1«05.] 



Memoirs of Mr. Necker., hy his Daughter, 



SS5 



brought letters from the King and the 

 National Aflembly. Thefe letters called 

 Mr. Necker to the minKtry for the third 

 time. We feemed then to have reached 

 the fummit of profperity: it was at 

 Francfort that I learnt this news, at that 

 fame Francfort where a very different def- 

 tiny awaited jne fourteen years after- 

 wards. 



My mother, far from being dazzled 

 with this fuccefs, had no defire that my 

 father fliould accept his recall : we joined 

 him at Bafle, and there he made his deter- 

 mination. He fuffered me to hear him 

 fpeak relative to the motives of his deci- 

 fion; and I proteft it was with a fentiment 

 of profound grief that he refolved to re- 

 turn. He had learnt the event of the 14th 

 of July, and felt perfeflly aware, that his 

 part was about to change, and that it 

 was the royal authority and its partizans 

 that he would then have to defend. He 

 forefaw that in lofing his popularity in or- 

 der to fupport the government, he fhould 

 never poflefs a fufficient power over its 

 chief, furrounded as he then was, to direft 

 him entirely in what he deemed molt ex- 

 pedient. At length, futurity, fuch as it 

 was, prefented itfelf to him. One duty, 

 one hope combatted all his fears s he be- 

 lieved that his popularity might yet ferve 

 for fome time to preferve the partizans of 

 the old regime from the perfonal dangers 

 that threatened them ; and he even flatter- 

 ed himfelf for an inftant with the hope of 

 bringing the Conftituent AfTembly to make 

 fuch conditions with the King as might 

 give to France a limited monarchy. This 

 hope however was far from being firm. 

 He told himfelf, and he told us all the 

 chance that could annihilate it. But he 

 dreaded his own reproaches, if by refuf. 

 ing his endeavours to ftem the evil, he 

 niiglit have to accul'e himfelf of all thofe 

 calamitiei which he had not tried to pre- 

 vent. This fear of remorfe was all-power- 

 ful in the life of my father ; he was in- 

 clined to condemn himfelf whenever fuc- 

 cefs did not attend his endeavours, he was 

 continually palling a new judgment on 

 h<s a£lions.* It has been thought he 



• Among the papers of my father's eldeft 

 brother who did not forvive him long, a let- 

 ter has been found explaining fo fimpiy and To 

 natuially what my father then experienced, 

 whdt be confided to his moil intimate friend 

 at the moft remarkable period of his life, that 

 I have thought it interelling tu publilh it. 

 Btjlt, 14th July, 1789. 



I dont know, my dear friend, where you 

 ■re, having no intelligence from Parii of a 

 iMc date. I arrived iicie liH Meoday, the 



was proud, becaufe he never bent either 

 beneath injuftice or power i but he wa« 

 bumbled by inward regret, by the moft de« 

 licate temper of mind, ar.d l^is enemies 

 may learn with certainty that tVi^\.;rt;t 

 had the mournful fuccefs of bitterly dif- 

 turbing his repofe, whenever they have 

 charged him with having been the caufe 

 of a misfortune, or with having been in- 

 capable of preventing it. 



It is eafy to conceive that with fo 

 much imagination and fenfibility, when 

 the hiftory of our life is found to be 

 mingled with the moft terrible political 

 events, neither tonfcience nor reafon, nor 

 even the efteem of the world, Can entirely 

 fatisfy the man of genius, who, in foH- 

 tude, anxioufly direfls his thoughts 

 towards the paft. I would advife the 

 envious to direfi their f^'leen againd for- 

 tune, beauty, youth, all thofe gifts which 

 ferve to embellifh the exierior of life; 

 but the eminent diftir.ctio'^s of the mind 

 produce fuch ravages in the bofom that 

 invites them, the human defliny can fo 

 rarely harmonize with this fuperioritv» 

 that it is a very unfit objedl of ha- 

 tred. 



20th of this month, and every day I have 

 had fome idea of feeing you arrive, becaufe 

 you would have taken this route on finding 

 that I was going to Switzerland from BrufTel* 

 through Germany. I went before Made- 

 moifelle Necker, with M. de Stael for 1 com- 

 panion ; and we have pal'fed through Ger- 

 many without accHent under borrowed names. 

 Yefterday Mademoifelle Netker and my 

 daughter arrived, who have fupported the 

 fatigue of the journey better than 1 couM 

 have hoped. Mr. de St. Leon preceded them 

 by fome hours ; he had fought me at BruflTels 

 and had followed my route; he has brought 

 me a letter from the King and States-Gene- 

 ral, preffingly inviting me to return to Ver- 

 failles and refume my place. Thefe circum- 

 ftances have made me unhappy; Iwasjuft 

 entering port and I was pleafed at it ; but this 

 port would have been neither tranquil nor 

 ferene, if I could have reproached myfelf 

 with having wanted courage, and if I left it 

 to fay that fuch and fuch a misfortune might 

 have teen prevented by me. I return then 

 to France, but as a vi£lim to the efteem with 

 which I am honoured. Mademoifelle Necker 

 partakes this fentiment yet more ftrongly, 

 and our change of plans is an aft of refignafion 

 on the part of both. Ah, Coppet, Coppet, I 

 fliall perhaps foon have juft motives to regret 

 it! but we muftfubmic to the laws of nccef- 

 f)ty, to the fetters of an incomprehenfible 

 deftmy. In France all is in motion ; a fccne 

 of diforder and f«oition is juft opening at 

 Stralburg. It appears as if I were juft about 

 fop.unge into the gulf. Adicu.'my deac 



Yet, 



