Rousseau's Confessions

[begin surface 1] 3

J.J. Rousseau—

Celtic, not Saxon Born 1712—Died 1778 —some say by suicide.— "Rousseau's Confessions" translated N.Y. 1856. An American poet may read Rousseau, but shall never imitate himm.— He is a curious study, and will cause some contempt Born in Switzerland—parents decent farmers substantial bourgeoisie —a sort of vagabond —copyist of music Lost his mother early— One brother—not much together Father a quiet, easy person.— Jean Jacques left home—lived with various persons—worked —was bashful—learned a little of everything—his "Confessions" are a singular opening up of the trivial incidents, some quite disgusting, which find their tally in every man's life— —Madame de Warrens—over leaf A sensitive, Frenchy, frivolous, keen, proud, unhappy, restless, contemplative nature Note how "character" is built up, after all—from the beginning— How the pompous "history" and "Bi‑ 
  ography" come down to just such as we are. [begin surface 2]

After many wanderings, the last ten years of Rousseau's life, were in and around Paris.—He was very poor; he lived in a garret, and earned his food by copying music.—He was old, discouraged, not robust, not popular, not happy.— Six Thus ten years—wWhat a ten years those must have been.^^{! and what an ending to them!}—Six weeks before his death, he ^^Rousseau was invited to a country mansion ^{a few some miles away.—}—he went.— ^{There he walked, meditated—thought who knows what?} The day of ^{He spent in botanizing} The day before his the night of his death.—Did he, indeed ^^{or did he not,} die of suicide?

[begin surface 3] Rousseau's Confessions—Swinton's translation, fall of 1856 were in 1766, Rousseau, 564 years old, took refuge T[illegible] ([illegible],)in Wooton, Staffordshire, England, and wrote this frivolous, chattering, repulsive, book, that still has a great lesson in its pages, and whose revelations one keeps reading somehow to the end.— Rousseau born 1712 died ^^{a suicid[cut-away]} 177[cut-away] a Genevese (Swiss) a rover, vagabond, copyist of music, never rich, exiled from Fra[cut-away] 40 [begin surface 4]

THE DEATHS OF ROUSSEAU AND VOLTAIRE.

—Whilst in the triumph of America France already hailed her own revolution, she bade a last farewell to the chiefs of the old sceptic philosophy and the new democratic theories, Voltaire and Rousseau, who died in the spring of the year 1778, within a month of each other.

[begin surface 5] finishing stroke George Steers's lead ☞ Remember in those days there were no journals—no "reviews," or masses of cheap literature demanded—