Child' s L ife of Madame de S tael, to Madame J unot'
s Memoirs, and to
L ord B yron' s historical notes to the fourth canto of Childe H arold.
s Memoirs, and to
L ord B yron' s historical notes to the fourth canto of Childe H arold.
Madame de Stael - Corinna, or Italy
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H arvard College
> L ibi
TH E B E Q UE S TO F
A rthur S tuart W alcott
Class of 1891
J une i, 1923
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? ? CORINNE;
OR,
I TA L Y .
" Udrallo il bel paesc,
Cb' A pennin parte, e *
. __ Pets a scd.
B Y MA DA ME DE
1 mar circonda e l'
S TA E L .
A lpe. "
TR A N S L A TE DE X PR E S S L Y F O R TH I S E DI TI O N
BYISABELHILL;
W I TH ME TR I CA L V E R S I O N S O F TH E O DE S B Y L E L A N DO N ;
A N DA ME MO I R O F TH E A UTH O R E S S .
L O N DO N :
R I CH A R DB E N TL E Y ,N E W B UR L I N GTO N S TR E E T.
B E L L & B R A DF UTE ,E DI N B UR GH ;
CUMM1N GA N DF E R GUS O N ,DUB L I N .
1847.
? ? 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. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? H A R V A R DC01U6 ! UMk K l
B E Q UE S TO F
A R TH UR S TUA R TW A L CO TT
iUN E t,1123
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? TR A N S L A TO R ' S PR E F A CE .
W hatever defects may ex ist in my attempt at ren-
dering " Corinne" into E nglish, be it remembered, that
we have many words for one meaning,-- in F rench there
are several significations for the same word. R e-
petition, an elegance in F rench, is a barbarism in
E nglish. Thus I had to contend with a tautology
almost unmanageable, and even a reiteration of the
same sentiments. S entences, harmonious in F rench,
lost all agreeable cadence, until entirely reconstructed.
Madame de S tael' s diffuse manner obliged me also to
transpose pretty freely. I found, in so doing, many
self-contradictions, some of which I could not efface.
H er boldness of condensation, too, and love of vague,
mysterious sublimity, often left me in doubt as to what
might be hidden beneath the dazzling veil of her elo-
q uence. I t may appear profanation to have altered a
syllable; but, having been accustomed to consult the
taste of my own country, I could not outrage it by
being more literal. I have tak en the liberty of mak ing
B ritish peasants and children speak their native idiom,
and have added a few ex planatory notes; occasionally
availing myself of q uotations from more recent au-
thorities than that of the B aroness. L est I should
unconsciously have committed any great mistak e, be
a3
? ? 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. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? V I TR A N S L A TO R S PR E F A CE .
it k nown that the printers of her " eighth corrected
and revised edition" gave Corinne a military instead
of a literary career, and made the R oman mob throw
handfuls of bon mots into the carriages during the
carnival.
Miss L andon had k indly undertak en to render the
lyric portions of the work ; but we feared, for a while,
that our own I mprovisatrice would be prevented by
circumstances from gracing the V olume by her name.
I , therefore, translated Corinne' s compositions into
rhyme. O nly one of my essays, however, " The
F ragment of Corinne' s Thoughts," was req uired. I
am conscious of its imperfect irregularity; but, having
no poetical reputation at stak e, I throw myself on the
mercy of my j udges.
I sabelH ill.
6 . Cecil S treet, S trand.
J an. 22. 1833.
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? ME MO I R
MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
A nne Marie L ouise Germaine N eck er, B aroness de
S tael H olstein, was the only child of J ames N eck er, the
famous financier (a long time the popular idol in F rance),
and of S usanna Curchod, the daughter of a poor S wiss cler-
gyman, who, in the seq uestered village of Crassy, bestowed
upon her as thorough an education as fell to the lot of any
woman in E urope.
Gibbon, the historian, visited the father of Mademoiselle
Curchod, and became a captive to her charms. H e pros-
pered in his suit; but such an obscure connection was not
agreeable to his father, who threatened to disinherit him if
he persisted in it. H e obeyed the parental command, lik e
a dutiful son and a very philosophical lover; and the
young lady, on her part, seems to have borne the separation
with becoming resignation and cheerfulness.
A fter her father' s death, Mademoiselle Curchod taught
a school in Geneva; where she became acq uainted with
M. N eck er, the gentleman whom she afterwards married.
H e was a native of Geneva, and at that time a bank er in
Paris.
MadamedeS taelwasborninParis,in176 6 . I nher
infancy, she was noticed for a remark
ness, gaiety, and freedom.
I n conseq uence of her mother'
* F or the following Memoir, the E
able degree of bright-
s system of education, she
ditor of the " S tandard N
ovels "
is indebted
to Mrs.
Child' s L ife of Madame de S tael, to Madame J unot'
s Memoirs, and to
L ord B yron' s historical notes to the fourth canto of Childe H arold.
A4
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? V I I I ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
was constantly accustomed to conversation beyond her years.
