Chapter XXIV

_”In my feeble childhood I was always astonished to see that the cheval de bronze had its foot in the air, but never advanced.... Sad emblem of my affairs, which like this image seem always to march, but which have no movement.”_

_Beaumarchais to Ramel, Minister of Finance._

The Marine of Beaumarchais—Success of His Business
Undertakings—His Wealth—Ringing Plea of Self-Justification in the
Cause of America, Addressed to the Commune of Paris, 1789—The
Beautiful House Which He Built in Paris—His Liberality—His
Friends—His Home Life—Madame de Beaumarchais—His Daughter,
Eugénie.

Since the official declaration made by the French Government to the Court of London, recognizing the independence of the United States, England had considered that war had been declared, and on June 18, 1778, she struck the first blow.

“Beaumarchais,” says Loménie, “disposed himself to make war as well as to carry on commerce. See him now demanding sailors from the Minister of the Navy, M. de Sartine, for the service of his great vessel, _le fier Roderigue_!

“‘Paris, the 12th of December, 1778.

“‘Monsieur:

“‘If I presented myself to-day before you, and if I had the honor
to propose to you to construct and arm a vessel of this
importance, as one able to take the place of a vessel of the
King, wherever I should send it, do you think, Monsieur, that you
would refuse cannon and the title of Captain of a battleship to
its Commander? How then can it be less precious when all is ready
than if it were still to be built?

“‘I beg your pardon; but the multiplicity of objects which occupy
you may very easily hide from you the importance of my armament,
consecrated to the triple employment of encouraging the commerce
of France by my example and my success, of promising to provision
the islands most in need, and of conducting to the continent of
America, in the most stormy times, a French merchant fleet
important enough to convince the new states by this effort of the
great desire of France to support the new commercial bond that
already joins us....

“‘It is to your wisdom that I present these serious matters, and
I dare say that there are none more worthy of the attention and
protection of an enlightened minister such as you.

“‘Caron de Beaumarchais.’

“_Le Fier Roderigue_,” continues Loménie, “set sail, with her sixty cannon, convoying ten merchantmen. At the Isle of Granada it encountered the fleet of the Admiral d’Estaing, which prepared to give battle to that of the English Admiral Biron. Sighting the beautiful vessel of Beaumarchais passing in the distance, the admiral made a sign for it to come. Seeing that it belonged to His Majesty, Caron de Beaumarchais, he assigned it to its post of battle without the authorization of its proprietor, allowing the unfortunate merchantmen which this vessel was protecting to go on at the mercy of the seas and of the English. _Le Fier Roderigue_ resigned itself bravely to its fate, and took a glorious part in the Battle of Granada and contributed its part to making the English Admiral retire, but its captain was killed and it was riddled with bullets. The evening of the combat the Comte d’Estaing, feeling the need of consoling Beaumarchais, wrote to him a letter, which he sent through the Minister of the Navy, the like of which is not often found in the archives of a dramatic poet:

“‘On board the Languedoc, the 12th of July, 1779.

“‘I have only the time to write you that _le Fier Roderigue_ has
held her post in line, and contributed to the success of the arms
of the king. You will pardon me all the more readily for having
used her, since your interests will not suffer from it, be sure
of that. The brave M. de Montaut unfortunately was killed. I will
urge the minister without ceasing for the favor of the state, and
I hope you will aid me in soliciting that which your navy has
very justly merited.

“‘I have the honor to be, with all the sentiments which you have
so well known how to inspire, Monsieur, your very humble and
obedient servant,

“‘Estaing.’

“The minister hastened to send the letter to Beaumarchais, who replied as follows:

“‘Paris, September 7, 1779.

“‘Monsieur:

“‘I thank you for having sent me the letter of the Comte
d’Estaing. It is noble of him, in the moment of his triumph, to
have thought that a word from his hand would be very agreeable to
me.... Whatever may happen for my affairs, my poor friend Montaut
died on the bed of honor, and I feel the joy of a child to know
that my vessel has contributed to take from the English the most
fertile of their possessions....

