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Dedication
iii
x PREFACE
Approach
Our text is concept-based, as opposed to method-based. We teach useful statistical
methods, but we emphasize that applying the method is secondary to understanding the
concept.
In the real world, computers do most of the heavy lifting for statisticians. We
therefore adopt an approach that frees the instructor from having to teach tedious
procedures and leaves more time for teaching deeper understanding of concepts.
Accordingly, we present formulas as an aid to understanding the concepts, rather than
as the focus of study.
We believe students need to learn how to
• Determine which statistical procedures are appropriate.
• Instruct the software to carry out the procedures.
• Interpret the output.
We understand that students will probably see only one type of statistical software in
class. But we believe it is useful for students to compare output from several
different sources, so in some examples we ask them to read output from two or
more software packages.
Coverage
The first two-thirds of this book are concept-driven and cover exploratory data
analysis and inferential statistics—fundamental concepts that every introductory
statistics student should learn. The final third of the book builds on that strong con-
ceptual foundation and is more methods-based. It presents several popular statistical
methods and more fully explores methods presented earlier, such as regression and
data collection.
Our ordering of topics is guided by the process through which students should
analyze data. First, they explore and describe data, possibly deciding that graphics and
numerical summaries provide sufficient insight. Then they make generalizations (infer-
ences) about the larger world.
Chapters 1–4: Exploratory Data Analysis. The first four chapters cover data collection
and summary. Chapter 1 introduces the important topic of data collection and compares
and contrasts observational studies with controlled experiments. This chapter also
teaches students how to handle raw data so that the data can be uploaded to their statis-
tical software. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss graphical and numerical summaries of single
PREFACE xi
variables based on samples. We emphasize that the purpose is not just to produce a
graph or a number but, instead, to explain what those graphs and numbers say about
the world. Chapter 4 introduces simple linear regression and presents it as a technique
for providing graphical and numerical summaries of relationships between two numeri-
cal variables.
We feel strongly that introducing regression early in the text is beneficial in build-
ing student understanding of the applicability of statistics to real-world scenarios. After
completing the chapters covering data collection and summary, students have acquired
the skills and sophistication they need to describe two-variable associations and to
generate informal hypotheses. Two-variable associations provide a rich context for
class discussion and allow the course to move from fabricated problems (because
one-variable analyses are relatively rare in the real world) to real problems that appear
frequently in everyday life. We return to regression in Chapter 14, when we discuss
statistical inference in the context of regression, which requires quite a bit of machinery.
We feel that it would be a shame to delay until the end of the course all the insights
that regression without inference can provide.
Chapters 5–8: Inference. These chapters teach the fundamental concepts of statisti-
cal inference. The main idea is that our data mirror the real world, but imperfectly;
although our estimates are uncertain, under the right conditions we can quantify our
uncertainty. Verifying that these conditions exist and understanding what happens if
they are not satisfied are important themes of these chapters.
Chapters 9–11: Methods. Here we return to the themes covered earlier in the text
and present them in a new context by introducing additional statistical methods, such
as estimating population means, analyzing categorical variables, and analyzing rela-
tions between a numerical and a categorical variable. We also introduce multiple
comparisons and use them to motivate the need for the statistical method of ANOVA.
Chapters 12–14: Special Topics. Students who have covered all topics up to this point
will have a solid foundation in statistics. These final chapters build on that foundation
and offer more details, as we explore the topics of designing controlled experiments,
survey sampling, additional contexts for hypothesis testing, and using regression to
make inferences about a population.
In Chapter 12 we provide guidance for reading scientific literature. Even if your
schedule does not allow you to cover Chapter 12, we recommend using Section 12.3 to
offer students the experience of critically examining real scientific papers.
Organization
Our preferred order of progressing through the text is reflected in the Contents, but
there are some alternative pathways as well.
10-week Quarter. The first eight chapters provide a full, one-quarter course in intro-
ductory statistics. If time remains, cover Sections 9.1 and 9.2 as well, so that students
can solidify their understanding of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests by revisit-
ing the topic with a new parameter.
Proportions First. Ask two statisticians, and you will get three opinions on whether
it is best to teach means or proportions first. We have come down on the side of
proportions for a variety of reasons. Proportions are much easier to find in popular
news media (particularly around election time), so they can more readily be tied to
students’ everyday lives. Also, the mathematics and statistical theory are simpler;
because there’s no need to provide a separate estimate for the population standard
deviation, inference is based on the Normal distribution, and no further approximations
(that is, the t-distribution) are required. Hence, we can quickly get to the heart of the
matter with fewer technical diversions.
xii PREFACE
The basic problem here is how to quantify the uncertainty involved in estimat-
ing a parameter and how to quantify the probability of making incorrect decisions
when posing hypotheses. We cover these ideas in detail in the context of proportions.
