ateaubriand entertained the
most sincere friendship and the highest respect for this lady, whom he
constantly calls "the illustrious," "the admirable." Madame de Stael was
the intimate friend of his sister, the charming Lucille; and also she
was, as _almost_ every one knows, the friend, mentor, and protector of
Madame Recamier. Chateaubriand gives a very pathetic description of the
last days of Madame de Stael, to whose dying chamber he was admitted;
her name is constantly recurring through his journals, and _never
mentioned but in honorable terms_. In one place he describes her thus:--

"The personal appearance of Madame de Stael has been much discussed; but
a noble countenance, a pleasing smile, an habitual expression of
goodness, the absence of all trifling affectation or stiff reserve,
gracious manners, an inexhaustible variety of conversation, astonished,
attracted, and conciliated almost all who approached her. I know no
woman--I may say no man--who, with the perfect consciousness of immense
superiority, can so entirely prevent this superiority from weighing on
or offending the self-love of others."

Madame de Beaumont, a valued friend of the family of Chateaubriand, was
taken by some of its members to Italy, where she died of consumption.
Madame de Stael wrote to condole with Chateaubriand on this occasion;
here are the reflections upon her letter made in his Journal: "This
hasty letter, so affectionate and hurried, written by this illustrious
woman, affected me extremely. If Heaven had permitted our friend to look
back upon this earth, such a testimony of affection would surely have
been grateful to her."

If Chateaubriand were "permitted to look back upon earth," what would he
think of the vile aspersions upon the character of "this illustrious
woman" attributed to him?

There have been many biographies written of Madame de Stael (none of
which ever allude to what the writer in the "International" calls her
"disgusting and almost incredible licentiousness"). We will advert here
to two; one by Madame Necker de Saussure, well known in America for
writings of a moral and religious nature; the other by the Duchess
D'Abrantes, who thus begins her memoirs: "For a French woman to write
the life of Madame de Stael is certainly a happy privilege, since France
boasts the honor of her birth, though she is among those minds that
belong to the entire world, and her whole sex should call her sister
with a noble pride, wh