PARIS--ARAGO, LAFAYETTE, MM. BOUVARD, POISSON, LACROIX, &c., MARQUISE DE
LA PLACE, DUPIN, F. COOPER--LEGITIMISTE SOCIETY--MAJENDIE--VISIT BARON
LOUIS--LETTER FROM LAFAYETTE.
My health was never good at Chelsea, and as I had been working too hard,
I became so ill, that change of air and scene were thought absolutely
necessary for me. We went accordingly to Paris; partly, because it was
near home, as Somerville could not remain long with us at a time, and,
partly, because we thought it a good opportunity to give masters to the
girls, which we could not afford to do in London. When we arrived, I was
so weak, that I always remained in bed writing till one o'clock, and
then, either went to sit in the Tuileries gardens, or else received
visits. All my old friends came to see me, Arago, the first. He was more
engaged in politics than science, and as party spirit ran very high at
that time, he said he would send tickets of admission to the Chambers
every time there was likely to be an "orage." When I told him what I was
writing, he gave me some interesting memoirs, and lent me a mass of
manuscripts, with leave to make extracts, which were very useful to me.
General de La Fayette came to town on purpose to invite Somerville and
me to visit him at La Grange, where we found him living like a
patriarch, surrounded by his family to the fourth generation. He was
mild, highly distinguished, and noble in his manners; his conversation
was exceedingly interesting, as he readily spoke of the Revolution in
which he had taken so active a part. Among other anecdotes, he
mentioned, that he had sent the principal key of the Bastile to General
Washington, who kept it under a glass case. He was much interested to
hear that I could, in some degree, claim a kind of relationship with
Washington, whose mother was a Fairfax. Baron Fairfax, the head of the
family, being settled in America, had joined the independent party at
the Revolution.
The two daughters of La Fayette, who had been in prison with him at
Olmütz, were keen politicians, and discussed points with a warmth of
gesticulation which amused Somerville and me, accustomed to our cold
still manners. The grand-daughters, Mesdames de Rémusat and de
Corcelles, were kind friends to me all the time I was in Paris.
M. Bouvard, whom we had known in London, was now Astronomer-Royal of
France, and he invited us to dine with him at the Observatory. The table
was surrounded by savants, who complimented me on the "Mechanism of the
Heavens." I sat next M. Poisson, who advised me in the strongest manner
to write a second volume, so as to complete the account of La Place's
works; and he afterwards told Somerville, that there were not twenty men
in France who could read my book. M. Arago, who was of the party, said,
he had not written to thank me for my book, because he had been reading
it, and was busy preparing an account of it for the Journal of the
Institute. At this party, I made the acquaintance of the celebrated
astronomer, M. Pontécoulant, and soon after, of M. La Croix, to whose
works I was indebted for my knowledge of the highest branches of
mathematics. M. Prony, and M. Poinsot, came to visit me, the latter, an
amiable and gentlemanly person; both gave me a copy of their works.
We had a long visit from M. Biot, who seemed really glad to renew our
old friendship. He was making experiments on light, though much out of
health; but when we dined with him and Madame Biot, he forgot for the
time his bad health, and resumed his former gaiety. They made us promise
to visit them at their country-house when we returned to England, as it
lay on our road.
To my infinite regret, La Place had been dead some time; the Marquise
was still at Arcueil, and we went to see her. She received us with the
greatest warmth, and devoted herself to us the whole time we were in
Paris. As soon as she came to town, we went to make a morning visit; it
was past five o'clock; we were shown into a beautiful drawing-room, and
the man-servant, without knocking at the door, went into the room which
was adjacent, and we heard her call out, "J'irai la voir! j'irai la
voir!" and when the man-servant came out, he said, "Madame est désolée,
mais elle est en chemise." Madame de La Place was exceedingly agreeable,
the life of every party, with her cheerful gay manner. She was in great
favour with the Royal Family, and was always welcome when she went to
visit them in an evening. She received once a week, and her
grand-daughter, only nineteen, lovely and graceful, was an ornament to
her parties. She was already married to M. de Colbert, whose father fell
at Corunna.