The world must have somewhat softened the severity of
Madame N eck er' s opinions: for we find that she often
allowed her daughter to assist at the representation of the
best dramatic pieces. H er pleasures, as well as her duties,
were ex ercises of intellect; and nature, which had originally
bestowed great gifts, was assisted by every possible method.
I n this way her vigorous faculties acq uired a prodigious
growth.
The following account of her is from the Memoir of
B aron de Grimm: --
" W hile M. N eck er passes decrees which cover him with
glory, and will render his administration eternally dear to
F rance; while Madame N eck er renounces all the sweets of
society to devote herself to the establishment of a H ospital
of Charity, in the parish of S t. S ulpicius, their daughter, a
girl of twelve years old, who already evinces talents above
her age, amuses herself with writing little comedies, after
the manner of the semi-dramas of M. de S t. Mark . S he
has j ust completed one, in two acts, entitled the ' I ncon-
veniences of the L ife led at Paris,' which is not only asto-
nishing for her age, but appears even very superior to her
models. I t represents a mother who had two daughters,
one brought up in all the simplicity of rural life, and the
other amid the grand airs of the capital. The latter is the
favourite, from the talents and graces she displays; but
this mother, falling into misfortunes, from the loss of a
law-suit, soon learns which of the two is in reality most
deserving of her affection. The scenes of this little drama
are well connected together, the characters are well sup-
ported, and the developement of the intrigue is natural and
full of interest. M. Marmontel, who saw it performed in
the drawing-room at S t. O uen, the country-house of M.
N eck er, by the author and some of her young companions,
was affected by it even to tears. "
A s might be ex pected, the ex treme vivacity of Made-
moiselle N eck er was continually betraying her into sins
against her mother' s ideas of order and decorum. O n this
subj ect, she made a thousand good resolutions, but was
always sure to forget them the moment she needed them.
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . I X
S he could not restrain her ex uberant fancy and overflowing
spirits.
Mademoiselle N eck er resided at Coppet from 1781 to
1787, when her father was restored to office, and his family
accompanied him to Paris.
During her stay in S witzerland she wrote a sentimental
comedy, called " S ophia, or S ecret S entiments,"
a story of ill-directed and unhappy love; published when
she was twenty-one years of age.
I mmediately after she came to Paris, she finished her
founded on
tragedy of " L ady J ane Grey," which has had considerable
reputation. S oon after, she wrote, but never published,
another tragedy, called " Montmorency," in which the part
of Cardinal de R ichelieu is said to have been sk etched with
great spirit. These early productions had prominent de-
fects, as well as beauties. They were mark ed by that
perfect harmony between thought and ex pression which
always constituted her most delightful peculiarity, in con-
versation or writing; but her friends considered them
valuable, principally on account of the promise they gave
of future greatness. To the world they are obj
sity, as the first records in the history of an ex
mind.
B efore her twentieth year, she wrote the "
ects of curio-
traordinary
Three Tales,"
which were not published till 1795, nearly ten years after.
' S he herself attached very little value to these light productions.
I f she had attracted much notice in S witzerland, before
her mind had attained the fulness of its maj estic stature,
it will readily be believed that she ex cited an unusual sen-
sation when she appeared in the brilliant circles of Paris.
H er hands and arms were finely formed, and of a most
transparent whiteness. S he seldom covered them -- con-
fessing, with the child-lik e frank ness which gave such an
endearing charm to her powerful character, that she was
resolved to mak e the most of the only personal beauty nature
had given her. * True, she had none of the usual preten-
* H er feet are said to have been clumsy. This circumstance gave rise to a
pun, which annoyed her a little. O
the face of which was concealed. A
statue was, glanced at the block
n some occasion she represented a statue,
gentleman being ask ed to guess who the
of marble on which she stood, and answered,
" J e vois lepied de S tael" (le pUdestal).
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? X ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
sions to be called a handsome woman; but there was an
intellectual splendour about her face that arrested and
rivetted attention. " N o ex pression was permanent; for
her whole soul was in her countenance, and it took the
character of every passing emotion. W hen in perfect re-
pose, her long eye-lashes gave something of heaviness and
languor to her usually animated physiognomy; but when
ex cited, her magnificent dark eyes flashed with genius, and
seemed to announce her ideas before she could utter them,
as lightning precedes the thunder. There was nothing of
restlessness in her features; there was even something of
indolence; but her vigorous form, her animated gestures,
her graceful and strongly mark ed attitudes, gave a singular
degree of directness and energy to her discourse. There
was something dramatic about her, even in dress, which,
while it was altogether free from ridiculous ex aggeration,
never failed to convey an idea of something more pic-
turesq ue than the reigning fashion. W hen she first en-
tered a room, she walk ed with a slow and grave step. A
slight degree of timidity made it necessary for her to col-
lect her faculties when she was about to attract the notice
of a party. This cloud of embarrassment did not at first
permit her to distinguish any thing; but her face lighted
up in proportion to the friends she recognised. "
M. N eck er' s wealth, and his daughter' s ex traordinary
powers of pleasing, soon attracted suitors. H er parents
were ex tremely ambitious for her; and the choice was not
decided without difficulty; for she insisted upon not being
obliged to leave F rance, and her mother made it a point
that she should not marry a Catholic. W e are told that
she refused several distinguished men. S ir J ohn S inclair,
in his Correspondence, speak s of a proj ected union be-
tween the son of L ord R ivers and Mademoiselle N eck er,
and regrets that it did not tak e place, as it would have
withdrawn her family from the vortex of F rench politics;
but I
and S
remark
find no allusion elsewhere to this E nglish marriage,
ir J ohn does not inform us upon what authority his
is founded. I n her work s, Madame de S tael
constantly ex presses great admiration of E ngland, and she
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x i
chose to give her Corinne an E nglish lover. W hether
this taste, so singular in a F renchwoman, had any thing
to do with her early recollections, I k now not.
