A lthough her
dramatic style of manners, and the energy of her convers-
ation, formed a strik ing contrast to the national reserve of
the E nglish, she was received with enthusiastic admiration.
dramatic style of manners, and the energy of her convers-
ation, formed a strik ing contrast to the national reserve of
the E nglish, she was received with enthusiastic admiration.
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
de R occa, Madame de S tael,
happy in the retirement of her now cheerful home, and
finding consolation in the warm affection of her children,
indulged hopes that the government would leave her in
peace. B ut B onaparte, who no doubt heard some sort of
account of the new attachment which had given a fresh
charm to her ex istence, caused her to be threatened with
perpetual imprisonment.
Unable any longer to endure this system of vex ation, she
ask ed leave to live in I taly, promising not to publish a
single line of any k ind; and, with something of becoming
pride, she reminded the officers of government that it was
the author of Corinne, who ask ed no other privilege than to
live and die in R ome. B ut notwithstanding the strong
claim which this beautiful work gave her to the admiration
and indulgence of her countrymen, that req uest was refused.
N apoleon, in one of his conversations at S t. H elena, ex -
cuses his uninterrupted persecution of Madame de S tael, by
saying that, " she was an ambitious, intriguing woman, who
would at any time have thrown her friends into the sea, for
the sak e of ex ercising her energy in saving them. "
N o doubt there was much truth in this accusation. F rom
her earliest childhood, Madame de S tael had breathed the
atmosphere of politics; and she lived at an ex citing period,
when an active mind could scarcely forbear tak ing great
interest in public affairs. * S he was an avowed enemy to
the imperial government; but, though she spok e her mind
freely, we do not hear of her as engaged in any conspiracies,
or even attempting to form a party.
A t her S wiss retreat, when he was omnipotent in F rance,
and she was powerless, it certainly was safe to leave her in
the peaceful enj oyment of such social pleasures as were
within her reach. The banishment of M. de S chlegel, M.
de Montmorency, and Madame R ecamier, his refusal to al-
low Madame de S tael to pass into I taly, and his opposition
? B onaparte once at a party placed himself directly before a witty and beau-
tiful lady, and said very abruptly, " Madame, 1 don' t lik e that women should
meddle with politics. " -- * ' Y ou aie very right. General," she replied; * *
a country where women are beheaded, it is natural they should desire to k now
the reaso" ' *
but in
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X X X V 11
to her visiting E ngland, seem much more lik e personal dis-
lik e and irritation against one whom he could not compel
to flatter him, than they do lik e political precaution: he
indeed overrated Madame de S tael' s importance, if he sup-
posed she could change the whole policy of government, in
a country where the national prej udices are so strongly ar-
rayed against female politicians as they are in E ngland.
W hatever were B onaparte' s motives and intentions, her
friends thought it prudent to urge immediate flight; and
she herself felt the necessity of it. B ut month after month
passed away, during which time she was distracted with
the most painful perplex ity between her fears of a prison,
and her dread of becoming a fugitive on the face of the
earth. S he says, " I sometimes consulted all sorts of pre-
sages, in hopes I should be directed what to do; at other
times, I more wisely interrogated my friends and myself on
the propriety of my departure. I am sure that I put the
patience of my friends to a severe test by my eternal dis-
cussions, and painful irresolution. "
Two attempts were made to obtain passports for A merica;
but, after compelling her to wait a long time, the govern-
ment refused to give them.
A t one time she thought of going to Greece, by the route
of Constantinople; but she feared to ex pose her daughter
to the perils of such a voyage. H er nex t obj ect was to reach
E ngland through the circuitous route of R ussia and S weden;
but in this great undertak ing her heart failed her. H aving
a bold imagination, and a timid character, she conj ured up
the phantoms of ten thousand dangers. S he was afraid of
robbers, of arrest, of prisons, -- and more than all, she was
afraid of being advertised in the newspapers, with all the
scandalous falsehoods her enemies might think proper to
invent. S he said truly, that she had to contend with an
' enemy with a million of soldiers, millions of revenue, all
the prisons of E urope, k ings for his j ailors, and the press
for his mouth-piece. ' B ut the time at last came when the
pressure of circumstances would no longer admit of delay.
B onaparte was preparing for his R ussian campaign, an:I
she must either precede the F rench troops, or abandon her
proj ect entirely*
b3
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? X X X V 111ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
The 15th of May, 1812, W as at last fix ed upon for de-
parture; and all the necessary arrangements were made with
profound secrecy. W hen the day arrived, the uncertainty
she felt seemed to her lik e a consciousness of being about
to do something wrong; she thought she ought to yield
herself up to such events as Providence ordained, and that
those pious men were in the right, who always scrupled to
follow an impulse originating in their own free will. S he
says, " A gitated by these conflicting feelings, I wandered
over the park at Coppet: 1 seated myself in all the places
where my father had been accustomed to repose himself,
and contemplate nature; I look ed once more upon the
beauties of water and verdure, which we had so often ad-
mired together; I bade them adieu, and recommended my-
self to their sweet influences. The monument that encloses
the ashes of my father and my mother, and in which, if
God permits, my own will be deposited, was one of the
principal causes of regret I felt at banishing myself from
the home of my childhood; but on approaching it, I almost
always found strength, that seemed to me to come from
heaven. I passed an hour in prayer before the iron gate
which enclosed the mortal remains of the noblest of human
beings; and my soul was convinced of the necessity of
departure. I went once more to look at my father' s study,
where his easy chair, his table, and his papers, remained as
he had left them; I k issed each venerable mark ; I took
the cloak , which till then I had ordered to be left upon his
chair, and carried it away with me, that I might wrap my-
self up in it, should the messenger of death approach me.
W hen these adieus were terminated, I avoided as much as
I could all other farewells; I found it less painful to part
from my friends by letters, which I took care they should
not receive until several days after my departure.
" O n S aturday, the 23d of May, 1812, I got into my
carriage, saying that I
pack et whatever;
My son, and M. de R
should return to dinner. I took no
I and my daughter had only our fans.
occa, carried in their pock ets enough
to defray the ex penses of several days' j
ing the chateau, which had become to me lik
valued friend, I nearly fainted. My son took
ourney. O n leav-
e an old and
my hand,
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X X X I X
and said, ' Dear mother, remember you are on your way to
E ngland. ' Though nearly two thousand leagues from that
goal, to which the usual road would have so speedily con-
ducted me, I felt revived by his words; every step at least
brought me something nearer to it. W hen I had proceeded
a few leagues, I sent back one of my servants to apprise
my establishment that I should not return until the nex t
day. I continued travelling night and day, as far as a
farm-house beyond B erne, where I had agreed to meet
M. de S chlegel, who had k indly offered to accompany me.
H ere I was obliged to leave my eldest son, who for four-
teen years had been educated by my father, and whose
features strongly reminded me of him. A gain my courage
abandoned me. I thought of S witzerland, so tranq uil and
so beautiful; I thought of her inhabitants, who, though
they had lost political independence, k new how to be free
by their virtues; and it seemed to me as if every thing
told me I ought not to go. I had not yet crossed the bar-
rier-- there was still a possibility of returning. B ut if I
went back , I k new another escape would be impossible;
and I felt a sort of shame at the idea of renewing such
solemn farewells. I k new not what would have become of
me, if this uncertainty had lasted much longer. My chil-
dren decided me; especially my daughter, who was then
scarcely fourteen years old. I committed myself to her, as
if the voice of God had spok
My son took his leave;
could say, with L ord R
past. ' "
The young B aron de S
en by the mouth of a child.
and when he was out of sight, I
ussell, ' The bitterness of death is
tael had been obliged to leave his
mother, in order to attend to the interests of her fortune,
and to obtain passports to go through A ustria, one of whose
princesses was then the wife of N apoleon. E very thing
depended on obtaining these passports, under some name
that would not attract the attention of the police; if they
were refused, Madame de S tael would be arrested, and the
rigours of ex ile made more intolerable than ever. I t was
a decisive step, and one that caused her devoted son the
most painful anx iety. F inally, he concluded to act, as, he
j udiciously observes, all honest men had better do in their
b4
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? x lME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
intercourse with each other,-- he threw himself directly
upon the generosity of the A ustrian ambassador; and
fortunately he had to deal with an honourable man, who
made no hesitation in granting his req uest.
