{"1": {"fulltext": "^^fr:j v::/\\nm^M^si [1. v,y\\nS,--v.V.,v;t /.V.:-\\ni v\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0iT^Vr iy i\\nrn vr I v;.!^. ,v .v\\n\u00c2\u00abslai-*7 -l-v^.\\nkm.:::", "height": "2685", "width": "1671", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "v^\\nH o^ ^m^^ o^ I V/MW\\nV\\n\\\\-\\\\:l c)^ vM^ c\\no\\nV\\n.V\\n^cP\\n.s^ A^\\nA^^\\nO\\nb, 1", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "0^ v\\nQp/^0.\\n0.\\n^r?\\n^^o^\\nO^ I\\n..-W-.^,. \u00e2\u0080\u009e,_\\n%o^\\ncS\\nc3\\ni5 o^\\nO.\\nc^^\\nO tP\\nX^^^^", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "The Private Memoirs of\\nMadame Roland", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "MADAME ROLAZyjD", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "The Private Memoirs\\nof\\nMadame Roland\\nM\\nEdited^ with an Introduction,\\nBy Edward Gilpin Johnson\\nChicago\\nA. C. McClurg Co.\\n1900\\nu", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0011.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "45407\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2Vkv -^Hf \u00c2\u00abv.- to\\nSEP 10 1900\\nSECOND COPY.\\nOe t\u00c2\u00ab\u00c2\u00abr\u00c2\u00ab(l to\\nOROEft DIVISION,\\nSEP 12 1900\\nCopyright\\nBy a. C. McClurg Co.\\nA.D. igoo\\n74Gi5", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0012.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "During these five months, those Memoirs of\\nIters were written, which all the world still\\nreads^ Carlyle.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0013.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0014.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "Preface\\nTHE translation which is reprinted in this\\nvolume in a revised form and after com-\\nparison with the text of a standard French\\nedition, was made from Bosc s original edition\\nof the Memoirs, and was published at London\\nin 1795, within two years after Madame Roland s\\ndeath by the guillotine on November 8, 1793.\\nThe Private Memoirs of Madame Roland is a\\nfavorite French classic which, though widely\\nquoted in historical literature as an attractive\\nand authoritative work, has not for many years\\nbeen procurable in an English version. In issu-\\ning the present edition, therefore, the publishers\\nbelieve that they have supplied an actual want.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0015.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0016.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "CONTENTS\\nPage\\nIntroduction 13\\nThe Private Memoirs of Madame Roland\\nPart 1 35\\nPart II 105\\nPart III 270\\nSupplementary Sketch 343\\nDetached Notes 366\\nMadame Roland s Farewell 370\\nEditor s Note 370\\nIndex 375", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0017.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0018.jp2"}, "17": {"fulltext": "ILLUSTRATIONS\\nMadame Roland Frontispiece\\nFacing page\\nThe Abbaye 20\\nMadame Roi-and, on the way to the guillotine 32\\nMadame Roland, from the painting by Goupil 50\\nThe Conciergerie 80\\nCharlotte Corday 112\\nChAteau de Versailles 130\\nCamille Desmoulins 154\\nGensonne 170\\nChateau de Meudon 184\\nRousseau 210\\nChIteau de St. Cloud 240\\nMadame Roland, from the painting by Heinsius 272\\nBrissot 302\\nPache 316\\nRoland de la Plati^re 322\\nBarbaroux 340\\nBuzoT 360\\nPetion 374", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0019.jp2"}, "18": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0020.jp2"}, "19": {"fulltext": "INTRODUCTION\\nIF Plutarch did not, as M. Brunetiere some-\\nwhat fancifully asserts, make the French\\nRevolution, his influence upon the generation\\nof Frenchmen that made it was nevertheless\\nsuch as to give point and color of truth to the\\nepigram. It was so largely to the old Greek\\nbiographer that the typical mind of the epoch\\nowed its distinctive tinge and ply that the Revo-\\nlution, in so far as it reflected the intellectual\\npeculiarities of the day, may in a sense be said\\nto have been his work. The import of M.\\nBrunetiere s observation is nowhere so clearly\\nillustrated as in the history of the celebrated\\ngroup of poHtical dreamers whose central figure\\nwas the author of the following Memoir. It\\nwas from Plutarch s pages that the Girondins\\ndrew that extraordinary enthusiasm for the\\nrepublics of classic antiquity which was perhaps\\ntheir most striking characteristic as a party;", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0021.jp2"}, "20": {"fulltext": "14 Introduction\\nand Madame Roland was the soul of the\\nGironde. To view her as essentially the dis-\\nciple of Plutarch, bent through Hfe on enacting\\na Plutarchian role, and maintaining through\\nlife a more or less Plutarchian pose, is to\\npossess the master-key to her career, and to\\nunderstand why there was in that career always\\na certain tinge or suggestion of the theatrical,\\neven where her bearing was finest. In her\\nmemoirs Madame Roland relates how the book\\nwhich so deeply affected her life first fell into\\nher hands/\\nPlutarch, she adds, seemed to be exactly the\\nfood that suited my mind. I shall never forget the\\nLent of 1763, at which time I was nine years of age,\\nwhen I carried it to church instead of my prayer-\\nbook. From that period I may date the impressions\\n1 There were then two French translations of the Lives\\navailable for popular use Amyot s, of which a new edition\\nwas issued in 1783, and Dacier s. It was Dacier s Plutarch\\nthat Madame Roland read as a child, and which she sent for\\nwhile in the Abbaye prison. When Charlotte Corday left\\nCaen on her errand of tyrannicide, she took with her a copy\\nof Amyot s version and it was undoubtedly the book that\\ninspired the deed. Another fruitful source of the curious\\nneo-classicism of the period was the Abb^ Barthelemy s\\nTravels of the Young Anacharsis in Greece the author-\\nship of which saved the Abbe s life during the Terror.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0022.jp2"}, "21": {"fulltext": "Introduction 1 5\\nand ideas that rendered me a republican, though I\\ndid not then dream that I should ever be a citizen\\nof a republic.\\nIn thus defining Madame Roland as the\\nspiritual daughter of Plutarch, it is not intended\\nto figure her as the mere embodiment of a trait,\\nor as the victim of a fixed idea. Influences\\nother than Plutarch s, and qualities less admir-\\nable than the pursuit of a high, if delusive,\\nideal, played an appreciable part in shaping\\nher course and character. Rousseau left an\\nearly and indelible impress on her mind and a\\nshade of truth must be conceded to the some-\\nwhat cynical theory which depicts her as es-\\nsentially the vain bourgeoise, whose republican\\nraptures were at bottom the expression of her\\nhatred of a society in which she found her-\\nself so inadequately placed. Vanity, wounded\\nself-esteem, the rankling memory of social\\nslights and humiliations, were potent forces in\\nthe overthrow of the old rigime. The jealousy\\nof the Third Estate of the artificial superiorities\\nand unearned privileges of decadent feudalism\\nis the central fact of the Revolution and\\nMadame Roland was no stranger to the senti-\\nments of her class. How keenly she resented", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0023.jp2"}, "22": {"fulltext": "1 6 Introduction\\nthe distinctions of birth that blocked the path\\nand galled the pride of the educated and pros-\\nperous commoner of the eighteenth century,\\nher memoirs too bitterly attest. To this alloy\\nof jaundiced class feeling, joined to a certain\\nnative hardness and implacability of temper,\\nmust be ascribed what is palpably impolitic and\\nungenerous in the conduct of Madame Roland.\\nA more temperate politician would have seen\\nthe folly of rejecting the alliance of Danton\\na gentler woman would have relented at the\\nsorrows of Marie Antoinette.\\nBut whatever her blemishes may have been,\\nMadame Roland is still the heroine of the\\nRevolution. It is to her that the eye instinc-\\ntively turns for a type and symbol of the\\nearlier and finer characteristics of that move-\\nment, its quasi-religious enthusiasm, its\\nbroad philanthropy, its passion for liberty and\\nsocial justice^ its faith in the original goodness\\nand ultimate high destiny of man. She was\\nthe genius and inspirer of the men whose elo-\\nquence overthrew the throne and founded the\\nRepublic. Writers unfriendly to the Revolu-\\ntion find food for satire in the classical affecta-\\ntions of these young orators and their Egeria,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0024.jp2"}, "23": {"fulltext": "Introduction 17\\nin their capacity for self-admiration, and their\\nfoible of regarding themselves and each other\\nas so mxany Solons and Catos, Philopoemens\\nand Phocions, providentially sent to refresh\\nthe tradition of ancient virtue, and to herald\\nthe regeneration of a world that priests had\\ndarkened and tyrants had enslaved. But youth-\\nful extravagances born of an honest enthusiasm\\nfor the great and the good may be easily con-\\ndoned. A suggestion of tender and poetic\\ngrace will always linger about the memory of\\nthe Girondins; and impartial history, while\\npointing out their manifest and fatal short-\\ncomings, will not fail to add that when the\\nfinal test of their courage and sincerity came,\\nthey met their fate with a constancy worthy of\\nthose great spirits of antiquity whose renown\\nthey aspired to share.\\nTo appreciate the Memoirs of Madame\\nRoland justly it is necessary to realize and\\nbear in mind the circumstances under which\\nthey were written. The writer was a prisoner,\\nand under no illusions as to her impending fate.\\nAcross her path lay in unmistakable outlines\\nthe shadow of the guillotine. Her husband and\\nher friends were outlaws, tracked from hiding-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0025.jp2"}, "24": {"fulltext": "1 8 Introduction\\nplace to hidingplace by foes in whose eyes\\nclemency was a political crime. The trumped-\\nup charge of her own infamy was ringing in\\nthe ears of all Paris. Under her cell window\\nhawkers of the filthy journals of the day were\\naudibly crying their wares and shouting her\\nname coupled with the epithets and calum-\\nnies of Pkre Duchesne.^ Her day was done.\\nHer stately Plutarchian republic of wisdom\\nand virtue was sunk in mire and blood. How\\nclearly she had come to see the futility of the\\ndreams on which she had lived and fed her\\nhopes so long is shown in the apostrophe in\\nwhich she bids them a last farewell\\nSublime illusions, generous sacrifices, hope, hap-\\npiness, and country, adieu At twelve years old I\\nlamented in the first expansions of my young heart\\nthat I was not born at Sparta or at Rome. In the\\nFrench Revolution I thought I saw the application\\n1 I was not only transformed into the abettor of a\\ncounter-revolution, but into an old and toothless hag, and was\\nexhorted to weep for my sins till the time should come to ex-\\npiate them on the scaffold. The hawkers, in consequence\\nno doubt of their instructions, did not leave the vicinity of the\\nprison for a moment, but accompanied their proclamation of\\nPere Duchesne s Great Visit to the Wife of Roland with the\\nmost sanguinary advice to the market-people. Madame R. s\\nHistorical Notes.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0026.jp2"}, "25": {"fulltext": "Introduction 19\\nof the principles in which my mind was steeped.\\nSplendid chimeras enchanting reveries, by which I\\nhave been beguiled The horror and corruption of\\none great city dispels you all.\\nThus, broken and disillusionized, Madame\\nRoland took up her pen to recount the story of\\nher life. To refute the current slanders of her\\npolitical enemies was naturally her first con-\\ncern. Gradually, as she became absorbed in\\nher task and lost in the contemplation of her\\ntranquil and studious youth, the old idealizing\\nmood came back and resumed its sway.\\nMadame Roland became, as it were, her own\\nPlutarch. Conscious of her worth and recti-\\ntude, eager to secure in history the esteem that\\nher own times had denied her, the portrait she\\npaints is one in which her own charms are too\\nunreservedly portrayed, and the account of her\\nown virtues is too strictly rendered. Madame\\nRoland s detractors, making no allowance for\\nthe stress of her tragic situation, have dealt\\nnone too generously with this flaw in her\\nMemoirs. Partisan critics, countrymen of\\nMadame Roland, have not scrupled to vent\\ntheir satiric wit upon these tear-stained pages,\\nin which a high and misjudged soul, already in", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0027.jp2"}, "26": {"fulltext": "20 Introduction\\nthe Valley of the Shadow, claims its meed of\\nrecognition from posterity. But the sympa-\\nthetic reader will perhaps find more pathos\\nthan vanity in the self-admiration of a\\ndefamed and desolate woman who, from the\\nfoot of the scaffold, looks back fondly upon her\\nearlier and happier self as upon one she had\\nknown and communed with in the past.\\nThe writings of Madame Roland, which are\\nembraced under the collective title of An\\nAppeal to Impartial Posterity, and of which\\nthe personal memoir given in this volume\\nforms a part, were composed during the five\\nmonths of her imprisonment in the Abbaye\\nand Sainte Pelagic. She was arrested and\\ntaken to the Abbaye on the morning of June i,\\n1793, the day before the expulsion of the\\nGirondists from the Convention. Twenty-\\nfour days later she was set free, but was at\\nonce rearrested and confined in Sainte Pelagie,^\\nThis proceeding was not a mere piece of wanton cruelty,\\nas some of her biographers assume. There had been, it seems,\\na technical flaw in her first commitment and it was to cure\\nthis that she was freed and rearrested. She, says, in her His-\\ntorical Notes Joubert confessed that my first arrest\\nwas illegal, and that it was necessary to set me at liberty in\\norder that I might be afterwards taken into custody accord-\\ning to legal forms.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0028.jp2"}, "27": {"fulltext": "THE ABBAYE", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0031.jp2"}, "28": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0032.jp2"}, "29": {"fulltext": "Introduction 2 1\\nwhere she remained until transferred to the\\nConciergerie, eight days before her execution\\non November 8. Of her prison life Madame\\nRoland has told the story in detail in her\\nHistorical Notes. Her lot was smoothed in\\nvarious ways by the kindness of the jailers,\\nwho braved the anger of the Commune in\\nfurtively bestowing little favors upon their win-\\nning and illustrious captive. She tells us\\nhow, after arriving at the Abbaye, she at once\\nset about arranging the interior of her cell in\\nher usual thrifty way for, be it remembered,\\nCato s wife was in her domestic concerns a\\nmost practical and housewifely woman. Ris-\\ning at about noon, she says, I considered\\nhow I should order my new lodgings\\nWith a white napkin I covered the rude little\\ntable, which I moved to the window, where it might\\nserve as a desk for I made up my mind to take my\\nmeals from a corner of the mantelpiece, so that the\\ntable might be kept clean and in order for writing.\\nTwo large hat-pins, stuck into the boards, answered\\nfor a wardrobe. In my pocket I had Thomson s\\nSeasons, a work which I valued on more than one\\naccount; and I made a list of what other books I\\nwanted. First was Plutarch s Lives of Illustrious", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0033.jp2"}, "30": {"fulltext": "2 2 Introduction\\nPersons. Lavacquerie (the jailer) who had never\\nseen his cell occupied by so contented an inmate,\\nand who used to admire the pleasure I took in\\narranging my books and my flowers, told me that in\\nfuture he should call it the Pavilion of Flora.\\nAt Sainte P^lagie Madame Roland was at\\nfirst confined in the common corridor of the\\nwing set apart for female criminals. There,\\nshe says, under the same roof, and in the\\nsame line of cells, I dwell in the midst of\\nmurderers, thieves, and harlots. By the side\\nof me is one of those creatures who make a\\ntrade of seduction and a traffic of innocence\\nabove me is a forger of assignats, who, with a\\nband of monsters to which she belonged, tore a\\nperson of her own sex to pieces upon the high-\\nway. From this Inferno of oaths and obscen-\\nity she was temporarily delivered through the\\ncompassion of the concierge, Madame Bouchaud.\\nThis good woman, not content with occasion-\\nally allowing Madame Roland the use of her\\nown apartment, at length determined to assume\\nthe responsibility of removing her altogether\\nfrom the cell in the corridor, and lodging her\\nin a quiet and comfortable room on the ground\\nfloor. Here, cheered by her books and by the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0034.jp2"}, "31": {"fulltext": "Introduction 23\\nflowers which the faithful Bosc brought daily\\nfrom the Jardin des Plantes, Madame Roland\\npassed the serener and busier days of her cap-\\ntivity. It was no longer, she says, the sinister\\nvisage of the turnkey that first met her eyes\\nin the morning, and that was the last to look\\nin upon her at night.\\nIt was the kindly face of Madame Bouchaud\\nwhich first greeted my eyes she it was whose loving\\nattentions I perceived every moment of the day.\\nThere was nothing, even to the very jessamine\\ncarried up to my window and twining its pliant\\ntendrils round the hairs, that did not testify to her\\nbenevolence.\\nWhile at Sainte Pelagic Madame Roland was\\nallowed the services of a female attendant, a\\nprisoner confined for some minor offence, who\\nrelieved her of the coarser and more menial\\nwork. It was not without some philosophical\\nscruples that the austere republican accepted\\nthis assistance and she makes thereon some\\ncharacteristic reflections in her most Plutar-\\nchian vein:\\nNot but that I was very well able to be\\nmy own servant. Everything becomes a noble", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0035.jp2"}, "32": {"fulltext": "24 Introduction\\nspirit, was said of Favonius performing for Pompey\\nin his misfortunes the ofifices which valets perform\\nfor their masters. This may be appUed with equal\\njustice to the austere philosopher disdaining\\nevery superfluity. Quinctius was roasting his tur-\\nnips when he received the ambassadors of the Sam-\\nnites and I could very well have made my bed,\\netc., at Sainte Pdlagie.\\nMadame Roland was not long permitted to\\noccupy the retreat assigned her by Madame\\nBouchaud. An inspector going his rounds of\\nthe prison was scandalized at the comparative\\ncomfort of her surroundings, and roughly or-\\ndered her back to her cell, adding sternly to\\nthe concierge It is your business to maintain\\nequality. Thus was the apostle of the new\\nsocial order, by an ironically drastic application\\nof her own principles, shorn of her privileges,\\nand forced to do homage to the goddess of\\ni^galiti.\\nWhile at the Abbaye Madame Roland wrote\\nher Historical Notes, a summary and vindi-\\ncation of her public life, which she intrusted to\\nChampagneux for safe keeping. Being himself\\n1 Madame Roland is in error here. It was Marcus Curius\\nDentatus of whom this story is related.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0036.jp2"}, "33": {"fulltext": "Introduction 25\\narrested, Champagneux consigned the manu-\\nscript to a third person, who, unwilling to be\\nthe custodian of the compromising papers,\\nthrew them into the fire, where they were\\npartially consumed. Believing them wholly\\nlost, the author was in despair.\\nI should have preferred, she says, to have\\nbeen thrown into the fire myself These writings\\nwere the anchor to which I trusted for the justifica-\\ntion of my memory.\\nAfter her removal to Sainte Pelagie she re-\\nwrote her Historical Notes, adding thereto a\\nseries of Portraits and Anecdotes, an account\\nof her second arrest, and of the two ministries\\nof Roland. At the same time she prepared\\nher Private Memoirs, a detailed narrative\\nof her life from infancy to the date of her mar-\\nriage. Some fragmentary notes and reflections\\nwere added later, and the whole was intrusted\\nto Bosc. But this friend, too, was presently\\nproscribed by the Mountain. Forced to flee\\nfor his life, he first hid the precious manu-\\nscripts in a hollow tree in the forest of Mont-\\nmorency, whence they were recovered eight\\nmonths later, when the storm of the Terror", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0037.jp2"}, "34": {"fulltext": "2 6 Introduction\\nhad subsided. Bosc s first edition of the\\nMemoirs was published in 1795; and the\\noriginal manuscript of seven hundred small-\\nsized sheets of grayish paper, compactly filled\\nin with Madame Roland s neat and firm hand-\\nwriting, is now in the Bibliotheque Nationale.\\nThe Private Memoirs of Madame Roland\\nis a familiar classic of French literature, and its\\nmerits need hardly be enlarged upon here. Its\\npathos, its playful humor, its trenchant satire,\\nits vivid pictures of contemporary life and\\nmanners, will not be lost upon the reader. As\\na reflection of the most striking peculiarities\\nof the French mind of the time, and as a\\ndescription of the life of a young woman of the\\nbourgeois class, the book has few rivals in its\\nkind. It abounds in graceful and essentially\\nfeminine touches, in which the somewhat\\npompous and declamatory Historical Notes\\nare lacking. One feels the sincerity, the unaf-\\nfected eloquence of such charming passages,\\nfor instance, as that in which Madame Roland\\nsays, of her love of flowers\\nI always remember the singular effect produced\\non me by a bunch of violets at Christmas. When I", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0038.jp2"}, "35": {"fulltext": "Introduction 27\\nreceived them I was in that mood which a season\\nfavorable to serious thought induces. My imagina-\\ntion slumbered. I reflected coldly, the emotions\\nwere at rest. Suddenly the color of the violets and\\ntheir delicate perfume quickened my senses. It was\\nan awakening to life. A rosy tinge suffused the\\nhorizon of the day.\\nThe style of the narrative is usually simple\\nand direct. True, Madame Roland idealizes\\nat times, and it is too often the hand of Rous-\\nseau that guides her pen, impelling it to dis-\\nclosures from which her native good sense and\\ndelicacy would have shrunk. While the memoir\\nattests throughout the rare fortitude and self-\\ncontrol of the author, it nevertheless betrays at\\nintervals how keenly she felt her situation.\\nMore than once the rapid flow of the recital is\\nbroken, as it were, by a sob, an exclamation of\\ndespair, as the writer drops her pen, and gives\\nvent for the moment to her grief; and then,\\nthrough the mist of time, one sees, not the\\nsomewhat cold and Amazonian Madame Roland\\nof conventional history and panegyric, but the\\npoor prisoner racked with anguish which her\\npride struggles to repress, of whom her attend-\\nant said to her fellow-captives", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0039.jp2"}, "36": {"fulltext": "2 8 Introduction\\nBefore you she collects all her strength, but in\\nher cell she remains sometimes for hours together\\nleaning against her window, weeping. Alas\\nwrote Madame Roland to Bosc, I know now what\\nit is, that malady the English call heart-break. I\\nhave no desire to delay its results.\\nOn November ist, Madame Roland was\\ntaken to the Conciergerie, a prison over whose\\nportals was written the warning to abandon\\nhope. Her Girondist friends had, on the day\\nbefore, issued thence on their way to the\\nscaffold; and her own doom was now clearly-\\nsealed. She was at last to assume in grim\\nreality the role she had so often enacted in\\nfancy, in the days of her romantic youth.\\nWith Socrates she was to drink the hemlock;\\nwith Agis she was to bend the neck in virtuous\\nresignation to the axe. The sense of the\\ndramatic possibilities of her situation, of its\\nenduring publicity, undoubtedly helped to\\nsteel her to its terrors; and her native courage\\nwas above that of most mortals. Of her bear-\\ning during the closing days at the Conciergerie\\nwe have an attractive picture from witnesses\\nwho cannot be suspected of a desire to gild the\\ntruth. Those to whom her political views", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0040.jp2"}, "37": {"fulltext": "Introduction 29\\nwere abhorrent are the ones most eloquent in\\nher praise. She seems to have moved among\\nher companions in a strange state of exaltation,\\nas one who had already done with earthly things.\\nFrom the time of her arrival, writes the\\nDuchesse de Grammont, the apartment of Madame\\nRoland became an asylum of peace in the bosom of\\nthis hell. If she descended into the court, her simple\\npresence restored good order, and the abandoned\\nwomen there, on whom no other power exerted an\\ninfluence, were restrained by the fear of displeasing\\nher. She gave alms to the most needy, and to all\\ncounsel, consolation, and hope.\\nSays Comte Beugnot\\nSomething more than is generally found in the\\nlook of woman beamed from her eyes, which were\\nlarge, dark, and brilliant. She often spoke to me at\\nthe grating, with the freedom and energy of a great\\nman. We used to gather round her and listen in\\na kind of admiring wonder. Her discourse was\\nserious without being cold; and she expressed her-\\nself with an elegance, a harmony, and a modulation,\\nthat made of her language a kind of music of which\\nthe ear never wearied.\\nOn the day after her arrival at the Con-\\nciergerie, Madame Roland was brought before", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0041.jp2"}, "38": {"fulltext": "30 Introduction\\nthe Tribunal for the first time two days later\\nshe underwent a second examination; on the\\n7th of November the witnesses against her\\nwere questioned; and the day following was\\nset for her trial. The Indictment of Fouquier-\\nTinville charged her with being one of the\\nprincipal agents and abettors of the Girondist\\nattempt to rouse the Departments against the\\nConvention. The proof cited in that instru-\\nment consisted of a half-dozen letters indicat-\\ning that she sympathized with the movement.\\nOf evidence that she had in any way actively\\naided it or shared in it there was no shred.\\nThat her trial was to be a mere form which\\ncould have but one issue she was fully aware.\\nOn the night preceding it Chauveau-Lagarde,\\na young lawyer who courageously offered to\\ndefend her, came to the prison to consult with\\nher. Madame Roland listened to his sugges-\\ntions with attention, but plainly without hope.\\nWhen he rose to go she slipped a ring from\\nher finger and handed it to him without speak-\\ning. The young man divined her meaning.\\nMadame, he said, deeply moved, we shall see\\neach other to-morrow after the trial To-mor-\\nrow, she replied, I shall be no more. I value", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0042.jp2"}, "39": {"fulltext": "Introduction 31\\nyour services, but they might prove fatal to you.\\nYou would ruin yourself without saving me. Spare\\nme the pain of putting the life of a good man in\\ndanger. Do not come to the court, for I shall dis-\\nclaim you if you do but accept this, the only token\\nmy gratitude can offer. To-morrow I shall be in\\neternity.\\nOn the morrow, as she left her cell to await\\nthe summons to the bar, it was seen that she\\nhad attired herself with unusual care, and with\\na certain pathetic regard to the event she felt\\nwas approaching. Her robe was of white,\\ntrimmed with snowy lace, and fastened with a\\ngirdle of black velvet. Her long, dark hair\\nflowed loosely below her waist. As she entered\\nthe hall-way Comte Beugnot joined her.\\nHer face, he writes, seemed to me more ani-\\nmated than usual. Its color was exquisite, and there\\nwas a smile on her lips. With one hand she held up\\nthe train of her robe the other she abandoned to\\nthe prisoners who pressed forward to kiss it. Those\\nwho realized the fate that awaited her sobbed about\\nher and commended her to God. I delivered\\nmy message to her in the passage. She replied in a\\nfew words spoken in a firm voice. She had begun a\\nsentence when two officers from the interior called\\nher to the bar. At this summons, so terrible for", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0043.jp2"}, "40": {"fulltext": "3 2 Introduction\\nanother, she stopped, pressed my hand, and said\\nFarewell, sir, let us make peace, it is time. Raising\\nher eyes she saw that I was trying to repress my\\ntears. She seemed moved, and added but two\\nwords Have courage.\\nWhen Madame Roland came out from the\\nTribunal she passed the wicket with the light\\nstep of one elated with the joy of acquittal\\nbut to the inquiring looks of her friends she\\nreplied with a gesture signifying that she had\\nbeen condemned to die. The death-cart al-\\nready awaited her in the courtyard.\\nHow she bore herself on her journey along\\nthat via dolorosa of the Revolution, which\\nled from the Conciergerie to the Place de la\\nGuillotine, the world knows. No recorded\\npilgrim of the long train that fared that way in\\nthose heroic days showed a sublimer indiffer-\\nence to its terrors. A spectator who saw her\\nas she passed the Pont Neuf wrote of her as\\nstanding erect and calm in the tumbrel, her\\neyes shining, her color fresh and brilliant,\\nwith a smile on her lips, as she tried to cheer\\nher companion, an old man overcome by the\\nfear of approaching death. At the foot of the\\nscaffold she asked for pen and paper to write", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0044.jp2"}, "41": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0096\u00a0Hh\\nIk\\ni\\nH\\n^i\\n1\\n1\\n4\\nilP^^^H\\nE\\nJMADAMIE ROLANi) ON THE AVA.Y TO THE GUILLOTINE\\nO. Liberie comrne on fa jotiee.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0047.jp2"}, "42": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0048.jp2"}, "43": {"fulltext": "Introduction 33\\nthe strange thoughts that were rising in her.\\nWhen the executioner grasped her arm to assist\\nher in mounting the steps, she drew back and\\nbegged that her companion might be allowed\\nto precede her. The custom of the guillotine\\nallowed her, as a woman, the privilege of dying\\nfirst but she wished to spare the infirm old\\nman a scene that would augment his fears.\\nSanson objected. Come, citizen, she urged\\nwith a smile, you cannot deny a lady her last\\nrequest. Her wish was granted.\\nAs they were binding her to the plank her\\ngaze fell upon the colossal statue of liberty\\nerected in memory of that loth of August\\nwhich she and her friends had made O\\nliberty, she exclaimed, comme on fajou^e!\\nThe plank was swung back, the axe fell, and\\nthe spirit of Madame Roland (let us hope)\\njoined its chosen kindred.\\nE. G. J.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0049.jp2"}, "44": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0050.jp2"}, "45": {"fulltext": "THE PRIVATE MEMOIRS\\nOF\\nMADAME ROLAND\\nPrison of Sainte Pelagie,\\nAug. 9, 1793-\\nTHE daughter of an artist, the wife of a man\\nof letters (who, become a minister, re-\\nmained an honest man), now a prisoner, destined\\nperhaps to a violent and unexpected death, I\\nhave known both happiness and adversity, I\\nhave seen glory at hand, and I have experienced\\ninjustice.\\nBorn in an obscure station, but of respectable\\nparents, I spent my youth in the lap of the fine\\narts, feasting on the charms of study, ignorant\\nof all superiority but that of merit, all greatness\\nbut that of virtue.\\nArrived at years of maturity, I lost all hopes\\nof that fortune, which might have placed me in\\na condition suitable to the education I had re-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0051.jp2"}, "46": {"fulltext": "36 Private Memoirs\\nceived. A marriage with a man of position\\nappeared to compensate this loss it prepared\\nfor me new misfortunes.\\nA gentle disposition, a strong mind, a solid\\nunderstanding, an extremely affectionate heart,\\nand an exterior which announced these qualities,\\nrendered me dear to those by whom I was\\nknown. My station has created me enemies;\\npersonally I have had none by those who have\\nspoken the most ill of me I have never been seen.\\nSo true is it that things are rarely what they\\nappear to be, that the periods of my life in which\\nI have tasted most pleasure, or experienced\\nmost vexation, were those which appeared to\\nothers the very reverse the solution is that hap-\\npiness depends on the affections more than on\\nevents.\\nI purpose to employ the leisure of my cap-\\ntivity in retracing what has happened to me\\nfrom my tenderest infancy to the present\\nmoment. Thus to tread over again all the steps\\nof our career is to live a second time and what,\\nin the gloom of a prison, can we do better than\\nto transport elsewhere our existence by pleas-\\ning fictions or the recollection of interesting\\noccurrences?", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0052.jp2"}, "47": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 37\\nIf experience is less acquired by acting than\\nby reflecting on what we see and on what we\\ndo, mine will be greatly augmented by my\\npresent undertaking.\\nPublic affairs and my own private sentiments\\nhave afforded me sufficient matter for thinking\\nand subjects enough for my pen, during the two\\nmonths of my imprisonment, without obliging\\nme to have recourse to distant times. Accord-\\ningly, the first five weeks were dedicated to\\nHistorical Notes, which formed perhaps no un-\\ninteresting collection. They have just been\\ndestroyed.^ I have felt all the bitterness of this\\nloss, which I shall never repair. But I should\\ndespise myself, could I suffer my mind to sink\\nunder anything that might occur. In all the\\ntroubles I have experienced, the most lively\\nimpression of pain has been almost immediately\\naccompanied with the ambition of opposing my\\nstrength to the evil, and of surmounting it,\\neither by doing good to others, or by exalting\\nmy own courage. Thus misfortune may pursue,\\nbut cannot overwhelm me tyrants may perse-\\nThey were only partially destroyed. The account of her\\narrest, of the first days at the Abbaye, and of her life during\\nRoland s term of office escaped the flames.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0053.jp2"}, "48": {"fulltext": "38 Private Memoirs\\ncute, but never, never shall they debase me.\\nMy Historical Notes are gone I am about to\\nwrite others of a private nature and, prudently\\naccommodating myself to my weakness at a\\nmoment when my feelings are acute, I shall talk\\nof myself, the better to divert those feelings. I\\nshall relate the good and the bad with equal\\nfreedom. He who dares not speak well of him-\\nself is almost always a coward who knows and\\ndreads the ill that may be said of him and he\\nwho hesitates to confess his faults has neither\\nthe courage to vindicate nor the virtue to re-\\npair them. Thus frank with respect to myself,\\nI shall observe no restraint toward others\\nfather, mother, friends, husband, I shall describe\\nas they are, or in the colors in which they\\nappeared to me.\\nWhile I remained in a quiet and retired station\\nof life my natural sensibility so absorbed my\\nother qualities, that it alone displayed itself,\\nor governed them all. My first desire was to\\nplease and to do good. I was a little like that\\ngood M. de Gourville, of whom Madame de\\nSevign6 said that the love of his neighbor\\ncut off half his words and I merited what\\nSainte-Lette said of me, that with wit to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0054.jp2"}, "49": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 39\\npoint an epigram I never suffered one to\\nescape me.\\nSince the energy of my character has been\\nunfolded by circumstances, by political and\\nother storms, my frankness stands foremost,\\nwithout considering too nicely the little scratches\\nit may inflict incidentally. Still I deal not in\\nepigrams they imply the taking a pleasure in\\nthe wounds dealt by satire, and I find no amuse-\\nment in killing flies. But I love to do justice\\nby the utterance of truths and I refrain not\\nfrom the most severe ones in presence of the\\nparties concerned, without suffering myself to\\nbe alarmed, or moved, or angry, whatever may\\nbe their effect.\\nGatien Phlipon, my father, was by profession\\nan engraver; he also cultivated painting, and\\napplied himself to that in enamel, less from\\ntaste than expectation of profit; but the fire,\\nwhich it is necessary to employ in enamelling,\\nagreeing neither with his sight nor his constitu-\\ntion, he was obliged to relinquish this branch.\\nHe confined himself therefore to the first, the\\nprofits of which were moderate. But, though\\nhe was industrious, though the times were\\nfavorable to the exercise of his art, though he", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0055.jp2"}, "50": {"fulltext": "40 Private Memoirs\\nhad much business, and employed a consider-\\nable number of workmen, a desire to make a\\nmore speedy fortune led him to speculate. He\\npurchased diamonds and other jewels, or took\\nthem in pay from the tradesmen who employed\\nhim, to sell them again as opportunity offered.\\nI mention this circumstance, because I have\\nobserved that ambition is generally fatal in all\\nclasses of men for the few who are so lucky as\\nto be raised by it, multitudes become its vic-\\ntims. The example of my father will afford me\\nmore than one application of this maxim. His\\nart was sufficient to procure him a comfortable\\nsubsistence he sought to become rich, and he\\nended with being ruined.\\nStrong and healthy, active and vain, he loved\\nhis wife, and was fond of dress. Without learn-\\ning, he had that degree of taste and knowledge\\nwhich the fine arts give superficially, in what-\\never branch they are practised. Thus, notwith-\\nstanding his regard for wealth and whatever\\ncould procure it, he trafficked with tradesmen,\\nbut was intimate only with artists, painters, and\\nsculptors. He led a regular life, while his ambi-\\ntion was not unbridled, or had experienced no\\ndisappointments. He could not be said to be", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0056.jp2"}, "51": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 41\\na virtuous man, but he had a great deal of what\\nis called honor. He would have had no objec-\\ntion to the receiving for a thing more than it\\nwas worth, but he would have killed himself\\nrather than not pay the stipulated price of what\\nhe had purchased.\\nMarguerite Bimont, his wife, brought him, as\\na dower, little money, but a heavenly mind, and\\na most enchanting countenance. The eldest\\nof six children, to whom she had been a second\\nmother, she married at six-and-twenty, only to\\nresign her place to her sisters. Her affectionate\\nheart and captivating mind ought to have pro-\\ncured her a union with a man of sensibility and\\nenlightened understanding; but her parents\\nproposed to her an honest man whose abilities\\ninsured a subsistence, and her reason accepted\\nhim. Instead of happiness, which she could\\nscarcely expect, she felt that she might at least\\nsecure domestic tranquillity. The ability to\\nlimit our desires is a proof of wisdom positive\\nenjoyments are rarer than we imagine, but\\nvirtue never lacks consolation.\\nI was the second of the seven children born to\\nmy parents, all of whom but myself died either\\nat nurse or from mishaps while coming into", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0057.jp2"}, "52": {"fulltext": "42 Private Memoirs\\nthe world and my mother sometimes repeated\\nwith pleasure, that I was the only one with\\nwhom she had experienced no disaster; for her.\\ndelivery had been as happy as her pregnancy\\nit seemed as if I had contributed to her health.\\nAn aunt of my father selected for me, in the\\nneighborhood of Arpajon, where she frequently\\nwent in summer, a healthy and good-tempered\\nnurse, much esteemed in the place, particularly\\nbecause the brutality of her husband rendered\\nher unhappy, without, however, corrupting her\\ndisposition or altering her conduct. Madame\\nBesnard, my great-aunt, had no child her hus-\\nband was my godfather they both considered\\nme as their own daughter. Their attentions to\\nme have never slackened they are still alive,\\nand in the decline of their age are overwhelmed\\nwith sorrow, lamenting the fate of their darling\\nniece, in whom they had placed their hopes\\nand their pride. Venerable pair be com-\\nforted it is given to few to run their career\\nin that silence and tranquillity which have at-\\ntended you. I am not unequal to the misfor-\\ntunes that assail me, and I shall never cease to\\nhonor your virtues.\\nThe vigilance of my nurse was encouraged or", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0058.jp2"}, "53": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 43\\nrecompensed by my good relations her zeal\\nand success procured her the friendship of my\\nfamily. As long as she lived, she never spent\\ntwo years w^ithout coming to Paris to see me.\\nWhen she heard that death had deprived me\\nof my mother, she immediately hastened to\\nme. I still recollect her appearance I was\\nconfined to my bed with affliction her pres-\\nence recalling too forcibly to my mind my\\nrecent calamity, the first I had experienced, I\\nfell into convulsions that terrified her. She\\nwithdrew I saw her no more she died soon\\nafter. I remember visiting her at the cottage\\nin which she suckled me. I listened with emo-\\ntion to the tales which her good-natured sim-\\nplicity took pleasure in relating, as she pointed\\nout my favorite spots, and related the tricks I\\nhad played her, with the humor of which she\\nwas still entertained. At two years of age I\\nwas brought home to my father s. I have\\nfrequently been told of the surprise I mani-\\nfested at seeing the lamps lighted in the\\nstreets in the evening, at which I exclaimed,\\nWhat charming bottles These little\\nanecdotes, and others of equal importance,\\ninteresting only to nurses and fond uncles and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0059.jp2"}, "54": {"fulltext": "44 Private Memoirs\\naunts, should be here passed over in silence.\\nIt will not be expected of me to depict here\\na little brunette, two years old, whose dark\\nhair played gracefully about a face animated\\nwith a glowing complexion, and which breathed\\nthe happiness of an age of which it had all the\\nhealth. I know a better moment for drawing\\nmy portrait, and I am not so maladroit as to\\nanticipate it.\\nThe discretion and other excellent qualities\\nof my mother soon gave her an ascendency\\nover my docile and affectionate disposition,\\nwhich she never employed but for my good.\\nSo great was this ascendency, that, in those\\nlittle disputes unavoidable between authoritative\\nreason and resisting infancy, she found it neces-\\nsary to inflict no other punishment than gravely\\ncalling me Mademoiselle and fixing on me\\nan eye of reproof I still recollect the impres-\\nsion made upon me by her look, usually so\\naffectionate I hear, with a kind of trembling,\\nthis word Mademoiselle substituted, with solemn\\nand touching dignity, for the gentle ma filled\\nor the graceful appellation of Manon. Yes,\\nManon for so I was called. I sympathize with\\nthe lovers of romance. Certainly the name is", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0060.jp2"}, "55": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 45\\nnot noble it ill suits a heroine in the grand\\nstyle nevertheless, it was mine and it is\\nhistory that I am writing. The most fastidious,\\nhowever, would have been reconciled to the\\nname, had they heard it pronounced by my\\nmother, and seen her to whom it was addressed.\\nWhat expression could want grace when she\\naccompanied it with her enchanting tone And\\nwhen her affectionate voice so thrilled my heart,\\ndid it not teach me to resemble her?\\nLively, without being boisterous, and natur-\\nally studious, I required only to be employed,\\nand readily seized every idea that was offered\\nme. This disposition was turned to so good\\naccount, that I do not remember having been\\ntaught to read. I have heard that at four\\nyears old the business, so to speak, was com-\\npleted, and that, after that period, all that was\\nnecessary was to provide me with books. What-\\never were put into my hands, or I could any-\\nwhere obtain, engrossed all my attention, and\\nnothing could divert me from them but a\\nnosegay. The sight of a flower; pleases my\\nimagination and flatters my senses to an in-\\nexpressible degree it awakens to luxury the\\nsense of existence. Under the tranquil shelter", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0061.jp2"}, "56": {"fulltext": "46 Private Memoirs\\nof my paternal roof, I was happy from my\\ninfancy with flowers and books in the narrow\\nconfines of a prison, amidst the chains imposed\\nby the most revolting tyranny, I have the same\\nsentiment, and I forget the injustice of men,\\ntheir follies, and my calamities, with books\\nand flowers.\\nIt was too excellent an opportunity of teach-\\ning me the Old and New Testaments, and the\\nsmall and large Catechisms, to be neglected.\\nI learned everything it was thought proper to\\ngive me, and I should have repeated the Koran\\nhad I been taught to read it. I remember a\\npainter of the name of Guibal, since settled at\\nStuttgart, who a few years ago wrote an essay\\nin praise of Poussin which obtained the prize\\nfrom the Academy of Rouen, and who fre-\\nquently came to my father s. He was a merry\\nfellow, who told me many a nonsensical tale,\\nwhich I have not forgotten, and by which I\\nwas vastly amused nor was he less diverted in\\nmaking me display in my turn my slender stock\\nof knowledge. I think I see him now, with his\\nwhimsical face, sitting in an arm-chair, taking\\nme between his knees, on which I rested my\\nelbows, and bidding me repeat the Athanasian", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0062.jp2"}, "57": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 47\\nCreed then rewarding my compliance with\\nthe story of Tanger, whose nose was so long\\nthat he was obliged, when he walked, to twist\\nit round his arm. More absurd contrasts than\\nthis might be made.\\nWhen seven years old, I was sent every Sun-\\nday to the parish church, to attend Catechism,\\nas it was called, in order to prepare me for con-\\nfirmation. In the present state of things, they\\nwho read this passage may perhaps ask what\\nthat was so I will inform them. In the corner\\nof a church, chapel, or other place of devotion,\\na few rows of chairs or benches, extending to a\\ncertain length, were placed opposite each other.\\nAn open space was left in the middle, in which\\nwas a seat higher than the rest. This was the\\ncurule chair of the young priest, whose office it\\nwas to instruct the children that attended. They\\nwere made to repeat by heart the Epistle and\\nGospel for the day, the Collect, and such por-\\ntion of the Catechism as was appointed for the\\nweek s task. When the children were nume-\\nrous the catechizing priest had a Httle clerk who\\nheard them repeat, while the master reserved\\nthe more important questions to himself. In\\nsome parishes pupils of both sexes attended to-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0063.jp2"}, "58": {"fulltext": "48 Private Memoirs\\ngether, ranged only on different forms but in\\nparishes in general they attended separately.\\nThe mothers of the children, always greedy of the\\nbread of the word, however coarsely prepared,\\nwere present at these instructions, which were-\\ngraduated according to the ages of the pupils, or\\nto their stage of preparedness for confirmation or\\nfor receiving the first communion. The zealous\\ncures would from time to time visit their little\\nflocks, who were taught to rise respectfully at\\ntheir approach. A few questions were put to\\nthe more promising children to test their pro-\\nficiency. The mothers of the ones questioned\\nwere elated at the distinction; and the good\\nfathers withdrew amid their grateful curtsies.\\nM. Garat, the rector of my parish, that of Saint\\nBartholomew, a worthy man with some reputa-\\ntion for learning, in spite of the fact that he was\\nincapable of delivering two sentences together\\nof common sense from the pulpit in which he\\nwas ambitious of shining much as M. Garat,\\nminister of state, is reputed a man of ability,\\nthough totally ignorant of his trade M. Garat,\\nI say, my rector, came one day to my Cat-\\nechism, and in order to sound the depth of my\\ntheological erudition, and display his own", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0064.jp2"}, "59": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 49\\nsagacity, asked me how many orders of spirits\\nthere were in the celestial hierarchy. From\\nthe ironical tone and air of triumph with which\\nhe put the question, I knew that he expected to\\npuzzle me and I answered, with a smile, that\\nthough many were enumerated in the preface to\\nthe Missal, I had read, in other books, of nine,\\nand I repeated to him angels, archangels, thrones,\\ndominions, etc. Never was rector so satisfied\\nwith the learning of his neophyte. From that\\nmoment also my reputation was established\\namong the devout matrons. I was accordingly\\na chosen vessel, as hereafter will be seen.\\nSome persons will perhaps say, that, with my\\nmother s good sense, it is astonishing she should\\nhave sent me to these C^atechisms but there\\nis a reason for everything. My mother had a\\nyounger brother, an ecclesiastic belonging to\\nher parish, to whose care was committed the\\nCatechism of Confirmation, to use the techni-\\ncal term. The presence of his niece was an\\nadmirable example, calculated to induce those\\nwho were not of what is called the lower order\\nof the people to send their children also a cir-\\ncumstance that could not fail to be pleasing to\\nthe rector. I had, besides, a memory which\\n4", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0065.jp2"}, "60": {"fulltext": "50 Private Memoirs\\nwas sure to secure me the first rank and every-\\nthing combining to support this superiority, my\\nparents gratified their vanity, while they ap-\\npeared only to pursue the path of humility. It\\nhappened that, in the distribution of prizes,\\nwhich took place, with no small parade, at the\\nend of the year, I obtained the first, without the\\nleast partiality being shown me and the church-\\nwardens and clergy thought my uncle extremely\\nfortunate, who was on this account the more\\nnoticed, which was all that was necessary to\\nprepossess every beholder in his favor. A\\nhandsome person, extreme benevolence, an easy\\ntemper, the gentlest of manners, and the utmost\\ngayety, attended him to the last moment of his\\nlife. He died canon of Vincennes, just as the\\nRevolution was about to abolish all ecclesiasti-\\ncal dignities. I conceive myself to have lost in\\nhim the last of my relations on the maternal side,\\nand I cannot recollect a single circumstance\\nrespecting him without emotion. My eager-\\nness to learn and my quickness of apprehension\\ninspired him with the idea of teaching me Latin.\\nI was delighted it was a feast for me to find a\\nnew subject of study. I had at home masters\\nfor writing, geography, dancing, and music my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0066.jp2"}, "61": {"fulltext": "MADAME ROLAND\\nFROM TH13 PAINTING BY GOOPIti", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0069.jp2"}, "62": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0070.jp2"}, "63": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 51\\nfather instructed me in drawing but in all this\\nthere was nothing too much. Rising at five in\\nthe morning, when every one else in the house\\nwas asleep, I used to steal softly, in my bed-\\ngown and without shoes or stockings, to a cor-\\nner of my mother s chamber, where was the\\ntable containing my lessons, which I copied or\\nrepeated with such assiduity that my improve-\\nment was astonishing. My masters became the\\nmore attached to me. They gave me long and\\ninteresting tasks, which called forth on my part\\nadditional attention, I had not a tutor who did\\nnot seem as much charmed to teach me as\\nI was grateful for being taught; not one who,\\nafter attending me for a year or two, was\\nnot constrained to say that his instructions were\\nunnecessary and that he ought no longer to be\\npaid, at the same time requesting permission\\nto visit my parents occasionally in order to con-\\nverse with me. I shall ever honor the memory\\nof the good M. Marchand, who, when I was five\\nyears old, taught me to write and afterwards in-\\nstructed me in geography, and with whom I\\nstudied history. He was a discreet, patient,\\nclear-headed, and methodical personage, to\\nwhom I gave the nickname of M. Doucet. I", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0071.jp2"}, "64": {"fulltext": "5 2 Private Memoirs\\nsaw him married to a worthy woman, a dependant\\nof the family ofNesle. I visited him in his last\\nsickness, an attack of the gout, which occasioned\\nhis death at the age of fifty. I was then\\neighteen.\\nI have not forgotten my music master Cajon,\\na little, lively, talkative being, born at Macon,\\nwhere, when a boy, he had belonged to the\\nchoir; he was afterwards, in turn, soldier, de-\\nserter, Capuchin friar, clerk in a counting-house,\\nand, lastly, vagrant, arriving at Paris with a\\nwife and children and without a soil, in his\\npocket. Having a pleasant counter voice,\\nrarely to be met with in men who have not\\nundergone a certain operation, and admirably\\nadapted to the teaching of young persons to\\nsing, he set up as music teacher. He was intro-\\nduced to my father, I know not by whom, and\\nI was his first scholar. He bestowed on me\\nconsiderable pains. He borrowed money of\\nmy parents, which he quickly dissipated never\\nreturned my collection of lessons by Bordier,\\nwhich he gleaned with so much art as to com-\\npile from it an Elements of Music which he\\npublished under his own name; lived in style,\\nwithout means and, after fifteen years, ended", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0072.jp2"}, "65": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 53\\nhis career by decamping from Paris, where he\\nhad involved himself in debt, and repairing to\\nRussia, whence I have never heard of him.\\nOf Mozon, the dancing master, an honest and\\nfrightfully ugly Savoyard, whose wen I think\\nI still see embellishing his right cheek, as he\\ninclined his pockfretted and flat-nosed visage\\nto the left on his instrument, I might relate\\nsome humorous anecdotes so, too, of poor\\nMignard, my master for the guitar, a sort of\\nSpanish Colossus, whose hands were like Esau s,\\nand who in gravity, ceremoniousness, and rho-\\ndomontade, was inferior to none of his country-\\nmen.\\nThe bashful Watrin, whose fifty years, peri-\\nwig, spectacles, and rubicund face, seemed all\\nin commotion as he placed the fingers of his\\nlittle scholar on the strings of her fiddle, and\\ntaught her to guide the bow, did not continue\\nlong with me but, to compensate for this, the\\nreverend Father Colomb, a Barnabite, once a\\nmissionary, now superior of his convent at the\\nage of seventy-five and my mother s confessor,\\nsent to her house his violoncello, upon which\\nhe accompanied me while I played on my\\nguitar. I recollect his astonishment when one", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0073.jp2"}, "66": {"fulltext": "54 Private Memoirs\\nday, taking up his instrument, I played with\\ntolerable precision a few airs which I had\\nstudied in private. Had there been a double\\nbass in the house, I would have mounted a\\nchair but I would have made something of it.\\nTo avoid anachronism, however, it must be\\nobserved, that I am here anticipating things\\nand that I am arrived in my narrative at the\\nperiod only of seven years, to which I return.\\nI have advanced thus far without noticing\\nthe influence my father had in my education.\\nIt was in reality trifling, for he interfered in\\nit but little and it may not be amiss to relate\\nan occurrence that induced him to interfere\\nstill less,\\nI was extremely obstinate that is to say,\\nI did not readily consent to anything of which\\nI saw not the reason and when the exercise\\nof authority alone appeared to me, or I fancied\\nthat I perceived the dictates of caprice, I could\\nnot submit. My mother, penetrating and dis-\\ncreet, rightly judged that I must either be\\ngoverned by reason or drawn by the cords of\\naffection and, treating me accordingly, she\\nexperienced no opposition to her will. My\\nfather, hasty in his manner, issued his orders", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0074.jp2"}, "67": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 55\\nimperiously, and my compliance was reluctant\\nand slow, if not wholly refused. If, despot-\\nlike, he attempted to punish me, his gentle\\nlittle daughter was converted into a lion. On\\nthe two or three occasions when he whipped\\nme, I bit the thigh across which he placed me,\\nand protested against his injunctions. One day,\\nwhen I was a little indisposed, it was thought\\nproper that I should take some medicine. A\\ndraught was brought me I applied it to my\\nlips its smell made me reject it with loathing.\\nMy mother employed her influence to over-\\ncome my repugnance I was desirous of obey-\\ning her I exerted the sincerest efforts but\\nevery time the nauseous potion approached\\nmy nose, my senses revolted, and I rejected\\nit in spite of myself. My mother s patience\\nwas exhausted. I wept both for her and for\\nmyself, and was still less capable of complying\\nwith her will. My father came he flew into\\na rage and whipped me, ascribing my resistance\\nto stubbornness. From that instant all desire\\nof obedience vanished, and I declared openly\\nmy resolution not to take the medicine. Great\\nuproar, renewed threats, a second whipping.\\nI was only the more indignant, and shrieked", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0075.jp2"}, "68": {"fulltext": "56\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nterribly. I lifted my eyes to heaven, and pre-\\npared to throw away the draught they were\\nagain presenting to me. My gestures betrayed\\nme. My father, in a rage, threatened to whip\\nme a third time. I feel, while I write this, the\\nsudden revulsion that came over me. My tears\\nall at once ceased, my sobbings were at an end.\\nA sudden calm concentred my faculties into a\\nsingle resolution. I raised myself, turned to the\\nbedside, leaned my head against the wall, lifted\\nup my chemise, and exposed myself to the rod\\nin silence. Had my father killed me on the\\nspot, he should not have drawn from me a\\nsingle sigh.\\nMy mother, painfully agitated during this\\nscene, had need of all her prudence not to\\nincrease my father s rage. Having prevailed\\non him to quit the room, she put me to bed\\nwithout saying a word. Two hours after, she\\nreturned, and conjured me, with tears in her\\neyes, to occasion her no further vexation, and\\nto take the medicine. I looked steadfastly in\\nher face, took the glass, and swallowed it at a\\ndraught. In a quarter of an hour, however, it\\nwas vomited up again, and I was seized with a\\nviolent paroxysm of fever, which it was neces-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0076.jp2"}, "69": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 57\\nsary to cure by other means than nauseous\\ndrugs and whipping. I was at that time Httle\\nmore than six years old.\\nAll the circumstances of this scene are as\\nvivid in my mind, all the sensations I exper-\\nienced as distinct to my imagination, as if they\\nhad recently occurred. I have since felt, on\\nserious and trying occasions, the same inflex-\\nible firmness and it would at this moment\\ncost me no more to ascend undauntedly the\\nscaffold, than it did then to resign myself to\\nbrutal treatment, which might have killed, but\\ncould not conquer me.\\nFrom that instant my father never laid his\\nhand upon me nor even reprimanded me. He\\nfrequently caressed me, taught me to draw,\\nmade me the companion of his walks, and\\ntreated me with a kindness that rendered him\\nmore respectable in my eyes, and obtained\\nhim my entire submission. The seventh anni-\\nversary of my birth was celebrated as the\\nattainment of the age of reason, when it might\\nbe expected of me to follow its dictates. This\\nwas a politic sort of plea for observing towards\\nme a more respectful treatment, that should\\ngive me confidence in myself without exciting", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0077.jp2"}, "70": {"fulltext": "58\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nmy vanity. My days flowed gently on in\\ndomestic quiet and activity of mind. My\\nmother was almost always at home, and re-\\nceived but little company. We went out but\\ntwo days in the week, once to visit the relations\\nof my father, and once on Sunday, to see my\\ngrandmother Bimont, go to church, and take a\\nwalk. The visit to my grandmother was always\\nafter vespers. She was a large and handsome\\nwoman, who at an early age had been attacked\\nby the palsy, which affected her understanding\\nshe had gradually sunk into a state of dotage,\\nspending her days in her easy chair at the win-\\ndow, or the fireside, according to the season.\\nAn old servant, who had been forty years in\\nthe family, had the care of her. This servant,\\nMarie, regularly upon my arrival gave me some\\ndainty or other to eat. So far it was well but\\nwhen this was gone, I was tired of the visit.