ARTES
1837
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
E-PLURIBUS UNUM.
TUE BOR
SI-QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAMŰ^
CIRCUMSPICE
THE GIFT OF
Dr. Warren Lombard
MTT
Genlis, Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de Saint Aubin,
comtesse de,
afterward-t
»
arquise de Sille
exy
LESSONS
OF A
GOVERNESS
TO HER
ཀ
}
PUPIL S.
OR,
JOURNAL of the Method adopted by Madame de
SILLERY-BRULART, (formerly Countefs de
GENLIS) in the Education of the Chil-
"dren of M. D'ORLEANS, Firſt Prince
of the BLOOD-ROYAL.
스
​PUBLISHED BY HERSELF.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.
VOL. I.
DUBLIN:
Printed for Meffrs. P. WOGAN, P. BYRNE, A. GRUEBER,
W. Mc.KENZIE, J. MOORE, J. JONES, W. JONES,
R. MC.ALLISTER, H. COLBERT, and J. RICE.
R,
M, DCC, XCII.
PREFACE*.
IN
my difcourfe on the Education of the
Dauphin, I have faid, that, if a free nation
have a right to demand a public account from
the different branches of the adminiftration,
the information it may require on fo intereſt-
ing a fubject as the education of the prince
by whom it is one day to be governed, ought
by no means to be withheld. This confide-
* This preface was fent to the prefs a fortnight previous
to the King's flight, and as it was then ready to be printed
off, no alteration was made in it. The Editor has merely
added this note,
A 2
ration
300709
iv
PREFACE.
+
ration led me to propofe, 1. That the plan of
his education fhould be printed and made
public. 2. That the governor, from the mo-
ment the prince was entrusted to his care,
fhould write a Journal of the Education of
the Dauphin, to be printed and publifhed
monthly; and that this Journal fhould give
an account of the fubjects chofen for reading,
the progrefs of the Dauphin in his ftudies and
bodily exerciſes, the increaſe of his phyfical
powers, the extracts made for him, together
with the critical and moral reflections of his
tutors. This is what I demanded for the
public; and I farther defired that the gover-
nor fhould write a private Journal, not to
be printed, but to be read only by his pupil,
and by the King and the Queen; and, when
the education fhould be finifhed, to be depo-
fited in the charge of a tribunal appointed
for that purpofe. In my Difcourfe I have ex-
patiated largely on the advantages that would
accrue from this method; but as the plan is
altogether new, it has been afferted by fome
to be abfolutely impracticable. Hereafter it
will be reflected upon and examined; many
citizens will undoubtedly adopt as much of it
as is applicable to the education of perfons in
private life, and it will at laft be found that
the
* For example, the private Journal, giving an account of
the good and bad actions of the pupil, with the governor's
remarks; a journal written folely for the pupil and his
father and mother, and which ought to be read by him
every day. In the Difcourfe above mentioned, I have ex-
preffed my ſurpriſe that an idea fo fimple fhould be wholly
Men always demand from an agent or fteward a full
and minute account; and a father has never yet required
from the tutor he has chofen a fimilar daily account, from
new.
which
PREFACE.
V
the idea is equally fimple and uſeful. When
I fuggefted the idea of a private Journal, I
had kept one myfelf: the one which I wiſhed
might be made in the education of the Dau-,
phin, I did not propofe fhould be publifhed,
but I now publifh mine. Meanwhile I confefs
that a work of this nature ought not to ap-
pear in print, unless there are very ftrong rea-
fons for it, and that many inconveniencies
would refult from writing it with this view:
not that I think it poffible for a preceptor,
even in this cafe, to violate the truth, for this
would be fufpecting him of the defign of
corrupting his pupil, and degrading his own
character in his eyes; not that I believe a
child properly educated, and confequently
watched over with extreme vigilance, capable
of committing faults fo great that we fhould
bluſh to publifh them; but becauſe the work
being intended for the public eye, would lay
the governor 'under 'reftraint, would induce
him to fupprefs many neceffary details, would
prevent him from faying the whole truth,
though he might avoid direct falfehood, would
give him a tone more fuited to the tafte of
the public, than 'calculated to work upon the
feelings and conviction of his pupil, as he
would write with more care and correctness,
and of confequence with leis fimplicity and
which he might obtain a knowledge of the character, ge-
nius, faults, virtues and natural inclinations of his children,
together with the minner of thinking and acting of the go-
vernor; for verbal accounts are always vague, inaccurate,
and fuperficial, paint nothing, and fcarcely impart a few
ebicure notions on fubjects with which it is of importance
to be intimately acquainted.
A 3
energy;
vi
PREFACE.
energy; to fet off his pupil to advantage, he
would be more diffufe on his good actions.
than on his faults; elegance of ftyle and a
thouſand trifles of pure convention would oC-
cupy too much of his attention; in fine, he
would fpeak like an author, whereas the pure-
and fimple language of a father and a friend,.
fevere and affectionate by turns, is alone capa-
ble of making a deep impreffion on the heart
of a child. It was in this manner I wrote the
annexed Journal. I was certainly far from
fuppofing that it would ever fee the light, and
of this no one who reads it can doubt. I
ought however to fay, that from the 2d of
April 1790, a confufed idea prefented itfelf
that I might one day be obliged to produce
this irrefragable proof of the purity of my
intentions and conduct: but to this fort of
demonftration I felt the utmoft repugnance,
nor did I refolve upon it till toward the cloſe
of March laft, the cruel period which gave
me fo much uneafinefs. The truth then is,
that for about a year only I wrote this Jour-
nal with the vague idea that on fome future
day I might poffibly publifh it; but it was
rather a prefentiment than a defign; and had
it even been a fixed refolution, I could not
have changed the tone to which I had for fo
many years accuftomed myfelf with my pupils,
I could not have laid afide the pleafing habit
of fpeaking to them from the real feelings of
my heart, and I could have added nothing to
the principles which I had already given them.
Perfecuted for two years in a manner that is
without example, I have but one fure way of
confounding
1
PREFACE.
vii
confounding the malice of my enemies and
refuting their abfurd calumnies; that of prefent-
ing the public with a faithful picture of my
conduct. During the reign of defpotifm,
error, and prejudice, I was entruſted with
the education of three princes of the blood-
royal: it will be feen what principles I at
that time inculcated on them; and of confe-
quence, whether the fentiments I now profefs
originate from a fpirit of party, and a defire
of pleafing the multitude. Compelled to juf-'
tify myſelf from numerous accufations, vague
it is true, but highly injurious, which have
been diffeminated with confiderable artifice, I
cannot but produce every thing that is cal-
culated to accomplish the end I have in view.
Near the conclufion of this volume will be
found a concife relation of a few of the trou-
bles that for the last eighteen months I have
experienced. I fhall exhibit only facts fur-
ported by indifputable proofs: meanwhile, I
will not fay all that is in my power to fay;
but will publifh merely what is neceffary to
my own juftification, and will fpeak only of
things to which my pupils were witneffes, or
of which M. d'Orleans himſelf thought pro-
per to inform me. The Journal from which
the annexed Leffons are taken forms a very
large bound volume; all the pages of which
are numbered, and follow each other without
any break. It is all in my own hand-writing,
and contains the original fignatures of my
pupils. This work I have depofited with a
notary, who will fhew it to any pecep-
A A
ኦ
* M. Gabion, Notary, Rue de Richelieu, No. 39.
tor
{
viii
PREFACE.
tor that wishes to compare it with the printed
volume; this may be eafily done, as all the paf-
fages extracted are marked in the margin with
perpendicular lines t I publiſh only frag-
ments of this work, becaufe it was impoffible
to prefent to the public a multitude of repri-
mands relating merely to the children's fu-
dies, and an infinity of minute details, leffons
on politenefs, the forms of fociety, &c. &c.
I have felected, however, a few paffages of
this nature, to give an idea of the vigilance
and fcrupulous attention with which I watch-
cd over the children entrusted to my care.
Thanks to the happy difpofition of my pupils,
I have never experienced the chagrin of writ-
ing an account in this Journal of one action
truly vicious; their faults have been fuch only
as are common to all children, however well
born: mcanwhile, I have inferted in the
printed fragments every thing I had to allege
against them, at leaft all their ferious faults,
that I might be able to affert with truth, that
not a fingle thing of this kind has been fup-
preffed. It will be thought that I have fre-
quently reproved them with extreme feverity,
and that I have fometimes affixed too much
importance to trivial errors: but my defign
was, to fhew them that the fmalleft faults
may have fericus confequences; and the truly
maternal affection I felt for them exaggerated
t I have only excepted certain perfons, whofe names I
have given, who coud with to fee the manufeript for no
other purpose but to tear out the leaves.
Thefe lines I was obliged to make as a guide to the
coprift.
thefe
PREFACE.
แต่
ix
•
thefe confequences in my eyes. I have fome-
times written under very painful feelings,
and my vexation has communicated itſelf to
my reproofs; but thefe reproofs, even when
I was leaſt on my guard, all came from the
heart; and as my pupils were fure that they
were not dictated by pedantry or caprice,
they always produced the effect I defired.
The reader muſt not be aſtoniſhed to find the
ftyle of this work extremely negligent, and
frequently very incorrect, fince it was each
day written with rapidity, and in hafte, and
was not intended for the prefs. I might have
made fome corrections in this refpect, faith-
fully preferving the fenfe, and pointing out
the alterations in notes: but this would have
delayed its publication; and I was defirous it
fhould appear as foon as poffible. I can thus
with truth affert, that thefe fragments have
been copied with fcrupulous exatnefs from
my manufcript Journal, without my having
altered a fingle word.
'
Even my enemies are forced to confefs, what
indeed twelve years feclufion from the world
will not permit them to deny, that I have de-
voted myſelf entirely to my pupils, and that
they have derived from my cares inftruction
and talents. Thefe are facts of which my pu-
pils are themſelves the proofs. It is farther
confeffed, that they have received from me
found principles of religion and morality. My
happy fucce's in the education of the firft pu-
pils that nature committed to my charge, the
irreproachable condut and fevere manners of
A5
M. de
X
PREFACE.
M. de Chartres, and the works I have at dif-
ferent times publifhed, rendered it impoffible
to refufe me this juftice. What more honour-
able or more glorious teftimony can a precep-
tor defire? And ought he not to be ſatisfied
when his moft cruel enemies cannot withhold
this? Yet, while they confefs theſe truths,
they affert that I have been guilty of very hei-
nous faults. What are theſe faults? They are
as follow *:
1. It has been imputed to me, that I have
given my pupils a love of the new conflitution.
Their love was voluntary, becauſe the educa-
tion they received taught them to pity the op-.
preffed people; to deteft arbitrary power,
and all the abufes of the old form, of govern-
ment; to deſpiſe oftentation and empty. dif-.
tinctions not founded on perfonal merit; and
laftly, to hold facred and inviolable every en-
gagement, public or private, and confequently.
a folemn oath pronounced in the face of a
whole nation. Befide, their refpect for the
King could not fail to ftrengthen their love
for, the conftitution of which he avowed him--
-
1 frall only mention, as may be fuppofed, the reports.
hat have been propagated, and made the fubject of com-
mon difcourfe in a certain clafs of fociety, without noticing
the filly and ridiculous calumnies published in the libellous
paper of M. Gautier and in, other Journals of a fimilar
kind. If they dared print at length the furnames of thofe
whom they cowardly and impudently attack, inſtead of
pointing them cut by initials, by chriftian names, or names
of their own invention, they might be brought to juſtice,
and puniſhed as villains and libellers: but certainly no per-
Fon will fo far degrade himself as to think it neceffary to,
sofute fuch writings.
Lelf
PREF A CE.
xi
felf the head. It is true they have heard it
faid, by fome enemies of the revolution, that
the King did not confider his oath as binding,
becauſe neceffity compelled him to take it. But
can we aſcribe to compulfion the various fteps
to which the King was prompted folely by the
fuggeftions of his own mind, that delightful
fpeech which he came of his own accord to
deliver to the National Affembly, and that
energetic letter, in which he expreffes in fuch
ftrong terms his inviolable attachment to the
conftitution, and his profound indignation
against those who wish to overturn it? But:
fuppofing, which theſe facts contradict, that
the King had not acted voluntarily, and that
at heart he regretted the lofs of arbitrary pow-
er, would what he has done be lefs obligatory?
Certainly not, fince he has given his facred
+ In this ſpeech, which is full of candour and fenfibility,
we find the following paffage : 'I will defend and maintain
that conftitutional liberty, the principles of which the
general wish according with my own has rendered facred.
'I will do more, in concert with the Queen, who partakes
• my fentiments; I will early prepare the heart of my fon
to pursue that new order of things which circumſtances
have produced. I will habituate him from his childhood
to rejoice at the happiness of France; and ever to acknow-
ledge, in defpite of the language of parafites, that a wife
conftitution will preferve him from the dangers of inex-
'perience; and that true liberty adds increating value to
the fentiments of love and fidelity, of which the nation,
during a fucceffion of ages, has given its kings fuch affect-
ing proofs.'-To doubt the fincerity of the King, after
fuch proteftations voluntarily made, would be at once to
calumniate and infult him, and to accufe him of a cowardice
and perfidy fo much the more inconceivable, as in this and
other inftances, in which he acted with ſuch true dignity,
nothing was required of him, and there was no fort of
compulfios.
་
promife,
1
xii
PREFAC E.
promife, and the nation has received it. But
it is faid, if an oath be forced from us; if the
heart difown it, the lips pronounce it in vain, it
is null. Horrible maxim! What would be-
come of fociety, if its laws, though leſs rigid
than thoſe of honour, did not reprobate it * ?
What perjuries might not be pardoned, if it
were fufficient to fay, I promised against my
will; my oath was extorted from me by neceffity,
or dictated by my regard for the public good; I
thought I should prevent by it confiderable evils,
bloodshed, and murder; and humanity will be
an excufe for perjury in my entering into this en-
gagement? If we fuppofe it allowable to com-
mit a crime from the hope, or even with the
certainty of effecting a good, we overturn all:
the ſupports of morality; we ſubſtitute arbi-
trary inventions for eternal principles; circum-
ſtances alone will determine the merit or the
infamy of actions; and impofture, revenge,
and ferocity will often impudently claim the
recompenſe of virtue. Such are the ideas I
have inftilled into my pupils; and in their eyes
nothing can alter the nature of a vice. Inftead
of extolling to them in the page of hiftory thofe
erimes productive of benefits, thofe fplendid
actions which juftice and humanity reprobate,
it was my endeavour to preſerve them from this
It is true that an engagement, figned by a man in
chains, is not valid; but if, when fet at liberty, he does
not fulfil it, he difgraces himſelf, and the law, the protector
of the weak, gives him this fhameful privilege only when
the violence is pofitive, and the captivity abfolute, only
when he is confined in a prifon under the guard cf jailors.
fuperftitious
PREFACE.
xuz
fuperftitious refpect, founded on prejudices,
more dangerous and abfurd than that which
elevated rank and an illuftrious name infpire..
I never wifhed them to admire Horatius mur-
dering his fifter, Brutus affaffinating Cæfar,
Timoleon flaying his brother, and all thoſe
monftrous exceffes, induced by great motives, .
but not on that account lefs execrable crimes.
In fine, I did not think it neceffary to fow the
feeds of ferociouſneſs in their minds, in order:
to inspire them with elevated fentiments; for,
in my opinion, true grandeur is infeparable
from virtue, that is, from the happy affemblage
of good faith, juftice, and humanity. Thus,
in reading the hiftory of France, I remarked
to my pupils that pofterity, the equitable judge-
I of the characters of princes, places in the lift
of our good kings a weak, unfortunate mo-
narch, of flender abilities, but who was dif-
tinguifhed for his rectitude and ſincerity *;
while it has branded with eternal opprobrium
the fplendid name of the Reftorer of Letters,
becauſe he was intolerant, becaufe he lighted
up the fire of perfecution, and broke a treaty
which he had fworn to obſerve; yet this treaty
(the treaty of Madrid) was concluded in a pri-
fon. Francis the Firft experienced all the hor-
rors of cloſe captivity; to emancipate himſelf
from his chains, he figned an engagement which
King John. It was he who ſaid, that if truth were
banished from the earth, it ought to be found in the mouth of
Fings: a royal prerogative that would certainly not be
lefs noble than any of thofe which pride arrogates to.
itſelf.
his
L
Xiv
PREFACE.
1
!
his heart difavowed. By this deceitful and
cowardly action he regained his liberty, but
for ever forfeited his honour; he ceafed to be
an honeſt man, and was no longer reckoned
in the number of our great kings. Having
been taught fuch principles and reflections, is
it poffible for my pupils to believe that the mo-
narch, after folemnly fwearing to maintain the
new laws, can be their fecret enemy?. The
probity, character, and behaviour of the King,
all ferve to warrant his fincerity.-Abftra&ting
from individual opinions, let us confider for a
moment what was the beft and wifeft conduct
to be adopted by the fpectators of the revolu-
tion, that is, by perfons whofe age or condi-
tion took from them the right of co-operating
in it. Ought they to have declared themſelves
adverfe to the general opinion of the whole
nation, approved by its king? There were
no means of direct and open oppofition; there
was nothing left but the vile refources of con--
fpiracy and intrigue. An exterior fubmiffion
was indifpenfable; men were obliged, how-
ever unwillingly, to bear the fymbols and the
colour of liberty: while they plotted to defeat ·
the nation, they muſt appear to arm in its fa-
vour; while they inveighed againſt the confti-
tution in private parties, they muſt publicly
fwear to refpect and to defend it; they muſt
do this, or they muft fly to foreign climes, and
abandon their country in the moment of dan-
ger. This was the only alternative; treachery
and perjury on the one hand, and deſertion on
1
the
PREFACE.
XV
捧
​per--
the other*! This was the only alternative,
unless a third fyftem were adopted, confiftent
with integrity, undebafed by falfehood and
intrigue, the method of honeftly yielding to
the general will, of obeying the laws, of fub-
mitting to the declared inclinations of the King,
and of faying-Since I am forced to take an oath,
fince I yield to this obligation, I will be faithful
to it. Such, I venture to believe, would have
been the conduct of my pupils, even if
ſonal intereſt and the imbecility of vanity had.
induced them to hate the revolution, becauſe
fuch conduct alone could accord with frank- -
nefs and probity. Confider farther, what
were the defires, what the projects of the
anti-patriots- à counter-revolution? But
could that be effected without bloodſhed ?:
No, certainly no; civil war was their fecret..
Thus the enemies of liberty, ftained with
perjury, enveloped in darkneſs and infince--
rity, engendering plans of murder, have en-
gaged in a faction that acts only in the dark,.
that bears about a concealed dagger, that.
builds its hope upon fraud, ambuſcade, and
deception. Oh! if there are any generous-
fouls that have been inveigled into the odious
path, their error will.foon be at an end, they
will hate obliquity and falfehood too much.
not quickly to return to the paths of honour,
they will regain the party by whom oaths are
refpected and laws are obeyed. But let us
1
Women in this cafe are infinitely lefs culpable. of
them no oath is required, no mark of patriotiſm; they may
arifocrats without impofture, and without perfidy.
refume.
xvi
PREFACE
reſume the enumeration of the charges alleged
againſt me.
·
2. I am accuſed of having excited in M. de
Chartres the wish to be admitted a member of the
Jociety of Friends to the Conflitution. I anfwer,
that he was neither excited nor adviſed to this
by me; he was no longer under my autho-
rity; he had juft obtained his liberty, and he
took the ſtep of his own voluntary motion,
and with the confent of his father. But I
will not deny that I was highly pleafed with
it, becauſe I faw no other way of accuftoming
a young man to ſpeak in public, and to give
him a knowledge of and relifh for public bu-
finefs. Befide, M. de Chartres poffeffed a
more decided character, fuperior prudence,
and I will venture to fay a greater degree of
knowledge, than are common at his age. I
was fure that he would liften with attention
to our greateſt orators, who frequently fpeak
in that fociety, and that he would never fay
an inconfiderate thing *.
1
}
•
* M. de Chartres has in reality never made more than
three motions in this fociety. The first in oppofition to a
motion which declared the feveral branches of the royal
family incapable of filling any public ftation. The fecond
for giving to the Philanthropic Society the produce of a
collection made for an unfortunate perfon who had refuſed
to accept it. The third to expedite the deliverance of an
unhappy prifoner, who had been unjustly detained in jail for
eighteen months. M. de Chartres writes a minute journal
of all his actions, as well as of every thing he hears that is
interefting. This Journal he has fhewn to me, and I have
taken from it this note.
3-I
J
PREFACE.
xvii
3. I am reproached with having inſpired
my pupils with too ftrong an attachment to me;
the meaning of which is, that their hearts
are found to be too grateful. This ridiculous
accufation is injurious neither to them nor to
me. The means by which I have gained their
affection my Journal will declare. There it
will be feen that no preceptor could be more
fevere in his treatment of them, or could
fpcak the truth with greater ftrictness and lefs
precaution; there it will be feen how ardent
was my defire that they fhould love every
perſon who ought to be dear to them.
4. It is faid that Madame d'Orleans had
not fufficient influence in the Education of her
children. When the entrusted them to my
care, fhe, as well as M. d'Orleans, did me
the honour to fay that I fhould be abfolute
mifres of them, and that I fhould have the
fole difpofal of the perfons connected with
the education, who were to be under my di-
rections. As I refufed, in taking this charge
upon me, to receive money or favours of any
kind, M. and Madame d'Orleans thought
they owed me this ftriking proof of their per-
fect confidence. In every thing relative to
the interior management of the houfe, I
availed myſelf of this confidence, one thing
excepted, that of paying the expences, which
I would never take upon myfelf; but in what-
ever related to the children, I never acted
without confulting Madame d'Orleans, and
without informing my pupils that what I did
W23.
viii
PREFACE.
was in conformity to her wifhes, and thofe
of their father. Finally, defirous of giving
her a perfect knowledge of the character and
turn of mind of her children, I regularly
wrote my Journal, of which, unfortunately
for me, fhe has never read more than four
or five articles. I went farther; I wifhed
to render Madame d'Orleans uſeful in the
education of Mademoifelle, and I pointed
out to her the means: fhe affented to my
ideas, but did not follow them. Meanwhile
Madame d'Orleans was tenderly interested in
every thing that concerned her children;
and when they were fick fhe laviſhed on
them the most affectionate attentions. I have
ſeen her expofe her health in the diſcharge
of thefe facred duties, and bring upon ber-
felf a dangerous difeafe*; the effects of which,
always fatal to thoſe who are not in early
youth, have evidently injured her conftitu--
tion. Fondly attached to all her children,
and the eternal object of their gratitude
and affection, fhe would have done for each
of them, what fhe did for the child we have
loft t.
That she would neither concern her-
felf nor interfere with their education, was be-
caufe fhe trufted wholly in me, and thought-
that as I had greater experience my cares would
be more advantageous to them. The confi-
dence fhe repofed in me was fo complete, that
* The mealles.
The twin fifter of Mademoiſelle d'Orleans, who died
at the age of four years of the meaſles.
Thee
PREFACE.
xix
he never afked me a fingle queftion refpecting.
their ſtudies, or their proficiency. At Paris.
The came to fee me every day, and always at
thoſe times when I was alone in my apartment,
that I might attribute thefe vifits folely to the
friendship with which the honoured me, and
not to the defire of ſpending an hour with her
children. When we went into the country,
I urged her to accompany and ſtay with us,
that the might be acquainted with our interior
arrangements, and follow the plan of our
ftudies; but he came only at our dinner and
walking hours, and during the whole twelve
years never refided with us except three or
four tinies when we were performing plays, as
our ftudies were then fufpended, and I could
fpend with her the greater part of the day.
Thefe are all facts, of which numerous wit-
neffes exift. In fine, during the whole of this
period fhe beſtowed upon me the most affecting.
marks of confidence and friendfhip; and a.
multitude of letters, which I carefully preferve,
demonftrate how tender, delicate, and I will
even fay exalted this fentiment was, and how
happy fhe felt (I ufe her own words) that her
children were in my hands. Yes, thefe letters
will I ever preferve, which fpeak to me only
of affection and acknowledgment, as well as the
cyphers, the portraits, the locks of hair, dear
pledges of a friendſhip fo ancient, fo warm
and fo truly mutual! and I will fay to myſelf
as I look at them, Thefe teftimonies of affection,
theſe letters are hers! But all that I have expe-.
rienced for the last eighteen months has proceeded;
from another quarter.
Suchi
PREFACE.
F、
7
Such was the conduct of Madame d'Orleans
refpecting me down to the month of October
1789. At that period it was totally changed
and that in a manner not lefs abrupt than
unaccountable. At the beginning of laſt win-
ter Madame d'Orleans wrote a billet to me, to
fignify that the defired to have Mademoiſelle
with her, without my being prefent, three
mornings in every week, exclufively of Sun-
day. Far from ftarting the fmalleft objection
to this, I voluntarily propofed: other arrange-
ments to afford Madame d'Orleans new oppor➜
tunities of feeing her daughter alone. She
alfo defired, for the winter feafon, to have M.
de Beaujollois with her an hour and a half
every morning, and an hour and a half every
evening; and though theſe three hours, fpent
in a faſhionable circle, could not fail extremely
to derange the ftudies of a child of eleven
years of age, I was entirely filent upon this
inconvenience, and farther propofed to Ma-
dame d'Orleans-a means of feeing him three
times more every week, which he accepted.
All theſe facts, fupported by their vouchers,
are given in-accurate detail at the end of this
Journal. The inference from the whole of
what I have ftated is, that during the time in
which I had the entire confidence of Madame
d'Orleans relatively to her children, that is,
for a period of eleven years, I was conftantly.
anxious that the thould live with them, that
the fhould obferve their characters, that
fie fhould take a part in their education,
This fhe thought proper to refufe; but no
+
#
罾
​;
fooner
PREFACE.
'
fooner had fhe, without any explanation, with-
drawn from me her confidence and friendship,
that is, for the last eighteen months, than fhe
abruptly determined to take from me the au-
thority fhe had conferred, than, without con-
fulting me, fhe deranged and curtailed the
ftudies of Mademoifelle and M. de Beaujollois,
than fhe expreffed her defire to fee Mademoi-
felle four times a week without my being pre-
fent. All this took place from the very com-
mencement of winter to the moment M. d'Or-
leans left Paris, and I entered into no expoftu-
lation. If Madame d'Orleans for a period of ele-
ven years had no influence in the education of her
children, it was her own choice: when the defired
to diſpoſe of their time, I was fo far from con-
tefting the point, that I co-operated with and
affifted her in difpofing without injury of more
of their time.
There is one thing refpecting which it re-
mains for me to juftify myfelf, which indeed
my enemies have never objected to me, but of
which my friends, who were witneffes to the
fufferings of my mind, frequently complained;
that I did not refign my employment more
than a year ago. My reafon for this procraf-
tination will be found in this volume, imme-
diately after the extracts from the Journal of
Education. A citizen, and particularly the
citizen of a free ftate, when he offers his jufti-
fication to the public, has a right to be heard.
The
xxii
PREFACE.
·
The public alone is that auguft tribunal that
can punish a thouſand calumnies to which vir
tue is expofed, and which the laws cannot
reach to the fentence of that tribunal all men
are obliged to liften; it is fucceeded by the
brand of infamy or the laurel of honour ;
but the extent and importance of this function
render it doubly incumbent upon the public to
give a candid hearing to every appellant; the
meanest individual may without arrogance pre-
fent itfelf at that bar, and claim a juftice that
is the offspring of inconteftible facts and de-
monftrable evidence. If I had only myfelf to
juftify, I might have been filent; but I owe a
firm vindication to the virtues of my pupils;
the prejudices that have been excited againſt
me might, were I filent, reflect upon them.
If I for twelve years have been entirely devoted
to them, if I have been to them a fource of
knowledge, truth, and virtue, in all their
branches, it will then follow that their grati-
tude to me has been coincident with and the off-
fpring of rectitude. It is this gratitude, it is
this their unalterable attachment that it is my
duty to juſtify. Nor is this the only advantage
that may refult from the prefent publication:
I flatter myſelf that it will not be uſeleſs to
parents and preceptors; I will venture to
affirm that no young perfon can read it with-
out pleaſure and without improvement, efpe-
cially if he be fufficiently reminded that it is
not a work of imagination, but a hiftory of
facts. The fecond volume will be found to
contain
PREFACE.
xxii
contain more variety, and anecdotes more
amufing; but that is the depofitory of edu-
cational Secrets; it is not adapted to the peru-
fal of children, but will be found ufeful to
their inftructors.
LESSONS
LESSONS
OF A
GOVERNESS TO HER PUPILS, &c.
Livri, Saturday, 5 August 1786.
,
I
HAVE no fault, my child * to find with
you to day. You have been uniformly gentle,
diligent, and truly amiable. You ſpoke very
well this evening upon the piece of Don Juan?
your obſervations were judicious and proper.
It is very pleafing to me to hear you talk with
fuch penetration and good tafte.-I reminded
you at table of ſomething which you faid with-
out confideration, and you difcovered no ill
humour. In general your faults are theſe :
You fhew too much heedleffnefs and indo-
lence; you do not refle& fufficiently; with
people of whom you know but little, you are
too cold and referved; and on the contrary,
* M. de Chartres.
B
VOL. I.
where
2,
Leffons of a Governess
where you are acquainted and can be at your
cafe, you are frequently too loquacious; and,
laftly, you do not liften enough to what is faid
by others. You ought to be reminded of
thefe faults, and fhould accuftom yourself to
overcome them whenever it is neceffary: if
you fincerely defire it, you will always fuc-
ceed. Habituate yourſelf in like manner to
study and understand the chara&ers of thoſe
with whom you live in our converfations you
will communicate to me what remarks you
may make, and I will give you my fentiments.
You should further habituate yourfel! never to
exaggerate any thing, but to reprefent what-
ever you may have feen with the moſt rigid
truth. Unless this be your charafer, you
will never be amiable and deferving of efteem.
:
-
Sunday, 6 Auguſt 1786.
A GOOD day in all reſpects.... Obſerve
however that jefts and particular expreffions
are never worth repeating. You were too tedi-
ous, for inftance, in the jefts you teftowed
upon my painting. A little raillery, when it
is concife and well timed, may be pleafant
enough; but if dwelt upon too long, it be-
comes infipid and troubleſome.-In your walk
you told NI *** that he was forty-fix years
old. He does not deny his age; hut as le is
no longer young, there is no neceffity of re-
minding him of it, particularly in the way of
banter; which, in this cafe, cannot fail to le
difagreeable. We fhould never play our jefts
on the age of people advanced beyond the
mcridian
to her Pupils.
3
meridian of life. I will add to thefe hints, a
tone of converſation ſomewhat too lofty, and
I have nothing more to fay: in every thing
clfe my dear child has been good, affiduous
and very amiable.
I have adviſed you to apply yourself to the
ftudy of the characters of thofe about you;
but I except the Abbé Guyot and M. Lebrun;
becauſe, as they are appoited to be your tu-
tors, you ſhould take it for granted that they
poffefs every effential virtue and the moſt efti-
mable characters; and becauſe fuppofing them
to have a few trivial faults, friendſhip and
gratitude will permit you neither to criticife
nor to notice them. Friendship alone may be
allowed to be clear fighted; but we ought to
conceal from others the imperfections of our
friends, though it is defirable to know them.
This will not apply to thofe to whom we owe
the utmoſt refpcct, gratitude and tenderness;
as a father, or a mother, and next to theſe a
preceptor. We ought to be blind to their
failings, if they have any, and endeavour only
to feel the value of their good qualities; for,
fince it is incumbent on us to eſteem and love
them, we should avoid the obfervation of
whatever might tend in the ſmalleſt degree to
weaken theſe fertiments. I need not tell
that, of all inftances, this duty is moft rigo-
rous and facred towards a parent.
In except-
ing M. Lebrun and the Abbé *, I have no mo-
tive of perfonal intercft; for as to my own
character, you may refled upon and itudy it
as much as you pleaſe. No one but my elf
you
* I have never read a fingle article of this journal ether
to M. Lebrun or the Abb: Guyot.
B 2
can
4
Leffons of a Governess
can give you this right: I give it freely, upon
condition that you tell me ingenuously what
are your thoughts, and in my turn I will in-
form you with equal fincerity whether you are
right in your judgment, or whether you de-
ceive yourfelf. But I muſt firſt intreat you to
confider for two or three days how a charac-
ter ought to be ftudied; and you will then
write down your reflections under the follow-
ing title: What method it is proper to adopt in flu-
dying the characters of men. Good night, my dear
child. I love you to diſtraction.
Monday, August 1786.
AN excellent day. I have only obferved
fome little banterings too often repeated, and
continued for too long a time.
Tueſday, 8 August 1786.
VERY well as to your ſtudies, very well as
to every thing in your intercourfe with me.
But I have a heavy complaint against you,
which very much afflicts me. Yeſterday we
left the Duchefs d'Orleans in a very dejected
ftate, and with a flight fever; and during the
whole morning it never occurred to you to
fend a man on horſeback to enquire about her
health. I at laft told you, as well as your
brother and mademoifelle, that you fhould
have thought of this, and that it was proper
to fend and write, as I have accustomed you to
do
to her Pupils.
5
do ever fince I was connected with you*. I
confider it as my firft and moft pleafing duty
continually to remind you of the happinets
you enjoy in being the fon of the moſt affectio-
nate mother and the best of fathers.
I know
you love them; but you do not fufficiently
evince it. It frequently happens, when the
Duke d'Orleans arrives, that you forget to bid
him good morrow, or you go to him with an
air of indolence that is aftonifhing; and when
the Duchefs is indifpofed, you make no en-
quiries as to her health, and fcarcely know
whether he is better or worfe. If the were
dangerously ill, I am fure you would be fran-
tic; and ought you not, the moment fhe is in
pain, to feel the moft tender intereft in her
fituation? If you reflected more frequently
on her love, her kindnefs, and the charming
attentions fhe beſtows upon you, you would
certainly be leís unmindful of her. I intreat
you to think feriously upon all this. Who can
ever depend for an inftant on your friendfhip,
if you do not feel the ftrongeſt emotions of
tenderneſs towards fuch a father and mother?
You have this tenderneſs, I am convinced ;
but then take care that you fhew it, and let us
have no more of thoſe difgraceful inattentions
and neglects, which are abfolutely inexcufa-
ble t.
*M. de Chartres was eight years old when he was com-
mitted to my care; M. de Montpenfier fix and a few months;
M. de Beaujolois three years, and Mademoiſelle eleven
months.
†Thoſe who are acquainted with the minds of children,
will not be furpriſed at what I have written. In fpite of
the beft difpofition, the levity, peculiar to this age, renders
all children, without exception, liable to thefe kind of ne-
glects towards perfons of whom they are molt fond, when
they do not fee them every day.
B 3
Paris
5
Leffons of a Governess
Faris, Tuesday, 10 Auguft 1786.
YESTERDAY I gave you a letter to read
which I had written to Mademoiſelle Non-
non, requesting that fhe would withdraw.
herſelf from the fervice of Mademoiſelle de
Chartres. You ſeemed to feel that the letter
was icafonable and kind, and that the con-
duct of Monfeigneur and Madame towards
this young perfon was extremely noble. Her
faults were apparent to you, particularly that
low and fhocking vice, the confequence of a
bad education, which led her fo frequently to
tell a falfehood; and you readily perceived
the propriety of feparating her from your
fifter: but I remarked with pleafure that your
humane heart partook of the fufferings which
you fuppofed her to feel. She beſtowed the
utmost care upon you in your earlieft infancy,
and you ought never to forget her. It is your
duty to intereft yourself in her lot, to treat her
with friendſhip whenever you fee her, and,
as foon as you are your own mafter, to confer
upon her, upon Prieur †, and every one con-
cerned in the care of your infancy, fome ads
of kindneſs, obferving at the fame time the
neceffary diftinctions between their refpective
characters, and the nature and duration of
their fervices. Monfeigneur and Madame,
Femme de chambre of Mademoifelle d'Orleans,
+ Formerly firit valet de chambré to the princes.
Mademoifelle Nonnon died about two years ago. When
fhe quitted Mademoiſelle d'Orleans, to whom she was fem-
me de chambre, I obtained for her of M. d Orleans a gra-
tuity of fixty louis, and an annuity for life of two thoufand
francs. Since her death, M. de Chartres and M. de Mont-
penfier have enquired into the circumstances of her family;
and finding that ſhe had a father poor and infirm, they have
fettled on him a penfion of fix hundred livres.
in
to her Pupils.
in the benefits and penfions they confer on the
perfons concerned in your education, do and
will recompenfc the cares of which you are
the object; but this recompenfe, however ge-
nerous it may be, fo far from acquitting you.
of individual gratitude, is an example which
their virtue fets before you, and which cught
to incrcafe your defire of difcharging the ob-
ligation perfonally wherever it fhall be in your
power. It is time, my child, that you thould
Confider in what manner you ought one day to
1epay thefe various debts, which are facied to
a generous and grateful heart. I have faid
this to you a thousand times; but fince you
are plcafed with this journal, and are fond of
perufing it, I will here enumerate the duties
that are incumbent upon you in this refpect,
-To all who bear the name of Rochambault
you owe particular proofs of attachment: to
Madame Defrois * friendfhip and good offices;
and you cannot ferve her more effentially than
by protecting her fon-in-law, who is befide
a very deferving object. When you are your
own mafter, you will enquire into the fituation
of Frieur and of Nonnon; and if any thing
ſhould be wanting to make their lives comfor-
table, you will be eager to procure it for them,
with that kindnefs and concern for their wel-
fare which will enhance their happines, and
you will continue to them a proteion that
will do you honour. You will confer on M.
Mirys, M. Mecke, your mafters, your at-
tendants, &c. a number of little favours, which
-
* The late Marchionefs of Rochambault was governcfs
to M. de Chartres and M. de Montpenfier from their infancy
till they were five years of age; and Madame Defrois was,
during the fame period, fub-governefs,
B 4
your
8
Leffons of a Governess
you may diftribute according to their merits,
their talents, and their fervices. With ref-
pect to the Abbé Guyot and M. Lebrun, you
are fenfible of the tender regard you will all
your life owe them *.
and render his life pleaſant and dear to him by
an immutable friendship and affection. As
the Abbé Guyot, with his church preferment
and his penfion, will be eafy in his circum-
ftances, you will have no other way of fhewing
your gratitude than by civilities to himſelf, and
kindness for his relations, as well as particu-
lar attentions when he fhall be indifpofed; and
thefe you will equally beftow on M. Lebrun.
How just will be thofe attentions towards per-
fons who will have rendered you fo many fimi-
lar ones in the courfe of your education! As
to myſelf, need I tell you how you may re-
compenfe me? I wifh neither for penfions, nor
preſents, nor favours, nor attentions †; and
yet I would have you acquit yourſelf of your
obligations to me. Well then, it must be by
a ftrict obfervance of all the infiructions that will
be written in this book. You fhall owe me fome-
thing more; and I will aſk
and I will aſk you, for your own
fake, to fhew fome concern and friendfhip for
my daughters, for the objects that are dear
and that belong to me, for my nephew, who,
I conceive, will perfonally merit your kindness,
as he is poffeffed of a good underſtanding and
*This space contained merely fome particulars of what I
conceived M. de Chartres and his brother might do for M.
Lebrun.
+ Nor attentions. Because I have always faid the moment
their education fhould be finifhed, I would retire from Paris
and the world, never more to return. I am now executing
this reſolution two years fooner than I could have wished.
an
to her Pupils.
9
an excellent difpofition. Think of all this,
my dear child; think of it again and again.-
Apropos upon this ſubject, you appear to me
to be too cold towards Madame Defrois: you
never ſpeak of her, you fhew her no friend-
fhip, you never enquire about her: this is un-
juft and ridiculous*. Once more then, I re-
queft, I conjure you to reflect upon your duties,
and to believe that true happineſs and true
glory confift in the due difcharge of them.
I am fatisfied with what you have
written upon the method it is proper to adopt in flu-
dying the characters of men. It has a fault of lan-
guage, but the ideas are juft and good. We will
talk of this to-morrow with your brother, who
has alfo written upon the fame fubject.
Friday, 11 August 1786.
A GOOD day. This morning you ſcarcely
made an inclination of your head to M***
and you did not addreſs a word to him. You
ought upon all occafions to be polite and ob-
liging to the perfons who are attached to your
father, and with whom you have the flighteſt
acquaintance, and particularly to artifts who
have attained to any degree of eminence. .
... On Tueſday next, my dear child, you
are to perform your devotions. Prepare your-
felf for it by greater fervour in your prayers,
by awakening your gratitude to God from the
contemplation of the manifold favours he con-
* Their coldnefs to Madame Defrois originated in her
having publicly quarrelled with me, without caufe and with-
out explanation, though I had rendered her very confiderable
services with M. d'Orleans.
B 5
defcends
ΤΟ
Leffons of a Governess
defcends to bestow upon you. Afk him to en-
dow you with true piety, the moſt important
favour of all; afk him with earneftnefs, and
he will grant it you. I fhall take care to com-
poſe a particular form of prayer for you and
your brother, which I requeft you would learn
by heart.
Saint Leu, Saturday, 12 August 1786.
IN enumerating, the day before yesterday,
the perfons to whom, when you fhould be
your own mafter, you ought to fhew particu-
far marks of kindness and friendship, I forgot
to mention your nurfe, of whom you will af-
furedly one day not be unmindful-It appears.
to me a long time fince you wrote to the Duke
de Penthièvre. Why must I always remind
you of thefe facred duties, which ought to be
fo dear to you? It is extremely painful to me.
Every morning when you rite, after. having
faid your prayers, I wifh, my dear child, you
would meditate for a moment, and enquire
what duties you have to perform towards your
relations, your friends, your preceptors, &c.
This would habituate you to that thought and
attention in which you are deficient. In the
evening alſo, after your prayers, it would be
ufeful to you to make the following examina-
tion of your confcience, which I intreat you
to copy, and read every night till you know it
by heart.
Have I difcharged my duty to God, my
creator? Have I prayed to him with fervour,
and confidence? Have I liftened with re-
verence and without diftraction to the pious,
• leffons.
to her Pupils.
1 1 *.
(
<
C
leffens that have been taught me Have I
• been mindful to-day of tho e objects in the
world whom I am moft bound to love, my
father and my mother? Have I fulfilled every
duty towards my relations? Have I been
kind and affectionate to my brothers and
my fifter? docile, attentive and thankful to
my preceptors? Have I been difobliging to
any perfon? Am I chargeable with any
calumny? Have I been. perfectly fincere ?
Have I been fober, difcreet, charitable, mc-
deft, and courageous as far as my age will
admit? Have I fhewn no marks of weakness
and effeminacy, fo contemptible in a rational
being? In fhoit, have I done all the good
that was in my power? Have I been defici-
ent in no attentions that were due to thoſe,
← whether preſent or abſent, to whom I owe
affection, refpect, gratitude, friendship, kind-
nefs and fympathy* ?"
It is neceflary to examine yourſelf as to
each of theſe queſtions, that you beg pardon
of God for your faults, intreat him to give
you grace that you may not relapfe into them,
and promife to repair the next day the omi
fions, neglects, inattentions, and, in fhort,
every error you may have committed.
13 August, 1785.
IN
your ſtudies with me you have done very
well, except that you repeated your chronc.
logy
IF pur this form of felf-examination into the hands of M,
Lebrun, who has fince read it every evening to our young
pupils. There will alſo be found in this journal other in-
Aruations-
1-2
Leſſons of a Governess
logy this morning very imperfectly. You have
been deficient in attention to me, by not ga-
thering the plants which I wiſhed to copy, and
not fending them to Mademoiſelle Fer before
I got up. Had you thought of pleaſing me,
you would have fuppofed it would be agreea-
ble to me that Mademoiſelle Fer fhould have
had the plants early, that every thing might
have been ready. When you have embraced
and kiffed hands, you imagine that you have
difcharged every duty of friendſhip. But I
have told you a thouſand times, my dear child,
that thefe demonftrations of attachment are
of no value, if the conduct and demeanour be
not affectionate and amiable. It is neceffary I
fhould ſpeak to you of your fecond brother *.
I perceive that you do not treat him either
with fufficient friendship, or fufficient confi-
lence. I am perfuaded that you love him
with the warmest affection; but I do not find
fo cloſe an intimacy between you as I could
wifh. I can fay with truth that, in my private
converfations with him †, he never fpeaks of
you but with extreme fondnefs. You have
both excellent hearts; why are they not more
infeparably united? ..... As you are now
both reaſonable, I flatter myfelf that the ten-
der union, which I fo much defire, will fhortly
be eſtabliſhed between you for a perpetuity ‡.
ftructions upon the ſubject of religion. Befide theſe I com-
poſed for them a work, which I have fince published under
the title of Religion confidered as the only Bafis of Happiness
and Philofophy.
* M. de Montpenfier.
†Thefe converfations paffed in our walks; it was a cuſtom
with me to walk alone with each of my pupils alternately.
This defire has been fully accompliſhed.
Saint
to her Pupils.
13
Saint Leu, 14 August 1786.
WHAT pain does it give me to accufe the
Duke de Chartres of the heinous offence of
failing in attention to the Duchefs d'Orleans!
This morning I informed him that I was going
to fend to Paris, afking him at the fame time if
he had any commiffions. "Yes," he replied;
and it related to a bird-cage.-" Have you
nothing elſe to fend ""No."-At laft fome
body adviſed him, in a whifper, to write a
line to the Duchefs d'Orleans. He had the
honefty to confefs to me that this idea had not
occurred to him. Can it be that children, who
have a father and mother fo affectionate and
fond, ſhould never think of them, and ſhould
neglect to ſhew them that attention which they
ought to have for a common friend? Can it be
that ſuch reproaches make no impreffion, and
for ever fail to correct this negligence and
want of thought? . . . . . . This journal will
now be written for the Duke de Montpenfier,
as well as the Duke de Chartres. The former
read it this morning, and appeared to be fenfi-
bly struck with it: I hope he will derive ad-
vantage from it.
At the Stables of the Duke d'Orleans,
Chauffee d'Antin, 17 August 1786.
Portrait of the Duke de Montpenfier.
YOU have, my child as well as your brother,
an excellent heart and a good natural under-
ſtanding; and with thefe advantages, at your
age, there is no fault which you may not cor-
rect,
14
Leffons of a Governess
and no virtue which you may not acquire..
You have a difpofition for banter and raillery.
This you will correct when you are told, that
it is the vice of bad hearts and moderate un-
derftandings, and that this vice is more dan-
gerous in a prince than in a private individual.
You wish to be loved, and fuch a difpofition
will caufe you to be hated: this idea, I am
fure, will have confiderable weight with you.
You have by nature one very admirable qua-
lity, a lively and fincere indignation for every
bad action, and vicious practice: I have ot-
ferved this in you from your earliest infancy,
during our leffons. You are fufceptible of emu-
lation, and have a defire to diftinguifh your-
felf: you will one day have a noble mind; and
when
fhall have refolved to conquer a
you
childish timidity, you will be agreeable, con-..
verfible, amiable, becaufe you always attend
to what is faid to you; becauſe you are no.
idle prater, no gofhp; becauſe you will dc-.
rive improvement from what is taught you,
and know how to evince this improvement
without pedantry.-You are fometimes too fel-
fiſh in a thouſand little things; you are not.
fufficiently fenfible how delightful it is to make
facrifices to fociety and to friendfhip; how
much theſe facrifices are repaid by encomiums,
by the pleasure they occafion, by the gratitude
they infpire, by the lively attachment they
create. You are fometimes obftinate and
opinionated, at leaſt I am told fo, for I have
never obſerved the leaft appearence of it in-
your behaviour to me; no proofs of refpe&t,
of deference, of fubmiffion, can exceed thofe
which I have conftantly received from you,
during.
to her Pupils.
15
during the whole time that you have been ur-
der my care. How happy a prefage! We may
infer from it, in what manner you will one
day conduct yourſelf towards thofe whom you
ought to refpect and love a thousand times
more than you do me. If you have been thus
docile, fubmiffive, refpe&ful, and tender to
me, who am but your governeſs, what will
you not be to a father, to a mother, fo worthy
in every refpet of your unbounded confi-
dence and the warmeft feelings of your foul?
I have no inquietude upon this point, either
23 to you or your brother; I am convinced
that all my dear pupils will particularly diftin-
guish themſelves by filial piety, which is the
firft, as well as the moſt facred of virques, and
that to which you will owe the happinets of
your life. You have a defire to please, which
is a fentiment not only laudable, but indif-
penfably neceffary; though you fhould take
care that it does not lead you into criminal
compliances. For example, to pleaſe thoſe in
whofe company you may be, it is not neceffary
that you ſhould give an opinion contrary to
your feelings, or that you fhould facrifice an
abfent perfon whom you love. It would be
dreadful, out of mere complaifance, to freak
the leaft evil of fuch a perfon, or to join in the
flighteft degree of ridcule in this cafe you
fhould either take his part, or fhew by prc-
found filence that you difapprove of what is
faid, or meant to be understood; and if your
opinion be asked, fpeak courageously what-
you think.
A different conduct will be mean
and cowardly, and theſe are vices which you
look upon with horror: at your age however,.
:
little
16
Leſſons of a Governess
little matured by reflection, errors of this kind,
from want of thought, may eſcape the beſt
diſpoſed mind. Now that I have made you
fenfible of the confequences, you will be guilty
of nothing that bears the moft diftant refemb.
lance to this. Confider that a generous and
noble heart has no defire to pleaſe but by law-
ful means, that he feels a deteftation of every
thing bordering upon treachery, and that, for
this reafon, he refpects his friends, and thofe
for whom he has eſteem, more in their abſence
than if they were prefent, and will avoid be-
hind their back any little pleaſantries in which
he may be indulged to their face. Confider
alſo, my dear child, that it is impoffible to be
truly amiable and beloved, without being efti-
mable; and that when we have the weakneſs
to facrifice honefty to the defire of pleaſing,
we defeat our own purpoſe, and draw upon
ourfelves the contempt even of thoſe who ſeem
to approve of this baſeneſs.-In fhort, I re--
commend to you to reflect oftner, to be volun-
tarily more attentive, to cultivate a greater
portion of benevolence without making it ne--
ceffary for me to inculcate it upon you, to
form a habit of thinking and acting for your-
felf, and to acquire a character noble, firm and
fure, and principles immutable and eternal.
-You told me this evening that you would
write down your faults, in order to give me
every day an account of them: this was a lau-
dable intention, but it will only be neceffary
for you to anſwer ingenuoufly the queftions I
put to you. Thefe queftions will not be dic-
tated by a vain curiofity; I have no defire but
to inform the minds of my dear pupils, to
make
to her Pupils.
17
make them feel the beauty and lovelineſs of vir-
tue, and how impoffible it is to be happy with-
out it. I entreat my dear children to read the
article of this day a fecond time, and with all
the attention of which they are capable. It
depends upon themfelves to embellifh this jour-
nal and make it charming. What pleaſure
fhall I feel in writing eulogiums, inftead of
admonitions and reproaches! But they are the
perfonages, I am merely an hiftorian, but an
hiſtorian faithful and impartial, notwithſtand-
ing my regard for them; I can only relate the
exact truth. Afford me then the extreme gra-
tification of faying fuch things as are pleafing ;
let it be ſeen by this journal that your hearts
and your underſtandings are improved by the
counfels of friendſhip.
17 August 1786.
AN excellent day! my dear children, you
have been charming! For this reafon we will
be very merry to-morrow at Bercy, and I fhall
be happy to procure you this pleaſure.—The
Duke de Montpenfier has given me this eve-
ning a moft enchanting proof of candour, by
acknowledging, or to fpeak more properly, by
making me the confidante of faults, which, but
for this ingenuoufnefs, I fhould not have
known, and this confidence I did not at all aſk
of him. It was, he told me, to relieve his heart. He
has fenfibly touched mine; it is a lovely child,
who improves every day, and has made an
aftoniſhing progrefs in the fhort fpace of a
year.
21st Auguſt
} 8
Leffons of a Governess
*
21 August 1786
THE Duke de Penthère called this eve-
ning. The Duke de Chartres behaved very
well; but the Duke de Montpenfier played
with a ſtick, without taking any notice of him,
without going near him, without ſpeaking to
him. I am fure you both feel the affection
which is due to a grandfather, for whom alfo
the Duchefs d'Orleans has the utmoſt tender-
nefs. This attachment of the Duchefs would
be fufficient of itself to fatisfy me of yours;
but you have other reafons to eſteem and love
him, his perfonal virtue which is certainly a
model of perfection, and the kindneſs, the
agreeable attentions, the affectionate regard
whichhe fhews towards you. You have both giv-
en me perfonal proofs of your esteem: one by
writing me a very pretty letter, and the Duke
de Chartres by bringing me fome coloured
crayons and two books of drawing paper.
But, my children, I have already told you a
thousand times, that you are never to give me
any thing you purchale, however trifling may
be its value, or whatever may be the pretext.
It is not that there is any impropriety in your
offering fuch things as crayons, paper, and
flowers to whomfoever you pleafe; becauſe
they are civilities rather than prefents; to any
other perfon the little gifts may he pleafing and
proper; but refpecting myfelf, Pamela and
Henrietta, I muft abfolutely prohibit them.
You will be careful not to forget this, and let
it be the last time I fhall have occafion to re-
mind you of it. You must not be angry with
ina -
to her Pupils.
19
me upon this account, fince, when your edu-
cation fhall be finished, and I live at my own
chateau, you fhall maintain me in griffin paper,
copy-books, and wood for my turnery mach-
ine; and I on my part, will return your pre-
fents in flight fummer waiftcoats and cther
little articles of my own work. But, till then,
I muft abfolutely infift upon it that you fhew
me none of this kind of attentions,
25 August 1786.
THE Duke de Chartres was very imperfect
in his German leffon to-day.-I accompanied
you both to the French Academy; you liften-
ed attentively and with intereft, particularly
the Duke de Chartres; but I had requested you
to fay fome civil things to M. M***, to whom
you were indebted for your feats. The Duke
de Chartres, in a fheepish manner, fpoke only
a few words to him, and the Duke de Mont-
penfier did not utter a fyllable. All my en-
trcaties could not prevail on the latter to prc-
nounce a fingle complimentary phrafe, which
gave him the air of a child fix years of age,
very ftupid and very uncivil. The Duke de
Chartres takes no care how he prefents him-
felf; he walks with his head hung down, his
knees and his body bent and jolting, and there
is not an old man who mounts a flaircafe fo
heavily and with fo ill a grace. It is time he
fhould acquire a more caly deportment, and
particularly a ftronger ambition to plcafe.
They crowned at the Academy the young
Chriftian Jofeph who had faved the lives of
three
20
Leffons of a Governess
three children at the rifk of his own; and
on the part of the Saloon of Arts, fifty louis
were given to Dame Hurel who, for the ſpace
of fifteen years, fupported her miftrefs reduc-
ed to a ſtate of mifery. This picture of virtue
recompenfed and honoured with the loudeſt
applaufe, was extremely affecting. You have
feen how beautiful virtue is, and what enthu-
fiafm it infpires. Reflect that your rank and
fituation fecure to you the power of doing
many brilliant and virtuous actions; and this
ought to be your defire and your greateſt
ambition.
26 Auguft.
A very good day. The Duke de Chartres
has made the moſt formal promiſes to conquer
his timidity, and to fay in a graceful manner
all the polite and civil things that may be ex-
pedient, and upon this promife I rely.
27 Auguft,
AT his drawing the Duke de Chartres was
deficient in application; but without my in-
terrogating him, he informed me of this him-
felf with a charming candour, though the
mafter had not remarked it. Upon all occa-
fions I owe this juftice to my dear children,
that they obſerve towards me the moſt perfect
truth; that they never conceal any thing; that
they come of their own accord and tell me their
faults with an enchanting fimplicity; that they
are no longer afraid of my counfels, but on
the
to her Pupils.
21
the contrary defire and love them. This is the
way for them to acquire knowledge and arrive
at perfection. My children will write every
Sunday upon fome fubject which I fhall give
them. Let them take the following for the ap-
proaching Sunday: In what does the delicacy of
tafle and fentiment confift? They will write an
anſwer to this queſtion.