A few days after, Madame de S teel' s younger son, with
her servants, wardrobe, and travelling carriage, set out from
Coppet, to meet his mother at V ienna. The whole had
been managed with such secresy, and the police had be-
come so accustomed to her q uiet way of life, that no sus-
picions were ex cited, until this second removal took place.
The gens-d' armes were instantly on the alert; but Madame
de S teel had too much the start of them, and had travelled
too swiftly, to be overtak
says, " The moment I
B avaria to A ustria;
en. I n describing her flight, she
most dreaded, was the passage from
for it was there a courier might pre-
cede me, and forbid me to pass. B ut notwithstanding my
apprehensions, my health had been so much inj ured by
anx iety and fatigue, that I could no longer travel all night.
I , however, flattered myself that I should arrive without
impediment; when, j ust as my fears were vanishing, as we
approached the boundary line, a man in the inn, at S altz-
burg, told M. de S chlegel, that a F rench courier had been
to enq uire for a carriage coming from I nspruek , with a
lady and a young girl; and had left word, that he would
return to get intelligence of them. I became pale with
terror; and M. de S chlegel was very much alarmed; espe-
cially as he found, by enq uiry, that the courier had been
waiting for me at the A ustrian frontier, and not finding
me there, had returned to meet me. This was j ust what I
had dreaded before my departure, and through the whole
j ourney. I determined, on the spur of the moment, to
leave M. de S chlegel and my daughter at the inn, and to
go on foot into the streets of the town, to tak e my chance
at the first house whose master, or mistress, had a physio-
gnomy that pleased me. I would remain in this asylum
a few days; during this time, M. de S chlegel and my
daughter might say, that they were going to rej oin me in
A ustria; and I would . afterward leave S altzburg, disguised
as a peasant. H azardous as this resource appeared, no
other remained; and I was j ust preparing for the task , with
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x li
fear and trembling, when who should enter my apartment,
but this dreaded courier, who was no other than-- M. de
R occa!
" H e had been obliged to return to Geneva to transact
some business, and now came to rej oin me. H e had dis-
guised himself as a courier, in order to tak e advantage of
the terror which the name inspired, and to obtain horses
more q uick ly. H e had hurried on to the A ustrian frontier,
to mak e himself sure that no one had preceded, or an-
nounced me; he had returned to assure me that I had
nothing to fear, and to get upon the box of my carriage
until we had passed that dreaded frontier, which seemed to
me the last of my dangers. I n this manner were my fears
changed to gratitude, j oy, and confidence. "
A t V ienna, Madame de S tael was obliged to wait some
time for a R ussian passport. The first ten days were spent
very pleasantly, and her friends there assured her that she
might rest in perfect security. A t the end of that time,
the A ustrian police probably received directions concerning
her from N apoleon; for they placed a guard at the gate of
her house, and, whether she walk ed or rode, she was fol-
lowed by spies.
S he was at this time in a state of great uneasiness; for
unless her R ussian passport came speedily, the progress of
the war would prevent her from passing into that country;
and she dared not stay in V ienna a day after the F rench
ambassador (who was then at Dresden) had returned.
A gain she thought of Constantinople. S he tried to obtain
two passports to leave A ustria, either by H ungary or Gal-
licia, so that she might decide in favour of going to Peters-
burg or Constantinople according to circumstances. S he
was told she might have her choice of passports, but that
they could not enable her to go by two different frontiers
without authority from the Committee of S tates. S he says,
" E urope seemed to her lik e one great net, in which travel-
lers got entangled at every step. "
S he departed for Gallicia without her R ussian passport;
a friend having promised to travel night and day to bring
it to her, as soon as it arrived. A t every step of her
j ourney she encountered fresh difficulties from the police,
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? x liiME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
all of which it would be tedious to relate. Placards were
put up in all the towns to k eep a strict watch upon her as
she passed through: this was the distinction the A ustrians
conferred upon a woman, who has done more than any
other mortal to give foreigners a respect for German lite-
rature, and German character.
I n passing through Poland, Madame de S tael wished to
rest a day or two at L anzut, at the castle of the Polish
Prince and Princess L ubomirsk a, with whom she had
been well acq uainted in Geneva, and during her visit to
V ienna. The captain of the police, j ealous that she in-
tended to ex cite the Poles to insurrection, sent a detach-
ment to escort her into L anzut, to follow her into the
castle, and not leave her until she q uitted it. A ccordingly
the officer stationed himself at the supper-table of the
Prince, and in the evening took occasion to observe to her
son that he had orders to pass the night in her apartment,
to prevent her holding communication with any one; but
that, out of respect to her, he should not do it. " Y ou
may as well say that you will not do it, out of respect to
yourself," replied the young man: " for if you dare to set
foot within my mother' s apartment, I will assuredly throw
you out of the window. "
The escort of the police was particularly painful to
Madame de S tael at this point of her j ourney. A descrip-
tion of M. de R occa had been sent along the road, with
orders to arrest him as a F rench officer; although he had
resigned his commission, and was disabled by his wound
from doing military service. H ad he been arrested, the
forfeiture of his life would have been the conseq uence.
H e had therefore been obliged to separate from his wife,
at a time when he felt most anx ious to protect her; and to
travel alone under a borrowed name. I t had been ar-
ranged that they should meet at L anzut, from which place
they hoped to be able to pass safely into R ussia. H aving
arrived there before her, and not in the least suspecting
that she would be guarded by the police, he eagerly came
out to meet her, full of j oy and confidence. The danger
to which he thus unconsciously ex posed himself, made
Madame de S tael pale with agony. S he had scarcely time
to give him an earnest signal to turn back . H ad it not
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? ME MO I llO F MA DA ME DE S TA E t. x liii
been for the generous presence of mind of a Polish gentle-
man, M. de llocca would have been recognised and arrested.
The fugitive ex perienced the greatest friendship and
hospitality from the Prince and Princess L ubomirsk a; but
notwithstanding their urgent entreaties, she would not con-
sent to encumber their house with such attendants as chose
to follow her. A fter one night' s rest, she departed for
R ussia, which she entered on the 14th of J uly. A s she
passed the boundary line, she made a solemn oath never
again to set foot in a country subj ected in any degree to
the E mperor N apoleon; though she says she felt some sad
misgivings that the oath would never allow her to revisit
her own beautiful and beloved F rance.
Madame de S tael staid but a brief space in Moscow;
the flames and the F rench army followed close upon her
footsteps.
A t Petersburg she had several interviews with the E m-
peror A lex ander, whose affairs were then at a most alarm-
ing crisis. * S he remark s of R ussia, " The country ap-
peared to me lik e an image of infinite space, and as if it
would req uire an eternity to traverse it. The S clavonian
language is singularly echoing; there is something metallic
about it; you would imagine you heard a bell strik ing,
when the R ussians pronounce certain letters of their
alphabet. "
The nobility of Petersburg vied with each other in the
attentions bestowed on Madame de S tael. A t a dinner
given in honour of her arrival, the following toast was
proposed: " S uccess to the arms of R ussia against F
The ex ile dearly loved her country, and her heart could
not respond to the sentiment: " N ot against F rance !
rance. "
" she
ex claimed; " but against him who oppresses F rance. "
The toast, thus changed, was repeated with great applause.
A lthough Madame de S tael found much in R ussia to
interest her, and was every where received with distin-
guished regard, she did not feel in perfect security; she
could not look on the magnificent edifices of that splendid
capital, without dismal forebodings that he, whose power
* I n a conversation concerning the structure of governments, Madame de
S tael said to the E mperor, " S ire, you are yourself a constitution for your
country. " " Then, madam, I am but a luck y accident" was his wise reply to
tier delicate and comprehensive flattery.
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? X llV ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
had overshadowed all the fair dwellings of E urope, would
come to dark en them also.
I n S eptember, she passed through F inland into S weden.
I n S tock holm she published a work against suicide, written
before her flight from Coppet. The obj ect of this treatise
is to show that the natural and proper effect of affliction is
to elevate and purify the soul, instead of driving it to de-
spair. S he is said to have been induced to mak e this pub-
lication by the fear that she had, in some of her former
writings, evinced too much admiration for this guilty form
of courage.
I n S weden, as in R ussia, Madame de S tael was received
with very mark ed respect. I t was generally supposed that
she ex erted a powerful influence over B ernadotte, to induce
him to resist the encroachments of N apoleon' s ambition.
I f this be the case, she may be said to have fairly check -
mated the E mperor with a k ing of his own mak ing.
