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+Project Gutenberg's Lives of Celebrated Women, by Samuel Griswold Goodrich
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Lives of Celebrated Women
+
+Author: Samuel Griswold Goodrich
+
+Release Date: July 27, 2010 [EBook #33273]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVES OF CELEBRATED WOMEN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Katherine Ward and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
+produced from scanned images of public domain material
+from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.]
+
+  LIVES
+  OF
+  CELEBRATED WOMEN:
+
+  BY THE AUTHOR OF
+  PETER PARLEY'S TALES.
+
+
+  BOSTON:
+  BRADBURY, SODEN & CO.
+  MDCCCXLIV.
+
+  Entered according to Act of Congress,
+  in the year 1844,
+  By S. G. GOODRICH,
+  In the Clerk's Office of the District
+  Court of Massachusetts.
+
+  STEREOTYPED AT THE
+  BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
+
+  WM. A. HALL & CO., PRINTERS,
+  12 Water Street.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+It is an oft-quoted proposition of Rousseau, that "the glory of
+woman lies in being unknown." If this be true, we shall deserve
+little credit for placing before the world these brief sketches of a
+few of the sex who have acquired celebrity among mankind. We are
+disposed to think, however, that the oracular words of the Genevan
+philosopher--though they may coincide with the despotism of the lords
+of creation, who would arrogate, not merely the sceptre of power, but
+the trump of fame, entirely to themselves--like most other oracles,
+are liable to many exceptions.
+
+It may indeed be true that the _happiness_ of women is generally to be
+found in the quiet of the domestic circle; but that all, without
+distinction, should be confined to it, and that whenever one of the
+sex departs from it, she departs from her allotted sphere, is no more
+true than a similar proposition would be of men. Elizabeth of England,
+though little to be esteemed as a woman, did as much credit to her sex
+as her father did to his; and while he enjoys the renown of having
+achieved the reformation in England, she is entitled to the credit of
+having been not only his superior as a sovereign, but one of the
+greatest sovereigns that ever occupied a throne. Joan of Arc performed
+achievements for her country scarcely less than miraculous; and Hannah
+More afforded, by her pen, more efficient protection to the three
+kingdoms against the volcanic shock of the French revolution than the
+entire army and navy of Great Britain.
+
+Will any one pretend that these persons would have better fulfilled
+their destiny, if confined to the quiet precincts of the fireside? If
+woman is only to be a housewife, why are gifts bestowed upon her, that
+make her often the rival, and sometimes the _master_, of the other
+sex, even in the higher walks of ambition? Was Sappho's harp, the
+mere echo of which has thrilled upon the ear of nearly thirty
+centuries, given only to be touched in the secluded harem of some
+Lesbian lord? Why had Sevigne such a magic pen, Roland so noble and
+dauntless a soul, the maid of Saragossa a patriotism so inspired and
+inspiring, if they were designed by their Creator only to preside over
+the nursery, the dairy, and the kitchen? If women are created but to
+attend to the comforts of the other sex at home, why are such spirits
+as those of the lovely and lamented Davidsons ever formed--spirits
+bursting with music and poetry, like the Eolian string, that gives
+forth its unbidden melody, only because God made it so? Was Mrs.
+Hemans designed but to serve her surly and unappreciating lord? Are
+Lady Montagu, Mrs. Barbauld, Madame de Stael, Miss Edgeworth, Miss
+Sedgwick, Hannah More, Mrs. Sigourney,--who must be regarded as among
+the most efficient civilizers of modern times,--to be set down as
+violators of a great law which should govern woman's destiny? In
+short, shall we, in Christian countries, who make it our boast that we
+have elevated woman to free companionship with man, still look
+backward, return to the selfish philosophy of the Turk, shut woman up
+in the harem, and gloss over our despotism by quotations from the
+Swiss Diogenes?
+
+While we repeat that, in general, women consult their true dignity and
+happiness by seeking a quiet domestic career, we still maintain that
+such among them as have endowments suited to exert a happy influence
+upon mankind at large, are as truly fulfilling their duty and their
+destiny, by giving them scope, as are the other sex in doing the same
+under the like circumstances. It is believed that the following pages,
+although they notice only a few of those women who have acquired a
+deserved celebrity, will furnish ample argument to sustain the ground
+we assume.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+  Lucretia and Margaret Davidson                                     9
+  Mrs. Adams                                                        49
+  Mrs. Washington                                                   79
+  Madame de Stael                                                   90
+  Lady Hester Stanhope                                             121
+  Hannah More                                                      131
+  Mrs. Barbauld                                                    167
+  Madame de Genlis                                                 182
+  Josephine                                                        219
+  Marie Antoinette                                                 261
+  Madame Roland                                                    267
+  Madame de Sevigne                                                286
+  Mary, Queen of Scots                                             307
+  Elizabeth, Queen of England                                      335
+  Isabella of Spain                                                339
+  Joan of Arc                                                      349
+
+
+
+
+LUCRETIA AND MARGARET DAVIDSON.
+
+
+"There stood on the banks of the Saranac a small, neat cottage, which
+peeped forth from the surrounding foliage--the image of rural quiet
+and contentment. An old-fashioned piazza extended along the front,
+shaded with vines and honeysuckles; the turf on the bank of the river
+was of the richest and brightest emerald; and the wild rose and
+sweetbrier, which twined over the neat enclosure, seemed to bloom with
+more delicate freshness and perfume within the bounds of this earthly
+paradise. The scenery around was wildly yet beautifully romantic; the
+clear blue river, glancing and sparkling at its feet, seemed only as a
+preparation for another and more magnificent view, when the stream,
+gliding on to the west, was buried in the broad, white bosom of
+Champlain, which stretched back, wave after wave, in the distance,
+until lost in faint blue mists that veiled the sides of its guardian
+mountains, seeming more lovely from their indistinctness."
+
+Such is the description which the younger subject of these memoirs
+gives us of the home of her parents, Dr. Oliver and Margaret Davidson,
+in the village of Plattsburg, Vermont. Amidst scenery so well
+calculated to call forth and foster poetical talent, Lucretia Maria
+Davidson was born on the 27th September, 1808. Of her earliest
+childhood there is nothing recorded, except that she was physically
+feeble, and manifested extreme sensibility of disposition. She was
+sent to school when she was four years old, and there was taught to
+read and to imitate, in sand, the printed characters. Books now
+possessed for her a greater charm than childish sports. The writing
+paper began to disappear mysteriously from the table, and Lucretia was
+often observed with pen and ink, to the surprise of her parents, who
+knew that she had never been taught to write. The mystery remained
+unexplained until she was six years old, when her mother, in searching
+a closet rarely visited, found, behind piles of linen, a parcel of
+little books filled with hieroglyphics. These were at length
+deciphered by her parents, and proved to be metrical explanations of
+rudely-sketched pictures on the opposite page; the explanations being
+made in Roman letters, most unartistically formed and disposed. Not
+long after, Lucretia came running to her mother in great agitation,
+the tears trickling down her cheeks, and said, "O mamma! mamma! how
+could you treat me so? My little books--you have shown them to
+papa,--Anne,--Eliza! I know you have. O, what shall I do?" Her mother
+tried to soothe the child, and promised never to do so again. "O
+mamma," replied she, a gleam of sunshine illumining the drops, "I am
+not afraid of that, for I have burned them all." "This reserve," says
+one whose kindred spirit could sympathize with that of Lucretia,
+"proceeded from nothing cold or exclusive in her character; never was
+there a more loving or sympathetic creature. It would be difficult to
+say which was most rare, her modesty, or the genius it sanctified."
+
+It does not surprise us to learn that, under the guidance of pious
+parents, religion took a deep and enduring hold, at a very early
+period, upon so susceptible a child. From her earliest years, she
+evinced a fear of doing any thing displeasing in the sight of God; and
+if, in her gayest sallies, she caught a look of disapprobation from
+her mother, she would ask, with the most artless simplicity, "O
+mother, was that wicked?" Her extreme conscientiousness exhibited
+itself in a manner quite remarkable in a child. Some of the friends of
+the family thought their mode of education not the most judicious, and
+that her devoting so much time to study was not consistent with the
+pecuniary circumstances and the physical condition of the mother, who,
+being a confirmed invalid, was able to take little part in the
+ordinary family labors. Lucretia's parents, however, did not concur in
+this opinion, and carefully concealed it from her; but she in some
+manner became aware of its existence, and voluntarily acted in
+accordance with it. The real feeling which prompted this conduct was
+artlessly made apparent by the incident which led her to return to her
+favorite occupation. When she was about twelve, she attended her
+father to a "birth-night" ball. The next day, an elder sister found
+her absorbed in composition. "She had sketched an urn, and written two
+stanzas under it. She was persuaded to show them to her mother. She
+brought them blushing and trembling. Her mother was ill, in bed; but
+she expressed her delight with such unequivocal animation, that the
+child's face changed from doubt to rapture, and she seized the paper,
+ran away, and immediately added the concluding stanzas. When they were
+finished, her mother pressed her to her bosom, wept with delight, and
+promised her all the aid and encouragement she could give her. The
+sensitive child burst into tears. 'And do you wish me to write, mamma?
+and will papa approve? and will it be right that I should do so?'" The
+following are the verses:--
+
+  "And does a hero's dust lie here?
+  Columbia, gaze, and drop a tear:
+  His country's and the orphan's friend,
+  See thousands o'er his ashes bend.
+
+  Among the heroes of the age,
+  He was the warrior and the sage;
+  He left a train of glory bright,
+  Which never will be hid in night.
+
+  The toils of war and danger past,
+  He reaps a rich reward at last;
+  His pure soul mounts on cherub's wings,
+  And now with saints and angels sings.
+
+  The brightest on the list of Fame,
+  In golden letters shines his name;
+  Her trump shall sound it through the world,
+  And the striped banner ne'er be furled.
+
+  And every sex, and every age,
+  From lisping boy to learned sage,
+  The widow, and her orphan son,
+  Revere the name of Washington!"
+
+A literary friend, to whom these verses were shown, felt some doubts
+as to Lucretia's being the real author of the stanzas, and suffered
+them to appear. The feeling that her rectitude was impeached made the
+sensitive girl actually ill; but a poetic remonstrance, which she
+prepared on the occasion, removed every doubt.
+
+From what has been before said, it must not be supposed that Lucretia
+was suffered to abandon herself to literary avocations. She had her
+prescribed tasks in sewing, and other customary employments, which she
+generally performed with fidelity and with wonderful celerity;
+sometimes, however, the voice of her muse struck her in the midst, and
+"enchanted she dropped each earthly care." One day, she had promised
+to do a certain piece of sewing, and had eagerly run for her basket;
+she was absent long, and on her return found that the work was done.
+"Where have you been, Lucretia?" said her mother, justly displeased.
+"O mamma," she replied, "I did forget; I am grieved. As I passed the
+window, I saw a solitary sweet pea. I thought they were all gone. This
+was alone. I ran to smell it, but, before I could reach it, a gust of
+wind broke the stem. I turned away disappointed, and was coming back
+to you; but as I passed the table, there stood the inkstand, and I
+forgot you." The following beautiful verses insured the forgiveness of
+her mother:--
+
+  "The last flower of the garden was blooming alone,
+  The last rays of the sun on its blushing leaves shone;
+  Still a glittering drop on its bosom reclined,
+  And a few half-blown buds 'midst its leaves were entwined.
+
+  Say, lovely one, say, why lingerest thou here?
+  And why on thy bosom reclines the bright tear?
+  'Tis the tear of the zephyr--for summer 'twas shed,
+  And for all thy companions now withered and dead.
+
+  Why lingerest thou here, when around thee are strown
+  The flowers once so lovely, by autumn blasts blown?
+  Say, why, sweetest floweret, the last of thy race,
+  Why lingerest thou here the lone garden to grace?
+
+  As I spoke, a rough blast, sent by winter's own hand,
+  Whistled by me, and bent its sweet head to the sand;
+  I hastened to raise it--the dew-drop had fled,
+  And the once lovely flower was withered and dead."
+
+All her short pieces were composed with equal rapidity; and sometimes
+she wished that she had two pair of hands to record as fast as her
+muse dictated. These she composed wherever she chanced to be when the
+spirit of poesy came over her. In the midst of her family, blind and
+deaf to all around her, she held sweet communion with her muse. But
+when composing her longer poems, as "Amie Khan," or "Chicomicos," she
+required complete seclusion. She retired to her own room, closed the
+blinds, and placed her AEolian harp in the window. Her mother gives
+this graphic description: "I entered her room,--she was sitting with
+scarcely light enough to discern the characters she was tracing; her
+harp was in the window, touched by a breeze just sufficient to rouse
+the spirit of harmony; her comb had fallen on the floor, and her long,
+dark ringlets hung in rich profusion over her neck and shoulders; her
+cheek glowed with animation; her lips were half unclosed; her full,
+dark eye was radiant with the light of genius, and beaming with
+sensibility; her head rested on her left hand, while she held her pen
+in her right. She looked like the inhabitant of another sphere. She
+was so wholly absorbed that she did not observe my entrance. I looked
+over her shoulder, and read the following lines:--
+
+  'What heavenly music strikes my ravished ear,
+  So soft, so melancholy, and so clear?
+  And do the tuneful nine then touch the lyre,
+  To fill each bosom with poetic fire?
+  Or does some angel strike the sounding strings,
+  Who caught from echo the wild note he sings?
+  But, ah! another strain! how sweet! how wild!
+  Now, rushing low, 'tis soothing, soft, and mild.'"
+
+The noise made by her mother roused Lucretia, who soon afterwards
+brought her the preceding verses, with the following added to them,
+being an address to her AEolian harp:--
+
+  "And tell me now, ye spirits of the wind,
+  O, tell me where those artless notes to find--
+  So lofty now, so loud, so sweet, so clear,
+  That even angels might delighted hear.
+
+  But hark! those notes again majestic rise,
+  As though some spirit, banished from the skies,
+  Had hither fled to charm AEolus wild,
+  And teach him other music, sweet and mild.
+
+  Then hither fly, sweet mourner of the air,
+  Then hither fly, and to my harp repair;
+  At twilight chant the melancholy lay,
+  And charm the sorrows of thy soul away."
+
+Her parents indulged her in the utmost latitude in her reading.
+History, profane and sacred, novels, poetry, and other works of
+imagination, by turns occupied her. Before she was twelve, she had
+read the English poets. Dramatic works possessed a great charm for
+her, and her devotion to Shakspeare is expressed in the following
+verses, written in her fifteenth year:--
+
+  "Shakspeare, with all thy faults, (and few have more,)
+  I love thee still, and still will con thee o'er.
+  Heaven, in compassion to man's erring heart,
+  Gave thee of virtue, then of vice, a part,
+  Lest we, in wonder here, should bow before thee,
+  Break God's commandment, worship, and adore thee;
+  But admiration, now, and sorrow join;
+  His works we reverence, while we pity thine."
+
+But above all other books she valued the Bible. The more poetical
+parts of the Old Testament she almost committed to memory; and the New
+Testament, especially those parts which relate the life of our Savior,
+was studied by her, and excited in her the deepest emotions. As an
+evidence of this we give the following verses, written in her
+thirteenth year:--
+
+  "THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
+
+  "The shepherd feeds his fleecy flock with care,
+    And mourns to find one little lamb has strayed;
+  He, unfatigued, roams through the midnight air,
+    O'er hills, o'er rocks, and through the mossy glade.
+
+  But when that lamb is found, what joy is seen
+    Depicted on the careful shepherd's face,
+  When, sporting o'er the smooth and level green,
+    He sees his favorite charge is in its place!
+
+  Thus the great Shepherd of his flock doth mourn,
+    When from his fold a wayward lamb has strayed,
+  And thus with mercy he receives him home,
+    When the poor soul his Lord has disobeyed.
+
+  There is great joy among the saints in heaven,
+    When one repentant soul has found its God;
+  For Christ, his Shepherd, hath his ransom given,
+    And sealed it with his own redeeming blood."
+
+We have now arrived at a period which most girls look forward to
+as an epoch in their life--the first ball! Lucretia had been to
+dancing-school, and took great delight in that exercise. In the hope
+of overcoming her painful timidity, her mother had consented to her
+attending the public assemblies of Plattsburg. She was fourteen.
+The day arrived, and the important subject of dress was the matter
+of consultation between Mrs. Davidson and her eldest daughter,
+Lucretia sitting by, absorbed in one of the Waverley novels. "What
+shall Lucy wear?" asked the sister. "Come, Lucretia; what color
+will you wear to-night?" "Where?" "Where? why, to the assembly, to
+be sure." "Is it to-night? so it is!" and she tossed aside her
+book, and danced delighted about the room. The question of dress was
+now settled, and Lucretia was soon again absorbed in her book. At
+the hour for dressing, the delights of the ball again filled her
+imagination, and she set about the offices of the toilet with
+interest. Her sister was to dress her hair; but, when the time came,
+she was missing. She was called in vain, and was at length found in
+the parlor, in the dusky twilight, writing poetry. "She returned from
+the assembly," says her mother, "wild with delight." "O mamma," said
+she, "I wish you had been there. When I first entered, the glare of
+light dazzled my eyes; my head whirled, and I felt as if I were
+treading on air; all was so gay, so brilliant! But I grew tired at
+last, and was glad to hear sister say it was time to go home."
+
+About the same period, life received for her a new object of interest.
+Her little sister Margaret, the frequent subject of her verses, was
+born. The following are among the earliest stanzas addressed to
+her:--
+
+  "Sweet babe, I cannot hope that thou'lt be freed
+  From woes, to all since earliest time decreed;
+  But may'st thou be with resignation blessed,
+  To bear each evil, howsoe'er distressed.
+
+  May Hope her anchor lend amid the storm,
+  And o'er the tempest rear her angel form;
+  May sweet Benevolence, whose words are peace,
+  To the rude whirlwind softly whisper, Cease!
+
+  And may Religion, Heaven's own darling child,
+  Teach thee at human cares and griefs to smile;
+  Teach thee to look beyond that world of woe,
+  To heaven's high font, whence mercies ever flow.
+
+  And when this vale of years is safely passed,
+  When death's dark curtain shuts the scene at last,
+  May thy freed spirit leave this earthly sod,
+  And fly to seek the bosom of thy God."
+
+Lucretia was now placed in trying circumstances. Her mother, after the
+birth of Margaret, was very ill; the infant, too, was ill; and, to add
+to their misfortunes, the nurse was taken sick. Lucretia's eldest
+sister had recently been married, and had removed to Canada; so that
+upon her devolved great and manifold duties.
+
+The manner in which she discharged these shall be related in her
+mother's own words. "Lucretia astonished us all. She took her station
+in my sick-room, and devoted herself wholly to the mother and the
+child; and when my recovery became doubtful, instead of resigning
+herself to grief, her exertions were redoubled, not only for the
+comfort of the sick, but she was an angel of consolation to her
+afflicted father. We were amazed at the exertions she made, and the
+fatigue she endured; for with nerves so weak, a constitution so
+delicate, and a sensibility so exquisite, we trembled lest she should
+sink with anxiety and fatigue. Until it ceased to be necessary, she
+performed not only the duties of a nurse, but acted as superintendent
+of the household." Neither did she relinquish her domestic avocations
+when her mother became better; "she did not so much yield to her
+ruling passion as to look into a book, or take up a pen, lest she
+should again become so absorbed in them as to neglect to perform those
+little offices which a feeble, affectionate mother had a right to
+claim at her hands." As was to be expected, her mental and physical
+health suffered; her cheek became pale, and her spirits dejected. Her
+mother became alarmed, and expressed her apprehensions. "I am not ill,
+mamma," said she, "only out of spirits." An explanation ensued, and
+the mother convinced the child that her duty did not require a total
+abandonment of the pursuits she longed for, but a judicious
+intermingling of literary with domestic labors. The good consequences
+of the change were soon manifest in the restored health and
+cheerfulness of Lucretia.
+
+It was about this period (1823-4) that she composed the longest of
+her published poems, "Amie Khan," an Oriental tale, which would do
+credit to much older and more practised writers.
+
+In 1824, an old friend of her mother's, Moss Kent, Esq., visited
+Plattsburg. He had never seen Lucretia, but had formed a high opinion
+of her genius from some of her productions, which had been shown to
+him by his sister. Her appearance at this time was well calculated to
+confirm his prepossessions in her favor. She is thus described by her
+biographer: "Miss Davidson was just sixteen. Her complexion was the
+most beautiful brunette, clear and brilliant, of that warm tint that
+seems to belong to lands of the sun, rather than to our chilled
+regions; indeed, her whole organization, mental as well as physical,
+her deep and quick sensibility, her early development, were
+characteristics of a warmer clime than ours: her stature was of the
+middle height; her form slight and symmetrical; her hair profuse,
+dark, and curling; her mouth and nose regular, and as beautiful as if
+they had been chiselled by an inspired artist; and through this
+fitting medium beamed her angelic spirit."
+
+Charmed by all he saw and read, Mr. Kent at once made the proposal to
+her parents to adopt Lucretia as his own child. The proposal was in
+part accepted, and, in accordance with his wishes, it was determined
+to send her to the Troy Seminary. Her feelings on this occasion are
+thus made known by letter to her sister: "What think you? Ere another
+moon shall fill, 'round as my shield,' I shall be at Mrs. Willard's
+Seminary. In a fortnight I shall probably have left Plattsburg, not to
+return at least until the expiration of six months. O, I am so
+delighted, so happy! I shall scarcely eat, drink, or sleep, for a
+month to come. You must write to me often, and you must not laugh when
+you think of poor Lucy in the far-famed city of Troy, dropping
+handkerchiefs, keys, gloves, &c.; in short, something of every thing I
+have. It is well if you can read what I have written, for papa and
+mamma are talking, and my head whirls like a top. O, how my poor head
+aches! Such a surprise as I have had!"
+
+She left home November 24, 1824, to appearance full of health and of
+delight at the opportunities of acquiring knowledge which were to be
+open to her. At parting she left the following verses:--
+
+  "TO MY MOTHER.
+
+  "O Thou whose care sustained my infant years,
+    And taught my prattling lip each note of love,
+  Whose soothing voice breathed comfort to my fears,
+    And round my brow hope's brightest garland wove,--
+
+  To thee my lay is due, the simple song,
+    Which nature gave me at life's opening day;
+  To thee these rude, these untaught strains belong,
+    Whose heart indulgent will not spurn my lay.
+
+  O, say, amid this wilderness of life,
+    What bosom would have throbbed like thine for me?
+  Who would have smiled responsive? Who, in grief,
+    Would e'er have felt and, feeling, grieved like thee?
+
+  Who would have guarded, with a falcon eye,
+    Each trembling footstep, or each sport of fear?
+  Who would have marked my bosom bounding high,
+    And clasped me to her heart with love's bright tear?
+  Who would have hung around my sleepless couch,
+    And fanned, with anxious hand, my burning brow?
+  Who would have fondly pressed my fevered lip,
+    In all the agony of love and woe?
+
+  None but a mother--none but one like thee,
+    Whose bloom has faded in the midnight watch,
+  Whose eye, for me, has lost its witchery,
+    Whose form has felt disease's mildew touch.
+
+  Yes, thou hast lighted me to health and life,
+    By the bright lustre of thy youthful bloom;
+  Yes, thou hast wept so oft o'er every grief,
+    That woe hath traced thy brow with marks of gloom.
+
+  O, then, to thee this rude and simple song,
+    Which breathes of thankfulness and love for thee,
+  To thee, my mother, shall this lay belong,
+    Whose life is spent in toil and care for me."
+
+
+The following extracts from a letter to her mother tell us of the
+state of her feelings when established at the Seminary.
+
+"December 24, 1824. Here I am at last; and what a naughty girl I was,
+when I was at aunt Schuyler's, that I did not write you every thing!
+But to tell the truth, I was topsy-turvy, and so I am now. But in
+despite of calls from the young ladies, and of a hundred new faces,
+and new names which are constantly ringing in my ears, I have set
+myself down, and will not rise until I have written an account of
+every thing to my dear mother. I am contented; yet, notwithstanding, I
+have once or twice turned a wistful glance towards my dear-loved home.
+Amidst all the parade of wealth, in the splendid apartments of
+luxury, I can assure you, my dearest mother, that I had rather be
+with you, in our own lowly home, than in the midst of all this
+ceremony." "O mamma, I like Mrs. W. 'And so this is my little girl,'
+said she, and took me affectionately by the hand. O, I want to see you
+so much! But I must not think of it now; I must learn as fast as I
+can, and think only of my studies. Dear, dear little Margaret! Kiss
+her and the little boys for me. How is dear father getting on in this
+rattling world?"
+
+The transplanting a flower of so delicate a constitution from the
+clear air of Lake Champlain to the close atmosphere of a city
+boarding-school, was followed by consequences which might have been
+expected. Almost from her arrival, Lucretia's letters speak of
+ill-health and unhappiness, aggravated by the fear that her progress
+in studies, thus frequently interrupted, would disappoint the
+expectations of her kind benefactor, for whom she seems to have
+cherished the most affectionate and grateful feelings. Neither do the
+excitements of a large public seminary seem well adapted to one of so
+sensitive a nature. In the course of time, the public examination
+approached, and for the two months preceding it, she was kept in a
+state of constant agitation and dread, which is thus spoken of in a
+half-serious, half-jesting letter to her mother: "We are all engaged,
+heart and hand, preparing for this awful examination. O, how I dread
+it! But there is no retreat. I must stand firm to my post, or
+experience the anger, vengeance, and punishments, which will, in case
+of delinquency or flight, be exercised with the most unforgiving
+acrimony. We are in such cases excommunicated, henceforth and
+forever, under the awful ban of holy Seminary; and the evil eye of
+false report is upon us. O mamma, I do, though, jesting apart, dread
+this examination; but nothing short of real and absolute sickness can
+excuse a scholar in the eyes of Mrs. W. Even that will not do in the
+Trojan world around us; for if a young lady is ill at examination,
+they say with a sneer, 'O, she is ill of an examination fever!' Thus
+you see, mamma, we have no mercy either from friends or foes. We must
+'do or die.' Tell Morris he must write to me. Kiss dear, dear little
+Margaret for me, and don't let her forget poor sister Luly; and tell
+all who inquire for me that I am well, but in awful dread of a great
+examination."
+
+She was interrupted, in her course of preparation for the examination,
+by an illness so serious as to require the attendance of a physician.
+But no sooner was she convalescent than she was suffered to renew her
+suicidal course. "I shall rise between two and four now every morning,
+till the dreaded day is past. I rose the other night at twelve, but
+was ordered back to bed again. You see, mamma, I shall have a chance
+to become an early riser here." "Had I not written you that I was
+coming home, I think I should not have seen you this winter. All my
+friends think I had better remain here, as the journey will be long
+and cold; but O, there is at that journey's end, which would tempt me
+through the wilds of Siberia--father, mother, brothers, sisters,
+_home_. Yes, I shall come." "The dreaded examination is now going on,
+my dear mother. To-morrow evening, which will be the last, is always
+the most crowded, and is the time fixed upon for my _entree_ upon the
+field of action. O, I hope I shall not disgrace myself. It is the rule
+here to reserve the best classes till the last; so I suppose I may
+take it as a compliment that we are delayed." "The examination is
+over. E. did herself and her native village honor; but as for your
+poor Luly, she acquitted herself, I trust, decently. O mamma, I was so
+frightened! But although my face glowed and my voice trembled, I did
+make out to get through, for I knew my lessons. The room was crowded
+to suffocation. All was still; the fall of a pin could have been
+heard; and I tremble when I think of it even now."
+
+The expected visit to her home was relinquished, and she passed the
+vacation with her friends in the vicinity of Troy. An incident which
+occurred as she was crossing the Hudson on her return to Troy, is thus
+described: "Uncle went to the ferry with me, where we met Mr. P. Uncle
+placed me under his care, and, snugly seated by his side, I expected a
+very pleasant ride, with a very pleasant gentleman. All was pleasant,
+except that we expected every instant that all the ice in the Hudson
+would come drifting against us, and shut in scow, stage and all, or
+sink us to the bottom, which, in either case, you know, mother, would
+not have been quite so agreeable. We had just pushed off from the
+shore, I watching the ice with anxious eyes, when, lo! the two leaders
+made a tremendous plunge, and tumbled headlong into the river. I felt
+the carriage following fast after; the other two horses pulled back
+with all their power, but the leaders were dragging them down,
+dashing, and plunging, and flouncing, in the water. 'Mr. P., in mercy
+let us get out!' said I. But as he did not see the horses, he felt no
+alarm. The moment I informed him they were overboard, he opened the
+door, and cried, 'Get out and save yourself, if possible; I am old and
+stiff, but I will follow you in an instant.' 'Out with the lady! let
+the lady out!' shouted several voices at once; 'the other horses are
+about to plunge, and then all will be over.' I made a lighter spring
+than many a lady does in a cotillon, and jumped upon a cake of ice.
+Mr. P. followed, and we stood (I trembling like a leaf) expecting
+every moment that the next plunge of the drowning horses would detach
+the piece of ice upon which we were standing, and send us adrift; but,
+thank Heaven, after working for ten or fifteen minutes, by dint of
+ropes, and cutting them away from the other horses, they dragged the
+poor creatures out more dead than alive. Mother, don't you think I
+displayed some courage? I jumped into the stage again, and shut the
+door, while Mr. P. remained outside, watching the movement of affairs.
+We at length reached here, and I am alive, as you see, to tell the
+story of my woes."
+
+At the spring vacation, Lucretia returned to her loved home; but the
+joy of her parents at once more embracing their darling daughter, was
+damped by observing that the fell destroyer had set its well-known
+mark upon her cheek. Her father called in another physician to consult
+with him, and, strange to say, it was decided that she should return
+to school in Albany, where she arrived May, 1825, and where her
+reception, her accommodations and prospects, seem to have given her
+much delight, and where she entered upon her career of study with her
+wonted ardor. But her physical strength could not sustain the demands
+upon it. She thus writes to her mother: "I am very wretched: am I
+never to hear from you again? I am homesick. I know I am foolish, but
+I cannot help it. To tell the truth, I am half sick, I am so weak, so
+languid. I cannot eat. I am nervous; I know I am. I weep most of the
+time. I have blotted the paper so that I cannot write. I cannot study
+much longer if I do not hear from you." Her disease appears now to
+have assumed a fixed character, and in her next letter, she expresses
+a fear that it is beyond the reach of human art. Her mother, herself
+ill, set off at once for Albany, and was received by her child with
+rapture. "O mamma, I thought I should never have seen you again! But,
+now I have you here, I can lay my aching head upon your bosom. I shall
+soon be better."
+
+The journey homeward, though made in the heats of July, was attended
+with less suffering than was anticipated. "Her joy," says her mother,
+"upon finding herself at home, operated for a time like magic." The
+progress of disease seemed to be suspended. Those around her received
+new hope; but she herself was not deceived, and she calmly waited for
+that great change which for her possessed no terrors, for her hopes as
+to the future rested upon a sure foundation.
+
+But one fear disturbed her, to which she refers in the following, the
+last piece she ever composed, and which is left unfinished:--
+
+  "There is a something which I dread;
+    It is a dark and fearful thing;
+  It steals along with withering tread,
+    Or sweeps on wild destruction's wing.
+
+  That thought comes o'er me in the hour
+    Of grief, of sickness, or of sadness;
+  'Tis not the dread of death; 'tis more,--
+    It is the dread of madness.
+
+  O, may these throbbing pulses pause,
+    Forgetful of their feverish course;
+  May this hot brain, which, burning, glows
+    With all a fiery whirlpool's force,--
+
+  Be cold, and motionless, and still,
+    A tenant of its lowly bed;
+  But let not dark delirium steal----"
+
+She died on the 27th August, 1825. Her literary labors will surprise
+all who remember that she had not yet reached her seventeenth
+birthday. They consist of two hundred and seventy-eight poetical
+pieces, of which there are five regular poems, of several cantos each;
+three unfinished romances; a complete tragedy, written at thirteen
+years of age; and twenty-four school exercises; besides letters, of
+which forty are preserved, written in the course of a few months, to
+her mother alone. Indeed, we cannot but look upon Lucretia Davidson as
+one of the wonders of humanity. Her early productions excited even the
+admiration of Byron; and the delicacy, dutifulness, and exaltation, of
+her character seemed almost to have realized angelic purity and beauty
+of soul, in a tenement of clay.
+
+The little Margaret, as we have seen, was the object of Lucretia's
+fondest affection. She used to gaze upon her little sister with
+delight, and, remarking the brightness and beauty of her eyes, would
+exclaim, "She must, she will be a poet!" She did not live to see her
+prediction verified, but to use her mother's fond expressions, "On
+ascending to the skies, it seemed as if her poetic mantle fell, like a
+robe of light, on her infant sister."
+
+Though Margaret was but two years and a half old, the death of her
+sister made a strong impression on her, and an incident which occurred
+a few months afterwards showed that she appreciated her character. As
+Mrs. Davidson was seated, at twilight, conversing with a female
+friend, Margaret entered the room with a light, elastic step, for
+which she was remarked. "That child never walks," said the lady; then
+turning to her, she said, "Margaret, where are you flying now?" "To
+heaven!" replied Margaret, pointing up with her fingers, "to meet my
+sister Lucretia, when I get my new wings." "Your new wings! When will
+you get them?" "O, soon, very soon; and then I shall fly!" "She
+loved," says her mother, "to sit, hour after hour, on a cushion at my
+feet, her little arms resting upon my lap, and her full, dark eyes
+fixed upon mine, listening to anecdotes of her sister's life, and
+details of the events which preceded her death, often exclaiming,
+while her face beamed with mingled emotions, 'O mamma, I will try to
+fill her place! Teach me to be like her!'"
+
+Warned by their dreadful experience in the former instance, the
+parents endeavored to repress the intellectual activity of Margaret.
+She was not taught to read till she was four years old; but so rapid
+was her progress after that period, under her mother's instructions,
+that at six she read not only well, but elegantly, and was wont to
+solace her mother's hours of protracted illness, by reading to her the
+works of Thomson, Campbell, Cowper, Milton, Byron, Scott, &c., in
+which she took enthusiastic delight, and in discriminating their
+beauties and defects, she showed wonderful taste and intelligence. The
+Scriptures were her daily study; not hurried over as a task, but she
+would spend an hour or two in commenting with her mother upon the
+chapter she had read.
+
+"Her religious impressions," says her mother, "seemed to be interwoven
+with her existence. From the very first exercise of reason, she
+evinced strong devotional feelings, and, although she loved play, she
+would at any time prefer seating herself beside me, and, with every
+faculty absorbed in the subject, listen while I attempted to recount
+the wonders of Providence, and point out the wisdom and benevolence of
+God, as manifested in the works of creation."
+
+About the age of six years, she began to exhibit a talent for
+rhyming. One of her earliest pieces, if not remarkable for poetical
+merit, is worthy of transcription, from the incident which gave
+occasion to its composition; it also exhibits in a striking manner
+that conscientiousness for which her sister was so distinguished,
+and a power of self-examination of rare existence in one so young.
+
+Her mother reproved her for some trifling act of disobedience upon
+which she attempted to justify herself, and for this aggravation of
+the fault was banished to her chamber until she should become sensible
+of her error. Two hours elapsed, and she continued obstinate;
+vindicating herself, and accusing her mother of injustice. Mrs. D.
+reasoned with her, exhorting her to pray to God to assist her in
+gaining that meekness and humility which had characterized our Savior,
+and reminding her of the example he had set of obedience to parents.
+An hour or two afterwards, Margaret came running in, threw her arms
+around her mother's neck, and, sobbing, put into her hands these
+verses:--
+
+  "Forgiven by my Savior dear
+    For all the wrongs I've done,
+  What other wish could I have here?
+    Alas! there yet is one.
+
+  I know my God has pardoned me;
+    I know he loves me still;
+  I wish I may forgiven be
+    By her I've used so ill.
+
+  Good resolutions I have made,
+    And thought I loved my Lord;
+  But, ah! I trusted in myself,
+    And broke my foolish word.
+
+  But give me strength, O Lord, to trust
+    For help alone in thee;
+  Thou know'st my inmost feelings best;
+    O, teach me to obey."
+
+She took little pleasure in the common sports of children; her
+amusements were almost entirely intellectual. If she played with a
+doll, or a kitten, she invested it with some historical or dramatic
+character, and whether Mary, queen of Scots, or Elizabeth, the
+character was always well sustained.
+
+In her seventh year, her health became visibly delicate, and she was
+taken to Saratoga springs and to New York, from which excursions she
+derived much physical advantage, and great intellectual pleasure; but
+she returned to her native village with feelings of admiration and
+enthusiasm for its natural beauties, heightened by contrast. As her
+health began again to fail in the autumn, and the vicinity to the lake
+seemed unfavorable to the health of Mrs. Davidson, the family went to
+Canada to pass the winter with the eldest daughter.
+
+Margaret grew stronger, but her mother derived no benefit from the
+change, and for eighteen months remained a helpless invalid, during
+which time her little daughter was her constant companion and
+attendant. "Her tender solicitude," says Mrs. D., "endeared her to
+me beyond any other earthly thing. Although under the roof of a
+beloved and affectionate daughter, and having constantly with me
+an experienced and judicious nurse, yet the soft and gentle voice
+of my little darling was more than medicine to my worn-out frame.
+If her delicate hand smoothed my pillow, it was soft to my aching
+temples, and her sweet smile would cheer me in the lowest depths of
+despondency. She would draw for me--read to me--and often, when
+writing at her little table, would surprise me by some tribute of
+love, which never failed to operate as a cordial to my heart. At a
+time when my life was despaired of, she wrote the following verses
+while sitting at my bed:--
+
+  'I'll to thy arms in rapture fly,
+  And wipe the tear that dims thine eye;
+  Thy pleasure will be my delight,
+  Till thy pure spirit takes its flight.
+
+  When left alone, when thou art gone,
+  Yet still I will not feel alone;
+  Thy spirit still will hover near,
+  And guard thy orphan daughter here.'"
+
+Margaret continued to increase in strength until January, 1833, when
+she was attacked by scarlet fever, under which she lingered many
+weeks. In the month of May, she had, however, so far recovered as to
+accompany her mother, now convalescent, on a visit to New York. Here
+she was the delight of the relatives with whom she resided, and the
+suggester of many new sources of amusement to her youthful companions.
+One of her projects was to get up a dramatic entertainment, for
+which she was to write the play. Indeed, she directed the whole
+arrangements, although she had never but once been to a theatre, and
+that on her former visit to New York. The preparations occupied
+several days, and, being nearly completed, Margaret was called upon to
+produce the play. "O," she replied, "I have not written it yet." "How
+is this? Do you make the dresses first, and then write the play to
+suit them?" "O," replied she, "the writing of the play is the easiest
+part of the preparation; it will be ready before the dresses." In
+two days she produced her drama; "which," says Mr. Irving, "is a
+curious specimen of the prompt talent of this most ingenious child,
+and by no means more incongruous in its incidents than many current
+dramas by veteran and experienced playwrights."
+
+Though it was the study of her relatives to make her residence in New
+York as agreeable to her as possible, the heart of Margaret yearned
+for her home: her feelings are expressed in the following lines:--
+
+  "I would fly from the city, would fly from its care,
+  To my own native plants and my flowerets so fair;
+  To the cool grassy shade and the rivulet bright,
+  Which reflects the pale moon on its bosom of light.
+  Again would I view the old mansion so dear,
+  Where I sported a babe, without sorrow or fear;
+  I would leave this great city, so brilliant and gay,
+  For a peep at my home on this fine summer day.
+  I have friends whom I love, and would leave with regret,
+  But the love of my home, O, 'tis tenderer yet!
+  There a sister reposes unconscious in death;
+  'Twas there she first drew, and there yielded, her breath:
+  A father I love is away from me now--
+  O, could I but print a sweet kiss on his brow,
+  Or smooth the gray locks, to my fond heart so dear,
+  How quickly would vanish each trace of a tear!
+  Attentive I listen to pleasure's gay call,
+  But my own darling home, it is dearer than all."
+
+In the autumn the travellers turned their faces homewards, but it was
+not to the home of Margaret's tender longings. The wintry winds of
+Lake Champlain were deemed too severe for the invalids, and the family
+took up its residence at Ballston. Margaret's feelings upon this
+disappointment are thus recorded:--
+
+  "MY NATIVE LAKE.
+
+  "Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream,
+  Lit by the sun's resplendent beam,
+  Reflect each bending tree so light
+  Upon thy bounding bosom bright!
+  Could I but see thee once again,
+  My own, my beautiful Champlain!
+
+  The little isles that deck thy breast,
+  And calmly on thy bottom rest,
+  How often, in my childish glee,
+  I've sported round them, bright and free!
+  Could I but see thee once again,
+  My own, my beautiful Champlain!
+
+  How oft I've watched the freshening shower
+  Bending the summer tree and flower,
+  And felt my little heart beat high
+  As the bright rainbow graced the sky!
+  Could I but see thee once again,
+  My own, my beautiful Champlain!
+
+  And shall I never see thee more,
+  My native lake, my much-loved shore?
+  And must I bid a long adieu,
+  My dear, my infant home, to you?
+  Shall I not see thee once again,
+  My own, my beautiful Champlain?"
+
+But Margaret was happy; the family were reunited, and she had health
+sufficient to allow her to pursue her studies, still under her
+mother's direction. She was fond, too, of devising little plans for
+intellectual improvement and amusement: among others, a weekly
+newspaper was issued in manuscript, called the "Juvenile Aspirant."
+But this happiness was soon clouded. Her own severe illness excited
+alarming fears; and hardly was she convalescent, when, in the spring
+of 1834, intelligence was received from Canada of the death of her
+eldest sister. This was a severe shock, for she had always looked up
+to this only surviving sister as to one who would supply the place of
+her seemingly dying mother. But she forgot her own grief in trying to
+solace that of her mother. Her feelings, as usual, were expressed in
+verses, which are as remarkable for their strain of sober piety as for
+poetical merit. The following are portions of an address--
+
+  "TO MY MOTHER, OPPRESSED WITH SORROW.
+
+  "Weep, O my mother! I will bid thee weep,
+  For grief like thine requires the aid of tears;
+  But O, I would not see thy bosom thus
+  Bowed down to earth, with anguish so severe;
+  I would not see thine ardent feelings crushed,
+  Deadened to all save sorrow's thrilling tone,
+  Like the pale flower, which hangs its drooping head
+  Beneath the chilling blasts of Eolus!
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  When love would seek to lead thy heart from grief,
+  And fondly pleads one cheering look to view,
+  A sad, a faint, sad smile one instant gleams
+  Athwart the brow where sorrow sits enshrined,
+  Brooding o'er ruins of what once was fair;
+  But like departing sunset, as it throws
+  One farewell shadow o'er the sleeping earth,
+  Thus, thus it fades! and sorrow more profound
+  Dwells on each feature where a smile, so cold,
+  It scarcely might be called the mockery
+  Of cheerful peace, but just before had been.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  But, O my mother, weep not thus for _her_,
+  The rose, just blown, transported to its home;
+  Nor weep that her angelic soul has found
+  A resting-place with God.
+  O, let the eye of heaven-born Faith disperse
+  The darkening mists of earthly grief, and pierce
+  The clouds which shadow dull mortality!
+  Gaze on the heaven of glory crowned with light,
+  Where rests thine own sweet child with radiant brow,
+  In the same voice which charmed her father's halls,
+  Chanting sweet anthems to her Maker's praise,
+  And watching with delight the gentle buds
+  Which she had lived to mourn; watching thine own,
+  My mother! the soft, unfolding blossoms,
+  Which, ere the breath of earthly sin could taint,
+  Departed to their Savior, there to wait
+  For thy fond spirit in the home of bliss!
+  The angel babes have found a sister mother;
+  But when thy soul shall pass from earth away,
+  The little cherubs then shall cling to thee,
+  And then, sweet guardian, welcome thee with joy,
+  Protector of their helpless infancy,
+  Who taught them how to reach that happy home."
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+So strong and healthful did she seem during the ensuing summer,
+that her mother began to indulge hopes of raising the tender plant
+to maturity. But winter brought with it a new attack of sickness,
+and from December to March the little sufferer languished on her
+bed. During this period, her mind remained inactive; but with
+returning health it broke forth in a manner that excited alarm.
+"In conversation," says her mother, "her sallies of wit were
+dazzling; she composed and wrote incessantly, or rather would
+have done so, had I not interposed my authority to prevent this
+unceasing tax upon both her mental and physical strength. She
+seemed to exist only in the regions of poetry."
+
+There was a faint return of health, followed by a new attack of
+disease; indeed, the remainder of her brief sojourn in this world
+presents the usual vicissitudes attendant upon her disease--short
+intervals of health, which she devoted to study, amid long and dreary
+periods of illness, which she bore with exemplary patience. It would
+be painful to follow her through these vicissitudes. We need only note
+those events and changes which produced a marked effect upon her
+feelings, and which she has recorded in verse.
+
+In the autumn of 1835, the family removed to "Ruremont," an
+old-fashioned country house near New York, on the banks of Long Island
+Sound. The character and situation of this place seized powerfully on
+Margaret's imagination. "The curious structure of this old-fashioned
+house," says her mother, "its picturesque appearance, the varied and
+beautiful grounds around it, called up a thousand poetic images and
+romantic ideas. A long gallery, a winding staircase, a dark, narrow
+passage, a trap-door, large apartments with massive doors and heavy
+iron bolts and bars,--all set her mind teeming with recollections of
+what she had read, and imagination of old castles, &c." Perhaps it was
+under the influence of feelings thus suggested that she composed the
+following
+
+  "STANZAS.
+
+  "O for the pinions of a bird,
+    To bear me far away,
+  Where songs of other lands are heard,
+    And other waters play!--
+
+  For some aerial car, to fly
+    On, through the realms of light,
+  To regions rife with poesy,
+    And teeming with delight.
+
+  O'er many a wild and classic stream
+    In ecstasy I'd bend,
+  And hail each ivy-covered tower
+    As though it were a friend;
+
+  Through many a shadowy grove, and round
+    Full many a cloistered hall,
+  And corridors, where every step
+    With echoing peal doth fall.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  O, what unmingled pleasure then
+    My youthful heart would feel,
+  And o'er its thrilling chords each thought
+    Of former days would steal!
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  Amid the scenes of past delight,
+    Or misery, I'd roam,
+  Where ruthless tyrants swayed in might,
+    Where princes found a home.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  I'd stand where proudest kings have stood,
+    Or kneel where slaves have knelt,
+  Till, rapt in magic solitude,
+    I feel what they have felt."
+
+Margaret now felt comparatively well, and was eager to resume her
+studies. She was indulged so far as to be permitted to accompany her
+father three times to the city, where she took lessons in French,
+music, and dancing. To the Christmas holidays she looked forward as a
+season of delight; she had prepared a drama of six acts for the
+domestic entertainment, and the back parlor was to be fitted up for a
+theatre, her little brothers being her fellow-laborers. But her
+anticipations were disappointed. Two of her brothers were taken ill;
+and one of them, a beautiful boy of nine, never recovered. "This,"
+says her mother, "was Margaret's first acquaintance with death. She
+saw her sweet little play-fellow reclining upon my bosom during his
+last agonies; she witnessed the bright glow which flashed upon his
+long-faded cheek; she beheld the unearthly light of his beautiful eye,
+as he pressed his dying lips to mine, and exclaimed, 'Mother, dear
+mother, the last hour has come!' It was indeed an hour of anguish. Its
+effect upon her youthful mind was as lasting as her life. The sudden
+change from life and animation to the still unconsciousness of death,
+for a time almost paralyzed her. The first thing that aroused her to a
+sense of what was going on about her, was the thought of my
+bereavement, and a conviction that it was her province to console me."
+But Mrs. Davidson soon presents a sadder picture: "My own weak frame
+was unable longer to sustain the effects of long watching and deep
+grief. I had not only lost my lovely boy, but I felt a strong
+conviction that I must soon resign my Margaret. Although she still
+persisted in the belief that she was well, the irritating cough, the
+hectic flush, the hurried beating of the heart, and the drenching
+night perspirations, confirmed me in this belief, and I sank under
+this accumulated weight of affliction. For three weeks I hovered on
+the borders of the grave, and, when I arose from this bed of pain, it
+was to witness the rupture of a blood-vessel in her lungs, caused by
+exertions to suppress a cough. I was compelled to conceal every
+appearance of alarm, lest agitation of her mind should produce fatal
+consequences. As I seated myself by her, she raised her speaking eyes
+to mine with a mournful, inquiring gaze, and, as she read the anguish
+which I could not conceal, she turned away with a look of despair."
+There no longer remained room for hope, and all that remained to be
+done was to smooth the pathway to the grave.
+
+Although Margaret endeavored to persuade herself that she was well,
+yet, from the change that took place in her habits in the autumn of
+1836, it is evident that she knew her real situation. In compliance
+with her mother's oft-repeated advice, she gave up her studies, and
+sought by light reading and trivial employments to "kill time." Of the
+struggles which it cost her thus to pass six months, the following
+incident, as related by her mother, will inform us: "She was seated
+one day by my side, weary and restless, scarcely knowing what to do
+with herself, when, marking, the traces of grief upon my face, she
+threw her arms about my neck, and, kissing me, exclaimed, 'My dear,
+dear mother!' 'What is it affects you now, my child?' 'O, I know you
+are longing for something from my pen.' I saw the secret craving of
+the spirit that gave rise to the suggestion. 'I do indeed, my dear,
+delight in the effusions of your pen, but the exertion will injure
+you.' 'Mamma, I _must_ write! I can hold out no longer! I will return
+to my pen, my pencil, and my books, and shall again be happy.'" The
+following verses, written soon after, show the state of her
+feelings:--
+
+  "Earth, thou hast but nought to satisfy
+    The cravings of immortal mind;
+  Earth, thou hast nothing pure and high,
+    The soaring, struggling soul to bind.
+
+  Impatient of its long delay,
+    The pinioned spirit fain would roam,
+  And leave this crumbling house of clay,
+    To seek, above, its own bright home!
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  O, how mysterious is the bond
+    Which blends the earthly with the pure,
+  And mingles that which death may blight
+    With that which ever must endure!
+
+  Arise, my soul, from all below,
+    And gaze upon thy destined home--
+  The heaven of heavens, the throne of God,
+    Where sin and care can never come.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  Compound of weakness and of strength;
+    Mighty, yet ignorant of thy power;
+  Loftier than earth, or air, or sea,
+    Yet meaner than the lowliest flower!--
+
+  Soaring towards heaven, yet clinging still
+    To earth, by many a purer tie!
+  Longing to breathe a tender air,
+    Yet fearing, trembling thus to die!"
+
+Some verses written about the same period show the feelings she held
+towards her sister Lucretia.
+
+  "My sister! with that thrilling word
+    What thoughts unnumbered wildly spring!
+  What echoes in my heart are stirred,
+    While thus I touch the trembling string!
+
+  My sister! ere this youthful mind
+    Could feel the value of thine own;
+  Ere this infantine heart could bind,
+    In its deep cell, one look, one tone,
+
+  To glide along on memory's stream,
+    And bring back thrilling thoughts of thee;
+  Ere I knew aught but childhood's dream,
+    Thy soul had struggled, and was free.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  I cannot weep that thou art fled;
+    Forever blends my soul with thine;
+  Each thought, by purer impulse led,
+    Is soaring on to realms divine.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  I hear thee in the summer breeze,
+    See thee in all that's pure or fair,
+  Thy whisper in the murmuring trees,
+    Thy breath, thy spirit, every where.
+
+  Thine eyes, which watch when mortals sleep,
+    Cast o'er my dreams a radiant hue;
+  Thy tears, "such tears as angels weep,"
+    Fall nightly with the glistening dew.
+
+  Thy fingers wake my youthful lyre,
+    And teach its softer strains to flow;
+  Thy spirit checks each vain desire,
+    And gilds the lowering brow of woe.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  Thou gem of light! my leading star!
+    What thou hast been I strive to be;
+  When from the path I wander far,
+    O, turn thy guiding beam on me.
+
+  Teach me to fill thy place below,
+    That I may dwell with thee above;
+  To soothe, like thee, a mother's woe,
+    And prove, like thine, a sister's love.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  When all is still, and fancy's realm
+    Is opening to the eager view,
+  Mine eye full oft, in search of thee,
+    Roams o'er that vast expanse of blue.
+
+  I know that here thy harp is mute,
+    And quenched the bright, poetic fire;
+  Yet still I bend my ear, to catch
+    The hymnings of thy seraph lyre.
+
+  O, if this partial converse now
+    So joyous to my heart can be,
+  How must the streams of rapture flow,
+    When both are chainless, both are free!--
+
+  When, borne from earth for evermore,
+    Our souls in sacred joy unite,
+  At God's almighty throne adore,
+    And bathe in beams of endless light!"
+
+Although the extracts from the works of this gifted being have been so
+extensive, we cannot forbear giving some portions of a piece written
+about the same period, and entitled--
+
+  "AN APPEAL FOR THE BLIND.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  "Launched forth on life's uncertain path,
+    Its best and brightest gift denied,
+  No power to pluck its fragrant flowers,
+    Or turn its poisonous thorns aside;--
+
+  No ray to pierce the gloom within,
+    And chase the darkness with its light;
+  No radiant morning dawn to win
+    His spirit from the shades of night;--
+
+  Nature, whose smile, so pure and fair,
+    Casts a bright glow on life's dark stream,--
+  Nature, sweet soother of our care,
+    Has not a single smile for him.
+
+  When pale disease, with blighting hand,
+    Crushes each budding hope awhile,
+  Our eyes can rest in sweet delight
+    On love's fond gaze, or friendship's smile.
+
+  Not so with _him_; his soul chained down
+    By doubt, and loneliness, and care,
+  Feels but misfortune's chilling frown,
+    And broods in darkness and despair.
+
+  Favored by Heaven, O, haste thee on;
+    Thy blest Redeemer points the way;
+  Haste o'er the spirit's gloom to pour
+    The light of intellectual day.
+
+  Thou canst not raise their drooping lids,
+    And wake them to the noonday sun;
+  Thou canst not ope, what God hath closed,
+    Or cancel aught his hands have done.
+
+  But, O, there is a world within,
+    More bright, more beautiful than ours;
+  A world which, nursed by culturing hands,
+    Will blush with fairest, sweetest flowers.
+
+  And thou canst make that desert mind
+    Bloom sweetly as the blushing rose;
+  Thou canst illume that rayless void
+    Till darkness like the day-gleam glows.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  Thus shalt thou shed a purer ray
+    O'er each beclouded mind within,
+  Than pours the glorious orb of day
+    On this dark world of care and sin.
+
+  . . . . . . . . . .
+
+  And when the last dread day has come,
+    Which seals thine endless doom,--
+  When the freed soul shall seek its home,
+    And triumph o'er the tomb,--
+
+  When lowly bends each reverend knee,
+    And bows each heart in prayer,--
+  A band of spirits, saved by thee,
+    Shall plead thy virtues there."
+
+Hitherto Margaret had sedulously avoided all conversations about her
+health, and seemed unwilling to let the feeling that disease had
+marked her for its victim take possession of her mind. But in the
+summer of 1838, she one day surprised her mother by asking her to tell
+her, without reserve, her opinion of her state. "I was," says her
+mother, "wholly unprepared for this question; and it was put in so
+solemn a manner, that I could not evade it, were I disposed to do so.
+I knew with what strong affection she clung to life, and the objects
+and friends which endeared it to her; I knew how bright the world upon
+which she was just entering appeared to her young fancy--what glowing
+pictures she had drawn of future usefulness and happiness. I was now
+called upon at one blow to crush these hopes, to destroy the
+delightful visions; it would be cruel and wrong to deceive her. In
+vain I attempted a reply to her direct and solemn appeal; several
+times I essayed to speak, but the words died away on my lips; I could
+only fold her to my heart in silence; imprint a kiss upon her
+forehead, and leave the room, to avoid agitating her with feelings I
+had no power to repress."
+
+But this silence was to Margaret as expressive as words. Religion had
+always been present with her, but from this period it engrossed a
+large portion of her thoughts. She regretted that so much of her time
+had been spent in light reading, and that her writings had not been
+of a more decidedly religious character. "Mamma," said she one day,
+"should God spare my life, my time and talents shall, for the
+future, be devoted to a higher and holier end." "O mother, how
+sadly have I trifled with the gifts of Heaven! What have I done
+which can benefit one human being?" The New Testament was now her
+daily study, and a portion of each day was devoted to private prayer
+and self-examination.
+
+The closing scene of her life, which occurred on the 25th November,
+1838, would lose much of its interest in the description, if given in
+other than the beautiful and touching language of her mother. It was
+night, and, at the entreaty of her husband, Mrs. Davidson had laid
+herself on the bed in a room adjoining that of her daughter. "Between
+three and four o'clock, the friend who watched came again, and said,
+'Margaret has asked for her mother.' I flew. She held a bottle of
+ether in her hand, and pointed to her breast. I poured it on her head
+and chest. She revived. 'I am better now,' said she. 'Mother, you
+tremble; you are cold; put on your clothes.' I stepped to the fire,
+and put on a wrapper, when she stretched out both her arms, and
+exclaimed, 'Mother, take me in your arms.' I raised her, and, seating
+myself on the bed, passed both my arms around her waist; her head
+dropped on my bosom, and her expressive eyes were raised to mine.
+That look I never shall forget; it said, 'Tell me, mother, is this
+death?' I answered the appeal as if she had spoken. I laid my hand
+upon her white brow; a cold dew had gathered there. I spoke--'Yes, my
+beloved, it is almost finished; you will soon be with Jesus.' She gave
+one more look, two or three short, fluttering breaths, and all was
+over; her spirit was with its God: not a struggle or a groan preceded
+her departure."
+
+Thus perished Margaret Davidson, at the early age of fifteen years and
+eight months. Her sister Lucretia had found in Miss Sedgwick a fitting
+biographer, and the memory of Margaret has been rendered more dear by
+the touching manner in which Irving has told her brief but wondrous
+story. We cannot better close our imperfect sketch, than to use the
+words of her biographer: "We shall not pretend to comment on these
+records; they need no comment, and they admit no heightening. Indeed,
+the farther we have proceeded with our subject, the more has the
+intellectual beauty and the seraphic purity of the little being we
+have endeavored to commemorate, broken upon us. To use one of her own
+exquisite expressions, she was 'a spirit of heaven fettered by the
+strong affections of earth,' and the whole of her brief sojourn here
+seems to have been a struggle to regain her native skies."