H er fate was at last decided by E ric-Magnus, B aron
de S tael H olstein, a S wedish nobleman, secretary to the
ambassador from the court of S tock holm. H e is said to
have had an amiable disposition, a fine person, and courtly
manners; but we are not told that in point of intellect he
possessed any distinguished claims to the hand of Mademoi-
selle N eck er. L ik e a good many personages in history, he
seems to have accidentally fallen upon greatness by pleasing
the fancies of his superiors, or coming in contact with
their policy. H e was a favourite with Marie A ntoinette,
who constantly advanced his interests by her patronage;
he was lik ewise the bosom friend of Count F ersen, who
at that time had great influence at court.
The q ueen warmly urged his suit. Gustavus I I I . , will-
ing to please Marie A ntoinette, and to secure such a large
fortune to one of his subj ects, recalled the S wedish am-
bassador, and appointed the B aron de S tael in his place,
promising that he should enj oy that high rank for manyj ' /T)
years; and the lover himself, in order to remove the
scruples the young lady had with regard to marrying a
foreigner, pledged his honour that she should never be
urged to q uit F rance.
S ir J ohn S inclair tells us that M. N eck er was supposed
to favour the match in hopes of being restored to office
through the influence of the Q ueen and Count F ersen;
but such a motive is not at all consistent with the cha-
racter Madame de S tael has given of her father, who, she
says, " in every circumstance of his life preferred the least
of his duties to the most important of his interests. "
S he herself probably imagined the connection might be
of use to her beloved parents; and her ambition might
have been tempted by her lover' s rank as a nobleman and
ambassador; at least it is difficult to account in any other
manner for her union with a foreigner considerably older
than herself, and with whom she had few points of sym-
pathy in character or pursuits: it was a notorious fact
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? X UME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
that she was never over-fond of the match, and entered
into the necessary arrangements with great coldness.
S hewasmarriedtotheB arondeS taelin1786 ,and
the bridegroom received, on his wedding-day, eighty
thousand pounds as her dowry.
This union, lik e most marriages of policy, was far from
being a happy one. H ad Madame de S tael been a heart-
less, selfish character, such a destiny would have been
good enough; but they were indeed cruel, who assisted in
imposing such icy fetters on a soul so ardent, generous,
and affectionate as hers. N ature, as usual, rebelled against
the tyranny of ambition. W e are told by her friends,
and indeed there is internal evidence in most of her work s,
that her life was one long sigh for domestic love.
W hen she became a mother, she used playfully to say,
" I will force my daughter to mak e a marriage of incli-
nation. "
The impetuosity of an unsatisfied spirit gave a singular
degree of vehemence to all her attachments; her gratitude
and friendship took the colouring of ardent love. S he was
ex tremely sensitive where her heart was concerned; and
at the slightest neglect, real or imaginary, from her friends,
she would ex claim with bitter emphasis, " N ever, never
have I been loved as I love others! "
W hen she was the most carried away by the ex citement
of society, and the impetuous inspiration of her own spirit,
it was impossible for a friend to glide away unperceived by
her. This watchful anx iety was the source of freq uent
reproaches: she was for ever accusing her friends of a
diminution in their love. Madame de S aussure once said
to her, " Y our friends have to submit each morning to re-
newed charges of coldness and neglect. " -- " W hat matter
for that," she replied, " if I love them the better every
evening? " S he used to say, " I would go to the scaffold,
in order to try the friendship of those who accompanied
me. "
Y et with all her ex treme susceptibility of tenderness
and admiration, she was not blind to the slightest defects.
W ith her, character always passed under a close and
rigorous ex amination; and if she sometimes wounded the
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X M
vanity of her friends by being too clear-sighted to their
imperfections, they were soothed by her enthusiastic ad-
miration of all their great and good q ualities. I ndeed she
might well be forgiven by others, since her acute powers
of analysis were directed against her own character with
the most unsparing severity.