Though B ernadotte had great respect for her opinions, she
is said not to have been a favourite with him: he was him-
self fond of mak ing eloq uent speeches, and her conversation
threw him into the shade.
Madame de S tael passed the winter of 1812 on the
shores of the B altic; and in the spring she sailed for E ng-
land, where she arrived in J une, 1813.
A lthough her
dramatic style of manners, and the energy of her convers-
ation, formed a strik ing contrast to the national reserve of
the E nglish, she was received with enthusiastic admiration.
H er genius, her fame, her escape from B onaparte, and her
intimate k nowledge of the F rench R evolution, all combined
to produce a prodigious sensation. " I n the immense
crowds that collected to see her at the Marq uis of L ans-
downe' s, and in the houses of the other principal nobility of
L ondon, the eagerness of curiosity brok e through all restraint;
the first ladies in the k ingdom stood on chairs and tables,
to catch a glimpse of her dark and brilliant physiognomy. "
Madame de S tael has left some admirable descriptions of
E nglish society, and of the impressions made upon her
mind when she first entered that powerful country. B ut
the principal obj ect of her visit was not to observe the in-
tellectual wealth or moral grandeur of E ngland. Through
all her perils and wanderings she had saved a copy of
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA B L . x lv
her condemned book on Germany, and had brought it
triumphantly to L ondon; where it was published, in O c-
tober, 1813.
" I n this, which is perhaps her greatest work , Madame
de S tael has endeavoured to give a bold, general, and philo-
sophical view of the whole intellectual condition of the
German people, among whom she had ma' de what was in
some sort a voyage of discovery; for the highly original
literature of that country was then little k nown to the rest
of E urope. " I t was received with great applause in
E ngland, and afterward in F rance, where a change of go-
vernment admitted of its being published the ensuing
year. S ir J ames Mack intosh immediately wrote a review
of it, in which he says, " The voice of E urope had
already applauded the genius of a national painter in the
author of ' Corinne. ' I n her ' Germany,' she throws off the
aid of fiction; she delineates a less poetical character, and
a country more interesting by anticipation than by recollec-
tion. B ut it is not the less certain that it is the most
vigorous effort of her genius, and probably the most
elaborate and masculine production of the faculties of
woman. "
W hen Madame de S tael made her visit to E ngland, L ord
B yron was in the first lustre of his fame. A t first, the
rival lions seem to have been disposed to growl at each
other; but in time they grew to be on the best possible
terms. The following is the noble poet' s eloq uent tribute
to her genius: --
" Corinne is no more; and with her should ex pire the
fear, the flattery, and the envy, which threw too dazzling
or too dark a cloud round the march of genius, and forbade
the steady gaze of disinterested criticism. W e have her
picture embellished or distorted, as friendship or detraction
has held the pencil: the impartial portrait was hardly to be
ex pected from a contemporary. The immediate voice of
her survivors will, it is probable, be far from affording a
j ust estimate of her singular capacity. The gallantry, the
love of wonder, and the hope of associated fame, which
blunted the edge of censure, must cease to ex ist. The dead
have no sex ; they can surprise by no new miracles; they
can confer no privilege: Corinna has ceased to be a woman
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? X lviME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
' -- she is only an author; and it may be foreseen that many
will repay themselves for former complaisance, by a severity
to which the ex travagance of previous praises may perhaps
give the colour of truth. The latest posterity -- for to the
latest posterity they will assuredly descend -- will have to
pronounce upon her various productions; and the longer
the vista through which they are seen, the more accurately
minute will be the obj ect, the more certain the j ustice, of
the decision. S he will enter into that ex istence in which
the great writers of all ages and nations are, as it were,
associated in a world of their own, and, from that superior
sphere, shed their eternal influence for the control and con-
solation of mank ind. B ut the individual will gradually dis-
appear as the author is more distinctly seen: some one,
therefore, of all those whom the charms of involuntary wit,
and of easy hospitality, attracted within the friendly circles
of Coppet, should rescue from oblivion those virtues which,
although they are said to love the shade, are, in fact, more
freq uently chilled than ex cited by the domestic cares of
private life. S ome one should be found to portray the
unaffected graces with which she adorned those dearer
relationships, the performance of whose duties is rather dis-
covered amongst the interior secrets, than seen in the out-
ward management, of family intercourse; and which,
indeed, it req uires the delicacy of genuine affection to
q ualify for the eye of an indifferent spectator. S ome one
should be found, not to celebrate, but to describe, the
amiable mistress of an open mansion, the centre of a society,
ever varied, and always pleased, the creator of which, di-
vested of the ambition and the arts of public rivalry, shone
forth only to give fresh animation to those around her.
The mother tenderly affectionate and tenderly beloved, --
the friend unboundedly generous, but still esteemed,-- the
charitable patroness of all distress, cannot be forgotten by
those whom she cherished, and protected, and fed. H er
loss will be mourned the most where she was k nown the
best; and, to the sorrows of very many friends, and more
dependents, may be offered the disinterested regret of a
stranger, who, amidst the sublimer scenes of the L eman
L ak e, received his chief satisfaction from contemplating the
engaging q ualities of the incomparable Corinna. "
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x lvil
The respect and admiration with which Madame de
S tael was received by the best society in E ngland was
rather increased than diminished during her residence
there. S he had now been in most of the capitals of
E urope, and in all of them had received a degree of homage
never before paid to any woman who was not a q ueen.
B ut all these flattering distinctions could not wean her
affections from her beloved Paris. I n the midst of the
most dazzling triumphs of her genius, her heart turned
fondly toward F rance, and she was watching with in-,
tense anx iety the progress of those great political move-
ments, which afterward restored her to her country. I m-
mediately after the entrance of the allied army into Paris,
and the conseq uent abdication of B onaparte, Madame de
S tael returned to her native land. N otwithstanding the
pain it gave to see her country filled with foreign troops,
she felt the j oy of an ex ile restored to her home. S he im-
mediately resumed her high place in society; and the ac-
cumulation of fame she brought with her threw additional
brilliancy around a name which had so long been illustrious.
L ouis X V I I I . took great delight in her conversation. H e
caused to be paid from the royal treasury the two millions
offrancsthatM. N eck erhadloanedtoL ouisX V I .
A circumstance which occurred at this period of her life
is remark ably interesting. A proj ect was on foot to assas-
sinate N apoleon; and men were sent to E lba for that pur-
pose. Madame de S tael, from her well k nown dislik e to
the E mperor, and her acq uaintance with political men of
all parties, was the first one to whom the secret was con-
fided. A ccompanied by Talma, she immediately sought an
interview with J oseph B onaparte, informed him of his
brother' s danger, and even proposed to go to E lba in person.
A patriotic friend, whose name is not yet revealed to the
public, undertook the hazardous mission-- he arrived in
time, so that the two first who landed were arrested, and
B onaparte was saved.
Madame de S tael passed the winters of 1814 and 1815
in Paris; receiving the universal homage of the great men
then collected there from all parts of the world. B ut the
shadow of her old and inveterate enemy was suddenly
thrown across this bright spot in her ex istence. O n the
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? X lviiiME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
6 th of March, 1815, B onaparte suddenly landed in F rance.
W hen Madame de S tael heard the tidings, she says, it
seemed as if the earth had yawned under her feet. S he
had sufficient k nowledge of the F rench people to conj ecture
what reception N apoleon would meet; and having made a
farewell visit to the k ing, with a heavy heart she returned
to Coppet.
B onaparte, anx ious to rebuild the power his own mad-
ness had overthrown, was particularly desirous to gain the
confidence of the friends of rational liberty; and among
these his former persecution had shown of what conseq uence
he considered Madame de S tael. H e sent his brother J
seph with a req uest that she would come to Paris, and
give him her advice about framing a constitutional govern-
ment. W ith a consistency very rare in those days of
rapid political changes, she replied, " Tell the E mperor
that for twelve years he has done without me or a consti-
tution; and I believe that he has as little regard for the
one as he has for the other. '
o-
B onaparte gave O ' Meara a very different account. H e
says, " I
court. *
brother J
A
was obliged to banish Madame de S tael from
t Geneva she became very intimate with my
oseph, whom she gained by her conversation and
hen I returned from E lba, she sent her son
writings. W
to ask payment of two millions, which her father had lent
out of his private property to L ouis X V I . , and to offer her
services, provided I complied with her req uest. I refused
to see him; think ing I could not grant what he wished
without ill-treating others in a similar predicament. H ow-
ever, J oseph would not be refused, and brought him in;
the attendants not lik ing to deny my brother. I received
him politely, and told him I was very sorry I could not
comply with his req uest, as it was contrary to the laws.
