"l^^f^^^ Sts .^ _a. -^ MADAME RECAMIER AND HER FR1END5 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES MADAM K RECAMIER from the original /mini in f; by J . I.. David in the Louvre DC TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. TT 7HEN an English translation of Madame Rd- camier's " Memoirs " was given to the American public, in 1866, it occasioned the same feeling of disappointment as the original work had previously created in France upon its first publica- tion, in 1859. The cause of this dissatisfaction was obvious, for, though the book was in the highest degree interesting, it failed to give a life-like and satisfactory image of Madame Recamier herself. This was the more disappointing, as few lives have excited a more lively curiosity. If it be true, as Carlyle somewhere says, that were it pos- sible to obtain a faithful record of even the most humble and commonplace life, with all its thoughts and emotions, hopes and fears, it would be more thiilling than the most startling romance, how much greater the interest such a life as Mme. Re- camier's would excite, if we could get at the whole truth concerning so strange and eventful a career, know the true story of the men who loved her, IV TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. the women who suffered by her ; how she really felt toward Prince Augustus, and what were her own pangs and heart-trials ; if we could penetrate beneath the surface of that most courteous and polished of salons, where friend and foe met on neutral ground, and antipathies were carefully con- cealed or ignored ! Did Chateaubriand and Bal- lanche really like each other ? And Ampere, did he do more than simply tolerate the egotistical author of the " Genius of Christianity ? " How was it that Madame de Stael, who could not even bear to hear of the marriage of any of her male friends, cordially welcomed to her heart and home so formidable a rival ? Did she never feel a jealous pang at seeing her whilom admirers at the feet of this lovely Juliette ? And Monsieur R^- camier, was he always content to be known as the merely nominal husband of the most beautiful woman in Europe ? Such questions inevitably suggest themselves ; and though, doubtless, many of them are vain and unrea- sonable, — out of the power even of a very Boswell to answer satisfactorily, — still, as Madame R^camier was strictly a social celebrity, it is reasonable to desire fuller information concerning her than these " Memoirs " furnished ; to read her letters, to see her in the freedom and intimacy of her own fire- side, at hours when the famous salon was silent TRANSLATORS PREFACE. V and empty ; to be able, in fine, to understand, if not the secrets of her life, at least her personal character and her ends and aims. This knowledge the present volume, of twelve years later date, in a measure supplies. If it does not explain the mysteries of Madame Recamier's life, it helps us to understand better her character ; and from the new material it furnishes, including over forty of her own notes and letters, it is a valuable supplement to the more voluminous " Me- moirs." Though not so rich in anecdote and incident as its predecessor, it is better planned and executed. It has also the merit of presenting its author as well as her subject in a more just as it is certainly a more favorable light. This is the more note- worthy, as in the " Memoirs," unfortunately, Ma- dame Lenormant failed to inspire that confidence in herself which it is so essential that all writers of biography should inspire in their readers. Burdened with her great mass of material, and hampered, moreover, by an earnest desire to keep her own personality entirely out of sight, Madame Lenormant was led to do injustice to herself as well as to her subject. Experience and the criti- cisms her first book called forth have evidentlv taught her much. Overcoming her natural reluc- tance to speak of herself, she, in a modest and VI TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. circumstantial narrative, tells the story of her own relations with Madame Rdcamier, — a story which not only induces a higher esteem for the famous woman whose virtues it illustrates, but reflects most favorably upon the narrator herself. Madame Recamier's letters to her niece confirm the narrative of the latter. Insignificant in other respects, they are valuable as indications of char- acter. We are struck with the little their writer exacts from the woman whose mind she had moulded, and whose happiness she had taken such pains to secure. Unlike too many benefactors, she claims nothing on the score of gratitude. And yet the burden that Madame Recamier im- posed upon herself when she undertook the care of her husband's little niece was no light one. That this " spoiled child of fortune," as Camille Jordan calls her, should, at the age of forty, when habits are generally fixed, keep so closely to her side and rear thus carefully a daughter by adoption, is certainly not a little remarkable. It is pleasant to find that she had her reward in the life-long love and gratitude of one in whose arms she died, and by whom she has evidently been most sincerely lamented. But while these personal details respecting the family life of Madame Recamier are undoubtedly the most interesting and important part of the TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. VU book, they are by no means the only ones which throw light upon her character. By a judicious arrangement we are enabled to trace the develop- ment and growth of her intrinsically fine and unique nature. We see her successively surrounded by the friends of her early life and of her riper years. We read her letters, we note how the coquetry of her youth gives place to nobler aims and more serious occupations. It is no longer simply as the great beauty, the queen of society, that we learn to regard her, but as a lovely and gracious woman who rose superior to the temptations of her strange lot, and who, with every excuse for being vain, frivolous, and selfish, was, in an eminent degree, unaffected, serious, and disinterested. The grace and tact which gave Madame Re- camier her social influence amounted almost to genius, while she seems to have been by no means deficient in literary taste and ability. At fifty-two she writes, '• I have been looking up historical facts for M. de Chateaubriand, which has given me quite a taste for history. I have read Thiers and Mig- net, and I am now reading Tacitus ; " and when she had reached the age of seventy she assisted Ampdre to prepare a volume of extracts from the works of Ballanche. " Give me," writes Camille Jordan, early in the reign of Louis XVIII., " your impression of this new regime^ and your estimate vm TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. of public opinion, for you know the value I attach to it, and how I delight to hear you, with youi pure and discriminating mind, talk on all subjects even the most serious." This tribute has the more weight as Camille Jordan was not a man to indulge in unmeaning compliments. Among the group of distinguished men who surround Madame Recamier, he stands pre-eminent for his manliness of character and thor- ough independence. Unlike most of her friends, it does not appear that he at any time assumed the role of a lover ; and while his letters testify to his great admiration and respect for her, they also un- mistakably show that his wife and children always held the first place in his heart. Still stronger evidence, if possible, of Madame Kecamier's power of inspiring and retaining affec- tion is to be found in the amusing letters from Ma- dame de Boigne. A few words in regard to this brilliant woman will