Students can then more easily learn how these same concepts are applied in the new
context of means (and any other parameter they may need to estimate).
Means First. Conversely, many people feel that there is time for only one parameter
and that this parameter should be the mean. For this alternative presentation, cover
Chapters 6, 7, and 9, in that order. On this path, students learn about survey sampling
and the terminology of inference (population vs. sample, parameter vs. statistic) and
then tackle inference for the mean, including hypothesis testing.
To minimize the coverage of proportions, you might choose to cover Chapter 6,
Section 7.1 (which treats the language and framework of statistical inference in detail),
and then Chapter 9. Chapters 7 and 8 develop the concepts of statistical inference more
slowly than Chapter 9, but essentially, Chapter 9 develops the same ideas in the context
of the mean.
If you present Chapter 9 before Chapters 7 and 8, we recommend that you devote
roughly twice as much time to Chapter 9 as you have devoted to previous chapters,
because many challenging ideas are explored in this chapter. If you have already covered
Chapters 7 and 8 thoroughly, Chapter 9 can be covered more quickly.
Features
We’ve incorporated into this text a variety of features to aid student learning and to
facilitate its use in any classroom.
Integrating Technology
Modern statistics is inseparable from computers. We have worked to make this text-
book accessible for any classroom, regardless of the level of in-class exposure to
technology, while still remaining true to the demands of the analysis. We know that
students sometimes do not have access to technology when doing homework, so many
exercises provide output from software and ask students to interpret and critically
evaluate that given output.
Using technology is important because it enables students to handle real data, and
real data sets are often large and messy. The following features are designed to guide
students.
• TechTips outline steps for performing calculations using TI-84® (including
TI-84 + C®) graphing calculators, Excel®, Minitab®, and StatCrunch®. We do not
want students to get stuck because they don’t know how to reproduce the results
we show in the book, so whenever a new method or procedure is introduced, an
icon, Tech , refers students to the TechTips section at the end of the chapter. Each
set of TechTips contains at least one mini-example, so that students are not only
learning to use the technology but also practicing data analysis and reinforcing
ideas discussed in the text. Most of the provided TI-84 steps apply to all TI-84
calculators, but some are unique to the TI-84 + C calculator. Throughout the text,
screenshots of TI calculators are labeled “TI-84” but are, in fact, from a TI-84
Plus C Silver Edition.
• All data sets used in the exposition and exercises are available at http://www.
pearsonhighered.com/mathstatsresources/.
Guiding Students
• Each chapter opens with a Theme. Beginners have difficulty seeing the forest for
the trees, so we use a theme to give an overview of the chapter content.
PREFACE xiii
• Each chapter begins by posing a real-world Case Study. At the end of the chapter,
we show how techniques covered in the chapter helped solve the problem presented
in the Case Study.
• Margin Notes draw attention to details that enhance student learning and reading
comprehension.
Caution notes provide warnings about common mistakes or misconceptions.
Looking Back reminders refer students to earlier coverage of a topic.
Details clarify or expand on a concept.
• KEY Key Points highlight essential concepts to draw special attention to them.
POINT
Understanding these concepts is essential for progress.
• Snapshots break down key statistical concepts introduced in the chapter,
quickly summarizing each concept or procedure and indicating when and
how it should be used.
• Data Moves point students toward more complete source data.
Active Learning
• Each chapter ends in a Data Project. These are activities designed for students to
work alone or in pairs. Data analysis requires practice, and these sections, which
grow increasingly more complex, are intended to guide students through basic
“data moves” to help them find insight in complex data.
• All exercises are located at the end of the chapter. Section Exercises are designed to
begin with a few basic problems that strengthen recall and assess basic knowledge,
followed by mid-level exercises that ask more complex, open-ended questions.
Chapter Review Exercises provide a comprehensive review of material covered
throughout the chapter.
The exercises emphasize good statistical practice by requiring students to verify
conditions, make suitable use of graphics, find numerical values, and interpret their
findings in writing. All exercises are paired so that students can check their work on
the odd-numbered exercise and then tackle the corresponding even-numbered exercise.
The answers to all odd-numbered exercises appear in the back of the student edition of
the text.
Challenging exercises, identified with an asterisk (*), ask open-ended questions
and sometimes require students to perform a complete statistical analysis.