26 Auguſt 1786.
THE analyfes of theatrical performances,
dictated by the princes upon returning home
from the play, are extremely exact both as to
rames and incidents. They were indeed not
leſs accurate when they were made from a play
that was read; but then I was watchful that
they ſhould liſten attentively, and in the repre-
fentation there are a thouſand things that ne-
ceffarily distract the mind. It is very evident
therefore to me that M. Lebrun, who ac-
companied us to the play, and who reads the
theatrical critiques in the Journal de Paris,
has affifted the princes in defiance of my ex-
prefs prohibition, of which the princes them-
felves were witneffes. I afked the Duke de
Montpenfier if he had been affifted? He ac-
knowledged that he had been confiderably in
Virginia. I put the fame queftion to the Duke
de Chartres, who anſwered me three times in
the negative, but with bluſhes and a trembling
voice. The next moment he came in tears to
tell me that he had not ſpoken the truth, and
expreffed his regret in a very affecting manner.
-I cannot diffemble, my dear children, that
M. Lebrun has done a very blameable action.
You
22
Leffons of a Governess
You were witneffes of my having requested,
both in perfon and by writing, that he would
not tell you a fingle word: he promiſed; and
after making you difobey me, he has expoſed
you to prevarication and falfehood. In the
mean time M. Lebrun is fo eftimable a cha-
racter, that I am perfuaded the fault originat-
ed in thoughtleffnefs, and that he will not be
guilty of it a fecond time. I dare believe he
has told you himfelf how much he was to
blame. My children, never follow any advice.
in which you fhall perceive the leaft thing con-
trary to rectitude and exact truth. You have
naturally great candour and franknefs: pre-
ferve, as a valuable treaſure, theſe charming
qualities, without which your characters will
never be eftimable. I am convinced that you
will do nothing that fhall taint thefe virtues fo
neceffary to your reputation and your happi-
nefs, and that you will never employ artifice
and diffimulation with your affectionate friend.
30 Augufi 1785.
M. LEBRUN has acknowledged in his
Journal, without the leaft fubterfuge, that he
was very much to blame: thus he repairs his
fault by giving you an example of candour
and ingenuoufnefs which you will do right to
imitate.
3 September 1786.
Yo
OU bid me good morrow this morning,
but when you left me yeſterday I was indifpof-
ed, and you fhould have afked me how I had
flept,
to her Pupils.
23
flept, and if I had ftill a headache or fore
throat. It is thus we fhew cur friendſhip.
Thefe proofs of fympathy and concern we
owe to our commcn acquaintance; with how
much stronger reafon are they due to our
friends?—I fee by the Journal of M. Lebrun
that the morning has been good, and that
the Duke de Chartres has waited upon the
Abbé de Fontbonne to enquire about the dif-
aftrous fires which broke out lately, with an
air of humanity that will give this Divine a
good opinion of him. Thefe benevolent and
pleafing habits are eafily acquired, and ill
make every body refpect and love you. When
you fhall be perfect in them, you will ceafe to
be regarded as a filly child to whom we pay
no attention; every body will be glad to fee
you, and will treat you as a young prince of
promifing talents and virtue.
4 September 1786.
I HAD yesterday afternoon a violent attack
of the culick, and you difcovered the greateſt
fenfibility. By the Journal of M. Lebrun I
find that it was the Duke de Montpenfier who
thought this morning of fending to enquire
how I did. You left me yeſterday evening in
a very calm ftate, and there was no reafon for
inquietude; yet, confiftently with the ſtrict
duties of friendſhip, you ought to have given
orders before you went to bed for enquiries to
be made, at eight o'clock in the morning, if I
had any return of my complaint.during the
night, and you ſhould again have fcnt at ten
to learn from myfelf, the inftant I awoke, the
exact
24
Leſſons of a Governess
exact Rate of my health. Such are the bene-
volent and tender cares which a lively and
fincere friendſhip dictates. You muſt accuf-
tom yourſelves to the obfervance of them if
you wiſh to be loved.-You were not able to
write a fingle word yeſterday upon the ſubject
of Delicacy which I had given you. You ought
to be more forward in compofition; but I will
write the article myſelf in our journal when I
have a little more ftrength.
M. Saiffert came to ſee me, and you did not
ſpeak a word to him, which is the more blame-
able as the Duchefs d'Orleans had been indif-
pofed, and you ſhould have aſked a thouſand
queftions about her. At laft I requeſted you
to fay ſomething to M. Saiffert, which you
did; but as the proper moment was elapfed,
and as it was after a quarter of an hour's ne-
glect, there was neither merit nor grace in this.
The next time I have occafion to remind you
of this duty, I ſhall inflict on you ſome pe-
nance.
Though you knew that the Duchefs d'Or-
leans was unwell and confined to her bed, you
had not the attention to ſend this afternoon to
alk refpecting her health. At half paft five
I fent myſelf. The Duke de Chartres is
the leſs excufable, as I made him read, on
purpoſe, an article at the beginning of this
journal, where I had animadverted upon a
fimilar fault. It is really unexampled. They
have both difcovered the moft fenfible and
poignant affliction for fo odious a neglect, and
I dare believe that they will never be guilty of
it again; but, on the contrary, will in future
be mindful, as they ought, of a mother, who
thinks
to her Pupils.
25
thinks of them every moment of her life, who
cannot ſuffer them to be ever ſo flightly indif-
poſed without coming and fending perpetually,
and without interrogating every body about
them.
NEITHER
6 September 1786.
:
EITHER of you had the goodneſs to ſend
this morning to afk how I did all that know
me have fhewn me this civility except your-
felves. When a perfon has been ill, polite-
nefs demands that we fhould continue our en-
quiries till he has made his firft appearance
abroad. Having been fo frequently reminded
of your duty in this refpect, you ought to fur-
pafs and not fall fhort of others; but you are
always below the degree of attention common
in fociety. The Duke de Montpenfier anf-
wered in a very unfatisfactory manner the
queftions I put him yeſterday about what he
had been reading; but he wrote me this morn-
ing a very pretty letter, for which I thank
him.
The princes had the
attention to fend of their own accord to en-
quire about the health of Madame, and the
Duke de Chartres to purchaſe ſome flowers for
her.
DEFINITION OF DELICACY.
DELICACY of tafte confifts in the avoiding
every thing grofs and low; in never employing
trite and proverbial expreffions; in having no
complacence for that fort of jefts which are not
confiftent with decency, and which have not
either ingenuity or grace; and above all in
the never uttering jefts of a blunt or embar、
VOL. I.
C
raffing
26
Leſſons of a Governess
raffing nature: as for inſtance, never jefling
upon a man's figure, upon his natural defects,
his want of fortune, his obfcure birth, or his
age. It is allowable however to jeft with a rich
man, if he be not of a covetous difpofition,
upon his wearing a thi cadbare coat, &c. But
this jeft would be converted into an odious one
if directed towards a perfon of narrow fortune,
and fo of the reft. It would alío be exceed-
ingly grofs to fpeak in general terms upon
fome difagreeable fubject, which any perfon
in company might take to himſelf, and which
might recall to his mind an unpleafant truth,
or any misfortune that had befallen him; as
for inftance, if you jefted upon long nofes, in
company of a perfon with a long nofe; or if,
without any tone of pleaſantry, you talked of
people with one eye, with a hunch back or of
baftards, before a perfon who had only one
eye, or a hunch back, or was a baftard; or if
in company with a perfon fixty years of age,
and ſpeaking of another of the fame age, you
called them an old man or an old woman.
Delicacy of fentiment confifts in a more fcru-
pulcus confcientiouſneſs in our actions and con-
duct than is common even in perfons of irre-
proachable probity: as for example, when
we play for money, the deciding, in a doubt-
ful cafe, againſt ourſelves; and if we play
with another equally punctilious, to refufe
to take advantage of this decifion, and to call
in a third perfon. Delicacy of fentiment alfo
leads us to prevent the wishes of thoſe whom
we are defirous to oblige; it inſpires a thoufand
pleaſing attentions, and gives a particular grace
to the favours we confer. In fhort delicacy of
tafte makes its poffeffor polite, gives an agree-
able
to her Pupils.
27
able tone to his conduct, and elevates his
manners. Delicacy of fentiment renders its
poffeffor eſtimable, and procures him all the
benefits of friendſhip. If we would be amia-
ble, applauded, and worthy of the love of
others, we muſt have delicacy in both theſe
refpects.-
You fhall write on Sunday up-
on the following fubject: What are the duties of
friendship, or in what manner ought we to act to-
wards our friends ?
7 September 1786.
THE Duke de Montpenfier read aloud this
evening a tragedy with confiderable emulation,
and a degree of felf-poffeffion.that very much
aftoniſhed and pleafed me.
The
Duke d'Orleans will return foon. I flatter
myſelf that you will recollect all you have told
me of your gratitude and affection, and that
you will be more amiable in your conduct tc-
wards him. Though he fees you continually
you are almoft ftrangers to him, for you fhew
n defire to talk with him, and you never aſk
him any queſtions. Your manners in this re-
fpest will I hope be changed, and you will
now feel how fweet it is to converfe with a
father and a mother fo deferving of your love.
If you were more amiable (and you may be fo
whenever you pleafe) you would now be a very
agreeable fociety to them. But in reality, the
Count de Beaujolois is more familiar and more
pleafing than you. He aſks them queftions, he
intéreſts himself in what they fay, he is fond
without being troublefome, he talks without
empty prattle, without meannefs, and with a
charming
C 2
1
28
Leſſons of a Governess
charming eafe and he is not yet ſeven years
of age.
8 September 1786.
A GOOD day. At dinner I prevailed on
the Duke de Chartres to ſpeak to an old fer-
vant of the houſe who affifted, and he did it
with a grace I could have wifhed it had been
voluntary, and without any memento on my
part..
The Duke de Chartres has writ-
ten to the Duke de Penthièvre, and concludes
his letter with affuring him of his friendſhip.
This expreffion is never employed towards per-
fons entitled to the ſtrongeſt fentiments of ref-
pect. He fhould have uſed the word affection,
or attachment.
The princes have been
very engaging to-day with Madame, and more
agreeable in their deportment to Monfeig-
neur.
Y
10 September 1786.
ESTERDAY was blameless; the preſent
day has been equally fo as to your intercourſe
with me; but this morning the Duke de Mont-
penfier diſplayed a ſpirit of contradiction to
his brother, and the Duke de Chartres irritat-
ed him by fome very indecent retorts. If this
happen again I fhall take fome mode of put-
ting a ſtop to it. Is it thus that friends and
brothers fhould live together? Such behaviour
is ftupid and contemptible.-You have both
written well upon the fubject I gave you, par-
ticularly the Duke de Chartres. I will write
myfelf upon the fame fubject in our Journal
the first leifure moment I have.-The Duke de
Chartres
to her Pupils.
29
•
Chartres was very obliging and polite to fome
Engliſh ladies, who spent the afternoon with
us, and they thought him a charming youth.
The Duke de Montpenfier was by no means
equally agreeable. -The Duke de Chartres rè
lated to me, pleaſantly enough, the frolics of
the Count de Beaujolois; but he fpoiled in a
great meaſure his recital by dwelling too long
upon it, by repeating the fame thing ten times
over, and making it an endleſs tale. He feems
to have no wish to correct himſelf of this lo-
quacity: when he perceives that we are amuf-
ed with his tale, he begins again and draws it
out to a moſt tedious length. I once more
therefore tell him, that we ſhould relate what
we have to ſay in as few words as poffible, never
load the recital with a thouſand petty details,
and when we have told our story in the beſt
manner we are able, drop it and change the
converfation. If he preferve this habit of
eternal babble and repetition, nobody will tell
him that he is extremely tire fome, but every
body will think fo; and will believe befide,
what is not true, that he is deſtitute of under-
ſtanding. I conjure him then to think of this,
and to cure himſelf of fo bad a habit, without
which it is impoffible he fhould be amiable.
There is a proverb which fays, Fools never know
ruben to stop; let him remember this when he
laughs, when he tells a ftory, when he makes
ufe of any little innocent jeft or banter; for
theſe are cafes in which the Duke de Chartres
never knows when to stop. When he laughs,
it is a loud roar that lafts for an hour, and al-
moft always at fomething the reverfe of plea-
fantry. When he is difpofed to banter, there
is no end to his jefts. When he relates a ſtory,
-
C 3
he
30 Leffons of a Governess
he introduces a thouſand unneceffary circum-
ftances, begins it again, and talks of nothing
elfe. This is really infupportable; whereas if
he knew when to ftop, he would frequently be
very entertaining.
22 September 1786.
IN WHAT MANNER OUGHT WE TO CHOOSE
OUR FRIENDS?
WE fhould in the firſt place be careful to
make a wife choice. In order to this it is ne-
ceffary to know if the perfon with whom we are
defirous of forming an intimacy be a man of un-
fullied reputation,if he be fuppofed to poffefs an
elevated mind, if he paſs for a man of talents and
information, if he be a dutiful fon,if he live upon
good terms with his relations, and thefe rela-
tions be reſpectable in the world; laftly, if
his manners be polite and accompliſhed.
Satisfied as to theſe points, we may begin an
acquaintance with him; but we muft ftill act
'with caution. We muft ftudy his character,
obferve whether he be prudent and fincere,
which we may learn from a thouſand little
circumftances, whether he be a perfon to whom.
you may fafely truft yourfelf, whether he be in-
capable of malice or deceit; and if after a
fufficient trial, we find him to poffefs all theſe
virtues, we may then cultivate his friend-
Thip.
When you fhall come to have friends, you
may eaſily aſcertain the fincerity of their at-
tachment. The following is a fure criterion,
If they never afk a favour that would lead
you to be unjuſt to ſome other perſon.
If
to her Pupils.
31
>
If they feel a delicacy and unwillingness
even to aſk ſuch favours as there may be no im-
propriety in your granting.
If they never flatter you.
If they give you good advice at the risk of
difpleafing you for the moment.
If they tell you of your faults.
If they endeavour as much as poffible to make
you in love with your duty.
If they exert their influence to maintain the
union which ought to fubfift between you and
your parents, to confirm you in the perſuaſion
that it is your indifpenfable duty to make them
happy, that the felicity of your own life de-
pends upon your loving them, upon your con-
fulting them in every thing, upon your con-
cealing nothing from them, upon your having
perfect confidence in them, and laftly, upon
your living in the utmoſt harmony with your
brothers and your fifter.-If you meet with
friends who will ſpeak and act in this manner,
you may unhesitatingly give them your confi-
dence: but fuch friends are feldom to be found.
In the mean time, they are the only perfons
who are entitled to the appellation; and if any
man, directly or indirectly, fhould attempt to
diminiſh the regard you owe to your parents,
you may be fure that he has no real attach-
ment to you, and that he is a dangerous and
contemptible character. When you fhall have
found a friend that is worthy of you, you will
owe him every ſervice that is not incompatible
with the welfare of other men. It will be
your duty to anticipate every reaſonable wiflı
of his heart. Befide the favours you confer
upon him yourſelf, you ought to feek his pre-
ferment by interceding in his behalf warmly
C 4
and
32 Leſſons of a Governess
拿
​"
and perfeveringly at court. You fhould feel
an intereft in every thing that relates to him.
Repofing confidence in him yourfelf, you
fhould be defirous of his confidence in return,
and fhould therefore talk to him with an air
of anxiety and concern for his welfare, that
would lead him to difclofe his fituation and
feelings with the fame freedom that you have
difclofed yours If you appear to love him only
that he might liften to you, you may have a
confident, but you will have no friend. It is
for this reaſon that princes are in general fo
deſtitute of friends. I fall fay nothing of the
tender cares you will owe to your friend, when
he ſhall be fick, or fhall labour under afflic-
tion this obligation fpeaks for itſelf.
:
TE
Such ought to be your conduct towards your
intimate friends, that is, towards one or two
perfons. Befide thefe you may form other ties
to which the world gives the name of friend-
ſhip, but which in reality are only the ties of
fociety. Theſe alfo have their obligations,
though they are greatly ſubordinate to thofe of
true friendſhip. They confift in a deſire to
ferve the perfons in queftion, and in treating
them with kindneſs and eſteem. I think, how-
ever, that if either of your brothers had any
juft caufe of complaint against a perfon whom
you had not yet made your friend, it would
be a duty you would owe to your brother not
to form any particular intimacy with this per-
fon. But if you had already contracted a
friendfhip for him, and one of your brothers
fhould take a diflike to this perfon, you ought
not on that account to facrifice your friend,
unleſs his conduct to your brother ſhould have
been decidedly unjuſt, or unleſs he had fought
to
to her Pupils.
3.3
to promote variance and enmity between you
and your brother. In either of theſe cafes he
would have acted contemptibly, and would no
longer be deferving of your friendſhip; but
fhould it be otherwife, you ought not to give
up your friend becauſe his fociety happens to
be no longer agreeable to your brother. This
is fo unreaſonable in itſelf that you ſhould con-
fider it as a point agreed upon between your-
felves. But if Madame or Monfeigneur fhould
have a quarrel with one of your friends, you
ought immediately to forfake his acquaintance,
unleſs its continuance has their approbation.
Monfeigneur and Madame have too much good
fenſe to act from prejudice or caprice; and you
may be affured that, if they entertain a diflike
to any perfon, they have juft reaſons for it, and
their fentiments in this refpect ought to regu-
late yours and determine your conduct.-You
ſhould never fuffer your friends to be accuſed
fecretly and without proof of any injuftice to
you. Always diftruft the man who fhall fpeak
evil of them; mean envy is commonly the mo-
tive of fuch accufations; and when they are not
fupported by indubitable evidence, it becomes. :
you to pay no attention to them, and to filence
the calumniator by affuming an air of coldnets
and incredulity. In fhort, even if you were
told of any injury that was done you by your
friend, and proofs were adduced in fupport of
the charge, however heinous might be the of-
fence and however pofitive the evidence, you
would be deficient in the duties of friendship
if, fatisfied with this, you refolved to renounce
his acquaintance. What appears to be an un-
doubted truth, may be mere illufion or impò-
fture. Such would be the reflection of a man
C 5
of
34
Leffons of a Governess
of generofity and feeling. You ought there-
fore, before you difcard your friend, to have'
a free and candid explanation with him; for
it is thus only he will be able to juftify himfelf,
and you will be unpardonable if you do not
afford him every opportunity in your power of
doing it. In this explanation, if he prove his
innocence, you will have the happineſs of pre-
ſerving a friend who, by this proceeding, will
be more strongly attached to you: but if he
be unable to exculpate himſelf, then, without
noife or contention, you ſhould gradually ali-
enate yourſelf from him, and thus will you be
chargeable with no injuſtice.-Such, my chil-
dren, are the principal duties of friendſhip.
If they are thus extenfive in general inftances,
judge what is due from brother to brother, a
friendſhip more valuable and fincere than any
that can be formed with the world! Judge what
is due to a tender father, to a fond and indul-
gent mother, our firft and trueft friends, and
the only ones in whom we may implicitly truft
in all things!
On Sunday you will write on the following
fubject: In what confifts the difcretion which we
ought to observe in our intercourfe with others? I
entreat you to employ upon this fubject the
utmoſt thought and attention.
YEST
13 September 1786.
ESTERDAY, in paffing by a gallows on
which a malefactor was expofed, the Duke de
Chartres manifeſted a diftortion of counten-
ance which is only pardonable in a child. If
you
to her Papi's.
35
you had paffed at the moment of execution,
this emotion might have been natural, as hu-
manity would have been its excufe. Remem-
ber, my child, that in a man nothing is more
indiſpenſable than courage, that the ſmalleſt
inftance of weaknefs is unpardonable, and that
the world has no indulgence in this cafe. Hu-
manity confifts, not in outward figns, as fhrieks,
grimaces, a readineſs to ſhed tears, &c. theſe
we ſhould leave to filly women; but in a firm
and active beneficence. I will tell you how
you fhould fhew your humanity.
By recommending to your coachman to drive
cautiously, and to take care that he does not
hurt any body. When you travel, if an acci-
dent is occafioned by your carriage, either in
the streets or the high road, to ftop, and affift
yourſelf in adminiftering the neceſſary fuccour.
If it be a poor man who has received the hurt,
to recompenfe him liberally with your purfe;
you cannot give too much in fuch a cafe. If
the accident be a melancholy one, to provide
for the unhappy fufferer during the reft of-his
life; and Jaftly, if it be occafioned by the
negligence of your coachman, to difmiís him
from your fervice.
Never fuffer large dogs to run, before your
carriage, because they are the occafion of a
thouſand accidents. In your field diverfions
be extremely careful that you do not wound
eny body. If one of your domeftics, or any
I ought to have added, that, if it were in the high
road, it would be our duty to take the wounded perfon into
the carriage. There is not a human being, I truft, who
would be deficient in this care; but in an enumeration of
particulars to children we fhould omit nothing.
poor
36 Leſſons of a Governess
poor perfon, fhould happen to be ftruck by a
fingle grain of fhot, reward him inftantly,
however trifling may be the injury. If, in the
high road where no fuccour is to be had, you
fhould meet with a perſon who had unfortun-
ately been wounded, though you had no part
in the accident, humanity would dictate to you
to ſtop and afford him every relief in your
power. In like manner if a carriage be brok-
en down, you ſhould fend your people to offer
their fervices: if the perfons to whom it has
happened be reſpectable in fociety, though
they may not be of the circle of your acquaint-
ance, you fhould offer them places in your own
carriage; if they were of the circle of your
acquaintance, the obligation would be fill
ftronger. This however is a civility you ought
not to fhew but to perfons whoſe names are
known to you, that you may not incur the rifk
of receiving diſhoneſt people, a danger which
is lefs of courfe in the day time, as there will
be no falſe appearances to miſlead you. If the
carriage which is broken be at a diftance from
any houfe, and if the perfons who were tra-
velling in it appear any way fufpicious, it is
enough to fend and enquire whether you can
te of any fervice to them by the affiftance of
your people, or by fending a man on horfe-
back to procure what they want.
If they are
perfons of unquestionable chara&er, offer them
feats in your carriage; and if they are not cn-
ly of character, but alfo ladies, alight your-
felf and make the offer in perfon. In fhot,
humanity requires that you travel as little as
poffit le during the night, in confideration of
your people; and that you do not expo'e tem
unneceffarily
to her Pupils.
37
:
unneceffarily to the rigours of the cold, of
the rain, or of exceffive heat. There are men
who indulge themſelves in jefts contrary to hu-
manity this is frequently not ſo much the re-
ſult of an unfeeling difpofition, as of a want
of reflection. Avoid every thing of this kind,
and let it be an inviolable law with you never
to utter a pleaſantry upon an occafion that ought
to excite your pity.-Never fpeak a harsh word
to a poor man, even though he ſhould be trou-
bleſome and importunate: think of his fitua-
tion, and that by treating him rudely, you not
only inhumanly infult his poverty, but abufe
your own rank: remember the terrible denun-
ciations of God againſt the man who defpifes and
irritates the poor.-Receiye with readineſs and
an air of condeſcenſion and benevolence every
petition that ſhall be preſented to you.
Never
fhew the fmalleft degree of contempt for the
people to them has ever belonged the privi-
lege of deciding the reputation of princes.
Such are the duties of humanity. They
ought ever to be allied with manly firmnefs. If
you are witneffes of a melancholy accident,
you should have the fortitude to abftain from
ufelefs lamentations, to apply inftant fuccour,
and not betray that weak and effeminate pity
which is unable to endure the fight of a wound.
There is a barbarity in contemplating thefe ob-
jets rom mere curiofity; but when they fall
in our way, or we are obliged to fee them in
order to adminifter relief, it would be extreme
weakneſs not to be able to bear the fight. A
greater weakneſs ftill would be to fhudder at
the fight of a dead body; in a man this is a
fhameful and contemptible inftance of pufilla-
nimity. There are perfons who, to avoid this
abfurdity,
38
Leffons of a Governess
abfurdity, fall into another, by employing jefts
and merriment upon thefe occafions, which are
always ill placed and abfurd, and the more fo
as they have a mean and oftentatious air of
courage. Avoid both theſe extremes: content
yourfelves with diſcovering a perfect compo-
fure, affect nothing, be firm with fimplicity,
it is the only way in which you can be fo with
honour. When you fhall come to the poffef-
fion of eftates, your humanity, I am convinced,
will remind you that there are manorial rights,
ruinous to the peaſant, and which claim your
attention. I wifh you to be fully acquainted
with this fubject, that you may not be cruef
through ignorance, as fo many others have
been *. You thus fee that the duties of hu-
manity alone are very extenfive, and when we
are fufficiently informed of them, we fhall be
truly criminal if we do not fully discharge them.
Many perfons are deficient in humanity, be-
cauſe they are ignorant of its obligations. This
is not your cafe; and if you ever fail in them
you will be abfolutely inexcufable. You ought
even to be more than humane, you fhould be
beneficent, you fhould feek out the unfortun-
ate, for you will have experienced from your.
infancy the happinefs of relieving them. This
delightful happineſs you will never renounce,
fince it will draw down upon you every bleffing
In conformity to this wifh, I procured a copy of the
abominable code of game laws. It was not difficult to excite
their indignation at theſe laws, and they gave me their word
of honour never to avail themſelves of fuch inhuman rights.
I thus prepared them, without knowing it, to admire the new
conftitution which is to deſtroy this horrible tyranny as well
as a thouſand other abuſes over which I have lamented with
my pupils,
of
1
to her Pupils.
39
of Heaven, and adorn you with true glory as
long as you live.-I obſerve with pleaſure how
much you are interefted in that unfortunate
child whom you have taken under your care
Your attentions to him are truly unremitted.-
You are deferving of praiſe alfo for the kind-
nefs you bestow on Auguftin †, and the defire
you feel that he fhould become a uſeful mem-
ber of ſociety. It was of your own accord-I
always make ufe of this phrafe with pleaſure,
becauſe it conſtitutes all the merit of your ac-
tions-It was of your own accord that you re-
quired of him to bring a note every day from
his fchoolmafter. But have you thought of
inftructing him in religion? have you fent him
to confeffion? have you recommended him to
the Abbé Moreau? I could wish that he might
walk very feldom alone in the ſtreets, and ne-
ver of an evening. Think more of ſuch things,
and be careful that this child is not corrupted:
having taken the charge upon yourſelves, re-
member that you are anſwerable for him.-If
you wish it we will pay a vifit next week to our
poor paralytick.
14 September 1786.
AFTER reading the article of yesterday,
you informed me that the Duchefs d'Orleans
* A poor little child who had a wound that was pronoun-
ced incurable: he had been in the hands of a quack who was
on the point of amputating his arm; my pupils fent for a
fkilful furgeon (M. Bras-d'Or), and faved the arm and life of
the child.
† A little peaſant boy whom they had taken under their
protection.
had
40
Leſſons of a Governess
had a dog that ran before her carriage *. She
is ſo diſtinguiſhed for her humanity, and has
ever been fuch a complete model of goodneſs,
that we may be affured fhe knows this dog to
be too gentle and quiet to hurt any one.
Be-
fide fhe has been fourteen or fifteen years with-
out a dog of this kind, and fhe is now fo be-
loved by the people, that, notwithſtanding their
diflike of this cuftom, they will fcarcely ani-
madvert upon it in fo excellent a perfon.
When you fhall have acquired her virtues and
reputation, you may be indulged in many things,
which, upon your firft entrance into life, would
be very unbecoming in you to practiſe.
16 September 1786:
You gave a watch to Vincent, to whom it
was proper you ſhould make ſome preſent.
When we afked him what o'clock it was, I
could have wifhed this idea had occurred to
you as well as to me, and that you had in a
whifper requeſted my permiffion to do this.
He is a very good young man, and you feem
to be pleaſed with him, and yet you never
think of beſtowing any reward on him! When
you approve of the conduct of perfons in his
ftation, you fhould fhew your approbation by
acts of kindnefs. I could alſo have very much
wifhed that you had (of your own accord) de-
* She had had this dog but a very little while, and as I
feldom went with her in her carriage I was ignoran of the
circumſtance: but had I known it, I fhould ftill have endea-
voured to inculcate on them a deteflation of this cuſtom, be-
caufe I believe it to be a dangerous one.
fired
to her Pupils.
41
*
fired your fervants to give fomething to the
poor girl whom you faw walking upon crutch-
es. You do benevolent things with pleafure
and a good heart, but it is almoft alv ays ne-
ceffary to remind you of the opportunities.
Think more of theſe things, my dear children,
I conjure you, for the fake of your own hap-
pineſs and reputation.
17 September 1786.
THE day before yeſterday the Duke de
Chartres received a very beautiful paroquet
from the Chevalier de Bouflers. Knowing my
mother's fondness for theſe birds, he offered it
to her of his own accord and with a charming
grace, though he was very much attached to
the bird. My mother refufed to accept it, and
he is endeavouring to procure her another:
all this is very amiable.
18 September 1786.
THE Duke de Montpenfier was very agree-
able to-day at the houſe of his mamma, and
Madame de Rully juſtly praiſed his politenefs.
The attention of the Duke de Chartres was en-
gaged upon two parroquets, which gave him
a very idiot appearance.-The Duke de Char-
tres brought me his theme on the difcretion to
be obſerved in our intercourſe with others. I
am fatisfied with the ideas it contains, but the
writing and fpelling are frightful. You are
inexcufable
42
Leffons of a Governess
inexcufable when you commit faults of ortho-
graphy, as you are perfect mafters of it. Now
that you have clear ideas, I fhall teach you to
compofe with method. I have, on your ac-
count, reflected upon this fubject, and will
give you fome fure rules for every fpecies of
compofition. We will practife together twice.
a week, beginning to-morrow; and I will
write down in this book the rules to be ob-
ferved. I will alfo write, when I have leifure,
my ideas of what conftitutes the diicetion to
be obſerved in our intercourfe with others.
19 September 1786.
THE Duke de Chartres, indiſpoſed with a
cold, has kept his chamber all day. The Duke
de Montpenfier has charmed me by his appli-
cation, his mild nefs, his attention, and his fen--
fibility. I made him repeat tête-a-tête a confi-
derable number of chronological abridgments,
which he did admirably well, comparing the
dates, the times and the perfonages: we intro-
duced fome hiftorical incidents which I relat-
ed to him, and in which he was very much in-
tereſted. During the whole day he has not dif-
covered the leaft degree of remiffnefs, languor,
or want of application. If every day were to
paſs in this manner, how profitable would they
be, and how happy would it make me! He
ſent of himſelf to make enquiries refpecting
Madame, and expreffed himſelf to me in terms
of affection and joy upon her looking fo char-
mingly this morning.
THE
to her Pupils.
43
20 September 1786.
THE Duke de Chartres, having a cold, but
without fever, paffed the whole of yeſterday
in total inaction. Though he were in bed he
might have written, or read, or afked fome-
body to read to him. This liftleffneſs, upon
fo flight an indifpofition, is truly fhameful, ef-
pecially in a man, and I could not excufe it
even in Mademoiselle.-I know that the Duke
Penthièvre came yeſterday to ſee the Duke de
Chartres, and that the prince did not thank
him for the kindneſs of this vifit.
21 September 1786.
THE Duke de Montpenfier did not give a
proper anſwer to my queftions at the begin-
ning of the reading this evening; his anfwers
afterwards were very proper, and in every other
reſpect the day has been irreproachable. He
difplays at all times an extreme fenfibility, a
delightful ſweetneſs, and an ardent defire to
excel. He is not fo forward in fome refpects
as he might have been, becauſe it is only with-
in a year that he has had the ambition to dif-
tinguish himself; if this continue, he will foon
recover his loft time.
Yeſterday I only wrote in the journal in the
morning, and therefore had not an opportu-
nity of obferving, that during the whole day
the Duke de Montpenfier behaved remark-
ably well and gave me extreme pleaſure.
THE
44 Leffons of a Governess
+
22 September 1786.
THE Duke de Montpenfier again charming,
extremely diligent, and occuried in his ftudies
with feeming pleafure and affiduity. He was
the evening very obliging and very amiable in
his behaviour to M. de Chenier: if he conti--
nue thus for the space of two months, count-
ing from to-day, I will give him, not what we
formerly called a reward,—his true reward vill
be the report I fhall make of him to Monfei-
gneur and Madame, but I will give him feme
mark of my particular fatisfaction, and I will
confider how to do this in a way that fhall be
moft agreeable to his difpofition and his heart, and
most useful to his inftruction. It is juft that we
ſhould beſtow the moſt ſtudied attentions upon
fo docile, induftrious, fenfible and lovely a
child..
The Duke de Montpen-
fier brought me fome of his writing to-day,
which was excellent. .
23 September 1786.
ON THE DISCRETION TO BE OBSERVED IN
OUR INTERCOURSE WITH OTHERS.
THIS difcretion confifts, not only in keep-
ing with inviolable fidelity the fecrets which are
intruſted to us, but in never repeating what is
faid in private company, or between perfons.
who frequently affociate together; and even
in a numerous circle, if any thing inconfide-
rate be faid, or any ftigma be thrown upon
another, we ought not to cite the circumftance
by mentioning the name of the perfon, nor
even
to her Pupils.
45
1
even to allude to it without naming him. If
any diſturbance be occafioned by it, and,
knowing that you were prefent when the ca-
lumny was uttered, you ſhould be interrogat-
ed upon the fubject, you ought abfolutely to
refufe to anſwer, and to excufe yourſelf by
faying that you have no defire to interfere in
quarrels of this nature. If you are witneſs of
any inſtance of deceit or treachery, you ſhould
feel the utmoſt deteftation of it in your heart,
but you ought not to interfere by informing
the party upon whom it is practifed, unleſs it
happens to be a perfon that is extremely dear
to you: without this precaution, while you
imagine that you are doing a good office, you
will be the occafion of a thoufand diffenfions.
He can have no difcretion in his intercourſe
with others who is either a tattler, or a ban-
terer, or a calumniator; for the tattler fays of
courſe a thoufand inconfiderate things, and ex-
poſes every one; the banterer, for the fake of
a forry jeft, is frequently chargeable with in-
decorum and injuftice; and the calumniator
not only repeats the evil that he knows of
others, which is extremely odious and crimi-
nal, but is frequently guilty of calumny with-
out intending it, by repeating the evil that has
been told him, which is very often falfe and
always exaggerated.
In a moment of ill humour it fometimes
happens that we fpeak flightingly of thoſe
whom we beſt love: this is exceedingly blame-
able, and will never, I hope, be your crime.
In the mean time we ought to rardon it in
others,particularly if we know them to poffefs a
good heart, If any perfons for whom you fhould
entertain
46
Leffons of a Governess
entertain an affection, and who fhould alfo be
attached to each other, fall into this error
when you were prefent, you would do very ill
to carry an account of it to the flighted party;
it becomes you on the contrary to reconcile
them to each other, to exert all your influence
to prevent a miſunderſtanding, and to heal
any miſapprehenfion between them by careful-
ly concealing every thing that could irritate it.
Such is the conduct you ought conſtantly to
obſerve, and above all among your own rela-
tions, with your brothers, your fifter, your
brothers' wives, &c. When you remark any
coldneſs between them, a circumftance I truſt
that will never occur, but which is nevertheleſs
poffible, the object of every word you utter
fhould be peace and conciliation. Theſe are
the principles incumbent upon us in all inti-
mate intercourfe; and of confequence the duty
is ftill more facred in the cafe of our brothers
and fifters.
Another error very inconfiftent with difcre-
tion and unbecoming in our intercourfe with
others, is the abfurd vanity of wifhing to ap-
pear in poffeffion of every body's fecrets. Of
all follies there is none more contemptible than
that of betraying a fecret, in order to prove
that we know it. Difcretion in our intercourfe
alfo requires that we fhould free ourfelves from
all frivolous curiofity, which befide is always
the mark of a little mind. Perfons who are
defirous of prying into every thing are always
idle, empty, and are beheld with jealouſy and
averfion.
You fee then that difcretion in our inter-
courfe with others is the produce of many other
qualities
to her Pupils.
47
ง
qualities combined. Accordingly the world fets
fo great a value upon this virtue, that all other
virtues without it are counted as nothing. Nor
is this unnatural; there is no quality in the in-
dividual from which the fociety in general de-
rives fo many advantages. I muſt therefore re-
commend it to you to endeavour to fecure to
yourſelves this quality, and to correct without
delay all thofe faults which ſhall be found in-
compatible with it.
TH
24 September 1786.
HE Duke de Chartres confulted me on
fome mark of efteem he was defirous of fhew-
ing to the Duke de Penthièvre, of which I
very much approved, and was delighted that
he thought of this of himfelf.-I have had
company this evening, and I fhall make it a
practice every Sunday in order to accuſtom you
to talk in publick. You were both extremely
amiable, and intereſted yourſelves very much
in the converſation. I was furpriſed at your
eaſe, your politenefs, and the charming man-
ner in which you liftened and talked.
25 September 1786.
M. LEBRUN complains in his journal, that
the Duke de Montpenfier takes a pleafure in
mimicking and ridiculing his brother, and that
his brother has the weakneſs to provoke him to
it by laughing at him. This is all very filly,
and I advife the Duke de Montpenfier to get
rid of this abfurd practice, which I certainly
fhall
48
Leffons of a Governess
fhall not over-look. Nothing can give fo un-
favourable an impreffion of his underſtanding
and character. .
3 October 1786.
YESTERDAY was irreproachable, our
readings charming, the princes attentive, and
replying to my queftions like angels. To-day
my dear children have afforded me equal de-
light. We took an airing for two or three hours
in the carriage: the converfation was pleaſing;
they talked a great deal to me about their papa
and mamma, and with a ſenſibility that enchan-
ted me. They liftened alfo with inexpreffible
pleaſure to the various incidents which I re-
lated of Madame and Monfeigneur. Upon
the ſubject of fome manufactures-that we faw,
they difplayed confiderable intelligence, and a
very active and laudable curiofity. Our read-
ing this evening was equally agreeable with
that of yesterday.-The Duke de Chartres
has done a thing which it affords me ex-
treme gratification to record in this journal.
Without the ſmalleſt inſtigation direly or
indirectly from any perfon, abfolutely of his
own accord, he gave, three days ago, all the
money he had, fecretly to Delifle, for the re-
leafe of a poor prifoner; and without fpeak-
ing to any body of this tranfaction. The next
day he was told of a very unfortunate man
who was in the utmoft want of immediate fuc-
cour,
As he had no more money of his own,
he defired me to give him leave to borrow fome
of M. Lebrun, which I granted. M. Lebrun
was not at all aware what had become of the
Duke's own money, and therefore by no means
approved
to her Pupils.
49
approved his giving in this inftance money not
taken from his own pocket. The prince
avoided all explanation of the reafon; and it
was not till three days had elapfed that he this
evening told me the uſe to which he had ap-
plied his money, rightly judging that, if it
were incumbent on him to confefs his faults,
he ought alſo, as a happineſs he owed to me,
to confide to me his good actions, as it is the
only way in which he can recompenfe my cares:
he related the circumftance without verboſe-
nefs, without oftentation, with an extreme
fimplicity, and in a very few words. I ftrove
not to conceal the impreffion his recital made
on me he ſaw my tears flow, and he mingled
his with a fenfibility, the remembrance of which
ftill penetrates my heart, employing at the
fame time the moft amiable and touching ex-.
preffions! Dear child, never fhall I forget this
evening. The Duke de Montpen ficr has alfo
done a very charming thing. I had told Cæfar,
with whom I was diffatisfied, that the next
time we went to the play he fhould not accom-
pany us.
The Duke de Montpenfier informed
him in private, that when the time came he
would aſk leave not to go himfclf, and would
ſtay at home with him, which must have been
a very confiderable facrifice, as a French play
is an amufement of which the prince is ex-
tremely fond. I learned this from Cæfar him-
felf, whofe heart was very lenfibly moved. How
truly do we merit the cReem and regard of
others, when, devoid of felfifhnefs, we can
thus facrifice our pleafures to friendship! Love-
ly children, continue ever to act thus. What
VOL. I.
a fund
D
50
Leffons of a Governess
}
a fund of happiness do you prepare for your-
felves, and all those who love you!
I have only to reproach the Duke de Char-
tres for an inſtance of abfurd laughter, which
was without reafon, without inclination, and
cvidently forced.
16 October 1786.
YESTERDAY and to-day were both excel-
lent.
Yeſterday a perfon called upon me
who has a very difagreeable way of fpeaking:
the Duke de Montpenfier did not laugh aloud,
but he tittered with his brother, who, inſtead
of perceiving the folly of this conduct, had
the weakneſs to join in it. Such manners are
very unbecoming and difgraceful: if you con-
tinue them, every body will hate you, and will
confider you befide as devoid of underſtanding.
You quickly recovered yourſelves, and fortu-
nately no one obferved your weakneſs but my-
ſelf. In every thing elfe you have been very
amiable, particularly the Duke de Montpen-
fier, who difplayed in converfation a confide-
rable fhare of good fenfe.
17 October 1786.
A GOOD day. This evening my brother-
in-law came to fee me. The Duke de Mont-
penfier ſpoke to him in a very pleafing and
The Duke de Chartres was
graceful manner.
perfectly filent. I always obferve that when
the Duke de Montpenfier fpeaks firft, the
Duke de Chartres has nothing to fay; an ab-
furd
to her Pupils.
511
furd baſhfulneſs that appears the more uncivil
from the contraft of his brother's politenefs.
19 September 1786.
YESTERDAY and to-day were both good.
In the carriage to day accompanied by M. de
Saint Pierre, you both talked, particularly
the Duke de Montpenfier, of the little ar-
rangements of your drefs, your ſtudies and
your mafters. All this was ill timed before a
ſtranger. We fhould never ſpeak of theſe petty
details but when we are alone, becauſe they
are tire fome to thofe who have no intereft in
them, and becauſe it is unpolite to introduce
a fubject of converfation in which the reſt of
the company cannot join.
22 September 1786.
YOUR intereft at length obliges me to give
you my fentiments of a certain character. I
have never mentioned his name to you but
with the utmoſt efteem; I have repeated a
thousand times the gratitude and attachment
you owe him, that he has an excellent heart,
* I refer to a perfon † who, every day during a leffon
which lafted for three quarters of an hour, and in which I
did not prefide, had long been accustomed to traduce me to
the princes. This incident will ferve to fhew a part of the
mortifications which, in the midt of fo many cares and la-
bours, diſturbed the peace of my mind, and how far I ex-
tended my forbearance and moderation.
It appears from a fubfequent part of the work to be the
Abh Guyot, and the trauflator has therefore, in the courſe
of the article, fupplied the name.
D 2
an
52
Leſſons of a Governess
an extreme probity; and I have faid this at a
time when he difplayed towards me the moſt
open enmity: the only thing I have ever per-
mitted myſelf to fay against him is, that he had
a mode of fpeaking which you ought not to
imitate; as for example, the continually mak-
ing ufe of the expreffion, if I dared fay this. I
farther told you, at the time when we were
upon ill terms, that he did not love me, but
that this was excufable on account of his re-
gret for the lofs of M. Bonnard. This, with-
out exception, is all I have ever ſpoken againſt
him. After we were reconciled, I frequently
told you and with perfect fincerity, that he was
good, fenfible, that I loved him, and that you
would act wifely when you fhould fettle in life
to confide in and confult him. I fhall now lay
before you the inferences I derive from thefe
facts,
What has been my conduct fince the period
that you were intrufted to my care? To con-
fecrate myſelf entirely to my pupils, to devote
all my time to them, to renounce every thing
for their fakes, even the fociety of my daugh-
ters fo pleafing and fo dear to my heart. I
have been unremittingly employed in your fer-
vice, even when I did not fee you, in prepar-
ing leffons for you, in writing all the exerciſes
that you were to learn by heart, and volumes
of abridgments and extracts that you were to
read to me. What principles have I taught
you? To be religious; and to you, who have
been the conſtant witneffes of my life, I may
fay, that, to the chriftian precepts and in-
ftructions which I have given you, I have ad-
ded, what is of more worth, a religious ex-
ample.
to her Pupils.
53
ample. Upon this fubject you are acquainted
with various particulars, of which my deareft
friends are totally ignorant. Though you have
not always feconded my cares relatively to your
education, yet I have exerted fo much zeal,
and to fuccefsfully contrived to make even your
amuſements inftructive, that your minds are
much better informed than is common at your
age. What are the moral fentiments which I
have inculcated upon you? Have I not uniform-
ly endeavoured to ftrengthen your confidence
in and attachment to Monfeigneur and Ma-
dame; to infpire you with friendſhip for your
brothers, your fifter, your relations, and your
preceptors; to lead you by every poffible way,
by example, and by exhortation, to the prac-
tice of kindnefs, forbearance, humanity and
charity? What has been my conduct towards
the Abbé. Guyot? He owes his place to me;
it was to me the Ch. de ****applied to ob-
tain it for him; it was I who ſpoke of him to
Monfeigneur and Madame. Since he has been
under my orders, I have patiently endured his
ill humour, bis incivilities and rudenefs, which
have been public; I have treated him with all
poffible refpect, and have never spoken but
with encomium of his character. Since our re-
conciliation, believing him to be as fincere as
I knew myſelf to be, I have entertained a
friendſhip for him, I have procured him every
convenience and comfort to which he could
pretend, as for example, the prevailing on
Monfeigneur and Madame to admit him to
their table when in the country, &c.
D
3.
What.
54
Leſſons of a Governess
What has been his conduct towards me fince
the period of our reconciliation only? He has
profeffed the warmest friendship, he has prait-
ed me upon all occafions in the moft flatter-
ing terms: you have yourſelves witneffed it,
you have feen him fhed tears when he has
afked me if I loved him; you heard him, a
few days ago, fay to me, upon the ſubject of
M. de ***** that I was generous and good,
and that I poffeffed an elevated foul. You faw
the indifference with which I received this adu-
lation, and, contrary to my ufual feelings, the
coldness with which I replied that I did not
like fuch high encomiums on fo fimple an oc-
cafion. You were witneffes of his fending me
a box of flowers, with a tale, which I have
ftill in my poffeflion, and which has been read
to you, wherein he afcribes to me every grace,
every virtue, every talent; ſpeaks of me as a
fairy, and fays that I have painted my charac-
ter in my writings which will be tranfmitted to pof-
terity and yet this very man, when alone with
you, mangles my reputation, calumniates my
character, holds up to ridicule not only me,
but all that I love, endeavouring by thefe means
to deprive me of the confidence and friendfhip,
and even the eſteem, which you owe me! He
tells you that there are many principles in my
works which I do not entertain, particularly
thofe by which Monfeigneur and Madame are
dazzled (and which of confequence are the beft);
and that I have faid a number of things which
I do not believe.
:
He accufes me of falsehood, of being artful,
of announcing projects which I have no inten-
tion
to her Pupils.
55
tion to execute. And of whom does he tell
you all thefe things? Of the perfon to whom
the Duke and Duchefs d'Orleans have delegat-
ed their authority over you; of a perſon whom
this choice alone ought to render refpe&table
in your eyes; of a perfon to whom he is fub-
ordinate, and who has rendered him fervicos;
in fhort, of a perfon whom he affects to esteem
and love, and upon whom he is continually
heaping praifes and demonftrations of friend-
hip.
If, after theſe facts, I were to aſk his dif-
miffion of the Duke and Duchefs d'Orleans, I
fhould readily obtain it; and I believe alfo, as
they both read this journal, and as it is my
duty to keep nothing a fecret from them which
relates to you, that the firft impulfe of their
minds will be to defire the Abbé to withdraw
himself; but I fhall requeft them to let things
remain as they are.
Notwithstanding this conduct of the Abbé
Guyot refpecting me, I believe him to be inca-
Fable of inculcating any had principles on
you, as to any other point. His enmity to me,
founded upon little motives of envy, blinds his
eyes and renders him unjuft. He thinks bc-
fide that, when your education fhall be really
finifhed, I fhall ftill retain my ſtation, and bu-
fy myſelf in the care of governing you. This
he wifhes to prevent by depriving me of your
eſteem, whereby he thinks to cftablith his own
credit. All theſe calculations are falfe, but it
is thus that ſelf-intereft and the paffions reafon.
I ſhall obſerve a ſtrict ſilence, and he ſhall never
D A
know
56
Leſſons of a Governess
know that I am informed of his treachery.
Confide no longer-in him, behave to him with
efteem and complaifance; tell me no more of
his deceit, let us difmifs the fubject and live
in harmony.
This is
Believe
He has farther told you that the Duchefs d'Or-
leans has no confidence in me, and that fhe
only affects it for the fake of peace.
one of the blackeft of his calumnies.
me, if I had not been as certain as of my own
exiftence, that Monfeigneur and Madame were
of one mind refpecting their children, as they
have ever been as to every thing of importance,
I would never have undertaken the charge of
you. Monfeigneur would never have chofen
a perfon who had not been agreeable to Ma-
dame; the choice was made in perfect har-
mony with her, and determined by her alone.
If he had not ftrongly defired it, he would
never have made it; and I can with truth af-
fure you, that, before the thought occurred to
him, Madame was anxious to have a daughter
that he might intruft her education to my
hands. In the fequcl, when the refolution was
taken, fhe was more eager and carneſt upon
the ſubject than Monfeigneur. Such is the ex-
act truth, which Madame will confirm to you.
The ideas therefore which have been ſuggeſted
to you are falfe and mifchievous. A woman
and a mother like the Duchefs d'Orleans, ought
to divide with her huſband the authority over
her children; and fo great is his efteem and
tenderneſs for her, that, in every thing rela-
tive to you, in obeying the one, I have obeyed
the other; I have taken the orders of each
indifferently,
!
tó her Pupils.
57
>
indifferently, both having the fame power,
both having but one will refpe&ing you. Such
are the fruits of the perfect union which reigns
between them, and which is founded upon ſen-
timents too affectionate and too folid ever to
be fhaken.
26 October 1786.
I HAVE forgotten to obferve that the Duke
de Montpenfier, eight or ten days ago, deli-
vered a prifoner from confinement with the
favings of his pocket money. I only learned.
the circumftance the day before yeſterday.
1
11 November 1786.
THE journal has been diſcontinued on ac-
count of your indifpofition, which has confin-
ed you almost entirely to your chamber. You
have been employed however, and the time has
not been loft.
Sunday, 12 November 1786.
THIS morning the Duke de Montpenfier
refumed his ftudies, and refpecting them I
have no reproach to make him; but in the
evening, being the day of my receiving com-
pany, his behaviour was not at all amiable.
He took no part in the converfation, but trifled
and played like a child three years old. At
fupfer I spoke to him with extreme mildre´s
upon the fubject, and the little which I faid in
D 5
a low
58
Leffons of a Governess
a low tone of voice brought tears into his eyes.
This did not pleaſe me, as it fhewed a degree
of fufceptibility which I greatly difapprove.
Senfibility is a very attractive quality, becaufe
it proceeds from the foul: fufceptibility is a
very diſagreeable defect, becauſe ſelf-love alone
is the cauſe of it. I wiſh you to reflect on the
nature of fufceptibility, in what it confifts,
how it difcovers itſelf, what are the inconveni-
ences which refult from it in our intercourfe
with others, and to write a definition of it.
When your brother's health is eftablifhed, we
will compofe together, as I have promiſed you.
You have fo excellent a heart, my dear child,
and fo much firmness of character, that it will
be very easy for you to correct your faults.
You ought to apply yourſelf to this with the
utmoft ardour; for what will the moft fplen-
did talents and the moſt perfect knowledge
avail you, without the immutable principles of
virtue?
The Duke de Chartres requcfted me to fend
a fupply of wood to Fontaines, one of his
coachmen who has had the misfortune to break
his leg. I am pleafed with this new proof of
goodncfs in the prince: the requeft was chear-
fully granted, and I have fent befide, on the
part of the princes, a gratuity of two hundred
francs to this poor man. I must add, that if
the accident had happened while he was driv-
ing your carriage, or while he was employed.
in any of the duties of his ftation, you ought
to have made him a much more liberal com-
penfation but the propriety of this you will
both feel equally with myfelf.
I ought
to her Pufi's.
59
e
I ought to obferve in this place, that Madame
who firft read the account of what the Duk
de Chartres had difclofed to me relpecting the
Abbé Guyot, was of opinion that he could by
no means retain his place, and that it was due
to her children to punifh fuch an example of
perfidy. I requeſted her to take the Journal
to Fontainebleau, and confult Monfeigneur
upon the ſubject; but he returned before fhe
had an opportunity of fpeaking to him. I re-
lated to him the fact, and expreffed my wifh
that the Abbé might not be difmiffed. He aſk-
ed me what the Duchefs d'Orleans thought
of the proceeding; I informed him, and he
replied that he was of the fame opinion: the
Abbé Guyot was accordingly diſmiſſed.
The Duke de Montpentier has given me his
definition of ſuſceptibility, which is entitled to
commendation; but he has not been fufficient-
ly minute. To exprefs ourſelves about trifles
in a multiplicity of words, and to difcufs in a
dry and laconical manner things upon which
we ought to expatiate, are in general proofs
of a fhallow underſtanding and a want of re-
flection; and this is commonly the fault of the
Duke de Chartres. When he fhall exert moie
thought he will difplay a fuperior mind and a
more lively imagination. I will write myfelf
very fhortly a definition of fufceptibility in this
journal,
Sunday, 26 November, 1786.
THE Duke de Chartres was prefented to-
day. He conducted himſelf with the utmoſt
propriety. His anfwers to the queſtions which
were
60
Leffons of a Governess
were put to him, were modeft, unembarraffed,
and happy. He obferved very exactly every
thing I had told him.. At his age, docility,
and a defire to pleaſe, are fure of fucceeding.
M. de Gouvernet is a man of ſtrong mind, of
information, and of elevated fentiments and
manners: embrace every opportunity of con-
verfing with him; he will I am fure be ſurpri-
fed to find you poffeffed of fo much knowledge
and good fenfe. In fhort talk more at all times:
loquacity is infupportable; but it is only by a
fondness for converfation that we can be fuc-
eefsful in the world, or paſs for men of fenſe.
When my aunt told you the ſtory of the box of
colours, you did not at all intereft yourfelves
in it, and ſcarcely gave yourſelves the trouble
to hear it. You ought, on the contrary, to
have liftened in this cafe with attention, to
have entered into her fentiments, and to have
made fome fhort obfervations on what ſhe ſaid.
Be lefs inanimate, lefs cold, and join more in
converfation. You were defirous of accom-
panying me in this vifit, and you behaved with
Be
the greatest indifference and unconcern.
more mindful of your promiſes, and afford me
the fatisfaction of feeing what you ought to be,
after fo much advice and inftruction.
5 December, 1786.
I HAVE been indifpofed ; but you have come
to me regularly, and your ftudies have been
continued. Two days excepted, every thing
has been well; but I obferved to-day that the
Duke de Chartres relapſed into his former in-
dolence.
to her Pupils.
61
dolence. He has promiſed that it ſhall be the
laft time: we ſhall fee.
10 December, 1786.
SINCE the fifth, I have been perfectly fa-
tisfied with the Duke de Chartres. The Duke-
de Montpenfier has affected to be ill, and has
kept his chamber. To-day he returned to his
ftudies. He has ingenuously acknowledged
that he was not ill, and that the pleaſure of
dining every day with Madame, and of doing
nothing induced him to make this pretence,
which is very blameable: all artifice indeed is
extremely reprehenfible. The Duke de
Montpenfier has fo much natural candour,
that we have overlooked this fault; but if he
ever practiſe it a fecond time, we ſhall be leſs
indulgent. Befide, Madame has refolved,
when her children are indifpofed, that they
fhall in future never dine with her, but fhall
be kept to their apartments, fhall obſerve
a ftrict courſe of diet, and fhall fee nobody.
Now and then, exclufive of our Monday din-
ners, when I fhall have been perfectly fatisfied
with your ftudies, I will obtain for you the
recompence of dining at the houfe of Ma-
dame; but this is. an extraordinary favour
which can only be merited by conftant appli-
cation.-M. Lebrun has again informed ine
that the princes, particularly the Duke de
Montpenfier, are too much occupied about
their drefs, their buttons and other ornaments.