not be amiss here. Madame de Boigne was the daughter of the Mar- quis d' Osmond, who with his famil}'' was driven from France by the Revolution of 1789. She was married in England to General de Boigne, who had acquired distinction and wealth in India. He was much older than his wife, and as they were, in other respects, uncongenial, they soon agreed to live apart. There was no public rupture and no TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. IX scandal. Madame de Boigne continued to reside with her parents, though paying her husband a short annual visit in Savoy. Brilliant as well as beautiful, she became, upon the return of the family from exile, a power in society. In Paris she pre- sided over her father's house with grace and ele- gance ; and when he was appointed successively ambassador to Turin and to London, she accom- panied him, and by her tact and address contrib- uted largely to the success of his missions. An old and warm friend of Marie-Amelie, Ma- dame de Boigne was among the first of the old aristocracy to render allegiance to Louis Philippe, and as she was very intimate with Pasquier, her salon, under the new regime, became a political . centre. According to Sainte-Beuve, no reproach was ever attached to her name. This eminent critic and sly gossip, who knew so well how to in- sinuate blame, while seeming intent on praising, has no qualifying words in his eulogy of Madame de Boigne. He writes : — "If she had been a man, the Countess de Boigne would have been one of the most eminent and useful politicians of her day, and the government would have had the services of one minister the more. Nor did the possession of these solid qualities obscure in her the womanly graces ; she was elegance itself. Praise from her had a high value, because she was not prodigal in X TRANSLATORS PREFACE. bestowing it. A word of approbation from her was a revvard. She talked extremely well, — to perfection, in fact, — using terms at once elegant and precise. There was no vagueness in her style. I fancy that the highly extolled Marechale de Luxembourg must have expressed herself in much the same fashion. The last few years, so full of change for her, the late revolutions, of which she had seen so many, found her calm, tranquil, not surprised, and always just. In spite of her impaired health, she still retained her love of society, her interest in the drama of politics, the integrity and firmness of her intellect. She had the good sense to perceive that some concessions must be made to the times. She still kept her old friends, her private j^references, but little by little she renewed her salon. New-comers found it pleasant to be there, and learned to appreciate her." . . . Madame de Boigne died on the 10th of May, 1866, at the age of eighty-six. Three years younger than Madame Recamier, she survived her eighteen. The friendship between them was formed in early youth, and apparently never suffered any eclipse. This is, perhaps, the more remarkable, as their respective careers offer many points of resem- blance. Both were beauties and belles, with a number of acquaintances in common. Both sought and obtained social distinction, and both, through their friends, exercised political influence. But Madame Recamier's interest and influence in poli- tics ended with M. de Chateaubriand's retirement TRANSLATORS PREFACE. xi from political life upon the fall of Charles X. ; whereas it was during the reign of Louis Philippe that Madame de Boigne's salon became a centre of influence. But though both Madame de Boigne and Ca- mille Jordan occupy a prominent place in the fol- lowing pages, neither the one nor the other is the friend par excellence. This honor belongs to J. -J. Ampere. He is the central figure of Madame Lenormant's second volume of reminisC\ nces, as Chateaubriand is of the first. The two mtn are in striking contrast. The one, vain and sentimental, egotistical and selfish, is always demanding sacri- fices and making none ; the other, frank and natural, affectionate and disinterested, is ever serv- ing others and forgetting himself. Ampere's de- votion for thirty years to Madame Recamier is even more exceptional than that of Ballanche, who, philosopher and good man as he was, had no social graces, and few temptations to lure him away from his snug corner at Madame Recamier's fireside ; whereas Ampere, young, witty, and in every way at- tractive, was universally courted, — a favorite with men as well as with women. Alexis de Tocque- ville, for example, whose letters are an interesting feature of this volume, had a peculiarly strong friendship for Ampere. Strong and life-long friendships, however, are xii TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. very chaTacteristic of the French, and in this re- spect Ampere is a typical Frenchman. One secret of these enduring attachments it is not difficult to discover ; it lies partly in the inborn courtesy of the nation which makes them shrink from saying disagreeable things, and partly in their habit of say- ing kind and gracious ones. They are not afraid of being demonstrative. Of this, the letters pub- lished by Madame Lenormant offer a striking illus- tration. No one can read them without being impressed with their uniformly kind and affection- ate tone. An Englishman or an American would, perhaps, hesitate to write such loving letters to one of his own sex, as De Tocqueville writes to Ampere ; and yet there is little doubt that such frank and hearty expressions of interest and affec- tion bound the two more closely together and cemented their friendship. Another fine national trait which the character of Ampere strikingly illustrates is filial respect and devotion. The loyalty, the beauty of this relation- ship is the one thing, above all others, which sweet- ens and sanctifies French homes. So far is this allegiance of the child to the parent and the parent to the child carried, and so highly is it estimated, that one might almost be justified in styling it the national religion. As a sentiment, it pervades all their literature ; sometimes, perhaps, in their novels TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xui and plays degenerating into a morbid sentimen- tality. But it is neither to their fictitious literature, and still less to the metropolitan life of Paris, that we must look for a correct idea of the best phases of French life and character. If we are to appreciate more justly the domestic virtues of this enigmatical people, — a people of genius, and heir, therefore, to all the follies as well as great capabilities of genius, — we must know more of the lives of the nobles in the provinces, of the homes of the bour- geoisie ; we must go to such books as the me- moirs of Madame de Montague and Madame de Lafayette ; such journals as those of Eugenie de Guerin, of Andre-Marie Ampere. And among works of this class, few are more suggestive than the present volume. I. M. W. May, 1876. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. TT /"HEN in publishing, twelve years ago, the " Memoirs and Correspondence of Mme. Recamier," I attempted to draw a faithful portrait of that noble and incomparable person, I was well aware that the picture would have been more striking, more life-like, if, instead of printing the letters which w^ere addressed to her, I had given those she herself wrote. The letters of her friends were only the mirror in which her soul and features were reflected, whilst her own letters would have set before us the woman herself. But I had then at my dis- posal only my own correspondence with Mme. Recamier ; these letters, few in number, — for we were rarely separated, — were of too private a nature for me not to feel reluctant to publish them. Twenty-two years, alas ! have run their course since she passed away, — that finished type of grace and purity, whose seductiveness was due as XVI AUTHOR'S PREFACE. much to goodness of heart, strength and sincerity of character, as to dazzling beauty. Of the brilliant circle of devoted friends who composed her train — we may say her court — very few survive ; death has cut down almost all who once frequented the salon of the Abbaye-aux-Bois, and it is to this sad circumstance that I owe the letters of Mme. Recamier which have since come into my hands. Their publication to-day, together with many other letters also hitherto unpublished, will make better known and more and more appreciated that vanished world, that charming circle, of which nothing in the society of to-day can give any idea, and where noble thoughts, refined tastes, and en- tire independence of character, found expression in a language full of elegance and courtesy. In publishing these letters, some definite plan was necessary ; I have chosen that which seemed to me the most natural, and have disposed in chro- nological order the several intimacies of Mme. Re- camier, so as to exhibit her surrounded in turn by the friends of her youth and those of her riper years. Unless a reason were given for the omission, my readers might properly be surprised at finding no letters nor any personal details in this volume, other than those already pubUshed, of the man who, so AUTHOR'S PREFACE. XVU long as his life lasted, was bound to Mme. Recamier by the deepest attachment, and a devotion as ex- alted as it was disinterested ; namely, the phi- losopher Ballanche. Certain it is, that his entire self-abnegation made him the wilHng slave of her who was to him the personification of all that is beautiful and noble upon earth, and humanity alone was the rival of Mme. Recamier in the heart of Ballanche. In return, she accorded him a confi- dence without limit ; and the place he occupied in her life was a large one. M. Victor de Laprade, the friend and disciple of Ballanche, is preparing a complete edition of the works of the Lyonese philosopher, which will contain, besides his unpub- lished writings, a volume of correspondence. I have gladly furnished him with all the letters in my possession. Witli regard to the correspondence carried on under the first Empire, the reader will doubtless be struck by the degree of repression the vexatious tyranny of the Imperial police succeeded in exerting upon even the boldest spirits. The certainty that every word would be read and commented upon with a jealous and paltry suspicion, caused every one to be extremely reserved even with their most intimate friends. The word exile is rarely pro- nounced by those who had braved the peril and were paying the penalty ; they seldom, if ever, b xvm AUTHOR'S PREFACE. speak of political events. M. de Montmorency, ac- tively and ardently devoted as he was to the cause of the imprisoned Sovereign Pontiff, makes not a single allusion to the situation of Pius VII. Such facts as these make it easier to understand Mme. de Stael's passionate longing to escape be- yond the reach of this pneumatical administrative machine, under which a hand of iron reduced all to silence. CONTENTS. PART I. Madame R]£cami£r and the Friends of her Yocth. Paqk Camille Jordan and Pierre Edouard Lemontey. — Notes from Mrae. Eecamier to Camille Jordan. — Letter from Mme. de Stael. — Mme. Recamier to Mme. de Stael. — Letters from Camille Jor- dan. — His marriage. — Letters from M. de Montmorency and Mme. de Stael to Mme. Recamier. — Letters from Camille Jordan and Lemontey. — Mme. Recamier to Camille Jordan. — Letter from Camille Jordan. — Death of Mme. Recamier's mother. — Mme. Recamier's journey to Switzerland. — Accident on the road. — Letters from M. de Montmorency and Lemontey. — Let- ters from Camille Jordan to Mme. Recamier and Mme. de Stael. — Letters from the Baron de Vogt. — Countess de Boigne to Mme. Recamier. — Exile of Mme. Recamier. — Letters from M. de Montmorency, M. Recamier, and Mme. de Stael. — Letters to Mme. Recamier at Chalons from Lemontey, M. de Montmorency, Mme. de Boigne, Camille Jordan, and Adrieu de Montmorency. — Mme. Recamier's change of residence to Lyons. — Letters from Camille Jordan and M. de Montmorency. — Her trip to Italy. — Letters from Milan and Rome to Camille Jordan and Mme. Delphin. — Return to Paris. — Letters from Camille Jordan. — His death . 113 PART II. Letters of Mme. Recamier to her Niece. Her niece's account of her parents. — Adoption by Mme. Recamier. — Arrival in Paris. — Visit to Coppet. — Mme. Recamier's exile. — Letter from M. Recamier. — Education of Mme. Recamier's niece. — Anecdote of Lemontey and Mme. de Genlis. — Notes from Mme. Recamier to her niece. — Trip to Italy. — Mme. Recamier to Mme. Delphin. — Marriage of her niece to M. Lenormant. — Letters from Mme. Recamier and Ballanche to Mme. Lenormant . 155 XX CONTENTS. PART III. Jean-Jacques AairfeKE a^d tue Abbaye-aux-Bois. Pagk Childhood of J. -J. Ampere. — Sketch of his father. — Andi-e-Marie Ampere. — Education and youth of J.-J. Ampere. — The de .lus- sieus. — Ampere's presentation to Mme. Recamier. — J.-J. Ampere to Mme. liecamier. — Journey to Italy. — Queen Horteuse and the Bonaparte family. — Ampiire's return to Paris. — Letters from Mme. Kecamier to J.-J. Ampere. — M. de Chateaubriand. — Mile. Ouvier. — Ampere at the University of Bonn. — Correspondence of Amp6re and Ch. Lenormant. — Letters from Mme. Kecamier. — Goethe. — Ampere's trip to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. — lieturn to Paris. — Mamage of his sister. — Letters from Mme. Ke- camier at Dieppe to J.-J. Ampere. — M. Merim6e. — Letters of M. Merimee to Mme. Recamier. — Mme. Kecamier to J.-J. Ampfere. — Ampere at Marseilles. — Ch. Lenormant to J.-J. Ampere. — Mme. Recamier to J.-J. Amp6re. — Ampere and the Normal School. — Professorship at the College de France. — Sainte-Beuve. — J.-J. Ampere to Mme. Lenormant. — M. Guizot. — Letters from Mme. Recamier to J.-J. Ampere. — Death of Andre-Mai-ie Ampfere. — Travels of Ampere. — "Voyage Dantesque." — Journey in Greece and Asia Minor. — Ampere elected member of the Academic des Inscriptions. — Alexis de Tocqueville. — Lafayette. — La Grange. — Letters from De Tocqueville. — Frederic Ozanam. — Literary labors of Ampere. -^ Journey to Egypt. — ]\Iehemet-Ali. — J.-J. Ampere at Cairo to Mme. Recamier. — Illness of Ampere. — His return to France. — Letters from Mme. Recamier and Ballanche to Ampere. — His convalescence. — M. Mohl. — Viscountess de Noailles. — M. de Lomdnie. — Election of Ampfere to the French Academy. — Blindness of Mme. Recamier. — Death of Ballanche. — Death of M. de Chateaubriand. — His funeral obsequies. — Mme de Boigne to Mme. R6camier. — Death of Mme. Recamier. — Am- pere's journey to Spain. — Stay at Sorrento. — Journey to Amer- ica. — "Promenade en Ameriquc." — Death of the Viscountess de Noailles. — Letters from J.-J. Ampere to the Duchess de Mouchj-. — Ampere and the Cheuvrcux family. — Letters of Ampire to the Duchess de Mouchj'. — "Histoire Romaine a Rome." — Alexis de Tocqueville to J.-J. Ampere. — J. J. Ampere to the Duchess de Mouchy. — Alexis de Tocqueville to J.