+
+
+
+
+MRS. ADAMS.
+
+
+The materials for preparing the memoirs of those American ladies whose
+virtues were conspicuous, and whose position in society imposed upon
+them great duties, and gave them an extensive influence in their day,
+are, in general, exceedingly scanty. Happily, the piety of a
+descendant has, in the present case, supplied the deficiency; and in a
+mode the most satisfactory. We are here not only made acquainted with
+the everyday life and actions as they were exhibited to the world
+around, but are admitted to the inmost recesses of the heart, and all
+its hopes and feelings are laid open to us. There are few who could
+bear such an exposure; but in respect to the subject of our present
+sketch, a nearer acquaintance and more rigid scrutiny serve only to
+increase our veneration, and to confirm the verdict which her
+contemporaries had passed upon her.
+
+Abigail Smith, afterwards Mrs. Adams, was born on the 11th of
+November, 1744. She was the daughter of the Rev. William Smith, the
+minister of a small Congregational church in Weymouth, Massachusetts,
+and was descended on both sides from the genuine stock of the
+Pilgrims.
+
+The cultivation of the female mind was neglected in the last century,
+not merely as a matter of indifference, but of positive principle;
+female learning was a subject of ridicule, and "female education," as
+Mrs. Adams tells us, "in the best families, went no further than
+writing and arithmetic; in some, and rare instances, music and
+dancing." But Mrs. Adams did not have an opportunity of receiving even
+the ordinary instruction. She was never sent to school, the delicate
+state of her health forbidding it. But this is hardly to be considered
+matter of regret, for constant intercourse with her pious and talented
+relations had an influence upon her character of even greater value
+than the learning of the schools. The lessons which made the deepest
+impression upon her mind were imbibed from her maternal grandmother,
+the wife of Colonel John Quincy. "I have not forgotten," says Mrs.
+Adams, to her daughter, in 1795, "the excellent lessons which I
+received from my grandmother, at a very early period of life. I
+frequently think they made a more durable impression upon my mind than
+those which I received from my own parents. Whether it was owing to
+the happy method of mixing instruction and amusement together, or from
+an inflexible adherence to certain principles, the utility of which I
+could not but see and approve when a child, I know not; but maturer
+years have rendered them oracles of wisdom to me. I love and revere
+her memory; her lively, cheerful disposition animated all around her,
+while she edified all by her unaffected piety. This tribute is due to
+the memory of those virtues, the sweet remembrance of which will
+flourish, though she has long slept with her ancestors."
+
+But though the list of accomplishments thought essential for a young
+lady's education was so scanty, it must not be supposed that the mind
+was left wholly uncultivated. On the contrary, few women of the
+present day are so well acquainted with the standard English authors,
+as those of the period of which we are now speaking. The influence
+which they had on the mind of the subject of this memoir, is apparent
+throughout her published correspondence, not only in the style, in the
+fondness for quotation, but in the love of fictitious signatures, of
+which the "Spectator" had set the example. The social disposition of
+youth renders an interchange of thoughts and feelings between those of
+the same age essential to their happiness. The sparse population, and
+comparatively small facilities for locomotion in the last century,
+rendered personal intercourse difficult, and a frequent interchange of
+letters was adopted as a substitute. This, as an exercise for the
+mind, is of great value, as it induces habits of reflection, and leads
+to precision and facility in expressing ideas.
+
+A few of Mrs. Adams's letters, written at an early period of her life,
+have been preserved, and from one of these--addressed to a married
+lady, several years older than herself, which will account for a
+gravity which is beyond her years and ordinary disposition--the
+following extracts are made. It is dated at Weymouth, October 5th,
+1761.
+
+"Your letter I received, and, believe me, it has not been through
+forgetfulness that I have not before this time returned you my
+sincere thanks for the kind assurance you then gave me of continued
+friendship. You have, I hope, pardoned my suspicions; they arose from
+love. What persons in their right senses would calmly, and without
+repining, or even inquiring into the cause, submit to lose their
+greatest temporal good and happiness? for thus the divine, Dr. Young,
+looks upon a friend, when he says,--
+
+  'A friend is worth all hazards we can run;
+  Poor is the friendless master of a world;
+  A world in purchase for a friend is gain.'
+
+* * * You have, like King Ahasuerus, held forth, though not a golden
+sceptre, yet one more valuable,--the sceptre of friendship, if I may
+so call it. Like Esther, I would draw nigh and touch it. Will you
+proceed and say, 'What wilt thou?' and 'What is thy request? it shall
+be given thee to the half of my' heart. Why, no, I think I will not
+have so dangerous a present, lest your good man should find it out and
+challenge me. * * * And now let me ask you, whether you do not think
+that many of our disappointments, and much of our unhappiness, arise
+from our forming false notions of things and persons. We strangely
+impose on ourselves; we create a fairy land of happiness. Fancy is
+fruitful, and promises fair, but, like the dog in the fable, we catch
+at a shadow, and, when we find the disappointment, we are vexed, not
+with ourselves, who are really the impostors, but with the poor,
+innocent thing or person of whom we have formed such strange ideas.
+* * * You bid me tell _one_ of my sparks--I think that was the
+word--to bring me to see you. Why, I believe you think they are as
+plenty as herrings, when, alas! there is as great a scarcity of them
+as there is of justice, honesty, prudence, and many other virtues.
+I've no pretensions to one. Wealth, wealth is the only thing that is
+looked after now. 'Tis said Plato thought, if Virtue would appear to
+the world, all mankind would be enamored of her; but now interest
+governs the world, and men neglect the golden mean."
+
+At the age of twenty, Miss Smith became the wife of John Adams,
+afterwards president of the United States. Connected with this event,
+an anecdote is related, which, as an indication of the fashion of the
+day, and of the disposition of the bride's father, is too good to be
+passed over. Mary, the eldest daughter of Mr. Smith, was married to
+Richard Cranch, an English emigrant, and, as it would appear, with the
+approbation of all parties; for, upon the Sabbath following, he
+preached to his people from the text, "And Mary hath chosen that good
+part, which shall not be taken from her." But Abigail was not so
+fortunate; for her match, it would seem, met the disapprobation of
+some of her father's parishioners, either on account of the profession
+of Mr. Adams,--that of the law,--which was then an obnoxious one to
+many people, who deemed it dishonest; or because they did not consider
+Mr. Adams--the son of a small farmer--a sufficiently good match for
+the daughter of one of the shining lights of the colony. Mr. Smith,
+having become aware of the feeling which existed, took notice of it in
+a sermon from the following text: "For John came neither eating bread
+nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a devil."
+
+The first ten years of Mrs. Adams's married life were passed in a
+quiet and happy manner; her enjoyment suffering no interruptions
+except those occasioned by the short absences of her husband, when he
+attended the courts. In this period she became the mother of a
+daughter and three sons, of whom John Quincy Adams was the eldest.
+
+All are familiar with the distinguished part performed by Mr. Adams in
+the scenes which immediately preceded our revolution. In all his
+feelings and actions he had the sympathy and support of his wife, who
+had thus in some measure become prepared for the stormy period which
+was at hand.
+
+Mr. Adams, having been appointed one of the delegates to the congress
+to be held at Philadelphia, left home in August, 1774; and on the 19th
+of that month, we find the following letter addressed to him by his
+wife:--
+
+"The great distance between us makes the time appear very long to me.
+It seems already a month since you left me. The great anxiety I feel
+for my country, for you, and for our family, renders the day tedious,
+and the night unpleasant. The rocks and the quicksands appear on every
+side. What course you can and will take is all wrapped in the bosom of
+futurity. Uncertainty and expectation leave the mind great scope. Did
+ever any kingdom or state regain its liberty, when once it was
+invaded, without bloodshed? I cannot think of it without horror. Yet
+we are told, that all the misfortunes of Sparta were occasioned by
+their too great solicitude for present tranquillity; and from an
+excessive love of peace, they neglected the means of making it sure
+and lasting. * * * I have taken a very great fondness for reading
+Rollin's Ancient History. I am determined to go through it, if
+possible, in these my days of solitude. I find great pleasure and
+entertainment from it, and I have persuaded Johnny to read me a page
+or two every day, and hope he will, from his desire to oblige me,
+entertain a fondness for it. I want much to hear from you. I long
+impatiently to have you upon the stage of action. The 1st of September
+may, perhaps, be of as much importance to Great Britain, as the ides
+of March to Caesar. I wish you every public and private blessing, and
+that wisdom which is profitable for instruction and edification, to
+conduct you in this difficult day."
+
+She perceived, at a very early period, that the conflict would not be
+speedily settled, and of the personal consequences to herself she
+speaks in the following affecting terms: "Far from thinking the scene
+closed, it looks as though the curtain was but just drawn, and only
+the first scene of the infernal plot disclosed: whether the end will
+be tragical, Heaven alone knows. You cannot be, I know, nor do I wish
+to see you, an inactive spectator; but, if the sword be drawn, I bid
+adieu to all domestic felicity, and look forward to that country where
+there are neither wars nor rumors of wars, in a firm belief that,
+through the mercy of its King, we shall both rejoice there together."
+
+Indeed, from this period till she joined her husband in Europe, in
+1784, she enjoyed very little of his society. Had the state of the
+times rendered it safe or agreeable for her to have accompanied her
+husband in his journeys and voyages, the circumstances of the family
+would not have allowed it. Without hereditary fortune, with no
+opportunity of practising in his profession, and now serving the
+public for a price which would not defray his actual and necessary
+expenses,--Mr. Adams would have been, in his old age, in the
+lamentable condition of many of the most active patriots of the
+revolution, who, devoting their years of vigorous manhood to the
+service of their country, were left, in their declining days, in a
+state of penury,--had he not possessed in his wife a helper suited to
+the exigency. She husbanded their small property, the savings of years
+of professional prosperity; she managed the farm with skill; and in
+all matters of business she displayed a degree of judgment and
+sagacity not to be exceeded. All the powers of her mind were now
+called into activity, and her character displayed itself in the most
+favorable colors. The official rank of her husband imposed high duties
+upon her; her timid neighbors looked to her for support and comfort,
+and she was never found wanting.
+
+The absence of Mr. Adams relieved his wife from one source of
+anxiety--that for his personal safety. As the conflict in the early
+periods of the revolution was confined to the vicinity of Boston, and
+as the feelings of parties were more exasperated here than elsewhere,
+he would have been in the greatest danger at home. It was a comfort to
+her that her husband should "be absent a little while from the scenes
+of perturbation, anxiety, and distress," which surrounded her.
+
+As from her residence she could be an eye-witness of few of the
+events, the details of which she relates, her letters are of most
+value as furnishing a lively exhibition of her own and of the public
+feeling. One event, which passed under her own observation, she thus
+describes: "In consequence of the powder being taken from Charlestown,
+a general alarm spread through many towns, and was pretty soon caught
+here. On Sunday, a soldier was seen lurking about, supposed to be a
+spy, but most likely a deserter. However, intelligence of it was
+communicated to the other parishes, and about eight o'clock, Sunday
+evening, there passed by here about two hundred men, preceded by a
+horse-cart, and marched down to the powder-house, from whence they
+took the powder, and carried it into the other parish, and there
+secreted it. I opened the window upon their return. They passed
+without any noise,--not a word among them,--till they came against the
+house, when some of them, perceiving me, asked me if I wanted any
+powder. I replied, No, since it was in so good hands. The reason they
+gave for taking it was, that we had so many tories here, they dared
+not trust it; they had taken the sheriff in their train, and upon
+their return they stopped between Cleverly's and Eltee's, and called
+upon him to deliver two warrants.[1] Upon his producing them, they put
+it to vote whether they should burn them, and it passed in the
+affirmative. They then made a circle and burnt them. They then called
+a vote whether they should huzza, but, it being Sunday evening, it
+passed in the negative. * * * This town appears as high as you can
+well imagine, and, if necessary, would soon be in arms. Not a tory
+but hides his head. The church parson thought they were coming after
+him, and ran up garret; they say another jumped out of his window, and
+hid among the corn; while a third crept under his board fence, and
+told his beads."
+
+In the midst of her public cares and anxieties, she did not neglect
+her sacred duties as a mother. The care of the education of her four
+children devolved entirely upon her, and "Johnny" was at an age to
+require much attention. This subject occupied much of her thoughts;
+and, indeed, the greatest value of her published correspondence
+consists in the hints which it gives us of the course of culture
+pursued in producing those glorious fruits of which other generations
+have had the enjoyment. She carefully guarded against the contagion of
+vice at that period when the mind and heart are most susceptible to
+impressions. "I have always thought it," she says to her husband, "of
+very great importance that children should, in the early part of life,
+be unaccustomed to such examples as would tend to corrupt the purity
+of their words and actions, that they may chill with horror at the
+sound of an oath, and blush with indignation at an obscene expression.
+These first principles, which grow with their growth and strengthen
+with their strength, neither time nor custom can totally eradicate."
+By precept, and much more by example, she sought to instil principles,
+and to form habits, which should lead to the practice of every virtue.
+Can we be surprised at the abhorrence which her "illustrious son of an
+illustrious mother" has ever exhibited to oppression, when we find her
+thus expressing her sentiments in behalf of the oppressed, at a time
+when the subject of which she speaks had not excited any attention
+either in Europe or America?--"I wish sincerely there was not a slave
+in the province; it always appeared to me a most iniquitous scheme to
+fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from
+those who have as good a right to freedom as we have."
+
+During the recess of Congress, Mr. Adams was at home, but left it
+again for Philadelphia on the 14th April, 1775. Four days afterwards
+the expedition to Lexington and Concord took place. The news of this
+event reached Mr. A. at Hartford; he, did not, however, yield to his
+anxieties and return, but contented himself by sending home
+encouragement and advice. After saying that he never feels any
+personal fear, he adds, "I am often concerned for you and our dear
+babes, surrounded as you are by people who are too timorous, and too
+much susceptible of alarm. Many fears and imaginary evils will be
+suggested to you, but I hope you will not be impressed by them. In
+case of real danger, fly to the woods with my children."
+
+Mrs. Adams might be excused for entertaining fears; her residence was
+near the sea-coast, and the enemy sent out foraging expeditions: the
+point of destination was perhaps some island in the harbor; but of
+this there could be no certainty. Of one of the alarms thus
+occasioned, Mrs. Adams writes to her husband as follows: "I suppose
+you have had a formidable account of the alarm we had last Sunday
+morning. When I rose, about six o'clock, I was told that the drums had
+been some time beating, and that three alarm guns were fired; that
+Weymouth bell had been ringing, and Mr. Weld's was then ringing. I
+sent off an express to learn the cause, and found the whole town in
+confusion. Three sloops and a cutter had dropped anchor just below
+Great Hill. It was difficult to tell their designs: some supposed they
+were coming to Germantown, others to Weymouth: people, women,
+children, came flocking down this way; every woman and child driven
+off below my father's; my father's family flying. The alarm flew like
+lightning, and men from all parts came flocking down, till two
+thousand were collected. But it seems their expedition was to Grape
+Island, for Levett's hay." "They delight," says she, on another
+occasion, "in molesting us upon the Sabbath. Two Sabbaths we have been
+in such alarm that we have had no meeting; this day we have sat under
+our own vine in quietness; have heard Mr. Taft. The good man was
+earnest and pathetic. I could forgive his weakness for the sake of his
+sincerity; but I long for a Cooper and an Elliot. I want a person who
+has feeling and sensibility; who can take one up with him,
+
+  And 'in his duty prompt at every call,'
+  Can 'watch, and weep, and pray, and feel for all.'"
+
+The battle of Bunker's Hill followed soon, and, from the top of the
+highest house in Braintree, Mrs. Adams beheld the conflagration of
+Charlestown. But she does not lose her courage. In writing to her
+husband, she seeks to lessen his anxieties. "I would not," says she,
+"have you be distressed about me. I have been distressed, but not
+dismayed. I have felt for my country and her sons, and have bled with
+them and for them."
+
+The appointment of General Washington to the command of the army, then
+stationed at Cambridge, inspired new confidence. Mrs. Adams thus
+speaks of the impression made by her first interview with him and
+General Lee: "I was struck with General Washington. You had prepared
+me to entertain a favorable opinion of him; but I thought the half was
+not told me. Dignity with ease and complacency, the gentleman and
+soldier, look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and
+feature of his face. Those lines of Dryden instantly occurred to me--
+
+  'Mark his majestic fabric! he's a temple
+  Sacred by birth, and built by hands divine;
+  His soul's the deity that lodges there;
+  Nor is the pile unworthy of the god.'
+
+General Lee looks like a careless, hardy veteran, and, by his
+appearance, brought to my mind his namesake, Charles XII. of Sweden.
+The elegance of his pen far exceeds that of his person."
+
+The horrors of war were now aggravated by those of pestilence. From
+the British army in Boston, the dysentery had spread into the
+surrounding country. Mrs. Adams and her whole family were attacked.
+"Our house," she writes to her husband, September 8, 1775, "is a
+hospital in every part, and, what with my own weakness and distress of
+mind for my family, I have been unhappy enough. And such is the
+distress of the neighborhood, that I can scarcely find a well person
+to assist me in looking after the sick." Again on the 25th she writes,
+"I sit with a heavy heart to write to you. Woe follows woe, and one
+affliction treads upon the heels of another. My distress in my own
+family having in some measure abated, it is excited anew upon that of
+my dear mother. She has taken the disorder, and lies so bad, that we
+have little hope of her recovery." On the 29th, "It is allotted me to
+go from the sick and almost dying bed of one of the best of parents,
+to my own habitation, where again I behold the same scene, only varied
+by a remoter connection--
+
+  'A bitter change, severer for severe.'
+
+You can more easily conceive than I can describe what are the
+sensations of my heart when absent from either, continually expecting
+a messenger with the fatal tidings." "The desolation of war is not so
+distressing as the havoc made by pestilence. Some poor parents are
+mourning the loss of three, four, and five children; and some families
+are wholly stripped of every member."
+
+But the hand of the pestilence was stayed, and her country again
+engrosses her thoughts. She very early declares herself for
+independence, and wonders how any honest heart can hesitate at
+adopting the same sentiment. An attempt to drive the enemy from Boston
+is meditated, and she tells us that she has been kept in a state of
+anxiety and expectation. "It has been said 'to-morrow' and 'to-morrow'
+for this month; but when this dreadful to-morrow will be, I know not.
+But hark! The house this instant shakes with the roar of cannon. I
+have been to the door, and find it a cannonade from our army." The
+militia are all ordered to repair to the lines. The result was thus
+related: "I have just returned from Penn's Hill, where I have been
+sitting to hear the amazing roar of cannon, and from whence I could
+see every shell which was thrown. The sound, I think, is one of the
+grandest in nature, and is of the true species of the sublime. * * * I
+could no more sleep than if I had been in the engagement: the rattling
+of the windows, the jar of the house, the continual roar of
+twenty-four pounders, and the bursting of shells, give us such ideas,
+and realize a scene to us of which we could form scarcely any
+conception. * * * All my distress and anxiety is at present at an end.
+I feel disappointed. This day our militia are all returning without
+effecting any thing more than taking possession of Dorchester Hill. I
+hope it is wise and just, but, from all the muster and stir, I hoped
+and expected more important and decisive scenes. I would not have
+suffered all I have for two such hills." The British soon afterwards
+evacuated Boston, and Massachusetts never again became the theatre of
+war.
+
+In 1778, the fortitude of Mrs. Adams received a new trial. Her husband
+was appointed one of the commissioners at the court of France. The sea
+was covered with the enemy's ships; and, should he escape these and
+all the natural dangers of the seas, and arrive at the place of his
+destination in safety, rumor said that he would there be exposed to
+one of a more terrific character, "to the dark assassin, to the secret
+murderer, and the bloody emissary of as cruel a tyrant as God, in his
+righteous judgments, ever suffered to disgrace the throne of Britain.
+I have," continues Mrs. Adams, writing soon after her husband's
+departure, "travelled with you across the Atlantic, and could have
+landed you safe, with humble confidence, at your desired haven, and
+then have set myself down to enjoy a negative kind of happiness, in
+the painful part which it has pleased Heaven to allot me; but the
+intelligence with regard to that great philosopher, able statesman,
+and unshaken friend of his country,"--alluding to a report of Dr.
+Franklin's assassination in Paris,--"has planted a dagger in my
+breast, and I feel with a double edge the weapon that pierced his
+bosom. * * * To my dear son remember me in the most affectionate
+terms. Enjoin it upon him never to disgrace his mother, and to behave
+worthily of his father. I console myself with the hopes of his reaping
+advantages under the careful eye of a tender parent, which it was not
+in my power to bestow." Mr. Adams was accompanied by his eldest son,
+John Quincy Adams, and, after incurring various hazards from
+lightning, storm, and the enemy, arrived in France. The maternal
+solicitude of Mrs. Adams relieved itself in part by writing letters to
+her son filled with the warmest affection and the most wise counsel.
+She urges it upon him "to adhere to those religious sentiments and
+principles which were early instilled into your mind, and remember
+that you are accountable to your Maker for all your words and actions.
+Great learning and superior abilities, should you ever possess them,
+will be of little value and small estimation, unless virtue, honor,
+truth, and integrity, are added to them. Dear as you are to me, I
+would much rather you should have found a grave in the ocean you have
+crossed, than see you an immoral, profligate, or graceless child."
+
+As has already been said, Mrs. Adams managed her husband's money
+affairs at home. A short extract from one of her business letters to
+him may be interesting, and will show how a matter always troublesome
+was in such times doubly so: "The safest way, you tell me, of
+supplying my wants, is by drafts; but I cannot get hard money for
+bills. You had as good tell me to procure diamonds for them; and when
+bills will fetch but five for one, hard money will exchange ten, which
+I think is very provoking; and I must give at the rate of ten, and
+sometimes twenty, for one, for every article I purchase. I blush
+whilst I give you a price current; all meat from a dollar to eight
+shillings a pound; corn twenty-five dollars, rye thirty, per bushel;
+flour two hundred dollars per hundred pounds; potatoes ten dollars per
+bushel, &c. I have studied, and do study, every method of economy;
+otherwise a mint of money would not support a family. I could not
+board our sons under forty dollars a week at school. * * * We have
+been greatly distressed for grain. I scarcely know the looks or taste
+of biscuit or flour for this four months; yet thousands have been much
+worse off, having no grain of any sort." Nor were things then at the
+worst; for in October, 1780, we find "meat eight dollars, and butter
+twelve, per pound; corn one hundred and twenty dollars, and rye one
+hundred and eight, per bushel; tea ninety dollars, and cotton wool
+thirty, per pound." But our readers must not suppose that this was
+entirely owing to a scarcity of products; these prices are in
+"continental money," seventy dollars of which would hardly command one
+of "hard money."
+
+Hitherto Mr. Adams's residence had seemed too unsettled to render it
+worth while for his wife to undertake a long and dangerous voyage to
+meet him. But after the acknowledgment of our independence by Great
+Britain, a commission was sent to Mr. Adams as first minister to that
+court; and it was probable that his residence there would be
+sufficiently long to justify him in a request to Mrs. Adams to join
+him. The feelings of the latter on the subject were thus expressed
+before the appointment was actually made: "I have not a wish to join
+in a scene of life so different from that in which I have been
+educated, and in which my early, and, I must suppose, happier days
+have been spent. Well-ordered home is my chief delight, and the
+affectionate, domestic wife, with the relative duties which accompany
+that character, my highest ambition. It was the disinterested wish of
+sacrificing my personal feelings to the public utility, which first
+led me to think of unprotectedly hazarding a voyage. This objection
+could only be surmounted by the earnest wish I had to soften those
+toils which were not to be dispensed with; and if the public welfare
+required your labors and exertions abroad, I flattered myself that, if
+I could be with you, it might be in my power to contribute to your
+happiness and pleasure." "I think, if you were abroad in a private
+character, I should not hesitate so much at coming to you; but a mere
+American, as I am, unacquainted with the etiquette of courts, taught
+to say the thing I mean, and to wear my heart in my countenance,--I
+am sure I should make an awkward figure; and then it would mortify my
+pride, if I should be thought to disgrace you."
+
+In spite, however, of this reluctance, she embarked on board the
+_Active_, a merchant ship, for London. Of this voyage Mrs. Adams
+has given a most graphic and not very agreeable picture; and nothing
+can present a greater contrast than her dirty, close, narrow
+quarters, on board a vessel deeply loaded with oil and potash,--the
+oil leaking, and the potash smoking and fermenting,--with the
+floating palaces in which the voyage is now made. The culinary
+department was in keeping with the rest of the ship. "The cook was a
+great, dirty, lazy negro, with no more knowledge of cookery than a
+savage; nor any kind of order in the distribution of his dishes; but
+on they come, higgledy-piggledy, with a leg of pork all bristly; a
+quarter of an hour afterwards, a pudding; or, perhaps, a pair of roast
+fowls first of all, and then will follow, one by one, a piece of
+beef, and, when dinner is nearly completed, a plate of potatoes. Such
+a fellow is a real imposition upon the passengers. But gentlemen
+know but little about the matter, and if they can get enough to eat
+five times a day, all goes well." Yet the passengers, of whom there
+were a number, were agreeable, and, as the wind and weather were
+favorable, the voyage did not last more than thirty days.
+
+She hoped to have found Mr. Adams in London, but he was at the Hague;
+and "Master John," after waiting a month for her in London, had
+returned to the latter place. She received, however, every attention
+from the numerous Americans then in London, refugees as well as
+others, many of whom had been her personal friends at home. Ten days
+were spent in sight-seeing, on the last of which a servant comes
+running in, exclaiming, "Young Mr. Adams has come!" "Where, where is
+he?" cried out all. "In the other house, madam; he stopped to get his
+hair dressed." "Impatient enough I was," continues Mrs. A.; "yet, when
+he entered, we had so many strangers, that I drew back, not really
+believing my eyes, till he cried out, 'O my mamma, and my dear
+sister!' Nothing but the eyes, at first sight, appeared what he once
+was. His appearance is that of a man, and on his countenance the most
+perfect good-humor; his conversation by no means denies his stature."
+
+Her first year in Europe was spent at Auteuil, near Paris, and she
+seems to have enjoyed herself, in spite of her ignorance of the
+language; though she sometimes expresses her longing for home and the
+enjoyment of social intercourse with her friends in America. Her
+letters, during this period, present us with a lively picture of the
+state of society and of manners. We have space only for her account of
+her first visit to madame de la Fayette. "The marquise met me at the
+door, and with the freedom of an old acquaintance, and the rapture
+peculiar to the ladies of this nation, caught me by the hand, and gave
+me a salute upon each cheek. She presented me to her mother and
+sister, who were present with her, all sitting in her bedroom, quite
+_en famille_. One of the ladies was knitting. The marquise herself was
+in a chintz gown. She is a middle-sized lady, sprightly and
+agreeable, and professes herself strongly attached to Americans. She
+is fond of her children, and very attentive to them, which is not the
+general character of ladies of high rank in Europe. In a few days, she
+returned my visit, upon which I sent her a card of invitation to dine.
+She came. We had a large company. There is not a lady in our country
+who would have gone abroad to dine so little dressed; and one of our
+fine American ladies, who sat by me, whispered to me, 'Good heavens!
+how awfully she is dressed!' I could not forbear returning the
+whisper, which I most sincerely despised, by replying that the lady's
+rank sets her above the little formalities of dress. The rouge, 'tis
+true, was not so artfully laid on, as upon the faces of the American
+ladies who were present. Whilst they were glittering with diamonds,
+buckles, watch-chains, girdle-buckles, &c., the marquise was nowise
+ruffled by her own different appearance. A really well-bred
+Frenchwoman has the most ease in her manners that you can possibly
+conceive of."
+
+In June, 1784, Mr. Adams took up his residence in London. His
+situation and that of his wife was far from being a pleasant one. The
+hostile feelings towards Americans, engendered by so many years of
+warfare, and exasperated by the mortification of ill-success, had not
+subsided. The loss of his North American colonies was severely felt by
+the king, who had too much good sense, however, to suffer his feelings
+to appear in his intercourse with the new minister; but the queen,
+who, though exemplary in the discharge of domestic duties, was
+weak-minded, proud, and petulant, could not conceal her bitterness,
+and her conduct towards Mrs. Adams was hardly civil. Perhaps, however,
+the account of it given by the latter is colored by her own prejudices
+against the royal family, which, throughout her life were expressed in
+the strongest language, and which, towards the king, at least, were
+entirely unjust. Her presentation at court could not but be somewhat
+embarrassing and awkward to all parties. The manner in which it passed
+shall be related in her own words. "The ceremony of presentation is
+considered as indispensable. One is obliged to attend the circles of
+the queen, which are held in summer once a fortnight, but once a week
+the rest of the year; and what renders it very expensive, is, that you
+cannot go twice the same season in the same dress, and a court dress
+cannot be used any where else. I directed my mantua-maker to let my
+dress be elegant, but as plain as it could be, with decency;
+accordingly it is white lutestring, covered and full trimmed with
+white crape, festooned with lilac ribbon and mock point lace, over a
+hoop of enormous extent; a narrow train of three yards, which is put
+into a ribbon on the left side, the queen only having a train-bearer.
+Ruffle cuffs, treble lace ruffles, a very dress cap, with long lace
+lappets, two white plumes, and a blond lace handkerchief--this is my
+rigging. I should have mentioned two pearl pins in my hair, ear-rings
+and necklace of the same kind. * * * 'Well,' methinks I hear you say,
+'what is your daughter's dress?' White, my dear girls, like her
+mother's, only differently trimmed; her train being wholly of white
+crape, and trimmed with white ribbon; the petticoat, which is the
+most showy part of the dress, covered and drawn up in what are called
+festoons, with light wreaths of beautiful flowers; sleeves white
+crape, drawn over the silk, with a row of lace round the sleeve, near
+the shoulder, another half way down the arm, and a third upon the top
+of the ruffle, a little flower stuck between; a kind of hat cap, with
+three large feathers, and a bunch of flowers; a wreath of flowers upon
+the hair. * * * We were placed in a circle round the drawing-room,
+which was very full, I believe two hundred persons present. The royal
+family have to go to every person, and find small talk enough to speak
+to all, though they very prudently speak in a whisper. The king
+enters, and goes round to the right; the queen and princesses to the
+left. The king is a personable man, but with a red face and white
+eyebrows. The queen has a similar face, and the numerous royal family
+resemble them. When the king came to me, Lord Onslaw said, 'Mrs.
+Adams;' upon which I drew off my right hand glove, and his majesty
+saluted my left cheek, then asked me if I had taken a walk to-day. I
+could have told his majesty that I had been all the morning preparing
+to wait upon him; but I replied, 'No, sire.' 'Why, don't you love
+walking?' says he. I answered that I was rather indolent in that
+respect. He then bowed and passed on. It was more than two hours after
+this, before it came my turn to be presented to the queen. She was
+evidently embarrassed when I was presented to her. I had disagreeable
+feelings too. She, however, said, 'Mrs. Adams, have you got into your
+house? Pray, how do you like the situation of it?' whilst the royal
+princess looked compassionate, and asked me if I was not much
+fatigued. Her sister, Princess Augusta, after having asked your niece
+if she was ever in England before, and her answering, 'Yes,' inquired
+of me how long ago, and supposed it was when she was very young. And
+all this with much affability, and the ease and freedom of old
+acquaintance. * * * As to the ladies of the court, rank and title may
+compensate for want of personal charms; but they are, in general, very
+plain, ill-shaped, and ugly; but don't you tell any body that I say
+so; the observation did not hold good, that fine feathers make fine
+birds." Referring to this same occasion in a subsequent letter, she
+says, "I own that I never felt myself in a more contemptible situation
+than when I stood four hours together for a gracious smile from
+majesty, a witness to the anxious solicitude of those around me for
+the same mighty _boon_. I, however, had a more dignified honor, as his
+majesty _deigned to salute me_."
+
+Of other sources of annoyance Mrs. Adams thus speaks: "Some years
+hence, it may be a pleasure to reside here in the character of
+American minister; but, with the present salary, and the present
+temper of the English, no one need envy the embassy. There would soon
+be fine work, if any notice was taken of their billingsgate and abuse;
+but all their arrows rebound, and fall harmless to the ground. Amidst
+all their falsehoods, they have never insinuated a lisp against the
+private character of the American minister, nor in his public line
+charged him with either want of abilities, honor, or integrity. The
+whole venom is levelled against poor America, and every effort to make
+her appear ridiculous in the eyes of the nation."
+
+It would have been difficult to find a person better adapted than Mrs.
+Adams for the trying situation in which she found herself. In other
+times, a woman of more yielding temper, who could adapt herself more
+readily to those about her, would, perhaps, answer better. Love of
+country was engrained in her; for her "the birds of Europe had not
+half the melody of those at home; the fruit was not half so sweet, nor
+the flowers half so fragrant, nor the manners half so pure, nor the
+people half so virtuous." Three years' residence in England produced
+no change of feeling. In anticipation of a return to her home, we find
+her writing thus: "I shall quit Europe with more pleasure than I came
+to it, uncontaminated, I hope, with its manners and vices. I have
+learned to know the world and its value; I have seen high life; I have
+witnessed the luxury and pomp of state, the power of riches, and the
+influence of titles, and have beheld all ranks bow before them, as the
+only shrine worthy of worship. Notwithstanding this, I feel that I can
+return to my little cottage, and be happier than here; and, if we have
+not wealth, we have what is better--integrity."
+
+Soon after Mr. Adams's return, he was elected vice-president of the
+United States, and took up his residence, at least during the sessions
+of Congress, first at New York, and afterwards at Philadelphia. The
+"court" of General Washington was much more to the taste of Mrs. Adams
+than that of George III.; the circle at the first "drawing-room," she
+tells us, was very brilliant; that "the dazzling Mrs. Bingham and her
+charming sisters were there; in short, a constellation of beauties."
+
+The next eight years of her life, during which her husband held the
+office of vice-president, were passed with few incidents to disturb
+her happiness. Another generation, the children of her daughter, who
+was married to Colonel Smith, were receiving the benefits of her
+instruction and experience.
+
+A residence at Philadelphia was not favorable to her health, which,
+never having been very firm, about this period began decidedly to
+fail. The bracing air of Quincy was found to be more congenial. For
+this reason, she was not with her husband at the time when his
+official duty required him to announce himself as the successor to
+General Washington; and to this circumstance we are indebted for the
+following letter,--written on the day on which the votes were counted
+by the Senate,--in which, says her biographer, "the exalted feeling of
+the moment shines out with all the lustre of ancient patriotism,
+chastened by a sentiment of Christian humility of which ancient
+history furnishes no example:"--
+
+  "QUINCY, _February 8th, 1797_.
+
+    "'The sun is dressed in brightest beams,
+    To give thy honors to the day.'
+
+  And may it prove an auspicious prelude to each ensuing season. You
+  have this day to declare yourself head of a nation. 'And now, O
+  Lord, thou hast made thy servant ruler over the people. Give unto
+  him an understanding heart, that he may know how to go out and
+  come in before this great people; that he may discern between good
+  and bad. For who is able to judge this thy so great a people?'
+  were the words of a royal sovereign, and not less applicable to
+  him who is invested with the chief magistracy of a nation, though
+  he wear not a crown, nor the robes of royalty. My thoughts and my
+  meditations are with you, though personally absent; and my
+  petitions to Heaven are, that the 'things which make for peace may
+  not be hidden from your eyes.' My feelings are not those of pride
+  or ostentation. They are solemnized by a sense of the obligations,
+  the important trusts, and numerous duties, connected with it. That
+  you may be enabled to discharge them with honor to yourself, with
+  justice and impartiality to your country, and with satisfaction to
+  this great people, shall be the daily prayer of your
+
+  A. A."
+
+Never has this country witnessed such scenes as characterized the
+struggle between the two great political parties which divided the
+people during Mr. Adams's administration. As the representative of one
+of these, he was assailed with an asperity and malignity to which,
+happily, succeeding electioneering furnishes no parallel. Accustomed
+to take a warm interest in political events, it could not be expected
+that Mrs. Adams should cease to do so when her husband was the chief
+actor; nor is it surprising that she should have felt what she deemed
+the ingratitude of his countrymen in casting aside so long-tried and
+faithful a servant. Retirement to private life was to her a source of
+rejoicing rather than of regret. At her age, and with her infirmities,
+she was far happier at Quincy, overseeing the operations of her dairy,
+whilst her husband, like Cincinnatus, assumed the plough. She has left
+a record of one day's life; and from this we suppose other days varied
+but little. It is in a letter to her granddaughter, dated November
+19th, 1812. "Six o'clock. Rose, and, in imitation of his Britannic
+majesty, kindled my own fire. Went to the stairs, as usual, to summon
+George and Charles. Returned to my chamber, dressed myself. No one
+stirred. Called a second time, with a voice a little raised. Seven
+o'clock. Blockheads not out of bed. Girls in motion. Mean, when I hire
+another man-servant, that he shall come for one call. Eight o'clock.
+Fires made. Breakfast prepared. Mr. A. at the tea-board. Forgot the
+sausages. Susan's recollection brought them upon the table. _Enter
+Ann._ 'Ma'am, the man is come with coal.' 'Go call George to assist
+him.' _Exit Ann._ _Enter Charles._ 'Mr. B. is come with cheese,
+turnips, &c. Where are they to be put?' 'I will attend to him myself.'
+_Exit Charles._ Just seated at the table again. _Enter George_, with,
+'Ma'am, here is a man with a drove of pigs.' A consultation is held
+upon this important subject, the result of which is the purchase of
+two spotted swine. Nine o'clock. _Enter Nathaniel_ from the upper
+house, with a message for sundries; and black Thomas's daughter for
+sundries. Attended to all these concerns. A little out of sorts that I
+could not finish my breakfast. Note; never to be incommoded with
+trifles. _Enter George Adams_ from the post-office--a large packet
+from Russia, (to which court her son J. Q. Adams was then minister.)
+Avaunt, all cares! I put you all aside, and thus I find good news from
+a far country. Children, grandchildren all well. For this blessing I
+give thanks. At twelve o'clock, by previous engagement, I was to call
+for cousin B. Smith, to accompany me to the bridge at Quincy Port,
+being the first day of passing it. Passed both bridges, and entered
+Hingham. Returned before three. Dined, and, at five, went to Mr. T. G.
+Smith, with your grandfather--the third visit he has made with us in
+the week; and let me whisper to you, he played at whist. Returned. At
+nine, sat down and wrote a letter. At eleven, retired to bed. By all
+this you will learn that grandmother has got rid of her croaking, and
+that grandfather is in good health, and that both of us are as
+tranquil as that bold old fellow, Time, will let us be. Here I was
+interrupted in my narrative. I reassume my pen upon the 22d of
+November, being this day sixty-eight years old."[2]
+
+From 1801 until her death, in 1818, Mrs. Adams resided at Quincy.
+Cheerful and retaining the possession of her faculties to the last,
+she enlivened the social circle about her, and solaced the solitary
+hours of her husband. She lived long enough to see the seeds of virtue
+and knowledge which she had planted in the minds of her children,
+spring up and ripen into maturity; to receive a recompense, in
+addition to the consciousness of duty performed, for her anxiety and
+labors, in the respect and honors which her eldest son received from
+his countrymen.
+
+  [1] For summoning juries.
+
+  [2] President Adams survived his excellent lady several years, and
+      died on the 4th of July, 1826, aged ninety-one. On the morning
+      of the jubilee, he was roused by the ringing of bells and the
+      firing of cannon. Being asked if he knew what day it was, he
+      replied, "O yes, it is the glorious 4th of July--God bless it!
+      God bless you all!" Just before he expired, he said, "Jefferson
+      survives;" but at one o'clock that very day, Jefferson rendered
+      up his spirit to his Maker. The family residence of John Adams
+      at Quincy is the residence of his distinguished son, John Quincy
+      Adams.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. WASHINGTON.
+
+
+Martha Dandridge was born in the county of New Kent, Virginia, in May,
+1732. Her education was entirely of a domestic character, there being
+no schools in the region where she dwelt. As she grew up, she was
+distinguished for personal beauty, pleasing manners, and general
+amiability of demeanor. She frequently appeared at the court of
+Williamsburg, then held by the royal governors of Virginia, and became
+a general favorite.
+
+At the age of seventeen, she was married to Daniel Park Custis, of her
+native county, and the new-married couple were settled at the White
+House, on the banks of the Pamunkey River. Mr. Custis devoted himself
+to agricultural pursuits, and became an eminently successful planter.
+They had four children, two of whom died at an early period. Martha
+arrived at womanhood, and died at Mount Vernon, in 1770, and John
+perished at the age of twenty-seven, while in the service of his
+country, at the siege of Yorktown, in 1781. Mr. Custis died at about
+middle age, leaving his widow, still young, yet possessed of an ample
+fortune. Beside extensive landed estates, she had L30,000 sterling in
+money.
+
+[Illustration: MRS. WASHINGTON.]
+
+Mrs. Custis was sole executor of her husband's will, and she appears
+to have been well qualified to discharge the duties which devolved
+upon her. She conducted her affairs with surprising ability, and the
+concerns of her extensive fortune seemed to thrive under her
+management. In 1758, Colonel Washington, then twenty-six years of age,
+became accidentally acquainted with the fair widow, and, after a brief
+courtship, they were married. This occurred in 1759. Soon after, they
+removed to Mount Vernon, which henceforward became their permanent
+residence.
+
+Mrs. Washington had no children by this second marriage. Martha and
+John Custis were, however, fully adopted into the affections of her
+present husband. In discharging her various domestic duties, and
+rearing her children, time flowed smoothly on for almost twenty years.
+In 1775, Washington, being appointed commander-in-chief of the
+American army, proceeded to Cambridge, and did not return to Mount
+Vernon till after the peace of 1783, except in a single instance. In
+December, she proceeded to Cambridge, and joined her husband. Here she
+remained till spring, having witnessed the siege and evacuation of
+Boston. She then returned to Virginia.
+
+During the war, it was the custom for the general to despatch an
+aid-de-camp to Mount Vernon, at the close of each campaign, to escort
+his wife to head-quarters. The arrival of Lady Washington, as she was
+now called, at the camp, was an event always anticipated with
+pleasure, and was the signal for the ladies of the general officers to
+join their husbands. The appearance of the aid-de-camp, escorting the
+plain family chariot, with the neat postilions in their scarlet and
+white liveries, was deemed an epoch in the army, and served to diffuse
+a cheering influence even amid the gloom which hung over our
+destinies, at Valley Forge, Morristown, and West Point. She always
+remained at head-quarters till the opening of the campaign, and she
+often remarked, in after life, that it had been her fortune to hear
+the first cannon at the opening, and the last at the closing, of the
+several campaigns of the war.
+
+During the whole period of the revolutionary struggle, she preserved
+her equanimity, together with a degree of cheerfulness which
+inspired all around her with the brightest hopes of final success.
+The glorious results of the campaign of 1781 were, however,
+associated with an event most afflictive to her. John Custis, now her
+only child, had accompanied Washington to the siege of Boston, and had
+witnessed the most important events of the contest. At Yorktown, he
+was one of the aids of Washington, and lived to see the surrender of
+the British army on the 19th of October; but he died soon after of
+camp fever, which was then raging to a frightful extent within the
+enemy's intrenchments.
+
+The war being closed, Washington returned to Mount Vernon. His time
+was now occupied in the peaceful pursuits of private life. He
+cultivated his lands, and improved his residence at Mount Vernon by
+additional buildings, and the laying out of his gardens and grounds.
+He occasionally diversified his employments by the pleasures of the
+chase. Much of his time, however, was occupied in discharging the
+grateful duties of hospitality. His fame was spread far and wide, and
+his home was crowded with guests, among whom were often seen
+illustrious strangers from foreign lands. During this happy period,
+Mrs. Washington performed the duties of a Virginia housewife, and
+presided at her well-spread board, with an ease and elegance of manner
+suited to her character and station.
+
+The period at length arrived when Washington was again to leave his
+home, and enter upon public duties. Being elected president of the
+United States, he set out, in the spring of 1789, to join Congress at
+New York, then the seat of the general government. Accompanied by his
+lady, he proceeded to that city, every where received by crowds of
+people, showering upon him their most grateful homage. At Trenton, New
+Jersey, he was received in a manner which is said to have affected him
+even to tears. In addition to the usual military compliments, the
+bridge over the creek running through the town was covered with a
+triumphal arch, supported by thirteen pillars, entwined and ornamented
+with flowers and laurel, and bearing on the front, in large gilt
+letters, this inscription:--
+
+    "THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS
+            WILL BE THE
+    PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS."
+
+Here were assembled the mothers and daughters dressed in white, each
+bearing a basket of flowers, which were strewn before the chief,
+while they sang it chorus,
+
+  "Welcome, mighty chief, once more,
+  Welcome to this grateful shore;
+    Now no mercenary foe
+    Aims again the fatal blow,
+    Aims at thee the fatal blow.
+
+  Virgins fair and matrons grave,
+  Those thy conquering arms did save,
+    Build for thee triumphal bowers;
+    Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers,
+    Strew your hero's way with flowers."
+
+Arrived at New York, the president's establishment was formed upon a
+scale partaking at once of simplicity and dignity. "The house was
+handsomely furnished; the equipages neat, with horses of the first
+order; the servants wore the family liveries; and, with the exception
+of a steward and housekeeper, the whole establishment differed very
+little from that of a private gentleman. On Tuesdays, from three to
+four o'clock, the president received the foreign ambassadors and
+strangers who wished to be introduced to him. On these occasions, and
+when opening the session of Congress, he wore a dress sword. His
+personal apparel was always remarkable for being old-fashioned, and
+exceedingly plain and neat.
+
+"On Thursdays were the congressional dinners, and on Friday night,
+Mrs. Washington's drawing-room. The company usually assembled about
+seven, and rarely staid exceeding ten o'clock. The ladies were seated,
+and the president passed round the circle, paying his compliments to
+each. At the drawing-rooms, Mrs. Morris always sat at the right of the
+lady president, and at all dinners, public or private, at which Robert
+Morris was a guest, that venerable man was placed at the right of Mrs.
+Washington. When ladies called at the president's mansion, the habit
+was for the secretaries and gentlemen of the president's household to
+hand them to and from their carriages; but when the honored relicts of
+Greene and Montgomery came, the president himself performed these
+complimentary duties.
+
+"On the great national festivals of the fourth of July and twenty-second
+of February, the sages of the revolutionary Congress and the officers
+of the revolutionary army renewed their acquaintance with Mrs.
+Washington. Many and kindly greetings took place, with many a
+recollection of the days of trial. The members of the Society of
+Cincinnatus, after paying their respects to the chief, were seen to
+file off towards the parlor, where Lady Washington was in waiting to
+receive them, and where Wayne, and Mifflin, and Dickenson, and Stewart,
+and Moylan, and Hartley, and a host of veterans, were cordially
+welcomed as old friends, and where many an interesting reminiscence
+was called up, of the head-quarters and the 'times of the revolution.'
+
+"On Sundays, unless the weather was uncommonly severe, the president
+and Mrs. Washington attended divine service at Christ Church; and in
+the evenings, the president read to Mrs. Washington, in her chamber, a
+sermon, or some portion of the sacred writings. No visitors, with the
+exception of Mr. Trumbull, of Connecticut,--who was then speaker of
+the house, and afterwards governor of Connecticut,--were admitted on
+Sunday.
+
+"There was one description of visitors, however, to be found about the
+first president's mansion, on all days. The old soldiers repaired, as
+they said, to head-quarters, just to inquire after the health of his
+excellency and Lady Washington. They knew his excellency was, of
+course, much engaged; but they would like to see the good lady. One
+had been a soldier of the life-guard; another had been on duty, when
+the British threatened to surprise the head-quarters; a third had
+witnessed that terrible fellow, Cornwallis, surrender his sword; each
+one had some touching appeal, with which to introduce himself at the
+peaceful head-quarters of the president. All were 'kindly bid to
+stay,' were conducted to the steward's apartments, and refreshments
+set before them; and, after receiving some little token from the lady,
+with her best wishes for the health and happiness of an old soldier,
+they went their ways, while blessings upon their revered commander and
+the good Lady Washington were uttered by many a war-worn veteran of
+the revolution."[3]
+
+In the autumn of 1789, General Washington made a tour to the Eastern
+States. Soon after his return, Mrs. Washington addressed a letter to
+Mrs. Warren, of Boston, giving an account of her views and feelings at
+that period, which, as it is interesting for the information it
+contains, and alike creditable to the head and heart of the writer, we
+present to the reader. It is dated December 26th, 1789.
+
+"Your very friendly letter of last month has afforded much more
+satisfaction than all the formal compliments and empty ceremonies of
+mere etiquette could possibly have done. I am not apt to forget the
+feelings which have been inspired by my former society with good
+acquaintances, nor to be insensible to their expressions of gratitude
+to the president; for you know me well enough to do me the justice to
+believe that I am fond only of what comes from the heart. Under a
+conviction that the demonstrations of respect and affection to him
+originate in that source, I cannot deny that I have taken some
+interest and pleasure in them. The difficulties which first presented
+themselves to view on his first entering upon the presidency, seem
+thus to be in some measure surmounted. It is owing to the kindness of
+our numerous friends in all quarters that my new and unwished-for
+situation is not indeed a burden to me. When I was much younger, I
+should probably have enjoyed the innocent gayeties of life as much as
+most persons of my age; but I had long since placed all the prospects
+of my future happiness in the still enjoyments of the fireside at
+Mount Vernon.
+
+"I little thought, when the war was finished, that any circumstances
+could possibly happen, which would call the general into public life
+again. I had anticipated that, from that moment, we should be suffered
+to grow old together in solitude and tranquillity. That was the first
+and dearest wish of my heart. I will not, however, contemplate with
+too much regret, disappointments that were inevitable, though his
+feelings and my own were in perfect unison with respect to our
+predilection for private life. Yet I cannot blame him for having
+acted according to his ideas of duty in obeying the voice of his
+country. The consciousness of having attempted to do all the good in
+his power, and the pleasure of finding his fellow-citizens so well
+satisfied with the disinterestedness of his conduct, will, doubtless,
+be some compensation for the great sacrifices which I know he has
+made. Indeed, on his journey from Mount Vernon to this place in his
+late tour through the Eastern States, by every public and every
+private information which has come to him, I am persuaded he has
+experienced nothing to make him repent his having acted from what he
+conceived to be a sense of indispensable duty. On the contrary, all
+his sensibility has been awakened in receiving such repeated and
+unequivocal proofs of sincere regard from his countrymen.
+
+"With respect to myself, I sometimes think the arrangement is not
+quite as it ought to have been,--that I, who had much rather be at
+home, should occupy a place with which a great many younger and gayer
+women would be extremely pleased. As my grandchildren and domestic
+connections make up a great portion of the felicity which I looked for
+in this world, I shall hardly be able to find any substitute that will
+indemnify me for the loss of a part of such endearing society. I do
+not say this because I feel dissatisfied with my present station; for
+every body and every thing conspire to make me as contented as
+possible in it; yet I have learned too much of the vanity of human
+affairs to expect felicity from the scenes of public life. I am still
+determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be;
+for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our
+happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our
+circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with
+us in our minds wherever we go.
+
+"I have two of my grandchildren with me, who enjoy advantages in point
+of education, and who, I trust, by the goodness of Providence, will be
+a great blessing to me. My other two grandchildren are with their
+mother in Virginia."
+
+In the spring of 1797, bidding adieu to public life, Washington
+took leave of the seat of government, and returned to Mount Vernon,
+prepared in good earnest to spend the remainder of his days in
+retirement. He accepted, indeed, the command of the army of the
+United States, soon after; but this did not draw him from his home.
+In 1799, he died, after a brief illness. His affectionate partner
+was at the bedside when his spirit departed. "It is all over now,"
+said she. "I shall soon follow him. I have no more trials to pass
+through." About two years after, she was seized with bilious fever.
+Being perfectly aware that her end was at hand, she assembled her
+grandchildren at her bedside, discoursed with them of their duties in
+life, of the happy influences of religion, of the consolations it had
+afforded her in hours of affliction, and the hopes it offered of a
+blessed immortality; and then, surrounded by weeping relatives,
+friends, and domestics, the venerable relict of Washington resigned
+her life into the hands of her Creator, in the seventy-first year
+of her age.
+
+Few women have figured in the great drama of life, amid scenes so
+varied and imposing, with so few faults, and so many virtues, as
+Martha Washington. Identified with the Father of his country in the
+great events which led to our national independence, she partook much
+of his thoughts, views, and counsels. In the dark hours of trial, her
+cheerfulness soothed his anxieties, and her devotional piety aided him
+in drawing hope and confidence from Heaven. She was indeed the fit
+partner of Washington, and, in her sphere, appears to have discharged
+her duties with a dignity, devotion, and consistency, worthy of her
+exalted destinies.
+
+  [3] American Portrait Gallery.
+
+
+
+
+MADAME DE STAEL.
+
+
+Jacques Necker, born of Protestant parents at Geneva, was sent, at
+the age of fifteen, to seek his fortune at Paris. After serving as
+a clerk in the banking-house of Vernet, he passed into that of the
+eminent banker Thelusson, where he displayed such a capacity for
+business, as to lead to his admission into the house as a partner.
+In a few years he acquired a large fortune, and withdrew from active
+business, but remained at Paris as minister of the republic of
+Geneva to the French court. His "Eloge de Colbert," which gained the
+prize in the French Academy in 1773, and his essay on the corn
+laws, first drew towards him the attention of the public, which
+finally settled upon him as the only person capable of preserving
+the country from that bankruptcy upon the verge of which it was
+standing; and Louis XVI., notwithstanding his religious bigotry, was
+compelled to appoint Necker to the office of director-general of
+the finances, in 1785, being the first Protestant who had held office
+since the revocation of the edict of Nantes.
+
+There resided with Madame Thelusson, as companion, a Swiss lady, named
+Curchod, the same who had the fortune to excite in the bosom of the
+historian Gibbon, for the first and last time, the passion of love.
+There is, however, no undue praise in the following description which
+he has given of her: "The personal attractions of Mdlle. Curchod were
+embellished by the virtues and talents of her mind. Her fortune was
+humble, but her family was respectable. Her mother, a native of
+France, had preferred her religion to her country. Her father, with
+the moderation of a philosopher, was content with a small salary and
+laborious duty in the obscure lot of minister of Cressy, a small
+village in the mountains of Switzerland. He bestowed a liberal and
+even learned education on his only daughter. She surpassed his hopes
+by her proficiency in the sciences and languages; and in her short
+visits to Lausanne, the wit, the beauty, and the learning, of
+Mademoiselle Curchod were the theme of universal applause. The report
+of such a prodigy awakened my curiosity; I saw and loved. I found her
+learned without pedantry, witty in conversation, pure in sentiment,
+and elegant in manners." After the death of her father, she supported
+herself and her mother by teaching young ladies at Geneva; from whence
+she removed to Paris.
+
+The character of Necker gained her admiration, her respect, and her
+love. She married him; and, from that time, the great business of her
+life was to make him happy. To divert him after the cares of business,
+she sought to make her house agreeable. She had not the light and gay
+manners of a Parisian lady, but she had a native grace and sweetness,
+and a solidity of talent, which caused her society to be sought for by
+the learned and intelligent, and her drawing-rooms to be filled with
+the _beaux esprits_ of Paris.
+
+Her only daughter, Anne Louisa Germaine, born in 1766, became her next
+object of solicitude. She wished that her education should be perfect;
+she wished her to know every thing, and thought that her mind could
+not be stored with too many words and facts; she introduced her, even
+in infancy, to the brilliant circle of her own friends, and learned
+men were almost her only companions. It was therefore with a transport
+of delight that the child received, at the age of eleven, a young
+girl, whom her mother wished her to make her companion, and who
+afterwards described her thus: "She spoke with a warmth and facility
+which were already eloquent, and which made a great impression on me.
+We did not play like children. She at once asked me what my lessons
+were, if I knew any foreign languages, and if I went often to the
+play. When I said, I had only been three or four times, she exclaimed,
+and promised that we should often go together, and, when we came home,
+write down an account of the piece. It was her habit, she said; and,
+in short, we were to write to each other every day. We entered the
+drawing-room. Near the arm-chair of Madame Necker was the stool of her
+daughter, who was obliged to sit very upright. As soon as she had
+taken her accustomed place, three or four old gentlemen came up, and
+spoke to her with the utmost kindness. One of them, in a little round
+wig, took her hands in his, held them a long time, and entered into
+conversation with her, as if she had been twenty. This was the Abbe
+Raynal; the others were Messrs. Marmontel, Thomas, the Marquis de
+Pesay, and Baron de Grimm. We sat down at table. It was a picture to
+see how Mademoiselle Necker listened. She did not speak herself; but
+so animated was her face, that she appeared to converse with all. Her
+eyes followed the looks and movements of those who talked; it seemed
+as if she grasped their ideas before they were expressed. She entered
+into every subject, even politics, which at this epoch was one of the
+most engrossing topics. After dinner, a good deal of company arrived.
+Each guest, as he approached Madame Necker, addressed her daughter
+with some compliment or pleasantry; she replied to all with ease and
+grace. They delighted to attack and embarrass her, and to excite her
+childish imagination, which was already brilliant. The cleverest men
+were those who took the greatest pleasure in making her talk." When
+she was not in society, she was kept constantly at her books. She
+wrote a great deal, and her writings were read in public and
+applauded. This system of education had its natural results. Praise,
+and reputation, and success in society, became as necessary to her as
+her daily food: her understanding, brilliant, but not profound,
+gathered knowledge by cursory reading and from conversation--not by
+hard study; hence it was superficial.
+
+Her physical strength could not endure this constant straining and
+excitement of the mind. At fourteen, her physicians ordered that she
+should be removed to the country, and should give up all study. Madame
+Necker was deeply disappointed: unable to carry her system of
+education to the fullest extent, she abandoned it altogether;
+henceforth she took little interest in the talents of her daughter,
+and, when she heard her praised, would say, "O, it is nothing,
+absolutely nothing, in comparison to what I intended to make her."