Madame de S tael then wrote a long letter to F ouch? ,
stating her claims, in which she said she wanted the
money to portion her daughter in marriage to the Due de
B roglie, promising that if I complied with her req uest, I
might command her and hers; that she would be black and
white for me. F ouche urged me to comply, saying, that
* A gentle and comprehensive description of his system of petty persecutions J
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x lix
at so critical a time she might be of considerable service.
I
I
I
answered that I would mak e no bargains. "
t is impossible that the above statement should be true.
n the first place, we have more reason to place confidence
in the veracity of the open-hearted Madame de S tael than
we have in the word of N apoleon, who seldom used lan-
guage for any other purpose than to conceal his thoughts;
secondly, in the beginning of his reign he did offer to pay
those very two millions, if she would favour his govern.
ment, and at the very time of which O ' Meara speak s, he
again offered to do it; thirdly, it is notorious, that after his
return from E lba, he was ex tremely anx ious to conciliate
his enemies; and lastly, the history of his whole intriguing
life mak es us laugh at the pretence that he was incapable
of mak ing bargains.
A t the close of the memorable H undred Days, B ona-
parte was a second time compelled to abdicate; and Ma-
dame de S tael would have immediately returned to Paris,
had she not felt such a painful sense of degradation in see-
ing the throne of F rance supported by a standing army of
foreign troops; her national pride could not brook the dis-
grace of witnessing her country in the leading-strings of
the A llied Powers; F rance, thus situated, was in her eyes
no longer " the great nation. "
S he remained at Coppet during the summer of 1815;
but having fresh cause of alarm for the health of her hus-
band, who had never recovered from the effects of his
wound, she revisited I taly, where they passed the winter.
I n the spring of 1816 , they returned to Coppet.
L ord B yron, who had then left E ngland, in high in-
dignation at the odium he had brought upon himself, passed
through S witzerland, during this year, in his way to I taly.
N otwithstanding his former want of cordiality towards
Madame de S tael, and his personal unpopularity at this
period, he was received by her with a k indness and hospi-
tality he had not hoped to meet, and which affected him
deeply. W ith her usual frank ness, she blamed him for his
conduct to L ady B yron; and by her persuasive eloq uence
prevailed upon him to write to a friend in E ngland, ex -
pressing a wish to be reconciled to his wife. I n the letters
he wrote, during the few summer months he staid in
c
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? ] ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
S witzerland, he often speak s of Coppet and its inhabitants.
H e says, " Madame de S tael wishes to see the A ntiq uary,
and I am going to tak e it to her to-morrow. S he has made
Coppet as agreeable to me as society and talent can mak
any place on earth. B onstetten is there a good deal. H
is a fine, lively old man, and much esteemed by his com-
patriots. A ll there are well, ex cepting R occa, who, I
e
e
am
sorry to say, look s in a very bad state of health. S chlegel is
in high force, and Madame de S tael is as brilliant as ever. "
O f the Duchess de B roglie, B yron spok e in very high
terms; and in noticing her attachment to her husband,
he remark ed, that " N othing was more pleasing than to see
the development of the domestic affections in a very young
woman. " W hat a pity that virtue was not to him some-
thing more than a mere abstract idea of poetic beauty!
W hen it became evident that the A llied Powers did not
mean to dictate the measures of the F rench government,
Madame de S tael was again strongly tempted by the al-
lurements of Paris. S he returned once more to become
the leading-star in the most brilliant society in the world.
" E very evening her saloon was crowded with all that was
distinguished and powerful, not in F rance only, but in all
E urope, which was then represented in Paris, by a re-
mark able number of its most ex traordinary men. Madame
de S tael had, to a degree perhaps never possessed by any
other person, the rare talent of uniting around her the
most distinguished individuals of all the opposite parties,
literary and political, and mak ing them establish relations
among themselves, which they could not afterward entirely
shak e off. There might be found W ellington and L a-
fayette, Chateaubriand, Talleyrand, and Prince L aval;
H umboldt and B lucher, from B erlin; Constant and S is-
mondi, from S witzerland; the two S chlegels, from H
anover;
Canova, from I taly; the beautiful Madame R ecamier, and
the admirable Duchess de Duras; and from E ngland, such
a multitude, that it seemed lik e a general emigration of
B ritish talent and rank . "
The winter months at the close of 1816 , and the begin-
ning of 1817, were passed by Madame de S tael in Paris.
This was the most splendid scene in the gorgeous drama
of her life-- and it was the last. " The great ex ertions
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E I . . li
she made, evening after evening, in the important political
discussions that were carried on in her saloon, -- the labours
of the morning in writing almost continually something
suited to the wants of the moment, for the Mercury, and
other periodicals,-- while at the same time, the serious
labour of her great work on the F rench R evolution was
still pressing on her,-- all these together were too much
for her strength. " Contrary to the advice of the physicians,
she persisted in using opium, to which she had for some
time resorted to stimulate her ex hausted frame; but nature
was worn out, and no artificial means could restore its
vigour. A violent fever, obviously the effect of the ex cite.
ment under which she had so long lived, seized her in
F ebruary. B y the use of ex cessively violent means, it was
thrown off; but, though the disease was gone, her con-
stitution was brok en up. L ife passed at first insensibly
from the ex tremities, and then no less slowly retired from
the more vital organs. I n general, she suffered little, and
her faculties remained in unclouded brightness to the last.
The interest ex cited by her situation proved the affection
she had inspired, and of what conseq uence her life was'
accounted to her country. E very day some of the royal
family were anx iously enq uiring at the door, and every day
the Duk e of W ellington came in person to ask if there was
no hope. H er most intimate friends (who have been often
mentioned in the course of this memoir) were admitted
into her sick chamber. S he conversed upon all the subj
that were introduced, and took an interest in them all. I
her conversation at this period had less than her usual
animation, it is said to have had more of richness and
depth. The deadly paleness of her features formed a
touching contrast with the dazzling intelligence, which
never deserted her ex pressive countenance. H er friends
placed a double value on every remark she uttered, and
treasured it in their inmost hearts as one of the last efforts
of her wonderful mind. S ome of them indulged the hope
ects
f
that she might recover; but she k new from the first that
the work of death was begun. A t one time, owing to a
high nervous ex citement produced by the progress of her
disease, the thought of dissolution was terrible to her. -- S he
mourned over the talents that had made her life so brilliant;
C2
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? llV ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
short, it was an intellectual banq uet, at which all that the
human mind could conceive or create was abundantly
served up. I n these literary and philosophical disputes,
Madame de S tael had a decided superiority over her father
in q uick ness of perception, readiness of ex pression, and
eloq uence. B ut whenever she was about to seize the palm
of victory, she always appeared restrained by a feeling of
filial respect. A s if fearful of the success she had ob-
tained, she would with admirable dex terity and grace com-
mit herself in an error, for the purpose of resigning to her
antagonist the glory of the victory. B ut that antagonist
was her father; and he was the only person to whom she
ever conceded such an advantage.
" ' A fter break fast, the party separated until dinner,
which was constantly accompanied by disputes between M.
N eck er and several deaf and ill-tempered maitres-d' hotel,
the remnants of a system which M. N eck er himself had
overthrown, and who in their embroidered coats had fol-
lowed his fortunes to Coppet. The afternoon was devoted
to study until seven o' clock , when whist was commenced.
This was always a stormy game: M. N eck er and his
daughter invariably q uarrelled, lost their tempers, and left
the table with the determination of never again playing
together. B ut in spite of this the game was daily resumed.
The rest of the evening was passed in agreeable conversation.
" ' W ith the ex ception of a few ex cursions, Madame de
S tael in this manner spent eight years of her life; alter
nately devoting herself to the society of her father and the
education of her children. A t this period, too, she wrote
what may be termed her work s of the second-rate class;
viz. O n the I nfluence of the Passions; O n L iterature; and
lastly, Delphine.
" ' A fterthedeathofM. N eck er,in1804,Madamede
S tael, finding herself relieved from all restraint, and the
mistress of a splendid fortune, aspired to figure upon the
stage of politics. To this she was urged by a vivid recol-
lection of the commencement of the revolution, the date of
her first acq uaintance with the world, and her early suc-
-cess. S he was enticed to enter this arena, by the desire of
ex ercising the power which she regarded as an attribute of
her superior genius.