\\nI sought for books there was only the Psalter\\nand, for want of better, I have twenty times read\\nover the French and chanted the Latin. If I\\nwas gay, my grandmother would weep if I\\nfell down, or received a bump, she would burst\\ninto a laugh. This did not please me. I was\\ntold it was a result of her malady, but I did", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0078.jp2"}, "71": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 59\\nnot find it on that account less mortifying or\\ndisagreeable. I could have borne with her\\nlaughing at me but her tears were always\\naccompanied by cries at once shocking and\\npitiable, which filled me with a species of ter-\\nror. The old servant vented her garrulity upon\\nmy mother, who imposed it upon herself as a\\nduty to spend two hours with my grandmother,\\ncomplaisantly listening to Marie s babble. This\\nwas assuredly a painful exercise of my patience,\\nbut I was fain to submit for one day, when I\\ncried for vexation and begged to go away, my\\nmother, as a punishment, staid the whole even-\\ning. She did not fail, at proper times, to repre-\\nsent to me her assiduity in these visits as a strict\\nand affecting duty which it was honorable in me\\nto participate in. I know not how she managed\\nit, but my heart received the lesson with emo-\\ntion. When the Abbe Bimont happened to be\\nthere, it afforded me an inexpressible joy. This\\ndear little uncle made me dance and sing and\\nplay; but his visits were seldom, as he had\\ncharge of the children of the choir, which nec-\\nessarily confined him at home. This brings to\\nmy mind one of his pupils, a lad of a prepos-\\nsessing countenance, whom he was fond of prais-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0079.jp2"}, "72": {"fulltext": "6o Private Memoirs\\ning, as he gave him, he said, little trouble.\\nHis promising talents obtained him, a few years\\nafter, a scholarship at some college, and he\\nbecame an abbe. It was Noel, known at first\\nby some little productions, employed later by\\nthe minister Le Brun in the diplomatic line,\\nsent last year to London, and now in Italy.\\nMy studies occupied my days, which seemed\\ntoo short to me for I had never finished all\\nthat I wished to have accomplished. Besides\\nthe elementary books with which I had been\\nfurnished, I soon exhausted our little library.\\nI devoured every volume it contained and\\nwhen I lacked new books, I began the old\\nagain. I remember two folio Lives of the Saints,\\na Bible of the same size in an old version, an\\nold translation of Appian s Civil Wars, a de-\\nscription of Turkey written in a wretched style,\\nall which I read many times over. I also found\\nthe Comical Romance of Scarron some\\ncollections of alleged bons-mots, on which I did\\nnot bestow a second perusal the Memoirs of\\nthe brave de Pontis, which were amusing; those\\nof Mademoiselle de Montpensier, whose pride\\ndid not displease me; and some other anti-\\nquated books, the contents, binding, blots, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0080.jp2"}, "73": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 6 i\\nmoth-eaten state of which I still remember.\\nThe passion ,for learning possessed me to such\\na degree, that, having fallen upon a treatise on\\nthe art of heraldry, I set myself instantly to\\nstudy it. It had colored plates, with which I\\nwas diverted, and I was desirous of knowing the\\nnames of all the little figures they contained. I\\nsoon astonished my father with a display of\\nscience, by making some remarks on a seal\\nthat was not engraved agreeably to the rules\\nof the art. On this subject I became his\\noracle, and I never misled him. A short trea-\\ntise on contracts fell into my hands. This also\\nI endeavored to learn, for I read nothing which\\nI was not ambitious of retaining but it soon\\ntired me, so that I did not reach the fourth\\nchapter.\\nTo the Bible I was much attached, and I\\ncontinually resorted to it. In our old transla-\\ntions things are expressed with blunt plainness\\nand without the smallest circumlocution, as in\\nbooks of anatomy. I was struck with certain\\nsimple expressions, which have never escaped\\nmy memory. Hence I derived information not\\nusually given to girls of my age; but it ex-\\nhibited itself to me in no very seducing light.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0081.jp2"}, "74": {"fulltext": "62 Private Memoirs\\nI had too much exercise for my thoughts to be\\ninclined to give attention to things of this mere\\nmaterial nature, and which appeared to my\\nimagination endowed with so few attractions. I\\ncould not, however, help laughing when my\\ngrandmamma spoke to me of little children dug\\nout of the parsley-bed and I told her that my\\nAve Maria informed me they came from another\\nplace, without troubling my head in what man-\\nner they got there.\\nIn rummaging the house I found a source of\\nreading which I husbanded for a considerable\\ntime. What my father called his atelier adjoined\\nthe apartment in which I usually sat, which was\\na handsome room that might not improperly be\\nstyled a salon, but which my mother modestly\\ncalled a parlor, neatly furnished, and orna-\\nmented with looking-glasses and pictures. It\\nwas here I received my lessons. The recess, lit\\nby a small window on one side of the fireplace,\\nwas converted into a closet, in which was placed\\na bed (so closely shut in that I was obliged to\\nget into it at the foot), a chair, a small table, and\\na few shelves. This was my sanctum. On the\\nopposite side of the salon was the atelier, a\\nlarge room littered with engravings, carvings,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0082.jp2"}, "75": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 63\\netc., into which I stole of an evening, or at\\nthose hours when no person was there. I had\\nremarked a secret corner where one of the\\nyoung men hid some books. I took away one\\nat a time with the utmost caution, and hastened\\nto my den to devour it, taking care to replace\\nit at a proper time, without mentioning it to\\nany person. They were in general a good sort\\nof books. One day I perceived that my mother\\nhad made the same discovery. I saw a volume\\nin her hands which had previously passed\\nthrough mine. I then no longer felt myself\\nunder restraint; and, without telling a false-\\nhood, observing silence on what had passed,\\nI assumed the appearance of having followed\\nher example. This young man whose name\\nwas Courson, to which he afterwards prefixed\\nthe de when he winded himself into place at\\nVersailles as teacher to the pages, did not at all\\nresemble his comrades he was not destitute\\nof politeness, had an air of good breeding, and\\nsought instruction. He said nothing of the\\noccasional disappearance of his books, so that\\nit seemed as if there had been a tacit compact\\nbetween the parties. In this way I read many\\nvolumes of travels, of which I was passionately", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0083.jp2"}, "76": {"fulltext": "64\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nfond among others, those of Regnard, which\\nwere the first; some plays of second-rate\\nauthors, and Dacier s Plutarch. This last work\\nwas more to my taste than anything I had yet\\nseen, not excepting even pathetic stories, by\\nwhich I was however much interested, as that\\nof the unfortunate couple, by Labedoyere,\\nwhich I have now by me, though I have never\\nsince read it. But Plutarch seemed to be\\nexactly the food that suited my mind. I\\nshall never forget the Lent of 1763, at which\\ntime I was nine years of age, when I carried\\nit to church instead of my prayer-book. From\\nthat period I may date the impressions and\\nideas that rendered me a republican, though I\\ndid not dream at the time that I should ever\\nbecome a citizen of a republic.\\nTelemachus, and Jerusalem Delivered\\ninterfered a little with the current of these ma-\\njestic thoughts. The tender Fenelon moved my\\nheart, and Tasso fired my imagination. Some-\\ntimes I read aloud at the request of my mother,\\nan occupation of which I was by no means\\nfond, as it suited not that thoughtfulness which\\nformed my delight, and which led me to pro-\\nceed with less rapidity. But I would have", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0084.jp2"}, "77": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 65\\nplucked out my tongue rather than have read\\nin this manner the episodes of the island of\\nCalypso, and a number of passages in Tasso.\\nMy respiration quickened, a sudden glow over-\\nspread my countenance, and my altered voice\\nwould have betrayed my agitation. With Tele-\\nmachus I was Eucharis, and Herminia with\\nTancred. Completely transformed into these\\npersonages, I had no consciousness of any\\nother existence. I forgot myself, I was re-\\ngardless of everything around me. I was the\\nvery characters themselves, and I saw only the\\nobjects which existed for them. It was a trance\\nthat absorbed all my faculties. Meanwhile, I\\nrecollect having seen with considerable emo-\\ntion a young painter of the name of Taboral,\\nwho came occasionally to our house. He was\\nabout twenty years of age, had a soft voice,\\nlanguishing features, and blushed hke a girl.\\nWhen I heard him in the work-shop, I had\\nalways a crayon or something to fetch but\\nas the sight of him was as embarrassing as\\nagreeable to me, I returned more speedily than\\nI entered, and ran to conceal my beating heart\\nand trembling limbs in my closet. I can\\nreadily believe at present, that, with such a\\nS", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0085.jp2"}, "78": {"fulltext": "66 Private Memoirs\\ndisposition, assisted by leisure or a certain\\nspecies of company, both the imagination and\\nthe conduct might undergo a very speedy re-\\nvolution. The works of which I have been\\nspeaking gave place to others, and their im-\\npressions were softened. Some of the writings\\nof Voltaire in particular were instrumental in\\nproducing this effect. One day as I was amus-\\ning myself with Candide, my mother having\\nleft the room for a moment, the lady with\\nwhom she was playing piquet asked me to\\nshow her the book I was reading. On my\\nmother s return she expressed her astonish-\\nment at finding such a work in my hands\\nmy mother, without replying, contented herself\\nwith bidding me carry it back to the place from\\nwhich I had taken it. I regarded with an un-\\nfavorable eye this woman, fat and unwieldy,\\nassuming a consequential grimace on what she\\nhad done and I have never since honored\\nMadame Charbonne with a smile. My good\\nmother,- however, made no alteration in her\\nconduct, but permitted me to read whatever\\nbooks I could procure, without seeming to\\nattend to them, though she knew very well\\nwhat they were. Meanwhile no immoral pub-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0086.jp2"}, "79": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 67\\nlication fell in my way; even to this day I\\nknow only the titles of two or three and the\\ntaste I have acquired has never exposed me\\nto the smallest temptation of procuring them.\\nAs I preferred books to everything else, my\\nfather sometimes made me presents of this\\nkind but, piquing himself as he did on\\nseconding my propensity to serious studies,\\nhis choice was whimsical enough. For instance,\\nhe gave me Fenelon on female education, and\\nLocke on that of children, thus putting into\\nthe hands of the pupil what were designed for\\nthe tutor. I am persuaded, however, that this\\nmistake was not unproductive of benefit, and\\nthat chance served me better than perhaps de-\\nsign might have done. I was arrived at con-\\nsiderable maturity I loved to reflect I thought\\nwith seriousness of forming my character, that\\nis, I studied the movements of my mind I\\nsought to know myself; I felt that I had a\\ndestination which I must enable myself to fill.\\nReligious notions began to ferment in my brain,\\nand soon produced a violent explosion. But\\nbefore I describe them, it may be proper to\\nknow what became of my Latin.\\nThe rudiments of grammar were well arranged", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0087.jp2"}, "80": {"fulltext": "68 Private Memoirs\\nin my head. I declined nouns and conjugated\\nverbs, though it appeared to me tiresome\\nenough but the hope of reading one day in\\nthat language the admirable productions of\\nwhich I had heard, and of which my books\\ngave me some idea, supported my courage\\nthrough the dryness and difficulty of the task.\\nIt was not thus with my little uncle, for so I\\ncalled the Abbe Bimont. Young, good-hum-\\nored, indolent, and gay, bestowing no pains on\\nany one, and as little inclined to take any\\nfor himself, he was completely tired of playing\\nthe pedagogue with the children of the choir;\\nand, respecting myself, he liked better to take a\\nstroll with me than to give me a lesson, or to\\nmake me laugh and play than to hear me repeat\\nmy rudiments. He was little punctual either as\\nto the hour or the day of coming to our house,\\nand a thousand circumstances combined to\\ndefer his lessons but I was desirous of learn-\\ning, and loath to relinquish what I had once\\nundertaken. It was accordingly resolved that I\\nshould go to him three mornings in the week,\\nbut he was seldom at leisure to dedicate even a\\nfew moments to me I found him either busied\\nin parish affairs, occupied with the children, or", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0088.jp2"}, "81": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 69\\nbreakfasting with a friend. I lost my time, the\\nwinter arrived, and my Latin was abandoned.\\nFrom this attempt I have preserved only a sort\\nof glimmering or instinct of knowledge, that, on\\ndevotional occasions, enabled me to repeat or\\nchant the psalms without being absolutely igno-\\nrant of what I was saying, and which gave me\\nconsiderable facility for the study of languages\\nin general, particularly the ItaHan, which I\\nlearnt a few years after, without a master and\\nwithout difficulty.\\nMy father took but little pains to perfect me\\nin drawing he rather amused himself with my\\naptitude than endeavored to cultivate in me\\nextraordinary talents. A few words dropped\\nby my mother in the course of conversation\\ngave me to understand that, from prudential\\nmotives, she was not desirous of my making\\nany great proficiency in the art. I would not\\nhave her become a painter, said she it may\\nlead her, from the nature of the study, to con-\\nnections which we may not approve. I had\\nalso begun engraving. Nothing came amiss to\\nme. I learned to handle the graver, and soon\\nsurmounted the first difficulties. On the birth-\\ndays of my good old relations, which were", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0089.jp2"}, "82": {"fulltext": "70 Private Memoirs\\nalways religiously celebrated, I carried for my\\npresent either a head which I had drawn with\\nunusual care for the occasion, or a neat copper-\\nplate engraving, consisting of a nosegay and\\nsome complimentary verses, written with care,\\nand in which my M. Doucet had assisted me\\nin turning the rhymes. In return I received\\nalmanacs, which greatly amused me, and pre-\\nsents of such little trinkets as were adapted to\\nmy use, and which were commonly ornaments\\nof dress, of which I was fond. My mother en-\\ncouraged this taste in me^/ln her own dress she\\nwas plain, and frequemly even negligent but\\nher daughter was her doll, whom she delighted\\nto decorate and from my infancy I was dressed\\nwith a degree of elegance, and even richness,\\napparently superior to my station. The dresses\\nthat were in fashion for young ladies in those\\ndays were made like the court robes, fitting\\nclose at the waist, which it displayed to advan-\\ntage, full below, with a long train sweeping the\\nground and adorned with different trimmings,\\naccording to the taste of the wearer. Mine\\nwere of fine silk, of some simple pattern and\\nmodest color, but in price and quality equal to\\nthe best gala suits of my mother. My toilet", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0090.jp2"}, "83": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 7 i\\nwas a grievous business to me, for my hair was\\nfrequently frizzed, papered, tortured with hot\\nirons, and all the ridiculous and barbarous im-\\nplements at that time in use. My head was so\\nextremely tender, and the pulling that was\\nnecessary so painful, that, upon occasions of\\nfull dress, it always forced tears from me,\\nthough I uttered no complaint.\\nMethinks I hear it asked, For whose eyes, in\\nthe retired life I led, was all this finery? They\\nwho ask the question ought to recollect that\\nI went out two days in the week; and if they\\nwere acquainted with the manners of what was\\nat that time called the bourgeois of Paris,\\nthey would know that in this class there were\\nthousands of women whose outlay on dress\\nhad no other object than an exhibition of a\\nfew hours on Sunday in the Tuileries and at\\nchurch, and the pleasure of parading slowly\\nalong the street in which they lived in the\\nview of their neighbors. Add to this, the fam-\\nily visits on the grand occasions of birthdays,\\nNew- Year s days, weddings and christenings,\\nand there will be found sufficient opportuni-\\nties for the gratification of vanity. More than\\none contrast, however, may be observed in", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0091.jp2"}, "84": {"fulltext": "7 2 Private Memoirs\\nmy education. This little lady, exhibited on\\nSundays at church and in the public walks in\\na dress which you would have supposed to\\nhave alighted from a carriage, and whose de-\\nmeanor and language were perfectly consonant\\nwith her appearance, would go to market with\\nher mother on a week-day in a coarse stuff\\nfrock, or alone to the next greengrocer s to\\nbuy a little parsley or salad which the servant\\nhad forgotten. It must be confessed this was\\nnot very pleasing to me; but I showed no\\nsigns of dislike, and I acquitted myself of my\\ncommission so as to find in it amusement. I\\nbehaved with such civility, and at the same\\ntime with such dignity, that the mistress of\\nthe shop took pleasure in serving me first;\\nyet those who came before me were not of-\\nfended. I always found means to exchange\\nsome compliment, and grew only the more\\nceremonious and obliging. This little girl, who\\nread serious works, could explain the circles\\nof the celestial sphere, handle the crayon and\\nthe graver, and at the age of eight was the\\nbest dancer of a number of young persons\\nolder than herself assembled at some family\\nfeast, was frequently called to the kitchen to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0092.jp2"}, "85": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 73\\nmake an omelet, pick herbs, or skim the pot.\\nThis mixture of serious studies, agreeable re-\\nlaxations, and domestic cares, tempered by my\\nmother s prudence, fitted me for all situations,\\nand seemed to indicate a premonition of vicissi-\\ntudes in my fortunes and to prepare me to\\nendure them. In no occupation am I at a\\nloss I can prepare my own dinner as handily\\nas Philopoemen cut his wood but no one who\\nsaw me thus engaged would think it a suitable\\nemployment for me.\\nIt may be supposed from what I have already\\nrelated that my mother did not neglect what\\nis termed religion. She was pious, without\\nbeing a devotee she was, or endeavored to\\nbe, a believer, and she conformed to the rules\\nof the church with the humility and regularity\\nof one whose heart, having need of the sup-\\nport of its main principles, troubles itself but\\nlittle with its details. The reverential air with\\nwhich the first notions of religion had been\\npresented to me, had disposed me to consider\\nthem with attention. They were of a nature to\\nmake considerable impression on a lively imagi-\\nnation; and notwithstanding the embarrass-\\nments in which I was involved by my dawning", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0093.jp2"}, "86": {"fulltext": "74- Private Memoirs\\npowers of reason, which regarded with surprise\\nthe transformation of the devil into a serpent,\\nand thought it cruel in God to have permitted\\nit, I at last believed and adored. I received\\nconfirmation with the thoughtfulness of a mind\\nthat considers the importance of its actions,\\nand meditates on its duties. The preparing\\nme for my first communion was talked of, and\\nI felt myself penetrated with a pious awe. I\\nread books of devotion it was proper to direct\\nmy attention to the grand theme of eternal\\nhappiness or misery, and all my thoughts were\\ninsensibly turned to those points. Religious\\nideas soon gained a complete ascendency over\\nmy heart. The reign of sentiment, hastened\\nthereby in my already forward constitution,\\ncommenced with the love of God, the sublime\\necstasy of which graced and purified the years\\nof my youth, and resigned me afterwards to\\nthe dominion of philosophy, and thus seems\\nto have preserved me from the tempest of the\\npassions, from which, endowed as I am with\\nthe vigor of an athlete, I with difficulty pre-\\nserved my riper age.\\nThis devotional turn worked an astonishing\\nalteration in me. I became profoundly humble", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0094.jp2"}, "87": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 75\\nand inexpressibly timid. I looked upon men\\nwith a sort of terror, which increased when any\\nof them appeared to me attractive. I watched\\nover my thoughts with extreme scrupulosity;\\nthe least profane image that offered itself to my\\nmind, however confusedly, seemed to me a\\ncrime; I contracted such a habit of reserve,\\nthat, perusing, at sixteen, when I was no longer\\na devotee, Buffon s Natural History I skipped\\nthe article on Man, and passed over the ac-\\ncompanying plates with the speed and terror\\nof a person beholding a precipice. In short,\\nI did not marry till I was twenty-five and\\nwith a heart such as may easily be imagined,\\nwith senses highly inflammable, and with con-\\nsiderable information as to several points, I had\\nso well avoided all knowledge as to some others\\nthat I was surprised, as well as disillusionized,\\nby the consequences of marriage.\\nMy life, every day more retired, soon ap-\\npeared to me still too worldly to think of ven-\\nturing on my first communion. This important\\nceremony, which was to have such influence on\\nmy eternal salvation, occupied all my thoughts.\\nI acquired a taste for the holy offices their\\nsolemnity struck me. I read with avidity the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0095.jp2"}, "88": {"fulltext": "76\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nexplanation of the ceremonies of the church;\\nmy mind was full of their mystic signification.\\nEvery day I turned over my folios of the Lives\\nof the Saints, and I sighed for those days when\\nthe persecuting fury of paganism obtained for\\ncourageous Christians the crown of martyrdom.\\nI thought seriously of embracing a new kind of\\nlife, and, after profound meditations, I formed\\nmy project. Hitherto the bare idea of separa-\\ntion from my mother had been insupportable\\nand whenever, amusing herself with the sudden\\nclouds with which sensibility overcast my ex-\\npressive brow, she jested of convents and the\\nnecessity of young women residing in them for\\na while, torrents of tears would flow from my\\neyes. But what ought we not to sacrifice to the\\nLord? I had formed those grand or romantic\\nideas of the solitude and silence of the cloister\\nwhich an active imagination would naturally\\nengender. The more solemn its abode, the\\nmore it was adapted to the disposition of my\\ninspired mind. One evening, after supper, be-\\ning alone with my parents, I threw myself at\\ntheir feet tears choked my utterance aston-\\nished, alarmed, they asked the meaning of my\\nstrange emotion. I implore your consent,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0096.jp2"}, "89": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 77\\nsaid I, sobbing, to a proposal that rends my\\nheart while I make it, but which my con-\\nscience demands of me. Place me in a con-\\nvent. They raised me from the ground. My\\nmother was moved she would have shuddered\\nat the idea of what might be the cause, but\\nthat, having lately been constantly about my\\nperson, she had nothing to dread. They in-\\nquired into the motives of this determination,\\nobserving, at the same time, that they had\\nnever refused me anything that was reasonable.\\nI answered that it arose from a wish to prepare\\nmyself with due solemnity for my first com-\\nmunion. My father commended my zeal, and\\nexpressed his readiness to comply with my\\nwishes. They deliberated on the choice of a\\nhouse. My family had no relatives in any\\nreligious institution, but they recollected hear-\\ning my music-master speak of a convent in\\nwhich he attended some young ladies of rank,\\nand they resolved to make inquiries concerning\\nit. They found it to be a respectable house,\\nand of an order not very strict. The nuns had\\nin consequence the reputation of not practising\\nthose extravagances and mummeries for which\\nthey are generally distinguished besides, their", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0097.jp2"}, "90": {"fulltext": "78 Private Memoirs\\nspecial occupation was the education of youth.\\nThey kept a day school for children of the\\nlower class, whom they taught gratis, in con-\\nformity with their vows, in a hall set apart for\\nthe purpose separate from this they had a\\nboarding-school for such young women as were\\nconfided to their care.\\nMy mother took the necessary steps, and after\\naccompanying me to my aged relations, whom\\nshe informed of my resolution, which was highly\\ncommended by them, she conducted me to the\\nsisterhood of the Congregation, rue Neuve\\nSaint Etienne, faubourg Saint Marcel, near the\\nvery prison in which I am now confined. As I\\npressed my dear mother in my arms, separating\\nfrom her for the first time in my life, my heart\\nfelt as if it would burst; but I obeyed the voice\\nof God, and passed the threshold of the cloister,\\noffering Him with tears the greatest sacrifice I\\ncould make. This was the seventh of May, 1765,\\nwhen I was eleven years and two months old.\\nIn the gloom of a prison, in the midst of those\\ncivil commotions which ravage my country and\\nsweep away all that is dear to me, how shall I\\nrecall to my mind, how describe that period of\\nrapture and tranquillity? What pencil can", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0098.jp2"}, "91": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 79\\ndepict the ecstatic emotions of a young heart\\nendued with tenderness and sensibility, greedy\\nof happiness, in which the feehngs of nature\\nbegan to awaken, and that perceived no other\\nobject but the Deity? The first night that I\\nspent at the convent was a night of agitation.\\nI was no longer under my parental roof; I was\\nat a distance from that kind mother who was\\ndoubtless thinking of me with affectionate emo-\\ntion. A dim light pervaded the chamber in\\nwhich, with four children of my own age, I was\\nto sleep. I rose softly from my bed, and went\\nto the window: it opened upon the garden,\\nwhich the moon enabled me to distinguish. The\\ndeepest silence prevailed I listened to it, if I\\nmay so speak, with reverence. The lofty trees\\ncast their gigantic shadows from space to space,\\nand promised a secure asylum to calm medi-\\ntation. I lifted my eyes to the heavens they\\nwere serene and unclouded. I imagined that I\\nfelt the presence of the Deity smiling on my\\nsacrifice, and already offering me its reward in\\nthe consolatory peace of a celestial abode.\\nTears of delight flowed gently down my cheeks.\\nI repeated my vows with holy transport, and\\nwithdrew to taste the slumber of the elect.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0099.jp2"}, "92": {"fulltext": "8o Private Memoirs\\nAs it was evening when I arrived, I had as\\nyet not seen all the boarders. They were thirty-\\nfour in number, ranging from the age of six to\\nthat of seventeen or eighteen, united in one\\nclasS; but divided between two tables at meals,\\nand as it were into two sections in the course\\nof the day, to perform their exercises. From\\nthe gravity of my appearance, it was judged\\nproper, notwithstanding my youth, to place me\\namong the oldest. I accordingly became the\\ntwelfth at their table, and was the youngest\\namong them. The tone of politeness which\\nmy mother had taught me, the sedate air of\\nwhich I had contracted a habit, my courteous\\nand correct mode of speaking, in no way re-\\nsembled the noisy and thoughtless mirth of my\\nvolatile companions. The children addressed\\nthemselves to me with a sort of confidence, be-\\ncause my nature would never suffer me to re-\\npulse them; the older girls treated me with a\\nsort of respect, because my reserve, without\\nrendering me less obliging to them, caused me\\nto be distinguished by the sisters. Brought up\\nas I had hitherto been, it was not surprising that\\nI should be found better informed than most of\\nmy class, despite their superiority in years. The", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0100.jp2"}, "93": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0101.jp2"}, "94": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0102.jp2"}, "95": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 8 i\\nnuns perceived that they might derive honor\\nfrom my education, from the simple circum-\\nstance of my being under their care, without its\\nbeing necessary for them to take any pains to\\ncontinue it. I knew already, or very easily\\nlearnt, all they were capable of teaching me. I\\nbecame the favorite of the whole sisterhood\\nthey contended who should caress and compli-\\nment me the most. The one whose office it\\nwas to teach the boarders to write was seventy\\nyears of age, and had become a nun at fifty in\\nconsequence of some misfortune. She had been\\nwell educated, and to this advantage was added\\nthat of good breeding and a knowledge of the\\nworld. She prided herself on her skill in in-\\nstruction. She wrote a fine hand, embroidered\\nwith elegance, was versed in orthography, and\\nnot unacquainted with history. Her diminutive\\nfigure, her age, and a mixture of pedantry\\noccasioned, however, this mother Sainte Sophie\\nto be treated by her giddy little pupils with\\nless respect than she merited. The jealousy of\\nthe sisters also, if I remember right, contributed\\nto this effect envious of talents which they did\\nnot possess, they were fond of holding her up\\nto ridicule. This worthy nun, attracted by my\\n6", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0105.jp2"}, "96": {"fulltext": "8 2 Private Memoirs\\nstudious disposition, soon became attached to\\nme. After giving a lesson to the class, she\\nwould take me aside, make me repeat my gram-\\nmar, go over my maps, and question me upon\\nhistory. She even obtained permission to take\\nme to her cell, where she employed me in read-\\ning to her.\\nOf my former tutors I retained only one, my\\nmusic-master, of whom I received lessons in\\nthe parlor, with two of my companions, under\\nthe inspection of a nun and to continue my\\ndrawing I had a female tutor who was admitted\\nfor the purpose into the convent.\\nThe regularity of a life occupied with a\\nvariety of pursuits, was perfectly suited to the\\nactivity of my mind, as well as to my natural\\ntaste for method and application. I was one\\nof the first at everything and still I had leisure\\nbecause I was diligent, and lost not a moment\\nof my time. In the hours of recreation I did\\nnot run and frolic with the crowd, but sat down\\nalone under some tree to read or to meditate.\\nHow sensible was I to the beauty of the foliage,\\nthe breath of the zephyrs, and the perfume of\\nthe surrounding flowers Everywhere I beheld\\nthe hand of the Deity; I saw His beneficent", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0106.jp2"}, "97": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 83\\ncares I admired His works. Moved with grati-\\ntude, I went to adore Him in the chapel, where\\nthe solemn tones of the organ, blended with the\\nfresh voices of the young nuns chanting their\\nanthems, completed my happiness. Independ-\\nently of mass, to which all the boarders were\\nregularly conducted in the morning, there was\\nhalf-an-hour in the afternoon of ordinary days\\nconsecrated to meditation, to which those only\\nwere admitted who appeared capable of the\\nseriousness requisite to the enjoyment of devo-\\ntional reading. I had no need to solicit this\\nfavor, which they were eager to confer upon\\nme as a recompense for my zeal but I re-\\nquested with fervor the privilege of receiving\\nmy first communion at the approaching solem-\\nnity, the Feast of the Assumption. Though\\nthis festival fell shortly after my entrance into\\nthe convent, the request was granted with the\\nunanimous consent of the superiors and the\\nDirector. This Director, who was a man of\\ngood sense, was a monk of the monastery of\\nSt. Victor, where he officiated as cur^. He had\\naccepted, in addition, the office of confessor to\\nthe Congregation, an office for which his age\\n(which was past fifty), his equable temper, his", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0107.jp2"}, "98": {"fulltext": "84 Private Memoirs\\nausterity of morals and bearing, well fitted him.\\nWhen I was confided to his care, M. Garat, the\\npriest of my parish, took the trouble to come\\nhimself to the convent to deposit his tender\\nlamb in the hands of this holy shepherd.\\nThey met in the parlor, where, from my being\\npresent, they conversed in Latin, a tongue of\\nwhich I understood but little, though I com-\\nprehended a few words in my praise. These\\nnever escape the penetration of a female, how-\\never young she may be, or in whatever language\\nthey are uttered. I gained considerably by the\\nchange. Garat was a mere pedant, in whom I\\nshould have beheld the sternness of a spiritual\\njudge; the monk of St. Victor was an upright\\nand enlightened man, who directed my pious\\naffections to all that is great and sublime in\\nmorality, and who took a pleasure in developing\\nthe germs of virtue through the instrumentality\\nof religion, without any absurd mixture of its\\nmysticism. I loved him as a father, and during\\nthe three years that he lived after my quitting\\nthe convent, I went regularly to St. Victor s,\\nwhich was at a considerable distance, on the\\neve of each of the grand festivals, to confess\\nmyself to him.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0108.jp2"}, "99": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 85\\nIt cannot be denied that the CathoHc rehgion,\\nthough httle suited to a sound judgment and\\nan enlightened mind which is accustomed to\\nsubject the objects of its faith to the rules of\\nreason, is well calculated to captivate the imagi-\\nnation, which it strikes by means of the gran-\\ndiose and awful, while at the same time it\\ncaptivates the senses by mystic ceremonies,\\nalternately soothing and melancholy. Eternity,\\nalways present to the mind of its sectaries,\\ncalls them to contemplation. It renders them\\nscrupulous appreciators of good and evil, while\\nits daily practices and imposing rites contribute\\nto relieve and support the attention,, and offer\\nthe easy means of advancing towards the end\\nproposed. Women are wonderful adepts in\\nheightening these practices, or accompanying\\nthese rites with whatever can add to their\\ncharms and splendor; and nuns in particular\\nexcel in this art. A novice took the veil soon\\nafter my arrival at the convent. The church\\nand the altar were decorated with flowers, with\\nbrilliant lustres, curtains of silk, and other\\nsuperb embellishments. The gathering was\\nnumerous, and filled the space exterior to the\\naltar with the gay and festive air of a wedding.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0109.jp2"}, "100": {"fulltext": "86 Private Memoirs\\nThe young victim appeared at the grate tri-\\numphant, and adorned with the utmost pomp,\\nof which, however, she soon divested herself,\\nto appear again covered with a white veil, and\\ncrowned with roses. I still feel the agitation\\nwhich her slightly tremulous voice occasioned\\nme, when she melodiously chanted the cus-\\ntomary verse, Elegit, etc. Here have I chosen\\nmy abode, and will establish it forever. I have\\nnot forgotten the notes of this little anthem\\nI can repeat them as accurately as if I had\\nheard them but yesterday. Would I could\\nchant them in America Great God, with\\nwhat accents would I utter them When the\\nnovice had pronounced her vows, she was\\ncovered, as she lay prostrate on the ground,\\nwith a pall, under which one might have sup-\\nposed her to be buried. I shuddered with\\nterror. To me it represented the image of an\\nabsolute dissolution of every earthly tie, and\\nthe renunciation of all that was dear to her.\\nI was no longer myself; I was the very victim\\nof the sacrifice. I thought they were tearing\\nme from my mother, and I shed torrents of\\ntears. Endowed with this faculty of sensibility,\\nwhich renders impressions so profound, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0110.jp2"}, "101": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 87\\noccasions so many things to afifect us vividly,\\nthat pass away like shadows before the eyes\\nof the vulgar, our existence never grows listless.\\nAccordingly I have reflected on mine from an\\nearly period, without having once found it a\\nburden, even in the midst of its severest trials\\nand, though not yet forty, I may be said to have\\nlived a prodigious age, if life be measured by\\nthe sentiment which has marked every instant\\nof its duration.\\nI should have too many scenes of a similar\\nnature to recount, were I to go over all which\\nthe emotions of a tender piety have engraven\\non my heart. The charm and habit of these\\nsensations became so powerful as never to have\\nbeen erased from it. Philosophy has dissipated\\nthe illusions of a chimerical faith but it has\\nnot annihilated the effect of certain objects on\\nmy senses, or their association with the ideas\\nand dispositions which they were accustomed\\nto excite. I can still attend divine service with\\npleasure, if it be performed with solemnity.\\nI forget the quackery of priests, their ridiculous\\nfables and absurd mysteries, and see only weak\\nmortals united together to implore the succor\\nof the Supreme Being. The miseries of man-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0111.jp2"}, "102": {"fulltext": "88 Private Memoirs\\nkind and the consolatory hope of an omnipo-\\ntent Repairer of the world s injustice occupy\\nmy thoughts. Every extraneous idea is ex-\\ncluded the passions subside into tranquillity,\\nand a sense of my duties is quickened. If\\nmusic form a part of the ceremony, I find my-\\nself transported to another world, and I come\\naway with a chastened heart from a place to\\nwhich the ignorant and unreflecting crowd\\nresort to adore a morsel of bread. It is with\\nreligion as with many other human institutions\\nit does not change the disposition of an individ-\\nual, but assimilates itself to his nature, and is\\nexalted or enfeebled accordingly. The herd\\nof mankind think but little, believe on the hear-\\nsay of another, and act from instinct; so that\\nthere prevails a perpetual contradiction between\\nthe principles they admit, and the conduct\\nthey pursue. Strong minds proceed differently\\nthey require consistency, and their actions are\\nthe index of their faith. In my infancy, I\\nnecessarily embraced the creed that was offered\\nme it was mine till my reason was sufficiently\\nenlightened to examine it, and all my actions\\nwere strictly conformable thereto. I was as-\\ntonished at the levity of those who, professing", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0112.jp2"}, "103": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 89\\na similar faith, acted in contradiction to it\\nin like manner as I now feel indignation against\\nthe cowardice of men who, desirous of having\\na country, set a value on life when it is to be\\nrisked in its service.\\nWhile I would avoid repetitions upon the same\\nsubject, I cannot help remarking a striking cir-\\ncumstance which took place upon my first com-\\nmunion. Prepared by all the means customary\\nin convents, by retirement, long prayers, silence,\\nand meditation, it was considered by me as a\\nsolemn engagement, and the pledge of eternal\\nfelicity. This idea completely absorbed me.\\nIt inflamed my imagination, and softened my\\nheart to such a degree that, bathed in tears,\\nand enraptured with divine love, I was incapable\\nof walking to the altar without the assistance of\\na nun, who supported me by the arm and\\naided me to advance to the holy table. These\\nappearances, which I in no respect sought to\\ndisplay, obtained me considerable credit, and\\nall the good old women I met in my way re-\\ncommended themselves to an interest in my\\nprayers.\\nMethinks I hear the reader ask, as he finishes\\nthis paragraph, if this heart so tender, this", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0113.jp2"}, "104": {"fulltext": "90 Private Memoirs\\nextreme sensibility, was not at length exer-\\ncised on more real objects; and whether, hav-\\ning contemplated bliss at so early an age, I did\\nnot realize it in a passion, of which some indi-\\nvidual shared with me the fruits?\\nTo which I answer, let us not anticipate.\\nDwell with me a while on those peaceful days\\nof holy delusion to which I still love to revert.\\nThink you that, in an age so corrupted, in a\\nsocial order so unjustly constituted, it is possible\\nto taste the delights of nature and innocence?\\nVulgar souls find gross pleasures others, whom\\nthese pleasures are insufficient to interest, ex-\\ncited by the illusions of passions, and coerced\\nby severe and absurd injunctions, which they\\nhonor while they discharge, know scarcely any\\nother delight than that of the dear-bought glory\\nof fulfilling them. Let us confine our attention\\nfor the present to the mild and pure friend-\\nship which now offered me its charms, and to\\nwhich I have been indebted for so many happy\\nmoments.\\nSome months had elapsed since my arrival at\\nthe convent. I spent my time there in the\\noccupations I have already described. Once a\\nweek I was visited by my parents, who took me", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0114.jp2"}, "105": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 91\\nwith them on Sundays, after service, to walk in\\nthe Jardin du Roi, which is now the Jardin dcs\\nPlantes. I never quitted them without shed-\\nding tears, which were caused by my love for\\nthem, and not by regret at my situation for I\\nreentered with joy those tranquil cloisters,\\nwhich I used slowly to traverse, the better to\\nenjoy and drink in their solitude. Sometimes I\\nwould halt beside a tomb on which was in-\\nscribed the eulogy of some pious maiden.\\nShe is happy I would exclaim with a\\nsigh. Then a pleasing melancholy would per-\\nvade my soul which made me seek in the bosom\\nof the Deity, and in the hope of being one\\nday received into it, that felicity for which I\\nlonged.\\nThe arrival of some new boarders caused a\\nripple of excitement in our little circle. Two\\nyoung ladies from Amiens had been announced.\\nThe curiosity of the girls of a convent is more\\nlively upon such occasions than one would\\nimagine. It was on a summer s evening, and\\nwe were walking under the trees. There they\\nare there they are was the sudden exclama-\\ntion. The first mistress committed the strang-\\ners to the care of the nun whose business it was", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0115.jp2"}, "106": {"fulltext": "92 Private Memoirs\\nto superintend the boarders. The crowd gath-\\nered round them, separated, returned again, and\\nat length walked in groups in the same alley\\nto examine them. They were two sisters of\\nthe name of Cannet. The elder was about\\neighteen, of a fine shape, easy and careless de-\\nportment, with a mixture at the same time of\\nsensibility and pride that implied a dislike of\\nher situation. The younger was scarcely more\\nthan fourteen a veil of white gauze covered\\nher mild countenance, and ill concealed the\\ntears that bedewed it. I felt interested in her;\\nI stopped to examine her more closely, and\\nthen mingled with the talkers to discover what\\nthey knew of her.\\nShe was the favorite, it seemed, of her\\nmother, whom she tenderly loved, and from\\nwhom it was so painful to her to be separated\\nthat her sister had been made to accompany\\nher the better to reconcile her to the idea.\\nBoth were seated at supper at the same table\\nwith myself. Sophie, the younger, ate but\\nsparingly. Her mute grief, so far from being\\nrepellent, could not fail to attract all who ob-\\nserved her. Her sister appeared less occupied\\nin consoling her than in chafing over her own", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0116.jp2"}, "107": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 93\\nhardships and not altogether without rea-\\nson. A girl of eighteen, banished from the\\ngay world into which she had just entered,\\nand condemned to the seclusion of a convent\\nas the companion of her sister, she might well\\nconsider herself sacrificed by her mother, who\\nhad, indeed, been partly influenced by the hope\\nof thus repressing a somewhat too vivacious\\ntemperament. It was not necessary to be long\\nin the company of the lively Henriette to dis-\\ncover this. Frank even to brusqueness, im-\\npatient to irascibihty, gay even to folly, she\\nhad the spirit of her age without any of its\\nreason. Volatile, flighty, sometimes charming\\nand often insupportable, her fits of temper\\nwere succeeded by the most affectionate atone-\\nments. She united extreme sensibility with\\nthe utmost extravagance of imagination. You\\ncould not avoid loving, even while you scolded\\nher, yet it was difficult to live with her upon\\nterms of endearment. Poor Sophie had much\\nto suffer from the temper of her sister, who\\nwas irritated against her from feelings of jeal-\\nousy, and yet was too just not to esteem her\\nas she deserved, and consequently found in her\\nconnection with her everything that could con-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0117.jp2"}, "108": {"fulltext": "94 Private Memoirs\\ntribute to that inconstancy which she herself\\nwas the first to lament.\\nThe sobriety of premature reason character-\\nized Sophie. She did not feel acutely, because\\nher head was cool and composed but she loved\\nto reason and reflect. She was sedate, without\\nbeing prepossessing, and accordingly lacked the\\nqualities that win the affections; but she was\\nobliging to every one, as opportunity offered\\nand if she did not anticipate, she at least never\\nrefused compliance with the wishes of others.\\nShe was fond both of working and reading.\\nHer sorrows had touched me. I was pleased\\nwith the manner in which she occupied her time\\nI felt that I had found in her a companion, and\\nwe became inseparable. I attached myself to\\nher with that unreserve which flows from an\\nimpulse to love at first sight and entirely the\\nobject that appears to accord with us. Work-\\ning, reading, walking, all my occupations and\\namusements were shared with Sophie. She\\nwas devout, with as much sincerity as myself,\\nthough a little less tenderness, which contrib-\\nuted to the intimacy of our union. It was,\\nso to express myself, under the wing of Provi-\\ndence and in the transports of a common zeal,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0118.jp2"}, "109": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 95\\nthat our friendship was cultivated we wished\\nmutually to encourage and assist each other\\nin the path to perfection. Sophie was a tire-\\nless reasoner she wanted to analyze, to discuss,\\nto know everything. I talked much less than\\nherself, and scarcely laid stress on anything\\nbut results. She took pleasure in conversing\\nwith me, for I was an adept at listening; and\\nwhen I differed from her in opinion, my oppo-\\nsition was so gentle, for fear of offending her,\\nthat, in all the variety of our discussions, not\\nthe slightest quarrel has ever taken place be-\\ntv/een us. Her society was extremely dear to\\nme, for I had need of intrusting to a person\\nwho could understand me the sentiments I felt,\\nwhich seemed to be strengthened by being\\nshared in. About three years older than my-\\nself, and a little less reserved, she had a sort\\nof external advantage which I did not envy her.\\nShe prattled prettily and fluently I knew only\\nhow to answer. It is true, people delighted\\nto question me, but this was not a task that\\nwas easy to everybody. To my dear friend\\nalone was I truly communicative others had\\nonly, as it were, a glimpse of me, those ex-\\ncepted who were sufficiently skilful to lift up", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0119.jp2"}, "110": {"fulltext": "96\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nthe veil, which, without intending to hide my-\\nself, I naturally assumed.\\nHenrietta was sometimes, but not often, of\\nour party. She had formed a more congenial\\nconnection with a Mademoiselle de Cornillon,\\neighteen years of age, as ugly as sin, abounding\\nin wit and mahce, a proper hobgoblin to\\nfrighten children, but whose tricks would have\\nbeen lost upon our maturer reason.\\nI cannot pass over in silence the tender affec-\\ntion that was shown me from my first arrival\\nby an excellent girl, whose unfaltering attach-\\nment has afforded me consolation on more\\noccasions than one. Angelique Boufflers, born\\nto no inheritance, had taken the veil at the age\\nof seventeen. She was still ignorant of her own\\ncharacter. Nature had formed her of the most\\ninflammable materials her suppressed energies\\nexalted to the highest possible degree the sen-\\nsibility of her heart and the vivacity of her\\nmind. The want of fortune had caused her\\nto be placed among the lay sisters, with whom\\nshe had nothing in common but the servility\\nof their functions. There are minds which\\nhave no need of cultivation. Sainte Agathe\\n(the convent name of this nun), without the aid", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0120.jp2"}, "111": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 97\\nof education, was superior not only to her\\ncompanions, but to most of the sisters of the\\nchoir. Her worth was known; and though,\\nas is usual in these societies, where the majority\\nare always ungrateful, they abused her good-\\nnature by loading her with all sorts of drudgery,\\nshe enjoyed the respect which is due to merit.\\nIt was her office, at the time of which I am\\nspeaking, to Avait upon the boarders. She had\\nno assistant in this work, and had besides\\nother cares confided to her yet she dis-\\ncharged them all with equal diligence and\\ncheerfulness. I had scarcely observed her,\\nwhen she had already distinguished me by\\nher attentions. Her kindness was the first\\ncircumstance that led me to notice her. At\\ntable she studied my taste, and sought to\\ngratify it in my chamber, she seemed to take\\na pleasure in making my bed, and never let\\nan opportunity escape of saying something civil\\nto me. If I met her, she embraced me with\\ntenderness. Sometimes she would lead me to\\nher cell, where she had a charming little bird,\\ntame and caressing, and which she had taught\\nto speak. She gave me even a secret key to\\nthis cell, that I might have access to it in her\\n7", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0121.jp2"}, "112": {"fulltext": "98 Private Memoirs\\nabsence. I read there all the books of which\\nher little library was composed the poems of\\nFather du Cerceau, and some mystical works.\\nWhen her avocations prevented her from spend-\\ning any time with me, I was sure to find in her\\ncell an affectionate little note, which I never\\nfailed to answer; she treasured up these mis-\\nsives like so many jewels, and showed them to\\nme long afterwards carefully stored away in\\nher desk. Presently the attachment of Sainte\\nAgathe to the little Phlipon was the talk of the\\nconvent but it was accepted quite as a matter\\nof course, none of my companions taking offence\\nat the favor accorded me. If any of the sisters\\nspoke to her of her evident partiality, she would\\nask quite innocently if they would not do the\\nsame were they in her place and when some au-\\nstere devotee of fourscore, like Sister Gertrude,\\nchided her for loving me too much, she would\\nsay that she, Sister Gertrude, thought so because\\nshe was herself incapable of such affection and\\nyet even you, she would add, never meet her\\nwithout stopping her. Mother Gertrude would\\nthen turn away muttering between her teeth, yet\\nhalf an hour after, she never failed, if she saw\\nme, to give me a cake or some sweetmeats.\\nr", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0122.jp2"}, "113": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 99\\nWhen the young Cannets arrived, and I at-\\ntached myself to Sophie, Agathe appeared a\\nHttle jealous, and it was a pleasure to the nuns\\nto tease her upon the subject; but her generous\\naffection did not diminish. She was at length\\nsatisfied that my friendship should be divided,\\nand seemed to share the pleasure I felt from an\\nintimacy with a person nearer my age, whose\\nsociety I could enjoy every hour of the day.\\nAgathe was then four-and-twenty. Her charac-\\nter and affection have inspired me with the sin-\\ncerest regard for her, which I have frequently\\ntaken a pride in testifying.\\nDuring the last years of the existence of con-\\nvents, it was she alone whom I went to visit in\\nthe convent of the Congregation, Having been\\nobliged to quit it at a time when her age and\\ninfirmities rendered such an asylum necessary\\nto her, and being reduced to the scanty pension\\nassigned her, she vegetates at present at no great\\ndistance from the place of our ancient abode, or\\nfrom the prison in which I am now confined\\nand in this situation, in the midst of the shame\\nof her undeserved poverty, her only subject of\\nlamentation is the captivity of her daughter,\\nfor thus has she always called me. Ye com-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0123.jp2"}, "114": {"fulltext": "loo Private Memoirs\\npassionate souls, who feel for my situation,\\ncease sometimes to pity me, in contemplating\\nthe blessings which heaven has preserved to\\nme. In the midst of their power, my persecu-\\ntors have not the felicity of being loved by an\\nAgathe, to whom misfortune only renders the\\nobjects of her attachment the more dear.\\nThe winter had passed away. During this\\nseason, I had seen my mother less frequently;\\nbut my father never suffered a Sunday to pass\\nwithout visiting me and taking me to walk in\\nthe Jardin du Roi, if the weather would at all\\npermit, where we braved the severity of the\\ncold, tripping it gayly over the snow. Delight-\\nful walks the remembrance of which was re-\\nvived twenty years after upon reading these\\nlines of Thomson,^ which I never repeat with-\\nout emotion:\\nPleas d was I, in my cheerful morn of life,\\nWhen nurs d by careless solitude I liv d,\\nAnd sung of nature with unceasing joy;\\nPleas d was I, wand ring through your rough domain,\\nThrough the pure virgin snows, myself as pure.\\n1 Thomson s Seasons was the book slipped by Madame\\nRoland into her pocket on the night of her imprisonment.\\nThis old favorite, with Plutarch, Tacitus, and Hume s\\nHistory of England, formed the little library of her cell.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0124.jp2"}, "115": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland loi\\nIt had been determined, upon my entrance\\ninto the convent, that I should remain there\\nonly a year. This I had desired myself, as I\\nwished to see a limit to the sacrifice I had made\\nin separating myself from my mother. The\\nnuns also, on their part, when they consented\\nto my receiving my first communion in the\\nfourth month of my residence with them, had\\ntaken care to stipulate that I should not leave\\nthem the sooner on that account, and that I\\nshould complete the. period agreed upon.\\nThis period having revolved, I was now to\\ncome out. My mother announced to me, that\\nmy grandmother Phlipon, who was extremely\\nfond of me, had requested to have my company\\nfor a while. To this she had consented, conceiv-\\ning that it would not be displeasing to me, as\\nshe would be able to see me there much more\\nfrequently than at the convent. This arrange-\\nment, besides, was perfectly suitable to circum-\\nstances. My father had been chosen to some\\noffice of his parish. On this account he was\\nfrequently from home, and then my mother\\nwas obliged to superintend the work intrusted\\nto the young men, with which she had hitherto\\nhad no concern so that she would have less", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0125.jp2"}, "116": {"fulltext": "I02 Private Memoirs\\nleisure to bestow upon me. The arrangement\\nshe proposed to me was a gentle transition from\\nthe absence I had lately experienced to a com-\\nplete return to her, and I accepted it the more\\nreadily as I was attached to my grandmother.\\nShe was a graceful, good-humored little woman,\\nwhose agreeable manners, polished language,\\ngracious smile, and coquettish glances, still\\nhinted at some pretensions to please, or at least\\nreminded us that she had been an object of ad-\\nmiration. She was sixty-five or sixty-six years\\nof age, and not indiff erent to dress, which she\\ntook care, however, should be suitable to her\\nyears for she prided herself above all things on\\nthe study and observance of decorum. Being\\nplump, light of foot, erect, with handsome little\\nhands the fingers of which were gracefully dis-\\nplayed, and a tone of sentiment shaded with\\ndelicate gayety, the traces of age were almost\\nimperceptible. She was a delightful companion\\nto young persons, whose society pleased her,\\nand by whom she was proud of being sought.\\nBecoming a widow immediately upon the term-\\nination of the first year of her marriage, my\\nfather, born after the death of her husband, was\\nher only child. Misfortunes in trade having", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0126.jp2"}, "117": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 103\\nreduced her to distress, she had recourse to\\nsome rich relations, who employed her in the\\neducation of their children. Thus she had\\nthe care, in the house of Madame de Boismorel,\\nof the son Roberge, of whom I shall speak in\\nthe sequel, as well as of her daughter, after-\\nwards Madame de Favieres.\\nA little estate, which fell to her by inheri-\\ntance, having rendered her independent, she\\nretired to the island of St. Louis, where she\\noccupied a decent apartment with her sister,\\nMademoiselle Rotisset, whom she called by the\\nname of Angelique. This worthy maiden, asth-\\nmatic and devout, pure as an angel and simple\\nas a child, was the very humble servant of her\\nelder sister. The afiairs of the little household\\ndevolved entirely upon her. A charwoman\\nattending twice a day to perform the more\\nmenial offices, Angelique was competent to the\\nrest, and attended respectfully at the toilet of\\nher sister. She naturally became my gouver-\\nnante, while Madame Phlipon was my tutor.\\nBehold me, then, in their hands, after having\\nquitted the house of the Lord, regretted, es-\\nteemed, and embraced by the whole sisterhood\\nof nuns, wept over by my Agathe and my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0127.jp2"}, "118": {"fulltext": "I04 Private Memoirs\\nSophie, lamenting in turn my separation from\\nthem, and promising to mitigate its pains by the\\nfrequency of my visits.\\nThis engagement was too dear to my heart\\nnot to be scrupulously fulfilled. My walks were\\nfrequently directed towards the Congregation.\\nMy aunt Angelique, as well as my father, took\\npleasure in accompanying me thither. The news\\nof my arrival in the parlor being spread through\\nthe convent, I had presently a group of tAventy\\nabout me. But these visits, after all, were poor\\nsubstitutes for the daily and confidential inter-\\ncourse of friendship. They became less fre-\\nquent, and I had recourse to correspondence,\\ncarried on principally with Sophie. This was\\nthe origin of my taste for writing, and one of\\nthe causes which have rendered, from habit,\\nthe practice of it so easy to me.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0128.jp2"}, "119": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 105\\nII\\nAugust 28.\\nI FEEL my resolution to pursue these\\nMemoirs deserting me. The miseries of\\nmy country torment me the loss of my friends\\nunnerves me an involuntary gloom penetrates\\nmy soul and chills my imagination. France is\\nbecome a vast Golgotha of carnage, an arena of\\nhorrors, where her children tear and destroy each\\nother.\\nThe enemy, favored by civil strife, advances\\nin every quarter; the cities of the North fall\\ninto their power; Flanders and Alsace must\\nbecome their prey; the Spaniard desolates\\nRoussillon Savoy rejects an alliance that would\\nunite her to anarchy, and returns to her ancient\\ntyrant, whose troops invade our frontiers the\\nrebels of la Vendee continue to lay waste a large\\nextent of territory; the Lyonnese, wantonly\\nprovoked, have burst into open resistance\\nMarseilles flies to their succor; the disorder", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0129.jp2"}, "120": {"fulltext": "io6 Private Memoirs\\nspreads to the neighboring Departments and in\\nthis universal agitation, and in the midst of these\\nmultiplied disorders, there is nothing consistent\\nbut the measures of the foreign powers, whose\\nconspiracy against freedom and mankind our\\nexcesses have justified. Our government is a\\nspecies of monster, whose form is as odious as\\nits appetites are depraved it destroys whatever\\nit touches, and devours even itself This last\\nfeature is the only consolation of its numerous\\nvictims.