t situations incompatible with his original design, he could not refrain M. de Musset's work, taking up Rousseau's story at the period to which the Confessions brought it down, contains the fullest and most authentic accounts that have yet appeared of his remaining years. There is a long and rather a tedious history of his quarrel with Hume. The writer takes part with Rousseau, and labours hard to prove that he had ample grounds to justify his suspicions of Hume's sincerity; but the main fact on which he relies is, that Hume, before setting out for England with Jean-Jaques, had supplied a passage to Horace Walpole's pretended letter from the King of Prussia, then under composition in the Parisian circles, and that Rousseau was soon made acquainted with the fact of his friend and protector having co-operated in the sneer.* That Hume did so, is admitted by himself; but with this sin The following was Hume's contribution :-" Si vous persistez à vous creuser l'esprit pour trouver de nouveaux malheurs, choisissez-les. Je suis roi. Je puis vous en procurer au gré de vos souhaits. Je cesserai de vous persécuter, quand vous cesserez de mettre votre gloire à l'être." [Since you persist in searching your mind, in order to discover new misfortunes, choose them for yourself. I am a king, and can provide you with them according to your wishes. I will cease to persecute you, when you cease to pride yourself in being persecuted.] M. de Musset gives us to understand that this celebrated mauvaise plaisanterie was the joint production of Walpole, Hume, Helvetius, le Duc de Nivernois, D'Alembert, and Madame du Deffand.- -"Cette lettre," he adds, qui n'est pas un chef-d'œuvre pour être l'enfant de tant de gens d'esprit." gle exception his conduet, in the first instance, was in the highest degree generous and considerate. He brought Rousseau to England, where he supplied him with friends, had him comfortably settled, and procured him a pension from the crown-services, which might surely have cancelled a single and momentary indiscretion. But in the progress of the quarrel the historian acted below himself-he lost his temper. In his letters to Paris he heaped the most abusive epithets upon his ex-protegé, and finally had the extraordinary weakness to publish a statement of his wrongs, written with so much vehemence, that Messieurs D'Alembert and Suard, who translated it into French and superintended the publication, found it prudent to soften some of the expressions-an act of friendship for which Hume, in his cooler moments, thanked them. In reading the details of this affair, we have been particularly struck by one curious little coincidence. The great charge against Rousseau was, that his extravagant conduct and suspicions originated in the vaguest rumours and surmises. Yet the grave and philosophic David Hume appears to have been instigated on no better grounds to the chief imprudence he ever committed. He took it (or it was put) into his head, that the Confessions (commenced pending this quarrel) were expressly directed against him; and he determined to anticipate his calumniator. "Le silence a ses dangers (he says in a letter to Madame Boufflers); il compose maintenant un livre dans lequel il me déshonorera par ses mensonges atroces. Il écrit ses mémoires. Supposez qu'ils soient publiés après sa mort, ma justification perdra beaucoup de son authenticité."* And again, "Ce qui m'a déterminé à ne garder aucune mesure avec cet homme, c'est la certitude qu'il écrivait ses mémoires, et qu'il m'y faisait faire une belle figure."+ Tom. i. pp. 129, 144. Now it so happens that the Confessions break off precisely at the point of time preceding the transaction, which it was presumed was to have been a leading topic. Instead of venting his feelings upon recent occurrences, Jean Jaques was at that moment taking refuge from them in the remembrance of more pleasurable scenes-in recalling the adventures, and once more re-animating the buried hopes of his younger and better days, associated as they were with his boyish frolics, his glorious illusions, his rambles amidst the hills and lakes of his country, and with the still glowing images of the fair beings for whom his heart first sighed-in his vivid recollections of all which, he has contrived to throw so inexpressible a charm round his romantic story. The most interesting documents connected with this breach are the letters of Madame de Boufflers, who, having originally brought Hume and Rousseau together, and being now appealed to by them both, found herself called upon to interpose her friendly offices between the angry philosophers. Her letter to Hume, we consider to be, in point of * Silence has its dangers. He is now writing a book in which he will disgrace me by his atrocious falsehoods. He is composing his memoires. If they should be published after his death, my justification will, in a considerable degree, lose its authenticity. What made me resolve to keep no terms with that man, was the certainty that he has written his memoires, and that he has represented me in a fine light. tact, exaggeration, and talent, one of the most perfectly characteristic we have ever met, of the sex, the nation, and the era of the writer." It is far too long to insert; and we are reminded, that, like M. de Musset, we may already have dwelt too much upon this obsolete controversy. We