“‘You know my tender and respectful devotion,

“‘Beaumarchais.’

“However, the joy of the patriot,” continued Loménie, “was somewhat mitigated by the distress of the merchant. The report of the captain, second in command of the _Fier Roderigue_, arrived at the same time, and though it contributed equally to the glory of Beaumarchais, it was very disastrous from the point of view of his coffer. He, therefore, addressed a vigorous appeal to the King, asking for an indemnity which would save him from ruin.” That the request was subsequently granted, we may judge from the following extract from a letter to Necker, written a little more than a year after the date of the battle, and given by Gudin:

“Paris, July 18th, 1780.

“You have rendered, Monsieur, an act of justice in my regard, and
you have done it with grace, which has touched me more than the
thing itself. I thank you for it; but I owe you more important
thanks upon the indemnity, which the King has been so good as to
offer me for the enormous losses which the campaign with
d’Estaing has caused me.”

Loménie asserts that the indemnity had been fixed at 2,000,000 francs, and was to be paid in installments, the last coming to him in 1785.

But to return to the American Congress. After long debates a reversal of parties had placed at the head of that body the honorable John Jay, who hastened to address Beaumarchais with the first letter which came to him from Congress, although his earliest shipment of supplies had been made almost two years previously:

“By express order of Congress, sitting in Philadelphia, to M.
de Beaumarchais.

“January 15, 1779.

“Sir:

“The Congress of the United States of America, recognizing the
great efforts which you have made in their favor, presents to you
its thanks, and the assurance of its esteem. It laments the
disappointments which you have suffered in the support of these
States. Disastrous circumstances have prevented the execution of
its desires; but it will take the promptest measures to acquit
itself of the debt which it has contracted towards you. The
generous sentiments and the breadth of view, which alone could
dictate a conduct such as yours, are the eulogy of your actions,
and the ornament of your character. While, by your rare talents,
you have rendered yourself useful to your prince, you have gained
the esteem of this young Republic and merited the applause of the
New World.

“John Jay, President.”

This beautiful expression of the best feeling in the States must have been soothing to the heart of Beaumarchais. That he understood the attitude of America and knew very well the complexity of the situation in which the young republic found itself involved, may be judged from the following extract from his _Mémoire justicative à la cour de Londres_, printed in the first collection of his works and written in 1779. He says:

“In truth, my ardent zeal for my new friends might well have been a little wounded at the cold reception which was made to brave men whom I had myself brought to expatriate themselves for the service. My pains, my work, and my advances were immense in this respect. But I am afflicted only for our unhappy officers, because even in the very refusal of the Americans, I don’t know what exultation, what republican pride attracted my heart, and showed me a people so ardent to conquer their liberty, that they feared to diminish the glory of success in allowing strangers to divide with them the perils. My soul thus is composed; in the greatest evils it searches with care, and consoles itself with the little good which it encounters. And so, while my efforts had so little fruit in America ... sustained by my pride, I disdained to defend myself, leaving the evil-minded to their proper channel.

“The idle of Paris envied my happiness, and were jealous of me as a favorite of fortune and of power; and I, sad plaything of events, alone, deprived of rest, lost for society, exhausted by insomnia and troubles, _tour à tour_ exposed to the suspicions, the ingratitude, anxieties, to the reproaches of France, England and America; working day and night and running to my goal by constant effort across a thorny land—I exhausted myself with fatigue and advanced little. I felt my courage revived when I thought that a great people would soon offer a sweet and free retreat to all the persecuted of Europe; that my fatherland would be revenged for the humiliation to which it had been subjected by the treaty of 1763; in a word, that the sea would become open to all commercial nations; I was supported by the hope that a new system of politics would open in Europe.”

