Switzerland,
her place of residence and exile during her many enforced
sojourns from Paris by order of the Emperor. "Corinne" not
only revealed for the first time to the Frenchmen of her day
the grandeur and mystery and charm of Italy, but also showed
the national characteristics of French and Englishmen for the
first time in their respective, and in a European light.
Moreover, as one European critic has pointed out, it is also
one of the first, and still one of the subtlest, studies in
the psychology of sex and emancipation of woman of the
nineteenth century. Madame de Stael's relations with the
clever and ambitious young statesman and writer, Benjamin
Constant, formed the chief source of her inspiration in
writing "Corinne," as it formed his in writing "Adolphe."
Madame de Stael died in Paris, July 14, 1817.

_I.--The Roman Poetess_

When Oswald, Lord Nevil, awoke on his first morning in Rome, he heard
church bells ringing and cannon firing, as if announcing some high
solemnity. He inquired the cause and learned that the most celebrated
woman in Italy would that morning be crowned at the capital--Corinne,
the poetess and improvisatrice, one of the loveliest women of Rome.

As he walked the streets, he heard her named every instant. Her family
name was unknown. She had won fame by her verses five years before,
under the simple name of Coe; and no one could tell where she had lived
nor what she had been, in her earlier days.

The, triumphal procession approached, heralded by a burst of melody.
First came a number of Roman nobles, then an antique car drawn by four
spotless steeds, escorted by white clad maidens. Not until he beheld the
woman in the car did Oswald lay aside his English reserve and yield to
the spirit of the scene. Corinne was tall, robust like a Greek statue,
and transcendently beautiful. Her attitude was noble and modest; while
it manifestly pleased her to be admired, yet a timid air blended with
her joy, and she seemed to ask pardon for her triumph.

She ascended to the capitol; the assembled Roman poets recited her
praises; Prince Castel Forte, the most honoured of Roman noblemen,
uttered a eulogy of her; and, ere she received the destined bays, she
took up her lyre and in accordance with custom gave a poetic
improvisation. The subject of her passionate chant was the glory of
Italy; and amid the impetuous applause that fol