THE LAST YEARS 371 



round the town and levied contributions from the butchers and 

 bakers. 



In September 1793 Madame de Saussure throws out a first hint 

 that her son's stay in England may have to be cut short on the 

 ground of expense. In December she has to tell him that all the 

 Genevese, her husband among them, have lost their fortunes : 



' The only reproach,' she writes, ' that can be brought against your 

 father is that he was too hasty in coming to the help of a friend he 

 believed to be prudent and trustworthy. I am only too glad that 

 my fortune has so far prevented a crash we all dread, but it can no 

 longer, my children, provide you a brilliant existence or even the 

 ease to which we have all been accustomed. If nothing fortunate 

 happens for him, you must look out for a travelling tutorship, or a 

 wealthy bride ; if these fail we shall have to live in our old stuffs and 

 our old green tapestries, with a little maid in a black cap. 



' But we must be contented, and think it is our own choice, and 

 not be making comparisons with what we have seen and been accus- 

 tomed to. You have the opportunity, my friend see if you can 

 accustom yourself to the simple life, at least for a long time. Perhaps 

 we shall not be less happy.' 



The practical position was that the de Saussure fortune was 

 lost, at any rate as far as any present income was concerned, and 

 Madame de Saussure 's very seriously impaired. Investments paid 

 no interest, rents could not be collected, very heavy taxation was 

 supplemented by levies on capital. As a last blow, a certain 

 Dejean, an ' agent de change,' or stockbroker, who had acted for 

 de Saussure, had become bankrupt. The Neckers had, as has 

 been already mentioned, come to his help with a substantial loan. 



The letter ends with a description of yet another of the in- 

 evitable processions in which the Genevese were wont to express 

 their feelings and forget, for a time, their quarrels. This time, 

 however, it was the annual and time-honoured one in celebration 

 of the ' Escalade,' the famous repulse of the Duke of Savoy from 

 the walls in 1602. 



Theodore, who was very happy in England, failed at first to 

 realise the gravity of the situation. He evidently thought his 

 mother was needlessly alarmed, and it was not until he received 

 confirmation from his father of the state of affairs that he took 

 matters at all seriously. Then he at once expressed his anxiety 