-J. Ampere. — Death of Alexis de Tocqueville. — Death of JIme. Guillemin. — Death of Ch. Lenormant. — Religious faith of Amp6re. — J. -J. Ampere to Mme. Lenormant. — Death of Ampere 281 PART I. MADAME RECAMIER AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. ■pROMINENT among Mme. Recamier's early friends -^ were two natives of Lyons, — Camille Jordan and Pierre Edouard Lemontey. Both were men of distinguished ability, though totally unlike in char- acter. Both, also, were members of the Council of Five Hundred when, in 1797, they were admitted to the house of M. Recamier, whose eminently hospitable doors opened with eager cordiality to his fellow-towns- men of Lyons. Camille Jordan probably owed his in- troduction to Degerando ; the two had been like broth- ers from childhood, and their life-long friendship neither time nor absence, nor marked divergencies of opinion and conduct, had ever power to chill. Lemontey had many fine qualities. He was a stead- fast friend, and pei-fectly trustworthy in all the relations of life ; but, though a man of superior mind and incon- testable talent, he was imbued with a scepticism little in harmony with the confiding and enthusiastic temper of the young and beautiful girl now four years married to 1 ▲ 2 MADAME RECAMIER M. R^camier. Political convictions he had none, nor any religious belief; men and events he judged with a mocking irony, which, while it gave great piquancy to his words, did not prevent him from being always very ready to serve his friends. His avarice had passed into a proverb, and he had no elegance either of manner or appearance. In conversation his language often offended against good taste, sometimes even degenerating into coarseness ; but his judgment in regard to literary mat- ters was keen and correct, and his advice on such subjects always sound. Mme. de Stael welcomed him gladly to her house, and was fond of consulting him ; and in several of her letters to Mme. Recamier it will be observed that she begs the latter to urge him to visit her both at Coppet and AuxeiTe. During all my childhood I used to see Lemontey every Saturday, as he came regularly to dine with my uncle, M. Recamier. This habit, to which he faithfully adhered until his death in 1826, dates back to the remote period when he came to Paris to take his seat in the Council of the Five Hundred. Mme. Recamier had a sincere regard for Lemontey, but the affection she felt for Camille Jordan was much stronger. I do not purpose to relate here the life of the eloquent and intreisid patriot, whom the history of our social and parliamentary struggles " will never find in the ranks of the victors." I would rather re- fer the reader to Ballanche's noble eulogy ; also to the brilliant article which M. Sainte-Beuve devoted to him in the " Revue des Deux Mondes," still vividly remembered by the public. In this article the able AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 3 critic not only appreciates, with his usual acuteness, the charming originality of the translator of Klopstock, and the talent of the political orator; but — what we had, perhaps, less right to expect — he also does full justice to the independence and patriotism of this champion of liberty. Barely escaping arrest, through the devotion of his friends, at the coiq:) cVetat of Fructidor, Caraille Jordan succeeded in reaching Switzerland in company with M. Degerando, with whom he afterward visited Germany. It was during this forced emigration that he formed a friendship with Matthieu de Montmorency. Re- turning to France in 1800, after a sojourn in England, he met again in Paris Mme. Recamier, with whom he had been greatly charmed three years before, and who was now more brilliant and more sought after than ever. Henceforth a close intimacy was established be- tween Mme. de Stael, Matthieu and Adrien de Mont- morency, and Camille Jordan, who, with M. and Mme. Degerando, formed part of the intimate circle of friends that gathered daily around Mme. Recamier, whether at Clichy, Saint-Brice, or Paris. It was now, too, that letters and notes began to be exchanged between her and Camille Jordan, of which a few only have escaped destruction. Mme. Recamier felt a very deep friendship for Camille Jordan ; he inspired her with both esteem and confidence. Like Matthieu de Montmorency, though in a less degree, he acted toward her the part of a Mentor ; striving to counteract the influence of the 4 MADAiME R^CAMIER intoxicating homage paid her in society, and to cure her of that imperious desire to please which she had from her birth, together with all the natural gifts which made pleasing so easy to her. Few men with the great qualities and rigid virtues of Camille Jordan have been so charming and en- gaging in the ordinary intercourse of life. His original turn of mind, his enthusiasm, his energy, the shrewd- ness of his remarks, a certain simplicity and candor, — in short, every thing about him was attractive, even to the somewhat provincial awkwardness which he never quite overcame. M. Sainte-Beuve has very justly no- ticed a peculiarity common to all the natives of Lyons, — a flavor of the soil, so to say, — which we find in all Camille Jordan's contemporaries, however unlike in other respects. M. Sainte-Beuve defines it thus : "A certain stock of beliefs, of sentiments, of moral habits, of local patriotism, of religiosity and affectuosity, which holds its own amid the general dwindling away and shrivelling up of men's souls." In inserting here two notes from Mme. Recamier to Camille Jordan, written in the early days of their inti- macy, it seems proper to forestall the surprise which, doubtless, some readers will experience, on seeing a very young woman address by his Christian name one who is not a relative, while he replies in the same style. This use of the Christian name was adopted by the whole circle, and occurs in conjunction with forms implying the most profound deference and respect. Mme. de Stael never speaks of M. de Montmorency nor AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 6 addresses him except by the name of Matthieu. Mme. de Boigne does the same in the case of Adrien de Montmorency, who, in his turn, calls her Adele. All the guests at Coppet speak of and to Mme. R^camier as Juliette. So with Camille Jordan, whom they all call Camille ; it is the same with Benjamin Constant and Prosper de Barante, and yet assuredly, in spite of this custom, now out of fashion, the language of this select circle was neither familiar nor trivial.-^ HUE. BtCAMIER TO CAMILLE JORDAN. "1801. "Deak Camille, — I very much regret not seeing you to-day. I am obliged to accompany mamma to Cambacer^s's, and afterward I go into the country. " If I do not see you in a day or two, I shall go to look for you at Meudon.^ A thousand affectionate re- membrances and regards to you and your friends." " 1801, " Dear Camille, — I send you the invitations, which I did not know how to address. I fear it may be too late : do the best you can. I shall see you this evening, but I shall see you in the midst of a crowd. 1 In this connection it is well to call attention to the fact (necessarily lost sight of in an English translation) that though this circle of friends call each other by their Christian names, they never employ the aifectionate and familiar " tu," but always " vous." Among Mme. Ee'camier's correspondents, the only one who uses the " tu " in addressing her is M. Recamier. — Tk. ^ At the Deg^randos'. 6 MADAME R^CAMIER I liked much better my little room at Meudon, and the rambles among the ruins." Allusion is here made, as we see, to one of those fetes which Mme. Recamier was in the habit of giving, and to which the fashionable world, now just re- organized, and with a thirst for pleasure unquenched by the saturnalias of the Directory, came in eager crowds. The peace of Luneville, followed by that of Amiens, had reopened France to foreigners, multitudes of whom flocked thither during the winters of 1801 and 1802. A proof of this we find in the following note from Camille Jordan to his brilliant friend : — " A certain Baron von Arnim, a Prussian, has been recommended to me, whom I should like to have go to the Demidoff ball to-morrow. You, who reign over all the Russias, can you manage to get him in? " Deg^rando and Annette charge me with most lov- ing messages, and beg you to send your orphan boy to the school. " I hoped to see you and waited for you day before yesterday at Lady Foster's.