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happy in the retirement of her now cheerful home, and
finding consolation in the warm affection of her children,
indulged hopes that the government would leave her in
peace. B ut B onaparte, who no doubt heard some sort of
account of the new attachment which had given a fresh
charm to her ex istence, caused her to be threatened with
perpetual imprisonment.
Unable any longer to endure this system of vex ation, she
ask ed leave to live in I taly, promising not to publish a
single line of any k ind; and, with something of becoming
pride, she reminded the officers of government that it was
the author of Corinne, who ask ed no other privilege than to
live and die in R ome. B ut notwithstanding the strong
claim which this beautiful work gave her to the admiration
and indulgence of her countrymen, that req uest was refused.
N apoleon, in one of his conversations at S t. H elena, ex -
cuses his uninterrupted persecution of Madame de S tael, by
saying that, " she was an ambitious, intriguing woman, who
would at any time have thrown her friends into the sea, for
the sak e of ex ercising her energy in saving them. "
N o doubt there was much truth in this accusation. F rom
her earliest childhood, Madame de S tael had breathed the
atmosphere of politics; and she lived at an ex citing period,
when an active mind could scarcely forbear tak ing great
interest in public affairs. * S he was an avowed enemy to
the imperial government; but, though she spok e her mind
freely, we do not hear of her as engaged in any conspiracies,
or even attempting to form a party.
A t her S wiss retreat, when he was omnipotent in F rance,
and she was powerless, it certainly was safe to leave her in
the peaceful enj oyment of such social pleasures as were
within her reach. The banishment of M. de S chlegel, M.
de Montmorency, and Madame R ecamier, his refusal to al-
low Madame de S tael to pass into I taly, and his opposition
? B onaparte once at a party placed himself directly before a witty and beau-
tiful lady, and said very abruptly, " Madame, 1 don' t lik e that women should
meddle with politics. " -- * ' Y ou aie very right. General," she replied; * *
a country where women are beheaded, it is natural they should desire to k now
the reaso" ' *
but in
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X X X V 11
to her visiting E ngland, seem much more lik e personal dis-
lik e and irritation against one whom he could not compel
to flatter him, than they do lik e political precaution: he
indeed overrated Madame de S tael' s importance, if he sup-
posed she could change the whole policy of government, in
a country where the national prej udices are so strongly ar-
rayed against female politicians as they are in E ngland.
W hatever were B onaparte' s motives and intentions, her
friends thought it prudent to urge immediate flight; and
she herself felt the necessity of it. B ut month after month
passed away, during which time she was distracted with
the most painful perplex ity between her fears of a prison,
and her dread of becoming a fugitive on the face of the
earth. S he says, " I sometimes consulted all sorts of pre-
sages, in hopes I should be directed what to do; at other
times, I more wisely interrogated my friends and myself on
the propriety of my departure. I am sure that I put the
patience of my friends to a severe test by my eternal dis-
cussions, and painful irresolution. "
Two attempts were made to obtain passports for A merica;
but, after compelling her to wait a long time, the govern-
ment refused to give them.
A t one time she thought of going to Greece, by the route
of Constantinople; but she feared to ex pose her daughter
to the perils of such a voyage. H er nex t obj ect was to reach
E ngland through the circuitous route of R ussia and S weden;
but in this great undertak ing her heart failed her. H aving
a bold imagination, and a timid character, she conj ured up
the phantoms of ten thousand dangers. S he was afraid of
robbers, of arrest, of prisons, -- and more than all, she was
afraid of being advertised in the newspapers, with all the
scandalous falsehoods her enemies might think proper to
invent. S he said truly, that she had to contend with an
' enemy with a million of soldiers, millions of revenue, all
the prisons of E urope, k ings for his j ailors, and the press
for his mouth-piece. ' B ut the time at last came when the
pressure of circumstances would no longer admit of delay.
B onaparte was preparing for his R ussian campaign, an:I
she must either precede the F rench troops, or abandon her
proj ect entirely*
b3
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? X X X V 111ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
The 15th of May, 1812, W as at last fix ed upon for de-
parture; and all the necessary arrangements were made with
profound secrecy. W hen the day arrived, the uncertainty
she felt seemed to her lik e a consciousness of being about
to do something wrong; she thought she ought to yield
herself up to such events as Providence ordained, and that
those pious men were in the right, who always scrupled to
follow an impulse originating in their own free will. S he
says, " A gitated by these conflicting feelings, I wandered
over the park at Coppet: 1 seated myself in all the places
where my father had been accustomed to repose himself,
and contemplate nature; I look ed once more upon the
beauties of water and verdure, which we had so often ad-
mired together; I bade them adieu, and recommended my-
self to their sweet influences. The monument that encloses
the ashes of my father and my mother, and in which, if
God permits, my own will be deposited, was one of the
principal causes of regret I felt at banishing myself from
the home of my childhood; but on approaching it, I almost
always found strength, that seemed to me to come from
heaven. I passed an hour in prayer before the iron gate
which enclosed the mortal remains of the noblest of human
beings; and my soul was convinced of the necessity of
departure. I went once more to look at my father' s study,
where his easy chair, his table, and his papers, remained as
he had left them; I k issed each venerable mark ; I took
the cloak , which till then I had ordered to be left upon his
chair, and carried it away with me, that I might wrap my-
self up in it, should the messenger of death approach me.
W hen these adieus were terminated, I avoided as much as
I could all other farewells; I found it less painful to part
from my friends by letters, which I took care they should
not receive until several days after my departure.
" O n S aturday, the 23d of May, 1812, I got into my
carriage, saying that I
pack et whatever;
My son, and M. de R
should return to dinner. I took no
I and my daughter had only our fans.
occa, carried in their pock ets enough
to defray the ex penses of several days' j
ing the chateau, which had become to me lik
valued friend, I nearly fainted. My son took
ourney. O n leav-
e an old and
my hand,
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X X X I X
and said, ' Dear mother, remember you are on your way to
E ngland. ' Though nearly two thousand leagues from that
goal, to which the usual road would have so speedily con-
ducted me, I felt revived by his words; every step at least
brought me something nearer to it. W hen I had proceeded
a few leagues, I sent back one of my servants to apprise
my establishment that I should not return until the nex t
day. I continued travelling night and day, as far as a
farm-house beyond B erne, where I had agreed to meet
M. de S chlegel, who had k indly offered to accompany me.
H ere I was obliged to leave my eldest son, who for four-
teen years had been educated by my father, and whose
features strongly reminded me of him. A gain my courage
abandoned me. I thought of S witzerland, so tranq uil and
so beautiful; I thought of her inhabitants, who, though
they had lost political independence, k new how to be free
by their virtues; and it seemed to me as if every thing
told me I ought not to go. I had not yet crossed the bar-
rier-- there was still a possibility of returning. B ut if I
went back , I k new another escape would be impossible;
and I felt a sort of shame at the idea of renewing such
solemn farewells. I k new not what would have become of
me, if this uncertainty had lasted much longer. My chil-
dren decided me; especially my daughter, who was then
scarcely fourteen years old. I committed myself to her, as
if the voice of God had spok
My son took his leave;
could say, with L ord R
past. ' "
The young B aron de S
en by the mouth of a child.
and when he was out of sight, I
ussell, ' The bitterness of death is
tael had been obliged to leave his
mother, in order to attend to the interests of her fortune,
and to obtain passports to go through A ustria, one of whose
princesses was then the wife of N apoleon. E very thing
depended on obtaining these passports, under some name
that would not attract the attention of the police; if they
were refused, Madame de S tael would be arrested, and the
rigours of ex ile made more intolerable than ever. I t was
a decisive step, and one that caused her devoted son the
most painful anx iety. F inally, he concluded to act, as, he
j udiciously observes, all honest men had better do in their
b4
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? x lME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
intercourse with each other,-- he threw himself directly
upon the generosity of the A ustrian ambassador; and
fortunately he had to deal with an honourable man, who
made no hesitation in granting his req uest.
A few days after, Madame de S teel' s younger son, with
her servants, wardrobe, and travelling carriage, set out from
Coppet, to meet his mother at V ienna. The whole had
been managed with such secresy, and the police had be-
come so accustomed to her q uiet way of life, that no sus-
picions were ex cited, until this second removal took place.