This attention would be ridiculous in a wo-
man; in a man it is contemptible. Their
bills are alſo much more extravagant than they
ought
62
Leſſons of a Governess
1
ought to be. Since then the princes abuſe
in every way the permiffion I have granted
them of making their own purchaſes without
confulting me, I fhall for the prefent with-
draw this permiffion; and I therefore forbid
them to purchaſe, directly, or indirectly, any
thing whatever, without my previous confent;
and I fhall lay an injunction upon their peo-
ple to execute no commiffions of this kind
without an order from me or M. Lebrun.—
When they are become more reaſonable, and
I perceive nothing in their conduct that is fri-
volous or effeminate, their liberty in this re-
fpect fhall be reſtored to them,
8 January 1787.
My heart has received fo terrible a fhock,..
that I have been unable to continue this jour- .
nal. You may derive my children, from my
misfortune, great and ufeful leffons. You
have ſeen, and had you lived in the world the
example would have been more ſtriking to.
you, how much the union of virtue, goodness,
talents and youth, creates efteem and love,
The perfon whofe death I fhall ever lament,
has been univerfally regretted, and in a way
the most affectionate and the moſt honourable
to her memory. Though fhe poffeffed every.
accompliſhment that could excite envy, every
body loved her, becauſe ſhe was virtuous and
good. The reputation fhe has left behind her
ought to be flattering to my pupils. Remem-
ber that ſhe became thus virtuous and irre-
proachable by following my counfels, and be-
caufe
to her Pupils.
63
cauſe ſhe entertained the moft elevated fenti-
ments of religion. In me you fee an example
of the confolations it can infpire. It is certain
that without religion, which affures me that
this dear child is perfectly and for ever happy,
without religion, which enjoins acquiefcence
and refignation, I could never have fupported
this calamity. In fhort you may learn from
this event the extreme frailty of human life;
that youth, health, ftrength, beauty cannot
infure its duration. It is neceffary therefore
that we ſhould be always ready to refign it in-
to the hands of him who has created us. My
children fhould endeavour to afford me fome
confolation: I have great need of it. They
ought to be touched with the fentiment which
leads me to reſume my leffons, and to ſuppreſs.
my grief, that I might be ufeful to them; but
this grief will ever find a place in my heart.
Recompenfe then my courage and my cares
by redoubling your application: when I make
fo many efforts for you, do fomething in re-
turn for your unhappy friend. Your hearts
are grateful and good; and I am certain that
the idea will have confiderable influence over
you.
18 January, 1787.
THE Duchefs d'Orleans tells me that the
Duke de Chartres ate the other day half a
cake which I requested him to take to her.
May I afk his highness what name we ſhould
give to fuch practices at his age?-I have ano-
ther obfervation to make to the Duke de
Chartres
64
Leſſons of a Governess
{
Chartres reſpecting a circumſtance which has
ftruck me, becauſe it difcovers in him a
want of gratitude and of penetration. Ma-
demoiſelle de Bruhant faid yesterday that fhe
believed me to have great command of myſelf.
Without being aſked your opinion, you re-
plied that I had not too much of this. You:
meaned to ſay that my temper was warm and
that you diſcerned it. Had this been true, was
it becoming in you to expofe a fault
which my friend believed me not to poffefs?
If, when I was prefent, any perfon fhould
aſcribe to you a good quality, which you had
not, you would think it unkind in me to at-
tempt to deſtroy this opinion: in the mean time
I fhould be lefs unjuft than you, becauſe you
owe me a great many obligations, and I owe
you none. I know that the Abbé Guyot has
often repeated to you that I am hafty, violent,
and never miſtreſs of myself; but if you were ca-
pable of reflection and could judge for your-
felf, you would perceive that this pretended
warmth was the character of my phyfiognomy.
only, and of certain manners which are natu-
ral to me, and not of my mind, and that it is
impoffible to diſplay more mildneſs, forbear-
ance and lenity. At this moment in particular
you ought to have a lively ſenſe of the com-
mand I have of myself; fince, for the fake of
your inftruction, I have fo quickly refumed
our long and fatiguing leffons and extracts,
at a time too when my health is fo deranged
that bleeding has been prefcribed, and I am
obliged during the night to have the attend-
ance of a nurfe. Such is my
Such is my condu* an' yet
you ſay that I am not mistress of myjelf. This
extreme
to her Pupils.
65
extreme-ingratitude is of little confequence to
me: my cares are pure and difintereſted as,
my heart; I expect nothing from men; it is
not for any earthly reward that I labour; but
your happineſs is dear to me, and it grieves
me to reflect that, if you preferve this un-
thinking and ungrateful character, you will
never be loved and never deferve to be loved*.
20 January, 1787.
SINCE the thirteenth of this month, you
have both behaved remarkably well. The
Duke de Chartres has had various converfa-
tions with me, in which he has evinced a
found judgment and great fenfibility. All the
faults with which he is chargeable proceed from
want of reflection; for he abounds in good
ſenſe, and has an excellent heart. I conjure
him therefore to reflect more: it is a habit in-.
difpenfably neceffary, particularly in him.
26 January 1787.
THIS morning the Duke de Montpenfier,
after returning from the academy, instead of
coming to my apartment, amufed himfelf for
nearly half an hour in the antichamber, though
he knew that Monfeigneur and Madame were
with me. I told him my fentiments of his con-
duct, but he made no reply. This afternoon
There is a great deal of bitterness in thefe reproaches
for a word fpoken in jeft; but I was unhappy and indif
pofed, and of confequence eafily irritated, and I always ex-
preffed myself to my pupils as I felt at the moment.
·
he
66
Leſſons of a Governess
he expreffed his regret for his fault. He ought
to have done this at the moment: an offence
is aggravated when we delay as long as we can
to repair it. This evening the Duke de Char-
tres fet his hair on fire. His brother haftened
to his fuccour, and extinguifhed the flame;
but uttering at the fame time two or three pet-
ty fhrieks. Thefe cries are ufelefs, and give
an air of effeminacy that, in a man, is very
contemptible. We fhould apply inftant fuc-
cour, and do every thing which the danger
demands, but we fhould always avoid thefe
puerile demonftrations of terror.
3 February 1787.
THE Journal of M. Lebrun complains of
commiffions given to your valets: I abfolutely
forbid thefe commiffions during your leffons...
The princes received in a very ungracious
manner the phyfician whom M. Saiffert intro-
duced to them. They ought to have aſked
him ſome queſtions about his book, what was
its general plan, and of what fubjects it treat-.
ed. The first time that the princes do not re-
ceive in a becoming manner the perfons who
fhall be prefented to them, I will inflict on
them fome penance.
9 February 1787.
NOTHING can be a greater
proof of a little mind, than the fixing our at-
tention upon the abfurdities and defects of.
others,
to her Pupils.
67
others, without obferving what is eſtimable,
diftinguifhed, and virtuous in their characters.
On the contrary we fhould make it our ſtudy
to diſcover merit; for the beſt proof that we
poffefs it ourſelves, is the knowing how to
diftinguith, honour and applaud it in others.
10 February 1787.
I HAVE been obliged to tell the Duke de
Chartres that he ought to have made enquiries
reſpecting the health of M****, who was ill,
and who has apartments in the Palais Royal.
Will there never be an end to my.tafk of re-
minding you of the duties of friendſhip, of
gratitude and of common civility?
Tuesday, 1 March 1787.;
THE morning was a very repre-
henfible one as to the Duke de Chartres, who
relapfed into his old habit of indolence, of
which M. Lebrun makes heavy complaints.
To the language leffons, particularly the Ita-
lian and English, he paid no attention. I
give you notice that there will be no more go-
ing to the play, till I fhall perceive an unwea-
ried application, and an activity equal to your
prefent indolence. It is not juſt that I ſhould
be ever attentive to the pleaſures of thoſe who
fo badly requite my cares.
15 March 1787.
IN general the princes have behaved very
well, particularly the Duke de Chartres, who
has
A
68
Leffons of a Governess.
has difplayed an air of vivacity and animation.
that makes him charming.. M. Lebrun ftill
complains of the difpofition of the Duke de
Montpenfier, who pouts and is out of humour
upon the moft trivial occafion, and who would
have every thing fubfervient to his minuteft
will. I forewarn him that the next time I
hear a complaint of this kind, I will punish
him very ſeverely
15 March 1787.
THE Duke de Chartres difcharges every
duty with zeal and pleafure, and I have no-
thing but encomiums to beſtow on him. I am
diffatisfied with his brother, and he fhall not
accompany me on Saturday, to breakfaft at the
houfe of Madame de Bouflers.
I
19 March 1787.
CANNOT beftow too many praiſes on
the Duke de Chartres for his gentleness, his
application, his fincerity, his polite and en-
gaging manners, and the whole of his conduct.
The Duke de Montpenfier has behaved well
enough in general, except fome inftances of
petulance which are very reprehenfible. If he
diſplay any more of them, I fhall be obliged
to puniſh him with the utmoft rigour. In his
behaviour to me he is uniformly mild and fub-
miffive; and I therefore truft that my admo-
nitions and entreaties will have fo much influ-
enço
to her Pupils.
69
ence with him as to fuperfede the neceffity of
puniſhments, which it would be very painful
to me to employ.
4 May 1787.
THE behaviour of the princes has for fome
days been irreproachable.
Saint Leu, 14 May 1787.
My health and our occupations have not
Y
permitted me to continue the journal, which
I now refume for the fake of relating that, on
the evening of the fifth, the Duke de Chartres.
informed me, without my queftioning him in
any fort, that M. Lebrun, refpecting fome
arrangement which I had made for the princes,
had told him that had the affair been left to
him, he would have managed it much better.
The Duke de Chartres added, that, after the
affair of the Abbé Guyet, he fhould never
hear the ſmalleſt animadverfion on my con-
duct, from his preceptors, without informing
me of it. I applauded his motive: I added,
that this incongruity of M. Lebrun appeared
to me a circumftance little worthy of attention;
but that, to avoid a repetition of it and to
preferve the moft perfect candour, it was ne-
ceffary that he fhould be informed that the
Duke de Chartres had related it to me: the
Duke undertook to inform him, and executed
his purpoſe with confiderable firmnefs. M.
Lebrun has fpoken of it in perfon to me and
in his journal, and he acknowledges the exact
truth
70
Leffons of a Governess
truth of what the Duke de Chartres had told
me. I ought to repeat in this place, that,
after the cruel adventure of the Abbé Guyot,
my child has acted upon this occafion with
perfect propriety; but that without this cir-
cumftance, he fhould have contented himſelf
with putting a ftop to the converfation of M.
Lebrun, and not have mentioned it to me.
When you hear in company the perfons whom
you are bound to love fpoken flightingly of,
you ought not patiently to fuffer it; you ought
to fhew your diſpleaſure, but you thould ne-
ver repeat fuch converfations to the party ac-
cuſed, nor indeed to any perfon whatever ;
otherwife you will be the occafion of a thou-
fand diffentions, and will obtain for yourfelf
a very ill name. There is but one exception
to this rule, and that is when the honour of
the perfon whom we love is attacked by ca-
lumnies, from which, if informed of them,
he may be able to exculpate hinfelf; but if he
cannot do this, we afflict him to no purpoſe
by the information, and we ought to be filent.
As I have perfect confidence in you, and as I
am fure, not only that thofe who fpeak evil
of me will be unable to convince you, but alſo
that you will never filently endure this, any
more than your brother, I commit equally to
you both the care of defending me.
I rely
upon you without the finallel apprchenfion,
efteeming you fufficiently to know that you
will aft with fervour and zeal, and in fnch a
manner that no one will ever dare to make
before you a fecond attempt upon my charac-
ter. I request you however to avoid the men-
tioning to me in future any thing that may be
}
faill
to her Pupils.
71
faid of this nature, fuppofing fuch a thing to
happen again, which I do not believe. I feel
great pleaſure in giving to my dear young
friends a proof of my confidence and efteem,
and I am perfuaded that it will make an im-
preffion on them, and that they will in every
way merit it.
+
27 January 1788.
IN all cafes, men, and
particularly princes, make a great riſk and
difgrace themſelves when they employ to-
wards others injurious expreffions: it is al-
ways wrong to give people to underſtand that
you think them ftupid and dull, but it is
unpardonable in plain terms to tell them
fo. Such difcourfe is of little confe-
quence in the mouth of a woman; but in that
of a man, and particularly of a prince, it is
fhocking and unpardonable. Vile flatterers
will laugh, but every man of fenfe and honeſty
will regard the prince who fhould practife it,
as grofs, unfeeling, and devoid of underſtand-
ing. As I know the Duke de Montpenfier to
poffe's an excellent underſtanding and heart,
I flatter myself that thefe reflections will have
their weight with him. In returning from
Rainci he fell asleep: he would have been
much more amiable if he had talked to the
ladies who were in the carriage. At all times
he has too little defire to pleafe, though he has
a thousand opportunities of fucceeding and of
making himſelf loved.
THE
72
Leffons of a Governess
1 February 1788.
THE princes are not fufficiently
polite to their teachers.-They ought this eve-
ning to have detained for a moment M. and
Madame de Chatelux, to have fhewn them
fome marks of friendſhip, and to have made a
thouſand enquiries refpecting the Duke and
Duchefs d'Orleans *.
7 February 1788.
M. LEBRUN complains in his
Journal that you ſpeak rudely to your valets.
I very ſeriouſly requeft that this may not hap-
pen again. The Duke de Montpenfier ſhould
reflect that the beſt way of qualifying himſelf
for the firſt rank of fociety, is by the conftant
exercife of civility and kindneſs.
25 February 1788.
WITH the preceding days I have no fault
to find. But the Duke de Chartres has writ-
ten today a very paltry letter to the Duke
d'Orleans, full of abfuid repetitions, and very
dull efide. It concludes with affuring him of
his friendship. I have told the prince a thou-
fand times that we never employ this expreffion
but to our equals; and that towards a father,
befide being too familiar, it is too weak.
Who were at Rainci.
We
lay
to her Pupils.
73
fay in this cafe, that we eflcem and love him, we
a Ture him of our affection; but we never fpcak
of friendſhip towards a perfon to whom we
ove the utmoft refpect and tenderness.
obliged to be always repeating to you the fame
things. When will you have a juft idea of the
decorums of life?
You ought, both of you, now that you fee
Monfeigneur and Madame but once a week, to
aik leave to write to them regularly in the in-
tervals. But you think of nothing yourfelves,
and it is neceflary to prompt you in every
thing.
10 March 1788.
WE have added to other exercises that of
climbing a rope faftened to the ceiling. The
Duke de Chartres fucceeds beft; in the mean
time the two princes and Cæfar climb to the
extent of the rope.
A
31 March 1788.
THE Duke de Montpenfier has formed a
connection at Spa, and is careful to maintain
it though he does not fee M. de Romanſoff,
he is mindful of him and interefts himfelt
warmly in every thing that concerns him. The
letters which he writes to him are charming.
VOL. I.
E
The
1
74 -
Leffons of a Governess
The other day the Duke de Chartres afked
fomething of me on the part of M***; I was
bufy and returned an abrupt anfwer, which the
Duke repeated to him word for word, inſtead
of expreffing the ſenſe of it in the moſt polite
terms, which any other perfon would have
done in his place. If he does theſe things in
his intercourfe with mankind, he will be re-
garded as totally devoid both of good nature
and good fenfe. Such conduct is very unami-
able.
11 May, the day of Pentecoft, and of
the Baptifm of my dear children.
THE Duke de Chartres purchafing lately
ſome fancy waiftcoats was defirous, without
any decent pretext, of giving one to a perfon
of fome rank in life, which I prevented. To
excuſe our making a trifling preſent to fuch a
perfon, it is neceffary that the occafion be a
graceful one; as for example, his having praiſed
a thing which he did not know how to procure,
otherwife our politeneſs is mifapplied and ab-
furd.
Yeſterday I conducted you, never more to
behold ſuch a ſpectacle, to a bear fight, in
which the animal was torn to pieces by dogs.
I faw with pleaſure your indignation, and par-
ticularly the energetic feelings of the Duke de
Montpenfier, at the cruelty and daftardlinefs
of this combat, which is extremely unequal.
The
to her Pupils.
75
The Duke de Chartres, of his own accord,
ſpoke to me of a nofegay woman who had,
out of charity, taken a little orphan girl under
The prince defired me to do ſome-
thing for this woman, who is poor, and we
agreed that he ſhould give her twelve francs a
month.
her care.
TE
16 May 1788.
*the
HE preceding days have been tolerable.—
In the diftribution of their fweetmeats
princes forgot Madame Defrois and M. Roch-
ambault, which is totally inexcufable.
I was
very forry for this omiffion, and have made
them repair it.
Saint Leu, 26 May 1788.
ON my arrival here, a few days fince, I had
a charming converfation with you both, in
which you affured me, without my faying any
thing upon the ſubject, that it was your wifh,
and that you would aſk leave, to continue with
me at leaſt ſix months longer than the allotted
period, that is, till you fhall be refpectively
feventeen years and a half old. This defire is
honourable both to your understanding and
your hearts, and has affected me in a very fen-
fible manner.
* Given on fuch anniverfaries as that of Baptifm.
"
E 2
DEFINI
76
Lefons of a Governess
DEFINITION OF SUSCEPTIBILITY.
A SUSCEPTIBLE or irritable perfon is he
who readily takes offence, and is angry with-
cut caufe or for the mereft trifle. He receives
a jeft ungraciously, replies to it in a ſerious or
petulant tone, and cannot brook the flighteft
and moft innocent pleafantry. When he wifhes
to conceal his refentment, he tlufhes and is
embarraffed, which gives him a very awkward
and filly appearance. But he commonly ex-
preffes his anger openly, or he fulks and pouts
in filence. If any perfons whifper or fmile in
company, he conceives that they are talking
of, or laughing at him. He always puts an ill
construction on a word, a nod, a fmile, a look
which he does not underſtand. If his friend
fhew any little mark of preference to another,
he is offended; he wishes to engrofs upon all
occafions every kind of civility to himfelf; a
trifling inftance of forgetfulnefs, of inatten-
tion, of want of politenefs, he confiders as
infults, and they excite his ill humour and re-
fentment. If we do not return him vifit for
vifit, or anfwer with punctuality every letter,
he is piqued and gives himfelf airs. In fhort,
jealous with his friends, captious in fociety, he
wearies and torments thofe whom he loves, and
difgufts every other perfon. He can never be
amiable in fociety, where he is fure to intro-
duce afperity, ill humour, reproaches, quar-
rels, and conſtraint. No character can be more
diſagreeable than this, and it is commonly the
portion of a very moderate underſtanding and
a narrow foul.
M. LEBRUN
to her Pupils.
77
4
28 May 1788.
M. LEBRUN juftly complains
of the joy you expreffed yefterday upon feeing
a dinner which you liked. You are really too
old for this, and fhould referve your exultati-
ons for things of genuine worth. There are
many perfons who, from a defective education
and want of thought, imagine that they do a
very polite thing in proclaiming their gluttony:
but I would have my children confider that, in
the eyes of every rational being, nothing can
be more abfurd than to boast of any fort of vice.
If we are fo unfortunate as to have contracted
a vicious habit, there is at leaft no neceflity of
adding to it the filly weakness of feeming to
regard it as a fource of vanity.
I am continually aftonifhed to
find, after all the pains that are beſtowed upon
you, how very deficient you are in politenefs.
Be affured however that no accompliſhment
can be more noble, and that the want of it is
a proof of a grofs and uncultivated mind.
With the education you will have received,
what will the world think of you, not only if
you are not polite, but if you are not emi-
nently fo, fuperior in this refpect to other
men? M. Lebrun charges the Duke de
Montpenfier with having had the indifcretion
to read part of a letter written by the Duke de
Chartres, and the rudcnefs to tell him that it
was very fupid. This is not the first time that
the Duke de Montpenfier has made ufe of un-
civil exprefñuns to his brother: for the next
fault of this kind he fhall be punifhed very fe-
verely.-M. Lebrun accufes him alfo of fay-
ing at table, when I was not prefent, fome
dirty
E 3
73
Leffons of a Governess
dirty things, a fpecies of pleafantry that is at
all times ignoble, and particularly unpardon-
able at meals. M. Lebrun adds, that the Duke
de Montpenfier makes too frequent attempts.
at wit in order to excite a laugh. Such at-
tempts are commonly ridiculous and deprive
the mind of all true nobility. The Duke de
Montpenfier is naturally poffeffed of dignity
and tafte; he will feel, I truft, that the part
of a buffoon is not ſuited to his character, and
will not confound the ſprightly fallies of the
mind with the grofs and noify mirth of bad com-
pany, or of perfons alike deftitute both of de-
licacy and of fenfe. The Duchefs d'Orleans
arrived here yesterday after a fortnight's ab-
fence, and you both left her and walked in the
garden.There will be a great deal of com
pany here to-morrow: I entreat you to think
of this, and to take care that you conduct your-
felves properly. I fhall keep a ftrict eye upon
you, and you will afford me the greateft plea-.
fure if you are polite and amiable.
13 June 1788.
WE have made a very pleaſant cxcurſion to
La Trappe, during which I was perfedly fa-
tisfied with you. You have been almoſt equally
faultlefs fince our return.-M. Lebrun accufes
the princes in his Journal of not having had
the civility a few days ago to offer Pamela any
of the ftrawberries which they gathered for
their breakfaſt. Is it poffible that at your age
you ſhould be fo devoid of politeness, and
fhould derive more pleaſure from the felfſh
gratification of eating ftrawberries, than frem
an
to her Pupils.
79
an at of kindness and civility? Quit thefe vul-
gar practices which place you below your age,
and which are ſo little compatible with grace-
ful manners and an elevated mind.-M. Lc-
brun farther complains that whenever he re-
proves the princes for any fault, they always
make fome reply: it is time that this fhould
have an end; the next indecorum of this kind
fhall be punished with the utmoft rigour.-I
give you notice that if I am not perfeélly fatis-
hed with you from the prefent moment to the
evening of the play, you fhall not be permit-
ted to go.
La Mothe, 14 Auguſt 1788.
FOR two days paft the Duke de Chartres
has fhewn fuch a total want of application that
I have been obliged to puniſh him by making
him fup alone in his chamber. During a pe-
riod of more than three weeks that we have
been here, you have made no enquiry what-
ever refpecting any of our friends at Paris, nor
commiffioned me to ſend on your part the leaſt
compliment to them. This is really incon-
ceivable. You have equally neglected to write
to the Duke de Penthièvre. What value do
you fuppofe will be fet on your friendſhip, if
you are guilty of fuch omiffions? The only
thing for which you are entitled to praife is
your mode of bathing and fwimming in the fea,
without effeminacy or fear, and in cold and
tempeftuous weather. I ought alfo to add that,
fince your laft journey, you have been defirous
of curing yourfelf of luxurious habits, and
have therefore flept upon a fmall mat placed
E 4
on
80
Leffons of a Governess
L
on the floor. Your beds and your mattreffes
are laid afide, and you are perfectly reconciled
to this change. I congratulate you: there is
no greater proof of manliness than to defpife
every fenfual indulgence. By this conduct you
afford me the greateft pleafure, and I cannot
too much applaud you.
:
Paris, 22 October 1788.
M. De Chatelux has been ill for this fort-
night, and you have never thought of fending
to enquire how he did, which is truly fhame-
ful. I am for ever afking you the fame quef-
tion what claims have you to the attention of
others? When you fee your moft intimate ac-
quaintance, you have nothing agreeable to ſay
to them; when they are cut of your fight, you
never think of them, even though you know
them to be in pain and fickness. I request you
to fend every day to make enquiries refpecting
his health, and that to-morrow in your way to
Belle Chaffe, you alfo pay him a vifit: you
will be at the Academy # a quarter of an hour
later on this account.
23 October 1788.
A VERY tolerable day. You tell me that
you have fent many times to make enquiries.
refpecting the health of M. de Chatelux; but
you have not done it with the regularity and
* We gave the name of Academy to our painting and
diawing, becaufe all the children learned this art together,
perfeverance
to her Pupils.
81
perfeverance which you ought.-To infpire
you with greater emulation I fhall revive a
plan which I inſtituted formerly, and in which
I was very fuccefsful with my children. I fhall
give them prizes for three forts of excellence:
1. For humanity and good humour. 2. For
affiduity. 3. For drawing. Under each of
thefe claffes there fhall be a firft and a fecond
prize, and they fhall all be diftributed on the
25th of January in every year. The firft dif-
tribution fhall be next January, fo that you ·
will have but three months to merit them. You
will understand that, in order to obtain the
firft and moft flattering prize, the prize of hu-
manity and good humour, it will be neceffary
that you ſhould diſcharge every duty of bene-
ficence, friendship and gratitude; that you
fhould fuffer no opportunity to eſcape you of
doing good; that you fhould be affectionate,
obliging and attentive to thofe you ought to
love, diftinguifhed in company for good man-
ners, towards the fervants for politeness, in-
dulgence and kindness, towards your mafters
for deference and refpect; that you fhould fay
no harm of any body; that you ſhould never
allow yourſelves in fatire or contempt, never
contradict, never be out of humour, never ex-
prefs yourſelves in a quick, a loud, or a fharp
voice, with airs of imperioufness and imperti-
nonce, &c. The firft prize of humanity and
good humour fhall be a ftandiſh of fandal-
wood with my cypher. It fhall be furniſhed
with paper, pen-knife, knives of other forts
and crayons: it fhall have in the infide of the
lid thefe words written in letters of gold: Prize
of humanity and good humour. The perfon who
E 5
fhall
82
Leffons of a Governess
fhall earn this glorious prize, fhall alſo be al-
lowed to give a breakfaſt or a fupper to the
reft, and I will fupply him with money fuffici-
ent for the liberation of two prifoners, which
he fhall effect in perfon, and who will be in-
debted for this happineſs to a conqueft thus
gained over the paffions and a fuccefsful effort
of felf-government. I am fure that this idea
will alone be fufficient to excite my dear child-
ren, who have ſo much goodneſs of heart, to
do every thing in their power to deferve fo
honourable and tranſporting a prize. The ſc-
cond prize of humanity and good humour fhall
be a tooth-pick cafe of fandal-wood, mounted
with gold, with a cafe of my own working.
2. The prize of affiduity fhall be a handfome
and large box containing every neceffary for
writing, for painting in water colours, for
drawing with black and red lead, and work-
ing in ftraw and in hair, together with feveral
books of blank paper beautifully bound. At
the bottom of the box theſe words fhall be
written: Firf prize of affiduity. The fecond
prize fhall be a box of pafteboard containing
inaterials for writing. 3. The first prize for
drawing fhall be a handfome Engliſh pocket-
book, and in one of its pockets a medallion
in camaieu. The ſecond prize fhall be a beau-
tiful box of colours for painting in camaieu
and in water colours. I muft particularly ob-
ſerve that if more than one perfon appear in-
titled to the first prize in any of the claffes,
more than one first prize fhall be given; nor
could I poffibly have a greater pleaſure than
that of giving twenty-one. I fhall not however
double the fecond prizes. If it ſhould happen
that
to her Pupi's.
83
that the claims of different perfons appear pre-
cifely equal, the prize mult be determined by
drawing of lots. You are all certain that I
fhall judge with impartiality. Befide, as the
journals will be evidence of your conduct in
each inftance, the decifion will be made from
pofitive facts. I advife you therefore before-
hand to prepare your minds for it, and to re-
ceive it with refignation. If thoſe to whom the
decifion may be unfavourable, fhall acquiefce
without murmuring or fhewing any figns of ill
humour, they will prove at leaſt that they are
capable of juſtice and generoſity, and this will
be confidered as fomething eftimable and vir-
tuous, and will greatly contribute to the poíf-
bility of their acquiring the prizes of the fol-
lowing year, as it will be written in terms of
the higheft. commendation in the journals.
Think, my children, that the object of your
ambition, as to thefe prizes, fhould not be
merely the acquifition of elegant and uſeful
prefents, but alfo the obtaining honourable
teftimonies of efteem and unequivocal procfs
of your virtues and your good conduct. You
ought therefore to affix the higheft value to
thefe rewards, which are emblematical of what
will one day be your fortune when you thall
be fettled in life. Then honours, glory, the
moft flattering diftinctions, the friendfhip of
thofe about you, and the public efteem will be
the recompenfe of your talents, your merit,
and your virtues. To obtain however this re-
compenfe, it is neceffary in the mean time that
you ardently afpire atter and know how to
merit the prizes that are now held up to your
ambition.
AN
84
Letions of a Governess
24 October 1788.
AN excellent day. The inftitution of prizes
has excited your gratitude and other fcnti-
ments which charm me. I fhall add to them a
fourth prize for felf-denial. If, counting from.
the twenty-fifth of the prefent. month to the
eighth of November inclufive, you ſhall con-
duct yourſelves as you have done for theſe five
days paft, I will give you an additional day of
relaxation feparate from our Sundays, Mon-
days and Fridays *. You fhall draw lots among
yourfelves, and the perfon who thall have the
fortunate ticket, fhall determine where we are
to go and what we are to fee. The hours for.
this excurfion fhall be from one o'clock to five.
We will dine on the road; and the perfon male
or female, to whom the lot has fallen, fhall
controul the dinner and do the honours of the
feaft. In the choice of place and as to every
thing clfe, the gentlemen I am fure will have
the complaifance to confult the ladies, and will
embrace this opportunity of difplaying a fpirit
of accommodation and a defire to pleafe. I.
fhall avoid the leaft interference, and fhall ac-
quiefce in whatever the children fhall agree
upon among themfelves. It is needlefs to fay,
that any inftance of ill behaviour, and parti-
cularly a want. of civility and good nature will
exclude the perfon chargeable with it from
this charming party. We will take this recre-
ation once every fortnight.
*They dined every Sunday with Madame d'Orleans, and
on the other two days we went to fee fome manufactories or
monuments,
ALL
to her Pupils.
85
30 October 1788.
ALL the children yesterday, with the ex-
ception of the Duke de Chartres and Made-
moifelle, indulged themfelves at dinner in loud
laughs and other difagreeable manners which
I have exprefsly forbidden.. This is a fpecies of
difobedience, which, if repeated, I fhall cer-
tainly puniſh.-Yefterday Mademoiſelle faid,
of her own accord, an additional prayer diftinét
from thofe which fhe confiders as daily incum-
bent on her: this is very commendable, piety
being a pledge of every other virtue.
31 October 1788.
THE Duke de Chartres wrote
me this
morning a very enchanting letter. The follow-
ing paffage is literally copied froin it: the ori-
ginal I fhall all my life preferve as a treaſure
dear to my heart. Till my education is finiſh-
ed, that is till the firft of April 1791, I fhall
:
C
C
(
¿
avoid every expenfive pleafure, and devote
the whole of my pocket-money to acts of be-
neficence.. I entreat you to receive, in this
respect, my moft facred word of honour.
On the first of every month we will determine
to what ufe the money fhall be applied. I
could wish the affair to reft with ourselves;
but you are well affured that all my fecrets
are and ever will be yours, to do with them
as you pleaſe.'
Since you leave it to my option, it is juſt
that I fhould infert it in this journal, where I
write without fcruple all your faults. It is juſt
that I fhould record fo virtucus an example.
When
86
Leſſons of a Governess
When you do ill, I blame you without referve;
when you do well, I am equally free in praifing
you: I tell you, on all occafions, the fimple
and exact truth. I think it my duty then to
declare to the Duke de Chartres that his cha-
racter has prodigiously improved within a year.
He was born good, but he is enlightened and
virtuous by acquifition. He has nothing of the
frivoloufneſs of his age; he cordially defpifes
all the puerile vanities which fo generally en-
grofs the attention of young people, as finery,
jewels, trinkets of every kind, dreſs, and a
defire of being the first to adopt a new fafhion.
He has no attachment to money, he is perfey
difintereſted, he hates pride and is confequent-
ly of a noble difpofition. In ſhort, he poffeffes
an excellent heart, a quality that is common
to all of you, and which, with reflection, may
be productive of every other virtue. The Duke
de Montpenfier is lefs exempt from frivolous
and fantaſtic defires, he is lefs mild, lefs eafy
to manage, but then he is younger. He has a
natural love and admiration of every thing that
is honeft, and juftice and integrity are ftriking
features in his character. He poffeffes confi-
derable delicacy of fentiment and a very lively
imagination. His chief defect is the not know-
ing how to moderate and direct his vanity; it
frequently fixes upon trifles, the tendency of
which is to contract the understanding. When
he fhall cure himſelf of this fault, he will readi-
ly acquire every quality in which he is defici-
ent. He will no longer be irritable; he will
ceaſe to laugh at a thouſand puerilities in which
there is neither good nor harm; and he will be
lefs attentive to the different articles of drefs.
But
to her Pupils.
87
But I am ſpeaking only of the paít; and, as
may be ſeen from this journal, fince the infti-
tution of the prizes I have not the leaft fault
to find with his character or his conduct.
The fame day.
MADEMOISELLE, of her own accord, per-
formed this morning an act of piety and felf-
denial to which fhe was not at all obliged. I
ought alſo to obſerve in general, that ſhe is
conftantly noble and beneficent; that fhe is
incapable of envy, jealouſy, or ill will; that
fhe has a perfect equality of temper, and the
moft compaffionate and grateful heart. But
fhe has a propenfity to laugh and prattle *;
fhe is fufceptible, and weeps with extreme fa-
cility. I am fure fhe will correct herfelf of
thefe faults and abfurdities, and fince the in-
ftitution of prizes I have feen in her nothing
reprehenfible in this reſpect.
I H
1 November 1788.
HAVE difcovered that, for many months.
paft, the Duke de Montpenfier has taken care
of a poor woman, and with a minute attention,
a fenfibility and fecrecy that render the action
charming. He wishes to pay her a viſit, I fhall
accompany him.-I have forgotten to write in
*Thefe faults are common to all' children naturally cheer-
ful and communicative; but they are eafily cured of them
when their hearts are good and they are not deficient in un-
derftanding.
Our
88
Leffons of a Governess
*
our journal, that a few days fince we went to
fee ancther poor woman whom the humanity
of the princes and of Mademoifelle had extri-
cated from the moft deplorable mifery *.
14 November 1788.
MADEMOISELLE, of her own accord,
ftudied alone upon the harp this morning an
'
It was faid eighteen months ago, and has been a thou-
fand times repeated in the journals inimical to the Revolu-
tion and in other libellous publications, that "I took my
pupils to the houfes of the poor and the workshops of the
"manufacturers merely to flatter and feduce the people,
"whom in my heart I defpifed." It is to fhew the ablur-
dity of this accufation that I cite fo many inftances of fuch
vifits of an early date, and at a time when it was impoffib e
to forefce the revolution which has given fo much impor-
tance to the esteem and regard of the people. The journal
kept by M. Lebrun agrees perfectly with mine as to theſe
facts and their dates; and befide none of thefe vifits are paffed
over in filence by him, becauſe as the expence attending them
was paid by him (not chooſing myfelf to have the trouble
of it), he inferts regularly in his journal what was given on
each of theſe occafions. for myself, I have only recorded
fuch actions as were perfectly voluntary on the part of my
pupils, and have avoided ſpeaking even of thoſe to which
they were indirectly adviſed by me, not thinking them wor-
thy of recital. I have not therefore mentioned the numerous
vifits which we made to a paralytic woman whom they fu
ported for two years, nor numerous other vifits to fome
poor perfons recommended to us by M. de Saint Pierre
(author of Etudes de la Nature), nor the vifits to the diffe..
rent jails for the releafe of prifoners, nor a thouſand other
things of this kind which were fuggefted or recommended to
them by me. I must add that, after the Revolution and be-
fore any libel had appeared againſt me, I had prohibited
them the pleaſure of beftowing their alms in perfon, clearly
foreſeeing that malice would not fail to put an odious con-
ftruction on thefe charitable actions. At the period of the
Revolution, we had nearly finished our courfe of manufac-
tures, only four remaining to be feen; and from the month
of October 1789, our excurfions were merely to fee monu-
ments or country feats,
hour
to her Pupils.
89
:
hour longer than I had preſcribed to her *-
The Count de Beaujollois is charming in all
refpects he is not amiable by halves, and I
have never witneffed a ftronger defire of pleaf-
ing. His attachment does not confift in pro-
feffions only; there is nothing I am ſure which
he would not do to fatisfy his governeís, his
friend, and that friend is not ungrateful.
Mademoiſelle and Pamela appear from the
journals to be uniformly irreproachable as to
humanity and good humour. Mademoifelle had
three louis in her purfe, and fhe voluntarily
gave away two this morning in alms which
were very well chofen. I ought alfo to obferve
that the two elder princes have,, fince the infti -
tution of prizes, been equally faultlefs as to
humanity and gocd humour, and that upon
this fubject I have fcarcely had occafion to ſay
any thing even to the Count de Beaujollois.
*Mademoiſelle d'Orleans received from me her firft leffon
on the harp 2d October 1785, and the has never had for this
inftrument any other master than myſelf. I feel the fatis-
faction of having given her a very fuperior talent, though
fhe is not yet fourteen years of age. She may become a
better muſician, but in point of execution fhe has nothing to
learn, which is aſtoniſhing when we confider her youth.
When he was too young to ftudy entirely alone, a valet
who underſtood fomething of mufic heard her repeat the
leffons I taught her, that he might obferve the time; but
this valet had no knowledge of the harp, and could not
even tune this inftrument. She now ftudies alone. I have
never paſſed a day without giving her a leffon, and I have
written on this journal regularly the words a good or a bad
lefon accordingly as fhe executed it: I have fuppreffed thefe
little details in this publication, as they were not calculated
to intereft the reader.
THE
90
Leffons of a Governess
26 November 1788.
THE Duke de Montpenfier was defirous, a
few days fince, of going himſelf to the houſe
of the poor woman whom he had taken under
his protection. The queftions which he put
to this woman, and the concern he fhewed for
her fituation, gave him a moft amiable appear-
ance.
•
FROM
28 November 1788.
ROM a motive of felf-denial you refuſed
yeſterday to take tea, though you had my per-
miffion. It is by thus accuftoming yourſelves
to theſe little facrifices, that you will gradually
fucceed in obtaining over yourfelves a com-
plete empire.
2 December 1788.
I HAVE had occafion to reproach the Duke
de Montpenfier for having ignobly ridiculed a
perfon of the Palais Royal. The Duke mi-
micked his mode of ſpeaking, a pitiful fort of
a jeft which may well be retorted upon his
highneſs, who has himſelf a defect of pronun-
ciation that is very diſagreeable. It is igno-
minious and cruel to laugh at natural imper-
fections. All derifion is blameable; but this
in particular fhews an extreme narrowness of
mind.
I HAVE
to her Pupils.
91
I
5 December 1788,
HAVE facrificed to-day a reading to which.
I was invited, at the houſe of Madame Necker,
and which I had a great defire to hear, in or-
der to accompany you, in very bad weather,
to fome manufactories. You never thought of
propofing to me to facrifice your pleasure to
mine, to which however I fhould not have
confented; but it was a fimple duty which you
ought to have obſerved.
25 December 1788.
'THE Duke de Montpenfier has been indif
pofed for fome days, which has interrupted
our readings. He has behaved with perfect
propriety in his apartment, and has applied
himſelf to his ftudies when he has been free
from fever.
14 January 1789.
THE Duke de Montpenfier has evinced an
excellent heart by his conduct to Nadir, his
negro fervant, who had contracted debts. His
Highneſs, from a voluntary impulfe, gave him
all the money which he had in his purfe.-The
Duke de Chartres has relapfed into his old
habit of walking double, and practifes all his
other antics, fuch as playing with every thing
that he lays his hands on.
Account
92
Leffons of a Governess
}
27 January 1789.
Account of the Children at Belle Chaffe, fince the
Infiitution of Prizes. *
THE princes rife at fix o'clock, and do not
arrive here till noon. But I give them their
plan of morning ftudies, and M. Lebrun writes
in his Journal a minute account of their pro-
ceedings during thefe intervals, which is
brought me regularly. All the hours from their
arrival at Belle Chaffe till nine in the evening
they paſs with me, except the time appropri-
ated to the academy: a journal however is
kept by Mademoifelle de Rime, in which the
mafters give an account of their drawing, aud
other leffons which pafs under my infpection.
Befide all this, there is the Journal now be-
fore me, in which I write every thing that I
conceive to be worthy of obfervation, whether
it be matter of praife or blame. Thus I have
a written and particular account of every thing
the princes do from the inftant of their rifing
to the moment of their going to bed; and can
judge of their conduct from the moft undeni-
able evidence, the evidence of facts. It would
be tireſome to read over again all the journals
that record thefe facts fince the inftitution of
prizes; I have therefore made a little fummary
of them, and from this fummary my judgment
will be formed.
* In this account I included two young ladies, whom I
educated with Mademoiſelle, and who have the happineſs to
be her companions and friends. I included alſo my nephew,
at that time an infant, and who had no ftudies in common
with my other pupils, but dancing and drawing. I fhall
infert in this p'ace nothing but what relates to the children
of M. d'Orleans,
Condu&i
to her Pupi's.
93
Conduct of the Duke de Chartres, fince the In-
ftitution of Prizes, 24 October.
A CONSTANT application to drawing;
and of confequence the Duke has made an
aftonishing progrefs in this art. As to his other
Rudies, I have little to blame or commend,
hiſtory and geography excepted, in which his
proficiency has been confiderable. In his read-
ings with me he has been pleafed and interef-
ted, and has reaped from them no trifling be-
nefit. In point of good humour he has been
irreproachable; I would fay the fame of his
humanity, if his Highnefs had not been fre-
quently deficient in the attentions of fcciety
and friendſhip, duties which are not to be dif
penfed with; but he has been confcious of his
fault, has expreffed his forrow, and has en-
deavoured to repair it. Befide I cannot fuffi-
ciently praife his candeur and fincerity; and,
fince I am obliged to give an account of every
thing, I must add that he has been uniformly
charitable and generous; that he has difplay-
ed no unbecoming fondnefs for drefs, nothing
frivolous, nothing effeminate, and that his pure
and elevated foul has been incapable of a fingle
inftance of envy or of jealoufy. With refpect
to politenefs he is greatly improved; he ſpeaks
better in public company, and in private fociety
he is more attentive, and feems to have loft
that fpirit of goffiping for which he was for-
merly reprehenfible. I give him the first prize
of humanity and good humour, obſerving at
the fame time that, as to good humour, he is
perfectly intitled to it, and I fhew him no in-
dulgence; but that, as to humanity, it were
to
94
Leſſons of a Governess
to be wifhed that he had been a little more
mindful of his friends, and anxious for their
welfare.
Reſpecting their drawings the princes agreed
to fubmit them to the examination of M. David
and M. Gerouſt, without affixing their names
to the performances, that the judgment might
be wholly impartial. The fecond prize of
drawing has been given to the Duke de Char-
tres. Theſe prizes were only contended for
by the two eldeft princes and my nephew,
whofe ftrength was nearly equal; the other
perfons being too much inferior to them to
engage in the competition.
The prize of affiduity has in general been
unmerited, though I cannot charge any of my
pupils, the Count de Beaujollois excepted,
with abfolute indolence; but to merit this
prize in particular there must be an ardour
and perfeverance which I have not obſerved.
With reſpect alfo to the prize of ſelf-denial,
though there has been no appearance of the
contrary vice, the Duke de Chartres has done
nothing that thould give him any claim to a
recompenfe.
The Duke de Montpenfier.
A PERFECT application in drawing and
an aſtoniſhing progrefs. His application in his
other studies was alfo without intermiffion for
the ſpace of three months and a half, till the
end of December, but fince that period he has
confiderably relaxed, his drawing excepted.
His Highneſs has performed many acts of hu-
manity
to her Pupils.
95
manity and charity that are truly laudable; his
good humour in his intercourfe with me has
been perfect, and in his behaviour to others he
has been for the laſt three months more com-
mendable in this refpect than heretofore, but
he is not yet what I could wiſh. He is fome-
times very imperious to his fervants, and he.
has ſtill a propenfity to detraction, to fatire
and contempt.
Twice within theſe three
months has he made uncivil replies to M. Le-
brun, which is totally inexcufable, as the
princes owe him both gratitude and friendſhip
for his judicious and perfevering cares, as well
as a profound eſteem for his character and the
example he has afforded them of every virtue.
I muft further obferve that, towards thofe with
whom his acquaintance is flight, the Duke is
neither fufficiently obliging, nor fufficiently?
polite but in general he is intereſted for the
perfons whom he loves, and abſence does not
make him either forget or neglect them.-The
first prize of humanity and good humour which
I give to his Highness, is not therefore com-
pletely merited: but I hope that I fhall next
year have no need to fhew him any indulgence.
in this reſpect. The prize of affiduity is de-
ferred.-As to felf-denial, the Duke de Mont-
penfier has merited neither cenſure nor re-
compenfe.
NOT
Mademoiselle.
OT enough application to the harp,
though her improvement is obvious: not
enough as to her other ftudies, dancing and
writing
96
Leffons of a Governess
writing excepted. Not enough politeneſs, but
great humanity and good humour. Striking
inftances of felf-denial, the particulars of which
are recorded in the journals. I give therefore
to Mademoiſelle without indulgence, as rewards
perfectly merited, the first prize of humanity
and good humour, and the prize of felf-denial.
--Mademoiſelle is becoming dexterous, and
begins to exert herfelf fuccesfully.
The Count de Beaujollvis.
HIS highness has an excellent heart; I hope
therefore that he will next year merit fome
prize; unfortunately as to the preſent year, it
is impoffible to give him one.
Recapitulation.
BEFORE I conclude this exact and faithful
account, I would make a recapitulation, which
is very fatisfactory to myself. From the fum-
mary of the journals, I perceive that the year,
which has juft clofed, has been the moſt pro-
ductive of any fince the education of the
princes commenced. All the children, with
the exception of one only who may ftill be
confidered as an infant, have prodigiouſly im-
proved both as to character and underſtanding.
They have one ineftimable virtue which is com-
mon to them all: that of candour, fincerity,
a horror of falsehood, a deteftation of every
diſhoneſt proceeding. I may fay without ex-
aggeration, that this quality cannot poffibly
exift in greater perfection.
Another
to her Pupils.
97
Another virtue common to them all is a live-
ly fenfe of juftice; they are equally incapable
of envy, and their emulation never degenc-
rates into jealoufy. The Duke de Montpen-
fier has one peculiar excellence, the being na-
turally mindful of the perfons whom he loves,
whether they are prefent or at a diſtance. Ile
joins to this a diſcretion and a delicacy of feel-
ing that are uncommon at his age. He has ac-
quired this year an important virtue which his
brother always poffeffed, that of liftening to
falutary admonition and uſeful truths: he is at
length perfuaded that the ſtrongeft proof of at-
tachment confifts in telling thofe we love of
their faults and imperfections without difguife.
-Mademoifelle, who was alfo very irritable,
is no longer fo, and can now bear the language
of truth, which fhe knows to be that of friend-
fhip. Mademoifelle has befide lefs propenfity
to goffip; her mind is formed, fhe has a charm-
ing equality of temper, and as to her heart it
will ever I hope remain what it is at prefent.
All that I have to wifh for in her is a little more.
application to ferious ftudies, a greater taſte
for reading, more politenefs, and a general de-
fire to pleaſe.-Laftly, the Count de Beaujol-
lois, the only perfon of whom I have to com-
plain, poffeffes at the fame time the feeds of
many excellent qualities: he has made fome
proficiency in writing; a ftill greater in or
thography, in which he has been inftructed by
me; and he has learned the first elements of
various fciences.-Thus I have, in general, rea-
fon to be fatisfied, and I am extremely fatisfied.
This pleafure I owe, and it is the dearer to me
on that account, to the excellent natural dif
VOL. I.
pofition
F
98
Leffons of a Governejš
pofition of my pupils, to the ftrong defire they
feel of meriting the affection of Monfeigneur
and Madame, and of being able one day to
imitate the bright example of their virtues. I
am alſo indebted for this fatisfaction to the
cares and ineftimable zeal of M. Lebrun, M.
Myris, M. Couppey, M. Alyon, and all the
mafters whom I cannot fufficiently praife for
their punctuality and judicious conformity to
my views. In the department of Mademoifelle
I have equal reaſon to be ſatisfied with Made-
moiſelle Rime and M. Glaffen; and had not
the exertions of M. Lebrun and myſelf been
thus happily feconded by the perfons I have
mentioned, and others equally deferving of no-
tice, Meffrs. Meeke, Muynozi the painter,
Galand, Doffin riding-mafter, Biauzat, Dona-
dieu, and in fhort every one concerned in the
education of the children, we fhould not now
enjoy as we do the felicity of feeing our labours
repaid by fo rich and unexpected an harveſt.
1 May 1789.
I HAVE given to the children as an exerciſe
for next week, a fubject of compofition as fol-
lows: What are the qualifications and accom-
pliſhments that are beſt calculated to fecure to
a young man or a young woman, at their en-
trance into the world, general kindneſs and
uninterrupted fuccefs?
The queftion confifts of two parts, the male
pupils fhall therefore anfwer it as it relates to
a man, and the female as it relates to a woman..
I fhall require a theme of this nature every
Saturday, written upon pieces of paper all of
the
:
to her Pupils.
99
the fame form, and with a nargin of my ob-
fervations. Ifhali beſtow a prize upon two of
thefe compofitions, and fhall enter my decifion
in this journal. The fubjects I fhall give will
form a feries, and will conftitute a fyftem of
morality in the manner of a very pretty ro-
mance; reviewing one after another the duties
of human life in all poffible conditions; and
when the romance ſhall be finiſhed, the differ-
ent fections fhall be bound together *.
I
2 May 1789
READ aloud this evening the compofitions
of
my children, and I confefs that they all afto-
niſhed me and greatly ſurpaſſed my expectati-
ons. I gave the prize to the theme of the Duke
de Montpenfier, a decifion that was applauded
with tranſport by all his generous rivals, who
had foreſeen this event when they compared
among themſelves their refpective performanc-
es. I gave the ſecond prize to
****. which
was equally approved. Of the three other com-
pofitions, the beſt was that of ***. There
was confiderable difcretion and good fenfe in
that of the Duke de Chartres, who, to write
well, wants only a more cultivated taſte and a
better choice of words. Cæfar's theme is com-
mendable for reflection and the excellence of
its principles. The reading being finiſhed, I
made fome little verbal criticiſms, and my chil-
dren will to-morrow morning make their alter-
ations accordingly. I have only marked fuch
words as I difliked, leaving it to themſelves to
fubftitute others, that the compofitions might
I speak here only of the compofitions of the two elder
princes.
F 2
be
100
Leffons of a Governess
:
be entirely their own; a plan which I fhall al-
ways obferve.
Subject of Compofition for the Princes.
WE will fuppofe, our hero to be a prince of
the blood royal. He fets out upon his travels
and arrives at Spa. He takes with him a young
man to whom he is partial, but with whom he
is defirous of being better acquainted before
he makes him his friend. What means does he
employ to obtain this knowledge? How does he
ftudy the character of this young man? What
qualities finally determine his choice? What
other perfons does the prince take with him?
How muft he conduct himfelf fo as to reap ad-
vantage from his travels, and make himſelf be-
loved?-The day after his arrival at Spa he
takes a folitary walk upon one of the moun-
tains. Defcription of the rocks from a majeftic
view at the moment of the fun's rifing. He per-
ceives two women, fitting upon a rock, one of
whom is young and charming, and is reading
aloud fome Italian poetry. What is the fubject
of it? Quote fome lines. Portrait of this
young woman.
9 May 1789..
THE children gave me yeſterday their com-
pofitions. I have beftowed the prize on that
of the Duke de Montpenfier. The next beft
is that of ****, which is full of fimplicity
and nature. There are fome very pretty things
in
to her Pupils.
101
in the compofition of ***, but it has too ma-
ny details bordering upon unmeaning prattle.
I have already defcribed in what manner a mi-
nute detail may be rendered interefting. It
muft either offer a lively impreffion of the ſcene,
or convey fome inoral inftruction, or ferve to
unfold the characters; it muſt be drawn with
elegance and with a strong refemblance of
truth: if it have not thefe qualifications, it is
in the higheſt degree puerile and infipid. The
theme of the Duke de Chartres would be very
well, but for the difparity of its ftyle. I ex-*
plained what I meant by difparity of ſtyle.
The children were attentive to my remarks.
Subject of Compofition for the Princes.-
OUR hero, on his return from the moun-
tains, relates his little adventure to his friend,
expreffing at the fame time a wifh that the af-·
fections of this young woman might be difen-
gaged, and her rank fuitable to his own.
He
underſtands that fhe is an Italian princefs, and
unmarried. He then makes enquiries refpect-
ing her character and education, and he finds
her to be a lady of diftinguifhed virtue and ta-
lents. He fecs her frequently at Vauxhall,
and dances with her. He gives an entertain-
ment to which fhe is invited. Defcription of
this entertainment. Our hero in love. How
does he act in this fituation? He is but twenty
years of age, and has a father and mother at
Paris for whom he feels the utmoſt efteem and
tenderneſs.
F 3
Subject
102 Leſſons of a Governeſs
Å
Subject of Compofition for the Princes.
COURIER arrives to the prince with the
anfwer of his father, who approves his choice.
The prince declares his paffion to the mother
of the young lady, who treats him with polite-
nefs and efteem, but informs him that her
daughter is promiſed to a German prince.
What is the conduct of our hero upon this in-
telligence?
Saint Leu, 2 June 1789.
I
READ yeſterday the compofitions: I gave
the first prize to *** the fecond to the Duke
de Chartres.
Subject of Compofition for the Princes.
OUR
UR hero arrives at Brunfwick. As foon
as the Duke hears of it, he viſits him and in-
vites him to take up his abode in the palace,
which the prince politely refufes. He goes to
court. The Duke of Brunswick conceives a
partiality for him. The prince ſtudies him.
with care, and defires his friend to procure all
the information he can reſpecting his character
and conduct. Portrait of the Duke: it ſhould
have defects and fome brilliant qualities. Short
account of what is curious in the town of Brunf-
wick and its environs.
M. LEBRUN complains in his Journal that
the Duke de Montpenfier, having referved an
orange
to her Pupils.
103
orange from the preceding evening's entertain-
ment, ate it this morning without aſking his
brother to partake of it. I obferve very dif
ferent fentiments between Mademoifelle and
***; they never eat the fmalleft thing without
offering to fhare it, and they are not filters. At
prefent it is only in your power to fhew kind-
nefs to each other on trifling occafions; but if
you are deficient in little things now, you will
never be diftinguifhed for great or good ones
hereafter: you will become felfifh, and it is
the nature of felfishness to degrade the mind
and to contract and harden the heart.
Continuation of the Romance for the Princes,
THE Duke of Brunſwick confides to the
prince that he had been paffionately fond of a
young widow of his court, and that, at the
moment he was about to marry her, his favou-
rite had diſcovered that ſhe was only attached
to him from ambition and was in love with
another; that, without coming to an explana-
tion, he immediately broke off the connection,
and offered his hand to an Italian princefs: the
Duke adds that he is unhappy becauſe he is
not yet entirely cured of his paffion. The fair
widow retires from court and travels in Ger-
many.
Saint Leu, 12 July 1789.
TIE tenth of the prefent month was my
birth-day; the children deferred the celebra-
tion for two days to have the company of the
F 4
Duke
104
Leffons of a Governeſs
Duke d'Orleans' and M. de Sillery. At noon
I received a letter from the Duke informing me.
of the departure of M. Necker, and that he
fhould not be able to come. Many perfons
have arrived and have occafioned us the great-
eft inquietude refpecting this event. I was
tempted to put a stop to the entertainment; but
as no difturbance had yet taken place, I con-
ceived that it might perhaps be afcribed to con-
fernation and grief at this minifter's difmiffion,
and be conftrued into a cenfure of the pro-`
ceedings of the court: I therefore only request-
ed the children to make it leis feftive.