^ ^^ ^ „ Mme. de Stael passed the whole winter of 1801 in Paris ; and from this time her relations with Mme. Re- camier took the character of a close intimacy. Return- 1 Lady Elizabeth Foster, sister of the Earl of Bristol. Her second liusband was the Duke of Devonshire. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 7 ing to Coppet in the spring, she wrote to her friend on the 9th of September : — " Do you ever think, beautiful Juliette, of a person whom you loaded with marks of interest last winter, and who hopes to make you renew them next winter ? How do you sway the empire of beauty ? We accord you this empire with pleasure, because you are eminently good ; and it seems only natural that so sweet a soul should be expressed by so charming a face. Of all your adorers, you know I prefer Adrien de Montmorency. I have received letters fi-om Mm remarkable for wit and grace, and I believe in the steadfastness of his affec- tions, in spite of the charm of his manners. And, besides, this word 'steadfastness' is more becoming for me, who pretend only to a very secondary place in his heart. But you, who inspire all the sentiments, you are exposed to the grand events out of which w^e make tragedies and romances. Mine ^ is making prog- ress here at the foot of the Alps. I hope you will read it with interest. I rather like this occupation. In speaking of your adorers, I did not mean to include M. de Narbonne ; ^ it seems to me he has ranged him- self in the ranks of the friends ; if it were not so, I could not have said that I preferred any one to him. " Amid all these successes, you are, and you will ever remain, an angel of purity and goodness, worshipped 1 Her romance of " Delphine," wliich appeared in 1802. ''' Formerly minister of Louis XVI., aide-de-camp of the Emperor Napoleon. 8 MADAME R^CAMIER by the devout as well as by worldlings. What do your devout ones say concerning the new treaty with the Pope?^ Is it quite orthodox? We outside heretics find it hard to understand all this. Throw some liffht on this rather singular medley. Have you again seen the author of ' Atala ' ? Are you still at Clichy ? I ask, in short, for all pai'ticulars respecting yourself; I like to know what you are doing, to make a picture to myself of the places you inhabit; must not all memories of you resolve themselves into pictures? I join to this very natural enthusiasm for your rare personal ad- vantages a great fondness for your society. Kindly accept, I beg of you, all I offer, and promise me that we shall see each other often next winter." To the year 1803, and evidently after the first order of exile, must be assigned these few lines of Mme. Re- camier to Mme. de Stael, which M. Sainte-Beuve dis- covered among the papers of Camille Jordan, and which are here inserted as given by him : — "Just as I received the note announcing your de- parture, another was handed me from Junot, who writes : ' I have this morning seen the Consul ; he said that he consented to her staying in France ; he was even willing that she should reside at Dijon, if that be agreeable to her ; he even said to me, in a low voice, " that if nothing new should occur hereafter." ... I 1 The Concordat signed July 17th, 1800, between Pius VH. and the French Government. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 9 trust that, through her own prudence and our earnest solicitations, the sentence will be completed.' " You, doubtless, know all this. As for me, the hope of soon seeing you again is very necessary to console me a little for your absence. Do, as a favor, let me know your plans. I will not forget the affair of M, . . . " It is very hard to get accustomed to not seeing you, after having had the pleasure of passing a few days with you. I am waiting to hear from you with anxious impatience. " Sunday evening." " ^JJlARITl^ R." camille jordan to mme. recamiee, " Saint-Ouen, 1803. " Dear Juliette, — I left you ill, and I am anxious about your health ; send me word, I beg of you, by re- turn of messenger. I should have called to inquire yesterday, but I returned home at too late an hour ; I shall come to-morrow the first moment I am at liberty ; provided, indeed, that my visit do not bore you, for the doubt you felt of the pleasure your last letter would give me fills me with a better-founded distrust. Oh, that doubt ! it went to my heart. It will be long Vie- fore I forgive you. But, no, I am sure of interesting you, for I shall speak to you of Adrien,^ of the visit that I made him ; I will describe my dinner with Fox, where mention was made of you. I enclose the hospital * Adrien de Montmorency. 1* 10 MADAME RJ^CAMIER papers, Avhich I carried off through inadvertence ; I hope you will not forget the little girls, and the charm- ing project so worthy of your good heart. " What has become of the beautiful Aline, and the Portuguese Yom?inQQ'i Please say something pleasant to her from me. Tell her that we beg her to prepare her sweet voice for singing a romaunt of the sixteenth century, quite unknown, and with which we are de- lighted. Annette and Degerando be „ Misfortune seemed bent upon pursuing the brilliant woman whose lot had been so often the object of envy. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 21 After her husband's failure, Mme. R^camier had a far deeper grief to bear in the death of a mother whom she adored. Mme. Bernard, still young and still beautiful, had struggled for moi'e than a year with a very painful malady, to which, in spite of every care and the tender love of her daughter, she succumbed at the end of January, 1807. "Dear Juliette," wrote Camille Jordan to Mme. Re- camier, on the third of February, " I have heard with much pain of the loss you have sustained. Though so long anticipated, and softened in a measure by the thought of what cruel suffering a beloved being has escaped, I fully understand what a blow this is to you, and how such a trial, added to other misfortunes, leaves a sad and dreary void in your heart. May the deep interest of all those about you give you at least some consolation! Very true friends remain to you, and your sorrows seem to give new strength to the affec- tion which binds them to you. I dare trust that you still count mine among that small number of tried hearts upon which you repose with perfect confidence and with some satisfaction. I beg you to remember me to M. Recamier, also to your cousin and Mme. de Catellan. You have not answered a letter of mine written some months ago, which seemed to call for a reply. I expect nothing from you at present; but, at least, let me hear of you through Mme. de Catellan, that I may learn that you are not too unhappy, and that you remember one of your most faithful friends." 