• Most chapters include select exercises, marked with a within the exercise set,
to indicate that problem-solving help is available in the Guided Exercises sec-
tion. If students need support while doing homework, they can turn to the Guided
Exercises to see a step-by-step approach to solving the problem.
xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the attention and energy that a large number of people devoted to
making this a better book. We extend our gratitude to Chere Bemelmans, who handled
production, and to Tamela Ambush, content producer. Many thanks to John Norbutas
for his technical advice and help with the TechTips. We thank Deirdre Lynch, editor-in-
chief, for signing us up and sticking with us, and we are grateful to Emily Ockay for
her market development efforts.
We extend our sincere thanks for the suggestions and contributions made by the
following reviewers of this edition:
Beth Burns, Bowling Green State Deborah Hanus, Brookhaven College Tejal Naik, West Valley College
University Kristin Harvey, The University of Texas Hadley Pridgen, Gulf Coast State
Rod Elmore, Mid Michigan Community at Austin College
College Abbas Jaffary, Moraine Valley John M. Russell, Old Dominion
Carl Fetteroll, Western New England Community College University
University Tony Jenkins, Northwestern Michigan Amy Salvati, Adirondack Community
Elizabeth Flynn, College of the Canyons College College
David French, Tidewater Community Jonathan Kalk, Kauai Community College Marcia Siderow, California State
College Joseph Kudrle, University of Vermont University, Northridge
Terry Fuller, California State University, Matt Lathrop, Heartland Community Kenneth Strazzeri, George Mason
Northridge College University
Kimberly Gardner, Kennesaw State Raymond E. Lee, The University of Amy Vu, West Valley College
University North Carolina at Pembroke Rebecca Walker, Guttman Community
Ryan Girard, Kauai Community College Karen McNeal, Moraine Valley College
Carrie Grant, Flagler College Community College
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks for the suggestions and contributions
made by the following reviewers, class testers, and focus group attendees of the pre-
vious edition.
Arun Agarwal, Grambling State Mario Borha, Loyola University of Chicago Paul Drelles, West Shore Community
University David Bosworth, Hutchinson Community College
Anne Albert, University of Findlay College Keith Driscoll, Clayton State University
Michael Allen, Glendale Community Diana Boyette, Seminole Community Rob Eby, Blinn College
College College Nancy Eschen, Florida Community
Eugene Allevato, Woodbury University Elizabeth Paulus Brown, Waukesha College at Jacksonville
Dr. Jerry Allison, Trident Technical County Technical College Karen Estes, St. Petersburg College
College Leslie Buck, Suffolk Community College Mariah Evans, University of Nevada, Reno
Polly Amstutz, University of Nebraska R.B. Campbell, University of Northern Iowa Harshini Fernando, Purdue University
Patricia Anderson, Southern Adventist Stephanie Campbell, Mineral Area College North Central
University Ann Cannon, Cornell College Stephanie Fitchett, University of
MaryAnne Anthony-Smith, Santa Ana Rao Chaganty, Old Dominion University Northern Colorado
College Carolyn Chapel, Western Technical College Elaine B. Fitt, Bucks County Community
David C. Ashley, Florida State College Christine Cole, Moorpark College College
at Jacksonville Linda Brant Collins, University of Chicago Michael Flesch, Metropolitan Community
Diana Asmus, Greenville Technical James A. Condor, Manatee Community College
College College Melinda Fox, Ivy Tech Community
Kathy Autrey, Northwestern State Carolyn Cuff, Westminster College College, Fairbanks
University of Louisiana Phyllis Curtiss, Grand Valley State Joshua Francis, Defiance College
Wayne Barber, Chemeketa Community University Michael Frankel, Kennesaw State
College Monica Dabos, University of California, University
Roxane Barrows, Hocking College Santa Barbara Heather Gamber, Lone Star College
Jennifer Beineke, Western New England Greg Davis, University of Wisconsin, Debbie Garrison, Valencia Community
College Green Bay College, East Campus
Diane Benner, Harrisburg Area Bob Denton, Orange Coast College Kim Gilbert, University of Georgia
Community College Julie DePree, University of New Mexico– Stephen Gold, Cypress College
Norma Biscula, University of Maine, Valencia Nick Gomersall, Luther College
Augusta Jill DeWitt, Baker Community College of Mary Elizabeth Gore, Community
K.B. Boomer, Bucknell University Muskegon College of Baltimore County–Essex
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv
Ken Grace, Anoka Ramsey Community Walter H. Mackey, Owens Community Ali Saadat, University of California –
College College Riverside
Larry Green, Lake Tahoe Community Keith McCoy, Wilbur Wright College Kelly Sakkinen, Lake Land College
College Elaine McDonald-Newman, Sonoma Carol Saltsgaver, University of Illinois–
Jeffrey Grell, Baltimore City Community State University Springfield
College William McGregor, Rockland Community Radha Sankaran, Passaic County
Albert Groccia, Valencia Community College Community College
