Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

THE PRECEPTRESS OF A KING.
v Goiiverncur do Princes.- Par 11. do Chnbrcul.
Paris: t'ulmaiifi, Levy. . ...
In tlm. same year which witnessed the ele
vation lu the throne of France, by tlm Revo
lution of -IbllO, of Louis Philippe, Duke of
Orleans, occurred the: death of his . precep-
tress, the Oomlessu do Gcnlls, ono of the
most Intcllcctunlly . glrtoil .women ; whom
Europe hail prddiieed, In the: clgliteenth ecu-
liiry: and not unworthy, perhaps, to lie brac
keted with Mndnmc De Btnlel. Her life, cov
ering the period between 37-UPmiil 18:10, m-iih
full of romantic .Interest, ittiil Incident: but no
one nowadays, would xvndc through tlm eight
milnblngntpblcnl volumes, wlilcli' -she -.piib-
llslieil live yen is. before: her death, although
tliey cimlniii liiiiov lirllllii'iil pages, as well as
n good ileal of disjointed gossip. Hilt St.' do
Clialiretil lias just written. a innmoli-.of tlm
(ointosse M-hloli not only , relates all the inii-
terlnl. facts of llic most liiiportant period, of
lmr life, lint. throws ii. new light upoicuinnv
passages of It; by tlm recent discovery: among
the nrchivi-R-of tlie Clintciiii of Cluinlllly of
a species of dhli-v kept bv SI. Loliriui, who
was the snh-lnstiuictor of .Louis Vlilllppe and
his two brothers In Htelr.vmil.il. y
The mother of Slndnme de Geiills— to give
her the niimo by which slm Is hcMt known—
was ii iioct, and wrote a <;omle opein, lu
which her dtiughlcr sustiilimd -ii-piii-t M-lth a
prceoeioiislv singular grace and clinrm- at
tlm early age of 0. Boon afterwards ahor
was . received us a ca lioness in tlm -noble
Chapter of Alix, near Lvous, and was thence
forth known us the dointessc -de Lnnc.v, a
title appertaining lo an estate belonging lo
her father.- Beautiful In ; person- and fusci-
niitlng In liiiinuL-r, tlio-vomig girl grow up
tlm Idol of bcr fuinily and friends. But a
sqvere- reverse of fortune-overtook the noble
house Into wlilcli she llnd been born, und on
tlie death of lior father she and her- mother
lild their comparative poverty in some lodg
ings In Parts. Her beauty, however, could
not ho hidden, and among lmr numerous ad
mirers M-as n certain colonel of the grena
diers, Coiiile de Gculls bv name, to ulinm she
M-us married .".xvhen only 1(3. She soon
discovered that, lmr- education Imd not been
such as to qualify her lo sliluc In society
or lo preside over a household, trad she ap
plied herself ivlth .unwearying- assiduity to
llterarv, musical, artistic and scientific
studies, hhe h.'iiriied gurilonliig, anil cldcr
inukliig. she M-atehed the village, cabinet
tanker, u'enver and basket maker at their
work, her liusliaiiil taught her how to paint,
she liucniim a skilful liorsowomnu, nnd she
ninsleruil'Hio science of osteology, in order
Hint she might render surgical assistance to
the peasantry when they met with accidents,
hhe kept a journal of her occupations and
relleetlons, and heeame an nccompllsbcd let
ter writer, Botu-een the. ages of <12 "nnd ;17
she Imd published three books, which Snlnte-
Ueuve eulogises for. their dellencv of obser-
vnllon. their clever portraits of society und
their clear and fluent style. But before the
appearance of either of these Mmo- ; do
Genlls had become it favorite guest at tlm
Palms Royal, having been Introduced' there
hy her mint, Mine, de Montcsson, secretly
nmrrlod to the profligate Duke of Orleans,
whose countenance Is so vividly portrayed
li.v C'arlyle:— 1 "Carbuncles stud his face; dark
studs on a ground ot burnished, copper."
Appointed lads' ot honor to tlm Duchess of
Clmrtrcs, Mine, ilc Genlls was presently In
stituted "governor" of theivouug Princes
nnd - Princesses, greatly to the disappoint
ment anil chagrin of a crowd of courtiers
and of their wives and mistresses, who
thenceforward assailed her .with all the- ran
cor mill malignity u-hlch envy, and jealousy
could dictate, bhc proved to be tin admir
able preceptress, and took -care : that her
pupils should bo well grounded In modern
languages. Tliey M-ere permitted- tn spenk
nothlug but Oerninn M-lmii: receiving tlmir
giu'ileiilng' lessons, Itnlhui at- supper, und
English at dinner. In nfter years; when
Louis l'hlllppe m-us oariilng his livelihood ns
a sehooluiastcr ut Uclclienuu, ivniidorlng
about tlm United Stales nsnn exile, and
seeking refuge and security lu England,
nfter. Ills forced abdication;- Mie must liavi
felt very grateful to - Ills -preceptress for
cnahllug -him to lbccome a-' eltlzerik'df -'tlie
M-orlil;. us lie.iprldcd - lilmselt.f on; brilug a
"citizen King." .i- - ... vi .