But notwithstanding all his difficulties and losses, the affairs of Beaumarchais were advancing steadily. His merchant fleet, after the Treaty of Paris, signed in September, 1783, was no longer subject to the risks of war, and soon began to bring him in vast returns. But as late as March of this same year, we find him writing to Vergennes, in a letter quoted by Gaillardet:

“The taking of my two vessels cost me more than 800,000 livres,
and since the publicity of my losses I have been drawn upon,
through fear, for a similar sum. Remittances have come to me from
America, and now unfortunately their payment is suspended. I have
two new vessels at Nantes, one of 12,000 tons, which I destined
for China, and which I am now unable to sell.

“I have 80,000 livres worth of bales of merchandise on the
_Aigle_, destined for Congress, and the _Aigle_ has been taken. A
sudden inundation, which happened at Morlaige, has submerged two
warehouses where I had 1,000,000 pounds of tea. The whole is
damaged to-day.

“Day before yesterday, at the instant of payment, the exchange
agent of Girard by his fraudulent bankruptcy carried off near
30,000 livres.

“Two vessels must be sent to the Chesapeake before the middle of
May if I am not to lose all the miserable remains of the tobacco
of my stores in Virginia, the main part of which was burned by
the English, because for four years _le Fier Roderigue_ has been
detained at Rochefort, where it has at last decayed. This is the
most trying time of my life; and you know M. le Comte that for
three years I have had over 200,000 livres in disuse, because of
the enormous mass of parchments which M. de Maurepas ordered me
secretly to buy, wherever I found them. I shall perish if M. de
Fleury does not promptly arrange with you to throw me the ‘on
account’ which I demand, as one throws a cable to him whom the
current carries away. I always have served my country well, and I
will serve it still without recompense; I wish none. But in the
name of Heaven, of the King, of compassion and of justice,
prevent me from perishing or from hiding shamefully in a foreign
country the little courage and talent which I always have sought
to render useful to my country and to my King. What I ask is of
the most rigorous equity and I will receive it as a favor.

“I present to you the homages of him who has not slept for two
months, but who is none the less, with the most respectful
devotion, M. le Comte, your very humble and very obedient
servitor,

“Caron de Beaumarchais.”

But let us now turn from this gloomy picture and cast a glance at the home life of this man so buffeted before the world.

Bonneville de Marsangy, in his life of Madame de Beaumarchais has drawn the picture for us. He says:

“Beaumarchais, in consequence of the noise which continued to be made about his name, was none the less one of the personages the most sought after of the capital. Whatever he says about it, the fact is that he lived in great style. His stables contained as many as ten horses. He kept open table; strangers of distinction, desirous of knowing the popular author of so many celebrated works, solicited the honor of being presented to him. He received men of distinction in politics, in letters and arts, and women the most sought after, in the midst of whom the mistress of the house shone in the first rank by her _esprit_, her education, and her charms.... Nearly every evening in the Hotel Boulevard St. Antonie, there was talking, music, playing, although the master never took part in play. His _esprit_ was equally free, equally alert, his fancy inexhaustible. It is there he loved to read his new productions, and he excelled at that. Arnault recounts one of these literary reunions at which he assisted, ‘in a great circular salon, partly ornamented with mirrors, partly with landscapes of vast dimensions, and half of which was occupied by seats for placing the auditors. Upon an estrade, furnished with a desk, stood the armchair of the reader. There, as in a theatre, Beaumarchais read, or rather played his dramas; because it is to play, if one delivers a piece in as many different inflexions of the voice as there are different personages in the action; because it is to play if one gives to each one of the personages the pantomime which should characterize him.’” (Arnault, _Souvenirs d’un sexagénaire_, Vol. IV.)

And Gudin adds another touch to the portrait of this many-sided man; after speaking of the loss of his mother, dying in her eighty-third year, he said:

“Beaumarchais came at once to see me, offered me all the consolations of friendship, and reclaimed the promise which we had given one another long ago, to unite the rest of the days which nature reserved to us.

