rd studies, had told upon her health, and
her mother believed that she could not be at once a blue-stocking and a
woman of the world.

There was something very odd about the relation that existed between
the young girl and this mother of hers. In the Swiss province where
they had both been born, the mother had been considered rather bold and
forward. Her penchant for Gibbon was only one of a number of adventures
that have been told about her. She was by no means coy with the
gallants of Geneva. Yet, after her marriage, and when she came to
Paris, she seemed to be transformed into a sort of Swiss Puritan.

As such, she undertook her daughter's bringing up, and was extremely
careful about everything that Germaine did and about the company she
kept. On the other hand, the daughter, who in the city of Calvin had
been rather dull and quiet in her ways, launched out into a gaiety such
as she had never known in Switzerland. Mother and daughter, in fact,
changed parts. The country beauty of Geneva became the prude of Paris,
while the quiet, unemotional young Genevese became the light of all the
Parisian salons, whether social or intellectual.

The mother was a very beautiful woman. The daughter, who was to become
so famous, is best described by those two very uncomplimentary English
words, "dumpy" and "frumpy." She had bulging eyes--which are not
emphasized in the flattering portrait by Gerard--and her hair was
unbecomingly dressed. There are reasons for thinking that Germaine
bitterly hated her mother, and was intensely jealous of her charm of
person. It may be also that Mme. Necker envied the daughter's
cleverness, even though that cleverness was little more, in the end,
than the borrowing of brilliant things from other persons. At any rate,
the two never cared for each other, and Germaine gave to her father the
affection which her mother neither received nor sought.

It was perhaps to tame the daughter's exuberance that a marriage was
arranged for Mlle. Necker with the Baron de Stael-Holstein, who then
represented the court of Sweden at Paris. Many eyebrows were lifted
when this match was announced. Baron de Stael had no personal charm,
nor any reputation for wit. His standing in the diplomatic corps was
not very high. His favorite occupations were playing cards and drinking
enormous quantities of punch. Could he be considered a match for the
extremely clever Mlle. Necker, whose father had an enormous fortune,
and who wa