e for him a passionate admiration; should regard him
as superior to all in modern times, and as answering the _beau ideal_
of Grecian or of Roman patriotism. Nor is it wonderful that his
persecution by the court should have excited feelings of resentment
and disgust towards a form of government under which such things could
take place.

Necker remained a short time in France, and then returned to Coppet,
an estate which he purchased on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, from
whence he watched the course of events, feeling certain that he should
at last be recalled to the helm. An occasional visit to Paris, or the
publication of a political pamphlet, served to keep him in the public
remembrance.

At the age of twenty-two; Mademoiselle Necker was married. To her,
marriage was merely a convenience. It was necessary to give her a
position in society--admittance at court. She did not look for a
lover, not even for a friend or companion, in her husband. He must be
of noble birth, and a Protestant. The Baron de Stael, the Swedish
ambassador, had both these requisites; he was, moreover, an amiable
and honorable man. He had received positive assurances from his
sovereign, that he should be continued for many years at the court of
France, and she, having made a distinct contract that she should never
be obliged to go to Sweden, except with her own consent, accepted his
proposals of marriage.

We have a portrait of her as she appeared at this period, written in a
style then much in fashion: "Zalma advances; her large dark eyes
sparkle with genius; her hair, black as ebony, falls on her shoulders
in waving ringlets; her features are more marked than delicate, yet
they express something superior to her sex. 'There she is!' every one
cried, when she appeared, and all became breathless. When she sang,
she extemporized the words of her song; the celestial brightness of
composition animated her face, and held the audience in serious
attention; at once astonished and delighted, we know not which most to
admire, her facility or perfection. When her music ceased, she talked
of the great truths of nature, the immortality of the soul, the love
of liberty, of the fascination and danger of the passions: her
features meanwhile have an expression superior to beauty; her
physiognomy is full of play and variety; the accents of her voice have
a thousand modulations; and there is perfect harmony between her
thoughts and their expression. Without h