+This carelessness on the part of her mother, developed in the young
+girl an ardent affection for her father, which she dwells upon in her
+writings with so much fervor. There existed between them the most
+unreserved and open communication of thought. He delighted in her
+talents, which she exerted for his entertainment, and to amuse his
+hours of leisure. Her superior success in this last particular even
+excited the jealousy of her mother, who sought by reproof to check the
+outpouring of her wit and imagination. Mademoiselle listened with
+respect to the reproof, but took the first opportunity to escape from
+her mother's side, and shelter herself behind her father's chair,
+where she soon collected the cleverest men in the room to listen to
+her sallies, and to be charmed by her eloquence.
+
+As has already been said, her career of authorship began at a very
+early age. When a little older, she composed tales and plays, which
+were received with rapturous applause by the company to which, in
+accordance with French custom, they were read; but which in print
+appear flat enough. At the age of fifteen, she made her appearance
+before the great public as the author of an anonymous political
+pamphlet in defence of an act of her father's, which had excited a
+great clamor on the part of the ultra-royalists, and was the cause of
+his resignation of office.
+
+The position which her father held in France, during her early years,
+exercised a very important influence on the character and feelings of
+Mademoiselle Necker. Despised as a plebeian and detested as a reformer
+by the queen and the court, he was regarded, by the moderate of all
+parties, as the only man who could save France, and was worshipped as
+an idol by the people at large. No sooner was it known that he had
+resigned, than "all France," as she says,--that is, all who were
+eminent for wealth, for talent, or for rank, excepting the few
+attached to the court,--came to visit him, and to express to him their
+regrets, their fears, and the hope that he would soon return to
+office. She heard that consternation pervaded Paris; all fearing ruin
+for that country which Necker had abandoned. It is not surprising that
+she should conceive for him a passionate admiration; should regard him
+as superior to all in modern times, and as answering the _beau ideal_
+of Grecian or of Roman patriotism. Nor is it wonderful that his
+persecution by the court should have excited feelings of resentment
+and disgust towards a form of government under which such things could
+take place.
+
+Necker remained a short time in France, and then returned to Coppet,
+an estate which he purchased on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, from
+whence he watched the course of events, feeling certain that he should
+at last be recalled to the helm. An occasional visit to Paris, or the
+publication of a political pamphlet, served to keep him in the public
+remembrance.
+
+At the age of twenty-two; Mademoiselle Necker was married. To her,
+marriage was merely a convenience. It was necessary to give her a
+position in society--admittance at court. She did not look for a
+lover, not even for a friend or companion, in her husband. He must be
+of noble birth, and a Protestant. The Baron de Stael, the Swedish
+ambassador, had both these requisites; he was, moreover, an amiable
+and honorable man. He had received positive assurances from his
+sovereign, that he should be continued for many years at the court of
+France, and she, having made a distinct contract that she should never
+be obliged to go to Sweden, except with her own consent, accepted his
+proposals of marriage.
+
+We have a portrait of her as she appeared at this period, written in a
+style then much in fashion: "Zalma advances; her large dark eyes
+sparkle with genius; her hair, black as ebony, falls on her shoulders
+in waving ringlets; her features are more marked than delicate, yet
+they express something superior to her sex. 'There she is!' every one
+cried, when she appeared, and all became breathless. When she sang,
+she extemporized the words of her song; the celestial brightness of
+composition animated her face, and held the audience in serious
+attention; at once astonished and delighted, we know not which most to
+admire, her facility or perfection. When her music ceased, she talked
+of the great truths of nature, the immortality of the soul, the love
+of liberty, of the fascination and danger of the passions: her
+features meanwhile have an expression superior to beauty; her
+physiognomy is full of play and variety; the accents of her voice have
+a thousand modulations; and there is perfect harmony between her
+thoughts and their expression. Without hearing her words, the
+inflection of her tones, her gestures, her look, cause her meaning to
+be understood. When she ceased, a murmur of approbation ran round the
+room; she looked down modestly; her long eyelashes covered her
+flashing eyes, and the sun was clouded over."
+
+Meantime affairs in France were rapidly approaching to a crisis.
+Minister succeeded minister, but each left the ship more inextricably
+involved than his predecessor. The failure of the crops, and
+consequent distress of the poorer classes, increased the turbulence of
+the people and the distress of the court. At length, in 1788, seven
+years after his resignation, the queen and the court were compelled to
+confess that the only hope of safety was in recalling Necker, and to
+join in the general solicitation that he would take the helm.
+
+His name revived the public credit; the pressing wants of the treasury
+were supplied; by importing grain, he removed the fears of famine. His
+position at this period was one to gratify his highest ambition; his
+return had been a triumph over the court; and the people were eager to
+prostrate themselves at his feet. But his talents were those of the
+financier only; as a statesman, he was sadly wanting. The example of
+the Americans had excited in the minds of a portion of the nobility an
+indefinable and romantic longing for something called _liberty_; the
+middle classes, who possessed the most intelligence, education, and
+wealth, were indignant at being excluded from most places of honor,
+and at being obliged to bear the whole burden of the taxes, from which
+the nobles and the clergy were exempt; the great body of the people,
+who were in the condition of slaves, had the wrongs and outrages of
+many centuries of oppression to avenge: all these classes, though
+agreeing in nothing else, were united in demanding a change. On the
+other side, the queen, supported by her royal brothers-in-law and a
+portion of the nobles, resolutely set themselves against any
+innovations.
+
+Necker did not agree entirely with either party; he was in favor of a
+limited monarchy; the British constitution appeared to him, as it did
+to his daughter, the perfection of government. But he had not the
+decision and energy requisite for insuring the success of his own
+opinions. The well-disposed but weak monarch yielded to the more
+daring counsels of the court, and prepared to crush at once their
+opponents by force. But these measures were concerted without the
+knowledge of Necker, and before they could be executed, he must
+quietly be got rid of. Accordingly, on the 11th of July, 1789, as he
+was about to sit down to dinner, he received an order to quit France
+within four and twenty hours, and without exciting observation. Necker
+obeyed to the very letter. He and his wife, without changing their
+dress, stepped into the carriage, as if to take the usual evening
+airing, and travelled night and day till they reached Brussels.
+
+Madame de Stael was informed of this event on the morning of the 12th,
+and on the 15th, having been advised of their route, she set off to
+join her parents. "When I reached them," says she, "three days after,
+they still wore the full dress which they had on, when, after a large
+dinner party, and while no one suspected the agitating position in
+which they were placed, they silently quitted France, their friends,
+their home, and the power which they enjoyed. This dress, covered with
+dust, the name assumed by my father for the sake of avoiding
+recognition in France, and so detention through the favor in which he
+was still held,--all these filled me with feelings of reverence, that
+caused me to throw myself at his feet, as I entered the room of the
+inn where I found him."
+
+While thus exhibiting his respect for the king, Necker, by another
+act, displayed his love for the people. To purchase a supply of corn
+for the starving population of Paris, Necker had negotiated a loan of
+two millions of livres, for which his own personal security was to be
+given. The transaction was not completed at the period of his exile,
+and, lest this should occasion any delay, he wrote at once to confirm
+his guaranty.
+
+No sooner was Necker's dismissal known, than Paris rose in insurrection.
+An army of one hundred thousand men was arrayed in a night; on the 14th
+of July, the Bastile was destroyed, and the king was forced to attend
+in person at the Hotel de Ville, and to express his approbation of the
+acts of the revolutionists. A courier, bearing an order of recall,
+overtook Necker at Frankfort. He hesitated, but at last determined to
+comply. "What a moment of happiness," says Madame de Stael, "was our
+journey to Paris! I do not think that the like ever happened to any man
+who was not sovereign of the country. * * * The liveliest acclamations
+accompanied every step; the women threw themselves on their knees afar
+off in the fields when they saw his carriage pass; the first citizens
+of the different places acted as postilions; and, in the towns, the
+inhabitants took off the horses to drag the carriage themselves. It was
+I that enjoyed for him; I was carried away by delight, and must not
+feel ungrateful for those happy days, however sad were the ones that
+followed." "O, nothing can equal the emotion that a woman feels when she
+has the happiness of hearing the name of one beloved repeated by a
+whole people. All those faces, which appear for the time animated by
+the same sentiment as one's self; those innumerable voices, which echo to
+the heart the name that rises in the air, and which appear to return
+from heaven after having received the homage of earth; the inconceivable
+electricity which men communicate to each other when they share the
+same emotions; all those mysteries of nature and social feeling are added
+to the greatest mystery of all--love--filial or maternal--but still love;
+and the soul sinks under emotions stronger than itself. When I came to
+myself, I felt that I had reached the extreme boundary of happiness."
+
+The triumph was of short duration: striving to act a middle part,
+Necker incurred the distrust of both parties. His want of capacity,
+also, to rule the tempest, was most evident; his propositions were
+weak and inconsistent; but his daughter saw not this: the loss of the
+confidence of the king and of the favor of the people, was attributed
+by her to their ingratitude and perversity; in her eyes, her father
+was still the greatest of men. His resignation and departure from
+France was to her a subject of mortification, however. As he passed on
+his way to Switzerland, the same people who, the year before, had
+swelled the acclamations of triumph and joy, now met him with
+reproaches and revilings. At one place he was detained as a prisoner,
+and only released in pursuance of a decree of the National Assembly.
+
+His daughter remained at Paris. Although excluded theoretically from
+the exercise of any political power, there is no country where the
+women take so active a part in politics as in France. Madame de Stael
+was not a woman to forego the exercise of rights which custom had
+given her sex: accordingly we find her deeply involved in all the
+political intrigues of the day, and her drawing-room the scene of the
+most important political discussions.
+
+During the dreadful days of August, 1792, she exerted herself to the
+utmost to save the lives of her friends; fearlessly traversing the
+streets filled with the lowest wretches of both sexes; visiting the
+victims in the obscure houses in which they were concealed, and taking
+them into her own house, which, from the protection which the law of
+nations throws over an ambassador, she trusted would be to them a
+sanctuary. But those now in power heeded little the law of nations:
+the police demanded to search her house; she met them at the door,
+talked to them of the rights of ambassadors, and of the vengeance
+which Sweden would take if they persisted in their demand; she rallied
+them upon their want of courtesy, and finally, by argument and gayety,
+induced them to abandon their intention.
+
+Although it was apparent that her personal safety was endangered, she
+could not bear to leave Paris, the theatre in which so exciting a
+drama was being acted. With her passports ready, she yet lingered
+until the 2d of September, when the news of the advance of the
+foreign troops into France excited the Parisians to madness, and led
+to the commission of those horrible excesses which have left an
+indelible stain on the French name. She then set out for Switzerland;
+but even now her love of effect and of display was exhibited. She left
+her house in a coach drawn by six horses, with the servants in full
+livery, trusting for safety to her title as wife of an ambassador. But
+she had hardly left her own door, when the carriage was surrounded by
+a host of furious women, who compelled the postilions to drive to the
+office of the section of the city to which she belonged, from whence
+she was ordered to the Hotel de Ville. This was at the opposite side
+of the city, and she was three hours in making her way thither through
+crowds of ferocious wretches thirsting for her blood. She was detained
+at the Hotel de Ville during the remainder of the day, and in the
+evening was conducted by Manuel to his own house. On the next day, she
+was suffered to leave the city attended by her maid alone, and
+accompanied by a gendarme.
+
+At Coppet she found personal safety; but not even the society of her
+father could render its quiet agreeable to her. Her activity found
+some exercise for itself in affording protection to those who were so
+fortunate as to escape from the fangs of the Revolutionary Tribunal.
+She also wrote an eloquent appeal in behalf of the queen, and
+"Reflections on the Peace," which was quoted by Fox, as full of sound
+political views and just argument.
+
+No sooner had the fall of Robespierre rendered Paris a comparatively
+safe place of residence, than she hastened thither, eager to bear a
+part in the busy scenes which were taking place. Her return formed an
+epoch in society; it was the signal of the revival of refinement. She
+became the centre of a brilliant circle, composed of the most
+distinguished foreigners, and of the most eminent men of France. In
+the society of women she took no pleasure; she loved to be surrounded
+by those who could appreciate her talents, and could discuss those
+questions which are foreign to the general tastes of women. But it
+could hardly be called discussion: her own opinions were delivered
+like oracles, and if she ever asked a question, it was in such an
+indeterminate way that no one felt called upon to reply. In this
+connection one little peculiarity may be mentioned: in public she
+always held in her hand, which, by the by, was well-formed, some
+plaything, which she twirled between her fingers; in summer, it was a
+twig of poplar with two or three leaves at the end; in winter, it was
+a rolled paper; and it was usual, on her entrance at a party, to
+present a number of these, from which she made a selection.
+
+The influence which she had acquired excited the alarm of the
+revolutionists; she was denounced in the Convention and attacked in
+the newspapers. But this moved her not, so long as by her eloquence
+she could make converts to her own opinions--opinions adopted hastily,
+and without reflection, which were, therefore, often changing, and
+frequently contradictory.
+
+At length Bonaparte appeared upon the stage; and at their first
+interview, Madame de Stael felt that he was a man not to be dazzled or
+won. He had just returned from the conquest of Italy. She thus speaks
+of the impression he made on her: "I could not reply to him, when he
+told me that he had visited Coppet, and felt much regret at passing
+through Switzerland without seeing my father. To a feeling of
+admiration succeeded one of fear--a feeling that was experienced by
+all who approached him, and which resulted solely from his personal
+attributes; for at this time he held no political power, but had
+himself fallen under the suspicions of the Directory. I soon learned
+that his character was not to be defined by the words in ordinary use;
+that he was neither gentle nor violent, mild nor cruel, according to
+the fashion of other men. The feeling of fear was only increased by
+subsequent intercourse with him. I had a confused feeling that no
+emotion of the heart ever influenced him."
+
+In all that Madame de Stael says of Napoleon, there is an evident
+feeling of pique, and of mortified vanity. Hitherto triumphant in
+society, she now met with one upon whom all her powers were tried in
+vain. An opportunity of testing this occurred at an early period.
+Bonaparte proposed to the Directory the invasion of Switzerland;
+upon which she sought a conference with him, in the hope of turning
+him from his purpose. He viewed the interference as impertinent,
+and the matter entirely out of a woman's province: from deference
+to her reputation, however, he entered into a discussion of the
+matter, and, having said as much as he thought ought to convince her,
+turned the conversation to other subjects, much to Madame de Stael's
+mortification, who could not bear to be treated like a mere woman.
+
+When Bonaparte became first consul, Madame de Stael did not hesitate
+to express openly her dissatisfaction at his rising power. Joseph
+Bonaparte, of whom she was fond, remonstrated with her. "My brother,"
+said he, "complains of you. 'Why,' said he, yesterday, 'does not
+Madame de Stael attach herself to my government? What does she want?
+The payment of the money due her father? She shall have it. To remain
+in Paris? I will permit it. In short, what does she want?'" "The
+question is not what I want," replied Madame de Stael, "but what I
+think."
+
+There was one thing which operated as a check on her, and that was,
+the fear of being obliged to leave Paris. The possibility of such a
+catastrophe filled her with wretchedness. Away from the society and
+the excitements of that capital, she was the victim of _ennui_: her
+own brilliant powers of mind furnished her with no protection; she had
+no internal resources for happiness. Hear her own confession: "In this
+point was I vulnerable. The phantom of _ennui_ forever pursues me;
+fear of it would have made me bow before tyranny, if the example of my
+father, and the blood which flowed in my veins, had not raised me
+above such weakness."
+
+The "dispensation of _ennui_" she viewed as the most terrible exercise
+of Bonaparte's power. But even her fear of it would not control the
+ruling passion: she continued to discourse on politics, though to a
+constantly diminishing audience, and to excite those with whom she
+possessed influence to oppose the measures of government, until the
+forbearance of that government was exhausted, and she received advice
+from the minister of police to retire for a short time into the
+country. This she terms the commencement of a series of persecutions
+by Bonaparte--a reproach which is not deserved; for it could not be
+expected that any government, much less one whose power was not yet
+established, would submit to a constant opposition, which exhibited
+itself not only in epigrams, always a most powerful weapon in France,
+but, as she herself confesses, in direct political intrigues; the
+interference, too, being by one who had small claims to be called a
+Frenchwoman. She was the daughter of a Swiss, and the wife of a Swede,
+of which latter character she more than once made use to secure her
+own personal safety and that of her friends. What course could the
+government have adopted of a milder character? There was no personal
+violence, nor threat of any: she was banished from the theatre of her
+hostile influence, and forbidden to circulate her works there.
+
+Not long after the banishment of Madame de Stael from Paris, Bonaparte
+passed through Switzerland, on his way to Italy. Having expressed a
+wish to see Necker, the latter waited on him. After a two hours'
+conversation, the aged minister left Napoleon, fascinated, like all
+who approached him, by his powers of pleasing, and gratified, as well
+by this mark of respect, as by the permission which he obtained for
+his daughter to reside at Paris.
+
+The publication of her work on "Literature" restored Madame de Stael
+to popularity. Her _salons_ were again crowded, but chiefly with
+foreigners, for she still remained upon bad terms with the first
+consul. "She pretends," said he, "to speak neither of politics nor of
+me; yet it happens that every one leaves her house less attached to me
+than when they went in. She gives them fanciful notions, and of the
+opposite kind to mine." Wounded vanity had no doubt a large share in
+producing her state of feeling. Upon him, as we have before seen, all
+her powers of fascination were exerted in vain. Indeed, he seems, in
+his treatment of her, to have been wanting in his usual tact. She was
+one day asked to dine in company with him. As she had heard that he
+sometimes spoke sarcastically of her, she thought he might perhaps
+address to her some of these speeches, which were the terror of the
+courtiers. She prepared herself, therefore, with various repartees.
+But Bonaparte hardly appeared conscious of her presence, and her
+consolation for the neglect was the conjecture that fear had been the
+cause of his forbearance.
+
+The early attempts of Madame de Stael in novel-writing gave no promise
+of superiority in that department of literature. Four tales, published
+in 1795, were as weak in plan and in execution as they were deficient
+in moral taste. It is a sad illustration of the state of moral feeling
+in the community, that a mind, naturally so well-intentioned and
+powerful, could be so debased, especially of one who had, at all
+times, a deep sense of religion, and who had been educated in the
+strict principles of Calvin. "Delphine," which appeared in 1802, is
+marked by the same faults of a moral character, and its tendency was
+so marked, as to incur the censure even of French critics, "who
+dared," as Madame de Stael indignantly exclaims, "to blame a book
+approved by Necker." That the censure was merited, no right-minded
+person can deny. The defence which Madame de Stael felt called upon to
+put forth is weak, inconclusive, and abounding in sophistries. The
+misfortunes of the heroine are, indeed, the consequences of her
+actions, but these results are made to appear her misfortune, and not
+her fault. Fascinated by the eloquence of the author, our hearts are
+enlisted on the side of the sufferer, whatever may be the decision of
+our judgment.
+
+Though deficient in some of the requisites for a novelist, especially
+in dramatic talent, Madame de Stael was eminently endowed with one
+essential faculty--that of delineating character. In Delphine, it was
+said the character of the author herself was exhibited, and that
+Madame de Vernon, in whom we have a perfect picture of social
+Machiavelism, was drawn from Talleyrand. "I am told," said he to her,
+"that you have put us both in your novel in the character of women."
+Even if this had been the occasion of offence to the wily courtier, he
+was too sagacious to disclose it.
+
+Madame de Stael was at Coppet, passing the summer, when her father
+published a work called "Last View of Politics and Finance." In this
+he points out the progress which Bonaparte was making towards despotic
+power. Irritated at this attack, the first consul forbade the return
+of the daughter to Paris, from whence she had conveyed such false
+impressions to her father.
+
+But, much as she loved her father, she could not content herself away
+from Paris. Genevese society contrasted sadly, in her estimation, with
+the brilliant circle of her Parisian friends. Hoping, amidst the
+excitements which attend the commencement of a war, to be overlooked,
+she ventured, after the rupture of the peace of Amiens, to establish
+herself at the distance of thirty miles from her beloved capital. The
+first consul was informed that the road to her residence was crowded
+with her visitants. She heard that she was to receive an order to
+depart, and she sought to evade it by wandering from the house of one
+friend to that of another. It was at length received, and the
+intercession of Joseph Bonaparte, and other friends of the first
+consul, was of no avail.
+
+Loath to appear in disgrace among the Genevese, and hoping, amid new
+scenes, to forget her griefs, she resolved to visit Germany. "Every
+step of the horses," she tells us, as she left Paris, "was a pang;
+and, when the postilions boasted that they had driven fast, I could
+not help smiling at the sad service they did me."
+
+The enjoyment which she derived from the attention and kindness with
+which she was every where received, and from the vast field of
+knowledge which opened itself to her, was interrupted by the sad news
+of the illness of her father, followed quickly by intelligence of his
+death. She at once set off for Coppet. Her feelings, during the
+melancholy journey, are beautifully and naturally recorded in the "Ten
+Years of Exile." This work, which was not published until after her
+death, is the most interesting of her writings, and the best as it
+respects style. It was commenced at Coppet, and feigned names and
+false dates were substituted for the real, for the purpose of
+misleading the government, whose perfect system of _espionage_ would
+otherwise have rendered fruitless her most careful endeavors at
+concealment.
+
+Her fears for the consequences of a discovery were natural; for she
+expresses most freely her opinions of the character and conduct of the
+great ruler of France, which take their coloring from her feelings,
+highly excited by the persecution of which she conceived herself to be
+the victim. Here are also recorded her observations on the various
+countries which this persecution compelled her to visit. But the work
+is far more valuable and interesting from the traits which it
+unconsciously discloses of the character of the author herself; and
+any diminution of our preconceived ideas of the absolute dignity of
+her nature, is more than compensated by the abundant proofs of the
+kindness and honesty of her disposition.
+
+Her first occupation, after the death of her father, was to publish
+his writings, accompanied by a biographical memoir. Her passion for
+him took a new turn. Every old man recalled his image; and she watched
+over their comforts, and wept over their sufferings. It mingled with
+her devotions. She believed that her soul communed with his in prayer,
+and that it was to his intercession that she owed all the good that
+befell her. Whenever she met with any piece of good fortune, she would
+say, "It is my father who has obtained this for me."
+
+In happier days, this passion sometimes was the occasion of scenes not
+a little amusing to the bystanders. Her cousin and biographer, Madame
+de Necker Saussure relates the following anecdote: She had come to
+Coppet from Geneva in Necker's carriage, and had been overturned on
+the way, but received no injury. On relating the incident to Madame de
+Stael, she inquired, with great vehemence, who had driven; and, on
+being told that it was Richel, her father's coachman, she exclaimed,
+in an agony, "Mon Dieu! he may one day overturn my father!" and
+ordered him into her presence. While waiting his coming, she paced the
+room, crying out, "My father, my poor father, _he_ might have been
+overturned;" and, turning to her cousin, "At your age, and with your
+slight person, the danger is nothing; but with his bulk and age--I
+cannot bear to think of it!" The coachman now came in; and the lady,
+usually so mild and indulgent with her servants, in a sort of frenzy,
+and in a voice of solemnity, but choked with emotion, said, "Richel,
+do you know that I am a woman of genius?" The poor man stared at her
+in astonishment, and she went on, yet louder, "Have you not heard, I
+say, that I am a woman of genius?" The man was still mute. "Well,
+then, I tell you that I _am_ a woman of genius--of great genius--of
+prodigious genius! and I tell you more--that all the genius I have
+shall be exerted to secure your rotting out your days in a dungeon, if
+ever you overturn my father!"
+
+To recruit her health, which was wasting with grief, she next
+undertook a journey into Italy. Hitherto she had appeared totally
+insensible to the beauties of nature, and when her guests at Coppet
+were in ecstasies with the Lake of Geneva, and the enchanting scenery
+about it, she would exclaim, "Give me a garret in Paris, with a
+hundred Louis a year." But in Italy she seems to have had a glimpse
+of the glories of the universe, for which enjoyment she always said
+she was indebted to her father's intercession.
+
+The delights which she experienced in that enchanting country are
+imbodied in the novel of "Corinne." Her representation of its society
+evinces a want of intimate acquaintance with it, but it is a lively
+and true picture of the surface. In this work her peculiar talent as a
+novelist is richly displayed. In the characters of Comte d'Erfeuil,
+Corinne, and Oswald, we have not only examples of the most true and
+delicate discrimination, but vivid portraits of individuals, in whom
+are imbodied the most pleasing peculiarities of their respective
+nations. A purer morality displays itself in Corinne; the result,
+rather than the object, of the book. She does not seek, by logical
+demonstration, to enforce a moral axiom, but the influence of the
+spirit which emanates from the whole is purifying and elevating.
+
+Madame de Stael was forbidden to approach within forty leagues of
+Paris; but, after hovering about the confines of the magical circle,
+she at last established herself within it, at a distance of only
+twelve leagues from the city. So long as she was contented to remain
+in obscurity, in the society of a small circle of friends, and to
+maintain a strict silence on the subject of politics, her violation of
+the imperial mandate was overlooked. But the publication of Corinne
+put an end to the indulgence, and she was ordered to quit France.
+
+The tedium of her life at Coppet was somewhat relieved by the visits
+of her friends, and of distinguished foreigners. She was occupied,
+too, by her work on Germany, which was completed in 1810. To
+superintend its publication, she took up her abode at the permitted
+distance from Paris, at the old chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire, already
+notable as the residence of Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis,
+and Nostradamus.
+
+She submitted her book to the censor, and expunged such passages as
+were objected to. She now deemed herself safe in publishing it. Ten
+thousand copies were already printed, when an order was issued by
+Savary, minister of police, for the suppression of the work. The
+impressions were seized, and, the ink being obliterated by a chemical
+process, the paper was returned to the publisher. The manuscript was
+demanded, and the author ordered to quit France in twenty-four hours;
+but, upon her remonstrance, the time was extended to eight days. "Your
+exile," says Savary, "is the natural consequence of the course of
+conduct you have constantly pursued for many years. It is evident that
+the air of France does not agree with you." The true reasons for the
+suppression of her work were not assigned, but were turned off with
+the remark that "It is not French; and that the French are not yet
+reduced to seek for models in the countries which she admired."
+
+In 1810, M. de Rocca, a French officer, who was yet suffering from
+dangerous wounds, received in Spain, arrived at Geneva. His personal
+condition and his reputation for brilliant courage heightened the
+interest excited by his youth and noble physiognomy. He first saw
+Madame de Stael at a public assembly. She entered the ball-room,
+dressed in a costly but unbecoming style, and followed by a train of
+admirers. "Is this the far-famed woman?" said Rocca; "she is very
+ugly, and I detest such straining for effect." A few words of
+sympathy, set off by the music of her voice, effected a complete
+revolution in his feelings. Wishes and hopes apparently the most
+extravagant took possession of his heart--for she was now a widow. "I
+will love her so much that she will marry me," said he, and his words
+were soon fulfilled; but the event was carefully concealed until the
+death of Madame de Stael; for she was peculiarly sensitive to public
+opinion, and refused to acknowledge a marriage which might have
+excited ridicule--so great was the disparity of age and of condition
+between the parties. She was unwilling likewise to change her name.
+"Mon nom est a l'Europe," said she to M. Rocca, when, on a subsequent
+occasion, he jestingly asked her to marry him.
+
+For this marriage, as well as for her former one, Madame de Stael has
+been severely censured. Many apologies, if any be really necessary,
+may be found for her. Since the death of her father, she had felt,
+more than before, the want of an essential accessory to her happiness.
+Speaking of the asylum which she hoped to find in England, she said,
+"I feel the want of love, of cherishing, of some one to lean upon; if
+I can find in that country a man possessing real nobleness of
+character, I will gladly yield up my liberty." Heartbroken and
+disappointed, both as a woman and an author, she had returned to
+Coppet, to find her residence there more irksome and unhappy than
+ever. She was advised not to go farther than ten leagues from home;
+and fear lest she should involve her friends, induced her to forbid
+their coming to her. Her fears were not altogether without reason.
+Regardless of the advice she had received, she made the tour of
+Switzerland with M. de Montmorency, and the consequence to him was
+exile from France. Another friend, the beautiful and celebrated Madame
+de Recamier, paid for a few hours' intercourse by exile to Lyons.
+
+Imagination conjured up new terrors. The fear of imprisonment seized
+her, and she resolved to escape. The choice of a route perplexed her.
+She passed her life, she says, in studying the map of Europe, to find
+how she could escape beyond the wide-spread poison-tree of Napoleon's
+power. She at length departed. England was the point of destination.
+
+Passing through Germany, she was received at St. Petersburg with great
+distinction by the emperor, and, thence passing on her way, spent
+eight months at Stockholm with her old friend Bernadotte, crown prince
+of Sweden; with whom at Paris, in the early days of Bonaparte's
+career, she had been discovered concerting measures to stop his
+progress towards absolute power--a discovery which furnished an
+apology for the treatment she received.
+
+The "Ten Years of Exile," which, after an intermission of several
+years, had been resumed, closes at Stockholm. In England, she met with
+a most cordial reception. Fashionable society courted her as a _lion_;
+the more intelligent and highly educated sought her for her genius.
+
+Her work on Germany was published in London, and raised her
+reputation as a critic to the highest point. She was among the
+founders of the philosophical school of critics; who, not wasting
+their attention on the conventional forms of composition, look to the
+intrinsic qualities which constitute literary excellence. But she was
+not sufficiently dispassionate always to form a correct judgment. Her
+enthusiasm and susceptibility made her too indulgent. As she would
+often be thrown into ecstasies by a wretched hand-organ in the street,
+so she would be in raptures with verses, the melody of which pleased
+her ear. She would repeat them with great pomp and emphasis, and say,
+"That is what I call poetry! it is delicious! and all the more that it
+does not convey a single idea to me."
+
+"Germany" was a gift of the greatest price to France. Her standards in
+literature had been fixed a century before, and to alter or advance
+them was deemed a work of impiety. A natural result was a want of
+vigor and of originality. She had imposed her fetters, too, on foreign
+nations. The cold, artificial spirit of the age of Louis XIV. long
+pressed, like an incubus, upon the literary spirit of Germany. But
+about the middle of the last century, the spell was broken. A literary
+revolution took place in that country, and, from being destitute of
+all national literature, Germany became possessed of one the most
+characteristic. To furnish a literary and mental portraiture of this
+emancipated nation, was a work requiring a rare combination of
+talents, and one which was executed by Madame de Stael with singular
+ability.
+
+She hailed with delight the overthrow of Napoleon, which opened to
+her the way to Paris. But she never joined in the senseless cry which
+was raised, that he had neither talents nor courage. "It would be too
+humiliating for France, and for all Europe," she said, "that, for
+fifteen years, it had been beaten and outwitted by a coward and a
+blockhead." Her joy was, however, tempered by grief and indignation,
+that the soil of France, "cette belle France," should be desecrated by
+the feet of foreign invaders. To avoid witnessing the humiliating
+spectacle of Paris in the possession of barbarians, she retired to
+Coppet, where, in 1816, she renewed her acquaintance with Lord Byron,
+whose genius fascinated her, and who had been chief favorite while she
+was in England. She now gave him much advice as to his conduct, which
+he met by quoting the motto to "Delphine,"--"Man must learn to brave
+opinion,--woman to submit to it." But she no longer defended the truth
+of this epigraph. Always religious, the principles of Christianity now
+mingled more intimately in her sentiments.
+
+Time, too, had wrought a change in her character: she was much
+softened, and appreciated more justly the real blessings and
+misfortunes of life. In her own family she found sources of happiness.
+Her children were dutiful and affectionate, and the marriage of her
+daughter to the Duke de Broglie gave her pleasure. Her chief cause of
+disquietude was the ill health of her husband, in anticipation of
+whose death she composed a book, with the title, "The only Misfortune
+of Life, the Loss of a Person beloved." But she was not destined to be
+the sufferer now. She had ever despised the accommodation of the body,
+and gave herself no trouble about health. She affected to triumph
+over infirmity, and was wont to say, "I might have been sickly, like
+any body else, had I not resolved to vanquish physical weakness." But
+nature was not to be thus defied. Her health failed, and the use of
+opium aided the progress of disease. But sickness threw no cloud over
+her intellect; "I am now," she said, "what I have ever been--sad, yet
+vivacious;" but it displayed the moral beauties of her character in a
+more striking light. She was kind, patient, and devout. Her sleepless
+nights were spent in prayer. Existence no longer appeared to her in
+its gayest colors. "Life," she said, "resembles Gobelin tapestry; you
+do not see the canvass on the right side; but when you turn it, the
+threads are visible. The mystery of existence is the connection
+between our faults and our misfortunes. I never committed an error
+that was not the cause of a disaster." Yet she left life with regret,
+though death possessed for her no terrors. "I shall meet my father on
+the other side," she said, "and my daughter will ere long rejoin me."
+"I think," said she, one day, as if waking from a dream, "I think I
+know what the passage from life to death is; and I am convinced that
+the goodness of God makes it easy; our thoughts become confused, and
+the pain is not great." She died with the utmost composure, at Paris,
+July, 1817.
+
+Her husband survived her but a few months. "Grief put a period to his
+already precarious existence. He withdrew from Paris, to die beneath
+the beautiful sky of Provence, and there breathed his last sighs in
+the arms of his brother."
+
+The chief works of Madame de Stael, and her peculiarities as an
+author, have already been spoken of. One work, published after her
+death, and the most powerful of all, remains to be mentioned. In the
+"Considerations on the French Revolution," she sought to blend the
+memoir with the philosophical history. The faults are what might have
+been expected. The details, too minute for the one, are too scanty for
+the other. In the selection of these she was biased by her personal
+feelings, but to a degree far less than was to be anticipated. Her
+feelings were warm and excitable; she had lived in the midst of the
+events of which she speaks; she had herself been an actor, and her
+father had borne a conspicuous part, in them; indeed, one grand
+purpose of the work is to exculpate him. That she should, under these
+disqualifying circumstances, have produced a work so temperate, and on
+the whole so impartial--one that exhibits such philosophical depth and
+comprehensiveness of vision--excites in us wonder and admiration. But
+it is not as a history that the work is interesting and valuable. It
+is that it exhibits to us the impressions made by the great events of
+which she speaks, and the scenes which she witnessed, upon a powerful
+and original mind. It abounds with profound reflections and brilliant
+remarks. The style, eloquent and impassioned, is in a high degree
+conversational, and, as we read it, we almost expect to hear the sound
+of the voice. The remarkable talent for discrimination and delineation
+of character, which distinguish her as a novelist, lead us to regret
+that it did not come within the design of the work to furnish us with
+historical portraitures of the distinguished personages of the period.
+The few which she has given us, increase our regret, and mark her as a
+mistress in the art.
+
+
+
+
+LADY HESTER STANHOPE.
+
+
+The third Earl of Stanhope, father of the subject of our present
+sketch, possessed abilities which qualified him for any station; yet
+he devoted his ample fortune, his time, and his thoughts, to mechanics
+and to experiments in science and philosophy; with what success, the
+Stanhope printing press, many improvements in the process of
+stereotype printing, and his various papers on the electric fluid, are
+evidence. He married a daughter of the great Earl of Chatham; and of
+this marriage, Lady Hester Stanhope was the earliest fruit. She was
+born in 1776.
+
+[Illustration: LADY HESTER STANHOPE.]
+
+Genius was the only inheritance she received from her father. Upon the
+death of her mother, which happened when she was young, she was
+received into the house of her uncle, William Pitt, the younger, and
+was there brought up. Between this minister and his brother-in-law
+there was little sympathy of opinion. Stanhope was an enthusiast for
+the improvement of social institutions, and hailed the French
+revolution as the beginning of the change which he hoped for. So
+confident was he in those views, as to urge upon his children the
+necessity of qualifying themselves to earn a living by some honest
+calling. He could not approve the measures which the minister now
+adopted; and, as his children adhered in principle to their uncle, he
+renounced them, saying, "that, as they had chosen to be saddled on the
+public purse, they must take the consequences."
+
+The genius and originality of Lady Hester made her an especial
+favorite with her uncle. She presided at his table, and he evinced his
+respect for her abilities, by employing her, after his retirement from
+office, as his secretary. Though to the multitude this great statesman
+appeared cold and unbending, with his intimates, and those whom he
+received into his private friendship, he was cheerful and affable; to
+women he was polite in the extreme, and, in the midst of his gravest
+avocations, would rise to pick up his secretary's fallen handkerchief.
+Devoted to the affairs of state, Pitt paid no attention to his own
+pecuniary concerns, so that the only provision he could make for his
+niece at his death, was to recommend her to the favor of his king and
+country, who acknowledged their obligation to him by bestowing upon
+her a pension of twelve hundred pounds, annually.
+
+Soon after the death of her uncle, she left England, and spent some
+years in visiting the chief cities of continental Europe. Her rank,
+her beauty, and her fortune, were alone sufficient to attract crowds
+of suitors; but they were all rejected. After satisfying her curiosity
+in Europe, she embarked, with a numerous retinue, for Constantinople,
+with the determination of making a long sojourn in the East, and
+taking with her a large amount of property. A storm overtook the
+vessel on the coast of Caramania, fronting the Island of Rhodes; the
+vessel struck against a rock, and soon went to pieces, burying Lady
+Hester's jewels and other property, to a large amount, in the waves.
+Her own escape was almost miraculous. The piece of the wreck on which
+she had taken refuge was cast on the shore of a small, desert island,
+where she remained twenty-four hours, without help or food of any
+kind. At last, some fishermen of Marmoriga, who were in search of the
+remains of the wreck, found her out, and brought her to Rhodes.
+
+Her resolution was not daunted by this disaster. She returned to
+England, collected the remains of her fortune, and, after investing a
+portion of it in the English funds, embarked once more for the East,
+taking with her articles for presents, and whatever else might be of
+service in the countries she designed to visit. Her voyage was
+prosperous, and she landed at the site of the ancient Laodicea, now
+called Latakia, between Tripoli and Alexandretta, on the coast of
+Syria.
+
+In the neighborhood of this place she fixed her residence, and entered
+upon a course of preparation for her intended journeys into the most
+inaccessible parts of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and the desert. She
+strengthened her body by diet and exercise, and, from being weak and
+debilitated, became strong and vigorous as an Amazon. She studied the
+Arab language, and sought for intercourse with the various classes of
+Arabs, Druses, and Maronites of the country.
+
+After having become perfectly familiar with the language, manners, and
+usages, of the country, she organized a large caravan, and, loading
+her camels with rich presents for the Arabs, set out on her travels.
+She visited every place worthy of notice in Syria. At Palmyra numerous
+hordes of wandering Arabs assembled round her tent, to the number of
+forty or fifty thousand, and, charmed by her beauty, her grace, and
+her splendor, proclaimed her queen of that once imperial city, and
+delivered firmans into her hand, by which it was agreed that every
+European who should receive her protection might proceed in perfect
+safety through the desert, paying to them a certain fixed tribute.
+
+The newly-proclaimed queen herself ran great hazard, on her return
+from Palmyra, and narrowly escaped being carried off by a tribe
+hostile to those of that region. She, however, received notice of her
+danger in season--by the swiftness of her horses, and a twenty-four
+hours' journey of almost incredible extent--to place herself and her
+caravan out of the reach of the enemy. The next few months she passed
+at Damascus, protected by the Turkish pacha, to whom the Porte had
+highly recommended her.
+
+Satisfied, at length, with a life of wandering, Lady Hester settled
+herself on one of the mountains of Lebanon, near the ancient Sidon.
+Quitting this place, the traveller enters upon a wild and barren
+country. Hill succeeds to hill, and all are divested of vegetation or
+soil. At last, from the top of one of these rocks, his eye rests upon
+a valley deeper and broader than the rest, bordered on all sides by
+more majestic but equally barren mountains. In the midst of this
+valley the mountain of Djoun rises, with a flat summit covered with a
+beautiful green vegetation. A white wall surrounds this mass of
+verdure, and marks the habitation of the "Sittee Inglis," or "English
+lady." It is a confused assemblage of small cottages, each containing
+one or two rooms, without windows, and separated from one another by
+small gardens. All the verdure was the result of her own labor; she
+created what to Eastern eyes might seem a paradise--gardens containing
+bowers of fragrant vines, kiosks embellished with sculpture and
+paintings, with fountains of marble; and arches formed of orange, fig,
+and lemon-trees.
+
+Here she resided for many years in a style of Eastern magnificence,
+surrounded by a concourse of household officers, and a numerous
+retinue of young females,--upon whose education she employed
+herself,--and a host of servants, black and white. She held friendly
+intercourse with the Sublime Porte, with the various pachas, and with
+the chiefs of the numerous tribes of Arabs and others about her. Such
+was the state in which she lived, and the influence which she exerted,
+that she might well imagine herself "Queen of the Desert."
+
+But the splendor of her reign was soon dimmed. Her treasures were not
+large enough to bear the unlimited draughts upon them. Her Arab
+friends, whose affections were only to be preserved by constant gifts,
+cooled towards her when these became less rich and less frequent;
+those who had accompanied her from Europe, died or deserted her; and
+she was at length left in a state of absolute retirement.
+
+Some sources of influence still remained to her; one of these was in
+that power which the strong-minded and educated always exercise over
+the weak and ignorant. Astrology--a science long banished from
+Europe--still holds its sway in the East. The opinion went abroad that
+Lady Hester could read the stars, and procured for her that respect
+among the common people, and, to a certain extent, that personal
+security, which had formerly been purchased with the shawls of
+Cashmere, and the rich silver-mounted pistols of England.
+
+But whilst practising these arts upon others, she became herself the
+victim of strange delusions. She came by degrees to believe that the
+history of all was written in the stars, and that she had there read
+the history of the world. The Messiah was soon to appear upon the
+earth, and by his side, mounted upon a milk-white mare of matchless
+beauty, which was then in her stable, she was to witness the conquest
+of Jerusalem, and the establishment of his kingdom. She had, too, in
+her stable the mare upon which her companion was to ride. This animal,
+in all other respects of beautiful proportions, had behind the
+shoulders a cavity so large and deep, and imitating so completely a
+Turkish saddle, that one might say with truth she was foaled saddled.
+The appearance of an animal with this peculiarity, in itself a
+deformity, served as an incitement to credulity, and to keep up the
+delusion. The animal was watched with the greatest care by two grooms,
+one of whom was never to lose sight of her. No one had ever mounted
+her, and from her bearing one might have fancied that the creature was
+conscious of the admiration and respect which were entertained for her
+by all around, and felt the dignity of her future mission.
+
+The talent which Lady Hester was supposed to possess was put in
+constant requisition by her credulous neighbors; nor was her power
+ever exercised for bad purposes. She used it to calm the passions of
+the violent; to induce the unjust and the oppressor to make reparation
+for their wrong-doings; and put it to other good uses, of which the
+following anecdote, related by herself, will furnish an example: "An
+Arab suspected his wife of talking too much with strangers in his
+absence, and one of his neighbors confirmed his suspicions. He went
+home, proceeded to strangle the unfortunate woman, and, when she
+became insensible, he dragged her to some distance, and commenced
+interring her: the first heap of sand which he threw upon her recalled
+sensation; she manifested symptoms of life, and he repented of his
+vengeance; he brought her to me half dead; told the story of her
+supposed guilt, but owned he was premature in strangling her, as he
+should have first got me to consult her star, to ascertain if she
+really deserved to die or not. I sent the woman to the _harem_, had
+her bled, and taken care of till she recovered, and then I summoned
+the man before me. 'My good friend,' said I, 'your wife's star has
+been consulted; take her back in peace, and thank God you have her;
+for it is written in the stars, "On vain surmises thou shalt not
+strangle thy wife, neither shalt thou hearken to the slanderers of her
+honor."' The man immediately held out his hand to his gentle rib; she
+kissed it, and forth he walked, desiring her to follow him, with the
+most perfect indifference. I asked the woman if she were afraid of
+another act of violence. She calmly replied, 'Is he not my husband?
+Has he not a right to kill me, if he suspects me of doing wrong?'"
+
+Lady Hester believed in the science of astrology to the fullest
+extent. She believed that we are all children of some one of the
+celestial fires which presided at our birth, and of which the happy or
+malignant influence is written in our eyes, on our foreheads, in our
+fortunes, in the lines of our hands, in the form of our feet, in our
+gesture, in our walk. She believed that, from these various elements,
+she could read the character and destiny of any individual who was but
+for a few moments in her presence. In accordance with her belief, she
+thought that skilful astrologers should be appointed to every
+district, to consult the heavenly bodies at the birth of every child;
+the nature of each natal star to be registered by them, and kept
+secret till the period of education, which is to be adapted to that
+particular calling which the star of every human being indicates.
+
+The following somewhat poetical description of the personal appearance
+of Lady Hester is given by a traveller, who, in 1832, was suffered to
+visit her--a favor rarely granted to Europeans: "I was introduced into
+her cabinet by a little negro child. It was so extremely dark, that it
+was with difficulty I could distinguish her noble, grave, yet mild and
+majestic features, clad in an Oriental costume. She rose from the
+divan, advanced, and offered me her hand. She appeared to be about
+fifty years of age; but she possessed those personal traits which
+years cannot alter. Freshness, color, and grace, depart with youth;
+but when beauty resides in the form itself, in purity of expression,
+in dignity, in majesty, and a thoughtful countenance, whether in man
+or woman, this beauty may change with the different periods of life,
+but it does not pass away--it eminently characterized the person of
+Lady Hester Stanhope.
+
+"She wore a white turban, and on her forehead was a purple-colored
+woollen fillet, which fell on each side of her head as low as her
+shoulders. A long, yellow Cashmere shawl, and an immense Turkish robe
+of white silk, with flowing sleeves, enveloped all her person in
+simple and majestic folds, while an opening of these folds upon the
+bosom displayed a tunic of rich Persian stuff, covered with flowers,
+which was attached round the neck by a clasp of pearls. Turkish yellow
+morocco boots, embroidered with silk, completed this beautiful
+Oriental costume, which she wore with that freedom and grace, as if
+she had never used any other from her youth."
+
+Though Lady Hester retained her power over the lower classes by means
+of their superstitious fears, the neighboring chiefs were not to be
+thus restrained, and some of them sought by robbery to indemnify
+themselves for the loss of the accustomed presents. Hoping to coerce
+her into a renewal of them, they harassed her by petty vexations; her
+camels were seized; her servants were beaten; and at length, when she
+retaliated, a firman was procured, forbidding any Mussulman, on pain
+of death, to remain in her service, or to carry water to her house.
+The severity of the last prohibition may be judged from the fact that
+the water for the use of her house and garden had to be brought from a
+river three or four miles distant. Her appeal, however, to the Porte
+procured the withdrawal of the firman, and saved her gardens from the
+destruction which a want of irrigation would soon have produced.
+
+In 1837, a new source of vexation to Lady Hester arose. The British
+government, having received information that some of her English
+creditors were in a state of destitution, appropriated the pension
+which Lady Hester had so long received to their relief. This met with
+a spirited remonstrance on the part of her ladyship, who called to
+her aid the Duke of Wellington and other opponents of the whig
+administration. Failing in these efforts, she appealed to the queen
+herself, but with no better success. She did not long survive this
+new source of mortification. On hearing of her illness, the British
+consul at Beyroot, accompanied by Mr. Thomson, an American missionary,
+hastened to her assistance; but, on their arrival, nothing was left
+for them to do but to pay the last sad offices to her remains. She
+died on the 23d of June, 1839.
+
+Various and opposing motives have been assigned for the unusual
+conduct of Lady Hester: we think, however, its explanation is to be
+found in an eccentric imagination, a turn for adventure, and that love
+of power which is inherent in the human breast. We can hardly consider
+it more extraordinary that one English lady should be found willing to
+accept a government under the sunny skies of Syria, than that so many
+English officers should seek for sway on the burning shores of Africa
+and the East Indies.
+
+
+
+
+HANNAH MORE.
+
+
+Hannah More was the youngest but one of the five daughters of Jacob
+More, who, after receiving an education for the church, bounded his
+wishes by the possession of a school at Stapleton, England, upon
+obtaining which, he married the daughter of a respectable farmer; and
+to the soundness of her judgment in the culture and regulation of her
+children, the credit and success which attended them are, in a great
+degree, to be attributed.
+
+Like other intelligent children, Hannah More displayed at an early age
+a desire for knowledge and a love of books. To supply the want of the
+latter, her father was accustomed to relate to his children, from
+memory, the most striking events of Grecian and Roman history,
+dwelling much on the parallels and wise sayings of Plutarch. He would
+also recite to them the speeches of his favorite heroes in the
+original languages, and then translate them into English. Hannah thus
+acquired a taste for the Latin classics, an acquaintance with which
+she carefully cultivated, in defiance of her father's horror of _blue
+stockingism_, which was extreme, and which probably prevented his
+instructing her in Greek.
+
+The bent of her mind displayed itself at an early age. Every scrap of
+paper, of which she could possess herself, was scribbled over with
+essays and poems, having some well-directed moral. Her little sister,
+with whom she slept, was the depositary of her nightly effusions; and,
+in her zeal lest they should be lost, she would sometimes steal down
+to procure a light, and commit them to paper. The greatest wish her
+imagination could frame, was that she might some day be rich enough to
+have a whole quire of paper; and, when this wish was gratified, she
+soon filled it with letters to depraved characters, of her own
+invention, urging them to abandon their errors, and letters in return,
+expressive of contrition and resolutions of amendment.
+
+[Illustration: HANNAH MORE.]
+
+Her elder sisters, having been educated with that view, opened a
+boarding-school for young ladies at Bristol; and under their care the
+school education of Hannah was completed. While yet a pupil, she
+attracted the notice and enjoyed the friendship of many eminent men.
+She delighted to study the sciences with Ferguson, the astronomer; and
+such was his opinion of her taste and genius, that he submitted his
+compositions to her for the correction of errors in style. Of her
+conversational powers at this period an anecdote is related. A
+dangerous illness brought her under the care of Dr. Woodward, an
+eminent physician. On one of his visits, being led into conversation
+with his patient on literary subjects, he forgot the purpose of his
+coming; till, recollecting himself when half way down stairs, he cried
+out, "Bless me! I forgot to ask the girl how she was;" and returned to
+the room, exclaiming, "How are you to-day, my poor child?"
+
+In her seventeenth year, she appeared before the public as an author.
+The class of books, now so common, called "Readers," and "Speakers,"
+was then unknown. Young persons were in the habit of committing to
+memory the popular plays of the day, which were not always pure in
+their sentiments, or moral in their tendency. "To furnish a
+substitute," as the youthful moralist tells us in her preface, "for
+the very improper custom of allowing plays, and those not of the
+purest kind, to be acted by young ladies in boarding-schools, and to
+afford them an innocent, and perhaps not altogether unuseful
+amusement, in the exercise of recitation," she composed a drama,
+called the "Search after Happiness." Her object was to convey
+instruction in a pleasing form, and the intention was well executed.
+The plot is of the simplest kind, and one not calculated to kindle the
+fervors of poetry. Four young ladies betake themselves to the retreat
+of a virtuous lady, who, with her two daughters, has renounced the
+world and fixed herself in a secluded spot--to receive from her, as
+from an oracle, instructions which shall guide them in the way which
+leads to peace and contentment.
+
+Among the pupils of the Misses More were two Misses Turner, who were
+in the habit of passing the vacations at the house of a bachelor
+cousin of the same name. They were permitted to bring some of their
+young friends with them, and took the two youngest of their
+governesses, Hannah and Patty More. "The consequence was natural.
+Hannah was clever and fascinating; Mr. T. was generous and sensible:
+he became attached, and made his offer, which was accepted. She gave
+up her interest in the school, and was at much expense in fitting
+herself out to be the wife of a man of fortune." The day was fixed
+more than once for the wedding, and Mr. Turner each time postponed it.
+Her sisters and friends interfered, and broke off the engagement, and
+would not suffer her to listen to any of his subsequent proposals. To
+compensate her, as he said, for the robbery he had committed on her
+time, and to enable her to devote herself to literary pursuits, Mr.
+Turner settled upon her an annuity; and at his death, to show that he
+still retained his esteem, he left her a legacy. The distress and
+disturbance which this event occasioned her, led to a resolution, on
+her part, never again to incur a similar hazard--a resolution the
+strength of which was tested by actual trial.
+
+Among the favorite sports of Hannah's childhood was the making a
+carriage of a chair, and playing at riding to London to visit bishops
+and booksellers--a day-dream which became a reality in 1784. Of the
+circumstances which led to the journey we have no record. A few days
+after her arrival in London, she was, by a fortunate accident, brought
+to the notice of Garrick. A letter written by her to a mutual friend,
+describing the effect produced upon her mind by his representation of
+Lear, was shown to him, and excited in him a curiosity to see and
+converse with her. The desire was gratified; they were reciprocally
+pleased, and Miss More was soon domesticated with Mr. Garrick and his
+affectionate wife; and, for the next twenty years, she spent six
+months of each year under their hospitable roof. Through them she was
+at once received on terms of cordial kindness into their wide and
+splendid circle. She was welcomed as a sister spirit by the _coterie_
+which she has so elaborately eulogized in the "Bas Bleu." She has
+often been heard to describe, very humorously, her raptures on her
+first introduction to a "live author," and her sisters long remembered
+her strong desire to get a sight, from some hiding-place, of Dr.
+Johnson. She was now to meet him face to face. The first interview was
+at Sir Joshua Reynolds's. She had been prepared by Sir Joshua for
+finding him in one of his sombre moods, but was surprised and
+delighted at his coming to meet her, as she entered the room, with
+good-humor on his countenance, and a macaw of Sir Joshua's on his
+hand; and still more at his accosting her with a verse from a morning
+hymn, which she had written at the desire of her early and firm
+friend, Dr. Stonehouse.
+
+A few extracts from the sprightly letters of a sister who accompanied
+her, will furnish the best picture of the scenes in which Miss More
+now bore a part. "Hannah has been introduced to Burke--the Sublime and
+Beautiful Burke! From a large party of literary persons assembled at
+Sir Joshua's she received the most encouraging compliments; and the
+spirit with which she returned them was acknowledged by all present."
+"The most amiable and obliging of women--Miss Reynolds--has taken us
+to Dr. Johnson's _very own_ house! Can you picture to yourselves the
+palpitation of our hearts as we approached his mansion? Miss Reynolds
+told the doctor of all our rapturous exclamations on the road. He
+shook his scientific head at Hannah, and said, 'she was a silly
+thing.' When our visit was ended, he called for his hat to attend us
+down a very long entry to our coach, and not Rasselas could have
+acquitted himself more _en cavalier_. I forgot to mention, that, not
+finding Johnson in his parlor when we came in, Hannah seated herself
+in a great chair, hoping to catch a little ray of his genius: when he
+heard of it, he laughed heartily, and told her it was a chair on which
+he never sat. He said it reminded him of Boswell and himself, when
+they stopped a night at the spot--as they imagined--where the weird
+sisters appeared to Macbeth; the idea so worked upon their enthusiasm
+that it deprived them of rest; however, they learned, the next
+morning, to their mortification, that they had been deceived, and were
+quite in another part of the country."
+
+Johnson was not always, however, in the humor to swallow the flattery
+which she lavished upon him; Mrs. Thrale records a surly enough rebuke
+which the doctor administered to her: "Consider, madam, what your
+flattery is worth before you choke me with it." As he was complaining,
+upon another occasion, that he had been obliged to ask Miss Reynolds
+to give her a hint on the subject, somebody observed that she
+flattered Garrick also; "Ay," said the doctor, "and she is right
+there; first, she has the world with her; and, secondly, Garrick
+rewards her. I can do nothing for her. Let her carry her praise to a
+better market." But in this flattery there was no want of sincerity
+and no disingenuousness. At the age of thirty-one she had brought to
+London the fresh, ecstatic enthusiasm of a country girl of seventeen;
+when, instead of having Johnson pointed out to her as he rolled along
+the pavement of Fleet Street, and gazing at Garrick from the side
+boxes, she found herself at once admitted to the inmost circle of the
+literary magnets--it is not wonderful that her feelings should
+overflow in language and gesture rather too warm for the acclimated
+inhabitants of the temperate zone.
+
+The same hyperbolical style is to be found in the letters intended
+only for the eyes of her sisters. "Mrs. Montagu is not only the finest
+genius, but the finest lady, I ever saw; she lives in the highest
+style of magnificence; her apartments and tables are in the most
+splendid taste; but what baubles are these when speaking of a Montagu!
+Her form--for she has no body--is delicate to fragility; her
+countenance the most animated in the world; she has the sprightly
+vivacity of sixteen, with the judgment and experience of a Nestor.
+Mrs. Carter has in her person a great deal of what the gentlemen mean
+when they speak of a 'poetical lady:' independently of her great
+talents and learning, I like her much: she has affability, kindness,
+and goodness; and I honor her heart more than her talents; but I do
+not like one of them better than Mrs. Boscawen; she is at once
+learned, polite, judicious, and humble." At a party at which all these
+and other luminaries were collected, Dr. Johnson asked Miss More her
+opinion of the new tragedy of "Braganza." "I was afraid," says she,
+"to speak before them all, as I knew there was a diversity of opinion:
+however, as I thought it a less evil to dissent from a fellow-creature
+than to tell a falsity, I ventured to give my sentiments, and was
+satisfied with Johnson's answering, 'You are right, madam.'"
+
+Stimulated by the approbation of such judges, Miss More turned to
+literature with redoubled energy; and from this period, the important
+part of her personal history may be read in that of a succession of
+works, all in their season popular; all commendable for moral tone;
+considerably above mediocrity in literary execution; and some of them
+worthy to survive their age.
+
+After her return home, she one day laughingly said to her sisters, "I
+have been so fed with praise, that I think I will try what is my real
+value, by writing a slight poem, and offering it to Cadell."
+Accordingly she wrote and sent him "Sir Eldred of the Bower," a ballad
+in the style which Dr. Percy had rendered popular. Cadell offered her
+a price far exceeding her idea of its worth; adding that, if she would
+ascertain what Goldsmith received for the "Deserted Village," he
+would make it up to the same sum. With the public the poem met with a
+success which its merits by no means justify. At a tea-visit in her
+own lodgings, where she had Johnson all to herself,--and as she tells
+us he ought always to be had, for he did not care to speak in mixed
+companies,--the new poem was discussed. The leviathan of letters,
+instead of expressing his contempt for compositions of this class, and
+treating her to a new stanza,--like
+
+  "I put my hat upon my head,
+    And walked into the Strand,
+  And there I met another man
+    With his hat in his hand,"--
+
+indited the following, which she proudly engrafted on the original in
+the second edition, no doubt receiving the compliment as paid to the
+author, rather than to the heroine:--
+
+  "My scorn has oft the dart repelled
+    Which guileful beauty threw;
+  But goodness heard, and grace beheld,
+    Must every heart subdue."