The winter after Madame de S taeTs marriage, her
father was ex iled forty leagues from Paris, and she was
' with him during the greater part of his absence. I n the
A ugust following, 1788, he was recalled with added
honours, and his daughter, of course became one of the
most important personages in F rance. B ut while she
formed the centre of attraction in the fashionable and in-
tellectual society of Paris, she did not relinq uish her taste
for literature. I n 1789, she published her famous L etters
on the Character and W ritings of J . J . R ousseau. The
j udicious will not approve of all the opinions ex pressed in
this book ; and perhaps she herself would have viewed
things differently when riper years and maturer j udgment
had somewhat subdued the artificial glare, which youth
and romance are so apt to throw over wrong actions and
false theories. " I t is, however, a glowing and eloq uent
tribute to the genius of that ex traordinary man; and the
acuteness shown in her remark s on the E milius, and the
Treatise on the S ocial Contract, is truly wonderful in a
young woman so much engrossed by the glittering dis-
tractions of fashionable life. "
A t first only a few copies were printed for her intimate
friends; but a full edition was soon published without her
consent. The B aron de Grimm, who saw one of the
private copies, speak
of the most remark
B efore the year ex
s of it with great admiration, as one
able productions of the time.
pired, we find her involved in anx iety
and trouble, occasioned by the second ex ile of her father.
H is dismission from office ex cited great clamour among
the populace, who regarded him as the friend of liberty
and the people. This feeling was openly ex pressed by
closing the theatres, as for some great national calamity.
The conseq uence was an almost immediate recall; and
Madame de S tael warmly ex ulted in the triumph of a
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? X I V ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
parent, whom she seems to have regarded with a feeling
little short of idolatry.
" F rom the moment of his return, in J uly, 1789, to
the period of his final fall from power, in S eptember, 1790,
M. N eck er was all-powerful in F rance; and Madame de
S tael, of course, was a person of proportional conseq
the literary, philosophical, and political society about the
court, and in those more troubled circles from which the
revolution was j ust beginning to go forth in its most
alarming forms. H er situation enabled her to see the
sources, however secret, of all the movements that were
uence in
then agitating the very foundations of civil order in F rance;
and she had talent to understand them with great clearness
and truth. S he witnessed the violent removal of the k ing
to Paris on the 6
meeting of the N
and B arnave;
to hear L ouis X
dethroned him;
th of O ctober; she was present at the first
ational Convention, and heard Mirabeau
she followed the procession to N otre Dame,
V I . swear to a constitution, which virtually
and from that period, her mind seems to
have received a political tendency, that it never afterward
lost.
" I n 1790 she passed a short time with her father at
Coppet, but soon returned to Paris.
" S he associated, on terms of intimacy, with Talleyrand,
for whom she wrote the most important part of his ' R eport
on Public I nstruction,' in 1790. S he lik ewise numbered
among her friends L a F ayette, N arbonne, S ieyes, and other
popular leaders. "
W hen, amid the universal consternation, there could be
no one found to shelter the proscribed victims of the
despotic mob, Madame de S tael had the courage to offer
some of them an asylum, hoping the residence of a foreign
ambassador would not be searched. S he shut them up in
the remotest chamber, and herself spent the night in watch-
ing the streets.
M. de N arbonne was concealed in her house, when the
officers of police came to mak e the much-dreaded " domi-
ciliary visit. " S he k new that he could not escape, if a
rigorous search were made, and that if tak en, he would be
beheaded that very day. S he had sufficient presence of
>
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X V
mind to k eep q uite calm. Partly by her eloq uence, and
partly by a familiar pleasantry, which flattered them, she
persuaded the men to go away without infringing upon
the rights of a foreign ambassador.
Dr. B ollman, the same generous H anoverian who after-
ward attempted to rescue L a F ayette from the prison of
O lmutz, offered to undertak e the dangerous business of
conveying N arbonne to E ngland; and he effected it in
safety by means of a passport belonging to one of his
friends.
A s S weden refused to ack nowledge the F rench republic,
the situation of the B aron de S tael became very uncom-
fortable at Paris; and he was recalled in 1792, a short
time before the death of Gustavus I I I . I n S eptember,
1792, Madame de S tael set out for S witzerland, in a
coach and six , with servants in full livery; she was induced
to do this, from the idea that the people would let her
depart more freely, if they saw her in the style of an am-
bassadress. This was ill-j udged: a shabby post-chaise
would have conveyed her more safely. A ferocious crowd
stopped the horses, calling out loudly that she was carrying
away the gold of the nation. A gendarme conducted her
through half Paris to the H otel de V ille, on the staircase
of which several persons had been massacred. N o woman
had at that time perished; but the nex t day the Princess
L amballe was murdered by the populace. Madame de S tael
was three hours in mak ing her way through the crowds
that on all sides assailed her with cries of death. They
had nothing against her personally, and probably did not
k now who she was; but a carriage and liveries, in their
eyes, warranted sentence of ex ecution. S he was then preg-
nant; and a gendarme, who was placed in the coach, was
moved with compassion at her situation and ex cessive terror:
he promised to defend her at the peril of his life. S he
says, " I alighted from my carriage, in the midst of an
armed multitude, and proceeded under an arch of pik es.