College, Osceola Campus Bill Meisel, Florida State College at Delray Schultz, Millersville University
David Gurney, Southeastern Louisiana Jacksonville Jenny Shook, Pennsylvania State University
University Bruno Mendes, University of California, Danya Smithers, Northeast State
Chris Hakenkamp, University of Santa Cruz Technical Community College
Maryland, College Park Wendy Miao, El Camino College Larry Southard, Florida Gulf Coast
Melodie Hallet, San Diego State University Robert Mignone, College of Charleston University
Donnie Hallstone, Green River Ashod Minasian, El Camino College Dianna J. Spence, North Georgia
Community College Megan Mocko, University of Florida College & State University
Cecil Hallum, Sam Houston State University Sumona Mondal, Clarkson University René Sporer, Diablo Valley College
Josephine Hamer, Western Connecticut Kathy Mowers, Owensboro Community Jeganathan Sriskandarajah, Madison
State University and Technical College Area Technical College–Traux
Mark Harbison, Sacramento City College Mary Moyinhan, Cape Cod Community David Stewart, Community College of
Beverly J. Hartter, Oklahoma Wesleyan College Baltimore County–Cantonsville
University Junalyn Navarra-Madsen, Texas Linda Strauss, Penn State University
Laura Heath, Palm Beach State College Woman’s University John Stroyls, Georgia Southwestern State
Greg Henderson, Hillsborough Azarnia Nazanin, Santa Fe College University
Community College Stacey O. Nicholls, Anne Arundel Joseph Sukta, Moraine Valley
Susan Herring, Sonoma State University Community College Community College
Carla Hill, Marist College Helen Noble, San Diego State University Sharon l. Sullivan, Catawba College
Michael Huber, Muhlenberg College Lyn Noble, Florida State College at Lori Thomas, Midland College
Kelly Jackson, Camden County College Jacksonville Malissa Trent, Northeast State Technical
Bridgette Jacob, Onondaga Community Keith Oberlander, Pasadena City College Community College
College Pamela Omer, Western New England Ruth Trygstad, Salt Lake Community
Robert Jernigan, American University College College
Chun Jin, Central Connecticut State Ralph Padgett Jr., University of Gail Tudor, Husson University
University California – Riverside Manuel T. Uy, College of Alameda
Jim Johnston, Concord University Nabendu Pal, University of Louisiana at Lewis Van Brackle, Kennesaw State
Maryann Justinger, Ed.D., Erie Lafayette University
Community College Irene Palacios, Grossmont College Mahbobeh Vezvaei, Kent State University
Joseph Karnowski, Norwalk Community Ron Palcic, Johnson County Community Joseph Villalobos, El Camino College
College College Barbara Wainwright, Sailsbury University
Susitha Karunaratne, Purdue University Adam Pennell, Greensboro College Henry Wakhungu, Indiana University
North Central Patrick Perry, Hawaii Pacific University Jerimi Ann Walker, Moraine Valley
Mohammed Kazemi, University of North Joseph Pick, Palm Beach State College Community College
Carolina–Charlotte Philip Pickering, Genesee Community Dottie Walton, Cuyahoga Community
Robert Keller, Loras College College College
Omar Keshk, Ohio State University Victor I. Piercey, Ferris State University Jen-ting Wang, SUNY, Oneonta
Raja Khoury, Collin County Community Robin Powell, Greenville Technical Jane West, Trident Technical College
College College Michelle White, Terra Community College
Brianna Killian, Daytona State College Nicholas Pritchard, Coastal Carolina Bonnie-Lou Wicklund, Mount Wachusett
Yoon G. Kim, Humboldt State University University Community College
Greg Knofczynski, Armstrong Atlantic Linda Quinn, Cleveland State University Sandra Williams, Front Range
University William Radulovich, Florida State Community College
Jeffrey Kollath, Oregon State University College at Jacksonville Rebecca Wong, West Valley College
Erica Kwiatkowski-Egizio, Joliet Junior Mumunur Rashid, Indiana University of Alan Worley, South Plains College
College Pennsylvania Jane-Marie Wright, Suffolk Community
Sister Jean A. Lanahan, OP, Molloy Fred J. Rispoli, Dowling College College
College Danielle Rivard, Post University Haishen Yao, CUNY, Queensborough
Katie Larkin, Lake Tahoe Community Nancy Rivers, Wake Technical Community College
College Community College Lynda Zenati, Robert Morris Community
Michael LaValle, Rochester Community Corlis Robe, East Tennesee State College
College University Yan Zheng-Araujo, Springfield
Deann Leoni, Edmonds Community College Thomas Roe, South Dakota State University Community Technical College
Lenore Lerer, Bergen Community College Alex Rolon, North Hampton Community Cathleen Zucco-Teveloff, Rider University
Quan Li, Texas A&M University College Mark A. Zuiker, Minnesota State
Doug Mace, Kirtland Community College Dan Rowe, Heartland Community College University, Mankato
MyLab Statistics Online Course for Introductory
Statistics: Exploring the World Through Data, 3e
(Access Code Required)
MyLab™ Statistics is available to accompany Pearson’s market-leading text
offerings. To give students a consistent tone, voice, and teaching method, each
text’s flavor and approach is tightly integrated throughout the accompanying
MyLab Statistics course, making learning the material as seamless as possible.