“It is thus that I found in the family of my friend all those attentions which could sweeten the irreparable loss of the tenderest mother and one whom I had quitted almost never.”

In 1787 Beaumarchais had accumulated a sufficient fortune to contemplate the building of a superb residence, for which he already had bought the land in that section of the City of Paris now occupied by the Boulevard which bears his name. It was directly opposite the Bastille, and was not yet completed on the memorable 14th of July, 1789, when the ancient fortress was destroyed. This residence cost the owner one million six hundred and sixty-three thousand francs. “_Une folie_,” Napoleon called it. When in 1818, the government bought the property so as to make way for the new boulevard, they paid the heirs of Beaumarchais only five hundred thousand francs. As an investment, therefore, it was far from successful; but as a residence, it was, while it lasted, one of the sights of the city, and was regarded as such. It was the very last word in elegance and comfort, and rivaled the most sumptuous palaces of the capital. In the beginning, it was always open to the public, but so vast became the horde of visitors, that very soon entrance was obtainable only by tickets (though these were never refused to anyone who asked politely for them).

Although the storm of the Revolution was gathering already, its shadow had not yet fallen upon Beaumarchais, who did not foresee either its fury or the extent of the devastation it was to carry in its train.

After the fall of the Bastille he had been appointed by the _Maire_ of Paris to superintend the demolition of the structure so as to prevent damage to buildings in the neighborhood. Soon after he was named member of the Municipal Council, but, says Loménie, “denunciations soon began to rain upon him. All the adversaries of his numerous lawsuits and all those whom his riches irritated denounced him to the fury of the masses, as one who upheld authority, or who was hoarding wheat or arms. His house, situated at the very entrance to that terrible suburb, the center of the mob, presented itself as a sort of insolent provocation, which naturally called for the visits of the people.” To rid himself of these dangerous visits became his constant preoccupation; first demanding official visits, then placarding about him the results of these visits, stating that nothing suspicious had been found in his possession, again distributing about him all the money possible, and suggesting to the municipality all sorts of charitable institutions, because “disorder and misery always march in company.” Among the accusations persistently made against him was that he had enriched himself at the expense of the American people, and that he had sent them arms and munitions for which he charged them a hundred times their value. Stung to the quick by the falsehood of these accusations, coming as they did from his own countrymen, he made a ringing protest of self-defense to the commune of Paris in September, 1789, in which he said:

“You condemn me to speak well of myself by speaking so ill of
me.... Attacked by furious enemies, I have gained, perhaps with
too much brilliancy, all the lawsuits undertaken against me,
because I never have brought an action against anyone, although
for the greatest benefits I have received almost universally, I
dare say it, unheard of and constant ingratitude....

“Since I have been attacked upon this point I am going to state
before you all the unheard of labors, which a single man was able
to accomplish in that great work. Frenchmen, you who pride
yourselves to have drawn the desire and ardor of your liberty
from the example of the Americans, learn that that nation owes me
very largely her own. It is time that I should say it in the face
of the universe, and if anyone pretends to contest what I say,
let him rise and name himself; my proofs will reply to the
imputations which I denounce....

“These accusations, as vague as despicable, relate to the
Americans whom I served so generously; I, who would be reduced to
the alms which I scatter, had not noble foreigners, taken in a
free country, associated me with the gains of a vast commerce,
while I associated them to my constant losses with America! I,
who dared form all the plans of help necessary to that people,
and offered them to our ministers; I, who dared blame their
indecision, their weakness, and so loudly reproach them with it,
in my proud reply to the English manifest by Gibbon; I, who dared
promise a success which was very far from being generally
admitted....

“All that I could obtain after a great deal of trouble ... was to
be allowed to proceed on my own responsibility without the
assistance of the government in any way, on condition of being
stopped if the English made the least complaints, and of being
punished if they produced proofs—which put so many hindrances in
the way of my maritime operations, that to help the Americans, I
was obliged to mask and to disguise my works in the interior; the
expeditions, the ships, the manufactures of the contractors, and
even to the reason of trade, which was a mask like the rest.

