that Rouffeau's intellects began to be deranged; the intelligence did not furprize me. The young knight added, that Rouleau had given him a paper in his own hand-writing, intreating that he would endeavour to procure an afylum for him. This paper ought to find a place in the prefent narrative. It is the fame as that which already appeared in this journal on the 20th July, 1778, the epoch of the death of Rouffean. Thofe of my readers, and I prefume they are many, who have not yet feen it, will thank me for inferting it a fecond time. I ought to premife, however, that it is dated in the month of February, 1777; but Rouffeau having produced it for the perufal of the knight of Malta during his vifit to Ermenonville, it may really be confidered to have two dates, that of February, 1777, and that of June, 1778, the time of that vifit.

66

My wife has been long fickly, and the progrefs of her complaint, which prevents her from attending to the affairs of her little houfnold, renders the fervices of others neceffary to herfelf, when he is obliged to keep her bed. I have hitherto at tended to, and nurfed her in every illness; my advanced age no longer permits me to perform the fame fervices. Befides, the fuperintendance of our houshold, fmall as it is, is not all, the neceffaries of life must be purchafed without doors, they muft alfo be dreffed; and every thing is to be kept clean *. Unable to perform all thefe offices myfeif, I have been forced to endeavour to afford a fer vant to my wife. Ten months experience has convinced me of the infufficiency, and the unavoidable, and, indeed, intolerable inconvenience of this refource, in a fituation like ours. Reduced to the neceffity of living a

.

lone, and yet, unable to dispense with the affiftance of others, in our infirm and forlorn condition, there remains only one mode of paffing the age of our days; and that is, to obtain fome asylum where we might subsist at our own charge, but free from any laborious exertion, to which Our ftrength is no longer equal, and unincumbered with details and cares which we are now incapable of sustaining. In every other respect-in whatever manner I am to be treated, whether I am kept in formal confinement, or in a fate of apparent liberty-whether I am to live with perfons good, or ill natured, deceit ful or ingenuous (if there ftill be any fuch in exiftence)-I hall confent to every thing, provided my wife receives thofe affiduities which her fituation requires, and that to the laft of my days I am to be allowed shelter, the moft fimple clothing, and the plaineft food, without the neceffity of troubling myself with any thing. For this accommodation we are willing to part with all our ready money, effects, and annuities, which, I hope, will be efteemed a reafonable compenfation, in some of the provinces where provifions are cheap, and in houses appropriated to this mode of living, where the resources of economy are known and practifed; efpecially when it is confidered that in all cafes I will cheerfully fubmit to a treatment proportioned to my means."

This tender hearted young man, who had a fincere attachment for Rouffeau, shed a flood of tears, as he mentioned his uufortunate condition. He added, that he had offered Rouffeau the choice of etablishing his future refidence in either of two feats, which he had in Picardy and Normandy-both, to the best of my re

mem

with moft complacency, was the thought that the unfortunate Rouffeau, at length repofed in peace,dearly purchased it is true, but which there was no hope of his attaining in this life.

Being conftantly attended by M. Girardin, whofe politenefs did not permit him to leave me, I had no opportunity of converfing with the fervants of the house, or the inhabitants of the place. My father in law, however, told me that he had learned that in the morning of the day on which he died, Rouffeau, inftead of going to M. Girardin's, according to custom, to give a leffon to young Girardin, then an infant, went out to purfue his botanical amuse. ments, and carried home fome herbs which he infufed in his coffee.

Madame Rouffeau affured me, that he preferved his fenfes to the last mo

ment.

According to her account, he caufed his window to be opened, the day was delightful,-he fixed his eyes upon the gardens, and uttering a few words which proved that his foul was as ferene and pure as the air he breathed, he threw himself with confidence into the bofom of eternity. A reprefentation has been executed of him in this interefting fcene, and accompanied with his last expreffions.