+
+In her early life, Miss More was subject to frequent attacks of
+illness, which she was wont to say were a great blessing to her, for
+they induced a habit of industry not natural to her, and taught her to
+make the most of her _well_ days. She laughingly added, it had taught
+her to contrive employment for her sick ones; that from habit she had
+learned to suit her occupations to every gradation of the capacity she
+possessed. "I never," said she, "afford a moment of a healthy day to
+cross a _t_ or dot an _i_; so that I find the lowest stage of my
+understanding may be turned to some account, and save better days for
+better things. I have learned also to avoid procrastination, and that
+idleness which often attends unbroken health." These habits of order
+and industry gave her much time for intellectual pursuits, even amidst
+the dissipations of the city.
+
+At her first introduction to its brilliant society, Patty More seemed
+to have some apprehensions that her sister "Hannah's head might not
+stand proof against all the adulation and kindness of the great
+folks." But these effected no change in her deportment; her simplicity
+remained unsullied; home and the society of her sisters had lost for
+her none of its charms. Her good sense and firmness of character were
+subjected to a yet more severe trial upon the production of the
+tragedy of "Percy." Nothing could exceed the zeal which Garrick
+displayed to insure its success. Miss More thus speaks of it in a
+letter to her sister: "It is impossible to tell you of all the
+kindness of the Garricks; he thinks of nothing, talks of nothing,
+writes of nothing, but 'Percy.' When he had finished his prologue and
+epilogue, he desired I would pay him. Dryden, he said, used to have
+five guineas apiece, but, as he was a richer man, he would be content
+if I would treat him with a handsome supper and a bottle of claret. We
+haggled sadly about the price; I insisting that I could only afford to
+give him a beef-steak and a pot of porter; and at about twelve, we sat
+down to some toast and honey, with which the temperate bard contented
+himself." She adds in the same letter, "What dreadful news from
+America!--Burgoyne's surrender.--We are a disgraced, undone nation.
+What a sad time to bring out a play in! when, if the country had the
+least spark of virtue remaining, not a creature would think of going
+to it."
+
+The success of "Percy" was prodigious; greater than that of any
+tragedy for years. She received for it about six hundred pounds,
+which, she tells us, "her friend Mr. Garrick invested for her on
+the best security, and at five per cent., and so it made a decent
+little addition to her small income." Cadell paid one hundred and
+fifty pounds for the copy-right, and it proved a very successful
+speculation. The first edition, of four thousand copies,--a very
+large one for those days,--was sold off in a fortnight.
+
+Though the patronage of Garrick and the popularity of the author
+contributed in no small degree to its success, yet the tragedy
+itself possesses intrinsic merits. The plot is simple. Bertha, the
+daughter of Lord Raby, is betrothed, in early youth, to Earl Percy.
+His family incur the displeasure of Lord Raby, and, during the young
+earl's absence in the Holy Land, he compels his daughter to marry
+Earl Douglas, the hereditary enemy of the Percys. The proud spirit
+of Douglas is chafed to find that his own ardent love is met only
+with cold and respectful obedience. He suspects the preengagement
+of her affections, and his jealousy rouses him to fury, when Percy
+is found in the neighborhood of his castle. In the catastrophe,
+all the principal personages are involved in a common destruction.
+In the development of the plot the author displays considerable
+imagination, and much dramatic skill. The interest is well sustained;
+the didactic spirit sometimes breaks forth, as in the conclusion of
+the following extract, in which Lord Raby laments the sombre and
+melancholy spirit with which the jealousy of Douglas has infected his
+whole household:--
+
+  "----Am I in Raby castle?
+  Impossible! That was the seat of smiles;
+  There cheerfulness and joy were household gods.
+  But now suspicion and distrust preside,
+  And discontent maintains a sullen sway.
+  Where is the smile unfeigned, the jovial welcome,
+  Which cheered the sad, beguiled the pilgrim's pain,
+  And made dependency forget its bonds?
+  Where is the ancient, hospitable hall,
+  Whose vaulted roof once rung with harmless mirth;
+  Where every passing stranger was a guest,
+  And every guest a friend? I fear me much,
+  If once our nobles scorn their rural seats,
+  Their rural greatness, and their vassals' love,
+  Freedom and English grandeur are no more."
+
+The following passage, in which Bertha seeks to exculpate herself for
+the breach of faith with which Percy, whom she meets by accident after
+his return, charges her, is full of pathos:--
+
+  "I could withstand his fury; but his tears--
+  Ah, they undid me! Percy, dost thou know
+  The cruel tyranny of tenderness?
+  Hast thou e'er felt a father's warm embrace?
+  Hast thou e'er seen a father's flowing tears,
+  And known that thou couldst wipe those tears away?
+  If thou hast felt, and hast resisted these,
+  Then thou may'st curse my weakness; but if not,
+  Thou canst not pity, for thou canst not judge."
+
+Encouraged by the success of "Percy," and urged by Garrick, Miss More
+composed a second tragedy, called the "Fatal Falsehood." The whole was
+completed, and four acts had been revised by Garrick, when death
+deprived her of that warm and disinterested friend. Miss More pays the
+following tribute to his memory: "I never can cease to remember with
+affection and gratitude so warm, steady, and disinterested a friend; I
+can most truly bear this testimony to his memory, that I never
+witnessed, in any family, more decorum, propriety, and regularity,
+than in his; where I never saw a card, or ever met--except in one
+instance--a person of his own profession at his table. All his
+pursuits and tastes were so decidedly intellectual, that it made the
+society and the conversation which was always to be found in his
+circle, interesting and delightful."
+
+The success of the "Fatal Falsehood" was great, but not equal to that
+of "Percy." We must content ourselves with making one extract, in
+which she characterizes "Honor," as it is technically called:--
+
+  "Honor! O yes, I know him. 'Tis a phantom,
+  A shadowy figure, wanting bulk and life,
+  Who, having nothing solid in himself,
+  Wraps his thin form in Virtue's plundered robe,
+  And steals her title. Honor! 'tis the fiend
+  Who feeds on orphans' tears and widows' groans,
+  And slakes his impious thirst in brothers' blood.
+  Honor! why, 'tis the primal law of hell!
+  The grand device to people the dark realms
+  With noble spirits, who, but for this cursed honor,
+  Had been at peace on earth, or blessed in heaven.
+  With this _false_ honor Christians have no commerce;
+  Religion disavows, and truth disowns it."
+
+One more tragedy, the "Inflexible Captive," completes Miss More's
+labors in this department of literature. She arrived at the conclusion
+that, by contributing plays, however pure, to the existing stage, she
+should be using her powers to heighten its _general_ attraction as a
+place of amusement; and, considering the English theatre as, on the
+whole, the most profligate in the world, she resolved to abjure it and
+all its concerns forever--an instance of self-love sacrificed to
+principle hardly to be paralleled. When her works were collected, the
+tragedies were allowed to take their place, in order, as the author
+tells us in a preface written in her happiest manner, that she might
+ground on such publication her sentiments upon the general tendency of
+the drama, and, by including in her view her own compositions, might
+involve herself in the general object of her own animadversions.
+
+She makes no apology for the republication of her "Sacred Dramas,"
+though they may, perhaps, be regarded as falling within the range of
+some of her criticisms on the old Mysteries and Moralities--pieces "in
+which events too solemn for exhibition, and subjects too awful for
+detail, are brought before the audience with a formal gravity more
+offensive than levity itself."
+
+As a general poet, Miss More was, at this period, the very height of
+the fashion. Horace Walpole thought himself honored in being
+permitted to print some of her pieces in the most lavish style of
+expense, at the press of Strawberry Hill. But fashions in literature
+are scarcely more lasting than those in dress. Her poems are now
+immersed in Lethe, except a few terse couplets, which have floated
+down to the present generation on the stream of oral citation, and
+are now often in the mouths of people who fancy that they belong
+to Swift or Gay. Many of her poems are, however, worthy of a better
+fate. They are distinguished by purity and elevation of sentiment,
+ease and strength of diction, and harmony of versification. In the
+last particular she received great praise from Johnson, who
+pronounced her to be "the best versificatrix in the English
+language."
+
+We will give a few extracts. The first is from "Sensibility," a poem
+in which she claims for that quality the place which Mrs. Grenville,
+in a then well-known ode, arrogated for "Indifference."
+
+  "Sweet sensibility! thou keen delight!
+  Unprompted moral! sudden sense of right!
+  Perception exquisite! fair virtue's seed!
+  Thou quick precursor of the liberal deed!
+  Thou hasty conscience! reason's blushing morn!
+  Instinctive kindness e'er reflection's born!
+  Prompt sense of equity! to thee belongs
+  The swift redress of unexamined wrongs;
+  Eager to serve, the cause perhaps untried,
+  But always apt to choose the suffering side;
+  To those who know thee not no words can paint,
+  And those who know thee know all words are faint.
+  She does not feel thy power who boasts thy flame,
+  And rounds her every period with thy name.
+  As words are but th' external marks to tell
+  The fair ideas in the mind that dwell,
+  And only are of things the outward sign,
+  And not the things themselves they but define,
+  So exclamations, tender tones, fond tears,
+  And all the graceful drapery feeling wears,--
+  These are her garb, not her; they but express
+  Her form, her semblance, her appropriate dress;
+  And these fair marks,--reluctant I relate,--
+  These lovely symbols, may be counterfeit.
+  There are who fill with brilliant plaints the page,
+  If a poor linnet meet the gunner's rage;
+  There are who for a dying fawn deplore,
+  As if friend, parent, country, were no more;
+  Who boast, quick rapture trembling in their eye,
+  If from a spider's snare they snatch a fly;
+  There are whose well-sung plaints each breast inflame,
+  And break all hearts--but his from whence they came."
+
+The "Bas Bleu" is a sprightly portraiture of what she considered to
+be the right constitution and character of social conversation. It
+is a vivacious image of that circle of gay and graceful conversers
+from whose appellation it takes its name. It was first circulated
+in manuscript, and we find Miss More apologizing to her sister for
+the shortness of a letter, on the ground that she had not a moment
+to spare, as she was copying the "Bas Bleu," for the king, at his
+request. Dr. Johnson pronounced it to be "a very great performance."
+To the author herself he expressed himself in yet stronger terms.
+She writes to her sister, "As to the 'Bas Bleu,' all the flattery
+I ever received from every body together would not make up his sum.
+He said--but I seriously insist you do not tell any body, for I
+am ashamed of writing it even to you--he said, 'there was no name in
+poetry that might not be glad to own it.' You cannot imagine how
+I stared; all this from Johnson, that parsimonious praiser! I
+told him I was delighted at his approbation; he answered quite
+characteristically, 'And so you may, for I give you the opinion of
+a man who does not rate his judgment in these things very low, I
+can tell you.'" The following extract will give some idea of its
+merits:--
+
+  "What lively pleasure to divine
+  The thought implied, the printed line!
+  To feel allusion's artful force,
+  And trace the image to its source!
+  Quick Memory blends her scattered rays,
+  Till Fancy kindles at the blaze;
+  The works of ages start to view,
+  And ancient wit elicits new.
+  But wit and parts if thus we praise,
+  What nobler altars shall we raise?
+  Those sacrifices could we see
+  Which wit, O virtue! makes to thee,
+  At once the rising thought to dash,
+  To quench at once the bursting flash!
+  The shining mischief to subdue,
+  And lose the praise and pleasure too!
+  Though Venus' self could you detect her
+  Imbuing with her richest nectar
+  The thought unchaste, to check that thought,
+  To spurn a fame so dearly bought,--
+  This is high principle's control,
+  This is true continence of soul.
+  Blush, heroes, at your cheap renown,
+  A vanquished realm, a plundered town
+  Your conquests were to gain a name--
+  This conquest triumphs over fame."
+
+"Florio" is a metrical tale of a young man of good principles and
+right feelings, who, from deference to fashion, has indulged in
+vanities and follies bordering on depravity, which he lays aside in
+disgust when virtue and good sense, in alliance with female
+loveliness, have made apparent to him the absurdity and danger of his
+aberrations. In the following extract the reader will recognize some
+of the oft-quoted couplets of which we have spoken:--
+
+  "Exhausted Florio, at the age
+  When youth should rush on glory's stage,
+  When life should open fresh and new,
+  And ardent Hope her schemes pursue,
+  Of youthful gayety bereft,
+  Had scarce an unbroached pleasure left;
+  He found already, to his cost,
+  The shining gloss of life was lost,
+  And Pleasure was so coy a prude,
+  She fled the more, the more pursued;
+  Or, if o'ertaken and caressed,
+  He loathed and left her when possessed.
+  But Florio knew the world; that science
+  Sets sense and learning at defiance;
+  He thought the world to him was known,
+  Whereas he only knew the _town_.
+  In men this blunder still you find:
+  All think their little set--mankind.
+  Though high renown the youth had gained,
+  No flagrant crimes his life had stained;
+  Though known among _a certain set_,
+  He did not like to be in debt;
+  He shuddered at the dicer's box,
+  Nor thought it very heterodox
+  That tradesmen should be sometimes paid,
+  And bargains kept as well as made.
+  His growing credit, as a sinner,
+  Was, that he liked to spoil a dinner,
+  Made pleasure and made business wait,
+  And still by system came too late;
+  Yet 'twas a hopeful indication
+  On which to found a reputation:
+  Small habits, well pursued, betimes
+  May reach the dignity of crimes;
+  And who a juster claim preferred
+  Than one who always broke his word?"
+
+The death of Garrick may be considered an era in the life of Miss
+More. His wit, his gayety, his intelligence, added to his admiration
+of her genius, and the warmth of his friendship for her, formed the
+strongest spell that held her in subjection to the fascinations of
+brilliant society and town life. The early feeling which prompted the
+infant wish for "a cottage too low for a clock" was still fresh in her
+bosom. The country, with its green pastures and still waters, still
+retained its charms for her. "I have naturally," she writes, "but a
+small appetite for grandeur, which is always satisfied, even to
+indigestion, before I leave town; and I require a long abstinence to
+get any relish for it again." After the death of her friend, she
+carried into execution the resolution she had long cherished, of
+passing a portion of her time in retirement in the country. With this
+view, she possessed herself of a little secluded spot, which had
+acquired the name of "Cowslip Green," near Bristol.
+
+Still, however, her sensibility to kindness would not let her withhold
+herself entirely from her London friends; her annual visits to Mrs.
+Garrick brought her back into contact with the world and its crowded
+resorts.
+
+From her earliest acquaintance with society, she had seen with sorrow
+the levity of manners, the indifference to religion, and the total
+disregard of the Sabbath, which prevailed in its higher circles. Not
+content with holding herself uncontaminated, she felt it to be her
+duty to make an effort for a reformation, and with this end she
+published "Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of the Great to
+General Society." To appreciate the value of the effort, we must
+remember that these "Thoughts" were not the animadversions of a
+recluse, but of one who was flattered, admired, and courted, by the
+very people whom she was about to reprove; that the step might
+probably exclude her from those circles in which she had hitherto been
+so caressed. But the happiness of her friends was dearer to her than
+their favor. That the probable consequences did not ensue, does not
+diminish her merit. This work and the one which speedily followed it,
+"An Essay on the Religion of the Fashionable World," were popular
+beyond hope, and the wish of Bishop Porteus, "that it might be placed
+in the hands of every person of condition," was almost realized. It is
+unnecessary to dwell on these works; they are too well known; they
+established her reputation as a great moral writer, possessing a
+masterly command of language, and devoting a keen wit and a lively
+fancy to the best and noblest of purposes.--After giving one extract
+from the most vigorous of her poems, "Slavery," written to aid the
+efforts which Clarkson and Wilberforce were making in behalf of the
+African slave, and in which she heartily sympathized, we will pass on
+to new scenes, in which Miss More's benevolent spirit exhibits itself
+in a yet more active manner.
+
+  "O thou sad spirit, whose preposterous yoke
+  The great deliverer, death, at length has broke!
+  Released from misery, and escaped from care,
+  Go, meet that mercy man denies thee here.
+  And if some notions, vague and undefined,
+  Of future terrors, have assailed thy mind;
+  If such thy masters have presumed to teach--
+  As terrors only they are prone to preach;
+  For, should they paint eternal mercy's reign,
+  Where were the oppressor's rod, the captive's chain?--
+  If, then, thy troubled soul has learned to dread
+  The dark unknown thy trembling footsteps tread,
+  On Him who made thee what thou art depend;
+  He who withholds the means accepts the end.
+  Thy mental night thy Savior will not blame;
+  He died for those who never heard his name.
+  Nor thine the reckoning dire of light abused,
+  Knowledge disgraced, and liberty misused:
+  On thee no awful judge incensed shall sit,
+  For parts perverted or dishonored wit.
+  When ignorance will be found the safest plea,
+  How many learned and wise shall envy thee!"
+
+In withdrawing herself from general society, Miss More had cherished
+the hope of devoting herself to meditation and literary leisure. But
+there was no rest for her but in the consciousness of being useful. In
+the course of her rambles in the neighborhood of her residence, she
+was shocked to find the same vices, against which she had lifted up
+her voice in high places, existing in the peasant's cottage, in a
+different form, but heightened by ignorance, both mental and
+spiritual. Though in a feeble state of health, she could not withhold
+herself from the attempt to effect a reformation.
+
+In this she had no coadjutors but her sisters, who, having acquired a
+competency, had retired from school-keeping, and had, with her, a
+common home. Provision was made by law for the support of clergymen;
+but the vicar of Cheddar received his fifty pounds a year, and resided
+at Oxford; and the rector of Axbridge "was intoxicated about six times
+a week, and was very frequently prevented from preaching by two black
+eyes, honestly acquired by fighting."
+
+She commenced operations by seeking to establish a school at Cheddar.
+Some of the obstacles she encountered may be best related in her own
+words. "I was told we should meet with great opposition, if I did not
+try to propitiate the chief despot of the village, who is very rich
+and very brutal; so I ventured to the den of this monster, in a
+country as savage as himself. He begged I would not think of bringing
+any religion into the country; it made the poor lazy and useless. In
+vain I represented to him that they would be more industrious, as they
+were better principled; and that I had no selfish views in what I was
+doing. He gave me to understand that he knew the world too well to
+believe either the one or the other. I was almost discouraged from
+more visits; but I found that friends must be secured at all events;
+for, if these rich savages set their faces against us, I saw that
+nothing but hostilities would ensue: so I made eleven more of these
+agreeable visits; and, as I improved in the art of canvassing, had
+better success. Miss W. would have been shocked, had she seen the
+petty tyrants whose insolence I stroked and tamed, the ugly children I
+praised, the pointers and spaniels I caressed, the cider I commended,
+and the wine I swallowed. After these irresistible flatteries, I
+inquired of each if he could recommend me to a house, and said that I
+had a little plan which I hoped would secure their orchards from being
+robbed, their rabbits from being shot, their game from being stolen,
+and which might lower the poor rates. If effect be the best proof of
+eloquence, then mine was good speech, for I gained in time the hearty
+concurrence of the whole people, and their promise to discourage or
+favor the poor as they were attentive or negligent in sending their
+children. Perhaps the hearts of some of these rich brutes may be
+touched; they are as ignorant as the beasts that perish, intoxicated
+every day before dinner, and plunged in such vices as make me begin to
+think London a virtuous place." The vicarage house, which had not been
+occupied for a hundred years, was hired for a school-house; "the
+vicar," she says, "who lives a long way off, is repairing the house
+for me; and, as he is but ninety-four years old, he insists on my
+taking a lease, and is as rigorous about the rent as if I were taking
+it for an assembly-room."
+
+The prejudices of the poor were more difficult to be overcome than
+those of the rich. Some thought that her design was to make money, by
+sending of their children for slaves; others, that, if she instructed
+them for seven years, she would acquire such a control as to be able
+to send them beyond seas. But she persisted, and her success was great
+beyond expectation. In a short time, she had at Cheddar near three
+hundred children, under the charge of a discreet matron, whom she
+hired for the purpose.
+
+Encouraged by this success, she extended her field of operations, and
+established schools at several other villages. The nearest of these
+was six miles from her home; the labor and fatigue of superintending
+the whole was therefore very great. But she declined an assistant for
+reasons stated in a letter to Mr. Wilberforce, who had offered to seek
+for one. "An ordinary person would be of no use; one of a superior
+cast, who might be able to enter into my views, and further them,
+would occasion an expense equal to the support of one or two more
+schools. It will be time enough to think of your scheme when I am
+quite laid by. This hot weather makes me suffer terribly; yet I have
+now and then a good day, and on Sunday was enabled to open the school.
+It was an affecting sight. Several of the grown-up lads had been tried
+at the last assizes; three were children of a person lately condemned
+to be hanged; many thieves; all ignorant, profane, and vicious, beyond
+belief. Of this banditti I have enlisted one hundred and seventy; and
+when the clergyman, a hard man, who is also a magistrate, saw these
+creatures kneeling round us, whom he had seldom seen but to commit or
+to punish in some way, he burst into tears."
+
+Her plan was not limited to intellectual and spiritual instruction.
+The children were taught to sew, to spin, and to knit. Nor were her
+labors confined to the advancement of the well-being of the young; she
+sought to introduce branches of manufacture, suitable to the strength
+and sex of the women, and she arranged with master manufacturers to
+buy the products of their labor. She sought to establish habits of
+economy by getting up associations, in which each contributed a
+portion of her earnings, on condition of receiving a support in case
+she should be disabled from labor. This was a work of difficulty.
+Though the subscription was only three half-pence per week, yet many
+could not raise even this: such were privately assisted. Other
+inducements, besides considerations of providence, must be held out
+to the improvident. "An anniversary feast of tea was held, at which
+some of the clergy and better sort of people were present. The
+patronesses waited on the women, who sat and enjoyed their dignity.
+The journal and state of affairs was read. A collateral advantage
+resulted from this. The women, who used to plead that they could not
+go to church because they had no clothes, now went. The necessity of
+going to church in procession on the anniversary, raised an honest
+ambition to get something decent to wear, and the churches on Sunday
+were filled with very clean-looking women."
+
+Similar machinery was brought into exercise to advance the cause of
+her schools. Two years after the first attempt, we find this apology
+for not sooner writing to a friend: "I have been too busy in preparing
+for a grand celebration, distinguished by the pompous name of _Mendip
+Feast_; the range of hills you remember in this country, on the top of
+which we yesterday gave a dinner of beef, and plum pudding, and cider,
+to our schools. There were not six hundred children, for I would not
+admit the _new_ schools, telling them they must be good for a year or
+two, to be entitled to so great a thing as a dinner. Curiosity had
+drawn a great multitude, for a country so thinly peopled; one wondered
+whence five thousand people--for that was the calculation--could come.
+We all parted with the most perfect peace, having fed about nine
+hundred people for less than a _fine_ dinner for twenty, costs."
+
+It would require a large volume to speak of all Miss More's labors in
+behalf of erring and suffering humanity. At one time, we find her
+engaged, in the most harassing and embarrassing situations, spending
+days and nights with armed Bow Street officers in searching the vilest
+haunts for a young heiress, who had been trepanned away from school at
+the age of fourteen. The details of another of her attempts to
+alleviate suffering, exhibit so strikingly the genuine liberality of
+her heart and conduct, as to be worth relating. She was one day
+informed that a woman, who called every day for stuff to feed a pig,
+was, with her husband and children, perishing with hunger. She lost no
+time in endeavoring to rescue this miserable family, and soon
+discovered that the woman was possessed of more than ordinary talent.
+She produced several scraps of poetry, which evinced much genius. It
+occurred to Miss More that this talent might be made the means of
+exciting a general interest in her behalf, and raising a fund to set
+her up in some creditable way of earning a subsistence. She
+accordingly took a great deal of pains in instructing her in writing,
+spelling, and composition; and, while the object of her charity was
+preparing, under her inspection, a small collection of poems, she was
+employed in writing to all her friends of rank and fortune, bespeaking
+subscriptions. Mrs. Montagu cautioned her not to let her own generous
+nature deceive her as to the character and temper of her beneficiary.
+"It has sometimes happened to me," she writes, "that, by an endeavor
+to encourage talents and cherish virtue, by driving from them the
+terrifying spectre of pale poverty, I have introduced a legion of
+little demons: vanity, luxury, idleness, and pride, have entered the
+cottage the moment poverty vanished. However, I am sure despair is
+never a good counsellor."
+
+For thirteen months, Miss More's time was largely occupied in the
+woman's service, and the result of her efforts was the realization of
+a sum exceeding three thousand dollars, which was invested for the
+woman's benefit under the trusteeship of Mrs. Montagu and Miss More.
+The result is made known in a letter from the latter to the former. "I
+am come to the postscript, without having found courage to tell you,
+what I am sure you will hear with pain; at least it gives _me_
+infinite pain to write it. I mean the open and notorious ingratitude
+of our milk-woman. There is hardly a species of slander the poor,
+unhappy creature does not propagate against me, because I have called
+her a _milk-woman_, and because I have placed the money in the funds,
+instead of letting her spend it. I confess my weakness; it goes to my
+heart, not for my own sake, but for the sake of our common nature. So
+much for my _inward_ feelings; as to my _active_ resentment, I am
+trying to get a place for her husband, and am endeavoring to increase
+the sum I have raised for her. Do not let this harden _your_ heart or
+mine against any future object. 'Do good for its own sake' is a
+beautiful maxim." The milk-woman presently put her slanders into a
+printed shape; and Mrs. Montagu, on reading the libel, found one thing
+Miss More's letter had not prepared her for. Here is her comment:
+"Mrs. Yeardsley's conceit that _you can envy her talents_ gives me
+comfort, for, as it convinces me she is mad, I build upon it a hope
+that she is not guilty in the All-seeing Eye." The last allusion which
+Miss More herself makes to the behavior of "Lactilla" is on the
+occasion of a second publication of hers, in which the generous
+patroness was again, after a lapse of two years, maligned and insulted
+with a cool bitterness that may well be called diabolical, and is in
+these words, addressing Horace Walpole: "Do, dear sir, join me in
+sincere compassion, without one atom of resentment. If I wanted to
+punish an enemy, it should be by fastening on him the trouble of
+constantly hating somebody." Mrs. Montagu and Miss More resisted with
+exemplary patience the woman's violent importunities to be put in
+possession of the principal, as well as interest, of her little
+fortune, fearing that it would be consumed in those vices to which it
+was apparent she was addicted. At length, they gave over the trust to
+a respectable lawyer, who transferred it to a merchant of Bristol; and
+he was soon harassed into the relinquishment of the whole concern.
+
+In the year 1792, affairs wore a very gloomy and threatening aspect in
+England. French revolutionary and atheistical principles seemed to be
+spreading wide their destructive influence. Indefatigable pains were
+taken, not only to agitate and mislead, but to corrupt and poison, the
+minds of the populace. At this crisis, letters poured in upon Miss
+More, from persons of eminence, earnestly calling upon her to produce
+some little tract which might serve to counteract these pernicious
+efforts. The intimate knowledge she had shown of human nature, and the
+lively and clear style of her writings, which made them attractive,
+pointed her out as the proper person for such an effort. Though she
+declined an open attempt to stem the mighty torrent, which she
+thought a work beyond her powers, she yet felt it to be her duty to
+try them in secret, and, in a few hours, composed the dialogue of
+"Village Politics, by Will Chip." The more completely to keep the
+author unknown, it was sent to a new publisher. In a few days, every
+post from London brought her a present of this admirable little tract,
+with urgent entreaties that she would use every possible means of
+disseminating it, as the strongest antidote that could be administered
+to the prevailing poison. It flew with a rapidity almost incredible
+into the remotest parts of the kingdom. Government distributed many
+thousands. Numerous patriotic associations printed large editions; and
+in London only, many hundred thousands were distributed.
+
+Internal evidence betrayed the secret of the authorship; and, when the
+truth came out, innumerable were the thanks and congratulations which
+bore cordial testimony to the merit of a performance, by which the
+tact and intelligence of a single female had turned the tide of
+misguided opinion. Many affirmed that it contributed essentially to
+prevent a revolution; so true was the touch, and so masterly the
+delineation, which brought out, in all its relief, the ludicrous and
+monstrous cheat, whereby appetite, selfishness, and animal force, were
+attempted to be imposed under the form of liberty, equality, and
+imprescriptible right.
+
+The success of "Village Politics" encouraged Miss More to venture on a
+more extensive undertaking. The institution of Sunday schools, which
+had enabled multitudes to read, threatened to be a curse instead of a
+blessing; for, while no healthy food was furnished for their minds,
+the friends of infidelity and vice carried their exertions so far as
+to load asses with their pernicious pamphlets, and to get them
+dropped, not only in cottages and in the highways, but into mines and
+coal-pits. Sermons and catechisms were already furnished in abundance;
+but the enemy made use of the alluring vehicles of novels, tales, and
+songs, and she thought it right to meet them with their own weapons.
+
+She therefore determined to produce three tracts every month, written
+in a lively manner, under the name of the "Cheap Repository." The
+success surpassed her most sanguine expectations. Two millions were
+sold in the first year--a circumstance, perhaps, new in the annals of
+printing. But this very success, she tells us, threatened to be her
+ruin; for, in order to supplant the trash, it was necessary to
+undersell it, thus incurring a certain loss. This, however, was met by
+a subscription on the part of the friends of good order and morals.
+
+The exertion which it required to produce these tracts, to organize
+her plan, and to conduct a correspondence with the committees formed
+in various parts of the kingdom, materially undermined her health. She
+continued them, however, for three years. "It has been," she writes,
+"no small support to me, that my plan met with the warm protection of
+so many excellent persons. They would have me believe that a very
+formidable riot among the colliers was prevented by my ballad of 'The
+Riot.' The plan was settled; they were resolved to work no more; to
+attack the mills first, and afterwards the gentry. A gentleman gained
+their confidence, and a few hundreds were distributed, and sung with
+the effect, they say, mentioned above--a fresh proof by what weak
+instruments evils are now and then prevented. The leading tract for
+the next month is the bad economy of the poor. You, my dear madam,
+will smile to see your friend figuring away in the new character of a
+cook furnishing receipts for cheap dishes. It is not, indeed; a very
+brilliant career; but I feel that the value of a thing lies so much
+more in its usefulness than its splendor, that I think I should derive
+more gratification from being able to lower the price of bread, than
+from having written the Iliad."
+
+That Miss More's efforts in behalf of virtue should be opposed by
+those against whom they were aimed, will not surprise us. But she
+was attacked from a quarter whence she had a right to expect sympathy
+and support. The nature of the attack will be learned from a letter
+written some years afterwards: "I will say, in a few words, that
+two Jacobin and infidel curates, poor and ambitious, formed the
+design of attracting notice and getting preferment by attacking some
+charity schools--which, with no small labor, I have carried on in
+this country for near twenty years--as seminaries of vice, sedition,
+and disaffection. At this distance of time,--for it is now ended in
+their disgrace and shame,--it will make you smile when I tell you a
+few of the charges brought against me, viz., that I hired two men
+to assassinate one of these clergymen; that I was actually taken
+up for seditious practices; that I was with Hadfield in his attack
+on the king's life. At the same time they declared--mark the
+consistency--that I was in the pay of the government, and the grand
+instigator of the war, by my mischievous pamphlets. That wicked men
+should invent this, is not so strange as that they should have found
+magazines, reviews, and pamphleteers, to support them. My declared
+resolution never to defend myself certainly encouraged them to go on.
+How thankful am I that I kept that resolution! though the grief and
+astonishment excited by the combination against me nearly cost me my
+life."
+
+There is not space to go at large into an account of this persecution,
+which was continued for several years. The most inveterate of her
+enemies was the curate of her own parish, who was named Bere, and the
+most distressing result to herself was being obliged to discontinue
+the school at that place. But, whilst laboring so earnestly for the
+poor and the humble, Miss More was still mindful of the wants of the
+higher classes, and, in the midst of her anxiety and distress, which
+very seriously affected her health, she found time to compose the
+"Strictures on Female Education," for their benefit. All her practical
+admonitions, and all her delineations of female excellence, were
+afterwards brought together in the character of Lucilla, in the novel
+of "Coelebs in Search of a Wife," who is a true representative of
+feminine excellence within the legitimate range of allotted duties.
+She did not venture on publishing this work without much anxious
+hesitation. "I wrote it," she says, "to amuse the languor of disease.
+I thought there were already good books enough in the world for good
+people, but that there was a large class of readers, whose wants had
+not been attended to--the subscribers to the circulating library. A
+little to raise the tone of that mart of mischief, and to counteract
+its corruptions, I thought an object worth attempting." It was
+published without her name, and though many at once recognized the
+style, she herself did not acknowledge it till it had passed through
+many editions. It excited such immediate and universal attention,
+that, in a few days after its first appearance, she received notice to
+prepare for a second edition; and shortly afterwards she was followed
+to Dawlish, whither she had gone to try the effect of repose and the
+sea air, in restoring her health, by the eleventh edition.
+
+Her works at an early period were duly estimated in the United
+States, and of the "Coelebs" thirty editions had been issued
+before the author's death. It is not a little creditable to the
+public taste, that a work so full of plain and practical truth
+should be so well received. In "Coelebs," as well as in some of her
+smaller productions, Miss More evinces her power of invention, and
+gives proof that, had she chosen to employ fiction as the vehicle
+of instruction, her imagination would have afforded her abundant
+resources; but habit and the bias of her mind led her in another
+course: a certain substantiality of purpose, a serious devotion to
+decided and direct beneficence, an active and almost restless
+principle of philanthropy, were the great distinctions of her
+character.
+
+When the education of the Princess Charlotte became a subject of
+serious attention and inquiry, the advice and assistance of Miss More
+were requested by the queen. Bishop Porteus strenuously advised that
+the education should be intrusted to her; but, when the latter
+required that the _entire_ direction should be given to her charge,
+this was thought, by those in power, to be too great a confidence.
+They were willing to engage her in a subordinate capacity; but this
+she declined, and so the negotiation ended. Her ideas on the subject
+were given to the world under the title of "Hints for forming the
+Character of a Young Princess"--a book which subsequently was a great
+favorite with her for whose benefit it was intended, and doubtless
+contributed to the formation of those virtues and principles which
+made her death so much lamented.
+
+In the country Miss More had hoped to find retirement. But Barley
+Wood--a place to which she had removed, about one mile from Cowslip
+Green--was any thing but a hermitage. "Though," she says, "I neither
+return visits nor give invitations, except when quite confined by
+sickness, I think I never saw more people, known and unknown, in my
+gayest days. I never had so many cares and duties imposed upon me as
+now in sickness and old age. I know not how to help it. If my guests
+are old, I see them out of respect, and in the hope of receiving some
+good; if young, I hope I may do them a little good; if they come from
+a distance, I feel as if I ought to see them on that account; if near
+home, my neighbors would be jealous of my seeing strangers, and
+excluding them." Her epistolary labors were enormous. She laid it down
+as a rule never to refuse or delay answering any application for
+epistolary advice, enduring the incessant interruptions with
+indefatigable kindness.
+
+In spite, however, of all the interruptions of company and of
+sickness; for, as she tells us, "From early infancy to late old age,
+her life was a successive scene of visitation and restoration," she
+found time and strength to compose a series of works on "Morals,"--the
+last of the three being produced in the seventy-fifth year of her
+age.
+
+In 1828, Miss More was subjected to the severest trial, perhaps, of
+her life. After the death of her sister Martha, who had been the
+manager of the domestic economy of the sisterhood, affairs at Barley
+Wood got into sad confusion. Dishonest and dissolute servants wasted
+her substance. After trying in vain to correct the evil by mild
+remonstrance, she sank quietly under what seemed inevitable, and
+determined to take the infliction as a chastisement to which it was
+her duty to submit. At length, however, her friends interposed, and
+represented to her the danger of her appearing as the patroness of
+vice, and thereby lessening the influence of her writings. It was
+determined that her establishment should be broken up. At a bleak
+season of the year, on a cold and inclement day, after a long
+confinement to her chamber, she removed to Clifton. From her apartment
+she was attended by several of the principal gentlemen of the
+neighborhood, who had come to protect her from the approach of any
+thing that might discompose her. She descended the stairs with a
+placid countenance, and walked silently for a few minutes round the
+lower room, the walls of which were covered with the portraits of her
+old and dear friends, who had successively gone before her. As she was
+helped into the carriage, she cast one pensive, parting look upon her
+bowers, saying, "I am driven, like Eve, out of paradise; but not, like
+Eve, by angels." From the shock of the discovery of the misconduct of
+her servants, Miss More never recovered. After her removal to Clifton,
+her health was in a very precarious state. To her friends and admirers
+it was painful to see her great and brilliant talents descending to
+the level of mere ordinary persons; but the good, the kind, the
+beneficent qualities of her mind suffered no diminution or abatement.
+So long as her intellectual faculties remained but moderately
+impaired, her wonted cheerfulness and playfulness of disposition did
+not forsake her; and no impatient or querulous expressions escaped her
+lips, even in moments of painful suffering. Thus free from the
+infirmities of temper, which often render old age unamiable and
+unhappy, she was also spared many of the bodily infirmities which
+often accompany length of years. To the very last her eye was not dim;
+she could read with ease, and without spectacles, the smallest print.
+Her bearing was almost unimpaired, and, until very near the close of
+her life, her features were not wrinkled or uncomely. Her death-bed
+was attended with few of the pains and infirmities which are almost
+inseparable from sinking nature. She looked serene, and her breathing
+was as gentle as that of an infant in sleep. Her pulse waxed fainter
+and fainter, and her spirit passed quietly away on the 7th of
+September, 1833.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. BARBAULD.
+
+
+Anna Letitia Barbauld, a name long dear to the admirers of genius and
+the lovers of virtue, was born at the village of Kibworth Harcourt, in
+Leicestershire, on June 20th, 1743. She was the eldest child and only
+daughter of John Aikin, D.D., and Jane, his wife, daughter of the Rev.
+John Jennings, of Kibworth, and descended by her mother from the
+ancient family of Wingate, of Harlington, in Bedfordshire.
+
+That quickness of apprehension by which she was eminently distinguished,
+manifested itself from early infancy. Her mother writes thus respecting
+her in a letter which is still preserved: "I once, indeed, knew a
+little girl who was as eager to learn as her instructors could be to
+teach her; and who, at two years old, could read sentences and little
+stories in her wise book, roundly, without spelling, and, in half a year
+more, could read as well as most women; but I never knew such another,
+and, I believe, never shall."
+
+Her education was entirely domestic, and principally conducted by her
+excellent mother, a lady whose manners were polished by the early
+introduction to good company which her family connections had procured
+her; whilst her mind had been cultivated, and her principles formed,
+partly by the instructions of religious and enlightened parents, and
+partly by the society of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, who was for some
+years domesticated under the parental roof.
+
+In the middle of the last century, a strong prejudice still existed in
+England against imparting to females any degree of classical learning;
+and the father of Miss Aikin, proud as he justly was of her uncommon
+capacity, long refused to gratify her earnest desire of being
+initiated in this kind of knowledge. At length, however, she in some
+degree overcame his scruples; and, with his assistance, she enabled
+herself to read the Latin authors with pleasure and advantage; nor did
+she rest satisfied without gaining some acquaintance with the Greek.
+
+The obscure village of Kibworth was unable to afford her a suitable
+companion of her own sex: her brother, the late Dr. Aikin, was more
+than three years her junior; and as her father was, at this period,
+the master of a school for boys, it might have been apprehended that
+conformity of pursuits, as well as age, would tend too nearly to
+assimilate her with the youth of the ruder sex, by whom she was
+surrounded. But the vigilance of her mother effectually obviated this
+danger, by instilling into her a double portion of bashfulness and
+maidenly reserve; and she was accustomed to ascribe an uneasy sense of
+constraint in mixed society, which she could never entirely shake off,
+to the strictness and seclusion in which it had thus become her fate
+to be educated.
+
+Her recollections of childhood and early youth were, in fact, not
+associated with much of the pleasure and gayety usually attendant
+upon that period of life; but it must be regarded as a circumstance
+favorable, rather than otherwise, to the unfolding of her genius, to
+be left thus to find, or make, in solitude, her own objects of
+interest or pursuit. The love of rural nature sank deep in her heart.
+Her vivid fancy excited itself to color, animate, and diversify, all
+the objects which surrounded her; the few but choice authors of her
+father's library, which she read and re-read, had leisure to make
+their full impression,--to mould her sentiments, and to form her
+taste. The spirit of devotion, early inculcated upon her as a duty,
+opened to her, by degrees, an exhaustless source of tender and sublime
+delight; and while yet a child, she was surprised to find herself a
+poet.
+
+Just at the period when longer seclusion might have proved seriously
+injurious to her spirits, an invitation given to her learned and
+exemplary father to undertake the office of classical tutor to a
+highly respectable academy at Warrington, in Lancashire, was the
+fortunate means of transplanting her to a more varied and animating
+scene. This removal took place in 1758, when Miss Aikin had just
+attained the age of fifteen; and the fifteen succeeding years, passed
+by her at Warrington, comprehended probably the happiest, as well as
+the most brilliant, portion of her existence. She was at this time
+possessed of great beauty, distinct traces of which she retained to
+the latest period of her life. Her person was slender, her complexion
+fair, with the bloom of perfect health: her features were regular and
+elegant; and her light blue eyes beamed with the light of wit and
+fancy.
+
+A solitary education had not produced on her its most frequent ill
+effects, pride and self-importance; the reserve of her manners
+proceeded solely from bashfulness, for her temper inclined her
+strongly to friendship, and to social pleasures; and her active
+imagination, which represented all objects tinged with hues
+"unborrowed of the sun," served as a charm against that disgust with
+common characters and daily incidents, which so frequently renders the
+conscious possessor of superior talents at once unamiable and
+unhappy.
+
+Nor was she now in want of congenial associates. Warrington academy
+included among its tutors names eminent both in science and
+literature; with several of these, and especially with Dr. Priestley
+and Dr. Canfield and their families, she formed sincere and lasting
+friendships. The elder and more accomplished among the students
+composed an agreeable part of the same society; and its animation was
+increased by a mixture of young ladies, either residents in the town,
+or occasional visitors, several of whom were equally distinguished for
+personal charms, for amiable manners, and cultivated minds. The rising
+institution, which flourished for several years in high reputation,
+diffused a classic air over all connected with it. Miss Aikin, as was
+natural, took a warm interest in its success; and no academic has ever
+celebrated his _alma mater_ in nobler strains, or with a more filial
+affection, than she has manifested in that portion of her early and
+beautiful poem, "The Invitation," where her theme is this "nursery of
+men for future years."
+
+About the close of the year 1771, her brother, after several years of
+absence, returned to establish himself in his profession at
+Warrington--an event equally welcome to her feelings and propitious to
+her literary progress. In him she possessed a friend with discernment
+to recognize the stamp of genius in her productions, and anticipate
+their fame, combined with zeal and courage sufficient to vanquish her
+reluctance to appear before the public in the character of an author.
+By his persuasion and assistance, her poems were selected, revised,
+and arranged for publication; and when all these preparations were
+completed, finding that she still hesitated and lingered,--like the
+parent bird, who pushes off its young to their first flight, he
+procured the paper, and set the press to work on his own authority.
+The result more than justified his confidence of her success; four
+editions of the work were called for within the year of publication,
+1773; compliments and congratulations poured in from all quarters; and
+even the periodical critics greeted her muse with nearly unmixed
+applause.
+
+She was not permitted to repose upon her laurels. Her brother, who
+possessed all the activity and spirit of literary enterprise, in which
+she was deficient, now urged her to collect her prose pieces, and to
+join him in forming a small volume, which appeared also in the year
+1773, under the title of "Miscellaneous Pieces in Prose, by J. and
+A. L. Aikin." These likewise met with much notice and admiration, and
+have been several times reprinted. The authors did not think proper to
+distinguish their respective contributions, and several of the pieces
+have, in consequence, been generally misappropriated. The fragment of
+"Sir Bertrand," in particular, though alien from the character of
+that brilliant and airy imagination which was never conversant with
+terror, and rarely with pity, has been repeatedly ascribed to Mrs.
+Barbauld, even in print.
+
+Having thus laid the foundation of a lasting reputation in literature,
+Miss Aikin might have been expected to proceed with vigor in rearing
+the superstructure; and the world awaited with impatience the result
+of her further efforts. But an event, the most important of her life,
+was about to subject her to new influences, new duties, to alter her
+station, her course of life, and to modify even the bent of her mind.
+This event was her marriage, which took place in May, 1774.
+
+Her husband, the Rev. Rochemont Barbauld, was a dissenting minister,
+descended from a family of French Protestants, who had taken refuge in
+England in the reign of Louis XIV. Mr. Barbauld was educated in the
+academy at Warrington, and, at the time of his marriage, had been
+recently appointed to the charge of a dissenting congregation at
+Palgrave, in Suffolk, near Diss, in Norfolk, where he had announced
+his intention of opening a boarding-school for boys. This undertaking
+proved speedily successful--a result which must in great part be
+attributed, first to the reputation, and afterwards to the active
+exertions, of Mrs. Barbauld. She particularly superintended the
+departments of geography and English composition, which latter she
+taught by a method then unusual, but which has since been brought much
+into practice. Her plan, according to the statement of Mr. William
+Taylor, of Norwich, one of her first pupils, was, to read a fable, a
+short story, or a moral essay, aloud, and then to send them back into
+the school-room to write it out on slates in their own words. Each
+exercise was separately examined by her: the faults of grammar were
+obliterated, the vulgarisms were chastised, the idle epithets were
+cancelled, and a distinct reason was always assigned for every
+correction, so that the arts of inditing and criticising were in some
+degree learnt together. Mrs. Barbauld also instructed the pupils in
+the art of declamation; and the pleasing accomplishments of good
+reading and graceful speaking have probably never been taught with
+more assiduity or with better success than by herself. After a few
+years thus devoted, Mrs. Barbauld was solicited to receive several
+little boys as her own peculiar pupils; and among this number may be
+mentioned Lord Denman, the present Chief Justice of England, and the
+celebrated Sir William Gell. It was for the use of these, her almost
+infant scholars, that she composed her "Hymns in Prose for Children."
+
+In 1775, Mrs. Barbauld published a small volume entitled "Devotional
+Pieces, compiled from the Psalms of David, with Thoughts on the
+Devotional Taste, and on Sects and Establishments." About the same
+time, she wrote that admirable little volume, "Early Lessons," a
+publication which has ever since been a standard work, and,
+though frequently imitated, yet remains unrivalled amidst all its
+competitors.
+
+This little volume was written for the use of one of her nephews, who
+had been adopted by Mr. Barbauld and herself, in consequence of their
+having no child of their own. In the present day, when parents are in
+possession of the labors of many clever persons for aiding the task of
+early instruction, it is difficult to form a correct estimate of the
+value of Mrs. Barbauld's "Early Lessons." At the time of its first
+appearance, as at present, there was a multitude of books professedly
+written for children, but few adapted to the comprehension of a child
+of very tender age, that were not at the same time injurious from
+their folly or puerility.
+
+It would seem that the value of a book which was not only free
+from these objections, but calculated to impress upon the mind of
+the child just ideas and noble principles, could not fail to be
+appreciated by every parent and teacher; but there are those who
+maintain that the reformation begun by Mrs. Barbauld is an evil. It
+would seem that, in putting "Mother Goose's Melodies," "Jack the
+Giant-Killer," and other works of the kind, into the hands of
+children, as soon as they begin to read, we are likely to distort
+their minds by grotesque representations, which may exert a lasting
+and pernicious influence on their understandings; that we set about
+teaching what is false, and what we must immediately seek to
+unteach; that we inculcate the idea upon the young mind that books
+are vehicles of fiction and incongruity, and not of truth and reason.
+
+If the works alluded to produce any effects, they must be of this
+nature; and on some minds they have probably had a fatal influence.
+Yet such is the prejudice engendered by early associations, that many
+grave persons, whose first reading was of the kind we have mentioned,
+lament the repudiation of "Mother Goose" and her kindred train, and
+deem it a mistake to use books in their place founded on the idea of
+Mrs. Barbauld's works--that truth is the proper aliment of the infant
+mind, as well calculated to stimulate the faculties as fiction, and
+that its exhibition is the only safe and honest mode of dealing with
+those whose education is intrusted to our care.
+
+The success of the school at Palgrave remained unimpaired; but the
+unceasing call for mental exertion, on the part of the conductors,
+which its duties required, so much injured their health, that, after
+eleven years of unremitting labor, an interval of complete relaxation
+became necessary; and Mrs. Barbauld accompanied her husband, in the
+autumn of 1785, to Switzerland, and afterwards to the south of France.
+In the following year they returned to England, and, early in 1787,
+took up their residence in Hampstead, where, for several years, Mr.
+Barbauld received a few pupils.
+
+In 1790, Mrs. Barbauld published an eloquent and indignant address to
+the successful opposers of the repeal of the corporation and test
+acts. In the following year was written her poetical epistle to Mr.
+Wilberforce, on the rejection of the bill for abolishing the slave
+trade. In 1792, she published "Remarks on Mr. Gilbert Wakefield's
+Inquiry into the Expediency and Propriety of Public or Social
+Worship;" and in 1793, she produced a work of a kind very unusual for
+a female--a sermon, entitled "The Sins of Government Sins of the
+Nation." In all these works Mrs. Barbauld showed those powers of mind,
+that ardent love for civil and religious liberty, and that genuine
+and practical piety, by which her life was distinguished, and for
+which her memory will long be held in reverence. In particular, her
+"Remarks on Mr. Wakefield's Inquiry" may be noticed as being one of
+the best and most eloquent, and yet sober, appeals in favor of public
+worship that has ever appeared.
+
+Our youthful readers will be pleased to learn that Mrs. Barbauld wrote
+some of the articles in that entertaining work by her brother, Dr.
+Aikin, entitled "Evenings at Home." These contributions were
+fourteen in number. It would be useless to distinguish them here,
+or to say more concerning them than that they are equal in merit to
+the other parts of the volumes. These papers, trifling in amount,
+but not in value, comprise all that Mrs. Barbauld published from
+1793 to 1795, when she superintended an edition of Akenside's
+"Pleasures of Imagination," to which she prefixed a critical essay.
+In 1797, she brought out an edition of Collins's "Odes," with a
+similar introduction. These essays are written with elegance, and
+display much taste and critical acuteness.
+
+Mr. Barbauld became, in 1802, pastor of a Unitarian congregation at
+Newington Green, and at this time he changed his residence to Stoke
+Newington. The chief inducement to this removal was the desire felt by
+Mrs. Barbauld and her brother to pass the remainder of their lives in
+each other's society. This wish was gratified during twenty years, and
+was interrupted only by death. In 1804, she published a selection of
+the papers contained in the Spectator, Guardian, Tatler and
+Freeholder, with a preliminary essay, in which is given an instructive
+account of the state of society at the time the papers originally
+appeared, and of the objects at which they aimed. This essay has been
+much admired for its elegance and acuteness. In the same year, Mrs.
+Barbauld prepared for publication a selection from the correspondence
+of Richardson, the novelist, prefixing a biographical notice of him,
+and a critical examination of his works.
+
+About this time, Mrs. Barbauld's husband, to whom she had been united
+for more than thirty years, fell into a state of nervous weakness, and
+at last died, in November, 1808. From the dejection occasioned by this
+loss, Mrs. Barbauld sought relief in literary occupation, and
+undertook the task of editing a collection of the British novelists,
+which was published in 1810. To these volumes she contributed an
+introductory essay, and furnished biographical and critical notices of
+the life and writings of each author; these were written with her
+usual taste and judgment. In the next year, she composed and published
+the longest and most highly-finished of her poems, entitled "Eighteen
+Hundred and Eleven." The time at which this poem appeared was by many
+persons looked upon with gloomy forebodings, and the matters of which
+it treats were considered as indicative of the waning fortunes of
+Great Britain. It was perhaps owing to the spirit of melancholy
+prediction by which it is pervaded, that the poem was not received by
+the public as it deserved. It is written throughout with great power
+and in harmonious language; its descriptions are characterized by deep
+feeling and truth, and its warnings are conveyed with an earnestness
+which is the best evidence of the sincerity of the author.
+
+The unfair construction applied to her motives in writing this poem
+probably prevented Mrs. Barbauld from appearing again as an author.
+Her efforts were confined to the humble task of administering to the
+gratification of a circle of private friends. Although arrived at
+years which are assigned as the natural limit of human life, her fancy
+was still bright, and she continued to give evidence by occasional
+compositions of the unimpaired energy of her mind. Her spirits were
+greatly tried, during the latter years of her life, by the loss of her
+brother, who died in 1822, and of several cherished companions of her
+early days, who quickly followed. Her constitution, naturally
+excellent, slowly gave way under an asthmatic complaint, and on the
+9th of March, 1825, after only a few days of serious illness, she
+died, in the eighty-second year of her age.
+
+In domestic and social life, Mrs. Barbauld was characterized by strong
+sense, deep feeling, high moral principle, and a rational but ardent
+piety. She passed through a lengthened term of years, free from the
+annoyance of personal enmities, and rich in the esteem and affection
+of all with whom she was connected. The cause of rational education is
+more indebted to her than to any individual of modern times, inasmuch
+as she was the leader in that reformation which has resulted in
+substituting the use of truth and reason for folly and fiction, in
+books for the nursery. She has also shown that a talent for writing
+for youth is not incompatible with powers of the highest order. Her
+epistle to Mr. Wilberforce is full of lofty sentiment, and, at the
+same time, is most felicitously executed. We give a specimen of her
+writing in a lighter vein, which has been justly celebrated for its
+truth and humor.
+
+  "WASHING-DAY.
+
+  "The muses are turned gossips; they have lost
+  The buskined step, and clear, high-sounding phrase,--
+  Language of gods. Come, then, domestic muse,
+  In slip-shod measure, loosely prattling on
+  Of farm, or orchard, pleasant curds and cream,
+  Or drowning flies, or shoes lost in the mire,
+  By little whimpering boy, with rueful face;
+  Come, muse, and sing the dreaded washing-day.
+  Ye who beneath the yoke of wedlock bend
+  With bowed soul, full well ye ken the day
+  Which week, smooth gliding after week, brings on
+  Too soon; for to that day nor peace belongs,
+  Nor comfort. Ere the first gray streak of dawn,
+  The red-armed washers come and chase repose;
+  Nor pleasant smile, nor quaint device of mirth,
+  E'er visited that day: the very cat,
+  From the wet kitchen scared, and reeking hearth,
+  Visits the parlor--an unwonted guest.
+  The silent breakfast meal is soon despatched,
+  Uninterrupted save by anxious looks
+  Cast at the lowering sky, if sky should lower.
+  From that last evil, O, preserve us, heavens!
+  For, should the skies pour down, adieu to all
+  Remains of quiet: then expect to hear
+  Of sad disasters--dirt and gravel stains
+  Hard to efface, and loaded lines at once
+  Snapped short, and linen-horse by dog thrown down,
+  And all the petty miseries of life.
+  Saints have been calm while stretched upon the rack,
+  And Guatimozin smiled on burning coals;
+  But never yet did housewife notable
+  Greet with a smile a rainy washing-day.
+  But grant the welkin fair; require not, thou
+  Who call'st thyself perchance the master there,
+  Or study swept, or nicely-dusted coat,
+  Or usual 'tendance; ask not, indiscreet,
+  Thy stockings mended, though the yawning rents
+  Gape wide as Erebus; nor hope to find
+  Some snug recess impervious! should'st thou try
+  Th' accustomed garden walks, thine eye shall rue
+  The budding fragrance of thy tender shrubs,
+  Myrtle or rose, all crushed beneath the weight
+  Of coarse checked apron, with impatient hand
+  Twitched off when showers impend; or crossing lines
+  Shall mar thy musings, as the cold, wet sheet
+  Flaps in thy face abrupt. Woe to the friend
+  Whose evil stars have urged him forth to claim,
+  On such a day, the hospitable rites!
+  Looks blank at best, and stinted courtesy,
+  Shall he receive. Vainly he feeds his hopes
+  With dinner of roast chickens, savory pie,
+  Or tart, or pudding: pudding he nor tart
+  That day shall eat; nor, though the husband try,
+  Mending what can't be helped, to kindle mirth
+  From cheer deficient, shall his consort's brow,
+  Clear up propitious;--the unlucky guest
+  In silence dines, and early shrinks away.
+  I well remember, when a child, the awe
+  This day struck into me; for then the maids--
+  I scarce knew why--looked cross, and drove me from them;
+  Nor soft caress could I obtain, nor hope
+  Usual indulgences--jelly or creams,
+  Relic of costly suppers, and set by
+  For me, their petted one; or buttered toast,
+  When butter was forbid; or thrilling tale
+  Of ghost, or witch, or murder: so I went
+  And sheltered me beside the parlor fire:
+  There my dear grandmother, eldest of forms,
+  Tended the little ones, and watched from harm,
+  Anxiously fond, though oft her spectacles
+  With elfin cunning hid, and oft the pins
+  Drawn from her ravelled stockings, might have soured
+  One less indulgent.
+  At intervals my mother's voice was heard,
+  Urging despatch: briskly the work went on,
+  All hands employed to wash, to rinse, to wring,
+  To fold, and starch, and clap, and iron, and plait.
+  Then would I sit me down, and ponder much
+  Why washings were. Sometimes through hollow bowl
+  Of pipe amused we blew, and sent aloft
+  The floating bubbles; little dreaming then
+  To see, Montgolfier, thy silken ball
+  Ride buoyant through the clouds--so near approach
+  The sports of children and the toils of men.
+  Earth, air, and sky, and ocean, hath its bubbles,
+  And verse is one of them--this most of all."
+
+
+
+
+MADAME DE GENLIS.