"\Micu tlio French Revolution broke out
Mnm. de Genlls found u shelter In England,
hot subsequently crossed over to Belgium,
M-bcre she married her adopted daughter,
the beautiful Pamela, to Lord Edward Fitz
gerald, who M-as shot during the Irish insur
rection a few yours later, Ills widow return-1
Ing to France,' where, It Is said, she-died In
great misery. Mine, do Genlls then passed
Into Switzcrhind, und from thence repaired
to Germany, whore she married nnotlmr
adopted daughter, Mile. dcSerey, to a- rich
merchant in Hamburg. .Ill 1801, she suc
ceeded In procuring the erasure ot her nnine
from tlm list of proscribed-, emigrants, and
returned to France.' In Paris she M-as for-
tunntc enough to conciliate the goodwill of
the first consul, who disliked literary-women
in general, hut iniidc an. exception In fnvor
of Mmc.'de Genlls, upon whom lie settled a
pension of £400 per annum, mid gave licr n
suite of apartments - in tlie Library of the
Arsenal. He even permitted her to urlte to
him on political questions, hut when' 'She
produced licr "History of Henry the Great,"
wlilcli probably rtiflleil Ills own vanity, Bona-
parte, cuneellod the pension , nnd turned lmr
out of lmr rooms. Between :1S02. nnd- 1813
slie published- numerous, works, and nt the
Restoration of the Bourbons lmr old- pupil,
Louis Phillppq, restored hot tlm Income of
which the First Consul lind deprived - her-
From; -tliut time forward, lmr pen 'seemed
to ; know no rest, mid . the -quality. of lmr
writings suffered from their quantity. - To
quote a phrase, which -M-as felicitously ' tip-,
plied .to her, "She m-us always good,-1 never
better.". Altogbther, she must.- have' pro
duced not less than, ;elghty- works, iimong
Mhleh ivern seven vohnnes of plavs' Suitable'
for young persons, and some of-n theological
and controversial character; for" she 'was'
r erj orthodox In ; her - religious views,- and
sti ongl.v .opposed - to the- ductrlues of the
enc.i elopa-dlsts, .Mliich -exposed- lmr' to sonic-
hitter, attacks from tlio: niatorinllsts of her,
period. i ,
Actoidlng to-M. do Cliabreul, a good ileal
of tho condemnation which luis been passed
upon -.French society at the time of tlio Ile'-
genc.\ and ; of Louis the Fifteenth, on -ac--
count; of tho. alleged: dissoluteness :- of. Its'
inorals aud manners;- was undoserved. -7t Is
tine. that the com t Mas as licentious as that
of. Charles the Second of England; but-: lie
assures .us that- a considerable part of -so
ciety, thought mid livcd, according (o tlie prc-
c-epts. of enlightened religion and. of tlm
severest morality, while; occupying Itself lit
tlm, perforjiianc-c- of cliurltable nnd. domestic'
duties, .- Rut these - M-ere uul the -peujde
spoken of lij Sydney Smith ns giving, charm-
Ing little supper parties und breaking: the
wbole of . tbe ten .comuinndmcn ts.-t Such- per:
sons,.- however,, would be most" In. evidence
at, a time when the court stumped licentious
ness Mill) the. hen I of fashion; : und . when
virtue and goodness,-; knou-lng- themselves to
be frowned upon hy the- Inmates' of - the
Fnluls Royal; would naturally shrink' into
the shade.- .
, ' Ercu the -Doe-do Chnrtres, In Ills youth,-
displayed qualities ; wlilcli. '. chullougod us
much:.mlinirntlon as -Ills subseqimnlr'prolllg-
nc-y, coiupclled reprehension; uml Mine'- du
Genlls relates nil anecdote which. shows- lilln
to have- possessed equally, a. kind heart and
uracil..- delicacy of feeling. "At onu of1 the
iitiillenc-cK given -liy ' Ids : father, llic ' voimg
I'l fiic-e nntic-cd among dm Officers alio M-crc
liresonted to - tlm Due d Orl en ns .one- gentle-
intra : Mhosc. hnndsoiue con iitcuiiiice- wore tin
expression of tlm deepest melancholy.
Struck by Ids nppnrcnt' porc-rtv, the youth
privately instituted inquiries us' to the cause
of It, trad leni-ned Hint it w-fis occasioned- by
the officer devoting nearly. the whole- of Ills
pay to tlm support -of his .widowed- mother
niul ills tMo. sisters, -. l-'or the noxt -two
months the TJiit: dc Chnrtres lionrded up the
Mholq of ills pocket money; mid some sugar-'
ed almonds having been presented to' lilm at
n christening ceremony, bo niudo tbcm up
Into -a packet which concealed -10 loilis—
about CI2— In gold, -and presented it with a
playful llttlo spocch-to (ho poor officer, ivlio,
finding It rather heavy, made a gesture of
surprise; hut the Prince "Imposed silence
upon him by nil expressive sign. On quit
ting tlie palace the recipient's gratitude wns
even greater than his astonishment.' nud ho
wcut home to Ills mother and sisters the
happiest man In the French nrmv. An Inci
dent like' this suggests that the libertine who
ployed such nn unworthy part In tho Revolu
tion might, If brought up amidst more favor-
able surroundings, have eseiiped (lie scan
dals which have fastened themselves upon
his name, and which helped to bring lilui to
the scaffold.
$