I n ascending the staircase, which was lik ewise bristled
with spears, a man pointed toward me the one which he
held in his hand; but my gendarme pushed it away
with his sabre. The President of the Commune was
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? X V I ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
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? ? 0? f3. 3?
H arvard College
> L ibi
TH E B E Q UE S TO F
A rthur S tuart W alcott
Class of 1891
J une i, 1923
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? ? CORINNE;
OR,
I TA L Y .
" Udrallo il bel paesc,
Cb' A pennin parte, e *
. __ Pets a scd.
B Y MA DA ME DE
1 mar circonda e l'
S TA E L .
A lpe. "
TR A N S L A TE DE X PR E S S L Y F O R TH I S E DI TI O N
BYISABELHILL;
W I TH ME TR I CA L V E R S I O N S O F TH E O DE S B Y L E L A N DO N ;
A N DA ME MO I R O F TH E A UTH O R E S S .
L O N DO N :
R I CH A R DB E N TL E Y ,N E W B UR L I N GTO N S TR E E T.
B E L L & B R A DF UTE ,E DI N B UR GH ;
CUMM1N GA N DF E R GUS O N ,DUB L I N .
1847.
? ? 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. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? H A R V A R DC01U6 ! UMk K l
B E Q UE S TO F
A R TH UR S TUA R TW A L CO TT
iUN E t,1123
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? TR A N S L A TO R ' S PR E F A CE .
W hatever defects may ex ist in my attempt at ren-
dering " Corinne" into E nglish, be it remembered, that
we have many words for one meaning,-- in F rench there
are several significations for the same word. R e-
petition, an elegance in F rench, is a barbarism in
E nglish. Thus I had to contend with a tautology
almost unmanageable, and even a reiteration of the
same sentiments. S entences, harmonious in F rench,
lost all agreeable cadence, until entirely reconstructed.
Madame de S tael' s diffuse manner obliged me also to
transpose pretty freely. I found, in so doing, many
self-contradictions, some of which I could not efface.
H er boldness of condensation, too, and love of vague,
mysterious sublimity, often left me in doubt as to what
might be hidden beneath the dazzling veil of her elo-
q uence. I t may appear profanation to have altered a
syllable; but, having been accustomed to consult the
taste of my own country, I could not outrage it by
being more literal. I have tak en the liberty of mak ing
B ritish peasants and children speak their native idiom,
and have added a few ex planatory notes; occasionally
availing myself of q uotations from more recent au-
thorities than that of the B aroness. L est I should
unconsciously have committed any great mistak e, be
a3
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? V I TR A N S L A TO R S PR E F A CE .
it k nown that the printers of her " eighth corrected
and revised edition" gave Corinne a military instead
of a literary career, and made the R oman mob throw
handfuls of bon mots into the carriages during the
carnival.
Miss L andon had k indly undertak en to render the
lyric portions of the work ; but we feared, for a while,
that our own I mprovisatrice would be prevented by
circumstances from gracing the V olume by her name.
I , therefore, translated Corinne' s compositions into
rhyme. O nly one of my essays, however, " The
F ragment of Corinne' s Thoughts," was req uired. I
am conscious of its imperfect irregularity; but, having
no poetical reputation at stak e, I throw myself on the
mercy of my j udges.
I sabelH ill.
6 . Cecil S treet, S trand.
J an. 22. 1833.
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? ME MO I R
MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
A nne Marie L ouise Germaine N eck er, B aroness de
S tael H olstein, was the only child of J ames N eck er, the
famous financier (a long time the popular idol in F rance),
and of S usanna Curchod, the daughter of a poor S wiss cler-
gyman, who, in the seq uestered village of Crassy, bestowed
upon her as thorough an education as fell to the lot of any
woman in E urope.
Gibbon, the historian, visited the father of Mademoiselle
Curchod, and became a captive to her charms. H e pros-
pered in his suit; but such an obscure connection was not
agreeable to his father, who threatened to disinherit him if
he persisted in it. H e obeyed the parental command, lik e
a dutiful son and a very philosophical lover; and the
young lady, on her part, seems to have borne the separation
with becoming resignation and cheerfulness.
A fter her father' s death, Mademoiselle Curchod taught
a school in Geneva; where she became acq uainted with
M. N eck er, the gentleman whom she afterwards married.
H e was a native of Geneva, and at that time a bank er in
Paris.
MadamedeS taelwasborninParis,in176 6 . I nher
infancy, she was noticed for a remark
ness, gaiety, and freedom.
I n conseq uence of her mother'
* F or the following Memoir, the E
able degree of bright-
s system of education, she
ditor of the " S tandard N
ovels "
is indebted
to Mrs.
Child' s L ife of Madame de S tael, to Madame J unot'
s Memoirs, and to
L ord B yron' s historical notes to the fourth canto of Childe H arold.
A4
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? V I I I ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
was constantly accustomed to conversation beyond her years.
The world must have somewhat softened the severity of
Madame N eck er' s opinions: for we find that she often
allowed her daughter to assist at the representation of the
best dramatic pieces. H er pleasures, as well as her duties,
were ex ercises of intellect; and nature, which had originally
bestowed great gifts, was assisted by every possible method.