pearson.com/mylab/statistics
Resources for Success
Student Resources Instructor Resources
StatCrunch Instructor’s Edition
StatCrunch® is powerful web-based statistical software Includes answers to all text exercises, as well as a set of
that allows users to collect, crunch, and communicate Instructor Notes at the front of the text that offer chap-
with data. The vibrant online community offers tens ter-by-chapter teaching suggestions and commentary.
of thousands of shared data sets for students and in- (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-516300-9; ISBN-10: 0-13-516300-5)
structors to analyze, in addition to all of the data sets in
the text or online homework. StatCrunch is integrated Instructor Solutions Manual
directly into MyLab Statistics or it can be purchased Written by James Lapp, the Instructor Solutions Manu-
separately. Learn more at www.statcrunch.com. al contains worked-out solutions to all text exercises.
It can be downloaded from MyLab Statistics or from
Video Resources www.pearson.com.
Chapter Review videos walk students through solv-
ing some of the more complex problems and review PowerPoint Slides
key concepts from each chapter. Data Cycle of Every- PowerPoint slides provide an overview of each chap-
day Things videos demonstrate for students that data ter, stressing important definitions and offering addi-
collection and data analysis can be applied to answer tional examples. They can be downloaded from MyLab
questions about everyday life. StatTalk Videos, hosted Statistics or from www.pearson.com.
by fun-loving statistician Andrew Vickers, demonstrate
important statistical concepts through interesting sto- TestGen
ries and real-life events. Assessment questions for TestGen® (www.pearson.com/testgen) enables instruc-
each video are also available. tors to build, edit, print, and administer tests using a
computerized bank of questions developed to cover
Data Sets all the objectives of the text. TestGen is algorithmi-
All data sets from the textbook are available in MyLab cally based, allowing instructors to create multiple but
Statistics. They can be analyzed in StatCrunch or down- equivalent versions of the same question or test, and
loaded for use in other statistical software programs. modify test bank questions or add new questions. It is
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tistical software programs including, StatCrunch, Excel, lets, or laptops to engage them in more interactive
Minitab®, JMP®, R, SPSS, and TI 83/84 calculators. tasks and thinking during lecture. Learning Catalytics™
fosters student engagement and peer-to-peer learning
Student Solutions Manual with real-time analytics. Access pre-built exercises cre-
Written by James Lapp, this manual provides detailed, ated specifically for statistics.
