You wished to hear of George Sand, or as they say in Paris, "Madame
Sand." I find that all we had heard of her was true in the outline; I
had supposed it might be exaggerated....
It is the custom to go and call on those to whom you bring letters,
and push yourself upon their notice; thus you must go quite ignorant
whether they are disposed to be cordial. My name is always murdered by
the foreign servants who announce me. I speak very bad French; only
lately have I had sufficient command of it to infuse some of my
natural spirit in my discourse. This has been a great trial to me, who
am eloquent and free in my own tongue, to be forced to feel my
thoughts struggling in vain for utterance.
The servant who admitted me was in the picturesque costume of a
peasant, and as Madame Sand afterwards told me, her goddaughter, whom
she had brought from her province. She announced me as "Madame
Salere," and returned into the ante-room to tell me, "Madame says she
does not know you." I began to think I was doomed to rebuff among the
crowd who deserve it. However, to make assurance sure, I said, "Ask if
she has received a letter from me." As I spoke Madame Sand opened the
door, and stood looking at me an instant. Our eyes met. I never shall
forget her look at that moment. The doorway made a frame for her
figure; she is large but well formed. She was dressed in a robe of
dark-violet silk, with a black mantle on her shoulders, her beautiful
hair dressed with the greatest taste; her whole appearance and
attitude, in its simple and ladylike dignity, presented an almost
ludicrous contrast to the vulgar caricature idea of George Sand. Her
face is a very little like the portraits, but much finer; the upper
part of the forehead and eyes are beautiful, the lower strong and
masculine, expressive of a hardy temperament and strong passions, but
not in the least coarse; the complexion olive, and the air of the
whole head Spanish (as indeed she was born at Madrid, and is only on
one side of French blood). All these I saw at a glance; but what fixed
my attention was the expression of _goodness_, nobleness, and power
that pervaded the whole,--the truly human heart and nature that shone
in the eyes. As our eyes met, she said, "C'est vous," and held out her
hand. I took it, and went into her little study; we sat down a moment;
then I said, "Il me fait de bien de vous voir," and I am sure I said
it with my whole heart, for it made me very happy to see such a woman,
so large and so developed in character, and everything that _is_ good
in it so _really_ good. I loved, shall always love her.
She looked away, and said, "Ah! vous m'avez ecrit une lettre
charmante." This was all the preliminary of our talk, which then went
on as if we had always known one another.... Her way of talking is
just like her writing,--lively, picturesque, with an undertone of deep
feeling, and the same happiness in striking the nail on the head every
now and then with a blow.... I heartily enjoyed the sense of so rich,
so prolific, so ardent a genius. I liked the woman in her, too, very
much; I never liked a woman better.... For the rest, she holds her
place in the literary and social world of France like a man, and seems
full of energy and courage in it. I suppose she has suffered much, but
she has also enjoyed and done much.