1S05.] 



Memoirs of Mr. Necker>^ by his Daughter. 



143 



Unknown to Mr. Necker, (he wrote to Mr. 

 de Maiuepas, tc reque(t he would with- 

 draw his countenance, either direct or in- 

 direft, towards the libellifts of Mr. Nec- 

 ker j and this imprudent ftep, by inftrufl- 

 jng Mr. de Maurepas in their fulceptibility 

 to any thi, g that endangered them in the 

 public eftimaiion, tauglit him at the fame 

 time the moft certain me .ns of wounding 

 them. It is very neceJTary to ket-p from 

 our enemies the knowledge of wi>at may 

 hurt us ; bot women fcldom alkw tliem- 

 felves to be guided by this rcfleilion. They 

 feem to think it enough to fay to thofe 

 who hate them, " You give me uneafinefs,' 

 in order to difarm them : pulitical relations 

 are of a fterner kind, and ray father foon 

 found out the fault which my mother had 

 committed. 



Mr. de Maurepas, and many others 

 about the c 'urt, who were alfefted by Mr. 

 Necker's fevere economy, lecietly excited 

 frefti libeU againft him ; my father never 

 required the punifhment of thir authors ; 

 many of them even poirefled places in his de- 

 pendence, whom he kept in their fiiuationsj 

 but in order to contend with fuccefs againft 

 his ever increafing enemies, he wasdelirous 

 of fome dazzling ma. k of the king's fatis- 

 faftion : fuch was his plnce in the council 

 which was afterwards g;arited him. His 

 demand led the way to difcutTion, which 

 the enemies of Mr. Nerker found means to 

 envenom ; he offered his refignation and it 

 was acrepted. 



My fa;her bitterly reproached himfelf 

 afterwards that he had notb;rne the difguft 

 lie experienced, for the f:tkeof accomplilh- 

 ing the uCtful and laiutary proje^s be hid 

 conceived ; and, in faft, there is cvtvy 

 probability that if he had then remained in 

 adminifiraiion, he would have prevenied 

 the revolution by preferviiig order in the 

 finances. It will be inconceivable at this 

 moment, when long political agitations have 

 fiicceflively fuliied every reputation in 

 France, how libels could be a matter of 

 furprifc to any iriniller twenty years a?o ; 

 but it is nevcrt'-.elcfs true, that in a conn- 

 try where the liberty of the prcfs did not 

 exift as in England, and where public opi- 

 nion had acquired an aflonifhing moral in- 

 fluence, eveiy thing tending f> bring a 

 ilain on the purity of reputation deferved 

 thegrealeft attention ; befiles, my fathtr'* 

 power C'nfifled almoft entirely in the high 

 idea formed of hit chsrac^er; and the re- 

 fpeft ht had infpired would have been di- 

 minidied had he been found to bear pa- 

 tiently outrages lecretly encouraged by 

 mtn in gcvenimenu In fine, lofty Ipirits 

 9»f)\t to iprgive themfelves ihs difadvau- 



tages of thst loftinefs, when it forms an 

 elTenMal feature in their ciiaraiHer: and 

 when this fui'ceptibility only prompts the 

 refignation of what moll diitinguilhed men 

 wsuid retain at any price, power, it ap- 

 pears to me that thev may eafiiy think 

 thenifelves iurtified. My fither did not 

 think f.i, his imagination no Icfs than his 

 confcience rerde^ed liim very fevere on his 

 paft anions. He has often very unjuftly 

 taken himieif to taflc in reflccling on this 

 fubjcft, and in truth be was more unfor- 

 tunate in his firft retreat from adminiftra- 

 tion, which though attended with eclat was 

 dil'cretionary, than at the period of the ia3: 

 in which he loft every thing, and on which 

 he could not hefitate. 



How admirable, in faff, was this firft 

 retreat ! all France was unceafijig in the 

 homages it paid to Mr. Necker; and the 

 French have fo much animation, fo much 

 nature, fo much grace in doing hi-.nrngj to 

 unmerited adverfity ! The king of Poland, 

 the king and queen of Naples, ;he e;nperor 

 Jofeph II.* invited Mr. Necker to the di- 

 reSioa 



* I cannot forbear tranfcribing here fome 

 fragments of the Emprefs Catharine's lettcri 

 at the time of my father's retiring, which 

 v^ere fent t.o him by Mr. Grimm, to whom 

 they were addrelVed. 



•'Petcrlturgh, ifi. July, 173 j. 

 "At length Mr. Necker Is out of place. 

 A pretty dream Francs has fallen into, and 

 a grand viftory it v/ill be for her eneoiies. 

 The charafler of this extraordinary man is 

 certainly to be admired in his two works, for 

 the Memoir is juft as good as the Compte 

 Rendu. The king of France has trodden on 

 the verge of the higheft glory. Nun djiivird 

 Jchon ji balA hicht luiciler ionwun : bat fuch an 

 opportunity will not foon recur. Mr. Necker 

 mult have had a mafterly head to hive follow- 

 ed his ftrides." 



" Petcrlburg, i«- July, 1781. 

 " The letters Mr. Necker'ius written Co 

 you, gave me great pleafure; I am only forry 

 he is no longer in his piact;. He was a man 

 whom hejven has dertiiied, beyond difoutc, 

 for the full: place in Europe in the fcrde of 

 glory. He muft live, he mull furvive a 

 couple of his cotemporaries, and then this 

 ftar will be comparable to no other, and his 

 cotemporaiiei will remain far behind him." 



" Pcterlburg, gth Nov. 17?^, 

 '• I have at laft bern able to read the intro- 

 duflion to Mr. Necker's book, 1 hive joft 

 finithed it. Since he is fenfil)le to ellceni, 

 atfuic him lie has all mine. Ic is obvious 

 that he h.T. been in his proper place, and that 

 he filled it with zc.1l, he allosvi it hiinlVlf. 



ian. 