“Shall I say it, Frenchmen? The King alone had courage, and as
for me I worked for his glory, wishing to make him the prop of a
proud people who burned to be free; because I had an immense debt
to fulfil towards that good king.... Yes, the King, Louis XVI,
who assured to the Americans their liberty, who gives you yours,
Frenchmen, gave back to me also my estate. Let his name be
honored in all the centuries. Then, leaving aside the labors
which I am ready to expose in a work where I will prove that I
sent at my risks and perils, whatever could be had of the best in
France, in munitions, arms, clothing, etc., to the insurgents who
needed everything, on credit, at the cost price, leaving them
masters to fix the commission which they would one day pay to
their friend (for so they called me); and that after twelve
years, I am still not paid. I declare that the measures which I
am making at this moment before their new federal court, to
obtain justice of them,—faithful report which a committee of the
Treasury has just given of what is due me, is the last effort of
a very generous creditor. But I will publish everything, and the
universe shall judge us. Omitting, I say, all the details of my
work, of my services towards that people, I will pass to the
testimony which was given me by the agent, the minister of
America, before he left France. His letter of March 18th, 1778,
bears these words:

‘After the perplexing and embarrassing scenes you have had to
pass through, it must give you the most solid joy to see an
armament going out to America.... I again congratulate you on
this great and glorious event, to which you have contributed more
than any other person.

‘Silas Deane.’

“Alas, that was the last of my successes. A minister of the
department to whom I showed that letter, alas, though up to that
time he had treated me with the greatest kindness, suddenly
changed his tone, and his style. I did my best to persuade him
that I did not pretend in any way to appropriate to myself that
glory, but to leave it entirely to him. The blow had carried, he
had read the praise; I was lost in his favor. It was to take from
him all idea of my ambition, to avert the storm, that I
recommenced to amuse myself with frivolous theatrical plays,
while keeping a profound silence upon my political actions. But
that helped nothing. It is very true that a year later, the
general Congress, having received my vivid complaints upon the
delay of payment, wrote me the ... letter by the Honorable Mr.
John Jay, their president, the 15th of Jan. 1779....

“If it was not money, it was at least gratitude. America, nearer
the great services which I had rendered her, was not yet where
she disputed her debts, fatiguing me with injustice, to wear out
my life, if possible, and succeed in paying nothing. It is also
true that the same year, the respectable Mr. Jefferson, to-day
their minister in France, then Governor of Virginia, struck by
the fearful losses which the depreciation of paper money would
inflict upon me, wrote, to my general agent in America, M. de
Francy, in these terms:

“‘December 17, 1779.

“‘Monsieur:

“‘I am very much mortified that the depreciation of paper money,
of which no one, I think, had the least idea at the time of the
contract, passed between the supercargo of the _Fier Roderigue_
(war vessel of mine, very richly charged, the cargo of which had
been delivered on credit to Virginia, which state owes me still
almost the whole, after more than twelve years have passed), and
that state has enveloped in the general loss M. de Beaumarchais,
who has merited so well of us, and who has excited our greatest
veneration by his affection for the true rights of man, his
genius, his literary reputation, etc.

Signed, “‘Thomas Jefferson.’

