THE MEMOIRS OF FRANOIS REN
VICOMTE DE CHATEAUBRIAND
SOMETIME AMBASSADOR TO ENGLAND
BEING A TRANSLATION BY ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS
OF THE MMOIRES D'OUTRE-TOMBE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES. In 6 Volumes
NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY G. P PUTNAM'S
SONS AND IN LONDON BY FREEMANTLE
AND COMPANY MDCCCCII
VOL. I
Le Vicomte de Chateaubriand
"NOTRE SANG A TEINT
LA BANNIRE DE FRANCE"
CONTENTS
xiii
xxi
xxix
PART THE FIRST
1768-1800
3-36
Birth of my brothers and sistersMy own birthPlancotI am vowedCombourgMy father's scheme of education for meVilleneuveLucileMesdemoiselles CouppartI am a bad pupilThe life led by my maternal grandmother and her sister at PlancotMy uncle, the Comte de Bede, at MonchoixI am relieved from my nurse's vowHolidaysSaint-MaloGesrilHervine MagonFight with two ship's lads
37-70
A note from M. PasquierDieppeChange in my educationSpring in BrittanyAn historic forestPelagian fieldsThe moon setting over the seaDeparture for CombourgDescription of the castleDol CollegeMathematics and languagesAn instance of memoryHolidays at CombourgLife at a country-seatFeudal customsThe inhabitants of CombourgSecond holidays at CombourgThe Conti RegimentCamp at Saint-MaloAn abbeyA provincial theatreMarriage of my two eldest sistersReturn to collegeA revolution begins to take place in my ideasAdventure of the magpieThird holidays at CombourgThe quackReturn to collegeInvasion of FranceGamesThe Abb de ChateaubriandMy First CommunionI leave Dol CollegeA mission at CombourgRennes CollegeI meet GesrilMoreau-LimolanMarriage of my third sisterI am sent to Brest for my naval examinationThe harbour of BrestI once more meet GesrilLapeyrouseI return to Combourg
71-96
At MontboissierReminiscences of CombourgDinan CollegeBroussaisI return homeLife at CombourgOur days and eveningsMy donjonChange from childhood to manhoodLucileLast lines written at the Valle-aux-LoupsRevelations concerning the mystery of my lifeA phantom of loveTwo years of deliriumOccupations and illusionsMy autumn joysIncantationTemptationIllnessI fear and decline to enter the ecclesiastical stateA moment in my native townRecollection of Villeneuve and the tribulations of my childhoodI am called back to CombourgLast interview with my fatherI enter the serviceI bid farewell to Combourg
97-123
BerlinPotsdamFrederic the GreatMy brotherMy cousin MoreauMy sister, the Comtesse de FarcyJulie a worldly womanDinnerPommereulMadame de ChastenayCambraiThe Navarre RegimentLa MartinireDeath of my fatherMy regretsWould my father have appreciated me?I return to BrittanyI stay with my eldest sisterMy brother sends for me to ParisFirst inspiration of the museMy lonely life in ParisI am presented at VersaillesI hunt with the KingAdventure with my mare Heureuse
124-183
Stay in BrittanyIn garrison at DieppeI return to Paris with Lucile and JulieDelisle de SalesMen of lettersPortraitsThe Rosanbo familyM. de MalesherbesHis predilection for LucileAppearance and change of my sylphEarly political disturbances in BrittanyA glance at the history of the monarchyConstitution of the States of BrittanyThe holding of the StatesThe King's revenue in BrittanyPrivate revenue of the provinceHearth-moneyI am present for the first time at a political meetingA sceneMy mother moves to Saint-MaloI receive the tonsureThe country round Saint-MaloThe ghostThe sick manThe States of Brittany in 1789RiotsSaint-Riveul, my schoolfellow, is killedThe year 1789Journey from Brittany to ParisMovement on the roadAppearance of ParisDismissal of M. NeckerVersaillesDelight of the Royal FamilyGeneral insurrectionCapture of the BastilleEffect of the capture of the Bastille on the CourtThe heads of Foullon and BertierRecall of M. NeckerSitting of the 4th of August 1789The day's work of the 5th of OctoberThe King is taken to ParisThe Constituent AssemblyMirabeauSittings of the National AssemblyRobespierreSociety-Aspect of ParisWhat I did amidst all this turmoilMy solitary daysMademoiselle MonetI draw up with M. de Malesherbes the plan of my journey in AmericaBonaparte and I both unknown subalternsThe Marquis de La RourieI embark at Saint-MaloLast thoughts on leaving my native land