\\nThe armies, ill conducted, and worse pro-\\nvided, alternately fly like cowards, and fight\\nwith the courage of despair. The ablest com-\\nmanders are accused of treason, because certain\\nRepresentatives, ignorant of war, blame what\\nthey do not comprehend, and brand as aristo-\\ncrats all who are more enlightened than them-\\nselves. A legislative body, characterized by\\ndebility from the moment of its existence, pre-\\nsented us at first with lively debates, as long as\\nit possessed sufficient penetration to foresee the\\nnational dangers, and courage to announce\\nthem. The just and generous spirits, who\\naspired to the welfare of their country and\\ndared attempt to establish it, denounced au-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0130.jp2"}, "121": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 107\\ndaciously under the most odious colors and in\\nforms the most contradictory, have been at, last\\nsacrificed by ignorance and fear to intrigue and\\npeculation. Chased from a body of which they\\nwere formed to be the soul, they left behind\\nthem an inane and corrupt minority, who have\\nunited the oppression of despotism with the\\nlicense of anarchy, and whose follies and crimes\\ndig their own tomb, while they are consummat-\\ning the public ruin. The nation, cowardly and\\nuninstructed, because egotism is indolent and\\nindolence credulous and blind, has accepted a\\nconstitution essentially vicious, which, even if\\nunexceptionable, it should still have rejected with\\nindignation, because nothing can be accepted\\nfrom villainy without degradation to the re-\\nceiver. This deluded people boasts of security\\nand freedom, while it has seen both violated with\\nimpunity in the persons of its Representatives\\nIt can only change its tyrants. Already under a\\nyoke of iron, every change seems to it an\\nalleviation but, incapable itself of accomplish-\\ning one, it supinely awaits it at the hands of the\\nfirst master ambitious of ruling it. O Brutus,\\n1 In the expulsion of the Girondists from the Convention,\\nJune 2, 1793.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0131.jp2"}, "122": {"fulltext": "io8 Private Memoirs\\nwhose daring hand freed in vain the degenerate\\nRomans, hke thee we have erred. Like thee,\\nmen pure and enhghtened, whose ardent souls\\nburned for Hberty, and whom philosophy had\\ntrained for it in the calm of study and the\\nausterity of seclusion, have flattered themselves\\nthat the fall of the despot would herald the\\nreign of justice. Alas, it has been but the sig-\\nnal for the rule of the direst passions, and\\nthe most execrable vices Thou saidst, after\\nthe proscriptions of the triumvirs, that the cause\\nof the death of Cicero had filled thee with\\nmore shame than his death had occasioned thee\\ngrief; thou blamedst thy friends at Rome for\\nhaving become slaves rather by their own fault\\nthan that of their tyrants, and accusedst them\\nof the dastardliness of seeing and permitting\\nthings, of which the mere recital should have\\nbeen insupportable to them and excited their\\nhorror.\\nSuch is the indignation which I feel in my\\ndungeon. But the hour of indignation is past;\\nit is too evident that there is no good to\\nbe hoped nor additional evil to be feared.\\nNever can history paint these dreadful times, or\\nthe monsters that fill them with their barbari-\\nJ^:.,...", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0132.jp2"}, "123": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 109\\nties. They surpass the cruelties of Marius, the\\natrocities of Sylla. The latter, inclosing and\\nslaughtering six thousand men who had sur-\\nrendered to him, near the senate, which he\\nexhorted to proceed in its deliberations amidst\\nthe shrieks and groans of the victims, acted like\\na tyrant that abuses the power he has usurped.\\nBut to what can we compare the domination of\\nthose hypocrites, who, masking their ambition\\nand avarice with the guise of justice, and con-\\nverting the laws into snares for the innocent,\\nhave created a public tribunal as the engine of\\ntheir personal vengeance, and send to the\\nscaffold, with formalities mockingly judicial,\\nevery individual whose virtues offend them,\\nwhose talents excite their jealousy, or whose\\nopulence tempts their cupidity. What Rome\\nor Babylon ever equalled Paris, polluted with\\ndebauchery and blood, and governed by magis-\\ntrates who profess to trade in falsehood and\\ncalumny, and to license assassination? What\\npeople has ever depraved its nature to the point\\nof contracting a moral necessity of beholding\\nexecutions, and of glutting its eyes with scenes\\nof cruelty; of foaming with impatience and\\nrage when the sanguinary scenes are retarded", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0133.jp2"}, "124": {"fulltext": "iio Private Memoirs\\nand of being ever ready to wreak its ferocity\\non whosoever shall attempt to calm and pacify\\nits violence The days of September were the\\nsole work of a small number of human tigers\\ndrunk with wine and blood; those of the 31st\\nof May and the 2d of June marked the triumph\\nof crime by the apathy of the Parisians, and\\ntheir tame acquiescence in slavery. From this\\ndate crime and anarchy grow apace the fac-\\ntion, called in the Convention the Mountain\\nis but a band of robbers, aping in garb and\\nlanguage the dregs of the populace, preaching\\nmassacre, and setting the example of rapine.\\nCrowds of people surround the courts of justice,\\nand vociferate their threats against the judges,\\nwho are thought too tardy in the condemnation\\nof innocence. The prisons are gorged with\\npublic functionaries, with generals, and private\\nindividuals of characters that graced and en-\\nnobled humanity. A zeal to accuse is received\\nas a proof of civism, and the search and deten-\\ntion of persons of merit and property sum up\\nthe duties of an ignorant and unprincipled mag-\\nistracy.\\nThe days of the Montagnard movement for purging\\nthe Convention of their Girondist opponents.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0134.jp2"}, "125": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 1 1 1\\nThe victims of Orleans are fallen, Charlotte\\nCorday has not produced the smallest move-\\nment in a city which did not merit that she\\nshould free it from a monster. Brissot,^ Gen-\\nsonne, and a multitude of other deputies re-\\nmain under the decree of accusation the\\ndeficiency of proofs but augments the animos-\\nity against them, and the will of the people,\\nwho impatiently expect their heads as a wild\\nbeast awaits its prey, supplies the want of rea-\\nsons for their condemnation. Custine^ is no\\nmore Robespierre triumphs Hebert points\\n1 Some women assembled in the church of St. Eustatius,\\nsaid one day, setting up a howl, that they must have the head\\nof Brissot, without permitting the judges to use in his trial\\nthe same tedious process which had retarded the execution of\\nCustine. Two thousand persons surrounded the court the\\nday that judgment was pronounced on this general, trembled\\nlest he should escape their hatred, and declared aloud, that\\nif he were absolved, he must be treated like Montmorin, and\\nwith him all the traitors that lay in the prisons.\\n2 His entire property was confiscated. His daughter-in-\\nlaw, a young and charming woman, at that time pregnant, who\\ndivided her days between her father-in-law, dragged to the tri-\\nbunal, and her husband detained unjustly, was imprisoned\\nimmediately after the execution of the former, and in conse-\\nquence miscarries. What does that signify to these monsters\\nThe public accuser had received of her 200,000 livres to save\\ninnocence he returns them, and then causes her to be arrested,\\nwho might denounce his infamous procedure.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0135.jp2"}, "126": {"fulltext": "112 Private Memoirs\\nout his victims Chabot registers them the\\nTribunal is assiduous in its work of death, and\\nthe populace prepares to accelerate and mul-\\ntiply executions. Meanwhile, famine rears its\\nhead pernicious laws discourage industry,\\nstop circulation, and annihilate commerce the\\nfinances fall to decay; the disorganization be-\\ncomes general and in this wreck of the pub-\\nlic wealth, men devoid of shame erect their\\nfortunes from the fragments of national pros-\\nperity, set a price on all their actions, and traf-\\nfic in the lives of their fellow-citizens.\\nDillon and Castellane obtain their release,\\nthe one from the prison of the Madelonettes,\\nthe other from that of Sainte Pelagic, by the\\npayment of thirty thousand livres to Chabot.\\nSillery stands cheapening his liberty, which he\\nis rich enough to purchase, and two hundred\\nbottles of his excellent champagne are the over-\\nplus of the bargain struck with the strumpets\\nof the committee.^ The wife of Roland, pointed\\n1 The money and wine were received, but Sillery obtained\\nonly the liberty of seeing and discoursing with whom he\\npleased. With this mitigation of his imprisonment he is\\nstill confined in the Luxembourg. Three or four abandoned\\nwomen, belonging to the infamous wretches of the Committees\\nof Public and General Safety, form a board of trade, with which\\nevery individual of any distinction must treat for his security.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0136.jp2"}, "127": {"fulltext": "pi\\n3\\n1\\n9\\nF\\n^1\\nm\\n9\\nJP i\\nn\\nvSl\\n1\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0f\\nyd\\nN\\n3\\nCHARLOTTE CORD^Y\\nFKOM HAUDRY S PAIXXI^G, AFTER THE POUTKATT BY HATTER", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0139.jp2"}, "128": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0140.jp2"}, "129": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 113\\nout hy ph e Duchesne to the fury of the popu-\\nlace, awaits its last excess in the same prison\\nfrom which the mistress of a forger of assignats\\ndeparts unmolested, after having purchased the\\nsafety of herself and her accomplice. Henriot,\\nhaving ascended to the command of the Na-\\ntional Guard, through the honorable gradation of\\nlackey, bailiff s clerk, and assassin at St. Firmin,\\nbreaks seals, empties cellars, and removes fur-\\nniture with equal shamelessness and insolence.\\nCharged with the care of the deputies detained\\nin the Luxembourg, he presumes to intrude\\ninto their presence purposely to insult them,\\ndeprives them by force of pens, books, and\\npapers, and adds menace to his outrages. The\\nsubordination of authorities is become a fiction,\\nwhich it is not permitted to name without in-\\ncurring the accusation of incivism, and drawing\\nupon one s head the imputation of counter-\\nrevolutionary principles. The fugitive depu-\\nties,^ alas have they at length escaped from\\nthis inhospitable land, which devours the vir-\\ntuous and the sage, and drenches itself with\\ntheir blood O my friends may propitious\\nfate conduct you to the United States, the only\\nThe Girondists, among them Roland and Buzot.\\n8", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0141.jp2"}, "130": {"fulltext": "114 Private Memoirs\\nasylum of freedom My wishes would conduct\\nyou thither, and I ardently hope that you are\\nnow actually on your passage. But what re-\\nmains for me? I shall see you no more, and\\nwhile for your sakes I rejoice in your removal,\\nI lament in it our eternal separation. And\\nthou, my revered spouse and companion, en-\\nfeebled by premature old age, eluding with dif-\\nficulty the pursuit of the assassins, shall I be\\npermitted to see thee again, and to pour conso-\\nlation into thy soul, steeped as it must be in\\nbitterness and despair? How long must I re-\\nmain a witness of the desolation of my native\\nland, and the degradation of my countrymen?\\nOppressed by these mournful reflections, I have\\ngiven way for a moment to my grief; a few\\ntears have escaped from my weary lids, and I\\nhave laid aside the light pen which has been\\nretracing the memories of bygone, happier\\nyears.\\nLet me once more try to recall them and\\nto follow their course. My simple story may\\none day serve to cheer the solitary hours of\\nsome captive as unhappy as myself, who may\\nforget his own sorrows in commiserating mine\\nor perchance some poet or romancer, desir-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0142.jp2"}, "131": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 115\\ning to paint the human heart, may find in my\\nrecital elements not unworthy of study.\\nNot many days will probably elapse before\\nthe want of provisions, exasperating the popu-\\nlace, will urge them to tumults, which the agi-\\ntators will take care to foment. The tenth of\\nAugust was near being a commemoration of\\nthe ides of September. The day before yes-\\nterday their renewal was menaced, should Cus-\\ntine be acquitted. The Cordeliers already\\nproclaim the necessity of getting rid of all sus-\\npected persons, and punishments are decreed\\nagainst such as presume to disapprove of those\\nglorious days. What is this but to prepare\\na repetition of them? The persons sent be-\\nfore the Revolutionary Tribunal are not crimi-\\nnals referred thither to be judged, but victims\\nwhom it is ordered to immolate. Those who\\nare imprisoned for anything but crime are\\nnot under the safeguard of the law; on\\nthe contrary, abandoned to suspicion and cal-\\numny, they are exposed to the blind fury of\\nthe populace, from which they are not a mo-\\nment secure. Let us avert our eyes from\\nthis lamentable epoch, to which the reign of\\nTiberius alone can be compared, and let us", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0143.jp2"}, "132": {"fulltext": "II 6 Private Memoirs\\nreturn to the blissful moments of my tranquil\\nyouth.\\nI had completed my twelfth year, and the\\nthirteenth was passed under the care of my\\ngrandmother. The quiet of her house, and\\nthe piety of my aunt Angelique, admirably\\naccorded with the tender and contemplative\\ndisposition I had indulged in the convent.\\nEvery morning Angelique accompanied me to\\nchurch to hear mass, where I soon attracted\\nthe attention of those apostles of abnegation\\nwho court the favor of God by peopling\\nthe cloisters. The Abbe Gery, with his wry\\nneck and downcast eye, accosts the person\\nwhom he supposes to be my gouvernante, to\\ncongratulate her on the edification produced\\nby the example of her pupil, and to express\\nthe joy he should feel in being chosen her con-\\nductor in the ways of the Lord. He learned\\nwith regret that the grand ceremonies had\\nbeen already performed, and that I had chosen\\nmy confessor. He then begged me to tell\\nhim if I had no project respecting my future\\ndestination, no plan of withdrawing myself\\nfrom the pomps and vanities of the world\\nand received for answer that I was yet too", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0144.jp2"}, "133": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 117\\nyoung to determine my vocation. Gery sighed,\\naddressed a number of fine things to me, and\\ndid not fail to meet us on our return and to\\nrepeat his compliments. The piety of my\\nyoung heart was not of a nature to be gratified\\nwith Jesuitical affectations it was too sincere to\\nunite with the absurdities of fanaticism, and\\nthe wry neck of Monsieur Gery was as little to\\nmy taste. I had nevertheless a secret design\\nof consecrating myself to the religious life.\\nSt. Francois de Sales, one of the most amiable\\nsaints in Paradise, had made a conquest of my\\nheart, and the ladies of the Visitation, of which\\nhe was the founder, were already my sisters\\nby adoption. But I judged that, being an\\nonly child, I should not gain the consent of\\nmy parents during my minority, and I was not\\nwilling to occasion them unnecessary pain by\\nany premature disclosure of my sentiments.\\nBesides, should it happen that when put to the\\nproof my resolution should be shaken, it would\\nbe furnishing arms to the ungodly against the\\nholy vocation. I resolved, therefore, to con-\\nceal my intention, and to proceed in silence to\\nmy object. I put to contribution the little\\nlibrary of my grandmother and the Philotee", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0145.jp2"}, "134": {"fulltext": "1 1 8 Private Memoirs\\nof St. Frangois de Sales and the Manual of St.\\nAugustine became my favorite studies. What\\ndoctrines of love, what delicious aliment for\\nthe innocence of a fervent soul abandoned to\\ncelestial illusions The controversial writings\\nof Bossuet were a new food to my mind favor-\\nable as they were to the cause which they\\ndefended, they sometimes contained objections\\nto it, and thus set me on weighing my belief\\nThis was my first step in the path of doubt;\\nbut it was infinitely remote from the scepticism\\nat which in a course of years I was destined\\nto arrive, after having been successively Jan-\\nsenist, Cartesian, Stoic, and Deist. What a\\nroute, to terminate at last in patriotism, which\\nhas conducted me to a dungeon In the midst\\nof all this devotion, some old books of travels\\nand a store of mythology served to amuse my\\nimagination while the letters of Madame de\\nSevigne established my taste.^ Her charming\\nfacility, her elegance, her vivacity, her tender-\\n1 They also were the models upon which Madame Roland\\nformed her later and less sententious epistolary style, as her\\ncharming and vivacious letters to Bosc, given in his edition\\nof her works, attest. The partial Bosc says in his Preface\\nAs a letter-writer she was superior in my opinion to a\\nSevigne or a Maintenon.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0146.jp2"}, "135": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 119\\nness made me enter into her intimacy. I\\nbecame acquainted with her society; I was as\\nfamiliarized with her manners and surroundings\\nas if I had Hved with her.\\nMy grandmother saw Httle company, and sel-\\ndom went out; but her agreeable pleasantry\\nanimated the conversation when I occupied my-\\nself at her side in the little tasks which she took\\npleasure in teaching me. Madame Besnard, my\\ngreat-aunt, who had taken care of me while an\\ninfant at nurse, came every afternoon to pass an\\nhour or two with her sister. Her austere char-\\nacter gave her a solemnity of manners and an\\nair of ceremony which Madame Phlipon would\\noccasionally rally, but so tenderly as not to\\ngive offence, and was generally repaid by her\\nsister in some plain but sound truth, a Httle\\nabruptly expressed, of the bluntness of which\\nher excellent heart pleaded the apology. My\\ngrandmother, who attached the highest value\\nto the graces and to all that embellishes social\\nlife, was extremely sensible of the complaisance\\nwhich my gentle temper and desire of pleas-\\ning all about me, and her own amiable man-\\nners in particular, inspired me with towards\\nher. She would sometimes pay me a com-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0147.jp2"}, "136": {"fulltext": "I20 Private Memoirs\\npliment; and when, which was generally the\\ncase, I replied with readiness and propriety,\\nshe was overcome with satisfaction, and would\\ncast a triumphant look at Madame Besnard,\\nwho, shrugging her shoulders, would seize the\\nfirst moment of my removal to another part of\\nthe room, to say in a low voice, but which I\\nheard very distinctly, You are really insup-\\nportable she will be spoiled what a pity\\nMy grandmother took no other notice of this\\nthan to assume a posture more upright than\\nbefore, assuring her sister, with an air of su-\\nperiority, that she knew very well what she\\nwas about and the worthy Ang^lique, with her\\npale visage and prominent chin, her spectacles\\non her nose, and her knitting in her hands,\\nwould tell them both that there was no danger\\nto be apprehended, that it was impossible for\\nanything to spoil me, and that my prudence\\nwas so exemplary that I might almost be left\\nto my own guidance. This Aunt Besnard, how-\\never, so precise in her manners and so appre-\\nhensive of the effects of flattery, gave herself\\nthe utmost concern at my lying on a hard bed,\\nand if I felt the slightest indisposition would\\nnever fail to call twice a day to inform herself", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0148.jp2"}, "137": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 121\\nof its progress. What undisguised inquietude,\\nwhat anxious cares did she not display on these\\noccasions? And how delightful was their con-\\ntrast with her ordinary reserve and severity In\\ntruth, it seemed as if heaven had surrounded\\nme with such affectionate friends, purposely to\\nrender my heart of all others the most tender\\nand susceptible.\\nMy grandmother one day took it into her\\nhead to pay a visit to Madame de Boismorel,\\neither for the pleasure of seeing her, or of display-\\ning her little daughter. Great preparations in\\nconsequence long toilet in the morning at\\nlength behold us setting off with Aunt Angelique\\nfor the rue Saint-Louis, au Marais, where we\\narrived about noon. On entering the house\\nevery one, beginning with the portiev, salutes\\nMadame Phlipon with an air of respect and\\naffection, emulous who shall treat her with the\\ngreatest civility. She repays their attention\\nwith courtesy, tinged at the same time with\\ndignity. So far very well but her grand-\\ndaughter is perceived and, not satisfied with\\npointing her out to one another, they proceed\\nto pay her a number of compliments. I began\\nto feel embarrassed, from a sentiment I could", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0149.jp2"}, "138": {"fulltext": "122 Private Memoirs\\nnot well explain, that, while servants might look\\nat and admire me, it was not their business to\\ncompliment me. We go on a tall lackey\\nannounces us, and we enter the salon, and find\\nthe lady seated, with her lap-dog beside her,\\nupon what we called then, not an ottomane,\\nbut a canapi, gravely embroidering tapestry.\\nMadame de Boismorel was about the age, the\\nheight, and the figure of my grandmother but\\nher dress betokened the pride of wealth, rather\\nthan taste and her countenance, far from ex-\\npressing any plebeian desire to please, plainly\\ndemanded that all attention should be bestowed\\nupon herself, and manifested her consciousness\\nof deserving it. A rich lace, puckered into the\\nform of a small bonnet, with broad wings pointed\\nat the extremity like the ears of a hare, was\\nperched upon the top of her head, that it might\\nnot conceal her perhaps borrowed hair, which\\nwas itself dressed with that afl ected discretion\\none must assume at sixty years of age. The\\nrouge, spread one layer over another, lent to eyes\\nnaturally dull a much greater air of fierceness\\nthan was sufficient to make me fix mine upon\\nthe ground.\\nAh, Mademoiselle Rotisset, good morning", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0150.jp2"}, "139": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 123\\nto you, cried, in a loud and cold tone, Madame\\nde Boismorel, as she rose to meet us. Made-\\nmoiselle I So my grandmother is mademoi-\\nselle in this house.) Upon my honor I am\\nvery glad to see you. And this pretty child\\nis your granddaughter? She will make a fine\\nwoman. Come here, my dear, sit down by my\\nside. She is a Httle bashful. What age is your\\ndaughter, Mademoiselle Rotisset? She is a little\\nbrown to be sure, but she has a very good skin\\nshe will grow fairer and then what a shape I\\nwill lay my life that hand must be a lucky one.\\nDid you never venture in the lottery?\\nNever, madame I am not fond of gaming.\\nSo, so very likely indeed At your age\\nchildren are apt to think their game is sure.\\nWhat an admirable voice she has, so soft, and\\nyet rich She is so grave too I suppose you\\nhave a devotional turn\\nI know my duty to God, and I endeavor to\\nfulfil it.\\nThat is a good girl You wish to take the\\nveil: is it not so?\\nI do not know my future destination, and I\\ndo not seek to pry into it.\\nUpon my word, very pretty, and very sen-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0151.jp2"}, "140": {"fulltext": "124 Private Memoirs\\ntentious Your granddaughter is a great stu-\\ndent, I dare say, Mademoiselle Rotisset?\\nShe likes nothing so well as reading; she\\nemploys a part of every day in it.\\nOh I was sure of that. But have a care she\\ndoes not become a blue-stocking; that would be\\na thousand pities.\\nThe conversation next turned upon the family\\nand friends of the mistress of the house. My\\ngrandmother asked very respectfully for the\\nuncle, and the cousin, and the daughter-in-law,\\nand the son-in-law, the Abbe Langlois, Coun-\\ncillor Brion, M. Parent, the rector. They talked\\nof the health of all these people, their pedi-\\ngrees, and their eccentricities for example of\\nMadame Roud6, who, notwithstanding her great\\nage, was still absurd enough to pretend to a fine\\nbosom, and accordingly greatly exposed this\\npart of her person, except when she got in and\\nout of her carriage, for which occasion she had\\nalways an immense handkerchief ready in her\\npocket, because, as she observed, it is not de-\\ncent to make such an exhibition to the footmen.\\nDuring this dialogue, Madame de Boismorel\\nsometimes took some stitches in her work,\\nsometimes patted her httle dog, but most fre-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0152.jp2"}, "141": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 125\\nquently looked hard at me. I took care not to\\nmeet her eyes, because it was unpleasant to me\\nbut I looked round upon the furniture and deco-\\nrations of the apartment, which were to me a\\nmore pleasing spectacle than the lady and as\\nI looked, my blood coursed more rapidly, I felt\\nmy color rise, my heart beat, and my breath\\ncome short.\\nI did not at this age ask m.yself, why my\\ngrandmother did not sit upon the canape, or for\\nwhat reason in particular Madame de Boismorel\\nalways called her Mademoiselle Rotisset but\\nI had the feeling that led to this reflection, and\\nI saw the end of the visit with joy, as if I were\\njust liberated from some hard confinement.\\nGood-by Do not forget to buy me a\\nticket in the lottery, and let your granddaughter\\nchoose the number, do you hear, Mademoiselle\\nRotisset? I am sure it will be a lucky one. One\\nembrace and you my little heart do not look so\\nmuch on the ground. Your eyes are meant to\\nsee with and even one s confessor does not for-\\nbid us to open them. Ah Mademoiselle Rotis-\\nset, you will have many a fine bow made you,\\ntake my word for that. Good morning, ladies.\\nSaying this, Madame de Boismorel rings her", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0153.jp2"}, "142": {"fulltext": "126 Private Memoirs\\nbell, orders Lafleur to call in two days at Made-\\nmoiselle Rotisset s for a lottery ticket she is to\\nsend her, chides her dog for barking, and seats\\nherself quietly upon her canape before we are\\nout of the room.\\nFrom Madame de Boismorel s we walked\\nhome in silence, and I hastened to my books,\\neager to forget what was past, and no better\\npleased with the compliments of the lady than\\nof her servants. My grandmother, neither\\nvexed nor pleased, talked sometimes of her and\\nher singularities of the rooted selfishness\\nwhich had made her reply that children were\\nbut secondary considerations, when my grand-\\nmother once took the liberty to remind her of\\nthe interest of hers, for the purpose of checking\\nher prodigal expense and of that familiarity in\\nher manners, common enough with ladies of the\\ngreat world, that made her receive her confessor\\nand others at her toilet, and change her chemise\\nand do other little offices in their presence.\\nThis style of behavior struck me as strange I\\nwas glad to make my grandmother talk about\\nit, but I kept to myself my own thoughts on the\\nmatter, thinking it would not perhaps be be-\\ncoming in me to divulge them.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0154.jp2"}, "143": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 127\\nA fortnight later Madame de Boismorel s\\nson, whom we had not seen at her house, called\\nupon us. He was a man of about thirty-seven,\\nof a pleasing countenance and polished address.\\nHis glance was swift and penetrating, his eye\\nvery open and somewhat too large, and his deep\\nand manly, yet well modulated voice, betok-\\nened sincerity of soul and a politeness that was\\nnot merely external. He addressed my grand-\\nmother with deference, and me with that air of\\nmarked courtesy which sensible men preserve\\ntoward young people of my sex. The conver-\\nsation was easy, yet sufficiently circumspect.\\nM. de Boismorel did not neglect to allude grace-\\nfully to his obligations to my grandmother s\\ncare and kindness, while delicately hinting at\\nthe same time that Providence had rewarded\\nher for the pains she had bestowed upon the\\nchildren of others by the satisfaction she might\\nexpect to enjoy in so promising a child of her\\nown family.\\nI found M. de Boismorel infinitely more ami-\\nable than his mother, and I was delighted when-\\never he called upon us, which was generally\\nevery two or three months. He had married at\\nan early age a charming woman, by whom he", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0155.jp2"}, "144": {"fulltext": "128 Private Memoirs\\nhad an only son, whose education occupied a\\nconsiderable portion of his thoughts. He had\\nundertaken it himself, and was desirous of direct-\\ning it on philosophical lines, in which he was\\nnot a little thwarted by the prejudices of his\\nmother, and the enthusiastic, devotion of his\\nwife. He was accused of singularity; and as\\nhis nerves had been affected in consequence\\nof some inflammatory disorder, the old count-\\nesses, the learned judges, and the sagacious\\nabbes of his family, or of his mother s acquaint-\\nance, ascribed to a derangement of the brain\\nthe conduct he pursued in the education of his\\nson. These circumstances being made known\\nto me interested me in his character. I found\\nthat this man argued with extreme pertinency,\\nand I began to suspect that there were two\\nsorts of reason, so to express myself, one for the\\ncloset, and another for the world, a morality\\nof principle and a morality of practice, from\\nthe contradiction of which resulted so many\\nabsurdities, of which some were too glaring\\nto escape my attention in short, that persons\\nof the gay world called everybody insane who\\nwas not affected Hke themselves with the com-\\nmon insanity: and thus did materials for", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0156.jp2"}, "145": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 129\\nreflection insensibly accumulate in my active\\nbrain.\\nMy grandmother sometimes contrasted the\\nsentiments and behavior of M. de Boismorel\\nwith those of his sister, Madame de Favieres,\\nwith whom she _ was little pleased, and whom\\nher brother had found it necessary to remind\\nthat Mademoiselle de Rotisset was their own\\nrelation a circumstance, said I to myself, that\\nthe mother did not seem less willing to overlook\\nor forget. To my great satisfaction, my grand-\\nmother never expressed a wish to present me to\\nMadame de Favieres indeed she was so well\\naware of my thoughts upon the subject that we\\ndid not even pay a second visit to Madame de\\nBoismorel.\\nMy father had vacated his office the year to\\nbe spent with my grandmother had elapsed\\nI returned to the arms of my mother. But it\\nwas not without regret that I left this pleasant\\nretreat in the Isle of Saint Louis, those agree-\\nable quays where I was accustomed to take the\\nair with my Aunt Ang61ique in the serene sum-\\nmer evenings, contemplating the windings of\\nthe stream and the distant landscape. I was\\nespecially fond of the quays which, in my zeal\\n9", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0157.jp2"}, "146": {"fulltext": "130 Private Memoirs\\nto seek the temple and pour out my soul at the\\nfoot of the altar, I have traversed without meet-\\ning in the solitary path a single object to dis-\\ntract my meditations. The gayety of my\\ngrandmother brightened the home in which I\\nhad spent so many cheerful and peaceful\\ndays. I quitted her with a flood of tears nor\\nwas my attachment to my mother, whose merit\\nwas of a higher description, but whose manners\\ninspired greater awe, able to divert my regret.\\nTill that moment I had never ventured upon\\nany comparison with respect to my mother that\\ntended in any way to lessen her; but I now\\nfelt a confused sense of that tendency. Child\\nof the Seine, I had from my infancy resided on\\nits banks but the situation had not the sohtary\\ncalm of my grandmother s. The moving pic-\\ntures of the Pont-Neuf varied the scene every\\nmoment, and I entered literally as well as figura-\\ntively into the world, when I returned to my\\npaternal roof. A free air, however, and an\\nunconfined space, offered an ample source of\\namusement to my romantic and vagrant imagi-\\nnation. How many times from my window,\\nwhich fronted the north, have I contemplated\\nwith ravishing emotion the vast expanse of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0158.jp2"}, "147": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0159.jp2"}, "148": {"fulltext": "(II\\nH\\nH\\ns\\nP\\nH\\n\u00c2\u00abj\\nW", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0160.jp2"}, "149": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 131\\nheaven, its proud azure dome, stretching its can-\\nopy from the cool blue east far behind the Pont-\\nau-Change to the west, still warm with the\\nglow of the setting sun, and tingeing the trees\\nand roofs of Chaillot Never did I fail to\\nbestow a few moments on this ravishing spec-\\ntacle at the close of every fine day, and often\\nhave tears of joy silently flowed down my\\ncheeks, while my heart, swelling with an inex-\\npressible sentiment, happy in the idea and the\\nsense of existence, offered to the Supreme Being\\na tribute of gratitude, pure and worthy of His\\nacceptance. I know not if sensibility of heart\\nsheds a more vivid hue on every object it\\nbeholds, or if certain sensations, that yet ap-\\npear to contain nothing remarkable, contribute\\npowerfully to develop it, or if both be not\\nreciprocally cause and effect; but when I\\nretrace the events of my life, I am doubtful\\nwhether to assign to circumstances or to my\\ncharacter that variety and plenitude of affec-\\ntions which have marked it so strongly, and\\nleft me so clear a remembrance of all the situa-\\ntions in which I have been placed.\\nCajon had continued to instruct me in music.\\nHe was fond of reasoning with me on the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0163.jp2"}, "150": {"fulltext": "132 Private Memoirs\\ntheory, or rather the technique of his art, for,\\nthough he pretended to be a composer, he\\nunderstood httle of mathematics and less of\\nmetaphysics but he was ambitious of teaching\\nme all he knew. My coldness in singing was a\\nsource of almost as much regret, as my facility\\nin pursuing a train of argument was of astonish-\\nment to him. Put soul into it he would\\ncontinually exclaim you sing an air as nuns\\nchant an anthem. The poor man did not per-\\nceive that I had too much soul to express it in\\na song: to give full expression to a tender\\npassage of music would have embarrassed me\\nas much as to have done dramatic justice to\\nthe sentiments of Eucharis and Erminia, while\\nreading aloud to my mother of the loves and\\nsorrows of those heroines. I became trans-\\nformed, it is true in a way, into the heroine\\nherself; but I could not mimic her; I entered\\ninto her feelings, my respiration was quickened,\\nmy voice grew tremulous, but this was all. It\\nwas impossible for me to express the sentiment\\nwith scientific tune, and a sostemito voice I had\\nno idea like that of resolving to be impassioned.\\nMignard, whose Spanish politeness gained him\\nthe esteem of my grandmother, had begun", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0164.jp2"}, "151": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 133\\nat her house his lessons on the guitar, which\\nhe continued when I returned to my father s.\\nThe simple accompaniments did not cost me\\nmuch effort. Mignard took dehght in making\\nme excel on the instrument, and in the end\\nI surpassed my master. This poor man quite\\nlost his head, as will appear later on. Mozon\\nwas recalled to perfect my dancing, as was\\nM. Doucet to improve me in arithmetic,\\ngeography, writing, and history. My father\\nmade me resume the graver, confining me to a\\nsmall branch of the art, to which he thought\\nto attach me by the tie of interest for having\\nenabled me to be useful to him, he employed\\nme upon some trifling works of which I was to\\nshare with him the profit at the end of the week,\\naccording to an account of them which he en-\\ngaged me to keep. But I was soon weary of\\nthis nothing was so insipid to me, as to en-\\ngrave the edge of a watch-case, or to ornament\\nan etui, and I was better pleased to read an\\nagreeable author than to buy myself a riband.\\nI did not conceal my disgust, and as no con-\\nstraint was laid upon me, I locked up the imple-\\nments, and have never touched them since. I\\nwent out every morning with my mother to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0165.jp2"}, "152": {"fulltext": "134 Private Memoirs\\nattend mass, after which we sometimes made\\nour purchases; then succeeded the lessons of\\nmy several masters, and these being finished,\\nafter an interval of recreation I retired to my\\ncloset to read, to write, and to meditate. The\\nlong evenings made me return to my needle-\\nwork, during which my mother had the com-\\nplaisance to read to me for hours together.\\nThese readings gave me great pleasure but as\\nthey did not permit me to digest what was read\\nso perfectly as I wished, the idea suggested itself\\nto me of making extracts. Accordingly my first\\nemployment in the morning was to consign to\\npaper what had struck me most forcibly the\\npreceding evening; and this done, I resumed\\nthe book to recover the connection, or to copy\\na passage that I was desirous of having entire.\\nThis grew into a habit, a necessity, a passion.\\nMy father s small library having long since been\\nexhausted, I borrowed and hired books, and I\\ncould not bear the idea of returning them till I\\nhad digested what I had conceived to be the\\nbest of their contents. In this manner I studied\\nPluche, Rollin, Crevier, Pere d Orleans, St. Real,\\nAbbe de Vertot, and Mezeray, who so little re-\\nsembles him, and whom I conceived to be the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0166.jp2"}, "153": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 135\\ndrycst author I had ever read but his subject\\nwas the history of my country, and with this\\nI was anxious to be acquainted.\\nMy grandmother Bimont was dead. My\\nhttle uncle, of St. Bartholomew, advanced to a\\nhigher office than that of master of the choir,\\nboarded with the first vicar, the Abbe le Jay,\\nwho lived very well, and we were accustomed\\nto call upon him on Sundays and other festivals\\nafter service.\\nThe Abbe le Jay was what is called a good-\\nnatured old man, as thick in his person as in\\nhis wit, a poor preacher, a worse confessor, a\\ncasuist, and I know not what beside. But he\\nknew how to manage affairs of interest, and\\nhad succeeded so well as to establish his two\\nbrothers as notaries at Paris, where they made\\na figure in their profession, which was at that\\ntime a reputable and lucrative one. To man-\\nage his house he had one of his relations, a\\nMademoiselle d Hannache, a tall, skeleton fig-\\nure, dry and sallow, shrill of voice, proud of\\nher descent, and boring everybody with her\\ntalent for economy and her genealogical parch-\\nments. She was a woman, however, and that\\nis always sufficient to enliven the house of a", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0167.jp2"}, "154": {"fulltext": "136\\nPrivate Memoirs\\npriest; and she had the art of furnishing the\\ntable of her cousin with elegance and profusion,\\nmatters in which he was a great connoisseur.\\nThe Abbe found it extremely agreeable to have\\na boarder in his house of the amiable disposi-\\ntion of my uncle Bimont: his table was more\\ngay, Mademoiselle d Hannache better tempered,\\nand his backgammon assured. In our visits\\nmy mother and this cousin were partners against\\nthe Abbe and my uncle. I appeared to be de-\\nserted but I accommodated myself admirably\\nto this arrangement; for the Abbe received his\\ncompany in a large library, which I put under\\ncontribution according to my fancy and taste.\\nThis was a fund upon which I drew till the\\nperiod of his death, which was about three\\nyears after. One of his brothers having gotten\\ninto trouble of some kind, the Abbe lost his\\nsenses, languished for about six weeks, threw\\nhimself out of a window, and was killed by the\\nfall. Mademoiselle d Hannache, at that time\\nat law for the inheritance of her uncle, the\\ncaptain, was accommodated in the house of my\\nmother, and resided with us nearly a year and\\na half. During this interval I was her secre-\\ntary I wrote her letters, copied her precious", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0168.jp2"}, "155": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 137\\ngenealogy, drew up the petitions she presented\\nto the president and the attorney-general of the\\nParliament of Paris, the administrators of some\\nannuities bequeathed by a M, de Saint- Vallier\\nto females of rank in reduced circumstances,\\nand accompanied her sometimes in her solici-\\ntations to various persons, which her affairs\\nmade necessary. I observed upon these occa-\\nsions that, notwithstanding her ignorance, her\\nilliterate language, her starched manners, her\\nold-fashioned dress, and her other absurdities,\\nshe was treated with respect on account of her\\npedigree. They listened with attention to the\\nnames of her ancestors, which she never failed\\nto enumerate, and were ready to side with her\\nin her claims to the disputed inheritance. I\\ncould not but contrast this honorable treatment\\nwith the reception I had met with at Madame de\\nBoismorel s, which had left a deep impression on\\nmy mind. It was impossible to conceal from my-\\nself my superiority to Mademoiselle d Hannache,\\nwho, with all her genealogy and her forty years\\nto boot, could not write a letter that was either\\nlegible, or dignified with a word of common sense\\nand I thought mankind extremely unjust, and\\nthe institutions of society extravagantly absurd.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0169.jp2"}, "156": {"fulltext": "138\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nBut let us see for a moment what became of\\nmy friends of the convent. From Agathe I\\nreceived, now and then, a letter of that tender\\ndescription that particularly characterizes those\\nplaintive doves whose affections are not to ex-\\ntend beyond the limits of friendship. With\\nthese missives she used to send little gifts,\\nbon-bons, pincushions, pretty boxes, etc., when-\\never she had an opportunity to do so, I went\\nsometimes to see her. Once I was even ad-\\nmitted to the convent to witness a little fete\\nin honor of the Mother Superior, a privilege\\nbegged as a great favor from the Archbishop, and\\nof the honor of which I was of course duly\\nconscious. When I arrived, all was astir; the\\nyoung ladies were in their best, the hall was\\nadorned with flowers, the refectory was loaded\\nwith dainties. It must be owned that, while\\nthere was a touch of childishness in the sports\\nof these poor nuns, this was nevertheless atoned\\nfor by a certain ingenuous grace and lovable-\\nness native to the temperament of women, to\\nthe sprightliness of their fancy, the artlessness\\nof their bearing so long, indeed, as they are\\nnot under the eye of a sex whose presence\\nmakes them reserved, when it does not quite", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0170.jp2"}, "157": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 139\\nturn their heads. A short drama, trifling\\nenough as a composition, it is true, but ani-\\nmated by the gayety and the sweet voices of\\nthe players, came first upon the programme;\\nsportive dances followed an arch laugh, a\\npleasantry, its effect heightened by the habitual\\ngravity of the jester, lent an almost saturnalian\\ncharacter to the merriment of these simple\\nsisters and their flock. The convent physician\\narrives to visit some patients. Of course he\\nmust see these wonders he is escorted under\\na cloister trimmed with green wreaths, where a\\nsort of fair is in progress, the young novices\\nselling ballads, others distributing sweetmeats,\\nthis one drawing a lottery, that telling fortunes,\\non the one side the smaller pupils with baskets\\nof fruit, on the other a concert. At sight of his\\ndoctoral wig the scene changes suddenly: the\\nnovices lower their veils the older girls look\\nhastily to the arrangement of their dress; the\\nyounger grow demure I myself hold my guitar\\nwith a less negligent air. It was suspended by\\na ribbon passed over the shoulder. They had\\nwished me to play, and the scenes around me\\nhad inspired a couplet or two, indifferent in\\nthemselves, but productive, from their appropri-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0171.jp2"}, "158": {"fulltext": "140 Private Memoirs\\nateness, of the most happy effect. Cajon him-\\nself would have been satisfied with the manner\\nin which I sang them I had no sentiments to\\nexpress but those to which I could abandon\\nmyself, and my accents were unrestrained. I\\nwas desired to repeat them before the physi-\\ncian this was a very different affair the voice\\nwas less sure, and the expression, as it were,\\nveiled. Some mischievous sister remarked the\\nalteration, adding at the same time that my\\nmanner was so much the more interesting. The\\ndoctor withdrew the joy became general at his\\ndeparture, though there was no one there but\\nwould have wished him to be admitted.\\nSophie had returned to her family at Amiens.\\nPreviously to her departure an interview had\\ntaken place between our mothers. They had\\nconsecrated, if I may so speak, our connection,\\nhad mutually applauded our choice, and smiled\\nat the promises never to forget each other, of\\nwhich we had made them the witnesses. These\\npromises, however, in spite of circumstances,\\nhave proved, as will be seen hereafter, less\\nfleeting than was imagined. My correspon-\\ndence with this friend of my affections became\\nextremely regular. I wrote to her always once", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0172.jp2"}, "159": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 141\\na week, and generally twice. And what,\\nmetliinks I hear it asked, could you have\\nto relate Everything I saw, everything I\\nthought, everything I felt; and surely I had\\nsubjects enough These communications grew\\ndaily more fluent, more entertaining. By com-\\nmunicating my reflections I learned the better\\nto reflect; deriving a pleasure from sharing\\nwhat I acquired, I studied with the more\\nardor; finding it amusing to describe, I ob-\\nserved what was passing with the greater\\nattention. The letters of Sophie were less\\nfrequent; a numerous family, a crowded house,\\nthe demands of society, and the very nature of\\na provincial life, occupied by trifles, by unmean-\\ning visits, and of which a great part is neces-\\nsarily devoted to cards, gave her neither the\\nleisure to write, nor the opportunity to collect\\nmaterials. For this reason probably she affixed\\nthe greater value to my letters and thereby in-\\nduced me to continue them.\\nThe death of the Abbe le Jay having de-\\nprived me of the use of his library, in which I\\nhad found historians, mythologists, fathers of the\\nchurch, and literati for instance, Catrou and\\nRouille, who call Horatius Codes a genereux", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0173.jp2"}, "160": {"fulltext": "142 Private Memoirs\\nborgnc Maimbourg, of a taste equally elevated;\\nBerruyer, who has written the history of the\\npeople of God in the same style in which\\nBitaube has composed the poem of Joseph the\\nchevalier de Folard, of a character totally\\ndifferent, and whose military details appeared\\nto me much more rational than the reflections\\nof the Jesuits the* Abbe Bannier, who amused\\nme much more than the Abbe Fleury Condil-\\nlac and Pere Andre, whose metaphysics, applied\\nto eloquence, and to the beautiful of every\\nspecies, gave me singular delight; some poems\\nof Voltaire, and the moral essays of Nicole\\nthe Lives of the Fathers in the Wilderness, and\\nthat of Descartes by Andre Baillet; Bossuet s\\nDiscourse on Universal History; the letters of\\nSt, Jerome, the romance of Don Quixote, with a\\nthousand others equally congruous this re-\\nsource, I say, failing me, I was fain to have re-\\ncourse to the circulating libraries. My father,\\nbeing ill qualified to select, asked for whatever\\nI indicated to him. My choice was chiefly di-\\nrected to those works of which I had gained\\nsome knowledge, either by means of criticisms\\nor extracts in the books I had already read. In\\nthis way I was led to translations of the ancient", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0174.jp2"}, "161": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 143\\nhistorians, Diodorus Siculus, for instance, and\\nothers. I was desirous of reviewing the history\\nof my country in some other writer than Meze-\\nray; I accordingly chose the Abbe Velly and\\nhis continuators, the latter less interesting than\\nhimself, in periods, too, where, with his talents,\\nthey might have been more so. From the same\\nsource I read Pascal, Montesquieu, Locke, Burla-\\nmaqui, and the principal French dramatists. I\\nhad no plan, no system, in these readings my\\nsole view was instruction and knowledge. I felt\\na sort of necessity of exercising my mind, of\\ngratifying my serious tastes. I panted for hap-\\npiness, and I could find it only in the develop-\\nment of my faculties. I know not what I might\\nhave been, if placed in the hands of a skilful\\npreceptor but it is not improbable that, fixing\\nmy attention upon a single subject, I might\\nhave extended some branch of science, or\\nacquired superior talents. But should I have\\nbeen better or more useful? That is a question\\nwhich I leave to be resolved it is certain I could\\nnot have been happier. I know of nothing that\\ncan at all be compared to that plenitude of life,\\nof peace, of satisfaction, to those days of inno-\\ncence and study. They were not, however.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0175.jp2"}, "162": {"fulltext": "144 Private Memoirs\\nunmixed with trouble. Is the life of man upon\\nearth ever exempt from it?\\nI had commonly upon my hands many books\\nat once, some serving for studies, others for\\nrecreation. Extended historical compositions,\\nas I have already observed, were read aloud in the\\nevenings, which were now almost the only times\\nwhen I sat with my mother. The day was spent\\nin the solitude of the closet, where I devoted my-\\nself to my extracts, to reflection, or other less\\nserious occupations. In the holidays of spring\\nwe went to the public walks, or my father ac-\\ncompanied me to those exhibitions of pictures\\nand other productions of art which, in those times\\nof luxury and of the species of prosperity that\\nbelongs to it, were so numerous at Paris. Such\\nvisits were a source of gratification to him, since\\nthey afforded him an opportunity of displaying\\nhis superiority by pointing out to me what he\\nunderstood better than myself; and the taste\\nhe observed in me was the more pleasing, as he\\nconceived it to be the fruit of his own instruc-\\ntions. This was our point of contact, in which\\nwe were truly in unison. My father had his\\nshare of vanity, and it was evident enough that\\nhe was not displeased at being seen in public", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0176.jp2"}, "163": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 145\\nwith a well-dressed young woman leaning on his\\narm, whose blooming appearance frequently\\ncaused his ears to be regaled with the whispers\\nof admiration which it elicited. If any one ac-\\ncosted him, doubtful of the relation in which we\\nstood to each other, he would say, This is my\\ndaughter, with an air of modest triumph, which\\nI was not the last to perceive, and which touched\\nme without making me vain, since I ascribed it\\nentirely to parental affection. If I spoke, you\\nmight see him watching, in those around, the\\neffect of my voice, or of the good sense I may\\nhave uttered, and asking them by his looks if he\\nhad not reason to be proud. Meanwhile, this\\nworldly life, these arts, the imagination they\\nawaken, the desire to please, so powerful in\\nfemales, my devotion, my studies, my reason,\\nand my faith, how are all these to be reconciled\\nThis was precisely the origin of the trouble of\\nwhich I have just spoken, the progress and\\neffects of which are worthy of an exposition,\\nwhich however it is not a little difficult to give.\\nWith the bulk of mankind, formed rather to feel\\nthan to think, the passions give the first shock\\nto their creed, when that creed has been imbibed\\nfrom education. It is the passions that raise", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0177.jp2"}, "164": {"fulltext": "146 Private Memoirs\\nthe first contradictions between the principles\\nthat have been adopted, the desires that cannot\\neasily be quelled, and the institutions of a policy\\nill calculated to reconcile them but in a young\\nmind given to reflection, and placed out of reach\\nof the seductions of the world, it is reason that\\nfirst gives the alarm, and urges us to examine,\\nbefore we have any interest to doubt. Mean-\\nwhile, though my inquietude was unalloyed with\\nselfish considerations, it was not on that account\\nindependent of my sensibility I thought from\\nthe heart; and my reason, though remaining\\nimpartial, was never indifferent.\\nThe first thing that shocked me in my re-\\nligion, which I professed with the seriousness\\nof a solid and logical mind, was the sweeping\\ndamnation of all those who had not known and\\nbelieved in it. When, instructed by history,\\nI had well considered the extent of the earth,\\nthe succession of ages, the progress of empires,\\nthe virtues and errors of so many nations, I\\nfound the idea weak, absurd, and impious, of\\na Creator who should devote to eternal torment\\nthose countless beings, the frail work of His\\nhands, cast on the earth in the midst of such\\nperils, and in the night of an ignorance which", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0178.jp2"}, "165": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 147\\nhas proved the root of a thousand misfortunes.\\nI am deceived in this article of my faith, it\\nis evident; am I not equally wrong in some\\nothers? Let me examine. From the moment\\na Catholic has arrived at this point, the Church\\nmay regard him as lost. I perfectly conceive\\nwhy the priesthood require a bHnd submission,\\nand preach so ardently that religious credu-\\nlity which adopts without examination, and\\nadores without murmuring this is the basis of\\ntheir empire, which is destroyed as soon as we\\nbegin to investigate. Next to the doctrine of\\nexclusive salvation, the absurd idea of infalli-\\nbility was the most indigestible, and I rejected\\nthat like the other. What then remains that\\nis true? said I. This became the object of a\\nresearch continued during a number of years\\nwith an activity, and sometimes an anxiety, of\\nmind, which it is difficult to describe. Critical,\\nmoral, philosophical, and metaphysical writers\\nbecame my favorite study. I was solicitous to\\nfind some one who should assist me in my\\nchoice and their analysis and comparison occu-\\npied almost all my attention. I had lost the\\nmonk of Saint Victor, my confessor the good\\nM. Lallement, to whose honesty and discretion", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0179.jp2"}, "166": {"fulltext": "148 Private Memoirs\\nI rejoice now to testify, was dead. Under the\\nnecessity of choosing a successor, my attention\\nwas directed to the Abbe Morel, who belonged\\nto our parish, and whom I had seen at my\\nuncle s he was a little man, not deficient in\\nunderstanding, and who professed the utmost\\nausterity of principle, which trait was the motive\\nthat determined me in my choice. When my\\nfaith wavered, he was sure to be the first who\\nwas informed of it for I never could tell any-\\nthing but the truth; and he was eager to put\\ninto my hands the apologists and champions of\\nChristianity. Behold me then closeted with the\\nAbbe Gauchat, the Abbe Bergier, Abbadie,\\nHolland, Clarke, and others. I studied them\\npatiently, and I sometimes made notes, which I\\nleft in the book when I returned it to the Abbe\\nMorel, who asked with astonishment if it was I\\nwho had written and conceived them. It is\\npleasant to remark that in these books I became\\nacquainted with the authors they pretended to\\nrefute, and learned the titles of their works so\\nas to be able to procure them; thus furnishing\\nmyself with the arms of deism from the very\\narsenal of Christianity. In this way did the\\ntreatise on Toleration, the Dictionnaire Phi-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0180.jp2"}, "167": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 149\\nlosophique, Questions on the Encyclopedia,\\nthe Bon Sens of the Marquis d Argens, the\\nJewish Letters, the Turkish Spy, Les\\nMceurs, L Esprit, Diderot, d Alembert, Ray-\\nnal, and the Systeme de la Nature, pass suc-\\ncessively through my hands.\\nThe progress of my mind was not the only\\none I experienced nature had also its progress\\nof different kinds, and was working in every\\nway to my maturity.\\nTo the newly acquired sensations of a frame\\nrobust and well organized, were insensibly joined\\nall the modifications of a desire to please. I\\nloved to appear well dressed, found delight in\\nhearing it said of me, and occupied myself wil-\\nlingly in what was likely to procure me the\\ngratification. This, perhaps, is as proper a\\nplace as any to introduce my portrait. At\\nfourteen years, as now, my stature was about\\nfive feet, for I had completed my growth my\\nleg and foot were well formed the hips full\\nand bold the chest large, and the bust well\\nrounded my shoulders of an elegant tournure\\nmy carriage firm and graceful, my step light\\nand quick. Such was the first coup d ceil. As", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0181.jp2"}, "168": {"fulltext": "150 Private Memoirs\\nto my face, there was nothing in it specially\\nstriking of itself, save perhaps the fresh color,\\nthe tenderness and expression. To go into\\ndetails, Where, it may be asked, is the\\nbeauty? Not a feature is regular, but all\\nplease. The mouth is rather large one sees\\na thousand that are prettier but Avhere is there\\na smile more sweet and engaging? The eye is\\nscarcely large enough, and its iris is of a gray-\\nish hue but, though somewhat prominently set,\\nit is frank, lively, and tender, crowned by deli-\\ncately pencilled brown eyebrows (the color of my\\nhair), and its expression varies with the chang-\\ning emotions of the soul whose activity it re-\\nflects grave and haughty, at times it imposes\\nbut it charms oftener, and is always animated.\\nThe nose gave me some uneasiness I thought\\nit too full at the end, but, regarded with the\\nrest, and especially in profile, it did not detract\\nfrom the general effect of the face. The ample\\nforehead, at that age exposed and unhidden by\\nthe hair, with arched eyebrows, and veins in\\nthe form of the Greek 7, that dilated at the\\nslightest emotion, dignified an ensemble remote\\nenough from the insignificance of so many\\nfaces. As for the chin, which was slightly", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0182.jp2"}, "169": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 151\\nretiring, it has the precise characteristics attri-\\nbuted by physiognomists to the voluptuary.\\nIndeed, when I combine all the peculiarities of\\nmy character, I doubt if ever an individual was\\nmore formed for pleasure, or has tasted it so\\nlittle. The complexion was clear rather than\\nfair; its lively colors were frequently height-\\nened by a sudden effervescence of the blood,\\noccasioned by nerves the most sensitive the\\nskin soft and smooth the arms finely rounded\\nthe hand elegant without being small, because\\nthe fingers, long and slender, announce dex-\\nterity and preserve grace teeth white and well\\nranged and, lastly, the plenitude and plump-\\nness of perfect health such are the gifts with\\nwhich nature had endowed me. I have lost\\nmany of them, particularly such as depend\\nupon bloom and fulness of figure but those\\nwhich remain are sufficient to conceal, without\\nany assistance of art, five or six years of my\\nage, and the persons who see me must be in-\\nformed of what it is, to believe me more than\\ntwo or three and thirty. It is only since my\\nbeauty has faded that I have known what was\\nits extent while in its bloom I was unconscious\\nof its worth, and perhaps this ignorance aug-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0183.jp2"}, "170": {"fulltext": "152 Private Memoirs\\nmerited its value. I do not regret its loss, be-\\ncause I have never abused it but if my duty-\\ncould accord with my taste to leave less ineffec-\\ntive what remains of it, I certainly should not\\nbe mortified. My portrait has frequently been\\ndrawn, painted, and engraved, but none of these\\nimitations gives an idea of my person; it is\\ndifficult to seize, because I have more soul than\\nfigure, more expression than features. This an\\ninferior artist cannot express it is probable\\neven that he would not perceive it. My face\\nkindles in proportion to the interest with which\\nI am inspired, in the same manner as my mind\\nis developed in proportion to the mind with\\nwhich I have to act. I find myself so dull with\\nsome people, that, perceiving the abundance of\\nmy resources with persons of talent, I have\\nimagined, in my simplicity, that to them alone\\nI was indebted for it. I generally please, be-\\ncause I dislike to offend but it is not granted\\nto all to find me handsome, or to discover what\\nI am worth. I can imagine an old coxcomb,\\nenamored of himself, and vain of displaying\\nhis slender stock of science, fifty years in ac-\\nquiring, who might see me for ten years to-\\nThe cameo of Langlois is the least imperfect.