22 MADAME R£CAMIER The new and deep grief which her mother's death caused to Mme. Rdcamier greatly impaired her health, and at midsummer her family and physician united in recommending a change of air. Her strong desire to see Mme. de Stael moved her to depart. She jiro- posed to make the tour of Switzerland, and set out for Cojipet in July, in company with Count Elzear de Sa- bran, also an intimate and very devoted friend of the illustrious exile. They travelled post, in the carriage and with the servants of Mme. Recamier. They had nearly reached their destination without accident when, near Moret, where the road winds along the edge of a high precipice, the carriage, through the carelessness of the postilion, was overturned, and, with its occupants, precipitated over the brink. Out of four horses two were killed; the postilion was injured ; while the servant, who was seated on the box, had just time to jump off into the road, shouting at the top of his voice. As for the travel- lers shut up inside, — Mme. Recamier, her maid, and the Count de Sabran, — all were more or less bruised by the terrible fall, but none seriously hurt, though Mme. Recamier spi'ained her foot. This accident caused great excitement in Paris as well as at Coppet. M. de Montmorency wrote from Paris, the 19th of July : " I thank God with all my heart for having pi'eserved you, belle and aimahle Juliette, from that fi'ightful dansjer which made us all shudder. For the cross that, with very proper feeling, you Avish to AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 23 erect in that terrible spot, I shall have great respect ; I think I shall make a pilgrimage to it some day. It was some noble sentiment like this, which God never allows to pass unnoticed, that obtained for you His pro- tection in that moment of peril. Your impatience to provide holy consolation for the interesting invalid ^ at Pau has already been rewarded. The Abb^ Fousset has just sent to me from Orleans the copy of a letter which he had written to him, in which he gives an ac- count of his general confession, of his resignation, and of all the consolations religion has given him. The good abbe desires that you should be informed of this letter. "Alphonse had suffered much, but in that respect was a little better, — one dares say no more, but let us pray earnestly for him. His brother has gone at last. "Adrien will have heard with concern, at Aix-la- Chapelle, this news from Moret. I have not yet heard of his arrival. " You can judge whether my wishes and regrets do not follow you to that kindly and hospitable abode of friendship where it would have been so pleasant to go this summer. For a moment I thought it possible, but I no longer indulge the flattering hope. A thousand affectionate regards, ray compliments to your fellow- J Prince Alphonse Pignatelli, who, young and handsome, was dying of consumption ; through Mrae. Re'camier's influence he had been brought to a state of religious resignation which assuaged hia last moments. 24 MADAME RI^CAMIER traveller, whose opportunity of serving you we must all envy." Lemontey also wrote as follows : — " July 13, 1807. " M. Recamier has just left me, after reading to me your letter ; never did reading seem longer and more terrible. M. Recamier exhibited an emotion with which I deeply sympathized, and that it pleased me to see him show. One will never love you feebly ; it is a common law which all the world takes pleasure in obeying. " But stay ; are you not endeavoring to allay our ap- prehensions? Is it really true that a simple sprain is the only result of so frightful an accident ? If your letter had not been so explicit, and, above all, if M. de SabranJs had not announced so positively your depart- ure for Geneva, I should have directly proposed to M. Recamier to go to you myself, and take with me the skilful Richerand ; but as there seems to be no doubt that you are now within reach of every succor that friendship and skill can afford, we must be contented to await with impatience the confirmation of your en- tire recovery. I dare no longer encourage you to make the tour of Switzerland, as you proposed. The very idea of your carriage among the mountains makes me shudder. I take pleasure, however, in imagining that this terrible accident will be the end of that ill- fortune which has pursued yoii for two years. It seems to me that your first life is ended, and that Providence, in miraculously preserving you, has given AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 25 you a new one which will console you for past mis- fortunes. '•'■ Adiiexx, aimahle Juliette; dispose of me as though I belonged to you. Pray assure Mme. de Stael of my deep interest. I cannot commiserate M. de Sabran for his share in an accident which I envy him, but please offer him my congratulations upon its result. Give us news of the faithful Joseph.^ I shall write this very moment to your cousin,- I trust that you have had reassuring reports from the Pyrenees." ^ It is not necessary to recapitulate here all the enter- tainments, all the social successes which awaited at Coppet her who was there styled la belle amie. They have been sufficiently detailed already in the " Memoirs and Correspondence." The summer of 1807, owing to the presence of Mme. Recamier, was a particularly gay one at this chateau, where the influence of Mme. de Stael's genius diffused around her an atmosphere which her guests found delightful to both mind and heart. Mme. Recamier was unwilling to quit the shores of Lake Geneva without seeing Camille Jordan, whose arrival had been expected in vain. She wrote to him, therefore, announcing her project of stopping at Lyons on her way to Paris. We have only Camille'a reply : — 1 The domestic who accompanied Madame Recamier. 2 Madame de Dalmassy. 3 i.e., from Prince Alphonse Pignatelli. 2 26 MADAME RJ^CAMIER " Lyons, Sept. 7, 1807. " Dear Juliette, — Upon returning from a trip to Grenoble, I find your letter of the 27th of August. I regret that ray reply has been unavoidably retarded for a few days, and I lose not a moment to say to you how much I am touched by your persistent determination to return by way of Lyons, and the kind motives which have actuated you. It is very lucky that you have advised me of it, for I was on the point of starting for our country place at Bresse, which is ten leagues from Lyons. If necessary, I can postpone my departure for a week, when I must absolutely pass a fortnight there on urgent business. So try to come immediately, or else defer your coming for three weeks. My Julie, who fully responds to the liking you seem to have for her, shares my eagerness to see you ; and if to love you very much, to suiTound you with every affectionate at- tention, be a welcome that will suffice and please you, you will surely be content with ours. Besides, you must know how much pleasure you will give to all your family, and how charmed they were and still are with the young and ingenuous boarding-school girl, not- withstanding some rather suspicious intimacies, which made grave relatives shake their heads. As for me, your accomplice, I congratulate you upon being at Coppet, and envy you, too. I would certainly have got away from Grenoble if I could. How was it that when you were at the Grande-Chartreuse you did not go down into the town, where an entire tribe of my family would have welcomed you, worshipped you, and AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 27 perhaps have made you pass a few pleasant moments? You say nothing now about your health, but I have had a report from the Baron de Vogt on the subject, which pleases me much. " Please say to the dear Baron that I shall send him to-morrow the ribbon he asked me for; to Matthieu, if he is still with you, that I received his letter at Grenoble, and am very sorry he does not return by way of Lyons ; to Mme. de Stael, that I will write to her soon, and that I think of her often ; to all those who are with her, and especially to my dear Augustus, kind regards." Some days later, Camille Jordan, writing now to Mme. de Stael, explains the causes of his failure to ap- pear at Coppet : — " Lyons, Sept. 10, 1807. "You would never think, in the midst of your whirl of excitement, of inquiring why I have not seen you this Autumn ; but I feel I must tell you why. Just as I was ready to start on this pleasant trip to Paris, Grenoble, and Geneva, on which I had counted for refreshment for both mind and heart, a new obstacle presented itself: 1 had to take the place of a sick brother, and go South beyond Montpelier on business. I hurried home only a few days before the expected confinement of ray wife. Shortly after, the agreeable lawsuit, of which I have spoken to you, began again, and thus the days go by. " But will you not come here, as you have led us to hope ? Will you not, at least, accompany Juliette upon 28 MADAME R^CAMIER her return ? Has Coppet, which you have made others love so much, at last won your affections ? We hear of nothing but the enchantments you have con- trived to transport thither. But all that will not, I fear, satisfy the cravings of the heart which created Corinne. '■^ A2yropos of Corinne, I think you will be inter- ested if I send you this extract from a letter I have just received from Mme. de Sharclt.