The gens-d' armes were instantly on the alert; but Madame
de S teel had too much the start of them, and had travelled
too swiftly, to be overtak
says, " The moment I
B avaria to A ustria;
en. I n describing her flight, she
most dreaded, was the passage from
for it was there a courier might pre-
cede me, and forbid me to pass. B ut notwithstanding my
apprehensions, my health had been so much inj ured by
anx iety and fatigue, that I could no longer travel all night.
I , however, flattered myself that I should arrive without
impediment; when, j ust as my fears were vanishing, as we
approached the boundary line, a man in the inn, at S altz-
burg, told M. de S chlegel, that a F rench courier had been
to enq uire for a carriage coming from I nspruek , with a
lady and a young girl; and had left word, that he would
return to get intelligence of them. I became pale with
terror; and M. de S chlegel was very much alarmed; espe-
cially as he found, by enq uiry, that the courier had been
waiting for me at the A ustrian frontier, and not finding
me there, had returned to meet me. This was j ust what I
had dreaded before my departure, and through the whole
j ourney. I determined, on the spur of the moment, to
leave M. de S chlegel and my daughter at the inn, and to
go on foot into the streets of the town, to tak e my chance
at the first house whose master, or mistress, had a physio-
gnomy that pleased me. I would remain in this asylum
a few days; during this time, M. de S chlegel and my
daughter might say, that they were going to rej oin me in
A ustria; and I would . afterward leave S altzburg, disguised
as a peasant. H azardous as this resource appeared, no
other remained; and I was j ust preparing for the task , with
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x li
fear and trembling, when who should enter my apartment,
but this dreaded courier, who was no other than-- M. de
R occa!
" H e had been obliged to return to Geneva to transact
some business, and now came to rej oin me. H e had dis-
guised himself as a courier, in order to tak e advantage of
the terror which the name inspired, and to obtain horses
more q uick ly. H e had hurried on to the A ustrian frontier,
to mak e himself sure that no one had preceded, or an-
nounced me; he had returned to assure me that I had
nothing to fear, and to get upon the box of my carriage
until we had passed that dreaded frontier, which seemed to
me the last of my dangers. I n this manner were my fears
changed to gratitude, j oy, and confidence. "
A t V ienna, Madame de S tael was obliged to wait some
time for a R ussian passport. The first ten days were spent
very pleasantly, and her friends there assured her that she
might rest in perfect security. A t the end of that time,
the A ustrian police probably received directions concerning
her from N apoleon; for they placed a guard at the gate of
her house, and, whether she walk ed or rode, she was fol-
lowed by spies.
S he was at this time in a state of great uneasiness; for
unless her R ussian passport came speedily, the progress of
the war would prevent her from passing into that country;
and she dared not stay in V ienna a day after the F rench
ambassador (who was then at Dresden) had returned.
A gain she thought of Constantinople. S he tried to obtain
two passports to leave A ustria, either by H ungary or Gal-
licia, so that she might decide in favour of going to Peters-
burg or Constantinople according to circumstances. S he
was told she might have her choice of passports, but that
they could not enable her to go by two different frontiers
without authority from the Committee of S tates. S he says,
" E urope seemed to her lik e one great net, in which travel-
lers got entangled at every step. "
S he departed for Gallicia without her R ussian passport;
a friend having promised to travel night and day to bring
it to her, as soon as it arrived. A t every step of her
j ourney she encountered fresh difficulties from the police,
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? x liiME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
all of which it would be tedious to relate. Placards were
put up in all the towns to k eep a strict watch upon her as
she passed through: this was the distinction the A ustrians
conferred upon a woman, who has done more than any
other mortal to give foreigners a respect for German lite-
rature, and German character.
I n passing through Poland, Madame de S tael wished to
rest a day or two at L anzut, at the castle of the Polish
Prince and Princess L ubomirsk a, with whom she had
been well acq uainted in Geneva, and during her visit to
V ienna. The captain of the police, j ealous that she in-
tended to ex cite the Poles to insurrection, sent a detach-
ment to escort her into L anzut, to follow her into the
castle, and not leave her until she q uitted it. A ccordingly
the officer stationed himself at the supper-table of the
Prince, and in the evening took occasion to observe to her
son that he had orders to pass the night in her apartment,
to prevent her holding communication with any one; but
that, out of respect to her, he should not do it. " Y ou
may as well say that you will not do it, out of respect to
yourself," replied the young man: " for if you dare to set
foot within my mother' s apartment, I will assuredly throw
you out of the window. "
The escort of the police was particularly painful to
Madame de S tael at this point of her j ourney. A descrip-
tion of M. de R occa had been sent along the road, with
orders to arrest him as a F rench officer; although he had
resigned his commission, and was disabled by his wound
from doing military service. H ad he been arrested, the
forfeiture of his life would have been the conseq uence.
H e had therefore been obliged to separate from his wife,
at a time when he felt most anx ious to protect her; and to
travel alone under a borrowed name. I t had been ar-
ranged that they should meet at L anzut, from which place
they hoped to be able to pass safely into R ussia. H aving
arrived there before her, and not in the least suspecting
that she would be guarded by the police, he eagerly came
out to meet her, full of j oy and confidence. The danger
to which he thus unconsciously ex posed himself, made
Madame de S tael pale with agony. S he had scarcely time
to give him an earnest signal to turn back . H ad it not
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? ME MO I llO F MA DA ME DE S TA E t. x liii
been for the generous presence of mind of a Polish gentle-
man, M. de llocca would have been recognised and arrested.
The fugitive ex perienced the greatest friendship and
hospitality from the Prince and Princess L ubomirsk a; but
notwithstanding their urgent entreaties, she would not con-
sent to encumber their house with such attendants as chose
to follow her. A fter one night' s rest, she departed for
R ussia, which she entered on the 14th of J uly. A s she
passed the boundary line, she made a solemn oath never
again to set foot in a country subj ected in any degree to
the E mperor N apoleon; though she says she felt some sad
misgivings that the oath would never allow her to revisit
her own beautiful and beloved F rance.
Madame de S tael staid but a brief space in Moscow;
the flames and the F rench army followed close upon her
footsteps.
A t Petersburg she had several interviews with the E m-
peror A lex ander, whose affairs were then at a most alarm-
ing crisis. * S he remark s of R ussia, " The country ap-
peared to me lik e an image of infinite space, and as if it
would req uire an eternity to traverse it. The S clavonian
language is singularly echoing; there is something metallic
about it; you would imagine you heard a bell strik ing,
when the R ussians pronounce certain letters of their
alphabet. "
The nobility of Petersburg vied with each other in the
attentions bestowed on Madame de S tael. A t a dinner
given in honour of her arrival, the following toast was
proposed: " S uccess to the arms of R ussia against F
The ex ile dearly loved her country, and her heart could
not respond to the sentiment: " N ot against F rance !
rance. "
" she
ex claimed; " but against him who oppresses F rance. "
The toast, thus changed, was repeated with great applause.
A lthough Madame de S tael found much in R ussia to
interest her, and was every where received with distin-
guished regard, she did not feel in perfect security; she
could not look on the magnificent edifices of that splendid
capital, without dismal forebodings that he, whose power
* I n a conversation concerning the structure of governments, Madame de
S tael said to the E mperor, " S ire, you are yourself a constitution for your
country. " " Then, madam, I am but a luck y accident" was his wise reply to
tier delicate and comprehensive flattery.
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? X llV ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
had overshadowed all the fair dwellings of E urope, would
come to dark en them also.
I n S eptember, she passed through F inland into S weden.
I n S tock holm she published a work against suicide, written
before her flight from Coppet. The obj ect of this treatise
is to show that the natural and proper effect of affliction is
to elevate and purify the soul, instead of driving it to de-
spair. S he is said to have been induced to mak e this pub-
lication by the fear that she had, in some of her former
writings, evinced too much admiration for this guilty form
of courage.
I n S weden, as in R ussia, Madame de S tael was received
with very mark ed respect. I t was generally supposed that
she ex erted a powerful influence over B ernadotte, to induce
him to resist the encroachments of N apoleon' s ambition.
I f this be the case, she may be said to have fairly check -
mated the E mperor with a k ing of his own mak ing.
Though B ernadotte had great respect for her opinions, she
is said not to have been a favourite with him: he was him-
self fond of mak ing eloq uent speeches, and her conversation
threw him into the shade.