Madame Girardin, on the other hand, told me, that being alarmed for his fituation, fhe flew to fee him. Why do you come hither, faid Rouffeau to her? your fenfibility is not proof against a fcene like this, and the catastrophe in which it must speedily terminate. He conjured her to retire and to leave him alone. She obeyed, and scarcely had the ftepped out of the apartment, when she heard the bolts fhut, which prevented her from attempting to procure re-admiffion.

Thefe are the only circumftances of importance which I am able to re

collect; but they are all moft ftrictly true. I have already itated, and I fhould not think myfelf juftifiable in concealing it, that Payen, on the next day, or at most two days, after the death of Rouffeau, told me that he had killed himself with a pistol. It is difficult to fuppofe that Payen invented the ftory. He had no interest in propagating it: he mentioned it the very moment he faw me, and the firft moment is generally without precaution; it is then indeed that truth difcovers itself and operates on the mind with its real force. The wound which the piftol might be fuppofed to occafion, was actually confirmed by M. Girardin; but he attributed it to a fall. The important fact, however, of his having a wound is omitted in the report of the furgeons, though they affirm that they examined every part of the body. It ftates only that he died of a ferous apoplexy. An apoplexy, according to my conception of it, deprives the body of its loco-motive, and the mind of its reafoning powers. But on the fuppofition that Rouffeau actually was in the water-closet, if he was not conducted to it, we have a proof that he was able to walk. If he was conducted to it; it is not very probable that he fhould fall. From an accidental fit of illness men are not apt in general to infer the certain approach of death. But the words which accompany the print of Rouffeau, fhews that he had not the fmalleft doubt refpecting his fate. The difmiffal of Madam Girardin, whofe fenfibility he thought must have been overpowered with the cataftrophe of the scene, is another evidence that Rouffeau entertained a confcious certainty of his speedy dif. folution, a certainty which in my opinion does not well accord with the fuppofition of a ferous apoplexy. E. very thing leads me to believe that Rouffeau refolved to rid himself of a life which had become infupportable

con.

to him. Let us further take into confideration the imaginary enemies which haunted his mind both night and day, during the fix weeks of his refidence at M. Girardin's,-phantoms which sprung very naturally from his difordered brain, but to which his ardent preparations for speedily departing from Ermenon. ville, prove that he afcribed a real existence. If to this be added the impatient and determined defire of efcaping from that refidence, evinced in his communication to the young knight of Malta,-the impoffibility of leaving it from the want of money and another asylum to retire to,his repugnance to the idea of being furrounded by all the perfons in the houfe to oppofe his departure, and above all, with the consciousness of his own timidity, to that of being obliged to answer their various objections, it may reasonably be inferred, not only that he deftroyed himself, but that circumftances irrefistibly impelled him to felf deftruction.

M. Girardin, however, denies that he committed fuicide. But let us place ourselves in his fituation. He had invited Rouffeau to live with him, with the fole intention of promoting the happiness of himself and his wife. There is not the fmalleft reafon to fuppofe that he did not use all poffible means to accomplish this object. Would it not then be ex. tremely afflicting to him, not only to have failed of fuccefs, but to have exposed himself to the poffible accufation of being partly the occafion of Roffeau's unfortunate end? Is it not confiftent with human inclination, and very excufable to endeavour to throw a veil over the truth in fuch cafes, especially when the development of it can produce no mitigation of the evil? His denial and conceal ment of it are therefore very natural.

I am placed in different circum. ftances from M. Girardin; and, I fhould merit the reproach of others,

and that of my own confcience, were I to hefitate to declare without disguife, what appears to me to be true. Rouffeau belongs not alone to his perfonal friends, nor to the age in which he lived. He belongs to the whole literary world, to philofophers and moralifts, and alfo to pofterity. It is pofterity that muft decide upon his character; and its decifion will be regulated by the general result of all the actions of his life. But "death" fays Montaigne," is only the laft act of life." Rouffeau was in every refpect fo extraordinary, and his productions have thrown fo much celebrity on his character, that he becomes an interefting fubject of meditation to philofophers and moralifts, whose labours conftantly tend to explore: the depths of the human heart, in order to explain its various contradictions. In Rouffeau's conduct we find an additional book to ftudy, from which we may perhaps derive as much benefit as from the perufal of his other works.