+
+
+This celebrated writer, whose maiden name was Stephanie Felicite
+Ducrest de St. Aubin, has left a voluminous memoir of her life and
+times, written at the age of eighty, which is interesting for the
+portraits of celebrated characters, in which it abounds, as well as
+the delineations it affords of her education, her feelings, and her
+experience. Of this we have made the following abstract, generally in
+her own words, which will present the leading incidents of her
+eventful career:--
+
+"I was born," says she, "on the 25th of January, 1746, on a little
+estate in Burgundy, near Autun, called Champceri. I was born so small
+and so weakly that they would not venture to put me in clothes; and, a
+few moments after my birth, I was on the point of losing my life. I
+had been placed in a down pillow, of which, to keep me warm, the two
+sides were folded over me and fastened with a pin; and, thus wrapped
+up, I was laid upon an arm-chair in the room. The judge of the
+district, who was almost blind, came to pay his visit of compliment to
+my father; and as, in his country fashion, he separated his huge flaps
+to sit down, some one saw that he was going to place himself in the
+arm-chair where I was. Luckily, he was prevented from sitting down,
+and I escaped being crushed to death.
+
+"I experienced in my childhood a series of unfortunate accidents. At
+eighteen months old, I fell into a pond, out of which I was extricated
+with great difficulty: at the age of five, I had a fall, and received
+a severe wound on the head: as a great deal of blood flowed from it,
+it was thought unnecessary to bleed me; but a deposit, formed in the
+head, burst at the ear after forty days, and, contrary to expectation,
+I was saved. A short time afterwards, I fell into the kitchen fire:
+this accident did not injure my face, but there are to this day two
+marks of it on my body. Thus often was endangered, in its earliest
+years, that life which was afterwards to prove so checkered.
+
+"My father sold the estate of Champceri when I was two years old. He
+had a house at Cosne, to which he removed, and passed three years
+there. The recollection of that house, of its superb garden, and
+beautiful terrace, upon the Loire, and of the chateau of Mienne, a
+league from Cosne, where we went so often, remains indelibly engraved
+on my memory. Passing by that road, thirty-five years after, I
+instantly recognized the chateau, though I was but five years old when
+we quitted Cosne. My father purchased the marquisate of St. Aubin, an
+estate most desirable from its situation, its extent, and its titular
+and seigniorial rights. I have never thought, without a feeling of
+tenderness, of this spot, once so dear to me, in which six years of
+innocence and happiness glided away.
+
+"When we were once fixed at St. Aubin, my education began to be
+attended to. Mademoiselle Urgon, the village schoolmistress, taught me
+to read. Having an excellent memory, I learnt with great facility; and
+at the end of six or seven months, I read with ease. I was brought up
+with a brother fifteen months younger than myself, of whom I was
+exceedingly fond; with the exception of the hour set apart for
+reading, we were allowed to play together all day long. We passed part
+of the day in the court-yard, or in the garden; and in the evening we
+played in the drawing-room.
+
+"I was six years old when my brother was sent to Paris, to the famous
+academy of M. Bertrand, the most virtuous and best instructor of his
+time. It was he who invented the method of learning to spell in six
+weeks, by means of boxes full of counters. Two or three months after
+the departure of my brother, my mother made a journey to Paris, and
+took me with her.
+
+"I was not much pleased with Paris, and, for the first few days of my
+stay there, I regretted St. Aubin bitterly. I had two teeth pulled
+out; my clothes pinched me terribly; my feet were imprisoned in tight
+shoes, with which it was impossible for me to walk; I had a multitude
+of curl papers put on my head; and I wore a hoop, for the first time
+in my life. In order to get rid of my country attitudes, I had an iron
+collar put on my neck, and, as I squinted a little at times, I was
+obliged to put on goggles as soon as I woke in the morning; and these
+I wore four hours. I was, moreover, not a little surprised when they
+talked of giving me a master to teach me what I thought I knew well
+enough already--to _walk_. Beside all this, I was forbidden to run, to
+leap, or ask questions.
+
+"All these painful constraints made such an impression on me, that I
+have never forgotten them. I have since faithfully depicted them in a
+little comedy called 'The Dove.' But a great ceremony, and the fine
+entertainments which followed it, soon made me forget my little
+griefs. I had only been privately christened; I was now baptized in
+public; my aunt, Madame de Bellevau, was my godmother, and M. Bouret,
+the farmer-general, my godfather. I received some splendid presents;
+and I had, besides, plenty of sweetmeats and playthings, and I soon
+recovered my good-humor. I was taken also to the opera, which
+delighted me beyond measure.
+
+"My father had the utmost affection for me, but he did not interfere
+with my education in any point but one; he wished to make me a woman
+of firm mind, and I was born with numberless little antipathies. I had
+a horror of all insects, particularly of spiders and toads. I was also
+afraid of mice, and he made me feed and bring up one. I loved my
+father to excess, and he had such an influence over me, that I never
+dared to disobey him. He would frequently oblige me to catch spiders
+with my fingers, and to hold toads in my hands, and, at such times,
+though I felt as if the blood had forsaken my veins, I was forced to
+obey. These trials proved clearly to me that toads are not venomous;
+but they powerfully contributed to weaken my nerves, and have only
+augmented the antipathies which they were intended to remove. They
+have, however, served to give me a habit of self-command, which of
+itself is a great benefit.
+
+"So passed several years. Mademoiselle de Mars, a young woman from
+Brittany, had now the sole direction of my studies, and she gave me
+also lessons in singing, and on the harpsichord. I became attached to
+her from the first, and passed nearly all my time with her. I made
+great progress in my music, and we rehearsed a great many little plays
+for our amusement. Much applause was bestowed upon my performances,
+except by Mademoiselle de Mars, who generally only praised me for what
+belonged to my heart or character. I led a charming life: in the
+morning I played on the harpsichord; afterwards I studied my parts;
+then I took my lesson in dancing and fencing, and then read till
+dinner. After dinner, we read pious books, and afterwards spent our
+time in amusements and walking.
+
+"I will here give the history of what a woman never forgets--the first
+passion she inspires. I was but a child of eleven years and nine
+months, and very small of my age; besides, I had a face and features
+so delicate, that those who saw me for the first time never supposed
+me older than eight or nine, at furthest; yet a young man of eighteen
+became desperately in love with me--the son of Dr. Pinot, one of the
+first physicians at the baths of Bourbon-Lancey. He had performed
+parts in our plays for two years.
+
+"None of us suspected his folly, and certainly I had not the slightest
+idea of it; when, one morning, after a rehearsal, the young man came
+up to me, and, seizing the moment when I was standing separate from
+the other actors in the side scene, and with an air of wildness in
+his looks, gave me a note, begging me, in a low tone, to read it, and
+let no one see it. I took the note, though much surprised, and he left
+me. Mademoiselle de Mars soon after joined me. I put the note in my
+pocket, and we went up stairs to our room. I hesitated about showing
+her my note, as I had been charged so strongly to show it to no one;
+but to keep a secret with the friend I loved so dearly weighed heavily
+upon my conscience; at the same time, my curiosity was extreme.
+
+"At last, Mademoiselle de Mars left me. I ran into my cabinet, locked
+the door, and read the note, which contained a serious declaration of
+love. My first movement was to be excessively shocked that the son of
+a physician--a person of no rank--should presume to talk of love to
+me. I went immediately and showed the note to my friend, who desired
+me to carry it to my mother, which I did. The young man was
+reprimanded by his father, as he deserved to be; and he felt so much
+chagrin on the occasion, that he enlisted in the army, and left the
+place. I afterwards heard of him as having obtained his discharge, and
+that he was married and happy, and an excellent young man.
+
+"Two months after this romantic flight, we went to Paris. I confess,
+to my shame, that I quitted Burgundy without regret; for childhood
+loves and requires change. At Paris we found my aunt, the Countess de
+Bellevau, and after a short time we took up our abode with her. At her
+house I saw the celebrated author M. Marmontel. He came to read her
+his 'Tales.' I was present at the reading of one, called, I think,
+'The Self-styled Philosopher,' in which a fat president's wife,
+begrimmed with snuff, leads about in triumph this pretended sage, with
+a rose-colored ribbon. Though but twelve years old, I thought this
+story dull and absurd, and I thought rightly. The author was far from
+supposing that the little girl then before him would one day write a
+critique on these tales, which should throw him into transports of
+rage.
+
+"At the close of the winter, we went to a country-house of my aunt's,
+which had a delightful garden close to the forest of Vincennes. My
+brother, my two cousins, and myself, performed little pieces, and we
+had many little _fetes_ at which my brother and myself sung duets. He
+was by no means as remarkable a child as I was: he was shy, awkward,
+and of an inconceivable simplicity: he had requested my father in vain
+to let him use a gun; he was always told that he must first acquire a
+knowledge of fencing, for which he had not the slightest taste: he
+therefore adopted the following expedient: he loaded a gun, shut
+himself up in his room, and, in order to fire without making a noise,
+he bethought him of thrusting the barrel of the gun under the mattress
+of the bed. He then fired in this prudent manner, set fire to the bed,
+and was himself knocked down by the rebound. The family hastily
+assembled, and discovered with surprise this singular invention. The
+next summer we spent at Passy, and in October returned to Paris.
+
+"When I was fourteen years old, my father left us for St. Domingo. On
+his return, he was taken prisoner by the English, with all he
+possessed. He was conducted to Lanceston, a seaport town in England,
+where he found many French prisoners of war, and, among others, a
+young man, whose handsome face, talents, and accomplishments, inspired
+him with the most lively interest: this was the Comte de Genlis, who,
+in returning from Pondicherry, where he had commanded a regiment
+during five years, had been carried to Canton, in China. Here he
+passed five months, and was thence taken to Lanceston.
+
+"The Comte de Genlis had served in the navy from the age of fourteen;
+he had covered himself with glory in the famous action of M. d'Ache;
+he was then a lieutenant, and scarcely twenty. Out of twenty-two
+officers, he was the only one who survived: all the others were
+killed. M. de Genlis was covered with wounds, of which one remained
+open for eight years and a half. This combat gained him the rank of
+captain, and the cross of St. Louis. M. d'Ache took off his own to
+give it to him, on board of the vessel, the very day of the action,
+saying that he was sure the court would not disavow what he had done.
+The Comte de Genlis conducted himself with equal valor at Pondicherry.
+As soon as he returned to France, his uncle, M. de Puisieux, made him
+quit the navy, and enter into the land service, with the rank of
+colonel of grenadiers.
+
+"While he was at Lanceston, he became very intimate with my father,
+who always carried a box, on which was my portrait in the act of
+playing the harp: this picture struck M. de Genlis, who made many
+inquiries about me, and believed all that was said by my father, who
+thought me faultless.
+
+"The English had left my father my portrait, my letters, and those of
+my mother, which spoke of nothing but my successes and my talents. The
+count read these, and they made a profound impression upon him. His
+uncle, who was then minister for foreign affairs, soon obtained his
+liberty, and he promised to do all in his power to obtain that of my
+father. As soon as he arrived in Paris, he waited on my mother, to
+deliver some letters from my father; at the same time, he earnestly
+solicited his exchange, and in three weeks my father arrived in Paris.
+Not long after, being seized with a malignant fever, he died in the
+flower of his age. I experienced at his loss the most profound grief I
+had ever felt.
+
+"I will now speak of an old friend of my father's--the Baron d'Andlau.
+He came often to visit us; he was more than sixty, generous and kind.
+He discovered the greatest friendship for me, and I was so much the
+more touched with these marks of his affection, that I attributed them
+to the remembrance he had preserved of my father. But, at last, he
+made me understand his real sentiments by the most singular
+declaration of love that was ever made. He sent me, by his valet, a
+huge packet, containing his genealogy at full length, which he
+entreated me to examine with attention; but all my application in this
+way rendered me by no means favorable to his hopes. The same day, he
+came solemnly to demand my heart and hand, and was extremely surprised
+to find that his superb parchments had produced so little effect upon
+my mind. My mother, however, desired me to reflect upon his proposal,
+stating that he was rich and of high birth; but I firmly persisted in
+my refusal, and there was no more said upon the subject. He did not
+discontinue his visits, but paid attention only to my mother, and to
+such good purpose, that, eighteen months after, he married her; and I
+was much better pleased to have him for a father-in-law than a
+husband.
+
+"Not long after this event, my destiny was fixed for life. I was
+secretly married to M. de Genlis. He was then twenty-seven, and,
+having neither father nor mother, could dispose of himself as he
+pleased. Eight days after my marriage, we went to live with my aunt,
+Madame de Sercey, who lived in the Rue de Rohan. Here our marriage was
+published, and it formed the subject of public conversation for
+several days. We then took up our residence at the chateau of Genlis,
+belonging to my brother-in-law, the Marquis de Genlis, where our time
+passed in a succession of _fetes_ and entertainments.
+
+"My brother passed six weeks with us at this time. He had just been
+received into the engineers, and had undergone his examination in
+Bezout, with the utmost credit to himself: in fact, he showed a
+decided genius for mathematics. I was transported with joy at seeing
+him again: he was handsome and ingenuous, and he had a sort of
+childish gayety, which suited me exactly. M. de Genlis made him a
+present of every thing which could be useful to him in a garrison in
+which he was to remain a long time. He went to Mezieres: we promised
+to write regularly to each other, and we kept our word.
+
+"On the 4th of September, when I was nineteen years of age, my little
+Caroline was born, beautiful as an angel. How many sentiments, till
+then unknown, sprung up in my breast with the blessing of being a
+mother! Six weeks after, I was presented at court by Madame Puisieux.
+She obliged me to wear a great deal of rouge and powder, two things
+which I detested; I wore a high ruff, and a large hoop and train. My
+presentation went off well, and the day was well chosen, as there were
+a great many ladies at this levee. Louis XV. spoke a good deal to
+Madame de Puisieux, and said many flattering things about me. Though
+no longer young, he appeared to me to be very handsome: his eyes were
+of a deep blue, 'royal blue eyes,' as the Prince of Conti said; and
+his look was the most imposing that can be imagined.
+
+"In speaking he had a laconic manner, and a particular brevity of
+expression, in which, however, there was nothing harsh or disobliging;
+in short, there was about his whole person something majestic and
+royal, which completely distinguished him from all other men. A
+handsome exterior in a king is by no means a matter of indifference;
+the people and the great bulk of the nation can see but by stealth, as
+it were, the great potentates of the earth; they regard them with
+eager curiosity; the impression they receive from that examination is
+indelible, and exercises the greatest influence over all their
+sentiments. A noble air, a frank expression of countenance, a serene
+aspect, an agreeable smile, mild and polished manners, are precious
+gifts to princes, which education may confer but to a certain degree.
+
+"About this time, I wrote a little novel, called the 'Dangers of
+Celebrity,' the manuscript of which I afterwards lost. We soon
+returned to Genlis, and I recommenced my pursuits with fresh ardor. I
+was very happy at Genlis, especially after my brother-in-law's
+marriage to a most charming woman. The only property which M. de
+Genlis then had was the estate of Sissy, five leagues from Genlis: it
+was worth ten thousand francs a year, which was equal to twenty
+thousand now: we did not spend five thousand out of this, so that we
+were completely at our ease: and M. de Genlis, who was full of
+goodness and humanity, did a vast deal of good in the village: my
+brother-in-law and his wife were also extremely generous, and were, in
+return, adored by the peasants.
+
+"We passed the next winter at Paris. I was then twenty. I went
+once a week to dine with my aunt, Madame de Montesson, or with my
+grandmother, the Marchioness de la Haie. I saw this year, 1766, the
+Abbe Delille, who had just published his beautiful translation of
+Virgil's 'Georgies.' He was at that time twenty-seven years of age.
+He visited me several times; he was then engaged with his translation
+of the 'AEneid.' I thought him ingenuous and amiable; he had a face of
+certain intelligent ugliness, which it was amusing to examine. At
+this time, he recited verses in a manner that was quite charming, and
+which belonged exclusively to himself.
+
+"I went, in the spring, to the Isle Adam, in the Seine, where the
+Prince of Conti resided. He was the only one of the princes of the
+blood who had a taste for literature and the sciences, or who could
+speak in public. He was the most magnificent of our princes. Each lady
+that visited him had a carriage and horses at her command, and was at
+liberty to ask parties to dine daily in her own apartments. Ceremony
+was reserved for the evening, but during the day you enjoyed perfect
+liberty. We remained here, in the midst of the most charming society,
+six weeks.
+
+"I passed the next winter at Paris, in a round of dissipation; private
+balls, dinners, suppers, occupied most of my time. I amused myself
+also at home by performing with my friends little operas and comedies,
+which were always terminated by a concert, which was led by the famous
+Cramer. It was at this time that I wrote my first historical novel,
+founded on an anecdote in the life of Tamerlane. I read also, with
+inexpressible delight, some of the works of Pascal, Bossuet, and
+Massillon. The latter entirely entranced me. The majestic flow of his
+eloquence, and the sweetness and harmony of his language, have
+something about them which is truly divine. I also read with
+admiration the 'Natural History' of M. de Buffon: the perfection of
+his style enchanted me, and I studied it intensely.
+
+"J. J. Rousseau being now in Paris, I had a great desire to see so
+celebrated a man. I must confess that nothing ever appeared to me so
+odd and fantastical as his figure and appearance, which I merely
+considered as a masquerade. His coat, his _marron_-colored stockings,
+his little round wig, his whole costume, his manners and deportment,
+were to me perfectly ludicrous. Yet I never knew a literary character
+more agreeable, or with less affectation. His eyes were small, and,
+though deep set, were very piercing. He had a most agreeable smile,
+full of mildness and finesse. He talked admirably of music. I found
+afterwards that he was filled with caprice and morbid sensibility. He
+never accepted favors, and was offended by any offers of pecuniary
+aid.
+
+"I must mention an extraordinary individual whom I constantly saw at
+M. de Puisieux's--the Abbe Raynal. Never did there exist a man of
+talent so insupportably obstinate, so disputatious, or so unamiable in
+society. I likewise saw the young prince of Sweden, Gustavus III. He
+was agreeable and accomplished.
+
+"For her own private interest, my aunt, Madame de Montesson, was
+extremely desirous that I should enter the Palais Royal, as lady of
+honor. M. de Genlis cared little about it, and declared that he would
+not consent to let me have the place, unless he was attached to the
+court himself. He therefore asked and obtained the post of captain of
+the guards of the Duke of Chartres, a station worth six thousand
+francs, while mine, was worth four. The society of the Palais Royal
+was then the most brilliant and witty in Paris. There was also no want
+of books, and I made constant additions to my knowledge of French
+literature and history. I served also as the secretary of the Duchess
+of Chartres. I continued to write comedies, and cultivated music with
+the same ardor as before. I was constantly in the habit of making
+extracts, in small paper books, of conversations with persons that
+were entertaining and instructive. I had made, when I left the Palais
+Royal, a selection of poetry, of one thousand verses, of various
+authors, some being of very ancient date.
+
+"One day, when I was in the Garden of Plants, I had the good fortune
+to meet M. de Buffon, who received me with great cordiality and
+simplicity. I afterwards met him frequently, and we spoke of nothing
+but literature.
+
+"In 1774, Louis XV. died, and the unfortunate Louis XVI. mounted the
+throne. In the course of a journey which I took on account of ill
+health the next year, I went to Ferney to visit M. de Voltaire. All
+the busts and portraits I have seen of him are exceedingly like him;
+but no artist has fully expressed the eyes. They were the liveliest I
+ever saw; but they also had something indescribably soft and tender in
+their expression. His laugh and bitter smile greatly altered the
+expression of his face. When neither religion nor his enemies were
+spoken of, his conversation was simple and pleasing; but when he was
+opposed in the least, his manner became warm and bitter.
+
+"About this time, I wrote many little comedies for my daughters to
+perform, which were very successful. I received complimentary letters
+from M. d'Alembert and M. de Marmontel. Some time afterwards, I had
+rather an intimate acquaintance with M. Gibbon, author of the 'Decline
+and Fall of the Roman Empire.' M. de Voltaire came to Paris soon after
+this period. I went to see him, but found him quite broken down and
+dejected. He died in 1778.
+
+"The time I passed at the Palais Royal was at once the most brilliant
+and unhappy part of my life; I was in the zenith of my talents, and at
+the age when a woman joins to the freshness and graces of youth all
+the accomplishments which habits of intercourse with the world can
+bestow. I was admired, praised, flattered, and courted. Every
+Saturday, I had a concert; every Tuesday, a pleasant circle of
+acquaintances met at my house, and another day was set apart for
+conversation parties; in short, I was constantly occupied either in
+society, reading, or forming plans of works, since completed. I was
+generally beloved in the great world. So much for the brilliant side
+of my situation. But the malignity and hypocrisy of several persons
+belonging to the Palais Royal; the constantly renewed vexations; the
+unlooked-for calumnies, and the pretended reconciliations of which I
+have been so frequently the dupe; the injustice and the slanders;--all
+caused me the bitterest grief, which I was forced to conceal, for my
+situation obliged me to appear continually in society.
+
+"The Duke of Chartres was very desirous to succeed to the place of
+grand admiral, then held by his father-in-law, the Duke of Penthievre:
+to promote this object he proposed making a cruise at sea. He was to
+embark at Toulon, and persuaded the Duchess of Chartres to accompany
+him so far; and I even inspired her with a desire to see Italy. In
+going there, the duchess only took with her the young Countess of
+Rully, M. de Genlis, an esquire, and myself, two waiting maids, a
+valet, and three footmen. We passed through all the southern
+provinces, only stopping to attend the charming _fetes_, which were
+every where given to the prince and princess. Our journey passed off
+gayly and without accident, and we had some curious personal
+adventures. The duchess met with the utmost admiration throughout
+Italy for the dignity and sweetness of her manners.
+
+"At Venice we saw the famous entertainment of the Bucentaur, or
+wedding the Adriatic; but the city that I saw with the most enthusiasm
+was Rome. My emotion was so great on entering it that I embraced all
+in the carriage. I made many excursions, visited the Coliseum, and
+went daily to wonder and pray at St. Peter's. At Naples we were
+presented at court, and splendid _fetes_ were given to the Duchess of
+Chartres.
+
+"After our return, I recommenced my little plays with the same success
+as before. Indeed, I was prevailed upon to publish them for the
+benefit of the Chevalier de Quiessat, who had been fined and
+imprisoned. M. de Genlis undertook the editorship of the works, which
+made a large octavo volume. The Duke and Duchess of Chartres gave a
+hundred Louis for two copies. The Prince of Conde paid fifty Louis for
+one copy, and the Count de Jardini, with whom I was unacquainted, paid
+three thousand francs for one. The net profits of the work were forty
+thousand francs, which effected the liberation of M. Quiessat.
+
+"When I published my first volume of the '_Theatre d' Education_,'
+there was every where felt for me a sort of enthusiasm; many persons
+sought my acquaintance, and among others M. de la Harpe. It was
+immediately translated into all the European languages. All the
+journalists praised my work excessively; in short, no one ever entered
+on a literary career with more honor and glory.
+
+"The Duchess of Chartres having become the mother of two infant
+princesses, I cultivated my talents with new ardor, in the prospect of
+benefiting them. I had determined to educate them within a convent.
+Accordingly a pavilion, called 'Belle Chasse,' was erected in Paris
+for our residence, communicating with the convent by a long arbor
+covered with vines. My establishment was really charming. The
+furniture was extremely simple: it was to be mine after the education
+of the children was completed. The usual salary of the governess was
+six thousand francs; the duke offered me twelve thousand; which,
+however, I refused. I conducted the mansion of 'Belle Chasse' and the
+education of the princes and princesses with great ceremony, and
+gained the reputation of being a _good housewife_--a kind of praise so
+reluctantly accorded to those women who love reading and cultivate
+literature and the fine arts.
+
+"During the first eighteen months of my residence at 'Belle Chasse,' I
+published successively the other volumes of my 'Theatre of Education.'
+I led a delicious life at 'Belle Chasse,' and received every Saturday
+my acquaintances from six to half past nine, and my intimate friends
+from eight till ten in the evening. I had obtained permission to have
+my mother and children with me; and the inexpressible satisfaction of
+attending to my mother's comforts was my sweetest occupation.
+
+"The extreme beauty of my eldest daughter, her talents, her charming
+disposition, and my place as lady of honor, which remained vacant for
+her, caused her hand to be sought by a great number of persons. She
+was a good musician; she drew figures in a fine style; she painted
+admirably in all styles; and I never knew any one who danced so well
+as she did. She was only fourteen. I at last determined upon marrying
+her. The choice of M. de Genlis fell upon a Belgian, the Marquis of
+Becelaer de Lawoestine: he was an only son, and of high birth, and
+would eventually inherit the title of grandee. M. de Genlis gave him
+his place of captain of the guards, and my furnished apartments at the
+Palais Royal, all of which formed a very comfortable establishment for
+the young couple. A week before the marriage, the Duke and Duchess of
+Chartres sent me magnificent bracelets and a superb aigrette of
+diamonds for my daughter.
+
+"I was the first governess of princes, in France, who adopted the
+custom of teaching children the living languages by talking with them.
+I gave my young princesses an English maid-servant, and another who
+understood Italian thoroughly, so that, at the age of five, they
+understood three languages, and spoke English and French perfectly
+well. I bethought myself of placing a young English girl of their own
+age with them. Accordingly the Duke of Chartres wrote to London to beg
+a person of the name of Forth to send him one. He succeeded in
+accomplishing my wish: the little girl was sent, and was remarkable
+for her graceful manners, her mildness, and her beauty. Her name was
+Nancy Syms; I called her Pamela; and, as she did not know a word of
+French, she contributed greatly to familiarize the little princesses
+with the English language.
+
+"My tranquillity was now disturbed by a melancholy event--the illness
+and death of the eldest of the princesses, Mademoiselle d'Orleans. The
+princess who remained took the name of Orleans; she was then five
+years old. No words can describe her grief at the death of her sister;
+her affliction lasted more than two years. Often, when in my room,
+and appearing to play, she turned her back to me and wept.
+
+"The duke was sedulously engaged in endeavoring to find a tutor for
+his sons. The eldest, the Duke of Valois,[4] was then eight years old.
+He consulted me on the selection of a fit person. I proposed several,
+among others M. de Schomberg; but, none of them meeting his favor, I
+said, with a laugh, 'Well, then, what do you think of me?' 'Why not?'
+replied he, seriously: 'the thing is decided; you must be their
+tutor.' I confess that the manner of the duke impressed me deeply with
+the thought of doing something so glorious to myself, and so
+unprecedented in the history of education. The arrangement was
+accordingly made, and it was agreed that I should be the absolute
+mistress of their education. The Duke of Chartres offered me twenty
+thousand francs, which I refused; and that I _gratuitously_ educated
+three princes is an undisputed fact. The Duchess of Chartres was
+delighted with the plan; and I may truly say it was generally approved
+of.
+
+"About this time, I published '_Adele et Theodore_.' This work at once
+insured the suffrages of the public, and the irreconcilable hatred of
+all the so-called philosophers and their partisans.
+
+"Having chosen M. Lebrun as under-governor for the young princes, I
+gave him private instructions relative to their education. He kept a
+daily journal of their studies and behavior, which I commented upon in
+the evening. I thought this journal would be interesting to the duke
+and duchess; but they always refused to read it, saying that they
+confided entirely in me. I found some very bad habits in my pupils.
+When I read history to them, the Duke of Valois yawned and stretched
+himself, sometimes lying down on the sofa, and putting his feet upon
+the table. I reproved him for this in such a manner that he felt no
+resentment. As soon as the sense of the thing was clearly presented to
+him, he listened with attention.
+
+"Every Saturday we received company at 'Belle Chasse.' I established
+this rule to form the princes in politeness, and to accustom them to
+the habit of listening to conversation. When Mademoiselle Orleans was
+seven years old, she played on the harp in a surprising manner. I can
+truly say, that I never knew a single defect in this princess. She
+possessed all the virtues. The Duke of Montpensier, the second son,
+had a feeling and generous heart, a natural elegance of person, and
+something romantic about his face, disposition, and manners. The
+youngest of the three princes, the Count of Beaujolais, was equally
+charming in face, talent, and disposition. Even his faults were
+amiable. We thought that he resembled Henry IV. To continue the
+portraits of 'Belle Chasse,' I must speak of Pamela. She had a
+beautiful face; she never told a single falsehood; she ran like
+Atalanta, but her mind was lazy to a degree; she had no memory, and
+was very volatile.
+
+"The Duke of Orleans purchased St. Leu, a charming residence, where we
+passed eight months of the year. There was a fine garden, in which my
+pupils dug with their own hands. The gardener was a German, and only
+spoke to them in German; in our walks we spoke English, and we supped
+in Italian. I invented little games, and dramatic pieces for
+representation, and we performed historic pictures. In the winter, at
+Paris, I continued to make every moment useful. I had a turning
+machine put in my chamber, and all the children learned to turn. We
+also made morocco portfolios, baskets, artificial flowers, and the
+Duke of Valois and the Duke of Montpensier made a table with drawers
+for a poor woman of St. Leu.
+
+"Upon the death of his father, the old Duke of Orleans, the Duke of
+Chartres took the title of Orleans, and my eldest pupil that of
+Chartres.
+
+"Amidst all my engagements, I continued my private studies with
+ardor, and soon published my '_Veilless du Chateau_.' I also wrote my
+'Palace of Truth,' and the 'Two Reputations,' at this time. The
+former work was translated, in the course of a year, into all the
+European languages. My first work upon religion, which I wrote for
+my pupils, completed the degree of horror in which I was held by
+the philosophers. It was entitled 'Religion considered as the only
+Basis of Happiness and true Philosophy.' While writing this work, I
+experienced the greatest misfortune of my life. My eldest daughter
+died, at the age of twenty-one. She expired with the calmness and
+piety of an angel. Being unable to find any relief from my affliction,
+I set about finishing my work on religion; and, on looking at the
+place where I left off, I found it was the chapter 'On Christian
+Resignation.'
+
+"Grief had so great an effect upon me, that my physicians directed me
+to go to Spa. Thither the duke and duchess and my pupils accompanied
+me. This took place in July, 1787.
+
+"It was now becoming the fashion to ridicule the monarchy, and
+preparations were making for the revolution. I was of no party but
+that of religion. I desired to see the reformation of certain abuses,
+and I saw with joy the demolition of the Bastile. It is impossible to
+give an idea of the sight; this redoubtable fortress was covered with
+men, women, and children, all working with unequalled ardor.
+
+"As soon as the Duke of Chartres had attained his seventeenth year,
+the Duke of Orleans informed me that his education was at an end; but
+the Duke of Chartres was so attached to me that he said he would come
+daily till he was eighteen, to take his lessons as usual. He never
+failed to do this, which was admirable in a young prince who had now
+become his own master.
+
+"During my residence at 'Belle Chasse,' my second daughter, Pulcherie,
+married the Viscount de Valence. She was seventeen years old,
+beautiful and accomplished. Soon after this event, M. de Genlis came
+into possession of the property of the Marechale d'Etree. On finding
+himself suddenly possessed of one hundred thousand francs a year, he
+urged me to quit 'Belle Chasse,' and reside with him. But I could not
+support the idea that any one else should finish the education of my
+pupils, and carry from me all the honors. I have since bitterly
+repented this failure in my duty. M. de Genlis now took the name of
+Marquis de Sillery.
+
+"Having always felt an extreme desire of travelling in England, I
+separated from my pupils for the first time. My journey was marked by
+many distinctions. I received proofs of esteem from many distinguished
+persons--Fox, Sheridan, Burke, Miss Burney, &c. The Prince of Wales
+invited me to an entertainment, and was full of attention to me. I
+passed three days at the country-house of the celebrated Mr. Burke;
+here I met Sir Joshua Reynolds. I dined with the queen at Windsor.
+Lord Mansfield, the celebrated English judge, came to see me, and gave
+me a beautiful moss-rose tree. Horace Walpole invited me to breakfast
+in his Gothic priory. After having visited Wales, I returned at length
+to France. I arrived at St. Leu, after an absence of six weeks, to the
+great joy of my pupils, as well as my own.
+
+"A short time after, the marriage of Mademoiselle d'Orleans with the
+Duke of Angouleme was resolved on. An interview took place between
+them at Versailles, and the marriage was publicly talked of. The
+revolution, which suddenly burst upon us at this time, overthrew all
+our plans and projects.
+
+"I was soon called upon to feel the most heart-rending sorrow at the
+death of my mother, whom I tended during three whole days and nights,
+without ever going to bed, or leaving her for a moment. My pupils
+wished, of their own accord, to be present at the funeral, for they
+truly loved her, and joined most sincerely and affectionately in grief
+for her loss.
+
+"It now became obvious that a melancholy change had taken place in
+the conduct of the Duchess of Orleans to me, after twenty years of
+the warmest and closest intimacy. In consequence of this, I determined
+on retiring from her household altogether. My feelings were still
+more aggravated by the want of any specific charge, or any explanation
+on the part of the duchess. I wrote a letter to the duke, asking
+leave to resign my place; but this he would not grant, promising to
+arrange affairs in a few days. In the interval, Mademoiselle, seeing
+me sorrowful and dejected, perceived the plan I had in view. One day,
+she swooned away in the garden, and the consequence was, a promise
+from me, 'that I would not leave her of my own free will.' I then
+wrote a long explanatory letter to the duchess, using all possible
+arguments to induce her to restore me to her confidence. This she
+did not do, but consented to meet me as usual, and to allow her
+family to suppose the 'difference' between us adjusted: at the same
+time, she desired that not a word should pass between us relative
+to our misunderstanding.
+
+"I was meditating, one morning, upon this painful position of affairs,
+when the door opened, and the duchess appeared. She rushed in, bid me
+be quiet, drew a paper from her pocket, which she read in a loud voice
+and with great rapidity. The purport of this was, that I must withdraw
+immediately, and that in a private manner, to prevent unnecessary
+affliction to Mademoiselle; if I did not do so, there was no public
+exposure I might not dread, and she would never see me again in the
+course of her life. After some expostulations with the duchess, who, I
+saw, was influenced by my enemies, I promised to do as she required.
+Before I left, I wrote three letters to Mademoiselle d'Orleans, to be
+given to her at different periods of the day. The duke felt the most
+profound chagrin, and, attributing all these troubles to the counsels
+of Madame de Chastelleux, desired her to seek some other abode. The
+consequence was, the duchess made a demand to be separated from her
+husband.
+
+"After my departure, I received letters from the duke, begging me to
+return to his daughter, as he felt assured that her death would be the
+consequence of my continued absence. I accordingly returned, and found
+my dear pupil in a state that pierced me to the heart. My solicitude
+soon restored her to health, but my tranquillity was forever lost. The
+cause of the sudden dislike of the duchess was evidently the
+difference of our political opinions. I never in my life interfered in
+political affairs, but I have at all times been monarchical, as all my
+works demonstrate. It is also true that I have always detested
+despotism, _lettres de cachets_, and arbitrary imprisonment.
+
+"After the flight of the king to Varennes, and his forced return to
+Paris, I was burning with a desire to leave France, and the duke at
+last gave me leave. The physicians ordered Mademoiselle to go to
+England, to take the Bath waters. We accordingly went there, and staid
+at that place two months. We then travelled through the English
+counties, visited the caverns of Derbyshire and the Isle of Wight.
+
+"The close of my stay in England was imbittered by the most mournful
+anticipations, for party spirit gave me every reason to fear the
+efforts and enemies of the house of Orleans, and I received anonymous
+letters of the most alarming nature. Among others was one which
+threatened to set fire to our house at night. In September, 1792,
+while we were at Bury, in Suffolk, I learned by the French papers that
+a powerful party were desirous of bringing the king and queen to
+judgment. Immediately after the massacres in the prisons in the same
+month, I received a singular letter from the Duke of Orleans, telling
+me to return to France immediately with his daughter. I answered him
+that I would not do so, as it was absurd to choose such a period for
+her return.
+
+"My well-founded fears increasing daily, I met with several alarming
+adventures, which proved that I was an object of suspicion in France.
+In November, the Duke of Orleans again sent for his daughter. Upon
+this, I determined to take Mademoiselle back to France, deliver her up
+into her father's hands, give up my place as governess, and return
+immediately to London. We set out on our return, in November, for
+Dover. We had a stormy passage across the channel, landed, and
+proceeded rapidly to our residence in Paris. Here I found the Duke of
+Orleans, M. de Sillery, and some others. I delivered up Mademoiselle
+to her father, and told him my plan. The duke took me apart, and said,
+in a dejected manner, that, in consequence of my not returning when he
+sent the first time, his daughter, now fifteen, came under the new
+law, which placed her among the emigrants; that the matter was not
+entirely arranged, but that his daughter must go to Tournay, in
+Belgium, for a short time. He urged me so vehemently to go with her,
+that I consented.
+
+"The same evening, M. Sillery took us to the theatre to dispel our
+melancholy ideas. At the play was Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who became
+violently in love with Pamela, from her resemblance to a former
+object of his affection. The next day, finding myself alone with the
+duke, whose manner struck me as very alarming, I spoke some words to
+him, upon which he said, surlily, _that he had declared in favor of
+the Jacobins_. I remonstrated with him in vain. In the evening, I had
+a long conversation with M. de Sillery, and entreated him, with tears
+in my eyes, to leave France. But all my arguments were unavailing, and
+I left the next morning for Tournay, with the most mournful presages.
+
+"At the first post-house we found Lord Edward Fitzgerald, whose love
+for Pamela made him follow us to Tournay. We had scarcely reached the
+place, when he asked the hand of Pamela in marriage. I showed him the
+papers proving her to be the daughter of a man of high birth, of the
+name of Seymour. After having obtained the consent of his mother, the
+Duchess of Leinster, to the marriage, it was concluded; and in two
+days the new-married couple set out for England. I felt great joy in
+seeing the fortunes of this beloved child so honorably secured.
+
+"Meanwhile, three weeks had elapsed without hearing from the duke.
+At last news came of the horrible catastrophe of the king's death.
+The Duke of Chartres, who joined us at Tournay, showed me a letter
+from his father, which began thus: 'My heart is oppressed with
+sorrow; but, for the interests of France and of liberty, I have
+thought it my duty...!' &c. My unfortunate husband wrote at the same
+time, and sent me copies of his opinion at the king's trial. This
+was thus expressed: 'I do not vote for death, first because the king
+does not merit it; secondly, because we have no right to sit as his
+judges; and, lastly, because I consider his condemnation as the
+greatest political fault that can be committed.' The letter concluded
+thus: 'I am perfectly sure, then, in pronouncing this opinion, I have
+signed my death-warrant.'
+
+"Seeing that Belgium was about to fall into the hands of the
+Austrians, and that it would be impossible for us to fly either to
+France or to foreign countries, I had the most anxious desire to be
+recalled to my country. Hence I strongly solicited my return; and I
+was informed, in March, 1793, that the Duke of Orleans was to obtain
+the recall of Mademoiselle, but that mine would be delayed. Whilst one
+day sitting in my room, M. Crepin, an army commissary, whom I had
+previously known, entered the room, and told me that the Austrians
+would be in Tournay the next day. Seeing my distress at this
+intelligence, he offered me an asylum at a farm of his near
+Valenciennes, so secluded that I might stay there for months in
+safety. I joyfully accepted his proposal, and we left Tournay in a few
+days. Circumstances, however, did not allow us to take advantage of
+this kind offer. We were surrounded by danger; troops marching in
+disorder, soldiers making a tumultuous noise, filled us with terror.
+We stopped a short time at St. Amand, where arrests were constantly
+made, and all proved to me that the system of proscription was
+established.
+
+"Having providentially escaped from St. Amand, I immediately set off
+for Switzerland. After travelling seven days, we reached Schafhausen.
+My satisfaction on reaching a neutral territory was great. The Duke
+of Chartres joined us here. We soon after went to Zug, and took a
+small house, in a secluded situation, on the banks of the lake, not
+far from the town. Here I wrote to the Duchess of Orleans,--for the
+duke was in prison,--and entreated her to send me orders respecting
+Mademoiselle d'Orleans as soon as possible; but I received no answer.
+
+"We should have remained longer at Zug, but we became known, and the
+magistrates were reproached for having given us refuge; we were
+therefore obliged to consult as to our future destination. We formed a
+thousand romantic projects, and abandoned them as fast as made. The
+Duke of Chartres insisted upon continuing with us, which made it
+impossible for us to remain unknown. I finally determined to write to
+M. de Montesquiou, who lived at Bremgarten, who was himself a refugee,
+and possessed great influence in Switzerland. I described to him the
+condition of my unfortunate pupils, and begged him to allow them an
+asylum in the convent, near the town. M. de Montesquiou wrote me a
+most polite and obliging answer, and took upon himself to get
+Mademoiselle d'Orleans and myself into this convent, called St.
+Claire. The Duke of Chartres resolved to make a pedestrian tour
+through Switzerland, where he was taken for a German. How often, since
+my misfortunes, have I congratulated myself on the education I had
+given him,--on the languages I had taught him,--on having accustomed
+him to despise effeminacy, and habituate himself to fatigue! All that
+he was indebted for to the chance of birth and fortune he had lost;
+and nothing now remained to him but what he held from nature and from
+me.[5]
+
+"We entered the convent under feigned names. Mine was Madame Lenox,
+aunt of Mademoiselle Stuart, my sister's daughter. The duke then left
+us, and, after his journey through Switzerland, he entered the college
+of the Grisons incognito, as professor of mathematics. In this quiet
+of the convent, the health of Mademoiselle was nearly restored. While
+here came news of a horrid catastrophe, on November 9th, 1793, and I
+became ill.... I concealed from Mademoiselle the death of her
+unfortunate father, but dressed her in mourning, as if for the queen
+of France.[6]
+
+"About this time, a violent dispute arose between the inhabitants
+of Bremgarten: two parties were formed, and an order was obtained,
+by people hostile to M. de Montesquiou, that all the French should
+leave the place. Hearing that the Princess of Conti, the aunt of
+Mademoiselle d'Orleans, was residing in Switzerland, Mademoiselle,
+at my urgent request, wrote to her to ask permission to join her.
+She received a very kind letter, saying that the princess would
+receive her niece. On the day before the carriage was sent to take
+her from me, my emotion was excessive. I determined to spare both
+of us the pain of this cruel separation. I accordingly shut myself
+in my room, at the arrival of the Countess de Pont, who was to take
+away my interesting charge, telling the servant to say that I had
+gone to some distance.
+
+"As the moment arrived for the departure, Mademoiselle d'Orleans came
+along my passage, and stopped before the door. I heard her sighs and
+lamentations.... I heard the carriage roll away; and one must feel a
+mother's love, to conceive the emotions that overpowered me. I heard
+from her the next day, and I also wrote her my last letter of advice.
+Her departure rendered the spot she had left completely hateful to me,
+and I most anxiously wished to leave the place. I had, besides, been
+cruelly persecuted since my residence there. I was often attacked in
+the most absurd manner in the newspapers. One of them stated that I,
+loaded with favors by the court of France, had been concerned in all
+the intrigues of the revolution. Not knowing how to get passports I at
+last thought of writing to Dr. Hoze, a skilful physician, who lived at
+Bremgarten. He kindly sent me both passports and a servant to
+accompany me. I departed, promising the nuns to return and spend the
+remainder of my life with them. We travelled night and day, till we
+arrived at Utrecht. From this place, I got into a wretched post-wagon,
+with a man who was going to Hamburg. We reached that place July 23d,
+1794. Hearing of an inn kept by a person of the name of Plock, I went
+there, and had the fortune not to meet with any emigrants. Here I
+staid nine months, in complete incognito, and in very agreeable
+society. It was here that I enjoyed the first consolation I received
+since my misfortunes--here that I learned several most important
+events--the fall of Robespierre, and the peace concluded with Russia.
+
+"I now went to board with M. de Valence at his country-house, five
+leagues from Hamburg. At this place I wrote my '_Precis de Conduite_,'
+which produced such a powerful effect in my favor. I soon left for
+Berlin, in Prussia. I took lodgings with Mademoiselle Bocquet, who
+kept a boarding-school. Here I made several charming acquaintances;
+but my cruel fortunes still triumphed. I was informed that great
+exertions were making to get me out of the kingdom. It had been
+rumored that the Abbe Sieyes, whom I had never even seen, had made me
+a visit. The king said he 'would not banish me from his library, but
+that he would not allow me to remain in his territories.' Accordingly
+a police officer came with an order for me to leave the kingdom in two
+hours. This was a real thunderbolt. Leaving all my effects behind me,
+I got into a carriage and drove away. We were obliged to travel to the
+frontiers without stopping, except for meals. Three weeks after I
+reached Hamburg, I received my baggage and manuscripts from Berlin.
+During my stay here, I saw Pamela and her husband. I soon perceived
+that Lord Edward had imbibed opinions dangerous to his own government,
+and feared that he was about to engage in some desperate enterprise.
+
+"I now went to Holstein, and took up my abode with M. Peterson, in a
+delightful thatched cottage. The family was charming, and the rural
+style of living just what I liked. I assisted in churning the butter,
+and fed on the most delicious red partridges. I here performed a
+literary labor that greatly fatigued me. In the morning, I wrote the
+'_Petits Emigres_,' and in the evening, I occupied myself with the
+'_Voeux Temeraires_.' Beside this, I wrote all the fables of '_Herbier
+Moral_.'
+
+"I learned by the newspapers that Lord Edward Fitzgerald was arrested
+in consequence of intrigues in Ireland.[7] I found also that my
+brother had perished at sea. I became now seriously ill, was attacked
+with fever, and recovered only as by a miracle. The king of Prussia,
+Frederic William II., having died in 1797, his son, the prince royal,
+authorized me to return to Berlin, where 'I should always find peace
+and repose.' Though still weak, I set out, arrived there in safety,
+and was received with delight by Mademoiselle Bocquet. She had
+prepared for me a charming apartment, fitted up with all the attention
+of kind friendship."
+
+We have thus far presented an abridgment of Madame de Genlis's own
+narrative: we must now hasten to the conclusion. Under the consulship
+of Bonaparte, who had a favorable opinion of her talents, she returned
+to Paris, and became one of his admirers and panegyrists. After the
+restoration of the Bourbons, she wrote in defence of monarchy and
+religion.
+
+Her pen seemed inexhaustible, and she continued at intervals to pour
+forth its productions upon the public. She had passed her eightieth
+year when her "Memoirs" were written. She lived to witness the
+astonishing events of July, 1830, and to see her former pupil raised
+to the throne under the title of Louis Philippe. She died December
+31st, 1830, aged 84 years.
+
+The character of Madame de Genlis is not without marks of weakness,
+and she has been charged even with gross departures from the path of
+rectitude. On this point, however, the proof is not clear. Her
+"Memoirs" display a degree of vanity only to be palliated by the
+customs of her sex in France; and her opinions on public affairs
+appear to have fluctuated with her fortunes. Yet, as a writer,
+particularly of works of fiction, which blend instruction with
+amusement, and have especially in view the inculcation of just
+sentiments, she has had few equals. Her "Palace of Truth," and "Tales
+of the Castle," are among the most captivating, yet useful books of
+the kind, that were ever penned. Some of her works are exceptionable
+in respect to their tendency; yet, on the whole, we are bound to
+assign to her the credit of an excellent heart, and a high order of
+genius. Her works have been published in eighty-four volumes,
+duodecimo.
+
+  [4] Now Louis Philippe, king of France. See note, p. 212 [ed: Footnote
+      5].
+
+  [5] The Duke of Chartres, afterwards Duke of Orleans, and now Louis
+      Philippe, king of the French, was born at Paris, October 6th,
+      1773. His education has been described in the preceding pages.
+      In 1791, he served in the army, and subsequently held various
+      military stations, in which he displayed great gallantry. In
+      1793, having expressed his horror at the excesses of the
+      revolution, a decree of arrest was levelled against him. To
+      escape this, he went to Switzerland, where he met his sister and
+      Madame de Genlis, as related. During his wanderings over this
+      country, he had to contend with fatigue, poverty, and
+      persecution. He travelled from place to place, often alone, and
+      destitute of money.
+
+      After the death of his father, Switzerland no longer became a
+      safe place for him, and he went to Hamburg, to escape to
+      America. But here his funds failed him, and he spent some time
+      in travelling in Norway and Lapland, proceeding even to the
+      North Cape. In September, 1796, he embarked for America, where
+      he was joined by his brothers, the Duke of Montpensier and Count
+      Beaujolais. They travelled through the country, though often
+      distressed for the want of money. After various wanderings, they
+      reached England. The Duke of Montpensier died in 1807; and the
+      Count Beaujolais soon after. In November, 1809, Louis Philippe
+      was married, at Palermo, to the Princess Amelia, daughter of the
+      king of Sicily. On the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815, he
+      returned to Paris, and inherited a large part of the immense
+      wealth of his father. In 1830, he was elevated to the throne.
+      His family presents a model of union, good morals, and domestic
+      virtue, and he is himself one of the ablest of living
+      sovereigns. If his character is in any considerable degree owing
+      to his education,--and we cannot doubt that it is,--it furnishes
+      an imperishable monument to the honor of Madame de Genlis.
+
+  [6] The position of Madame de Genlis does not permit her to do justice
+      to the character of the Duke of Orleans, which is one of the
+      most infamous in history. He was born in 1747, and was descended
+      from the Duke of Orleans, only brother of Louis XIV. In his
+      youth he was distinguished for his licentiousness, and during
+      the revolution he acquired an unfortunate notoriety. He joined
+      the Jacobins, and cooeperated with Robespierre, Marat, and
+      Danton. He renounced his royal titles, and assumed that of M.
+      Egalite. He voted for the death of his relative, Louis XVI., and
+      was present at his execution. But the storm he had assisted to
+      raise was now directed against him. He was included in the
+      general proscription of the Bourbons, and was guillotined
+      November 6th, 1793. His wife, who sustained an excellent
+      character, returned to Paris after the restoration, and died in
+      1821.
+
+  [7] Lord Edward Fitzgerald was the son of the Duke of Leinster, and
+      born in Ireland, October 15th, 1763. He was educated for the
+      military profession, and served in the American war with credit.
+      He was an ardent lover of liberty, and deeply felt the wrongs
+      done to his native country by the British government. He hailed
+      the French revolution as the dawn of universal freedom: in 1792
+      he went to Paris, and participated in the intoxication of that
+      eventful era. After his marriage to Pamela, he went to Ireland,
+      and became one of the leaders in the rebellion of 1798. He
+      became obnoxious to the government, and was arrested while
+      concealed in a house in Dublin. He was at the time in bed: he
+      resisted fiercely, and wounded two of the officers, one of them
+      mortally. He received a pistol ball in his shoulder, and, being
+      confined in Newgate, died June 4th, 1798.
+
+      He was a man of remarkable elevation and singleness of mind, and
+      was greatly endeared to his friends. The letters written by
+      different members of his family, at the time of his arrest and
+      during his confinement in prison, published by his biographer,
+      Moore, are among the most touching that were ever penned. Their
+      attachment to their unfortunate relation amounted almost to
+      idolatry.
+
+      His wife, who had three children at the time of his death, seems
+      to have been a fit partner for so noble a spirit. The letters
+      above alluded to depict her character as one of extraordinary
+      elevation and loveliness. Some doubt about her parentage has
+      existed; but, as we have given the statement of Madame de Genlis
+      upon the subject, it does not seem necessary to say more. She
+      returned to France, and her remains are deposited in the
+      cemetery of Mont Martre, at Paris.
+
+
+
+
+JOSEPHINE.
+
+
+M. Tascher, a native of France, having resigned his commission in the
+cavalry, retired to an estate in the Island of St. Domingo. In the
+year 1763, he, together with his wife, made a visit to a sister in
+Martinico, and there, on the 23d of June, a daughter, Josephine, was
+born. On the return of her parents to St. Domingo, she was left with
+her aunt, and there are no traces of future intercourse with them.
+Often, in after years, did Josephine revert to the unmingled happiness
+and peaceful enjoyments of her childhood. The advantages for education
+enjoyed by Mademoiselle Tascher were superior to what would be
+supposed by those who have only known the French colonies at a
+subsequent period. The proprietors were many of them highly
+accomplished gentlemen, born and educated in France, who had retired
+to their estates in the New World, as a retreat from which to watch
+the progress of those events which were beginning to disturb the quiet
+of the Old.
+
+[Illustration: JOSEPHINE.]
+
+Josephine, naturally amiable and gentle in disposition, with manners
+which combined ease and elegance with dignity, possessed a natural
+aptitude for acquiring feminine accomplishments. She played,
+especially on the harp, and sung with exquisite feeling. Her dancing
+is said to have been perfect. An eye-witness describes her light form,
+rising scarcely above the middle size, as seeming in its faultless
+symmetry to float rather than to move--the very personation of Grace.
+She was mistress of the pencil and of the needle. Flowers were her
+passion; she early cultivated a knowledge of botany. To the _empress_
+Josephine Europe is indebted for a knowledge of the Camelia. She read
+delightfully; the tones of her voice fascinated. "The first applause
+of the French people," said Napoleon, "sounded to my ear sweet as the
+voice of Josephine."
+
+The companion of her infancy was a mulatto girl, some years older than
+herself,--her foster-sister, Euphemia,--who never afterwards quitted
+her patroness, shared in her amusements, and was the companion of her
+rambles. In one of these an incident occurred, which exercised a
+lasting influence over her imagination. The particulars were, long
+afterwards, thus related by herself:--
+
+"One day, some time before my first marriage, while taking my usual
+walk, I observed a number of negro girls assembled round an old woman,
+who was telling their fortune. I stopped to listen to her. The
+sorceress, on seeing me, uttered a loud shriek, and grasped my hand. I
+laughed at her grimaces, and allowed her to proceed, saying, 'So you
+discover something extraordinary in my destiny?' 'I do.' 'Do you
+discover traces of happiness, or misfortune?' 'Of misfortune,
+certainly; but of happiness also.' 'You take care not to commit
+yourself, my worthy sibyl; your oracles are not the most clear.' 'I
+am not permitted to make them more so,' said the woman, raising her
+eyes in a mysterious manner towards heaven. My curiosity was now
+awakened, and I said to her, 'But tell me, what read you in futurity
+concerning me?' 'What do I read? You will not believe me if I tell
+you.' 'Yes, indeed, I assure you. Come, good woman, what am I to hope
+or fear?' 'You insist; listen then. You will soon be married; the
+union will not be happy; you will become a widow, and then--you will
+become queen of France! You will enjoy many years of happiness, but
+you will be killed in a popular commotion.' The old woman then burst
+from the crowd, and hurried away as fast as her limbs, enfeebled by
+age, would permit. I forbade the bystanders to laugh at the prophetess
+for her ridiculous prediction, and took the occasion to caution the
+young negro women against giving credit to such pretenders.
+Henceforth, I thought of the affair only to laugh at it. But
+afterwards, when my husband had perished on the scaffold, in spite of
+my better judgment, this prediction forcibly recurred to my mind; and,
+though I was myself then in prison, the transaction daily assumed a
+less improbable character, and I ended by regarding the fulfilment as
+almost a matter of course."
+
+Nothing at the time seemed less likely than the fulfilment of the
+prediction. Miss Tascher seemed destined to become the wife of some
+creole youth, and to pass a tranquil and indolent life on some
+neighboring plantation. It so chanced, however, that the young
+Vicompte Alexander de Beauharnais, "who," in Josephine's words,
+"had embraced the new ideas with all the ardor of a very lively
+imagination," after serving with distinction in the war of the
+American revolution, came to Martinico to prove his title to some
+estates which had fallen by inheritance to himself and his brother.
+These estates were held on lease by Josephine's uncle, and an
+acquaintance between the young people naturally followed. They
+became mutually attached; but his relatives, who were opposed to the
+match, interposed obstacles which Josephine surmounted with a
+gentleness and address hardly to be expected in a girl of sixteen. In
+1794, writing to her children, Josephine says, "If to my union with
+your father I have been indebted for all my happiness, I dare to
+think and say, that to my own character I owe our union, so many
+were the obstacles which opposed us. Yet, without any effort of
+talents, I effected their removal. I found in my own heart the
+means of gaining the affection of my husband's relations; patience
+and goodness will ever in the end conciliate the good-will of
+others."
+
+On their arrival in France, in 1779, the youthful pair are said to
+have created a sensation in society. The manners and accomplishments
+of Josephine excited admiration in the most polished court in Europe;
+and the attentions of Marie Antoinette made an impression on her
+grateful heart which endured through a life, the incidents of which
+were in such seeming opposition to the interests of the Bourbons. Much
+of their time, however, was spent on the vicompte's estates in
+Brittany; and here were born Eugene, afterwards viceroy of Italy, and
+Hortense, afterwards queen of Holland.
+
+Every thing gave promise of enduring happiness. But the misconduct of
+the vicompte destroyed it. Josephine at first complained with
+gentleness, and sought by increased fondness to win back the waning
+affections of her husband. Finding this unavailing, she infused into
+her reproaches a degree of bitterness which alienated completely the
+affections she was so anxious to gain. A separation was the
+consequence, and Josephine returned with her children to Martinico.
+
+After an absence of several years, she once again sailed for France,
+and in circumstances far from affluent. An incident which occurred on
+the voyage was thus related to the ladies of her court. She had
+indulged a wish they had expressed to see her jewels. They were spread
+upon a spacious table, which was covered with them. The brilliancy,
+the size, and the quantity, of the jewels composing the different
+sets, were dazzling to the eye. Here were collected the choicest gems
+of Europe, for all its nations had been eager to heap presents upon
+the wife of Napoleon. After she had permitted the ladies to examine at
+leisure these treasures, which almost realized the tales of the
+"Arabian Nights," Josephine said to them, "During the first dawn of my
+elevation, I delighted in these trifles. I grew by degrees so tired of
+them, that I no longer wear any, except when I am compelled to do so
+by my station in the world. Trust to me, ladies, and do not envy a
+splendor which does not constitute happiness. You will be surprised
+when I tell you that I felt more pleasure at receiving a pair of old
+shoes, than at being presented with all the diamonds now spread before
+you." The ladies smiled at what they considered a mere pleasantry; but
+Josephine repeated the remark with such earnestness as to induce them
+to ask for the story. "Accompanied by Hortense, I embarked at
+Martinico for France. Being separated from my husband, my pecuniary
+resources were not very flourishing; the expense of my return to
+France, which the state of my affairs rendered necessary, had nearly
+drained my purse, and I found great difficulty in providing the
+indispensable requisites for the voyage. Hortense, who was a smart,
+lively girl, became a great favorite with the sailors; she entertained
+them by imitating the songs and dances of the negroes. No sooner did
+she observe me engaged, than she slipped upon deck, and repeated her
+little exercises to the renewed delight of all. An old quarter-master
+was particularly attentive to her, and, whenever he found a moment's
+leisure, he devoted it to his _little friend_, who became much
+attached to him. This constant dancing and skipping soon destroyed my
+daughter's slight shoes. Knowing that she had no other pair, and
+fearing that I should forbid her going upon deck, if I should discover
+this defect in her attire, she concealed it. Her bleeding feet one day
+attracted my notice. I asked, in alarm, if she had hurt herself. 'No,
+mamma.' 'But your feet are bleeding.' 'It really is nothing.' I
+insisted upon seeing what was the matter, and found that the shoes
+were in tatters, and her foot dreadfully torn by a nail. The voyage
+was not half performed, and there seemed no possibility of procuring a
+new pair before reaching France. I was quite overcome at the idea of
+Hortense's sorrow at being compelled to remain shut up in my little
+cabin, and to the injury to her health. My tears found a free vent.