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0184.jp2"}, "171": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 153\\ngether without discovering that I could do more\\nthan cast up a bill, or cut out a shirt. Camille\\nDesmoulins was right when he expressed his\\namazement, that at my age, and with so Httle\\nbeauty, I had still what he calls adorers. I\\nhave never spoken to him, but it is probable\\nthat with a personage of his stamp I should be\\ncold and. silent, if I were not absolutely repul-\\nsive. But he missed the truth in supposing me\\nto hold a court. I hate gallants as much as I\\ndespise slaves, and I know perfectly how to\\nbaffle your complimenters. I have need, above\\nall things, of esteem and benevolence; admire\\nme afterwards if you will, but I cannot live with-\\nout being respected and cherished this seldom\\nfails from those who see me often, and who pos-\\nsess, at the same time, a sound understanding\\nand a heart.\\nThat desire to please, which animates a\\nyouthful breast and excites so delicious an\\nemotion at the flattering looks of which we per-\\nceive ourselves the object, was oddly combined\\nwith my timid reserve and the austerity of my\\nprinciples and, displayed in my dress, it lent\\nmy person a charm that was strictly pecuHar.\\nNothing could be more decent than my dress,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0185.jp2"}, "172": {"fulltext": "154 Private Memoirs\\nnothing more modest than my deportment. I\\nwished them to announce propriety and grace\\nand from the commendations that were be-\\nstowed upon me, I flattered myself that I suc-\\nceeded. Meanwhile, that renunciation of the\\nworld, that contempt of its pomps and vanities,\\nso strongly recommended by Christian morality,\\nill accorded with the suggestions of nature.\\nTheir contradictions at first tormented me, but\\nmy reasonings necessarily extended to rules of\\nconduct, as to articles of faith. I applied my-\\nself with equal attention to the investigation of\\nwhat I was to do, and the examination of what\\nI ought to believe. The study of philosophy, con-\\nsidered as the science of manners and the basis\\nof happiness, became indeed my only study, and\\nI referred to it all my readings and observation.\\nIn metaphysics and moral systems I experi-\\nenced the same feeling as in reading poems,\\nwhen I fancied myself transformed into the per-\\nsonage of the drama that had most analogy\\nto myself, or that I most esteemed. I accord-\\ningly adopted the propositions the novelty or\\nbrilliance of which had most impressed me, and\\nthese I held until others more novel or more\\nprofound superseded them. Thus, in the con-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0186.jp2"}, "173": {"fulltext": "CAMILIiE DESMOUrJilSrS", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0189.jp2"}, "174": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0190.jp2"}, "175": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 155\\ntroversial class, I enrolled myself with the Port-\\nRoyal school their logic and austerity accorded\\nwith my character, while I felt an instinctive\\naversion for the sophistical and pliant doctrine\\nof the Jesuits. While I was examining the sects\\nof the ancient philosophers, I gave the palm to\\nthe Stoics. I endeavored, like them, to main-\\ntain that pain was no evil. This folly, indeed,\\ncould not last, but I nevertheless persisted in\\ndetermining not to permit myself to be con-\\nquered by suffering; and the small experiments\\nI had occasion to make persuaded me that I\\ncould endure the greatest torments without\\nuttering a cry. The night of my marriage\\noverturned the confidence I had till then pre-\\nserved it must, however, be allowed, that sur-\\nprise in certain cases is to be counted for\\nsomething, and that a novice in this philosophy\\nmay be expected to hold himself more firm\\nagainst an ill that is foreseen, than against one\\nthat takes him by surprise, and where the exact\\ncontrary was looked for.\\nDuring two months that I studied Descartes\\nand Malebranche, I had considered my kitten,\\nwhen she mewed, merely as a piece of- mechan-\\nism performing its movements but in thus", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0191.jp2"}, "176": {"fulltext": "156 Private Memoirs\\nhabitually separating sensation from its manifes-\\ntations, I became a mere anatomist, and found\\nno longer anything attractive or interesting in\\nthe world. I thought it infinitely more delight-\\nful to furnish everything with a soul and\\nindeed, rather than dispense with it, I should\\nhave adopted the system of Spinoza. Helvetius\\ndid me considerable injury by annihilating all\\nmy most ravishing illusions everywhere he\\nposited a mean and revolting self-interest. Yet\\nwhat sagacity what luminous development\\nI persuaded myself that Helvetius delineated\\nmankind as they had been disfigured and de-\\npraved by an erroneous and vicious form of\\nsociety, and I judged it useful to.be acquainted\\nwith his system, as a security against the knav-\\neries of the world but I was upon my guard\\nagainst adopting his principles respecting man in\\nthe abstract, and applying them to the apprecia-\\ntion of my own actions. I would not so under-\\nvalue and degrade myself: I felt myself capable\\nof a generosity, of which he did not admit the\\npossibility. With what delight did I oppose to\\nhis system the great exploits of history, and\\nthe virtues of the heroes it has celebrated I\\nnever read the recital of a glorious deed but I", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0192.jp2"}, "177": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 157\\nsaid to myself: It is thus I would have acted.\\nI became a passionate lover of republics, in\\nwhich I found the most virtues to admire and\\nthe most men to esteem. I became convinced\\nthat this form of government was the only one\\ncapable of producing such virtues and such\\ncharacters. I felt myself not unequal to the\\nformer; I repulsed with disdain the idea of\\nuniting myself to a man inferior to the latter\\nand I demanded, with a sigh, why I was not\\nborn amidst these republics.\\nAbout this time we made an excursion to\\nVersailles, my mother, my uncle. Mademoiselle\\nd Hannache, and myself. This journey had no\\nother object than to show me the court and the\\nplace it inhabited, and to amuse me with its\\npageantry. We lodged in the palace. Madame\\nle Grand, nurse to the Dauphin, well known to\\nmy uncle Bimont, through her son, of whom I\\nshall have occasion to speak, being absent, lent\\nus her apartments. They were in the attic story,\\nin the same corridor with those of the Arch-\\nbishop of Paris, and so close to them that it was\\nnecessary for that prelate to speak in a low tone\\nof voice to. avoid being overheard by us; the\\nsame precaution was requisite on our part. Two", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0193.jp2"}, "178": {"fulltext": "158\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nchambers indifferently furnished, over one of\\nwhich it was contrived to lodge a valet, and the\\navenue to which was rendered insupportable by\\nits obscurity and its odors, were the habitation\\nwhich a duke and peer of France did not dis-\\ndain to occupy, that he might have the honor of\\ncringing every morning before their majesties\\nand this servile prelate, meanwhile, was no other\\nthan the austere Beaumont. For one entire\\nweek we were constant spectators of the life of\\nthe inmates of the chateau, sometimes sep-\\narated, and sometimes united, their masses,\\npromenades, card parties, and the whole round\\nof presentations.\\nOur acquaintance with Madame le Grand fa-\\ncilitated our admission while Mademoiselle\\nd Hannache, penetrated with confidence every-\\nwhere, ready to batter down with her name\\nwhoever should oppose any resistance, and\\nfancying they must read in her grotesque coun-\\ntenance the ten generations of her genealogy.\\nShe recollected two or three gardes du roi,\\nwhose pedigrees she recounted with minuteness,\\nproving herself precisely the relation of him\\nwhose name was the most ancient, and who\\nseemed to possess most consideration at court.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0194.jp2"}, "179": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 159\\nThe spruce figure of a little clergyman like\\nBimont, and the imbecile hauteur of the ugly\\nd Hannache, were not wholly out of place at\\nVersailles but the unrouged face of my re-\\nspectable mother, and the sober decency of\\nmy apparel, announced that we were bourgeois\\nand if my youth or my eyes drew forth a word\\nor two, they were modulated with a tone of\\ncondescension that gave me no less offence\\nthan the compHments of Madame de Boismorel.\\nPhilosophy, imagination, sentiment, and calcu-\\nlation were all equally exercised in me upon\\nthis occasion. I was not insensible to the\\neffects of sumptuousness and magnificence,\\nbut I felt indignant that they should be em-\\nployed to exalt certain individuals already too\\npowerful from circumstances and totally insig-\\nnificant in themselves. I preferred seeing the\\nstatues in the gardens to the personages of\\nthe court; and my mother inquiring if I was\\npleased with my visit, Yes, replied I, if\\nonly it be soon over; a few days longer, and\\nI shall so perfectly detest these people that\\nI shall not know what to do with my hatred.\\nWhat harm do they do you\\nThey give me the feeling of injustice, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0195.jp2"}, "180": {"fulltext": "i6o Private Memoirs\\noblige me every moment to contemplate ab-\\nsurdity.\\nI sighed at the recollection of Athens, where\\nI could equally have admired the fine arts,\\nwithout being annoyed with the spectacle cf\\ndespotism. In imagination I traversed Greece\\nI assisted at the Olympic Games, and I mur-\\nmured that I was born in France. Enchanted\\nwith what I beheld in the golden period of\\nthe republic, I passed over the disorders by\\nwhich it had been agitated I forgot the exile\\nof Aristides, the death of Socrates, the con-\\ndemnation of Phocion. I dreamt not that\\nheaven had reserved me to be witness of errors\\nsimilar to those of which they were the victims,\\nand to participate in the glory of the same\\npersecution after having professed the same\\nprinciples. Heaven knows that the misfortunes\\nwhich affect only myself have not extorted\\nfrom me a sigh or even a regret I am sensible\\nonly of those which afflict my country. Upon\\nthe divisions of the court and the parliament\\nin 1771,-* my character and opinions attached\\n1 The time of Chancellor Maupeou s famous coup d etat,\\nthe installation of the Parlement Maiipeou. Of the whole-\\nsale suppressions in 1771 of the parlements, De Tocqueville\\nsays At this date the radical revolution became inevitable.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0196.jp2"}, "181": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 16 i\\nme to the party of the latter; I procured all\\ntheir remonstrances, and was most pleased by\\nthose of which the principles and style were\\nthe most outspoken and daring. The sphere\\nof my ideas continually enlarged. My own\\nhappiness, and the duties to the performance\\nof which it was attached, occupied my earliest\\nattention the desire of instruction afterwards\\nmade me devour history and scrutinize my own\\nsurroundings the relation of man to the di-\\nvinity so variously represented, overcharged,\\nand disfigured, excited my notice and finally\\nthe interests of my fellow creatures and the\\norganization of society fixed and absorbed all\\nmy thoughts.\\nIn the midst of doubts, uncertainty, and in-\\nvestigation, relative to these grand objects, I\\nconcluded without hesitation, that the unity of\\nthe individual, if I may so express myself, the\\nmost entire harmony that is to say, between his\\nopinions and actions, was necessary to his per-\\nsonal happiness. Accordingly we must examine\\nwell what is right, and when we have found it,\\npractise it rigorously. There is a kind of\\njustice that man has to observe towards himself,\\nshould he exist solitary on the earth he should", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0197.jp2"}, "182": {"fulltext": "1 62 Private Memoirs\\ngovern all his afifections and habits, that he may\\nbe tyrannized and enslaved by none. A being\\nis good in itself when all its parts concur to its\\npreservation, its maintenance, or its perfection\\nthis is not less true in the moral than in the\\nphysical universe. Justness of organization, an\\neven temper, constitute health wholesome food\\nand moderate exercise preserve it. The pro-\\nportion of our desires and the harmony of the\\npassions form the moral constitution, of which\\nwisdom alone can secure the excellence and\\nduration. These first principles are grounded\\nin self-interest, and in this regard it may\\njustly be said that virtue is only soundness of\\njudgment applied to morals. But virtue, prop-\\nerly so called, results from the relations of a\\nbeing with his fellow beings justice towards\\nourselves is wisdom justice towards others is\\nvirtue. In society all is relative there is no\\nhappiness independent; we are necessitated to\\nsacrifice a part of what we might enjoy, not to\\nbe deprived of the whole, and to secure a por-\\ntion against all assaults. Even here the balance\\nis in favor of reason. However burdensome\\nmay be the life of the honest, that of the vicious\\nmust be more so. He can seldom be tranquil", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0198.jp2"}, "183": {"fulltext": "of Mctdame Roland 163\\nwho stands in opposition to the interest of the\\nmajority; it is impossible for him to conceal\\nfrom himself that he is surrounded by enemies,\\nor by those who are ready to become so and\\nthis situation is always painful, however splendid\\nit appear. Let us add to these considerations\\nthe sublime rectitude of instinct which corruption\\nmay lead astray, but which no false philosophy\\ncan ever annihilate which impels us to admire\\nand love wisdom and generosity of conduct as we\\ndo grandeur and beauty in nature and the arts\\nand we shall have the source of human virtue\\nindependent of every religious system, of the in-\\ntricacies of metaphysics, and of the impostures\\nof priests. When I had combined and demon-\\nstrated these truths, my heart expanded with\\njoy they offered me a port in the tempest, and\\nafforded me a station, whence I could with less\\nanxiety examine the errors of national creeds\\nand the vices of social institutions. The glorious\\nidea of a Divine Creator, whose providence\\nwatches over the world the immateriality of\\nthe soul, and lastly its immortality, that consol-\\nation of persecuted and suffering virtue can\\nthese be nothing more than amiable and splen-\\ndid chimeras? Yet what absurdities enwrap these", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0199.jp2"}, "184": {"fulltext": "164 Private Memoirs\\ndifficult problems What accumulated objec-\\ntions involve them, if we wish to examine them\\nwith a mathematical rigor But no it is\\nnot allotted to man to behold these truths in the\\nfull day of perfect evidence and what does it\\nsignify to the sensible soul that he cannot de-\\nmonstrate them? Is it not sufficient that he\\nfeels them?\\nIn the silence of the closet and the dryness of\\ndiscussion I can agree with the atheist or the\\nmaterialist as to the hopeless insolubility of\\ncertain questions but in the bosom of the\\ncountry and in the contemplation of nature\\nmy soul soars to the vivifying principle that\\nanimates all things, to the all-powerful mind\\nthat arranges them, to the goodness that invests\\nthem with such exquisite charms. Now, when\\nthick walls separate me from my loved ones,\\nwhen society heaps upon us evil after evil as\\na punishment for having sought its welfare, I\\nlook beyond the bounds of hfe for the reward\\nof our sacrifices, and the felicity of reunion.\\nHow? In what manner? I am ignorant; I\\nonly feel that it ought to be so.^\\n1 I write this on the 4th of September, at eleven at night,\\nthe apartment next to me resounding with peals of laughter.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0200.jp2"}, "185": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 165\\nThe Atheist is not, in my eyes, a man of ill\\nfaith I can live with him as well, nay, better\\nthan with the devotee, for he reasons more\\nbut he is deficient in a certain sense, and his\\nsoul does not keep pace with mine he is\\nunmoved at a spectacle the most ravishing, and\\nhe hunts for a syllogism, where I am impressed\\nwith awe and admiration.\\nIt was not suddenly and at once that I attained\\nthis secure and peaceful station, in which, en-\\njoying the truths which are demonstrated to\\nme, and resigning myself with confidence to\\nthe feelings that constitute my happiness, I am\\ncontent to be ignorant of what cannot be\\nknown, without being disturbed by the opinions\\nof others. I compress in a few words the\\nessence of many years meditation and study,\\nin the course of which I have sometimes shared\\nthe zeal of the theist, the austerity of the\\nThe actresses of the Thedtre Fran^ais were arrested yester-\\nday, and conducted to Sauite Pelagie. To-day they were taken\\nto their own apartments to witness the ceremony of taking\\noff the seals, and are now returned to the prison, where the\\npeace-officer is supping and amusing himself with them. The\\nmeal is noisy and frolicsome I catch the sound of coarse\\njests, while foreign wines sparkle in the goblet. The place,\\nthe object, the persons, my occupation, altogether form a\\ncontrast which appears to me sufficiently curious.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0201.jp2"}, "186": {"fulltext": "1 66 Private Memoirs\\natheist, and the indifference of the sceptic.\\nThese fluctuations were always sincere, as I\\nhad no inducement to change my opinions for\\nthe purpose of countenancing a relaxation of\\nmanners my system of conduct was fixed be-\\nyond the power of prejudice to shake I some-\\ntimes felt the agitation of doubt, but never the\\ntorments of fear. I conformed to the estab-\\nlished worship, because my age, my sex, my\\nsituation, made it my duty to do so but, incap-\\nable of deceit, I said to the Abbe Morel, I\\ncome to confession for the edification of my\\nneighbor, and the peace of my mother but I\\nscarcely know of what to accuse myself; my\\nsituation is so calm, my tastes are so simple,\\nthat, though I have no great merit to boast, I\\nhave little to reproach myself with. Perhaps I\\nam too much engrossed by a wish to please, and\\ntoo impatient with those about me, when any-\\nthing occurs to give me vexation. I am also\\nnot sufficiently indulgent in my judgments of\\nothers, and, without suffering it to manifest\\nitself, I too hastily conceive aversion to those\\nwho appear to me stupid or dull; but in this\\nI will be careful to correct myself Lastly, in\\nthe exercises of religion I give way too much", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0202.jp2"}, "187": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 167\\nto coldness and indifference for I acknowledge\\nthat we ought to be attentive to whatever we\\nthink it requisite to perform, be the motive\\nwhat it may. The good Morel, who had\\nexhausted his library and his rhetoric to keep\\nme in the faith, had the good sense to be\\npleased at finding me so reasonable; he ex-\\nhorted me, however, to distrust the spirit of\\npride, represented with all his force the conso-\\nlations of religion, thought proper to grant me\\nabsolution, and even consented that I should\\nattend the holy table three or four times in the\\nyear out of philosophical toleration, since I\\ncould no longer do it from the dictates of faith.\\nWhen I received the sacred wafer, I recalled the\\nwords of Cicero that, to complete the follies of\\nmen with respect to the Deity, it only remained\\nfor them to transform Him into food, and then\\nto devour him. My mother increasing daily in\\npiety, I was less able to deviate from the ordi-\\nnary practices, as there was nothing I so much\\ndreaded as to afifiict her.\\nThe Abbe le Grand, friend of my uncle\\nBimont, sometimes visited us. He was a man\\nof excellent judgment, who had no badge of\\nhis profession but his gown, by which too he", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0203.jp2"}, "188": {"fulltext": "1 68 Private Memoirs\\nwas sufficiently embarrassed. His family had\\nmade him a priest, because, of three sons, one\\nmust of necessity enter the church. Appointed\\nalmoner to the Prince of Lamballe, and pen-\\nsioned after the death of his patron by Penthi-\\nevre, he had settled himself in a parish merely\\nthat he might have a fixed residence, and had\\nchosen it near his friend to enjoy his society.\\nAffected with great weakness of sight, he had\\nbecome blind when very young, and this acci-\\ndent fostering his turn for reflection had ren-\\ndered him extremely contemplative. He liked\\nto chat with me, and often brought me books,\\nwhich were almost always works of philosophy,\\non the principles of which he spoke freely.\\nMy mother avoided discussion, and I was afraid\\nof pushing things too far she did not, however,\\nhinder me from reading, nor did she blame my\\nchoice of subjects. A Genevese watchmaker,\\nconnected in the way of business with my father,\\na worthy man, who always kept a book among\\nhis tools and had a tolerable library, with which\\nhe was better acquainted than most of your\\ngreat lords are with theirs, offered me the use\\nof his treasure, so suited to my taste, and I\\navailed myself of his kindness. This good M.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0204.jp2"}, "189": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 169\\nMor6 was capable of reasoning, not only on his\\nart, but on morals and politics and if he\\nexpressed himself with a difficulty that my\\nimpatience found hard to support, he shared\\nwith most of his countrymen that solidity of\\nintellect which excuses the want of grace.\\nFrom him I had Buffon, and many other works.\\nI cite this author to repeat what I have said in\\na former part of my memoirs of the discretion\\nwith which I read him. Philosophy, in devel-\\noping the force of my soul and giving firmness\\nto my mind, had in no way diminished the\\nscruples of sentiment, and the susceptibility of\\nmy imagination, against which I had so much\\nreason to guard myself. Natural history at\\nfirst, and then mathematics, exercised for a\\ntime my activity. Nollet, Reaumur, Bonnet\\n(who poetizes where others describe), amused\\nme in turn, as did Maupertuis, who writes\\nelegies while depicting the pleasures of snails.\\nAt length Rivard inspired me with the design\\nof becoming a geometrician. Guering, stone-\\nmason and surveyor, who mixed discretion and\\nmildness with the simplicity of the artisan,\\ncoming one day to discourse with my father,\\nfound me so engrossed with the quarto of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0205.jp2"}, "190": {"fulltext": "170 Private Memoirs\\nRivard, that I had not perceived his arrival.\\nHe entered into conversation with me, and\\ninformed me that Clairaut s Elements would\\ngive me much clearer notions upon the sub-\\nject I was studying; and the next day he\\nbrought me a copy of the work which he had\\nin his possession. I found it to contain a sum-\\nmary of the first principles of the science, and\\nconsidering that the work might be useful to me,\\nand that I could not detain it from the proprie-\\ntor so long as I might wish, I formed, without\\nhesitation, the resolution to copy it from begin-\\nning to end, including six plates of diagrams.\\nI cannot avoid laughing at this operation when-\\never I remember it any other than myself would\\nhave purchased the book, but the idea never\\noccurred to me, and that of copying came as\\nnaturally as that of pricking a pattern for a ruffle,\\nand was almost as soon effected for the work\\nwas but a smaU octavo. This pleasant perfor-\\nmance is still, I believe, among my papers.\\nGeometry delighted me as long as there was no\\nnecessity for algebra, with the dryness of which\\nI was disgusted as soon as I had passed the first\\ndegree of equations. I accordingly threw to\\nthe winds the multiplicity of fractions, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0206.jp2"}, "191": {"fulltext": "GEisrsoisr]s:E", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0209.jp2"}, "192": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0210.jp2"}, "193": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 171\\nfound it more profitable to feast upon a good\\npoem than to starve myself with roots. In vain,\\nsome years after, did M. Roland, paying his\\naddresses, endeavor to revive in me this\\nancient taste we made, indeed, a great many\\nfigures but the mode of deduction by X and\\nY was never sufficiently attractive to fix my\\nattention.\\nSeptember 5. I cut the sheet to inclose what I\\nhave written in the little box for when I see a\\nrevolutionary army decreed, new tribunals formed\\nfor shedding innocent blood, famine threatened,\\nand the tyrants at bay, I augur that they must\\nhave new victims, and conclude that no one is\\nsecure of living another day.\\nThe correspondence with Sophie was still one\\nof my chief pleasures, and the bands of our\\nfriendship had been drawn closer by several\\njourneys which she had made to Paris. My\\nsusceptible heart had need, I will not say of an\\nillusion, but of an object upon which to centre\\nits afiections, and especially of confidence and\\ncommunication. Friendship offered them, and I\\ncherished it with ardor. My relation with my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0211.jp2"}, "194": {"fulltext": "172 Private Memoirs\\nmother, agreeable as it was, would not have\\nsupplied the place of this affection it had too\\nmuch of the gravity resulting from respect on\\nthe one part, and of authority on the other.\\nMy mother might have known everything; I\\nhad nothing to conceal from her, but I could\\nnot tell her all. To a parent one addresses con-\\nfessions one can really confide only in an\\nequal.\\nMy mother, without asking to see the letters\\nI wrote to Sophie, was pleased to have them\\nshown to her; and our arrangement of this\\nmatter was not without its humorous side. We\\nunderstood each other without a word having\\npassed between us on the subject. When I\\nheard from my friend, which I did regularly\\nevery week, I read to my mother a few passages\\nfrom the letter when I had written my reply I\\nleft it for a day, ready folded and directed, on\\nmy table, but unsealed my mother scarcely\\never failed to glance over its contents, and\\nwhen I happened to be present on these occa-\\nsions I always found an excuse for retiring,\\nwhether she had seen my letter or not; after\\nthe supposed necessary interval had elapsed, I\\nsealed and dispatched it, but not always without", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0212.jp2"}, "195": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 173\\nadding a postscript. It never happened that\\nshe made any mention of what she had read\\nbut I did not fail to inform her by this means\\nof what I wished her to know of my disposition,\\nmy taste, and my opinions and I expressed\\nthem with a freedom which I should not have\\ndared to use with her in conversation. My\\nfrankness was not at all diminished by this cir-\\ncumstance, for I felt that I had a right to exer-\\ncise it in its full extent, and that there did not\\nexist anywhere a reciprocal right to blame it.\\nI have often thought since, that, had I been in\\nthe place of my mother, I should have wished\\nto become the entire confidant of my daughter\\nand if I have any present regrets, it is that mine\\nmay not be as I was at that time. Were it so, we\\nshould proceed on a perfect equality, and I\\nshould be happy. But my mother, with much\\ngoodness of heart, was at the same time some-\\nwhat cold. She was prudent rather than ten-\\nder, and more circumspect than unreserved.\\nPerhaps too she perceived in me an ardor that\\nwould have hurried me to greater lengths than\\nherself Her manner induced me to behave\\nwithout constraint, but also without familiarity.\\nShe was sparing of caresses, though her eyes,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0213.jp2"}, "196": {"fulltext": "174 Private Memoirs\\nbreathing tenderness and love, were continually\\nfixed upon me. I felt upon these occasions her\\nheart it fathomed mine but the reserve\\nwhich surrounded her person gave me a degree\\nof reserve in return which I should not other-\\nwise have had, and which seemed to increase as\\nI advanced towards maturity. My mother had\\na dignity, touching it is true, but still it was\\ndignity. The transports of my ardent nature\\nwere repressed by it, and I never knew all the\\nforce of my attachment to her, except by the\\ndespair and delirium into which I was plunged\\nby her loss. Our days flowed on in a delicious\\ntranquillity; I spent the greater part in my\\nsolitary studies, transported to the days of\\nantiquity, and lost in the study of its history\\nand arts, its precepts and opinions. Mass in\\nthe morning, a few hours devoted to common\\nreadings, our repasts and our walks were the\\nonly opportunities of being with my mother.\\nOur walks were rare, and when we had visitors\\nthat were not to my taste, I took care to avoid\\nthem by remaining in my closet, which my\\nmother had not the cruelty to oblige me to quit.\\nSundays and festivals were consecrated to what\\nmay be called our rambles, which frequently", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0214.jp2"}, "197": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 175\\nextended to a distance, owing to my preference\\nfor the country to the artificial gardens of the\\ncapital. I was, however, by no means insensible\\nto the pleasure of appearing occasionally in the\\npublic walks; they afforded at that period a\\nbrilliant spectacle, in which the youth of both\\nsexes sustained an agreeable part. Personal\\ngraces constantly obtained there the homage of\\nadmiration, which modesty cannot but perceive,\\nand of which the heart of a young girl is always\\navaricious. But it did not satisfy mine I ex-\\nperienced after these walks during which my\\nvanity, powerfully roused, was upon the anxious\\nwatch for whatever could show me to advantage\\nand give me the proof that I had made a good\\nuse of my time an insupportable vacuity, an\\nuneasiness and disgust, which were too dear a\\nprice for so frivolous an enjoyment. Used to\\nreflect upon and account for my sensations, I\\nsought the cause of this dissatisfaction, and I\\nfound full exercise for my philosophy.\\nIs it, then, I reflected, to glitter to the\\neye, like the flowers of a parterre, and to re-\\nceive a few evanescent praises, that persons\\n-of my sex are formed to virtue and enriched\\nwith talents? What means this intense desire", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0215.jp2"}, "198": {"fulltext": "176\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nof pleasure with which I feel myself devoured,\\nand which is still insufficient to render me\\nhappy, even when it should seem to be most\\ngratified? What good do I derive from the\\nprying looks, the flattering whispers, of a crowd,\\nof which I have no knowledge, and composed\\nof persons whom, did I know them, I should\\nprobably despise? Am I then placed in the\\nworld to waste my existence in vain cares and\\ntumultuous sensations? Doubtless I have a\\nbetter and nobler destination The admiration,\\nwhich I so ardently feel for whatever is virtuous,\\nwise, exalted, and generous, tells me that I am\\ncalled to practise these things. The sublime\\nand interesting duties of a wife and a mother\\nmay some day be mine the days of my youth\\ntherefore should be employed in rendering me\\nequal to the discharge of them I ought to study\\ntheir importance; I ought to learn, by regulat-\\ning my own inclinations, how to direct hereafter\\nthose of my children; by the habit of self-\\nrestraint, by the cultivation of my mind, I ought\\nto secure to myself the means of effecting the\\nhappiness of the most delightful of societies,\\nof providing a never-failing source of felicity\\nfor the man who shall merit my esteem and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0216.jp2"}, "199": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 177\\nlove, and of communicating to all that surround\\nus a charm and lustre that shall be the entire\\nwork of my own hands.\\nSuch were the thoughts that agitated my\\nbreast. Overcome with emotion, my heart\\nshed its transports in tears and ascending to\\nthat supreme Intelligence, that First Cause, that\\nglorious Providence, that principle of thought\\nand of sentiment, which it felt the necessity of\\nbelieving and acknowledging, O Thou, it ex-\\nclaimed, who hast placed me on the earth,\\nenable me to fill my destination in the manner\\nmost conformable to Thy divine will, and most\\nbeneficial to the welfare of my brethren of\\nmankind\\nThis concise prayer, simple as the heart that\\ndictated it, has become my only one never\\nhave the doubts of philosophy, or any species\\nof dissipation, been able to dry up its source.\\nFrom the tumult of the world and from the\\ndepth of a prison, it has ascended with the\\nsame energy. I have pronounced it with trans-\\nport in the most splendid conjunctures of my\\nlife; I repeat it in fetters with resignation;\\nanxious in the former to guard myself from\\neverything that was unworthy of the dignity", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0217.jp2"}, "200": {"fulltext": "178 Private Memoirs\\nof my station, careful in the latter to preserve\\nthe necessary fortitude for supporting me in\\nthe trials to which I am exposed persuaded\\nthat, in the course of things, there are events\\nagainst which human prudence cannot guard\\nthat the heaviest afflictions cannot crush the\\nvirtuous, the firm-fixed soul and that peace\\nwith one s self, resignation to one s lot, are the\\nelements of felicity, and form the true inde-\\npendence of the sage and the hero.\\nThe country presented objects more con-\\ngenial to my habits of meditation, to that\\nserious, tender, and pensive disposition, forti-\\nfied by reflection and the developments of a\\nsensible heart. We often went to Meudon,\\nwhich was my favorite walk. I preferred its\\nwild woods, its solitary ponds, its pine vistas,\\nand its lofty groves, to the frequented paths\\nand uniform coppices of the Bois de Boulogne,\\nto the decorations of Bellevue, or the clipped\\nalleys of St. Cloud.\\nWhere shall we go to-morrow, if the weather\\nbe fine said my father on the Saturday even-\\nings in summer, looking smilingly at me shall\\nwe go to St. Cloud The fountains are to play\\nthere will be a world of company.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0218.jp2"}, "201": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 179\\nAh, papa I should like it far better if you\\nwould go to Meudon.\\nBy five the next morning everybody was up\\na light dress, clean and simple, some flowers,\\nand a gauze veil, announced the plan of the day.\\nThe Odes of Rousseau, a volume of Corneille,\\nor some other author, constituted my baggage.\\nWe embarked at the Port-Royal, which I could\\nsee from my window, in a little boat that\\nsmoothly and swiftly conveyed us to the shores\\nof Bellevue, not far from the glassworks, the\\nthick black smoke of which was visible at some\\ndistance. Thence by steep paths we gained the\\navenue of Meudon, a little beyond the midway\\nof which was a little cottage on the right, which\\nbecame one of our resting-places. It was the\\nhouse of a widow, a milkwoman, who lived\\nthere with her two cows and her poultry. As it\\nwas important to spend the best hours of the day\\nin our ramble, we agreed to stop at the cottage\\non our return, to drink a cup of fresh milk with\\nour hostess. This arrangement came to form\\na regular part of the day s programme, and\\nthenceforth we seldom entered the avenue\\nwithout stopping to tell our friend that she\\nmight expect to see us in the evening or the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0219.jp2"}, "202": {"fulltext": "i8o Private Memoirs\\nnext day, and that she must not forget our\\nbowl of milk.\\nThe good woman received us with much kind-\\nness and our repast, seasoned with a cheerful\\ntemper, had always the air of a little feast, of\\nwhich some remembrance survived each time in\\nthe pocket of the milkwoman. Our dinner we\\ntook at the lodge of one of the Swiss of the park\\nbut my turn for exploration soon led to the dis-\\ncovery of a retreat better suited to my taste.\\nOne day, after having strolled a long time in an\\nunfrequented part of the wood, we reached a\\nsolitary spot at the end of an alley of lofty trees,\\nthe silence of which was rarely disturbed by\\npromenaders. A few trees scattered on the\\nsmooth sward almost concealed a pretty, two-\\nstoried cottage. Ah! what is here? ex-\\nclaimed one of us.\\nTwo fine children were playing before the\\ndoor, which was open. They had neither\\nthe town-bred air, nor those marks of poverty\\nand distress that belong to the country. We\\napproached we saw upon the left a kitchen\\ngarden, with an old man at work in it. We\\nentered, and opened a conversation. The\\nname of the place was Ville Bonne its occu-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0220.jp2"}, "203": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland i8i\\npant was the water-bailiff of the Moulin-Rouge,\\nwhose office it was to see that the artificial\\ncanals of the park were kept in repair. His\\nsmall salary contributed in part to support a\\nlittle family, of which the two children were\\nmembers, and the old man their grandfather.\\nIt was the occupation of the mother to take\\ncare of the house, of the old man to cultivate\\nthe garden, and of the son to carry its produce\\nto market, whenever his avocations would al-\\nlow him. The garden was a long square,\\ndivided into four parts a walk sufficiently\\nwide led round them; in the centre was a pond\\nfor irrigation at the farther end was an arbor\\nof yews inclosing a stone bench, inviting at\\nonce for rest and shade. Flowers interspersed\\namong the kitchen plants gave the garden an\\nair of gayety and beauty. The old man, sturdy\\nand contented, reminded me of the peasant of\\nthe banks of the Galesus, whom Virgil has\\nsung. He talked with an obliging air, and in\\na sensible tone. A taste for simplicity would\\nalone have made such an encounter agreeable\\nbut my fancy did not fail to surround it with a\\nthousand imaginary charms. We asked whether\\nthey were in the habit of receiving guests.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0221.jp2"}, "204": {"fulltext": "i8 2 Private Memoirs\\nStrangers seldom come to this place, said\\nthe old man scarcely anybody finds it but\\nwhen they do, we willingly serve to them the\\nproduce of our farm-yard and our garden.\\nWe expressed a desire to dine with him, and\\nwe had a repast of new-laid eggs, pulse, and\\na salad, in a pretty arbor of honeysuckle be-\\nhind the house. I never ate so delicious a\\nmeal. My heart expanded in contemplating\\nthe tranquillity and innocence of so charming\\na situation. I caressed the children I accosted\\nthe old man with reverence. The mother\\nseemed pleased with the task of serving us.\\nThey told us of two rooms in their house which\\nthey could let for three months to anybody that\\nwas disposed to hire them. We formed the\\nproject of becoming their tenants. This plan\\nwas never carried out; nor have I seen Ville\\nBonne from that time.^\\nMeudon had been our usual resort before we\\nmade this discovery, and we had fixed upon a\\nlittle inn in the village for our lodging, whenever\\ntwo holidays coming together permitted us to\\nprolong our absence. At this inn, the sign of\\nThere is a lapse of memory here, for Madame Roland\\nspeaks later on of a second visit to Ville Bonne.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0222.jp2"}, "205": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 183\\nwhich I think was the Queen of France, we met\\nwith a humorous adventure. We occupied a\\ntwo-bedded room in the largest of the beds I\\nslept with my mother the other, which was in\\na corner, served my father. One evening, as\\nsoon as he was in bed, the fancy took him of\\ndrawing his curtains perfectly close, and he\\npulled them with so good a will as to bring the\\ntester and all its apparatus upon him at once.\\nAfter a moment of alarm, we began to laugh\\nvery heartily at the accident: the tester had\\nfallen in a true perpendicular, so as to form a\\nperfect cage for my father without hurting him.\\nWe called for assistance to set him at liberty;\\nthe good woman of the house arrived she was\\nastonished to see her bed stripped of the hon-\\nors of its capital, and exclaimed, with the ut-\\nmost simplicity, My God, how could this\\nhappen? It is seventeen years since the bed\\nwas put up in that very spot and in all that\\ntime it has never budged an inch. The logic\\nof the hostess made me laugh more than the\\ncrash of the bed. I recollected it however\\nafterwards, and thought I could often see suffi-\\ncient reason to compare the arguments I heard\\nin the world with the logic of the landlady of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0223.jp2"}, "206": {"fulltext": "184 Private Memoirs\\nMeudon, Upon such occasions I would whis-\\nper to my mother, and say, Now that is as\\ngood as the argument of the seventeen years\\nto prove the immovabiHty of the bed.\\nDelightful Meudon how oft have I breathed\\npeace and joy beneath thy shades, blessing the\\ngreat Author of my existence, and desiring\\nwhat might at some future time complete it, but\\nwith that charming tranquillity, that desire with-\\nout impatience, which does but color the clouds\\nof futurity with the rays of hope. How many\\ntimes have I gathered in thy cool retreat\\nbranches of the spotted fern, and flowers of the\\ngay woodbine How was I enchanted to repose\\nunder the lofty trees near the smooth lawns,\\nwhere I saw passing sometimes the swift and\\ntimorous fawn I recall those still deeper\\ncoverts, where we retired from the heat of the\\nday. There, while my father, stretched on the\\nturf, and my mother, peacefully reclined on a\\nheap of leaves which I had collected for the pur-\\npose, enjoyed their noontide nap, did I contem-\\nplate the majesty of thy silent groves, admire\\nthe beauty of nature, and adore the Providence\\nwhose benefits I felt. The glow of sentiment\\nwarmed my humid cheeks, and the charms of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0224.jp2"}, "207": {"fulltext": "\u00e2\u0080\u009el-ers-rFggyi.\u00c2\u00a3\u00c2\u00bby:ig*\u00c2\u00bb^;^^-i y\\nCHATEAU DJE MIEUDOIST\\nABOUT 1710", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0227.jp2"}, "208": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0228.jp2"}, "209": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 185\\nthe terrestrial paradise existed for my heart in\\nthy wild and rural recesses\\nThe recitals of my rambles, and the delight\\nthey afforded me, had their place in my letters\\nto Sophie; sometimes my prose was inter-\\nspersed with verse, the artless but facile and\\nsometimes happy effusions of a soul to which\\nall was life, joy, and pageant. Sophie, as I have\\nobserved, found herself cast into a world where\\nshe had none of the pleasures which she knew\\nme to enjoy. I was acquainted with some per-\\nsons of her family, and I learned from their\\nsociety to appreciate more highly my dear retire-\\nment and solitude. In one of her journeys with\\nher mother, she stopped at Paris with some\\ncousins, who were called the demoiselles de\\nLamotte. They were two maiden ladies, of\\nwhom one, a sour devotee, never stirred from\\nher chamber, where she said her prayers, scolded\\nthe domestics, knitted stockings, and reasoned\\nwith tolerable acuteness about her personal in-\\nterests; the other a good sort of woman, kept\\nto the parlor, .did the honors of the house, read\\nthe psalms, and enjoyed her game at quadrille.\\nBoth set great store upon the nobility of their\\nblood, and could scarcely conceive the possi-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0229.jp2"}, "210": {"fulltext": "1 86 Private Memoirs\\nbility of composing their society of persons\\nwhose father at least had not been ennobled\\nand, without daring to use it, kept under safe\\ncustody the sac with which their mother used\\nto appear at church, as an evidence of their high\\ndescent. They had taken under their protection\\na young woman, their relation, whose slender\\nfortune they proposed to augment, provided\\nshe could find a gentleman to espouse her.\\nMademoiselle d Hangard was a tall brunette, of\\na ruddy complexion, and health so vigorous as\\nalmost to disgust; whose provincial manners\\nwere little calculated to conceal her defects of\\ntemper and commonness of mind. But the odd-\\nest specimen in this household was the coun-\\nsellor Perdu, a widower who had wasted his\\nfortune in idleness and whom his sister (the\\nmother of my Sophie) had installed with his\\ncousins as a lodger in order that he might pass\\nin decency the remaining years of his useless\\nexistence. M. Perdu, plump and well-kept,\\ndevoted the bulk of the morning to the care of\\nhis precious person. At table he ate slowly,\\nabusing the dishes the while, and he passed\\nseveral hours of the day (which he deigned\\nto close with a game of piquet) in declaiming", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0230.jp2"}, "211": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 187\\nat Luxembourg. He attached even more im-\\nportance to his gentility than did his cousins,\\nand piqued himself upon practising all the airs,\\nand laying down all the principles of it. When\\nI spoke of this uncle of hers to Sophie, I\\ncould never call him by any other appellation\\nthan the Commandeur, so strongly did he re-\\nsemble the character under that title drawn by\\nCrebillon in his Pere de Famille. Accord-\\ningly, with his nieces the Commandeur had\\nalways an air of superiority, which he pretended\\nto temper with the condescensions of politeness\\nbut there was something whimsically absurd in\\nhis behavior to Mademoiselle d Hangard, whose\\nruddy complexion and continual presence, in-\\nflaming his imagination, inspired him with sen-\\nsations he dared not betray, and occasioned\\nill-humor of which his nephew was in general\\nthe sufferer.\\nThis nephew, whom they called Selincour,\\nwas a well grown youth, with a pleasing voice\\nand an interesting face, and resembled a little his\\nsister Sophie. He was a vivacious talker, and\\nhis engaging manners were not disfigured by a\\ncertain timidity at least such was my opinion,\\ntowards whom this trait was principally mani-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0231.jp2"}, "212": {"fulltext": "1 88 Private Memoirs\\nfested. The wishes of his family appeared to\\npoint him out as the suitor of Mademoiselle\\nd Hangard.\\nAs to the society of the demoiselles de\\nLamotte, it was composed of a Count d Essales,\\ncreated a Chevalier of St. Louis at Canada,\\nwhere he had married the daughter of the\\ngovernor ignorant, vain, garrulous, and a brag-\\ngart, but taking care to keep well away from\\nthe scent of powder, he had just formed an\\nacquaintance with a Marchioness de Cailla-\\nvelle, a dowager with whom he had more than\\none game to play, which the old ladies did\\nnot detect. Madame Bernier, a rigid Jansenist,\\nbut otherwise a sensible woman, whose husband\\nhad quitted the Parliament of Brittany at the\\ntime of the affair of la Chalotais, also made her\\nappearance sometimes, but more rarely, with\\nher two daughters, the one a blue-stocking, the\\nother a devotee. The tender heart of the latter\\nwould have attracted me but her bent neck\\nbore with difficulty a head so crammed with\\nreligion, that there was no room there for\\nreasoning. The savante, with rather too much\\nloquacity, had judgment and taste enough just\\nto render a repulsive figure supportable. But", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0232.jp2"}, "213": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 189\\nM. de Vouglans soared above them all. A\\ndelineation of his character would be super-\\nfluous to those who have read the book entitled,\\nReasons for my Faith in Jesus Christ, by a\\nMagistrate, and the Collection of Penal Laws,\\nan elaborate compilation, in which fanaticism and\\natrocity emulate each other. I never met with\\na man whose sanguinary intolerance so terribly\\nshocked me. He was delighted with the con-\\nversation of Father Romain Joly, a little old\\nCapuchin confessor of the demoiselles de La-\\nmotte, who made verses against Voltaire, in\\nwhich he compared him to the devil, and cited\\ncontinually in the .pulpit the laws of Charle-\\nmagne, and the edicts of our monarchs. I\\nhave had the advantage of dining with him at\\nthe table of the Lamottes, of hearing him at\\nmy parish church, and of reading his Phae-\\nton. He would have afforded me a capital\\nsubject for caricature, had I then had the cour-\\nage to strip away his frock, and expose his\\nhypocrisy and folly and his puerile attain-\\nments. The friend of Sophie cut an amusing\\nfigure in that society, where it was regretted,\\nin her absence, that a young person so well\\nbrought up lacked the advantage of birth. I", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0233.jp2"}, "214": {"fulltext": "190 Private Memoirs\\ndo not doubt that the Commandeur, with his\\nusual sagacity, had more than once gravely con-\\nsidered whether such a connection was quite\\nsuitable for his niece. But the young person\\nwas at least well behaved, a quality on which his\\ncousins laid great stress and, except as to some\\nphrases qui sentaient resprit, and which the\\nCommandeur did not fail to animadvert upon\\nto his niece, even he could not refrain from be-\\nstowing his encomiums. Nay, he would some-\\ntimes take charge of the letters of Sophie,\\nand condescend to bring them himself to my\\nmother s a circumstance that would have hap-\\npened much more frequently to Selincour, if\\nhis sister would have consented to his execut-\\ning the commission.\\nThe insignificance and disgusting oddities of\\nthese personages and without doubt, thought\\nI, there must be multitudes in the world of a\\nsimilar complexion made me reflect on the in-\\nanity of society and the advantage of not being\\nconstrained to frequent it. Sophie gave me a\\nlist of the persons with whom she associated at\\nAmiens, with a sketch, as nearly as she could\\ndelineate it, of their characters, which enabled\\nme to judge of the resources and qualifications", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0234.jp2"}, "215": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 191\\nof the majority of them and when the bal-\\nance was struck, it appeared that, at the end\\nof the year, I had seen in my soHtude more\\npeople of merit than she had been able to per-\\nceive in all the concourse and dazzle of fashion.\\nThis is not difficult to conceive, if it be remem-\\nbered that the business of my father connected\\nhim with a variety of artists, of whom, though\\nnone visited him regularly, many were found\\noccasionally at his house. Those who inhabit\\nthe capital, even if they are not of the first\\nrank, acquire a fund of information and a kind\\nof urbanity that assuredly are not to be found\\nin the provincial gentry, or in the class of mer-\\nchants eager to make a fortune that they may\\npurchase a title. The conversation of the good\\nJollain, a painter of the Academy of the honest\\nLepine, pupil of Pigale; of Desmarteau, who\\nsometimes worked with my father on the same\\nplate of the son of Falconet, of d Hauterne,\\nwhose talents would have borne him on rapid\\nwings to the Academy, had not his Protes-\\ntantism been in the way; of the Genevese\\nwatchmakers, Ballexserd and Mor6, the former\\nof whom has written on the physical branch of\\neducation, was certainly infinitely preferable", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0235.jp2"}, "216": {"fulltext": "1^2 Private Memoirs\\nto that of Cannet with all his hoard of wealth,\\nwho seeing the success of a tragedy composed by\\nhis kinsman Belloy, and calculating the profits\\nof it, said seriously, and with some irritation:\\nWhy did not my father teach me to write\\ntragedies? I could have composed them on\\nSundays and holidays. And yet these wealthy\\nblockheads, these despicable nobles, these im-\\npertinent militaives like d Essales, these miser-\\nable magistrates like Vouglans, conceived\\nthemselves the props of civil society, and ac-\\ntually enjoyed privileges denied to merit I\\ncompared these absurdities of human arrogance\\nwith the pictures of Pope, tracing its effects\\nfrom the cobbler to the king, the one vain of\\nhis apron, the other of his crown; and I en-\\ndeavored to conclude with him that what-\\never is, is right; but my free and independent\\ntemper could not but perceive that it was much\\nbetter in a republic.\\nThere is no doubt that our situation in life\\ninfluences considerably our characters and opin-\\nions but, in the education I received, in the\\nideas I acquired, whether by study or by obser-\\nvation of the world, everything may be said to\\nhave conspired to instil into my mind a repub-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0236.jp2"}, "217": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 193\\nlican enthusiasm, by causing me to perceive the\\nfolly, or feel the injustice of a multitude of\\nsocial pre-eminences and distinctions. Thus,\\nin all my readings, I was impassioned for the\\nreformers of inequality; I was Agis and Cleo-\\nmenes at Sparta, the Gracchi at Rome and,\\nlike Cornelia, I should have reproached my\\nsons for permitting me to be called only the\\nmother-in-law of Scipio I retired with the\\nplebeians to the Aventine, and I voted for the\\ntribunes. Now that experience has taught me\\nto appreciate everything with impartiality I see\\nin the enterprise of the Gracchi and in the con-\\nduct of the tribunes crimes and mischiefs which\\ndid not then sufficiently strike me.\\nWhen I happened to be present at any of the\\nspectacles so frequent in the capital, as the\\nentrances of the queen or princes, thanksgiving\\nafter a lying-in, etc., I compared with grief this\\ninsolent pomp of Asiatic luxury with the abject\\nmisery of the deluded people, who prostrated\\nthemselves before these idols of their own mak-\\ning, and foolishly applauded the ostentatious\\nmagnificence which they paid for themselves\\nwith the necessaries of life. The dissolute\\ncharacter of the court during the last years of\\n13", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0237.jp2"}, "218": {"fulltext": "194 Private Memoirs\\nLouis XV., that contempt of morals which\\nreigned in all ranks of the nation, those ex-\\ncesses which were the commonplaces of con-\\nversation, struck me with astonishment and\\nindignation. Not then observing the germs of\\na revolution, I asked with surprise how things\\ncould endure in this state? I had remarked in\\nhistory the invariable decline and subversion of\\nempires when arrived at this pitch of corrup-\\ntion yet I heard the French nation singing\\nand laughing at its own miseries, and I felt that\\nour neighbors, the English, were right in re-\\ngarding us as children. I attached myself to\\nthese neighbors the work of Delolme had\\nfamiliarized me with their constitution I sought\\nacquaintance with their writers, and studied\\ntheir literature, but as yet only through the\\nmedium of translations.\\nThe arguments of Ballexserd having been in-\\nsufficient to vanquish the repugnance of my\\nparents to inoculate me in my infancy, I was at\\neighteen seized with the small-pox. This epoch\\nhas left deep impressions on my memory not\\nfrom the terrors I felt on account of the malady,\\nfor I had already too much philosophy not to\\nsustain it with courage but from the incredible", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0238.jp2"}, "219": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 195\\nand affecting solicitude of my mother. How\\nagitated by disquietude What tenderness in\\nall her attentions Even during the night,\\nwhen I asked for anything, expecting to receive\\nit from my nurse, I felt the hand and heard the\\nvoice of my mother. She was every moment out\\nof her bed to attend at my pillow her anxious\\neyes devoured the looks, and, if I may so express\\nmyself, the words of my physician in spite of\\nher resolution to suppress them, the tears stole\\nfrom her eyes when she looked at me, while I\\nendeavored in vain to soothe her agitation with\\na smile. Neither she nor my father had ever\\nhad the disease, yet neither of them would\\nsuffer a day to pass without pressing with their\\nlips my disfigured face, which I strove in vain to\\nconceal from them, fearful lest its touch should\\nbe fatal. My Agathe, deploring that she was\\nconfined to her cloister, sent to me one of her\\nrelations, the amiable mother of four chil-\\ndren, whom she had inspired with a portion\\nof her attachment for me, and who obstinately\\npersisted in seeing and embracing me without\\nconsideration for herself. It was necessary to\\nconceal from my Sophie, then at Paris, the con-\\ndition of her friend; and I was supposed to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0239.jp2"}, "220": {"fulltext": "196\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nhave suddenly set off for the country, that the\\ncritical period might elapse without our meet-\\ning but Selincour called every day to learn the\\nprogress of my disorder, and I heard from my\\nchamber his dolorous exclamation when he was\\ntold that the complication of a putrid fever\\nwas apprehended. I had fortunately the miliary\\nfever; and the eruption which is peculiar to it\\nchecking the other, the disorder was accom-\\npanied only with those large pustules, thinly\\nscattered, which subside without suppuration,\\nand leave only a dry skin that falls off of it-\\nself. It is the species of small-pox, said Dr.\\nMissa, which the Italians denominate ravaglioni,\\npustules of false suppuration, and which leave\\nno vestiges behind and in fact not even the pol-\\nish of my skin was injured by it; but long illness\\nthrew me into a languor and debility from which\\nit was four or five months before I completely\\nrecovered. Pensive in health, and too tender to\\nbe gay, but patient in sickness, my sole object\\nwas to divert my attention from my own suffer-\\nings, and to render less irksome the cares which\\nmy condition imposed upon those about me.\\nI gave fancy the reins, prattled all sorts of\\nnonsense, and, so far from requiring to be", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0240.jp2"}, "221": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 197\\ndiverted myself, it was I who caused the others\\nto laugh.\\nMy physician, Dr. Missa, was a man of good\\nsense, and pleased me exceedingly. As he was\\nsomewhat advanced in years, I could dispense\\nwith the constraint which I was accustomed to\\nshow toward those of his sex we chatted freely\\nduring his visits, which he willingly prolonged,\\nand we became fast friends. One or other of\\nus, said he one day, has been much to blame.\\nEither I have come into the world too soon, or\\nyou too late. Though Missa interested me by\\nhis talents, his age had prevented me from per-\\nceiving that I had any reason to lament being\\nborn later than himself; and I replied only by\\na smile. He had taken some nieces under his\\ncare with whom he wished me to be acquainted,\\nand we exchanged visits several times but, as\\nthey went out as seldom without their governess\\nas I did without my mother, and as their uncle,\\nfrom the nature of his profession, could not\\nattend to it, the connection, on account of the\\ndistance and our mutual sedentary habits, was\\ndropped. One day Missa scolded because he\\nfound on my bed Malebranche s La Recherche\\nde la Verite. Good said I, but if all", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0241.jp2"}, "222": {"fulltext": "198 Private Memoirs\\nyour patients would amuse themselves in the\\nsame way, instead of railing against their\\nmaladies and their doctor, you would have\\nmuch less business. Some company who were\\nthen in my room were discoursing of a new\\nloan, for which the edict had just appeared, and\\nto which all Paris eagerly crowded.\\nThe French, said Missa, take all upon trust.\\nSay, rather, I observed, upon appear-\\nances.\\nTrue, returned he the expression is just\\nand profound.\\nDon t scold me then for reading Male-\\nbranche, interrupted I, with vivacity, you\\nsee I do not throw away my time upon him.