volumeonthemantel-piece，andthemarechale，glancinghereye
uponthebookIhadjustputdown，smilinglybeggedmypardon
for
disturbingmygravestudies，andtakingitinherhand，exclaimed，
“Ah！
Iseeyouhavebeenperusing’’；I
havejustbeenhavingmorethananhour’sconversationrespecting
itsauthor。“
“Whatwereyousayingofhim？“
askedI。
“Why，mydear，Ihappenedtobeatthehouseofmadamede
Luxembourg，whereImetwiththecomtesse
deBoufflers。“
“Yes，Iremember，“saidI，“theformeroftheseladieswasthe
particularfriendofJeanJacquesRousseau。“
“Andthesecondalso，“answeredshe；“andIcanpromiseyou，that
neithertheoneortheotherspoketoowellofhim。“
“Isitpossible？“
exclaimedI，withawarmthIcould
notrepress。
“Theduchess，“resumedmadamedeMirepoix，“saysheisanill-bred
andungratefulman，andthecountessinsistsuponitheisa
downrightpedant。“
’Shameful，indeed，“criedI；“butcanyou，mydearfriend，
accountfortheill-naturewithwhichtheseladiesspeakof
poorRousseau？“
“Oh！
Yes，“repliedthemarechale，“theirmotivesare
easilyexplained，andIwilltellyoualittlesecret，for
thetruthofwhichIcanvouch。
MadamedeLuxembourghadat
onetimeconceivedthemostlivelypassionforJeanJacques。“
“Indeed！“
criedI；“andhe——“
“Didnotreturnit。
AsformadamedeBouffiers，thecasewas
exactlyreversed；andRousseauhasexcitedherresentmentby
daringlongtonurseahopelessflame，ofwhichshewasthe
object:thispresumptiononthepartofthepoetourdignified
countesscouldneverpardon。
However，Ientreatofyounotto
repeatthis；remember，Itellyouinstrictestsecrecy。“
“Oh，beassuredofmydiscretion，“saidI；“Ipromiseyounotto
publishyoursecret“which，bytheway，Iwasverycertainwas
notcommunicatedforthefirsttimewhentoldtome。
Thisconfidenceonthepartofthemarechalehad，insome
unaccountable
manner，onlyincreasedtheardentdesireIfelt
toseetheauthor
ofthe““；andIobserved
tomadamedeMirepoix，thatIhadagreatcuriositytobe
introducedtoRousseau。
“Ifear，“saidshe，“youwillneverbeabletopersuadehimto
visitatthechateau。“
“HowthencanIaccomplishmydesireofseeingthiscelebratedman？“
“Byonesimplemethod；ifhewillnotcometoyou，youmustgo
tohim。
Iwouldwillinglyaccompanyyou，butheknowsme，and
mypresencewouldspoilall。
Thebestthingyoucandoisto
dressyourselfquiteplainly，asaladyfromthecountry，taking
withyouoneofyourfemaleattendants。
Youmaytakeasa
pretextforyourvisitsomemusicyouwouldwishtohavecopied。
BesuretotreatM。deRousseauasamerecopyist，andappear
nevertohaveheardofhissuperiormerit:dothis，andyouwill
receivethebestpossiblereception。“
Igreatlyapprovedofthemarechale’sadvice，whichIassured
herIwoulddelaynolongerthantillthefollowingdaytoput
intopractice；and，aftersomefurtherconversationupon
Rousseau，weparted。
EarlythenextdayIsetoutforParisaccompaniedbyHenriette；
there，inpursuanceofthesuggestionofmadamedeMirepoix，I
dressedmyselfasapersonrecentlyarrivedfromthecountry，and
Henriette，whowastoaccompanyme，disguisedherselfasavillager。
Iassureyou，ourpersonalattractionslostnothingbythechange
ofourattire。
FromtheruedelaJussiennetotheruePlatriere
isonlyafewsteps；nevertheless，inthefearofbeingrecognised，
Itookahiredcarriage。
Havingreachedourplaceofdestination，
weentered，byashabbydoor，thehabitationofJeanJacquesRousseau:
hisapartmentswereonthefifthfloor。
Icanscarcelydescribe
toyou，myfriend，theemotionsIexperiencedasIdrewnearer
andnearertotheauthorof“Heloise。“
Ateachflightofstairs
Iwascompelledtopausetocollectmyideas，andmypoorheart
beatasthoughIhadbeenkeepinganassignation。
Atlength，
however，wereachedthefifthstory；thereafterhavingresteda
fewminutestorecovermyself，Iwasabouttoknockatadoor
whichwasoppositetome，when，asIapproached，Iheardasweet
buttremulousvoicesingingamelancholyair，whichIhavenever
sinceheardanywhere；thesamevoicerepeatedtheromanceto
whichIwaslisteningseveraltimes。
Whenithadentirelyceased
Iprofitedbythesilencetotapwithmyknucklesagainstthedoor，
butsofeeblewasthesignal，thatevenHenriette，whowasclose
behindme，couldnothearit。
ShebeggedIwouldpermitherto
ringabellwhichhungnearus；and，havingdoneso，astepwas
heardapproachingthedoor，and，inaminuteortwo，itwas
openedbyamanofaboutsixtyyearsofage，who，seeingtwo
females，tookoffhiscapwithasortofclumsygallantry，at
whichIaffectedtobemuchflattered。
“Pray，sir，“saidI，endeavouringtorepressmyemotion，“doesa
personnamedRousseau，acopierofmusic，livehere？“
“Yes，madam；Iamhe。
Whatisyourpleasure？“
“Ihavebeentold，sir，thatyouareparticularlyskilfulin
copyingmusiccheaply；Ishouldbegladifyouwouldundertake
tocopytheseairsIhavebroughtwithme。“
“Havethegoodnesstowalkin，madam。“
Wecrossedasmallobscurecloset，whichservedasaspeciesof
antechamber，andenteredthesitting-roomofM。deRousseau，
whoseatedmeinanarm-chair，andmotioningtoHenriettetosit
down，oncemoreinquiredmywishesrespectingthemusic。
“Sir，“saidI，“asIliveinthecountry，andbutveryrarely
visitParis，Ishouldbeobligedtoyoutogetitdoneasearly
aspossible。“
“Willingly，madam；Ihavenotmuchuponmyhandsjustnow。“
IthengavetoJeanJacquesRousseautherollofmusicIhad
brought。
HebeggedIwouldcontinueseated，requestedpermission
tokeeponhiscap，andwenttoalittletabletoexaminethe
musicIhadbrought。
UponmyfirstentranceIhadperceivedacloseandconfinedsmell
inthesemiserableapartments，but，bydegrees，Ibecameaccustomed
toit，andbegantoexaminethechamberinwhichIsatwithas
strictascrutinyasthoughIhadintendedmakinganinventory
ofitscontents。
Threeoldelbow-chairs，somericketystools，a
writing-table，onwhichweretwoorthreevolumesofmusic，some
driedplantslaidonwhite-brownpaper；besidethetablestoodan
oldspinet，and，closetothelatterarticleoffurniture，sata
fatandwell-lookingcat。
Overthechimneyhunganoldsilver
watch；thewallsoftheroomwereadornedwithabouthalfa
dozenviewsofSwitzerlandandsomeinferiorengravings，two
only，whichoccupiedthemosthonourablesituations，struckme；
onerepresentedFrederickII，andunderthepicturewerewritten
somelineswhichIcannotnowrecollectbyRousseauhimself；
theotherengraving，whichhungopposite，wasthelikenessofa
verytall，thin，oldman，whosedresswasnearlyconcealedbythe
dirtwhichhadbeenallowedtoaccumulateuponit；Icouldonly
distinguishthatitwasornamentedwithabroadriband。
WhenI
hadsufficientlysurveyedthischamber，thesimplicityofwhich，
socloselyborderingonwantandmisery，painedmetotheheart，
Idirectedmyattentiontotheextraordinarymanwhowasthe
