Unhappy loves of men of genius

Preface

In this volume the author has collected some sketches heretofore published separately of experiences in love by men of genius which have not had happy conclusions. Except in the case of Cavour and t||pifefri 'known, the leading incidents narrated have long been familiar to the public, and it is only for the new arrange'ment and treatment that any pretence to originality is made.

The feature of these affairs which has most interested the author is that the women concerned in them were, equally with the men, distinguished by their gifts and their accomplishments. Madame Necker was one of the intellectual queens of her day. Mrs. Thrale possessed uncommon literary and conversational talent. Charlotte von Stein was Goethe's

VI PREFACE.

companion in his studies and in his literary work, as well as in his leisure hours. Aloysia Weber was a musical artist of the highest order; the few letters remaining of Cavour's Unknown prove that she possessed a highly poetical nature, while Mrs. Carlyle's wit and acquirements were, from her earliest years, the admiration of all who knew her. Some of these women had beauty, but it was their mental charms and not their beauty which captivated their lovers.

The sketches, therefore, apart from the common human interest which they possess, will serve as materials for the study of love in its more refined and elevated form. And if any one who takes up this book is disposed to smile at its contents, let him remember these words of Dr. Johnson : " We must not ridicule a passion which he who never felt never was happy ; and he who laughs at never deserves to feel — a passion which has caused the change of empires and the loss of worlds — a passion which has inspired heroism and subdued avarice."

New York, May, 1891.

Contents

PAGE

Gibbon and Madame Necker i

Gibbon at Lausanne, 2. — His own story of his love, 4. — Madame Necker's girlhood, 7. — Her personal appearance, 8. — Gibbon's first letters, n. — His lukewarm passion, 13. — His return to England, 15. — His farewell letter, 16. — Her expostulations, 18. — Rousseau's opinion of Gibbon, 21. — The final rupture, 23. — Madame Necker's marriage, 24. — Her social success, 25. — Monsieur Necker, 29. — Gibbon's character, 31. — The "Decline and Fall," 32. — Correspondence renewed, 35. — A regretful letter, 37. — Matrimonial longings, 39. — Lady Elizabeth Foster, 41. — An undying friendship, 42.