\\nMissa was at that time assisted in his visits\\nby a young physician, who had recently taken\\nhis degree, and whom he sometimes despatched\\nin advance to wait his arrival. This person, to\\nuse Missa s expression, would not have had the\\nfault of having come too soon into the world\\nbut then to a tolerable person he added a\\nconsequential air that displeased me. I had\\nnaturally so strong an aversion to every sort\\nof affectation and self-sufficiency that I con-\\nsidered both to be the proof of a limited under-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0242.jp2"}, "223": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 199\\nstanding, if not of absolute weakness; though\\nit is true that, under the old regime, they were\\nsometimes only an eccentricity of youth. In\\nshort, so far from deceiving me, they create at\\nonce an unfavorable impression, and I always\\nform a low opinion of people who display them.\\nThis is all I remember of the young doctor,\\nwhom I have never seen since, and whom I\\nshall probably never see again.\\nThe country being judged necessary to my\\nperfect recovery, we went to breathe its salutary-\\nair at the house of M. and Madame Besnard,\\nwith whom two years previously my mother and\\nI had spent almost the whole of September.\\nTheir situation was admirably calculated to\\nnourish my philosophy and to fix my medita-\\ntions on the vices of the social organization.\\nMadame Besnard, upon the reverse of fortune\\ncommon to her and her sisters, had entered\\ninto the family of fermier-ge neral, whose house\\nshe superintended it was that of the old\\nHaudry. She had there espoused an Intendant,\\nM. Besnard, with whom, having retired for\\nsome time from their occupations, she lived\\ncomfortably in peace and happiness.\\nThe ill-placed pride of Madame Phlipon had", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0243.jp2"}, "224": {"fulltext": "2 00 Private Memoirs\\nled her sometimes to express in my presence\\nand in the privacy of the family how much this\\nmarriage had displeased her; but, as far as I\\ncan judge, she was certainly offended unjustly.\\nM. Besnard was possessed of integrity and\\nhonor, qualities that should have recommended\\nhim the more, as they were rare in his station\\nof life and the most delicate behavior has\\never marked his conduct to his wife. It is\\nimpossible to carry veneration, tenderness, and\\nattachment to a higher pitch. In the sweets\\nof a perfect union, they still prolong a career\\nin which, like another Baucis and Philemon,\\nthey win the respect of all who witness their\\nsimplicity of life and their virtues. I esteem it\\nan honor to be related to them and should\\ndo so equally, if, with the same character and\\nconduct, M. Besnard had been a footman.\\nThe old Haudry, creator of the vast fortune\\nof the family, was deceased, and had left a large\\nestate to his son, who, born and educated in\\nopulence, was fashioned to dissipate it. This\\nson, who had already lost a charming wife, lived\\nextravagantly, and, according to the custom of\\nthe rich, spent a part of the year at his chateau\\nof Soucy, whither he transplanted the manners", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0244.jp2"}, "225": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 201\\nand mode of life of the town, instead of adopt-\\ning those of the country. He had several\\nneighboring estates, of which that nearest to\\nSoucy (Fontenay), had an old mansion belong-\\ning to it that he loved to have occupied and\\nhe had prevailed on M. and Madame Besnard\\nto accept apartments there, in which they passed\\na part of the summer. This at once contributed\\nto keep up the place, and to give that air of\\nmagnificence to his establishments, of which he\\nwas ambitious. M. and Madame Besnard were\\nwell accommodated, and enjoyed the use of the\\npark, the wildness of which made an agreeable\\ncontrast with that of Soucy, and delighted me\\nmore than the artificial luxury, which distin-\\nguished the abode of the fermier-general. Soon\\nafter our arrival, Madame Besnard requested\\nus to make a visit with her to Soucy, where\\nthe sister-in-law and stepmother of Haudry\\nresided with him and did the honors of his\\nhouse. This visit was modestly paid before\\ndinner; and I entered, without the least feeling\\nof pleasure, into the salon, where Madame\\nPenault and her daughter received us, with\\ngreat politeness, it is true, but a politeness that\\nsavored a little of superiority. The propriety", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0245.jp2"}, "226": {"fulltext": "20 2 Private Memoirs\\nof my mother s behavior, and something too\\nthat appeared in me, in spite of that air of\\ntimidity which is produced by a feehng of our\\nvalue and a doubt whether it will be appreciated\\nby others, scarcely allowed them to exercise it.\\nI received some compliments, which gave me\\nlittle pleasure, and to which I replied with a\\nconcealed air of irony; when certain parasites,\\nCroix de St. Louis, always haunting the man-\\nsions of opulence, as shadows flit on the banks\\nof the Acheron, came in to restore to them\\ntheir self-complacence.\\nThe ladies did not fail, a few days after, to\\nreturn our visit. Three or four persons accom-\\npanied them, who happened to be at the\\nchateau, their paying their respects to us serving\\nmerely for the termination of their walk. Upon\\nthis occasion I was more agreeable, and suc-\\nceeded in infusing into my part of the reception\\nthe proportion of modest and decent politeness\\nwhich re-estabhshed the equilibrium. Madame\\nPenault invited us to dinner but I was never\\nmore astonished than on learning that it was not\\nto her own table, but to that of the servants. I\\nwas sensible, however, that, as M. Besnard had\\nformerly been in that station, I ought not, out", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0246.jp2"}, "227": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 203\\nof respect to him, to appear averse to accom-\\npanying them but I felt that Madame Penault\\nought to have arranged things otherwise, or\\nspared us this contemptuous civility. My aunt\\nsaw it in th.e same hght; but, to avoid any httle\\nscene, we accepted the invitation. These infe-\\nrior household deities were a new spectacle to\\nme, for I had formed no conception of ladies\\nmaids personating grandeur. They were pre-\\npared to receive us and, indeed, aped their\\nsuperiors admirably well. Toilet, gesture, affec-\\ntation, graces, nothing was forgotten. The cast-\\noff dresses of their mistresses gave to the female\\npart of the household a richness of appearance\\nthat honest tradespeople would think out of char-\\nacter to themselves. The caricature of hon ton\\nadded to their garb a sort of elegance, not less\\nforeign to bourgeois simplicity than odious in\\nthe eye of an artist. In spite of all this, how-\\never, the fluency of their prate and the multi-\\nphcity of their grimaces would no doubt have\\ninspired awe into rustics. It was still worse\\nwith the men. The sword of M. le maitre,^ the\\nattentions of M. le chef the graces and fine\\nclothes of the valets, could not cloak their gatcch-\\neries or the jargon they affected when they", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0247.jp2"}, "228": {"fulltext": "204 Private Memoirs\\nwished to seem distinguished, or their native\\nvulgarity of speech when for a moment they\\nforgot their assumed gentility. The conversa-\\ntion glittered with marquises, counts, financiers,\\nwhose titles, fortunes, and alliances shed a\\nsecond-hand splendor on those who so glibly\\ndiscoursed of them. The superfluities of the\\nfirst table were transferred to the second with an\\norder and despatch that made them appear as\\nif then served for the first time, and with a pro-\\nfusion that sufficed to deck a third table, that of\\nthe servants for it seems the domestics of the\\nfirst grade called themselves officiers. After\\ndinner, cards were introduced the stake was\\nhigh it was that for which these demoiselles\\nwere accustomed to play, and they played every\\nday. I was introduced to a new world, in which\\nwere reflected the prejudices, the vices, and the\\nfollies of the great world, the value of which is\\nnot really superior, though the show be some-\\nwhat more dazzling. I had heard a thousand\\ntimes of the beginnings of old Haudry, of his\\ncoming to Paris from his village, and rising by\\ndegrees to the accumulation of thousands at\\nthe expense of the public of his marrying his\\ndau-ghter to Montule, his granddaughters to the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0248.jp2"}, "229": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 205\\nMarquis du Chillau and Count Turpin, and leav-\\ning his son heir to immense treasures. I agreed\\nwith Montesquieu that financiers support the\\nstate, just as the cord supports the criminal. I\\njudged that publicans who found means to enrich\\nthemselves to this degree, and to use their\\nwealth as an engine by which to unite them-\\nselves with families of rank, which the policy of\\ncourts regards as essential to the glory and safety\\nof a kingdom I judged that characters like\\nthese could belong only to a detestable govern-\\nment and a depraved nation. I little thought\\nthat there was a government still more horrible,\\nand a corruption more deplorable and odious.\\nAnd who, indeed, would have imagined it? All\\nthe philosophers of the age have been deceived\\nlike myself. The system I refer to is that of\\nthe present moment.\\nOn Sunday at Soucy a dance was held in the\\nopen air, with no other shelter than the trees.\\nGayety, upon this occasion, suspended distinc-\\ntions and when the trial fairly came who should\\nappear to the most advantage, I did not fear to\\nbe able to maintain the rank that belonged to\\nme. The new-comers asked in a whisper who I\\nwas, but I did not fatigue their sight with my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0249.jp2"}, "230": {"fulltext": "2o6 Private Memoirs\\npresence, and, after an hour of this sort of relax-\\nation, I withdrew with my relations to a select\\nand sober walk, one moment of which I would\\nnot have sacrificed to the noisy splendor, always\\ncold and uninteresting to my heart, that was to\\nenable me to show off my personal charms.\\nDuring my stay at Fontenay I frequently saw\\nHaudry, who was still young, assuming the man\\nof rank, giving the rein to his caprices, and\\nwishing to appear generous and noble. His\\nfamily began already to be uneasy, and his ex-\\ntravagances with the courtesan La Guerre has-\\ntened his ruin. He was pitied as imprudent,\\nrather than blamed as vicious he was the spoiled\\nchild of fortune, who had he been born in mod-\\nerate circumstances would have proved perhaps\\nof some value. Of a dark complexion, a high\\nforehead, the manners of a patron, and an air\\nof courtesy, he was perhaps amiable among\\nthose whom he esteemed as his equals but it\\nwas painful to me to meet him, and his presence\\nalways inspired me with a gravity that bordered\\nupon disdain.\\nLast year, coming out of the superb dining-\\nroom which the profuse Calonne caused to be\\nconstructed in the house of the comptroller-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0250.jp2"}, "231": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 207\\ngeneral, since occupied by the Minister of the\\nInterior, I met in the second antechamber a tall,\\ngray-haired man of respectable appearance, who\\naccosted me respectfully: I wished, Madame,\\nto speak with the Minister when he had risen\\nfrom table I have some business with him.\\nSir, you will see him in an instant he has\\nbeen detained in the next apartment, from which\\nhe is now coming out.\\nI bowed, and proceeded to my own apart-\\nment. Some time after Roland came to me, I\\nasked if he had seen a person whom I described\\nto him, and who appeared apprehensive of not\\nmeeting him.\\nYes, it was M. Haudry.\\nWhat, the quondam fennier-ghi^ral, who\\nsquandered such an immense estate\\nThe same.\\nAnd what had he to do with the Minister\\nof the Interior?\\nHe had some business with me on account\\nof the manufactory at Sevres, at the head of\\nwhich he has been placed. What a reverse\\nof fortune a new theme of meditation, for\\nI had already found one when I entered for the\\n1 Roland.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0251.jp2"}, "232": {"fulltext": "2o8 Private Memoirs\\nfirst time these apartments, occupied by Madame\\nNecker in the days of her glory. I occupied\\nthem then for the second time, and they do but\\nattest the more fully the instability of human\\naffairs but, at least the revolutions of fortune\\nshall not find me unprepared. Such were my\\nreflections in October, 1792, when Danton sought\\nby magnifying me to belittle my husband, and\\nwas silently preparing the calumnies by which\\nhe meant to assail us both.^ I was ignorant of\\nhis proceedings, but I had observed the course\\nof things in revolutions. I was ambitious only\\nto preserve my soul pure, and to see the glory\\nof my husband equally unsullied. I well knew\\nthat this kind of ambition rarely leads to other\\nspecies of success. My wish is accomplished\\nRoland, persecuted and proscribed, will not\\nwholly die to posterity. I am a captive, and\\nshall probably fall a victim but my conscience\\nrequites me for all. It has happened to me as\\nit did to Solomon, who demanded only wisdom,\\nand was endowed with other blessings I wished\\n1 After Roland s resignation as Minister of the Interior,\\nwhen the question came up in the Convention of asking him\\nto remain in office, Danton sarcastically suggested If you\\ninvite him, invite Madame Roland too everybody knows\\nthat he has not been alone in his department.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0252.jp2"}, "233": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 209\\nbut for the peace of the righteous, and I also\\nshall have some existence in future generations.\\nBut let us return to Fontenay.\\nThe little library of my relations afforded\\nme some resources. I found there the works\\nof Puffendorf, tedious perhaps in his universal\\nhistory, but interesting to me in his Duties of\\nthe Man and the Citizen the Maison Rus-\\ntique, and other works of agriculture and\\neconomy, that I studied for want of better,\\nbecause it was necessary that I should be always\\nlearning something; the pleasant and delicate\\nrhymes that Berni wrote when he was not\\nrestrained by the Romish purple a Life of\\nCromwell, and a medley of other productions.\\nI must here remind the reader of the fact that\\nin mentioning casually the long list of books\\nthat chance or circumstances had caused to\\npass through my hands, I have as yet said\\nnothing of Rousseau. The fact is I read him\\nvery late and it was as well for me that I did\\nso, since I might have been so completely en-\\ngrossed with him as to have read no other\\nauthor. Even as it is, he has but too much\\nstrengthened what I may venture to term my\\ncardinal failing.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0253.jp2"}, "234": {"fulltext": "2 I o Private Memoirs\\nI have reason to believe that my mother had\\nbeen solicitous to keep him out of my way for,\\nas his name was not unknown to me, I had\\nsought after his works, but, previously to her\\ndeath, had read only his Letters from the\\nMountain, and his Letter to Christopher de\\nBeaumont; whereas I had then read the whole\\nof Voltaire and Boulanger and the Marquis\\nd Argens and Helvetius, besides many other\\nphilosophers and critics. Probably my worthy\\nmother, who perceived the necessity of permit-\\nting me to exercise my head, was not averse to\\nmy studying philosophy even at the risk of a\\nHttle incredulity; but she doubtless felt that\\nmy tender heart, already too impressible, needed\\nno master in the school of sensibility. What a\\nmultitude of useless cares to avoid one s destiny\\nThe same idea influenced her, when she inter-\\nfered to prevent me from devoting myself to\\npainting; and had made her also oppose my\\nstudying the harpsichord, though I had a most\\nexcellent opportunity for doing so. We had\\nbecome acquainted in the neighborhood with\\nan Abbe Jeauket, a musical amateur, good-\\nnatured, but frightfully ugly, and fond of the\\npleasures of the table. He was born in the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0254.jp2"}, "235": {"fulltext": "ROXJSSEAXJ", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0257.jp2"}, "236": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0258.jp2"}, "237": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 211\\nenvirons of Prague, had passed many years\\nat Vienna, and had given some lessons there\\nto Marie Antoinette. Led by circumstances to\\nLisbon, he had at last settled at Paris, where\\nhe lived in independence on the pensions that\\ncomposed his little fortune. He was extremely\\ndesirous that my mother would permit him to\\nteach me the harpsichord. He contended that\\nwith such fingers and such a head I must have\\nmade a great performer, and that I ought not\\nto fail to apply myself to composition. What\\na shame, he cried, to be jingling a guitar,\\nwhen one might be composing and executing\\nthe finest pieces on the greatest of instru-\\nments But with all his enthusiasm and his\\nrepeated entreaties he could not overcome my\\nmother s opposition. For myself, always ready\\nto profit by an opportunity of instruction, but\\naccustomed nevertheless to bow to her de-\\ncisions, I did not press the matter. Besides,\\nstudy, in general, afforded me so vast a field of\\noccupation, that I never knew the lassitude of\\nidleness. I often said to myself: When I shall\\nbe a mother in my turn it will then be my busi-\\nness to make use of what I shall have acquired\\nI shall then have no leisure for further studies", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0259.jp2"}, "238": {"fulltext": "2 12 Private Memoirs\\nand I was the more earnest to employ my time,\\nfearful of losing a single moment. The Abbe\\nJeauket was now and then visited by persons\\nof some note, and whenever he invited them to\\nhis house, he was anxious to include us in his\\nparty. Thus, among others not worth remem-\\nbering, I became acquainted with the learned\\nRoussier, and the polite d Odiment; but I have\\nnot forgotten the impertinent Paradelle and\\nMadame de Puisieux. This Paradelle was a\\ngreat scamp in the gown of an abbe, and the\\ngreatest coxcomb and braggart I have ever met\\nwith. He pretended to have ridden in his car-\\nriage at Lyons for twenty years and yet, that he\\nmight not starve at Paris, he was obliged to give\\nlectures on the Italian language, of which he\\nwas wholly ignorant. Madame de Puisieux, pos-\\ning as the author of the work entitled Carac-\\nteres, to which her name is prefixed, retained at\\nthe age of sixty, with a hunch back and a tooth-\\nless mouth, the air and pretensions of which the\\naffectation is scarcely pardonable even in youth.\\nI had conceived that a literary woman must be\\na very respectable character, especially when\\nmorality was the subject of her writings. The\\nabsurdities of Madame de Puisieux furnished", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0260.jp2"}, "239": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 213\\nme with a topic for reflection. Her conversa-\\ntion was as little indicative of talent as her\\ncaprices were of sense. I began to perceive\\nit was possible to store up reason for a public\\noccasion, without making much use of it in\\none s own affairs; and I thought that perhaps\\nthe men who made a jest of female authors\\nwere not otherwise to blame than in applying\\nexclusively to them what is equally true of\\nthemselves. Thus in a round of life very cir-\\ncumscribed did I find means to accumulate\\na fund of observations. I was placed in soli-\\ntude, it is true, but yet on the confines of a\\nworld where I saw a variety of objects with-\\nout being encumbered by any. The concerts\\nof Madame Lepine offered me a fresh point of\\nview. I have already said that Lupine was a\\npupil of Pigale he was, indeed, his right hand.\\nAt Rome he had married a woman who, as\\nI presume, had been a cantatrice, and whom\\nhis family had at first beheld with disfavor,\\nbut who proved by the propriety of her con-\\nduct that their disdain was ill-founded.\\nShe had formed at her house a company of\\namateurs, skilled performers, to which none\\nwere admitted but those whom she called good", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0261.jp2"}, "240": {"fulltext": "2 14 Private Memoirs\\ncompany. It met every Thursday, and my\\nmother often conducted me thither. It was here\\nI heard Jarnowich, St. George, Duport, Gu6rin,\\nand many others. Here too I saw the wits of\\nboth sexes Mademoiselle Morville, Madame\\nBenoit, Sylvain Marechal, etc., together with\\nhaughty baronesses, smart abbes, old chevaliers,\\nand young fops. What a pleasant magic lan-\\ntern The apartments of Madame Lepine, rue\\nNeuve Saint Eustache, were not remarkably\\nfine, nor was the concert room spacious but it\\nopened into another apartment, of which the\\nfolding-doors were kept open there, placed in\\nthe circle, you had the combined advantage of\\nhearing the music, seeing the authors, and con-\\nversing in the intervals. Seated close to my\\nmother, and maintaining the silence that custom\\nprescribes to young women, I was all eyes and\\nears unless we chanced for a moment to be in\\nprivate with Madame Lepine, when I put a few\\nquestions to her, in order to illustrate to myself\\nby her answers such observations as I had made.\\nOne day this lady proposed to my mother to\\naccompany her to a charming assembly, held\\nat the house of a man of wit, whom we had\\nsometimes seen at Madame Lepine s. There", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0262.jp2"}, "241": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 215\\nwas to be a feast of reason, a flow of soul, a\\nreunion of the wits there were to be readings\\nmost delightful in short something deli-\\ncious was promised. The proposal, however,\\nwas several times repeated before it was ac-\\ncepted. Let us go, said I at last to my\\nmother, I begin to know enough of the v/orld\\nto presume that it must be either extremely-\\nagreeable or very absurd and should the latter\\nbe the case, we shall be sure to find for once\\nsufficient amusement in its novelty. The busi-\\nness is settled and on the following Wednes-\\nday, which was the day of M. Vase s literary\\nassemblies, we set off with Madame Lepine for\\nthe barri^re of the Temple, where he resided.\\nWe mount to the third story, and arrive at a\\nspacious room indifferently furnished, where\\nwere placed rows of rush-bottomed chairs, al-\\nready partly occupied dirty brass chandeliers,\\nwith tallow candles, illumined this resort of the\\nMuses, the grotesque simplicity of which did\\nnot belie what I had heard of the philosophical\\nrigor and poverty of an author. Some agree-\\nable women, young girls, old dowagers, with a\\nnumber of minor poets, virtuosos, and men of\\nintrigue, composed this brilliant circle.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0263.jp2"}, "242": {"fulltext": "2i6 Private Memoirs\\nThe master of ceremonies, seated before a\\ntable which formed a desk, opened the seance\\nby reading a poetic effusion of his own, the\\nsubject of which was a pretty little lap-dog that\\nthe old Marchioness de Preville always carried\\nin her mufif, and which she now exhibited to\\nthe company for she was present, and thought\\nherself obliged to gratify the auditors with a\\nsight of the hero of the piece. The bravos and\\nplaudits of the whole room paid homage to the\\nfancy of M. Vase, who, highly satisfied with\\nhimself, was to have yielded his seat to M. Del-\\npeches, a poet who wrote little comic dramas\\nfor the theatre of Audinot, upon which he was\\naccustomed to take the judgment of the society,\\nor, in other words, the encouragement of its ap-\\nplause but, either because of a sore throat, or\\nthe want of some verses in several of his scenes,\\nor some other cause, he was prevented from\\nattending. Imbert, author of the Judgment\\nof Paris, accordingly took the chair, and read\\nan agreeable trifle, which was also extolled to\\nthe skies. A further distinction was in store\\nfor him. Mademoiselle de la Cossonniere suc-\\nceeded him with a Farewell to Colin, which,\\nif not very ingenious, was at least meltingly", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0264.jp2"}, "243": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 217\\ntender. It was known that the lines were ad-\\ndressed to Imbert, who was about to undertake\\na journey; and compHments fell upon him in\\nshowers. Imbert acquitted his muse and him-\\nself by saluting all the females in the assembly.\\nThis brisk and gay ceremony, conducted how-\\never with decorum, was not at all pleasing to\\nmy mother, and appeared in so strange a light\\nto me as to give me an air of embarrassment.\\nAfter an epigram or couplet in which there was\\nnothing remarkable, a pompous declaimer re-\\ncited some verses in praise of Madame Benott,\\nwho was present. Let me here say a word as to\\nthis lady, for the sake of those who have not read\\nher romances, which were dead long before the\\nRevolution, and upon which thick dust will have\\ngathered long before these memoirs see the light.\\nAlbine was born at Lyons, as I have read\\nin the History of the Illustrious Women of\\nFrance by a Society of Men of Letters a\\nhistory, in which I have been astonished to find\\nthe names of women (for instance, Madame\\nPuisieux, Madame Champion, Madame Benoit,\\nand others) that I met in company, and of\\nwhom some are still alive, or have quitted only\\nwithin a few years their terrestrial abode.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0265.jp2"}, "244": {"fulltext": "2i8 Private Memoirs\\nMarried to the designer Benoit, she had\\naccompanied him to Rome, and had there\\nbeen admitted into the Academy des Arcades.\\nLately become a widow, and still in mourning\\nfor her husband, she had settled at Paris, where\\nshe made verses and novels, sometimes without\\ncommitting them to paper addicted herself to\\ngaming, and visited women of quality, who paid\\nin presents of money or clothes for the pleasure\\nof having a female wit at their tables.\\nMadame Benoit had been handsome the\\ncares of the toilet and the desire of pleasing,\\nprolonged beyond the age in which they are\\nsure of success, still procured her some con-\\nquests. Her eyes courted them with such ar-\\ndor, her bosom, always displayed, palpitated\\nso anxiously to obtain them, that it was cruel\\nnot to grant to the frankness of the desire and\\nthe facility of satisfying it, what men bestow in\\ngeneral so readily, when not restricted to con-\\nstancy. Madame Benoit s air of undisguised\\nvoluptuousness was something perfectly new\\nto me. I had seen in the public walks those\\npriestesses of pleasure, whose indecency an-\\nnounced in the most offensive manner their pro-\\nfession; but here was a different shade of it.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0266.jp2"}, "245": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 219\\nI was no less surprised at the poetical incense\\nlavished on this lady, and the epithets of the\\nchaste and modest Benoit, so frequently\\nrepeated in the verses, and which obliged her\\nsometimes to screen her eyes with her fan,\\nwhile some individuals of the other sex raptur-\\nously applauded these encomiums, which they\\ndoubtless conceived to be admirably applied. I\\nrecalled to mind what my readings had taught\\nme on the subject of gallantry, and calculated\\nwhat corruption of heart must be added thereto\\nby the manners of the age and the disorders\\nof the court, and what vulgarity of taste. I saw\\neffeminate men bestowing their admiration on\\nflimsy verses and paltry talents, and devoting\\nthemselves to the seduction of all women indis-\\ncriminately, doubtless without loving any; for\\nwhoever attaches himself to the happiness of a\\nchosen and beloved object is not ambitious of the\\nfavors of the crowd. I felt the pang of disgust\\nand misanthropy in the midst of objects that\\nexcited my imagination, and I returned to my\\nsolitude filled with melancholy. We never re-\\npeated our visits to M. Vase one had been suffi-\\ncient to satiate me, and had it been otherwise,\\nthe salute of Imbert and the panegyric of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0267.jp2"}, "246": {"fulltext": "2 20 Private Memoirs\\nMadame Benoit, would scarcely have induced\\nmy mother to accompany me again. The musi-\\ncale of the Baron de Back, very pleasant in\\ngeneral, but sometimes also a little tedious by\\nthe pretensions of this melomaniac, did not see\\nus much oftener, notwithstanding the cards of\\ninvitation that the politeness of Madame Lepine\\nmade her continually offer us. The same re-\\nserve was extended to that gathering known as\\nthe amateurs concert. We went there but once,\\naccompanied by a M. Boyard de Creusy, who\\nhad amused himself in inventing a new method\\nfor the guitar, of which he had begged permis-\\nsion from my mother to offer me a copy. He\\nwas a man of extremely polished manners and\\nI mention him particularly because he has had\\nthe good sense to believe that, in a situation still\\nregarded by the vulgar as elevated, I should see\\nwith pleasure those with whom I had not been\\nunacquainted in my youth. He called on me\\nat the Hotel de ITnterieur while Roland was in\\nthe ministry; and my reception has assuredly\\nconvinced him that I attached value and pleasure\\nto the remembrance of a time upon which I can\\nlook back with honor, as I can indeed upon\\nevery stage of my existence.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0268.jp2"}, "247": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 221\\nAs to public places of amusement, they were\\nstill worse than these concerts my mother\\nnever attended them, and I was taken but once\\nduring her life to the Opera, and once to the\\nTheatre Fran^ais I was then about sixteen or\\nseventeen. The Union of Love and the Arts,\\nby Floquet, offered little in the music, and still\\nless in the drama, that was capable of causing\\nthe smallest illusion, or of sustaining in any\\ndegree the idea I had formed of an enchanting\\nspectacle. The coldness of the subject, the\\nincoherence of the scenes, the incongruity of\\nthe ballets, displeased me; I was still more\\noffended by the dress of the dancers they had\\nnot yet discarded hoops and nothing could be\\nmore ludicrous than their appearance. Accord-\\ningly I thought the critique of Piron on the\\nwonderful charms of the Opera to be an exag-\\ngeration greatly beyond the truth. At the\\nTheatre Francais I saw L Ecossaise, which\\nwas as little calculated to inspire me with en-\\nthusiasm for the drama; the performance of\\nDumesnil alone delighted me. My father some-\\ntimes took me to the shows at the fairs, the\\ncoarseness of which greatly disgusted me. I\\nthus became armed against every temptation to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0269.jp2"}, "248": {"fulltext": "222 Private Memoirs\\nplay the bel-esprit, precisely as the Spartan\\nchildren were against intoxication, by the sight\\nof its excess. My imagination felt none of the\\nemotions which the fascination of the theatre\\nmight have caused, had I witnessed a represen-\\ntation of some of its best performances and I\\nwas content to peruse in my closet the works\\nof the great masters of the drama, and to\\nenjoy at leisure the contemplation of their\\nbeauties.\\nA young man, a constant attendant at\\nMadame Lepine s concerts, had taken upon\\nhimself occasionally to call at our house to\\ninquire for us, in the name of Madame L6pine,\\nwhen any absence longer than usual gave reason\\nto think that we had been indisposed. A polite\\nair, an agreeable vivacity, a smattering of wit,\\nand, above all, the rareness of his visits, excused\\nthis little piece of finesse, ingeniously contrived\\nto procure admission to the house. At last\\nLablancherie hazarded his declaration. But\\nas I now come to the history of my suitors, it is\\nproper to make them file before the reader en\\nmasse an admirable expression, that may\\nserve as a date to my writing, and also recall\\nthe glorious period when everything decreed", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0270.jp2"}, "249": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 223\\nwas eii masse, in spite of the greatest possible\\nsubdivision of tastes and inclinations.\\nThe reader cannot have forgotten the Spanish\\nColossus, with hands like Esau s, that M. Mi-\\ngnard, whose politeness I have recorded, and\\nwhose name contrasted so comically with his\\nfigure. After confessing that he was capable\\nof teaching me nothing further on the guitar, he\\nhad begged the liberty of coming sometimes to\\nhear me, and he called at distant intervals, but\\nwithout always finding us at home. Flattered\\nwith the proficiency of his pupil, regarding it as\\nhis own work, and proceeding from this prin-\\nciple to attribute to himself a sort of right or\\nexcuse for his pretensions, and having besides\\ngiven himself out for a nobleman of Malaga\\nwhom misfortunes had reduced to the necessity\\nof having recourse to his musical talents, he\\nthought proper to fall in love with me. Absurd\\nexcuses for his folly were not lacking, and, in\\nfine, he resolved to demand me in marriage, at\\nthe same time not having the courage to make\\nhis request in person. The remonstrances of\\nthe friend whom he requested to undertake this\\ncommission for him did not change his design,\\nand it was accordingly fulfilled. It was followed", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0271.jp2"}, "250": {"fulltext": "2 24 Private Memoirs\\nof course by a prohibition to enter our doors\\nagain, accompanied with those civilities which\\nare due to the unfortunate. The jests of my\\nfather informed me of what had passed he was\\nfond of detaiHng to me the apphcations made to\\nhim on my account and as he was not a httle\\nhaughty, he did not spare the persons who thus\\nexposed themselves to his ridicule.\\nPoor Mozon was become a widower he had\\ngot rid of the wen that embellished his left\\ncheek; and proposed setting up his cabriolet.\\nI was then fifteen, and he was engaged to com-\\nplete my dancing. His imagination kindled;\\nhe was not deficient in a high opinion of his art,\\nand would have thought Marcel was very rea-\\nsonable in making proposals to me; artist for\\nartist, why should he not enter the lists? He\\nmade known his wishes, and was dismissed like\\nMignard.\\nFrom the moment a young female attains the\\nage that announces maturity, swarms of suitors\\nhover round her person, like bees about the\\nnewly expanded flower.\\nEducated so austerely, and living so retired\\na life, I could inspire but one design and the\\nrespectable character of my mother, the appear-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0272.jp2"}, "251": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 225\\nance of some fortune, the circumstance of being\\nan only child, might of themselves render me an\\nobject of attraction to a number of persons.\\nThey presented themselves in crowds; but,\\nfrom the difficulty of obtaining a personal\\nintroduction, they usually addressed themselves\\nin writing to my parents. My father brought\\nme all letters of this nature. Aside from what\\nwas stated in them as to the rank and fortune\\nof the writers, the mode in which they were\\nexpressed greatly influenced my opinion. I\\nundertook to make a rough draft of the answers,\\nwhich my father transcribed with exactness. I\\nmade him dismiss my suitors with dignity, with-\\nout giving room for hope or resentment. The\\nyouth of our quarter passed thus in review,\\nand in the majority of instances I had no diffi-\\nculty in persuading my parents to approve my\\nrefusals. My father looked only to riches and\\nhis pretensions for me were such that the suitor\\nwho was but newly established, or whose in-\\ncome was not such as to render him a good\\nmatch, had no chance at all of his vote but,\\nwhen satisfied in these particulars, it gave him\\npain that I would not consent to the match.\\nHere began those differences between my father\\nIS", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0273.jp2"}, "252": {"fulltext": "2 26 Private Memoirs\\nand me which from this period were every day-\\naugmenting. He loved and esteemed trade,\\nbecause he regarded it as the source of riches\\nI detested and despised it, because I considered\\nit as the spring of fraud and avarice.\\nMy father felt that I could not accept a\\nshopkeeper, properly so called his vanity\\nwould not suffer him to entertain the idea but\\nhe could not conceive that the elegant jeweller,\\nwho only fingers the rich trinkets from which\\nhe derives immense profits, was beneath my\\nacceptance; especially, too, when he could\\nplead a business so well established as to\\npromise a rapid and splendid fortune. But the\\nspirit of this jeweller, as well as of the little\\nmercer whom he regards as below him, and of\\nthe rich manufacturer who holds himself super-\\nior to both, appeared to me absorbed alike by\\nthe lust of gold and the calculations for amass-\\ning it; pursuits totally foreign to the elevated\\nideas, and the refined and delicate sentiments\\nby which I was accustomed to appreciate exist-\\nence.\\nOccupied from my infancy in considering the\\nrelations of man in society nourished with the\\npurest morality familiarized with the noblest", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0274.jp2"}, "253": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 227\\nexamples should I have lived with Plutarch\\nand all the philosophers, only to be yoked at\\nlast to a tradesman, who would neither judge\\nnor feel in any circumstance of life like myself\\nAs I have said, my discreet mother wished\\nthat I should be as much at home in the kit-\\nchen as in the drawing-room, at the market\\nas on the promenade. After my return from\\nthe convent I continued to accompany her\\nwhen she made her purchases for the house,\\nand at last she allowed me to make them my-\\nself, sending an old servant with me. The\\nbutcher with whom we dealt had lost a second\\nwife, and found himself still young, with a\\nfortune of fifty thousand crowns, which he pro-\\nposed to augment. I knew nothing of these\\nparticulars, and saw no more than that I was\\nwell served, and with a profusion of civilities.\\nI was much surprised at seeing this slayer of\\noxen frequently on Sundays, in the course\\nof our excursions, dressed in a handsome suit\\nof black, and with fine lace to his linen; upon\\nwhich occasions he merely presented himself to\\nmy mother, made her a very low bow and\\npassed on. This practice continued a whole\\nsummer. I was taken sick; every morning", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0275.jp2"}, "254": {"fulltext": "2 28 Private Memoirs\\nthe butcher sent to inquire if there was any-\\nthing he could do for us, and to offer every\\naccommodation in his power. This sufficiently\\nbroad hint of his pretensions made my father\\nsmile and one day, when a Mademoiselle\\nMichon, a lady of a grave and devout turn,\\ncame in all ceremony to demand me on the\\npart of the butcher, my father, vastly amused,\\nled her by the hand to my closet. You\\nknow, my dear Manon, said he to me, gravely,\\nthat I have made it a principle to put no\\nforce upon your inclinations. It is proper,\\nhowever, that I should state to you a proposal\\nthat has just been made to me in your be-\\nhalf. He then repeated what Mademoiselle\\nMichon had been saying to him. I bit my\\nlips, and was a little mortified that this frolic\\nof my father reduced me to the necessity of\\nan answer, which he ought to have taken upon\\nhimself. You know, my dear papa, replied\\nI, mimicking his tone, that I have made a firm\\nresolution not to quit my present situation, in\\nwhich I am so happy, for some years to come.\\nYou will, therefore, act in this matter as you\\nsee proper; and saying this I immediately\\nwithdrew.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0276.jp2"}, "255": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 229\\nupon my soul, said my father, the next\\ntime he saw me, the reason you gave to\\nMademoiselle Michon is an excellent scheme\\nfor keeping all the young men at a distance.\\nIndeed, papa, said I, I did no more than\\nrepay your frolic, by an expression very becom-\\ning in the mouth of a girl and I left it to you\\nto give a formal refusal a task which it would\\nhave been wrong in me to take upon myself.\\nWell, you are very well out of that affair.\\nBut if our friend the butcher does not suit you,\\ntell me what sort of a man you must have.\\nIndeed, said I, if I am hard to please, it\\nis really due to yourself; you have accustomed\\nme to reflect, and suffered me to study. I know\\nnot what sort of man I shall marry but it shall\\nnever be one with whom I cannot converse, and\\nwho is not able to think my thoughts, and share\\nmy sentiments.\\nThere are men to be found in the mercan-\\ntile class who are both polite and intelligent.\\nYes but not according to my way of think-\\ning; their politeness consists in a few phrases\\nand bows, and as to their knowledge it is con-\\nfined to their ledgers, and would afford but little\\nassistance in the education of my children.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0277.jp2"}, "256": {"fulltext": "230 Private Memoirs\\nBut you would educate them yourself.\\nThe task would seem a hard one if it were\\nnot shared by the man to whom they owed their\\nexistence.\\nThink you that the wife of Lempereur is not\\nhappy They have lately retired from business,\\nand are now purchasing places, keeping an ex-\\ncellent table, and receiving the best company.\\nI am no judge of the happiness of another,\\nand mine is not dependent on wealth I con-\\nceive that the strictest union of hearts is requi-\\nsite to conjugal felicity; nor can I connect\\nmyself with a man- who does not resemble me\\nit will even be necessary that he should be my\\nsuperior, for since both nature and the laws have\\ngiven the superiority to his sex, I should blush\\nfor my husband if he did not truly possess it.\\nYou must have, then, some advocate,! sup-\\npose? But let me tell you, these sages of the\\nrobe are not the men best calculated to pro-\\nmote the happiness of a woman. They have\\ntoo much pride and too little money.\\nBut, mon Dieit papa, I do not appraise men\\nby the color of their coats, nor have I said that\\nhe must be of this profession or of that, but\\na man that I can love.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0278.jp2"}, "257": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 231\\nYet, if I understand you right, you suppose\\nsuch a man is not to be found in the whole circle\\nof commerce?\\nI confess it appears to me difficult. I have\\nnever yet seen in that class of life a man to my\\nliking; besides, I dislike the occupation itself\\nNevertheless, the lot of the merchant s wife,\\nwho lives at ease in her own rooms while her\\nhusband carries on a thriving business in his\\nshop, is by no means a hard one. Witness\\nMadame d Argens she understands diamonds\\nas well as her husband does, bargains with the\\ncourtiers in his absence, and would doubtless\\ncarry on the business by herself, should she be\\nleft a widow. Their fortune is already consid-\\nerable, and they have a share in the company\\nwhich has just made a purchase of Bagnolet.\\nYou, Manon, have an excellent understanding,\\nand having read the treatise in my library upon\\nprecious stones, must be particularly qualified\\nfor such an occupation. Your judgment would\\ninspire confidence you would do with your\\ncustomers whatever you pleased and could\\nyou have fancied Delorme, Dabreuil, or Lobli-\\ngeois, what an agreeable life you might have\\nled", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0279.jp2"}, "258": {"fulltext": "232 Private Memoirs\\nHold, my dear father I have too often\\nobserved that Httle success can be expected\\nfrom commerce, unless by selhng dear what\\nhas been bought cheap, by extortion on the\\none hand, and robbing the poor artisan of his\\ndue, on the other. Never will I give myself up\\nto such practices, and never shall I respect the\\nman who from morning to night can devote his\\ntime to them. I should wish to be a good and\\nvirtuous wife but how. should I remain true to\\na man who held no place in my esteem, admit-\\nting the possibility of my marrying such a one\\nTo me it appears that selling diamonds and\\nselling pastry are very much the same thing,\\nexcept that the latter has a fixed price, re-\\nquires less deceit, but soils the fingers more.\\nI like neither the one nor the other.\\nDo you suppose then that there are no\\nhonest tradesmen?\\nI will not absolutely say that; but I am per-\\nsuaded the number is small and let them be\\never so honest, they have not all that I require\\nin a husband.\\nYou require a good deal, I see but sup-\\nposing you do not find this idol of your\\nimagination?", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0280.jp2"}, "259": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 233\\nIn that case I will die single.\\nThat may be a harder task than you imagine.\\nAs to the other point, you will have time enough\\nto think of it. But remember, ennui will come\\nat last the crowd will have vanished and you\\nknow the fable\\nOh I will avenge myself of such an in-\\njustice by taking care to merit the happiness\\nfrom which I am excluded.\\nNow are you again in the clouds Well, it\\nmay be pleasant enough to soar to these heights,\\nbut difficult, I fear, to remain there. Do not\\nforget besides that I should hke to have grand-\\nchildren before I am too old.\\nI should be perfectly willing to give them to\\nyou, thought I, as my father put an end to the\\ndialogue by withdrawing but not by a hus-\\nband that my heart disapproves. I felt a tran-\\nsient cloud of melancholy while I considered the\\ncharacter of my suitors, among whom there was\\nnot one of a temper correspondent to my own\\nbut this sensation soon subsided. I felt that I\\nwas at present happy, and I shed the light of\\na vague hope upon the future. It was, as it\\nwere, the plenitude of an actual happiness,\\noverflowing its banks, and communicating its", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0281.jp2"}, "260": {"fulltext": "2 34 Private Memoirs\\ncharacter to a period and situation that did not\\nyet exist.\\nShall I suit you this time, mademoiselle?\\nsaid my father one day, with a feigned gravity,\\nand an air of satisfaction which was always ap-\\nparent when an application had been made to\\nhim Read that letter.\\nIt was very well written as to the imagery and\\nstyle, and called more than one blush into my\\ncheeks. M. Morizot de Rozain certainly said an\\nabundance of pleasant things, but at the same\\ntime did not forget to remark that his name\\nmight be found in the peerage of his province.\\nI thought it absurd and indelicate in him to\\nmake a parade of an advantage which he knew\\nme not to possess, and of which he had no\\nreason to suppose that I was ambitious. Here\\nis still room for hesitation, said I, shaking my\\nhead, but we will hear what this personage\\nhas to say for himself: a letter or two more will\\ngive us the soundings of the shore. So let us pre-\\npare an answer. Whenever writing was in ques-\\ntion, my father was charmingly tractable, and\\ncopied without reluctance whatever I put into\\nhis hands. I amused myself with my assumed\\nposition, discussed my interests with all the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0282.jp2"}, "261": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 235\\ngravity of the occasion, and in a style suitable\\nto the parental character. We had no less than\\nthree explanatory letters from M. de Rozain,\\nwhich I preserved for a long time because they\\nwere extremely well written. They proved that\\nmere powers of mind were not with me a suffi-\\ncient qualification in a husband, unless there\\nwere also superiority of judgment, and those in-\\ndefinable but palpable qualities of soul the lack\\nof which nothing can supply. Moreover, M,\\nRozain was an advocate in name only; my\\npresent fortune was too small for two, nor were\\nhis qualities such as to tempt me to overlook\\nthat obstacle.\\nIn proposing to marshal my suitors en masse,\\nit was not my intention to run through the\\nentire list; and from this I shall doubtless be\\nreadily excused. My sole aim was to convey\\nthe oddity of my situation, beset as I was by the\\naddresses of so many admirers whom I did not\\nknow even by sight, and enjoying so complete a\\nfreedom of deliberation and choice. I some-\\ntimes noted at church or on the promenade some\\nstranger curiously scrutinizing or following me\\nand then I would say to myself: I shall soon\\nhave a letter to write for papa. But I saw not", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0283.jp2"}, "262": {"fulltext": "236 Private Memoirs\\nonce among them a figure that specially struck or\\npleased me.\\nI have remarked that Lablancherie had had\\nthe ingenuity to introduce himself to our house,\\nprobably that he might reconnoitre the country\\nbefore advancing in force. Though still very\\nyoung, he had already travelled and read a\\ngood deal, and had even published a book.\\nHis work was of no great merit, but it con-\\ntained some good ideas and sound morality. He\\ncalled it an Abstract of my Travels, for the\\nInstruction of Parents, a title certainly not\\ndistinguished for modesty but, as he supported\\nhimself upon the most respectable philosophical\\nauthorities, quoted them happily, and inveighed\\nwith an honest indignation, against that negli-\\ngence on the part of parents which is too fre-\\nquently the cause of the irregularities of youth,\\nhe was in some measure to be excused. Lablan-\\ncherie, short, dark, and ordinary, did not fire\\nmy imagination but his mind was by no means\\ndispleasing to me, and I thought I could perceive\\nthat my person was still less displeasing to him.\\nOne evening, returning with my mother from\\nvisiting some relations, we found my father in\\na sort of revery. I have news for you, said", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0284.jp2"}, "263": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 237\\nhe to us, smiling. Lablancherie, who has been\\nhere for more than two hours, and is but this\\nmoment gone, has made me his confidant; and\\nas what he has intrusted to me relates to you,\\nmademoiselle, in particular, I suppose you must\\nbe made acquainted with it. (The consequence\\nwas not strictly necessary, but it was customary\\nwith my father to infer it). He is in love, it\\nseems, and has offered himself; but, as he has\\nlittle or no property, I have endeavored to con-\\nvince him of the folly of the proposal. He is\\nof the long robe, and means to purchase an\\noffice but as his own fortune is inadequate, he\\nproposes to supply the deficiency with the\\ndower of his wife and, as you are an only\\nchild, he conceives that, for the first year or\\ntwo, we might all live together. He has said a\\nnumber of those fine things upon the subject\\nwhich readily suggest themselves to a youthful\\nimagination, and which it conceives to be un-\\nanswerable but parents who consult the wel-\\nfare of their children want something more\\nsolid to determine them. Let him purchase a\\nplace and establish himself first; there will be\\ntime enough afterwards for marriage; but to\\nmake marriage the preliminary would be plac-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0285.jp2"}, "264": {"fulltext": "238\\nPrivate Memoirs\\ning the cart before the horse. Besides we must\\nlook a little into his character and connections\\na business indeed that is soon despatched. I\\nhad rather he were less of a gentleman, and that\\nhe possessed instead an income of a few thou-\\nsand crowns he is, however, a good sort of\\nyoung man. We talked a long time upon this\\nsubject. My objections were grievous to him,\\nbut he heard me with patience, and begged that\\nat least I would not forbid him the house, to\\nwhich I consented, upon condition that his visits\\nshould not be more frequent than usual. I\\ntold him that I should say nothing to you,\\nManon, of what has passed between us but as I\\nknow your discretion, I do not like to keep any-\\nthing from you.\\nA few questions from my mother, and some\\nobservations as to the wisdom of one s looking\\nbefore one leaps in these cases saved me the\\nembarrassment of a reply, but did not prevent\\nme from thinking the matter over for myself\\nMy father s logic was just, but at the same\\ntime the proposals of the young man were not\\nunreasonable, and I felt disposed to see him and\\nto study his character with additional interest\\nand curiosity. Opportunities for doing this", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0286.jp2"}, "265": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 239\\nseldom occurred some months elapsed at last\\nLablancherie departed for Orleans, and I saw\\nhim no more till two years after. During the\\ninterval I had nearly been married to Gardanne,\\na physician, a match which one of our relations,\\nMadame Desportes, had strongly recommended.\\nThis lady, born in Provence, had wedded a\\ntradesman at Paris, and being soon after left a\\nwidow with one daughter, she had continued\\nthat business of trading in diamonds which\\nmy father found so agreeable. Wit, urbanity,\\nand an insinuating address, had raised her to\\ngeneral estimation, and it appeared as if she\\ncontinued in business merely to oblige those\\nwho dealt with her. Without going out of her\\napartment, where she received a highly respect-\\nable circle of friends (who were largely her\\nclients as well), she preserved her little fortune\\nand her ease without loss and without addition.\\nAdvanced considerably in age, she was assisted\\nby her daughter, who, out of filial affection, had\\nrejected all suitors, preferring the intimate and\\ncharming union in which she lived with her\\nmother.\\nGardanne was a countryman of Madame\\nDesportes. Natural good sense, vivacity, learn-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0287.jp2"}, "266": {"fulltext": "240 Private Memoirs\\ning, and an extreme desire of success, gave\\nreason to hope that this young doctor would\\nrise to eminence in a career which he had\\nalready begun under promising circumstances.\\nMadame Desportes, who received him with that\\npatronizing kindness suitable to her age and\\ncharacter, and which she had the art of render-\\ning amiable, conceived the project of making\\nhim the husband of her niece. But, dying be-\\nfore it was ripe, she bequeathed to her daughter\\nthe same zeal for its accomplishment.\\nGardanne both wished and feared the con-\\nnection. In his calculation of the advantages\\nand inconveniences of the grand hymeneal part-\\nnership, he was not, like my romantic brain,\\nattached to the single idea of conformity of\\ncharacter and sentiment he reckoned up every-\\nthing, pro and con. My portion would be only\\ntwenty thousand livres but the smallness of\\nthis sum was compensated by expectations.\\nThe pecuniary arrangements were made without\\nmy knowing anything of the matter, and the\\nbargain was absolutely struck, when I was first\\ntold, in general terms, of a physician who was\\ndestined to be my husband. The profession\\ndid not displease me it promised an enlight-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0288.jp2"}, "267": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0289.jp2"}, "268": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0290.jp2"}, "269": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 241\\nened mind but it was necessary I should know\\nthe person. A walk to Luxembourg was con-\\ntrived we were in danger of being overtaken\\nby a shower, or at least so it was pretended,\\nand we took refuge in the house of a Mademoi-\\nselle de la Barre, a great Jansenist, and a friend\\nof Madame Desportes. She was delighted at\\nthe accident, and was offering us some refresh-\\nment, when the physician, with his country-\\nwoman, entered, under the pretext of paying\\nher a visit.\\nWe examined each other narrowly, but with-\\nout any appearance of doing so on my part,\\nthough I suffered nothing to escape me. My\\ncousin had an air of triumph, as much as to\\nsay I did not describe her as handsome but\\nwhat do you think of her? My good mother\\nappeared tender and pensive Mademoiselle de\\nla Barre was bountiful of her wit, and did the\\nhonors of her sweetmeats and confectionery.\\nThe physician chattered away, and made great\\nhavoc among the sugar-plums, observing, with\\na gallantry that smelled somewhat of the lamp,\\nthat nothing pleased his palate so well as what\\nwas sweet to which our hostess rejoined, with a\\nsoft voice, a blush, and a smile, that it was said\\n16", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0293.jp2"}, "270": {"fulltext": "242 Private Memoirs\\nindeed men had a taste that way, she supposed,\\nbecause they stood in need of that treatment\\nwhich sweetness inspires. The gallant doctor\\nwas delighted at the epigram. My father would\\nwillingly have given his benediction on the\\nspot, and was so extremely polite that I was\\nabsolutely angry with him. The doctor retired\\nfirst to pay his evening visits my father, my\\nmother and myself returned precisely as we came.\\nAnd this is what is called an interview. Made-\\nmoiselle Desportes, a stickler for punctilios, had\\narranged all this, because, forsooth, a man who\\nhas views of marriage ought not to enter the\\nhouse in which the lady resides till he has been\\naccepted which done, the contract is then to\\nbe prepared, and the union solemnized forthwith.\\nThis was the law and the prophets. A physi-\\ncian, in the garb of his profession, is seldom\\nalluring in the eyes of a young woman, nor\\ncould I indeed, at any period of life, conceive\\nof love in a periwig. Accordingly Gardanne\\nwith his three-tailed peruke, his doctoral dig-\\nnity, his southern accent, and his black eye-\\nbrows, appeared more likely to cure than to\\nimpart a fever. This was the feeling that I\\nexperienced, not a reflection that I made my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0294.jp2"}, "271": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 243\\nideas of marriage were too serious and austere,\\nto make it possible for me to find the smallest\\ncircumstance at which to laugh in such a pro-\\nposal. Well, said my mother to me, in a tone\\nof tender inquiry, what think you of this man?\\nWill he suit you?\\nMy dear mamma, it is impossible as yet for\\nme to tell.\\nBut you can certainly tell if he has inspired\\nyou with any dislike.\\nNeither dislike nor inclination so that there\\nis still room for either of these sentiments.\\nAnd what answer then is to be given, should\\na proposal be made in form\\nIs the answer to be binding?\\nAssuredly, if we pass our word to a man of\\nhonor, we must adhere to it.\\nAnd what if he should afterwards displease\\nme?\\nA reasonable young woman, not swayed by\\ncaprice, having once weighed the motives that\\ndetermine her in so important a crisis, is in no\\ndanger of changing her opinion.\\nAnd must I really decide, then, upon this\\nsingle interview?\\nNot exactly that; the intimacy of M. Gar-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0295.jp2"}, "272": {"fulltext": "244 Private Memoirs\\ndanne with our family makes it easy for us to\\njudge of his condition, his manners, and, with a\\nHttle inquiry, of his character. These are the\\nprincipal points in determining your choice the\\nseeing him is a mere matter of form necessary\\nto the adjustment of certain preliminaries.\\nAh my mamma, I am in no haste to be\\nmarried,\\nI believe it, my child but we are anxious\\nto see you settled and you have now attained\\nthe proper age. You have refused many offers\\nfrom tradesmen, and from your situation you\\nwill probably be exposed to many more. It\\nappears to be your resolution never to accept\\na husband from that class of life the present\\noffer is of a different kind, and, to all appear-\\nances, quite unexceptionable be careful there-\\nfore that you do not lightly reject it.\\nBut surely, mamma, there can be no imme-\\ndiate hurry; M. Gardanne himself is probably\\nnot yet decided, for it is the first time he has\\nseen me.\\nI acknowledge the force of your objection\\nbut if this be the only one it will, perhaps,\\nspeedily be removed. I will not, therefore, re-\\nquire an instant answer. Reflect upon the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0296.jp2"}, "273": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 245\\nmatter; and two days hence let me know the\\nresult. Saying this, my mother kissed me, and\\nwithdrew.\\nReason and nature so powerfully combine to\\nconvince a discreet and modest young woman\\nthat it is incumbent on her to marry, that there\\nis no room for deliberation but upon the choice\\nof her companion. Now, as to this particular\\nchoice, the arguments of my mother were by\\nno means destitute of force. I considered,\\nmoreover, whatever might be said to the con-\\ntrary, that my provisional acceptance could\\nnever be construed into an absolute engage-\\nment; that it was absurd to suppose, because\\nI had consented to see at the house of my\\nfather a man proposed to me for a husband, that\\nI was therefore contracted and I felt that,\\nshould he fail to please me, no consideration\\nwhatever ought to induce me to proceed further.\\nSo without clinching the matter by a positive\\nrefusal, I withheld my decision until time should\\nenable me to judge.\\nWe were about setting out for the country,\\nwhere we had purposed to spend a fortnight.