Readers, if you should now demand a pofitive anfwer to the queftion, Did Rouffean voluntarily deftroy himself? I would reply, I know not; but I believe he did. I have put you in poffeffion of all the facts and circumftances refpe&ting his death, that have reached my knowledge. I do not mean to proceed farther; you will draw the conclufion for yourfelves. You are now as intimately acquainted with Rouffeau as I am myself.

Particulars of the Death of 7. J.. Rouffeau.

Some doubts having been entertained concerning the circumftances of the death of this extraordinary man, we prefent our readers with the following teltimony of his widow, extracted from No. 272 of the Journal de Paris.

Z 2

2d Meffidor, 6th of the Fr. Rep. (20 June, 1798.) I have already laid before the public

lic fome pofitive details refpecting the character and death of J. J. Rouffeau. The following is a letter ad. dreffed to me by his wife, in whofe arms he breathed his laft. My impar tiality, and the defire which I entertain in common with my readers to develope the whole truth, impel me to publish it without any alteration. CORANCEZ.

Pleffis- Belleville, 27 Prairial, 6th Year of the French Republic. 15th June, 1798.

Citizen,

The account which you have published respecting the death of my huf band, founded on fome difcourfe which you ftate to have heard at an inn. has given me just cause of afflic, tion. That death is at this moment, and will continue while I live, fresh in my memory; and I am ftill able to describe all the circumftances which attended it. But before I proceed farther, you muft receive from the widow of friend the double reyour proach of having too long forgotten her, and of not confulting her before you wrote concerning him.

On the day of my husband's death, which was not the 2d but the 3d of July, 1778, he rose at his ufual hour; but he did not go out that morning. He intended, however, to go to give a leffon of mufic, for the first time, to the elder Mifs Girardin. With this intention he made myself, or the fervant, get ready the different articles neceffary for dreffing himself. We fat down to breakfait; but he would eat nothing. He had dined on the preceding evening at the caftle of Ermenonville, and, whether it was owing to overloading his ftomach or not, he felt himself indisposed on his return. As foon as breakfast was over, he told me that the lock-fmith, who had put the doors of our place in a ferviceable state, had demanded payment I went out to carry his money to him; I returned before ten,

and was afcending the ftairs, when I heard the plaintive cries of my hufband. I rushed into the room, where I found him lying on the floor I called aloud for affiftance, but he defired me to refrain, faying, that as I had returned myself, he had no occafion for any other perfon. He then begged me to fhut the door, and to open the windows. Having done fo, I aflifted with all my ftrength to put him to bed. I caufed him to take a few drops of l'eau de Carmes. It was himself that poured out the drops. I then propofed that he fhould take a clyfter; he at first refused; but on my infifting a little, he gave his affent. I administered it according to the best of my ability. When it began to operate, he came out of bed without my affiftance, and went into the water. closet. I went after him, however, and took hold of his hands. At the moment when i thought him fufficiently relieved, he fell forwards on the floor with fuch force as to throw me down. I rofe up, and cried loudly for help; the door was fhut. M. de Girardin (not Madame Girardin), who had a pafs-key for our apartment, entered.

I was covered over with the blood which flowed from the wound in my husband's forehead. He expired with my hands clasped in his, and without fpeaking a word.

1 folemnly declare to you, to my fellow-citizens, and to pofterity, that my husband died in the manner which I have now defcribed. He did not

take poifon in a cup of coffee; nor did he fhoot himself through the head with a pistol.

A very fhort time after my hufband's removal to Ermenonville, he began to entertain fears from his continuing to refide there; and communicated them to me, in order to convince me of the neceffity of our returning to Paris. Groundless as they appeared to me, I thall never forgive myfelf for my obftinate perfiftence in remaining at Ermenonville.

Tears Arcam