worked-out solutions to all odd-numbered text exer-
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ISBN-10: 0-13-518923-3) Question Library, MyLab Statistics also includes a Get-
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Index of Applications
BIOLOGY eBay auctions, 705–706 guessing on tests, 252
age and weight, 197, 206 economic class, 60–61, 62 heights and test scores, 206
animal gestation periods, 75 fast food employee wages, 116 high school graduation rates, 207–208, 313, 374,
animal longevity, 75 food security, 545 377, 545–546
arm spans, 71, 310–311, 707–709, 710–711 gas prices, 95, 100–101, 109 law school selectivity and
baby seal length, 278, 279–280, 282, 283 gas taxes, 138–138 employment, 206
birthdays, 252, 259 grocery delivery, 499 law school tuition, 75–76
birth lengths, 130, 310, 314, 316 home prices, 130–131, 134, 150, 184–185, 190, life expectancy and education, 194
birth weights, 310, 315, 488 194, 195, 726 LSAT scores, 191, 206
blood types, 371 houses with swimming pools, 128 marital status and education, 223, 224–225, 226,
body temperature, 314, 496 income in Kansas, 488 231, 235
boys’ foot length, 310, 316 industrial energy consumption, 133 math scores, 93–94
boys’ heights, 312 Internet advertising, 386–387, 388 MCAT scores, 311
brain size, 498 law school tuition, 75–76 medical licensing, 314
caloric restriction of monkeys, 526–527 logging, 726 medical school acceptance, 192, 490
cats’ birth weights, 312 movie budgets, 207, 724, 725 medical school GPAs, 311, 490
children’s ages and heights, 208 post office customers, 70 multiple-choice exams, 253, 254, 256, 262, 421
color blindness, 371 poverty, 20–21, 136, 207–208 music practice, 79
cousins, 194 rents in San Francisco, 74 note taking, 582–583
elephants’ birth weights, 312 shrinking middle class, 62 opinion about college, 260
eye color, 261 wedding costs, 129 of parents, 724–725, 728
finger length, 32–33, 542 party affiliation and education, 547
passing bar exam, 138
gender of children, 252, 256, 306, 312
grandchildren, 258
CRIME AND CORRECTIONS Perry Preschool, 374, 375, 377, 545–546, 550
capital punishment, 134–135, 259, 368 piano practice, 681
hand and foot length, 196–197 FBI, 373
handedness, 33, 258 postsecondary graduation rates, 176–177
gender and type of crime, 541–542 poverty and high school graduation rates,
height and age, 721 incarceration rates, 33
height and arm spans, 195–196, 197, 707–709, 207–208
jury duty, 258 professor evaluation, 194, 634
710–711 juvenile delinquency, 672
height prediction, 726 reading comprehension, 594
marijuana legalization, 260, 315, 372, 546–547 reading scores and teaching method, 595
heights and weights, 160–162, 191, 204, 727 parental training and criminal behavior of
heights of adults, 139 relevance, 544
children, 550 salary and education, 190, 207
heights of children, 112–113 race of defendant, 551
heights of college women, 132 SAT scores, 74, 141, 168–170, 175–176, 194,
recidivism rates, 261, 292–293, 636 203, 307, 308–309, 310, 312, 315, 316–317,
heights of females, 492 “Scared Straight” programs, 37
heights of men, 132–133, 311, 312, 492, 497 632, 726–727
stolen bicycles, 291–292 school accountability, 729
heights of sons and dads, 135 stolen cars, 17
heights of students and their parents, 499–500 school bonds, 376
heights of 12th graders, 490–491 semesters and credits, 722
heights of women, 133, 307–308, 311, 312, 497 EDUCATION spring break, 324, 363
state and federal spending on, 724
heights of youths, 134 ACT scores, 141, 191
hippopotamus gestation periods, 311 age and credits, 189 student ages, 141, 487, 489, 493
human body temperatures, 492, 500–501, 679 age and gender of psychology majors, 78 student gender, 427
life expectancy and gestation periods for ani- age and GPA, 189 student loans, 420, 428, 542
mals, 729 alumni donations, 636 student records, 634
life on Mars, 237–238 bar exam pass rates, 45–46, 53, 206, 260–261, student-to-teacher ratio at colleges, 41–42, 66
mother and daughter heights, 195 721–722 study hours, 208, 591, 592, 595
newborn hippo weights, 311 college costs, 55–56, 71, 130, 191, 449–451, success rates and retention, 725
night shifts, 547 455–456, 461–463, 477–478, 490, 613–614 teacher effectiveness, 251
pregnancy length, 307 college enrollment, 371, 375, 457 teacher pay, 201–202
sea lion health, 563 college graduation rates, 136–137, 359, textbook prices, 673
siblings, 72 360–362, 369, 370 travel time to school, 491, 594–595
St. Bernard dogs’ weights, 309 college majors, 79 true/false tests, 256, 425, 429, 430
stem cell research, 81 college tours, 635 tutoring and math grades, 34
student and parent heights, 725 community college applicants, 77 vacations and education, 252
tomato plants and colored light, course enrollment rates, 34 years of formal education, 72
593–594, 595 credits and GPA, 190
tomato plants and fertilizer, 633 educational attainment, 140, 428
whales’ gestation periods, 309 embedded tutors, 419, 420, 421 EMPLOYMENT
women’s foot length, 310 employment after law school, 80–81, age discrimination, 421
206, 420 CEO salaries, 82
entry-level education, 77 commuting, 253
BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS exam scores, 105, 141, 203, 206, 209, duration of employment, 488
apartment rents, 588, 592, 599–600 253, 487, 499 earnings and gender, 195