Madame de S tael passed the winter of 1812 on the
shores of the B altic; and in the spring she sailed for E ng-
land, where she arrived in J une, 1813.
A lthough her
dramatic style of manners, and the energy of her convers-
ation, formed a strik ing contrast to the national reserve of
the E nglish, she was received with enthusiastic admiration.
H er genius, her fame, her escape from B onaparte, and her
intimate k nowledge of the F rench R evolution, all combined
to produce a prodigious sensation. " I n the immense
crowds that collected to see her at the Marq uis of L ans-
downe' s, and in the houses of the other principal nobility of
L ondon, the eagerness of curiosity brok e through all restraint;
the first ladies in the k ingdom stood on chairs and tables,
to catch a glimpse of her dark and brilliant physiognomy. "
Madame de S tael has left some admirable descriptions of
E nglish society, and of the impressions made upon her
mind when she first entered that powerful country. B ut
the principal obj ect of her visit was not to observe the in-
tellectual wealth or moral grandeur of E ngland. Through
all her perils and wanderings she had saved a copy of
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA B L . x lv
her condemned book on Germany, and had brought it
triumphantly to L ondon; where it was published, in O c-
tober, 1813.
" I n this, which is perhaps her greatest work , Madame
de S tael has endeavoured to give a bold, general, and philo-
sophical view of the whole intellectual condition of the
German people, among whom she had ma' de what was in
some sort a voyage of discovery; for the highly original
literature of that country was then little k nown to the rest
of E urope. " I t was received with great applause in
E ngland, and afterward in F rance, where a change of go-
vernment admitted of its being published the ensuing
year. S ir J ames Mack intosh immediately wrote a review
of it, in which he says, " The voice of E urope had
already applauded the genius of a national painter in the
author of ' Corinne. ' I n her ' Germany,' she throws off the
aid of fiction; she delineates a less poetical character, and
a country more interesting by anticipation than by recollec-
tion. B ut it is not the less certain that it is the most
vigorous effort of her genius, and probably the most
elaborate and masculine production of the faculties of
woman. "
W hen Madame de S tael made her visit to E ngland, L ord
B yron was in the first lustre of his fame. A t first, the
rival lions seem to have been disposed to growl at each
other; but in time they grew to be on the best possible
terms. The following is the noble poet' s eloq uent tribute
to her genius: --
" Corinne is no more; and with her should ex pire the
fear, the flattery, and the envy, which threw too dazzling
or too dark a cloud round the march of genius, and forbade
the steady gaze of disinterested criticism. W e have her
picture embellished or distorted, as friendship or detraction
has held the pencil: the impartial portrait was hardly to be
ex pected from a contemporary. The immediate voice of
her survivors will, it is probable, be far from affording a
j ust estimate of her singular capacity. The gallantry, the
love of wonder, and the hope of associated fame, which
blunted the edge of censure, must cease to ex ist. The dead
have no sex ; they can surprise by no new miracles; they
can confer no privilege: Corinna has ceased to be a woman
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? X lviME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
' -- she is only an author; and it may be foreseen that many
will repay themselves for former complaisance, by a severity
to which the ex travagance of previous praises may perhaps
give the colour of truth. The latest posterity -- for to the
latest posterity they will assuredly descend -- will have to
pronounce upon her various productions; and the longer
the vista through which they are seen, the more accurately
minute will be the obj ect, the more certain the j ustice, of
the decision. S he will enter into that ex istence in which
the great writers of all ages and nations are, as it were,
associated in a world of their own, and, from that superior
sphere, shed their eternal influence for the control and con-
solation of mank ind. B ut the individual will gradually dis-
appear as the author is more distinctly seen: some one,
therefore, of all those whom the charms of involuntary wit,
and of easy hospitality, attracted within the friendly circles
of Coppet, should rescue from oblivion those virtues which,
although they are said to love the shade, are, in fact, more
freq uently chilled than ex cited by the domestic cares of
private life. S ome one should be found to portray the
unaffected graces with which she adorned those dearer
relationships, the performance of whose duties is rather dis-
covered amongst the interior secrets, than seen in the out-
ward management, of family intercourse; and which,
indeed, it req uires the delicacy of genuine affection to
q ualify for the eye of an indifferent spectator. S ome one
should be found, not to celebrate, but to describe, the
amiable mistress of an open mansion, the centre of a society,
ever varied, and always pleased, the creator of which, di-
vested of the ambition and the arts of public rivalry, shone
forth only to give fresh animation to those around her.
The mother tenderly affectionate and tenderly beloved, --
the friend unboundedly generous, but still esteemed,-- the
charitable patroness of all distress, cannot be forgotten by
those whom she cherished, and protected, and fed. H er
loss will be mourned the most where she was k nown the
best; and, to the sorrows of very many friends, and more
dependents, may be offered the disinterested regret of a
stranger, who, amidst the sublimer scenes of the L eman
L ak e, received his chief satisfaction from contemplating the
engaging q ualities of the incomparable Corinna. "
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x lvil
The respect and admiration with which Madame de
S tael was received by the best society in E ngland was
rather increased than diminished during her residence
there. S he had now been in most of the capitals of
E urope, and in all of them had received a degree of homage
never before paid to any woman who was not a q ueen.
B ut all these flattering distinctions could not wean her
affections from her beloved Paris. I n the midst of the
most dazzling triumphs of her genius, her heart turned
fondly toward F rance, and she was watching with in-,
tense anx iety the progress of those great political move-
ments, which afterward restored her to her country. I m-
mediately after the entrance of the allied army into Paris,
and the conseq uent abdication of B onaparte, Madame de
S tael returned to her native land. N otwithstanding the
pain it gave to see her country filled with foreign troops,
she felt the j oy of an ex ile restored to her home. S he im-
mediately resumed her high place in society; and the ac-
cumulation of fame she brought with her threw additional
brilliancy around a name which had so long been illustrious.
L ouis X V I I I . took great delight in her conversation. H e
caused to be paid from the royal treasury the two millions
offrancsthatM. N eck erhadloanedtoL ouisX V I .
A circumstance which occurred at this period of her life
is remark ably interesting. A proj ect was on foot to assas-
sinate N apoleon; and men were sent to E lba for that pur-
pose. Madame de S tael, from her well k nown dislik e to
the E mperor, and her acq uaintance with political men of
all parties, was the first one to whom the secret was con-
fided. A ccompanied by Talma, she immediately sought an
interview with J oseph B onaparte, informed him of his
brother' s danger, and even proposed to go to E lba in person.
A patriotic friend, whose name is not yet revealed to the
public, undertook the hazardous mission-- he arrived in
time, so that the two first who landed were arrested, and
B onaparte was saved.
Madame de S tael passed the winters of 1814 and 1815
in Paris; receiving the universal homage of the great men
then collected there from all parts of the world. B ut the
shadow of her old and inveterate enemy was suddenly
thrown across this bright spot in her ex istence. O n the
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? X lviiiME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
6 th of March, 1815, B onaparte suddenly landed in F rance.
W hen Madame de S tael heard the tidings, she says, it
seemed as if the earth had yawned under her feet. S he
had sufficient k nowledge of the F rench people to conj ecture
what reception N apoleon would meet; and having made a
farewell visit to the k ing, with a heavy heart she returned
to Coppet.
B onaparte, anx ious to rebuild the power his own mad-
ness had overthrown, was particularly desirous to gain the
confidence of the friends of rational liberty; and among
these his former persecution had shown of what conseq uence
he considered Madame de S tael. H e sent his brother J
seph with a req uest that she would come to Paris, and
give him her advice about framing a constitutional govern-
ment. W ith a consistency very rare in those days of
rapid political changes, she replied, " Tell the E mperor
that for twelve years he has done without me or a consti-
tution; and I believe that he has as little regard for the
one as he has for the other. '
o-
B onaparte gave O ' Meara a very different account. H e
says, " I
court. *
brother J
A
was obliged to banish Madame de S tael from
t Geneva she became very intimate with my
oseph, whom she gained by her conversation and
hen I returned from E lba, she sent her son
writings. W
to ask payment of two millions, which her father had lent
out of his private property to L ouis X V I . , and to offer her
services, provided I complied with her req uest. I refused
to see him; think ing I could not grant what he wished
without ill-treating others in a similar predicament. H ow-
ever, J oseph would not be refused, and brought him in;
the attendants not lik ing to deny my brother. I received
him politely, and told him I was very sorry I could not
comply with his req uest, as it was contrary to the laws.