I n this way her vigorous faculties acq uired a prodigious
growth.
The following account of her is from the Memoir of
B aron de Grimm: --
" W hile M. N eck er passes decrees which cover him with
glory, and will render his administration eternally dear to
F rance; while Madame N eck er renounces all the sweets of
society to devote herself to the establishment of a H ospital
of Charity, in the parish of S t. S ulpicius, their daughter, a
girl of twelve years old, who already evinces talents above
her age, amuses herself with writing little comedies, after
the manner of the semi-dramas of M. de S t. Mark . S he
has j ust completed one, in two acts, entitled the ' I ncon-
veniences of the L ife led at Paris,' which is not only asto-
nishing for her age, but appears even very superior to her
models. I t represents a mother who had two daughters,
one brought up in all the simplicity of rural life, and the
other amid the grand airs of the capital. The latter is the
favourite, from the talents and graces she displays; but
this mother, falling into misfortunes, from the loss of a
law-suit, soon learns which of the two is in reality most
deserving of her affection. The scenes of this little drama
are well connected together, the characters are well sup-
ported, and the developement of the intrigue is natural and
full of interest. M. Marmontel, who saw it performed in
the drawing-room at S t. O uen, the country-house of M.
N eck er, by the author and some of her young companions,
was affected by it even to tears. "
A s might be ex pected, the ex treme vivacity of Made-
moiselle N eck er was continually betraying her into sins
against her mother' s ideas of order and decorum. O n this
subj ect, she made a thousand good resolutions, but was
always sure to forget them the moment she needed them.
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . I X
S he could not restrain her ex uberant fancy and overflowing
spirits.
Mademoiselle N eck er resided at Coppet from 1781 to
1787, when her father was restored to office, and his family
accompanied him to Paris.
During her stay in S witzerland she wrote a sentimental
comedy, called " S ophia, or S ecret S entiments,"
a story of ill-directed and unhappy love; published when
she was twenty-one years of age.
I mmediately after she came to Paris, she finished her
founded on
tragedy of " L ady J ane Grey," which has had considerable
reputation. S oon after, she wrote, but never published,
another tragedy, called " Montmorency," in which the part
of Cardinal de R ichelieu is said to have been sk etched with
great spirit. These early productions had prominent de-
fects, as well as beauties. They were mark ed by that
perfect harmony between thought and ex pression which
always constituted her most delightful peculiarity, in con-
versation or writing; but her friends considered them
valuable, principally on account of the promise they gave
of future greatness. To the world they are obj
sity, as the first records in the history of an ex
mind.
B efore her twentieth year, she wrote the "
ects of curio-
traordinary
Three Tales,"
which were not published till 1795, nearly ten years after.
' S he herself attached very little value to these light productions.
I f she had attracted much notice in S witzerland, before
her mind had attained the fulness of its maj estic stature,
it will readily be believed that she ex cited an unusual sen-
sation when she appeared in the brilliant circles of Paris.
H er hands and arms were finely formed, and of a most
transparent whiteness. S he seldom covered them -- con-
fessing, with the child-lik e frank ness which gave such an
endearing charm to her powerful character, that she was
resolved to mak e the most of the only personal beauty nature
had given her. * True, she had none of the usual preten-
* H er feet are said to have been clumsy. This circumstance gave rise to a
pun, which annoyed her a little. O
the face of which was concealed. A
statue was, glanced at the block
n some occasion she represented a statue,
gentleman being ask ed to guess who the
of marble on which she stood, and answered,
" J e vois lepied de S tael" (le pUdestal).
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? X ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
sions to be called a handsome woman; but there was an
intellectual splendour about her face that arrested and
rivetted attention. " N o ex pression was permanent; for
her whole soul was in her countenance, and it took the
character of every passing emotion. W hen in perfect re-
pose, her long eye-lashes gave something of heaviness and
languor to her usually animated physiognomy; but when
ex cited, her magnificent dark eyes flashed with genius, and
seemed to announce her ideas before she could utter them,
as lightning precedes the thunder. There was nothing of
restlessness in her features; there was even something of
indolence; but her vigorous form, her animated gestures,
her graceful and strongly mark ed attitudes, gave a singular
degree of directness and energy to her discourse. There
was something dramatic about her, even in dress, which,
while it was altogether free from ridiculous ex aggeration,
never failed to convey an idea of something more pic-
turesq ue than the reigning fashion. W hen she first en-
tered a room, she walk ed with a slow and grave step. A
slight degree of timidity made it necessary for her to col-
lect her faculties when she was about to attract the notice
of a party. This cloud of embarrassment did not at first
permit her to distinguish any thing; but her face lighted
up in proportion to the friends she recognised. "
M. N eck er' s wealth, and his daughter' s ex traordinary
powers of pleasing, soon attracted suitors. H er parents
were ex tremely ambitious for her; and the choice was not
decided without difficulty; for she insisted upon not being
obliged to leave F rance, and her mother made it a point
that she should not marry a Catholic. W e are told that
she refused several distinguished men. S ir J ohn S inclair,
in his Correspondence, speak s of a proj ected union be-
tween the son of L ord R ivers and Mademoiselle N eck er,
and regrets that it did not tak e place, as it would have
withdrawn her family from the vortex of F rench politics;
but I
and S
remark
find no allusion elsewhere to this E nglish marriage,
ir J ohn does not inform us upon what authority his
is founded. I n her work s, Madame de S tael
constantly ex presses great admiration of E ngland, and she
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . x i
chose to give her Corinne an E nglish lover. W hether
this taste, so singular in a F renchwoman, had any thing
to do with her early recollections, I k now not.