\\nTo delay this journey in expectation of a suitor\\nI conceived to be indelicate, and my mother", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0297.jp2"}, "274": {"fulltext": "246\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nwas of my opinion but before we departed,\\nMademoiselle de la Barre arrived one morning\\nceremoniously dressed to demand me, as it is\\ncalled, on the part of the doctor. My parents\\nreturned the polite generalities usual when one\\naccepts a proposal, with a proviso for later con-\\nsideration. Mademoiselle de la Barre claimed,\\non the part of the suitor, permission to pay his\\nrespects. It was granted. Mademoiselle Des-\\nportes, always methodical and accurate, con-\\nceived that she was the person to bring forward\\nher protege, and a family dinner, at which\\nMademoiselle de la Barre and a female relation\\nwere present, served as an occasion for introduc-\\ning the gentleman into my father s house. The\\nnext day we set out for the country, design-\\ning to pass there the precise time necessary\\nfor inquiries. The second interview was no\\nmore impressive than the first yet I saw in\\nGardanne a man of intelligence with whom it\\nwas possible for a thinking woman to take up\\nher abode and, inexperienced as I was, I\\ncalculated that where it was possible to carry\\non a rational conversation, there was a sufficient\\nprospect of happiness in marriage.\\nMv mother fancied she saw in him indications", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0298.jp2"}, "275": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 247\\nof an imperious temper. For my part, I had\\nperceived no such traces. Habituated to study\\nand watch over myself, to govern my affections,\\nto regulate my imagination, imbued also with\\nthe highest conception of the duties of a wife,\\nI could not conceive how a character a little\\nmore or a little less indulgent could be inter-\\nesting to me or could exact from me more than\\nI should exact from myself. I reasoned as a\\nphilosopher who calculates, or as a recluse igno-\\nrant of men and of the passions. I took my\\nown heart, tranquil, affectionate, generous, and\\ncandid, for the common measure of the morality\\nof my species. I have long harbored this error.\\nIt has been the true source of my delusions\\nand I am the more anxious to mention it, as it\\nis really the key to my conduct and career. I\\ncarried with me into the country a sort of mel-\\nancholy inquietude, different from that agitation\\nwith which the beauties of nature usually in-\\nspired me, and that served to heighten its\\ncharms. I found myself on the verge of a new\\nexistence I was about to quit, perhaps, my\\nexcellent mother, my beloved studies, my priv-\\nacy, in fine my independence, for a state which\\nI could not well define, and which would impose", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0299.jp2"}, "276": {"fulltext": "248 Private Memoirs\\non me the gravest obligations. I thought it\\nglorious to have them to discharge, and con-\\nceived myself formed to undertake them. But\\nthe prospect was not clear to my view I expe-\\nrienced both the desire and the fear of uncer-\\ntainty. Mademoiselle Desportes had made me\\npromise to write to her I redeemed my promise\\nbut, after the lapse of a fortnight, I discovered\\nthat she was much mortified. My father, who\\nwas in the habit of taking everything literally,\\nwould have thought that he failed in the duty\\nof a parent and in a proper concern for his\\ndaughter if he had not made all the customary\\ninquiries. Gardanne had been introduced to us\\nby one of our relations, who had known him from\\nhis cradle, and was acquainted with his family.\\nAll possible information had been afforded, but\\nthat was of no consequence my father wrote,\\nat the outset of the negotiations, to three or\\nfour persons in Provence for the fullest particu-\\nlars respecting M. Gardanne s family and history.\\nNor did he stop even here he employed in-\\ndirect means of learning from servants and\\ntradesmen the temper and economy of his future\\nson-in-law. Finally he went to visit him and,\\nwith a tact equal to that which he had dis-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0300.jp2"}, "277": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 249\\nplayed in his inquiries, he pretended to know\\nall. He cited to him as a man whom he ought\\nto esteem, a countryman with whom he had\\nquarrelled, and concluded his remarks with cer-\\ntain premature counsels delivered in the accents\\nand tone of a father. Thus Gardanne received,\\nat one and the same time, letters from the coun-\\ntry in which he was twitted upon the minute\\ninquiries that had been made about him, news\\nof the inquisition that had been carried on at\\nhis home, and, finally, a pedagogical homily\\nfrom his intended father-in-law. Piqued and\\nirritated, he repairs to the house of Mademoi-\\nselle Desportes, complains, with the vivacity of\\na Southron, of the strange conduct of a man,\\nwhose daughter, though extremely pleasing, has\\nthe misfortune to have so singular a father.\\nMademoiselle Desportes, no less proud and\\nfiery, resents on her part his being so little in\\nlove with her cousin as to lay stress on these\\ntrifles, and does riot attempt to disguise her\\nresentment. All these circumstances came to\\nmy knowledge at once, and I embraced with\\neagerness the occasion to put an end to all\\ndoubt, and declare my resolution never to receive\\nM. Gardanne on the footing- of a lover. Thus", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0301.jp2"}, "278": {"fulltext": "250 Private Memoirs\\nended a negotiation, conducted with such haste\\nthat Gardanne expected the solemnity to take\\nplace within a fortnight after my return. I was\\nrelieved at escaping a danger that menaced me\\nso nearly my mother, terrified at the impetu-\\nosity of the doctor, was satisfied to be thus\\ndelivered from her fears my father endeavored\\nto hide his chagrin under the veil of a lordly\\ndignity; while as to my cousin, she asserted\\nhers by forbidding the doctor to enter her house\\nagain. Mademoiselle de la Barre told her, five\\nyears after, that this marriage was written in\\nheaven that poor Gardanne was determined to\\ncontract no other; and that Providence, the\\nways of which are inscrutable, was secretly\\npreparing the way for this desirable union.\\nHow sagacious a prophecy Of almost as much\\neffect and fidelity as the famous note of Ninon\\nde I Enclos to the Marquis de la Chatre.\\nMy mother s health began insensibly to de-\\ncline. She had experienced an attack of the\\npalsy, which she described to me under the\\nmilder name of rheumatism, for she desired to\\nspare me the anxiety I should have felt had\\nI known the truth. Naturally serious and\\ntaciturn, she became every day more so she", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0302.jp2"}, "279": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 251\\ngrew fond of solitude, and would frequently\\nsend me to walk with a favorite servant, un-\\nwilling herself to quit her apartment. She often\\ntalked of my settling in life, and lamented that I\\nhad not been able to choose a husband. One\\nday in particular, she urged me, with a melan-\\ncholy earnestness, to accept a young jeweller\\nwho had made proposals in form. He has in\\nhis favor, said she, a great reputation for\\nintegrity, regular habits, and an easy fortune,\\nwhich may become a brilliant one; and this\\nlast circumstance counts for much in a case\\nwhere the man himself, it must be owned, is\\nsomewhat commonplace. He is acquainted\\nwith your singular way of thinking, professes\\nhigh esteem for you, will be proud to follow\\nyour counsels, and has declared that he has\\nno objection to his wife becoming the nurse\\nof his children. You will have him in leading-\\nstrings.\\nBut I do not like a husband that must be\\nled, he would be too unwieldy a child.\\nYou are certainly a singular girl You will\\nnot rule, yet you will not have a master.\\nLet us understand each other, dear mamma.\\nI would not at all wish a man to dictate to me,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0303.jp2"}, "280": {"fulltext": "252 Private Memoirs\\nfor he would only provoke me to resist; nor\\nshould I wish to dictate to my husband. Either\\nI am very much mistaken, or these lords of\\ncreation six feet high with beards on their\\nchins seldom fail to feel that they are the\\nstronger sex now the good man who should\\nthink proper to keep me in mind of this supe-\\nriority would certainly provoke me and I\\nshould blush for him, on the contrary, if he\\nallowed me to rule.\\nI understand. You prefer a man who, while\\nobeying you, should fancy he was having his\\nown way.\\nNo, not that exactly. I dislike to submit,\\nbut I do not find myself made to rule it would\\nbe a burden to me my reason finds enough\\nto do in governing myself. I would gain the\\naffections of an individual worthy my esteem;\\none, with whose will a compliance would be\\nno disgrace to me, and who would not find\\nhis happiness lessened by complying with\\nmine, as far at least as reason and affection\\nmight authorize.\\nHappiness, my child, is not so often com-\\nposed of this perfection of relations and con-\\ngeniality as you may imagine: if it depended", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0304.jp2"}, "281": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 253\\nupon nothing else, there would little of it be\\nfound in most of our matches.\\nThen I know of none that I should envy.\\nPerhaps so still, among these marriages\\nthat you despise, there may be many preferable\\nto remaining single. I may be called out of the\\nworld sooner than you imagine you would re-\\nmain with your father; he is still young, and\\nyou know not the chagrins to which my ten-\\nderness leads me to fear you may be exposed.\\nCould I see you united, before I die, to a worthy\\nman, how tranquil would it render the last mo-\\nments of my existence\\nThese words of my mother overwhelmed me\\nwith grief; she seemed to lift a veil from a\\nsombre and terrifying future which I had not\\nso much as suspected. I had never thought of\\nlosing her and the mere idea of this calamity,\\nwhich she spoke of as approaching, filled me\\nwith terror; a cold shivering crept over the\\nwhole surface of my frame I fixed on her my\\nwild and eager eyes, from which a faint smile\\non her part drew forth a torrent of tears.\\nWhy, my dear child, are you so alarmed\\nMust we not in our calculations weigh possi-\\nbilities? I am not ill, though at a period of", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0305.jp2"}, "282": {"fulltext": "2 54 Private Memoirs\\nlife subject to swift and fatal changes; but it\\nis in health that we must provide ourselves with\\nconsolations for the time of sickness, and the\\npresent occasion furnishes me with an oppor-\\ntunity of doing so. A worthy man offers you\\nhis hand you are past twenty, and must no\\nlonger expect the crowd of suitors by which,\\nduring the last five years, you have been sur-\\nrounded. I may be snatched away from you.\\nDo not reject a husband who has not, it is\\ntrue, the delicacy to which you affix such value\\n(a quality very rare even among those who pre-\\ntend to it), but who will love and cherish you\\nand with whom you may be happy.\\nYes, my dear mamma, I exclaimed with a\\ndeep sigh, as happy as you have been\\nMy mother was agitated, and made no reply,\\nand never from that moment importuned me\\nupon the subject of this or any other marriage.\\nThe word had escaped me, like the expression\\nof a strong and sudden feeling upon which we\\nhave not taken time to reflect, and the effect it\\nproduced convinced me too fully of its truth.\\nA stranger might have perceived at the first\\nglance the disparity that existed between my\\nfather and mother but who could feel like me", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0306.jp2"}, "283": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 255\\nall the excellence of the latter? Meanwhile,\\nI had little calculated what she might suffer.\\nAccustomed from my infancy to see the pro-\\nfoundest peace reign in the house, I was not a\\njudge of what it cost her to maintain it. My\\nfather loved us both tenderly. A look of re-\\nproach I will not say, but an air of discontent\\nhad never clouded the face of my mother:\\nwhenever her opinion was not that of her hus-\\nband, and she had been unable to convince\\nhim, she appeared to relinquish her own view\\nwithout the smallest scruple. It was only\\nwithin a few years, that, provoked at times by\\nthe arguments of my father, I had occasionally\\nmingled in their disputes. Gaining, however,\\nsome degree of influence, I soon began to use\\nit with freedom. Whether it was from novelty\\nor from weakness, my father yielded to me\\nmore readily than to his wife and I always\\nexerted myself as her champion. I became,\\nso to speak, the watch-dog of my mother. I\\nwould not suffer her to be vexed in my pres-\\nence, and was sure upon these occasions, either\\nby assumed or real anger, always to make the\\nassailant let go his hold. What is still more\\nextraordinary is, that, reserved as my mother", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0307.jp2"}, "284": {"fulltext": "256\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nherself upon this subject, not a word escaped\\nme in private inconsistent with the respect due\\nto the paternal character. I used in her de-\\nfence the force and authority of reason, when\\naddress was insufficient; but afterwards, when\\nalone with her, my hps were sealed as to what\\nhad passed. For her sake I could combat even\\nagainst her husband but this husband, when\\nabsent, became my father, of whom neither of\\nus ever spoke but in commendation. Mean-\\nwhile I perceived that my father had gradually\\nlost his habits of industry. The affairs of his\\nparish having first diverted him, obliged him\\nafterwards to be still more frequently from\\nhome. Insensibly dissipation mastered him\\nevery spectacle or event drew him from his\\nbusiness he acquired a taste for play the\\nconnections formed at the tavern led him else-\\nwhere, and the lottery lent the aid of its se-\\nductions. In haste to amass a fortune, he had\\nengaged in outside speculations, which had\\nnot always been prosperous. This desire hav-\\ning at length little else to feed upon, degen-\\nerated into a rage for gaming. Ceasing to\\nexercise his graver with the same attention as\\nbefore, his skill diminished observing a less", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0308.jp2"}, "285": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 257\\nregular life, his faculties were impaired, his eye\\nand hand lost their steadiness and certainty.\\nHis young workmen, neglected by the master,\\nslackened in their industry and failed in their\\nexecution; it was soon necessary to decrease\\ntheir number, his reputation and custom of\\ncourse diminishing. These changes were grad-\\nual, and their effect was considerable before\\nit was fully perceived. My mother, extremely\\nthoughtful, began to hint to me her uneasiness,\\nwhich I was cautious not to nourish by dwell-\\ning on what we could neither of us hope to\\nremedy. I did what I could to console her;\\nshe was grown averse to walking, and I sub-\\nmitted to the sacrifice of leaving her sometimes\\nfor the sake of going out with my father, whom\\nI requested to take a walk with me, hoping\\nthereby to divert him from less innocent pur-\\nsuits. He no longer sought my company, but\\nhe was still pleased to attend me, and I led him\\nback with a sort of triumph to that excellent\\nmother, of whose tender heart I saw all the glad\\nemotions at our reunion. But this little strata-\\ngem was not always successful in order not to\\nrefuse his daughter, nor at the same time be\\ndisappointed of his own pleasures, when my\\n17", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0309.jp2"}, "286": {"fulltext": "258 Private Memoirs\\nfather had brought me home, he would go out\\nagain, only, as he said, for an instant; but in-\\nstead of returning to supper, he forgot the\\nhour, and stayed till midnight. We had wept\\nhis absence in silence; and if I happened, at\\nhis return to tell him of our anxiety, he treated\\nit lightly, parrying my gentle reproaches with\\nraillery, or else retired with an air of discon-\\ntent. Our domestic happiness was obscured\\nand darkened by these clouds, but the harmony\\nand quiet of the family remained unaltered, and\\nthe eyes of a stranger would scarcely have per-\\nceived the changes that were daily taking place.\\nMy mother had suffered considerably for the\\nspace of more than a year from a malady of\\nwhich her physicians had been totally unable to\\nascertain the cause. After employing to no\\npurpose a variety of remedies, they at length\\nadvised exercise, for which she had no inclina-\\ntion, and the air of the country. This was upon\\nthe eve of Whitsuntide, 1773, and it was deter-\\nmined that we should pass our holidays at\\nMeudon. On Sunday morning I did not wake\\nin my customary spirits when these excursions\\ninto the country were in view. I had rested\\npoorly, for my slumbers had been haunted by", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0310.jp2"}, "287": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 259\\nthe gloomiest dreams we were returning (as it\\nhad seemed to me) to Paris by water, having\\nbeen driven back by a storm, when, as we were\\nstepping to the shore, a corpse that had been\\ncarried from the boat, blocked our path.\\nChilled with terror at the sight, I was about\\nfearfully to examine the ghastly object when\\nmy mother, lightly laying her hand upon my\\nbed and calling me with her soft voice, put an\\nend to my dream. I was rejoiced to see her, as\\nif she had escaped some imminent danger; I\\nstretched out my arms, and embraced her with\\nemotion, expressing the pleasure she gave me\\nby awaking me. I sprang out of bed, every-\\nthing was soon ready, and we set off. The\\nweather was fine, the air calm, a little boat con-\\nveyed us to the place of our destination, and\\nthe delights of the country speedily restored\\nmy serenity. My mother was better for the\\njourney; she resumed a portion of her activity;\\nfor the second time we discovered ViUe-Bonne,\\nand its honest inmates. I had promised to visit\\nmy Agathe on the Wednesday of the holidays\\nwe accordingly returned on the evening of\\nTuesday. My mother had meant to accom-\\npany me but, fatigued with the exertion of\\n15", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0311.jp2"}, "288": {"fulltext": "2 6o Private Memoirs\\nthe preceding days, she changed her mind at the\\nmoment of my departure, and sent me with\\nthe servant. I would willingly have remained\\nwith her but she insisted on my keeping my\\nengagement, adding that it was no punishment\\nto her to be alone, and that if I wished to take\\na turn in the public gardens, I might indulge\\nmyself.\\nScarcely had I seen Agathe, when I was anx-\\nious to return. Why are you in such haste,\\nsaid she does any one expect you?\\nNo but something urges me to return to\\nmy mother.\\nYou have told me that you left her well?\\nThat is true, nor does she expect me I\\nknow not what it is that torments me, but I am\\nanxious to be with her.\\nAs I spoke, my heart swelled painfully, in\\nspite of my efforts to control it.\\nSome persons will perhaps suppose that all\\nthese circumstances are the result of a mood\\nthat sheds its own hues upon the present and\\nupon the immediate past. This, however, I am\\nassured, is not the case. I am a faithful his-\\ntorian, and relate facts which, had it not been\\nfor the event, I should doubtless have forgotten.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0312.jp2"}, "289": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 261\\nCertainly it may be judged, from what has\\nalready been said of my opinions, and espe-\\ncially of the successive stages of my intellectual\\ngrowth, that I was as little superstitious at that\\ntime as I am now credulous and orthodox.\\nWhile I meditated in the sequel upon what could\\nbe the cause of what people call presentiments,\\nI have imagined that it consists in that rapid\\nsurvey which persons of a lively intelligence\\nand strong feeling make of a crowd of evanes-\\ncent circumstances, impossible to enumerate,\\nwhich are rather felt than recognized, which\\ngive a tinge to the mind that the reason cannot\\njustify, but that events ultimately appear to\\nconfirm.\\nThe more lively the interest that we take in\\nan object and the greater the concern we feel\\nin everything that relates to it, the more we\\nshall have of those physical perceptions, if I\\nmay be allowed the expression, which are\\nafterwards styled presentiments, and which the\\nancients regarded as omens or suggestions from\\nthe gods.\\nMy mother was an object to me of the ten-\\nderest regard she approached her end without\\nits being announced to common observers by", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0313.jp2"}, "290": {"fulltext": "262 Private Memoirs\\nany exterior circumstances, and I had myself\\nseen nothing that positively menaced it; yet I\\nwas doubtless sensible to slight and indistinct\\nchanges that affected me as it were uncon-\\nsciously. I could not have said I was unhappy,\\nbecause I could have assigned no reason but\\nI felt a haunting anxiety, my heart sank when I\\nlooked at her, and in her absence I experienced\\nan uneasiness, that would not suffer me to\\ncontinue out of her sight. I quitted Agathe\\nwith so unusual an air, that she begged me to\\nlet her hear from me immediately. I returned\\nprecipitately, without attending to the remark\\nof my nurse that the weather was extremely\\nfavorable for a walk in the gardens. I ap-\\nproach the house, and find at our door a young\\ngirl of the neighborhood, who on seeing me\\nexclaims Ah mademoiselle, your mamma\\nis taken ill; she has just sent to my mother,\\nwho is now with her in her chamber. Struck\\nwith affright, I utter some inarticulate sounds;\\nI rush upstairs, and find my mother sunk in an\\narmchair, her head reclined, her eyes wild, her\\nmouth open, her arms pendent. At sight of\\nme her countenance lights up she attempts to\\nspeak; but her tongue utters painfully only a", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0314.jp2"}, "291": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 263\\nfew broken words she wished to say how im-\\npatiently she had expected me. She attempts\\nto raise her arms one only obeys the impulse\\nof her will. She hfts her hand to my face, wipes\\naway the tears that bedew it with her fingers,\\npasses them gently over my cheeks as if to\\ncompose me. The wish to smile faintly appears\\nin her languid features she again endeavors to\\nspeak. Vain efforts The palsy chains her\\ntongue, weighs down her head, and deadens\\nhalf her bod}^. Spirits of balm, salt put into\\nthe mouth, and friction, produce no effect. In\\nan instant I had despatched messengers after\\nmy father, and the physician I had flown my-\\nself for two grains of emetic to the nearest\\napothecary s. The physician arrives, my mother\\nis put to bed the remedies are administered,\\nand the disorder proceeds with a dreadful\\nrapidity. The eyes are closed the head, sunk\\non the chest, can no longer raise itself; a strong\\nand quick respiration indicates the universal\\noppression. Yet she heard what was said, and,\\nwhen asked if she felt much pain, pointed out\\nthe seat of her sufferings by pressing her left\\nhand upon her forehead. I was inexpressibly\\nactive I ordered everything, and had always", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0315.jp2"}, "292": {"fulltext": "264 Private Memoirs\\ndone it myself before any other person could\\nexecute it; I prepared whatever was necessary,\\nyet appeared never to quit the bed. About\\nten o clock in the evening I observe the physi-\\ncian call aside my father and some women who\\nare in the apartment I wish to know what he\\nhas proposed they inform me that he recom-\\nmends the administration of the extreme unc-\\ntion. I seem in a dream the priest arrives he\\nprays, and does I know not what. I hold a light\\nmechanically; I stand at the foot of the bed\\nwithout answering or yielding to those who\\nwould remove me, my eyes fixed on my adored\\nand dying mother, absorbed in a single feeling\\nwhich suspends all my faculties. The light slips\\nfrom my hand, and I fall senseless on the floor.\\nThey raise me after some time I recover my\\nconsciousness, and find myself in the room\\nadjoining the death-chamber, surrounded by\\nthe members of the family. I look toward the\\ndoor, I attempt to advance they restrain me I\\nmake suppliant gestures to obtain permission to\\nreturn. A mournful silence, and a dumb but\\nconstant opposition, is the only reply. I regain\\nmy strength; I pray, I conjure them, to let me\\npass they are inexorable I burst into a rage.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0316.jp2"}, "293": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 265\\nAt that instant my father enters, pale and\\nspeechless an air of fearful inquiry appears\\nin every countenance, to which he replies by a\\nsilent movement of his eyes, that calls forth a\\ngeneral groan. I escape from the petrified\\nhands of those about me I rush impetuously\\nforth. My mother she was no more I\\nhft up her arms I cannot beheve it. I open\\nand close alternately the eyes that will never\\nsee me again, and that were wont to look upon\\nme with so endearing a tenderness I call her\\nI throw myself with passion on her loved form\\nI join my lips to hers, and try to reanimate\\nthem with my breath; I would transfuse into\\nthem my soul, and expire on the instant. I\\nknow not what ensued I only remember that\\nI found myself in the morning at the house of\\na neighbor, with M. Besnard, who then conveyed\\nme in a carriage to his own house. I arrive my\\naunt embraces me in silence, sets me before a\\nsmall table, and offers me something to drink,\\nentreating me earnestly to take it. I endeavor\\nto comply, and fall into a swoon. They put me\\nfa bed, where I pass a fortnight between life and\\ndeath in frightful convulsions. The sensation,\\nI remember, was that of constant suffocation;", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0317.jp2"}, "294": {"fulltext": "2 66 Private Memoirs\\nmy respiration, as I have been told, was heard\\neven from the street. I suffered a relapse, which\\nrendered my situation still more critical, and\\nfrom which I was saved only by the strength of\\nmy constitution and the attentions that were\\nlavished on me. My good relatives had taken\\nup with inconvenient lodgings for my better\\naccommodation they seemed to have gained\\nnew strength in order to recall me to life they\\ninsisted upon nursing me themselves, and would\\nallow no one to share their kind offices, except\\nmy cousin, Madame Trude, n^e Robineau, a\\nyoung woman, who came every evening to spend\\nthe night with me, lying in the same bed, and\\never vigilant to foresee and relieve the parox-\\nysms with which I was continually seized.\\nEight days were elapsed, and my grief had\\nbeen unaccompanied with a tear great sorrows\\nhave not so easy an issue. (I shed them, how-\\never, at this moment, bitter and burning; for\\nI fear an evil still greater than what I then\\nsuffered. I have expended all my wishes for\\nthe safety of those I love it is now more un-\\ncertain than ever Calamities, like a dark and\\nthreatening cloud, envelop what is most dear\\nto me; and I labor, with difficulty and pain.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0318.jp2"}, "295": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 267\\nto distract my attention from the present by\\nreflecting on the past.)\\nAn epistle from Sophie came to reopen the\\nsource of my tears; the tender voice and\\nsoothing expressions of friendship recalled my\\nfaculties, and spoke consolation to my heart.\\nThey produced an effect that medicines and\\nphysicians had solicited in vain a new revo-\\nlution took place I wept, and was saved. The\\nsuflbcation diminished the dangerous symptoms\\nabated, and the convulsions became less fre-\\nquent; yet every painful impression renewed\\nthem.\\nMy father presented himself to me in the\\nsad apparel that testified our loss, which, though\\ncommon to us both, I found was unequally\\nfelt and deplored. He endeavored to console\\nme by representing that Providence disposed\\neverything for the best, even in our calamities\\nthat my mother had fulfilled the task assigned\\nher in this world, in the education of her child\\nand that, since heaven had decreed I was to\\nlose one of my parents, it was better that the\\none should remain who could be most useful\\nto my fortune.\\nAssuredly my loss was irreparable, even in", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0319.jp2"}, "296": {"fulltext": "2 68 Private Memoirs\\nthis respect, as experience has but too well\\nproved; but I did not then make this reflec-\\ntion I felt only the barrenness of the intended\\nconsolation, so little adapted to my manner of\\nthinking and feeling. I measured for the first\\ntime the gulf between my father and me he\\nseemed himself to tear away the reverential veil\\nunder which I had hitherto considered him. I\\nfound myself a complete orphan, since my\\nmother was gone, and my father could never\\nunderstand me: a new source of grief burst\\nupon my already overburdened heart; I fell\\ninto the deepest despair. The tears, however,\\nof my cousin, and the sorrow of my worthy\\nrelatives, still offered me subjects of tender\\nemotion. Their influence prevailed, and I was\\nsnatched from the dangers that menaced my\\ndays. Alas, why did they not then terminate?\\nIt was my first affliction by how many others\\nhas it been succeeded\\nHere concludes the serene and shining epoch\\nof those tranquil years, passed in the enjoy-\\nment of delightful sentiments and peaceful\\nstudies, and resembling the lovely mornings of\\nspring, when the serenity of an unclouded sky,\\nthe purity of the air, the verdure of the foliage,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0320.jp2"}, "297": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 269\\nand the perfume of the plants, enchant all\\nwho taste the mingled delights, unfold the\\nheart and fancy, and impart present felicity by\\ntheir promises of a riper and rnore blissful\\nseason.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0321.jp2"}, "298": {"fulltext": "270 Private Memoirs\\nHI.\\nSeptember 10, 1793.\\nMY mother was only fifty years of age\\nwhen she was so cruelly taken from\\nme; an abscess in her head, formed in an\\nunaccountable manner, and, only discovered by\\nthe flux that took place after her death through\\nthe nose and ears, explains the unusual stop-\\npage with which she had been so long affected.\\nThe second shock of the palsy, in all probability,\\nwould not have proved mortal but for this affec-\\ntion. Her face, still fresh and youthful, showed\\nno sign of approaching death and her ailments\\nappeared to be those of an age which women\\nrarely pass without experiencing a considerable\\nalteration. The melancholy, and even despond-\\nency, which I had discovered some time before,\\nwere due to moral causes but too apparent to\\nme.\\nOur last excursions into the country seemed\\nto have reanimated her the very day she was", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0322.jp2"}, "299": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 271\\nsnatched from me I left her apparently well at\\nthree o clock in the afternoon; I returned at\\nhalf-past five to find her palsied at midnight\\nshe was no more. Frail toys of a pitiless\\ndestiny Why are sentiments so keen and pro-\\njects so imposing linked with so fragile an\\nexistence?\\nThus was taken from the world one of the\\ngentlest, most lovable beings that ever graced\\nit. Her qualities were not brilliant, but they\\nwere such as won and retained the love of all\\nwho knew her. Naturally pure and just, her vir-\\ntues were the fruit of impulse, not effort. Pru-\\ndent and self-poised, tender without passion, her\\ntranquil spirit lived its days as flows some quiet\\nstream that laves with equal complaisance the\\nrock that holds it captive and the valley it em-\\nbellishes. Her sudden loss plunged me in the\\nprofoundest grief.\\nIt is charming to possess sensibility, but\\nit is unfortunate to have so much of it, said\\nthe Abbe Legrand, who came to see me at\\nthe house of my relatives. When I began\\nto recover, the latter were eager to invite or to\\nreceive people with whom I was acquainted, in\\norder to familiarize me gradually with the Hfe", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0323.jp2"}, "300": {"fulltext": "272 Private Memoirs\\noutside. I seemed scarcely to exist in the\\nactual world. Absorbed in grief, I paid little\\nattention to what was passing, speaking but\\nseldom, and then mostly in reply to my own\\nthoughts. At times the cherished image of\\nher I could not forget, the poignant sense of\\nher loss, would arise so vividly in my mind that\\nI would shriek aloud, my outstretched arms\\nwould grow rigid, and I would fall fainting to\\nthe floor. Although incapable of application,\\nI had however calmer intervals, during which I\\nrecollected the sorrow of my relations, their\\nkindness, and the affectionate care of my cousin,\\nand endeavored to diminish their anxiety. The\\nAbbe Legrand possessed sagacity enough to\\ndiscern that it was necessary to talk to me a\\ngreat deal of my mother, in order to render me\\ncapable of thinking of anything else. He con-\\nversed with me about her, and led me insensibly\\nto reflections and ideas which, without being\\nforeign to the subject, banished the habitual\\nrecollection of her loss. As soon as he believed\\nme sufficiently recovered to look at a book, he\\nresolved to bring me the Heloise of Jean-\\nJacques Rousseau the perusal of which was in\\ntruth my first employment. I was then twenty-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0324.jp2"}, "301": {"fulltext": "FKO I THE PAI^TINO BY HEINSIUS", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0327.jp2"}, "302": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0328.jp2"}, "303": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 273\\none years of age I had read a great deal I\\nwas acquainted with a considerable number of\\nwriters, historians, learned men, and philoso-\\nphers but Rousseau made an impression on\\nme similar to that which Plutarch had done\\nwhen I was eight years old. It appeared that\\nthis was the proper food for my mind, and the\\ninterpreter of those ideas which I entertained\\nbefore, but which he alone knew how to explain\\nto me.\\nPlutarch had prepared me to become a repub-\\nlican he roused that strength and stateliness of\\ncharacter which constitute one he inspired me\\nwith a real enthusiasm in favor of public virtues\\nand liberty. Rousseau pointed out to me the\\ndomestic happiness- to which I could aspire, and\\nthe ineffable enjoyments which I was capable of\\ntasting. Ah if he is able to protect me against\\nwhat are termed foibles, could he forearm me\\nagainst a passion? Amidst the corrupt age in\\nwhich I was doomed to live and the Revolution\\nwhich I was then far from anticipating, I ac-\\nquired beforehand all that could render me\\ncapable of great sacrifices and expose me to\\ngreat misfortunes. Death will only be to me\\nthe term of both. I expect it, and I would not\\n18", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0329.jp2"}, "304": {"fulltext": "2 74- Private Memoirs\\nhave dreamed of filling the short interval which\\nseparates us with the recital of my private his-\\ntory, if calumny had not dragged me on the\\nstage, on purpose to make a more cruel attack\\nupon those whom she would ruin. I love to\\npublish truths that interest not myself alone\\nand I wish not to conceal one, that their coher-\\nence may serve toward their demonstration.\\nI did not return to my father s without ex-\\nperiencing all the sensations inspired by the\\nsight of those places which one has been accus-\\ntomed to associate with an object that is no\\nmore. They had taken the ill-judged precaution\\nto remove my mother s portrait, as if the void\\nthus produced was not calculated to recall more\\npainfully than even her picture the loss I had\\nexperienced. I instantly demanded it it was\\nrestored. The domestic cares devolving entirely\\non me, I occupied myself with them but they\\nwere not numerous in a family of only three.\\nI have never been able to comprehend how\\nsuch cares could absorb the attention of a woman\\nwho possesses method and activity, however con-\\nsiderable her household may be, for in that case\\nthere are a greater number of assistants to share\\nher labors nothing more is necessary than a", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0330.jp2"}, "305": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 275\\nright distribution of employments, and a little\\nvigilance. This I discovered in a variety of\\ndifferent situations, during all which nothing\\nwas ever done but in consequence of my orders\\nand when these cares were most pressing they\\nscarcely ever consumed more than two hours a\\nday. Leisure will always be found when one\\nknows how to employ her time it is the people\\nwho do nothing that want time for everything.\\nBesides, it is not in the least surprising that the\\nwomen who pay or receive useless visits, or who\\nthink themselves badly dressed if they have not\\nconsecrated many hours to their glass, find the\\ndays long from mere lassitude, and yet too short\\nfor the performance of their duties but I have\\nseen what are termed notable housewives who\\nwere insupportable to the world, and even to\\ntheir husbands, on account of a fatiguing pre-\\noccupation about their household affairs, I\\ndo not know anything so disgusting as this\\nridiculous conduct, nor so well calculated to\\nrender a man attached to any other woman\\nrather than his wife. She ought to appear to\\nhim to be a good housewife, but not to such a\\ndegree as to force him to search elsewhere for\\ncharms. I think that a wife should either keep,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0331.jp2"}, "306": {"fulltext": "276\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nor cause to be kept, the linen and clothes in\\norder, nurse her children, give instructions about\\nor even superintend the cookery, without speak-\\ning of it and all this with a command of tem-\\nper, a proper disposal of those moments which\\nallow her an opportunity of conversing about\\nother matters, and in such a manner as to\\nplease, in short, by her good humor as well as\\nby the charms of her sex. I have had occa-\\nsion to remark that it is nearly the same in the\\ngovernment of states as of families. Those\\nfamous statesmen who are always quoting their\\nlabors either leave much in arrear or render\\nthemselves offensive to every one around them\\nthose public men that vaunt so much of, and\\nappear so deeply involved in business, only\\nmake a noise about their difficulties because of\\ntheir incapacity to overcome them, or their\\nignorance in the art of government.\\nMy studies became dearer to me than before\\nthey formed my consolation. Left still more\\nthan ever by myself, and not seldom melancholy,\\nI felt myself under the necessity of writing. I\\nlove to render an account of my own ideas to\\nmyself, and the intervention of my pen makes\\nthem clearer. When I do not employ myself in", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0332.jp2"}, "307": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 277\\nthis way, I revise still more than I meditate by\\nthese means I curb my imagination, and accus-\\ntom myself to reasoning. I had already begun\\nto make some collections to these I made some\\nadditions, and entitled the whole The Works\\nof Leisure Hours, and various Reflections. I\\nhad no other object than by these means to fix\\nmy opinions and to possess a register of my\\nsentiments, which I could some day compare\\nwith each other, in such a manner that their\\ngradations or their changes might serve to my-\\nself at once as a lesson and a record. I have a\\npretty large packet of the Works of a young\\ngirl piled up in a dusty corner of my library, or\\nin the garret. Never did I feel the slightest\\ntemptation to become one day an author; I\\nperceived very early that a woman who acquires\\nthis title loses far more than she has gained.\\nThe men do not love, and her own sex criticise\\nher. If her works are bad, they ridicule her;\\nand they are right: if they are good, they\\nascribe them to some one else; if they are\\nforced to acknowledge that she has discovered\\nmerit, they sift so maliciously her character,\\nher morals, her conduct, and her talents, that\\nthey balance the reputation of her genius", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0333.jp2"}, "308": {"fulltext": "278 Private Memoirs\\nby the publicity which they give to her\\nerrors.\\nBesides, my happiness was my chief concern\\nand I perceived that the pubh c never inter-\\nmeddled with the happiness of any one without\\nmarring it. I do not find anything so agreeable\\nas to have our real value appreciated by the\\npeople with whom we live and nothing so\\nempty as the admiration of a few persons whom\\nwe are never likely to meet.\\nAlas what an injury did those do me who\\ntook it upon them to withdraw the veil under\\nwhich I loved to remain concealed During\\ntwelve years of my life I have shared my hus-\\nband s tasks, as I shared his meals, quite natu-\\nrally and as a matter of course. If one part\\nof his works happened to be quoted in which\\nwere discovered unwonted graces of style, or if\\na flattering reception was given to an academic\\ntrifle he was pleased to transmit to the learned\\nsocieties of which he was a member, I partici-\\npated in his satisfaction, without remarking the\\nmore particularly on that account, whether it\\nwas I who had composed it; and he often\\nended by persuading himself that he had been\\nin a better vein than usual when he wrote", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0334.jp2"}, "309": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 279\\nsuch and such a passage. During his adminis-\\ntration, if it was necessary to express great or\\nstriking truths, I employed the whole bent of\\nmy mind and it was but natural that its efforts\\nshould be preferable to those of a secretary. I\\nloved my country; I was an enthusiast in the\\ncause of liberty; I was unacquainted with any\\ninterest or any passions that could enter into\\ncompetition with these; and my language ought\\nto be pure and pathetic, as it was that of the\\nheart and of truth.\\nI was so much impressed with the import-\\nance of the subject that I never thought of\\nmyself. Once only I was amused with the\\nsingularity of the relative situations. This was\\nwhen employed in writing to the pope in be-\\nhalf of the French artists imprisoned at Rome.\\nA letter to the pope, in the name of the Execu-\\ntive Council of France, sketched secretly by the\\nhand of a woman, in the plain cabinet, which\\nMarat was pleased to term a boudoir, ap-\\npeared to me such a bit of humor that I\\nlaughed heartily when I had finished it.\\nThe pleasure of these contrasts consisted in\\nthe very secrecy but this was necessarily less\\nattainable in a public situation, where the eye", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0335.jp2"}, "310": {"fulltext": "2 8o Private Memoirs\\nof the clerk distinguishes the papers which he\\ncopies. There is nothing singular, however, in\\nall this, unless it be its novelty. Why should\\nnot a woman act as secretary to her husband,\\nwithout lessening his merit? It is well known\\nthat ministers cannot do everything themselves\\nand surely, if the wives of our rulers under the\\nold (or even the new) regime had been capable\\nof making draughts of letters, official despatches,\\nor proclamations, it would have been better to\\nemploy their time in this manner than in solicit-\\ning and intriguing for all sorts of people: the\\none excludes the other by the very nature of\\nthings.\\nIf those who knew me had judged properly\\nin respect to facts, they would have prevented\\nme from suffering a sort of celebrity which I\\nnever envied instead of now spending my time\\nin refuting falsehood, I should be reading a\\nchapter of Montaigne, painting a flower, or play-\\ning an ariette, and thus beguihng the solitude\\nof my prison, without sitting down to write my\\nconfession.\\nBut I now anticipate a period which I had\\nnot as yet attained. I make my remarks equally\\nwithout constraint, and without scruple since", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0336.jp2"}, "311": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 281\\nit is myself that is to be described, it is neces-\\nsary that I should be seen with all my irregu-\\nlarities. I do not lead my pen, it carries me\\nalong with it wherever it pleases, and I give it\\nthe rein.\\nMy father honestly endeavored for some time\\nafter he became a widower, to remain more at\\nhome than hitherto but he became weary of this,\\nand when the love of his profession did not get\\nthe better of his failing, all my efforts could not\\ncure it. I wished to converse with him, but we\\nhad few ideas in common and he then prob-\\nably hankered after a mode of Hfe which he\\ndid not wish that I should be acquainted with.\\nI often sat down to piquet with him. It was not\\nperhaps very amusing for him to play with his\\nown daughter; besides he was not ignorant\\nthat I detested cards, and however desirous I\\nmight be to persuade him that I took pleasure\\nir them, and however honestly I tried for his\\nsake to do so, he entertained no doubt that it\\nwas all mere complaisance on my part.\\nI could have wished to render his house agree-\\nable to him, but the means were not in my\\npower, as I had no other acquaintance than my\\nold relations whom I visited, and who never put", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0337.jp2"}, "312": {"fulltext": "282 Private Memoirs\\nthemselves out of their usual way. He might\\nhave formed a little society at home, but he had\\nbecome accustomed to one of another sort else-\\nwhere, and he well knew that it would not have\\nbeen proper to introduce me there. Was my\\nmother really in the wrong to live a life so\\nsecluded, and not to make her house gay enough\\nto be attractive to her husband? This would\\nbe blaming her too readily; but it would also\\nbe unjust to consider my father as entirely to\\nblame for his failings. There is such a connec-\\ntion between the evils which flow necessarily\\nfrom a first cause, that it is proper always to\\nascend to the source for an explanation.\\nOur legislators of the present day aim to\\nattain a general good, whence is to spring the\\nhappiness of individuals I am much afraid this\\nis like putting the cart before the horse. It\\nwould be more conformable with nature, and\\nperhaps with reason, to study well what con-\\nstitutes domestic happiness, to insure it to in-\\ndividuals in such a manner that the common\\nfelicity shall be composed of that of each citi-\\nzen, and that all shall be interested in conserv-\\ning the order of things which has procured\\nthem this. However charming; the written", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0338.jp2"}, "313": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 283\\nprinciples of a constitution may be, if I behold\\na portion of those who have adopted it in grief\\nand tears, I must believe it to be no other than\\na political monster if those who do not weep\\nrejoice in the sufferings of the rest, I shall say-\\nthat it is atrocious, and that its authors are\\neither weak or wicked men.\\nIn a marriage where the parties are ill mated,\\nthe virtue of one of them may maintain order\\nand peace, but the want of happiness will be\\nexperienced sooner or later, and produce in-\\nconveniencies more or less hurtful. The scaf-\\nfolding of these unions resembles the system\\nof our politicians the bases are rotten, and\\nthe whole will some day give way, in spite of\\nthe art employed in its construction.\\nMy mother could not collect around her any\\nothers than such as resembled herself, and\\nthese would not have suited my father on the\\nother hand, those whom he would have liked\\nto have constantly about him would not only\\nhave been disagreeable to my mother, but\\nincompatible with the manner in which she\\nwished to educate me. She therefore neces-\\nsarily confined herself to her own family, and\\ncultivated only those superficial connections", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0339.jp2"}, "314": {"fulltext": "284 Private Memoirs\\nwhich produce an acquaintance without creat-\\ning an intimacy.\\nEverything went well while my father, with\\na good business and a young wife, found in\\nhis own home all the employment and pleasure\\nwhich he could desire. But he was a year\\nyounger than my mother; she began early in\\nlife to experience infirmities some circum-\\nstances slackened his ardor for labor; the\\ndesire of getting rich made him embark in a\\nfew hazardous enterprises thenceforward all\\nwas lost. The love of labor forms the virtue\\nof man in a state of society; it is essentially\\nthat of the individual who does not possess a\\ncultivated mind. The moment that this desire\\nlanguishes, danger is at hand if it be extin-\\nguished, he becomes a prey to the passions,\\nwhich are always more fatal when there is less\\nemployment, because then there is also less\\nrestraint.\\nBecome a widower at the very moment when\\nhe stood in need of new ties to confine him at\\nhome, my poor father kept a mistress, that he\\nmight not present his daughter with a step-\\nmother; he had recourse to play, to indemnify\\nhimself for his loss of employment; and, with-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0340.jp2"}, "315": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 285\\nout ceasing to be an honest man, sank gradually\\nand insensibly to ruin.\\nMy relations, worthy and unsuspicious people,\\nconfiding in rrty father s attachment to me, had\\nnot demanded an inventory of the estate after\\nthe death of his wife; my interests appeared\\nto be safely confided to his guardianship they\\nwould have imagined that they had wronged\\nhim had they done otherwise. I was placed\\nin a situation that enabled me to surmise the\\ncontrary; but as I would have deemed it in-\\ndecent to reveal what I knew on this subject,\\nI remained silent and resigned. Behold me\\nthen alone in the house, my time divided be-\\ntween my housework and my studies, which I\\nsometimes abandoned in order to answer people\\nwho were vexed at not finding my father at\\nhome. Two apprentices, one of whom lived\\nin the house, were now sufficient for the work\\nof the shop.\\nMy servant was a little woman of fifty-five,\\nthin, alert, sprightly, and gay, who loved me\\nexceedingly because I made life pleasant for\\nher. She always attended me when I went\\nout without my father, but my walks never ex-\\ntended beyond the house of my grandparents", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0341.jp2"}, "316": {"fulltext": "286 Private Memoirs\\nand the church. I had not again grown de-\\nvout; but what I no longer practised out of\\nregard to the scruples of my mother, I con-\\ntinued from a sense of duty to the good order\\nof society and the edification of my neighbor.\\nIn obedience to this principle, I carried with\\nme to church, if not the ardent piety of former\\nyears, at least enough of decorum and a spirit\\nof meditation. I no longer accompanied the\\nordinary of the mass I read some Christian\\nwork. For Saint Augustine I have always had\\nmuch liking and assuredly there are fathers\\nof the church whom one may peruse without\\nbeing devout, for there is food enough in them\\nboth for the heart and the mind.\\nI wished to go through a course of reading\\nof the preachers, the living as well as the\\ndead. The eloquence of the pulpit is of a sort\\nto enable the gift of oratory to unfold itself\\nwith splendor. I had already read Bossuet\\nand Flechier; I was glad to review them now\\nwith a maturer eye, and I became familiar with\\nBourdaloue and Massillon nothing could be\\nmore diverting than to see their names entered\\nin my little memorandum book with those of\\nDe Pauw, Raynal, and the author of The Sys-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0342.jp2"}, "317": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 287\\ntern of Nature but what is still more so, is,\\nthat in consequence of reading sermons, I was\\nseized with the desire of composing one. I was\\nvexed that the preachers always recurred to\\nmysteries; it seemed to me that they ought\\nto have drawn up moral discourses, in which\\nthe devil and the incarnation were never men-\\ntioned. I accordingly seized my pen, to try\\nmy own hand at the business, and wrote a ser-\\nmon on the love of one s neighbor. I amused\\nmy little uncle with it he was become a canon\\nof Vincennes, and said it was wrong in me not\\nto have undertaken this sooner and at a time\\nwhen he himself was obliged to compose dis-\\ncourses, as in that case he would have preached\\nmine.\\nI had often heard the logic of Bourdaloue\\nmuch vaunted I dared in some measure to differ\\nfrom his admirers, and actually drew up a crit-\\nicism on one of his most esteemed discourses\\nbut I never showed it to any one. I love to\\nrender an account to myself of my own opin-\\nions, but I do not choose to submit them to\\nthe eye of another. Massillon, less lofty than\\nBourdaloue, and far more affecting, won my\\nesteem. I was not then acquainted with the", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0343.jp2"}, "318": {"fulltext": "288 Private Memoirs\\nProtestant orators, among whom Blair, more\\nespecially, has cultivated with equal simplicity\\nand elegance that species of composition, whose\\nexistence I readily conceived, and which I\\ncould have wished to see adopted.\\nAmong the preachers of that day, I have\\nheard the Abbe I Enfant, toward the close of\\nhis brilliant career; polish and reason appeared\\nto me to characterize him. Father l^lis6e was\\nalready out of fashion, notwithstanding his close\\nreasoning and chaste diction his mind was too\\nmetaphysical and his delivery too simple to\\nplease the vulgar.\\nParis was a singular place in those times\\nthis rendezvous of all the impurities of the\\nkingdom, was also the focus of taste and\\nknowledge preacher or comedian, professor\\nor mountebank, in short whoever possessed\\nabilities, was followed in his turn but the first\\nmind in the world would not have long fixed\\nthe public attention, for which novelty was\\nalways necessary, and this was effected by noise\\nas well as by merit.\\nA certain person leaving the famous order\\nof the Jesuits, becoming a missionary, and\\npretending to exhibit himself at court, was", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0344.jp2"}, "319": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 289\\nenabled by that means to attract notice and\\nprocure a number of followers. I also went\\nto hear this Abbe de Beauregard he was a\\nlittle man, with a powerful voice, and declaimed\\nwith wonderful impudence and extraordinary\\nviolence. He retailed commonplaces with the\\nair of inspiration, and he supported these by\\nsuch terrible gesticulations, that he persuaded a\\ngreat number of people they were very fine.\\nI did not then know so well as now that men\\nassembled together in great numbers possess\\nears rather than judgment; that to astonish\\nis to lead them, and that whoever assumes the\\nauthority of commanding, disposes them to\\nobey. I could not find utterance for my aston-\\nishment at the success of this personage, who\\nwas either a great fanatic, or a great rogue, and\\nperhaps both.\\nI had not sufficiently analyzed the accounts\\nof the orators of the ancient republics else\\nI should have been better able to judge respect-\\ning the means of affecting the passions of the\\npeople. But I shall never forget a vulgar man\\nplanted directly opposite the pulpit in which\\nBeauregard was displaying his antics, with his\\neyes fixed on the orator, his mouth open, and\\n19", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0345.jp2"}, "320": {"fulltext": "290 Private Memoirs\\ninvoluntarily allowing to escape the expression\\nof his stupid admiration in the three follow-\\ning words, which I well recollect How he\\nsweats Behold then the means of imposing\\nupon fools How much reason had Phocion,\\nsurprised at finding himself applauded in an\\nassembly of the people, to demand of his\\nfriends whether he had not uttered something\\nfoolish\\nThis same M. de Beauregard would have\\nmade a fierce clitbbist and how many of the\\nmembers of the popular societies, in their\\nenthusiasm over brazen-faced babblers, have\\nrecalled to my memory the expression made\\nuse of by the man just spoken of, How he\\nsweats\\nMy illness had created some talk; it would\\nappear that people deemed it either very un-\\ncommon, or very charming, that a young girl\\nshould be in danger of losing her life through\\nmere sorrow at the death of her mother. I\\nreceived many marks of regard on this account,\\nwhich were extremely agreeable to me. M. de\\nBoismorel was one of the first who bestowed\\nthem I had not seen him since his visits at\\nmy grandmother s. I perceived the impression", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0346.jp2"}, "321": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 291\\nwhich the change that had taken place in my\\nperson since that period, produced upon him.\\nHe returned during my absence, conversed a\\nlong time with my father, who doubtless spoke\\nto him about my studies, and showed him the\\nlittle apartment in which I passed my time.\\nThey looked at my books my works were\\nupon the table these excited his curiosity, and\\nmy father took upon himself to gratify it, by\\nshowing them to him.\\nGreat displeasure and complaints ensued on\\nmy part, when I found on my return that they\\nhad violated my asylum. My father pretended\\nthat he would not have complied with the\\nwishes of any person less grave and less worthy\\nof consideration than M. de Boismorel. His\\nreasons did not make me relish his proceedings,\\nas it was an offence against liberty and prop-\\nerty; it was disposing, without my consent, of\\nwhat I alone possessed the right of conferring;\\nbut, at all events, the harm was done. Next\\nday I received a well-written letter from M. de\\nBoismorel, couched in too flattering terms not\\nto procure his pardon for having profited by\\nthe indiscretion of my father, and offering me\\naccess to his library. I did not read this", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0347.jp2"}, "322": {"fulltext": "292 Private Memoirs\\nproposal with indifference from that moment\\na correspondence began between us I tasted\\nfor the first time those agreeable sensations\\nwhich sensibility and self-love make us exper-\\nience when we find ourselves esteemed by those\\nwhose judgment we value.\\nM. de Boismorel no longer resided at Paris;\\nhis partiality for the country, and his wish not\\nto remove his mother to too great a distance\\nfrom the capital, had made him purchase the\\nPetit-Bercy below Charenton, a charming\\nhouse, the garden of which extended to the\\nbanks of the Seine. He pressed us much\\nto take a walk thither, testifying at the same\\ntime, the greatest eagerness to receive us. I\\nrecollected the reception given us by his mother\\nupon a former occasion, and was not in the least\\ntempted to renew that experience so I resisted\\nthe entreaties of my father. He insisted and,\\nas I would not oppose the little trips which he\\nsometimes liked to make with me, we one day\\nset out for Bercy. The ladies of the family of\\nBoismorel were sitting in the summer salon;\\nthe presence of the daughter-in-law, whose ami-\\nable disposition I had heard much talk of, im-\\nmediately put me at my ease. The mother,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0348.jp2"}, "323": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 293\\nwhose manner may be recollected, and whom\\nyears had not rendered more humble, evinced\\nhowever more politeness toward a young per-\\nson who had the appearance of respecting her-\\nself, than she had formerly shown to a child\\nwhom she deemed of no consequence.\\nHow well your dear daughter looks, Mr.\\nPhlipon But do you know that my son is\\nenchanted with her? Tell me, mademoiselle,\\ndo you not wish to be married?\\nOthers have already thought for me on that\\nsubject, madame, but I have not as yet seen\\nreason to come to any determination.\\nYou are hard to please, I suppose Have\\nyou any repugnance to a man of a certain\\nage?\\nThe knowledge I might have of a person\\nwould alone determine my attachment, my re-\\nfusal, or my acceptation.\\nThose kinds of marriages have most solid-\\nity; a young man often escapes through our\\nfingers, when one thinks him most attached.\\nAnd why, mother, said M. de Boismorel,\\nwho just entered, should not mademoiselle\\nbelieve herself able to captivate such a person\\nentirely?", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0349.jp2"}, "324": {"fulltext": "2 94 Private Memoirs\\nShe is dressed with taste, observed Madame\\nde Boismorel to her daughter-in-law.\\nAh extremely well, and so modestly too,\\nreplied the young woman, with all that suavity\\nwhich appertains only to devotees, for she be-\\nlonged to that class and the little curls shading\\nan agreeable face that had seen thirty-four\\nsummers, were disposed with due primness.\\nHow different, added she, from that\\nridiculous mass of plumage we see fluttering\\nabove empty heads You do not love feathers,\\nmademoiselle?\\nI never wear them, madame, because, being\\nthe daughter of an artist, they would seem to\\nannounce a situation and fortune to which I\\ndo not pretend.