cannot, however, suppress one remark in answer to the insinuation that Rousseau either had not suffered persecution, or, if he had, that he had provoked, that he might glory in it. This charge, which is more roundly asserted by Grimm and others, is utterly unfounded. Jean Jaques was a real and unwilling victim of his opinions. Instead of inviting persecution for his Emile (the first occasion upon which the vengeance of authority was levelled at him), he had taken the most scrupulous precautions to avert it. The lady of Marshal Luxembourg undertook to dispose of the manuscript, but the author, contrary to her earnest solicitations, insisted that it should not be printed in France. It was sent to Holland. A copy was soon after transmitted to Paris, to be there printed and published under the eye of the censor. The reasons for this do not appear: all that we can collect is, that there was in the whole affair a singular mixture of trick and mystery; but there is abundant evidence that Rousseau was not a party to it. When informed of it by M. de Malesherbes, the magistrate under whose authority the French edition was preparing, he instantly disavowed and protested against the proceeding. These facts, which had originally rested on Rousseau's statement, are verified by the certificate of M. de Malesherbes appended to the volumes before us; yet in disregard of all this, the prerogatives of despotism were put in force against Rousseau : a warrant to imprison him issued. He was roused from his bed at midnight by a timely warning of his danger, and to escape a gaol, precipitately fled from France. He was refused an asylum in his own country, where his book was excommunicated before a copy had been received. Wherever he went, the same fate attended the work and the author. He was successively hunted and pelted through Switzerland from one miserable canton to another, till, Frederick of Prussia compassionating him, he at length found a temporary shelter in the territories of a tolerant despot. All this might seem a very laughable affair It opens thus :-" Quelque raison que vous me puissiez dire, pour ne m'avoir pas instruite la première de l'étrange évènement qui occupe à cette heure l'Angleterre et la France." [Whatever reason you may allege for not having informed me, first of all, of the strange event which at present occupies the attention of England and France.] But she puts many points well and strongly. "Vous aurez ici un parti nombreux composé de tous ceux qui seront charmés de vous voir agir comme un homme ordinaire.-Mais que prétendez-vous faire des nouvelles informations dont vous chargez M. d'Holbach? vous n'avez pas dessein apparemment de rien écrire contre ce malheureux homme qui soit étranger à votre cause. Vous ne serez pas son délateur, après avoir été son protecteur. De semblables examens doivent précéder les liaisons, et non suivre les ruptures."-Tom. i. pp. 137-8. [You have here a numerous party consisting of those who will be delighted to see you act like an ordinary man.-What do you propose to do with the new information for which you blame M. d'Holbach? You do not, apparently, intend to write any thing against that unfortunate man, who is no party in your dispute. You will not become his accuser after being his protector. Such investigations should precede connexions, and not follow ruptures.] for the heartless coteries of Paris, but those who have any feeling for the privileges of the human mind, must pronounce it to have been unequivocal persecution. After Rousseau's return from England, he repaired to the Chateau de Trie, where the Prince of Conti afforded him an asylum. Here he for a while assumed the name of Renau, and announced "that he was dead to literature, and should never more read upon any subject that could re-excite his extinguished ideas." In an interesting private letter of the same period, now first published, he expresses a similar determination, and speaks of his indifference to "cette âere fumée de gloire qui fait pleurer." Botany, and the composition of his Confessions, were his only serious occupations. His friend M. du Peyrau coming to pass some time with him, "Jean Jaques le prie d'apporter des volans, voulant partager les momens de la journée entre ce jeu, les promenades, et les échecs." Tom. i. 162. He soon left Trie, the reason does not appear, and successively resided at Lyons, Chamberry, and Bourgoin till 1770, when he finally returned to Paris, where the authorities connived at his presence, on the condition that he should publish nothing more. He continued in Paris till 1778, living in a mean apartment in la Rue Plâtrière, upon a small annuity derived from the profits of his works, and his earnings as a music-copier, and manfully rejecting to the last all offers of loans or presents. About the middle of 1778, he yielded to the importunities of M. Girardin, and went to Ermenonville to superintend the education of his son. His death took place six weeks after. The details of the last ten years of Rousseau's life, collected from the accounts of several who had come into contact with him during that period, have struck us as the most interesting portion of M. de Musset's work; probably because the anecdotes and traits of character introduced in them had more novelty to us than those of his earlier history. There are occasional examples of the "old humour" breaking out, but these are greatly outweighed by the numerous testimonies to his simplicity, playfulness, sensibility, and his singular moderation whenever the merits of his rival came into discussion. One thing much insisted on, and which the reader of the Confessions would not have expected, is Rousseau's colloquial powers. Giving an account of one of his interviews with Madame D'Houdetot, he says, "Je trouvai, pour rendre les mouvements de mon cœur un langage vraiment digne d'eux. Ce fut la première et l'unique fois de ma vie, mais je fus sublime."