baseball salaries, 495 exercise and language learning, 35 employment after law school, 80–81, 206, 420
baseball strike, 134 faculty-to-student ratio, 634 gender discrimination in tech industry,
CEO salaries, 82 final exam grades, 139 253, 263
college costs, 55–56, 71, 130, 191, 449–451, 4th-grade reading and math scores, 202–203 grades and student employment, 202
455–456, 461–463, 477–478, 490, 613–614 GPA, 168–170, 189, 190, 194, 311, 490, 491, harassment in workplace, 550
consumer price index, 135, 143 594, 595, 597, 678, 726–727 law school selectivity and employment, 206
earnings and gender, 128, 195 grades and student employment, 202 personal care aides, 33
xix
xx INDEX OF APPLICATIONS
THEME
Statistics is the science of data, so we must learn the types of data we
will encounter and the methods for collecting data. The method used
to collect data is very important because it determines what types of
conclusions we can reach and, as you’ll learn in later chapters, what types
of analyses we can do. By organizing the data we’ve collected, we can
often spot patterns that are not otherwise obvious.
1
2 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Data
T
his text will teach you to examine data to and these graphs enabled her to see a very important
better understand the world around you. If you pattern: A large percentage of deaths were due to
know how to sift data to find patterns, can contagious disease, and many deaths could be prevented
communicate the results clearly, and understand by improving sanitary conditions. Within six months,
whether you can generalize your results to other groups Nightingale had reduced the death rate by half. Eventually
and contexts, you will be able to make better decisions, she convinced Parliament and military authorities to
offer more convincing arguments, and learn things you completely reorganize the medical care they provided.
did not know before. Data are everywhere, and making Accordingly, she is credited with inventing modern
effective use of them is such a crucial task that one hospital management.
prominent economist has proclaimed statistics one of In modern times, we have equally important questions
the most important professions of the decade (McKinsley to answer. Do cell phones cause brain tumors? Are
Quarterly 2009). alcoholic drinks healthful in moderation? Which diet works
The use of statistics to make decisions and convince best for losing weight? What percentage of the public is
others to take action is not new. Some statisticians concerned about job security? Statistics—the science
date the current practice of statistics back to the mid- (and art!) of collecting and analyzing observations to learn
nineteenth century. One famous example occurred in about ourselves, our surroundings, and our universe—
1854, when the British were fighting the Russians in the helps answer questions such as these.
brutal Crimean War. A British newspaper had criticized Data are the building blocks of statistics. This chapter
the military medical facilities, and a young but well- introduces some of the basic types of data and explains
connected nurse, Florence Nightingale, was appointed to how we collect them, store them, and organize them.
study the situation and, if possible, to improve it. You’ll be introduced to the Data Cycle, a guide for how to
Nightingale carefully recorded the numbers of deaths, interact with data in a productive way. These ideas and
the causes of the deaths, and the times and dates skills will provide a basic foundation for your study of the
of the deaths. She organized these data graphically, rest of the text.
CASE STUDY
Dangerous Habit?
Will your coffee habit give you cancer? A court in California considered whether
Californians’ morning cup of coffee should include a health warning. In 1986,
Californians voted for the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement
Act, which requires that products that contain harmful chemicals be
labeled as hazardous. Coffee contains a chemical, acrylamide, that, in
the official jargon “is known to the State of California to cause can-
cer.” In 2010, a lawyer sued the coffee industry to force companies to
either label their product as hazardous or to remove the chemical
from their product. As of the date of publication of this book,
the lawsuit continues. Complicating this lawyer’s efforts is the
fact that recent research suggests that drinking coffee is pos-
sibly beneficial to our health and maybe even reduces the risk
of cancer.
Does coffee cause cancer? Does it prevent cancer? Why are there conflicting opin-
ions? In this chapter we explore questions such as these, and consider the different types
of evidence needed to make causal claims, such as the claim that drinking coffee will
give you cancer.
1.1 What Are Data? CHAPTER 1 3
SECTION 1.1
(b)
Data are more than just numbers, though. David Moore, a well-known statistician,
defined data as “numbers in context.” By this he meant that data consist not only of the
numbers we record but also of the story behind the numbers. For example,
are just numbers. But in fact these numbers represent “Weight in pounds of the ten
heaviest babies in a sample of babies born in North Carolina in 2004.” Now these num-
bers have a context and have been elevated into data. See how much more interesting
data are than numbers?