15 July 1789.
AT three o'clock this day M. de la Buffière
arrived on the part of the Duchefs d'Orleans
to inform me that the was apprehenfive for the
fafety of her children, and that it was her de-
fire, as well as that of every body clfe at Rin-
cy, that I would take them to Paris, where
they would be in lefs danger than at Saint Leu:
that in every thing elfe I might act as I thought
proper. I returned for anſwer that I had heard
from the Duke, who requefted me to conduct
the children wherever I pleafed except to Pa-
ris.
At feven o'clock a meffenger arrived with
the news that the King was reconciled with the
people, and was going to difmifs his troops.
God grant it may be true! With lenity, and
confidence in his fubjects he will gain all hearts
in his favour. May divine wifdom guide him,
and may he be deaf to every counfel that would
lead him in a contrary path. I am a citizen,
born
to her Pupils.
105
born under a monarchical government; I hate
defpotiſm, I love my country; I reſpect alfo
and love my king; and I ardently pray for a
cordial and lafting reconciliation.
19 July 1789.
NOW that a calm is effected, I
will ſpeak to you of your conduct during theſe
great events. It was frequently below your
age, particularly with the education you have
received. Your attention has been occupied
by a thouſand trifles and your converfations
full of frivolity and goffiping. I will tell you
how you ought to have behaved. You ought
to have queftioned me inceffantly refpecting
the Duke your father, and to have been per-
petually writing to the Duchefs your mother.
You ought to have requefted me to direct you
to be waked, if I happened to receive any in-
telligence in the night, and to have been deep-
ly anxious for your father and your mother and
for the fuccefs of the friends of liberty. You
ought to have been unable to have paffed the
time of your recieations otherwife than in talk-
ing to one another, or to me, refpe&ing theſe
great affairs, or in writing to the Duchefs d'Or
leans. You ought to have been alive to the
Situation of M. de *** at a moment that de-
prived him of his fituation, and to have con-
jectured whether, if he were in a foreign coun-
try, he might not be in want of money. When
Lardenois came to requelt my afliftance, I
*
Serjeant in the guards who taught them their exercife,
and who at this time lof his Ligation. M. de Chartres af-
terwards obtained from M. de Leoncourt a provifion for him,
F 5
gave
*
106 Leſſons of a Governess
gave him a draft for a hundred louis; you
ought to have defired me to do fo. If your
conduct had been fuch as I have defcribed, I
fhould not have paffed a moment apart from
you; I fhould have fat up with you anxious
for the event; you would have been my conſo-
lation and my delight. I flatter myſelf that
after all I have done for enlightening your minds,
your eyes will at length be opened, and you will
hake off this ftupid and difgraceful apathy:
it is high time. How extreme a contempt will
men entertain for you, the fons of fuch a fa-
ther and the moft virtuous of mothers, if they
do not find you adoring them, and if you em-
ploy fo Hittle thought concerning your friends
and the public! There is no mode remaining
in which you can juftify yourſelves in my eyes,
except that of difcarding at once the puerile.
weakneſs that occupies you, and difcharging
your duties hereafter with the moſt fervent
emulation. The preſent is no time for words;
we must have action, conftant, unremitted ac-
tion.
20 July 1789.
I READ to the two princes the preceding ar-
ticle. It reduced them to a fituation truly pi-
tiable. I have never witneffed any thing fo en-
ergetic and violent as their defpair, and I am
fure that this leffon will produce the moſt in-
ftantaneous and happy revolution in their
minds; becauſe their fentiments and their
* I was not miftaken, it cloſed for ever the period of in-
fancy. Thoſe who have not been accuſtomed to the educa-
tion of children can fcarcely conceive the wonderful effects
which may be wrought upon a young imagination and an
unadulterated heart by a fingle leffon happily timed and for-
cibly delivered
hearts
to her Pupils.
107
hearts are excellent, and all they want is a ha-
bit of reflection. Some excufe may be made
for them; their ftudies are fo fericus and fo
multiplied that, when the hours of walking ar-
rive, they have in general fo much need of re-
laxation that they think only of play. But
they fhould accuftom themfelves to find this
relaxation in rational and interefting converfa-
tion, in juft and ufeful reflections, to which a
walk is by no means unfavourable and which
is expected from perfons of fourteen and fif-
teen years of age. I conjure them then to part
for ever with their unmeaning prattle and tri-
Hing converfation, and to habituate themſelves
from this moment to talk of fubjects that are
important, inftructive, or intereſting.
23 July 1789.
YESTERDAY I read the compofitions of
the princes; that of the Duke de Chartres was
good for nothing; the Duke de Montpenfier's
was very charming.
27 July 1789.
Continuation of the Romance.
THE Duke of Brunſwick confults his friend
the prince, reſpecting the better government
of his people. The prince writes his reflecti-
ons in anfwer to the following queftions of the
duke: What authority ought a prince to de-
fire? In what does the liberty confift to which
every citizen is intitled? What are the bef
mcans
་
t
,
103
Leffons of a Governess
means for reforming the public manners? What
ought to be the fentiments of a prince relative
to war? In what manner ought he protect li-
terature and the arts?
2 August 1789.
THE Duke de Chartres permitted himſelf
to fay at table, before the fervants, that a quan-·
tity of corn had been diſcovered in the houſe
of M***. We ought never to repeat a difho-
nourable accufation which has not been pub-
licly proved, and in the preſent ftate of things
fuch converfation is fingularly reprehenſible.
Paris, 12 Auguſt 1789,
THE very evening of our departure from
Saint Leu, you conducted yourſelves with great
propriety in a critical fituation. As you rode
through a village, four leagues from Saint Leu,
the peasants who were affembled, no fooner
caught fight of the blue ribbon of the Duke
de Chartres, than they vented themſelves in
hootings and curfes againſt you. You galloped
on not a little furpriſed at their unaccountable
violence. In a moment however you faw them
purſuing you with clubs, axes and other wea-
pons. All this did not ftop you, and you would
foon have been out of their reach had you not
heard them exclaim: Scoundrels, do not
think to eſcape us; you fhall preſently be
caught.' As they uttered the word caugh'
you both ſtopped, faying that, fince they ac-
cufed you of daftardlinefs, you were deter-
6
mined
to her Pupils.
109
mined not to proceed. You fent one of your
attendants to meet the multitude, who afked
them why they ſhould defire to affailinate the
Duke de Chartres? At this name they appeared
much ſurpriſed, ſaid they had taken you for
fomebody elfe, overwhelmed you with their
bleffings, and you purſued your route without
interruption.
The day of your departure from Saint Leu
the Duke de Chartres climbed a very high tree:
at the top he was fufpended by one hand only
to a branch of the tree which was too weak to
fupport him and which therefore broke. The
Duke de Chartres, though he loft his equili-
brium, did not lofe his prefence of mind, but
let himſelf down in fuch a manner as not to be
dangeroully wounded. He came off with no
other hurt than two large excoriations in the
thigh of fome depth, but at which he did not
utter the leaſt complaint. I was witnefs to this
accident, and was perfectly fatisfied with the
conduct of his highnefs on the occafion.
·
-
21 August 1789.
I INFORMED you ycfterday that I fhould
in future, at our theatrical readings, avoid
myself all remarks on the beauties or defecs
of the poet, and fhould expect you to ftop me
and make your own obfervations, affigning at
the fame time the reafons on which your ap-
probation or difapprobation is founded. I be-
gan yefterday; you were very attentive, and
all your remarks were ingenious and proper,
which
}
110
Leffons of a Governess
which convinces me that you only want appli-
cation and thought to be perfectly what I wiſh
you to be.
You have no time to lofe, and if
you are negligent of theſe things, you will ac-
quire a habit of indolence and apathy which
will defeat all that nature and education have
done for you.
The Duchefs d'Orleans has been abſent for
a fortnight. The Duke de Montpenfier has
written to her; but the Duke de Chartres has
not, which is inexcufable *.
22 August 1789.
To the Duke de Montpenfier.
OROSMAN fays in the play:
I aſk an ardent love, all elfe I reckon hate †.
This is the language of a heart extremely fen-
fible. It was from a fimilar feeling that I yef-
terday employed an expreffion at which you
were hurt. It was doubtless exaggerated, but
proofs of your coldness I ought ever to call by
this name *. You have written, I fhould have
been better pleaſed had you ſpoken to me upon
the fubject. How will you be able to converſe
about affairs of importance, if you cannot ſpeak
of a private concern to a friend?
23 August 1789.
THE Duke de Montpenfier has naturally a
ftern and forbidding afpect and an unpleaſant
It may be fome apology that we expected her every day.
+ Je me croirois haï d'être aimé foiblement,
I had complained of his indifference to me.
inanner
to her Pupils.
III
manner of contracting his brows, but it has
within a fhort time confiderably increaſed. At
his age it would require little effort to correct
himſelf of this defect, which is lefs trifling
than it may appear, for what misfortune can
be greater, particularly in a prince, than to
have a face in which we conftantly read diffa-
tisfaction and ill humour, inftead of a ferene
and benevolent countenance? His Highneſs
has alſo made no attempts to correct himſelf
of a very difagreeable fault of pronunciation.
No blame can be ascribed to me; I have pointed
out the fureft means of conquering this defect,
but he has not deigned to bestow upon them
the flightcft attention. It is aftoniſhing that,
diſpoſed as he is to laugh at the moſt trivial im-
perfections in others, he fhould be fo little anx-
ious to correct his own. I have the fame fault
to find with his dancing: he would dance very
well if his arms were not ridiculously glued to
his body, and if he had not an air of dulneſs
and unconcern fo difcordant with this exercife.
For fome time paft I have affifted myfelf in your
dances, and have befide accompanied you on
my harp, and yet I cannot obtain from you
the complaifance of attending to thefe little
things.
They had requeſted me to learn the tunes of fome coun-
try dances on my harp for this purpofe. I had no time to my-
felf but from fix o'clock in the evening till two or three in
the morning; and thefe hours were devoted to writing.
When they made this requeſt I was bufily employed upon a
work that I was defirous of finishing. This work I laid aſide,
to learn by heart about an hundred country dances; which,
as may be fuppofed, was a very wearifome talk. But I have
ever thought that ferious leffons, important cares and feverity
could only be uſeful in the education of children, by being
mixed with the utmoft indulgence and complaifance, when-
ever it can be done without injury to them.
THE
ΕΙΣ Leffons of a Governess
27 August 1789.
THE Duke de Chartres related to me, with
fome degree of humour, an anecdote which
proves him to be capable of reflection. A per-
fon obferved before him, that it was very flat-
tering to the age of M. de Clermont Tonnerre
to be prefident of the National Affembly.
True, replied another, it is a charming.
place; the prefident can give tickets of ad-
miffion to the houfe.' As the Duke de Char-
tres juftly obferved, he muſt be a very incor-
rigible courtier who, in the pieient ftate of
things, can fee no other advantage in this of-
fice*.
6
I ought to mention that in his lar ftudies †
the application of the Duke de Chartres is in-
variable, and that M. Biauzat is aftonished
at his good fenfe and penetration. The Duke
difplays in general a folidity of underlanding
that is admirably fitted for the conduct of af-
fairs.
The princes gave me to-day their themes,
which they have been upwards of a month in
compofing. They are very well done. I have
bcftowed the prize on that of the Duke de Char-
* I cite this anecdote that I might have an opportunity of
faying that it is the only initance of political animadverfion
contained in this journal I never ſpoke to my pupils of the
king and the royal family, either before or fince the revolu÷
tion, but in terms calculated to ftrengthen their refpect and
attachment; fentimen's from which no true patriot eſpecially
can ever depart, as the oath which he has folemnly taken
makes this attachment a facred duty.
+ I made them continue this courſe of law, that they might
be the better able to feel, from a comparifon, the advan-
tages of the new conſtitution.
Nephew of the deputy of that name in the National
Affembly.
tres,
to her Pupils.
113
tres, which is longer and has more thought in
it than any of his preceding ones.
I am very
much pleaſed with the compofition, but the
writing is a moft wretched fcrawl.
Continuation of the Moral Romance.
THE young prince departs from Brunfwick
for Vienna. Defcription of the country througli
which he travels, and of Vienna. Some traits
of beneficence in his route.
Paffy, Wednesday, 2 September 1789.
WE arrived here yesterday. My motive in
to at-
f the
us,
TOW
ly,
coming is that we may be near enoug
tend regularly the interefting det at
National Affembly. M. Biauzat
and you will proceed in your cour
ftudies. On your return from the i
you are to write an account of what you have
heard, which you will fhew to M. Biauzat and
to me. We went to the Affembly for the fe-
cond time to-day. The queftion of debate was
that of the royal fanction; there were few
voices in favour of the vcto being abfolute; the
general opinion was that it ought to be merely
a power of fufpending the law. You will re-
member that one of the reafons alleged againſt
the abfolute veto was, that kings in general are
badly educated, that they are furrounded by
parafites, that they are fond of theſe parafites,
and that their minds are of confequence leſs
enlightened than thofe of other men.
You
were very attentive during this fitting. We
had
114
Leffons of a Governess
had a great deal of converfation both yeſterday
and to-day, and in thefe converfations I was
highly pleaſed with the intelligence and pene-
tration of my children. I could have wifhed
that the Duke de Chartres had been more po-
lite this morning to the lady who fat next him,
and that he had not obliged me to tell him in
a whiſper, not to place himtelf before her with-
out having firft offered her the feat.
Friday, 4 September 1789.
YOUR ftudies irreproachable. You have
fhewed me your abftracts of the fitting of Wed-
neſday. That of the Duke de Chartres is very
minute and excellent. He has added to it fome,
reflections, with which M. Biauzat and myſelf
are perfectly enchanted. He has alfo written
to M. Pieyre a charming letter upon the pre-
fent ſtate of public affairs. His mind takes a
turn that is extremely rational and folid.
*
Tuesday, 8 September 1789.
I DID not fup with you yeſterday evening;
but, being in my chamber while you were at
table, and my door open, I heard very diftinét-
ly the Duke de Montpenfier, with a loud voice
and a ridiculous accent, attempt to mimick
M. *****; I fay attempt, for ftrong as his
defire is to be a buffoon, he has not the leaſt
Author of an excellent piece, entitled The School for
Fathers (L'Ecole des Peres).
talent
to her Pupils.
115
talent for the character; a talent which is odi-
ous and contemptible even when it fucceeds in
raiſing a laugh; but his Highneſs has merely
the pretenfion to it, and nothing can be more
abortive than his mimickry. It is incredible
after what I have faid to you upon this fubject,
and no longer ago than yesterday, that you
fhould perfift in this fcandalous practice, fo
unworthy of a man of fenfe, and particularly
of a prince. Had I been at table, would you
have allowed yourſelf in this ftupidity? Cer-
tainly not, and it is therefore the more repre-
henfible. Is it poffible at your age not to feel
that to make a jeft of any perfon's figure, tone
of voice, defective pronunciation, and fuch
other things as do not depend upon himſelf, is
extremely weak and puerile. I will add that
***** has nothing ridiculous or fingular in
his voice. In fine, you difobeyed me yefter-
day by doing a thing which is in its own na-
ture mean and vulgar. You alſo bawled and
hollowed extremely, which I expreísly forbad,
and which you ought to avoid, particularly
when a fick and aged perfon like my mother
fleeps near the eating-room, and is likely to be
awaked. I have informed you before that I
cannot now fuffer myſelf to overlook thoſe
faults which imply an ill difpofition; fince there-
fore you have acted like a child, ill-taught and
of n difcretion, I fhall treat you like a child.
You fhall dine and fup to-day in your cham-
ber, and the next time I go to the theatre I
fhall not take you in the party. You muſt
not imagine that any part of this puniſhment
can be remitted. I advife you therefore to
fubmit to it with propriety and decency, or I
fhall be obliged to make it double.
STILL
116 Leffons of a Governess
Belle Chaffe, 12 October 1789.
STILL
TILL more commendable as to your ſtudies.
For fome time paft we have converfed more
frequently, and for a longer continuance; and
in thefe converfations you always pleaſe me.—I
have forgotten to write that the princes have
been many times to the National Affembly
without me.-The Duke de Chartres gave me
his laſt ſubject of compofition about a fortnight
ago; I was perfectly fatisfied. with it. I only
received the Duke de Montpenfier's this morn-
ing, and have not yet read it.
26 October 1789.
MADEMOISELLE improves char-
mingly upon the harp.. For the last twelve
months I have given her an additional leffon
of an hour and a half every day, ſo that ſhe
now receives two leffons a day. I have alſo,
for fix months paft, played to the children
three or four times a week, while they danced,
taking care to felect a great variety of airs
compofed for that purpofe. I invent panto-
mimes for them, and I this fummer had Ma-
demoiſelle taught to play on the tambour de
bafque and on the caftanets, and to exercife
herfelf in various tricks of dexterity, as well
as in her fleight of hand, which fhe does not
forget.
}
1 November 1789.
THE Duke d'Orleans left us five days ago.
I was obliged to remind the Duke de Chartres
of
to her Pupils.
117
•
of writing to him; the Duke de Montpenfier
ftill neglects this duty.
2 December 1789.
THE Duke de Chartres frequently writes
to me in the moſt affectionate tyle. He has
requeſted it as a favour that I would permit
him to call me his mother: my heart has not
been infenfible to the requeft; and as, in my
cares and tenderness, I regard you all as my
very dear children, I have permitted him to
give me this appellation. But in his laft letter
he calls me his true mother. I am very fure that
he has not reflected upon the meaning of this
expreffion; and this is all I need fay to prevent
his repeating it. I am only his fecond mother,
and I fhould place no faith in any of his fenti-
ments refpecting me, if he did not feel for the
tender and virtuous mother that nature has gi-
ven him, the fuperior attachment which the
merits. She only wants to have been educated
in the manner you have been, to do for her
children all that I have done for you.
Chauffée d' Antin, 9 January 1790.
THE three princes took this day the civic
oath in their diftrict. The prefident addreffed
them in a ſpeech, to which the Duke de Char-
tres replied without preparation, and in a very
proper manner. When the regifler was pre-
fented to him to fign his name, he defired every
honorary appellation to be eraſed, adding that
the
$
118
Leffons of a Governess
the title of citizen was fufficient. I approve
of what you have done, if when you did it you
made fuch reflections as thefe: That to be a
good citizen it is neceffary to have all public
and private virtues; that it is impoffible truly
to love one's nation or one's countrymen while
we exhibit the example of fcandalous and de-
generate manners; while we neglect the duties
of religion; while we live in difcord with our
father, our mother, our brothers, our wife,
or our children; while our conduct does not
diſplay our veneration for public manners;
while we allow ourſelves in indecency; while
we neglect the unfortunate; while we fuffer
our beneficence to be accompanied with often-
tation; in fine while we are inconfiftent, vain
or vicious. Whoever has thefe faults is a bad
citizen, and all his pompous declamation for
the people, for his country and for liberty,
only prove his ſtupidity and folly. A good ci-
tizen is neceffarily prudent, modeft, charitable.
and humane. I truſt theſe reflections have
paffed through your mind in the prefent in-
ſtance, and in that cafe you were much in the
right in defiring no other appellation than that
of a citizen, and in confidering it as an abſtract
of all that is eſtimable and good.
10 March 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres confeffed to me this
morning a circumftance which greatly furprifed
It was that an article of his had appeared
in the paper of M**** which he had fecretly
me.
written
to her Pupils.
119
written and ſent by the penny poſt *. To write
in fecret without confulting me, to take a ftep
of this nature without my knowledge!
But you have expreffed the moft lively regret,
and have repaid the fault as far as was in your
power, by coming of your own accord to tell
ine of it a few days after, without my afking
you any queſtions, which could not indeed
have happened, as I had not the fmalleft fuf-
picion of the circumftance. You were govern-
ed you ſay by a momentary impulfe, of which
you quickly repented: this does not exculpate
you, and you were notwithſtanding guilty of
a very confiderable fault. I ought to add that,
as your character is mild, reafonable and mo-
derate, which renders you lefs giddy than is
common at your age, the fault, I truft, will
never be repeated.
12 March 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres has given me this
morning a new cauſe of grief by informing me
that, upon being afked by the Duchefs d'Or-
leans if the article in queftion were written by
him, he had denied it. I expreffed to his
Highness my aftoniſhment and mortification at
this crime, which is the moſt atrocious and
unpardonable of all. He felt the force of
what I faid to him, and replied that, as the
Duchefs d'Orleans had for fome time palt ap-
It was an article in which he expreffed his indignation.
against an anonymous writer who had called the people a fe-
ocious beaft, and had ſpoken befide in terms of the utmoſt
contempt of the new conftitution, and of the National Af
fembly.
feared
I 20
Leſſons of a Governess
peared to blame him for actions of which the
Duke his father had expreffed his approbation.
by letter, he had every reaſon to dread her dif-
pleaſure on fo culpable an occafion. He men-
tioned that when he informed the Duchefs of
the particulars of what had paffed upon his
taking the civic oath, the account feemed to
give her pain. I anfwered that upon this, as
well as upon every other occafion, I had con-
fulted the Duchefs d'Orleans, and had followed
her orders.
I then told your Highnefs that with a mother
the moſt indulgent and virtuous, the fhocking
offence you had committed was doubly inex-
cufable; that you ought inftantly to repair it
by an avowal of the truth, and by imploring
her pardon; that it would be natural and juſt
were fhe to treat you with the greateſt ſeverity,
and that fuch was the conduct you ought to
expect from her. You fee in this inftance where
a falfe ftep may lead, and how the commiffion
of one fault involves us in a thouſand others. I
will add, that the falfehood to your mother
was as ftupid as it was difhoneft: you knew
that I wrote an account of every thing in this
journal without indulgence or difguife, for the
information of the Duke and Duchefs d'Orle-
ans whenever they ſhould chooſe to confult it;
and that she might therefore have detected you,
had she been defirous, by reading the hiſtory
of the 10th inftant, the day that I first knew
it *.
&
IT
* M. de Chartres in reality well knew that Madame d'Or-
leans might have been equally informed with myfelf of all
the particulars of his conduct and character, by reading this
journal; but he knew at the fame time that fhe never read it.
This indifference has always aſtoniſhed me. It exifled even
at
to her Pupils.
121
IT is with pleaſure I do juftice in this place
to the goodneſs of Mademoiſelle. She avoids
every little expenfive pleafure, and, to fupport
an interefting family, fhe has parted with a
number of hand fome trinkets given her on
fuch occafions as new years days. The requeft
that ſhe might be permitted to make thefe fa-
crifices was perfectly voluntary. I readily con-
fented, and fhe interefts herſelf in the welfare
of this family with a minute attention and per-
ſeverance that fenfibly touch my heart. Con-
tinue, dear child, ever to act thus; it is re-
paying me for my tender cares; it is imitating
a mother of whom I have related to you fo
many fimilar inftances of humanity; it is lay-
ing up in ftore for yourfelf an inexhauftible
fource of happineſs, which is only to be found
in religion, goodneſs, charity and the diſcharge
of every duty.
13 March 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres has made the avow-
al which became him to the Duchefs d'Orleans,
and he informs me that he was received by her
with the utmost affection and goodnefs. You
have a juft fenfe of this indulgence which me-
rits all your gratitude; and I am fure that dur-
at the time when the condefcended to honour me with the
moſt tender friendſhip: but during this period I believe the
fcarcely looked into the journal more than four or five times,
and after withdrawing from me her confidence, fhe never
read a line of it. In the mean time it would have made a ſtill
ftronger impreffion en my pupils, had fhe impoſed it on her-
felf as an inviolable law at leaſt to read it regularly when the
came to fee us, and fhe would in that cafe have known at
prefent the difpofitions and character of her children as per-.
fectly as the perfon who has educated them.
G
VOL. I.
ing
}
1.22
Leffons of a Governess
ing your whole life you will never be chargeable
with a fimilar crime.
Bezza J
I
14 March 1790.
HAVE neglected to record a circumftance.
honourable to the character of the Duke de
Chartres. He has received at the beginning of
this year for the firſt time in his life a confider-
able ſum of money, viz. the penſion of a thou-
fand crowns which the civil lift annexes to the
cordon bleu, and which I defired might be paid
into his hands, with liberty to do with it what-
ever he pleaſed. On the very inftant of his
receiving this money, from a voluntary inpulfe
of generofity, referving only fifty louis for
himfelf, he gave fifty to his brother, twelve
and an half to Mademoifelle, and an equal fum
to the count de Beaujollois. I know befide that
the Duke de Chartres made a very virtuous ufe
of the money which he appropriated to him-
felf, and have been told that the Duke de Mont-
penfier performed various acts of charity. I
was myſelf a witnefs of Mademoiſelle and the
Count de Beaujollois having expended theirs
in a very few days in prefents and alms.
15 March 1790.
I THIS day, in the prefence of her daugh-
ter, of Mademoiſelle Rime and of Sophia, re
queſted the Duchefs d'Orleans to do me the fa
vour to read this journal, at the fame time ob-
ferving that the Duke, when he came hither,
frequently read in it; that it had always been
fome
to her Pupils.
123
fome mortification to me that the Duchefs had
never aſked to fee it; that for the laſt eighteen
months fhe had never read fo much as a ſingle
word in it, though fhe well knew that the prin-
cipal motive that had determined me to under-
take it was, to enable me to render a minute
and accurate account relative to the children
with whoſe education fhe had intruſted me;
and that she might have an infallible criterion
by which to judge of the principles with which
I infpired them, as well as of their progrefs
and character, fince, as her intercourfe with
them was comparatively little, fhe would other-
wife have no information upon the fubject.
The Duchefs replied to my entreaties in the
following words: "The journal was nothing
"to her, and fhe was determined to place en-
"tire confidence in her children." I repeated
my inftances, but to no purpoſe: the Duchefs
returned twice over precifely the fame anfwer.
I then replied in my turn that I fhould be ob-
liged to minute this converfation in the journal,
which I accordingly do as what I owe to my
own juftification.
31 March 1790.
I RECORD with the utmoſt pleaſure a char-
ming thing of the Duke de Chartres. On the
day that the National Affembly abolished the
right of eldership, the Duke, the moment he
was informed of the meafure, exclaimed, em-
bracing at the fame time his brother: "Oh how
"I am delighted! But had the Affembly not
“ done ſo, all would have been equal between
G 2
cr •
us;
124 Leffons of a Governess
"us; my brother has long known this." It was
ſpoken with all the grace and nature that an
excellent heart infpires on fuch occafions, and
which cannot be preferved in a recital.
Such fentiments are rare and tranſporting, but
they do not at all aftonifh me in the Duke de
Chartres, whofe difpofition is naturally gene-
rous and noble, who has a ftrong averfion to
pride, an extreme tenderneſs for his fifter, and
who imagines that the happieſt uſe to which
money can be applied is to make it inftrumen-
tal to acts of this nature. He is right; no hap-
pineſs can be greater than that of doing good
to others: it is alfo the fureft way to diftinétion,
and independently of a virtuous heart, vanity
alone, if it underftood its own intereft, would
adopt this manner of thinking and of acting.
-Thefe fentiments, I thank Heaven, are not
peculiar to the Duke de Chartres; they glow
equally in the breaft of the Duke de Mont-
penfier, of the Count de Beaujollois and of
Mademoifelle, and nothing can afford me fo
pure a fatisfaction.
To-morrow Mademoiſelle is to perform her
Eafter devotions. I could have wished that
fhe had of her own accord this day mentioned
it to the Duchefs d'Orleans, that fhe had at
the fame time requefted her to pardon all the
little things in which fhe might have offended
her, all the faults of which fhe might have
been guilty during the courfe of her education,
and had aſked her to blefs her child. It is no
prejudice to fuppofe that the benediction of a
mother or a father has a tendency to fecure
happineſs; Scripture repeats it a thouſand
times.
to her Pupils.
325
times. Ladvife you therefore, my dear friend,
to write immediately to your mamma a very
affectionate letter containing what I have juft
mentioned; you will be more pleafing to God
on this account, in the important act which you
are to perform to-morrow:
Friday 2 April 1790, 10 o'clock in the evening.
CERTAIN reflections have occurred to me
upon the fubject of this journal, with which it
is proper, my dear children, that you fhould
Le made acquainted. I account it my happi-
nefs to have confecrated to your welfare every
hour of my days, and for the most part the
tudy of my evenings, when you are no longer
prefent with me. Next to this happiness, there
is nothing that I more ardently defire than to
be able one day to render an exact account ar-
ticle by article, of the courfe of your educa-
tion to Monfeigneur and Madame, to myſelf,
when I fhall be in the retreat I propofe after
the termination of my connection with you,
and perhaps, if I fhould judge it neceffary, to
the public. The journal of M. Lebrun, the
original of which is in my poffeffion, is writ-
ten partly in his hand and partly in mine: its
authenticity is inconteftable. The fame obfer-
vation applies to the journal of Mademoiſelle
Rime. The journal which I am now writing,
no doubt, as long as we live together, is of
equal authority; but after our feparation its
evidence will diminish. Its genuineness might
be fupported by its correfpondence with the
other journals, by your teftimony, and moft
of all by the force of truth, which is confeffed
G 3
by
126
Leffons of a Governess
by the hearts of thoſe who are moſt anxious
to deny it; its authenticity however cannot
then be geometrically proved. It may be im-
puted to me that I had foifted in many of the
articles afterwards, and that they had never
been fubmitted to your perufal. In a word you
are now my only witneffes. As long as the
Duke was upon the spot, I faw him almoft every
day: he frequently read the Journal, and has
even figned a recapitulation of it. He is now
abfent, and I am not vifited by the Duchefs,
whofe avocations will not permit her to come
and fee Mademoiſelle more than two or three
times a week*, and at each vifit not for more
than a quarter or at moſt half an hour; nor
does her Grace ever come but at that hour of
the day when Mademoiſelle is not in my apart-
ment and when I am engaged with her other
children. All theſe reaſons determine me to
render the journal as authentic as poffible; and
I must therefore requeft every one of you to fet
your hands to the following declaration: 1.
That from the day on which this journal began,
you have read every one of the articles that
they were not read to you by me, but that I
gave you the book, you read them yourſelves,
and of confequence are perfe&ly acquainted
with its contents. 2. That in addition to this,
I have every year read over to you the diary of
that year, in order to preſent you at one view
with a recollection of your actions, and thạt
there is not a fingle word that deviates from
the most exact and fcrupulous veracity. Falfe-
hood indeed is the loweſt and moſt contempti-
* At Paris, where we then were; for when we were in the
country her visits were infinitely lefs frequent,
ble
to her Pupils.
127
ble of vices, and I fhould have been corrupt-
ing your morals while I was writing thefe mi-
nutes, if I had in the fmalleft degree deviated
from the truth, if I had difguifed your errors
and your defects, or if I had in any refpest ex-
aggerated or mifreprefented the fasts I had to
record. I request the Duke de Chartres, as
the eldeſt of my pupils, to fign the firit.-by
the way fcrupulous accuracy obliges me to add,
that none but the two eldeft princes conftantly
read this journal, day by day, as it was writ-
Mademoiſelle and the reft, who were in-
deed much less concerned in it, were only ac-
quainted in this fucceffive manner with their
own articles and the moral definitions; but
they have all been prefent at the general re-
view, and the two eldeſt princes, befide their
own articles, have read, at the time they were
written, the articles of the junior pupils, as
well as had the book conftantly in their pof-
feffion to reviſe it whenever they pleaſed.
ten.
<<
+
Wednesday, 2 April, 10 o'clock in the evening.
"I have read the above article, and I vo-
luntarily declare that its contents are accu-
rately and minutely true.
"P. C. D'ORLEANS."
I now request the fignature of the Duke de
Montpenfier. It is proper I fhould obferve
that the two eldeft princes figned d'Orleans
like their father.
"Rue de Provence, Chauffèe d' Antin, April 3, 1790.
"I agree in the fame teftimony as my bro-
"ther, and am animated by the fame fenti-
❝ments.
"A. P. C. D'ORLEANS."
Previouſly
G 4
128
Leffons of a Governess
Previouſly to the fignature of the other chil
dren, I think proper to inform them that, for
the future, I extend to them the permiſſion of
revifing and confulting this book as often as
they pleaſe. They may therefore take it from
my desk where it always lies, with this condi-
tion only, that they do not take it out of the
apartment. I grant them this permiffion, fully
fatisfied of their difcreet ufe of it, and believ
ing that, in the intimate friendfhip they enter-
tain for each other, all fecrecy is unneceffary:
I add that for the future I fhall caufe each ar-
ticle feparately to be figned by the perſon for
whom it ſhall be written.
ADELA D'ORLEANS",
BEAUJOLLOIS.
HENRIETTA SERCEY.
PAMELA OLYMPIA.
CESAR DUCREST.
Saturday, 3 April, 10 o'clock in the evening,
I HAVE had no opportunity of relating &
a
circumftance that has in the mean time afforded
më extreme pleaſure. Mademoiſelle on Thurf-
day laft wrote, by my advice, to afk her mo¬
ther's bleffing. The Duchefs, inftead of anf-
wering it, came to her immediately; I was
playing with her upon the harp, and her Grace
faid in the fweeteſt accent as fhe entered, "My
• Mademoiſelle d'Orleans among other names was bap-
tized by that of Adela, by which the preferred being called
on account of its refemblance to Adelaide, the name of Ma-
dame d'Orleans, and alſo becauſe I had given this name to
the heroine of one of my works.
child,
to her Pupils.
129
child, I am come to bleſs you." The expref-
fion which accompanied the words went to the
heart, and I could have wifhed that Mademoi-
felle had fallen on her knees to receive a bene-
diction fo dear to her. The Duchefs led her
at the fame inftant into another room, where
he was alone with her for a quarter of an
hour at the expiration of this period, Made-
moiſelle returned to my apartment to finifh her
leffon; I obferved the tears fwimming in her
eyes, a fenfibility that was natural, and that de-
lighted me. It was my hope that fhe would of
her own accord, the moment fhe rofe the next
morning, write to her mamma to repeat how
fenfibly fhe was moved by the proofs fhe had
received of her tendernefs. At length I men-
tioned my defire, when fhe informed me that
fhe had before refolved to do this, of the truth
of which I want no other. evidence than her
word, as my dear and amiable Adela never
diſguiſes or violates the truth. I am fure that
fhe loves, as fhe ought, a father and a mother
fo juftly deferving of all the affeétions of her
foul; but fhe is not fufficiently mindful of them
when they are abfent, a circumſtance that gives
me the greateſt pain. Your behaviour, my
child, in general, is lefs attentive than is be-
coming, except towards me; and you know
that perfonally I fet little value on attentions;
I fhould be more fenfible of yours were we fe-
parated from each other, as I thould in that
cafe attribute them lefs to the effect of habit.
Recollect that if we feel a lively intereft in the
welfare of our friends only when we fee them
every day, and abfence or feparation weakens
our attachment, our love is very imperfect.
You have fo good a heart that I can only aſ-
cribe
G 5
130
Leſſons of a Governess
cribe your inadvertencies and neglects to the
multiplicity of your ſtudies, and the levity of
your age; but you are now no longer an in-
fant, and it is neceffary, that you fhould cor-
rect yourſelf of this fault, and acquire a more
felid character.
"I have read the above article, &c.
"ADELA D'ORLEANS.
"4 April 1790."
Saint Leu, 19 April 1790.
I AM fatisfied with you all. The Duke de
Chartres mixes more in fociety, he haunts me
lefs frequently, he is not fo eternally pinned to
He knows the extreme va-
my apron ftring.
lue I affix to his friendſhip, and fhould confi-
der it as a proof of my regard that I fome-
times receive him fo ungraciously when he ne-
glects all that is due to others, to be continu-
ally thinking only of me, to follow me every
where, to fit always by my fide, which gives
him the filly air of a little boy afraid to move
for an inftant out of the fight of his precep-
tor. Befide, fuch exclufive preferences are
troubleſome, and conftitute no part of true
friendſhip, which is not to be maintained by
careffes and other petty demonftrations of a
fimilar nature fit only for fooliſh women. Con-
fidence, efteem, a confiftent decorum, invio-
lable fidelity, fuch are the means by which
friendſhip is to be fupported. In fine, there is
nothing that appears in my eye more puerile
and lefs manly and becoming than the fort of
affection you continually demonftrate towards
me, which makes you hear nobody and look at
nobody
to her Pupils.
131
nobody but me, which never fails to infpi e
you with dejection and gloom, whenever in a
carriage you cannot place yourſelf by my fide,
&c. You cannot imagine how difguftful thefe
manners are to all others. Doubt not that
through every moment of my life I love you,
and if you defire to be agreeable to me, re-
member that the true method is to render your-
felf univerfally amiable.
I have experienced this morning the greateſt
chagrin. While I was dreffing, the Duchefs
d'Orleans came to take leave of her daughter;
her itay was not more than a quarter of an
hour, and, as has been cuftomary with her for
three months paft, fhe avoided coming into my
apartment, and I had not the honour of feeing
her. When Mademoiſelle returned to my cham-
ber, I perceived that she was in tears, and the
informed me that he could not help feeling
very fenfibly a charge alleged againſt her, by
her mamma, of having behaved coldly to her
át a concert which we had three days ago. At
this concert Mademoiſelle and I played upon
the harp, and fhe had no fooner finished her
part than fhe feated herſelf by the fide of Ma-
dame, and never quitted her till the entertain-
ment was at an end. I obferved her many times
embrace her mamma, and the affures me upon
her honour that the had not for a fingle inftant
merited the reproach. I believe her. In the
mean tiine as her mamma complains, the ought
to ſuppoſe that he has involuntarily given her
caufe by fome inattention which fhe does not
recollect. I was the more aftoniſhed at the ac-
cufation, having had a long converfation with
Mademoiſelle the day preceding the concert,
in-which fhe expreffed herſelf in terms of the
1
utmoft
132
Leffons of a Governess
utmoft fenfibility and affection for her mother
I defcribed to her the pleafure fhe would enjoy
when her education fhould be finiſhed, and the
would ſpend all her time with Monfeigneur and
Madame. I told her that Madame, who had.
great equality of temper and fome angelic vir-
tues, would place all her felicity in making her
happy the moment fhe was acquainted with the
character and accomplishments of her daugh-
ter. I cited various proofs of goodneſs which
I had witneffed in both her parents. She heard
me with delight, and repeated that no daugh-
ter could feel a greater tenderneſs and affec-
tion, and that theſe fentiments were engraven
on her heart. She will then, I am fure, re-
double her cares and attentions, and employ
all the zeal of which fhe is capable to fatisfy
Madame of the truth of thefe feelings.
CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
23 April 1790.
I HAVE omitted to write that
about feven or eight days fince I had a con-
verfation with the Duke de Chartres with which
I was. pleaſed. It was upon the fubject of de-
mocratic extravagance. His Highnefs feemed
to feel that there was little policy in carrying
to exceſs principles excellent in themſelves,
but which might by that means become abfurd
and vicious. I have a right to converfe with
you upon this fubject, and to enjoy your con-
fidence. Long before the revolution I had
taught
to her Pupils.
133
taught you to defpife ridiculous titles, to bc-
ſtow no real honour but upon virtue and merit,
to affociate, regardlefs of birth, with perfons
diftinguiſhed for their talents and integrity, and
to conſider that among men there was but one
true inequality, the inequality that virtue and
education eſtabliſh. I had read to you the
fhocking code of game laws to excite your de-
teftation of it; and made you promife that you
would never avail yourfelves of thoſe horrible
rights. I had taught you to defpife pride and
oftentation, and to cultivate the refpect and
love of the people whofe voice alone decided
the reputation of princes. Thus you have ne-
ver received from me either ariftocratical prin-
ciples or an ariftocratical education; but at
the fame time I hate excefs which weak minds
only can defire. I would have you be faithful
to the civic oath you have taken, and proceed
no farther than the National Affembly has
done; you will otherwife be guilty of a thou-
fand follies and abfurdities. I would have you
be virtuous patriots and faithful ſubjects: va-
rious important duties are included in this cha-
racter, which you have fworn to fulfil; and it
is only by never violating them that you can
obtain the eſteem of all parties, and the repu-
tation of which you ought to be ambitious.
27 April 1790.
M. LEBRUN complains in his Journal that
the Duke de Montpenfier allows himfelf fome-
times to fay by God. The Duke has ſo pure a
heart, is fo diftinguiſhed for picty, has ſo na-
,tural and juft an averfion to every thing inde-
cent,
134 Leffons of a Governess
cent, diſhoneſt, and licentious, that I am afto-
nifhed he can pardon in himſelf ſuch expref-
fions. When you fhall be fettled in life and
have free intercourfe with the world, you will
find almost all young perfons addicted to the
abominable vice of fwearing. Would you imi-
tate fo unworthy an example? I flatter myſelf
that you will not, but will have tafte and un-
derſtanding enough to defpife every fpecies of:
indecency, which proceeds from levity of mind
and can afford no fort of fatisfaction. It is no
excufe for us that others indulge themfelves in
a criminal practice; there are multitudes how-
ever who avail themſelves of this plea for drunk-
enneſs, debauchery, the low vice of gaming,
and a thouſand things equally degrading. Re-
flect that the virtuous clafs of men is lefs nu-
merous than thoſe who have received a corrupt
education and are without principles, and that
you will therefore meet with more bad exam-
ples than good. But recollect at the fame time
that, with your education and the reflections
you have been taught to make, you will be
wholly inexcufable if you deviate from the right
path, and if you are not cited as an example
of perfect purity and virtue.
30 April 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres has written a num-
ber of letters to M. Pieyre, which do honour
to his underſtanding and his heart. The Duke
de Montpenfier has alfo written fome delight-
ful ones to the Count de Romanfoff.
I HAVE
to her Pupils.
135
1 May 1790.
I HAVE likewife forgotten to
write that the princes, for their own conveni-
ence and to avoid a confufion of names, have
agreed to fign the articles of this journal with
the fimple name by which they are reſpectively
called, inſtead of d'Orleans.
"I have read every article fince the 24th
"inftant.
"CHARTRES.
« MONTPENSIER.”
7 May 1790.
AT preſent the Ducheſs d'Or-
leans comes here only once a week. I could
with Mademoiſelle to write to her, without be-
ing reminded, at leaſt every two days. An af-
fectionate child fhould derive great pleaſure
from writing to her mother every day that ſhe
does not fee her: this ought to be the more
natural to Mademoiſelle, as fhe is daily obliged
to compofe fomething out of her own head for
the fake of her fpelling; and furely it would
be more pleaſing to write to her mamma, than
to write about the weather.
"I have read the preceding article.
"ADELA D'ORLEANS."
15 May 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres has done
a very inconfiderate thing, with which I was
not acquainted till yefterday. He had written
a letter to M. Pieyre which I thought a good
one. I had adviſed him to keep copies of his
letters.
136
Leffons of a Governess
letters. His Highneſs entruſted a copy of this
laft letter to M***, who has been to Paris and
has fhewn it to a number of perfons, fo that
it will probably appear in print *: all this is
extremely abfurd. The letter might be very
well as written to a friend, but it will appear a
wretched performance from the prefs; but
were it ever fo excellent, it would ſtill be ex-
tremely ridiculous to make it public.
I muſt alſo mention another thing which has
very much difpleafed me. You wrote me, a
few days ago, a letter that in many refpects
very fenfibly affected me; but it contained an
expreffion which I cannot pafs over in filence.
You fay in it that there is nothing upon earth
which you ſo much love as the new conflitution
and me.
I am fure that a moment's reflection
would have convinced you of the blameable ex-
travagance of this phrafe. The perfons whom
you ought to love infinitely more than me, are
thoſe to whom you are indebted for life, and
to whom, by their making choice of me for
your governefs, you will equally owe the edu-
cation I fhall give you. I have no doubt that,
when you wrote to me in this ſtyle, you ima-
gined that theſe things would be understood,
and that you think and feel properly upon this
fubject: but this is not fufficient; your expref-
fions fhould never be equivocal, and I requeſt
it as a favour that in future you will give me
no reaſon to tell you of theſe things, which
ought to be very painful to you; not that I
ſuſpect you of being deficient in filial affection,
but becauſe I know on the contrary this fenti-
ment to be fo deeply engraven on your hearts
I was miſtaken in my conjecture,
that
to her Pupils.
137-
that the flighteft reproach is calculated moft
fenfibly to afflict you.
"I have read the preceding article.
" CHARTRES."
Saturday, 22 May 1790.
IT is with extreme pain I write in this jour-
nal that, the day before yeſterday, Mademoi-
felle told me a falfehood. It was thus: Made-
moiſelle, before I rofe in the morning, was
defirous of writing to the Duchefs d'Orleans;
and as I was not preſent to correct her fpelling,
the applied to Henrietta. When I got up the
brought me the letter; I read it, and pointed
out a phrafe which I knew to be Henrietta's.
She afferted, with blufhes, that the expreffion
was her own, and that no part of the letter
had been diclated to her. As it was impoffible
I fhould deceive myself, I charged her directly
with falfehood, which fhe acknowledged the
next minute in terms of the deepest regret.
Violation of truth is at all times fhocking, but
the fault was the more heinous in the prefent
inftance, as Mademoiſelle well knew that I al-
ways avoided dictating or even correcting any
letters written by herſelf or her brothers to
Monſeigneur and Madame, becauſe this would
be to deceive them *; whereas, on the con-
trary, I could wish them to be as perfectly ac
quainted with the talents and characters of
their children as I myſelf am. Mademoiſelle
appeared to be fo fenfible of her fault, that I
* A fpecies of deception however to which few preceptors
have any fcruple; but it was my opinion that, upon all points,
probity and delicacy could not be carried too far.
am
}
138
Leffons of a Governess
am perfuaded fhe will never again be guilty of
any thing fimilar to it, and the more fo as the
has naturally a fincere love of integrity and
truth. But I have puniſhed her by making her
dine and fup alone in her chamber.
have read the above article.
"ADELA D'ORLEANS."
26 May 1790.
I RECEIVED this day a letter from the Duke
d'Orleans, who informs me that, if a war
fhould break out, he will come in perfon and
conduct you to a place where it will be likely
to afford you moft inftruction, and where he
will himſelf ftay with you. I faw with plea-
fure, but without furpriſe, how much you
were moved by the tenderness of this good fa-
ther, to whom you owe the warmeft gratitude.
What has he not done for you fince you came
into the world? He has braved public opinion
by committting you to the care of a woman,
becauſe he thought her capable of inſpiring
you with virtuous principles. He has fpared
no expence in your inftruction; and at a time
when his affairs obliged him to introduce re-
forms and to make perfonal facrifices, he took
care that this economy fhould not extend to
your education. His attentions to you have
been truly amiable, inftructing you himfelf to
ride on horſeback, treating you with the ut-
moft kindnefs and paternal affection; when
abfent writing to you regularly; when at Pa-
ris coming almoſt every day to Belle Chaffe,
and to Saint Leu not less than two or three
times a week, and frequently fleeping there
that
to her Pupils.
139
that he might ſpend more time with you. You
have a juft fenfe of thefe obligations, and I am
very certain that the beft of fathers will find in
the hearts of his children the recompenſe which
he has a right to expect.
<C
"I have read the preceding article with the
greateſt pleaſure.
:
"CHARTRES.
"MONTPENSIER."
3 June 1790.
IN returning from Chauvri, the
Duke de Chartres alighted from his horfe and
travelled on foot a league and a half, by the
fide of my aſs, in roads full of mud and ftones.
He told me that in going he had been very dull
becauſe we could not gallop. But you were
in company with your brother and other per-
fons with whom you were acquainted and whom
you love we were all exceedingly cheerful;
you alone were grave and melancholy. You
cannot ſay that it was on account of any difa-
greement with me, as we were upon good
terms; but you were dull and tired becauſe
you are not fociable, becauſe you derive no
pleaſure from the felicity of others and yet
all that is neceffary to this, is a good heart and
a little pleaſantnefs of temper. Do you fup-
pofe that at my age and with my turn of mind,
it is any great amufement to be jolted and bruif-
ed for the space of three or four hours on the
back of an afs? Affuredly not; but the excurſion
delighted me, I was gay without effort, be-
cauſe I enjoyed the happiness of the party. I
know, my child, it was from an impulfe of
friendſhip that you walked by my fide and ef-
corted
140
Leffons of a Governess
corted my afs; but I have a thouſand times
told you that when we are in company we
ought to confult the feelings of every indivi-
dual; that it is uncivil and abfurd to have the
air of difliking what affords amufement to
others, and, furrounded by our friends, to
lavifh all our cares upon one perfon only.
When I fee you act thus, which. I frequently
do, it grieves my heart, and it is impoffible I
fhould receive with kindneſs fuch indecorous
attentions: the more I love you, the more
offenfive they are to me, becauſe they render
you extremely difagrecable to every body else.
Befide you know that I have naturally an
averfion to the being treated by any one with
fuch invidious diftinction. I have long cured
Mademoiselle and Pamela of thus following
me like my fhadow and of caring for me alone.
I love fociablenefs above all things, without
which there can neither be gaiety nor agreea-
ble parties. You may recollect the many
quarrels I have had with Madame de Valence,
fo juftly dear to me, becauſe ſhe had the fame
defire of being always pinned to my apron
fring. You cannot therefore be ſurpriſed at
the coldness with which I treat you on fuch
occafions as thefe. I wifh you to be amiable,
and to behave like the reft in our little excur-
fions, with the fame good humour and gene-
ral attention to the company.
It is now three months fince *** has been
introduced for the purpoſe of accompanying
Mademoiſelle and me in our leffons of mufic ;
and during all that time Mademoiſelle has not
conceived it her duty to difplay any politenefs
towards her, nor to aſk me whether it did not
become her, in a cafe like this where a perfon
of
to her Pupils.
141
of talents was concerned, to make her fome
little prefent. I know very well that there are
many things that we can teach, but I begin to
defpair of the poffibility of teaching to think,
and of giving to thofe who are indiſpoſed to-
wards it, a feeling of that decorum and pro-
priety of carriage without which a perfon is
nothing in the world but a mere automaton*.
-From motives of charity I have taken under
my protection the little Stéphanie Navoigile, a
girl eight years and a half old, and for the
laft fix weeks have given her leffons upon the
harp. Mademoifelle has undertaken the ex-
pence of her fubfiftencet.
"We have read the preceding article.
"CHARTRES.
"MONTPENSIER.
"ADELA D'ORLEANS."
18 June 1790.
THE Duke de Chartres has written to the
Duke d'Orleans, and in his letter employs the
*This is another infance in which the leffon was much
too ſevere for the occafion. My excufe is the ardent defire
I felt to ſee my pupils perfect. I have never blamed or
praiſed them without experiencing ſtrong emotions either of
grief or pleaſure; and fuch feelings fcarcely admit the pof-
fibility of feleding and meaſuring out one's expreffions.
This child is ftill with us. She perfectly anſwers my
cares, and will one day poffefs aftonishing talents. Let me
afk thoſe who, without knowing me, charge me with bufy-
ing myſelf in intrigues and affairs of government, how, in the
midst of fo many labours, of dutics faithfully difcharged,
and occupations voluntarily undertaken, this could be pof-
fible?
follow-
*
7
142
Leffons of a Governess
following expreffion: May I take the liberty
to request of my dear Papa. This expreffion,
may I take the liberty, is a ridiculous piece of
ceremony towards a father, and the kindeft
and the most exemplary of fathers. It is ex-
actly of the ſame tenour as if one ſhould have
faid to him, I have the honour to inform you, &c.
We doubtlefs owe the most profound refpect
to one's father and mother, but it is a fentis
ment and duty too facred to be expreffed in
the cold and vulgar forms which we employ
towards ftrangers: it is a fort of worship, as
the phrafe filial piety implies, and not a modifh
etiquette. His highnefs is old enough to feel
all this, but he is in general too inattentive to
the propriety and decorum of his expreffions.
-In one of our late excurfions the Duke de
Chartres rode fixteen leagues on horfeback.
His horfe reared and threw him: the Duke
difplayed the true courage of a man, and great
prefence of mind; he received no hurt. The
Duke de Montpenfier evinced upon this occa
fion extreme fenfibility and brotherly affection.
-The Duke de Chartres has requeſted my
permiffion to read Telemachus a fecond time:
he has this book always in his pocket that he
may read it at his leifure moments, which
affords me great pleaſure.-I perceive with
fingular fatisfaction that as the princes advance
in age, the more rooted are their fentiments
of piety, and the ftronger is their admiration
of modefty, chastity and virtue. I hesitate
not to fay that there are no young perfons of
the fame age purer, or more religious without
imbecility, without bigotry, becauſe they fully
under-
to her Pupils.
143
underftand religion, and are deeply penetrated
with its fublime and perfect morality.
1
28. June 1790,
I HAVE underſtood this morning from the
Journal of M. Lebrun, and have been confi-
derably furpriſed at the information, that you
play at billiards for money. It is in vain that
you may tell me that you play but for fmall
fums; you have but fmall fums in your power
to play for. It is ftrange that, after all you
have faid to me upon the fubject of gaming,
you cannot intereft yourſelves in a game of
addrefs without playing for money: for M.
Lebrun obſerves that fince you have played
for money you have entered into the amufe-
ment with much reliſh and activity. This is
an inftance of uncommon inconfiftency and
weakneſs.
<
'
C
<
I have promiſed my friend that I would
never game for fo much as a fingle crown,
and fhe may be affured that I have faithfully
kept my promife: I have neither played
nor betted at billiards even the fum of two
pence*.
I H
• CHARTRES.'
1 July 1790.
HAVE
HAVE feen with pleafure that you act con-
fiftently with your fentiments and opinions,
relative to the new conftitution; that you have
* This was true; I had miſunderſtood the Journal of M.
Lebrun.
been
144
Leffons of a Governess
been charmed with the fuppreffion of titles and
all thoſe puerile diftinctions of which fools only
can be vain, and that you wiſh the fuppreffion
to extend to ribbons and every decoration of
a fimilar kind. For my own part I could wiſh
that, as to ribbons, thoſe who have juftly ac-
quired them by military fervices and brilliant
exploits might be permitted to keep them.
In that cafe M. de Chartres, for example, who
has done nothing, would quit his, while the
military officers who have obtained it by ferv-
ing their country, would ftill wear it. I am
fure this idea will ftrike you as equitable.
+
6 July 1790.
THE Journal of M. Lebrun has, for feve-
ral days paft, been unfavourable to M. de
Chartres; he encroaches continually upon his
hours of study to write to me, a proceeding
that gives me confiderable pain. You will
foon, my child, be your own mafter, we fhall
be ſeparated: it is then I will thank you to
write, to open your heart to me, to preferve
towards me that intimate confidence, the only
true proof of cordial friendship, and which I
fhall merit to my laft hour by my fincere and
ardent affection.
I have read the above article, and I hope
that I fhall render myfelf worthy of the
< maternal tenderness, of which my friend
gives me fo many proofs.
'
CHARTRES.'
IT
to her Pupils.
145
16 July 1790.
IT affords me inexpreffible fatisfaction to fee
:
that your minds are penetrated with a fenfe of
religion. In M. de Montpenfier piety is be-
come a ſentiment ſo tender, fo rational and ſo
profound as to be wholly unexampled at his
age. On the day of the federation you did a
thing which I very much diſapproved. Before
the arrival of the king you went to the Champ
de Mars, where you were highly applauded;
but you had no buſineſs there, and one might
ſuppoſe that you went on purpoſe to be ap-
plauded befide you ought not to have taken
a ſtep of this kind without confulting me; I
was no farther off than the next houſe to you.
Upon the fubject of public applaufe my opi-
nion is this-We ought to fet the higheſt value
upon popular favour, becauſe it is only to be
obtained by virtue or the appearance of virtue.