“In the work, which I am going to publish, where I will show the
proofs of the excellence of all my shipments to that people,
after exact inspection which they themselves made, before the
departure of my vessels, well attested by their ministers, and
the excuses which he made me, of which I have all the originals,
the surprise will be to see the patience with which I have
supported all the invectives of my enemies. But it would have
been to disgrace _the greatest act of my life_, the honorable
part which I had in the liberty of America, if I had mingled it
with the discussions of a vile law suit.... It was my scorn, my
indignation, which made me keep silence. It is broken; I will
hold my tongue no more on that great object, _the glory of my
entire life_. They say that my sordid avarice has been the cause
of the misfortunes of the American people. _My_ avarice, mine,
whose life is only a circle of generosity, of benevolence. I will
not cease to prove it, since their savage libels have rendered so
many men unjust. Not a single being, who went at that time from
Europe to America, without having pecuniary obligations to me, of
which nearly all are due me still; and no Frenchman has suffered
in that country whom I have not aided with my purse. I invoke a
witness, whom it does you honor to respect, the very valiant
general of your troops. Ask him if my services did not hunt out
unfortunate Frenchmen in every corner of America.

“Render justice to my good heart, noble Marquis de Lafayette;
Your glorious youth, would it not have been ruined without my
wise counsel and the advances of my money? You have very well
repaid all that was loaned you by my orders; and I say it to your
glory, you have added fifty louis more than were due to me, to
join that money to the charitable institution which I was
founding of the _pauvres mères nourrices_....

“And you, Baron von Steuben, Comtes Pulasky, Bienousky, you,
Tronçon, Prudhomme, and a hundred others, who have never
acquitted their debts to me, come out of your tombs and speak!

“Fifteen hundred thousand francs at least, of services rendered,
fill a portfolio, which probably will never be acquitted by
anyone, and more than a thousand unfortunates whose needs I have
anticipated are ready to raise their voice in my favor.... The
third of my fortune is in the hands of my debtors, and since I
have aided the poor of Sainte-Marguerite, four hundred letters at
least are on my desk from unfortunates, raising their hands to
me.... My heart is torn, but I cannot reply to all.

“September 2, 1789.”

But from the accusations of his enemies, and the pleadings of his own cause, let us turn, before worse calamities overtake him, to contemplate anew the charming picture, which the interior of his home presents.

It was in 1791 that he took his family to occupy the splendid new residence which we have just now mentioned. Its mistress Madame de Beaumarchais was a woman of rare intelligence and energy of character; “her physiognomy,” says Bonneville, “offered an expression full of vivacity and intelligence. The eye is superb, tempered by long lashes, heightened by the daring arch of the brows; the mouth is admirably well formed; the chin full, the complexion brilliant.... The reputation for beauty of Madame de Beaumarchais was general. The public ratified on all occasions, the praise of her friends. It is traditional in her family that she rarely left her home without being recognized and followed at a distance by a cortège of admirers, drawn not only by the celebrity of the name she bore, but also by the prestige of her bearing. Often, even, she was obliged to gain her carriage to avoid the importunity of the too flattering attentions.

“Beaumarchais, as he confesses perhaps superfluously, was far from being a devotee; still he respected the beliefs of others; he had desired especially that his daughter should be brought up piously. Eugénie was at this moment a pupil at the convent of Bon Secours; her father often went there to visit her. The Superior, who had had proof of the generous and good heart of the father of her pupil, permitted herself to speak of one of the school-mates of Eugénie who was unable to pay the expenses of her education. The author of the _Mariage de Figaro_ replied at once in the following delicate manner:

“‘July 27, 1790.

“‘I send you, Madame, a bill of 200 livres for your unfortunate
pupil. This is for the year. I will have the honor of giving to
you or to her, in money, the first time I go to the convent,
three louis, which will make six francs a month for this year,
the same as I give to my daughter; but I conjure you, Madam, that
my help does not force or press her vocation. I should be
distressed if she were in any way thwarted as to her future. I
have not the honor of knowing her; it is the good which you have
said of her which determined me. That she remains free, and less
unhappy, this is all the thanks I ask; keep the secret for me. I
am surrounded with virulent enemies.’

“One cannot,” continues Bonneville, “hide oneself more gallantly, to do good.

“The prioress hastened to divulge the secret; and to the rough draft of the letter of Beaumarchais found among his papers, is attached a note in which his young protégée expressed with emotion all her gratitude to her benefactor.”