Madame de S tael then wrote a long letter to F ouch? ,
stating her claims, in which she said she wanted the
money to portion her daughter in marriage to the Due de
B roglie, promising that if I complied with her req uest, I
might command her and hers; that she would be black and
white for me. F ouche urged me to comply, saying, that
* A gentle and comprehensive description of his system of petty persecutions J
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x lix
at so critical a time she might be of considerable service.
I
I
I
answered that I would mak e no bargains. "
t is impossible that the above statement should be true.
n the first place, we have more reason to place confidence
in the veracity of the open-hearted Madame de S tael than
we have in the word of N apoleon, who seldom used lan-
guage for any other purpose than to conceal his thoughts;
secondly, in the beginning of his reign he did offer to pay
those very two millions, if she would favour his govern.
ment, and at the very time of which O ' Meara speak s, he
again offered to do it; thirdly, it is notorious, that after his
return from E lba, he was ex tremely anx ious to conciliate
his enemies; and lastly, the history of his whole intriguing
life mak es us laugh at the pretence that he was incapable
of mak ing bargains.
A t the close of the memorable H undred Days, B ona-
parte was a second time compelled to abdicate; and Ma-
dame de S tael would have immediately returned to Paris,
had she not felt such a painful sense of degradation in see-
ing the throne of F rance supported by a standing army of
foreign troops; her national pride could not brook the dis-
grace of witnessing her country in the leading-strings of
the A llied Powers; F rance, thus situated, was in her eyes
no longer " the great nation. "
S he remained at Coppet during the summer of 1815;
but having fresh cause of alarm for the health of her hus-
band, who had never recovered from the effects of his
wound, she revisited I taly, where they passed the winter.
I n the spring of 1816 , they returned to Coppet.
L ord B yron, who had then left E ngland, in high in-
dignation at the odium he had brought upon himself, passed
through S witzerland, during this year, in his way to I taly.
N otwithstanding his former want of cordiality towards
Madame de S tael, and his personal unpopularity at this
period, he was received by her with a k indness and hospi-
tality he had not hoped to meet, and which affected him
deeply. W ith her usual frank ness, she blamed him for his
conduct to L ady B yron; and by her persuasive eloq uence
prevailed upon him to write to a friend in E ngland, ex -
pressing a wish to be reconciled to his wife. I n the letters
he wrote, during the few summer months he staid in
c
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? ] ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
S witzerland, he often speak s of Coppet and its inhabitants.
H e says, " Madame de S tael wishes to see the A ntiq uary,
and I am going to tak e it to her to-morrow. S he has made
Coppet as agreeable to me as society and talent can mak
any place on earth. B onstetten is there a good deal. H
is a fine, lively old man, and much esteemed by his com-
patriots. A ll there are well, ex cepting R occa, who, I
e
e
am
sorry to say, look s in a very bad state of health. S chlegel is
in high force, and Madame de S tael is as brilliant as ever. "
O f the Duchess de B roglie, B yron spok e in very high
terms; and in noticing her attachment to her husband,
he remark ed, that " N othing was more pleasing than to see
the development of the domestic affections in a very young
woman. " W hat a pity that virtue was not to him some-
thing more than a mere abstract idea of poetic beauty!
W hen it became evident that the A llied Powers did not
mean to dictate the measures of the F rench government,
Madame de S tael was again strongly tempted by the al-
lurements of Paris. S he returned once more to become
the leading-star in the most brilliant society in the world.
" E very evening her saloon was crowded with all that was
distinguished and powerful, not in F rance only, but in all
E urope, which was then represented in Paris, by a re-
mark able number of its most ex traordinary men. Madame
de S tael had, to a degree perhaps never possessed by any
other person, the rare talent of uniting around her the
most distinguished individuals of all the opposite parties,
literary and political, and mak ing them establish relations
among themselves, which they could not afterward entirely
shak e off. There might be found W ellington and L a-
fayette, Chateaubriand, Talleyrand, and Prince L aval;
H umboldt and B lucher, from B erlin; Constant and S is-
mondi, from S witzerland; the two S chlegels, from H
anover;
Canova, from I taly; the beautiful Madame R ecamier, and
the admirable Duchess de Duras; and from E ngland, such
a multitude, that it seemed lik e a general emigration of
B ritish talent and rank . "
The winter months at the close of 1816 , and the begin-
ning of 1817, were passed by Madame de S tael in Paris.
This was the most splendid scene in the gorgeous drama
of her life-- and it was the last. " The great ex ertions
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E I . . li
she made, evening after evening, in the important political
discussions that were carried on in her saloon, -- the labours
of the morning in writing almost continually something
suited to the wants of the moment, for the Mercury, and
other periodicals,-- while at the same time, the serious
labour of her great work on the F rench R evolution was
still pressing on her,-- all these together were too much
for her strength. " Contrary to the advice of the physicians,
she persisted in using opium, to which she had for some
time resorted to stimulate her ex hausted frame; but nature
was worn out, and no artificial means could restore its
vigour. A violent fever, obviously the effect of the ex cite.
ment under which she had so long lived, seized her in
F ebruary. B y the use of ex cessively violent means, it was
thrown off; but, though the disease was gone, her con-
stitution was brok en up. L ife passed at first insensibly
from the ex tremities, and then no less slowly retired from
the more vital organs. I n general, she suffered little, and
her faculties remained in unclouded brightness to the last.
The interest ex cited by her situation proved the affection
she had inspired, and of what conseq uence her life was'
accounted to her country. E very day some of the royal
family were anx iously enq uiring at the door, and every day
the Duk e of W ellington came in person to ask if there was
no hope. H er most intimate friends (who have been often
mentioned in the course of this memoir) were admitted
into her sick chamber. S he conversed upon all the subj
that were introduced, and took an interest in them all. I
her conversation at this period had less than her usual
animation, it is said to have had more of richness and
depth. The deadly paleness of her features formed a
touching contrast with the dazzling intelligence, which
never deserted her ex pressive countenance. H er friends
placed a double value on every remark she uttered, and
treasured it in their inmost hearts as one of the last efforts
of her wonderful mind. S ome of them indulged the hope
ects
f
that she might recover; but she k new from the first that
the work of death was begun. A t one time, owing to a
high nervous ex citement produced by the progress of her
disease, the thought of dissolution was terrible to her. -- S he
mourned over the talents that had made her life so brilliant;
C2
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? llV ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
short, it was an intellectual banq uet, at which all that the
human mind could conceive or create was abundantly
served up. I n these literary and philosophical disputes,
Madame de S tael had a decided superiority over her father
in q uick ness of perception, readiness of ex pression, and
eloq uence. B ut whenever she was about to seize the palm
of victory, she always appeared restrained by a feeling of
filial respect. A s if fearful of the success she had ob-
tained, she would with admirable dex terity and grace com-
mit herself in an error, for the purpose of resigning to her
antagonist the glory of the victory. B ut that antagonist
was her father; and he was the only person to whom she
ever conceded such an advantage.
" ' A fter break fast, the party separated until dinner,
which was constantly accompanied by disputes between M.
N eck er and several deaf and ill-tempered maitres-d' hotel,
the remnants of a system which M. N eck er himself had
overthrown, and who in their embroidered coats had fol-
lowed his fortunes to Coppet. The afternoon was devoted
to study until seven o' clock , when whist was commenced.
This was always a stormy game: M. N eck er and his
daughter invariably q uarrelled, lost their tempers, and left
the table with the determination of never again playing
together. B ut in spite of this the game was daily resumed.
The rest of the evening was passed in agreeable conversation.
" ' W ith the ex ception of a few ex cursions, Madame de
S tael in this manner spent eight years of her life; alter
nately devoting herself to the society of her father and the
education of her children. A t this period, too, she wrote
what may be termed her work s of the second-rate class;
viz. O n the I nfluence of the Passions; O n L iterature; and
lastly, Delphine.
" ' A fterthedeathofM. N eck er,in1804,Madamede
S tael, finding herself relieved from all restraint, and the
mistress of a splendid fortune, aspired to figure upon the
stage of politics. To this she was urged by a vivid recol-
lection of the commencement of the revolution, the date of
her first acq uaintance with the world, and her early suc-
-cess. S he was enticed to enter this arena, by the desire of
ex ercising the power which she regarded as an attribute of
her superior genius.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-22 00:48 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. 32044021204953 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.