To be admired in faſhionable circles, a few
frivolous accomplishments are fufficient; but
the people will have virtues and good actions,
and it is for this reafon that their approbation
ought to be eſtimated fo highly. It is their
prerogative to beſtow true fame; at the fame
time that it is injudicious and abfurd to ſeem to
covet their applauſes; this would at once be
wound to modefty and an exhibition of ſtupid
conceit. We must take care however not to
feem to fet light by their approbation; that
would be a folly of another fort more conceit-
ed and more intolerable. It is our wifdom
therefore not in the fmalleft degree to covet
their applaufe, nor to affect to fly from it, but
at the fame time to receive it whenever it is
VOL. I.
bestowed
II
J46
Leſſons of a Governifs
beftowed with all poffible deference and grati-
tude. Remember, my children, that good
taſte and graceful manners can never exift
without complaifance, propriety and decorum :
now there is nothing more indecorous than to
appear to hold the public in contempt, and to
think fo highly of curfelves as to believe that
we do not ſtand in need of their fuffrage. Re-
gard it always as a refpeciable judge. Never
attempt to corrupt and feduce it by mean flat-
tery and hypocritical virtue; you would thus
defeat your purpofe; but defire ardently its
efteem, and merit it by purity of conduct and
genuine worth. Next to the teftimony of our
confcience, its approbation is the nobleft re-
compenfe of virtue.
C
I have read the preceding article, and am
happy in being able to fay that I previously
entertained the fame fentiments as my friend.
• CHARTRES.'
I alſo agree perfectly in opinion with my
friend.
• MONTPENSIER.'
26 July 1790.
M. DE BEAUJOLLOIS, without intending
it, ftruck M. de Chartres this morning on the
chin with the butt end of his muſket, and M.
de Chartres in revenge inhumanly thruft the
mufket in his brother's face. M. de Chartres
has fomething in his natural temper that leads
him, previously to reflection, into extreme bru-
tality. I am not tempted to foften the word,
for I will never explain away the dictates of
juftice and truth; at the fame time I confefs
that
to her Pupils.
147
that there is an integrity in his character which
I do flatter myfelf will ultimately render him
more gentle in his manners and more delicate
in his practices, qualities with which my affec-
tion and zeal have hitherto failed to infpire him.
Madame d'Orleans came yefterday to dine
with her children. I propoſed to her to change
the hour of Mademoifelle's ftudies, that fe
might walk alone with her for half an hour
after dinner, which fhe accepted. Mademoi-
felle, when fhe returned from this walk, was
overcome with joy; fhe told me that fhe had
talked a great deal with her dear, dear Mam-
ma; that fhe had expreffed to her how delight-
ed fhe was to have paffed three hours and a
half in her company, a circumftance which
had not happened for nine months; and that
ſhe was mortified and afflicted at not feeing her
oftener than once in eight or ten days, and
then only for a few minutes. Madame d'Or-
leans replied that fhe had been prevented by a
multiplicity of bufinefs, which, in the abfence
of M. d'Orleans, may cafily be conceived; but
fhe accompanied this detail with the moſt ten-
der expreffions imaginable, and added that fhe
fhould now come oftener to ſee her children *.
I parti-
H 2
* This however was not verified, though Madıme d'Or-
leans certainly intended it when fhe fo expreflively and feel-
ingly made the promiſe. But fhe was diffuaded from it by
the perſon whofe counfel, fhe followed, and who was afraid
that, if he were to ſpend time enough in our retreat to
converfe and come to an explanation with her children, her
reconciliation with me would be the confequence. We have
remarked in general that whenever fhe has been left to her
own guidance, the first emotions of her heart have been those
of kindneſs and affection, as was evidently the cafe when
M. de Chartres confeffed to her the heinous offence he had
committed in having told her a falfehood: the received him
H 2
at
148
Leffons of a Governess
I participated in the feelings of Mademoiſelle
on this occafion, whofe heart was penetrated
with gratitude and joy; and the fenfibility and
extreme affection which the difplayed towards
a mother fo virtuous and fo worthy to be
loved, makes her ftill more dear to me; not
that lever doubted her poffcffing thefe fenti-
ments, but when I fee them fo naturally and
forcibly expreſſed, my regard for my dear
Adela is neceffarily redoubled.
* I have read the preceding article.
CHARTRES.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
25 Auguft 1790.
FOR feveral days we were all three upon
terms of reſerve and coldness: yeſterday even-
ing a reconciliation took place with that frank-
nefs, that effufion and fenfibility peculiar to
honeft hearts, and we spent in confequence a
delightful evening. My children may be af-
fured that whenever I behave coldly to them,
any mind is far from being at eafe, and I ac-
knowledge that from a too lively intereft in
their welfare, I am frequently too fevere.
When you do any thing that I difapprove, I
magnify in imagination the confequences of
it; but at the fame time when your actions are
deferving of commendation, my joy and the
at the moment with that indulgence, fenfibility and incom-
parable goodneſs which are natural to her; but he treated
him the next day with the utmost coldneís, becaufe fhe had
in the mean time related the circumftance to her counſellor,
who had incenfed her mind. We have made the fame re-
mark, on all occafions, within theſe two years.
hopes
to her Pupils.
149
hopes I derive from them as to your future life
have no bounds. I am in general blunt when
any one difpleafes me, and have not in that
cafe the amenity I could wifh: were I able to
chide you with as much gentlenefs, as I praife
you with affection, when you merit it, I fhould
make a ftronger impreffion on your minds;
but education has not corrected my natural
defects; it was very much neglected, and it
left me a thouſand imperfections. In my treat-
ment of you I have cured myfelf of a quick-
nefs of temper that was highly derogatory to
me; but I have fubftituted in its place a fort
of dryneſs and ill humour which often actuates
me when I am offended. When we are no
longer young it commonly happens thus, we
correct ourselves of a fault by exchanging it
for another. You, my children, who are in-
the firſt ſtage of youth, may cure yourfelves
entirely of your defects: avoid particularly
thoſe which I have confeffed to you, from fee-.
ing how injurious they are to me. How noble
would be the refolve to approach every day
nearer to perfection! and it is a project which
could not fail of fucceeding when formed at
the age of fifteen or fixteen years.
I have read the preceding article.
"CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER.'
1.1 September 1790.
BOUT a fortnight ago Mademoiſelle and-
her brothers afked leave of Madame d'Orleans
to dine with her the following Sunday. She
H 3.
COR-
150
Leffens of a Governess
confented, but on the preceding Saturday fhe
came to tell them that an affair had happened
which would prevent her receiving them. The
children expreffed a defire that fhe would
name fome other day, and fhe accordingly ap-
pointed Sunday fe'ennight. The day before
the time, which was yesterday, fhe called upon
Mademoiſelle at half after eight in the morn-
ing and informed her, that fhe could no longer
permit her children to come to fee her, that
The had very strong reafons for this, which fhe
did not chooſe to mention, but which the flat-
tered herself would foon be done away, and
that then ſhe would receive them. She after-
wards afked Mademoiſelle a variety of quef-
tions relative to me, and among others, if it
were really true that fhe loved me? Mademoifelle
related all this to me with the utmoft concern
and grief. Nearly the fame things were re-
peated by Madame d'Orleans to her fons.
This information is very painful to me: I
fhould never have undertaken the charge of
your education if I had not been as earnestly
folicited by Madame d'Orleans as by your fa-
ther; fhe was fatisfied with my cares and
overwhelmed me with her kindness till the pe-
riod of the month of Octcber laft; fince that
time, without affigning any reafon, fhe has
treated me with an extreme rigour, of which
you have all been witneffes; but I flatter my-
felf that thefe clouds will difperfe. She is
naturally fo good, fo virtuous, that ſhe will at
laft do me juftice, and I hope that the return
of her friendship and confidence will afford
me the poffibility of continuing in a fituation,
which my affection for you renders fo dear to
me
to her Pupils.
151
1
me, but which I cannot retain in the ftate in
which things are at prefent.
I have read the above article.
• CHARTRES.
< MONTPENSIER.'
18 September 1790.
YOU fay that I do not treat you with kind-
nefs: affume the man, fhew yourſelf in your
intercourfe with me not an infant full of in-
confiftency and boyifh tricks, but a youth of
feventeen years, who knows his duty, who
treats his friend with attention and kindness;.
and you may then depend upon the moft un-
interrupted marks of affection from me.
C
My heart has been fenfibly moved by the
preceding article. The period my friend
fixes is a very fhort one, but I promife her
to exert my utmoft efforts to do what fe
requires of me*.
• CHARTREST'
20 September 1790.
IN the carriage yesterday Cafar took poffef-
fion of a place, which was not the place of
honour, but which M. de Chartres thought
proper to prefer; and without faying a word
he took Cæfar by the fhoulders, thruft him
from his feat, and placed himfelf in it. I
fhould have thought if this place were agree-
* I had told him to behave to me in a manner more fuit-
able to his age, and I promiſed him if, only for a month, he
would put off his freaks and his wantonnefs, I would treat
him in a manner agreeable to his wifhcs.
II 4
able
152
Leffons of a Governess
able to him, that he would have had the civi
lity to have aſked for it; but this mode of feiz-
ing it is as ariftocratic as it is ill bred.
The day before yeſterday the Duke de
Chartres rofe from table four minutes be-
fore fupper was over, and left Mademoiselle,
Henrietta and Pamela *. I obferved to him
that he might fit a little longer fince he had no
particular bufinefs. He told me he had done
his meal: I had my doubts about this anfwer,
but I will not pofitively affirm that at feventeen
years of age one ought to be more polite. In
the carriage yeſterday for the first hour or two
he was very gloomy and very filent, he became
afterwards a little more fociable.
'I have read the preceding article.
AN
CHARTRE S.
• MONTPENSIER.'
4 October 1790..
N excellent day. Madame came yeſter-
day with M. d'Orleans: fhe entered my cham-
ber, embraced me with great goodnefs, and
told her children that the clouds which had
hung over her mind were difperfed, and that
every thing would now be as it was before the
month of October laft. To-morrow we fhall
dine with her.
5 October 1790.
WE have dined at the Palais-Royal. Ma-
dame d'Orleans informed her daughter that
ſhe ſhould come once a week, in the morning,
to take her out for an hour, and Mademoiſelle
* I was not at table, but I was in the chamber, and he
merely quitted his fupper to come to me.
was
to her Pupils.
153
was highly delighted at the intelligence. M. de
Chartres has told me that he yeſterday aſked
Madame d'Orleans for her picture in oil co-
lours and in miniature. I have adviſed him to
fx the latter to his watch that he might always
wear it. I ought to add that, about ten or
twelve days ago, I had a converfation with
him in which he evinced, with an effufion of
heart that was truly enchanting, the warmest
affection for his mother. He faid, among other
things, that when his education fhould be
finiſhed he would devote all the time he could
fpare from his ftudies to Madame d'Orleans
and his father. I advife him to fet apart two
days in the week, befide Sunday, for dining
with them, and not to come to Belle Chaffe
on thoſe days till fix o'clock in the evening;
an arrangement that will be the leaft injurious
to his ftudies *.
I propofed, a day or two fince, to M. d'Or--
leans that you might without delay be permit-
ted to pay a visit of five or fix days to M. de
Penthievre, which he very much approved.
He informed me this evening that the fame.
idea had occurred to Madamc d'Orleans, and
that ſhe would herfelf accompany you in a few
days, which is the more kind and obliging in
her, as he did not intend to go till the month
of November, and as, upon M. d'Orleans ex-
* M. de Chartres and his brother, as has been already
feen by the Journal, had exprcffed a ftrong defire that their
education might continue till they were refpectively of the
age of feventeen years and a half; but M. d'Orleans wifhed
his eldeſt fon to have his liberty 6 October 1790, when he
would be feventeen. M de Chartres was extremely mortified
at a decifion that deprived him of fix months regular ftudies
which I had prepared with the utmost care: for myfelf, r
was, if poffible, more afflicted than he, for I conceive that,
to be complete, the education of a young perfon fhould be
continued till the age of twenty.
H 5
preffing
154
Leffons of a Governess
preffing a defire that your vifit might no longer
be deferred, fhe has deranged all her plans
for the pleaſure of going with you.
The day has been excellent in all refpects,
and I am perfectly fatisfied with my dear chil-
dren.
M. de Beaujollois is about to prepare him-
felf for his first communion; he has fpoken to
me this evening upon the fubject in a manner.
that very much pleafed me. I hope, dear
child, that in your preparation for this impor-
tant act you will imitate the fervent piety of
your brothers, and that your mind in general
will take a ferious and rational turn: you
have fo excellent a heart and fo many good
qualities, that when you fhall have acquired
greater command of yourſelf and a little more
application, you will be a charming creature».
I have read the above article.
• CHARTRES.
S MONTPENSIER.
ADELA D'ORLEANS."
3
7 October 1790.
I HAVE just received a note from Madame
d'Orleans, in which fhe communicates her de-
fign of taking out Mademoifelle every Tuef-
day, Thurſday, and Saturday, from twelve to
one o'clock or a quarter after, and that on
Sundays, when I do not dine with them, fhe
will take out the children at three and bring
them home at fix. As I am exceedingly de-
firous, and have always defired, that Madame
d'Orleans.
❤
to her Pupils.
155
d'Orleans fhould fee Mademoiſelle as frequently
as could poffibly be made compatible with her
ftudies, I have juft written an anſwer in which
I propofe to her farther methods for that pur-
pofe. Henrietta will be fo good as to copy it
in this place.
Copy of my Anſwer to Madame Orleans.
MADEMOISELLE ſhall certainly be ready
at the times Madame d'Orleans defires. I have
a farther method to propofe by which Madame
may have the company of her daughter for a
Rill longer time without injury to her studies.
We have not yet finiſhed our tour of Monu-
ments, Cabinets, &c. to be ſeen in Paris. On
thofe days therefore, when our tour fhall fall
on the days Madame has fixed for vifiting Ma-
demoiſelle (fince we fhall perhaps be obliged
fometimes to take thofe days) Madame may,
if ſhe think fit, without the leaft injury to our
plan, conduct Mademoifelle to the place of
rendezvous, fo as to be there at the fame time
as her brothers, or at a different time if that
be more agreeabie.. I will in that cafe furnifn
Madame d'Orleans with a lift of what we have
already feen, that the may perceive what there
is that remains to be feen: on thefe days Ma-
dame, without any derangement of our ftudies,
may detain her daughter for an hour and a
half, and this on the very days that he has
not fixed for her vifits, as well as on thoſe
which fhe has. She fhall always receive no-
tice of our tour the evening before it is pro-
ceeded upon. I propofe this only for the
winter feafon in Paris, becaufe, having already
made:
156
Leſſons of a Governess
made all the excurfions which are moſt in-
ftructive and interefting, thofe which remain
are not of great importance, fo that indeed
Mademoifelle might wholly difpenfe with
them, were it not that they will complete the
courfe in which the is already engaged? Ma-
dame will therefore adopt and purfue them if
fhe think proper.
I have read the above article.
CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
BEAUJOLLOIS.'
8 October 1790.
I HAVE requefted Mademoiselle, who dines
alone to-morrow with Madame d'Orleans, to
inform her that if, befide Sunday, fhe withes.
to have the company of her daughter on
Monday, I ſhall be delighted, as I would in
that cafe accept an invitation which I have re-
ceived to dinner. I have defired Mademoiſelle
farther to inform her that when my aunt rc-
turns, which will be foon, I mean to dine with
her once a fortnight, and fhall take with me
only M. de Montpenfier, and that Madame
may therefore have the company of her daugh-
ter on thofe days alſo. It is a pleaſure to me
to fee in Madame d'Orleans a defire of ſpend-
ing more time with Mademoifelle; the grati-
fication would be greater were this time to
paſs at Belle Chaffe, but at any rate I rejoice
exceedingly that fhe at length wifhes to know
her daughter as perfectly as I know her; it
has been my conftant defire; I have written
this
to her Pupils.
157
*
this journal for this fole purpoſe, and have
urged Madame, upon every occafion and in
the prefence of her children, to accompany us
in our tours and to refide with us in the coun-
try.
M. de Chartres has dined to-day with Ma-
dame d'Orleans.-He fpoke to me this even-
ing, with a charming fenfibility, of the pain
he feels at feeing me lefs frequently. I replied,
that he ought to confole himſelf by the confi-
deration that the liberty he enjoys affords him
the fureft means of proving to me his affection
and gratitude; that is, by preferving his reli-
gious principles and the purity of his man--
ners; by being an excellent fon, a fond bro-
ther and a good citizen. Let him be all this,
and his duties towards me will be completely
diſcharged. I fee alfo with fatisfaction how
painful it is to him to be feparated from his
brother, and how clofely their affectionate
hearts are united. Ever preferve, dear chil-
dren, the fentiments you at prefent entertain,
and believe that there is in life but one real
felicity, that of loving thoſe whom we are
bound to love, and of having a pure con-
fcience.
I have read the above article.
• CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER.
‹ ADELA D'ORLEANS.'
•
?
13 October 1790,
MADEMOISELLE is in perfect ecſtaſy at
the tendernefs with which he is treated by
Madame
158
Leffons of a Governess
Madame d'Orleans. She can only prove her
gratitude by an affection and gratitude that
fhall know no bounds. I have propoſed to
Madame to undertake herſelf the inftruction
of her daughter in mythology, and I fhall
furnith her with all my manufcripts for that
purpoſe: the accepted the propofal with ala-
crity, as well as another which I made her, of
being prefent occafionally at M. de Beaujollois's
preparation, held at the Palais Royal, for his
firft communion; a preparation at which M.
Lebrun cannot be prefent, and which there-
fore would not have been held but under the
inſpection of a valet de chambre: for this rea-
fon I particularly wifhed for the prefence and
countenance of Madame d'Orleans.
I have read the above article.
• CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.'
28 Odoler 1790.
WE have ſpent fome days at Noizi. M. de
Montpenfier, in attempting for the fecond time
to leap over a very high bar, was thrown from
his horfe on the turf, and in the fall the horſe
kicked him in the head. He got up immedi-
ately and came running and fkipping to my
carriage, affuring me, with a fmiling counte-
nance, that he had received no kind of hurt:
it was only by examining his head that I per-
ceived a fwelling larger than an egg. I praife
him not for his courage; he did no more than
every man ought to do; but I feel all the value
of
to her Pupils.
159
of that inftantaneous impulfe which led him
to conquer an acute pain, and fly to affure us
of his perfect fafety. There is nothing in the
world fo noble and ſtriking as fenfibility and
courage united. The next morning M. de
Montpenfier was blooded. He rofe as ufual,
ſpent the day in reading, writing and draw-
ing, and the next day refumed all his ftudies.
MONTPENSIER
1. November 1790.
YOUR ftudies go on well. M. de Chartres
profecutes his with greater application than is
required of him. As to manners, religion,
virtue, affection for his father and mother,
friendſhip for me, and general prudence of
conduct, he is every thing that my fond heart
ean with
CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER
3 November 1790.
FROM feveral things which M. de Chartres
has mentioned, I am well affured that Madame
d'Orleans was difpleafed with him for repeat-
ing ſome circumſtances of abfolute indifference
in relation to her. I am certain that if Ma-
dame had mentioned, to him the moft trifling
circumftance in the world, and defired him.
not
160
Leffons of a Governess
not to acquaint me with it, he never would
have opened his mouth upon the fubject: but
fince thefe matters of indifference, communi-
cated to him without any precaution, have
been a fource of difpleature to Madame, I
have intreated all her children never, upon
any account, to repeat to me any part of her
converfation, and have defired them to inform
her of my refolution upon the fubject. At
the fame time I give them full liberty to report
to Madame d'Orleans every thing I fay, and
every thing that concerns me.
M. de Chartres and his fifter have expreffed
the moft lively grief at the extreme coldness
with which Madame d'Orleans has treated
them for this fortnight paft, particularly when
they are alone with her, and for which they
are unable to affign any reafon. I have told
them that time, perfevering affection on their
part, and uniform propriety of conduct, would
finally fucceed in making Madame d'Orleans
every thing they could with towards her chil-
dren. As I am not at all able to remedy the
evil, I, with them to fay no more to me di-
re&tly or indirectly upon the fubject; and, in
fhort, I once more abfolutely forbid, upon
any occafion, converfation of this nature.
M. de Chartres has been received with una-
nimous applaufe into the club of Jacobins.-
His fpeech was admirable. He goes to-mor-
row with his fifter upon a vifit, of three days
to M. de Penthièvre.
CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
BEAUJOLLOIS.
THE
to her Pupils.
161
22 November 1790.
THE conduct of M. de Chartres continues
to be pure and perfect in all refpects. He
dines regularly, without having once failed,
three times a week with Madame d'Orleans,
befide feeing her every morning and evening
when the is to receive him; and he dines about
once a fortnight with M. d'Orleans, which is
all his father afks of him on account of his
ftudies. The reft of his time is fpent in ftudy
at Belle Chaffe, in the National Affembly, in
the Philanthropic Society and the Society of
Jacobins. By my advice he goes three times
a week to the Hotel-Dieu to drefs wounds and
learn to bleed*, which his brothers learn alſo.
In fhort, I cannot too highly praiſe his good
fenfe, his general conduct, and the fincerity
of his friendship to me. He rewards me, I
confefs, infinitely beyond what I dared hope,
and confirms me more every day in the de-
lightful certainty (without which there would
be no happineſs for me upon earth) that he
will be the pureft, the moft virtuous of men
and the beft poffible friend. I flatter myfelf
that his brother will afford me equal fatisfac-
tion: there is every appearance and promife
of the fame fentiments and the fame manner of
thinking.
CHARTRES.
* A very benevolent ſtudy, and highly neceffary to thofe
who are fond of travelling. It was an effential part of edu
cation among the ancients, as may be feen in the Iliad; and
I am perfuaded it will hereafter be thought equally uſeful in
modern education. In my two effays upon the public edu
cation of women and upon that of the people, I have enue
merated all advantages to be derived from it
‹ I pro-
162
Leſſons of a Governess
I promiſe to realize the hopes of my good
‹ and tender friend, and will endeavour that
this refpect there fhall be no difference
between my brother and me.
MONTPENSIER.'
30 November 1790.
STUDY has gone on at a flow pace for fe-
veral days paft. M. de Chartres does not now
make any uſe of his leaden weights in the
morning. His Latin is paffed over in a very
careleſs and negligent way. The day before
yeſterday I was in a clofet, from which, with-
out his perceiving me, I faw him take a leffon
with M. Allyon, that is, recline for half an
hour on a chair like a perfon indifpofed, with-
out hearing or anfwering a fingle word. M.
de Chartres fays that he was afflicted becauſe
I appeared to be angry with him. In the firft
place, I was not angry with him; and if I had
been angry, was that a reafon for fhutting
himfelf up with a mafter to do nothing, to
pretend to take a leffon, and at the fame time
to pay no attention to it, and to give way
thus unworthily to his ill humour?
I advife M. de Chartres, befides his journal,
to keep a book of accounts, and to ſpend
none of his pocket-money without inferting
in this book the ufe to which it is applied,
with the date: this is a thing of more confe-
quence through the whole courfe of our lives
than we are apt to imagine.
I always forget to write that, for about three
months, I have made Henrietta and Pamela
learn to drefs wounds. For two months they
have
to her Pupils.
163
have practifed alternately twice a day upon
a female belonging to the houfe, who has a
very confiderable wound in her leg, and they
engage in this office with all the humanity and
zeal which it demands. Mademoifelle d'Or-
leans alfo learns, and is very affiduous.
(
I have read the preceding article, and
hope never to give my dear friend caufe
for a fimilar reproach. As to the book of
accounts, I have already begun one by her
advice.
• CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER."
IT is now upwards of a fortnight that
Mademoiſelle has requested me to refume at
Belle Chaffe my leffons in mythology, as Ma-
dame neglects to give her the fmalleft inftruc-
tion. When I propoſed to Madame d'Orleans
to undertake this office, I informed her that
I fhould prohibit Mademoiſelle from taking
any more leffons here, and fhould avoid giving
her any myſelf, that fhe might be indebted for.
her knowledge to Madame folely; and I
added at the fame time, that I would lend her
my manufcripts upon the fubject, which are
very confiderable. As I am not therefore
willing to refume thefe leffons without know-
ing her intentions, I have written her a note
of which the following is a cory.
Copy of my note to Madame d'Orleans.
Mademoiſelle has for more than a fortnight
requested me to refume my leftons of mytho-
logy. Her reafon is that, as her time with
Madame is chiefly fpent in taking the air ov
going to fhops, inftead of improving in this
branch
164
Leffons of a Governess
branch of knowledge, fhe will foon lofe what
The has acquired, unlefs her ftudies are refumed
at Belle Chaffe. Madame will do me the fa-
vour to inform me of her intentions, as I fhall
not be willing to engage in thefe leffons till I
know whether it be agrecable to her. I fhall
only take the liberty of obferving, that this
Atudy is indifpenfably neceffary in fociety, and
that Mademoiselle, whofe memory is by no
means ftrong, will never make any proficiency,
if the do not regularly receive every day a
teffon of half an hour.
MADAME d'Orleans
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
1 December 1790.
ADAME d'Orleans has this day anſwered
my letter. In the mean time I have learned
from Mademoiſelle a circumftance of which I
was before ignorant, that Madame fometimes
gave her a leffon in the carriage as they drove
through the streets, which Mademoiſelle con-
fidered as of no value, as the found it impof-
fible to hear a ſyllable of it. The following is
a copy of Madame d'Orleans' letter.
C
C
• MADAM,
I HAVE followed exactly the method
* which you communicated to me by my
daughter: but I found it infufficient for her
acquiring any useful knowledge of mytho-
logy, and it was my intention to ſpeak to
you upon the fubject. I entreat you to in-
form me, by writing, what method you may
think proper to fubftitute in its itead, and
on my days of taking out my daughter I will
& come
"
to her Pupils.
165
.
<
r
<
come half an hour fooner or detain half an
hour later, as may be moft convenient to
you, and this half hour I mean to confe-
crate wholly to mythology. On the other
days, if you are defirous of inftructing her
yourſelf, her progrefs will be only the more
<
C
rapid.'
My Anfwer.
3 December 1790.
I KNOW not what Mademoiſelle has told
· Madame d'Orleans, reſpecting my mode of
inftruction; but I had myfelf the honour of
informing her that a leffon of half an hour
would be neceffary, reading the whole aloud
to the pupil, and at the end of each page
defiring the pupil to repeat, not memoriter
and word for word, but the fenfe of what
has been read, and finally at the end of the
leflon fumming up the plan of the whole.
To a rapid proficiency it is indifpenfable that
we write every week a recapitulation of the
leffons of the week, in order the morė
ftrongly to imprint them on the mind of the
pupil. Such is the method I have conftant-
ly followed. That obferved by Madame has
not fucceeded, becauſe the leffons were given
with no regularity, and always in a carriage
as fhe paffed through the streets of Paris.
It is impoffible in this cafe, from the noife
of her own, the rattling of other carriages,
and the diftraétion occafioned by a thoufand
objects in the streets, that a child fhould be
capable of the leaft attention. In travelling
on the high roads I have never been able to
read aloud to my pupils with any advan-
tage, unleſs the ground has been foft, or
C
'
.
.
C
C
.
<
the
166 Leſſons of a Governess
C
C
the roads fo bad as to oblige us to go a very
gentle pace.
Madame defires an additional half hour,
befide the hour and a quarter fhe had be-
'fore requested. I fhall only have the honour
C to obferve that Mademoiselle's time is fo
fully occupied at Belle Chaffe, that this half
hour will deprive her of her finging leffon
in the morning, or in the afternoon of her
drawing, from which half an hour is already
taken for the fake of her attending Madame,
fo that not a moment will be left. Having
ftated this, I thall leave it to Madame to
do as fhe thinks proper, and fhall acquiefce
in her decifion. I have already executed the
intention expreffed at the conclufion of Ma-
dame's letter, by commencing with Made-
moifelle a courfe of mythology.'
4 December 1790.
MADAME d'Orleans called upon me this
morning and did me the honour to fay that in
future fhe fhould content herfelf with taking
out Mademoifelle, and fhould give her no far-
ther leffons in mythology. This task there-
fore will now devolve wholly upon myſelf, and
as I have done for feveral days paft, I fhall
give this leffon in the afternoon with her
leffon of Orthography.
YOUR
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
15 January, 1791.
OUR ftudies go on well. M. de Char-
tres conducts himself with perfect propriety,
and makes a very virtuous ufe of his liberty.
M. D'OR-
to her Pupils.
187
30 January 1791.
M. D'ORLEANS has informed me that
M. de Montpenfier will quit me in the ſpring,
as his military promotion makes it neceffary
that he fhould go into garrifon. I have re-
prefented that he is but fifteen years old, and
that his education is not finiſhed: M. d'Or-
leans perfifts. He is a very affectionate father,
and you cannot doubt, my child, but he thinks
this arrangement to be for your advantage:
but I wish you to underſtand that it is not I
who quit you, and that the benefit you have
hitherto derived from my cares makes me ex-
tremely defirous of devoting a few years more
to your education.
I have read the above article.
1
• CHARTRES.
‹ MONTPENSIER.'
1 March 1791.
A MULTIPLICITY of inteftine troubles
have obliged me to difcontinue this Journal;
but I have continued my leffons with the fame
affiduity, and have been perfectly fatisfied with
my dear pupils. M. de Montpenfier is very
attentive to his ftudies, and has made confi-
derable progrefs. He difcovers an admirable
talent for painting, and his proficiency in this
art is inconceivable. M. de Chartres ftill pre-
ferves his principles and manners in all their
purity. Since he has enjoyed his liberty, he
has not failed of ſeeing Madame d'Orleans at
leaft
163 Leffons of a Governess
leaſt once a day and often twice, beſide dining
with her regularly three times a week. He
dines at Belle Chaffe once or twice a week only;
but he comes every day to take two or three
hours leffons and fometimes more. The reft of
his time is devoted to M. d'Orleans, to the Na-
tional Affembly, the Philanthropic Society,
the Club of Jacobins, and fome private acts of
beneficence and humanity. Such conduct, at
feventeen years, without a monitor or guide, is
worthy of esteem and encomium. Preferve
invariably, dear child, thefe excellent fenti-
ments. Be always the most affectionate of fons;
confider it as your happinéís and glory to dif-
charge every obligation to a father and a mo-
ther whom you love, and whofe felicity depends
on your virtues; ever love your country and
virtue; preſerve at all times your reſpect for
religion and that contempt of pride, that tender
concern for the unfortunate and that genero-
fity which are natural to your character, and
you will make that friend happy who has con-
fecrated ten years of her life to your fervice.
'I have read the preceding article.
،
CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER.'
29 March 1791.
M. DE MONTPENSIER behaves to me
in a charming manner, which pleaſes me the
more, as he has known, for more than three
months, that I fhall foon ceafe to have any au-
thority over him. His heart is excellent: I
only recommend to him to correct him felf of
a quickneſs of temper. M. Lebrun frequently
complains
to her Pupils.
169
:
complains of the pettifh manner in which he
treats his people for meer trifles: I requeft it
as a favour of my child that he will put fome
reſtraint upon himfelf in this particular. I
can fay in general, that his behaviour to his
fervants is good, and generous when they ſtand
in need of his fuccour; but he is impatient
upon frivolous occafions, and ſpeaks to them
harfhly fhould this become a habit, it will
be a real blot in his character. His nurfe is juſt
brought to bed; he has been of his own ac-
cord to fee her, and has given her all the fav-
ings of his pocket-money to contribute to her
comfort. He has done, to my knowledge,
within fix months, many acts of this kind, and
in the right manner, without the leaft often-
tation and with extreme fimplicity. His mind
alfo acquires folidity: he has interefted him-
felf warmly in the revolution, is ftill attentive
to the fituation of affairs, and diſplays in this
refpect great penetration.
As to M. de Beaujollois, he preferves at all
times his happy difpofition and a heart fenfi-
ble and grateful; but his ftudies for fix months
paſt have been indifferent: it is true that, dur-
ing four months out of theſe fix, Madame
d'Orleans has fent for him every morning, and
he has ftaid with her for an hour and a half,
befide an hour in the evening, which has been
very injurious to him: it was that he might fit
to the different painters for his piture. Now
that theſe portraits are finifhed, I hope he will
refume his ftudies with ardour. His fentiments.
are excellent, and I hefitate not to fay fupe-
rior to his age. IIe difplays already the pa-
triotim of his brothers, and he compofed the
other day a little piece upon this fubject, by
VOL. I
I
way
170
Leffons of a Governess
way of theme. It was an excellent perform-
ance for his age: he enumerated with perfpi-
cuity and good ſenſe the reaſons of his attach-
ment to the revolution, and concluded thus:
Such are the fentiments of Beaujollcis. He told
me the other Day that Madame Defrois had
given him an ariftocratic lecture, which fhe
accompanied with a prefent of dried cherries;
that he anſwered her in two words, but like a
good patriot, and that, having done this, he
accepted the cherries and eat them without
fcruple. I obferved to him that his anfwer
would have been more firm if he had refuſed
the cherries, and I added fome reflections
which he was very capable of underſtanding,
as he poffeffes two qualities that are feldom
united, a found judgment and confiderable
acuteness.
I have read the preceding article.
CHARTRES.
< MONTPENSIER.
BEAUJOLLOIS.'
16 May 1791.
I RETURNED here on Tueſday, the 12th
of this month. The trouble and agitation
which my mind has undergone, would not
permit me to refume this Journal till to-day.
I am doubtless happy to find myfelf in the
midſt of my dear pupils, who have given me
fo many proofs of their affection and of the
tendereft gratitude, and to behold once more
the perfons who compofe this houfe, of whom
there is not an individual that has not fome
caim upon my heart. But my happineſs is
not
to her Pupils.
171
not unaccompanied with vexation. Had I
been invited directly by Madame d'Orleans,
it would have been perfect, and this would
certainly have been the cafe but for the influ-
ence and advice of the perfon who has been
the cauſe of all our misfortunes. In the mean
time Madame d'Orleans, in one of her laſt
letters previous to my return, very manifeftly
authoriſed the invitation. I had declared to
M. d'Orleans, at my departure, that no confi-
deration upon earth fhould ever prevail with
me to reſume my function, but a letter from
Madame d'Orleans expreffing her defire that
I would do fo. I did not foreſee the deplora-
ble ſtate to which my abfence would reduce
Mademoifelle, but I was fure that fhe would
be deeply afflicted, and I was not without hope
that, after a few months, Madame d'Orleans,
apprehenſive that a continued forrow might
be injurious to, her daughter's health, would
be induced to this meafure. I believe that had
the grief of Mademoifelle been lefs poignant
it would have ferved us more effectually. No
fears would then have been entertained from
Madame d'Orleans being the witnefs of it:
ſhe would have been permitted to come to
Paris to dry up the tears of her daughter, had
they flowed with lefs impetuofity. Mademoi-
felle would have been able to talk to her, and
of confequence to have foftened her; and the
would certainly have obtained in a few months,
perhaps in a much fhorter period, what feven-
teen days abſence was unable to effect.
But
Mademoiſelle, of an age when reaſon and for-
titude as yet imperfect, could not govern her
extreme fenfibility. M. d'Orleans, terrified at,
her wretched fituation and the alarming fymp-
I 2
toms
172 Leffons of a Governess
toms which, inſtead of diminiſhing, every day
increaſed, refolved, after having withſtood this
fpectacle for twelve or thirteen days, to calm
her feelings by giving her the ſtrongeſt hopes
of my fpeedy recal. A few hours previous to
this refolution, a new courier had been dif-
patched to Madame d'Orleans; informing her
of the exact ftate of things, of the dreadful
fears that were entertained refpecting the
health of Mademoifelle, and conjuring her to
invite me to return. Her anfwer was not fuch
as M. d'Orleans wifhed, but it contained a
paffage expreffive of what I have related, im-
plying that the confented to my recal. M.
d'Orleans might certainly have acted without
this confent, a father being maſter of his chil-
dren; but he conceived that it was neceffary
to influence me. In truth, had the forrows of
Mademoiſelle been more moderate, nothing
but the honour of a line from Madame d'Or-
leans expressly requefting it, could have de-
termined me to return; but my concern for
the health and life of Mademoiſelle has pre-
vailed, as it ought, over every other confide-
ration. 'If you do not ſpeedily return, there
is every reafon to fear the life of Mademoi-
• felle.' Such was the account I received,
and I came without delay. Let us hope, my
children, that time will fhew to Madame
d'Orleans in its true light the malignity of
thoſe who have thus adviſed her, and who
have fucceeded in making her avow openly
defires contrary to thofe of M. d'Orleans.
obeying the one lament that you are not bet-
ter able to obey the other; lament the oppo-
fition of opinions and fentiments that divides
them; employ all your cares and affection to
In
reconcile
to her Pupils.
173
reconcile and unite them: it is a duty facredly
incumbent upon you, and which your ardent
attachment to two perfons fo dear to you and
to each other, fhould lead you naturally and
without effort to diſcharge.
Mademoiſelle has, fince my return, written
to her mother; her letter was exactly what it
ought to have been, extremely affectionate.
I have fent a copy of it to M. d'Orleans by
his order; who has alfo requefted to have
copies of all the letters which Mademoiſelle
may write to Madame d'Orleans, a requeſt
with which I fhall comply. As to the letters
Mademoiſelle may reccive from her mother, I
fhall not fee them; it is a law which I have
for eighteen month's impofed upon myſelf, and
A will ever faithfully obferve it.
I have read the preceding article.
‹ CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER.
BEAUJOLLOIS.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.'
20 May 1791.
M.
me.
DE BEAUJOLLOIS has expreffed to
me in the most affectionate manner the morti-
fication he feels in being obliged to part with
I fhould have had much pleaſure in
finiſhing the education' of a young perfon fo
amiable and of fuch peculiar fenfibility; but
Madame d'Orleans has pofitively required of
me to refign my connection with her children,
a requifition that was no fooner communicated
to me than it was received with the moſt en-
Fagyl
I 3
tire
174 Leffons of a Governess
tire compliance. Nothing but an apprehen-
fion conceived for the life of Mademoiſelle
could have recalled me; it was then my duty
to return. The reafon however that has once
more united me to Mademoiſelle, cannot have
place in the cafe of M. de Beaujollois; I there-
fore make this painful facrifice without hefita-
tion, to the refpect which is due from me for
the commands of Madame d'Orleans. I have
already communicated my fentiments upon that
fubject to M. d'Orleans. It will therefore be
thought proper to fend M. de Beaujollois to
fome distance, to free him from the habit of
being directed by me, which could fcarcely be
accompliſhed at Paris, or which at leaſt would
be faid to continue, and I fhould be reported
to be the director of his education at the very
time that I profeffed to have no concern in it,
This I have communicated to M. de Beaujol-
lois: it coft him many tears, but he has fully
comprehended the delicacy that dictates it.
M. de Beaujollois has been telling me that
Madame Defrois came to fee him in my ab-
fence, and expreffed how much he was delighted
that he was henceforth to be under the care of M.
Lebrun; that the circumftance gave equal pleafure
to Madame dOrleans
And to me alſo moſt affuredly. For I told M.
d'Orleans, who had the goodness to confult
me, that he could not do better than to place
M. de Beaujollois in the hands of M. Lebrun
and M. Coupey, fo eligible by their know-
ledge and their virtues, and who are befide
excellent patriots and members of the club of
Friends to the Conftitution.
MADE.
to her Pupils.
1
175
21 May 1791.
MADEMOISELLE has yet received no
anfwer from Madame d'Orleans, which very
fenfibly afflicts her. She has written a fecond'
letter to-day by a meffenger fent by her bru-
thers to afk Madame's permiffion to come to
fee her at Eu.
C
I have read the above article
• CHARTRES.
← MONTPENSIER.
BEAUJOLLOIS.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.'
THE
23 May 1791.
HE meffenger fent to Eu is returned, and
has brought a fhort note from Madame d'Or-
leans, in which fhe merely fays that fhe can-
not write at prefent, but that fhe will return
an anſwer as foon as fhe is able. Mademoiſelle
has received no direct anfwer. Her brothers
were ftill defirous of fetting cut to-morrow
for Eu, and I feconded this defire; but M.
d'Orleans has ordered them to wait till the
promifed anſwer arrives, as Madame in her
note, which contains only three Ines, does
not give them leave to go, but fays fhe will
write to them more particularly upon the
Lubject.
Mademoiſelle has this day written again to.
Madame d'Orleans.
I 4:
MADAME
176 Leffons of a Governess
MADAME
24 May 1791.
DAME D'ORLEANS has written a let-
ter to her children which they received to-day,
and in which the prohibits the two cldeft from
going to fee her at Leu. They have refolved,
if M. d'Orleans approve of it, to go to-mor-
row to la Mothe, a villa belonging to him
about a league from Eu, in order to write from
thence to Madame d'Orleans and perfevere in
foliciting permiffion to fee her. M. de Char-
tres is by much the more defirous to obtain
this permiffion, as he is upon the point of fet-
ting out for his regiment, and will be abfent
four months and a half, if not more. I have
not feen Madame d'Orleans' letter, but I en-
quired refpecting her health, and M. de Char-
tres tells me that fhe writes him word that ſhe
is better, having only fuffered a flight indifpo-
fition: Mademoifelle adds, that in the letter
The has received, it is farther faid that her
mother intends in a fhort time to go to ano-
ther of the villas of M. de Penthièvre.
I have read the preceding article.
CHARTRES.
• MONTPENSIER,
BEAUJOLLOIS.
• ADELA D'ORLEANS.'
25 May 1791.
M.DE BEAUJOLLOIS expreffes a regret
at quitting me that gives me extreme pain. He
must be fure that I partake of his affliction,
for he knows how much I love him, and how
happy
to her Pupils.
177
L
happy I ſhould be were it in my power to
finith his education. But I again repcat to
him, that I neither can nor ought to occafion
Madaine d'Orleans this pain, as it is poffit le
to avoid it. Though M. de Beaujollois is not
yet eleven years of age, he has a degree of
firmneſs that would do honour to a man, and
I am certain he feels how unbecoming a man
it would be to be overcome by grief. I ac-
knowledge, dear child, that you have at this
moment great reafon to be unhappy at a diï-
tance from an eftimable and dear mother, un-
able to go to fee her becaufe fhe prohibits it,
ignorant when ſhe will return; in fhort abeut
to quit for a long time a beloved father, fifter,
brothers, and a friend who has confecrated
to you eight uninterrupted years of care! You
muft neceffarily fuffer; but, dear child, fuffer
like a man, with patience, refignation and
courage. In fpite of the abfence we lament,
I will be mindful of you every day, I will
write to you inceffantly, I will fend you ex-
tracts of all cur readings, I will not pafs an
hour without thinking of the beloved child
who fhews me fo fond an attachment, and
which my heart fo fully returns.
1
Tuesday, 26 May 1791.
M. D'ORLEANS has confented to his two
eldeft fons going to La Mothe. They will
write from thence to inform Madame d'Or-
leans, that they wish not to be importunate in.
their folicitations to fee her, as fhe has given
them to understand that she cannot at prefent
receive them, from an apprehenfion that the
emotion
I 5
1
178
Leſſons of a Governess
emotion it might occafion would be fatal to
her health; but that they are defirous of being
near her that they may receive the moſt cer-
tain and direct intelligence refpecting her, and
that he may be affured they will not prefent
themſelves before her without her exprefs per-
miffion. As I obferved yeſterday, Madame
d'Orleans writes them word that he has no
particular diforder, but only a flight general
indifpofition. M. de Chartres and his brother
will be accompanied by M. Pieyre; they are
to fet cut at half after fix this evening, and
are to perform the journey without ftopping:
the diſtance is fifty-two leagues, fo that they
will travel all night. They are to return in
the fame expeditious manner, as the bufinefs
of his regiment abfolutely obliges M. de Char-
res to be here on Sunday. On Monday cr
Tueſday it is fuppofed that he will depart for
his regiment.
Mademoiſelle and M. Beaujollois have both
written this day to Madame d'Orleans.
CHARTRES.
ADELA D'ORLEANS.
MONTPENSIER.
BEAUJOLLOIS.
29 May 1791.
M. DE CHARTRES and M. de Montpen-
fier returned this morning from the town of
Eu. They inform me that they have feen
Madame d'Orleans, and that fhe received
them with the greatest affection and the moft
acute
to her Pupils.
179
acute fenfibility. They appear to have been
both very much affected with the interview.
CHARTRES.
MONTPENSIER.
End of the Journal of Education, written for
the Benefit of my Pupils*.
I SHALL now prefent the reader with fome
letters that have not been inferted in the Jour-
nal, as I wifhed them not to be read by my
pupils. They have known nothing of the
conduct of Madame d'Orleans towards me for
two years paft, except fuch things as they have
themſelves witneffed, and which it was impof-
fible to conceal from them. I am now obliged,
in my own vindication, to publifh various par
ticulars of which they are to this day igno-
rant; for I fwear by every thing facred that,
to the prefent 29 Máy 1791, I have never fpo-
ken to them, directly or indirectly, of the fteps
that I have taken to conciliate Madame d'Or-
leans, or of the following letters. I have not
only concealed from them theſe fruitlefs at-
tempts, but, in order to diminifh in their eyes
the flagrant injuftice of Madame d'Orleans
refpecting me, I have a thousand times repeated
to them, that I accufed myfelf of one fault,
the fault of not having purfucd fuch meafures
as were calculated to undeceive and reconcile
her; that I fhould always love her becaufe I
was fure that nothing could alter the fixed fen-
* I ſhall henceforth make no Journal but for Mademoiselle,
he being the only one of M. d'Orleans' children in whofe
education I have now any concert,
timents
180
Leffons of a Governess
timents of her heart; but that I had a certain
inflexibility of character that would not let me
employ fuch means as might effect an accom-
modation; that in thort, when friendſhip with-
drew itself from me, I could only groan in
fecret; and if I did not withdraw my friend-
thip alfo, the moſt I was able to do was to
remain immovable in the place affigned me. In
this manner did I extenuate in their eyes what
in mine appeared inconceivable. This is the
only artifice I ever employed with my pupils;
for when, in fpite of her cruel prejudice
against me, I extolled to them her virtue, the
natural goodnefs of her heart, her engaging
and amiable character, I only difcharged a
duty, I did juſtice to truth, I related what I
had myfelf feen during eighteen years, and
what fill exifts. One may irritate and tor-
ment a fenfitle and virtuous heart, one may
fill it with unjuft fufpicions; but it is impoffi-
le to harden, it is impoffible to change it.
To wifh to alienate a mother from her chil-
dren is a wicked and malicious defign, and as
abfurd as it is wicked when that mother is
Madame d'Orleans.
On the tenth of September 1790, I wrote
to M. d'Orieans the following letter.
•
<
<
The unfortunate moment which I have for
more than a year forefeen, is at length ar-
rived. I feel myfelf abfolutely forced to re-
fign my cffice, unlefs, which I do not expect,
the reparation to which my character is
entitled be, within the space of three days,
granted me. You know the fituation in
which matters ftood; you have indeed been
an ocular witnefs; you are therefore compe-
tent to judge whether I have afted with mild-
•ness,
to her Pupils.
12:
Q
6.
6.
<
C
C
·
nefs, good temper and moderation. At length
however am driven to an extreme, by which
my heart is deeply wounded, but from which
I can no longer abftain. I have not menti-
oned to you that, a few days ago, Madame
← d'Orleans vifited her daughter in the after-
noon, a thing unufual with her; and after
two minutes converfation, told her before
'Mademoifelle Rime that the wifhed to fee
her brothers, and afked her where they
< were. Mademoiſelle anfwered, that they
were, as was cuflomary at that hour, with me.
In that cafe, rejoined Madame d'Orleans, I
fhall not fee them. This is exactly what
paffed, was faid aloud to Mademoiſelle be-
fore a femme de chambre,. and is perfectly
unambiguous. I however determined to fay
nothing to you of this, any more than of
feveral other things of a fimilar nature. What
I have now to mention is ftill more pointed.
You already know that Madame d'Orleans
C told her children before the whole aca-
demy, that ſhe ſhould expect them to dine
with her on Sunday. This morning how-
ever, Mademoifelle, at half after ten, the
ufual hour of my waking, came to my bed-
fide and embraced me, drowned in tears,
C telling me that an hour and a half before
her mother had been with her, and told her,
that fhe fhould be obliged to refuse herself their
company on Sunday for very cogent reafons;
<
C
C
6.
C
--
• We called, as I have already obferved, the ftudy of paint-
ing by this name.
As they had been accustomed to do every preceding year
immediately on returning from the country; they dined re-
gularly with Madame d'Orleans once a week, fometimes ac-
companied by me, but oftner without me.
that
182
Leſſons of a Governess.
C
.
C
&
،
<
<
• that ſhe could not communicate to her thefe rea-
fons, because she had not entitled herſelf to her
confidence; that she hoped however they would
Bon cease to exift, and ſhe ſhould then be ac-
quainted with the whole. Theſe hints were
interfperfed with many queſtions, and this
among the reſt: Is it true that you are fo very-
fond of Madame de Sillery ?—I should be very
ungrateful, replied Mademoifelle, if I did
not love her from the bottom of my foul. Ma-
dame had then a fimilar converfation with
M. de Chartres and his brother. The refult
of this is, that your children are now per-
fectly affured that their mother detefts ine,
and openly difapproves the confidence you
place in me, and of confequence that the
fentiments of you and their mother are at.
direct variance upon. this fubject. Add to
this, that they fee Madame d'Oileans only
for a few minutes at a time, and that fhe
treats them with the utmoſt diſtance; that
they fee my whole induftry dedicated, to
their welfare; that they think fo refolute a
facrifiee entitled to the gratitude of their
mother, and that they obferve me fpeaking
of her upon all occafions, notwithstanding
the treatment I receive, with refpect for her
character and with the fettled purpofe of
awakening their attachment for her. They
certainly therefore will not think me to
blame in the preſent mifunderſtanding, and
it is impoffible that fuch a difference fhould
not ultimately make a very undefirable im-
preffon upon them*. Under theſe circum-
• ftances
C
C
6
C.
<.
.
C
6.
*This letter was not intended to be perafed by the chil-
dren; it was written expreísly for M. d'Orleans, and, defi-
τους
to her Pupils.
183
<
C
flances I cannot with honour any longer rc-
main in my fituation. I have taken there-
fore my irrevocable refolution, which is
5 as follows: Do me the favour either to pre-
vail upon Madame d'Orleans, within three
days, to authorife me to fay to her children,
that I have been to the Palais Royal to de-
mand an explanation from her, or that an
eclairciffement in any other way has taken-
place; that I fully juftified myſelf from the
mifreprefentations that were made of me,
and that the has. reftored to me my place in
her friendſhip; this declaration to be fol-
lowed with a civil and decent intercourſe,
and with evening vifits from her the fame as
formerly. Upon this condition I confent to
remain; I will adopt an act of oblivion, and
with the utmoft frankness will make every
demonftration of refpect and attachment.
I am indeed prepared, notwithſtanding the
injuftice I have fuffered, which has been in-
fpired by ill-intentioned perfons who have
cruelly abused the eafinefs of her difpofition,
upon all occafions to do juftice to her virtue-
and the goodness of her heart, and readily
C
.
'
C
rous of producing an adequate effect, I exaggerated my ap-
prehenfions about the confequence, or to fpeak more properly,
I was not fufficiently miſtreſs of myſelf to weigh and meaſure
the words I employed, fince in fact I could never have be-
lieved that children of right natura! difpofitions were capable
of being undefirably impreffed againſt their mother, becaufe-
fhe withdrew her confidence from their preceptrefs. Accord
ingly my pupils have felt, exactly as they ought to do, a per-
fect fubmiffion to the will of their father, an unalterable re-
fpect and affection for Madame d'Orleans, a lively gratitude
for my exertions, and a rooted contempt for the perſon who.
has fo odiously abafed the afcendancy fhe has rapidly gained
over the mind of their mother.
(
excufe
184
Leffons of a Governej's
‹ excufe a condu&t of which I am very furc
Madame does not perceive the confequences.
In a word I conjure you to obtain what I
demand without delay, and, if that be im-
poffible, to confider the prefent as a letter of
refignation. There is nothing I am not
ready to do for your children, and this I
have always fhewn, except difhonouring my
character, a difhonour which will be the in-
evitable refult, if things continue any longer
in their prefent fituation.'
<
<
<
B.lle Chafe, Friday, 10 Setember 1790.
IT
we
T appears from this letter what language
I employed in ſpeaking of Madame d'Orleans
to M. d'Orleans, at a time too when my mind
was the more irritated by a long feries of ill
treatment, as Madame d'Orleans had never
accorded me the flighteft cxplanation. What-
ever wrongs may be imputed to a perfon upon
whom, for a period of nineteen years,
have profufely beftowed the most affectionate
demonftrations of friendſhip and unbounded
confidence, it is at leaft incumbent on us to
inform him minutely of the accufations we
have to allege against him, and not to con-
demn without hearing him.-M. d'Orleans was
unwilling to receive my refignation, and pro-
miſed to obtain, in a few days, what I de-
fired. During this interval, Mademoifelle,
who from what fae had feen had long feared
that I fhould at laft take the refolution to re-
tire, feeing me melancholy and very much
agitated, readily penetrated my defign: fhe
thought however that it was not becoming in
her
to her Pupils.
185
her to ſpeak to me upon the ſubject, and this
reftraint reduced her to a very deplorable
ftate. One day in the garden at Belle Chaffe
fhe fainted; the perfons who were with her
came to inform me that he was totally de-
prived of her fenfes: I ran to her affiftance,
and I found her in the moft alarming convul-
fions. Upon opening her eyes and perceiving
me, fhe burst into tears; the fcene will never
be blotted from my memory; it brought on
an explanation, in which I made a formal pro-
mife to finifh her education, that is to fay,
never to quit her voluntarily or demand leave to
refign my office. This new engagement made
me more defirous than ever of the return of
Madame d'Orleans' favour, having naturally
an extreme averfion to complain. I had fpo-
ken very vaguely to M. d'Orleans of my fitu-
ation, and with a mildnefs calculated to per-
fuade him that I was not in the fmalieft degree
actuated by angry and malevolent feelings. He
replied that Madame d'Orleans was far from
diſplaying my moderation in this reſpect; that
her new friends had fucceeded in effecting a
total change in her character; but that the
was abfolutely incapable of alleging againſt me
a fingle fact, or of juſtifying her fudden and
violent enmity by any motive that had the leaft
foundation in truth. He was of opinion that
at bottom, their abhorrence of the new confti-
tution was a principal caufe of the averfion
Madame d'Orleans' friends entertained for
me; but he believed at the fame time that fhe
would never openly avow fuch a motive, as
fhe knew his fentiments and mine to agree
upon the ſubject, and fhe could fcarcely in-
dulge a hope that a father would conſent to
have
186
Leffons of a Governess
have his children educated in fentiments di-
rectly contrary to his own, contrary alfo to
his oath, to that of the king and to the cfta-
blifhed laws. From thefe confiderations he
had no doubt that Madame d'Orleans would
in time be governed by moderate and rational
fentiments; but to effect this, he conceived it
to be a duty he owed to her virtue and to the
pure and lively affection of which ſhe had given
him fo many proofs till the period of the revo-
lution, to try every mode of indulgence, of
eiteem, of condefcenfion which the moft folid
and tender friendſhip could devife, before he
had recourſe to authority. This conduct M.
d'Orleans confidered as a duty of gratitude,
and he difcharged it in its utmoft extent.
Such extreme kindneſs would doubtless have
fubdued the heart of Madame d'Orleans, had
The been left to herself; but the perfon By
whofe counfels fhe was governed, and who is
not formed either to feel or place any faith in
generofity, faw nothing in this conduct but
weakness and unconcern, and her audacious
malice rofe to a higher pitch.
In the mean time I informed M. d'Orleans
of the promife I had made to Mademoiselle.
I added that I was defirous of acquainting
Madame d'Orleans with the circumftance, and
of taking this opportunity of coming at length
to an explanation with her. I therefore wrote
the following letter, of which. I kept a copy.
I read it to M. d'Orleans, and he undertook
to deliver it him elf to Madame d'Orleans, to
prevail on her to read it in his prefence, as
well as various paffages in my Journal of Edu-
cation, which I gave him for that purpoſe.
All
to her Pupils.
187
All this was faithfully executed; the reader
will preſently fee with what fuccefs.
Copy of a Letter which I wrote to Madame
d'Orleans 3 October 1790, and which fhe read
in the prefence of M. d'Orleans.
