-deception. So much is certain, the
world, with an approach to unanimity rarely attained, not only does not
credit her with the virtues which she boasts of, but even accuses her of
the very opposite vices. None of the writers I have consulted arrives,
in discussing George Sand's character, at conclusions which tally with
her own estimate; and every person, in Paris and elsewhere, with whom I
have conversed on the subject condemned her conduct most unequivocally.
Indeed, a Parisian--who, if he had not seen much of her, had seen much
of many who had known her well--did not hesitate to describe her to me
as a female Don Juan, and added that people would by-and-by speak more
freely of her adventures. Madame Audley (see "Frederic Chopin, sa vie
et ses oeuvres," p. 127) seems to me to echo pretty exactly the general
opinion in summing up her strictures thus:--

A woman of genius, but a woman with sensual appetites, with
insatiable desires, accustomed to satisfy them at any price,
should she even have to break the cup after draining it,
equally wanting in balance, wisdom, and purity of mind, and
in decorum, reserve, and dignity of conduct.

Many of the current rumours about her doings were no doubt inventions of
idle gossips and malicious enemies, but the number of well-ascertained
facts go far to justify the worst accusations. And even though the
evidence of deeds were wanting, have we not that of her words and
opinions as set forth in her works? I cannot help thinking that George
Sand's fondness for the portraiture of sensual passion, sometimes even
of sensual passion in its most brutal manifestations, is irreconcilable
with true chastity. Many a page in her novels exhibits indeed a
surprising knowledge of the physiology of love, a knowledge which
presupposes an extensive practical acquaintance with as wellas attentive
study of the subject. That she depicts the most repulsive situations
with a delicacy of touch which veils the repulsiveness and deceives the
unwary rather aggravates the guilt. Now, though the purity of a work
of art is no proof of the purity of the artist (who may reveal only the
better part of his nature, or give expression to his aspirations), the
impurity of a work of art always testifies indubitably to the presence
of impurity in the artist, of impurity in thought, if not in deed. It
is, therefore, not an unwarranted assumption to say that the works
of George Sand prove conclusively that s