The Argosy — page 85: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

72 Madame de Staci. child seems in no humour for fun of any sort this evening; she has something far too grave in hand, something about which no joke must be made. Her father and his friend cast amused, wondering glances at each other, and cannot at all guess what is coming next. But whatever strange, impossible conjectures they may have made on the subject, they are most completely outdone by the words which now come from Mademoiselle Louise’s lips. She places herself be- tween the two gentlemen with a grand, majestic air, and turning to . the guest, says solemnly, while she fixes her eyes steadfastly on his face : “Monsieur Gibbon, will you consent to a betrothal taking place at once between yourself'and me? Because, you see, if I were to marry you, you would stay in France, and never go back to England, and then my father would always enjoy the pleasure of your conversation, in which he so delights, and I should know that I had obtained it for him.” If all things are considered, it was surely well for the young lady that she was ten instead of twenty when she made this proposal to the author of ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” As Louise Necker grew into early girlhood, she began to show something of the vast, strong capacities for which her mind was afterwards so distinguished; she displayed a decided aptitude for those deeper studies which are, in general, distasteful to the young female brain, and handled them as easily as most girls do their crochet needles. She delighted in looking into the history of nations, and in reading their annals by a light evolved by herself out of their past; her imagination, too, kept pace with her reason, and she revelled in the poetry of all lands, for she was a clever linguist: Her pen soon was busy with something besides letter-writing, though even her parents hardly knew anything of what she was about; until, one day, they and several of their intimate, learned friends were literally struck dumb by the girl of fifteen bringing them to read a treatise on the laws of her country. At eighteen, Mademoiselle Necker’s brilliant conversational powers were fully developed, and began to show themselves in society. She talked about everything; about literature, religion, science, social troubles, politics; sometimes rather wide of the mark, it is true, but always with brightness and originality. The worst of it was, however, that in those days, in France, young ladies of position did not talk in public at all. Even her father began to be a little frightened at the phenomenon which his house had produced, radiant phenomenon though it was, and to look about for some safe, responsible man, who would be willing to take the shining wonder out of his hands, and to hold it in secure keeping. The Swedish ambassador at the French Court was a certain Baron de Stael. He was middle-aged, and a Protestant, and well-endowed as to worldly goods ; his intellect was not exactly as bright as a northern aurora borealis, but his private daily life was as steady-going as a ECORNIELOOKS .~E©