'I REQUEST the favour of Madame d'Or-
•
(
C
leans to hear me without prejudice, with
that love of juftice which is natural to her
character, and to judge of me from facts
only. I undertook, madam, the care of your
children, becaufe you defired it as ardently
as M. d'Orleans. Madame muft certainly
remember, and I have more than a hundred
and fifty of her letters which prove it, and
which prove alſo that till the era of the
month of October laft fhe honoured me
with every mark of the moft tender friend-
fhip* Madame muft certainly remember
that ſhe was happy that her children were in
my hands, and grateful beyond expreffion for
the cares and education I beftowed upon
them. I cite her own words, repeated in
f almost every letter; and I heftate not to fay
that I merited fuch fentiments. It is now
' almoſt twelve years that Mademoiſelle has
(
C
* What muſt my pupils have thought of the treatment I
received from Madame d'Orleans, when, from their earlicft
infancy to the period of her connection with Madame de
Chatelux, they had ſeen her overwhelm me with the moſt af
fecting marks of kindness; when eighteen months previouſly
to my writing this letter, they had feen me give her a ring
with this devife: "Your love to me you know, but mine
to you you cannot guefs." If friendship can thus expreſs it-
felf after nineteen years intimacy, have we not acquired the
happy privilege of counting upon its folidity?
188
Leffons of a Governejs
&
<
C
'been under my care: my duty obliged
me only to prefide at her leffons; but I
have inftructed her myself with a zeal and
perſeverance which no mafter would have
* exerted. It may be faid with perfect truth
that, for her age, fhe is a prodigy upon
the harp, a talent which fhe owes folely
< to me,
fince the valet de chambre to
whom the repeated my leffons, though he had
fome knowledge of mufic, was wholly ig-
norant of this inftrument and incapable even
of tuning it. Mademoiſelle has other very
agreeable talents, and it is not I believe
poffible to inftance a young perfon, thirteen
years old, more accomplished, more amia-
ble and more interefting. With respect to
your fore, madam, I took charge of them,
as you know, folely for the pleaſure of
C. proving to you, as well as to the Duke d'Or-
leans, an attachment that had no bounds,
refufing every ſpecies of emolument, though
my daughters were then upon my hands,
and I was by no means eafy in my circum-
ſtances, the inheritance of Madame d'Etrées
not falling to M. Brulart till many years af-
ter this event. The education I have given
them has been univerfally approved and ad-
mired, and even by my enemies: you have
yourſelf, madain, appeared to be infinitely
fatisfied. I will therefore take the liberty
of afking you how it is poffible for you to
have forgotten all at once the fatisfaction of
"eleven years and the claims which fo long a
period, fuch difintereftedness, fo many cares
and facrifices, and fo much fuccefs in this
refpect, ought to have fecured me in your
heart? What have I done within the pait
C.
>
<.
6
،
• eleven
to her Pupils.
189
G
.
C
C
.
:
eleven months that can counterbalance in the
heart of a good mother thefe cleven years
confecrated to her children? Can you fup-
'pofe that I have been capable for an inftant
of neglecting to infpire and ftrengthen in
the mind of your children, the love which
they owe you? The idea would be horrible,
and of confequence unworthy of a foul like
yours befide, were I capable of fo mon-
ftrous a proceeding, it would be no leſs ab-
furd than difhoneft. What, madam, are my
← views in educating your children? It furely
admits of proof that they are neither thoſe
of fortune nor thofe of ambition. Friend-
ſhip alone was formerly my fole motive, and
nothing but the defire and hope of furniſh-
ing a model of excellent education could
fince have enabled me to perfevere in fo la-
'borious an undertaking. My true intereft,
and the only one I could poffibly have, was
to make your children virtuous ſubjects;
and bow could they become virtuous fub-
jects, if I did not cultivate in them with
extreme care every principle that they ought
t poflefs? I have at all times ardently with-
ed that they ſhould entertain a fervent af-
*fection for you, nor has any thing been far-
ther from my thoughts than to make myſelf
permanently neceffary to them. I told them
from the firft and have conftantly repeated
to them, in converfation and in writing, and
frequently, madam, in your prefence, an idea
calculated to annihilate that neceffity, that I
'fhould certainly not país my life with them,
and that as foon as their education was fi-
nifhed, I fhould withdraw myſelf from their
⚫ intercourfe and quit Paris and the fociety of
.
"
C
C
<
<
the
190
Leffous of a Governess
the world for ever: fuch has been the refo-
lution of my heart for twelve years without
intermiffion. Afk yourfelf, madam, I en-
treat you, what inducement I could have to
infpire them with coldneſs for you? That I
< might have a conftant dominion over them?
Had I inculcated the idea that I was never to quit them,
it would certainly have increaſed infinitely their attachment
to me but I wished them to love in preference to me, thoſe
to whom they owed their exiſtence; and I have thought dif-
ferently in this reſpect froni a man who knew more of edu-
cation than myſelf: let us hear the fentiments of J. J. Rof-
feau. Emilius ought to honour his parents, but he ought
to obey no one but me. This is the firſt or rather the
only condition I make with him. To this fhould add,
what indeed is only a confequence of it, that we are never
to part but by mutual confent. This is an effential article,
and I would even have both the governor and the pupil look
upon one another as infeparable and the fortunes of each as
common to both. As foon as they perceive, at however
diſtant a period, their future feparation; as foon as they
• foreſee the motnent when they are to become strangers to
each other, they begin to be fo immediately; each forms
his feparate views, and both, occupied with the profpect of
what may happen after their parting, continue together
against their inclinations. But when they regard them-
felves as bound to ſpend their days together, it is of im-
portance to both to endear themfelves to each other, and
this idea of itſelf creates a reciprocal eſteem.
The pupil
will not be afhaned to be guided in his infancy by the
'friend he is to accompany when grown to man's eftate; and
the governor cannot but intereſt himſelf in the cultivation
of the plant of which he is to reap the fruit, while in
'adding to the merit of his pupil, he is laying up a fund by
which he is to profit in his old age.'
'Thefe ideas are juſt; but I have not pursued them, becauſe
I did not wifh to become the first object of the attachment
of my pupils, becauſe I did not wish to increaſe that natural
regard, fo ftrong and fo affectionate, which every child well
born always feels for a rational and tender preceptor who de-
vores all his time and cares to his education. In every thing
relative to my pupils, I have ever had the fame excess of de-
licacy.
• This
to her Pupils.
191
C
C
C
<
<
<
<
C
:
.
This dominion is a thing altogether foreign
to my difpofition, nor have I ever fought to
exert it even over my own children: it would
require a watchfulnefs, an affiduity, a plia-
bleness of difpofition very uncongenial to my
feelings, and which I could never exert.-
With theſe fentiments, with my unalterable
refolution to retire into privacy, as foon as
I had recovered my liberty, it is not poffible
that I fhould have entertained another fo
contradictory as that of dictating and guid-
ing their actions. But had it even been my
wifh to remain with them, and to preferve
an afcendancy over their minds, why fhould
it be neceffary for me to make them unna-
tural and wicked fons? why corrupt them in
order to eſtabliſh my empire over their un-
derftandings, and their hearts, when I was
more fure of fucceeding by the method which
I purſued without this defign, by rendering
them perfectly honeft, virtuous and good?
Madame d'Orleans may recollect that when
I enjoyed the happineſs of feeing and con-
verfing with her, I conjured her to take fome
fhare in the education of her daughter, be-
cauſe I perceived that Mademoiselle's attach-
ment to me was chiefly infpired by her lively
gratitude for the cares I beftowed upon her
and the leffons I gave her. I had reflected
upon this, and of confequence I propoſed,
about a year fince, a plan to Madame, which
would have wrought in her daughter the
'fame fentiments towards her mother as fhe
felt in this refpect towards me. This pro-
poſal, madam, on my part, incontestably
proves how defirous I was of embracing every
poffible means of uniting you more clofely
6
<
6
<
<
:
• to
•
192
Leſſons of a Governeſs
C
ર
C
C
<
to Mademoifelle. But, I thank God, I have.
a proof ſtill ſtronger than thefe facts, of my
unceafing defire to cultivate in my pupils an
affection for their mother, a proof that
amounts to mathematical demonftration: it
is, madam, the Journal I have written for
your children, and which has been read by
them every day. How happy fhould I have
been had you read it alfo! I fhould then
never have loft the felicity of being loved by
you. One of the moft painful mortifications
you ever occafioned me was the refufing one
day in the preſence of your daughter, to
comply with my requeft that you would pe-
rufe it. Condefcend, madam, to read it now;
I fend it you for that purpoſe: you will find
it pervaded with the moſt earneſt wiſh that
you ſhould be adored by your children; you
will find that I have fpoken to them conti-
nually of your affection for them, of your hea-
venly virtues, of the love and boundless confi-
dence they owe you. Such has conftantly been
the language I have employed, and notwith-
ftanding the fingular treatment I have lately
received, this language has fuffered no
change. Madame will alfo fee that I have
in like manner not neglected to cultivate
in them the tender fentiments they owe to
M. de Penthièvre, and even thofe which are
due to other perfons towards whom I have a
right to feel fomething very different from
efteem, becaufe they have been guilty of the
blackeft ingratitude, as for inftance Madame
Defrois. But I fpoke to the children not
from my private fentiments, but from a fenfe
of what I thought was incumbent on them,
having but one fole end in view, that of ren-
•
<
<dering
.
to her Pupils.
193
C
C
C
C
Ć
<
dering them. virtuous. I intreat you, ma-
dam, to place yourſelf for a moment in my
fituation after twelve years labour, after fo
many facrifices, and fuch unexampled cares,
what is my reward? I have doubtless one
that is very great; a conſcience without rc-
proach, my fuccefs in forming the minds of
my pupils, their lively gratitude, that of the
Duke d'Orleans and univerfal approbation :
but can I be contented when I am deprived
• of one fatisfaction for which no other can
compenfate, the fatisfaction of having my
conduct approved and efteemed by you?-
'What do I fay! You openly exprefs before
your children your difapprobation of my
conduct, and thus afford them an undoubted
proof of what is of all things moft dangerous.
and fatal to perfons of their age, that their
father and mother are, relatively to them,
no longer of the fame opinion, that they no
longer act in concert, that the one approves
what the other avowedly diflikes. In fhort,
madam, they fee that the perfon who has
' devoted eleven years to their fervice, and
who, till the month of October 1790, was
'honoured with your confidence and friend-
fhip, is fuddenly become an object of dif-
grace in your eyes. They know to what a
degree I have endeavoured to cherish in
them the affection they owe you, and they
perceive that you are no longer willing to
receive them at your houſe, becauſe they are
under my fuperintendence. Every perfon
'connected with their education has witneffed
that, within fix months particularly, you have
been averfe to feeing me. Such conduct, fo
directly oppofite alfo to that of M. d'Or-
VOL. I.
K
leans,
C
<
.
<
C
C
C
.
<
C
194
Leffons of a Governess
C
C
८
leans, is naturally calculated to blacken me
in the eyes of those who are fpectators of it,
for they must fuppofe that Madame would
not thus treat an old friend and the gover-
nefs of her children, if fhe had not the moſt
indifputable and heinous wrongs to alledge
against her; particularly when they fee me
endure fuch treatment patiently and without
refigning my office. Any other in my place
would have refigned eight months ago; I
was warmly urged to it by M. de Sillery:
our fituation and circumftances were fuch
that my liberty would have been exceedingly
dear to me; but I was not difpofed, and I
‹ conceived that I ought not to give in my re-
fignation at a time when the Duke d'Orleans
fuffered perfecution, and the Palais Royal
loft every day its luftre: the injuftice and
calumny which the Duke experienced tied
<clofer the bands which united me to him and
to his houfe; my retreat would have been
regarded as daftardly and difhonourable:
thus I confidered it as my duty to bear every
thing, and to remain in my place; and I did
fo. Befide, I always flattered myfelf that
< Madame would deign at laft either to inform
me of the injuries I had done her, and
which could only be imaginary, or that ſhe
would do me juftice. I hoped that the re-
turn of M. d'Orleans would difperfe theſe
grievous clouds. I yielded to the firft im-
pulfe of my heart by feeing Madame the day
of his arrival; in prefenting myſelf I took
the liberty to embrace her; fhe received me
with great tendernefs, I faw her tears flow,
• I mingled mine, my heart defired no other
explanation, and I confidered every thing
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as at an end. I continued for ſeveral days in
this fweet illufion; Madame treated me with
infinitely less indifference; fhe came even
twice into my apartment: and behold, all at
once, without any new event, without any
apparent caufe, the breaks with me, and
that in the moſt public manner. It was im-
poffible for me to be mistaken, and I was at
length convinced that Madame was refolved
to force me to give in my refignation. After
many ftruggles with myfelf, after the mof
inexpreffible and heart-felt anguifh, I fud-
denly refolved to comply with her defign, as
foon as the affair of the calumniatory profe-
cution againſt M. d'Orleans ſhould be finiſh-
ed. I was not unaware, nor did I recollect
without much diftrefs, the painful effect our
feparation would produce upon your chil-
dren, and above all upon Mademoifelle; but
• I adhered to this mode of demonftrating my
refpect for your inclinations, and accordingly
announced it to the Duke d'Orleans, who by
the forrow he expreffed augmented that
< which I felt. Meanwhile, Mademoifelle,
who had long been anxious and reftlefs about
my fituation, penetrated, or at least gueffed
at my defign from its effect upon my car-
riage, for I did not utter a word to her upon
the fubject. She concealed her fufpicions
from me as long as fhe could: but this even-
ing, being with Mademoiſelle Rime in the
garden, ſhe was taken ill and haftily brought
into the faloon. I was informed of it, and
ran to her affiftance; I found her in a violent
paroxyfm of convulfions and fighs, as if her
heart were breaking. She told me that he
was ftruck with deſpair and ſhould certainly
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Leſſons of a Governess
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die.
Thefe were her own words. I then
fent away her women, and the opened to me
the ftate of her mind with an impetuofity of
grief and deſpair, of which I never faw an
example, particularly in a perſon of her age.
'I could only think at the moment of calm-
ing her feelings and reviving her hopes. I
repeated to her that the clouds which dif-
quieted her would fhortly be diffipated; that
fhe had the tendereft and moft virtuous of
mothers, and the beft of fathers; that fhe
onght to place in them the most unlimited
confidence and all her hopes of happineſs,
and efpecially to acquiefce with entire fub-
miflion in whatever their affection fhould
determine refpecting her; that if at prefent
they appeared to be of contrary opinions, it
was only a momentary oppofition, founded
upon fome mifunderftanding; that their re-
gard for their dear amiable child fhould dif-
pel all her apprehenfions; and that as to
myſelf, I pron. fed never to prefer my liberty
to the happiness of finiſhing her education,
and never to give in my refignation.
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was thus I eſtabliſhed a calm in the moſt
fenfible and grateful heart that nature
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mediately communicated to the Duke d'Or-
leans, increaſed, if poffible, his extreme af-
fection for this adorable child. What may
<not he, as well as you, madam, expect from
a foul like this! It is then abfolutely im-
poffible that I can refign my fituation, fince,
in the preſent ſtate of things, I am certain
that the delicate conftitution of Mademoi-
felle would be unable to withſtand the mor-
tification of fuch an event. I do not fay
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to her Pupils.
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this from a belief that fhe will never bear
• to be feparated from me; fuch conduct
would be weak and abfurd: fhe knows per-
fectly well, from my having a thousand times
repeated it to her, that the moment the fhall
ceaſe to ſtand in need of my cares, I fhall
quit for ever the fociety of the world, an
event that in three or four years at lateft will
certainly take place. But how different,
madam, muſt be her feelings, inftead of re-
maining with me till her education fhould be
finifhed; instead of feeing me, joyful in the
completion of my work, refign her into your
arms and receive your applaufe for all I had
• done both for her and for you;-to fee me on
the contrary torn from her in the midst of my
plans, and obliged to depart loaded with
the moft confpicuous marks of your diffa-
tisfaction and difgrace? Confider alfo that.
• Mademoiſelle is now in her fourteenth year,
that he is entering upon a period of life
very dangerous to young perfons, and the
more fo from her extreme delicacy and in-
comparable feeling; and that violent fhocks
• and uneafinefs of mind are likely to prove
exceedingly pernicious. Permit me then,
madam, to continue my cares till fhe fhall
te in every refpect formed, and there fhall
be nothing to apprehend for her health. I
have in vain fought to conjecture why you
are defirous of tearing from me the child
that you entruſted to me with ſo much joy.
Till the month of Oober laft, you ap-
peared to be charmed with the education I
gave her; and I have fince that period
changed neither my plan nor may conduct;
befide, Madame has ceafed to vifit me, or
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Leffans of a Governess
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to concern herfelf about the inftruction of
'her daughter, and, unfortunately for me,
'fhe is therefore unable to judge of it. Has
any one afperfed or caluminated me in this
refpect? But who can have done this? The
perfons by whom Madame is furrounded
never come near me, and are of courfe in-
competent judges. I am told that Madame
de Chatelax is my enemy, and that fhe rails
k at me in a moft unmerciful manner.
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But
why? I have rendered Ler various fervices ;
I have ten of her. letters, and an equal num-
ber of her huſband's, full of expreffions of
the tender gratitude, of the eternal gratituds
they owe me, and which fhe promifes all her
life to preferve. I have ferved her, madam,
← with
* My nicce has in her poffeffion many letters of Madame
de Chatelux in which the fame expreffions and proteſtationS
are repeated: but he had then need of my afliftance. I
have been greatly blamed by the world for ferving with fo
much zeal a perfon who was unknown to me, and whofs
reputation made it undefirable that fhe fhould le fituated in
the Palais Royal. The fact was this: I had been the friend
of the Marquis de Chat lux; he quarrelled with me: in
the mean time his injuftice was not of a nature to diminifa
the eſteem due to his character. We were upon ill terms
on my arrival at Spa; but he knew me fufficiently to be
fure that I fhould not be infenfible to the pleaſure of render-
ing an important fervice to a perfon whom I had once
loved, though I had juft caufe of complaint against him.
He fought ne; confided to me the fecret of his heart,
affured me that the object of his attachment was in all refpecs
worthy of his choice, and conjured me to obtain for her a
place in the Palais Royal, as he was unable from the nar
rownefs of his fortune to make a fuitable provifion for her
after his death. He added, that if I could not obtain this
favour, he ſhould nevertheleſs marry her, but that anxiety
for the future would in that cafe poifon all the happineſs of
his life. This mark of confidence touched my heart, and
was flattering alfo, I confefs, to my vanity: I wished to
mew
to her Pupils.
199
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with you; I have ferved her with the Dule
d'Orleans: I have made myself many ene-
mies by the warmth with which I defendċd
her immediatly upon her marriage; I intro-
duced her to Madame Necker, who was
very much prejudiced againſt her, as if fle
had been my dearest friend and relative; I
introduced her to my aunt; I introduced
her to my daughter; contrary to my difpo-
fition, I accompanied her in every vifit in
which I could be at all uſeful' to her; not-
withſtanding my occupations, I undertook
all her commiffions and made all her pur-
chafes relative to her marriage; I engaged
my brother to prevail on M. d'Orleans to
lend her huſband what money he wanted for
the arrangement of his affairs; I offered her
an apartment of which I had the difpofal;
in flort, I was charmed when I faw Madame
d'Orleans conceive a real friendship for her;
and Madame knows that I have never fpo-
ken of her but in terms of encomium.
Theſe are indifputable facts, and yet Ma-
dame de Chatelux is defirous of ruining me
in your opinion: but fuch are the rectitude
and generofity of your foul, that I dare
believe a moment's reflection fufficient to.
convince you, that if Madame de Chatelux
hates and afperfes me, fhe is ungrateful and
unjuft; and that, fince fhe never fees me,
and is ignorant of all my proceedings, the
evil fhe fpeaks of me can have no weight
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very inconfiderate one, and
thew myſelf deferving of it.
generous action, but I did a
never has a good heart fuffered more vexation for its im
prudence.
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200
Leffons of a Governess
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with you. Madame has had the goodness.
a thousand times to repeat to me, that I
had the beft heart in the world, that I was in-
capable of the least degree of animofity, and I
may fay with confidence that nothing can be
C more true. Try me, madam; infift upon.
my pardoning Madame de Chatelux the in-
jury fhe has done me: it fhall coft me no
effort; I will confent; and having made
this promife, you may depend upon my ob-
ferving it faithfully; I will from my inmoft
foul bury every thing in oblivion. Is there
any thing elfe that Madame would defire?
• Inform me of your wishes; to continue with
Mademoiſelle and to regain your friendship,
there is nothing which I fhould find it im-
'poffible to do. Would you wiſh Mademoi-
felle to refide in the fame houfe with you?
Madame has never fignificd fuch a defire;
on the contrary fhe has always appeared to
feel that the diftractions unavoidable at the
Palais Royal would be extremely injuricus
to her daughter's education, and that the
beautiful garden and excellent air of Belle
Chaffe were indifpenfably neceffary to her
health: but if Madame has changed her
opinion, I comply without hefitation. I will
go to the Palais Royal; my lodging need.
not incommode you; I will be contented
for myfelf with a fingle chamber, with a
clofet, with any arrangement you pleafe.
• Condeſcend then, madamn, to explain your-
felf; have the goodness to reflect that things
cannot poffibly continue as they are at pre-
fent; condefcend to do me the juftice which
I dare affirm to be due to my attachment
and the difintereftedness of my cares. My.
• affection
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to her Pupils:
201
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affection for Mademoiſelle makes it impoffi-
ble for me voluntarily to offer my refigna-
⚫tion; it muſt be demanded of me but as I
have demonftrated the purity of my conduct
by facts and the moft pofitive evidence, and
as it is not poffible for a fingle reproach
"founded in truth to be alleged againft me
relative to the education of my pupils, the
knowledge I have of the character, the
principles and the integrity of Madame,
gives me the certainty that, after this ftatc-
ment; fhe will reftore to me all my happi-
nefs, by restoring to me her favour and
friendship. Ah! madam! liften only to the
dictates of your heart, be guided by your
own knowledge and experience, and I fhall
from this very evening be perfectly happy.
After reading this letter, your firft impulfe-
would be that of juftice and goodness; it
would direct you to Belle Chaffe; you
would haften to relieve and confole a heart.
that feels towards you the utmoft eftcem and
attachment; you would haften to embrace
in your arms a daughter who, though fo
young, difcovers already a foul of ſtrong
fenfibility and gratitude, and a character in
the highest degree engaging and eftimable;
a daughter who, by her virtues and her
affection, will conftitute the charm and feli-
city of your life! How many things could
I ftill fay! In the name of Heaven, in the
name of your daughter, madam, I conjure
you to accompany M. d'Orleans hither;
come and hear what I have to fay; come
and reftore to me the claims which I have
never forfeited; I will receive this juft re-
turn of your goodness with the gratitude,
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202
Leffons of a Governess
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joy and effufion of foul which the moſt ge-
nerous pardon can inſpire."
M. D'ORLEANS, as I have already ob-
ferved, carried this letter, together with my
Journal, to Madame. She read the letter
and appeared to be in no degree moved by it;
of the Journal fhe pertinacioufly refufed to
read a fingle article. In the mean time, as it
was not poffible for her to affign a reafon, and
as fhe was warmly urged by M. d'Orleans, who
wifhed for an anfwer before fhe had an op-
portunity of confulting Madame de Chatelux,
The formally promifed as follows: that fhe
would in future treat me in a becoming man-
ner, would come fometimes to fee me, would
receive her children at dinner every Sunday,
and would with me to accompany them as
ufual whenever I could make it convenient
that of confequence fhe authorifed me to tell
them that we had had an explanation, with
which she was perfectly fatisfied: in fhort, fhe
agreed to come to Belle Chaffe the next morn-
ing, upon condition that not a fyllable ſhould
be mentioned of our difference, and that no
fort of eclairciffeinent fhould take place on
one fide or the other. M. d'Orleans accepted
this treaty in my name, which I ratified. The
next day Madame came as fhe had promiſed,
accompanied by M. d'Orleans; fhe did me
the honour to embrace me: we talked of in-
different fubjects, and after a quarter of an
hour ſhe went into an adjoining apartment to
her children. She told them that fhe had fpoken
to me, that she was fatisfied, and that now
they
to her Pupils.
203
they might come as ufual to fee her, attended
by me. All this (as has been ſeen) I wrote
in my Journal. On the following Sunday I
dined with all my pupils at the Palais Royal;
M. d'Orleans dined there alſo, and Madame
treated me with the utmoſt propriety. The
next day I received from her a note of which
the following is a copy.
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“
I requeft Madame de Sillery to make fuch
arrangements as may leave my daughter at
leiſure three times a week, Tuesdays, Thurf-
days and Saturdays, from twelve to a quar-
< ter after one. I fhall call and take up all
my children every Sunday at three, and
bring them back at fix, when Madame de
Sillery does not come with them.'
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If I had had any thing that feared diſcloſure,
I fhould have conceived fome difpleafure at
thefe têtes à têtes three times a week between
Madame d'Orleans and a child of thirteen
years old, from whom it was ſo eaſy to have
drawn the truth by careffes, crofs queftions
and maternal authority. I conceived no dif-
pleafure at this intercourfe; it had ever been.
the object of my wifh, and I inftantly pro-
pofed, as has appeared in the Journal, farther
methods for procuring Madame d'Orleans the
pleaſure of paling more time alone with her
daughter. She was furpriſed and affected at
this procedure, and I faw clearly that my ene-
mies had been mal adroit enough to predict
that I fhould act differently. Upon this occa-
fion fhe wrote me the following letter, which,
Jike all the reſt, has been carefully preferved.
I thank you, madam, for having pointed
out to me a method for prolonging and ren-
dering frequent my intercourfe with my
children..
204 Lefons of a Governess
• children. Iould be fo ry to interrupt the
courſe my daughter is purluing for her in-
• ftruction, though you tell me that what re-
mains of thefe excurfions is of little im-
portance. On the days therefore that my
fons fhall vifit any cabinet, &c. I will take
my daughter thither at the fame hour as
often as poffible. Being informed however
of their intention only the evening before,
it may fometimes happen that I fhall have a
previous engagement; I therefore willingly
accept your offer of giving me a proper no-
tice, and in that cafe the first time that I take
out my daughter I will not fail to condu♣
her to the place of appointment."
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On the eleventh of October I wrote the fol-
lowing letter to Madame d'Orleans, of which
M. de Chartres had not the leaſt knowledge.
6
•
This letter, madam, is written for you
alone and relates only to M. de Chartres.
There was a time, madam, and that at no
great diftance, when I could fpeak and open
my heart to you refpecting every thing which
I thought interefting to you. At prefent you
are not difpofed to hear me; but my con-
• fcience and the deareft intereft oblige me to
requeft one thing of you which is of much
greater importance to yourſelf than to me.
M. de Chartres is arrived at the age of fe-
• venteen years, and is his own mafter. He
«has the liberty of going wherever he pleafes
He is fo
and unaccompanied by any one.
well born, has imbibed fuch excellent prin-
ciples and has fo good a heart, that he will
be in much lefs danger from this liberty
• than almoſt any other perfon; but ftill there
will be fome danger. He feels the moſt
ardent
to her Pupils.
205
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ardent defire of contributing to your hap-
pineſs by his affection and conduct; and I
could therefore wifh that at this critical
period you would without delay have a
converfation with him in which you might
tell him, that he can only make you happy by
conducting himself fo as to merit no reproach;
that you hope he will preferve his religicus prin-
ciples; that should he ever abandon them, or
Juffer the purity of his manners to degenerate,
• it would occafion you the feverest affliction, and
that on the contrary, fhould he maintain an
immaculate character and perfevere in the eter-
•nal principles of virtue, he would render you
the happiest of mothers, and you would love him
" with the most paffionate fondness.
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your mouth would ftrengthen and perma--
nently fix him in his excellent refolutions.
Eighteen months ago I had hoped that, at
the period which is now arrived, I fhould
• have had the felicity, my taſk being over,,
of delivering him myfelf into your hands,
and of inftructing you in every particular
that could lead you to a knowledge of his
character and give you immediately that
afcendancy over him, which I poffefs myſelf,
and which can only be acquired by a perfect
acquaintance with his virtues and defects,
and the turn of his mind; an afcendancy
that in you, madam, would be ftill more
powerful, as it would be aided by the tender
fentiments of nature which he poffeffes in a
moft eminent degree, and which are equally
confricuous in all your children. He is fo
happily difpofed by nature, and, I may add,
by my cares, to love
you, that you will cer-
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206
Leſſons of a Governess
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tainly gain this afcendancy the moment you'
fhall have acquired the knowledge of him
that is neceffary: Had you been defirous of
hearing the only perfon who can perfectly
know him, you would already in this point"
‹ have been as well informed as myſelf, and
it is of importance to him that the empire'
I recommend to you ſhould be ſpeedily eſta-
bliſhed: the year which he is commencing
is the most dangerous of his life; I cannot
watch over him in his intercourfe with the
• world; it is the bufinefs of his virtuous and
fenfible mother; the can preferve him fronr
every fnare, from every feduction, if fhe'
enter upon it in a ſpirit fuitable to his cha-
"racter. I afk not, madam, an interview for
this purpoſe, though one converfation would
convey more information than twenty letters,
particularly as there are various minute cir-
cumftances which cannot be written, and
" which at the fame time it is defirable that a
'mother like you ſhould not be ignorant of:
but if this letter do not difpleafe you, and'
you with me to write every thing that I con-
ceive to be of importance refpecting his
character, and the mode of treating him
moft likely to be fuccefsful, I will do it with
that truth and zeal which ever have and ever
will characteriſe me when the welfare of
your children is the queftion. I fhall wait,
madam, your answer; but I conjure you
< beforehand not to confide to any perfon the
• circumftances I may communicate; you will
readily feel that in this point it is you alone
who ought to be informed, to judge and to
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Foffcript.
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to her Pupils.
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Poffcript. Monday, vi Odoler 1790.
MADEMOISELLE has told me that the
delivered my meffage to Madame upon the
fubject of M. de Beaujollois, and that Ma-
dame replied that fhe would fuperintend his
religious instruction with extreme pleafure.
You are an excellent mother, and be af-
fured that you will one day be the moſt en-
viable of mothers. Mademoiſelle is in ec-
ſtacy at the kindneſs with which you treat
her; may you be mutually happy in each
other to the degree that I wifh, my own
felicity will in that cafe be complete and my
juftification the moſt fatisfactory that my
heart can defire. Permit me to add a ſingle
world in relation to Mademoifelle: one of
the things moſt agreeable to her, and that
moft ftrongly excites her gratitude, is fami-
liarity in perfonal intercourfe. When fhe is
alone with Madame, I fhould be glad that
Madame would enjoin her to addrefs her
with the little epithets of endearment, and
even with the pronouns thee and thou.
Thefe circumftances may appear trifling,
but their confequences are important; they
produce a freedom of manner and a heart-
felt affection which without them would not
be created."
It appears from this letter, as well as from
my Journal, that I had prevailed upon Madame
d'Orleans to prefide in the religious inftruc--
tion of M. de Beaujollois which was held three
times a week at the Palais Royal, and to which
I could not attend myfelf on account of my
Occupations with the other children. I had
alfo
208 Leffons of a Governess
alfo prevailed on her to read the morning
Journal of M. de Beaujollois, made by his
firſt valet de chambre, a man who has re-
ceived a good education and poffeffes confi-
derable merit. Madame d'Orleans, averſe to
reading my Journal, appeared to be highly de-·
lighted with this propoſal, and from that mo-
ment the book was taken to her every morning
before it was brought to me. Thefe fas are
mentioned in the Journal itſelf by M. Barrcis,
the perfon by whom it was written. This Jour-
nal has been tranfmitted to me, and I preferve
it as a valuable depofit; it is very minute and
regular, not a fingle day being omitted, is all
in the hand-writing of M. Barrois, and con-
fifts of many volumes. It alfo appears from
this Journal that from laft November to the
beginning of April of the prefent year, all the
ftudies of M. de Beaujollois have been de-
ranged or interrupted by the orders of Ma-
dame d'Orleans. He dined with her every
Sunday, and did not return till half after fix-
or feven in the evening he vifited her once a
fortnight with Mademoiſelle on the day that
I did not dine at Belle Chaffe; and, under
pretence of fitting for. his portrait, Madame
d'Orleans fent for him regularly every morning.
and detained him an hour and a half during
a period of four months: add to this an hour
and a half every 'evening, in confequence of .
which he did not go to bed till eleven, nor
rife till late the next morning. Theſe facts,
as I have faid, are attefted not only by my
Journal, but by thofe of M. Barrois and M.
Lebrun. I could not´obferve without morti-
fication this total derangement of the ftudies
of fo delightful a child, who affords every
demon
1
to her Pupils.
209
demonſtration of rifing genius and brilliant
underſtanding; but I had long been accuf-
tomed to fuffer in filence, and I therefore did
not mention the fubject fo much as to M. d'Or-
leans. Previously indeed to thefe ultimate
mortifications, I had a moment of expectation
and joy; my letter of 11 October appeared
to make a favourable impreffion upon Madame
d'Orleans; fhe vifited me the next day, and
then, for the firſt time after a long interval,
we had fome private converfation. She ſpoke
of my laft letter and of M. de Chartres with
the feelings of a tender mother, thanked me
for the little counfels I gave her, and affured
me that he would follow them; in fhort, I
found her juſt what ſhe is by nature and what
the will ever be when her own heart is her
guide, a model of goodness, of tenderness and
fenfibility. On taking leave of me fhe ap-
peared to be moved, but fhe doubtlefs confided
to the perfons about her the impreffion which
this converfation and my laft letter wrought-
on her foul, and I foon perceived the cruel
effects of the advice they gave her. Every
thing went on fmoothly till the twentieth of
October; Madame d'Orleans came regularly
three mornings in the week, to take out
Mademoiſelle; kept her for an hour and a
quarter or an hour and a half, paffed all this
time alone with her, and overwhelmed her
with careffes and the moſt fenfible demonſtra-
tions of affection; but all at once theſe têtes à
têtes ceafed: Madame de Chatelux in parti-
cular, or fome other perfons, always accom-
panied Madame d'Orleans, and her daughter
had no longer the happineſs of being alone
with her. Three weeks had elapfed from the
fourth
210 Leſſons of a Governess
fourth of October without my dining at the
Palais Royal; but at the expiration of this
period I requested Mademoiſelle to inforın
Madame d'Orleans that I would do myfelf the
honour of conducting the children thither the
next day. Madame fimply anſwered, that, in
that cafe, as her daughter would be accompa-
nied by me, fhe fhould not come for her as
ufual. The next day, the day that we were
to dine with Madame d'Orleans, the fent at
two o'clock in the afternoon to inform me,
that the fhould not dine at home, fomething.
having happened to prevent her. I had no
fufpicion of the truth of this. M. d'Orleans
was in the country: upon his return he told
me, with great emotion and difcontent, that
he found Madame d'Orleans more exafperated
againſt me than ever, though fhe could affign
no reaſon, and that fhe had formed a refolu-
tion to receive me no more at her houſe. This
proceeding was the more unaccountable as,
upon our reconciliation, 4 October, fhe had
promiſed to receive me at dinner whenever it
fhould be agreeable to me to accompany her
children, and had befide expreffed, in unc-
quivocal terms, in a note which I have cited,
that ſhe ſhould call at Belle Chaffe and take
the children with her every Sunday when Ma-
dame de Sillery does not come with them. What
had I done fince the period of this promiſe?
Every particular of my conduct has been feen.
What excufe had Madame d'Orleans to allege
for fuch a breach of her engagements? None,
unleſs an invincible repugnance to the feeing me.
M. d'Orleans again upon this occafion had re-
courfe to entreaties and reprefentations, but
they were equally ineffectual: The following
Sunday
to her Pupils.
217
Sunday I permitted my pupils to go without
me to the Palais Royal, and I have never fince
entered its doors. The ill treatment I re-
ceived from Madame d'Orleans increafed every
day: M. d'Orleans gave a dinner to his chil-
dren at Mouffeaux; Madame would not come
becauſe I was there. She came regularly with
two or three other perfons in her carriage to
take out Mademoiſelle, and, exclufive of thefe
parties, Mademoiſelle faw no one but me.
Mademoiselle gave in the winter, not balls, her
apartments were not fufficiently fpacious, but
refreſhments and a dance at four different
times. M. d'Orleans was prefent at all of
them; but Madame, in fpight of the entrea-
ties of her children, did not once make her
appearance. In a word, the marks of her
hatred became fo confpicuous and fo extra-
vagant that M. d'Orleans, after having en-
dured and tolerated this ftrange injuftice with
uniform patience and moderation for fo long
a period, refolved at laft to put an end to it.
He had an interview with her one morning, in
which he told her that he infifted upon her
granting, what he had hitherto refufed to his
entreaty, a direct and circumftantial explanation
with me, and that on the day following.
Madame d'Orleans, after many objections,
confented, and gave her formal promife that
the explanation fhould take place. She came
to me the next morning at nine, and this in-
terview feemed to promife every thing I could
defire. I believed that, as fhe confented to
explain herſelf and hear my expoftulation,
nothing would be more eafy than to put an
end to our miſunderſtanding, or at leaſt to
make her feel the dangerous confequences of
the
212
Leffons of a Governess
'
'
C
C
C
the plan of conduct that was recommended to
her. It was my intention to have thus ad-
dreffed her: If it be true that you cannot
furmount the prejudices you have imbibed
againſt me; if it be true that the undenia-
ble proofs of the rectitude of my conduct
fail to make an impreffion on you, let us
adopt, calmly and prudently, fuch rational
means as will effect our purpoſe, not per-
haps ſo ſpeedily as you may with, but in a
manner more decent and becoming both for
you and for me. I have promifed Made-
• moifelle not to give in my refignation; I
' will not therefore do it. You cannot de-
mand it of me, becaufe M. d'Orleans is
mafter of his children, becaufe you will thus
act contrary to his will, and of confequence
contrary to your duty. Madame de Cha-
telux, acquainted only with the customs of
Liege, perfectly ignorant of ours, and who
fuppofes money to be the omnipotent arbiter
of every thing, may have told you that you
have the fame right to difmifs me as to dif-
charge a femme de chambre, and that by
the offer of a penſion I fhould be perfectly
' reconciled. But you, madam, who have ſo
• noble and delicate a foul; you who fo well
• underſtand mine, in this reſpect at leaſt ;
who know that I have never wifhed to ac-
cept from you, either for myfelf or my
daughters, I will not fay a kindneſs, but
any thing that can be called a prefent; who
know alſo that I undertook the education of
your three fons upon the exprefs condition
that I was never to receive for it any emolu-
ment whatever; you will not think yourſelf
intitled to ſpeak and act in this manner.
<
<
<
In
to her Pupils.
213
C
C
.
C
C
C
In fhort if your heart is for ever ſhut againſt
me, if the intereft of your children's educa-
tion, their attachment to. me, and the deſires
of M. d'Orleans, are infufficient to counter-
balance your prejudices, I wifh not to re-
tain my fituation in defiance of your will;
but enable me, madam, to retire without
noife or unhappy diffenfion, and in a man-
ner that your children may not be too vio-
lently affected. For this purpoſe it is necef-
fary, inftead of oppofing the defires of M.
d'Orleans, to appear to be conformable to
them and reconciled with me. I aſk not
thoſe marks of intimacy which ſubſiſted two
years ago, but treat me with the reſpect due
to a perſon who has devoted twelve years of
‹ her life to your children, and appear neither
< to hate nor to avoid me. Speak of me to
C your children without animofity; praiſe them
for the gratitude they evince towards me;
at the fame time give them your confidence;
fee them frequently alone; queftion them
with an air of intereft refpe&ting their fen-
timents, their ſtudies, and their occupations;
this conduct perfifted in for the ſpace of five
or fix months, will eftablith between them
and you that eaſe, that delightful famil arity,
which can alone be productive of true
friendſhip. By condefcending to follow this
advice, you will enable me during the ap-
proaching winter honourably to retire: you
may then ſay to Mademoiſelle that as, by
her own affiduity and my cares, her educa-
tion is almoft perfectly completed, you wiſh
for the happineſs of her refiding with you.
In this ftate of things, fhe will quit me
without defpair, and will rejoice to find her-
C
C
6
<
.
G
• felf
214
Leſſons of a Governess
.C
ſelf under the fole authority of her affecti-
onate and tender mother. Seeing me treated
by you with decorum, fhe will not regard
the termination of my cares as the refult of
perfecution, nor our feparation as eternal;
her tears will flow without bitterneſs, and
the attentions of a fond mother will foon
dry up their fource.'
Such were the fentiments I intended to ex-
prefs, at the fame time offering to enter into
any engagements upon this head that could
beft enfure my fincerity. It was for this reafon
that I confined myfelf to the demand of fix
or ſeven months delay, fuggeſting at the ſame
time means for removing the difficulty that
accrued from my promife to Mademoifelle,
and for conforming myſelf to all thofe objects
that could be interefting to Madame d'Orleans.
I was ruminating upon this plan, when my
door opened and Madame appeared. I had
hardly caft my eyes upon her before a part of
my hopes vanished. She entered briskly,
$
threw herſelf in a chair, bid me be filent, and
then drew from her pocket a paper, remark-
ing in the moſt imperious way that fhe would
let me into her intentions refpecting me. She
then read with an elevated voice and extreme
volubility this paper, the contents of which
were of the ftrangeft fort. It imported that
in confideration of the difference of onr opinions,
I had no other party to take, in civility or
decency, than that of immediately withdrawing
myfelf; that if I confented to this, he would
Suffer the affair to be quietly blown over, would
in converfation with her friends impute my re-
treat to any cauſe I thought proper to affign, and
would make any provifion for the two young per-
fons
to her Pupils.
215
fons under my care that 1 ſhould myſelf fix upon;
but this was upon condition that, while I refigned
immediately, I jhould take all necessary precau-
tions to prevent a too deep impreffion upon Made-
moifelle: this might eaſily be done by ſaying, that
I was going to England to drink the waters for
the recovery of my health, a journey that had
actually taken place feven years before, and would
therefore excite no fufpicions in Mademoiſelle *:
but if I refuſed theſe terms, ſhe ſhould ſee
with the extremeft mortification her children in
my care, and I might therefore count upon
the most open rupture, and a determination
on her part never to ſee me again as long as fhe
livel.
Such was the written harangue of Madame
d'Orleans which I have faithfully reported,
and this is what he called an explanation. As
foon as the excess of my aſtoniſhment would
permit me to ſpeak, I replied that, after the
pofitive declaration I had heard, there was no
other conduct for me to pursue but that of retir-
ing; not that I fuppofed Madame, d'Orleans
to have the right of compelling me to it, not
that I was intimidated by her anger which was
unjuft, or by her menaces which I difregard-
ed; but becauſe the authority of a mother,
though reftricted by the laws, was in my eyes
facred. That as to her offers, a moment's
reflection must be fufficient to convince her
that I could only defpife them; that I could
make a facrifice, but not a bargain. That as
* At the time of this little excurfion to England, the only
onc I ever made without my pupils, Mademoiſelle was ſeven
years old; I then poffeffed all the confidence of Madame
d'Orleans, and I was abfent only five weeks.
to
216
Leffons of a Governess
:
to what the world would fay, I had but one
wish that the exact truth might be known.
I added that for the reft my reſpect for Ma-
dame d'Orleans and my knowledge of her cha-
racter and her delicacy, would not permit me
to attribute to her the ftrange production fhe
had read to me, the ftyle, the reafonings and
the fentiments of which were fo little worthy
of her. I concluded with affuring her that
I would quit Belle Chaffe as foon as Made-
moiſelle had performed her Eafter devotions,
as I otherwife feared that the grief which my
departure might occafion her, would deprive
her of the frame of mind requifite to the right
diſcharge of this duty. In fine I promiſed,
not that I would tell Mademoiſelle that I
quitted her in order to go to the Bristol waters,
an artifice that would not have deceived her
for a moment; but I promifed to conceal from
her my misfortune and hers, to depart fecretly,
and to take every poffible precaution to foften
the bitterness of this cruel feparation.-In the
mean time M. d'Orleans waited the return of
Madame at the Palais Royal. He had no
doubt, from the promiſe fhe had given him,
that fhe would come to an explanation with
me; and his aftonifhment was equal to mine,
when the informed him of the truth, and
fhewed him the paper which fhe had read and
which the refuſed to leave with mc. Such a
ftep as this, taken without the privity of a
·
*No one acquainted with the fimple and natural mode
of writing which characterifed Madame d'Orleans for
twenty years, will accufe her. of having dictated the ma-
jority of thoſe productions which he has condefcended to
honour with her fignature for two years paſt.
huſband
to her Pupils.
217
huſband and a father, was neceffarily calcu-
lated to ſurpriſe him, and the ftrange manner
in which the paper was drawn up did not di-
minifh his furprife. Add to this, that fuch a
mode of reading instead of speaking in a tête-
à-tête, is in itſelf fufficiently extraordinary.
The grief of M. d'Orleans would, if that had
been poffible, have increafed mine, when he
found me irrevocably determined to depart
26 April, as I had told Madame d'Orleans I
would do, unlefs fhe fhould herfelf defire a
longer delay, of which I had no hopes. M.
d'Orleans flattered himself that he could in-
duce her to this meafure by reprefenting to
her, that hitherto fhe had had the greateſt
influence in the education of her children;
but that if I quitted them, this influence
would entirely ceafe, fince by forcing me to
retire fhe openly declared to them and to the
public defires and opinions in direct oppofition
to his; that ſhe had been at liberty to fee
Mademoiſelle at Belle Chaffe as often as the
pleaſed, but that after my departure the could
no longer be permitted to be alone with her
or to take her out; becauſe, by her retaining
the fame authority as ever, the public might
fuppofe that his opinions had changed, or at
leaft that he confented to his children being
educated in different ones. M. d'Orleans
then drew an interefting picture of the injury
his daughter would fuftain in her happinefs,
her health and her education; her education
would remain unfiniſhed, her talents deftroyed
before they arrived at maturity, and nothing
would be effectual to confole her under a mif-
fortune fo unexpected and accompanied with
ſuch diſtreſsful circumftances. What, he asked,
VOL. I.
could
L
-218
Leffons of a Governess
could be ſaid to her in juftification of the pro-
ceeding, or how were her fufferings to be
affuaged? Madame d'Orleans replied that the
truth muſt be concealed from her, and fhe muſt
be told that my refignation was voluntary.
M. d'Orleans rejoined that this would be to
traduce and calumniate me, as I had given
my word to Mademoiſelle never voluntarily to
refign; that he would never fuffer fuch a falie-
hood, even if I could confent to it, and that
he would inform her of the exact truth. As
the laſt reſource M. d'Orleans tried what effect
was to be wrought upon her by the interpofi-
tion of M. de Chartres, whom he inftructed
in every particular of our fituation. The heart
of Madame d'Orleans, naturally fenfible and
good, was ftrongly moved by the prayers and
tears of her fon; but her confidante, appre-
henfive, no doubt, of the .confequences of
this tenderness, contrived to place her out of
the reach of this influence, and fhe fuddenly
departed for Eu, accompanied folely by Ma~
dame de Chatelux. Upon this M. d'Orleans
fent immediately, by exprefs, a letter to the
true author of all theſe troubles, to Madame
de Chatelux, defiring, as he could only attri-
bute the conduct of Madame d'Orleans to her
.counfels, that fhe would make choice of fome
other abode than his houfe, and would fend,
in the courſe of a fortnight, the keys of her
apartment to the Palais Royal. The refult
of this proceeding was the demand of a fepa-
ration on the part of Madame d'Orleans.-
In the mean time, faithful to the promiſe I
had given, I had the fortitude to conceal
from Mademoiſelle the grief that overwhelmed
me. On the 26th of April, having contrived
·
that
to her Pupils.
219
that Mademoiſelle fhould go without me at
eight o'clock in the morning, I took the op-
portunity of departing. Previously however
to my quitting Belle Chaffe, I wrote three
letters for Mademoifelle, leaving orders that
they ſhould be given to her one after another
in the courſe of the day, and that the fhould
be told at the delivery of each, that fhe was
only to receive them when ſhe was calm and rea-
Jonable. I agreed with M. d'Orleans to indulge
her in the hope, not of my reſuming my of-
fice, but of our feeing one another again, a
precaution which we conceived might be ne-
ceffary to moderate the violence of the impref-
fion and the excess of her grief. I fhall here
preſent the reader with an exact copy of thofe
letters. At the time of my writing them I
had no idea of their appearing in print and
in this work; and even had fuch been my
defign, it would have been impoffible to affume
the ſtyle which it becomes me to employ when
I publicly addrefs myfelf to Mademoiſelle
d'Orleans. It was neceffary to ſpeak to her
heart and endeavour to adminifter confola-
tion, and the familiar ftyle of our private in-
tercourfe was the only one adapted to this
end. The following was my first letter.
'C
(
25 April 1791, eight o'clock in the evening.
I AM forced, dear child, to quit you, at
leaft for a time; but I hope we fhall meet
again. I conjure you, by the tenderness you
feel for me, to take care of your health.
Madame d'Orleans compels me to with-
draw; but I leave you my heart. Reflec,
dear child, that it is incumbent on you to.
• fubmit
La
220
Leffons of a Governess
<
.
<
fubmit to the will of a mother, and that,
notwithſtanding the rigour of her prefent
proceeding, this mother loves you, and
would adore you if fhe knew you better;
reflect that he has in her heart every good
and virtuous quality, and that the prejudice
which feparates us is not her work. Be
• affured that, abfent from my dear child, my
tender friend, my thoughts will be occupied
with her alone. Yes I will write to you
every day. I will think of you every mo-
ment of my life. As the recompenfe of my
cares, let your conduct be reaſonable; fur-
mount your grief, difpel your melancholy,
if my life be dear to you; I could not live,
if I knew you to be ill.
I will not quit
France, becauſe you are there. You will
hear news of me continually. I requeſt
that after to-morrow you will take an airing
with your tender and fenfible father. He
loves you beyond expreffion. Let him not
fuffer the mortal chagrin of feeing you a prey.
to unreaſonable forrow. Dear child of my
‹ heart, adieu. This heart you ought to be
able to read, and to know all that paffes
• within it. Never, never will it love any
object upon earth more ardently than you.'
<
SECOND LETTER.
25 April, at midnight.
You have felt, dear child, the violent
palpitation of heart I experienced on your
The lamentable fate of her health would not permit
her to follow this advice.
• retiring
to her Pupils.
221
C
?
(
C
<
retiring to reft. My tears did not flow, my
countenance was unalterable; but you dif-
covered this involuntary emotion *
They came to inform me that you
were
unwell: without guefling at the cause of your
indifpofition, I had the courage to take my
harp and play in your hearing.-Oh! my
dear and beloved friend! I have deceived
you; I have deceived you for the firſt time in
my life; but I wifhed to make you paſs a
good night: befide had I left you in the un-
certainty and apprchenfion in which I found
you, you would not have confented to go out
the next day; and was it poffible for us to
C take leave of each other? It was not. I was
to fave you theſe heart rending
C
defirous
'adieus.'
६
I
I am juft come from your bed-fide; I have
just been embracing you.
* She was upon my knees with her head reclined on my
bofom, and as the embraced me fhe felt the throbbings of my
heart. She withdrew in filence, and was taken ill in her
bed, but without fainting. Perceiving her in tears, the
perfons about her enquired into the caufe; the replied that
The wished to ſpeak with me, but defired that I might not
be informed of it till I was alone in my apartment. They
promiſed, and in the mean time they made known to me her
fituation. I was already uneafy, as I had heard a noiſe in her
chamber, which is feparated from mine only by a glass door:
having alfo been told that ſhe had fome confufed fufpicions,
I took my harp and played loud enough for her to hear me.
This calmed her a little. In about three quarters of an hour
I approached the glafs door to perceive if the ilept: fhe burft
into tears, and confeffed to me the vague apprehenfions that
floated in her imagination. I was obliged to proteft that there
was no foundation for her fears. I have never fuffered fo
much as at that moment. I left her perfectly fatisfied with
the affurance I had given her. I returned to my chamber,
and immediately wrote this letter.
L 3.
• My
222
Leffons of a Governess
<
C
<
My dear Child, I would never have defired
to quit you, let them have treated me as they
would; but Madame d'Orleans herfelf has
demanded my refignation: fhe muſt be obey-
ed. To-morrow morning I will write you
a long letter, but it will not be delivered to
C you till you appear calm and reaſonable. My
fweet child, I love you a thouſand times bet-
ter than my life; be watchful of your health,
if you would not deftroy me. Depend upon
it we fhall fee one another again. Be calm,
do not give yourself up to extravagant grief.
It is your friend's requeſt, and ſhe aſks it in
the name of every thing fhe has done for
• you.'
"
6
<
THIRD LETTER.
29 April, in the morning.
My dear child, I will not write to you
more at large. I promifed never to defire to
quit you let them treat me as they would; I
have kept my word. To what I have fuffered
for two years paft you are a witness; I have
• been treated as they would not have treated
a chamber-maid, Madame d'Orleans having
forbidden me to come to the Palais Royal
⚫ even along with you. Other inftances equally
harfh I will not recount. If I had not loved
you as one human being never loved another,
I fhould have afked, and ought to have afk-
ed, for my difmiffion at the firſt ſymptoms of
fuch a conduct; but to preferve your life my
patience was inexhauftible. It is now almoft
a month ago that I entreated M. d'Orleans
to procure me a final explanation with Ma-
dame, fearing as I did that the moſt unequi-
C
' vocal
to her Pupils.
223
C
(
C
→
vocal marks of variance would diſcover them-
• felves either when we fet cut for the country,
or while we were there *. Madame d'Or-
leans, who had always refufed every difcuffion
with me, and the fo much as reading my Jour-
nal, promifed, for this once, to do what M.
d'Orleans required. She came to Belle
Chaffe at nine in the morning, and, inſtead of
coming to an explanation, drew a paper from
her pocket, written without the knowledge
of M. d'Orléans, which fhe read to me, and
which gave me to understand that, in confi-
deration of the difference of our opinions, I had
no other party to take than that of immedi-
ately withdrawing myfelf, and that if I re-
mained ſhe was refolved never to fee me again
as long as fhe lived. You will readily con-
ceive, dear child, that after fuch a declara-
tion from the lips of a mother, it was impof-
fible for me to continue with her daughter.
← In reality I well knew that for two years my
refignation had been the object of her defire:
but fhe demanded it not, and I remained.
At length fhe pronounced the decree, and it
" was neceffary to fubmit. I wifhed at leaft to
be with you in the facred feafon of Eafter,
and it is for that reafon my departure has
been deferred to the 26th. Judge, dear child,
what must have been my fufferings during
the last month I have paffed with you! In
giving you your leffons, in affecting calmnefs
and tranquillity, how many fighs and tears
have I fuppreffed! What anguish of heart/
་
2
• Ihad juſt grounds for my apprehenfions in this reſpect.
Befide, the actual ftate of things was more than fufficient
to make it definable that this difcuffion fhould not be defer-
red.
I 4
have
224
Lefons of a Governejs
.
€
€
f
have I experienced! But I knew that my
adieus would be infupportable to you; I-
therefore concealed from you in this manner
my departure, and fuffered during a month-
the most terrible reftraint: the confideration-
that it was for you, inſpired me with the for--
'titude. Cheerfully, would I facrifice my life
to inſure your happineſs: you know what
are my feelings in this refpect, and you can-
not therefore imagine that any thing could
appear too hard for me that tended to your
advantage. Imitate then, my beloved friend,
this courage; let not your foul be too much
caft down; afflict not mortally the beft of fa-
thers by abandoning yourfelf to your forrows
and your grief, and add not to my prefent
< evils the most cruel alarms. As to Madame
'd'Orleans, fhe feparates us, it is true; but
reflect that to her defire and choice you have
been indebted for the twelve years we have
lived together, and of confequence for the
advantage you may have derived from them.