No one was more attentive to me than Dr. Milne-Edwards, the celebrated
natural historian. He was the first Englishman who was elected a member
of the Institute. I was indebted to him for the acquaintance of MM.
Ampère and Becquerel. I believe Dr. Edwards was at that time writing on
Physiology, and, in conversation, I happened to mention that the wild
ducks in the fens, at Lincolnshire, always build their nests on high
tufts of grass, or reeds, to save them from sudden floods; and that Sir
John Sebright had raised wild ducks under a hen, which built their nests
on tufts of grass as if they had been in the fens. Dr. Edwards begged of
me to inquire for how many generations that instinct lasted.
Monsieur and Madame Gay Lussac lived in the Jardin des Plantes. Madame
was only twenty-one, exceedingly pretty, and well-educated; she read
English and German, painted prettily, and was a musician. She told me it
had been computed, that if all the property in France were equally
divided among the population, each person would have 150 francs a-year,
or four sous per day; so that if anyone should spend eight sous a-day,
some other person would starve.
The Duchesse de Broglie, Madame de Staël's daughter, called, and invited
us to her receptions, which were the most brilliant in Paris. Every
person of distinction was there, French or foreign, generally four or
five men to one woman. The Duchess was a charming woman, both handsome
and amiable, and received with much grace. The Duke was, then, Minister
for Foreign Affairs. They were remarkable for their domestic virtues,
as well as for high intellectual cultivation. The part the Duke took in
politics is so well known, that I need not allude to it here.
At some of these parties I met with Madame Charles Dupin, whom I liked
much. When I went to return her visit, she received us in her bedroom.
She was a fashionable and rather elegant woman, with perfect manners.
She invited us to dinner to meet her brother-in-law, the President of
the Chamber of Deputies. He was animated and witty, very fat, and more
ugly than his brother, but both were clever and agreeable. The President
invited me to a very brilliant ball he gave, but as it was on a Sunday I
could not accept the invitation. We went one evening with Madame Charles
Dupin to be introduced to Madame de Rumford. Her first husband,
Lavoisier, the chemist, had been guillotined at the Revolution, and she
was now a widow, but had lived long separated from her second husband.
She was enormously rich, and had a magnificent palace, garden, and
conservatory, in which she gave balls and concerts. At all the evening
parties in Paris the best bedroom was lighted up for reception like the
other rooms. Madame de Rumford was capricious and ill-tempered; however,
she received me very well, and invited me to meet a very large party at
dinner. Mr. Fenimore Cooper, the American novelist, with his wife and
daughter, were among the guests. I found him extremely amiable and
agreeable, which surprised me, for when I knew him in England he was so
touchy that it was difficult to converse with him without giving him
offence. He was introduced to Sir Walter Scott by Sir James Mackintosh,
who said, in presenting him, "Mr. Cooper, allow me to introduce you to
your great forefather in the art of fiction"; "Sir," said Cooper, with
great asperity, "I have no forefather." Now, though his manners were
rough, they were quite changed. We saw a great deal of him, and I was
frequently in his house, and found him perfectly liberal; so much so,
that he told us the faults of his country with the greatest frankness,
yet he was the champion of America, and hated England.
None were kinder to us than Lord and Lady Granville. Lady Granville
invited us to all her parties; and when Somerville was obliged to return
to England, she assured him that in case of any disturbance, we should
find a refuge in the Embassy. I went to some balls at the Tuileries with
Madame de Lafayette Lasteyrie and her sister. The Queen Amélie was tall,
thin, and very fair, not pretty, but infinitely more regal than
Adelaide, Queen of England, at that time. The Royal Family used to walk
about in the streets of Paris without any attendants.
Sir Sydney Smith was still in Paris trying to renew the order of the
Knights Templars. Somerville and I went with him one evening to a
reception at the Duchesse d'Abrantés, widow of Junot. She was short,
thick, and not in the least distinguished-looking, nor in any way
remarkable. I had met her at the Duchesse de Broglie's, where she talked
of Junot as if he had been in the next room. Sir Sydney was quite
covered with stars and crosses, and I was amused with the way he threw
his cloak back to display them as he handed me to the carriage.