+At this moment our friend the quarter-master appeared. With honest
+bluntness he asked the cause of our grief. Hortense, sobbing all the
+while, told him that she could no longer go on deck, because she had
+no shoes. 'Is that all?' said he; 'I have an old pair somewhere in my
+chest; I will bring them; you, madam, can cut them to shape, and I
+will sew them as well as I can. On board ship, you must put up with
+many things. It is not the place to be too nice and particular.' He
+did not wait for my reply, but went in quest of his shoes, which he
+brought to us with an air of exultation, and offered them to Hortense,
+who received them with eager delight. We set to work with zeal, and
+Hortense enjoyed the delight of furnishing the evening's diversion to
+the crew. I repeat that no present was ever received by me with more
+pleasure than this pair of old, coarse, leather shoes."
+
+The motive of Josephine in returning to France was to be near her
+husband, who was a prominent actor in the scenes of the French
+revolution. Knowing the warmth of his political feelings, she
+trembled for his safety; her past resentment vanished. She sought a
+reconciliation, which he most cordially desired.
+
+Passing onward in our story, we find Madame de Beauharnais a widow and
+a prisoner. Her husband, after filling the offices of president of the
+Convention, and general-in-chief of the army of the Rhine, had, during
+the reign of terror, perished on the scaffold. On the same day on
+which this event was communicated to her, she received an intimation
+to prepare herself for death. But she had found a new source of
+strength. Her mind, in reverting to past scenes dwelt upon the almost
+forgotten prophecy of the negress. Her imagination was excited; it
+began to appear less and less absurd to her, and finally terminated in
+her almost certain belief. The following relation was made by herself
+at Navarre:--
+
+"The jailer came one morning to the room occupied by the Duchess
+d'Aiguillon, two other ladies, and myself, and said that he came to
+remove my bed, which was to be given to another prisoner. 'Why give it
+away?' said the duchess eagerly: 'is, then, Madame de Beauharnais to
+have a better?' 'No, no; she will not need one at all,' said the
+wretch, with an atrocious smile; 'she is to be taken to a new
+lodging, and thence to the guillotine.' On hearing this, my companions
+shrieked aloud. I endeavored to console them. At length, wearied
+with their continued lamentations, I told them their grief was
+quite unreasonable; that not only I should not die, but that I should
+be queen of France. 'Why do you not at once name the persons of your
+household?' said Madame d'Aiguillon, with an air of resentment.
+'Very true; I had quite forgotten it. Well, my dear, you shall be lady
+of honor; you may rely upon my promise.' The tears of the ladies
+now flowed afresh, for my composure made them think that my reason was
+affected. I assure you, however, that there was no affectation of
+courage on my part; I felt a conviction that the oracle would be
+fulfilled. Madame d'Aiguillon grew faint, and I led her towards the
+window, which I threw open, that she might breathe the fresh air;
+I suddenly caught sight of a poor woman who was making signs to us.
+She was laying hold of her gown at every moment--a sign which we were
+at a loss to understand. At length I cried out to her,' _Robe_.' She
+nodded in assent, and then, picking up a stone, held it up with
+her other hand. '_Pierre_,' I cried out. Her joy was unbounded when
+we understood her; and, bringing the gown close to the stone, she
+made quick and repeated signs of cutting her throat, and began to
+dance and clap her hands. This strange pantomime excited an emotion
+in our minds which it is impossible to describe, as we ventured to
+hope that it gave us the announcement of _Robespierre's_ death.
+
+"Whilst we were in this state of suspense, we heard a great noise in
+the passage, and the formidable voice of the keeper, who, giving a
+kick to his dog, said to the animal, 'Get out of the way, you d--d
+brute of a Robespierre.' This energetic phraseology proved to us that
+France was rid of her tyrant. In fact, our companions in misfortune
+came in soon afterwards, and gave us the details of the important
+event. My hammock was brought back to me, and I never enjoyed a
+quieter night. I fell asleep, after saying to my friends, 'You see
+that I am not guillotined; I shall yet be queen of France!'"
+
+Notwithstanding this confidence, Josephine had devoted a portion of
+her last day to writing a last farewell to her children. Here are
+extracts from it: "My children, your father is dead, and your mother
+is about to follow him; but as, before that final stroke, the
+assassins leave me a few moments to myself, I wish to employ them in
+writing to you. Socrates, when condemned, philosophized with his
+disciples; a mother, on the point of undergoing a similar fate, may
+discourse with her children. My last sigh will be for you, and I wish
+to make my last words a lasting lesson. Time was, when I gave you
+lessons in a more pleasing way; but the present will not be the less
+useful, that it is given at so serious a moment. I have the weakness
+to water it with my tears; I shall soon have the courage to seal it
+with my blood. * * * I am about to die as your father died, a victim
+of the fury he always opposed, but to which he fell a sacrifice. I
+leave life without hatred of France and its assassins; but I am
+penetrated with sorrow for the misfortunes of my country. Honor my
+memory in sharing my sentiments. I leave for your inheritance the
+glory of your father, and the name of your mother, whom some who have
+been unfortunate will bear in remembrance." In more prosperous days,
+the poor and the distressed had ever found Josephine's heart and hand
+open for their relief. She was now herself obliged to rely upon the
+benevolence of others for her own subsistence, and of the services she
+then received, she ever retained a grateful recollection. She had been
+most affected by the attentions of Madame Dumoulin, and felt great
+delight, in after years, in adverting to the subject. At this period
+of general scarcity, this benevolent lady every day entertained at her
+table a party of those whose means were more limited. Madame de
+Beauharnais was a regular guest. Bread was at this time so scarce as
+to be a subject of legal enactment, restricting the quantity allowed
+to each person to two ounces. Guests at the houses of the most
+opulent, even, were expected to bring their own bread. Aware that
+Madame de Beauharnais was in more distressed circumstances than the
+rest, Madame Dumoulin dispensed with this practice in her favor,
+thereby justifying the expression of the latter, that she received
+_her daily bread_ from her.
+
+Tallien, Barras, and those who succeeded to power, on the fall of the
+terrorists, being themselves not destitute of refinement, were
+desirous that society should emerge from the state of barbarism into
+which it had fallen. Madame Tallien, distinguished for grace, beauty,
+and brilliancy of wit, exerted all her charms to diffuse a taste for
+the courtesies and amenities of civilized life, and thus to soften the
+sanguinary spirit which had led to so many atrocities. Calling to her
+assistance her intimate friend, Madame de Beauharnais, the task was
+soon, to some extent, accomplished. Private individuals did not yet
+dare to make any show of wealth by receiving company habitually at
+their own houses. Public balls, and public concerts at the Hotels
+Thelusson and Richelieu, were the fashion. Here persons of all
+opinions, of all castes, intermingled, and laughed and danced together
+in the utmost harmony. The influence of Madame Tallien was at this
+time very great, and under her protection many an _emigre_ returned,
+and many a royalist emerged from the hiding-place to figure in these
+gay scenes. Most of them submitted with a good grace to the new order
+of things. It sometimes chanced, however, that curiosity or ennui
+would lead thither some who could not so readily lay aside feelings
+and habits acquired under the old _regime_, and scenes would occur not
+a little amusing to the philosophic observer, who, had he possessed
+the gift of second sight, would have been doubly amused. One of these
+is thus related by a contemporary. Madame de D. was one evening
+persuaded, by the old Marquis d'Hautefort, so far to lay aside her
+prejudices as to accompany him, with her daughter, to a ball at
+Thelusson's. The party arrived late. The room was crowded. By dint of
+elbowing and entreaties, they reached the centre. To find two seats
+together was impossible, and Madame de D., who was not of a timid
+nature, looked about on all sides to find at least one. Her eyes
+encountered a young and charming face, surrounded by a profusion of
+light hair, looking slyly forth from a pair of large, dark-blue eyes,
+and exhibiting altogether the image of the most graceful of sylphs.
+This young lady was conducted back to her seat by M. de T., which
+proved that she danced well; for none other were invited to be his
+partners. The graceful creature, after courtesying, with a blush, to
+the Vestris of the ball-rooms, sat down by the side of a female, who
+appeared to be her elder sister, and whose elegant dress excited the
+notice and envy of all the women at the ball. "Who are those persons?"
+said Madame de D. "What, is it possible that you do not know the
+Viscountess Beauharnais?" said the marquis. "It is she and her
+daughter. There is a vacant place by her; come and sit down; you may
+renew your acquaintance with her." Madame de D., without making any
+reply, gave such a tug at the arm of the marquis as to draw him,
+whether he would or not, into one of the little saloons. "Are you
+mad?" said she to him. "A pretty place, truly, by the side of Madame
+Beauharnais! Ernestine would of course have been obliged to make
+acquaintance with her daughter. Marquis, you must have lost your
+wits."
+
+In the month of May, 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte came to Paris. His
+energies and talents had already attracted the notice of some of the
+leading men, especially of Barras, who had witnessed his conduct at
+Toulon. Upon the establishment of the Directory, he was appointed
+general-in-chief of the army of the interior, and commandant of Paris.
+In this latter capacity he had his first particular interview with
+Josephine. It had been his duty to disarm the citizens, and he had
+thus become possessed of the sword of Viscount Beauharnais. Eugene,
+who had a reverential admiration of his father, wished to obtain so
+precious a relic. Though not yet fourteen, he presented himself at the
+levee of the commander-in-chief, and solicited the restoration of his
+father's sword. His frank and gallant bearing pleased the general, who
+immediately granted the request.
+
+The next day, Madame Beauharnais called at the head-quarters, to thank
+the general for his condescension to her son. They had before met at
+the table of Barras; but a disappointed, and, in some degree,
+disgraced officer was not likely to attract the regards of one already
+looked upon as among the most distinguished ladies in France. But the
+circumstances of their present interview served to infuse a particular
+interest into their previous acquaintance. Bonaparte returned the
+visit. He became a suitor in his turn. Josephine, besides her intimacy
+with Madame Tallien, herself exerted great influence over those in
+power, and could do much to secure the position of the young soldier.
+Ambition, as well as love, being his prompters, Bonaparte was not the
+man to fail, gifted, as he appears to have been, from Josephine's own
+confession, with unequalled powers of persuasion. The nuptials were
+celebrated March 9th, 1796, and twelve days after, Bonaparte left
+Paris to take the command of the army of Italy--an appointment which
+Barras had promised, as it were, as a dowry for Josephine.
+
+Amidst the exciting, and, one would think, all-absorbing events of
+that wonderful campaign, Josephine was always in the thoughts of the
+youthful conqueror. His constant letters breathe the most romantic
+passion, couched in the most ardent language. By some accident, the
+glass of a miniature of his bride, which he constantly wore about his
+person, was broken; how he knew not. This simple occurrence he
+conceived to be a prognostication of the death of the original, and
+enjoyed no peace of mind, until a courier, despatched express,
+returned with tidings of her safety.
+
+The campaign finished, Josephine joined her husband at the head-quarters
+at Montebello, where a crowd of princes, nobles, and ambassadors,
+had assembled to settle with the conqueror the terms of peace. Add
+to these a crowd of young and gallant Frenchmen, the officers of the
+army, flushed with victory, and we have a picture of a court as
+brilliant as can well be conceived. All vied in assiduous attention
+to her who was beloved and honored by the general. All was joy and
+festivity. The most magnificent entertainments were varied by
+excursions among the enchanting scenery around. For all this Josephine
+was indebted to her husband, and it was all enjoyed in his company. In
+after life, she often reverted to this as the happiest period of her
+existence. Of her conduct in this new position, Bonaparte himself
+remarked, "I conquer provinces, Josephine gains hearts."
+
+When the expedition to Egypt was determined upon, a new armament was
+to be organized, and great difficulties to be overcome. While her
+husband passed the day, and frequently great part of the night, in his
+cabinet, or at the Luxemburg, in wringing from the Directory reluctant
+consent to his measures, Josephine, in the saloon, was equally active
+in attaching new or confirming old adherents. Never were those
+conciliating manners for which she was so celebrated more successfully
+employed, than in the dawn of her husband's fortunes. Not a few were
+thus won to a standard which they were destined to display over so
+many prostrate capitals of Europe. Under her auspices, too, were
+formed some unions, more in consonance with her own gentle nature.
+"Habit," said the empress, long afterwards, "has rendered the practice
+familiar; but there is only one occasion on which I should voluntarily
+say, _I will_; namely, when I would say, _I will_ that all around me
+be happy."
+
+The greater portion of the time of her husband's absence in the East
+was passed by her at Malmaison, an estate which she purchased, about
+twelve miles from Paris. Here she occupied herself in the education of
+her daughter, in the improvement of the grounds, and in watching over
+and securing the interests of her husband. To this end it was
+necessary that she should see much company; but she received none to
+her intimacy, except a few of her ancient female friends.
+
+Leading a life above reproach, there were about her concealed enemies,
+who watched in order to misrepresent every action; of these the most
+active were her own brothers and sisters-in-law, who, needy and
+rapacious, and totally dependent on their brother, viewed with jealous
+alarm any influence which threatened the exclusive dominion they
+wished to maintain over his mind. In the Syrian camp there were found
+creatures base enough to be the instruments of conveying their
+slanders to their destination. A repetition of these produced at
+length some effect on the jealous temper of the husband, as was
+obvious from the altered tone of his letters, which had hitherto been
+full of the most tender and confiding affection. On his return,
+however, an explanation took place, which left not a shade of
+suspicion on his mind; nor was the union ever afterwards disturbed
+from the same cause.
+
+The crisis which Bonaparte had foreseen at length arrived; the people
+demanded the overthrow of the weak and tyrannical government. During
+the 19th of Brumaire, Josephine remained at home, in the most anxious
+inquietude, relieved, indeed, from time to time, by her husband's
+attention in despatching notes of what was passing at St. Cloud. When
+night, however, and at last morning, came, without sight, or even
+tidings, of him, she was in a condition bordering on distraction. In
+this state, she had retired to bed, when, at length, about four in the
+morning, the _Consul_ entered the apartment. A lively conversation
+ensued, and Bonaparte gayly announced that the fate of thirty
+millions of people bad passed into his hands, by the remark, "Good
+night--to-morrow we sleep in the Luxemburg."
+
+The palace of the Luxemburg was soon found "_trop etroit_,"--too
+confined,--and the consuls removed their residence to the Tuileries,
+the ancient palace of the kings, now disguised by the title of the
+"governmental palace." To the wife of the "first consul" a portion of
+the former royal apartments was assigned, and here, soon after the
+installation, she made her first essay in the grand observances of
+empire. On the evening of her first levee, the drawing-rooms were
+crowded, at an early hour, by a most brilliant assembly, and so
+numerous, that the doors of her private apartments were thrown open.
+Madame Bonaparte was announced, and entered, conducted by M. de
+Talleyrand, then minister for foreign affairs. A momentary feeling of
+disappointment may have crossed the minds of those who had looked for
+magnificence and state. Josephine was attired with the utmost
+simplicity, in a robe of white muslin: her hair, without decoration of
+any kind, and merely retained by a plain comb, fell in tresses upon
+her neck, in the most becoming negligence; a collar of pearls
+harmonized with and completed this unpretending costume. A spontaneous
+murmur of admiration followed her entrance: such were the grace and
+dignity of her deportment, that, in the absence of all the external
+attributes of rank, a stranger would have fixed upon the principal
+personage in the circle, as readily as if radiant with diamonds and
+stars of every order. Making the tour of the apartments, the
+ambassadors from foreign powers were first introduced to her. When
+these were nearly completed, the first consul entered, but without
+being announced, dressed in a plain uniform, with a sash of
+tri-colored silk. In this simplicity there were both good taste and
+sound policy. The occasion was not a royal levee; it was merely the
+first magistrate and his wife receiving the congratulations of their
+fellow-citizens.
+
+Josephine was at this time thirty-six years old; but she yet retained
+those personal advantages which usually belong only to more youthful
+years. The surpassing elegance and taste displayed in the mysteries of
+the toilet were doubtless not without their influence in prolonging
+the empire of beauty; but nature had been originally bountiful. Her
+stature was exactly that perfection which is neither too tall for
+female delicacy, nor so diminutive as to detract from dignity. Her
+person was faultlessly symmetrical, and the lightness and elasticity
+of its action gave an aerial character to her graceful carriage. Her
+features were small and finely modelled, of a Grecian cast. The
+habitual character of her countenance was a placid sweetness. "Never,"
+says a very honest admirer, "did any woman better justify the saying,
+'The eyes are the mirror of the soul.'" Josephine's were of a deep
+blue, clear and brilliant, usually lying half concealed under their
+long and silky eyelashes. The winning tenderness of her mild, subdued
+glance had a power which could tranquillize Napoleon in his darkest
+moods. Her hair was "glossy chestnut brown," harmonizing delightfully
+with a clear and transparent complexion, and neck of almost dazzling
+whiteness. Her voice has already been mentioned; it constituted one of
+her most pleasing attractions, and rendered her conversation the most
+captivating that can easily be conceived.
+
+On the 7th of May, 1800, the first consul took leave of his wife, on
+his departure for Italy. "Courage," said he, "my good Josephine! I
+shall not forget thee, nor will my absence be long." To both promises
+he was faithful. On the 2d of July, less than two months after he left
+Paris, he again slept at the Tuileries, having, in that brief space,
+broken the strength of the mighty armies which opposed him, wrested
+Italy, which the Austrians had reconquered during his absence in the
+East, again from their power, and thus laid deep the foundations of
+his future empire. During this brilliant campaign, Josephine's
+absorbing enjoyment was to read the letters from Italy. These, in the
+handwriting of the consul, or dictated to his secretary, arrived
+almost daily at Malmaison, where she had resided, superintending the
+improvements. At this period, too, she began a collection of rare
+animals; to which the power or conquests of her husband, or a grateful
+remembrance of her own kindness, brought her accessions from all
+quarters of the globe.
+
+The first consul now had leisure to enjoy the tranquillity which he
+had restored. The _jours de conge_, or _holydays_, on which, retiring
+to Malmaison, he threw off the cares of state, now came round more
+frequently. His visitors, on these occasions, were, besides the chief
+officers of state and of the army, the persons most distinguished for
+talent and for birth, the historic names of the olden time mingling
+with the new men of the revolution. Josephine received her visitors
+with elegance and grace, and with a simplicity which placed every one
+perfectly at his ease. The amusements were of the simplest kind. The
+favorite was the familiar, schoolboy game of "prison-bars." Bonaparte,
+in the selection of partisans, always chose Josephine, never suffering
+her to be in any camp but his own. When by chance she was taken
+prisoner, he seemed uneasy till she was released, making all exertions
+for that purpose, though a bad runner himself, often coming down, in
+mid career, plump upon the grass. Up again, however, he started, but
+usually so convulsed with laughter that he could not move, and the
+affair generally ended in his own captivity.
+
+But Josephine did not neglect the higher duties of her station. From
+the moment she had the power, her endeavors were used to alleviate the
+misfortunes of those whom the revolution had driven into exile, and a
+considerable portion of her income was devoted to their support. To
+the general act of amnesty, which the consul had issued on his access
+to power, there were many exceptions. To smooth the difficulties which
+lay in the way of the return of such, Josephine's influence and
+exertions were seldom denied, and rarely unsuccessful. "Josephine," as
+her husband remarked, "will not take a refusal; but, it must be
+confessed, she rarely undertakes a cause that has not propriety, at
+least, on its side."
+
+In May, 1804, destiny was fulfilled in the prediction of which
+Josephine had professed so long to believe. On the 18th of that month,
+the Senate, headed by the ex-second consul, proceeded in state to her
+apartments, and saluted her as Empress of the French. She received
+their congratulations with emotion, but with her accustomed benignity
+and grace. The succeeding night was passed by her in tears. "To be the
+wife of the _first consul_, fulfilled her utmost ambition."
+Presentiments of evil now filled her bosom. The ambition of founding a
+new dynasty had found a place in the breast of the _consul_: would not
+this increase in strength in that of the _emperor_? The hopes of
+establishing it in his own line were now little likely to be realized,
+and the enemies of Josephine had already hinted at a divorce. What
+impression these might have made had been effaced for the time by the
+grant of power to Bonaparte to name his successor in the consulship,
+and by the birth of a son to Louis, who had married Hortense, but
+especially by his undiminished affection for his wife. He now had the
+inducement of seeking, by new family ties, to secure the stability of
+his throne. But such thoughts did not permanently disturb the repose
+of Josephine. Impressions were readily made, and as quickly effaced;
+and she possessed the true secret of happiness--the art of postponing
+imaginary evil, and of enjoying the real good of the moment.
+
+In her new situation Josephine found another source of sorrow. The
+state and ceremony of the consulship had sadly marred the pleasures of
+domestic intercourse. But now she found herself alone, above the
+kindly glow of equal affections--a wretched condition for one "whose
+first desire was to be loved." She sought, however, by increased
+kindness, to lessen the distance between herself and her old friends
+and companions. Nothing could be more amiable than the reception
+which she gave to those who came to take the oaths of fidelity on
+receiving appointments in her household. She took care to remove all
+ostentatious ceremony, talked to them on familiar topics, and sought
+to make the whole pass as an agreement between two friends to love
+each other. This condescension extended even to her humble domestics,
+yet never degenerated into undignified familiarity or absence of
+self-possession, as the following little incident will show. On the
+first occasion of her leaving St. Cloud for a distant excursion as
+empress, she traversed a whole suit of apartments to give directions
+to a very subaltern person of the household. The grand steward
+ventured to remonstrate on her thus compromising her dignity. The
+empress gayly replied, "You are quite right, my good sir; such neglect
+of etiquette would be altogether inexcusable in a princess trained
+from birth to the restraints of a throne; but have the goodness to
+recollect that I have enjoyed the felicity of living so many years as
+a private individual, and do not take it amiss if I sometimes venture
+to speak kindly to my servants without an interpreter."
+
+The frequent excursions made by the court formed a principal class of
+events in Josephine's life as empress; they constituted those
+alternations which gave her most pleasure. When such journeys were in
+contemplation, none knew the hour of departure, or even the route--a
+secrecy adopted to guard against conspiracies. "We set out at such an
+hour," generally an early one, Napoleon would carelessly say, as he
+retired for the night. By the appointed hour every preparation was
+made, and the imperial travellers departed.
+
+Sometimes Josephine travelled alone; and, on such occasions, every
+thing was arranged beforehand, including the replies she was to make
+to the addresses made to her, and the presents she was to bestow. Even
+the most minute thing was set down in a huge manuscript volume, which
+Josephine diligently conned previous to every ceremony. But if any
+thing chanced to escape her memory in this multiplicity of details,
+her unpremeditated answers or arrangements were always delivered with
+so much eloquence and propriety, or marked with such perfect kindness,
+that all parties were satisfied. Sometimes, however, a little mistake
+occurred, as, for example, on departing from Rheims, Josephine
+presented the mayoress with a medalion of malakite, set with diamonds,
+using the expression, "It is the emblem of hope." Some days after, on
+seeing this absurdity in one of the journals, she could not believe
+that she had used it, and despatched a courier instantly to Napoleon,
+fearing his displeasure above all things. This occasioned the famous
+order that no journalist should report any speech of the emperor or
+empress, unless the same had previously appeared in the "_Moniteur_."
+But Josephine usually adhered with scrupulous exactness to her written
+instructions. "He has said it, and it must be right," was the constant
+remark with which she silenced all suggestions of change. On these
+excursions, every thing like vain etiquette was laid aside: every
+thing passed as if among a party of equals, on an excursion of
+pleasure, each being bound to supply a modicum to the common fund of
+enjoyment; the empress studying opportunities of showing those
+attentions which cost so little, and yet go so far in winning a way to
+the heart.
+
+Charlemagne had received the holy unction from the hands of the head
+of the Catholic church. Napoleon aspired to the same distinction, but
+with this difference,--instead of going to Rome to receive it, the
+pope was brought to Paris to administer it. He suffered much from the
+climate of France, which was too severe for his delicate health. The
+solicitude of the empress to provide for his comfort was extreme. The
+orders of the emperor had provided every thing that could be deemed
+necessary; but the observant delicacy of the empress supplied many
+wants which might else have been overlooked. Every day she sent to
+inquire after his welfare, frequently visited, and sometimes
+corresponded with him. The following letter, addressed to him, does
+equal credit to her head and to her heart:--
+
+  "THE EMPRESS TO HIS HOLINESS PIUS VII.
+
+  "Whatever experience of human change the knowledge of our religion
+  may have taught, your holiness will view, doubtless, not without
+  astonishment, an obscure woman ready to receive from your hands
+  the first among the crowns of Europe. In an event so far beyond
+  the ordinary course, she recognizes and blesses the work of the
+  Almighty, without daring to inquire into his purposes. But, holy
+  father, I should be ungrateful, even while I magnified the power
+  of God, if I poured not out my soul into the paternal bosom of him
+  who has been chosen to represent his providence--if I confided not
+  to you my secret thoughts. The first and chief of these is the
+  conviction of my own weakness and incapacity. Of myself I can do
+  nothing, or, to speak more correctly, the little I can do is
+  derived from that extraordinary man with whom my lot is cast.
+  * * * How many are the difficulties which surround the station to
+  which he has raised me! I do not speak of the corruption, which,
+  in the midst of greatness, has tainted the purest minds; I can
+  rely upon my own, so far as, in this respect, not to fear
+  elevation. But from a height whence all other dignities appear
+  mean, how shall I distinguish real poverty? Ah, truly do I feel
+  that, in becoming empress of the French, I ought also to become to
+  them as a mother. But of what avail are intentions? Deeds are what
+  the people have a right to demand of me, and your holiness, who so
+  well replies to the respectful love of your subjects by continual
+  acts of justice and benevolence, more than any other sovereign, is
+  qualified to instruct me. O, then, holy father, may you, with the
+  sacred unctions poured upon my head, not only awaken me to the
+  truth of these precepts which my heart acknowledges, but also
+  confirm the resolution of applying them to practice!"
+
+On the 2d of December, 1804, Napoleon placed the imperial crown upon
+the head of Josephine, as she knelt before him on the platform of the
+throne in the cathedral of Notre Dame. Her appearance at this moment
+was most touching; tears of deep emotion fell from her eyes; she
+remained for a space kneeling, with hands crossed upon her bosom,
+then, slowly and gracefully rising, fixed upon her husband a look of
+gratitude and tenderness. Napoleon returned the glance. It was a
+silent but conscious interchange of the hopes, the promises, and the
+memories, of years.
+
+In the spring of the following year, at Milan, Josephine received from
+her husband the crown of the ancient Lombard sovereigns. The
+festivities which followed were interrupted by a summons to put down a
+new combination against France. She resolved to accompany the emperor
+on his return to Paris, though suffering most severely from the
+rapidity of the journey. At each change of horses, it was necessary to
+throw water on the smoking wheels; yet Napoleon kept calling from the
+carriage, "On, on! We do not move!"
+
+On his departure for the splendid campaign of Austerlitz, Josephine
+was appointed regent of the empire. The victory, decisive of the fate
+of Austria, was productive of renewed pleasure to the empress, by the
+marriage of her Eugene with the princess royal of Bavaria. Joyfully
+obeying the mandate which was to restore her for a time to the society
+of those she loved, the empress left Paris for Munich, where the
+marriage was celebrated. This union proved a most happy one; and the
+domestic felicity of her son--now made viceroy of Italy--constituted,
+both in her prosperous and adverse fortunes, a cause of rejoicing to
+Josephine. Her daughter, Hortense, soon after became queen of Holland.
+Could grandeur command or insure happiness, Josephine had subsequently
+never known misfortune. Every wish, save one, was gratified. She found
+herself on the most splendid of European thrones, beloved by the
+wonderful man who had placed her there, adored by the French nation,
+and respected even by enemies. Her children occupied stations second
+only to herself, with the prospect, either directly or in their issue,
+of succeeding to empire when death should relax the giant grasp which
+now swayed the sceptre.
+
+All these brilliant prospects were closed to her by the death, in
+1807, of her grandson, the prince royal of Holland. This boy had
+gained, in an astonishing manner, upon the affections and hopes of his
+uncle, and there seems to be no reason for discrediting the belief of
+the emperor's intention to adopt him as his successor. Napoleon was
+strongly affected by the loss of his little favorite, and was often
+heard to exclaim, amidst the labors of his cabinet, "To whom shall I
+leave all this?"
+
+To Josephine this loss was irremediable: hers was a grief not less
+acute, yet greater, than a mother's sorrow; for, while she grieved for
+a beloved child, she trembled to think of the consequences to
+herself.
+
+But for two years longer she enjoyed such happiness as Damocles may be
+supposed to have felt with the sword suspended over his head. The
+final blow was not struck till 1809. On the 26th of October of that
+year, Napoleon, having once more reduced Austria to sue for peace,
+arrived most unexpectedly at Fontainbleau. The court was at St. Cloud,
+and there were none to receive him. A courier was despatched to inform
+Josephine, who instantly obeyed the summons. During the succeeding
+night, it is supposed that Napoleon first opened to her the subject of
+a separation; for from the morning of the 27th, it was evident that
+they lived in a state of constant restraint and mutual observation;
+Napoleon scarcely venturing to look upon Josephine, save when he was
+not observed; while she hung upon every glance, and trembled at every
+word, at the same time that both endeavored to be composed and natural
+in their demeanor before the courtiers. But these are quicksighted to
+detect any change of condition in their superiors; nor was it one of
+the least of Josephine's troubles to be exposed to their ingratitude.
+"In what self-restraint," said she, "did I pass the period during
+which, though no longer his wife, I was obliged to appear so to all
+eyes! Ah, what looks are those which courtiers suffer to fall upon a
+repudiated wife!" The circumstance which, more than others, excited
+suspicion, was the shutting up, by the emperor's commands, of the
+private access between their apartments. Formerly, their intercourse
+had thus been free, even amid the restraints of a court. Napoleon
+would surprise Josephine in her _boudoir_, and she would steal upon
+his moments of relaxation in his cabinet. But now all was reversed;
+the former never entered, but knocked when he would speak to the
+latter, who hardly dared to obey the signal, the sound of which caused
+such violent palpitations of the heart, that she had to support
+herself against the wall as she tottered towards the little door, on
+the other side of which Napoleon waited her approach. At these
+conferences he sought to persuade her of the political necessity and
+advantages of a separation--a measure which he at first rather hinted
+at than disclosed as a matter determined upon.
+
+But it was not the less fixed, and on the 30th of November, after
+dinner, the emperor ordered his attendants to withdraw. Of what
+passed at this interview Josephine has been the chronicler. "I
+watched," says she, "in the changing expression of his countenance
+that struggle which was in his soul. At length his features settled
+into stern resolve. I saw that my hour was come. His whole frame
+trembled; he approached, and I felt a shuddering horror come over me.
+He took my hand, placed it upon his heart, gazed upon me for a moment,
+then pronounced these fearful words: 'Josephine! my excellent
+Josephine! thou knowest if I have loved thee! To thee, to thee alone,
+do I owe the only moments of happiness which I have enjoyed in this
+world. Josephine! my destiny overmasters my will. My dearest
+affections must be silent before the interests of France. Say no
+more.' I had still strength sufficient to reply, 'I was prepared for
+this, but the blow is not the less mortal.' More I could not utter. I
+became unconscious of every thing, and, on returning to my senses,
+found I had been carried to my chamber."
+
+During the interval between the private announcement of the divorce
+and the 16th of December, the most splendid public rejoicings took
+place on the anniversary of the coronation, and in commemoration of
+the victories of the German campaign. At all these, Josephine appeared
+in the pomp and circumstance of station, and even with a smiling
+countenance, while her heart was breaking.
+
+On the 15th of December, the council of state were first officially
+informed of the intended separation. On the 16th, the whole imperial
+family assembled in the grand saloon at the Tuileries. Napoleon's was
+the only countenance which betrayed emotion. He stood motionless as a
+statue, his arms crossed upon his breast, without uttering a single
+word. The members of his family were seated around, showing in their
+expression a satisfaction that one was to be removed who had so long
+held influence, gently exerted as it had been, over their brother. In
+the centre of the apartment was an arm-chair, and before it a little
+table, with a writing apparatus of gold. A door opened, and Josephine,
+pale, but calm, appeared, leaning on the arm of her daughter. Both
+were dressed in the simplest manner. All rose on her entrance. She
+moved slowly, and with wonted grace, to the seat prepared for her,
+and, her head supported on her hand, listened to the reading of the
+act of separation. Behind her chair stood Hortense, whose sobs were
+audible; and a little farther on, towards Napoleon, Eugene, trembling,
+as if incapable of supporting himself. It had required all a mother's
+influence to prevent him, on the first announcement of that mother's
+wrongs, from abandoning the service of the wrong-doer; that influence
+had done more; it had persuaded him not only to witness her own
+renouncement of the crown, but to be present at the coronation of her
+successor.
+
+Josephine heard with composure--the tears coursing each other down her
+cheeks--the words which placed an eternal barrier between affection
+and its object. This painful duty over, pressing for an instant the
+handkerchief to her eyes, she rose, and, in a voice but slightly
+tremulous, pronounced the oath of acceptance; then, sitting down, she
+took the pen and signed. The mother and daughter now retired,
+followed by Eugene, who appears to have suffered the most severely of
+the three; for he had no sooner reached the ante-chamber, than he fell
+lifeless on the floor.
+
+The emperor returned to his cabinet, silent and sad. He threw himself
+on a sofa in a state of complete prostration. Thus he remained for
+some minutes, his head resting on his hand; and, when he rose, his
+features were distorted. Orders had previously been given to proceed
+to Trianon. When the carriages were announced, he took his hat, and
+proceeded by the private staircase to the apartment of Josephine. She
+was alone. At the noise caused by the entrance of the emperor, she
+rose quickly, and threw herself, sobbing, on his neck: he held her to
+his breast, and embraced her several times; but, overcome by her
+emotions, she fainted. As soon as she exhibited signs of returning
+sensation, the emperor, wishing to avoid the renewal of a scene of
+grief which he could not calm, placing her in the arms of an officer
+who had attended him, and who relates the occurrence, he withdrew
+rapidly to his carriage. Josephine immediately perceived his absence,
+and her sobs and moans increased. Her female attendants, who had come
+in, placed her on a couch. In her agony, she seized the hands of the
+officer, and besought him to tell the emperor not to forget her, and
+to assure him that her attachment would survive all contingencies. It
+was with difficulty that she suffered him to leave her, as if his
+absence severed the last link by which she still held to the emperor.
+
+Henceforward, the life of Josephine, passed either at Malmaison
+or Navarre, offers but few incidents. The emperor would not suffer
+any change to be made in the regal state to which she had been
+accustomed at the Tuileries. Her household was on a scale of
+imperial magnificence. She continued to receive the visits, almost
+the homage, of the members of the court of Napoleon and Maria Louisa;
+for it was quickly discovered, that, however unpleasant to her new
+rival, such visits were recommendations to the emperor's favor. The
+apartments in which the empress received her guests were elegant, the
+furniture being covered with needle-work, wrought by the empress and
+her ladies; but the residence altogether was small--an inconvenience
+increased through Josephine's veneration of every thing that had
+been Napoleon's. The apartment he had occupied remained exactly as
+he had left it; she would not suffer a chair to be moved, and,
+indeed, very rarely permitted any person to enter, keeping the key
+herself, and dusting the articles with her own hands. On the table
+was a volume of history, with the page doubled down where he had
+finished reading; beside it lay a pen, with the ink dried upon the
+point, and a map of the world, on which he was accustomed to point
+out his plans to those in his confidence, and which still showed on
+its surface many marks of his impatience. These Josephine would
+allow to be touched on no account. By the wall stood his camp-bed,
+without curtains; above hung his arms; on different pieces of
+furniture lay different articles of apparel, just as Napoleon had
+flung them from him.
+
+It was long before the harassed feelings of Josephine were
+sufficiently calmed to take any interest in common affairs. So severe
+had been her sufferings, that it was six months before her sight
+recovered from the effects of inflammation and swelling of the eyes.
+The first circumstance which produced something like a change for the
+better, was her removal to Navarre, the repairing of which became at
+once a source of amusement and a means of benevolence. This once royal
+residence had suffered from the revolution, and was nearly in a state
+of dilapidation. The restoration of the buildings and grounds
+furnished employment to great numbers of people; and Josephine, in
+addition to the pleasures of planting and agriculture, enjoyed the
+delight--to her more dear--of spreading comfort and fertility over a
+region where before reigned extreme misery.
+
+Her life at Navarre was now more agreeable to her, because free from
+the restraints of etiquette. Though constantly surrounded by the pomp
+of a court, her courtiers were for the most part old and valued
+friends, with whom she lived rather in society, than as mistress and
+dependants. She exhausted every means to render their retreat
+agreeable to them--a retreat, however, recompensed by salaries equal
+to those of the imperial court, and which conciliated Napoleon's
+approval. Benevolence and kindliness of feeling were the leading
+traits of Josephine's character; besides distributing, by the hands of
+competent and pious persons, a large portion of her limited revenues
+in relieving distress wherever it occurred, she kept constantly about
+her a number of young ladies, orphans of ancient houses, now fallen
+into decay, to whom she not only gave an accomplished education, but
+watched over their establishment in life with parental solicitude.
+
+The first event of importance which broke in upon the tranquillity of
+Josephine's life, was the birth of the king of Rome. It happened that
+the whole household were at Evreux, at a grand entertainment, when the
+news reached that place. The party returned immediately to the palace,
+where Josephine had remained. "I confess," says a youthful member of
+the party, "that my boundless affection for Josephine caused me
+violent sorrow, when I thought that she who occupied her place was now
+completely happy. Knowing but imperfectly the grandeur of soul which
+characterized the empress, her absolute devotion to the happiness of
+the emperor, I imagined there must still remain in her so much of the
+woman as would excite bitter regret at not having been the mother of a
+son so ardently desired. I judged like a frivolous person, who had
+never known cares beyond those of a ball. On arriving at the palace, I
+learned how to appreciate one who had been so long the cherished
+companion, and always the true friend, of Napoleon. I beheld every
+face beaming with joy, and Josephine's more radiant than any. No
+sooner had the party entered than she eagerly asked for details. 'How
+happy,' said she, 'the emperor must be! I rejoice that my painful
+sacrifice has proved so useful for France. One thing only makes me
+sad; not having been informed of his happiness by the emperor himself;
+but then he had so many orders to give, so many congratulations to
+receive. Yes, ladies, there must be a _fete_ to celebrate this event;
+the whole city of Evreux must come to rejoice with us; I can never
+have too many people on this occasion.'"
+
+[Illustration: MARIA LOUISA.]
+
+The emperor's omission seems to have greatly pained Josephine; for the
+same night she wrote him a delicate and touching letter, from which
+these are extracts:--
+
+"Sire,--Amid the numerous felicitations which you receive from every
+corner of Europe, can the feeble voice of a woman reach your ear, and
+will you deign to listen to her who has so often consoled your
+sorrows, and sweetened your pains, now that she speaks to you only of
+that happiness in which all your wishes are fulfilled? Having ceased
+to be your wife, dare I felicitate you on becoming a father? Yes,
+sire, without hesitation; for my soul renders justice to yours, as you
+know mine. Though separated, we are united by a sympathy which
+survives all events. I should have desired to learn the birth of the
+king of Rome from yourself, and not from the cannons of Evreux; but I
+know that your first attentions are due to the public authorities, to
+your own family, and especially to the fortunate princess who has
+realized your dearest hopes. She cannot be more devoted to you than I;
+but she has been enabled to contribute more towards your happiness, by
+securing that of France. Not till you have ceased to watch by her bed,
+not till you are weary of embracing your son, will you take the pen to
+converse with your best friend. I wait."
+
+The next day, Eugene arrived, charged with a message from the emperor:
+"Tell your mother," said he, "that I am certain she will rejoice more
+than any one at my good fortune. I would have written to her already,
+had I not been completely absorbed in looking at my son. I tear myself
+from him only to attend to the most indispensable duties. This evening
+I will discharge the sweetest of all--I will write to Josephine."
+Accordingly, about eleven o'clock the same evening, the folding-doors
+were opened in great form, and the announcement, "From the emperor,"
+ushered in one of his own pages, bearer of a letter from Napoleon. The
+empress retired to read this ardently-desired epistle; and on her
+return it was easy to see that she had been weeping. The curiosity of
+her court was gratified by hearing various portions of the letter,
+which concluded in these words: "This infant, in concert with _our
+Eugene_, will constitute my happiness, and that of France." "Is it
+possible," said Josephine, "to be more amiable? or could any thing be
+better calculated to soothe whatever might be painful in my thoughts
+at this moment, did I not so ardently love the emperor? This uniting
+of my son with his own is worthy of him, who, when he wills, is the
+most delightful man in the world."
+
+From their separation, the correspondence between Napoleon and
+Josephine continued undiminished in respect and affection. Notes from
+the emperor arrived weekly, and he never returned from any journey or
+long absence without seeing the "illustrious solitary." No sooner had
+he alighted, than a messenger, usually his own confidential attendant,
+was despatched to Malmaison: "Tell the empress I am well, and desire
+to hear that she is happy." In every thing Napoleon continued to
+evince for her the most confiding tenderness. All the private griefs
+in which Josephine had shared, and the sorrows to which she had
+ministered, were still disclosed to her. He gave a further proof of it
+by allowing her frequently to see his son--a communication which the
+jealous temper of Maria Louisa would have sought to prevent, had it
+not been secretly managed. Josephine had so far complied with the
+wishes of the emperor as to attempt an intercourse with her successor.
+"But the latter," to use Josephine's own words, "rejected the proposal
+in a manner which prevented me from renewing it. I am sorry for it;
+her presence would have given me no uneasiness, and I might have
+bestowed good counsel as to the best means of pleasing the emperor."
+
+The personal intercourse between Napoleon and Josephine was conducted
+with the most decorous attention to appearances. It ended in one
+hurried and distressful interview after the return of Napoleon from
+his disastrous Russian campaign. But in the midst of the tremendous
+struggle that followed, Napoleon found leisure to think of her. His
+letters to her were more frequent and more affectionate than ever,
+while hers, written by every opportunity, were perused, under all
+circumstances, with a promptitude which showed clearly the pleasure or
+the consolation that was expected: in fact, it was observed that
+letters from Malmaison or Navarre were always torn rather than broken
+open, and read, whatever else might be retarded.
+
+On the approach of the allies to Paris, Josephine retired from
+Malmaison to Navarre. Her only pleasure, during the period of painful
+uncertainty which followed, was to shut herself up alone, and read
+the letters she had last received from the emperor. A letter from him
+at last put an end to all uncertainty; it announced his fall and his
+retirement to Elba. The perusal of it overwhelmed her with grief and
+consternation; but, recovering herself, she exclaimed, with
+impassioned energy, "I must not remain here: my presence is necessary
+to the emperor. The duty is, indeed, more Maria Louisa's than mine;
+but the emperor is alone, forsaken. I, at least, will not abandon
+him." Tears came to her relief. She became more composed, and added,
+"I may, however, interfere with his arrangements. I will remain here
+till I hear from the allied sovereigns. They will respect her who was
+the wife of Napoleon." Nor was she deceived. The Emperor Alexander
+sent assurances of his friendship, and the other allies united in a
+request that she would return to Malmaison. Here every thing was
+maintained on its former footing. Her court, elegant as ever, was
+frequented by the most distinguished personages of Europe. Among the
+earliest visitors was Alexander. Josephine received him with her
+wonted grace, and expressed how much she felt on the occasion.
+"Madam," replied Alexander, "I burned with the desire of beholding
+you. Since I entered France, I have never heard your name pronounced
+but with benedictions. In the cottage and in the palace I have
+collected accounts of your goodness; and I do myself a pleasure in
+thus presenting to your majesty the universal homage of which I am the
+bearer." The king of Prussia also visited her, and she received
+attentions even from the Bourbons. Her children were protected, and
+Eugene was offered his rank as marshal of France; but he declined it.
+
+The health of Josephine, which had been undermined by previous
+sufferings, sunk entirely under these new and agitating emotions. On
+the 4th of May, 1814, she became, for the first time, decidedly ill.
+The Emperor Alexander was unremitting in his attentions to her, and to
+him her last words were addressed. "I shall die regretted. I have
+always desired the happiness of France; I did all in my power to
+contribute to it; I can say with truth, that the first wife of
+Napoleon never caused a single tear to flow." She then sunk into a
+gentle slumber, from which she never awoke.
+
+The funeral procession, which was headed by representatives of the
+sovereigns of Russia and Prussia, and was composed of princes,
+marshals, and generals, the most celebrated in Europe, was closed by
+two thousand _poor_, who had voluntarily come to pay their last
+tribute to the memory of their benefactor and friend. The spot where
+her remains are buried is marked by a monument of white marble,
+bearing this simple, yet touching inscription:--
+
+    "EUGENE AND HORTENSE TO JOSEPHINE."
+
+
+
+
+MARIE ANTOINETTE.
+
+
+Jeanne Josephe Marie Antoinette, of Lorraine, archduchess of Austria,
+the unfortunate queen of Louis XVI. of France, was the daughter of
+Francis I. and Maria Theresa, and was born at Vienna, in 1755. She was
+educated with the utmost care, and nature had bestowed upon her the
+highest beauty of person. Her accomplishments, talents, grace, virtue,
+and uncommon loveliness, fitted her for the queen of a gallant nation;
+and as such she would have been honored in France, had she lived
+before oppression had roused the people to madness. Her mother, in a
+letter to her future husband, after alluding to the care with which
+she had formed her mind, says, "Your bride, dear dauphin, is separated
+from me. As she has ever been my delight, so she will be your
+happiness. For this purpose, I have enjoined upon her, as among her
+highest duties, the most tender attachment to your person, the
+greatest attention to every thing that can please or make you happy.
+Above all things, I have recommended to her humility towards God,
+because I am convinced that it is impossible for us to secure the
+happiness of the subjects confided to us without love to Him who
+destroys the sceptres and the thrones of kings according to his
+will."
+
+The marriage took place at Versailles, May 16th, 1770, and was
+celebrated with uncommon splendor; but, immediately after the
+ceremony, a thunder-storm of unparalleled violence broke over the
+palace of Versailles, darkened the surrounding scenery, and struck
+terror into the hearts of the people for miles around. On May 30th,
+the festivities at Paris were saddened by a most terrible accident; a
+number of citizens being crushed to death in the Rue Royale, by some
+mismanagement on the part of the proper authorities. Fifty-three
+persons were found dead, and three hundred more were dangerously
+injured.
+
+[Illustration: MARIE ANTOINETTE AT THE SCAFFOLD.]
+
+The magnanimity of Marie Antoinette displayed itself soon after her
+elevation to the throne, on the death of Louis XV. An officer of the
+body-guard, who had given her offence on some former occasion,
+expressed his intention of resigning his commission; but the queen
+forbade him. "Remain," said she; "forget the past. Far be it from the
+queen of France to revenge the injuries of the dauphiness." She
+devoted herself to the interests of her people with an assiduity
+unparalleled in a sovereign of her age; yet, becoming obnoxious to the
+court party, her character was assailed in every shape and quarter;
+she was accused of setting on foot conspiracies which never existed,
+and of entertaining views which never entered her mind. She was termed
+the _Austrian_, and it was openly asserted, as well as privately
+insinuated, that her heart was estranged from the country of her
+husband, and her mind solely occupied with the interests of her
+native land.
+
+In her conduct, there was matter for gentle reproof, but none for
+malevolent accusation. A gayety which sometimes degenerated into
+levity, a passion for fashionable novelties, and an undisguised
+contempt for court formalities, instead of being regarded as the
+foibles and imprudences of a young and innocent mind, were construed
+into evidences of the existence of loose principles, unbridled
+extravagance, and hatred for the nation. She was likewise charged with
+pettishness under reproof; and we can readily conceive how a female of
+so high a rank, conscious of the purity of her intentions, and
+perpetually assailed by reckless cavillers, assumed, in reply to the
+unworthy insinuations of her enemies, the tone which her virtue and
+her birth appeared to warrant. The affair of the diamond necklace
+created an extraordinary sensation. A jeweller at Paris demanded
+payment for a necklace so costly that the finances of a queen would
+hardly warrant its purchase. The result of an examination was the
+proof of the queen's integrity.
+
+On the 6th October, 1789, the mob broke into the palace of Versailles,
+murdered some of the bodyguards, and threatened the queen in the most
+frightful language. At midnight, she received a letter from a friendly
+clergyman, advising her to seek safety in flight, as her life would be
+sacrificed early the next morning. She resolved to remain, and
+destroyed the warning letter. She heard the footsteps of the ruffian
+rabble; she thought her time had come, but her life was saved. The
+progress of the ruffians was arrested at the very door of her
+chamber, where her faithful guardsmen laid down their lives to secure
+for their queen a retreat to the chamber of the king. The king and
+queen showed themselves, with their children, in the balcony. The mass
+of heads beneath for a moment ceased to be agitated; but it was only
+for a moment. Silence was broken by a thousand tongues--"No
+children--no children! The queen! the queen alone!"
+
+This was a trying moment; but Antoinette had firmness for the crisis.
+Putting her son and daughter into her husband's arms, she advanced
+alone into the balcony. A spectacle like this filled the fierce people
+with admiration, and thundering sounds of "_Vive la Reine!_" succeeded
+to the imprecations of the preceding moment. Such is the fickleness of
+a mob! The march to Paris was a succession of terrors! The heads of
+the two faithful guardsmen, elevated on pikes, met the eyes of the
+poor queen as she looked from her carriage windows.
+
+The fate of Antoinette darkened rapidly. With the king, she fled to
+Varennes--with him was brought back to Paris. Her courage did not fail
+in the scene of the Legislative Assembly, before which body she was
+present with her husband, heard his deposition pronounced, and then
+went into the Temple, where he was imprisoned. Here, where the light
+of heaven faintly fell through grated windows, surrounded by her
+family, she appeared to feel entire resignation to the will of Him on
+whom the happiness of the humblest individual depends. When she heard
+the condemnation of the king from the lips of the royal victim, she
+had the firmness to congratulate him on the speedy delivery from
+trouble that awaited him. Her eternal separation from her son did not
+shake her firmness, and, with a heart apparently unbroken, she was
+consigned to the loathsome depths of a dungeon, August 5th, 1793.
+
+The accusations brought against the unhappy queen, on her trial, were
+all unfounded, and merely advanced because her enemies had still
+respect enough for justice to mimic its forms in their guilty court.
+She was charged with having squandered the public money, and with
+leaguing in secret with the common enemies of France. The clearness of
+her innocence, the falsehood and frivolity of the witnesses, the
+eloquence of the defenders, and her own noble bearing, were of no
+avail: Marie Antoinette was doomed to die upon the scaffold.
+
+The expression of her countenance, as she passed to the place of
+execution, awed the bloodthirsty populace; but the once matchless
+beauty of that noble countenance was gone forever. One unacquainted
+with the ravages of grief could not believe that the haggard and
+forsaken being whom they led to sacrifice, was the same young queen,
+who, a short time before, held in thrall the chivalry of France, by
+her exquisite loveliness, her winning grace, and sportive gayety.
+Antoinette cast back a long, last look at the Tuileries--a look which
+told of sorrowful remembrance and of agonizing emotion; then, with an
+air of dignified resignation, she ascended the scaffold. "My God,"
+cried she, as she kneeled on that fatal platform, "enlighten and
+affect my executioner! Adieu, my children, my beloved ones: I am
+going to your father!" Thus she perished, in her thirty-eighth year,
+October 16th, 1793.
+
+In the gayety of youth and the sunshine of prosperity, Marie
+Antoinette had exhibited some foibles amid many virtues. In the
+beginning of her trials, she displayed, as well as those around her,
+serious mistakes of judgment; but in the dark hour of adversity, she
+exhibited a spectacle of truth, firmness, and dignity, hardly less
+than sublime. When confined with her family in the prison of the
+Temple, with only a glimmering ray of light stealing through the iron
+bars, she displayed the utmost calmness, cheered all around with her
+counsel and example, and taught them to disregard privation, sickness,
+and suffering.
+
+When her husband told her that he was condemned to the scaffold, she
+congratulated him upon the speedy termination of an existence so
+painful, and the unperishing reward that should crown it. Before the
+Revolutionary Tribunal she was unabashed, and, when accused of a
+horrid crime, she put her traducers to shame by exclaiming, "I appeal
+to every mother here whether such an act be possible!" In solitude,
+and in the depths of a damp and loathsome dungeon, where she was
+confined for weeks, she was still serene and uncomplaining. In parting
+with her son; in taking a last adieu of the palace which had witnessed
+her triumphs; in facing the scaffold, and the wretches around it; and
+in bidding a final farewell to life,--Marie Antoinette evinced that
+patient, deep, and touching heroism which a woman and a Christian
+alone can display.
+
+
+
+
+MADAME ROLAND.
+
+
+When, in May, 1793, Robespierre and the Mountain effected the final
+overthrow of the Girondists--the moderate party of the French
+revolutionists--M. Roland, who had recently resigned his office in the
+ministry, was forced to flee, and his wife was thrown into prison. To
+solace the sad hours of her captivity, she began to write her own
+Memoirs. "I propose to myself," she says, "to employ the leisure hours
+of my captivity in relating the history of my life, from my infancy to
+the present time. Thus to retrace the steps of one's career is to live
+a second time; and what better can a prisoner do than, by a happy
+fiction, or by interesting recollections, to transport herself from
+her prison?"
+
+Her Memoirs are dated at the "Prison of St. Pelagie, August 9th,
+1793," and she thus commences: "Daughter of an artist, wife of a
+philosopher, who, when a minister of state, remained a man of virtue;
+now a prisoner, destined, perhaps, to a violent and unexpected
+death,--I have known happiness and adversity; I have learned what
+glory is, and have suffered injustice. Born in an humble condition,
+but of respectable parents, I passed my youth in the bosom of the
+arts, and amidst the delights of study; knowing no superiority but
+that of merit, no grandeur but that of virtue."
+
+Her father, Gratien Philipon, was an engraver. During the early years
+of Manon's life, he was well off, employing many workmen under him.
+His wife possessed little of what is called knowledge, but she had a
+discerning judgment and a gentle and affectionate disposition. By her
+example, as well as by the course of education which her disposition
+led her to pursue, she formed in her daughter the same gentle,
+feminine spirit which she herself possessed.
+
+"The wisdom and kindness of my mother," says Madame Roland, "quickly
+acquired over my gentle and tender character an ascendency which was
+used only for my good. It was so great that, in those slight,
+inevitable differences between reason which governs and childhood
+which resists, she had need to resort to no other punishment than to
+call me, coldly, _Mademoiselle_, and to regard me with a severe
+countenance. I feel, even now, the impression made on me by her look,
+which at other times was so tender and caressing. I hear, almost with
+shivering, the word _mademoiselle_ substituted for the sweet name of
+_daughter_, or the tender appellation of _Manon_. Yes, Manon; it was
+thus they called me: I am sorry for the lovers of romances, the name
+is not noble; it suits not a dignified heroine; but, nevertheless, it
+was mine, and it is a history that I am writing. But the most
+fastidious would have been reconciled to the name, had they heard my
+mother pronounce it, or had they seen her who bore it. No expression
+wanted grace, when accompanied by the affectionate tone of my mother;
+when her touching voice penetrated my soul, did it teach me to
+resemble her? Lively without being ever rompish, and naturally
+retiring, I asked only to be occupied, and seized with quickness the
+ideas which were presented to me. This disposition was so well taken
+advantage of, that I do not remember learning to read: I have heard
+that I did so before I was four years old, and that, after that time,
+nothing more was required than to supply me with books."
+
+Her passion for these was subjected to little guidance or control; she
+read whatever chance threw in her way; they were, for the most part,
+of a serious character--Locke, Pascal, Burlamaque, Montesquieu;
+relieved, however, by works on history, the poems of Voltaire, Don
+Quixote, and some of the popular romances; but, as these were few in
+number, she was compelled to read them often, and thus acquired a
+habit of thought. When she was nine years old, Plutarch's Lives fell
+in her way, and more delighted her than any romance or fairy tale. The
+book became her bosom companion; and from that moment, she says, "she
+dated the ideas and impressions which made her a republican without
+her knowing that she was becoming one."
+
+"But this child, who was accustomed to read serious books, could
+explain the circles of the celestial sphere, could use the pencil and
+the graver, and at eight years old was the best dancer in a party of
+girls older than herself, assembled for a family festival. The same
+child was often called to the kitchen to prepare an omelette, wash
+herbs, or to skim the pot. This mixture of grave studies, agreeable
+exercise, and domestic cares, ordered and regulated by the wisdom of
+my mother, rendered me fit for all circumstances, seemed to
+anticipate the vicissitudes of my fortune, and has aided me in bearing
+them. I feel nowhere out of place; I can prepare my soup with as much
+ease as Philopemon cut wood, though no one seeing me would deem that
+such a task was fitted for me."
