessed a charming face and figure, a voice of great flexibility and compass, and an unusual share of wit. Some ladies attached to the court of Louis XV., having heard her sing at evening service during Passion week, induced the royal chapel master to employ her in the choir. Here she was not long in attracting the attention of Madame de Pompadour. Her debut upon the stage at the age of 13 soon followed, and for 21 years, be-tween 1757 and 1778, she was the reigning favorite at the French opera. Her beauty, vi-vacity, and generosity attracted such men as Diderot, D'Alembert, Helvetius, Mably, Duclos, and Rousseau, who sought her society. She was as witty as she was licentious, and the most eminent poets celebrated her charms in verse. Her bons mots, of which many have been collected, are brilliant and pointed. At the com-mencement of the revolution she retired to a country house at Luzarches, which had formerly been a parsonage, and over the door of which she inscribed the words, Ite, missa est, where she seems to have passed the rest of her days.

One of her natural sons, a colonel of cuirassiers, was killed at the battle of Wagram.