I met with Prince Kosloffsky everywhere; he was the fattest man I ever
saw, a perfect Falstaff. However, his intellect was not smothered, for
he would sit an hour with me talking about mathematics, astronomy,
philosophy, and what not. He was banished from Russia, and as he had
been speaking imprudently about politics in Paris, he was ordered to go
elsewhere; still, he lingered on, and was with me one morning when Pozzo
di Borgo, the Russian Ambassador called. Pozzo di Borgo said to me, "Are
you aware that Prince Kosloffsky has left Paris?" "Oh yes," I said, "I
regret it much." He took the hint, and went away directly.
I had hitherto been entirely among the Liberal set. How it came that I
was invited to dine with M. Héricourt de Thury, I do not remember. M. de
Thury was simple in his manners, and full of information; he had been
Director of the Mines under Napoleon, and had charge of the Public
Buildings under Louis XVIII. and Charles X., but resigned his charges at
the Revolution of July. At this time the Duchesse de Berry was confined
in the citadel of Blaye. She had a strong party in Paris, who furiously
resented the treatment she met with. M. de Thury was a moderate
Legitimiste, but Madame was ultra. When I happened to mention that we
had been staying with Lafayette, at La Grange, she was horrified, and
begged of me not to talk politics, or mention where we had been, or else
some of her guests would leave the room. The ladies of that party would
not dance or go to any gay party; they had a part of the theatre
reserved for themselves; they wore high dark dresses with long sleeves,
called "Robes de Résistance," and even the Legitimiste newspapers
appeared with black edges. They criticised those who gave balls, and
Lady Granville herself did not escape their censure. The marriage of the
Duchesse de Berry to the Marchese Lucchesi Palli made an immense
sensation; it was discussed in the salons in a truly French manner; it
was talked of in the streets; the Robes de Résistance were no longer
worn, and the Legitimiste newspapers went out of mourning.
All parties criticised the British Administration in Ireland. A lady
sitting by me at a party said, "No wonder so many English prefer France
to so odious a country as England, where the people are oppressed, and
even cabbages are raised in hotbeds." I laughed, and said, "I like
England very well, for all that." An old gentleman, who was standing
near us, said, "Whatever terms two countries may be on, it behoves us
individuals to observe good manners;" and when I went away, this
gentleman handed me to the carriage, though I had never seen him before.
The Marquise de La Place was commissioned by Dr. Majendie to invite me
to meet her and Madame Gay Lussac at dinner. I was very unwilling to go;
for I detested the man for his wanton cruelties, but I found I could not
refuse on account of these ladies. There was a large party of _savants_,
agreeable and gentlemanly; but Majendie himself had the coarsest
manners; his conversation was horridly professional; many things were
said and subjects discussed not fit for women to hear. What a contrast
the refined and amiable Sir Charles Bell formed with Majendie! Majendie
and the French school of anatomy made themselves odious by their
cruelty, and failed to prove the true anatomy of the brain and nerves,
while Sir Charles Bell did succeed, and thus made one of the greatest
physiological discoveries of the age without torturing animals, which
his gentle and kindly nature abhorred. To Lady Bell I am indebted for a
copy of her husband's Life. She is one of my few dear and valued friends
who are still alive.
* * * * *
While in Paris, I lost my dear mother. She died at the age of ninety,
attended by my brother Henry. She was still a fine old lady, with few
grey hairs. The fear of death was almost hereditary in the Charters
family, and my mother possessed it in no small degree; yet when it came,
she was perfectly composed and prepared for it. I have never had that
fear; may God grant that I may be as calm and prepared as she was.
* * * * *
I was in better health, but still so delicate that I wrote in bed till
one o'clock. The "Connexion of the Physical Sciences" was a tedious
work, and the proof sheets had to be sent through the Embassy.
M. Arago told me that David, the sculptor, wished to make a medallion
of me; so he came and sat an hour with me, and pleased me by his
intelligent conversation and his enthusiasm for art. A day was fixed,
and he took my profile on slate with pink wax, in a wonderfully short
time. He made me a present of a medallion in bronze, nicely framed, and
two plaster casts for my daughters.