-^ It will tell you of her admiration, and also of a criticism by Wieland. Goethe, however, appears to criticise nothing; and in another part of her letter she simply says that he is enthusiastic. Pray impress upon the lovely Juliette how much we desire to see her at Lyons. Say to her that I doubt not that she very cordially recommended me to her relative the judge ; that I thank her heartily for her good intentions, but that never were intentions followed by less effect ; that, far from finding favor in his eyes, my family have not even obtained justice at his hands ; that, in the discharge of functions where it was his duty to confine himself to weighing impartially the evidence, he manifested toward us an amount of prejudice and ill-will which was the scandal of all who witnessed it. " What has become of your proposed essay on con- versation, and of Benjamin's work on religions, and Schleo;el's dissertation on Phedre ? " Do not fail, I beg of you, to remember me to your 1 Lady of honor to the Grand-Duchess of Saxe-Weimar. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 29 children and cousin. Believe in my attachment, all the more true for its reticence of expression." Mme. Rdcamier did, in fact, return home by way of Lyons, whence — owing to her man-servant meeting with an accident — she continued her route to Paris, accompanied only by her maid. Camille Jordan, a little apprehensive, wrote to her as follows : — "Lyons, Oct. 4, 1807. "With what impatience, dear Juliette, I await the letter you promised me ; I already begin to wonder why I do not receive it! How is it possible not to have some anxiety about this journey, rashly under- taken, without a man-servant, in your delicate health, and in such unfovorable weather ? " All your friends here are very uneasy ; I confess, however, that 1 am a little less so than others, for I know that the three Graces who always accompany you are not, in travelling, a useless cortege ; they will win for you, wherever you appear, the most attentive service. From post to post, in my mind's eye I see you the idol of the postilions, the dearest friend of the landladies ; and it is, I am very sure, the undefined consciousness you have of your universal empire which gives you in travelling so much boldness in spite of your timidity, and that made you set at defiance all our prudent coun- sels. " I would tell you again of my pleasure in seeing you, of how my heart ached in parting from you, of my tender afiection. But, as I have said before, I feel it ia 30 MADAME Rl^CAMIER almost useless to express such feelings to you, when 1 think what a spoiled child of love and friendship you are, and how tame my simple and affectionate ex- pressions must seem after the deep sighs of the Baron,^ the sobs of the Baroness,^ and the transports of Milady.^ It is true, nevertheless, that if you laid less stress upon this outside worship, you would find few of your friends that vie with me in constant and real affection ; and in these two flying visits I have learnt, if that were pos- sible, to love you even better. You were so perfect in your behavior to me ; you revealed dispositions of soul which touched me so deeply ; I have been so delighted to see you leaving off, day by day, something of your coquetry, and attaching yourself more and more to serious and sacred things ! It was an old wish of mine, your growth in perfection and your well-being ; and it is very gratifying to me to see my wish so near accom- plishment. But why did we talk so little of this in- teresting reformation ? Why was it that importunate people were always disturbing our private conversa- tions ? Why was I myself so sadly and cruelly pre- occupied? But, apropos of this preoccupation, I make haste to tell you that your short visit, like a good angel's, seems to have brought me a blessing : my child is rapidly getting better, requiring now only care, and causing no further anxiety. We have also news i De Vogt. ^ Baroness de Staijl. ' Lady Webb, a beautiful Englishwoman, sentimental and rather frivolous, whom the continental blockade had detained in France. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 31 of Deg^rando, who is improving, though slowly. So 1 breathe again ; and you will find me, I trust, in the spring looking less sad, and wholly given up to the pleasure of seeing you, waiting upon you, and inflexible in dragging you to our museums and our valleys, and making you, by main force, admire every foot of your birthplace. You ought to do so, at all events, out of sheer gratitude, — for it is marvellous how, in those few days, and without apparent effort on your part, you have added new conquests to the old. I hear that the Del- phins ^ chant in chorus your praises ; I am witness to two vanquished mothers-in-law confessing that their daughters' husbands were right. I see that you have completely fascinated my Julie ; and even my little daughter, afiectionately asking to see again the beauti- ful lady, proves how it runs in my blood to love you. There is only Milady of whom I cannot give you late news. I called upon her once, but did not find her at home. " I hope you will not forget the letter for the De- gerandos, and the message for Antoinette. " I wrote to the Baroness the very day you left, and, — forgive me, — having caught the infection of tattling, I could not help telling her of your mad freak in set- ting out alone with your maid. " Remember me, I beg of you, to your husband, and to all our common friends. Above all, tell Matthieu how much I am rejoiced at the renewal of your afiec- 1 Brother-in-law and sister of M. Recamier. 32 MADAME R^CAMIER tiou, and how kindly we have spoken of him here. Adieu, dear, very dear Juliette ! My Julie asks to be remembered, and shares all my sentiments towards you." Camille Jordan wrote at the same time to Mrae. de Stael, relating to her this incident in the jouniey of her beautiful friend ; and Mme. de Stael, in her turn, sent the letter to Mme. Recamier. " How much," she writes to her, " has this solitary journey distressed me ! How I bewailed the fate which severed me from the pleasant Hfe which I should now enjoy had we never parted ! I send you a letter of Camille Jordan, because I wish to give you the pleasure of seeing yourself as others see you." CAMILLE JORDAN TO MME. DE STAEL. " Lyons, Oct. 6, 1807. " I now proceed to render an account to you of my precious charge. She left yesterday at one o'clock, and I accompanied her a short distance. You had a share in all our last words. She made me promise not to tell you of a piece of rashness on her part ; but how shall I keep it from you ? We had, with much trouble, finally persuaded her to take a man-servant. I had found an excellent one for her, when she arranged to take a young cousin with her in her carriage. This