H er fate was at last decided by E ric-Magnus, B aron
de S tael H olstein, a S wedish nobleman, secretary to the
ambassador from the court of S tock holm. H e is said to
have had an amiable disposition, a fine person, and courtly
manners; but we are not told that in point of intellect he
possessed any distinguished claims to the hand of Mademoi-
selle N eck er. L ik e a good many personages in history, he
seems to have accidentally fallen upon greatness by pleasing
the fancies of his superiors, or coming in contact with
their policy. H e was a favourite with Marie A ntoinette,
who constantly advanced his interests by her patronage;
he was lik ewise the bosom friend of Count F ersen, who
at that time had great influence at court.
The q ueen warmly urged his suit. Gustavus I I I . , will-
ing to please Marie A ntoinette, and to secure such a large
fortune to one of his subj ects, recalled the S wedish am-
bassador, and appointed the B aron de S tael in his place,
promising that he should enj oy that high rank for manyj ' /T)
years; and the lover himself, in order to remove the
scruples the young lady had with regard to marrying a
foreigner, pledged his honour that she should never be
urged to q uit F rance.
S ir J ohn S inclair tells us that M. N eck er was supposed
to favour the match in hopes of being restored to office
through the influence of the Q ueen and Count F ersen;
but such a motive is not at all consistent with the cha-
racter Madame de S tael has given of her father, who, she
says, " in every circumstance of his life preferred the least
of his duties to the most important of his interests. "
S he herself probably imagined the connection might be
of use to her beloved parents; and her ambition might
have been tempted by her lover' s rank as a nobleman and
ambassador; at least it is difficult to account in any other
manner for her union with a foreigner considerably older
than herself, and with whom she had few points of sym-
pathy in character or pursuits: it was a notorious fact
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? X UME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
that she was never over-fond of the match, and entered
into the necessary arrangements with great coldness.
S hewasmarriedtotheB arondeS taelin1786 ,and
the bridegroom received, on his wedding-day, eighty
thousand pounds as her dowry.
This union, lik e most marriages of policy, was far from
being a happy one. H ad Madame de S tael been a heart-
less, selfish character, such a destiny would have been
good enough; but they were indeed cruel, who assisted in
imposing such icy fetters on a soul so ardent, generous,
and affectionate as hers. N ature, as usual, rebelled against
the tyranny of ambition. W e are told by her friends,
and indeed there is internal evidence in most of her work s,
that her life was one long sigh for domestic love.
W hen she became a mother, she used playfully to say,
" I will force my daughter to mak e a marriage of incli-
nation. "
The impetuosity of an unsatisfied spirit gave a singular
degree of vehemence to all her attachments; her gratitude
and friendship took the colouring of ardent love. S he was
ex tremely sensitive where her heart was concerned; and
at the slightest neglect, real or imaginary, from her friends,
she would ex claim with bitter emphasis, " N ever, never
have I been loved as I love others! "
W hen she was the most carried away by the ex citement
of society, and the impetuous inspiration of her own spirit,
it was impossible for a friend to glide away unperceived by
her. This watchful anx iety was the source of freq uent
reproaches: she was for ever accusing her friends of a
diminution in their love. Madame de S aussure once said
to her, " Y our friends have to submit each morning to re-
newed charges of coldness and neglect. " -- " W hat matter
for that," she replied, " if I love them the better every
evening? " S he used to say, " I would go to the scaffold,
in order to try the friendship of those who accompanied
me. "
Y et with all her ex treme susceptibility of tenderness
and admiration, she was not blind to the slightest defects.
W ith her, character always passed under a close and
rigorous ex amination; and if she sometimes wounded the
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X M
vanity of her friends by being too clear-sighted to their
imperfections, they were soothed by her enthusiastic ad-
miration of all their great and good q ualities. I ndeed she
might well be forgiven by others, since her acute powers
of analysis were directed against her own character with
the most unsparing severity.