+
+The study of Plutarch and the ancient historians was not, perhaps,
+favorable to the happiness of Mademoiselle Philipon. She regretted
+that her lot had not been cast in a free state, which she had
+persuaded herself was the only nursery of virtue, generosity, and
+wisdom. She contrasted the state of society, as she saw it around her,
+with the ideal state of its existence in ancient Greece and Rome. She
+had once paid a visit of eight days to Versailles, and witnessed the
+routine of the court. How different were the weak and dissolute actors
+upon that tinsel and tawdry stage from the heroes and philosophers
+with whom she was wont, in imagination, to associate! She "sorrowfully
+compared the Asiatic luxury, the insolent pomp, with the abject misery
+of the degraded people, who ran after the idols of their own creating,
+and stupidly applauded the brilliant shows for which they paid out of
+their own absolute necessaries." Sometimes she was taken to visit
+certain ladies who called themselves noble, and who, looking upon her
+as an inferior, sent her to dine with the servants. But their airs of
+condescending kindness were even yet more offensive, and made her
+bosom swell with indignant emotion. She acknowledges that this feeling
+made her hail the revolution with greater transport.
+
+The daughter of a prosperous tradesman, she had many suitors of her
+own rank; but she had formed to herself a _beau ideal_ of wedded life
+which none but a man of education could satisfy; they were all
+rejected. A physician proposed; more refinement and knowledge was to
+be expected in the learned professions; she hesitated, but he also was
+rejected. In the mean time, her father's habits began to change; he
+became a speculator, fond of pleasure and careless of his business.
+His speculations failed, and his customers left him. Her mother
+witnessed the approach of poverty with anxiety; she feared for her
+daughter alone, for her own health was so feeble, that she could look
+only for a short term of life. She wished to see her daughter's
+happiness made as secure as possible, and tried to persuade her to
+accept the addresses of a young jeweller who had health and a good
+character to recommend him; but Manon wished to find in her husband a
+companion and a guide.
+
+Her mother died; and intense grief overwhelmed the daughter, both body
+and mind. It was long before she could be roused to any exertion from
+that melancholy "which made her a burden to herself and others." At
+this moment, the "Nouvelle Heloise" was placed in her hands; it
+excited her attention, and called her thoughts from her loss. "I was
+twenty-one," she says, "and Rousseau made the same impression on me as
+Plutarch had done when I was eight. Plutarch had disposed me to
+republicanism; he had awakened the energy and pride which are its
+characteristics; he inspired me with a true enthusiasm for public
+virtue and freedom. Rousseau showed me domestic happiness, and the
+ineffable felicity I was capable of tasting." She now returned to her
+studies. Her friends, among whom she numbered some literary men,
+finding that she committed her reflections to writing, predicted that
+she would become an author. But she was not ambitious of public
+distinction; she had adopted the sentiment of Rousseau, that the
+"dignity of woman is in being unknown; her glory, in the esteem of her
+husband; her pleasures, in the happiness of her family." "I saw," says
+Madame Roland, "that an authoress loses more than she gains. My chief
+object was my own happiness, and I never knew the public interfere
+with that for any one without spoiling it; there is nothing more
+delightful than to be appreciated by those with whom one lives, and
+nothing so empty as the admiration of those whom we are never to
+meet."
+
+In her school-girl days, Manon had formed a friendship with a girl of
+her own age, named Sophia, and the intercourse was still kept up by
+letters. Sophia felt the highest admiration for her friend, and often
+spoke of it. Among those who, through her, became acquainted with
+Manon's character was M. Roland, a man whose great simplicity of
+character and strict integrity had gained for him universal esteem and
+confidence. His family was not of the ancient nobles, but of official
+dignity. He was fond of study, and laborious in the pursuit of
+knowledge. He had long sought for an introduction to Mademoiselle
+Philipon, and Sophia at length gave him a letter of introduction.
+"This letter," she writes, "will be given you by the philosopher I
+have often mentioned, M. Roland, an enlightened and excellent man, who
+can only be reproached for his great admiration of the ancients at
+the expense of the moderns, whom he despises, and his weakness in
+liking to talk too much about himself."
+
+M. Roland's appearance was not calculated to make a favorable
+impression upon a young woman; his manners were cold and stiff; he was
+careless in his dress, and he had passed the meridian of life. But
+Mademoiselle Philipon discerned and appreciated his excellence, and
+received him to her friendship and confidence. For five years, this
+intercourse between them continued, before he disclosed to her the
+sentiments of love which had been making a slow, but deeply-rooted,
+growth in his heart. His proposal of marriage was not distasteful to
+her; but she was proud, and did not like to encounter the opposition
+which the match with a girl of humble birth would meet with from his
+family. Roland persisted in his addresses, and she at length referred
+him to her father. Philipon did not like the terms of his letter, and
+returned a rude answer, rejecting the proffered alliance.
+
+The result, though anticipated by Manon, was a great disappointment to
+her, and the manner in which her father had conducted, shocked her
+feelings. She had a great cause for anxiety in his general management;
+his affairs were fast approaching utter ruin; extreme poverty was
+before her; she resolved to secure her own independence, and purchased
+an annuity of about one hundred and twenty dollars. With this she
+hired a room in a convent, and lived upon the simplest food, which she
+prepared for herself: her wants were strictly limited by her means.
+
+Six months elapsed, and M. Roland once more presented himself to her
+at the convent. He renewed his offer, and it was accepted. "I
+reflected deeply," says Madame Roland, "on what I ought to do. I could
+not conceal from myself that a younger man would not have delayed, for
+several months, entreating me to change my resolution, and I confess
+this circumstance had deprived my feelings of every illusion. I
+considered, on the other hand, that this deliberation was an assurance
+that I was appreciated; and that, if he had overcome his pride, which
+shrunk from the disagreeable circumstances that accompanied his
+marrying me, I was the more secure of an esteem I could not fail to
+preserve. In short, if marriage was, as I thought, an austere union,
+an association in which the woman usually burdens herself with the
+happiness of two individuals, it were better that I should exert my
+abilities and my courage in so honorable a task, than in the solitude
+in which I lived."
+
+Such were the feelings with which she married. She was then twenty-six
+years old. She discharged with fidelity the duties she assumed. She
+was her husband's friend and companion, and soon became absolutely
+necessary to him. With him she visited England and Switzerland, and
+finally they took up their abode at the family mansion near Lyons. She
+had one child, a daughter; and to educate her, and make her husband
+and those about her happy, was apparently to be the whole scope of her
+life. At this period, she writes to a friend, "Seated in my chimney
+corner, at eleven before noon, after a peaceful night and my morning
+tasks,--my husband at his desk, and my little girl knitting,--I am
+conversing with the former, and overlooking the work of the letter;
+enjoying the happiness of being warmly sheltered in the bosom of my
+dear little family, and writing to a friend, while the snow is falling
+on so many poor wretches overwhelmed by sorrow and penury. I grieve
+over their fate. I repose on my own, and make no account of those
+family annoyances, which appeared formerly to tarnish my felicity."
+
+The revolution came to disturb this peaceful existence. At first she
+hailed it with joy; but fears soon arose. "Is the question," she says,
+"to be whether we have one tyrant or a hundred?" She attached herself
+zealously to that party which advocated liberty without anarchy. The
+confusion of the times proved destructive to the manufacturing
+interests of Lyons; twenty thousand workmen were thrown out of
+employment, and were without means of support. M. Roland was selected
+to proceed to Paris to make known the distresses to the National
+Assembly, and to solicit relief.
+
+The Girondists held opinions most in consonance with her own; her
+house at Paris soon became the rendezvous of that party; and her
+talents, beauty, and enthusiasm, insensibly procured for her a great
+influence in their councils. A late historian thus speaks of her:
+"Roland was known for his clever writings on manufactures and
+mechanics. This man, of austere life, inflexible principles, and cold,
+repulsive manners, yielded, without being aware, to the superior
+ascendency of his wife. She was young and beautiful. Nourished in
+seclusion by philosophical and republican sentiments, she had
+conceived ideas superior to her sex, and had erected a strict
+religion from the then reigning opinions. Living in intimate
+friendship with her husband, she wrote for him, communicated her
+vivacity and ardor, not only to him, but to all the Girondists, who,
+enthusiastic in the cause of liberty and philosophy, adored beauty and
+talent, and their own opinions in her." But she carefully guarded
+against appearing to exert influence. Present at the councils held at
+her own house, she sat apart, and, apparently engaged in needle-work
+or in writing, took no part in the public deliberations; but her
+opinions were freely expressed in private to the leaders of the party,
+who eagerly engaged with her in discussion.
+
+The flight of the king filled her with alarm; his arrest and
+return to Paris excited new hopes; she looked for safety only in his
+dethronement, and in the establishment of a republican form of
+government; but for this she hardly dared hope. "It would be a
+folly, an absurdity, almost a horror," she writes to a friend at this
+time, "to replace the king on the throne. To bring Louis XVI. to
+trial, would doubtless be the greatest and most just of measures;
+but we are incapable of adopting it."
+
+At the end of seven months, Roland's mission terminated, and he
+returned to Lyons. But Madame Roland could no longer be happy in the
+quiet, domestic circle; her discontent thus expresses itself in a
+letter to a friend, but, unwittingly perhaps, does not assign it to
+the true cause: "I see with regret that my husband is cast back on
+silence and obscurity. He is habituated to public life; his energy and
+activity injure his health when not exercised according to his
+inclinations; in addition, I had hoped for great advantages for my
+child in a residence at Paris. Occupied there by her education, I
+should have excited and developed some sort of talent. The recluse
+life I lead here makes me tremble for her. From the moment that my
+husband has no occupation but his desks, I must remain near to amuse
+him, according to a duty and a habit which may not be eluded. This
+existence is exactly opposite to that suitable for a child of ten. My
+heart is saddened by this opposition of duties. I find myself fallen
+into the nullity of a provincial life, where no exterior circumstances
+supply that which I cannot do myself. If I believed my husband were
+satisfied, hope would embellish the prospect. However, our destiny is
+fixed, and I must try to render it as happy as I can."
+
+But the truth was, that her life at Paris had opened a new prospect to
+Madame Roland, and excited new desires in her bosom. Her activity and
+enthusiasm longed to employ themselves upon a grand theatre, and she
+panted to become great, as Plutarch's heroes were great, and to go
+down to posterity as one of the founders of her country's freedom.
+
+She was soon restored to the wished-for scene of action. In December,
+1792, her husband was appointed minister of the interior. She relates
+with great good-humor the surprise which her husband's plain,
+citizen-like costume excited at court. The master of ceremonies
+pointed him out to Dumoriez with an angry and agitated mien,
+exclaiming, "Ah, sir, no buckles to his shoes!" "Ah, sir," replied
+Dumoriez, with mock gravity, "all is lost!"
+
+Two measures, which the liberal party deemed essential, were presented
+to the king by the ministry, but were rejected by him. The party urged
+the ministers, as a body, to remonstrate; but a majority declined.
+Madame Roland insisted that her husband should individually present a
+remonstrance, which she prepared for him; it was couched in bold and
+menacing language, and rather calculated to irritate than to persuade
+the king. Roland read it to the king in full council; he listened
+patiently to his minister's rebuke, but the next day dismissed him
+from his office.
+
+Satisfied with having discharged their duty to liberty, Roland and his
+wife felt no regret at the loss of office. They ceased to meddle with
+politics, and led a retired life, with the fearful anticipation that
+the intervention of foreign troops would soon put an end to all their
+hopes of constitutional freedom. Her appearance and manners at this
+period of her life are thus described by one who visited her: "Her
+eyes, her figure, and hair, were of remarkable beauty; her delicate
+complexion had a freshness and color, which, joined to her reserved
+yet ingenuous appearance, imparted a singular air of youth. She spoke
+well, and without affectation; wit, good sense, propriety of
+expression, keen reasoning, natural grace, all flowing without effort
+from her rosy lips. Her husband resembled a Quaker, and she looked
+like his daughter. Her child flitted about her with ringlets down to
+her waist. She spoke of public affairs only, and I perceived that my
+moderation inspired pity. Her mind was excited, but her heart remained
+gentle. Although the monarchy was not yet overturned, she did not
+conceal that symptoms of anarchy began to appear, and she declared
+herself ready to resist them to death. I remember the calm and
+resolute tone in which she declared that she was ready, if need were,
+to place her head on the block. I confess that the image of that
+charming head delivered over to the axe of the executioner made an
+ineffaceable impression; for party excesses had not yet accustomed us
+to such frightful ideas."
+
+The fomenters of disturbance and the friends of anarchy were the party
+of the _Mountain_, at the head of which were Robespierre, Danton,
+Marat, &c. To this party the known moderation of Madame Roland made
+her peculiarly obnoxious. When, after the suspension of the royal
+authority, consequent on the events of the 10th of August, it was
+proposed in the National Convention to recall Roland to the ministry,
+one of the party exclaimed, "We had better invite madame; she is the
+real minister." He was reinstated in his office, and maintained for a
+short time an unflinching struggle with the anarchists; but his
+efforts were not supported by others; and, wearied out, he tendered
+his resignation. The Mountain urged its acceptance, but the only
+charges against him were complaints of his feebleness, and of his
+being governed by his wife. The Girondists yet held the ascendency in
+the Convention, and his resignation was not accepted. At the entreaty
+of his friends, he consented to remain, and wrote thus to the
+Convention: "Since I am calumniated, since I am threatened by dangers,
+and since the Convention appear to desire it, I remain. It is too
+glorious that my alliance with courage and virtue is the only reproach
+made against me."
+
+Madame Roland has herself offered an apology for her interference in
+the business of her husband. In the early days of their marriage, she
+had acted as his amanuensis, and had faithfully copied what he wrote.
+But the dryness of his style did not suit her taste, and she began to
+amend his writings. At length, having a perfect agreement in views and
+opinions with her husband, he entirely yielded up to her the pen. "I
+could not express any thing," she says, "that regarded reason or
+justice, which he was not capable of realizing or maintaining with his
+conduct; while I expressed better than he could whatever he had done
+or promised to do. Without my intervention, Roland had been an equally
+good agent; his activity and knowledge, as well as his probity, were
+all his own; but he produced a greater sensation through me, since I
+put into his writings that mixture of energy and gentleness, of
+authority and persuasion, which is peculiar to a woman of a warm heart
+and a clear head. I wrote with delight such pieces as I thought would
+be useful, and I took greater pleasure in them than I should have done
+had I been their acknowledged author."
+
+Roland continued his struggle against the Mountain, who were daily
+gaining strength. Although in a minority in the Convention, they were
+all powerful with the mob; and the knowledge of this, together with
+their menaces, induced some of the more timid Girondists to vote for
+their savage measures. Of the frightful state of affairs at Paris,
+Madame Roland thus writes to a friend: "We are under the knife of
+Robespierre and Marat. These men agitate the people, and endeavor to
+turn them against the Assembly and Council; they have a little army,
+which they pay with money stolen from the Tuileries." Again she
+writes, "Danton leads all; Robespierre is his puppet; Marat holds his
+torch and dagger; this ferocious tribune reigns, and we are his slaves
+until the moment when we shall become his victims. You are aware of my
+enthusiasm for the revolution; well, I am ashamed of it; it is
+deformed by monsters, and become hideous. It is degrading to remain,
+but we are not allowed to quit Paris; they shut us up to murder us
+when occasion serves."
+
+At length, disheartened by his unavailing efforts to stem the tide of
+anarchy, Roland again resigned his office; and, satisfied that
+remaining at Paris could be of no advantage to their country, he and
+his wife began their preparations for retiring to the country. Her
+illness caused a delay, and they were yet in Paris when the final
+overthrow of the Girondists left them no hope for safety but in
+flight. An order was issued by the Convention for the arrest of
+Roland: his wife resolved to appeal in person to the Assembly in his
+behalf. Veiled and alone, she hurried to the place of meeting. She was
+not admitted: she sent in a letter, soliciting to be heard; but it
+received no attention. Sadly she left the national palace, sought out
+her husband, related to him her want of success, and then returned to
+make another effort to be heard. The Convention was no longer sitting.
+She returned home: her husband was in a place of security; and,
+indifferent to her own fate, she resolved to await whatever might
+happen.
+
+At a late hour of the night she retired to rest, but was soon roused
+by her servant, who announced to her that a party of soldiers had
+come to arrest her. The sanguinary shouts of the mob saluted her as
+she passed through the streets. "Shall I close the windows?" said an
+officer who rode with her in the carriage. "No," replied she;
+"innocence, however oppressed, will never assume the appearance of
+guilt. I fear the eyes of no one, and will not hide myself." "You have
+more firmness than most men," said the officer.
+
+Her plans for prison life were at once arranged: she asked and
+obtained a few books, Plutarch being of the number. The situation of
+the poorer class of prisoners exciting her pity, she restricted
+herself to the most abstemious diet, and distributed the money which
+she thus saved among them.
+
+At the end of about three weeks, a most cruel deception was practised
+upon her. She was told that she was free, and left the prison; but, on
+reaching home, she was again arrested, and carried to a new prison, in
+which the lowest and most infamous criminals of both sexes were
+confined. A few hours' reflection restored the equanimity which this
+outrage had disturbed. "Had I not my books?" she says; "was I no
+longer myself? I was almost angry at having felt disturbed, and
+thought only of making use of my life, and employing my faculties with
+that independence which a strong mind preserves even in chains, and
+which disappoints one's most cruel enemies."
+
+At first, she was confined in the midst of the most abandoned of her
+sex; but, after a time, the wife of the jailer took compassion on her,
+and removed her to a more retired apartment. Nor did this humane woman
+stop here; she sought in every way to soften the rigors of
+imprisonment. Jasmine was twined round the bars of her window; a
+piano-forte was provided, with every comfort which her narrow quarters
+would allow. A few friends were allowed to visit her: she learned that
+her husband and child were in safety; she became almost happy. But her
+quiet was soon disturbed. The visitor of the prison was angry at the
+comforts which she enjoyed; equality must be preserved, and he ordered
+her to be removed to a common cell.
+
+At one period she meditated suicide. There was no accusation against
+her, and she saw herself left behind in the daily drafts for the
+guillotine. "Two months ago," she writes, "I aspired to the honor of
+ascending the scaffold. Victims were still allowed to speak, and the
+energy of great courage might have been of service to truth. Now all
+is lost; to live is basely to submit to a ferocious rule." But her
+purpose was changed when she found herself included in the act of
+accusation against the chief Girondists. She expected to be examined
+before the Revolutionary Tribunal, and hoped to do some good by
+courageously speaking the truth.
+
+On the 31st of October, 1792, she was transferred to the prison of the
+Conciergerie, a yet more squalid place of confinement. Her examination
+commenced the next day, and was continued for several days. The charge
+against her was holding intercourse with the Girondists. Her defence,
+which was written out, but not spoken, is eloquent and full of
+feeling. She was, of course, declared guilty, and sentenced to be
+executed within twenty-four hours.
+
+Even during these few eventful days, she was not occupied entirely
+with self. Many of her hours were devoted to the consolation of her
+fellow-victims. She who was a prisoner with her thus speaks of her:
+"Perfectly aware of the fate that awaited her, her tranquillity was
+not disturbed. Though past the bloom of life, she was yet full of
+attractions: tall, and of an elegant figure, her physiognomy was
+animated; but sorrow and long imprisonment had left traces of
+melancholy in her face that tempered her natural vivacity. Something
+more than is usually found in the eyes of woman beamed in her large,
+dark eyes, full of sweetness and expression. She often spoke to me at
+the grate with the freedom and courage of a great man. This republican
+language, falling from the lips of a pretty woman, for whom the
+scaffold was prepared, was a miracle of the revolution. We gathered
+attentively around her in a species of admiration and stupor. Her
+conversation was serious, without being cold. She spoke with a purity,
+a melody, and a measure, which rendered her language a sort of music,
+of which the ear was never tired. Sometimes her sex had the mastery,
+and we perceived that she had wept over the recollections of her
+husband and daughter. The woman who attended her said to me one day,
+'Before you she calls up all her courage; but in her room she
+sometimes remains for hours leaning on the window, weeping.'"
+
+She was led to execution on the 10th of November. On the way she
+exerted herself to restore the failing fortitude of a fellow-sufferer,
+and won from him, it is said, two smiles. On arriving at the place of
+execution, she bowed to the statue of Liberty, saying, "O Liberty,
+how many crimes are committed in thy name!" She bade her companion
+ascend the scaffold first, that he might escape the pain of seeing her
+die. To the last, she preserved her courage and dignity of manner.
+
+The news of her death reached her husband at Rouen. He resolved not to
+outlive her. He doubted whether to surrender himself to the
+Revolutionary Tribunal, or to commit suicide. He decided on the latter
+course, in order to save for his child his property, which by law
+would be confiscated if he died by the judgment of a court. On the
+15th of November, he was found dead on the road to Paris, four miles
+from Rouen. In his pocket was found a paper, setting forth the reasons
+for his death--"The blood that flows in torrents in my country
+dictates my resolve; indignation caused me to quit my retreat. As soon
+as I heard of the murder of my wife, I determined no longer to remain
+on the earth tainted by crime."
+
+
+
+
+MADAME DE SEVIGNE.
+
+
+The subject of this memoir, as celebrated in her own particular
+department of literature as Shakspere or Moliere were in theirs, would
+have been very much surprised to find herself occupying a conspicuous
+place in the "Lives of Celebrated Women." She made no pretensions to
+authorship, and her "Letters," which have been esteemed models of
+epistolary composition, are the unpremeditated and unrevised
+outpourings of a mind rich in wit and good sense, and a heart filled
+with the warmest affections, and were written without the slightest
+idea that they would ever be read by any other persons than those to
+whom they were addressed.
+
+Maria de Robertin-Chantal, Baroness de Chantal and Bombilly, was
+born on the 5th of February, 1626. Her father was the head of a
+distinguished and noble family of Burgundy. Of his rough wit and
+independence his daughter has preserved a specimen. When Schomberg
+was transformed, by Louis XIII., from a minister of finance to a
+field-marshal, Chantal wrote to him the following letter:--
+
+  "My Lord,
+
+  "Rank--black beard--intimacy.
+
+  "CHANTAL."--
+
+meaning that he owed his advancement, not to his military exploits,
+but to his rank, his having a black beard, like his master, and to his
+intimacy with that master.
+
+When Maria was about a year and a half old, the English made a descent
+upon the Island of Rhe; and her father placed himself at the head of a
+party of gentlemen who volunteered to assist in repelling them, in
+which honorable service he lost his life. His widow survived him five
+years. She was the daughter of a secretary of state, and her family,
+that of De Coulanges, belonged to the class of nobility who owed that
+distinction to civil services, and who were known as "nobles of the
+robe," to distinguish them from those who could trace their descent
+from the heroes of the crusades and the days of chivalry.
+
+It seems to have been expected that the paternal grandmother would
+have taken charge of the education of the little orphan. But she was
+too much occupied with the affairs of the other world, and with
+founding religious houses,--of which eighty-seven owed their existence
+to her,--and Maria was left in the hands of her maternal relations.
+The pious labors of the "Blessed Mother of Chantal" were acknowledged
+by the head of the church, and her name now fills a place in the
+calendar, among the saints. The guardianship of the young baroness
+devolved on her uncle, Christophe de Coulanges, abbe de Livry.
+
+Most men would have shrunk from the task of personally superintending
+the education of a young girl, and would, in conformity to the
+customs of the times, have consigned her to a convent, where she
+would have been taught to read, to write, to dance, and to
+embroider; and then her education would have been deemed complete.
+It is no slight evidence of the good sense of her uncle that he
+retained her in his own house. The decision was a fortunate one for
+posterity; for her faculties, which the formal training of the
+convent would have cramped, were called into exercise and expanded
+by an unusual indulgence in the range of reading, and probably by a
+familiar intercourse with the men of letters who sought her uncle's
+society. Under his instructions she doubtless acquired a knowledge
+of the Latin and Italian languages, and something of the Spanish.
+All this, however, is to some extent matter of inference, for we
+have no record of her early life. She tells us in her "Letters" that
+she was brought up at court, and there she formed her manners and
+her tastes--fortunately without the corruption of her morals.
+
+From the accounts given by her witty and profligate cousin Bussy-Robertin,
+we can obtain a tolerably correct idea of her appearance when she entered
+as an actor upon the scene of life. She was somewhat tall for a woman; had
+a good shape, a pleasing voice, a fine complexion, brilliant eyes, and a
+profusion of light hair; but her eyes, though brilliant, were small,
+and, together with the eyelashes, were of different tints: her lips,
+though well colored, were too flat, and the end of her nose too
+square. De Bussy tells us that she had more shape than grace, yet
+danced well; she had also a taste for singing. He makes to her the
+objection that she was too playful "for a woman of quality."
+
+Not beautiful, but highly attractive, of cordial manners, and with a
+lively sensibility, at one moment dissolved in tears, and at another
+almost dying with laughter,--Mademoiselle de Robertin, then eighteen
+years old, was married to the Marquis de Sevigne, of an ancient family
+of Brittany. Her letters written during the first years of her
+marriage are full of gayety; there is no trace of misfortune or
+sorrow. But her husband was fond of pleasure, extravagant in his
+expenses, heedless, and gay--a character not likely to escape the
+contagion of that universal depravity of manners which prevailed at
+the French court. His conduct threw a cloud over their happiness.
+Madame de Sevigne bore her misfortunes with dignity and patience. In
+spite of his misconduct, she loved him deeply; and his death, not long
+afterwards, in a duel, caused her the most profound sorrow.
+
+Her uncle, the abbe, resumed his former office of protector and
+counsellor. He withdrew her from the contemplation of her grief, and
+drew her attention to her duties, the chief and dearest of which was
+the education of her two children, a son and a daughter. To this
+object, and to rendering the life of her uncle happy, she resolved to
+devote herself. Of her obligations to her uncle she thus speaks in a
+letter written many years afterwards, on the occasion of his death: "I
+am plunged in sorrow: ten days ago I saw my dear uncle die; and you
+know what he was to his dear niece. He has conferred on me every
+benefit in the world, either by giving me property of his own, or
+preserving and augmenting that of my children. He drew me from the
+abyss into which M. de Sevigne's death plunged me; he gained lawsuits;
+he put my affairs in good order; he paid our debts; he has made the
+estate on which my son lives the prettiest and most agreeable in the
+world."
+
+Time restored to the young widow her lost gayety, and she was the
+delight of the circles in which she was intimate. The Hotel de
+Rambouillet, at Paris, where she resided, was the resort of all who
+were celebrated for wit or talent, and her presence was always hailed
+with joy. _Euphuism_ was the fashion of the day, and in this _coterie_
+it had reached the highest degree of perfection. Common appellations
+were discarded; water became "_l'humeur celeste_," and a chaplet "_une
+chaine spirituelle_." The use of names was banished, and each was
+addressed as "ma chere" or "ma precieuse." "_Les Precieuses
+Ridicules_" of Moliere at length put an end to the affectation. Many
+of the _coterie_ were present at its first representation, and were
+obliged to swallow the vexation which the delight evinced by the
+public at seeing them held up to ridicule, could not fail to excite.
+
+The early education of her children being completed, their establishment
+in life became a source of anxiety. Her son, when nineteen, joined the
+expedition to Candia; concerning which Madame de Sevigne writes to
+her cousin De Bussy, "I suppose you know that my son is gone to
+Candia. He mentioned it to M. de Turenne, to Cardinal de Retz, and
+to M. de la Rochefoucauld. These gentlemen so approved his design
+that it was resolved on and made public before I knew any thing of it.
+He is gone. I wept his departure bitterly, and am deeply afflicted.
+I shall not have a moment's repose during the expedition. I see all
+the dangers, and they destroy me; but I am not the mistress. On such
+occasions mothers have no voice." She had reason for anxiety. Few of
+the officers returned, but one of these was the Baron de Sevigne. A
+commission was purchased for him in the army, and he served with
+distinction during several campaigns; but his family had taken part
+against the court during the wars of the Fronde, and were Jansenists,
+so that he received no promotion, and at length left the army, and
+settled into a quiet, well-behaved, country gentleman. Rejecting
+many nice matches which his mother sought to make for him, he chose a
+wife for himself, and his choice fortunately met her approbation.
+
+Her daughter was presented at court, in 1663, and took part in the
+brilliant _fetes_ of the following year. The mother's heart was, no
+doubt, gladdened by the declaration of the Count de Treville, a sort
+of oracle in the great world, "_That_ beauty will set the world on
+fire." Her marriage became a subject of the deepest anxiety, and it
+was long before her mother was satisfied with any of those who
+pretended to the hand of "_la plus jolie fille de France_." She at
+length accepted the proposals of the twice-widowed Count de Grignan,
+and the event is thus announced to her cousin: "I must tell you a
+piece of news which will doubtless delight you. At length the
+prettiest woman in France is about to marry, not the handsomest youth,
+but the most excellent man in the kingdom. You have long known M. de
+Grignan. All his wives are dead, to make room for your cousin, as well
+as, through wonderful luck, his father and his son; so that, being
+richer than he ever was, and being, through his birth, his position,
+and his good qualities, such as we desire, we conclude at once. The
+public appears satisfied, and that is much, for one is silly enough to
+be greatly influenced by it."
+
+By marrying her daughter to a courtier, Madame de Sevigne hoped to
+secure her daughter's permanent residence near herself at Paris. The
+count, however, was deputy-governor of Provence, and received orders,
+soon after his marriage, to proceed to that distant province, where he
+continued to reside, with the exception of occasional visits to Paris,
+during the remainder of his mother-in-law's life. The mother and
+daughter contrived to pass about half the time with each other, and,
+in the intervals, to keep up a conversation by means of constant
+epistolary correspondence, in which the former relates all the amusing
+gossip which would have been subject of discourse had they been
+together. To the mother's share of these conversations we are
+delighted listeners. She speaks of events which in themselves are
+trifling, and of persons of whom we never before heard; yet she is
+never tedious. The vivacity of her intellect and the charms of her
+style give an interest to every thought and act. The task of selecting
+specimens is a difficult one; all is worthy of transcription; we will
+take those which throw the most light upon her character and mode of
+life. The following was written at an estate of her husband's, called
+"The Rocks," situated on the sea-coast of Brittany, where she
+delighted to pass her time: she had a love of the country, of nature,
+and of simple pleasures--a rare taste for a Frenchwoman of that age.
+Nothing pleased her more than the song of the nightingale, the
+cuckoo, and the thrush, during the early spring; her writings are
+filled with her passion for the birds and avenues of "Les Rochers."
+The letter is addressed, not to her daughter, but to her cousin, De
+Coulanges.
+
+"I write, my dear cousin, over and above the stipulated fortnight
+communications, to advertise you that you will soon have the honor of
+seeing Picard; and, as he is brother to the lackey of Madame de
+Coulanges, I must tell you the reason why. You know that Madame the
+Duchess de Chaulnes is at Vitre; she expects the duke there, in ten or
+twelve days, with the states of Brittany. Well, and what then? say
+you. I say that the duchess is expecting the duke with all the states,
+and that meanwhile she is at Vitre all alone, dying with ennui. And
+what, return you, has this to do with Picard? Why, look; she is dying
+with ennui, and I am her only consolation; and so you may readily
+conceive that I carry it with a high hand. A pretty roundabout way of
+telling my story, I must confess; but it will bring us to the point.
+Well, then, as I am her only consolation, it follows that, after I
+have been to see her, she will come to see me, when, of course, I
+shall wish her to find my garden in good order--those fine walks of
+which you are so fond. Still you are at a loss to conceive whither
+they are leading you now. Attend, then, if you please, to a little
+suggestion by the way. You are aware that haymaking is going forward?
+Well, I have no haymakers; I send into the neighboring fields to press
+them into my service; there are none to be found; and so all my own
+people are summoned to make hay instead. But do you know what
+haymaking is? I will tell you. Haymaking is the prettiest thing in the
+world. You play at turning the grass over in a meadow; and as soon as
+you know how to do that, you know how to make hay. The whole house
+went merrily to the task, all but Picard: he said he would not go;
+that he was not engaged for such work; that it was none of his
+business; and that he would sooner betake himself to Paris. Faith!
+didn't I get angry? It was the hundredth disservice the silly fellow
+had done me. I saw he had neither heart nor zeal; in short, the
+measure of his offence was full. I took him at his word; was deaf as a
+rock to all entreaties in his behalf; and he has set off. It is fit
+that people should be treated as they deserve. If you see him, don't
+welcome him; don't protect him; and don't blame me. Only look upon him
+as, of all servants in the world, the one least addicted to haymaking,
+and therefore the most unworthy of good treatment. This is the sum
+total of the affair. As for me, I am fond of straightforward
+histories, that contain not a word too much; that never go wandering
+about, and beginning again from remote points; and, accordingly, I
+think I may say, without vanity, that I hereby present you with a
+model of an agreeable narration."
+
+We will now go with her to Paris, and listen to a little of her gossip
+with her daughter.
+
+  "PARIS, _March 13th_.
+
+  "Behold me, to the delight of my heart, all alone in my chamber,
+  writing to you in tranquillity. Nothing gives me comfort like
+  being seated thus. I dined to-day at Madame de Lavardin's, after
+  having been to hear Bourdaloue, where I saw the mothers of the
+  church; for so I call the Princesses de Conti and Longueville. All
+  the world was at the sermon, and the sermon was worthy of all that
+  heard it. I thought of you twenty times, and wished you as often
+  beside me. You would have been enchanted to be a listener, and I
+  should have been tenfold enchanted to see you listen. * * *
+
+  "We have been to the fair, to see a great fright of a woman,
+  bigger than Riberpre by a whole head. * * * And now, if you fancy
+  all the maids of honor run mad, you will not fancy amiss. Eight
+  days ago, Madame de Ludre, Coetlogon, and little De Rouvroi were
+  bitten by a puppy belonging to Theobon, and the puppy has died
+  mad; so Ludre, Coetlogon, and De Rouvroi set off this morning for
+  the coast, to be dipped three times in the sea. 'Tis a dismal
+  journey. Benserade is in despair about it. Theobon does not choose
+  to go, though she had a little bite too. The queen, however,
+  objects to her being in waiting till the issue of the adventure is
+  known. Don't you think Ludre resembles Andromeda? For my part, I
+  see her fastened to the rock, and Treville coming, on a winged
+  horse, to deliver her from the monster. * * * Ah, Bourdaloue! what
+  divine truths you told us to-day about death! Madame de la Fayette
+  heard him for the first time in her life, and was transported with
+  admiration. She is enchanted with your remembrances. * * * A scene
+  took place yesterday at Mademoiselle's, which I enjoyed extremely.
+  In comes Madame de Gevres, full of her airs and graces. She looked
+  as if she expected I should give her my poet; but, 'faith, I owed
+  her an affront for her behavior the other day, so I didn't budge.
+  Mademoiselle was in bed; Madame de Gevres was therefore obliged to
+  go lower down; no very pleasant thing that! Mademoiselle calls for
+  drink; somebody must present the napkin; Madame de Gevres begins
+  to draw off the glove from her skinny hand; I gave a nudge to
+  Madame d'Arpajou, who was above me; she understands me, draws off
+  her glove, and, advancing a step with a very good grace, cuts
+  short the duchess, and takes and presents the napkin. The duchess
+  was quite confounded; she had made her way up, and got off her
+  gloves, and all to see the napkin presented before her by Madame
+  d'Arpajou! My dear, I am a wicked creature; I was in a state of
+  delight; and indeed what could have been better done? Would any
+  one but Madame de Gevres have thought of depriving Madame
+  d'Arpajou of an honor which fell so naturally to her share,
+  standing as she did by the bedside? It was as good as a cordial to
+  Madame de Puisieux. Mademoiselle did not dare to lift up her eyes;
+  and, as for myself, I had the most good-for-nothing face!"
+
+Who this Mademoiselle was, Madame de Sevigne shall herself tell. The
+following, one of the most curious of her letters, is addressed to her
+cousin, De Coulanges: "I am going to tell you a thing, which, of all
+things in the world, is the most astonishing, the most surprising, the
+most marvellous, the most miraculous, the most triumphant, the most
+bewildering, the most unheard-of, the most singular, the most
+extraordinary, the most incredible, the most unexpected, the most
+exalting, the most humbling, the most rare, the most common, the most
+public, the most private,--till this moment,--the most brilliant, the
+most enviable, in short, a thing of which no example is to be found in
+past times; at least, nothing quite like it;--a thing which we do not
+know how to believe in Paris; how, then, are you to believe it at
+Lyons? a thing which makes all the world cry out, 'Lord, have mercy on
+us!' a thing which has transported Madame de Rohan and Madame
+d'Hauterive; a thing which is to be done on Sunday, and yet perhaps
+will not be completed till Monday. I cannot expect you to guess it at
+once. I give you a trial of three times; do you give it up? Well,
+then, I must tell you. M. de Lauzun is to marry, next Sunday, at the
+Louvre; guess whom. I give you four times to guess it; I give you six;
+I give you a hundred. 'Truly,' cries Madame de Coulanges, 'it must be
+a very difficult thing to guess; 'tis Madame de la Valliere.' 'No, it
+isn't, madame.' ''Tis Mademoiselle de Retz, then.' 'No, it isn't,
+madame; you are terribly provincial.' 'O, we are very stupid, no
+doubt,' say you; ''tis Mademoiselle Colbert.' Farther off than ever.
+'Well, then, it must be Mademoiselle de Crequi?' You are not a bit
+nearer. Come, I see I must tell you at last. Well, M. de Lauzun
+marries, next Sunday, at the Louvre, with the king's permission,
+Mademoiselle--Mademoiselle de--Mademoiselle de--guess the name!--he
+marries 'MADEMOISELLE,'--the _great_ Mademoiselle; Mademoiselle, the
+daughter of the late Monsieur; Mademoiselle, granddaughter of Henry
+the Fourth; Mademoiselle d'Eu, Mademoiselle de Dombes, Mademoiselle
+de Montpensier, Mademoiselle d'Orleans, Mademoiselle, cousin of the
+king, Mademoiselle, destined to the throne, Mademoiselle, the only
+woman in France fit to marry Monsieur! Here's pretty news for your
+_coteries_! Exclaim about it as much as you will; let it turn your
+heads; say, we 'lie,' if you please; that it's a pretty joke; that
+it's 'tiresome;' that we are a 'parcel of ninnies;' we give you leave;
+we have done just the same to others. Adieu! The letters that come by
+the post will show whether we have been speaking truth or not."
+
+Once more with her to Paris, and listen to the graphic description
+which she gives her daughter of the French court:--
+
+  "PARIS, Wednesday, _July 24th, 1676_.
+
+  "We have a change of the scene here, which will gratify you as
+  much as it does all the world. I was at Versailles last Saturday
+  with the Villarses. You know the queen's toilet, the mass, and the
+  dinner? Well, there is no longer any need of suffocating ourselves
+  in a crowd to get a glimpse of their majesties at table. At three,
+  the king, the queen, monsieur, madame, mademoiselle, and every
+  thing else which is royal, together with De Montespan and train,
+  and all the courtiers, and all the ladies, all, in short, which
+  constitutes the court of France, is assembled in that beautiful
+  apartment of the king's which you remember. All is furnished
+  divinely; all is magnificent. Such a thing as heat is unknown; you
+  pass from one place to another without the slightest pressure. A
+  game at _reversis_ gives the company a form and a settlement. The
+  king and Madame de Montespan keep a bank together; different
+  tables are kept by monsieur, the queen, Dangeau and party, &c.;
+  every where you see heaps of _Louis d'ors_; they have no counters.
+  I saw Dangeau play, and thought what fools we were beside him. He
+  dreams of nothing but what concerns the game; he wins where others
+  lose; he neglects nothing, and profits by every thing; never has
+  his attention diverted; in short, his science bids defiance to
+  chance. Two hundred thousand francs in ten days--a pretty
+  memorandum to put down in his pocket-book! He was kind enough to
+  say that I was partner with him, so that I got an excellent seat.
+  I made my obeisance to the king, as you told me; and he returned
+  it as if I had been young and handsome. The queen talked to me
+  about my illness; the duke said a thousand pretty things, without
+  minding a word he uttered. Marechal de Lorges attacked me in the
+  name of the Chevalier de Grignan; in short, all the company. You
+  know what it is to get a word from every body you meet. Madame de
+  Montespan talked to me of Bourbon, and asked me how I liked Vichi,
+  and whether the place did me good. She said that Bourbon, instead
+  of curing the pain in one of her knees, did mischief to both. Her
+  size is reduced one half, and yet her complexion, her eyes, and
+  her lips, are as fine as ever. She was dressed all in French
+  point, her hair in a thousand ringlets, the two side ones hanging
+  low on her cheeks, black ribbons on her head, pearls,--the same
+  that belonged to Madame de l'Hopital,--the loveliest diamond
+  ear-rings, three or four bodkins, nothing else on the head; in
+  short, a triumphant beauty, worthy the admiration of all foreign
+  ambassadors. She was accused of preventing the whole French nation
+  from seeing the king; she has restored him, you see, to their
+  eyes; and you cannot conceive the joy it has given all the world,
+  and the splendor it has thrown upon the court. This charming
+  confusion, without confusion, of all which is the most select,
+  continues from three to six. If couriers arrive, the king retires
+  a moment to read the despatches, and returns. There is always some
+  music going on, to which he listens, and which has an excellent
+  effect. He talks with such of the ladies as are accustomed to
+  enjoy that honor. In short, they leave play at six; there is no
+  trouble of counting, for there is no sort of counters; the pools
+  consist of five or six Louis; the bigger one, of a thousand or
+  twelve hundred. Talking is incessantly going on, and there is no
+  end of _hearts_. 'How many hearts have you?' 'I have two;' 'I have
+  three;' and Dangeau is delighted with all this chatter; he sees
+  through the game; he draws his conclusions; he discovers which is
+  the person he wants: truly he is your man for holding the cards.
+  At six the carriages are at the door. The king is in one of them,
+  with Madame de Montespan, Monsieur and Madame de Thianges, and
+  honest D'Heudicourt, in a fool's paradise on the stool. You know
+  how those open carriages are made; they do not sit face to face,
+  but all looking the same way. The queen occupies another, with the
+  princess; and the rest come flocking after, as it may happen.
+  There are then gondolas on the canal; and music; and at ten they
+  come back, and then there is a play; and twelve strikes, and they
+  go to supper; and thus rolls round the Saturday."
+
+And thus rolled round every day; and to support this wanton and
+profligate expenditure of money, the people were ground to the dust
+with taxes. Nothing can more strongly mark the general debasement of
+sentiment, than that Madame de Sevigne, a woman whose character the
+breath of slander had never ventured to asperse, should describe this
+scene without one word of reprobation, but, on the contrary, should
+conclude with a wish that this season of happiness at the court may
+endure.
+
+The following extract seems to show that she had a yearning for
+something better in the midst of this idle dissipation--though the
+terms in which she expresses herself are far from commendable: "I wish
+I could be religious. I plague La Moresse--the abbe--about it every
+day. I belong at present neither to God nor devil; and I find this
+condition very uncomfortable; though, between you and me, I think it
+the most natural in the world. One does not belong to the devil,
+because one fears God, and has at bottom a principle of religion; but
+then, on the other hand, one does not belong to God, because his laws
+appear hard, and self-denial is not pleasant. Hence the great number
+of the lukewarm, which does not surprise me at all; I enter perfectly
+into their reasons; only God, you know, hates them, and that must not
+be. But there lies the difficulty. Why must I torment you with these
+rhapsodies? My dear child, _I ask your pardon_, as they say in these
+parts. I rattle on in your company, and forget every thing else in the
+pleasure of it. Don't make me any answer. Send me only news of your
+health, with a spice of what you feel at Grignan, that I may know you
+are happy; that is all. Love me. We have turned the phrase into
+ridicule; but it is natural; it is good."
+
+Perhaps she was led into these reflections by her admiration for the
+beautiful Duchess de Longueville, who, from having been "the greatest
+of sinners, became the greatest of saints:" a princess of the blood
+royal,--a leader in all the dissolute scenes which characterized the
+wars of the Fronde,--she voluntarily retired to a convent, where she
+practised all those austerities, by which the pious Catholic believed
+he might atone for past transgressions. Of the sincerity of her
+conversion she gave repeated testimonies, and Madame de Sevigne ever
+speaks of her with the greatest veneration and respect. That she had
+too much good practical sense to be deceived by those who sought by
+the excitement of religious rites to make up for the loss of the
+excitements of pleasure, or who assumed the garb of religion in mere
+compliance with the fashion which prevailed at court, under the rule
+of Madame de Maintenon, is apparent from the light tone of the
+following passage: "Madame de T. wears no rouge, and hides her person,
+instead of displaying it. Under this disguise it is difficult to know
+her again. I was sitting next her at dinner the other day, and a
+servant brought her a glass of _vin de liqueur_; she turned to me, and
+said, 'This man does not know that I am _devote_.' This made us all
+laugh, and she spoke very naturally of her changes, and of her good
+intentions. She now minds what she says of her neighbors, and stops
+short in her recitals, with a scream at her bad habits. There are bets
+made that Madame d'H. will not be _devote_ within a year, and that she
+will resume her rouge. This rouge is the law and the prophets, and on
+this rouge turns the whole of the Christian religion."
+
+Tested by the morality of our day, Madame de Sevigne could not claim a
+very exalted character: yet we are bound to mention one trait, which
+honorably distinguishes her from her contemporaries. Louis XIV., for
+the purpose of reducing the power of his nobles, systematically
+encouraged them in the most boundless extravagance, of which he
+himself set them the example. The natural consequence followed; they
+became inextricably involved in debts, with so little idea of ever
+paying them, that the conduct of the Cardinal de Retz, who sought to
+atone for early excesses by retiring to the country, and husbanding
+his resources for this purpose, excited universal wonder, and was too
+extraordinary to be generally credited. Madame de Sevigne fully
+appreciated the propriety of this conduct of De Retz, and bestows upon
+it many commendations. When such were the sentiments of her mother, it
+is not a little surprising to hear of a poor milliner, whose
+necessities compelled her to undertake a journey of five hundred
+miles, from Paris to Provence, to collect a debt from Madame de
+Grignan, being dismissed without her money, and being told in
+substance, if not in words, that she might thank her good fortune that
+she did not make her exit through the window--a summary mode of
+cancelling debts, often threatened, if not executed, when creditors
+were importunate. Nor were Madame de Sevigne's mere professions. The
+occasion arose which tried her principles. The extravagance of her
+husband left her with estates encumbered with debts; the education
+and maintenance of her children were expensive; her son's commission
+in the army was purchased at a high price; her rents were not paid
+with punctuality, and she was obliged to remit large debts to her
+tenants. From all these causes, she found herself, at the age of
+fifty-eight, involved in debts, which nothing but a retirement from
+Paris, and the practice of a rigid economy, would enable her to pay.
+She did not hesitate to withdraw herself from her beloved society in
+Paris, and to retire to "The Rocks." The sacrifice was rendered more
+complete by the fact that her daughter was at that time residing at
+Paris. Her absence was felt bitterly by her friends, and she was at
+once mortified and gratified by the offer of a loan of money to
+facilitate her return. Madame de la Fayette wrote to make her the
+proposition: "You must not, my dear, at any price whatever, pass the
+winter in Brittany. You are old; 'The Rocks' are thickly wooded; colds
+will destroy you; you will get weary; your mind will become sad, and
+lose its tone: this is certain; and all the business in the world is
+nothing in comparison. Do not speak of money nor of debts;" and then
+follows the proposal. Madame de Sevigne declined the offer, being
+unwilling to incur the obligation. Conceived with all possible
+kindness, there was a sting in the letter which Madame de Sevigne
+confesses to her daughter, that she felt. "You were, then, struck by
+Madame de la Fayette's expression mingled with so much kindness.
+Although I never allow myself to forget this truth, I confess I was
+quite surprised; for as yet I feel no decay to remind me of it.
+However, I often reflect and calculate, and find the conditions on
+which we enjoy life very hard. It seems to me that I was dragged, in
+spite of myself, to the fatal term when one must suffer old age. I see
+it--am there. I should at least like to go no farther in the road of
+decrepitude, pain, loss of memory, and disfigurement, which are at
+hand to injure me. I hear a voice that says, 'Even against your will
+you must go on; or, if you, refuse, you must die;' which is another
+necessity from which nature shrinks. Such is the fate of those who go
+a little too far. What is their resource? To think of the will of God,
+and the universal law; and so restore reason to its place, and be
+patient. Be you, then, patient, my dear child, and let not your
+affection soften into such tears as reason must condemn."
+
+As Madame de Sevigne would not return to Paris, her friends heard with
+pleasure that she had resolved to go to Grignan, the residence of her
+daughter in Provence. Here the greater part of her remaining life was
+spent, and the correspondence with her daughter entirely ceases from
+this time. Madame de Sevigne died, after a sudden and short illness,
+in April, 1696, at the age of seventy.
+
+It may gratify some to know that the letters of Madame de Sevigne were
+apparently written in haste, beginning the writing on the second page
+of the paper, continuing to the third and fourth, and returning to the
+first: she used neither sand nor blotting-paper. Speaking to her
+daughter, Madame de S. says, "The princess is always saying that she
+is going to write to you; she mends her pens; for her writing is a
+great affair, and her letters a sort of embroidery; not done in a
+moment. _We_ should never finish, were we to make fine twists and
+twirls to our _D's_ and _L's_;" in allusion to the German and Italian
+fashion of the day of making ornaments with their pens, called _lacs
+d'amour_. The letters were sealed on both sides, and a piece of white
+floss silk fastened it entirely round.
+
+Of the English admirers of Madame de Sevigne, the most distinguished
+and the most warm in the expression of their admiration are Horace
+Walpole and Sir James Mackintosh, men of totally opposite turns of
+mind; the former a professed wit, and himself a letter-writer, the
+latter a grave lawyer and statesman. We conclude this memoir by giving
+the character of Madame de Sevigne as drawn by the latter. "The great
+charm of her character seems to me a _natural_ virtue. In what she
+does, as well as in what she says, she is unforced and unstudied;
+nobody, I think, had so much morality without constraint, and played
+so much with amiable feelings without falling into vice. Her
+ingenious, lively, social disposition gave the direction to her mental
+power. She has so filled my heart with affectionate interest in her as
+a living friend, that I can scarcely bring myself to think of her as a
+writer, or as having a style; but she has become a celebrated, perhaps
+an immortal writer, without expecting it: she is the only classical
+writer who never conceived the possibility of acquiring fame. Without
+a great force of style, she could not have communicated those
+feelings. In what does that talent consist? It seems mainly to consist
+in the power of working bold metaphors, and unexpected turns of
+expression, out of the most familiar part of conversational
+language."
+
+
+
+
+MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS.
+
+
+In December, 1542, Mary Stuart, daughter of James V. of Scotland, then
+seven days old, succeeded to the throne of a kingdom rent by religious
+and political factions, and suffering from the consequences of a
+disastrous war with England.
+
+The union of Scotland to England had ever been a favorite project with
+English sovereigns, and the present seemed to Henry VIII. a favorable
+opportunity for peaceably effecting it. He lost no time, therefore, in
+proposing a match between the infant queen and his own son, Edward.
+His proposal found little favor; the haughty nobles could not endure
+to see their country become a mere province of England; and the queen
+mother and her religious advisers feared for the security of the
+Catholic religion. Henry might, however, have ultimately succeeded,
+had he acted with prudence. But he sought to terrify the Scots into
+submission; and those who succeeded to the government of England upon
+his death, which happened soon after, persisted in the same policy. An
+army was sent into Scotland, to ravage the country and pillage the
+towns and villages. This mode of wooing did not suit the temper of the
+Scots; and an end was soon put to all hopes by the negotiation of a
+marriage treaty between the queen and Francis, the infant dauphin of
+France. In pursuance of this treaty, Mary, then in her sixth year, was
+sent to France to be educated. She was at first placed in a convent
+with the king's daughters, where she made a rapid progress in all the
+accomplishments they attempted to teach her. Here her enthusiastic
+disposition was so strongly impressed with religious feelings, and she
+evinced such a fondness for a cloistered life, that it was thought
+proper to remove her to the gayer scenes of the court--a change which
+cost her torrents of tears. The fashion for learning prevailed at
+this time, and Mary profited by it. Her instructors were the most
+eminent men of the time; Buchanan taught her Latin; Pasquier
+instructed her in history; Ronsard, the most famous of the early
+French poets, cultivated her taste for poetry: they found her not only
+a willing but an able pupil. Other accomplishments were not neglected;
+she sung, and played on the lute and the virginals; she rode on
+horseback fearlessly, yet with feminine grace; her dancing was always
+admired; and we are assured that in the Spanish minuet she was
+equalled only by her aunt, the beautiful Anne of Este, and no lady of
+the court could eclipse her in a galliarde. Her beauty and the
+charming expression of her countenance were such, that, as a
+contemporary asserts, "no one could look upon her without loving her."
+When her mother came over to visit her in 1550, she burst into tears
+of joy, and congratulated herself on her daughter's capacity and
+loveliness. Soon after Mary's marriage to Francis, in 1558, Elizabeth
+ascended the English throne; the pope, and the French and Spanish
+courts, refused to acknowledge her; and Mary, undisputably the next
+heir, was compelled by the commands of her father-in-law to assume the
+title and arms of queen of England--a measure of unforeseen but fatal
+consequences to her, as it added fresh fuel to the fires of envy,
+jealousy, and hatred, which the personal advantages of Mary had
+already excited in the bosom of her vain and vindictive rival.
+
+[Illustration: MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, AT WINFIELD CASTLE.]
+
+In 1558, Francis and Mary were crowned king and queen of France.
+Francis survived this event but a few months. He was far inferior to
+his wife, both in personal and mental accomplishments; he was of
+sickly constitution, and very reserved; but he had an affectionate and
+kind disposition. He was not a man to call forth the deepest and most
+passionate feelings of such a heart as Mary's; but she ever treated
+him with tenderness and most respectful attention. She is described by
+an eye-witness as a "sorrowful widow," and lamented her husband
+sincerely.
+
+The happiness of Mary's life was now at an end. She was a stranger in
+the land of which she had so recently been crowned queen. In the queen
+mother, the ambitious Catherine de Medicis, who now ruled France in
+the name of her son Charles IX., Mary had an inveterate foe. In the
+reign of Francis they had been rivals for power, when the charms of
+the wife had triumphed over the authority of the mother. There was
+another wound which had long rankled in the vindictive bosom of
+Catherine. In the artlessness of youth, Mary had once boasted of her
+own descent from a "hundred kings," which was supposed to reflect on
+the mercantile lineage of the daughter of the Medicis. She now took
+her revenge. By the most studied slights she sought to mortify Mary,
+who first retired to Rheims. Here she was waited on by a deputation
+from her own nobles, who invited her, in terms which amounted to a
+command, to return to her native country.
+
+A new cause of difficulty now occurred between Mary and Elizabeth. The
+heads of the reformed religious party in Scotland, called the "Lords
+of the Congregation," had negotiated a treaty with Elizabeth, one of
+the terms of which was a renunciation, on the part of Mary, of all
+claims to the crown of England forever. This Mary refused to ratify,
+and replied to the crafty ministers of her rival with a spirit,
+intelligence, and firmness, extraordinary in a girl of eighteen. At
+the same time, she was courteous and gentle, and apologized for the
+assumption of the title and arms of queen of England, which, at the
+death of her husband, she had renounced. Attempts had been made to
+excite the fears of her Protestant subjects, which she thus set at
+rest: "I will be plain with you; the religion I profess I take to be
+the most acceptable to God; and indeed I neither know nor desire any
+other. I have been brought up in this religion, and who might credit
+me in any thing if I should show myself light in this case? I am none
+of those who change their religion every year; but I mean to constrain
+none of my subjects, though I could wish they were all as I am; and I
+trust they shall have no support to constrain me."
+
+Having at length resolved to return home, Mary sent to demand of
+Elizabeth a free passage; it was a mere point of courtesy and
+etiquette, but it was refused. The English ambassador sought in vain
+to justify his mistress's conduct; it arose from exasperated jealousy,
+and was inexcusable and mean, as well as discourteous.
+
+It was with grief almost amounting to despair that Mary left the
+scenes of her early attachments, and of all her pleasures. Accustomed
+to the refinement of the court of France, she reflected with a degree
+of horror on the barbarism of her own country, and the turbulence of
+the people. She stood upon the deck of the vessel which bore her,
+gazing through her tears on the receding shores. "Farewell, France!"
+she would exclaim from time to time; "farewell, beloved country, which
+I shall never more behold!" When night came on, she caused a bed to be
+spread on the deck, and wept herself to sleep.
+
+By the favor of a thick fog, Mary escaped the fleet which Elizabeth
+had sent out to intercept her, and landed at Leith. With sensations of
+terror and sadness she entered her capital; and they may well be
+excused. The poverty of the country formed a striking contrast with
+the fertile plains of France. The weather was wet and "dolorous;" and
+a serenade of bagpipes, with which the populace hailed her, seems to
+have greatly disconcerted her polished attendants. But Mary herself
+took every thing in good part, and, after a while, she so far
+recovered her gayety, that the masques and dancing, the "fiddling" and
+"uncomely skipping," gave great offence to John Knox and the rest of
+the grave reformers, who inveighed against such practices from the
+pulpit; and the former, with a violence and rudeness altogether
+unmanly, personally upbraided her, so as to make her weep. In one
+brought up in "joyousness," such austerity could not fail to excite
+disgust, and a stronger clinging to the more kind and genial doctrines
+of her own faith. But she made no retaliation; she sought, on the
+contrary, to win the affection of all her subjects, and to introduce
+happiness and prosperity, as well as a more refined civilization, into
+her country. Her life for a few years was tranquil. She gave four or
+five hours every day to state affairs; she was wont to have her
+embroidery frame placed in the room where the council met, and while
+she plied the needle, she joined in the discussions, displaying in her
+own opinions and suggestions a vigor of mind and quickness which
+astonished the statesmen around her. At other times she applied to
+study. She brought a great many books with her to Scotland, and the
+first artificial globes that had ever been seen there. She was fond of
+music, and maintained a band of minstrels. Her other amusements were
+hawking, hunting, dancing, and walking in the open air. She was fond
+of gardening; she had brought from France a little sycamore plant,
+which she planted in the gardens of Holyrood, and tended with care;
+and from this parent stem arose the beautiful groves which are now met
+with in Scotland. She excelled at the game of chess, and delighted in
+the allegorical representations, so much in fashion in her day, by the
+name of "masques."
