Many of their superiors were not in such happy ignorance--they had information of the intrigues that were forming; and the more penetration they possessed, the more they feared the consequences of events which they could not control.
At the house of a great man, with whom she had dined this day, Madame de Fleury had heard alarming news.

Dreadful public disturbances, she saw, were inevitable; and whilst she trembled for the fate of all who were dear to her, these poor children had a share in her anxiety.

She foresaw the temptations, the dangers, to which they must be exposed, whether they abandoned, or whether they abided by the principles their education had instilled.

She feared that the labour of years would perhaps be lost in an instant, or that her innocent pupils would fall victims even to their virtues.
Many of these young people were now of an age to understand and to govern themselves by reason; and with these she determined to use those preventive measures which reason affords.

Without meddling with politics, in which no amiable or sensible woman can wish to interfere, the influence of ladies in the higher ranks of life may always be exerted with perfect propriety, and with essential advantage to the public, in conciliating the inferior classes of society, explaining to them their duties and their interests, and impressing upon the minds of the children of the poor sentiments of just subordination and honest independence.