The winter after Madame de S taeTs marriage, her
father was ex iled forty leagues from Paris, and she was
' with him during the greater part of his absence. I n the
A ugust following, 1788, he was recalled with added
honours, and his daughter, of course became one of the
most important personages in F rance. B ut while she
formed the centre of attraction in the fashionable and in-
tellectual society of Paris, she did not relinq uish her taste
for literature. I n 1789, she published her famous L etters
on the Character and W ritings of J . J . R ousseau. The
j udicious will not approve of all the opinions ex pressed in
this book ; and perhaps she herself would have viewed
things differently when riper years and maturer j udgment
had somewhat subdued the artificial glare, which youth
and romance are so apt to throw over wrong actions and
false theories. " I t is, however, a glowing and eloq uent
tribute to the genius of that ex traordinary man; and the
acuteness shown in her remark s on the E milius, and the
Treatise on the S ocial Contract, is truly wonderful in a
young woman so much engrossed by the glittering dis-
tractions of fashionable life. "
A t first only a few copies were printed for her intimate
friends; but a full edition was soon published without her
consent. The B aron de Grimm, who saw one of the
private copies, speak
of the most remark
B efore the year ex
s of it with great admiration, as one
able productions of the time.
pired, we find her involved in anx iety
and trouble, occasioned by the second ex ile of her father.
H is dismission from office ex cited great clamour among
the populace, who regarded him as the friend of liberty
and the people. This feeling was openly ex pressed by
closing the theatres, as for some great national calamity.
The conseq uence was an almost immediate recall; and
Madame de S tael warmly ex ulted in the triumph of a
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? X I V ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
parent, whom she seems to have regarded with a feeling
little short of idolatry.
" F rom the moment of his return, in J uly, 1789, to
the period of his final fall from power, in S eptember, 1790,
M. N eck er was all-powerful in F rance; and Madame de
S tael, of course, was a person of proportional conseq
the literary, philosophical, and political society about the
court, and in those more troubled circles from which the
revolution was j ust beginning to go forth in its most
alarming forms. H er situation enabled her to see the
sources, however secret, of all the movements that were
uence in
then agitating the very foundations of civil order in F rance;
and she had talent to understand them with great clearness
and truth. S he witnessed the violent removal of the k ing
to Paris on the 6
meeting of the N
and B arnave;
to hear L ouis X
dethroned him;
th of O ctober; she was present at the first
ational Convention, and heard Mirabeau
she followed the procession to N otre Dame,
V I . swear to a constitution, which virtually
and from that period, her mind seems to
have received a political tendency, that it never afterward
lost.
" I n 1790 she passed a short time with her father at
Coppet, but soon returned to Paris.
" S he associated, on terms of intimacy, with Talleyrand,
for whom she wrote the most important part of his ' R eport
on Public I nstruction,' in 1790. S he lik ewise numbered
among her friends L a F ayette, N arbonne, S ieyes, and other
popular leaders. "
W hen, amid the universal consternation, there could be
no one found to shelter the proscribed victims of the
despotic mob, Madame de S tael had the courage to offer
some of them an asylum, hoping the residence of a foreign
ambassador would not be searched. S he shut them up in
the remotest chamber, and herself spent the night in watch-
ing the streets.
M. de N arbonne was concealed in her house, when the
officers of police came to mak e the much-dreaded " domi-
ciliary visit. " S he k new that he could not escape, if a
rigorous search were made, and that if tak en, he would be
beheaded that very day. S he had sufficient presence of
>
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? ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L . X V
mind to k eep q uite calm. Partly by her eloq uence, and
partly by a familiar pleasantry, which flattered them, she
persuaded the men to go away without infringing upon
the rights of a foreign ambassador.
Dr. B ollman, the same generous H anoverian who after-
ward attempted to rescue L a F ayette from the prison of
O lmutz, offered to undertak e the dangerous business of
conveying N arbonne to E ngland; and he effected it in
safety by means of a passport belonging to one of his
friends.
A s S weden refused to ack nowledge the F rench republic,
the situation of the B aron de S tael became very uncom-
fortable at Paris; and he was recalled in 1792, a short
time before the death of Gustavus I I I . I n S eptember,
1792, Madame de S tael set out for S witzerland, in a
coach and six , with servants in full livery; she was induced
to do this, from the idea that the people would let her
depart more freely, if they saw her in the style of an am-
bassadress. This was ill-j udged: a shabby post-chaise
would have conveyed her more safely. A ferocious crowd
stopped the horses, calling out loudly that she was carrying
away the gold of the nation. A gendarme conducted her
through half Paris to the H otel de V ille, on the staircase
of which several persons had been massacred. N o woman
had at that time perished; but the nex t day the Princess
L amballe was murdered by the populace. Madame de S tael
was three hours in mak ing her way through the crowds
that on all sides assailed her with cries of death. They
had nothing against her personally, and probably did not
k now who she was; but a carriage and liveries, in their
eyes, warranted sentence of ex ecution. S he was then preg-
nant; and a gendarme, who was placed in the coach, was
moved with compassion at her situation and ex cessive terror:
he promised to defend her at the peril of his life. S he
says, " I alighted from my carriage, in the midst of an
armed multitude, and proceeded under an arch of pik es.
I n ascending the staircase, which was lik ewise bristled
with spears, a man pointed toward me the one which he
held in his hand; but my gendarme pushed it away
with his sabre. The President of the Commune was
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? X V I ME MO I R O F MA DA ME DE S TA E L .