She is blinded at prefent by unjuſt prejudice ;
but her foul is angelic; it is replete, as I
have a thousand times told you, with every
thing good, noble and virtuous. What you
← have obſerved in her for eighteen months that
is unjuft and capricious, is derived from an-
other fource, and is foreign and unnatural to
her character. Ever love and cherish her:
this fentiment is deeply engraven on your
heart, and you cannot better prove to Ma-
dame d'Orleans your affection and the purity
of your principles, than by your fubmiffion.
Your father has not left you ignorant of his
fears refpecting the feparation which Madame
d'Orleans has demanded: cruel and heart-
• rending
<
to her Pupils.
225
<
'
rending fears for you and your brothers! Ex-
ert every effort to reconcile and unite them;
it is a duty facredly incumbent upon you,
and I am certain you will diſcharge it with
the moſt fervid zeal. I thank God, I am not
made the pretext of this laft violence of Ma-
dame d'Orleans. When he came about a
month ago to defire I would withdraw my-
felf, I replied that fhe fhould be obeyed; fhe
´´obtained therefore all that fhe wifhed. A few
days after M. d'Orleans wrote to Madame de
Chatelux for the keys of her apartment in
the Palais Royal, and Madame d'Orleans
then demanded a feparation: it is eafy to di-
vine from what motive and by whofe inftiga-
<
.
•
• tion.
S
•
ས་
It is cruel, my beloved friend, to be torn
from each other; but our misfortune is not
without example. You remember the hiſto-
ry of Fenelon and his pupil the Duke of
Burgundy *: they were feparated nearly in
'a fimilar manner. The young prince ſuſtain-
ed an irreparable lofs, a lofs much fuperior
to yours, for he loft Fenelon, and he was
''deſtined to reign. He felt acutely his misfor-
tune; he loved Fenelon all his life, he waş
faithful to the claims of friendſhip and of
gratitude; but the fentiments of nature re-
'mained unalterable, his refpcct for his grand-
father equalled his regret; he wept, but he
murmured not. Such is the conduct I ex-
pect from my Adela. Do you eftimate, my
dear friend, at no value the liberty we fhall.
C
C
C
* I had purpoſely read to her this hiftory a few days previ
ous. to my departure.
L 5
C
enjoy
226
Leſſons of a Governeſs
C
<
<
C
<
enjoy of writing to each other? You will
read my heart, and I fhall read yours; we
fhall always be thinking of one another.
Would you prove to me the truth of your
affection? Be courageous; take care of
your health; cultivate your talents, thofe
talents which you owe to the warmest love
that ever animated a human breaft, that harp.
Oh, my
beloved child! I feel the effect that
the found alone of this inftrument will pro-
'duce on thy fenfible heart, and what ideas
it will recal to thy remembrance! Can you
conſent that I confider all thofe hours as
loft that I employed in teaching you to
play? At thefe very hours I will every day
play myſelf, from fix to eight o'clock, the
leffons that we have performed together, and
'that I would not have you forget, becauſe
I hope we fhall yet play them together.
again. If I could but think that you played
'them too at the very fame time, I fhould
put the deception on myfelf of ſuppoſing
that we were together; it would be a fource
of happiness to me, and thefe hours wouldy
<
1
We
* It is known that in the cafe of Fenelon and the Duke of
Burgundy, the preceptor and the pupil were forbidden to.
write to each other, and they correfponded in fecret.
muft hate the man who could enjoin fuch a command; but
Fenelon is not without blame for having authoriſed the
diſobedience of his pupil. For the reft, when I confider
that Fenelon was hated and difgracefully diſmiſſed, for the
atrocious crime of writing the Adventures of Telemachus
for his pupil; when I recollect that Louis the Great, after
reading this work, exclaimed: I knew M. de Cambray poſ-
feffed a weak mind, but I never before fufpected him of having a
corrupt heart, I feel the fulleft conviction that I have no
right to complain.
• be
to her Pupils.
227
6
<
be regarded by your friend as the fweeteſt
hours in the day. I fhall take a harp with
me for that purpoſe: write me word whe-
ther you agree to this fort of engagement,
and whether your heart beats in unifon with
mine. If you ſhould be obliged to change
your hour on account of your promenades,
fend me word of that too, and I will con-
form myſelf to the change you fhall make.*
Continue to be uniformly good, mild,
equal. I recommend t you all your people,
who have given me the most affecting proofs
of their attachment t. I mention this cir
cumſtance, becauſe I am fure that it will be
an additional motive with you to be kind to
• them. Be always mild and
wards Mademoiſelle Rime,
fo rational and fo virtuous.
C
-
affectionate to-
whofe mind is
Forget not the
• Notwithstanding her fituation, fhe made frequent at-
tempts to play; but how was it poffible fhe fhould fucceed,
when her hands ftill fhake to fuch a degree that fhe can only
devote half her ufual time to this Audy of which fhe is fo
fond? The tremulous fate of her nerves, her debility, her
extreme thinnefs, and the total alteration of her figure,
plainly evince what have been her fufferings, the effects
of which will not fpeedily be removed. She had never
before been fick; on the contrary fhe owed to my cares the
roft perfect health.
†This painful moment of my life was foftened to me by
the demonftrations of kindnefs, efteen and affection, which
I fhall never ceafe to remember, on the part of the nuns
of that refpectable houſe, who wrote me a most pathetic
letter, on the part of the tutors and mafters concerned in-
the education of my pupils, and of their fervants in general.
All of these perfons wrote to me, either feparately or in a
corporate capacity, the day or the day but one, before my
departure. I have carefully preferved their letters as the
moſt honourable and irrefitible proofs of the irreproachable-
nefs of my conduct.
• true:
228
Leffons of a Governess
C
<
<
true friendſhip which I bear for Horain*.
I have ordered him to write to me, and he
will inform me whether my child is reaſon-
able and follows my advice. Remember that
it is you alone who can by your conduct
• confole me. If you give yourfelf up to ex-
travagant grief, you will kill me, for I am
already weakened and exhaufted by the
fleepless nights I have paffed and the horri-
ble conſtraint I have impofed on myſelf for
a month paſt. Place your confidence in
God, my dear child, who enjoins and re-
wards refignation; pray for our reunion,
and be fubmiffive to his will that your
prayers may be effectual. I embrace my
child, my dear, my beloved child, with all
the tenderness which ſhe knows my heart to
poffefs. Ah! never fhall I give a proof of
this tenderness equal to the effort I yefter-
day made that you might paſs a good night.
Reflect upon this, and learn from it what
fortitude and empire over ourſelves true
• affection can inſpire.
<
<
<
'
<
6
I authorife you, dear child, to fhew all
my letters without exception to Madame
d'Orleans. You ought to have no fecret
from her, and there is nothing in my heart-
that I wiſh to conceal.
I flatter myſelf that you will receive Ma-
dame Topin in a becoming manner:
ſhe
poffeffes an excellent and eftimable charac-
ter, and great friendſhip for me. I am fuie
alſo that you will feel the value of Henri-
etta's attachment, and that fhe will foften.
Valet de chambre of Mademoifelle d'Orleans.
‹ your
t
to her Pupils.
229:
C
your pains*. Your other young friend I
take with me: you know the fenfibility of
her heart; you may be affured that we fhail
talk and think of no one but you. Alas!
we ſhall ſtand in great need of each other;
the fame feelings will mutually and wholly
Occupy us; we fhall have but one fubject of
converfation, and Adela will be ever preſent
' with us.'.
C
6
<
*
MY intention was to travel fix weeks in:
Auvergne and in Franche-Comté, afterwards
to return to Paris, unknown to Mademoifelle,
there to remain a month to inſpect the print-
ing of this work, and then to depart for Sil-
lery till the approach of winter, which I
wifhed to ſpend in England, a country equally
dear to me from tafte, gratitude and friend-
ſhip, and where I fhould certainly be more
happy than in France, if it were poffible to
find happineſs at a diftance from my family,
my pupils and my country.
At Clermont I received letters that began
to make me uneafy refpecting the fituation of
Mademoiſelle d'Orleans; but upon my arrival
at Lyon, I received others of fo alarming a
nature that I gave up my journey to Franche-
Comté, and refolved to return without delay,
ftill intending to remain concealed from her.
Six leagues from Auxerre I met an expreſs.
from M. d'Orleans, whofe orders were to go
to Besançon where I was fuppofed to be ar-
zived. He gave me a packet containing letters
* I had agreed with M. d'Orleans to leave my niece for
the prefent, thinking the might be ferviceable to Made-
moifelle; but her ftay was to be only for three or four,
months.
from
230
Leffons of a Governess
from M. d'Orleans, M. de Sillery, my daugh-
ter, my pupils, M. Pieyre, and other perfons,
all informing me that the faintings and con-
vulfions of Mademoifelle, fo far from dimi-
niſhing, increaſed every day; that ſhe visibly
wafted; and in fhort that if the state of her
health did not amend there was the greatest reafon
to fear for her life. The. following is a copy
of M. d'Orleans' letter..
C. DEAR FRIEND,
"I INCLOSE you a letter which I wrote this
morning to Madame d'Orleans, and upon
which I build my hopes of the life, the
← health and the happineſs of my daughter*..
She has feen it, and from the effect it pro-
<duced upon her, which it is impoffible to de-
fcribe to you, I fear the would die if her
hopes were diſappointed..
{
•
'Her mother, as you will fee by the letter -
fhe has written to Montpenfiert, declares.
that fhe has no right over her; that ſhe
"wiſhes not to interfere, and that ſhe relics
* In this letter, as will prefently be feen, he informed
Madame d'Orleans that he confidered her, from a paffage in
one of her letters, as confenting to my return, that he there-
fare fhould immediately prefs me to do fo, and that he thought
per confent, thus expreffed would be fufficient to determine
me, particularly when feconded by the fituation of his daugh-
ter and the knowledge that he had given her the moſt poſitive
affurance, of ſeeing me.
+ M de Montpenfier fent this letter to M. d'Orleans, be-
caufe it was an anſwer to one which his father had requeſted
him to write; of this. anfwer M. d'Orleans alfo fent me a
copy..
abfolutely
to her Pupils.
231
C
C
⚫ abfolutely upon me to take every precaution
that may be neceffary. I repeat, dear friend*,
that my daughter will not probably live, and
certainly will never be happy, if you do not
refume your cares. She depends upon it;
her affection for you makes it your duty,
and fhe joins with me and my children in
conjuring you. Dear friend, do not refufe
' us; we ſhall expect your answer with the
utmoft impatience, but without apprehen-.
fion, certain that it will be favourable and
will be ſpeedily followed by your arrival, fince-
we are not ignorant of your affection for
your pupil, and are perfuaded that you can-.
not refuſe to comply with the anxiety of our
• affection.'
(
<
C
Paris, 10 May 1791.
FROM M. d'Orleans' letter to Madame
d'Orleans I fhall cite but one paffage relative
to Mademoiſelle and myfelf..
•
→
In your letter to Montpenfier you fay:
that you have no inquietude refpecting the
'fituation of your daughter; your words are
thefe: what gives me perfect affurance as to
the life of this unfortunate child, is that her
father is with her, who will certainly take every
precaution to prevent it. The moſt certain
C
*The words dear friend, wherever they occur in this let
ter, are uſed as an English phrafe in. the original, T.
C. and
232
Leffons of a Governess
•
"
C
and effectual precaution, and indeed the only
one that I can imagine, is to prevail on Ma
dame de Sillery to refume her cares, and I
fhall inftantly exert every effort to effect
this.'
•
+
Of all the other letters which the packet
contained I fhall only quote the following.
paffage.from that of M. de Sillery.
4 May 1791.
<
.
+
YOU fee by the letter of M. d'Orleans:
how defirous he is of your return, and that
he regards it as the only means of faving his
child. The danger muſt have been very im-
minent, fince he has confided to her all the
meaſures he has taken to prevail on you, and ·
this has been the only inftance in which we
have fucceeded in giving her a moment's con-
folation. He has told her that your return
depends folely on yourſelf; and it is my opi-
nion that you will not heſitate. I cannot ex-
prefs the demonſtrations of attachment which
all your children evince at this profpect: the
poor little invalid is befide herfelf with joy
at the idea of feeing you, for fhe has no
doubt of your coming to fave her from
death, or a ſituation a hundred times worſe.
Return then; all that. love you expect you
with impatience and cannot be happy till
< they fee you.'
с
•
<
C
*
Was it poffible for me to heſitate a moment'
when I knew Mademoiſelle to be in fo deplo-
rable a fiate, when ſhe had been given to hope
for my. fpeedy return, and M. d'Orleans be-
"บ
lieved!
to her Pupils.
233
t
lieved that he would die if her hopes were
difappointed; when Madame d'Orleans con-
tinued to refide at the diſtance of fifty two
leagues from her, and exprefsly charged M.
d'Orleans with the care of every thing likely
to confole her mind and reftore her health?
No one could have fuppofed that Madame
d'Orleans, after the repeated expreffes that
had been ſent to her, the minute and alarm-
ing accounts fhe had received, the reprefen-
tations of a phyfician and the pathetic letters
of her children, would have been able to ſtay
away from her daughter: but Madame de
Chatelux doubtless ftrove to perfuade her that
the danger of Mademoiſelle was exaggerated.
In the mean time what could Madame de Cha-
telux know. of the matter? Were not a fa-
ther, brothers, a phyfician, and twenty other
witneſſes more worthy of credit? All of theſe
perfons affirmed that Mademoiſelle was in a
very dangerous ftate, and they had ocular de-
monftration. Madame de Chatelux conjectured
that Mademoifelle's illness was not fo deplo-
rable as was reprefented; and was a conjecture
made at the diftance of fifty leagues, and by a
perfon of Madame de Chatelux's character, to
outweigh the poſitive teftimony of thirty irre-
proachable witneſſes ? In fhort, had there
been ground for fufpicion in this cafe (which
moft affuredly there was not), it was ftill an
interefting concern, and it was eaſy to have
aſcertained the truth. A vifit to Belle Chaffe
was all that was neceffary, and Madame d'Or-
leans would certainly have taken this ſtep, had
fhe confulted only her own heart: her chil-
dren do not, and cannot doubt of this without
ingratitude, from the recollection of what
Madame.
234
Leſſons of a Governess
Madame d'Orleans has done for them, from
the moment of their birth to the period of
this fatal divifion. I cannot avoid mentioning
in this place an incident which it was not poffi-
ble for me to record in my Journal, becauſe it
happened before I began to write my Journal.
At the time that I entered upon my office at
Belle Chaffe, Mademoiſelle d'Orleans had a
twin fifter, whom we had the misfortune to
lofe. This child at the age of four years fell
ill with the meaſles. I had had this diſeaſe;
Madame d'Orleans had not had it: it was na-
tural that I fhould have the care of the child? -
Madame d'Orleans would never conſent to it.
She fent me to Saint Cloud with the reſt of
her children, and fhut herself up at Belle
Chaffe with her little patient, caught the
meaſles, and was in confequence dangerously
ill a generous action, which was accompanied
with fo much feeling in its circumftances, and
fo much modeft and unaffected rectitude, as
greatly augmented its value.. I could cite nu-
merous other fublime traits of the goodneſs
and fenfibility of Madame d'Orleans; her life
is full of them, and they are all engraven
on the hearts of her children, to whom it
has been my frequent delight to relate fuch
inftances as have not fallen within their own
experience*. I will beg leave to relate upon
this fubject a fact unknown even to Madame
d'Orleans herſelf, and which proves that my.
* I have recorded' fome of them in my works; among
other inſtances I may refer to the hiftory of the Solitaires of
Normandy, which has fince been converted into a very agree.
able comic opera.
See alfo the dedication to my comedy en-
titled The Widow of Sarepta, &c. &c.
1
object
to her Pupils.
235
object in praifing her was not that of infinu-
ating myself into favour, but to ſatisfy a deſire,
which I fhall ever feel, of doing homage to
virtue and truth. In 1776 I made with Ma-
dame d'Orleans the tour of Italy. She kept
no journal of this interefting excurfion, be-
cauſe ſhe knew that I wrote a minute account
of it; and it was agreed that, upon our return
to Paris, I fhould lend it her to make an ex-
tract of it. But at the end of our tour, when
I came to read what I had written, I found it
fo full of encomiums on the conduct of Ma-
dame d'Orleans, that I was afhamed to give it
her. She would certainly not have fufpected
me of ſpeaking of her with affectation because
fhe was to read the Journal; yet it appeared
to me fo little becoming to ſubmit it to her in-
fpection that I could never refolve to do it. I
therefore told her that I would fave her the
trouble of a fatiguing taſk and make the ex-
tract myfelf, which I did, and gave her an
abridgment only of the Journal*. This deli-
cacy on my part fhe has no knowledge of, nor
has fhe ever feen the original work; but I have
read it frequently to her children, and have
the manufcript ftill in my poffeffion bound in
three large volumes.
The public is now competent to judge whe-
ther I taught juft and good principles to my
pupils, whether I merited the hatred of their
mother, whether I deferved to be turned out
of my office with every mark of refentment
and diſpleaſure, in fine, whether I was right
in reſuming my connection with a young per-
* In this abridgment her name was not once mentioned.
fon
238
Leffons of a Governess, &c.
fon endowed with the pureft gratitude and
fenfibility, and whofe attachment for me had
been ftrengthened by all that is calculated to
infpire fympathy and affection, in behalf of a
victim of injuftice, that is, of ingratitude and
perfecution. I do not doubt that this book will
furniili freſh matter to my libellers: libel has
for a long time been the habitual weapon of
ny enemies, a fort of vengeance, impotent
and mean, that can neither trouble my repofe
nor wound my reputation. The juftification
into which I have entered is made up of un-
questionable facts and ſupported by unobjecti-
onable witneffes: I fhall not therefore conde-
fcend to return any anſwer to anonymous ca-
lumny, and fhall only hold myſelf ready to
refute thoſe who fhall have the courage to at-
tack me openly.
-
1
PRIVATE
:.
(237)
PRIVATE JOURNAL OF THE EDUCA-
TION OF THE PRINCES, commenced at
Saint Cloud 28 January 1782.
THE princes were placed under my care,
5 January 1782. I requefted a minute account
of the diftribution and employment of their
time. For this I waited fix days. It ought
to have been given in writing, but it was not,
and befide was very imperfect. From this ac-
count I learned, that M. Bonnard fcarcely
· concerned himſelf at all in their education,
and that the whole care had devolved upon
the Abbé Guyot, and M. Prieur, firft valet de
chambre The hours of ſtudy were not unal-
terably fixed, no one prefided at the leffons of
the mafters; the reading did not occupy three
quarters of an hour in a day; and three times
a week the princes took a leffon in mufick for
an hour. Iftruck off the mufick mafter, and
altered the whole plan of ftudies. Among
other books, I took away the Fables of Fon-
taine, Telemachus, Racine, and I fubftituted
inftead of them, books of hiſtory and moral
writings fuited to the underſtanding of two
children, the eldeſt of whom was but eight
years old.
I have always thought it abfurd to put works of the first
merit into the hands of children; my reafon for this I have
affigned in Adelaide and Theodore. The idea was greatly
cenfured at the time, but it fince appears to have been pretty
generally adopted.
Upon
}
238
Journal of Education
Upon our arrival at St. Cloud, that is to
fay, three weeks ago, I examined the princes
as to their improvement. They were perfectly
ignorant of Latin and Engliſh, and could nei-
ther read or ſpeak a word of thefe languages,
though they had ftudied them for the fpace of
three years. They had no accurate knowledge
of hiſtory but what they had derived from ſome
tables which I had written for the Duchefs de
Chartres, and which have been five years in
her poffeffion They knew very little of the
hiftory of the gods, and nothing of the fabu-
lous metamorphofes: I fpeak of the Duke de
Valois; for as to the Duke de Montpenfier, he
abfolutely knows nothing of any fubject. The
Duke de Valois could not write a note of fix
lines that had common fenfe. They were both
unpolite to an extreme, giving no other an-
fwer than yes or no, or a nod of the head, and
never expreffing their thanks on any occafion.
They were alfo extremely tender and delicate,
fearful of the wind and the cold, and incapa-
ble not only of running and jumping, but even
of walking any tolerable pace, or for more
than half an hour. The Duke de Valois had
fo horrible a dread of dogs, that he turned
pale and thrieked whenever he faw one: it
was impoffible to take hold of a lap dog with-
out murdering it, and he was fure upon theſe
occafions either to burst into tears, or to fhew
ill humour. The Duke de Valois was fond of
filly piattle, and would tell lies fometimes for
his diverfion. I add to all this, the utmoſt in-
difference for the Duke and Duchefs de Char-
tres, never thinking, never caring about them,
cold and inanimate when they faw them, and
perfectly regardlefs whether they faw them at
all.
of the Princes.
239
.
all. Such were their bad qualities: now for
their good ones. They do not draw badly for
their age, and they write very well: the eldeſt
has fome knowledge of accounts: they are
both mild and obedient: fince I have had the
care of them they are already lefs unpolite, and
expreſs themselves in better terms. The Duke
de Valois can fee a dog without any figns of
fear; it may be caught without being choaked.
He alfo applies more clofely to his leffons.
6 March 1782.
I AM every day more fatisfied with the young
princes. The Duke de Valois has confidera-
ble force of mind and an aſtoniſhing memory.
I can as yet form no judgment of what may be
expected from the Duke de Montpenfier.
I have written for them both fome moral
principles, which are read to them twice a
week.
I read to them continually. I ftop fome-
times to aſk them queftions, or to make fome
reflection. The Duke de Valois always an-
fwers with propriety, and appears attentive
and interested.
I
8 April 1782.
CONTINUE to be charmed with the Duke
de Valois, though he has ftill fome very difa-
greeable manners and low expreffions, and oc-
caſionally confiderable vulgarity. At prefent
that
240
Journal of Education
that he is perfectly at his eaſe with me, he
vents without heſitation all the pretty conceits
and phraſes that have been taught him. For
example, he conftantly calls his backſide my
fifteen, and the ſtinging gnats that teafe us in
warm weather his kindredt. To exprefs the
having made a bad drawing he fays, I have
made a Splotch; to fignify that he has knocked
at a door, I have beat a march upon it, &c. All
this is highly ſeaſoned with the proverbs of
Sancho, and a loud and forced laugh, which
is not the leaſt diſagreeable of his manners.-
He is befide a great goffip, an admirer of old
women's tales, and frequently invents lies for
his diverfion. He has another quality which
very much difpleafes me, that of weeping with
a facility which I have never obſerved in any
other perfon. He is little fenfible of gratitude †,
becauſe he imagines that there are no cares,
no attentions, no refpect to which he is not
entitled, a fault that proceeds folely from the
defects of his early education, and not from
his natural difpofition; and I am convinced
that, had he been put into my hands a year
later, it would have been out of my power to
rectify all the injury that would have been
done him. He has ftrength of mind, felf-
eſteem, and a good heart; admirable fources
* Mon quinze.
+ The French appellation for this infect is coufin, which
feems to have been originally derived from the perfevering
importunity of the creature, the perfons tormented by it con
ceiving a fort of refemblance between this importunity and
that of poor relations, whofe petitions can with difficulty be
difmiffed by a man of any fortune. By habit the word has
come to loſe any ambiguity of meaning.
T.
+ Moſt affuredly I cannot now reproach him with fuch a
fault.
of
;
1
of the Princes.
241
t
'C
6
-6
<
of hope. Yesterday at the conclufion of the
leffons fome company called upon me. I with-
drew for a moment, and preſently returned
with Mademoiſelle de Chartres, who had in
her hand a baſket of little cakes. I faid to the
Duke de Valois, Though your Highness did
not give to your fifter any of the pears which
were fent you a few days fince, the is wil-
ling to divide with you her baſket of ſweet-
meats.' This accufation, made before ftran-
gers, threw him into confufion; he blufhed,
turned pale, ſtuttered, and received the cakes
without any marks of pleaſure. I aſked him
to-day if the prefent of Mademoifelle de
Chartres had not been agreeable to him?'
He answered me in the negative, and with tears
in his eyes.
You fee then,' faid I,
• that
our greateſt fatisfaction does not conſiſt in
receiving fuch things as we moft love, but in
the approbation and efteem of others; and
in future you will, I truft, feel how much
better it is to be thought obliging and gene-
- rous, than to eat by yourſelf all your pears
and ſweetmeats.'
.
22 April 1782.
A FEW days.fince I had a long converfation
with the princes. What I faid to them was
nearly as follows. I have hitherto employed
myfelf in examining and ftudying your minds:
< now that I know them, I fhall begin your
cducation, the object of which is to render
you virtuous and amiable, that you may be
happy and teloved. You may be fure of
VOL. I.
C my
M
2.42
Journal of Education
6
C
C
€
C
<
.
C
C
<
my attachment. Had you been placed in
the hands of a governor, he would have been
paid for inftructing you: I defpife money,
and have refufed to accept any kind of fala-
ry or recompenfe. A governor might have
afpired to honours, fuch as the blue ribbon,
to which I can have no pretenfion. Laſtly,
a governor would not have taken the pains
to inftruct you himself; all the cares of your
education would have devolved upon a ſub
governor. I have no fub-governor, I fhall
difcharge myfelf all its functions, and you
will owe your education to me alone. You
ought therefore to regard me not only as
your friend, but as your benefactrefs; for I
fhall beftow upon you what is of more value
than birth and fortune, which you owe to
accident: I fhall give you reafon, virtue,
agreeable and uſeful knowledge. The hap-
pinefs which I promife you hereafter, you
༣༦ may begin to enjoy at prefent: be obedient
and fincere, and you will always find me in-
dulgent; be attentive and induftrious, and
your ftudies will be pleafing to you, and be-
fide I fhall give you fome charming rewards.'
As I faid this the children threw themſelves
upon my neck, telling me that I was very good,
and that they had never received any rewards.
Thefe however I promiſe you; but I muſt tell
you at the fame time that there will be puniſh-
ments. If you behave well, I will reward you;
if ill, I will punish you.' They exclaimed that
this was juft. I know that you have not
r
.
<
6
،
.
• M. Lebrun had then only the title of Reader; it was
fome years after that the title of Sub-governor was conferred
upon him.
• been
of the Princes.
243
been accuſtomed to do penance, but neither
have rewards been bestowed upon you. I
• will imitate the conduct of God towards his
children, who puniſhes the wicked and re-
wards the good." The princes very cordially
affented to this agreement, and I told that their
firſt recompenfe fhould be a charming toy, a
little wooden temple, which might be taken
to pieces, and which they might pull down
and build up again for their diverfion as often
as they pleaſed. This recompenfe will begin
their courfe of architecture, which will be the
more inftructive and ufeful, as it will occupy
no part of the time confecrated to ftudy, and
as it will have the air of amusement.
I fhall here ſpeak of the perfons concerned
in their education. The Abbé Guyot, who
owed his place to my recommendation, I did
not at that time know. In future I will never
recommend a perfon upon the report of ano-
ther. With a very moderate underftanding
and fuperficial information, he has the misfor-
tune to think himfelf poffeffed of fuperior pe-
netration, and the most accurate knowledge
of the world. So far from this however he
has no more penetration than an infant, and is
perfectly ignorant of manners and mankind.
He is pedantic* and capricious, with a cold
heart, a narrow mind, and a barren imagina-
tion. He has high pretenfions, with flender
merit, little franknefs, and nothing amiable. I
believe him to have probity, that he is incapa-
ble of a difhoneft action, that he poffcffes pru-
* In the Journal of M. Lebrun, which contains many
not s of the Abbé's writing, the reader will be able to ju ge
of his pedantry.
M 2
dence
244
Journal of Education
7
dence and decency, that he is punctual and
circumfpect. He entertains for me the ſtrong-
eft averfion: thefe are his reafons. The fociety
of M. Bonnard was agreeable to him. M. Bon-
nard, attentive folely to his pleaſure, never
troubled himſelf about the princes, and every
thing devolved upon the Abbé, who loved to
dictate and domineer. Befide, the fummers
had been ſpent at Saint Cloud, a few miles
only from Paris, where he received and enter-
tained his friends: now we are to refide at
Saint Leu, a diftance of no less than five leagues
from the capital, where he will fee nobody,
and where he will be obliged to obferve a plan
of education marked out by a woman: all this
is lefs flattering and agreeable. The princes
alfo, who do not underftand a word of Latin,
had been accuſtomed to devote two hours and
a half to this ſtudy; whereas it is now to oc-
cupy but three quarters of an hour. Such are
my wrongs, which I fuppofe are not to be par-
doned. I pafs to the other perfonages.
M. Lebrun, who has juft been appointed by
me to his office, is a man of honefty, cold and
precife, full of good fenfe, and capable of ex-
ecuting with judgment fuch things as are pre-
fcribed to him. He has read but little, but
he has a tolerable knowledge of the English
language, and is a very good mathematician.
M. Prieur, firft valet de chambre, I found
already in the fervice of the princes; he had
poffeffed all the confidence of M. Bonnard,
and it was he in reality who had been fub-
governor. The princes have derived from him
the most corrupt pronunciation, and by his
little miſtaken cares he had rendered them ab-
furdly delicate. To him alfo is it to be afcribed,
that
of the Princes:
245*
that when they were first committed to my
care, they were fo timid and inanimate, that
they could neither run nor jump, that they
could neither endure the wind, nor the cold,
nor the rain, nor the fun, that they could not
prick a finger, or make a falfe ftep without
burfting into tears. They are ſtill far from
being hardy and alert; but they endeavour a
leaft to conquer their weaknefs; they begin to
run and jump, and the Duke de Montpenfier
can defcend a ftaircafe without holding by the
hand of M. de Prieur, wich is no inconfide-
rable point' gained. M. Prieur thinks me
greatly inferior to the chevalier Bonnard, who
in the country ufed to let him fit at table with
him and the Abbé. He was heard to call him
every day a dear creature; but he has none of
thefe honied words for me. His office is fimply
that of firft valet de chambre; but that his
feelings might not be too much hurt, I have af-
figned to him the care of hearing the princes
repeat what is given them to learn by heart *.
·
6 May 1782.
SINCE the 6th of March I have read with
my pupils the continuation of Boffuet's Uni-
vérfal Hiftory, and an accurate and detailed
life of Henry the fourth of France, in four
volumes, by Buri. I point out to the children.
•
* This complaifance was very much miſplaced, M. Prieur'
having a corrupt pronunciation, which had a confiderable
effect on that of the Duke de Montpenfier. I have bean
charged with exercifing a very defpotic authority; and I now
can only cenfure myſelf for having fhewn a number of little
acts of condefcenfion which I ought not to have shewn.
M 3
fuch
246 Journal of Education
me.
fuch faults of ftyle and bad expreffions as ftrike-
This Hiftory of Henry has made a con-
fiderable impreffion both on the heart and the
head of the Duke de Valois, to which I have:
contributed as much as poffible by my reflecti-
ons. I ſaw with pleafure that the child was
proud to think that the blood of the great
Henry flowed in his veins. The particulars of
his death drew a torrent of tears from his eyes..
A few days after, he afked me for a portrait of
this prince, and I gave both to him and his
brother a feal on which the head of Henry was
engraved. The Duke de Valois kiffed the
head.
(
<
I am delighted,' faid I to him, to:
fee you in this fentiment. Think often of
this great man, whofe memory will ever be
dear to Frenchmen, becauſe he was generous
and good, and whofe love of truth merited
a friend like Sully. Henry the Fourth had his
weakneffes; but I have proved to you, as we
read his hiftory, that they are to be attri-
buted folely to the defects of his education-
and the pernicious examples which he re-
'ceived in his early youth. You, who are de-.
'fcended from him, you, who will have a bet-
ter education than his could have been, will,
I hope, poffefs all his virtues and his great-
nefs of foul, without any of his weakneffes..
• Befide a king has one fure way of obtaining
our indulgence for his weakneffes; he has
only to make his fubje&is happy: but a prince
who is never to reign, does not experience
the fame lenity. Thus, as you will not be
a king, if you fhould acquire all the virtues:
' of Henry the Fourth, and fhould have at
the fame time his defects, you will not ob-
tain a fourth part of his glory; and theſe
<.
་
• defeAs
of the Princes.
247
まで
​defects will diſhonour and degrade you, as
you cannot expiate them by effecting the
happineſs of the nation."
From the moment that M. Lebrun entered
upon his office, I ordered him to write a mi-
nute journal of every thing which the princes
fhould fay and do when I was not prefent.-
The article of the day, accurately made, is re-
gularly brought to me; and the princes, fee-
ing me read every evening a detailed account
of their behaviour, have the continual fear of
this Journal before their eyes, which produces
aftoniſhing effects..
Saint Leu, 8 May 1782.
WE arrived this day at Saint Leu. The
1
Duke de Valois is ordered to take affes milk.
Though he has apparent ftrength, his health is
very far from being good, which I attribute to
the bad regimen of his early education, to the
frequent uſe of dainties, of rich paſtry, of a
profufion of cream with his coffee, and the
total want of exercife. His brother, naturally
more delicate, has an alarming degree of weak-
nefs, though they are both ftronger and have
better health than when they were firft com-
mitted to my care. I obferved alſo that their
apartment in the Palais Royal, being on a le-
vel with the ground, might be damp and un-
wholefome; the phyfician, M. Michel, was of
the fame opinion; and it is refolved that they
fhall have next winter a different apartment,
and not on the ground. floor. I have had a
pully fixed in their chamber, that they might:
draw weights proportioned to their strength,
M. 4:
an
3
248 Journal of Education
an exerciſe that is very falutary, and from
which Mademoifelle de Chartres and Pamela
derive the moſt aftonishing benefit. They have-
allo a little garden appropriated to themſelves,.
in which there is an artificial well, that they:
might exercife themfelves in drawing water:
their buckets have a double bottom for the-
purpofe of adding pieces of lead in proportion
as their ſtrength fhall increaſe. They have all
the neceſſary tools, and the garden will be cul-
tivated by themfelves under the infpection of a:
gardener. The gardener attends them like-
wife in their morning promenade, to teach
them the names of the different trees and
fhrubs. Thus will they learn agriculture dur.
ing their walks and recreations, and no time.
will be loft upon it. They have already one
of their palaces of architecture,, and they
know by heart almoft all the terms of this
fcience.
10 May 1782
I AM very much diffatisfied with Prieur. The
C
Princes are faultlefs while they are with me
becauſe they both fear and love me; but when.
they are out of my fight their behaviour is very
different. On thefe occafions Prieur is conti-
nually ſaying to them, I fhall tell your friend!'
Then follow prayers and entreaties on their
part, which are always concluded with a pro-
mife that he will be filent. Two inconvenien-
ces refult from this; the first that Prieur lofes
all
F
of the Prires.
249
all influence and weight with them, as they
know that he has engaged to tell me every
thing they fay and do; and fecondly that the
princes themselves are thus habituated to diffi-.
mulation, fince on their parts they have cqually
promiſed to conceal nothing from me.
I am
difgufted with this conduct, and if I cannot
perfuade Prieur to alter it, I will put a ftop
to it by difmiffing him. In the taſk Í have un-
dertaken, the difficulty is not to educate the
children, but to guide and direct the fubordi.
nate perfons who are neceffary inftruments in
the execution of our plan...
>
}
KHAV
+
20 May 1782....
HAVE commenced with the princes a
courfe of natural hiftory. We read the Dic-
tionary of Bomare, in a fyftematical order, by
means of a Key which I have made to it,
omitting fuch articles as are not adapted to
their age, or which decency will not permit
me to read. My daughter and four or five
other perfons attend theſe readings, which laft
for an hour and a quarter, and with which the
prnces are infinitely delighted.
}
27 Auguſt 1782,-
THE princes have the affiſtance of the only
•
mafter I am able to procure them here, a
joiner. They have all the implements of his
trade, and the eccupation is highly amufing
M 5:
b:
to
2.50
Journal of Education
1
to them. This, with their wooden palaces,
and fhuttlecock, conftitute their recreations.
in wet weather.
Among other things, I have compoſed for
the princes a compendium of moral and reli-
gious inftruction, confifting of feven pages,.
which is read to them three times a week.
་
The princes are much lefs unruly, are more
polite, and have particularly more feeling than
was apparent fome months fince. I may fay
with confidence that they have an infinitely
ſtronger ſenſe of the affection they owe to the
Duke and Duchefs de Chartres. They have
loft the chief defects of their pronuncia-.
tion, and their vulgar and abfurd manner
of fpeaking. They did not understand a word
of English; they can now ſpeak it with tolera-.
ble facility, and they, read profe charmingly..
They could neither run nor walk; at prefent:
they are not deficient in activity for their age,.
and they walk very well. The Duke de Va--
lois was afraid of every thing; he is now dif-
ciplined in hardinefs, and a dog has no ter--
rors. He was extremely addicted to lying*
and it is ſtill neceffary to keep a watch over
him in this refpect;, but he is almost entirely:
cured of the vice. He is still too talkative,
when at his eafe, but he is much lefs fo than
he was. He has acquired during his recrea-.
tions a perfect knowledge of the three orders:
* This vice was merely the effect of the filly prattle in
which he had been indulged, for it was only in his goffip
ings that he practifed it, and never to exculpate himſelf from
any accufation; in ſuch caſes he always confeffed his faults
with a candour and frankneſs that were a ftriking feature in
his character.
of
9.
|
of the Princess
251
of architecture, and a thoufand other little
things, as the terms of heraldry for example,
and he has fome idea of the different handi--
craft trades. He has more than a fmattering
of natural hiftory, a fcience of which he is
particularly fond. He has made an aſtoniſh-
ing progrefs in drawing, as well as in every
thing elſe that has been taught him, and has
derived fingular advantage from our readings.
In fhort, it is impoffible, I believe, for any
child to make a greater general proficiency in
the ſpace of a fingle year. In the winter I
accompanied him once a fortnight to the thea-
tre. On our return, I accustomed him to
write analyfes of the performances he had ſeen,
leaving a marginal fpace for my obfervations.
We alſo read the plays of Campiftron: the
prince, as we proceed, makes in his own :
apartment an analyſis of each play from me--
mory, which is regularly brought to me; and.
I then write my obfervations in the margin,
and explain them to him. In proportion as
his copy books are filled, I lay them by in re-
gular claffes.
•
}
30 January, 1783.
I GAVE to the princes, the day before yef--
terday, a new moral difquifition which I had
compoſed for them.
Education
252
Journal of Education
Education of Mademoiselle de Chartres*.
MADEMOISELLE de Chartres was only
twelve months old when fhe was confided to.
my care: the is now five years and a half.
She walks and runs with ſurpriſing agility, and.
a promenade of fix miles does not tire her.
She is mild, tractable, obedient, fenfible, and
fincere. Her fpirits are uniformly, cheerful,
and her application is aftoniſhing. She has
nothing of obftinacy or fullennefs, and exhi-,
bits every promife of a ftrong difcernment and
a rich underſtanding.. A native of England of
the fame age could not fpeak the language of:
that country with greater facility, or under--
ftand it better. She reads French currently.
on every kind of ſubject, and mufic perfectly
when written in the G cliff. She knows fome -
prayers in Engliſh, a little of the Catechifm,.
and a few fhort tales.. She begins to explain.
her hiftorical tapestry in a very pretty man-
ner, as well as her fire-fcreen of the hiftory
of France..
11 February 1783.
IN fhort, the whole expence of Mademoi-
felle d'Orleans has not exceeded, for the paſt
* She was ſtill called by this name, though her fifter, Ma-
demoiſelle d'Orleans, was dead.
year
1
of the Princes.
253
year, the fum of 3055 livres, 9 fulst, by: an
account, which I have in my poffeffion, kept
and drawn up by Mademoiſelle Nonnon. The
expences of the preceding years have been in
the fame proportion. A private perfon in good
circumstances. is fcarcely at lefs expence in a
convent, and certainly Mademoifelle de Char-
tres is as well dreffed as it is poffible to be at
her age.. To introduce this 'economy, I was
obliged, upon my arrival at Belle Chaffe, to
inform myſelf of the prices paid by. Madame
de Rochambault to the different tradeſmen
and work people, all of which I reduced by
at leaſt one half. For example, for making.
the robes of Mademoiſelle de Chartres, at
that time twenty months old, they paid fifteen
francs: a woman of the moſt ſplendid appear-
ance does not pay, for the making her robe
more than twelve francs. I reduced this price:
from fifteen francs to five livres, and the
charge for this article has never fince ex--
ceeded the average at which I fixed it. I ac-
knowledge indeed that there are a thoufand
reaſons why a. princefs, grown to woman's
eftate, fhould pay higher than another; but
I can fee none why the fhould pay dearer in
a period of infancy.
1
!
-
I return to the accounts of Mademoiſelle
Nonnon. They afford fufficient proof of her,
honefty, but they have neither the order nor
perfpicuity. that might be defred, nor are.
fufficiently pervaded with a fpirit of economy.
I have not yet been able to bring her to deli-
ver in her account on the fift day of each
month; a thouſand frivolous petexts and un-
taa7b
mearing
{
254
Journal of Education
at
meaning excufes perpetually fuggeft them-
felves. The unhappy incidents that have oc-
curred in the courfe of the laft year of her
life, have very excufably deprived her of the
perfect command of her underſtanding for a
period of more than eight months. She alfo
depends upon the particular indulgence I en--
tertain for her in confideration of her fer--
vices, her affection for the children of the
Duke and Duchefs de Chartres, and her un-
wearied efforts for their benefit. Hitherto
indeed I have yielded to this confideration,.
and nothing but the gratitude of which the
is entitled from Madame and Monfeigneur.
could have given me three years patience with:
her as to this and fome other omiffions:
length I have told her fairly that I expected:
the fame obedience from her as from the reft..
I determined to terrify her, as fhe has faith-
fully promiſed to adopt the method I had fo
often vainly prefcribed. This method is to:
deliver in her accounts on the firft of every
month, with the receipts of all the trades
people, the payment of whom is entruſted to ·
her. If in thefe accounts there be any uſeleſs
expences, I fhall comment upon them in the
margin, and forbid their being repeated; I
fhall then fign this account, which fhall be
carried to the treaſurer to be paid, and the
whole making a large volume, like the collec-
tion of the houfe-keeper's accounts, the ac--
counts fhall be feparately figned by the trea
furer, and the book depofited in my hands.
have forbidden Mademoiſelle Nonnon to
buy any toy or play-thing without my direc
tions. By thefe means the expence will be
confiderably reduced; though, fuch as it is,.
it.
of the Princes.
255
it might pafs for well-regulated, if we formed
our judgment by compariſon.
•
7
3 March 1783.
I ACCOMPANIED the princes a few days
fince to the houſe of a poor paralytic woman
of the name of Bufca, but who is called in.
the neighbourhood where fhe refides, op-
pofite S. Jacques du haut pas, the holy wo-
man. The princes wept at fight of her dif
trefs; and having heard the recital' of her
misfortunes, they gave her each a louis, and
promiſed her twelve francs a month during
her life. On coming away they voluntarily
aſked me to accompany them to the houſe of.
this poor woman once a year.
>
28 May 1783.
Education of the Count de Beaujollois..
As the Count. de Beaujollois is but three.
S
years of age,. I have conceived that it would.
not be practicable to place him with his bro-
thers. He is, I am told, ftubborn and un-
manageable, and always crying, or beating a
drum. This would be a perpetual fource of
diftration to them, and the more fo, as their
apartments, both here and at Paris, confift
only
"
256.
Journal of Education ·
only of a bed-chamber and an adjoining;
room. I have thought it neceffary there-
fore to form a feparate arrangement for his
education..
This arrangement occafions confiderable
mortification to the two elder princes; but I'
affect not to notice it, and proceed as if no-
thing was the matter.
14 June 1783.
THE Count de Beaujollois arrived this
morning: he is handfome and good-natured.
I have given to the Abbé Mariotini, a copy
of a paper of inftructions relative to this
child; the original, in my own hand-writing,
I have preſerved.
*
!
་
1.1 July 1783...
WE continue our little abridgment of na-
"
tural hiſtory, which we read for twenty mi-
nutes every evening: we devote alfo three
quarters of an hour to the ftudy of botany,
from fome freſh plants with which we are fup-
plied by an excellent botanift in the neigh- -
bourhood: we began to-day. This courfe.
will be compleated in about a month or five.
weeks, as the princes have been taught by me
already all the terms of this fcience.
THE
of the Princes.
257
14 July 1783.
THE Count de Beaujollois is headſtrong
and capricious; but he difplays aftoniſhing
marks of underftanding. He is cheerful, fond,
and has a thouſand graces.
I
9 September 1783.
HAVE this fummer been more diffatisfied
than ever with the Abbé Guyot. His petu-
lance, his caprice, and his perfonal enmity to
me have been fo apparent as to attract the
notice of every one.
He makes himſelf ridi-
culous in the houſe. I do not most affuredly
in any way contribute to it by my behaviour:
I never ſpeak of him, I treat him with unal-
terable politenefs, and am careful not to let
him perceive that I am corfcious of his fre-
quent rudeness to me, and how much he is
governed by fpleen. In other refpects, he
attends invariably to the Latin leffons, and
obferves with exa@nefs all, my injunctions re-
lative to the princes. As to M. Lebrun, he
appears to know at leaſt, if not to feel the
injuſtice of his conduct towards met. He
† Gratitude and friendſhip ought to have attached M. Le-
brun to me by inviolable ties. He had been fecretary to M.
de Sillery; I obtained him a place of five thousand livres
in the Palais Royal; and afterwards, conceiving that I
fhould poffefs in him a true friend, I affociated him in the
education of the princes. His place in the Palais Royal,
which he refigned, I procured for one of his brothers who
lived in Provence, and who holds it to this day. Not-
withſtanding all theſe fervices, M. Lebrun became my
enemy.
has
258
Journal of Education
All
has done every thing in his power to make me
forget a proceeding which nothing I think
can juftify. I am upon perfectly good terms
with him; but he may perceive, though I
have no rancour, that I have the remembrance
of his wrongs. My mother tells me that he
has ſpoken to her upon the fubje&t, that he
wept and difcovered great fenfibility.
this, as yet, makes no impreffion on me. I
am far from being vindictive, I abhor ma-
fice; I believe however that there are wrongs
which we ought not to forget, and which we
cannot forget without weakness. This want
of firmneſs I have a thousand times fallen into
in my youth; reflection has taught me the
danger and even abfurdity of it. A perfon
may reform his character, but he feldom or
ever totally changes it. I am certain that I
fhall never have a true confidence in M. Le--
brun, though it is poffible that he may one
day regain my friendſhip †.
15. September 1783..
WE began to-day a little courſe of en-
graved gems, from an immenfe collection of
cafts in fulphur, brought from Italy by the
Duke de Chartres for the uſe of the Duke
de Valois. This collection complete coft fifty-
louis: it is accompanied with a very minute
explanation in Italian, which we tranflate to
+ He not only regained my friendſhip, but my unbounded
confidence, which he has fince obliged me a ſecond time to
withdraw, and that for ever..
the
of the Princes.
259
the princes into French, myself one day, and
M. Laurent the next.
I have this day given a new difquifition
to be read to the princes, confiſting of three
pages of my writing.
I have been in the habit of dining regu-
larly at Belle Chaffe with Mademoiſelle de
Chartres at one o'clock, an hour which is not
at all convenient to me. But as Mademoiſelle
de Chartres completed her fixth year the 22d
of laft Auguft, it is time to introduce her
into company. She repeats to me every day
fome little moral tales in verfe. To-day fhe
took her firft leffon in drawing: fhe formed
an eye very fuccefsfully. To-morrow fhe will
take her firft leffon in writing.
age
20 September 1783..
THE Count de Beaujollois is the moft
charming child in the world. At fo carly an
I have never met with an inftance of ſa
ftrong a defire to oblige. He is mild, fenfi-
ble and fprightly. He has not the fmalleft
timidity, a feeling that I fhall be careful to
preferve in him. His temper is delightful,
and there is a grace in his deportment that is
truly original.
SINCE
260
Journal of Education
8. November 1783.
SINCE the day before yefterday the Duke
de Valois has been indifpofed by a fever-
which has interrupted our leffons. M. Saif-
fert fays that great care muft be taken to cool.
his blood. The high living, as crifp almonds,›
paftry, coffee with cream, in which he was
indulged in his infancy, and the want of exer-
cife till he was put into my hands, have very
much injured his conftitution.
2 December 178367-
M. SAIFFERT has informed me that the
1
I
liver of the Duke de Valois is affected, that
continual exercife is neceffary, and that cloſe
application will be prejudicial to him.
have therefore contrived that he fhould walk'
up and down. my chamber during the whole
time that he takes his leffons with me. This
muſt unavoidably be injurious to his education,
and is the more to be lamented as he has an
excellent memory, and the moft promifing
talents. With good health, he would have
been a prodigy at the age of fifteen *.
* I fuccceded at laft in perfectly establishing his health."
But the attention it required was a confiderable impediment
■ his ſtudies during the firſt four years of his education.
Mademai felle...
of the Princes.
2 bor
Mademoifelle.
SHE is perfect in reading; fhe begins to
write; fhe draws eyes and other features of
the human face. She knows her catechifm in
Engliſh. She can repeat three or four French
and two English tales, in verfe. I have given
her her first leffons in French and Roman hif-
tory, and in mythology. Mademoiſelle is leís
timid, and uniformly mild and affiduous; but
I perceive in her a ſtrong inclination to violate
truth, and invent little idle ftories. She has
learned this folely from Mademoiſelle Non-
non, who, with a thouſand valuable qualities,
is ftrangely addicted to falfehood, which is a
fource of very great regret to me, as I am
fingularly fond of Nonnon. I cannot conceive
how, with fo many virtues, it is poffible to
•poffefs ſo mean a vice. But the habit is rooted
in her. If I perceive that it continues to in-
fluence the mind of Mademoifelle, I fhall think
myſelf obliged to take a ſtep that will be pain-
ful to me beyond expreffion.
4
LO
8 June 1784.
"THE princes continue to cultivate their
-gardens, and they take every day an Engliſh
walk *.
* A walk with fuch perfons only as fpoke Engliſh, and
during which they were not allowed to converfe in any other
language.
A few
262
Journal of Education
A few days ago I gave them their firſt leſſons
in Italian, as they now underſtand Engliſh
well enough to begin this language. At pre-
fent nobody inftructs them but myſelf. When
we have cleared the way a little, I fhall con-
ſign them to the Abbé Mariotini; but I am
defirous of faving them the tedioufnefs of the
first rudiments, as I conceive that I have a
happy method for that purpoſe.
The Duke de Valois, by the exprefs order
of Monfeigneur, has begun to ride on horfe
back, and already rides tolerably well. The
other day he rode four leagues, and was not
at all fatigued in the evening. His age is ten
years and a half; and the Duke de Chartres,
his father, did not begin to ride till the age of
thirteen: his fon will, at that age, be a com-
plete horſeman*.
2 July 1784.
THE Duke de Chartres has introduced the
moſt economical reforms in his expenditure,
with a view to liquidate his debts. He has
only referved for himſelf a hundred thouſand
francs; and he gives a hundred to his chil-
dren, and a hundred and fifty to the Duchefs
de Chartres.
* M. de Beaujollois, at the fame age, rode last year twenty
leagues on horfeback in one day without being fatigued. But
I had the care of his infancy from the time of his being three
years old.
↑ 41601.
1
Since
of the Princes.
263
Since my return from Saint Leu I have
rifen every morning at nine o'clock at lateſt,
Mademoiſelle requiring now my moſt affidu-
ous care, particularly as I find that Nonnon
is continually giving her fweetmeats, cream,
and other dainties, in defiance of my expreſs
prohibition. Mademoiſelle is by this means
grown exceedingly thin. I have lately accuf
tomed myſelf to paſs half the day with her;
but as this is not fufficient, I will in future
never permit her to be out of my fight. As
foon as the awakes I fend to her Aimée, upon
whom I have the most perfect dependance,
and Pamela, who give her her breakfaſt,
which, by order of the phyſicians, is rye-
bread and milk without fugar.
To prevent any improper indulgence on
the part of Mademoiſelle Nonnon, Aimée
and Pamela will fay with her till my hour of
awaking, and he then comes into my cham-
ber and ſtudies till eleven when fhe goes out
every day to walk with Pamela and Aimée.
Afterwards fhe returns to my apartment till
dinner: we then dine together, and after din-
ncr fhe and Pamela walk again. In the af-
ternoon the comes to me and takes her leffon
of Engliſh, and I give her myfelf her after-
noon's refreſhment. The time of her bro-
ther's leffons fhe fpends with Aimée and Pa-
mela in my clofet; at half after eight we fup
together, and I then fee her to bed.
18 December 1784.
THIS day the ears of Mademoiſelle were
bored, when fhe not only avoided crying
out,
264
Journal of Education
out, but did not even make the leaft wry face,
which at her age is a proof of courage.
31 December 1784.
THE Count de Beaujollois gives hopes of
an underſtanding equal to the fweetness of
his difpofition. He is more obedient, more
attentive to his little leffons, and reafon and
friendſhip have already the greatest power over
him.
Mademoiſelle has made confiderable proff-
ciency. She has learned by heart this year a
hundred verſes, and an abridgment of the
hiftory of France. She reads, explains and
ſpeaks Engliſh admirably. She has acquired
a general idea of geography. Her improve-
ment in drawing is apparent. Her character
is precifely what one could with: fenfible,
grateful, generous, mild, equal, perfevering;
ſhe has not the fhadow of a fault; I have
never ſeen an inftance in her of peevifhneſs
or impatience; fhe is incapable of the flight-
eft impulfe of envy or jealoufy; and at the
fame time is alive to emulation. To all this
may add the utmoſt cheerfulneſs and viva-
city, though I have never ſeen a child fo little
volatile and unfteady. She has gained pro-
digiously in every fpecies of knowledge within
the paſt year. Every Sunday, for the laſt
eight months, fhe has gone with me to maſs;
fhe knows her catechifm perfectly; and at
Eafter fhe fhall go to confeffion.
I
TO
of the Princes.
265
•
18 January 1785.
To attach the children to the Duchefs de
Chartres, I have propofed their dining with
her every Monday, which fhe approves. She
comes for Mademoifelle, and brings her back
with the princes at a quarter before four. I
fhall attend in future their dancing leffons:
my reaſon is that they are not yet able to
dance a country-dance. They fhall alſo
draw no more on Sundays in their own
apartments; but they fhall be brought to
me, and I will fuperintend them.
1 May 1785.
THE children have begun to ftudy Medi-
cine; the mode of inftruction being that of
ſhewing them drugs ticketed with a fhort ac-
count of their virtues, &c.
For a fortnight paft I have taken the princes
about three mornings in the week to ſee fome
manufactories and cabinets. I write but little
in this book, having other Journals *, in «
which I give an account of every thing we ſee
that is worthy of notice. I accustom the
Duke de Valois to write fimilar accounts,
and befides this he compofes occafionally.
upon fome fubject which I propofe to him.
* I have two Journals of this nature written with my own
hand, and which confift of two large volumes, one containing
a deſcription of the monuments, cabinets, and paintings that
we have ſeen at Paris; the other an account of all the manu-
factories of the kingdom, and which we examined at Paris
and during our travels,
VOL. I.
N
I fhall
266
.
Journal of Education,
I fhall collect his compofitions at the end of
every year, and form them into a volume, with
my remarks.
Saint Leu, 28 May 1785.
THE princes have begun a courfe of che-
mistry, which they ftudy three times a week.
They went through the fame courſe laſt year,
which I ftudied with them ‡.
The eldeſt prince, in confequence of the
death of the Duke d'Orleans, has taken the
title of the Duke de Chartres, and hereafter
I fhall call him by no other name.
They have repeated this courfe three times, and have
read befide a courfe of natural philofophy.
JOURNAL
( 267 )
JOURNAL OF THE EDUCATION OF
THE PRINCES by M. Lebrun, from the
5th of Fanuary 1782: interſperfed with Notes
by Madame de Sillery, and the Abbé Guyot.
Preliminary inftructions given me by the Coun-
tefs de Genlis, 5 January 1782.
с
C
PRIVATE converfation with the Abbé
Guyot; to requeft his friendſhip, civility,
&c.; to beg of him general information
with regard to every thing that concerns
the princes, not forgetting the cuftoms that
have hitherto been followed; and after this
converfation to write down the principal
heads, to affift my memory.
