ecamier
bequeathed her papers, with the request that she should write the
narrative of her life. Madame Lenormant had a delicate and difficult
task to execute. The life she was to portray was strictly a social one.
It was closely interwoven with the lives of other persons still living
or lately dead. She owed heavy obligations to both. It is, therefore,
not surprising, if her narrative is at times broken and obscure, and she
a too partial biographer. Not that Madame Lenormant can be called
untrustworthy. She cannot be accused of misrepresenting facts, but she
does what is almost as bad,--she partially states them. Her vague
allusions and half-and-half statements excite curiosity without
gratifying it. We also crave to know more than she tells us of the
heart-history of this woman who so captivated the world,--to see her
sometimes in the silence of solitude, alone with her own thoughts,--to
gain an insight into the inner, that we may more perfectly comprehend
the outward life which so perplexes and confounds. Instead of all this,
we have drawing-room interviews with the object of our interest. We see
her chiefly as she appeared in society. We have to be content with what
others say of her, in lieu of what she might say for herself. We hear of
her conquests, her social triumphs, we listen to panegyrics, but are
seldom admitted behind the scenes to judge for ourselves of what is gold
and what is tinsel. We, moreover, seek in vain for those unconscious
revelations so precious in divining character. The few letters of Madame
Recamier that are published have little or no significance. She was not
fond of writing, still she corresponded regularly with several of her
friends; but her correspondence, it seems, has not been obtained by her
biographer. The best insight we get, therefore, into the emotional part
of her nature is from indirect allusions in letters addressed to her,
and from conclusions drawn from her course of conduct in particular
cases. Some of the incidents of her life are so dramatic, that, if fully
and faithfully told, they would of themselves reveal the true character
of the woman, but as it is we have but little help from them. It is
impossible to resist the conviction that Madame Lenormant would not
hesitate to suppress any circumstances that might cast a shadow on the
memory of her aunt. It is true that she occasionally relates facts
tending to injure Madame Recamier, but it is plain to be seen that she
hers