The violences directed against the religious establishments soon forced Beaumarchais to bring his daughter home. It was about this time that we find a letter, addressed by the author of the _Mariage de Figaro_, to the Municipal officers of Paris, begging, with his characteristic energy, that the churches be opened, and more masses be said in the Quartier-Vieille-rue-du-Temple.

“In this letter,” says Loménie, “it is the husband, the brother, but especially the father who speaks. The author of the _Mariage de Figaro_ adored his only daughter, he had just brought her home from the convent, and if he went himself very little to mass, he was not sorry to have her go for him. It is this side of Beaumarchais, so good, so simple, so jovial, so gay, that makes us love him, and which comes out with special force in a song which he wrote to celebrate the young girl’s return under her father’s roof. This song has been classed as one of the best of the poetic inspirations of Beaumarchais. The turn _naïf_ of the old popular songs is found in it, combined with a graceful mixture of friendliness, finesse and gaiety.”

The charm of these verses, which it is impossible to render into English, gave the song a great popularity, and it circulated widely.

In it, there was question of the marriage of Mlle. Eugénie, where the father jestingly says: “My _gentilhomme_, is that all you are?

“Parchment and blazonry will never open my house.

“_If someone really tender,
Sings thee songs in the air,
Let me hear them
For thy Father sees clear
And I will say if there is reason
That he should enter here._

“_Should some excellent young man
See heaven in thy eyes,
Say to him ‘Beautiful astronomer,
Speak to that good old man,
He is my father, and there is reason
That he should choose his son-in-law.’_

“_If he has some talent
What matters his fortune?
Judge, writer, soldier,
Esprit, virtue, sweet reason—
These are the titles valued here._”

“The result of all this was that Beaumarchais was deluged,” says Loménie, “with the most singular demands in marriage for his daughter. Here it is from a nobleman, but one who makes no point of his blazon, who despises the fortune which he has not, who esteems only virtue, and who aspires to marry Mlle. Eugénie and her dot; there, from a father, perfectly unknown to Beaumarchais, who begs him to keep the daughter for his son, still in college; farther on it is a captain, who has only his sword, but who is worthy of being a Marshal of France. Politely to turn aside this avalanche of virtuous and disinterested suitors, the father of Eugénie wrote a letter which, with slight modifications, serves him for all, and of which the following is a sample:

“Paris, May 21, 1791.

“Although your letter, Monsieur, appears to have its origin in a
simple jest, since it is serious and honest, I owe you a reply.

“You have been deceived regarding my daughter. Scarcely fourteen
years old, she is far from the time when I will allow her to
choose a master, reserving for myself in this only, the right to
advise. Perhaps you are quite ignorant of the exact situation. I
have only lately taken my daughter from the convent; the joy of
her return drew from my indolence a song, which after having been
sung at my table, went the rounds. The tone _bonhomme_ which I
there took, joined to the jest of her future establishment, has
made many persons think that I already thought of her settlement.

“But may I be preserved from engaging her before the time when
her own heart will give her a consciousness of what it all means,
and Monsieur, this will be an affair of years, not of months.

“What the song says jestingly, however, will certainly be my rule
to enlighten her young heart. Fortune touches me less than
talents and virtue, because I wish her to be happy....

“Beaumarchais.”

But the young girl’s presence under her father’s roof was to be of short duration. Very soon, his anxiety for their safety led him to dispatch his family to Havre. For, says La Harpe,

“His house was placed at the entrance of that terrible faubourg like the Palace of Portici at the foot of Vesuvius.... The eruption of the volcano was as yet only at rare intervals; that of the faubourg was at every moment. It is inconceivable that under the lava always boiling, that house was not engulfed.”

So it is here we will leave him to await alone,—except for his faithful Gudin—the coming of the storm, which his own writings had done so much to rouse, but which he neither desired, nor, to the end, comprehended.