\\nBut would you wear them were you in an-\\nother situation\\nI do not know I attach but little import-\\nance to such trifles in regard to myself, I esti-\\nmate those matters by convenience alone, and\\nI take good care not to judge a person by my\\nfirst impressions of her toilette.\\nThe observation was severe; but I pro-\\nnounced it so mildly that the edge was blunted.\\nA philosopher exclaims she, with a sigh,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0350.jp2"}, "325": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 295\\nas if she had recollected that I did not belong\\nto her sect.\\nAfter a nice examination of my person, sea-\\nsoned with compliments similar to those I have\\nrelated, M. de Boismorel put an end to the\\ninventory by proposing that we should visit his\\ngarden and library. I admired the situation of\\nthe first, in which he made me remark a noble\\ncedar of Lebanon I glanced at the other with\\ndelight, and I pointed out the works, and even\\ncollections which I begged him to lend me,\\nsuch as Bayle among others, and the Memoirs\\nof the Academies.\\nThe ladies invited us to dinner on a day fixed\\nby them for that purpose we repaired thither\\naccordingly, and I soon judged, by the two or\\nthree men of business who were our fellow-\\nguests, that they had suited the company to\\nmy father, without considering me. But M. de\\nBoismorel had recourse as before to his library\\nand the garden, where we conversed together.\\nHe had caused his son to form one of the party\\nhe was a young man of seventeen, ugly enough,\\nand more eccentric than amiable. The com-\\npany that arrived in the evening, and which I\\nexamined with an observing eye, did not appear", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0351.jp2"}, "326": {"fulltext": "296\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nto me to be very attractive, notwithstanding its\\ntitles the daughters of a marquis, some coun-\\nsellors, a prior and a few old baronesses, talked\\nwith more importance, but to the full as in-\\nsipidly as nuns, churchwardens, and tradesmen.\\nThose points of view in which I consider the\\nworld, and examine it unperceived by any one,\\ndisgust me with it, and attach me still more to\\nmy own manner of living.\\nM. de Boismorel did not let slip this opportu-\\nnity to form a connection, on which perhaps\\nhe founded some project; he accordingly so\\nordered matters that the two fathers and the\\ntwo children formed a select party.\\nIt was in this manner also, that he accom-\\npanied me to the public meeting of the French\\nAcademy, on the succeeding anniversary of St.\\nLouis. Those meetings were at that time the\\nrendezvous of good company, and they ex-\\nhibited all the contrasts which our manners\\nand our follies could not fail to produce. On\\nthe morning of St. Louis s day, they celebrated\\na mass in the chapel of the Academy, at which\\nthe singers of the Opera assisted, and at the\\nconclusion a favorite orator of the beau monde\\ndelivered a panegyric on the Saint-King.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0352.jp2"}, "327": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 297\\nThe Abbe de Besplas was pitched upon for\\nthis function. I Hstened to him with great\\npleasure, notwithstanding the triviahty and stale-\\nness of his theme; he mingled with his dis-\\ncourse certain bold philosophical touches and\\nindirect satires on the government, which he\\nwas obliged to alter when he printed his speech.\\nM. de Boismorel, who was intimate with him,\\nendeavored in vain to obtain a faithful copy,\\nwhich he would have communicated to me\\nthe Abbe de Besplas, attached to the court as\\nchaplain to Monsieur, was exceedingly fortunate\\nto procure pardon for his boldness, by the\\nabsolute sacrifice of the offensive remarks. The\\nevening session of the Academy opened a career\\nto the first-rate wits in the kingdom, to the\\ngrandees who wished to enter their names on\\nthat list, and exhibit themselves in such a con-\\nspicuous station to the eyes of the public in\\nfine, to the amateurs who went to hear one class,\\nto see another, and to show themselves to all\\nand to the handsome women, who were sure of\\ntheir share of attention.\\nI noticed especially d Alembert, whose name,\\nand whose Miscellanies and Discourses con-\\ncerning the Encyclopedia, had excited my curi-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0353.jp2"}, "328": {"fulltext": "298 Private Memoirs\\nosity. His insignificant figure and shrill voice\\nmade me think that it was better to be ac-\\nquainted with the writings of a philosopher than\\nhis person. The Abbe de Lille confirmed this\\nobservation, in respect to men of letters he\\nread some charming verses in a very clumsy\\nmanner. The eulogy on Catinat by La Harpe\\ngained the prize, and it well deserved it.\\nAs free from affectation at the Academy as\\nin the church, and as I have since then been\\nwhen at the play, I did not mingle in the noisy\\nplaudits conferred on the striking passages, for\\nthese were often meant only to evince the fine\\ntaste and discrimination of those who bestowed\\nthem. I was extremely attentive I listened\\nwithout noticing those around me and when\\nI was affected I wept, without caring whether\\nit appeared singular to any one. I however\\nhad occasion to perceive that this was the case\\nfor, as M. de Boismorel conducted me to the\\ndoor, I noticed certain persons pointing me out\\nto one another with a smile, which I was not\\nvain enough to imagine proceeded from admi-\\nration, but which had nothing uncivil in it; and\\nI heard them comment upon my sensibility. I\\nexperienced a certain mixture of surprise and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0354.jp2"}, "329": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 299\\nagreeable confusion; and was at length happy\\nto escape from the crowd and their attention.\\nThe eulogy of Catinat suggested to M. de\\nBoismorel an interesting pilgrimage; he pro-\\nposed to me a visit to St. Gratien, where this\\ngreat man had ended his days in retirement, at\\na distance from the court and its honors it was\\na philosophical walk, perfectly suited to my\\ntaste. M. de Boismorel, accompanied by his\\nson, accordingly came on Michaelmas-day to\\ntake my father and me along with him. We re-\\npaired to the valley of Montmorency, and visited\\nthe borders of the lake that embeUishes it we\\nthen ascended to St. Gratien, and reposed under\\nthe shade of those trees which Catinat had\\nplanted with his own hand. After a frugal\\ndinner we spent the remainder of the day in the\\ndelicious park of Montmorency we saw the\\ncottage which Jean Jacques Rousseau had inhab-\\nited, and we enjoyed all the pleasure which a\\ncharming country affords, more especially when\\nthere are several that contemplate it with equal\\nadmiration. During one of those pauses given\\nto silent contemplation of the majesty of nature,\\nM. de Boismorel took from his pocket a manu-\\nscript, written with his own hand, and read a", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0355.jp2"}, "330": {"fulltext": "300 Private Memoirs\\npassage to us, of which he had made an extract,\\nand which was then but httle known. It was\\nthat anecdote of Montesquieu, who, on being\\ndiscovered at Marseilles by the young man\\nwhose father he had rescued, concealed himself\\nin order to avoid the thanks of those whom he\\nhad befriended. Although touched by Montes-\\nquieu s magnanimity, I still cannot altogether\\napprove his persistence in denying that he was\\nthe benefactor of this enraptured family. The\\ngenerous man, it is true, never asks for grati-\\ntude but if it is becoming to avoid its mani-\\nfestations, is there not, too, something fine in\\npermitting the expression of it? I even think it\\nis rendering a new service to people of sensi-\\nbility whom we have obliged, since it affords\\nthem a certain means of discharging the debt.\\nIt must not be supposed that I was altogether\\nat my ease in regard to this connection between\\nmy father and M. de Boismorel there was no\\npersonal equality between them, and of this I\\nwas too painfully aware. His son regarded me\\nclosely, but this did not please me, for I saw in\\nit more of curiosity than of interest; besides,\\nhis comparative youth (he was three or four\\nyears my junior) placed him at a certain dis-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0356.jp2"}, "331": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 301\\nadvantage. His father did not fail to note this\\nand I learned later that he had one day said\\nto mine, shaking him by the hand, Ah, if my\\nson were worthy of your daughter, I might\\nappear singular, but I should be too happy.\\nI did not entertain any idea of this kind I\\ndid not even calculate the disparity; I felt it,\\nhowever, and that prevented me from making\\nany suppositions. I judged the conduct of M.\\nde Boismorel to be that of a man of sense and\\nsensibility, who honored my sex, esteemed my\\nperson, and, as it were, protected my taste.\\nHis letters resembled himself: they were char-\\nacterized by an agreeable gravity, bore the\\nstamp of a mind superior to prejudices, and of a\\nrespectful friendship.\\nI became acquainted through him with what\\nare termed the novelties in the learned and\\nliterary world. I saw him but seldom, though I\\nheard from him every week and, to spare the\\nservants the long trips to and from Bercy, he\\nused to send the books he selected for me to\\nhis sister s, Madame de Faviere s. M, de Bois-\\nmorel, who was greatly attached to letters, and\\nwho, consequently, imagined that I ought to be\\nemployed in that field, or perhaps with a design", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0357.jp2"}, "332": {"fulltext": "30 2 Private Memoirs\\nto sound me, invited me to choose a subject,\\nand try my talents at composition. I at first\\nconsidered this as a mere compliment but, on\\nhis returning, to the charge, he afforded me an\\nopportunity of stating my views in this regard,\\nmy determined dislike of publicity, and my dis-\\ninterested attachment to study, which I wished\\nto render serviceable to my happiness, without\\nthe intervention of any kind of glory, which ap-\\npeared to me only calculated to trouble it.\\nAfter having set forth my principles, I mingled\\nwith my arguments extemporary verses, the\\nideas of which were better than the expression.\\nI recollect, that while speaking of the gods,\\nand of the dispensations made by them of bene-\\nfits and duties, I said\\nAux hommes ouvrant la carri^re\\nDes grands et des nobles talents,\\nlis n ont mis aucune barriere\\nA leurs plus sublimes dlans.\\nDe mon sexe faible et sensible,\\nlis ne veulent que des vertus\\nNous pouvons i miter Titus,\\nMais dans un sentier moins pdnible.\\nJouissez du bien d etre admis\\nA toutes ces sortes de gloire\\nPour nous le temple de Mdmoire\\nEst dans le coeur de nos amis.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0358.jp2"}, "333": {"fulltext": "BEISSOT", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0361.jp2"}, "334": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0362.jp2"}, "335": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 303\\nM. de Boismorel answered me sometimes in\\nthe same style. His verses were not much\\nbetter than my own but neither of us attached\\ngreat importance to them.\\nHe called one day to tell me that he was\\ndesirous to employ a stratagem to stimulate\\nthe industry of his son, whose application to his\\nstudies had sadly fallen off. This youth had,\\nvery naturally, formed an intimacy with his\\ncousin de Favieres, a young man of twenty-\\none and a counsellor of the parliament, wild,\\nas young men of his years are apt to be, and\\nfilled with the conceit of a magistrate who\\nplumes himself on his office without realizing\\nits obligations.\\nThe Italian comedy or the opera occupied\\nthe attention of the two cousins much more\\nthan Cujas and Bartole did the one, or the\\nmathematics, which he had just begun to study,\\nthe other.\\nIt is necessary, said M. de Boismorel to me,\\nthat you should reprove my son in a letter\\nreplete with wisdom and penetration in short,\\nin such a manner as your own mind will dictate\\nand in a way to stimulate his self-love, and\\nawaken generous resolutions.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0363.jp2"}, "336": {"fulltext": "304 Private Memoirs\\nI, monsieur I? (I could not believe my\\nown ears.) And in what manner, pray, shall I\\nbe able to preach to your son?\\nIn any manner you please you shall not\\nappear in the business; we shall contrive to\\nmake the letter appear to be from some one\\nwho narrowly examines his conduct, is ac-\\nquainted with his proceedings, is interested in\\nhis behalf, and who thus warns him of his dan-\\nger. I know how to get the letter conveyed\\nto him at a moment when it will produce its\\nfull effect. It is only necessary that he should\\nnot discover me and I shall inform him at a\\nproper opportunity to what physician he is\\nindebted.\\nOh you must never mention my name\\nBut you have other friends who can do this\\nbetter than I can.\\nI think otherwise and I beg this favor\\nof you.\\nVery well, I renounce every other consid-\\neration on purpose to prove my desire of oblig-\\ning you. I shall accordingly transmit you the\\nrough draught of a letter, which you shall give\\nme your opinion of, and correct.\\nThat very evening I wrote a pretty sharp and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0364.jp2"}, "337": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 305\\nsomewhat ironical epistle, such as I deemed\\nproper to tickle the self-love and excite the\\nreason of a young man to whom it is necessary\\nto talk of his happiness when one wishes to\\nconvert him to serious habits. M. de Boismorel\\nwas enchanted with it, and begged me to for-\\nward it without altering a word. Accordingly\\nI enclosed it in a note to Sophie, so that she\\nmight post it at Amiens and I waited with\\nsome curiosity to learn what my sermon might\\nresult in.\\nM. de Boismorel soon sent me certain par-\\nticulars respecting which I was exceedingly\\ninterested. He had prepared a great many\\ncircumstances in order to make a greater im-\\npression. The young man was affected he\\nsupposed the celebrated Duclos to be the au-\\nthor of this remonstrance, and he went to\\nthank him. Deceived in this conjecture, he\\naddressed himself to another of his father s\\nfriends, and guessed no better. At length his\\nstudies were in some measure resumed.\\nIt was not very long after this, when M. de\\nBoismorel, walking with his son one very hot\\nday from Bercy to Vincennes, where he knew\\nI then was with my uncle, and whither he\\n20", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0365.jp2"}, "338": {"fulltext": "3o6\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nbrought me the Abbe Dehlle s translation of\\nthe Georgics, suffered a sunstroke. He treated\\nit hghtly; headaches and a fever ensued, and\\nthen coma; in short, he died in the vigor\\nof his age, after a few days illness. It was\\nscarcely more than eighteen months that we\\nhad corresponded together, yet I wept more\\nbitterly, I believe, at his death than his own\\nson; and I never recollect him without expe-\\nriencing that mournful regret, that sentiment\\nof veneration and tenderness, which always ac-\\ncompanies the remembrance of a good man.\\nWhen my sorrow was somewhat softened, I\\ncelebrated his memory in a monody, which no\\none has ever seen, but which I sang to the\\naccompaniment of my guitar, and which I have\\nnow lost and forgotten. I have never since\\nheard anything about his family, save that\\nwhen my father went to pay a visit of condo-\\nlence, young Boismorel, who is called Roberge,\\nobserved carelessly that he had found my let-\\nters to his father, and had put them aside in\\norder to return them to me, if desired and\\nthat among them he had discovered the origi-\\nnal of a certain epistle he himself had been\\nfavored with. My father knew very well what", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0366.jp2"}, "339": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 307\\nhe alluded to. He said but little in reply,\\nfinding that the young man appeared to be\\npiqued whence I concluded that he was a\\nfool, and troubled myself no more about him.\\nI do not know whether I guessed right or not.\\nSome time before this, Madame de Favieres\\ncalled upon my father, about the purchase\\neither of trinkets or some other productions of\\nhis art. I was in my little study, and heard her\\nin the adjoining apartment.\\nYou have a charming daughter, M. Phlipon\\nmy brother says that he knows no woman of\\nsense who is more so take care at least that\\nshe do not become a female wit, for that would\\nbe detestable. Is she not a little pedantic?\\nThis is to be dreaded for I think I heard some-\\nthing of that kind. She has a good figure and\\na pretty face.\\nThis is, said I, in my corner, an imperti-\\nnent lady, who resembles her mother exceed-\\ningly. God keep me from seeing her face, or\\nexhibiting mine to her\\nMy father, who knew very well that I must\\nhave heard her, refrained from calling me, since\\nI did not appear; and I never heard the voice\\nof Madame de Favieres after that day.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0367.jp2"}, "340": {"fulltext": "3o8 Private Memoirs\\nI have as yet said but a few words about my\\nexcellent cousin Trude. She was one of those\\nwomen whom heaven in its goodness forms for\\nthe honor of the species and the consolation\\nof the unfortunate generous from impulse,\\namiable without effort, I discovered no fault\\nin her save an excess of scrupulosity and the\\namour-propre of virtue. She would have deemed\\nherself remiss in her duty, had she acted in\\nsuch a way as to give rise to a doubt whether\\nshe had fulfilled it. Thus constituted, she re-\\nmained to the last the victim of the most silly\\nof husbands. Trude was a kind of rustic, as\\nfoolish in his ideas as hasty in his temper and\\ncoarse in his habits. He dealt in looking-glasses,\\nas all the Trudes, from father to son, for some\\ngenerations, had done and it was he whom I\\nhad the honor to have for cousin by my mother s\\nside. Active from temperament, laborious by\\nfits, aided by the cares and the knowledge of a\\nmild and sensible woman, he was fairly pros-\\nperous, and owed it to the merit of his wife that\\nhe was well received by his own family, who\\nwould not have taken any notice of him had he\\nbeen single.\\nMy mother was greatly attached to her", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0368.jp2"}, "341": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 309\\ncousin, who revered her in return, and became\\nvery fond of me.\\nShe demonstrated this, as has been already-\\nsaid, on the death of my mother. Occupied\\nduring the day with her household affairs and\\nher husband, she insisted on being my nurse\\nat night, coming a great distance to fulfil the\\nfunctions of one as long as I was in danger.\\nThis circumstance necessarily connected us still\\nmore firmly together, and we saw each other\\nfrequently.\\nHer husband took it into his head to visit me\\nstill oftener than before, and without his wife.\\nI tolerated this at first on her account, notwith-\\nstanding my being weary of his company. He\\nbecame insupportable to me and I made use\\nof all the discretion possible with a wrongheaded\\nman, on purpose to make him perceive that his\\nclaims as my relation, and the husband of my\\ndear friend, were not sufficient to authorize his\\nfrequent calls, which could no longer be at-\\ntributed to the sufferings and illness proceeding\\nfrom my grief\\nMy dear cousin came a little less often, but\\nhe spun out his visit to two or three hours, al-\\nthough I could do anything, and even write, by", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0369.jp2"}, "342": {"fulltext": "3IO Private Memoirs\\nobserving to him that I was in a great hurry\\nbut when I invited him in a decisive tone to\\nretire, as it was at length necessary to speak\\nplainly, he went home in such a bad humor,\\nand treated his wife so harshly, that she be-\\nsought me to have patience, for her sake. It\\nwas more especially on Sundays and festivals\\nthat I was subjected to this tax when the\\nweather was fine I made my escape, and met\\nhis wife at the house of my aged relations for\\nto receive her at home, at the same time as him,\\nwas not to see her, but to witness the disagree-\\nable scenes which her cross-grained husband\\nnever failed to make her experience.\\nDuring the winter I adopted another plan.\\nImmediately after dinner I gave the key to my\\nmaid, who double-locked and triple-bolted the\\ndoor; in this situation I remained alone and in\\nperfect tranquillity until eight o clock at night.\\nTrude in the mean time would arrive, and not\\nfinding any one at home, would retreat. Some-\\ntimes he would walk for a couple of hours in\\nthe neighborhood, amidst rain or snow, to wait\\nfor an opportunity to enter. To conceal my-\\nself when I was in company with any one was\\nalmost impossible absolutely to deny him en-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0370.jp2"}, "343": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 311\\ntrance, by determining my father to break with\\nhim (which would have been difficult, because\\nhe had no children, and my father therefore\\nthought proper to keep on good terms with\\nhim), would have been to proceed to that ex-\\ntremity which his wife dreaded, would have dis-\\nsolved our connection and exposed her to new\\nafflictions.\\nI do not know anything worse than to have\\nto deal with a fool there is no other mode to\\nbe taken with him but to bind him, for every-\\nthing else is useless. This loutish cousin was a\\nreal plague to me, and it was the greatest proof\\nof my esteem for his wife, that I refrained from\\nthrowing him out of the window in which\\ncase he would have re-entered by the garret.\\nTrude, however, was not destitute of a certain\\nkind of politeness witless rather than brutal,\\nhe knew how far he could carry his extravagance\\nwith impunity for never was his coarse conver-\\nsation indecent and, although constantly at\\nvariance with good sense and good manners, he\\nwas never improper.\\nWhenever his wife came to walk with me,\\nhe would watch us narrowly; and if a man\\nhappened to accost us or to bow to us he could", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0371.jp2"}, "344": {"fulltext": "312 Private Memoirs\\nnot rest until he had ascertained who it was.\\nIt may be supposed it was his wife he was jeal-\\nous of, and to a certain extent this was true;\\nbut he was much more so on my account. In\\nspite of the absurdities of the situation Madame\\nTrude s submissiveness was accompanied by\\ngayety; she would weep one day, and enter-\\ntain her friends the next; once or twice in the\\nwinter these little gatherings would be enliv-\\nened with a dance. Her cousin was always\\nthe heroine of these occasions, and her husband\\nwould appear more amiable for some days\\nafterwards. I met at her house two persons\\nwhom I shall here mention the one was the\\nAbb6 Bexon, a little, witty, hunchbacked man,\\na great friend of Francois de Neufchateau, and\\nMasson de Morvilliers. He was author of a\\nhistory of Lorraine, which did not prove very\\nsuccessful and his pen, like that of many\\nothers, had been employed by Buffon to pre-\\npare materials and sketches, to which he after-\\nwards gave the finishing touches and the coloring.\\nBexon, supported by his protector Buffon, some\\nladies of quality whose relations he had known\\nat Riremont (the place of his nativity), and a\\nchapter of noble canonesses, became precentor", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0372.jp2"}, "345": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 313\\nof the Sainte Chapelle at Paris. He took with\\nhim his mother and sister, who would furnish\\nmaterials for an episode, had I inclination to\\nenter into any detail not necessarily connected\\nwith the subject.\\nThe poor creature died too soon for the wel-\\nfare of his tall sister, with her black eyes beg-\\nging for adorers, and her beautiful shoulders,\\nwhich she loved to display. He visited me\\ntwice at my father s, and was so transported to\\nfind Xenophon in folio on my table, that he\\nwished to embrace me in his ecstasy. As this\\nwas not at all agreeable to me, I calmed him so\\ncompletely by my coolness, that he was content\\nto display his wit without his transports and I\\nnever saw him afterwards but at my cousin s.\\nThe other visitor was honest Gibert. Grave in\\nhis morals, mild in his manners, married while\\nyoung to a woman who possessed more physi-\\ncal charms than sweetness, he had an only son\\nby her, whose education occupied his attention.\\nHe was employed in the post-office, and con-\\nsecrated a few leisure moments to music and\\npainting.\\nGibert possessed all the characteristics of a\\njust and good man he has never altered. His", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0373.jp2"}, "346": {"fulltext": "314 Private Memoirs\\nfaults proceed from lack of judgment; friend-\\nship with him is a species of fanaticism, and\\none is tempted to respect his errors even while\\ncomplaining of them. Gibert had been con-\\nnected from his infancy with a man for whom\\nhe professed as much veneration as attach-\\nment; he vaunted his merit upon every occa-\\nsion, and he gloried in being his friend. He\\nwas desirous of becoming acquainted with me\\nhis wife and he called at my father s, and I re-\\nturned the visit; and as they did not often go\\nout together, he came by himself from time to\\ntime. I always received him with pleasure and\\ndistinction, and in course of time we became\\nfriends. It was not long before Gibert talked\\nto me of his Phoenix he appeared as if he\\ncould not be happy until his friends should\\nadmire each other; at length, he brought us\\ntogether at his house.\\nI beheld a man whose excessive simplicity\\nbordered upon negligence speaking but little,\\nand not fixing the attention of any one, it\\nwould have been difficult for a person who had\\nnever heard of him before to form a proper\\njudgment upon a first interview; and I avow,\\nnotwithstanding my liking for a modest deport-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0374.jp2"}, "347": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 315\\nment, that of this man was so humble that I\\nwould have readily taken any one s word for\\nit. However, as he was neither deficient in\\njudgment nor attainments, one had a greater\\ndesire to be pleased when he chose to exhibit\\nthem, and ended Hke Gibert in giving him\\ncredit for more than he actually possessed.\\nHis wife, a somewhat commonplace woman,\\nbut not devoid of sense, always reminded me of\\nthe intentiqiie ora tenebant of Virgil, when she\\nheard her husband speak. He is not, however,\\naltogether an ordinary being, who knows how\\nto impose thus even upon those who are fa-\\nmiliar with him, as to the extent of his real\\nmerit. It is necessary that he should be great\\nin something, at least in dissimulation and if\\nhe were interested by circumstances to push\\nthis as far as possible in important affairs, from\\nbeing a pretended sage who usurps our esteem\\nhe might finally become a ruffian at the ex-\\npense of his contemporaries. History will en-\\nable us to judge of this hereafter. I saw but\\nlittle of Gibert s friend he abandoned a lucra-\\ntive place, and even France, to live in Switzer-\\nland, whither he was carried by his passion for\\na rural life and for liberty. Let him go he", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0375.jp2"}, "348": {"fulltext": "3i6 Private Memoirs\\nwill return but too soon. It was thus that I\\nbecame acquainted with Pache for I may now\\nsay that it is of him that I speak. It will be\\nseen how Gibert brought him to my house\\nmore than ten years afterwards, and introduced\\nhim to my husband, who deemed him a man\\nof uncommon probity. He announced him as\\nsuch at a time when his suffrage could confer\\nreputation and he procured his entrance into\\nthe administration, where he committed a\\nseries of blunders which procured his appoint-\\nment to the mayoralty; and there he sanc-\\ntioned those horrors of which the world now\\nknows.\\nMadame Trude earnestly desired to take a\\njourney to visit a relation whom she was fond\\nof; this meant an absence of a fortnight or\\nthree weeks. Her husband deemed it incon-\\nvenient that the shop should be so long deprived\\nof his representative however, her plan seemed\\npracticable, provided I consented to go there\\nsometimes, to occupy her place. My cousin\\nasked me to do so to express such a wish,\\nwas enough to make me think that I could not\\nPache, later the Jacobin Mayor of Paris, who, on October\\n20, 1792, succeeded Servan as Minister of W^ar.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0376.jp2"}, "349": {"fulltext": "PACHE", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0379.jp2"}, "350": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0380.jp2"}, "351": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 317\\nrefuse and my friendship for her induced me\\nto comply without hesitation.\\nI accordingly repaired thither seven or eight\\ntimes, and stayed from noon until six o clock in\\nthe evening, in order to take Madame Trude s\\nplace at the counter. Her husband, joyful and\\nproud, conducted himself admirably, attended\\nto his business outside, and appeared to be\\nsensible of the merit of my conduct. It was\\nthus decreed that in the course of my life, not-\\nwithstanding my aversion to trade, I should at\\nleast sell spectacles, and watch-glasses. The\\nsituation was not pleasant Trude resided in the\\nrue Montmartre, not far from the rue TiquetonnCy\\nwhere his successor still lives. I am incapable\\nof imagining anything so infernal as the noise\\nwhich the carriages eternally rolling about in\\nthat neighborhood occasioned, in a shop entirely\\nopen I should have become deaf, as my poor\\ncousin is at this day.\\nLet us leave her unhappy house, of which\\nwe shall see the fate, and return to my other\\nrelation.\\nI visited Mademoiselle Desportes once or twice\\nevery week, on the day when she received com-\\npany, I should have many portraits to paint", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0381.jp2"}, "352": {"fulltext": "3 1 8 Private Memoirs\\nwere the originals worth the trouble but were I\\nto portray a few counsellors of the Chatelet, such\\nas little Mopinot, pretending to an epigramma-\\ntic kind of wit; the devout la Presle, a good\\nman, who had no other fault than that of being\\nbilious and a Jansenist; a dowager who veiled\\nher love of pleasure under an easy piety, such\\nas Madame de Blancfune; an old and rich\\nbachelor, too disgusting to be named a spruce\\nkind of person, reasoning and regulated like a\\nclock, such as the placeman Baudin and a\\ncrowd of other individuals of varying humors\\nand little merit, I should throw away both my\\ncolors and my time. I loved, however, to meet\\nFather Rabbe, a very shrewd member of the\\noratory, respectable from his age, amiable from\\nthe politeness of his conversation and Doctor\\nCoste, a physician of Provence, who amused\\nhimself in imitating Perrault, without erecting\\na Louvre, and who spoke ill of marriage, much\\nas the devil is said to make a wry face at the\\nsight of holy water.\\nMademoiselle Desportes had inherited from\\nher mother pride and tact, the art of mending\\nher small fortune through commerce without\\nappearing to be engaged in it, and of treating", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0382.jp2"}, "353": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 319\\non a footing of confidence and equality with\\nher rich and titled customers. But this mode\\nof dealing consorts ill with the spirit of trade,\\nwhich thrives by an active cupidity; so she\\nsoon saw her inheritance diminishing, and she\\nended by giving up the business and cutting\\ndown her expenses.\\nHer character and manners and her evident\\nattachment to me made my mother wish me to\\ncultivate her acquaintance, and I often went to\\nher house. Piquet, gossip, and needlework\\noccupied the little circle that gathered there\\nand Mademoiselle Desportes often made me\\ntake my seat at the card-table as a discipline,\\nI suppose, in complaisance, for she knew the\\namusement was not much to my taste. The\\nassistance of my partner and the permission to\\nlaugh over my own absent-mindedness, made\\nthe exercise less tedious.\\nI must now bring upon the stage in his turn\\nan old gentleman then just come from Pondi-\\ncherry whom I saw often and with pleasure\\nduring nearly a year. My father had become\\nacquainted, I know not how, but I suppose\\nin the way of business, with a half-pay officer,\\nlater a civil servant out of employment, named", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0383.jp2"}, "354": {"fulltext": "3 20 Private Memoirs\\nDemontchery, He was a man of thirty-six,\\nwith poHshed manners and a winning air with\\nthose graces, in fine, which a knowledge of the\\nworld confers, and which form perhaps the\\nflower of gallantry. Demontchery cyltivated my\\nfather s friendship, without paying court to my\\nmother, who might not have approved of his\\nadvances. He frankly declared his regard for\\nme, and his ambition of soliciting my hand,\\nif fortune ceased to prove adverse to him. She\\nsent him straight to the East Indies, whence\\nhe wrote to us and did not conceal his wishes\\nfor that degree of success which would permit\\nhim to return with a competence. But being\\nonly a simple captain of Sepoys, and too honest\\na man to think of acquiring anything, he was\\nnot, I suppose, very far advanced in this pur-\\nsuit, when he came home after seven years\\nabsence, and, hastening to my father s, learned\\nthat I had been married a fortnight. I know\\nnot what has become of him, or what he might\\nhave inspired me with, had I thought of him.\\nDuring his residence at Pondicherry, he formed\\nan acquaintance with a M, de Sainte-Lette, one\\nof the members of the council, and intrusted\\nhim with letters to my father, when the council", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0384.jp2"}, "355": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 321\\ndeputed Sainte-Lette to Paris, in 1776, on some\\nimportant business.\\nSainte-Lette was more than sixty years of\\nage he was a man whose vivacity and unruly\\npassions had led him astray in his youth, during\\nwhich he dissipated his fortune at Paris. He\\nhad gone to America, and remained thirteen\\nyears in Louisiana as superintendent of the\\ntrade with the savages thence he drifted to\\nAsia, and found employment in the administra-\\ntion at Pondicherry, where he endeavored to\\nacquire the means of living one day in France,\\nalong with the friend of his youth, M. de Seve-\\nlinges, of whom I shall hereafter make mention.\\nA grave and solemn voice, distinguished by that\\ntone which experience and misfortune confer,\\nand sustained by the ready expression of a\\nwell-informed mind, struck me at the first\\ninterview with Sainte-Lette. Demontchery had\\nspoken to him about me it was this probably\\nthat inspired him with the desire of forming\\nmy acquaintance. My father received him gra-\\nciously, and I with eagerness, because I soon\\nbecame much interested in his favor his soci-\\nety was exceedingly agreeable, he sought after\\nmine, and during the whole of his stay he\\n21", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0385.jp2"}, "356": {"fulltext": "3 22 Private Memoirs\\nnever let four or five days pass without visit-\\ning me.\\nThose who have seen much are always worth\\nhearing; and those who have felt much have\\nalways seen more than others, even if they have\\ntravelled less than Sainte-Lette. He possessed\\nthat kind of knowledge conferred far better by\\nexperience than books less learned than philo-\\nsophical, he reasoned from the human heart;\\nhe had retained from his youth a taste for the\\nlighter kinds of poetry, and had composed some\\npretty verses. He presented me with several\\nof these performances I communicated some\\nof my reveries to him, and he repeated to me\\nseveral times with a prophetical tone, that is\\nto say, with a full persuasion of the event:\\nMademoiselle, you are in the right to be on\\nyour guard, for all this will end in your writ-\\ning a book\\nIt shall then be under another person s\\nname, I replied, for I will eat my fingers\\nsooner than become an author.\\nSainte-Lette met a person at my father s\\nwhom I had then been acquainted with dur-\\ning several months, and who was destined to\\n1 Roland now enters upon the scene.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0386.jp2"}, "357": {"fulltext": "ROLAND DE L,A PIvATIERE", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0389.jp2"}, "358": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0390.jp2"}, "359": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 323\\nhave a powerful influence on my lot, although\\nI scarcely foresaw it at that period. I have\\nalready observed that Sophie, though more\\naccustomed than myself to mingle in society,\\nwas far from discovering any advantage in this\\ncircumstance. She had sometimes spoken to\\nme of a man of merit who occasionally resided\\nat Amiens, and who often visited at her mother s\\nwhile there, which, however, was not very often,\\nbecause he came to Paris in the winter, and\\noften made still longer journeys in the spring.\\nShe had mentioned him to me, because, amidst\\nthe insignificant crowd with which she was sur-\\nrounded, she distinguished with pleasure an\\nindividual whose instructive conversation ap-\\npeared to her full of novelty, whose austere but\\nunaffected manners inspired confidence, and\\nwho, without being generally beloved (for his\\nseverity, which sometimes approached harsh-\\nness, was repellent to many), was nevertheless\\nuniversally respected. To him, it seems, Sophie\\nhad already spoken of her friend there was\\nmuch talk, too, in her family of the constancy\\nof a certain girlish attachment formed in the\\nconvent; finally, he had seen my portrait,\\nwhich Madame Cannet introduced in evidence.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0391.jp2"}, "360": {"fulltext": "324 Private Memoirs\\nWhy, then, he used to say, do you not\\nmake me acquainted with this dear friend?\\nI go to Paris every year. Why not entrust\\nme v/ith a letter for her?\\nHe obtained the desired commission in Sep-\\ntember, 1775. I was then still in mourning for\\nmy mother, and in that melancholy and sensi-\\ntive mood that succeeds violent grief. A mes-\\nsenger from my Sophie could not fail to be well\\nreceived.\\nThis letter will be delivered, wrote my\\nfriend, by the philosopher of whom I have\\nspoken, M. Roland de la Platiere, an en-\\nlightened man of pure morals, who can be\\nreproached with nothing save his preference\\nof the ancients over the moderns (whom he\\ndespises) and his foible of being somewhat over-\\nfond of talking of himself This sketch was\\njust and well-drawn, as far as it went.\\nI saw in our visitor a man past forty, of a\\nnegligent air and that sort of stiffness that\\ncomes of studious habits but his address was\\neasy and direct, and though it lacked the polish\\nof the world, it joined the air of good birth to\\nthe dignity of the philosopher. A face some-\\nwhat lean and sallow, a broad brow already but", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0392.jp2"}, "361": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 325\\nsparsely furnished with hair, regular features,\\nmade up an ensemble that was imposing rather\\nthan seductive. When Roland became animated\\nin conversation, or when he was inspired by a\\nspecially agreeable idea, his subtle smile and\\nanimated face made him appear quite another\\nperson. His voice was manly, and he spoke in\\nshort sentences, like one whose respiration is\\nlabored his discourse was full of matter, and\\nexercised the judgment more than it flattered the\\near his speech ^as piquant at times, but harsh\\nand inharmonious in delivery. In my opinion,\\nthe charms of the voice possess a rare but power-\\nful effect over the senses this does not alone\\nappertain to the quality of the sound it results\\nstill more from that delicacy of sentiment which\\nvaries the expression and modifies the accent.\\nThey interrupt, to inform me that I am com-\\nprehended in Brissofs act of accusation} along\\nwith many other deputies recently arrested. The\\ntyrants are at bay they think to fill up the pit\\nopen before them, by precipitating worthy people\\n1 Madame Roland was not, in fact, comprehended in this\\ndocument, but she was summoned as a witness. Her testi-\\nmony, however, was not taken, the enemies of the Gironde\\ndoubtless dreading the appearance before the Tribunal of so\\ndauntless and outspoken an advocate.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0393.jp2"}, "362": {"fulltext": "326 Private Memoirs\\ninto it but they themselves will fall in after-\\nwards. I do not dread going to the scaffold in\\nstich good company it is disgraceful to live in\\nthe -midst of ruffians. I shall send away this\\nsection of my memoir, and prepare to proceed on\\nanother, if I am permitted.\\nFriday, October 4, the birthday of my daugh-\\nter, who on this day is twelve years of age.~\\\\\\nThis subtle charm of the voice, entirely dis-\\ntinct from its force, is no more common among\\nthe orators whose profession calls forth the exer-\\ncise of it, than in the crowd that composes soci-\\nety. I have searched for it in our three national\\nassemblies, but have not found it perfect in any\\none person Mirabeau himself, with the impos-\\ning magic of a noble utterance, possessed neither\\na winning voice nor a pronunciation the most\\nagreeable. The Clermonts approached nearer\\nto it.\\nWhere, then, was your model some one\\nmay ask. I shall answer, like that painter of\\nwhom it was demanded whence he borrowed the\\ncharming air with which he inspired the crea-\\ntions of his brush There, within, replied he,\\nputting his finger to his forehead. I shall place", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0394.jp2"}, "363": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 327\\nmine on my ears. I have frequented the thea-\\ntres but seldom I think I have discovered,\\nhowever, that this accomplishment was seldom\\nto be found there. Larive, the only actor per-\\nhaps worth citing, still left something to be\\ndesired.\\nWhen, in my early youth, I experienced the\\nfirst promptings of the young woman s natural\\ndesire to please, I was startled at the sound of\\nmy own voice, and I found it necessary to modify\\nit, in order to please myself. I imagine that the\\nexquisite sensibility of the Greeks induced them\\nto set a high value on everything connected\\nwith the art of speaking; I comprehend also,\\nthat Sansculottism makes us disdain these\\ngraces, and affect rather a rough brutality,\\nequally distant from the precision of the Spar-\\ntans in their language, so replete with sense,\\nand the eloquence of the amiable Athenians.\\nBut we left Lablancherie some time ago at\\nOrleans; let us now make an end of this person-\\nage. On his return, a little after the death of\\nmy mother, he learned of this event on coming to\\nsee her, and manifested a degree of surprise\\nand grief that affected and pleased me. He\\ncame afterwards to visit me I was pleased to see", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0395.jp2"}, "364": {"fulltext": "328 Private Memoirs\\nhim. My father, who at first imposed upon\\nhimself the task of remaining with me when\\nany one called, discovered that the office of a\\nduenna was not to his taste, and that it would\\nbe more convenient for him to dismiss at the\\noutset every one not up to his standard, and\\nleave me to my maid and myself. He an-\\nnounced that he entertained thoughts of re-\\nquesting Lablancherie not to return any more.\\nI did not say a single word in reply, although I\\nexperienced some chagrin I was occupied in\\nfiguring to myself the feelings of the discarded\\nswain in consequence of this prohibition, and I\\nresolved to soften it for him by dehvering the\\ninjunction myself, for my father s temper made\\nme fear that he would render it offensive. One\\nmust tell the truth I was partial to Lablancherie,\\nand fancied that I could love him so far, it was\\nan affair of the head only, I believe but matters\\nwere progressing, I wrote, therefore, a polite\\nletter conveying Lablancherie s dismissal, which\\ndeprived him of all hope of replying to me, but\\nstill left him free to think he was not altogether\\nindifferent to me if there was aught of conso-\\nlation in that.\\nThe ice once broken, this incident gave rise", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0396.jp2"}, "365": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 329\\nto melancholy and pleasing ideas, and my hap-\\npiness was not otherwise affected. Sophie came\\nto Paris she stayed some time with her mother\\nand her sister Henriette, who being now more\\non a level with us in point of our acquired age\\nand sedateness, became also my de^r friend.\\nThe charms of her lively imagination shed their\\nradiance everywhere, and animated the ties which\\nshe had formed.\\nI often repaired to the Luxembourg, with my\\ntwo friends and Mademoiselle d Hangard I\\nmet Lablancherie there he saluted me respect-\\nfully, and I returned the salute with some\\nemotion.\\nThen you know this gentleman? said\\nMademoiselle d Hangard, who had at first\\nimagined the salute intended for herself\\nYes; and do not you\\nOh! certainly; but I have never spoken\\nto him. I know the Mesdemoiselles Bordenave,\\nthe younger of whom he asked in marriage.\\nIs it long since?\\nA year, perhaps eighteen months he had\\nfound means to get himself introduced into the\\nhouse he went thither from time to time, and\\nat length offered himself. These young women", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0397.jp2"}, "366": {"fulltext": "330 Private Memoirs\\nare rich, the younger is handsome he has not a\\nsou, and is in search of an heiress, for he made\\na similar demand in respect to another person of\\ntheir acquaintance, which they heard of. They\\ndismissed him; we call him the lover of eleven\\nthousand virgins. How did you know him?\\nBy seeing him often at Madame Lepine s\\nconcert. And I at the same time bit my lips,\\nwhile I withheld the rest, greatly chagrined at\\nhaving fancied myself beloved by a man who\\ndoubtless had solicited my hand merely because\\nI was an only daughter, and still more piqued\\nat having sent him a letter which he did not\\ndeserve. Matter for meditation in order to\\nexercise my prudence at another opportunity\\nA few months had elapsed, when a little\\nSavoyard came one day to tell my maid that\\nsome one wanted to speak to her, I know not\\nwhere she went out, returned, and told me\\nthat M. Lablancherie had begged her to entreat\\nme to see him. It was on a Sunday, and I\\nexpected my relations. Yes, I replied, let\\nhim come here immediately since he is waiting\\nfor you near the house, go find him, and bring\\nhim with you. Lablancherie arrived: I was\\nseated in a corner near the fire.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0398.jp2"}, "367": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 331\\nI did not dare, mademoiselle, to present\\nmyself before you, after your prohibition I\\nwas extremely desirous to speak to you, and\\nI cannot express what I felt in consequence of\\nthe dear and cruel letter which you then ad-\\ndressed to me. My situation has altered since\\nthat epoch; I have projects at present with\\nwhich you must not remain unacquainted.\\nHe then unfolded to me the plan of a moral\\nand critical work, in epistolary form, after the\\nmanner of the Spectator, inviting me at the\\nsame time to treat some subject in this way.\\nI allowed him to go on without interruption\\nI even waited after he had made a little pause,\\nuntil he should have quite emptied his budget.\\nWhen he had said everything, I began in my\\nturn. I observed to him with frigid politeness\\nthat I myself had taken the trouble to request\\nhim to discontinue his visits, because the senti-\\nments he had declared to my father respecting\\nme made me suppose that he wished to con-\\ntinue them, and I was desirous to demonstrate\\nmy gratitude for this attention that at my time\\nof life the vivacity of the imagination mingles\\nitself with almost all affairs, and sometimes\\nchanges the appearance of them; but that", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0399.jp2"}, "368": {"fulltext": "33 2 Private Memoirs\\nerror was not a crime, and that I had recovered\\nfrom mine with too good a grace for me to\\ntrouble myself any more on that subject; that\\nI admired his literary projects, without wishing\\nto participate either in them or in those of any\\none else that I confined myself to wishing for\\nthe success of all the authors in the world, as\\nwell as for his, of whatever kind they might be,\\nand that it was to tell him this I had consented\\nto see him, in order that he might thenceforth\\navoid every similar attempt. After which I\\nbegged him to terminate his visit.\\nSurprise, grief, agitation, everything proper\\nto such a situation, was about to be displayed.\\nI put a stop to this by observing to Lablancherie\\nthat I was ignorant whether the Mesdemoiselles\\nBordenave and others, to whom he had ad-\\ndressed himself nearly at the same time, had\\nexpressed themselves in regard to him with an\\nequal degree of frankness, but that mine was\\nunbounded and that the resolutions in con-\\nsequence did not admit of any explanation.\\nI rose at the same time, bowed, and made\\nthat motion of the hand which indicates the door\\nto those whom we wish to dismiss. At this\\nmoment my cousin Trude arrived and never", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0400.jp2"}, "369": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 333\\ndid I see his rude visage with more pleasure.\\nLablancherie retreated in silence, and I saw him\\nno more but who has not since heard of the\\nagent-general of the correspondence of the arts\\nand sciences?\\nHe off the stage, let us return to Sainte-\\nLette and Roland.\\nWe had arrived at the close of the summer\\nof 1776. I had several times seen M. Roland\\nduring the last eight or nine months. His\\nvisits were not frequent, but they were not\\nshort; just as the people who do not go out\\nmerely on purpose to show themselves at some\\nplace, but repair thither because being there\\naffords them pleasure, stay as long as they can.\\nHis frank and instructive conversation never\\nwearied me and he loved to see himself listened\\nto with attention, which I knew well how to\\nbestow even upon people less informed than\\nhimself. This trait has perhaps gained me more\\nfriends than the faculty of delivering my own\\nsentiments with some readiness.\\nI had first got acquainted with him on his\\nreturn from Germany. He was then preparing\\nfor a journey into Italy; and, with that lauda-\\nble love of method which characterized him,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0401.jp2"}, "370": {"fulltext": "3 34 Private Memoirs\\nhe had left his manuscripts with me, so that I\\ncould take charge of them in case of any mis-\\nhap occurring to himself. I was sincerely af-\\nfected with this mark of esteem, and I received\\nit with thanks.\\nOn the day of his departure he dined at my\\nfather s with Sainte-Lette. On taking leave,\\nhe requested permission to embrace me; and\\nI know not how, but this mark of politeness\\nalways puts a young woman to the blush, even\\nwhen her imagination is tranquil. You are\\nhappy in departing, says Sainte-Lette to him,\\nwith his grave and solemn voice but make\\nhaste to return, in order to ask for another.\\nDuring Sainte-Lette s stay in France, his\\nfriend Sevelinges became a widower. He re-\\npaired to him at Soissons, where he resided,\\nto share his grief, and brought him to Paris\\nin order to divert him. They visited me to-\\ngether. Sevelinges was fifty-two years of age\\nhe was a gentleman of small fortune he held\\na place in the finances in the province, and\\ncultivated letters as a philosopher who knows\\ntheir charms. Having thus formed an ac-\\nquaintance with him, I maintained it after the\\ndeparture of Sainte-Lette, who observed that", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0402.jp2"}, "371": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 335\\nhe found some pleasure on leaving France, in\\nreflecting that his friend would not lose the\\nadvantage of my society; he even asked per-\\nmission to transmit to him, in order to be\\nreturned to me after a short delay, some manu-\\nscripts which I had communicated to him.\\nThis interesting old man embarked perhaps\\nfor the fifth or sixth time of his life. An ulcer\\nin his head, which he had already suffered from,\\nopened while at sea; and he arrived ill at\\nPondicherry, where he died, six weeks after his\\nreturn. We heard of his death through Demont-\\nchery. S^velinges regretted him exceedingly.\\nHe wrote to me from time to time and his let-\\nters, equally abounding in agreeable description\\nand felicities of style, afforded me great pleasure.\\nThey were tinged with that mild philosophy\\nand melancholy sensibility, for which I always\\npossessed a great inclination. I also have re-\\nmarked what Diderot has said on this subject,\\nand with some justice, that great taste presup-\\nposes great sensibility, and a temperament in-\\nclined to melancholy.\\nMy father, whose good disposition had altered\\nby degrees, objected to this display of talents\\nat such an expense of postage. I accordingly", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0403.jp2"}, "372": {"fulltext": "336\\nPrivate Memoirs\\napplied to my uncle, who authorized me to\\ncause the letters of Sevelinges, whom he had\\nseen at our house, to be addressed to him. My\\nmanuscripts were returned to me, accompanied\\nby some critical observations of which I was\\nexceedingly vain for I had not supposed my\\nworks worth examination. They were in my\\nown eyes reveries, sage enough, but trite, and\\nrelating to things which it appeared to me that\\nevery one must be acquainted with. I did not\\nthink they possessed any other merit than the\\nsingularity of having been composed by a\\nyoung girl. I long preserved the most perfect\\nindifference on my own account. The events\\nof the Revolution, the change of affairs, the\\nvariety of my situations, the frequent compari-\\nsons with a great crowd, and with people dis-\\ntinguished for their merit, were all necessary,\\nin order to make me perceive that the plane\\non which I stood was not encumbered with\\nnumbers. As to other points, and I hasten to\\nmake the observation, this has rather proved to\\nme the mediocrity of my countrymen, than\\ninspired a high idea of myself. It is not abil-\\nity that is wanting that may be found in the\\nstreets: it is correctness of judgment, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0404.jp2"}, "373": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 337\\nstrength of character. Without these two quali-\\nties, however, I am unable to recognize what\\nmay be termed a man. In truth Diogenes was\\nin the right to take a lantern But a revolu-\\ntion may serve instead of one I do not\\nknow a better measure, or a more exact touch-\\nstone.\\nThe Academy of Besangon had proposed the\\nfollowing question as the subject of a prize\\nessay In what manner can the education of\\nwomen contribute to make men better? My\\nimagination took wings I seized the pen and\\ndashed off a discourse, which I sent in anony-\\nmously, and which, as may be beheved, was not\\njudged worthy of the reward. No one attained\\nthis honor. The subject was proposed anew,\\nI have not learned with what result, during\\nthe following year. But I recollect that, in\\nwishing to treat on this matter, I deemed it\\nabsurd to determine on a mode of education\\nunconnected with general manners, which de-\\npend on the government and thought that we\\nought not to pretend to reform one sex by the\\nother, but to ameliorate the species by means\\nof good laws. Accordingly I set forth what,\\nin my judgment, women ought to be; but I", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0405.jp2"}, "374": {"fulltext": "3 3^ Private Memoirs\\nadded, that it was impossible to render them\\nsuch unless in consequence of a new order of\\nthings.\\nThis idea, certainly just and philosophical,\\ndid not meet the aim of the Academy. I\\nreasoned on the problem instead of resolv-\\ning it.\\nI transmitted a copy of this discourse to M.\\nde Sevelinges, after having sent another to\\nBesangon. Sevelinges confined his remarks\\nsolely to the style. My head had become cool\\nI discovered my work to be exceedingly de-\\nfective in the very foundation and I amused\\nmyself with criticising it as if it had been the\\nproduction of another at which I wished to\\nlaugh heartily. This looks like tickling one s\\nself to create a laugh, or slapping one s face by\\nway of bringing color into the cheeks but it\\nis assuredly impossible to laugh by one s self\\nwith better inclination, or more innocence.\\nIn return, Sevelinges communicated to me\\nan academical discourse after his own fashion,\\non the faculty of speaking, which he had ad-\\ndressed to the Academy, and respecting which\\nd Alembert had transmitted him a flattering\\nletter. There was, if I remember aright, much", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0406.jp2"}, "375": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 339\\nmetaphysics and a little afifectation in this\\nwork.\\nSix months, a year, and more elapsed in this\\ncorrespondence, in the course of which, however,\\na variety of different ideas were started. Seve-\\nlinges appeared at length to be unhappy on\\naccount of my situation, and weary of living\\nby himself He made many reflections on the\\ncharms of a thinking society I deemed this\\nextremely valuable we reasoned a long time\\non the subject. I do not well know what came\\ninto his head, but he at length took a journey\\nto Paris, and presented himself incognito at my\\nfather s, as if upon business. What is most\\ndiverting is, that I did not recollect him, al-\\nthough it was I myself who received him. But\\nthe excessively mortified air with which he left\\nme awakened in my memory the idea of his\\nfeatures. It occurred to me, after his departure,\\nthat the unknown person resembled him greatly;\\nand I was presently assured by his letters that\\nit was really himself. This singular occurrence\\nmade a disagreeable impression on me, which I\\ndo not know how to define. Our correspond-\\nence slackened it at length ceased, as I shall\\nhereafter mention.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0407.jp2"}, "376": {"fulltext": "340 Private Memoirs\\nI went sometimes to Vincennes my uncle s\\nparsonage was very pretty, the walks were\\ncharming, his society was agreeable but al-\\nthough he possessed the advantage of a house-\\nkeeper in Mademoiselle d Hannaches, he began\\nto find that he was obliged to pay for this by\\nsubmitting to all the ill humor and folly of an\\nold maid with great pretensions.\\nThe castle of Vincennes was inhabited by a\\nnumber of persons lodged there by the court.\\nHere was an old censor-royal, Moreau de la\\nGarve there a female wit Madame de Puisieux;\\nfarther off a Countess de Laurencier; below,\\nthe widow of an officer; and so of the rest, with-\\nout reckoning the king s lieutenant, Rougemont,\\nwhom Mirabeau has made known to the world,\\nand whose pimpled face, and stupid insolence\\nformed the most disgusting combination. A\\ncompany of Invalides, the wives of whose offi-\\ncers composed part of the society, formed along\\nwith those I have reckoned, without count-\\ning the prisoners in the dungeons, six hun-\\ndred inhabitants in the castle alone. My uncle\\nwas welcome everywhere, but he visited little\\nand saw few people at home. But in returning\\nfrom our evening walks we usually stopped at", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0408.jp2"}, "377": {"fulltext": "BARBAROUX", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0411.jp2"}, "378": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0412.jp2"}, "379": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 341\\nthe pavilion on the bridge belonging to the\\npark where the ladies assembled. There I\\nfound new pictures to paint, if I had time.\\nBut the hours have wings, and my task is long\\nso I must pass swiftly over many things. I\\nmay, however, mention the balls in the allee dcs\\nVoleiirs; the follies of Seguin, treasurer of the\\nDuke of Orleans, whose fete they celebrated with\\nilluminations, and who became a bankrupt soon\\nafter; the forest rambles, and the lovely view\\nin the upper park beside the Marne, to gain\\nwhich we passed through a breach in the wall\\nthose wooden figures of hermits, so picturesquely\\nplaced in the church, where there was also a\\npicture as good in execution as it was gro-\\ntesque in subject, and which represented thou-\\nsands of devils who were engaged in tormenting\\nthe damned in as many different ways my\\nreadings with my uncle, especially of the tra-\\ngedies of Voltaire our concerts after supper,\\nwhen, on the newly-cleared table, a pair of\\nmufif boxes did duty as a music-stand for the\\ngood Canon Bareux who (in spectacles) droned\\naway dismally on his bass-viol, while I scraped\\nthe violin, and my uncle made a pretence of\\naccompanying us on his flute. Ah perhaps", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0413.jp2"}, "380": {"fulltext": "342 Private Memoirs\\nI may revisit some day those peaceful scenes,\\nif they permit me to Hve. But I must now\\nreturn in my narrative to Paris, first, how-\\never, saying a word or two of a certain boaster\\nwho had gained some reputation,\\n1 See Madame Roland s foot-note on the following page.