occasionofmyvisit。
Hewasofmiddleheight，slightlybentby
age，withalargeandexpansivechest；hisfeatureswerecommon
intheircast，butpossessedofthemostperfectregularity。
His
eyes，whichhefromtimetotimeraisedfromthemusichewas
considering，wereroundandsparklingbutsmall，andtheheavy
browswhichhungoverthem，conveyedanideaofgloomandseverity；
buthismouth，whichwascertainlythemostbeautifulandfascinating
initsexpressionIeversaw，soonremovedthisunfavourable
impression。
Altogethertherebelongedtohiscountenancea
smileofmixedsweetnessandsadness，whichbestowedonitan
indescribablecharm。
Tocompletemydescription，Imustnotforgettoaddhisdress，
whichconsistedofadirtycottoncap，towhichwerefixedstrings
ofaribandthathadoncebeenscarlet；apelissewitharm-holes，
aflannelwaistcoat，snuff-colouredbreeches，graystockings，and
shoesslippeddownattheheel，afterthefashionofslippers。
Suchwastheportrait，andsuchtheabodeofthemanwhobelieved
himselftobeoneofthepotentatesoftheearthandwho，infact，
hadonceownedhislittlecourtandtrainofcourtiers；for，in
thecenturyinwhichhelived，talenthadbecomeasarbitraryas
sovereignpower——thankstothestupidityofsomeofourgrandees
andthecapriceofFrederickofPrussia。
Meanwhilemyhost，undisturbedbymyreflections，hadquietly
goneoverhispacketofmusic。
Hefoundamongstitanairfrom“
，“whichIhadpurposelyplacedthere；he
halfturnedtowardsmeandlookingsteadfastlyatme，asifhe
wouldforcethetruthfrommylips。
“Madam，“saidhe，“doyouknowtheauthorofthislittlecomposition？“
“Yes，“repliedI，withanairofasgreatsimplicityasIcould
assume，“itiswrittenbyapersonofthesamenameasyourself，
whowritesbooksandcomposesoperas。
Isheanyrelationtoyou？“
MyanswerandquestiondisarmedthesuspicionsofJeanJacques，
whowasabouttoreply，butstoppedhimself，asifafraidof
utteringafalsehood，andcontentedhimselfwithsmilingand
castingdownhiseyes。
Takingcouragefromhissilence，Iventured
toadd，——“TheM。deRousseauwhocomposedthisprettyairhas
writtenmuchbeautifulmusicandmanyverycleverworks。
ShouldI
everknowthehappinessofbecomingamotherIshallowetohim
thepropercareandeducationofmychild。“
Rousseaumadeno
reply，butheturnedhiseyestowardsme，andatthismomentthe
expressionofhiscountenancewasperfectlycelestial，andIcould
readilyimaginehoweasilyhemighthaveinspiredawarmersentiment
thanthatofadmiration。
Whilstwewereconversinginthismanner，afemale，betweenthe
ageoffortyandfifty，enteredtheroom。
Shesalutedmewith
greataffectationofpoliteness，andthen，withoutspeakingto
Rousseau，wentandseatedherselffamiliarlyuponachaironthe
othersideofthetable:thiswasTherese，asortoffactotum，
whoservedthemasteroftheseapartmentsbothasservantand
mistress。
Icouldnothelpregardingthiswomanwithafeeling
ofdisgust；shehadahorriblecough，whichshetolduswasmore
thanusuallytroublesomeonthatday。
Ihadheardofheravarice；
thereforetopreventtheappearanceofhavingcalleduponan
unprofitableerrand，IinquiredofJeanJacquesRousseauhow
muchthemusicwouldcost。
“Sixsousapage，madam，“repliedhe，“istheusualprice。“
“ShallI，sir，“askedI，“leaveyouanycashinhandforthe
purchaseofwhatpaperyouwillrequire？“
“No，Ithankyou，madam，“repliedRousseau，smiling；“thank
God！