+
+Though Mary could not but feel some resentment at the injurious
+treatment which she received from Elizabeth, yet she sought to
+conciliate her, and there was a great exhibition of courtesy and
+compliment, and "sisterly" affection, between them. Mary even
+consulted Elizabeth about her marriage. But that sovereign, with a
+littleness almost inconceivable, could not bear that others should
+enjoy any happiness of which she herself was debarred, and her own
+subjects could in no way more surely incur her displeasure than by
+marriage. She now sought to delay that of Mary. She proposed to her a
+most unworthy match, and, when this, as it was intended it should be,
+was rejected, offered objections to all which were proposed by Mary.
+
+At length, the suggestions of a powerful party seconding his own
+ambitious wishes, Henry Darnley entered the lists to obtain her favor.
+He was possessed of every external accomplishment, being remarkably
+tall, handsome, agreeable, and "well instructed in all comely
+exercises." His mother, "a very wise and discreet matron," Rizzio, and
+others, familiar with the queen's tastes, instructed him in the best
+methods of being agreeable to her. He affected a great degree of
+refinement, and a fondness for music and poetry. The queen, deceived
+and captivated, made choice of him for her husband--a choice which at
+the time seemed most proper and eligible; for he was a Protestant, and
+next heir, after herself, to the English throne. They were married in
+1565. For a short time Mary thought herself happy. In the first
+effusions of her passion, she lavished upon her husband every mark of
+love, and of distinction, even to conferring upon him the title of
+king of Scotland. But her tenderness and attentions were all thrown
+away, and, instead of respect and gratitude, she met with brutality
+and insolence. Violent, fickle, insolent, ungrateful, and addicted to
+the lowest pleasures, he was incapable of all true sentiments of love
+and tenderness. Love, for a time, blinded Mary's reason, and she made
+excuses for his faults; but, as his true temper and character became
+more known to her, she treated him with more reserve, and refused some
+of his unreasonable demands. Irritated, Darnley sought for some one in
+the confidence of the queen upon whom he might wreak his vengeance.
+
+There was at the court a young Italian, named Rizzio, who has already
+been mentioned as forwarding Darnley's suit. He had come to Scotland
+in the train of the ambassador of Savoy: the three pages, or
+songsters, who used to sing trios before Mary, wanted a bass, and
+Rizzio was appointed. Being not only a scientific musician, but a good
+penman, well acquainted with French and Italian, supple and
+intelligent, Rizzio contrived to make himself generally useful, and
+was, in 1564, appointed French secretary to the queen. Some designing
+nobles, jealous of the favor enjoyed by this foreigner, and likewise
+desirous of effecting a permanent breach between Darnley and the
+queen, persuaded him that Rizzio was the author of the queen's
+displeasure, and engaged him in a plot to murder him, which was thus
+carried into execution. As Mary was sitting at supper, attended by
+Rizzio, and a few other of the officials of her court, Darnley entered
+by a private passage which communicated directly with his own
+apartments, and, casting his arms fondly round her waist, seated
+himself by her side. A minute had scarcely elapsed, when Ruthven, in
+complete armor, rushed in. He had just risen from a sick bed; his
+features were sunken, his voice hollow, and his whole appearance
+haggard and terrible. Mary started up in affright, and bade him
+begone; but ere the words were uttered, torches gleamed in the outer
+room, a confused noise of voices and weapons was heard, and the other
+conspirators rushed in. Ruthven now drew his dagger, and calling out
+that their business was with Rizzio, endeavored to seize him; while
+this miserable victim, springing behind the queen, clung by her gown,
+and besought her protection. All was now uproar and confusion; the
+tables and lights were thrown down. Mary earnestly entreated them to
+have mercy, but in vain. Whilst one of the band held a pistol to her
+breast, the victim, already wounded and bleeding, was torn from her
+knees, and dragged through her bed-chamber to the door of the presence
+chamber, where he was finally despatched. Fifty-six wounds were found
+in the body, and the king's dagger was left sticking in it, to show,
+as was afterwards alleged, that he had sanctioned the murder. Ruthven,
+faint from sickness, and reeking from the scene of blood, staggered
+into the queen's cabinet, where Mary still stood distracted, and in
+terror of her life. Here he threw himself upon a seat, called for a
+cup of wine, and plunged a new dagger into the heart of the queen, by
+declaring that her husband had advised the whole. Mary was kept the
+whole night locked up, alone, in the room in which this terrible scene
+had been enacted. The next day Darnley visited her, and she, ignorant
+of the extent of his guilt, employed all her eloquence to induce him
+to desert the desperate men with whom he was leagued. He consented,
+and they fled together to Dunbar.
+
+A new actor must now be brought upon the stage--the ambitious,
+dissolute, and daring Bothwell. He was the head of one of the most
+ancient and powerful families in the kingdom, and, in all the plots
+and intrigues, he had ever remained faithful to the interests of the
+queen; it was natural, therefore, that he should stand high in her
+favor. It was chiefly through his active exertions that she now
+effected her escape; and she soon found herself at the head of a body
+of men, chiefly his clansmen, sufficiently powerful to bring the
+murderers of Rizzio to punishment. It is a striking instance of her
+clemency, that only two persons were executed for this crime.
+
+Three months after the murder, she gave birth to a son, afterwards
+James I. of England; at whose christening Elizabeth stood godmother,
+notwithstanding her envious and repining exclamation, that "the queen
+of Scots should be mother of a fair son, while she was only a barren
+stock." Even this joyous event could not dispel the melancholy of
+Mary, who now suffered so much from the conduct of Darnley as often to
+be seen in tears, and was frequently heard to wish herself dead. The
+lords of her council urged a divorce, but she would not listen to
+this. "I will that you do nothing," said she, "by which any spot may
+be laid on my honor or conscience; but wait till God, of his goodness,
+shall put a remedy to it." Finding the queen immovable on this point,
+Bothwell, who had now conceived the ambitious project of succeeding
+to his place, resolved to murder Darnley, who was just recovering from
+the smallpox, and was lodged, for the benefit of fresh air, at a house
+called the Kirk-of-field, near Edinburgh. His illness and lonely
+situation touched the tender heart of Mary. She visited him
+constantly, and bestowed on him the kindest attentions. She brought
+her band of musicians to amuse him. She seldom left him during the
+day, and usually passed the night in the house. But on Sunday, the 9th
+of February, on taking leave of him for the night, she went to the
+palace of Holyrood, to be present at the marriage of two of her
+servants. While engaged in these festivities, the house in which her
+husband slept was blown up, and his lifeless body was found in a
+garden at some distance. Every thing pointed to Bothwell as the author
+of this crime; but he, after a trial had before a jury composed of the
+first noblemen of the kingdom, was acquitted.
+
+Bothwell's next object was to marry the queen; and the steps he took
+for this purpose were too extraordinary, and apparently unnecessary,
+to have had her connivance. We are told that, as she was returning to
+Edinburgh, she was met by Bothwell at the head of a large body of
+retainers, who forcibly dispersed her small retinue, and carried her
+to Dunbar Castle. He then procured the signatures of a large number of
+the most distinguished of the nobles and ecclesiastics to a bond
+recommending him to the queen as a most fit and proper husband, and
+binding themselves to consider as a common enemy whoever should oppose
+the marriage. Armed with this document, strengthened by a vote of the
+council, Bothwell brought the queen to Edinburgh, and there the
+marriage was solemnized.
+
+The month which Mary passed with Bothwell after the marriage, was the
+most miserable of her miserable life. He treated her with such
+indignity, that a day did not pass in which "he did not cause her to
+shed abundance of salt tears." Those very lords, who had recommended
+the marriage, now made it a pretext for rebellion. Both parties took
+up arms, and met at Carberry Hill. Mary here adopted an unexpected and
+decisive step. She offered to the rebels to dismiss Bothwell, and
+place herself in their hands, if they would be answerable for her
+safety, and return to their allegiance. Her terms were accepted;
+Bothwell was persuaded by her to leave the field. They never met
+again; and thus in less than a month this union was virtually ended.
+
+Mary was soon committed as a prisoner to Lochleven Castle, a fortress
+in the midst of a lake, to the immediate custody of Lady Margaret
+Douglas, a woman of harsh and unfeeling temper, and who had
+personal motives for irritation against her. Cut off from all
+intercourse with those in whom she had confidence, and harassed by
+daily ill usage, her enemies trusted that her spirit would at
+length be broken, and that she would submit to any terms which
+should promise relief. Accordingly, after some weeks, she was visited
+by a deputation of the rebels, who demanded her signature to a paper
+declaring her own incapacity to govern, and abdicating the throne
+in favor of her son. Upon her refusal to make this humiliating
+declaration, Lindsay, the fiercest of the confederates, rudely
+seized her hand with his own gauntleted palm, and, with threats of
+instant death in case of non-compliance, compelled her to set her
+signature to the deed; she, in a paroxysm of tears, calling on all
+present to witness that she did so through her fear for her life, and
+therefore that the act was not valid.
+
+Bothwell, meanwhile, after wandering from place to place, now lurking
+among his vassals, now seeking refuge with his friends, at length
+fled, with a single ship, towards Norway. Falling in with a vessel of
+that country, richly laden, he attacked it, but was himself taken, and
+carried to Norway, where for ten years he languished in captivity;
+till, by melancholy and despair deprived of reason, unpitied and
+unassisted, he ended his wretched life in a dungeon. A declaration
+addressed to the king of Denmark, in which he gives a succinct account
+of all the transactions in which he was engaged in Scotland, is yet
+preserved in the library of the king of Sweden. In it he completely
+exonerates Mary from having the slightest concern in the murder of
+Darnley; and again, before his death, when confessing his own share in
+it, he solemnly acquits her of all pre-knowledge of the crime.
+
+Mary now, in her distress, found assistance from an unexpected
+quarter. Her misfortunes, and gentle resignation under them, excited
+the pity and sympathy of the _little William Douglas_, a boy of
+fifteen, a son of her jailer; and he resolved to undertake her
+deliverance. The first attempt failed. The queen had succeeded in
+leaving the castle in the disguise of a laundress, and was already
+seated in the boat, to cross the lake, when she betrayed herself by
+raising her hand. The beauty and extreme whiteness of that hand
+discovered her at once, and she was carried back to her chamber in
+tears and bitterness of heart. The next attempt was more successful,
+and she reached Hamilton in safety. Many nobles of the highest
+distinction hastened to offer their support, and, in three days after
+leaving Lochleven, she was at the head of six thousand men, devoted to
+her cause.
+
+The other party made haste to assemble their forces. At their head was
+Murray, a half-brother of the queen--a man whom she had loaded with
+benefits and honors, and to whom she had twice granted life, when
+condemned for treason. He now acted as regent, in the minority of the
+infant prince, whom the confederates assumed to be king. The hostile
+bands met at Langside. From a neighboring hill, Mary viewed a conflict
+on which her fate depended. She beheld--with what anguish of heart may
+be imagined--the fortune of the day turn against her; she saw her
+faithful friends cut to pieces, taken prisoners, or flying before the
+victorious Murray. When all was lost, her general, Lord Herries, came
+up to her, seized her bridle, and turned her horse's head from the
+dismal scene. With a few adherents she fled southwards; nor did she
+repose till she reached Dundrennan, sixty miles from the field of
+battle. There Mary, trusting in Elizabeth's recent professions of
+friendship, took the fatal resolution of throwing herself upon the
+compassion and protection of the English queen. As she approached the
+boundary, her resolution faltered; the coming evils seemed to cast
+their shadows before; but those which awaited her, if she remained,
+were certain, and she crossed the small stream which formed the
+parting line.
+
+Mary was at this time in her twenty-sixth year; in the very prime of
+existence, in the full bloom of beauty and health, when a dark pall
+was spread over her life. Thenceforward her history presents one
+painful picture of monotonous suffering on the one hand, and of
+meanness, treachery, and cruelty, on the other. With relentless
+cruelty, her rival kept her in perpetual bonds; the only changes were
+from prison to prison, and from one harsh keeper to another; from the
+gleam of delusive hope to the blackness of succeeding disappointment.
+
+As soon as she entered England, Mary addressed a letter to Elizabeth,
+in which she painted in glowing colors the wrongs she had endured, and
+implored the sympathy and assistance of her "good sister." A generous
+and magnanimous sovereign would not have hesitated as to the answer to
+be made to such an appeal. But Elizabeth deliberated; she consulted
+her counsel; the object of long years of hatred was in her power; one
+whose very existence was an outrage upon her personal vanity; her
+malicious feelings of envy and jealousy got the mastery, and Mary's
+detention as a prisoner was resolved on. Still, however, a show of
+decency was to be preserved. Noblemen of suitable rank were sent to
+receive her, carrying with them letters from their sovereign filled
+with prostituted expressions of condolence and sympathy. At the same
+time, orders were given that Mary should not be allowed to leave the
+kingdom. To Mary's demand of a formal interview, Elizabeth replied,
+that the honor must, with whatever reluctance, be denied to her, lest
+the imputation under which she labored of being accessory to the
+murder of Darnley should bring a stain upon her own reputation; but
+that, whenever she should clear herself of this, she should receive
+assistance commensurate with her distress, and a reception suitable to
+her dignity. By this pretence was Mary entangled in a treacherous
+snare. Confiding in her professions of friendship, she agreed to
+submit her cause to Elizabeth, and to produce to her such proofs as
+would convince her of her innocence, and of the malice and falsehood
+of her enemies. Elizabeth had now accomplished her end: she became the
+umpire between Mary and her rebellious subjects, and had it wholly in
+her power to protract and to involve the proceedings in endless mazes;
+having, at the same time, a pretext for keeping Mary at a distance
+from her court, and for withholding from her all assistance.
+
+To save appearances, a conference was appointed to be held at York,
+at which, in presence of her representatives, the several parties
+should make known their causes of complaint. Murray appeared in
+person, and accused Mary of participating in the murder of her
+husband, and of other monstrous crimes; of all which were offered as
+testimony certain letters purporting to have been written by her to
+Bothwell. By her command, her commissioners repelled the accusation
+with horror, and pronounced the letters to be base forgeries, and,
+at the same time, accused Murray and his confederates of treason and
+scandal against their sovereign. As was predetermined, the conference
+ended without coming to any decision; and, as Murray was permitted
+to return to Scotland, Mary required that she should be set at
+liberty. In answer, it was intimated that if she would confirm the
+forced abdication, and would renounce her throne and country, she
+should be permitted to reside in quiet and privacy in England. "The
+eyes of Europe," replied Mary, "are upon me; and, were I thus
+tamely to yield to my adversaries, I should be pronouncing my own
+condemnation. A thousand times rather would I submit to death than
+inflict this stain upon my honor. The last words I speak shall be
+those of the queen of Scotland." Refusing her liberty upon these
+disgraceful terms, she remained a captive.
+
+Great fears were entertained of the power of Mary's charms over those
+who were suffered to approach her. "If I might give advice," writes
+one of Elizabeth's statesmen, when on a visit to her, "there should
+very few subjects of this land have access to a conference with this
+lady; for, besides that she is a goodly personage,--and yet, in truth,
+not comparable to our sovereign,--she hath withal an alluring grace, a
+pretty Scotch speech, and a searching wit, clouded with mildness." The
+advice contained in this letter was too acceptable not to be followed,
+and every succeeding year found Mary reduced in society, in comforts,
+and health. The latter, which had heretofore caused her no anxiety,
+gradually gave way before want of exercise and the dampness of the
+prisons in which she was confined; and she came to suffer from
+constant pain in her side, rheumatism, and weakness of limbs--a state
+of suffering and disease which was aggravated by the penuriousness of
+Elizabeth, which would not permit to her even the accommodation which
+that comparatively rude age afforded.
+
+Her principal occupation was needle-work, and her amusement reading
+and composition; she retained her early love of literature, and it was
+now, next to her religious feelings and hopes, her best resource. The
+unvarying mildness and saint-like patience with which Mary endured her
+captivity are the more remarkable, if we remember that she was
+disinclined to sedentary amusements, and by nature and habit fond of
+walking, riding, gardening, and all exercises in the open air. Her
+gentleness, therefore, under a restraint so heart-wearing, is a proof
+of singular sweetness of temper and strength of mind, if not of a
+clear and tranquil conscience.
+
+But, if the situation of Mary was melancholy, that of her persecutor
+was not to be envied. Plot succeeded plot, having for ostensible
+object the relief of Mary. In fact, while she existed, Elizabeth was
+stretched on the rack of fear and suspicion. In vain did she seek to
+implicate Mary in these traitorous projects; Mary freely acknowledged
+that she should seize with eagerness any means of deliverance from a
+hateful captivity; but, as to being privy to any plot against the life
+or throne of the queen, this she constantly and strenuously denied. At
+last, a subservient Parliament were induced to pass a most infamous
+law, which declared that not only the conspirators themselves, but
+those in whose cause they conspired, however innocent, or ignorant of
+their purpose, should equally suffer the penalties of treason.
+
+Occasion was soon made for bringing Mary to trial under this law. The
+arrival of the commissioners charged with the duty was a surprise to
+her; a public trial was an indignity wholly unexpected, and she
+protested against it. "I came," said she, "into the kingdom an
+independent sovereign, to ask the queen's assistance, not to subject
+myself to her authority. Nor is my spirit so broken by past
+misfortunes, or intimidated by present dangers, as to stoop to any
+thing unbecoming the dignity of a crowned head, or that will disgrace
+the ancestors from whom I am descended, and the son to whom I shall
+leave the throne. If I must be tried, princes only can be my peers.
+Since my arrival in this country, I have been uniformly confined as a
+prisoner. Its laws never afforded me any protection. Let them not be
+perverted, in order to take away my life." But a second time was she
+entrapped by the plausible argument that, by avoiding a trial, she was
+an enemy to her own reputation. Solicitous for the vindication of her
+honor, she submitted to an inquiry, the result of which had been
+predetermined; for those who had made the law for an express purpose,
+would not scruple to apply it. Notwithstanding a defence which was
+characterized by the same vigor and dignity of mind, and the acuteness
+of intellect which she had displayed when in possession of youth,
+health, and power, a sentence universally acknowledged to be unjust
+and iniquitous was pronounced against her.
+
+The news of this outrage excited horror and indignation throughout
+Europe, and at length roused James to attempt something in behalf of
+his mother. He sent ambassadors to the various sovereigns of Europe,
+calling upon them to join with him in this the common cause of
+princes. He wrote to Elizabeth, threatening her with the vengeance
+which, as a sovereign and as a son, he was bound in honor and in duty
+to inflict. But Elizabeth was deaf to the reproaches and menaces by
+which she was from all sides assailed. It is true that, when a servile
+Parliament besought her to have the sentence executed, she, with an
+affectation of clemency, besought them to spare her the pain of
+imbruing her hands in the blood of a queen and near kinswoman, and to
+consider if the public safety might not otherwise be provided for. But
+her real meaning was well understood, and the lords and commons
+repeated the request, without fear of offending by their importunity.
+
+By her own command, Davison, the secretary, brought to her the
+death-warrant, and she subscribed it with no relenting symptoms. She
+was still, however, solicitous to preserve appearances, and let fall
+intimations which might stimulate some of her officers to extricate
+her from her dilemma. It was an honor to the nation that no assassin
+could be found. Paulet, though harsh in temper, and brutal, at times,
+in the discharge of what he conceived to be his duty, rejected with
+disdain a proposal of this nature; declaring that, though the queen
+might dispose of his life at her pleasure, he would not stain his
+honor, or cover his memory with infamy. Upon which Elizabeth called
+him a _dainty_ and _precise_ fellow, who promised much, but performed
+nothing.
+
+At length the privy council determined to take upon themselves the
+responsibility of sending off the warrant for the execution. On the
+7th of February, 1587, the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury, being
+admitted to Mary's presence, informed her that their mistress,
+Elizabeth, being overcome by the importunity of her subjects, had
+given orders for her execution. She listened unmoved to the reading of
+the warrant, and on its conclusion she bowed her head, and, making the
+sign of the cross, thanked her gracious God that this welcome news had
+at last come; declaring how happy she should be to leave a world where
+she could be of no use, and had suffered such continued affliction.
+After expressing her delight and her gratitude to God for the
+privilege of sealing, by her death, the testimony she had so often
+borne in behalf of her church, she went on to speak of her past
+suffering. Born a queen, the daughter of a king, the cousin of the
+queen of England, the granddaughter of Henry VII., once queen of
+France, and now queen-dowager of that kingdom,--and yet what had all
+this availed her? She then spoke of her love for England; of the
+desire she had ever felt to obtain the friendship of its queen; of the
+ignominy and injustice with which she had, notwithstanding, been
+treated; imprisoned contrary to all faith and treaties; kept a captive
+for nineteen years; and "at last," said she, laying her hand on the
+New Testament, "condemned by a tribunal which had no power over me,
+for a crime of which I here solemnly declare I am innocent. I have
+neither invented, nor consented to, nor pursued, any conspiracy for
+the death of the queen of England." The Earl of Kent here hastily
+interrupted her, declaring that the Scriptures on which she had sworn
+were false, and the Roman Catholic version. "It is the translation
+which I believe," answered Mary. "Does your lordship think my oath
+would be better, if I swore on your translation, which I disbelieve?"
+She then requested to be allowed the services of her chaplain, whom
+she had not for some time been permitted to see. But the request was
+denied; the Earl of Kent, however, an intolerant bigot, after a long
+theological discourse, offered her the services of his own Protestant
+chaplain. Mary bore this stroke of cruelty with meekness, but declined
+the proffered services. She inquired at what time she was to die.
+"To-morrow, at eight," was the reply; and the earls then left the
+room. On their departure, Mary called her women, and bade them hasten
+supper, that she might have time to arrange her affairs. "Come, come,
+Jane Kennedy," said she, "cease your weeping, and be busy. Did I not
+warn you, my children, that it would come to this? and now, blessed be
+God, it has come, and fear and sorrow are at an end. Weep not, but
+rejoice rather that your poor mistress is so near the end of her
+troubles. Dry your tears, then, and let us pray together." Some time
+was spent in her devotions; she then supped with cheerfulness. She
+next distributed various articles from her wardrobe among her
+attendants, with a kind expression for each. She then wrote her last
+will, which is still extant, and consists of four pages, closely
+written, in a neat, firm hand. Not one person was forgotten who had
+any claims on her gratitude or her remembrance. She also wrote several
+letters; but these, it is said, are blotted with her tears. It was her
+custom to have her women read to her, at night, a portion of the
+"Lives of the Saints;" and this last night she would not omit it, but
+made Jane Kennedy select a portion. She chose the life entitled the
+"Good Thief," which treats of that beautiful and affecting example of
+dying faith and divine compassion. "Alas!" said Mary, "he was indeed a
+very great sinner, but not so great as I am. May my Savior, in memory
+of His passion, have mercy on me, as he had on him!"
+
+At the hour appointed, the sheriff entered her room, and proceeding to
+the altar, where the queen was kneeling, informed her that all was
+ready. She rose, and saying simply, "Let us go," proceeded towards the
+door, on reaching which, her attendants were informed that they were
+not to accompany her. A scene of the most distressing character now
+took place; but they were at last torn from her, and locked up in
+the apartment. Mary proceeded alone down the great staircase, at
+the foot of which she was received by the two earls, who were
+struck with the perfect tranquillity and unaffected grace with which
+she met them. She was dressed in black satin, matronly but richly,
+and with more studied care than she was commonly accustomed to
+bestow. At the bottom of the staircase she was also met by her old
+servant, Sir Andrew Melvil, waiting to take his last farewell.
+Flinging himself on his knees, he bitterly lamented it should have
+fallen to him to carry this heart-rending news to Scotland. "Weep
+not," said she, "but rather rejoice, my good Melvil. Carry this
+news with thee, that I die firm in my religion, true to Scotland,
+true to France. May God, who can alone judge the thoughts and
+actions of men, forgive those who have thirsted for my blood.
+Remember me to my son; tell him I have done nothing that may
+prejudice his kingdom." She then earnestly entreated that her women
+might be permitted to be with her at her death; but the Earl of
+Kent refused it, saying that they might be guilty of something
+scandalous and superstitious, even to dipping their handkerchiefs in
+her blood. But Mary plighted her word they should not offend in any
+wise: "Surely, surely you will not deny me this last little
+request; my poor girls wish only to see me die." As she said this,
+a few tears were observed to fall, for the first time; and, after
+some consultation, she was permitted to have two ladies and four
+gentlemen beside her. Followed by these, she entered the great
+hall, and seated herself on the raised platform, prepared for a
+scaffold, with the same easy grace and dignity with which she would
+have occupied her throne. The death-warrant was then read; but those
+who were near could see, by the sweet and absent expression of her
+countenance, that her thoughts were afar off.
+
+The Earl of Kent next solicited her to join with him and the
+Protestant chaplain in their devotions. But she declined, and,
+kneeling apart, repeated a part of the penitential Psalms, and
+afterwards continued her prayers aloud in English. By this time, the
+chaplain had concluded; there was a deep silence, so that every word
+was heard. It was impossible for any one to behold her at this moment
+without being deeply affected--on her knees, her hands clasped and
+raised to heaven, an expression of adoration and divine serenity
+lighting up her features, and upon her lips the words of forgiveness
+to her persecutors. Having finished, she cheerfully suffered herself
+to be undressed by her women, gently admonishing them not to distress
+her by their lamentations; putting her finger on her lips, and bidding
+them remember that she had promised for them. On seeing the
+executioner approach to offer his assistance, she smiled, and
+playfully said, "that she had neither been used to such grooms of the
+chamber, nor to undress before so many people." When all was ready,
+she kissed her women, and, giving them her last blessing, she knelt
+down and groped her way to the block,--for her eyes were bound,--and
+laid her neck upon it without the slightest mark of trembling or
+hesitation. Her last words were, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit,
+for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." At two strokes, her
+head was severed from her body, and the executioner, holding it up,
+called aloud, "God save the queen!" "So let all Queen Elizabeth's
+enemies perish!" was the prayer of the chaplain; but the spectators
+were dissolved in tears, and one deep voice alone answered, "Amen!" It
+came from the Earl of Kent. On removing the body, and the clothes and
+mantle which lay beside it, Mary's favorite little dog, which had
+followed its mistress unperceived, was found nestling under them. No
+entreaty could prevail on it to quit the spot; and it remained lying
+beside the corpse, and stained in the blood, till forcibly carried
+away by the attendants.
+
+Elizabeth affected to receive the news of the death of her rival with
+surprise and grief; she even carried her artifice to so barbarous a
+length, as to render Davison, the secretary, and the innocent
+instrument of her cruelty and dissimulation, the victim of her
+perfidy. Under pretence that he had orders not to let the warrant go
+out of his office, he was degraded, fined, imprisoned, and utterly
+ruined. By this sacrifice, she hoped to appease the king of Scots,
+whom the death of his mother had filled with grief and resentment,
+which yielded, however, at length, to the necessities of his
+situation. Having affected to admit the excuses of Elizabeth, and
+to be satisfied with the sacrifice of Davison, he stifled his
+indignation, and continued the semblance of amity with the English
+court. Thus the death and sufferings of Mary remained unavenged,
+while Elizabeth was suffered to reap the advantages of her malignity.
+
+
+
+
+ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
+
+
+This extraordinary woman, the daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn,
+was born in 1533. Being educated a Protestant, and having adopted the
+principles of the reformation, she was looked upon with suspicion and
+treated with harshness during the reign of her sister Mary. She
+devoted herself, however, to study, and is thus described at this
+period: "She was of admirable beauty, and well deserving a crown; of a
+modest gravity, excellent wit, royal soul, happy memory, and
+indefatigably given to the study of learning, insomuch as, before she
+was seventeen years of age, she understood well the Latin, French, and
+Italian tongues, and had an indifferent knowledge of the Greek.
+Neither did she neglect music, so far as it became a princess, being
+able to sing sweetly, and play handsomely on the lute."
+
+On the death of Mary, in 1558, she was immediately proclaimed queen,
+and was received in the metropolis with the loudest acclamations. She
+consigned to oblivion all the affronts she had received during the
+late reign, and prudently assumed the gracious demeanor of the common
+sovereign of all her subjects. Philip of Spain soon made her proposals
+of marriage; but she knew the aversion borne him by the nation too
+well to think of accepting him.
+
+[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH ON A TOUR THROUGH HER REALM.]
+
+She now proceeded to the arduous task of settling the religion of the
+state. In comparison with the harsh and cruel measures of her
+predecessor, her conduct was marked with moderation. Yet the Catholics
+were made to feel the severest restraints upon their liberty of
+thought and action. It was not long before she began that interference
+in the affairs of Scotland which produced the most singular and
+painful events in her reign. These we have sufficiently detailed in
+the life of the unhappy Queen Mary.
+
+The political history of Elizabeth would fill a volume. She soon
+acquired great reputation for vigor and sagacity, and was regarded as
+the head of the Protestant party in Europe. She took the part of the
+revolted provinces of Holland against Spain in 1585, and three years
+after, when threatened by what was called the "Invincible Armada," she
+displayed a degree of energy and personal courage which would have
+done credit to a sovereign of the other sex. She mingled largely in
+the political affairs of the continent, and, in 1601, held a
+conference with the celebrated Sully, with a view to the adjustment of
+a new balance of European power. While thus directing her attention to
+general politics, she did not neglect the internal affairs of her
+kingdom. These were indeed conducted with great sagacity and wisdom,
+and such was the state of prosperity among the people, that the "good
+old days of Queen Bess" is still a proverb in England. Although thus
+attentive to the concerns of government, Elizabeth devoted much time
+and expense to dress, of which she was excessively fond; and she even
+affected a love of literature and learning. The age in which she lived
+is remarkable for the great men it produced--Shakspere, Bacon, Sidney,
+Hooker, and Raleigh, whose works contributed so much to give vigor,
+strength, and elegance, to the English tongue. Literature owes,
+however, little to her; she was much more fond of displaying her own
+acquirements than encouraging the learned. Whatever countenance
+Shakspere received from royalty, he owed to his friends Essex and
+Southampton; and Spenser, who has sung the praises of the queen in
+"strains divine," died in neglect and poverty.
+
+Elizabeth was fond of multiplying pictures of herself, and so far
+encouraged painting. One of her most characteristic ordinances is a
+proclamation forbidding all manner of persons from drawing, painting,
+graving, &c., her majesty's person and visage, till some perfect
+pattern should be prepared by a skilful limner, "for the consolation
+of her majesty's loving subjects, who were grieved, and took great
+offence, at the errors and deformities committed by sundry persons in
+this respect." She was so little capable of judging of works of art,
+that she would not allow a painter to put any shadows upon the face,
+"because," as she said, "shade is an accident, and not in nature."
+
+During her whole reign, Elizabeth was subjected to the influence of
+favorites. The most celebrated of these are the Earls of Leicester and
+of Essex. The first was a most weak and worthless man, contemned and
+feared by the nobles, and odious to the people; yet, in spite of all
+his vices and incapacity, he maintained his influence for nearly
+thirty years. Her partiality for Essex seems to have been the dotage
+of a vain old woman. She could not appreciate his fine qualities; she
+would not make allowance for his faults; and he was too frank and
+spirited to cringe at her footstool. "I owe her majesty," said he upon
+an occasion when she had repaid some want of obsequiousness by a blow,
+"the duty of an earl, but I will never serve her as a villain and a
+slave!" Essex was too rash and unsuspecting to be a match for the cool
+and wily ministers, whose interest it was to have him out of their
+way, not only as the favorite of the present sovereign, but as likely
+to be all powerful with her successor; and partly by their arts, and
+partly by his own fiery temper, he was brought to the block in the
+thirty-fourth year of his age. In the exasperation of offended power
+and jealous self-will, the queen signed the warrant for his execution,
+and pined away the remainder of her life in unavailing remorse. This
+grief, with which she long struggled in secret, at length broke forth
+superior to control. The occasion was as follows:--
+
+The Countess of Nottingham, a near relation, but no friend, of Essex,
+being on her death-bed, entreated to see the queen, declaring that she
+had something to confess to her before she could die in peace. On her
+majesty's arrival, the countess produced a ring, which she said the
+Earl of Essex had sent to her, after his condemnation, with an earnest
+request that she would deliver it to the queen, as a token by which he
+implored her mercy; but that, in obedience to her husband, she
+withheld it. Elizabeth at once recognized the ring as one which she
+had herself presented to her favorite, with the tender promise, that
+of whatsoever crimes his enemies might have accused him, or whatever
+offences he might actually have committed against her, on his
+returning to her that pledge, she would either pardon him, or admit
+him, at least, to justify himself in her presence. It was in a moment
+of pique at his supposed pride and obstinacy in refusing to ask her
+forgiveness, that she had signed the death-warrant. She now learned
+that he had been the victim, and herself the dupe, of the most
+barbarous treachery. Transported with grief and rage, she shook the
+dying countess in her bed; and, vehemently exclaiming, "God may
+forgive, but I never will," she flung herself out of the chamber.
+
+Returning to the palace, she surrendered herself without resistance to
+the despair which had seized her heart on this fatal disclosure. She
+refused medicine, and almost the means of sustenance; days and nights
+she sat upon the floor, sleepless, her eyes fixed, and her finger
+pressed upon her mouth, the silence only broken by her sighs, groans,
+and ejaculations of anguish. Her sufferings were at length relieved by
+her death, on the 24th of March, 1603. Her last words were strongly
+characteristic. During her whole life, she had shown a perverse dread
+of naming her successor; but it was necessary that the question should
+be put to her in her last moments. She replied, "My seat has been the
+seat of kings, and I will have no rascal to succeed me." Cecil, whom
+the weakness of the dying lioness rendered bold, inquired what she
+meant by the words, "that _no rascal_ should succeed her;" to which
+she answered, "I will have a king to succeed me, and who should that
+be but the king of Scots?"
+
+The personal character of Elizabeth presents little that excites our
+sympathy or respect. She was vain, jealous, and selfish, in the
+extreme. She was capable of the deepest hypocrisy, and often practised
+it. She sacrificed every thing to her despotic love of sway, her
+pride, and her vanity, except the interests of her kingdom. These she
+guarded with care, and, though a tyrannical and selfish monarch, she
+must be ranked as among the best sovereigns of her time.
+
+
+
+
+ISABELLA OF SPAIN.
+
+
+Isabella, queen of Castile, was born at Madrigal, in that kingdom, on
+the 22d of April, 1451. Her father, John II., after an inglorious
+reign of forty-eight years, died in 1454, lamenting that he had not
+been born the son of a mechanic, instead of king of Castile. Isabella
+had but a slender prospect of obtaining the crown during the early
+part of her life. She had two brothers, Henry and Alfonso, the former
+of whom acceded to the throne at the death of John. Isabella retired,
+with her mother, to the little town of Arevalo, where she lived many
+years in obscurity. Her mother, who appears to have been a woman of a
+strong, religious turn of mind, bestowed great care on her education,
+and inculcated the strictest lessons of piety upon her daughter, which
+did not fail to exercise an important influence upon her future
+career. On the birth of a daughter to her brother, Isabella was
+removed from her retirement to the royal palace, by Henry, who, being
+disliked by his subjects, feared the formation of a party adverse to
+his interests. At the royal court, surrounded by all the pleasures and
+seductions most dazzling to youth, she did not forget the early
+lessons imbibed in her seclusion, and the blameless purity of her
+conduct shone with additional lustre amid the scenes of levity and
+licentiousness by which she was surrounded.
+
+Before this event, she had been solicited in marriage by various
+suitors, among whom was Ferdinand of Arragon, who afterward became her
+husband. His first application, however, was unsuccessful. She was
+next betrothed to his elder brother Carlos, while yet a mere child.
+That prince dying before the marriage could be completed, she was
+promised by her brother to Alfonso, king of Portugal. Isabella was
+but thirteen at this time, and the disparity of their ages was such
+that neither threats nor entreaties could induce her to consent to the
+union. The selfish and unprincipled Henry, who looked upon his sister
+only as an object of trade, next made an attempt to dispose of her for
+the purpose of gaining over a powerful family in Castile, which gave
+him great trouble by their opposition. He offered her in marriage to
+Don Pedro Giron, grand master of the order of Calatrava. This man was
+well known to be a most detestable character. He was a fierce and
+turbulent leader of a faction, and his private life was stained with
+almost every vice. Such a person, vastly inferior in birth, was
+selected as the husband of the young and virtuous Isabella. The pope
+granted a dispensation from the vow of celibacy, which the grand
+master, as the companion of a religions order, had been obliged to
+utter, and splendid preparations were immediately made for the
+nuptials.
+
+Isabella was at this time in her sixteenth year. When she understood
+in what manner she was now to be sacrificed to the selfish policy of
+her brother, and that, in case she proved reluctant, compulsory
+measures were to be adopted, she was filled with the liveliest grief
+and indignation. She confined herself in her apartment, abstaining
+from all food and sleep for a day and a night, imploring Heaven, in
+the most piteous manner, to save her from this dishonor, even at the
+cost of her life. As she was bewailing her hard fate to her faithful
+friend, Beatriz de Bobadilla, that high-spirited lady exclaimed, "God
+will not permit it; neither will I;" and, drawing forth a dagger from
+her bosom, she solemnly vowed to plunge it into the heart of the
+master of Calatrava as soon as he appeared. The affair, happily, did
+not come to so tragical a catastrophe. Her dreaded suitor was suddenly
+carried off by sickness in the midst of his magnificent preparations.
+
+Troubles now began to thicken around the weak and vicious Henry. His
+subjects, disgusted with his administration, rose in arms against him.
+Castile was afflicted with all the horrors of anarchy and civil war.
+Isabella retired for shelter to a monastery at Avila. The confederated
+nobles, who were in arms against the king, offered her the crown of
+Castile, which she had the prudence and magnanimity to refuse. This
+led to a negotiation with the king, and the civil war was closed by a
+treaty between the parties, in which it was stipulated that Isabella
+should be immediately recognized heir to the crown of Castile and
+Leon. Her brother Alfonso had recently died, and Joanna, the daughter
+of Henry, was believed by the people to be a supposititious offspring.
+Isabella's prospects of a throne, having now assumed a certain
+character, drew the attention of neighboring princes, who contended
+with each other for the honor of her hand. She gave the preference to
+Ferdinand of Arragon, and they were married in 1469. On the death of
+Henry, in 1474, they were conjointly declared king and queen of
+Castile. A party, however, existed in favor of Joanna, and Alfonso
+IV., king of Portugal, entered Castile at the head of an army,
+publicly espoused her, and assumed the regal title. His defeat at the
+battle of Toro, in 1475, was fatal to his pretensions, and, by a peace
+concluded in 1479, the right of Isabella and her husband was fully
+acknowledged. In that year Ferdinand succeeded to the crown of
+Arragon; and from that time the kingdoms of Castile and Arragon were
+inseparably united, comprising the whole of Spain not possessed by the
+Moors.
+
+Isabella, who was high spirited and jealous of her authority, governed
+Castile as the real sovereign, and her husband had the policy to
+concur, with apparent cordiality, in her measures. In 1481,
+hostilities were commenced against the Moors of Grenada; and, after a
+war of ten years, that kingdom was subdued by the arms of Ferdinand
+and Isabella. By this event the whole of Spain was restored to the
+Christian dominion; and, in honor of an achievement so auspicious, the
+two sovereigns received the distinguishing title of "the Catholic." In
+this war Isabella engaged with all the ardor of religions zeal; and
+though Ferdinand joined in her plans with perfect harmony, yet he
+seems to have acted in a secondary capacity. Soon after this, the Jews
+were expelled from Spain--an act of bigotry and injustice certainly
+countenanced by Isabella, but owing chiefly to the frantic religious
+zeal of the inquisitor-general, Torquemada, her confessor, who, while
+the king and queen were deliberating on the acceptance of an offer of
+thirty thousand ducats made by the Jews to avert the threatened edict
+of expulsion, suddenly burst into their presence, and, drawing forth a
+crucifix from beneath his mantle, held it up, exclaiming, "Judas
+Iscariot sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver. Your highnesses
+would sell him anew for thirty thousand. Here he is; take him, and
+barter him away." So saying, he threw the crucifix on the table, and
+left the apartment. This bold stroke of priestly impudence was
+completely successful. The sovereigns were overawed, and the edict was
+signed.
+
+A deed more glorious to the memory of Isabella was the generous
+patronage she bestowed upon Columbus, and which was the sole means
+that enabled that heroic adventurer to accomplish his great
+undertaking of the discovery of the western world. After he had failed
+in all his attempts in other quarters, he at length found a friend in
+the queen, who, rejecting the advice of her narrow-minded and timid
+counsellors, exclaimed, "I will assume the undertaking for my own
+crown of Castile, and am ready to pawn my jewels to defray the
+expenses of it, if the funds in the treasury shall be found
+inadequate." Under her auspices Columbus achieved his great discovery;
+and Isabella may be called the mother of the western world. She
+continued a constant friend and protector of Columbus during her life;
+and her death proved an overwhelming disaster to him.
+
+During the war against the Moors, Isabella shared in most of the
+campaigns, animating her husband and generals by her courage and
+undaunted perseverance; providing for the support of the armies by her
+forethought and economy; comforting them under their reverses by her
+sweet and gracious speeches, and pious confidence in Heaven; and, by
+her active humanity and her benevolent sympathy, extended to friend
+and foe, softening, as far as possible, the miseries of war. She was
+the first who appointed regular military surgeons to attend the
+movements of the army, and be at hand on the field of battle. These
+surgeons were paid out of her own revenues; and she also provided six
+spacious tents, furnished with beds and all things requisite for the
+sick and wounded, which were called the "Queen's Hospital." Thus to
+the compassionate heart of a woman, directed by energy and judgment,
+the civilized world was first indebted for an expedient which has
+since saved so many lives, and accomplished so much towards
+alleviating the frightful evils of war.
+
+Isabella's confessor, the Dominican Torquemada, had, from the
+beginning, earnestly labored to infuse into her young mind, to which
+his situation gave him such ready access, the same spirit of
+fanaticism that glowed in his own. Fortunately, this was in a great
+degree counteracted by her sound understanding and natural kindness of
+heart. But he is said to have extorted a promise that, "should she
+ever come to the throne, she would devote herself to the extirpation
+of heresy, for the glory of God and the extension of the Catholic
+faith." The fulfilment of this promise being afterwards insisted on,
+led to the establishment of the Inquisition in her dominions, the
+darkest spot that exists upon her character. It was not till she had
+endured the repeated importunities of the clergy, particularly of
+those revered persons in whom she most confided, that she consented to
+this measure.
+
+It was under the auspices of Isabella that Cardinal Ximenes introduced
+his famous reforms into the religious orders of Spain, and began the
+work of correcting the horrible abuses which had crept into the
+government of the convents. This attempt was strongly resisted, and
+occasioned a general outcry of the clergy. The general of the
+Franciscans waited on the queen, and remonstrated in high terms
+against this interference with the privileges of his order; at the
+same time reflecting severely on Cardinal Ximenes, and his influence
+over her mind. Isabella listened to this turbulent friar with some
+impatience; but, little accustomed to be dictated to in this style,
+she at length rose from her seat, and desired him to remember who he
+was, and to whom he spoke. "Madam," replied the monk, undauntedly, "I
+remember that I am but ashes and dust, and that I speak to Queen
+Isabella, who is but dust and ashes, like myself." She immediately
+turned from him with a look of cool disdain. The next day he was
+ordered to quit the kingdom; and Ximenes, supported by the royal
+power, pursued his system of reformation.
+
+Isabella was a patron of literature. The first printing press set up
+in Spain was established at Burgos under her auspices; and all printed
+books, and foreign and classical works, were imported free of duty.
+Through her zeal and patronage, the University of Salamanca rose to
+that eminence which it assumed among the learned institutions of that
+period, and rivalled those of Pisa and Padua. She prepared the way for
+that golden age of Spanish literature which immediately succeeded her.
+Her own love of study is evinced by the fact, that, after she was
+firmly seated on the throne, she applied herself to the task of
+remedying the defects of her early education, by a diligent
+application to books, amid all the cares of state. She mastered the
+Latin language in less than a year's study.
+
+Notwithstanding that Isabella adored her husband, she would never
+suffer him to interfere with her authority as an independent
+sovereign, and she was as jealous of her prerogative as Elizabeth of
+England; except, indeed, where priestly intimidation was applied. Her
+extreme deference for the ecclesiastics around her was a misfortune
+for her people, but, consistently with the best points in her
+character, it could not have been otherwise. She was humane, just, and
+reasonable in all matters not influenced by the religious bigotry of
+the age. She declared the American Indians free, and ordered the
+instant return of several cargoes of them which had been sent to Spain
+for slaves.
+
+After a successful and glorious reign of thirty years, Isabella the
+Catholic died, on the 26th of November, 1504, in the fifty-fourth year
+of her age. Her last years were clouded with the deepest melancholy.
+The insanity and misfortunes of her daughter Joanna, and the domestic
+afflictions of her daughter Catherine of Arragon, lacerated her heart
+with sorrow. She pined away in her lonely grandeur, till the deep and
+long-protracted melancholy invaded her constitution, and settled into
+a rapid and fatal decline.
+
+The chief traits of Isabella's character may be gathered from the
+preceding narrative, to which we subjoin the parallel drawn between
+her and Elizabeth of England, by Mr. Prescott, whose "History" so ably
+and satisfactorily unfolds the events of her reign.
+
+"It is in these more amiable qualities of her sex, that Isabella's
+superiority becomes most apparent over her illustrious namesake,
+Elizabeth of England, whose history presents some features parallel to
+her own. Both were disciplined in early life by the teachings of that
+stern nurse of wisdom, adversity. Both were made to experience the
+deepest humiliation at the hands of their nearest relative, who should
+have cherished and protected them. Both succeeded in establishing
+themselves on the throne, after the most precarious vicissitudes. Each
+conducted her kingdom, through a long and triumphant reign, to a
+height of glory which it never before reached. Both lived to see the
+vanity of all earthly grandeur, and to fall the victims of an
+inconsolable melancholy; and both left behind an illustrious name,
+unrivalled in the annals of their country.
+
+"But with these few circumstances of their history, the resemblance
+ceases. Their characters afford scarcely a point of contact.
+Elizabeth, inheriting a large share of the bold and bluff King Harry's
+temperament, was haughty, arrogant, coarse, and irascible, while with
+these fiercer qualities she mingled deep dissimulation and strange
+irresolution. Isabella, on the other hand, tempered the dignity of
+royal station with the most bland and courteous manners. Once
+resolved, she was constant in her purposes; and her conduct in public
+and private life was characterized by candor and integrity. Both may
+be said to have shown that magnanimity which is implied by the
+accomplishment of great objects in the face of great obstacles. But
+Elizabeth was desperately selfish; she was incapable of forgiving, not
+merely a real injury, but the slightest affront to her vanity; and she
+was merciless in exacting retribution. Isabella, on the other hand,
+lived only for others; was ready at all times to sacrifice self to
+considerations of public duty; and, far from personal resentment,
+showed the greatest condescension and kindness to those who had most
+sensibly injured her; while her benevolent heart sought every means to
+mitigate the authorized severities of the law, even towards the
+guilty.
+
+"Both possessed rare fortitude. Isabella, indeed, was placed in
+situations which demanded more frequent and higher displays of it than
+her rival; but no one will doubt a full measure of this quality in the
+daughter of Henry VIII. Elizabeth was better educated, and every way
+more highly accomplished, than Isabella. But the latter knew enough to
+maintain her station with dignity, and she encouraged learning by a
+munificent patronage. The masculine powers and passions of Elizabeth
+seemed to divorce her, in a great measure, from the peculiar
+attributes of her sex; at least from those which constitute its
+peculiar charm; for she had abundance of foibles; a coquetry and a
+love of admiration which age could not chill; a levity most careless,
+if not criminal; and a fondness for dress and tawdry magnificence of
+ornament which was ridiculous or disgusting, according to the
+different periods of life in which it was indulged. Isabella, on the
+other hand, distinguished through life for decorum of manners, and
+purity beyond the breath of calumny, was content with the legitimate
+affection which she could inspire within the range of her domestic
+circle. Far from a frivolous affectation of ornament or dress, she was
+most simple in her own attire, and seemed to set no value on her
+jewels, but as they could serve the necessities of the state; when
+they could be no longer useful in this way, she gave them away to her
+friends.
+
+"Both were uncommonly sagacious in the selection of their ministers,
+though Elizabeth was drawn into some errors, in this particular, by
+her levity, as was Isabella by her religious feeling. It was this,
+combined with her excessive humility, which led to the only grave
+errors in the administration of the latter. Her rival fell into no
+such errors; and she was a stranger to the amiable qualities which led
+to them. Her conduct was certainly not controlled by religious
+principle; and, though the bulwark of the Protestant faith, it might
+be difficult to say whether she were at heart most a Protestant or a
+Catholic. She viewed religion in its connection with the state,--in
+other words, with herself; and she took measures for enforcing
+conformity to her own views, not a whit less despotic, and scarcely
+less sanguinary, than those countenanced for conscience' sake by her
+more bigoted rival.
+
+"This feature of bigotry, which has thrown a shade over Isabella's
+otherwise beautiful character, might lead to a disparagement of her
+intellectual power, compared with that of the English queen. To
+estimate this aright, we must contemplate the results of their
+respective reigns. Elizabeth found all the materials of prosperity at
+hand, and availed herself of them most ably to build up a solid fabric
+of national grandeur. Isabella created these materials. She saw the
+faculties of her people locked up in a death-like lethargy, and she
+breathed into them the breath of life, for those great and heroic
+enterprises which terminated in such glorious consequences to the
+monarchy. It is when viewed from the depressed position of her early
+days, that the achievements of her reign seem scarcely leas than
+miraculous. The masculine genius of the English queen stands out
+relieved beyond its natural dimensions by its separation from the
+softer qualities of her sex; while her rival, like some vast and
+symmetrical edifice, loses, in appearance, somewhat of its actual
+grandeur, from the perfect harmony of its proportions.
+
+"The circumstances of their deaths, which were somewhat similar,
+displayed the great dissimilarity of their characters. Both pined
+amidst their royal state, a prey to incurable despondency, rather than
+any marked bodily distemper. In Elizabeth it sprang from wounded
+vanity; a sullen conviction that she had outlived the admiration on
+which she had so long fed, and even the solace of friendship, and the
+attachment of her subjects. Nor did she seek consolation where alone
+it was to be found, in that sad hour. Isabella, on the other hand,
+sank under a too acute sensibility to the sufferings of others. But,
+amidst the gloom which gathered around her, she looked, with the eye
+of faith, to the brighter prospects which unfolded of the future. And,
+when she resigned her last breath, it was with the tears and universal
+lamentations of her people. It is in this undying, unabated attachment
+of the nation, indeed, that we see the most unequivocal testimony to
+the virtues of Isabella. Her own subjects extol her as 'the most
+brilliant exemplar of every virtue,' and mourn over the day of her
+death as 'the last of the prosperity and happiness of the country;'
+while those who had nearer access to her person are unbounded in their
+admiration of those amiable qualities whose full power is revealed
+only in the unrestrained intimacies of domestic life."
+
+
+
+
+JOAN OF ARC.
+
+
+This interesting and extraordinary girl, surnamed the "Maid of
+Orleans," from her heroic defence of that city, was born about the
+year 1410, or '11, in the little hamlet of Domremy, near the Meuse,
+and about three leagues south of Vaucouleurs, on the borders of
+Champagne. Her parents were humble and honest peasants. The district
+was remarkable for the devout simplicity of its inhabitants, as
+well as for those romantic superstitions, which, in a rude age,
+are so often allied with religion. It appears from the copious
+depositions of witnesses from Domremy, examined at Joan's trial, that
+she was unremitting in her prayers and other religious exercises, and
+was strongly imbued, at a very early age, with the prevailing
+superstitions of her native place.
+
+During that period of anarchy in France, when the supreme power, which
+had fallen from the hands of a monarch deprived of his reason, was
+contended for by the rival houses of Orleans and Burgundy, the
+conflicting parties carried on war more by murder and massacre than by
+regular battles. When an army was wanted, both had recourse to the
+English; and these conquering strangers made the unfortunate French
+feel still deeper the horrors and ravages of war. At first, the
+popular feeling was undecided; but when, on the death of Charles VI.,
+the crown fell to a young prince, who adopted the Armagnac side,
+whilst the house of Burgundy had sworn allegiance to a foreigner,
+Henry V., as king of France,--then, indeed, the wishes and interests
+of all the French were in favor of the Armagnacs, or the truly
+patriotic party. Remote as was the village of Domremy, it was still
+interested in the issue of the struggle. It was decidedly Armagnac,
+and was strengthened in this sentiment by the rivalry of a neighboring
+village, which adopted Burgundian colors.
+
+[Illustration: MAID OF ORLEANS. FROM A STATUE BY THE PRINCESS MARIA, OF
+FRANCE.]
+
+Political and party interests were thus forced upon the enthusiastic
+mind of Joan, and mingled with the pious legends she had caught from
+the traditions of the virgin. A prophecy was current that a virgin
+should rid France of her enemies, and this prophecy seems to have been
+realized by its effect upon the mind of Joan. The girl, by her own
+account, was about thirteen, when a supernatural vision first appeared
+to her. She describes it as a great light, accompanied by a voice,
+telling her to be devout and good, and promising her the protection of
+Heaven. Joan responded by a vow of eternal chastity. From that time,
+the voice or voices continued to haunt Joan, and to echo the
+enthusiastic and restless wishes of her own heart. Her own simple
+account was, that "voices" were her visitors and advisers, and that
+they prompted her to quit her native place, take up arms, drive the
+foe before her, and procure for the young king his coronation at
+Rheims. These voices, however, had not influence enough to induce her
+to set out upon the hazardous mission, until a band of Burgundians,
+traversing and plundering the country, had compelled Joan, together
+with her parents, to take refuge in a neighboring town: when they
+returned to their village, after the departure of the marauders, they
+found the church of Domremy in ashes.
+
+Such incidents were well calculated to arouse the indignation and
+excite the enthusiasm of Joan. Her "voices" returned, and incessantly
+directed her to set out for Orleans, but to commence by making
+application to De Baudricourt, commander at Vaucouleurs. Her parents,
+who were acquainted with Joan's martial propensities, attempted to
+force her into a marriage; but she contrived to avoid this by paying a
+visit to an uncle, in whose company she made her appearance before the
+governor of Vaucouleurs, in May, 1428. De Baudricourt at first refused
+to see her, and, upon granting an interview, treated her pretensions
+with contempt. She then returned to her uncle's abode, where she
+continued to announce her project, and to insist that the prophecy
+that "France, lost by a woman,--Isabel of Bavaria,--should be saved by
+a virgin from the frontiers of Lorraine," alluded to her. She it was,
+she asserted, who could save France, and not "either kings, or dukes,
+nor yet the king of Scotland's daughter"--an expression which proves
+how well-informed she was as to the political events and rumors of the
+day.
+
+The fortunes of the dauphin Charles, at this time, had sunk to the
+lowest ebb. Orleans, almost his last bulwark, was besieged and closely
+pressed, and the loss of the battle of "Herrings" seemed to take away
+all hope of saving the city from the English. In this crisis, when all
+human support seemed unavailing, Baudricourt no longer despised the
+supernatural aid promised by the damsel of Domremy, and gave
+permission to John of Metz and Bertram of Poulengy, two gentlemen who
+had become converts to the truth of her divine mission, to conduct
+Joan of Arc to the dauphin. They purchased a horse for her, and, at
+her own desire, furnished her with male habits, and other necessary
+equipments. Thus provided, and accompanied by a respectable escort,
+Joan set out for Vaucouleurs on the 13th February, 1429. Her progress
+through regions attached to the Burgundian interest was perilous, but
+she safely arrived at Fierbois, a place within five or six leagues of
+Chinon, where the dauphin then held his court. At Fierbois was a
+celebrated church dedicated to St. Catherine; and here she spent her
+time in devotion, whilst a messenger was despatched to the dauphin to
+announce her approach. She was commanded to proceed, and reached
+Chinon on the eleventh day after her departure from Vaucouleurs.
+
+Charles, though he desired, still feared, the proffered aid. After due
+consultation, however, it was concluded to grant Joan's request, and
+she received the rank of a military commander. A suit of armor was
+made for her, and she sent to Fierbois for a sword which, she said,
+would be found buried in a certain spot in the church. It was found
+there, and conveyed to her. The circumstance became afterwards one of
+the alleged proofs of her sorcery or imposture. Her having passed some
+time at Fierbois among the ecclesiastics of the place, must have led,
+in some way or other, to her knowledge of the deposit. Strong in the
+conviction of her mission, it was Joan's desire to enter Orleans from
+the north, and through all the fortifications of the English. Dunois,
+however, and the other leaders at length overruled her, and induced
+her to abandon the little company of pious companions which she had
+raised, and to enter the beleaguered city by water, as the least
+perilous path. She succeeded in carrying with her a convoy of
+provisions to the besieged.
+
+The entry of Joan of Arc into Orleans, at the end of April, was itself
+a triumph. The hearts of the besieged were raised from despair to a
+fanatical confidence of success; and the English, who in every
+encounter had defeated the French, felt their courage paralyzed by the
+coming of this simple girl. We cannot give the details of the
+wonderful events that followed; it must suffice to say, that the
+French were inspired with the utmost courage, and after a series of
+great achievements, in which the wonderful maiden took the lead, the
+siege was raised. Thus, in one week after her arrival, the beleaguered
+city was relieved. The most incredible of her promises was now
+fulfilled, and she henceforth received the title of "Maid of
+Orleans."
+
+The French now carried all before them, under the guidance of this
+maiden leader; and, in three months after she came to the relief of
+Charles, he was crowned at Rheims, which had surrendered to his arms.
+After a series of successes, she was in one instance defeated, and
+finally was captured in a sally against the enemy, May, 1430. She was
+now handed over to the English partisans in France, brought to trial
+on the charge of sorcery, and condemned to death. A pile of wood was
+prepared in the market-place at Rouen, and, encircled by a body of
+judges and ecclesiastics, she was then burned to death, and her ashes
+thrown into the Seine. This took place in May, 1431. Thus perished one
+of the most pure, lovely, and exalted beings that ever lived. In 1454,
+a revision of her sentence took place, and a monument was erected to
+her honor, on the spot where she had been inhumanly put to death.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+The author's original spelling preserved, e.g. medalion, Shakspeare
+and Shakspere.
+
+Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lives of Celebrated Women, by
+Samuel Griswold Goodrich
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