You will let the Abbé do the honours of
the apartment, and fupply his place in his
• abfence.
C
• You will reprove the princes equally
before the Abbé Guyot, as in his abfence.
That you may be immediately ufeful, it is
my defire that you fhould have the fole in-
ftruction of the princes in mathematics, and
that M. F**** be difmiffed: on this
C point you will receive orders from Mon
feigneur.
€
C
N 2
Mr
268
Journal of Education
Mr. Rofe, the mufic mafter, muft alfo be
difmiffed. I fhall mention this to the Ab-
bé; remind me of it *.
• I wish you to be always in the apartment,
except at the hours in which the Abbé gives
• his leffors.
<
• The public account which the princes have
been accuſtomed to give of their fins †, I fup-
prefs: you will be mindful of this injunction.
As a favour I requeft you to make a Jour-
<nal at two different periods in the day; the
<first during the Abbé's leffons in the af.
eternoon, and the fecond before you go to
• bed. In this Journal you will write every
thing the princes fay or do that is at all re-
markable, whether it be good or bad, every
thing you fay or do yourſelf refpe&ting
them, and every thing worthy of obfervati-
on that is faid by others. The greateft proof
of confidence I can give you is the charging
you with this Journal; it requires all your
veracity, and all the foundness of judgment
which I know you to poffefs. In a work of
c
،
C
* A preceptor, deftiture of taſte for the arts and ignorant
of muſic, had thought proper to give his two pupils, princes
of the blood royal, a mufic and finging mafter, with whom
they were employed an hour and a half every day. And a
woman, who was paffionately fond of mufic, and had all
her life cultivated this delightful art, not without fuccefs,
deemed this ſtudy much too frivolous for men, and difmiffed
the mufic maſter.
†M. Bonnard and the Abbé Guyot had taken it into their
heads to make the young princes, the laſt day of every week,
onfefs their fins, in the prefence of all the perfons concern-
ed in their education, and of the principal domeftics, and
at the confeffion of every fin, theſe tutors gave them a lec-
tare. It will be feen that the Abbé carefully retained his
talte for fermonising.
this
I
of the Princes.
269
C
this nature, ftyle demands no attention; ac-
curacy and truth are the principal requi-
fites; and above all things be not afraid of
being too minute: minutenefs is neceffary
when we fpeak of children of the age of
our pupils. By writing at two different pe-
riods, your Journal will be the more faith-
• fuk
C
*
C
&
I fay nothing to you at prefent of what I
could with you to teach the princes, befide
Geometry, becauſe it is firft neceffary-L
fhould be informed what knowledge they
have acquired.
C
་
The following are the principal things for
• which you are to reprove them: for exagge-
ration and the ufe of outrèe expreffions, as
horrible, abominable, increditie; be attentive
alſo that they are not guilty of repetitions,
and that they do not acquire habitual phrafes.
Reprove them for fpeaking too loud, or
between their teeth. Correct the Duke de
• Valois of his habit of faying plain yes or no,
or of anfwering only with a nod of the head.
Do not fuffer, on their part, the flighteſt
degree of laughter when you reprove them.
Let the tone of your reproof te mild, but
extremely ferious.
<
Accuftom them to be polite to every one,
and complaifant to cach other.
← Never overlook, in them, a fingle pro-
verbial expreffion, or mode of fpeaking that
is not perfectly clear and fimple; as for in-
ftance when they fay, I have beat a march up-
on the door, inftead of I have knocked at
it; I have made a plotch, for I have drawn
• badly,
N 3
<
270
Journal of Education
J
"
badly, or my drawing is good for nothing
he is pot bellied, for he is difproportionably
fat. Theſe examples may fuffice: you will
be careful not to país over any thing of this
• kind.
In their recreations endeavour to make
them jump, and let them take as much
exercife as poffible. Accuftom them alfo to
run, and for that purpoſe run with them,
giving them the advantage of fome diftance.
At table let them help themſelves: let them
• have knives with blunt points: let them cut
their own meat: let the eldeft cut his own
bread, &c.
6
"
C
I entreat you to keep a dog, and to be
careful that it is always with them. You
need not ſay that it is to accuftom the Duke
de Valois, who is afraid of dogs, to the
fight of them, but fimply that you are fond
of dogs. Appear ſurpriſed at his timidity;
laugh at it, and add, that you are fure a
• moment's reflection will make him bluſh at
fuch weakness. As the dog will be always
in the room, you may accuftom the Duke
to it by degres, without his perceiving that
your intention is to cure him of his folly;
for you should feem to take it for granted.
that, from the few words you have faid,
he is no longer afraid of a dog. I hereby
furnifh you with means of making him
courageous.
C
5
The princes are to be punished for two
things only, of which I fhall appriſe the Ab-
ré Guyot: for intentional disobedience, and a
falfehood perfifted in. Theſe faults muſt never
be overlooked. The puniſhments fhall be,
for the offender to dine without any other
6 com-
of the Princes.
271
<
company than that of the perfon who puniſh-
es him. After dinner he fhall take his recre-
ation without his brother; and fhall be plac-
ed in a cloſet, into which no perfon fhall be
fuffered to enter. I prohibit all the books
hey read at prefent, and order that they may
never know where to get them. I fhall tell
the Abbé Guyot to give them, till farther or-
ders, the following: Abbé Millot's Hiftori-
cel Abridgments; Plays and Dialogues for
Children, by Madame de la Fitte, in 2 vo-
lumes; Robinfon Crufoc; The Moral Play-
thing (Les Hochets Morata), or Tales in
• Verfe, by M. Monget. When they have
read this laft book, I wiſh them to learn two
of the tales by heart, the Prince and the
Menial (le Prince & le Frotteur), and that
entitled Theophilus.
C
<
Twice a day you must read with them;
at one time the Hiftorical Abridgments, at
the other, fome one of the works I have
juft enumerated; and endeavour to make.
them reflect on what they read.'-
<
Irequeft you to read for your own im-
provement, Emile; the Education of a Prince,
by the Abbé Dugnet; and Locke in Engliſh.-
• You will fhew this paper to Monfeigneur;
afterwards copy it, and return me the origi-
‹ nai ||.''
I was prefented to the princes by Monfeig-
neur, who left me immediately to affume the
Theſe inſtructions I gave to M. Lebrun, becaufe he
was to spend fome days with the princes at Paris without
me. I was at that time at Saint Cloud with Mademoi-
felle d'Orleans; her brothers were not brought to me till
feveral days after.
N 4
duties
272
Journal of Education
duties of my office t. I found with them the
Abbé Guyot, with whom I had the converfa-
tion recommended to me by my inſtructions..
He treated me with great civility; but it was;
cafy to perceive how much he was chagrined
by the changes that had taken place, and par-
ticularly his regret at having loft the chevalier
de Bonnard, whom he highly extolled to mc.
He expreffed his hopes that we fhould live up-
on good terms with each other; and I promif
ed, on my part, to do every thing in my power
to eſtabliſh a mutual confidence and cordia-
lity; without which the task of education we
had undertaken could not but prove abortive.
I requested of him general information re-
lative to every thing that concerned the princes.
The Abbé ſaid a great deal to me upon the ſub-
ject, but in a defultory way, and wrote a note,
in which he gave Madame de Genlis an ac-
count of the manner of ſpending every hour
in the day. Believing that this would nearly
anſwer her intentions, I was not preffing to
fee the note, as I fhall be informed of its con-
tents as foon as is neceffary, according to the
plan that Madame de Genlis has laid down.
During the four or five firft days of my being
in my office, I faw but little of the Abbé, who
had affairs to attend to previous to his fetting
off for Saint Cloud. He left me to do the ho-
nours of the apartment, of which, no doubt,
I fhould have acquitted myfelf aukwardly-
enough; but fortunately I faw fcarcely any
body.
+ It is M. Lebrun who now fpeaks, after having recited
the copy of my inftructions.
I had
of the Princes.
273
Y
I had no dog, Monseigneur having promif-
ed, by the time the princes returned to Saint
Cloud, to give me one that fhould be gentle
and familiar: but in a walk which they took
with me and M. de Rochemont, I had an
opportunity of obferving how much the Duke
de Valois was afraid of this animal, and I ex-
preffed to him my aftonishment. I called the
little dog, and patted it on the head; and,
though the Duke always kept a little on one
fide to avoid it, he did not cry out, nor did
we quicken our pace. I hope that he will be
eured of this fear. We took a few turns in
the Bois de Boulogne: I perceived that the
Duke de Valois walked with his knees bent,
for which I reproved him: but this habit will
not be cafily corrected; it was contracted im-
perceptibly, by wearing the failor's drefs, of
which M. Veftris had already complained.
Madame de Genlis has written to me upon
this fubject a letter, No. 1. which I fhall keep,
as well as every other that relates to the edu-
cation of the princes. The taylor has been
directed to remedy, as far as poffible, the in-
convenience of the failor's drefs.
瞬
​On the 15th of January the Countess or-
dered me to get a pully fixed in the hall where
the princes ftudy, for them to draw up weights:
this was executed immediately, and a kind of
femicircular barricado erected on the ground,
that there might be no danger of the weights
falling on their heads or that of any other
perfon.
N5
AFTER
274
Journal of Education
Wednesday, 6 February 1782.
AFTER the first reading, after dinner, the
two princes were standing engaged in conver-
fation with me: the eldest was defirous of
fitting in his brother's chair, which the latter
would not permit: in an ill humoured man-
ner he obliged him to rife, and fat down.
himself. The Duke de Valois, without per-
fifting, gave him his feat, obferving at the
ſame time. I am certain M. Lebrun will
not be pleased with this.' The Duke de
Montpenfier looked at me: I had laid afide
the chearful, countenance I wore an inftant
before; but before I had time to open my.
mouth, he rofe and ran in tears to embrace
his brother. This action which was perfectly
fpontaneous, moved me: I embraced him,
Taying, Your highness has committed a
fault, you have acknowledged it, and you
have as far as poffible made reparation :
hope fuch a circumstance will never hap-
pen again.' He made no reply, but re-
fumed his tranquility, and we continued our·
converfation as before.
I cannot avoid relating here a very extra-
ordinary action of Mademoiſelle de Char-
relative to her fifter Mademoiselle.
d'Orleans.
res
Now Mademoifëlle d'Orleans. Her fifter, who bore
that name, died that day: the other only knew fhe was ill,
and no play could divert her mind from the idea. It is
difficule
?
of the Princes.
275
>
:
d'Orleans. She was playing at a game of
forfeits it fell to her lot in one inftance to
decide what fhould be done for the recovery
of a pledge, when, without being prompted
by any one, the ordered the perfon to whom
it belonged to pray to God for her fifter
d'Orleans. The impreffion fuch an-idea, in
a child four years old, made on all prefent,
may eafily be conceived. For myſelf I know
that I fhall not forget it as long as I live.
1
مي
Mademoiſelle d'Orleans died this day be--
tween four and five o'clock. ·
Thurſday, 7 February 1782,
AGREEABLY to the orders I received yef-
terday evening from Monfeigneur, and from
Madame de Genlis, to inform the young prin-
ces this morning of the death of their fifter,
I directed M. Prieur to tell them of it before
their dinner, and to prepare them previously,
by faying that he was extremely ill. He exe
cuted the order given him, and the princes
were acquainted with her death before they
were out of bed: the intelligence affected them;
the younger prince wept, and the elder was
dejected for fome minutes. They were defired
not to fpeak of this event either to Madam
·
difficult to believe that a child four years old could for the
pace of two years retain a lively and profound grief for
this lofs: but that he did fo every one about her can wit
nefs. The circumftance of the forfeit is mentioned by I.
Lebrun, becauſe I was at that time at Paris; for I no
fooner learned the dangerous fituation of a child fo dear to
me, than I departed from Saint Cloud, that might nurſe ---
and take care of her,
L
Genti
276
Journal of Education
Genlis or their fifter: this they promiſed, and
have kept their word. It even appeared that
the impreffion did not remain long, as they
engaged in play, with fomewhat lefs noife, it
is true, than ufual, but feemingly with all their
hearts t
Friday, 8 February 1782.
THIS morning, upon entering the apart-
ment of the princes, I faw the eldeft ftroking
a dog belonging to one of the valets de cham-
bre: thus does his fear diminiſh, and I truſt
we ſhall reconcile him to animals of this fpecies,
however large may be their fize.
Wednesday, 13 February 1782.
THE Abbé and I have expreffed our obli-
gations to the Countefs for the meaſures fhe has
taken that we may have the uſe of the carriage
to pay fome vifits, while the princes are at
Belle Chaffe.
Wednesday, 27 February 1782..
ACCOMPANIED the Duke de Valois to
the apartment of Madame de Genlis, where
be faid a thing that does him honour, and which
Having been hitherto educated feparately, they fcarcely
knew their fifters, and confequently had no love for them.
But to the education that has united them all are they now
indebted for the tendernefs they mutually feel for each other,
a tenderneſs that will be the charm of their lives.
I cannot
of the Princes.
277
I cannot avoid relating. The Countess read to
him an extract from the Life of the Duke of
Burgundy, who, though he died at the age of
nine years and a half, merited, by his conduct
and the good qualities of which he gave pro-
mife, the attention of mankind, and that his
actions ſhould be recorded. The young prince
was ſtruck with the picture which this extract
exhibited, and bursting into tears, he ſaid to
Madame de Genlis, Nothing yet can be recorded
of me.
Thursday, 28 February 1782.
A
LETTER in the Journal de Paris, on the-
fubject of dogs which fome people permit to
run before their carriages at Paris, where it
may occafion accidents, led us to talk of this
trange caprice, which men of fenfe neither
can. nor ought to allow themſelves..
Saturday, 9 March 1782.
THE English leflon was interrupted to-day,
in order to go to the apartment of the Duke
de Chartres, where the Duke de Valois en-
tered with a dog under his arm. Monfeigneur
was gone; but on his return he found the two
princes playing with Captain and Collette. Col-
lette had only been given to the princes at eight
'clock in the morning. Monfeigneur was
Now M. d'Orleans.
highly
278
Journal of Education
highly pleafed, and embraced his eldeſt fon fe-
veral times.t.
The Duke de Valois ſeemed to derive fatisfac-
tion from the return of his Papa's favour. In
going up ſtairs I heard the younger prince fay
to M. Prieur- Provided my brother plays fami-
liarly with Captain! He was mortified; buɛ ·
they came down well pleafed.
Saturday, 13 April 1782.
1
DURING the fitting of the Duke de Va-
lois for his picture, he requested his brother to
read to him fome of the Select Hiftories, that
he might not be tired: the younger refufed
upon the pretence that he ſhould in that cafe
be tired himself: the Duke urged him to it fevé-
ral times without being able to prevail; upon
which I faid' to the Duke de Valois; that I
would myſelf read to him what he defired, fince
his brother had not the complaifance, which
one would naturally have expected from him
without fo many entreaties. I added, that it
appeared to me very extraordinary that the
Duke de Montpenfier fhould be tired with the
Select Hiftories, as they were by no means cál-
culated to produce fuch an effect, and that he
deferved in future whenever he fhould ask any
favour to meet in like manner with a refuſal.
The child began to cry, or at leaſt pretended
+ Becauſe he appeared to be cured of the ſtrange fears of
dogs which he had acquired by means of an improper educa
tion.
to
of the Princes.
279
to do fo: I faid, that it was certainly be-
cauſe he felt himſelf in the wrong, and I
read till the fitting of the Duke de Valois
was at an end.
When it came to the turn of the Duke de
Montpenfier to fit, I hut the book: but I
faw with extreme pleaſure, that the Duke de
Valois, of himfelf, and without the fmalleft
hint from me, aſked him what he would wifh
to have read. The child mentioned the book,
and his brother read. I faid to him, with an
air of fatisfaction, that it was by acting as he
had juſt done, that we made others repent their
want of civility and complaifance. I continu-
ed to treat the Duke de Montpenfier with cold-
nefs till the time of our walk..
I ought not to forget, that, in confequence
of my having done feveral little things which
the Duke de Valois afked of me relative to his
play-things, I obferved that he affumed the tone
of demanding fuch fervices. I determined to
put a stop to this, and in the evening I had an
opportunity of making him feel that this was
not the way to fucceed with me. He faid to
me with an air of authority, M. Lebrun, you
must make me akey.tc-morrow morning. No,
fir, I replied, I fhall do no fuch thing; and I
entreat you to remember that in this mode of
afking you will never obtain any thing from
me, or from any perfon clfe who is not under
your commands, and even thoſe who are will
ferve you with more zeal, punctuality and
readiness, if you aik them with politeness and
civility,
·
DURING
230 Journal of Education
Monday, 13 May 1782.
DURING the time of recreation, the Duke
de Valois, who is to perform to-morrow the
part of Vafco de Gama, ftudied the ſhort
fpeech he is to make to the Samorin of Cali-
cut *.
1
Sunday, 23 June 1782,
On returning from mafs, the Duke de Va-
lois merited from the Countefs at dinner the
remiffion of three remaining days of penance.
She had forgotten his fituation, and was di-
viding fome ſtrawberries between the two prin-
ces and Mademoifelle; though there was com-
pany at dinner, he ſaid to his friend, that fhe
need only divide them into two portions, as
he was doing penance. She was pleafed with
the honefty of the proceeding, and pardoned
him, praiſing him at the fame time for what
he had juft done.
AF
Friday, 26 July 1782.
FTER the leffon, the Countefs having re-
lated the hiftory of Madame de Salency's
* I had contrived to make them act in the gardens, dur-
ing their walks, fome interefting paffages taken from De la
Harpe's Abridgment of the Hiftory of Voyages. The parts
were performed by themfelves and the reft of the family.
The ſcene being a large garden in the Engliſh ſtyle, a river
and boats repreſented the fea and fhips, arbours, haftily con-
structed by the children, the huts of favages; and in this
manner we acted feveral voyages; among others thoſe of
Kafco, Snelgrave, de Brue, &c.
femme
4
1
of the Princes.
2·8.1
femme de chambre, the Duke de Valois was
affected by it, and faid, he was forry that he
was not older. The Counteſs aſked him why:
he replied, that, if he were his own mafter,
he would beſtow a penfion on that charitable
and virtuous girl. The Countefs told him
that, if he were to afk his papa, the penfion
would perhaps be granted. He ran down
inftantly, made the requeſt and obtained it;
and the Duke de Chartres was fo touched
with this mark of benevolence that he min-
gled his tears with thofe of his fon. The
Duke de Valois was extolled for his fenfibi-
Ety, and the praifes he received will unquef-
tionably produce on his pure and artless
mind, an impreffion that will not foon be
effaced
Friday, 23 August 1782.
IN our morning walk the Duke de Valois
fixed to different trees in the garden labels
given him by the gardener without telling him
to which they belonged; he miftook in fome
inftances, but he fucceeded in a great num-
ber. Thefe cards would be very ferviceable
to perſons learning the various kinds of trees,
if the wind or the rain did not foon deftroy
them; they fhould be made of tin, and the
names painted in black: this may be practifed
next year.
This incident I have related at length in the Tales of
the Caſtle, without naming the young prince. See the
Hiſtory of Marianne Rambour (vol. i. p. 137, third edition.)
The Duke de Valois obtained from bis father a penfion of
fix hundred livres.
AT
28-2
Fournal of Education
ܬ݂ܳܐ
Friday, 11 October 1782.
AT half after eleven we fet off for Belle
Chaffe, without acquainting the princes with
the object we had in view, that the Countess
might have the pleasure of informing them
herfelf, which he did on the road. The
princes thanked her with careffes. We en-
tered the Hôtel de la Force *, and I obferved
with pleaſure in the young princes an air of
ferioufnefs and fenfibility which proved the
goodness of their hearts. We vifited the cells
of fifteen prifoners, whom we fet at liberty;
and the princes, before they were releafed,
gave them a louis each, for the fupport of
their families. We were all affected by the
refpectful manner in which thefe poor un-
happy beings were regarded by the princes.
We had fet down the Countess at Belle
Chaffe, and on our return
and on our return to the Palais
Royal, the converfation turned upon the ac-
tion that had juft paffed, which afforded me
an opportunity of introducing a reflection
upon the flight inftance of haftiness of teni-
per difplayed yesterday evening by the Duke
de Valois. I faid to him: Your Highnefs
has juſt done a good action, and made a
number of beings happy. They were ftran-
gers to you with how much greater reafon
may thofe about you expect you to contri-
bute to their happiness by the gentlene
and civility of your language and depor₫~
ment? If you faffer yourfelf to be hafty,
remember that, though the Duke of Bur
A fort of Bridewell. T.
gundy
of the Princes.
283
gundy was equally fo, he became the moſt
gentle and affable child in the world.' The
prince fhed a few tears; we embraced, and
no more was faid.
Tueſday, 29 October 1782.
I TOLD the Duke de Valois, that he might
read in Don Quixotte. This occafioned a
flight degree of altercation between the two
brothers. The younger was in the wrong:
I defired the Duke de Valois to proceed, and
let his brother pout by himſelf in the Petite
Maifon *. He remained there, began to cry,
and, after half a quarter of an hour, his bro-
ther went to him and returned to tell me,
that he (the Duke de Montpenfier) was ex-
tremely forry, and very much wifhed I would
lay afide the air of feverity I had affumed,
I reprefented to him the impropriety of the
ill humour he continually displayed on the
leaft contradiction: he embraced the Duke
de Valois, who was charmed to fee harmony
re-eſtabliſhed.
Friday, 1 November 1782.
AT ten o'clock, when the Abbé was about
to explain the Catechifm, and while I was
gone to my own apartment, a trifling difpute
aroſe reſpecting a ſtone to be placed in the
temple which the princes were re-building:
it was interrupted by their being called to
* A fmall clofet with glafs windows which they had in
their chamber, and which they called by this name.
their
284 Journal of Education.
their leffon, and during the leffon the Duke de
Valois requeſted the Abbé's permiffion to whif
per fomething to his brother. He was to con-
fefs after mals, and the Abté readily gueffed
what he wanted to fay, and gave him leave.
He had no fooner faid a few words in his ear,
than the little one ardently embraced his bro-
ther, and they both burst into tears. The
Abbé embraced this opportunity of reminding
them of their little quarrels, which frequently
made them uneafy, and exhorted them to be
more indulgent and accommodating to each
other: they mutually acknowledged their
fault, and we faw with pleafure the happy ef-
fect it produced.
Thursday, 23 January 1783.
RETURNING
ETURNING at a quarter before twelve
from a promenade with the Count de Beaujol-
lois and his brother, the poftillion rode againſt
a man about fixty years of age, tolerably cor-
pulent, by which he was thrown down: fortu-
nately the coachman ftopped his horfes in time,
and the man was not hurt. He was lifted up
by the footmen, and conducted into a houfe:
we remained till we were fure that he had re-
ceived no injury. The two princes appeared
to feel properly on the occafion.
་
"
Note of Madame de Genlis:
← TWELVE livres fhould have been given
to the man, if he were a perfon whom fuch
an offer would not affront; if he were above
Receiving money, his addrefs fhould have
• been.
1
}
of the Princes.
285
<
‹ been procured, and enquiries made the next
day in the name of the princes refpecting his
health the princes ought alfo to have quit-
ted their carriage, and fhould have gone
themfelves into the houſe, to fee in what
ſtate the man was."
'
Wednesday, 13 March 1783.
AT a quarter after fix we examined the en-
gravings given by the Duke de Penthièvre,
and read an account of the lives of the great
Condé, of the Regent, the Dauphin, and
Louis XV. When we had finifhed our read-
ing, the Duke de Valois, pointing to the
Dictionary of Illuftrious Men, faid that he
would ſo act as to have a place in that book.
We applauded his virtuous defire.
7
A
Tuesday, 13 May 1783.
LETTER was brought me from a wo-
man, complaining that he had been thrown
down by the carriage of the princes this morn-
ing, and that ſhe was confined to her bed by
the bruifes fhe had received. We knew no-
thing of the accident, as the coachman did
not ftop; and I have reprimanded the foot-
men for not informing us of it at the time,
that affiftance might have been given. In an-
fwer to the woman's letter, I fent word that
fome per fhould call on her according to
the addrefs fhe had indicated. M. de Saint
Martin
286
Journal of Education
Martin not being at home when the letter
was brought, we have requeſted him to vifit
her early to-morrow morning; and on his
return, M. Prieur will carry her affiftance
and compenfation as may be found juft.
C
<
C
Note of Madame de Genlis.
The
IT is inconceivable how a woman could
be thrown down without any one perceiving
it. The fervants fhould have the moſt poſi-
tive orders to ftop the inftant an accident
happens, though it were lefs confiderable
than the prefent. This is the ſecond in one
year; and nothing of the kind has happened
to me in the ſpace of eighteen years.
fervants muſt certainly be in fault. It will
be neceſſary to ſpeak to them fharply upon
this fubject, and, I repeat it, to infift upon
their ſtopping on the flighteft accident, and
give affiftance though they were not the
cauſe of it. I made them do this the other
day, when we met with a carriage over-
turned, and the Duke de Valois fent to
offer his fervices. They must be perfectly
• accuſtomed to fuch proceedings.'
،
،
Sunday, 19 May 1783.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
M. LEBRUN will inform the Duke de
< Valois, that when he (M. Lebrun) or the
• Abbé ſhall have pardoned any fault I fhall
never inflict a puniſhment, and that I fhall
not heſitate to pardon even a fault commit-
.
• teď
of the Princes.
287
.
•
'
ted to me, if M. Lebrun or the Abbé defire
it. Thus the princes ought to feel that,
as I frequently repeat to them, they have
as much intereft in giving fatisfaction to
the Abbé and M. Lebrun, as to myfclf,
• becauſe we have all an equal authority over
• them.'
<
Tuesday, 17 June 1783.
THE princes on their return home reſted
themſelves till eight o'clock, when I con-
ducted them to the Countefs.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
'I DO not like thefe reftings; they muſt
not be accustomed to regard total idleness
as neceffary repofe: befide they ought not
to be fatigued with an hour's walk. They
fhould never remain, even for fix minutes,
without doing fomething. They might have
employed this quarter of an hour in playing
at chefs, or at heraldry, or repeating terms
of architecture, or laftly in reading. In a
word, there fhould never be two minutes,
( nor even one of idleness."
t
C
}
If
Sunday, 7 September 1783.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
HAV told the Duke de Valois that I
would defire M. Lebrun in future to dou-
• ble
+
288
Journal of Education
<
C
<
ble the puniſhment, whenever the flighteft
murmur fhall efcape the Duke as to any
penance inflicted by M. Lebrun."
Thursday, 9 October 1783.
с
،
'
I
Note of Madame de Genlis.
HAVE affured the Duke de Valois that
he fhall be puniſhed if he do not get the
better of his filly timidity. I am very much
diſpleaſed with the manner in which he
received the Duchefs de Bourbon. When
we ſee an aunt after a long abfence, we
ought to fhew the livelieft demonſtrations
of joy: the princes have endeavoured to-
day to repair their fault, but not fuffici-
ently. If between this and Sunday they do
not again fee the Duchefs de Bourbon and
Princefs de Lamballe, either here or at
'their own houſes, and do not teſtify a be-
coming joy by a frank and cheerful air, fay-
ing civil things, answering them with a good
grace, &c. I will not take them to the play
on Sunday. M Lebrun will be fo good as
to read to them this article.'
C
с
<
Tuesday, 30 December 1783.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
ON new year's day the princes will pay
vifits to the Countefs de Pont and Madame
• Defrois, befide thofe to the princes: if
• Madamè
of the Princes.
289
< Madame Defrois be not at Paris, they will
write to her *.
Monday, 2 Auguſt 1784.
WHILE I was dreffing in the evening, a
meffage was fent me from the Countefs, defir-
ing me not to take the princes into the upper
part of the garden, as there were precipices
there. I could have wifhed this had been
faid to me privately, and not before the valets
de chambre, or the princes, who may fup-
poſe that I am inattentive to fuch dangers
when I take them out, which is calculated
to diminiſh the confidence they ought to place.
in met. I have already obſerved in feveral
inftances, that, when I have defired them to
do a thing, they have hefitated, and have
alked me if their friend had directed it. The
Countess must be fenfible of what importance
it is they fhould be perfuaded that I do no ·
thing but in concert with her; and I there-
fore beg of her, at all times, feemingly tố
approve of what I do, even though fhe fhould
feel differently: on her mentioning it to me
*It may be feen from this Journal, as well as from my
own, how ardently I defired that they ſhould entertain
proper fentiments towards thoſe whom they were bound to
love.
+ Thefe precipices were very deep holes which had been
lately made; I knew nothing of the circumftance till the
evening; and as the children rofe before me, I was defirous
of acquainting M Lebrun with it before I went to bed,.
certainly not imagining that fo fimple a caution could be
conftrued into an offence. But fuch are the things which
thefe gentlemen ſtyle my il treatment of them.
VOL. I.
Q
in
290
Journal of Education
in private, I would correct my conduct, and
act otherwife.
<
Note of Madame de Genlis.
THIS is an inftance of fufceptibility that
I could not have fufpected. As precipices
level with the furface of the ground are not
feen at the diftance of ten fteps, I had no
reaſon to fuppofe that, by informing M.
Lebrun of them, it was poffible to diminiſh
the refpect which the princes ought to feel
for him. As they are not infants, whom it
is neceffary always to lead by the hand,
they might run on before him, and the cau-
tion was as fimple as it was useful. Since
the moment that the princes were entrufled
to me, I have never neglected a ſingle op-
portunity of increafing their confidence in
M. Lebrun, and of fhewing him, before the
princes and other perfens, all the refpect
he merits, both on his own account, and
from the nature of his fituation *. This
punctilious reproach therefore, on the part
of M. Lebrun, friendſhip might take offence
at, and it is certainly a violation of juftice.
If the princes have an appearance of doubt
← and heſitation when M. Lebrun tells them
any thing, it is new to me, and I have done
nothing that can at all have occafioned it.'
c
An attempt has been made at Saint Leu,
to give the princes fome notion of the ſphere;
but it was foon found that fuch abſtract ſci-
As may be feen from this Journal, and from my pri-
vate one.
ence
of the Princes.
291
ence was premature: they were eager, there-
fore, to return to the earth, and will not
again mount the fkies till their minds are fuf-
ficiently formed to follow, without difficulty,
the real or apparent motions of thoſe enor-
mous bodies which revolve in the immenfity
of ſpace in a manner that the diverfity of their
marvellous revolutions is not lefs ftriking than
their regularity *.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
'RESFECTING whatever relates to the
education of the princes, I request that M.
Lebrun will in no cafe give me a verbal ac-
'count. It is one of my reafons for infti-
tuting this Journal, which will be a faithful
record of the manner in which we have
mutually conducted ouríelves, and will, I
hope, do honour to us beth.'
с
C
Note of Madame de Genlis.
THE privation of the deffert is a mode
of punishment which I have hitherto ap-
proved and advifed; it was natural there-
fore that the Abbé fhould employ it on the
prefent occafion. But I have reflected that
the Duke de Valois being in his twelfth
* This paragraph was not written by M. Lebrun, whoſe
ftyle, as the reader must have obferved, has nothing of
this ftrange affectation: it is a poetical flight of the Abbe
Guyot, who has enriched the Journal with various frag-
ments in the fame ftrain;
O 2
<
‹ year,
292
Journal of Education
t
'
€
C
C
year, fuch puniſhments, calculated to prc-
long his infancy, and which might now
debafe his mind, ought no longer to be
continued. Prohibiting him from going to
a play, depriving him of an agreeable paity,
and treating him with distance and gravity,
are puniſhments more fuitable to him at
preſent. We muſt alſo begin to let him
• have a little more liberty in things that are
not inconvenient, and difpenfe altogether
with his afking leave, either of the Abbé,
or M. Lebrun, or of me, refpecting a thou-
fand trifles; as for inſtance, if he wished to
' lend a book, or any thing elfe of this kind
(which he did not immediately want him-
felf), to a proper perfon, he fhould have
the power of doing it without afking per-
miffion; and he need only fay, that he has
lent fuch a thing for a certain time. Here-
´ after alſo, when he has behaved fo as to
give fatisfaction, he ſhould be permitted to
chooſe the place of promenade, with the
confent however of his brother, and obſerv-
ing the neceffary precautions refpecting the
• horſes. He will himſelf give orders to the
footmen and coachman, as to theſe airings,
when he gets into the carriage. It is to be
underſtood, that he must not be allowed to
⚫ be deficient in complaifance to his brother,
or to oppoſe any reprefentations which may
be made relative to the horfes. For the
future, his valets de chambre fhall every
evening take his orders in perfon, and afk
him if he has any commiffions for the next
morning, enquiries concerning any perſon's
• health, cards, billets, &c. If he fay no,
when he ought to have given fome meffage,
• the
C
C
C
+
of the Princes.
293
C
C
-
the gentlemen will in that cafe rebuke him,
and make him fenfible of his inattention. I
beg that this rule may be accurately ob-
ferved. The gentlemen will inform him of
it, adding that the change is adopted, be-
caufe he is in the twelfth year of his age,
and that we have all three determined upon
it by common confent; but that, if his con-
• dust fhall be fuch as to deſerve the forfeiture
of this diftinétion, he fhall once again be
treated like an infant-
г
This multiplicity of minute circumſtances,
inceffantly repeated, of which it is impoffible
for thofe who have not practifed them to have
an ideaf, requires extreme patience: but it
is the effential characteristic of zeal, and
juftice authorifes me to confefs, that I am
greatly encouraged by the example of the
director of the education, by that of M.
Lebrun, and above all, by the happy difpo-
fitions of the princes, by their incomparable
docility, and, laftly, by their uniform and
perfevering emulation, qualities which, af-
fording certain hopes of fuccefs, give the co-
operators in their inftruction to enjoy before-
* I dare affirm that there is nothing in theſe ideas but
what is reaſonable, though thefe gentlemen were extremely
mortified at them. They faw in them the loss of their autho•
rity; and I was obliged on this fubject to encounter com-
plaints, difcontent and remonftrances, without end, of
which I fhall quote only a part; for if I were to relate
every thing of this fort, I ſhould weary the reader almoſt
as much as I was wearied myfelf.
This note alfo is written by the Abbé Guyot, who hers
alludes to his teaching the Latin Language.
A compliment for me.
03
hand
294
Journal of Education
hand the moſt pleafing recompenfe with which
they can poffibly be gratified.
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Monday, 10 January 1785,
Note of Madame de Genlis.
ſmall article
I SHALL here reply to a
in the Journal, which I had not time to
• anſwer when I read it. It relates to the
liberty I have given the Duke de Valois.
I have been furprifed at the apologies made
by M. Lebrun on this fubject, who, among
other things, fays: The princes might have
affured you that it has never been our defire to
thwart them. I have in no cafe, either in
converfation, or in writing, fuppofed that
either M. Lebrun or the Abbé wifhed to
thwart the princes: had I entertained ſuch
an idea, I fhould have told thefe gentle-
men ſo in exprefs terms, with whom no
intereft could induce me to act in an indi-
rect manner: the journal is a teftimony of
what I have faid on this fubject. As the
idea appeared to me a good one, I read
the article to the Duke and Duchefs de
• Chartres, to whom it did not fuggeft the
moft diftant imagination that my defign was
to counteract any oppofition in thefe gen-
tlemen, who had never been mentioned by
me, but that I might praife their zeal and
< punctuality. Monfeigneur and Madame
conceived inftantly, which was natural
enough, that my intention was to draw
• the Ďuke de Valois out of a ſtate of in-
• fancy;
G
of the Princes.·
29.5
fancy; to inſpire him gradually with greater
mankin is character; to accuftom him to
think for aimfelf, and to behave towards
is auendants with gentlenefs, or with firm-
nofs, when firmnefs fhall be neceffary; to
alford him opportunities of praЯifing that
decorum and attention to others, whicha
might lead them to feel the more obliged
to him, as knowing that the letters he
wrote, the enquiries he made, and every
inftance of civility and politeness on his
part, were perfectly voluntary. Monfcig-
acur and Madame conceived alfo the change
to be deſirable, as it furniſhed the means of
inflicting on the Duke de Valois punish-
ments fuitable to his age, and likely to
make a deeper impreffion, because when
his governors fhall be diffatisfied with his
conduct, they may deprive him of this li-
berty, and again treat him like a child;
that moreover it would be an obje? of
emulation for his brother (for I have only
granted this trifling degree of liberty to
the eldeſt), who will think that, by behav-
ing well, he alfo fhall obtain the privilege
of being treated as a young man; that the
place of promenade being left to the deci-
fion of the Duke de Valois would afford
daily occafions of exerciting his complai-
fance to his brother, which muft neceffarily
induce his brother to be complaifant in re-
turn. In fine, the Duke and Duchefs de
Chartres highly approved of the alteration,
and wanted no explanation to enable them
to comprehend all the advantages that
might be derived from. it. I will add,
• without
<
04
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Journal of Education
<
<
$
em-
• without ceremony, that if M. Lebrun had
taken the trouble to read what I have writ-
ten, free from the prepoffeffion he con-
ftantly feels, that I feek to find fault, and
to controul indirectly upon every occafion,
this long commentary would have been un-
neceffary. I have neither caprice, nor pre-
judice, nor ill humour, of which this Jour-
nal is a proof. I will never fuffer an on-
portunity to efcape of doing juftice to the
gentlemen in queftion. I will ever
brace, as I have hitherto done, all poffible
occafions of obliging them, and of pro-
curing them all thofe little conveniencies
that may render their fituations pleafant,
and to which they have not the claim of
right If I imagine that I perceive in their
conduct, as tutors, any thing I cannot ap-
prove, I will mention it to them with be-
coming delicacy, and with all the frank-
nefs which my office and the nature of
the bufinefs fhall demand; and I ardent-
ly defire that they will in future fee in
what I write nothing more than the words
exprefs.'
"
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I
Wednesday, 12 January 1735.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
KNOW not why it fhould appear to M.
Lebrun that I am not fatisfied. Is it be-
cauſe I afk to fee the cook's journal? It is
my duty to do fo, as Monfeigneur has given.
me
of the Princes.-
297
<
C
me the fuperintendance of the expendi-
ture. Is it becauſe I compare its expence
• with ours? This is the only way in which
I can form a judgment of it. Is it becauſe
I have told M. Lebrun that I would give
him fome inftructions upon that head? It
was what he himfelf defired, as he was
by no means, he faid, competent to the
bufinef. Thus, fuppofing the expence not
< to have been well managed, which I al-
ready perceive to be the cafe, M. Lebrun
has nothing difagreeable to apprehend;
no blame can fall upon him, his zeal is un-
queſtionable, and it is not my character to
Elame unjuftly
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Monday, 17 January 1785.
Nots of Madame de Genlis.
IF I frequently fpeak of economy, it is
certainly no more than I have a right to
do; for five years and a half have I fet the
example. I am well aware that low and
narrow minds may fay, that it is beneath
the dignity of a prince to establifh fuch eco-
nomy in his houfe: but thoſe who think
juftly, know that economy is a very eftima--
ble virtue, when it is not our own money
of which we are ſparing; and that without
economy it is impoffible to be noble and
• beneficent. As long as the princes are
under my care, there fhall neither be dif-
order, diffipation, nor magnificence in their
• houfe ;
*
05
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Journal of Education
2
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houſe; and it is only by the obfervance of
this rule that I fhall be enabled to make
them do, or to do in their name, good
actions; that I can give them the power of
liberating prifoners, of affifting a poor
paralytic woman*, and a number of other
unfortunate beings. It is thus only I can
enable them to give ten louis for a box at
the theatre, though they have one of their
own, when an author permits his play to be
acted for the benefit of the poort, and
that I can in their name adminifter fuccour
to their fick fervants, as I did laft autumn
in the caſe of Berniere, Mademoifelle's foot-
man, to whom riding on horſeback was pre-
fcribed for the space of three months.
Mademoiſelle paid the hire of a horſe dur-
ing the whole time; fhe alfo gave twenty
louis to poor Darnal, that he may have the
fatisfaction of dying in the arms of his fa-
ther and mother, who live at the diſtance of
two hundred leagues. Theſe are actions
that I could wifh them to be able to per-
form, though I would at the fame time
fpare nothing that could at all contribute to
< their inftruction: but how are they to per-
form them without the conftant and ftrict
• obfervance of economy? It is requifite that
<
we fhew durfelves worthy of the confidence
• with which we are honoured by the Duke
• de Chartres, by rendering his children
´good, amiable and virtuous, by cultivating
in them agreeable talents, and extenſive and
* Madame Bufca.
+ Coriolanus.
• folid
of the Princes.
299.
folid knowledge. Such fhould be our aim,
and the conſtant object of our united cares;
but without economy this cannot poffibly be
• attained.'.
>
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Thursday, 20 Fanuary_17855-
Note of Madame de Genlis.
I DO not in the leaft recollect having told
the Duke de Montpenfier, that he might
purchaſe things without afking leave; but I
remember, on the contrary, to have told
him that, as he had not behaved properly
to M. Lebrun, he fhould not have that per-
miflion, and that one of the principal things
which would lead me to confider him as
having quitted a ftate of infancy. would
te his gentlenefs, dacility, and respect to-
wards the Abbé and M. Lebrun, and the
proofs he fhould give them of friend-
thip and gratitude for their cares.
I re-
queft M. Lebrun to read to him this ave
•ticle.
<
Tuesday, 25 January 1785,
AS to preferves, or what I have called
fo, they are merely baked pears and apples.
*I had forbidden the giving to the princes preferves, and
many other things of a fimilar nature; and having obferved
in the Journal that they had eaten preferves, I had expreffed.
my difapprobation, which gave occafion to this.reply from
M. Lebrun.
dreffed
300 Journal of Education
dreffed in fteam and with a little fugar. 1
confidered them as rather economical than
otherwiſe, and fuppofed I was giving the
princes a very wholefome fort of regale.
Note of Madame de Genlis.
IF what M. Lebrun calls preferves were
not preferves, my remark was undoubtedly
ufelefs; but that was a circumſtance I
• could not divine. I have farther to add,
that if the baked pears he mentions were
really baked pears, and that this is not
alſo a name given at hazard, it is the moſt
unwholeſome food, and the most difficult
of digeſtion, that a perfon of any age can
poffibly take.
C
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As to the almost total feparation between
the gentlemen and me, I fhall anfwer that
reproach alfo, and have done with the fub-
ject altogether. When I took charge of
'the education of the princes, I was fenfible
of what advantage it would be to me to
poffefs the friendfhip of the perfons who
were to affift in it. Certain that I fhould
never be able to overcome the difcontent
of M. Bonnard, who loft fix months of the
preceding year in entertaining his friends at
Saint Cloud, inviting them to dinner every
day, and leaving all the duties of his office
to M. Prieur, as is proved by a paper in my
poffeffion, written by the Abbé Guyot, giv-
ing an account of the manner in which the
princes employed their time, where the
name of M. Pricur continually occurs, M.
Bonnard's not once-Certain, I fay, that it
• would
<
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of the Princes.
301
<
<
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•
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€
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+
would be impoffible to furmount the high
pretenfions, ridiculous envy and pride of
M. Bonnard, I wifhed him to refign,
though he was defirous of retaining his
place. I fignified to him my wifh, and, to
induce his compliance, I affured him that
he fhould be ftill more amply rewarded
than M. de Foncemagne had been, though
the latter had completed his taſk of educa-
tion. In fact, M. de Foncemagne had an
apartment, and an annuity for life of fifteen
hundred livres, and was fatisfied; the re-
compenfe of M. Bonnard, befide his apart-
ment, the furniture of which I chofe my--
felf from the garde meuble of the Duke de
Chartres, was the crofs of Saint Louis, a
colonel's commiffion, the fortune of his wife
infured, and a penfion of five hundred
livres; and yet he retired in rage, my ir-
reconcileable enemy *. As to the Abbé
<Guyot,
* Such was my conduct to the late M. Bonnard: theſe
are inconteftable facts, and the Abbé Guyot, who read this
journal, and frequently wrote in it, never denied a fyllable
of them, becauſe it was impoffible. M. Bonnard was befide
indebted to me for his introduction at the Palais Royal, M.
de Buffon ſpoke of him to me in terms of the warmest friend-
ſhip, and requeſted me to folicit the place of fub-governor to
the princes: I did fo, with readineſs and zeal, and I fucceeded.
Thus M. Bonnard owed to me his military promotion, his
marriage, and his fortune; for he obtained nothing but by
addreffing himſelf directly to me, and by my folicitation
alone. The only reproach he could ever make me, was the
confenting to take upon myſelf the charge of the children.
which friendship was defirous of entrufting to me. The ap-
pointment of a governor was what he expected, and he faw
the period approach without uneafinefs; but he could not
bear the idea of being under the direction of a woman; he
forgot that this woman had given proofs of fome talents for
education
302
Journal of Education
6.
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a
Guyot, I thought that the benefits I had
heaped on his friend would at leaft give
• him a good opinion of my difpofition. I
perceived in him a confiderable fhare of
ill humour, no juft idea of education, no
knowledge of the children;, but I imagined
that by civility and kindness I fhould ae-
·
education (the Theatre of Education, and Adela and Theo-
dore were already published), and in fine, that this woman
was his benefactress and his friend. I offered to continue him
in his place; in the mean time I did not conceal from him.
that he fhould lead a very auftere life, and that the plan I
fhould lay down muſt be followed with the moft fcrupulous -
exactnefs. I affured him that, if he refigned, he should be
treated better than he could have hoped, had he even com-
pleted the task of education with the mof brilliant fuccefs.
He refigned; I prevailed on M. D'Orleans to do for him what
I have ſtated above, and M. Bonnard would from that mo-
ment never fet his foot within my, doors. Since his death
however, his family have had recourſe to me in behalf of the
two children he left; and M. d'Orleans has granted them,
in confequence of my urgent folicitations, a penfion of fix
hundred livres. In fhort, after M. Bonnard's refignation, I
had the happineſs to render fome ſervices to one of his relati-
ons, the one too whom he most loved, M. de Broval, whofe
virtues and talents have a juſt claim to eftcem. Notwithſtand-
ing M. de Broval's tender friendſhip for M. Bonnard, he will
pardon, I truſt, theſe complaints, founded upon indiſputable
facts, with the truth of which he is perfectly acquainted.
In confirmation of them I have all the letters of M. de Buf-
fon; that great man, offended at M. Bonnard's ingratitude,
ftrongly reproached him for his conduct, and refuſed ever
after to fee him. Meanwhile M. Garat (fo eflimable both
for his principles and his talents) has afferted, in a eulogium
on the character of M. Bonnard, that I had done him the great-
f injuftice. How can this diſtinguiſhed writer justify to him-
felf fuch an attack on a perfon whom he does not know?
When we accufe in this pofitive manner without certain evi-
dence, do we not hazard the being chargeable with calumny?
This queſtion I fubmit to M. Garat himſelf. My eftcem for.
his character perfuades me that he will be forry for what he
has done.
quire
of the Princes.
303
quire his friendſhip, and this point gained,
I faw no other difficulty, especially as I
then believed myfelf certain of finding in
the perfon who was to fuccecd M. Bonnard,
a firm and true friend: and I had every
• reaſon to flatter myſelf with this hope.
During the whole of the firſt journey to
Saint Cloud, I was folely occupied with the
care of ingratiating myfelf with the Abbé :
after fupper I ftaid in the faloon till mid-
night, talking or rather liftening to him,
with a fincere defire of pleafing and render-
ing my company agreeable to him; my
mother alfo invited him to her apartment
in the afternoon, to tell him how ardently-
I wifhed for his friendship. When I left
• Saint Cloud I told both the Abbé and M.
• Lebrun, that, though I admitted none but
my own family to dine with me at Belle
• Chaffe, I excepted them, whom I wifhed
henceforth to confider as forming a part of
it, and I hoped that they would favour us
e with their company in turns, as it would
not be neceflary every day for them both
to dine with the princes*. Meanwhile on
their arrival at Paris neither of them came
to Belle Chaffe, except to conduct the
princes thither. I had requeſted M. Le-
brun, when he had occafion to write to
me, to lay afide ceremony, which ill ac-
• corded with the friendship I wifhed to fee
• cftalifhed between us; and on a fudden,
C
<
The princes at that time continued to dine in their
apartment at the Palais Royal, and were not brought to me-
till after their dinner.
• without
304
Journal of Education
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¿
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without explanation, without quarrel, with--
out the flighteft caufe, he again affumed
the air and tone of the coldeft referve, and
in his letters to me obferved all the old for-
mality and punctilio which I had prevailed.
on him to avoid. Still I was not difheart-
ened; we ſet off for Saint Leu, and I pur-
fue my plan with perfeverance. I take but
one meal a day; yet, to be more in com-
pany with thefe gentlemen, I go down to
dinner and fupper with them; every even-
ing I remain at table till eleven o'clock;.
'forced by my health to keep my chainber
for a fortnight, I requeſt them to come and
fup with my family in our most private re-
tirement. I fuffer no opportunity to efcape'
of praifing them before the Duke de Char-
tres, and of increafing his efteem for them.
To the Abbé I fhow, unfolicited, the moft
lively concern for his intereft and welfare,
entreating the Duke de Chartres to obtain
a penfion for him from the Biſhop of Au--.
tun; the Abbé has been informed by me
of every thing that has paffed upon this
fubject: on the other hand, to the young
princes, I talk of nothing but obedience
and gratitude they owe to thefe gentlemen,
and I punish them feverely for the leaft
failure in this refpect. I give the gentle-
men an unbounded authority over them.
In fine, every means I could devife, cares,
attentions, demonftrations of friendfhip, and
a defire to live upon terms of familiarity
with them, were employed with a patience
and affiduity that aftonifhed all who were
witheffes of fo many advances being thrown
C
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-
away.
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of the Princes.
30
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ક
away. At length, feeing their coldness and
ill humour ftill fubfift, and their pretenfions
increaſe, I have recourfe to explanations;
I exprefs particularly to M. Lebrun the
utmoft forrow, and the trueft friendſhip.
To theſe he appeared fenfible, and I found
no difficulty in forgetting what had paffed;
but after two days, I perceived again the
fame diffimulation, the fame conftraint, the
fame coldness, and the fame irritability.
As to the Abbé, a flave to infuperable
'pceviſhneſs, he continually adds rudeness to
caprice, and no longer opening his mouth
at table but to eat, obferves a difdainful
filence accompanied with an air fo extraor-
dinary, that my prefence and authority is
fometimes neceffary to keep my eldeſt
daughter particularly from burfing into
'peals of laughter during the whole time of
fupper. Befide my mother and my daugh、
ters, the good and honeſt Moncigny has
beheld all the particulars of this ftrange
conduct with inexpreffible furprife: not-
withſtanding his conciliatory difpofition, he
'could not refrain from telling me a thou-
'fand times, that fuch behaviour was infup-
portable; he ſpoke of it in terms of aſperity
to the Abbé, and could not conceal from
me the indignation he felt at theſe conver-
fations. In fine, I loſe every hope of gain-
ing the friendſhip of thefe gentlemen; but
I loſe it without experiencing enmity, with-
out difplaying any ill humour, and deter-
mined to ferve and oblige them as often
as poffible, even without their knowing it,
which I have already had an opportunity
'
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Journal of Education
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'C answer to M. Lebrun's reproach, relative
to what he calls the almoft total feparation.
* between them and me. Had it not been for
this unjuft reproach, I fhould have obferv
ed that filence which I fhall without diffi-
culty impofe on myſelf in future upon this-
head. And of what have theſe gentlemen
to complain? That they are not my inti-
mate friends? I have never yet perceived
that to infpire friendship was confidered
by them as a duty of their office. In the
mean time I have made them an offer of
mine, and they have refufed it.
"
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•
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L
M. Lebrun farther fays, that they can
neither fee me nor fpeak to me. I fee
thefe gentlemen every day; I dine with
them every Sunday; I fometimes go to the
play with M. Lebrun; befide all this, I
anfwer every thing that is written to me
← in the moſt full and exat manner: and
yet M. Lebrun. afferts that he cannot fec
me, or ſpeak to me, or impart to me his
• fentiments! Surely this is a ftrange re-
proach. I fhall conclude this explanation
by telling M. Lebrun (with the franknefs
of a perfon who has felt and demonftrated
the trueft friendſhip for him) that he has
• been miſtaken in his reckoning, becauſe he
has fuffered himself to be blindly guided
by the Abbé Guyot. Had he liftened to
‹ the dictates of his own heart, he would
have conducted himself more wifely; his
real merit was fuch that it is aftonifhing he
has not proved fuperior to little infigni-
ficant pretenfions, and a thouſand fufcep-
tibilities, which I hefitate not to affirm have
C
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of the Princes.
309
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In
at length altered the natural rectitude of
his underſtanding. Of numberlefs inftan-
ces in which he has adopted the opinions.
• and language of another pcrfon I fhall
quote but one, which, as well as many
cthers, I have avoided noticing in this
Journal. I had made a reform in the
enormous quantity of periodical publicati-
ons, for which the princes were made to
ſubſcribe, as it was a real abufe; I ſaid at
the fame time that, having a right to the
Gazette, they fhould fubfcribe in future
only for the Feuille de Paris. Upon which
M. Lebrun replies in the Journal, that it
is all very well; but that he and the Abbé
' would ſubſcribe themselves for the Mercure,
in order that the princes might derive from
that work fome idea of politics, and be-
come acquainted with public affairs.
the first place the princes have fcarcely
time to read the Feuille de Paris, and it
would be impoffible for them to devote a
moment to the Mercure. Secondly, during
dinner and fupper their attention is em-
ployed on Italian and English; and thoſe
C are not times that can be chofen to read to
them the political part of the work in quef-
<tion. During their recreations joinery or
architecture occupies their thoughts, and
this therefore is not a fit time for talking
politics. And what other time is there to
devote to this work? Thirdly, I conceive
the Mercure to be not at all calculated to
give princes of their age an idea of poli-
tics. Fourthly, it is not behaving politely
to me, to tell me that a publication is
‹ necef-
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Journal of Education
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neceffary for the inftruction of the princes,
• which I had deemed ufelefs; nor was it
becoming to add that they would pay for
the work themfelves, that the princes might
• have the benefit of it. Laftly, the politi-
cal part of the Mercure, is merely a repe-
tition of the Gazette, and the Gazette the
• princes have regularly. M. Lebrun would
certainly not have faid fuch things had he
been guided by himfelf.To this long
article, that I may never again refume this
fubject, I will add that, void of all ill-
humour, prejudice, caprice, or refentment,
I have feen, and ftill fee, things with my
own eyes exactly as they are; that I have fuf-
ficient firmnefs, experience, and knowledge
both of men and children, to be affured,
• that what I have begun I fhall finiſh with ho-
nour and fuccefs; that I am refolved to do
at all times more for the gentlemen in quef-
tion than is due to them from their fituation,
and to embrace every opportunity of ferving
them, if it be attended with no inconveni-
ence to the education of our pupils: at thè
‹ fame time I fhall think it extremely ftrange
if this conduct do not fatisfy them, and they
lay claim to an intimacy which it is not pof-
'fible fhould henceforth exift between us.
Efteem and politeneſs we are mutually bound
to fhew each other, and theſe are all I can
hereafter grant, unless time, and a conduct
of which there is no probability, fhould
convince me that they have entered into my
way of thinking, and been fenfible of the
• reflections which their conduct has not failed
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to excite in me; unless, in fhort, I fee in
“
them
1
of the Princes.
311
(
them a fincere defire of repairing the wrongs
which have broken every tic of friendship
‹ between us. This I do not expect; and I
have before to-day made up my mind upon
the fubject. I again repeat, that but for the
ftrange reproach of M. Lebrun, I fhould
never have written this long and final expla-
nation but it was a duty I owed to myfelf
to infert my juftification in this Journal,
which I wish to confider as containing the
moft indifputable proof of my conduct upon
all occafions, as the record of my true fen-
timents, and as a faithful picture of our at-
tention to our pupils, and our behaviour to
. each other?
C
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
OCT 1 & 19
18
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