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0414.jp2"}, "381": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 343\\nSKETCH\\nOF WHAT REMAINS TO BE NARRATED TO\\nSERVE AS A CLOSING SUPPLEMENT TO MY\\nPRIVATE MEMOIRS.^\\nI HE manuscripts which M. Roland left in\\nmy care during the eighteen months he\\npassed in Italy, made me better acquainted\\nwith him than frequent visits would have done.\\nThey comprised travels, reflections, plans of\\nworks, personal anecdotes and a strong mind,\\nincorruptible honesty, knowledge, and taste\\nwere evinced throughout.\\nBorn amidst opulence and of a family distin-\\nguished in the law for its probity, he had while\\n1 I ended my last chapter at Vincennes. I was about to\\nspeak of Carricioli, whom I met at the Canon s, and whose\\nLetters, signed Ganganelli, have met with some success,\\nalthough they are largely repetitions of passages in the numer-\\nous little books from his hand. But had I thus followed the\\ncourse of events, step by step, I should have undertaken a\\nwork which I shall not be allowed to live long enough to\\nfinish. Therefore I confine myself to a Sketch.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0415.jp2"}, "382": {"fulltext": "344 Private Memoirs\\nstill young seen its fortunes decline through\\ndisorder on one side and extravagance on the\\nother. The youngest of five brothers, and like\\nthem destined for the church, he had left home\\nat nineteen to avoid taking orders or engaging\\nin commerce, to which he was no less averse.\\nArriving at Nantes he established himself there\\nwith a ship-owner, to gain an insight into affairs\\nand with the view of going out to India. A\\nsudden hemorrhage, which forbade a long sea-\\nvoyage, upset this plan. He repaired to Rouen,\\nwhere a relative, M. Goudinot, inspector of\\nmanufactures, proposed to him to enter that\\nbranch of the administration. He determined\\nto comply, and, soon distinguishing himself by\\nhis activity and industry, at length found him-\\nself advantageously settled.\\nTravel and study divided his time and occu-\\npied his life. Before setting out for Italy he\\nhad brought to my father s his favorite brother,\\na Benedictine, then prior of Clugny at Paris.\\nHe was a gifted man of gentle manners and\\namiable character. He came sometimes to see\\nme, and to read to me the notes his brother\\nhad transmitted to him for as he travelled, he\\ncommitted his observations to paper. These", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0416.jp2"}, "383": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 345\\nare the notes which on his return he converted\\ninto letters and caused to be pubHshed, en-\\ntrusting the printing of them to some friends\\nat Dieppe, one of whom, enamored of ItaHan,\\nevinced his respect to the passages in that lan-\\nguage, by multiplying them. This work, which\\nis replete with matter, only wants to be better\\ndigested to hold the first rank of all books of\\nItalian travel.^ To issue a new and correct edi-\\ntion was one of our projects since our union\\nbut I also wished to see Italy time and events\\nhave carried us elsewhere.\\nOn the return of M. Roland, I found a\\nfriend his gravity, his manners, his habits,\\nwholly consecrated to literary labors, made me\\nconsider him as it were without sex, or as a\\nphilosopher who existed by reason only. A\\nsort of confidence established itself between us\\nand in consequence of the pleasure which he\\nexperienced in my company, he contracted by\\ndegrees the desire of visiting me oftener than\\nbefore. It was near five years that I had been\\n1 This book, published under the title Letters written\\nfrom Switzerland, Italy, Sicily, and Malta in 1776, 1777, 1778,\\nis pronounced by Michelet the best one on its subject produced\\nin France during the eighteenth century.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0417.jp2"}, "384": {"fulltext": "346\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nacquainted with him, when he made a declara-\\ntion of tender sentiments. I was not insensible\\nto this, because I esteemed his person more\\nthan that of any other man I had hitherto\\nknown, but I realized that neither he himself\\nnor his family were altogether suitable to me\\nor to mine in respect to external appearances.\\nI told him frankly that his courtship did me\\nhonor, and that I would consent with pleasure,\\nbut that I did not think myself a good match\\nfor him I then disclosed to him without reserve\\nthe state of our affairs we were ruined. I had\\nsaved, through demanding an account from my\\nfather, at the risk of experiencing his hatred,\\nfive hundred livres of yearly income, which,\\nwith my wardrobe, formed the remnant of that\\napparent affluence in which I had been brought\\nup.\\nMy father was young; his errors might\\ninduce him to contract debts which his inability\\nto discharge would render dishonorable he\\nmight make an unfortunate marriage, and add\\nto these evils children who would bear my\\nname in misery, etc. I was too proud to\\nexpose myself to the ill-will of a family which\\nwould not deem itself honored by my alliance,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0418.jp2"}, "385": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 347\\nor to the generosity of a husband, who on\\nmy part would find nothing but objects of\\nvexation I advised M. Roland in the same\\nmanner as a third person would have done, and\\nendeavored to dissuade him from thinking of\\nme. He persisted I was affected, and I con-\\nsented that he should take the necessary steps\\nwith my father but, preferring to express him-\\nself in writing, he was resolved to broach the\\nmatter by letter on his return to the place of\\nhis residence and during the remainder of his\\nstay in Paris we saw each other daily. I con-\\nsidered him as the being to whom I was about\\nto unite my destiny, and I became attached to\\nhim.\\nAs soon as he had returned to Amiens, he\\nwrote to my father to explain his wishes and\\ndesigns. My father found the letter dry; he\\ndid not like M. Roland s stiffness, and liked ill\\nto have for his son-in-law an austere man,\\nwhose looks appeared to him to be those of a\\ncensor; he replied with harshness, imperti-\\nnence, and showed the whole to me, but not\\nuntil he had sent off his answer. I instantly\\ncame to a resolution. I informed M. Roland,\\nthat the event had but too well justified my", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0419.jp2"}, "386": {"fulltext": "348\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nfears in respect to my father that I would not\\noccasion him further mortifications, and I begged\\nhim to abandon his project. I declared to my\\nfather what his conduct had obliged me to do.\\nI added that after this, he need not be aston-\\nished if I entered into a new situation, and\\nretired to a convent. But as J. knew he had\\nsome pressing debts, I gave him the portion of\\nplate that appertained to me, to satisfy them;\\nI hired a little apartment at the Congregation,\\nand retreated thither, firmly resolved to limit\\nmy wants by my means. I did so.\\nI could detail some interesting particulars\\nrespecting a situation in which I began to call\\nforth the resources of a strong mind. I nicely\\ncalculated my expenditure, laying aside some-\\nthing for presents to the servants of the house.\\nPotatoes, rice, and kidney-beans, stewed in a\\npot with a few grains of salt and a bit of butter,\\nvaried my food and my cookery, without con-\\nsuming much of my time. I went out twice a\\nweek, once to visit my old relations, and again\\nto repair to my father s, where I cast an eye\\nover his linen and carried away what wanted\\nmending. The rest of the time, inclosed with-\\nin my roof of snow, as I called it (for I lodged", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0420.jp2"}, "387": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 349\\nnear to heaven, and it was winter), without\\nwishing to form any acquaintance with the\\nboarders, I resigned myself to study. I forti-\\nfied my heart against adversity by deserving\\nhappiness, and I avenged myself on that for-\\ntune which refuses to grant it. The loving\\nAgathe spent half an hour with me every\\nevening; the sweet tears of friendship accom-\\npanied the effusions of her heart. A turn in\\nthe garden during the hours when everybody\\nhad retired, formed my solitary walk; the\\nresignation of a sage mind, the peace of a good\\nconscience, the elevation of a character that\\ndefies misfortune, those laborious habits that\\nmake the hours fly so swiftly away, that delicate\\ntaste of a sound understanding which finds, in\\nthe sentiments of existence and the idea of its\\nown value, indemnifications unknown to the\\nvulgar: such were my treasures. I was not\\nalways free from melancholy; but this had its\\ncharms and if I was not happy, I had within\\nray own bosom all that was necessary to be so\\nI could pride myself in knowing how to do\\nwithout what I wanted in other respects.\\nM. Roland, astonished and afflicted, continued\\nto write to me, as a man who did not cease to", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0421.jp2"}, "388": {"fulltext": "3 50 Private Memoirs\\nlove me, but who had been hurt by the conduct\\nof my father he returned at the end of five or\\nsix months, and was inflamed at seeing me at\\nthe grating, where I however retained the\\ncountenance of prosperity. He wished me to\\nleave this inclosure, offered his hand to me\\nanew and pressed me through his brother the\\nBenedictine to accept it. I reflected profoundly\\non what I ought to do. I did not dissemble\\nthat a man less than forty-five years of age\\nwould not have waited several months to try to\\nprevail upon me to change my resolution, and I\\nreadily allowed that this idea had reduced my\\nsentiments to a state in which there was no\\nillusion.\\nI considered on the other hand, that this\\noffer, so maturely reflected upon, ought to con-\\nvince me that I was respected, and that if\\nRoland had overcome his dread of the inciden-\\ntal vexations which my alliance might produce,\\nI was so much the more assured of an esteem,\\nwhich I should not have any difficulty in justi-\\nfying. In fine, if marriage was, as I believed it\\nto be, a stringent tie, an association in which\\nthe wife usually charges herself with the happi-\\nness of two individuals, would it not be better", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0422.jp2"}, "389": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 351\\nfor me to exercise my faculties and my courage\\nin this honorable task, than in the retirement in\\nwhich I lived?\\nI might here, I think, detail some very sage\\nreflections which determined my conduct; for\\nas yet I have not mentioned all those which the\\ncircumstances could have suggested, but those\\nonly which experience permits me to perceive.\\nAt length I became the wife of a man of\\ngenuine worth, who loved me more in propor-\\ntion as his knowledge of me increased. Mar-\\nried thus with my own full consent, I found\\nnothing to make me repent of the step I de-\\nvoted myself to him with a zeal perhaps more\\nardent than discreet. Considering only the\\nhappiness of my partner, I saw that he lacked\\nsomething for the completion of mine. I have\\nnot for a moment ceased to behold in my hus-\\nband one of the most estimable of men, to\\nwhom I deem it an honor to belong but I\\nhave often been sensible of a certain lack of\\nparity between us, and felt that the ascendency\\nof a somewhat masterful character, added to\\ntwenty years of seniority, rendered one of these\\nsuperiorities too great. If we had lived in soli-\\n1 February 4, 1779.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0423.jp2"}, "390": {"fulltext": "3 52 Private Memoirs\\ntude, I should have had many disagreeable\\nhours to pass had we mingled much in the\\nworld I might have been loved by some whose\\naffection, as I have learned, might touch me too\\ndeeply I plunged, therefore, into work with my\\nhusband -an excess which also had its draw-\\nbacks, since he soon grew so accustomed to\\nmy aid as to be unable to dispense with it.\\nThe first year of my marriage was spent at\\nParis, whither Roland was called by the In-\\ntendants of Commerce, who wished to enact\\nnew regulations of manufactures measures\\nwhich he strenuously opposed as colliding with\\nthose principles of freedom of trade which he\\nadvocated. He had printed the description of\\ncertain processes, which he had drawn up for\\nthe Academy and he revised his Italian manu-\\nscripts, I acted as his secretary and corrected\\nhis proofs. I performed these tasks with a\\nhumility that I cannot help smiling at when I\\nrecollect it, and which was incongruous enough\\nin a mind so cultivated as mine but it pro-\\nceeded from the heart. I revered my husband\\nso frankly that I supposed he knew everything\\nbetter than myself; and I so dreaded to see a\\ncloud upon his brow, and he was so set in his", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0424.jp2"}, "391": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 353\\nopinions, that it was not until long afterwards\\nthat I gained assurance enough to contradict\\nhim.\\nI was then taking a course in Botany and\\nNatural History; those were the recreations\\nwith which I relieved my labors as housewife\\nand secretary for, Hving in a hotel garni, since\\nour home was not at Paris, and perceiving that\\nmy husband s delicate health did not accommo-\\ndate itself to all kinds of cookery, I took it\\nupon myself to prepare such dishes as suited\\nhim best.\\nWe spent four years at Amiens, where I\\nacted as mother and nurse, without ceasing to\\nshare the labors of my husband, who had un-\\ndertaken a considerable portion of the new\\nEncyclopaedia. We seldom quitted our study\\nbut for a ramble in the suburbs. I formed a\\nherbarium of Picardy, and the study of aquatic\\nbotany gave place to U Art dti Tourbier. His\\nfrequent illnesses made me uneasy for Roland\\nmy constant care of him had its results, and\\nthis proved a new tie between us. He loved\\nme the more for my devotion, I him for the\\nservices I had rendered.\\nHe had met while in Italy a young man\\n23", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0425.jp2"}, "392": {"fulltext": "3 54 Private Memoirs\\nwhose amiable disposition had greatly attracted\\nhim, and who had returned with him to France,\\nwhere he had taken up the study of medicine,\\nand become our intimate friend. This was\\nLanthenas, whom I should esteem more to-day,\\nhad not the Revolution, that touchstone of\\nmen, by pushing him forward upon the scene,\\ndisclosed his mediocrity and feebleness of char-\\nacter. He had private virtues, without exterior\\nattractions he was perfectly suited to my hus-\\nband, and was deeply attached to us. I loved\\nhim, treated him as a brother, and conferred\\nthat name upon him. For a long time his de-\\nvotion, his zeal for the right, did not flag.\\nDuring my husband s second ministry, his cour-\\nage, now first put to the proof, gave way before\\nthe increasing storms of the Revolution. He\\nwished to steer safely between the two ex-\\ntremes of opinion his views assumed a new\\ntinge too humane to sanction the ferocity of\\nthe Mountain, he lacked courage to cast his lot\\nfrankly with us. He affected to stand poised\\nbetween the Right, whose passions he de-\\nprecated, and the Left, whose excesses he\\ncould not approve he was less than nothing,\\nfor he earned the contempt of both sides.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0426.jp2"}, "393": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 355\\nDuring our stay at Amiens, Sophie was mar-\\nried to the Chevaher de Gomicourt, who Hved\\nen fermier on his estate six leagues from the\\ntown. Henriette, who had been partial to\\nRoland, to whom her family had wished to see\\nher united, heartily approved of his preference\\nfor me, thus showing the touching sincerity\\nthat adorned her character and that generosity\\nof soul which makes her beloved. She married\\nthe aged de Vouglans, a widower of seventy-\\nfive, who had been advised by his confessor\\nand his physician to take another wife. Both\\nsisters are now widows. Sophie has again\\ngrown devout; and her frail health causes ap-\\nprehension for a life so necessary to her two\\nfine children. Our essential disparity of tem-\\nperament and opinions and our long separation\\nhave relaxed without altogether dissolving our\\nconnection. The frank Henriette, impulsive\\nand warm-hearted as of old, has visited me in\\nmy captivity, and would have taken my place,\\nto procure my safety.\\nRoland desired shortly after our marriage\\nthat I should see these dear friends of mine as\\nlittle as possible. I complied with his wishes,\\nand I did not feel free to visit them until time", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0427.jp2"}, "394": {"fulltext": "3 5^ Private Memoirs\\nhad inspired him with confidence enough in\\nme to remove all uneasiness on the score of\\nrivalry in affection. It was ill-judged in him.\\nMarriage is a grave and solemn matter; if you\\ndeprive a woman of sensibility of the pleasures\\nof friendship with persons of her own sex, you\\ndiminish an aliment necessary to her, and ex-\\npose her to temptation. How many conse-\\nquences flow from this truth\\nWe repaired to the g^nhalite of Lyons in\\n1784, settling at Villefranche on the paternal\\nestate of M. Roland, where his mother still\\nlived, together with his eldest brother, the canon\\nand counsellor. I might paint here a number\\nof pictures of the life and manners of a little\\ntown and their influence of the domestic jars\\nand vexations of a life spent with a woman ven-\\nerable through her years and terrible through\\nher temper, and with two brothers of whom the\\nyounger had the passion of liberty, the elder\\nof dominion.\\nDuring two of the winter months we resided\\nat Lyons, which I know well, and of which I\\ncould say much. A city superbly built and\\nsituated, then flourishing in commerce and\\nmanufactures, interesting through its antiqui-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0428.jp2"}, "395": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 357\\nties and collections, famed for riches of which\\neven the Emperor Joseph was envious, and\\nwhich constituted it so splendid a capital to-\\nday a vast tomb of victims of a government a\\nhundredfold more atrocious than the despotism\\nupon whose ruins it is reared.\\nWe went to the country in the autumn, and\\non the death of my mother-in-law, Madame de\\nla Platiere, spent the greater part of the year\\nthere. The Parish of Th6z6e, two leagues from\\nVillefranche, where the Clos de la Platiere is\\nsituated, is arid of soil, but rich in vines and\\nwoods it is the last vine-growing region before\\nthe high mountains of Beaujolais. There my\\nsimple tastes turned to the details of rural econ-\\nomy and benefactions there I applied, for\\nthe relief of my neighbors, my little stock of\\nmedical lore I became the physician of the\\nvillage, so much the more beloved because I\\ngave succor instead of levying tribute, while the\\npleasure of being useful made my cares a labor\\nof love.\\nHow readily does the countryman open his\\nheart to the one who does him good I do\\nnot pretend to say that these good folks felt\\nthemselves bound to me, but they loved me;", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0429.jp2"}, "396": {"fulltext": "358\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nand my absence was always bewailed with\\ntears. I had many pleasant experiences, the\\ngood women sometimes coming three or four\\nleagues for me, with a horse, to beg me to go\\nto the rescue of some sufferer who had been\\ngiven up by the doctor. In 1789 I saved from\\ndeath my husband, who had been stricken with\\na painful malady from which the prescriptions\\nof the physicians would scarcely have saved\\nhim but for my superintending care. I passed\\ntwelve days without sleep, and six months in\\nthe anxieties of a perilous convalescence, yet\\nI was not even once indisposed so much does\\ncourage confer strength and augment our\\nactivity.\\nThe Revolution ensued and inflamed us\\nfriends of humanity, adorers of liberty, we be-\\nlieved that it would regenerate the species, and\\ndestroy the disgraceful misery of that unfortu-\\nnate class at whose lot we had so often been\\naffected we received the intelligence with rap-\\nture. Our opinions gave offence at Lyons to\\nmany individuals, who, being habituated to com-\\nmercial calculations, could not conceive how\\nany one should be induced out of mere philoso-\\nphy, to provoke and applaud changes which", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0430.jp2"}, "397": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 359\\ncould prove useful only to others. They be-\\ncame from this idea alone the enemies of M.\\nRoland; thenceforward others prized him the\\nmore. He was made a member of the munici-\\npaHty on its first formation; he distinguished\\nhimself by his inflexible justice he was feared,\\nand calumny on one side took the field, while\\non the other, affection or impartiahty defended\\nhim.\\nDeputed in the interests of that city to the\\nConstituent Assembly, he repaired to Paris we\\npassed nearly a year there. I have mentioned\\nelsewhere how we became acquainted with cer-\\ntain members of that Assembly, and connected\\nourselves naturally with those who, like us, did\\nnot love liberty on their own account, but hers,\\nand who with us at present partake the lot com-\\nmon to almost all her founders and to humanity s\\ntrue friends, such as Dion, Socrates, Phocio.n,\\nand so many others of antiquity, and Barneveldt\\nand Sidney in modern times.\\nMy husband had induced me to visit Eng-\\nland in 1784, and Switzerland in 1787. I have\\nknown many interesting personages in those\\ntwo countries we kept up a correspondence\\nwith several. I have again heard within less", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0431.jp2"}, "398": {"fulltext": "360\\nPrivate Memoirs\\nthan a year from Lavater,^ that celebrated pas-\\ntor of Zurich, known by his writings, his brilHant\\nimagination, his affectionate heart, and the purity\\nof his morals. The honest and learned Gosse of\\nGeneva will assuredly sigh at the persecution\\nwe experience. I know not what has become\\nof the able Dezach, lately occupied in travel-\\nling through Germany, and formerly professor\\nat Vienna, whom I often saw at London. Ro-\\nland tilted with him at the house of Banks, the\\npresident of the Royal Society, where he as-\\nsembles the learned of his own country, and\\nthe foreigners residing in London.\\nI experienced during my travels that pleasure\\nand advantage which result from the company\\nof a man already conversant with the places\\nvisited, and I remarked on and communicated\\nto paper those circumstances that made the\\ngreatest impression. I also visited several parts\\nof France the Revolution has prevented our\\ntravels in the southern districts, and the jour-\\nney to Italy, of which I entertained the desire\\nand the hope.\\n1 Lavater, it is recorded, on meeting Roland at Zurich,\\nwarmly exclaimed, You reconcile me, monsieur, to French\\ntravellers.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0432.jp2"}, "399": {"fulltext": "BXJZOT\\nFROM THJB PORTKAIT NVOKN KY MADAME ROLAND XN PK_LSON", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0435.jp2"}, "400": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0436.jp2"}, "401": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 361\\nEngrossed by public affairs, they occupied all\\nour ideas they have swallowed up all our pro-\\njects we resigned ourselves wholly to the\\npassion of serving our country. It has been\\nseen in the former part (First Administration)\\nhow Roland was called to the ministry, as it were\\nwithout his own knowledge and his public con-\\nduct cannot fail to demonstrate to impartial pos-\\nterity his disinterestedness, his attainments, and\\nhis virtues.\\nMy father, whom we had no reason to praise,\\nneither contracted a marriage, nor any other\\nvery burdensome engagement we paid his few\\ndebts, settled upon him an annuity, and pre-\\nvailed on him to retire from business. In spite\\nof the troubles his errors had brought upon\\nhim (and they had occasioned among other\\nthings the dissipation of my grandmother s\\nsmall property), and although he had every\\nreason to applaud our proceedings, he was\\nnevertheless too proud not to chafe at being\\nthus indebted to us. This state of irritation,\\nrooted in self-love, prevented him sometimes\\nfrom being just even to those who aimed only\\nat making him happy; he died, upwards of\\n1 Madame Roland refers to her Historical Notes.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0437.jp2"}, "402": {"fulltext": "362 Private Memoirs\\nsixty years of age, during the severe winter of\\n1787-8, in consequence of a catarrh with which\\nhe had been long troubled.\\nMy dear uncle expired at Vincennes, in 1789;\\nsoon after this, we also lost the dearly beloved\\nbrother of my husband. He made the tour of\\nSwitzerland in company with us, and had be-\\ncome prior and rector of Longpont; he was\\nchosen an elector of his canton, where he\\npreached liberty, as he practised the evangeli-\\ncal virtues the lawyer and physician of his\\nparishioners, and too wise for a monk, he was\\npersecuted by the ambitious of his own order,\\nand suffered greatly from their persecutions,\\nwhich accelerated his death. Thus everywhere,\\nand in all times, the good succumb they have\\ntherefore another world in which they are to\\nrevive, and in which they will not suffer the\\npenalty attached to being born in this.\\nBlind calumniators follow Roland close, sift\\nhis life, analyze mine consult the societies in\\nwhich we have lived, the towns where we have\\nresided, the country, in which there is no\\ndissimulation examine The more nearly\\nyou survey us the more you will be vexed\\nthat is why you wish to annihilate us.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0438.jp2"}, "403": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 363\\nRoland has been reproached with soliciting\\nletters of nobility: behold the truth. His\\nfamily long possessed its privileges, in conse-\\nquence of employments, which however did not\\nrender them hereditary, and the opulence which\\nsupported its attributes coats of arms, chapel,\\nlivery, fief, etc. This opulence disappeared it\\nwas succeeded by a genteel mediocrity, and\\nRoland had the prospect of ending his days\\nin a domain, the sole one remaining in his\\nfamily, and which still appertains to his elder\\nbrother. He thought that he possessed a right,\\nin consequence of his labors, to insure to his\\ndescendants an advantage which his ancestors\\nhad enjoyed, and which he would have dis-\\ndained to purchase.\\nIn consequence of this, he presented his\\nclaims in order to obtain letters recognising\\nhis nobility, or ennobling him. This was at\\nthe commencement of 1784; I do not know the\\nman who at that epoch, and in his situation,\\nwould have deemed it discreditable to have\\ndone as much. I repaired to Paris, and soon\\nsaw that the new superintendents of commerce,\\njealous of his seniority in a branch of the ad-\\nministration he was better acquainted with than", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0439.jp2"}, "404": {"fulltext": "364 Private Memoirs\\nthemselves, and opposing him in opinions rela-\\ntive to the liberty of commerce which he de-\\nfended with vigor, while they gave him the\\nrequisite attestations respecting his labors, which\\nindeed they could not refuse, did not display\\nthat zeal which insures success. I thought best\\ntherefore to abandon the project; and I pushed\\nmy suit no further. It was then that, learning\\nthe changes of which I have made mention in\\nthe curious article of Lazowski, I demanded and\\nobtained the removal of Roland to Lyons, which\\nbrought him nearer to his family, and to a place\\nwhere I knew that he would at length be desir-\\nous to retire. Patriots of the day, who stood\\nin need of the Revolution to become some-\\nthing, adduce your labors, and dare to com-\\npare them.\\nThirteen years spent in different places, in\\nunremitting toil, with connections extremely\\nvaried, and of which the latter part appertains\\nso particularly to the history of the day, would\\nfurnish materials for the fourth and most\\ninteresting section of my Memoirs. The de-\\ntached pieces which will be found in my Por-\\ntraits and Anecdotes, will serve in its stead. I\\nknow not any longer how to guide my pen", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0440.jp2"}, "405": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 365\\namidst the horrors that devour my country I\\ncannot live above its ruins I choose rather to\\nbury myself under them. Nature, open thy\\nbosom\\nAt thirty-ni7ie years of age.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0441.jp2"}, "406": {"fulltext": "366 Private Memoirs\\nDETACHED NOTES\\nF I had been permitted to live, I should\\nhave been actuated but by one desire this\\nwould have been to draw up the annals of the\\nage, and become the Macaulay of my country.\\nI have been seized in my prison with a real\\npassion for Tacitus I cannot now sleep without\\nhaving read some passages of his works. It\\nappears to me that we see things in the same\\nlight; and with time, and on a subject equally\\nrich, it might not have been impossible for me\\nto imitate him.\\nI am very sorry to have lost, along with my\\nHistorical Notes, a certain letter which I\\nwrote to Garat on the sixth of June. On his\\nbeing intrusted with my protestations against\\nmy detention, he sent me in return a flattering\\nletter of four pages, in which he expressed all\\n1 Catharine Macaulay, who died in 1791, and whose His-\\ntory of England Madame Roland seems to have much\\nadmired.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0442.jp2"}, "407": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 367\\nhis esteem, grief, etc. He at the same time\\ntreated of pubUc affairs, and strove to impute\\ntheir own ruin to the twenty-two, as if they had\\nacted and spoken in the Assembly in a manner\\nHttle conformable to the interests of the common-\\nwealth. I urged cogent arguments to Garat in\\nreply, the harsh expression of which I regret\\nI depicted to him his own conduct as the off-\\nspring of that pusillanimity to which I attri-\\nbute our evils a weakness shared by a timid\\nmajority that obeyed only the impulse of its\\nown fear. I demonstrated to him that he and\\nBarere were calculated to ruin all the states in\\nthe world and dishonor themselves by their\\nindirection.\\nI have never been able to prevail upon myself\\nto discuss the silly declamations of this pack of\\ndunces against what they term the passions\\nof the Right. Men of probity, firm in their\\nprinciples, and penetrated with a just indigna-\\ntion against crimes, forcibly exert themselves in\\nopposition to the perversity of a few ruffians\\nand the atrocious measures which they dictate\\nand these eunuchs in politics reproach them\\nwith speaking too warmly\\nRoland has been blamed for leaving the min-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0443.jp2"}, "408": {"fulltext": "368 Private Memoirs\\nistry, after declaring that he would brave every\\nstorm. They have not discerned that it was\\nnecessary for him to show his own resolution\\nthat he might encourage the feeble, and that it\\nwas thus that he encouraged them on the sixth\\nof January; but the sentence of Louis XVI.,\\npronounced on the eighteenth, demonstrated\\nthe minority of wise men and the loss of their\\ndominance in the convention. There was no\\nlonger any hope of support in that body, and\\nhe withdrew rather than be the accomplice of\\nfolly.\\nTruly, Roland hated tyranny, and he believed\\nLouis guilty; but he wished to insure liberty,\\nand he believed it lost when bad men had\\ngained the ascendency. He is but too well\\njustified, as are those whom they are to-day\\nconducting to death This I think I have\\ndemonstrated in my narrative of the Second\\nAdministration of Roland.^ His leaving the\\ngovernment was the signal of its downfall, as\\nhe had -himself foreseen.\\nMy poor Agathe she has flown from her\\nOctober 31, 1793, ^^Y \u00c2\u00b0f Girondists execution.\\nThe lines above were thus penned within eight days of the\\nwriter s own death on the scaffold.\\n2 Historical Notes.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0444.jp2"}, "409": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 369\\ncloister without ceasing to be a mourning dove\\nfor she weeps now for her daughter, as she\\ncalls me. Alas, there are many persons whose\\nfortunes might have been interwoven in the\\ncontinuation of my story that good cousin\\nDesportes who died at the age of fifty, after\\nmany sorrows the little cousin Trude, now liv-\\ning in the country; my faithful old servant,\\nMignonne, who died at my father s, passing\\naway in my arms with the utmost serenity, and\\nsaying with her last breath Mademoiselle, I\\nhave never begged but one thing of heaven it\\nwas to die with you and now I am content.\\n24", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0445.jp2"}, "410": {"fulltext": "3 70 Private Memoirs\\nMADAME ROLAND S FAREWELL\\n(^From her Derm h-es Pensees\\nFarewell, my dear child, my worthy hus-\\nband, my faithful servant, and my good friends\\nfarewell, thou sun, whose resplendent beams\\nused to shed serenity over my soul while they\\nrecalled it to the skies farewell, ye solitary\\nfields whose sight has so often called forth soft\\nemotions; and you, ye rustic inhabitants of\\nThezee, who were wont to bless my presence,\\nwhom I attended in sickness, whose toil I light-\\nened, and whose penury I relieved, farewell\\nfarewell peaceful retreats, where I have enriched\\nmy mind with moral truths, and learnt in the\\nstillness of meditation to govern my passions\\nand to despise the vanity of the world.\\nEDITOR S NOTE\\nMadame Roland s recital was cut short and her fate\\nwas foreshadowed by her removal, on Nov. i, to the\\nConciergerie. At the examination of the witnesses", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0446.jp2"}, "411": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 371\\nagainst her on the two following days little was elic-\\nited beyond the already familiar fact that the Girou-\\ndins were her friends and had frequented her house.\\nTo lend a show of legality to her condemnation it\\nwas necessary to adduce evidence connecting her\\nwith the armed uprishigs in the Departments that\\nhad followed the expulsion of the Girondins from the\\nConvention. Such evidence was alleged by the pub-\\nlic accuser to be contained in certain letters and\\nwritten messages that had passed between her and\\nthe fugitive deputies Barbaroux and Buzot, who were\\nstirring up resistance to the Jacobin rule at Caen.\\nAs a matter of fact, the passages from the letters cited\\nin court, while they imphed Madame Roland s ap-\\nproval of the attempts at Caen and elsewhere to\\nfoment a Departmental revolt against the Moun-\\ntain, were essentially nothing more than general ex-\\npressions of mutual sympathy and regard between\\nfriends in misfortune. But the Indictment declared\\nthat After the contents of said letters, there can be\\nno doubt that the above wife of Roland was one of\\nthe principal aiders and abettors of the conspiracy.\\nThe fact that the wife of Roland was a helpless pris-\\noner in Sainte Pelagie at the time when the letters\\nwere written did not count in the opinion of a court\\nbent on the destruction of a political foe and a ver-\\ndict was promptly found in accord with the demands\\nof the Indictment. The death warrant set forth and\\ndecreed", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0447.jp2"}, "412": {"fulltext": "37 2 Private Memoirs\\nThat there has existed a horrible conspiracy against\\nthe unity and indivisibility of the Republic, the liberty and\\nsafety of the French people.\\nThat Marie Jeanne Phlipon, wife of Jean Marie Ro-\\nland, is convicted of being one of the aiders or accomplices\\nof that conspiracy.\\nThat the Tribunal, after having heard the public ac-\\ncuser deliver his reasons concerning the application of\\nthe law, condemns Marie Jeanne Phlipon, wife of Jean\\nMarie Roland, ex-minister, to the punishment of death,\\nin conformity with the law of Dec. i6, 1792, which has\\nbeen read, and which is conceived in these terms The\\nNational Convention decrees, that whoever shall propose\\nor attempt to destroy the unity of the French Republic,\\nor to detach its integral parts in order to unite them to a\\nforeign territory, shall be punished with death.\\nSuch, said Bosc, Madame Roland s friend and\\nliterary trustee, was the sentence that sent to the\\nscaffold, at thirty-nine years of age, a woman whose\\nenergetic disposition, feeling heart, and cultivated\\nmind, rendered her the delight of all who knew\\nher. Citizeness Roland did not at the end de-\\nceive the expectation of her friends. She went to\\nthe guillotine with all the serenity of a lofty mind\\nsuperior to the idea of death, and possessing suffi-\\ncient powers to overcome the natural horror of\\ndissolution.\\nMadame Roland s execution must be regarded as\\nan act of political vengeance, pure and simple. For\\nan account of her imprisonment, her last days, and", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0448.jp2"}, "413": {"fulltext": "of Madame Roland 373\\nher bearing in the hour of supreme trial, the reader\\nis referred to the Introduction to this vokune.\\nRoland refused to long survive his wife. When\\nthe news of her death reached him, he left his hid-\\ning-place at Rouen, and set out on foot for Paris,\\nwith the intention of appearing before the Conven-\\ntion, denouncing its misdeeds, and securing a release\\nfrom his sorrows on the scaffold. But, on reaching\\nBaudoin, four leagues from Rouen, his strength failed\\nhim, or his purpose changed. Turning aside from\\nthe highway, the stricken old man entered an avenue\\nleading to a private house, and there, at the foot of a\\ntree, drew the blade from his sword-cane, and stabbed\\nhimself to the heart. On his body was found this\\nwriting\\nWhoever thou art that findest me lying here, respect\\nmy remains. They are those of a man who devoted his\\nlife to useful works, and who has died as he lived, vir-\\ntuous and honest. Not fear, but indignation made\\nme quit my retreat, on learning that my wife had been\\nmurdered. I did not choose to remain longer in a land\\npolluted with crimes.\\nEven more tragic was the fate of Buzot, the man\\nwhom (as the world now knows) Madame Roland\\nloved, and who was the long mysterious object of\\nthat exalted and passionate farewell addressed in her\\nlast writings to one I dare not name, to one whom\\nthe most terrible of passions has not induced to over-\\nstep the barriers of virtue. Buzot, tracked from", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0449.jp2"}, "414": {"fulltext": "374 Private Memoirs\\nplace to place by the Jacobin emissaries, after the\\ntriumph of the Convention, came finally to Saint\\nEmilion, where, with Petion, he lay for three months\\nin hiding. But the Bordeaux authorities, roused to\\nsudden vigilance, were soon hot on the trail of the\\noutlaws, and they were once more forced to take to\\nthe open country. What they did and suffered dur-\\ning that last flight is not known but after a few days\\nthe body of Buzot was found, beside that of Petion,\\nin a wheat-field, half- eaten by wolves.\\nThus perished the last and youngest of the un-\\nhappy trio of political dreamers, victims of the Revo-\\nlution which they and their friends had helped to\\nfound, sought to purify, and were unable to control.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0450.jp2"}, "415": {"fulltext": "3?etio:n", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0453.jp2"}, "416": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0454.jp2"}, "417": {"fulltext": "Index\\nA.\\nAbbadie, 148.\\nAbbaye, prison of the, 20, 37.\\nAgathe, Sister or Sainte, nun\\nof the Congregation, her devo-\\ntion to Madame Roland, 96-\\n100; 138, 195, 259, 260, 262,\\n3497 368.\\nAmerica, Madame Roland s wish\\nfor an asylum in, 86.\\nAmyot, Jacques, his Plutarch,\\n14.\\nAndre, Pfere, his metaphysics,\\n142.\\nAngelique (Mademoiselle Rotis-\\nset), aunt of Madame Roland,\\n103, 104, 121, 129.\\nAppian, Civil Wars of, 60.\\nAristides, 160.\\nAthens, reflections on, 160.\\nAugustine, Saint, manual of, 118;\\n286.\\nB.\\nBack, Baron de, musicale of, 220.\\nBaillet, Andre, his Life of Des-\\ncartes, 142.\\nBallexserd, Genevese author, 191,\\n194.\\nBanks, Sir J., President of Royal\\nSociety, 360.\\nBannier, Abbe, 142.\\nBarbaroux, Girondin deputy, at\\nCaen, 371.\\nBareux, Canon, 341.\\nBarneveldt, 359.\\nBarre, Mademoiselle de la, 246,\\n250.\\nBayle, Pierre, 295.\\nBeauregard, Abbe de, popular\\npreacher, 289, 290,\\nBelloy, 192.\\nBenoit, Madame, 214; 217-219.\\nBergier, Abbe, 148.\\nBerni Abbe, 209.\\nBerruyer, 142.\\nBesangon, Academy of, Madame\\nRoland competes for prize\\noffered by, 337-338\\nBesnard, M., 199, 200, 201, 202,\\n265.\\nBesnard, Madame, 42, iig, 120,\\n199, 200, 201.\\nBesplas, Abb6, 297.\\nBexon, Abbe, 312-313.\\nBeugnot, Comte, quoted, 29, 31,\\n32-\\nBibliotheque Nationale, Madame\\nRoland s MS. now in, 26.\\nBimont, Marguerite, mother of\\nMadame Roland, introduced and\\ndescribed, 41; death of, 265.\\nBimont, Madame, grandmother of\\nMadame Roland, 58 death of,", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0455.jp2"}, "418": {"fulltext": "37^\\nInd\\nex\\nBimont, Abbe. 59, 6S, 136, 157,\\n159, 2S7; death of, 362.\\nBitaube, his poem of Joseph, 142.\\nBlair, sermons of, 2SS.\\nBoismorel, Madame de, 103;\\nvisit to, 121-126; 127, 129,137,\\n159, 294.\\nBoismorel, M. de, 127, 129, 290,\\n291, 292, 293, 295-306.\\nBosc, friend, correspondent, and\\nHterary trustee of Madame\\nRoland, 23, 25, 2S quoted^ yjz.\\nBossuet, controversial writings of,\\niiS; 142, 286.\\nBouchaud, Madame, concierge at\\nSainte Pelagie, 22, 23, 24.\\nBourdaloue, 286, 287.\\nBrion, the Councillor, 124.\\nBrissot, Girondin deputy, iii, 325.\\nBrunetifere, M. Ferdinand, epi-\\ngram of on the French Revolu-\\ntion, 13.\\nBrutus, apostrophe to, 107.\\nBuffon, his Natural History, 75\\n169, 312.\\nBurlamaqui, 143.\\nBuzot, Girondin deputy, at Caen,\\n371; death of, 373-374.\\nCajon, music-master, 52, 131, 140.\\nCalonne, Controller General, 206.\\nCannet, M., 192.\\nCannet, Madame, 323.\\nCannet, Henriette, 93, 96 mar-\\nriage of and devotion of, 355.\\nCannet, Sophie, intimate friend\\nand correspondent of Madame\\nRoland, 92-95; 104, 140, 141,\\n171, 172, 187, 190, 267, 305,\\n323, 324; marries the Cheva-\\nlier de Gomicourt, 355.\\nCarricioli, author, 343.\\nCatinat, La Harpe s eulogy on,\\n298 299.\\nCato, 17.\\nCerceau, Father de, poems of, 9S.\\nCliabot, Frangois, cx-Capucin and\\nJacobin deputy, 112.\\nChampagneux, journalist, friend\\nof Madame Roland and first\\ncustodian of her papers, 24-25.\\nCharbonne, Madame, her disap-\\nproval of Candide, 66.\\nChauveau-Lagarde, avocai, his\\noffer to defend Madame Roland,\\n30-; I.\\nCicero, 167.\\nClarke, Madame Roland studies\\nthe works of, 148.\\nCleomenes, 193.\\nCommune of Paris, 21.\\nConciergerie, prison of, 21, 28.\\nCondillac, 142.\\nCongregation, convent of the,\\nMadame Roland enters as pu-\\npil, 78 Madame Roland leaves,\\nioj-io^\\\\ fete at, 13S-140; Mad-\\name Roland seeks refuge at, 34S.\\nCorday, Charlotte, 14, iii.\\nCordeliers, society of the, 115.\\nCornelia, mother of the Gracchi,\\n193-\\nCossonnifere, Mademoiselle de la,\\n216.\\nCoste, Dr., 318.\\nCourson, apprentice of M. Phli-\\npon, books of, secretly borrowed\\nby Madame Roland, 63.\\nCrebillon, his Pere de Famille,\\n1S7.\\nCreusy, Boyard de, 220.\\nCromwell, Madame Roland reads\\na life of, 209.\\nCustine, General, iii, 115.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0456.jp2"}, "419": {"fulltext": "Index\\nZll\\nD.\\nDabreuil, suitor of Madame Ro-\\nland, 231.\\nDacier, his translation of Plu-\\ntarch, 14.\\nD Alembert, 297.\\nDanton, i5, 208.\\nD Argens, Marquis, 149, 210.\\nD Argens, Madame, 231.\\nDelille, Abbe, his translation of\\nthe Georgics, 306.\\nDelolme, 194.\\nDelorme, suitor of Madame Ro-\\nland, 231.\\nDelpeche, dramatist, 216.\\nDemon tchery, suitor of Madame\\nRoland, 320, 321, 335.\\nDe Pauw, 2S6.\\nDescartes, 155.\\nDesmarteau, engraver, 191.\\nDesmoulins, Camille, 153.\\nDesportes, Madame, 239, 240,241.\\nDesportes, Mademoiselle, 242,\\n245, 248, 249, 317, 318, 319,\\n369-\\nDiderot, 149, 335.\\nDillon, 112.\\nDion, 359.\\nDiogenes, 337.\\nDon Quixote, romance of, 142.\\nDoucet (M. Marchand), tutor\\nof Madame Roland, 51, 70, 133.\\nDuport, musician, 214.\\n^lisee. Father, 2S8.\\nEngland, Madame Roland s visit\\nto, 359-\\nFaviferes, Madame de, 103, 129,\\n301, Z ^l-\\nFavieres, M. de, 303.\\nFavonius, 24.\\nFenelon, 64, 67.\\nFlechier, 286.\\nFleury, Abbe, 142.\\nFloquet, composer, 221.\\nFolard, the Chevalier de, 142.\\nFouquier-Tinville, 30.\\nGarat, Minister of the Interior,\\n4S 366-367.\\nGarat, rector of St. Bartholomew,\\n48, 84.\\nGardanne, Dr., his courtship of\\nMadame Roland, 239-250.\\nGarve, Moreau de la, censor-\\nroyal, 340.\\nGauchat, Abb6, 148.\\nGensonne, Girondin deputy, in.\\nGertrude, Sister, nun of the Con-\\ngregation, 98.\\nGery, Abbe, Jesuitical advances of,\\n116-117.\\nGibert, friend of Pache, 313-316.\\nGirondins, the, their enthusiasm\\nfor classic times and worthies,\\n13; 17, 20, 30; execution of,\\n368. _\\nGracchi, the, 193.\\nGrammont, Duchesse de, quoted,\\n29.\\nGrand, Abbe le, 167-168.\\nGreece, reflections on, 160.\\nGuerin, musician, 214.\\nGuibal, painter, anecdote of, 46.\\nH.\\nHangard, Mademoiselle d 1S6,\\n1S7, 329.\\nHannache, Mademoiselle d sa-", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0457.jp2"}, "420": {"fulltext": "378\\nIndex\\ntirical account of, i35-i;;7; visit\\nof to Versailles, 157-158 340.\\nHaudry, fer7nier-gcneral^ 200,\\n204.\\nHaudry, the younger, 200, 206,\\n207.\\nHebert, iii.\\nHeloise, the, of Rousseau, 272.\\nHelvetius, doctrine of, 156, 210.\\nHenriot, General, career of, 113.\\nHistorical Notes, Madame Ro-\\nland s, 21, 24, 25, 26 37-38.\\nIrabert, author of Judgment of\\nParis, 216, 217, 219.\\nJ.\\nJnrdin du Roi, gi, 100.\\nJar din des Plantes^ 23, 91.\\nJarnowich, musician, 214.\\nJay, Abb6 le, household of, 135-\\n136 death of, 141.\\nJeauket, Abbe, 210-212.\\nJesuits, the, doctrine of, 155.\\nJollain, painter, 191.\\nJoseph, the Emperor, his envy of\\nLyons, 357.\\nLablancherie, Pahin de, literary\\nadventurer and suitor of Ma-\\ndame Roland, 222, 236, 237,\\n239 proposal and conge of,\\n327-333-\\nLa Harpe, eulogy of, on Catinat,\\n298.\\nLamotte, the demoiselles de, 185,\\n18S, 1S9.\\nLanglois, Abb^, 124.\\nLanglois, artist, cameo of Madame\\nRoland by, 152.\\nLanthenas, journalist and member\\nof Convention, 354.\\nLarive, actor, 327.\\nLavacquerie, jailer at Sainte Pe-\\nlagic, 22.\\nLazowski, Polish political adven-\\nturer, 364.\\nLegrand, Abbe, 271, 272.\\nLempereur, Madame, conjugal\\nhappiness of, 230.\\nLepine, Madame, 213, 214, 215,\\n222.\\nLepine, painter, 191.\\nLille, Abbe de, 298.\\nLocke, John, 67, 143.\\nLouis XV., 194.\\nLouis XVL, 36S Ko and s opinion\\nas to sentence of, ibid.\\nM.\\nMacaulay, Catherine, historian,\\n366.\\nMaimbourg, 142.\\nMaintenon, Madame de, letters of,\\n118.\\nMalebranche, 155, 197, 198.\\nMarat, 279.\\nMarchand M. Doucet Ma-\\ndame Roland s tutor, 51, 70, 133.\\nMarie Antoinette, 16.\\nMassillon, 286, 287.\\nMaupeou, Chancellor, parliament\\nof, 160.\\nMaupertuis, 169.\\nMeudon, excursions to, 179-185;\\n258.\\nM^zeray, his history of France,\\n134-135; i43._\\nMichelet, his opinion of Roland s\\nLetters, 345.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0458.jp2"}, "421": {"fulltext": "Index\\n379\\nMichon, Mademoiselle, proposes\\non behalf of the butcher, 228-\\n229.\\nMignard, music-master, 53 132-\\n133 proposes marriage, 223-\\n224.\\nMirabeau, 326, 340.\\nMissa, Dr., 196, 197, 198.\\nMontaigne, 280.\\nMontesquieu, 143, 205, 300.\\nMontpensier, Mademoiselle de,\\nMemoirs of, 60.\\nMopinot, counsellor, 318.\\nMore, Genevese watchmaker, 169.\\nMorel, Abbe, confessor of Madame\\nRoland, 148, 166, 167.\\nMorville, Mademoiselle, 214.\\nMountain, political faction of the,\\nno, 354,371-\\nMozon, dancing master, 53, 133\\noffers himself and is dismissed,\\n224.\\nN.\\nNecker, Madame, 208.\\nNicole, moral essays of, 142.\\nNoel, Abbe, 60.\\nNollet, 169.\\nO.\\nOrleans, Pere d Madame Roland\\nstudies writings of, 134.\\nP.\\nPache, Mayor of Paris, 316.\\nParadelle, Abbe, 212.\\nPascal, 143.\\nPenault, Madame, 201, 202, 203.\\nPerdu, counsellor, satirical por-\\ntrait of, 1S6-187.\\nPere Duchesne, Madame Re-\\nland denounced by, 18 113.\\nPetion, Girondin deputy, death\\nof, 374-\\nPhilopoemen, Madame Roland\\ncompares herself with, 73.\\nPhlipon, Gatien, father of Mad-\\name Roland, introduced and\\ndescribed, 39-41 death of,\\n361.\\nPhlipon, Madame Roland s grand-\\nmother, loi her character and\\nhousehold, 102-104; iig, 120,\\n121, 124, 126, 199.\\nPhocion, 17, 160, 290, 359.\\nPigale, painter, 191, 213.\\nPiron, critique of, on the opera,\\n221.\\nPlatiere, Clos de la, family estate\\nof Roland, 357.\\nPlatiere, Madame de la, mother\\nof Roland, 356, 357.\\nPluche, Madame Roland studies\\nworks of, 134.\\nPlutarch, influence of on French\\nRevolution, 13-15 21\\nLives of, first read by\\nMadame Roland, 64 227, 273.\\nPompey, 24.\\nPope, Alexander, 192.\\nPrivate Memoirs, Madame Ro-\\nland s, how written, 17-27,\\nPuffendorf, 209.\\nPuisieux, Madame de, 212, 217,\\n340-\\nR.\\nRabbe, Father, 318.\\nRaynal, Abbe, 149, 286.\\nR6aumur, 169.\\nRivard, works of, attract Madame\\nRoland to geometry, 169-170.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0459.jp2"}, "422": {"fulltext": "380\\nInd\\nRobespierre, in.\\nRoland, Madame, influenced by\\nPlutarch, 13-15 heroine of the\\nRevolution, 16; works of, how\\nwritten, 17-27 removal of to\\nthe Conciergerie, 2S trial and\\ncondemnation of, 29-32 (and\\n370-372) death of, 33.\\nRoland de la Platiere, 25, 171,\\n208, 220 description of, 322-\\n325 333-334 his courtship of\\nMadame Roland, 343-350 mar-\\nriage of, 351 355; residence of\\nat Lyons and Villefranche, 356-\\n357 deputed to Paris by Lyons\\nmunicipality, 359; Lavater on,\\n360; 361,362; the truth in re-\\ngard to his application for letters\\nof nobility, 363, 364 death of,\\n373-\\nRoUin, studied by Madame Ro-\\nland, 134.\\nRotisset, Mademoiselle, 103.\\nRoude, Madame, 124.\\nRougemont, king s lieutenant, 340.\\nRousseau, 27, 209, 210, 272, 273,\\n299.\\nRozain, suitor of Madame Roland,\\n234-235-\\nSainte Pelagie, prison of, 20, 22,\\n23. 24, 25.\\nSaint-Lette, M. de, quoted, 38\\n320-322. 333, 334; death of,\\n335-\\nSaint Vallier, M. de, benefaction\\nof, ^Z1-\\nSaint Victor, the monk of, confes-\\nsor at the Congregation, S3-84\\ndeath of, 147.\\nSales, St. Frangois de, 117, iiS.\\nSansculottism, affectations of, 327.\\nex\\nSanson, the executioner, 33.\\nScarron, Roman Comique of,\\n60.\\nScipio, 193.\\nSeguin, treasurer of Duke of Or-\\nleans, 341.\\nSeptember, days of, character-\\nized, no.\\nSevelinges, M. de, suitor of Ma-\\ndame Roland, 321, 334-339.\\nSevigne, Madame de, epigram of,\\nquoted, 38; letters of, ii8.\\nSidney, Algernon, 359.\\nSocrates, 28, 160, 359.\\nSolon, 17.\\nSoucy, chateau of, visits to, 201-\\n205.\\nSpinoza, 156.\\nStoics, doctrine of, 155.\\nSwitzerland, Madame Roland\\nvisits, 359.\\nTaboral, young painter, Madame\\nRoland s girlish fancy for, 65.\\nTacitus, 366.\\nTasso, 64-65.\\nThomson, James, 21; his Sea-\\nsons quoted. 100.\\nToleration, Treatise on, 14S.\\nTribunal, the Revolutionary, func-\\ntions of, 115.\\nTrude, cousin of Madame Roland,\\ninfatuation of, for her, 309-312\\n316, 317,332.\\nTrude, Madame, 266 character of,\\n308; 312, 316,317, 369.\\nU.\\nUnited States, Madame Roland\\nliopes her friends have fled to\\nthe, 113.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0460.jp2"}, "423": {"fulltext": "Index\\n381\\nV.\\nVase, M., literary reunions of,\\n215-220.\\nVelly, Ahbi, 143.\\nVersailles, visit to, 157-159.\\nVertot, Abbe de, 134.\\nVincennes, visit to, 340-342\\n343-\\nVoltaire, 66; poems of, 142; 341.\\nVoiiglans, M. de, 1S9, ig^.\\nW.\\nWatrin, music master, 53.\\nX.\\nXenophon, writings of, 313.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0461.jp2"}, "424": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0462.jp2"}, "425": {"fulltext": "HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF THE\\nEMPEROR\\nALEXANDER I.\\nAND THE COURT OF RUSSIA\\nBy Mme. La Comtesse de ChoiseuUOouffier.\\nTranslated from the original French by MARY BERENICE PATTERSON.\\ni2mo, gilt top, deckle edges. Illustrated, $1.50.\\nThe author of this volume was an intimate friend of Alexander and an ardent sup-\\nporter of his foreign and domestic policy. When Napoleon entered Russia she was pre-\\nsented to him, and her pages contain a lifelike and characteristic picture of the Little\\nCorporal. The book is full of bright, witty sayings, and presents a remarkably true\\nportrait of Alexander, who occupied during the first quarter of the nineteenth century as\\npre-eminent a position in the world of diplomacy as did Napoleon in military affairs.\\nOnly two copies of the original of this work are known to exist from one of which the\\npresent translation has been made.\\nChicago Chronicle.\\nThe author s admiration for Alexander is boundless, but this very enthusiasm\\ngives a more vivid picture of the man than less impassioned words could convey.\\nOutlook, New York.\\nThe work was written many years ago, but it was written by one who knew\\nfrom the inside, both in Russia and in France, the history which she narrated.\\nHer book has long been a mine of wealth to all historians dealing with the period\\nof Alexander s reign, and, indeed, with European history in the early part of this\\ncentury, especially to Lamartine, who drew liberally from it in his Histoire de\\nRussie. Novelists have also found the book useful; Dumas, for instance, in\\nhis Maitre d Armes, owned his indebtedness to it.\\nLiterary Era, Philadelphia.\\nTime has not materially dulled the interest or staled the variety of Madame\\nChoiseul-GoufHer s picturesque and substantial book; and we are glad to see it\\nthus revived in a form which should give it a fresh lease of life with a new public.\\nThe portrait it paints of Alexander I., while not strictly in accord with the wider\\nverdict of history, has its special features of truth and grace while the charm\\nand animation of the author s pictures of the events she saw and the circles she\\nmoved in are undeniable.\\nNew York Times Saturday Review.\\nThe chief charm of the book will be found to lie in the intimate personal pic-\\ntures in which it abounds The book naturallv touches with much detail upon\\nthe political events of the time, the terrible sufferings endured by the French\\nduring their retreat, and all the happenings of those stirring days, but the book is\\nmost interesting as giving a vivid picture of one to whom all the world seemed\\ndevoted. The memoir is so picturesquely and intimately written as to leave a\\nstrong impression on tlie reader s mind.\\nFOR SALE BY BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY, OR SENT POST-PAID\\nON RECEIPT OF PRICE BY THE PUBLISHERS,\\nA. C. McCLURG CO., CHICAGO.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0463.jp2"}, "426": {"fulltext": "By Mrs. Elizabeth W. Latimer\\nSpain in the Nineteenth Century. Handsomely illustrated. 8vo.\\n$2.50.\\nWith regret one notes that Ehzabeth Wormeley Latimer s Spain in the Kine-\\nteenth Century is to be the last of her excellent series of Nineteenth Century\\nHistories. We have come to look upon Mrs. Latimer as quite the most delightful\\npurveyor of historical gossip to be found anywhere. In successive volumes she has\\nsketched the external events of the century in France, Russia, England, Africa,\\nItaly, and Spain aiid this final volume is perhaps the most timely and the most\\nneeded of all. The Chicago Tribune.\\nItaly in the Nineteenth Century. Handsomely illustrated with\\ntwenty-four full-pag-e half-tone portraits. 8vo. 436 pages. $2.50.\\nItaly in the Nineteenth Century is as fascinating as a romantic novel. Irdeed\\nevery chapter is a romance from history made almost in our own day. The Press.,\\nPhiladelphia.\\nEurope in Africa in the Nineteenth Century. Handsomely\\nillustrated with twenty-three full-page half-tone portraits. 8vo.\\n456 pages. $2.50.\\nElizabeth Wormeley Latimer has made a valuable condensation of the history of\\nEuropean exploration and conquest. She calls her book a volume of short yarns,\\nbut this modest charac:erization does not do justice to the skilful summing up of\\nachievement in the Dark Continent. The Advance.\\nEngland in the Nineteenth Century. Handsomely illustrated\\nwith twenty-five full-page half-tone portraits. 8vo. 452 pages.\\n$2.50.\\nWhat a lot she knows! And how brightly she tells it all We seem to be reading\\ncontemporaneous confidential letters to an intimate friend, written not for publica-\\ntion by any means, the style is too good for that, but simply because the writer\\nis interested, and never imagines the reader to be otherwise. The Mail and\\nExpress, New York.\\nRussia and Turkey in the Nineteenth Century. Handsomely\\nillustrated with twenty-three full-page half-tone portraits. 8vo.\\n413 pages. $2.50.\\nThere is not a yawn in its four hundred pages. The author deals with the endless\\nstrife between the Ottoman and the Russian in the mood of a painter; and her word-\\npainting is always bright and often brilliant and powerful. Chicago Evening Post.\\nFrance in the Nineteenth Century, 1830=1890. Handsomely\\nillustrated with twenty-two full-page half-tone portraits. 8vo.\\n450 pages. $2.50.\\nMrs. Latimer has written an extremely interesting book, which vi ill be read with\\neagerness. The Daily Advertiser, Boston.\\nMy Scrap Book of the French Revolution. Handsomely\\nillustrated. 8vo. $2.50.\\nMrs. Latimer has brought together an unusually good collection of facts, descrip-\\ntive passages, extracts from rare letters and manuscripts, clippings from higher-grade\\nm.agazines, anecdotes that are never snatched unfeehngly from their appropriate set\\ntings, and translations not only of noteworthy French articles, but of verses by such\\npoets as Victor Hugo and Franijois Coppee. The Livitig Age, Boston.\\nJudea, from Cyrus to Titus, 537 B.C. -70 A.D. Hand-\\nsomely illustrated. Svo. $2.50.\\nMrs. Latimer has made one innovation that will give to this record of far-off days\\nadded reality that is, she has from time to time reminded us of similar events that\\nhave recently occurred. She has not written in behalf of one or the other of the\\nschools of biblical critics but simply, directly, and eloquently for those who delight\\nin history.\\nSold hv booksellers generallv, or will he sent, postpaid, on receipt of\\nthe price, hy the publishers,\\nA. C. McCLURG CO., CHICAGO.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0464.jp2"}, "427": {"fulltext": "LAUREL-CROWNED LETTERS\\nBest Letters of Lord Chesterfield. With an Intro-\\nduction by Edward Gilpin Johnson.\\nBest Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.\\nWith an Introduction by Octave Thanet.\\nBest Letters of Horace Walpole. With an Intro\\nduction by Anna B. McMahan.\\nBest Letters of Madame de S^vigne. With an\\nIntroduction by Edward Playfair Anderson.\\nBest Letters of Charles Lamb. With an Introduction\\nby Edward Gilpin Johnson.\\nBitST Letters of Percy Bysshe Shelley. With an\\nIntroduction by Shirley C. Hughson.\\nBest Letters of William Cowper. Witli an Intro-\\nduction by Anna B, McMahan.\\nHandsomely printed from new plates, on fine laid paper, i6mo,\\ncloth, with gilt tops, price per volume, ^x.oo.\\nIn half calf or half morocco, per volume, $2.50.\\nAmid the great flood of ephemeral literature that pours from\\nthe press, it is well to be recalled by such publications as the\\nLaurel-Crowned Letters to books that have won an abiding\\nplace in the classical literature of the world. The Independent^\\nNeiv York,\\nThe Laurel-Crowned Series recommends itself to all lovers\\nof good literature. The selection is beyond criticism, and puts\\nbefore the reader the very best literature in most attractive and\\nconvenient form. The size of the volumes, the good paper, the\\nclear type and the neat binding are certainly worthy of all praise.\\nPublic Opinion, Washingtoii.\\nThese Laurel-Crowned volumes are little gems in their\\nway, and just the books to pick up at odd times and at intervals\\n0/ waiting. Herald, Chicago.\\nSold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by\\nA. C McCLURG CO., Publishers,\\nCHICAGO.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0465.jp2"}, "428": {"fulltext": "lRSAo ^S", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0466.jp2"}, "429": {"fulltext": "", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0467.jp2"}, "430": {"fulltext": "s xy r -^my^^ -s rs-\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2^l^tijy.^^\\n4 o\\ni\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0%.o^", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0468.jp2"}, "431": {"fulltext": "1% cp^.^iv:.% cp^v^:,;-^ o^^.^:\\n^.T.s^- .0\\nS\\nS\\n.V 9x ^0,\\nI r\\n^.o^\\n(0\\n^^O^\\n2^ z", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0469.jp2"}, "432": {"fulltext": "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS i\\n030 268 377 3.", "height": "2680", "width": "1552", "jp2-path": "privatememoirsof00rola_0470.jp2"}}