184-262
In London as AmbassadorI cross the oceanFranois TullochChristopher ColumbusCamonsThe AzoresThe isle of GraciosaSports on board shipThe isle of Saint-PierreThe shores of VirginiaSunsetDanger and escapeI land in AmericaBaltimoreThe passengers separateTullochPhiladelphiaGeneral WashingtonComparison of Washington and BonaparteJourney from Philadelphia to New York and BostonMackenzieThe Hudson RiverSong of the lady passengerMr. SwiftI set out for the Falls of Niagara with a Dutch guideM. VioletMy savage outfitHuntingWolverine and Canadian FoxMusk-ratFishing dogsInsectsMontcalm and WolfeEncampment on the shore of the Onondaga LakeArabsThe Indian woman and her cowAn IroquoisThe Onondaga chiefVelly and the FranksCeremonies of hospitalityThe ancient GreeksJourney from the Onondaga Lake to the Genesee RiverClearingsHospitalityMy bedThe enchanted rattle-snakeNiagara FallsThe rattle-snakeI fall to the edge of the abyssTwelve days in a hutChange of manners among the savagesBirth and deathMontaigne-Song of the adderThe little Indian girl, the original of MilaIncidentsOld CanadaTrue civilisation spread by religionFalse civilisation introduced by commerceTradersAgentsHuntsHalf-breeds or Burnt-woodsWars of the companiesThe Indian languages dying outThe old French possessions in AmericaRegretsA note from Lord Franois ConynghamThe Canadian lakesA fleet of Indian canoesThe American riversLegendsMuscogulges and SiminolesOur campTwo Floridan beautiesRuins on the OhioWhat the Muscogulge damsels wereArrest of the King at VarennesI interrupt my journey to go back to EuropeDangers for the United StatesReturn to EuropeShipwreck
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
VOL. I
THE TRANSLATOR'S NOTE
Many years ago, M. Pierre Lous, who had not then achieved his astonishing successes, and I sat talking literature in a Paris caf. The future author of Aphrodite had praise for none save the moderns, of whom he has now become a recognized type and leader. I turned to him suddenly and asked:
"Is there any nineteenth-century French writer at all whom you others read nowadays and approve of?"
"Yes," said Lous, "Chateaubriand."
"How do you mean?" said I. "The novels? Atala? The essays?"
"Ah no," he answered: "but the Mmoires d'outre-tombe, yes. Thatthat is monumental; that will live for ever."
Our talk drifted to other things; I remembered what Louis had saidfor two days: had I come across these Memoirs in the course of my rambles along the quays, I should have bought them; I did not, and bought other books instead.
*
In the winter of 1898, I spent two months at the house of my kinsman, David Teixeira de Mattos, in Amsterdam. It stands on one of the oldest of the canals. It is a quaint, spacious seventeenth-century house, and the habits of the house are of the same date as the architecture: there are few books in it. Knowing this, I had brought books with me, but not enough to last out my stay; and, before very long, I was driven to rummage in the one small, old-fashioned book-case which contained David Teixeira's library. I found it to consist in the main of volumes bearing upon the history of the reigning House of Orange, in whose restoration my kinsman's near predecessors had been concerned; of family records; of the Dutch poets of the early nineteenth century: until, suddenly, I came across a poor little pirated edition of Chateaubriand's masterpiece, printed in Brussels in twenty small parts, and bound up into five small volumes. I carried them to my room, spent three weeks in their perusal, started to read them a second time, and came back to London determined to find a publisher who would undertake the risk of an English translation.