appeared to me even better ; but what happens ? At the very last moment this absurd cousin changes his plans. I wish to postpone her departure in order to fall back upon the AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 33 man-servant; she will not consent, being madly bent upon going alone, and lo ! there she is on the great high- ways. I was in despair ; but, however, I confess I am not as anxious as you would have been, when I con- sider that she does not travel at all by night, that she stops half-way, that the roads are safe and frequented, and how, at the sight of that sweet face, everybody is ready to oblige and eager to serve her. " We kept her, as you perceive, only three days. She found me in the saddest state of mind, for I had a child very ill, and had just heard that Degerando had had a relapse. But she came like an angel of consolation. I scarcely quitted her, but, in fact, saw little of her in any satisfactory way, so taken up was she by family duties, the attentions of strangers, and a sort of passion that Lady Webb has conceived for her. In all this whirl we could scarcely secure a few moments alone together for private conversation. I perceived with joy how much your common friendship has been re- vived and ennobled ; how her mind has become more serious, more religious, more loving, and a new charm, indefinable, but most touching, been added to all her old fascinations. I condole with you upon losing her, but I congratulate you upon having won and inspired such an affection. I am relieved also in regard to her health ; every thing shows that it is better ; and it was a pleasant sight to see her, after a very fatiguing day in the country, dancing a gavotte in the evening at Lady Webb's with all her old lightness and grace. Un- fortunately she made a visit the next day to the 2* 34 MADAME RlSCAMIER hospitals, which excited her feelings too acutely ; she slept very little the night before her departure, and ■was therefore ill prepared for travelling, and I long to have tidings of the journey. "The Baron ^ was an object of pity when he said good-by to her. How he loves her ! It is making him more worthv of being loved. Tell him that we regret having seen so little of him. My child is better, but my friend's health and situation still give me anxiety. " Remember me to my dear Augustus, to Messieurs Schlegel, de Sabran, and Sismondi." CAMIILE JORDAN TO MME. RECAMIEB. " Lyons, Jan. 8, 1808. " I do not write you so regularly, but I think of you very often. I recall our last conversations; I form a thousand wishes for the fulfilment of all good pur- poses ; I see with emotion the time of journeys and delicious interviews approaching. Matthieu has, doubt- less, during ray silence served as an intermediary between us. He must often have assured you of my affection. You have had to console him lately in bitter anxieties,'' and I envy you the attentions you have been able to pay to this excellent friend. " I have also heard of you several times, indirectly. 1 The Baron de Vogt, who had accompanied the fair traveller from Geneva to Lyons. 2 Matthieu de Montmorency was threatened with the loss of liis lather. AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 35 I was for a little while alarmed about your health, but was speedily reassured. I long, however, to hear of you at last from yourself. " Upon my return from the country I was myself in- disposed for some time, but now I am better. I have again been anxious about the health of our friends the travellers,^ and of their child, but we get at last ex- cellent accounts of them. They talk more than ever of their return, which I earnestly desire. " I have been for six weeks expecting another flying visit from another friend,^ and I am surprised, and even begin to be anxious, at the delay, fearing it may be owing to some serious obstacle. I have written to ask an explanation. It may, however, be nothing but her natural irresolution, increased by her recent mental sufierings, which, I am told, have been extreme, and which I pity profoundly. The latest news I have of her was given me by the Baron.^ He had much to say of you, and with his usual affection ; he remarked, how- ever, upon your long silence, and muttered somethiug about your being, perhaps, occupied with some new flirtation. Can this be really possible ? And that re- generated heart, which was dreaming of the ideal and the infinite, could it again stoop to such childish sports ? I repel such a suspicion. " Everybody here remembers you faithfully and affec- tionately. Even Milady's violent fancy for you does 1 The Degerandos, who were in Italy ; M. Degerando was com- missary for the French government. 2 Mme. de Stael. 3 Baron de Vogt. 36 MADAME RJ^CAMIER not seem extinguished by absence. We met the other clay at last for the first time since you left us. She was most interesting to me when she talked about the great fiincy she had taken to you. But no one remembers you with more affection than my angel of love and goodness, my Julie ; she also often asks when you are cominff asjain. " I have no need to tell you that my little Caroline continues to delight me by a prettiness and sensibility beyond her years." CAMILLE JORDAN TO MME. RECAMIER AT AIX, IN SAVOY. " Lyons, June 6, 1810. " Dear Juliette, — I have received your kind note, and delivered immediately those enclosed in it. The news of your safe arrival has been joyfully received, but you have been well scolded for forgetting that let- ter of Matthieu, who was in great distress about it. It seemed a strange piece of thoughtlessness. However, the same day came other letters from him, and very sad ones, announcing that he was detained by the serious illness of his father. You may well imagine how much we regret this delay and its cause. Our friend more especially had great need of his consoling presence, for since your departure she has relapsed into deep dejection. Schlegel arrived yesterday ; Talma continues to occupy all our time ; we either go to see him or we talk about him. I am obliged to quit them for four days to go to Bresse on business, but I shall AND THE FRIENDS OF HER YOUTH. 37 still have two or three days to pass with them on my return ; then they go to Aix. I fear I shall miss Adrien ; but he will find your letter. I have strongly repre- sented to our friend, in accordance with what you say in your letter, that this journey would give you the greatest pleasure ; that you are not deterred from it by any selfish considerations, but by a painful deference to another's objections; but I must frankly tell you — I know not if it be owing to the power of her eloquence — that she has convinced me that if there were any thing objectionable in your former journey, or, rather, in the circumstances connected with it, there are no objections to the excursion at present contemplated, as your journey has evidently a difierent object; and this mere detour would not be noticed. " But I especially insist that you make us a long visit on your return, as a compensation for that hasty one, though that sufficed to make my Julie feel all your charm ; henceforth she shares all my eagerness to see you again ; and I think that even my mother-in-law herself would be almost cured of her migraine by the sight of you. "About that visit you say to me things which are both kind and cruel. No doubt you then learnt some- thing of the state of my heart toward you ; but what ! Did you not know it until then ? and is not loving you an old and dear habit of mine ? I hope that you have begun at last to take the waters, and conscientiously. Say to the Baron that my regard for him would, if that were possible, be increased by the perfect care he takes #^«~