* But here we have the concurring evidence of many, that nothing could surpass the fervour and eloquence of his ordinary conversation. The following is M. Dussaulx's account of a dinner-party made by him for Rousseau. On s'était rassemblé de bonne heure-Jean Jaques ne se fit pas trop attendre. A quelques nuages près, mon dieu! qu'il fut aimable ce jour-la, tantôt *To express the feelings of my heart, I employed language truly worthy of them. For the first and only time in my life I was sublime. enjoué, tantôt sublime. Avant le diner, il nous raconta quelques-unes des plus innocentes anecdotes consignées dans ses Confessions. Plusieurs d'entre nous les connaissaient déjà; mais il sut leur donner une phisiognomie nouvelle, et plus de mouvement encore que dans son livre. J'ose dire qu'il ne se connaissait pas lui-même, lorsqu'il prétendait que la nature lui avait refusé le talent de la parole; la solitude sans doute avait concentré ce talent en luimême; mais dans ces momens d'abandon, et lorsque rien ne l'offusquait, il débordait comme un torrent impétueux à qui rien ne résiste.....Il fut question de nos plus grands écrivains : abstraction faite de ses opinions particulières, il les caractérisa tous avec justesse, précision, surtout avec une impartialité dont nous fumes ravis. "Montaigne," nous dit-il, "ce premier philosophe Français, fút notre maître à tous. Sans lui peut-être nous n'aurions jamais eu ni Bayle ni Montesquieu. Quel homme," ajoutait-il, "que ce Michel Montaigne ! Outre la naïveté, la grâce, et l'énergie de son style inimitable, il avait des vues longues, et comme il l'a dit, l'esprit primesautier." Quand Jean-Jaques en fut à Voltaire, qui l'avait si indignement outragé, au lieu de récrimination, il se plut à rendre justice entière a sa fécondité inépuisable, à la diversité de ses talents. Quant à son caractère, il n'en dit que ces mots rémarquables : "Je ne sache point d'homme sur la terre dont les premiers mouvemens aient été plus beaux que les siens."* In the following also, considering the fate of the works and the man, we feel that there is something peculiarly touching. "On lui fit remarquer sur mes tablettes tous ses livres exposés sur le même rayon. Il s'émeut à cet aspect. Ah! les voilà, s'écrie-t-il, je les rencontre partout: il me semble qu'ils me poursuivent. Que ces gens-la m'ont fait de mal et de plaisir! Il s'en approche, il les frappe, et les caresse l'un après l'autre. Son Emile fut le plus maltraité, en père néanmoins. Que de veilles, que de tourmens il m'a coutés ! et pourquoi? pour m'exposer aux fureurs de l'envie, et de mes persécuteurs. Cet enfant, opprimé dès sa naissance, ne m'a jamais The party assembled carly. Jean-Jaques soon arrived. With the exception of a few cloudy moments, how amiable he appeared! Before dinner he related some of the most harmless anecdotes contained in his Confessions. They were already known to several of the party; but he gave them a new character, and imparted to them a higher colour than they present in his book. It may be said that he did not know himself when he asserted that nature had withheld from him the talent of speaking; solitude had doubtless concentrated that talent within himself. But in his moments of familiarity, and when nothing occurred to embarrass him, he launched forth like an impetuous torrent which nothing could resist. ..... The conversation turned on our most distinguished writers; and, making allowance for his peculiar opinions, Rousseau characterized them all with accuracy, precision, and a degree of impartiality which charmed all present. "Montaigne," said he, "that first of French philosophers, has been our master in every thing. Without him, we should, perhaps, never have had a Bayle or a Montesquieu. What a man," he added, "was Michel Montaigne! Besides the naïveté, grace, and energy of his inimtable style, his views were profound, and his mind," to use his own phrase, was predisposed to take a first bound." Jean-Jaques, in alluding to Voltaire, who had so vilely insulted him, instead of recrimination, rendered ample justice to his inexhaustible fertility and diversity of talent. With regard to his character, he used these remarkable words :-I know no man in the world whose first impulses of feeling are better than his. He was shewn my bookcase, in which all his works were arranged together. He was moved at the sight of them. "Ah! there they are," he exclaimed. "I meet them every where they seem to pursue me. What pain and pleasure these things have cost me. He advanced, struck them, and caressed them one after another. Emile received the greatest share of correction, though still in a parental way. How much watchfulness and torment has he not cost me! and all for what? To expose myself to the fury of envy and my persecutors! That child, oppressed |