* * * * *
I frequently went to hear the debates in the Chambers, and occasionally
took my girls, as I thought it was an excellent lesson in French. As
party spirit ran very high, the scenes that occurred were very amusing.
A member, in the course of his speech, happening to mention the word
"liberté," the President Dupin rang the bell, called out "Stop, à propos
de liberté," ... jumped down from his seat, sprung into the tribune,
pushed out the deputy, and made a long speech himself.
The weather being fine, we made excursions in the neighbourhood. At
Sèvres I saw two pieces of china; on one of them was a gnu, on the other
a zebra. Somerville had told me that soon after his return from his
African expedition, he had given the original drawings to M. Brongniart
then director of the manufactory.
Baron Louis invited me to spend a day with him and his niece,
Mademoiselle de Rigny, at his country house, not far from Paris. I went
with Madame de la Place, and we set out early, to be in time for
breakfast. The road lay through the Forest of Vincennes. The Baron's
park, which was close to the village of Petit-Brie, was very large, and
richly wooded; there were gardens, hot-houses, and all the luxuries of
an English nobleman's residence. The house was handsome, with a
magnificent library; I remarked on the table the last numbers of the
"Edinburgh" and "Quarterly" Reviews. Both the Baron and his niece were
simple and kind. I was greatly taken with both; the Baron had all the
quiet elegance of the old school, and his niece had great learning and
the manners of a woman of fashion. She lived in perfect retirement,
having suffered much in the time of the Revolution. They had both
eventful lives; for Baron Louis, who had been in orders, and Talleyrand
officiated at the Champs de Mars when Louis the Sixteenth took the oath
to maintain the constitution. Field-Marshal Macdonald, Duc de Tarante,
and his son-in-law, the Duc de Massa; Admiral de Rigny, Minister of
Marine; M. Barthe, Garde des Sceaux; and the Bouvards, father and son,
formed the party. After spending a most delightful and interesting day,
we drove to Paris in bright moonlight.
Our friends in Paris and at La Grange had been so kind to us that we
were very sad when we went to express our gratitude and take leave of
them. We only stayed two days at La Grange, and when we returned to
Paris, Somerville went home and my son joined us, when we made a rapid
tour in Switzerland, the only remarkable event of which was a singular
atmospheric phenomenon we saw on the top of the Grimsel. On the clouds
of vapour below us we saw our shadows projected, of giant proportions,
and each person saw his own shadow surrounded by a bright circle of
prismatic colours. It is not uncommon in mountain regions.
* * * * *
[General Lafayette and all his family were extremely kind to my
mother. He was her constant visitor, and we twice visited him at his
country house, La Grange. He wished to persuade my mother to go
there for some days, after our return from Switzerland, which we did
not accomplish. The General wrote the following letter to my father:--]
FROM LAFAYETTE TO DR. SOMERVILLE.
LA GRANGE, _31st October, 1833_.
MY DEAR SIR,
I waited to answer your kind letter, for the arrival of Mr.
Coke's[11] precious gift, which nobody could higher value, on every
account, than the grateful farmer on whom it has been bestowed. The
heifers and bull are beautiful; they have reached La Grange in the
best order, and shall be tenderly attended to.... It has been a
great disappointment not to see Mrs. Somerville and the young ladies
before their departure. Had we not depended on their kind visit, we
should have gone to take leave of them. They have had the goodness
to regret the impossibility to come before their departure. Be so
kind as to receive the affectionate friendship and good wishes of a
family who are happy in the ties of mutual attachment that bind us
to you and them.... Public interest is now fixed upon the Peninsula,
and while dynasties are at civil war, and despotic or _juste milieu_
cabinets seem to agree in the fear of a genuine development of
popular institutions, the matter for the friends of freedom is to
know how far the great cause of Europe shall be forwarded by these
royal squabbles.
We shall remain at La Grange until the opening of the session,
hoping that, notwithstanding your and the ladies' absence, your
attention will not be quite withdrawn from our interior affairs--the
sympathy shall be reciprocal.
With all my heart, I am
Your affectionate friend,
LAFAYETTE.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 11: Mr. Coke, of Holkham, afterwards Earl of Leicester.]