These data were collected by the state of North Carolina in part to help researchers
understand the factors that contribute to low-weight and premature births. If doctors
understand the causes of premature birth, they can work to prevent it—perhaps by
helping expectant mothers change their behavior, perhaps by medical intervention, and
perhaps by a combination of both.
Data play a pivotal role in our economy, culture, and everyday lives. Much of this
textbook is concerned with data collected for what we might call “professional” purposes,
such as answering scientific questions or making business decisions. But in fact, data are
everywhere. Google, for example, saves every search you make and combines this with
data on which links you click in order to improve the way it presents information (and, of
course, to determine which advertisements will appear on your search results).
In this book you’ll see data from a variety of sources. For example, thanks to small,
portable sensors, you can now join the “Personal Data Movement.” Members of this
movement record data about their daily lives and analyze it in order to improve their
health, to run faster, or just to make keepsakes—a modern-day scrapbook of personal
data visualizations. Maybe you or a friend uses a smart watch to keep track of your runs.
One of the authors of this text carries a FitBit to record his daily activity. From this he
..FIGURE 1.2 Trending Tags on a learned that he typically takes 2500 more steps on days that he lectures than on days that
day in August 2017. Can you guess he does not.
what day of the week this was? Speaking of Twitter, did you know every tweet in the “twitterverse” is saved and
can be accessed? Twitter, like many other websites, provides what’s called an API for
accessing data. API stands for Application Program Interface, and it’s basically a lan-
guage that allows programmers to communicate with websites in order to access data
that the website wishes to make public. For example, the statistical analysis software
package StatCrunch makes use of an API provided by Twitter to create a “Word Wall”
on whatever keywords you choose to type or show you currently trending tags. See
Figures 1.2 and 1.3.
mmFIGURE 1.3 A StatCrunch-generated “word wall” showing most common words appear in tweets that
include the word Bills.
Another common way to store data on the Internet is using HTML tables. HTML
(Hyper Text Markup Language) is another example of a software language that tells
your browser how to display a web page. HTML tells the browser which words are
“headers,” which are paragraphs, and which should be displayed in a table. For example,
while reading a Wikipedia article about coffee, the authors came across a table show-
ing coffee production by country. These data are stored in an HTML file. This table is
relatively small, and so it is simple to enter it into statistical analysis software. But other
tables are quite large, and software packages must be employed to “scrape” the data
(Figure 1.4).
Sometimes you can find data by turning to your government. The website data.gov
has over 197,000 data sets available. The city of Miami, Florida, is one of many cities
around the United States that provides data on a variety of topics. Figure 1.5 shows the
first few rows of a data set that provides salaries for roughly 28,000 employees of the
city of Miami.
Data provided through an open data portal, such as these data, can be stored in a
variety of formats. These data can be downloaded as “CSV,” “CSV for Excel,” “JSON,”
“XML,” and some other formats as well. You don’t need to worry about these, but
1.1 What Are Data? CHAPTER 1 5
mmFIGURE 1.4 Coffee production HTML table from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee (viewed on August 11,
2017; left) and the same table “scraped” by StatCrunch (right).
for most applications, “CSV,” which stands for “comma-separated values” will be
understandable by most data analysis packages. (For example, Excel, Minitab, and
StatCrunch can all import CSV files.)
You won’t have to scrape and download data on your own in order to do the exam-
ples and exercises in this textbook (unless you want to, of course). The data you need
are provided for you, ready to upload into one of several common statistical analysis
packages (Excel, Minitab, StatCrunch, and the TI-84 graphing calculator). However,
this book includes projects that might lead you to uncharted waters, and so you should
be aware that different data storage types exist.
In the next section, you’ll see that you can store data in different structures, and
some structures are particularly helpful in some circumstances.
Language: English
Famous Women.
MADAME DE STAËL.
Already published:
George Eliot. By Miss Blind.
Emily Brontë. By Miss Robinson.
George Sand. By Miss Thomas.
Mary Lamb. By Mrs. Gilchrist.
Margaret Fuller. By Julia Ward Howe.
Maria Edgeworth. By Miss Zimmern.
Elizabeth Fry. By Mrs. E. R. Pitman.
The Countess of Albany. By Vernon Lee.
Mary Wollstonecraft. By Mrs. E. R. Pennell.
Harriet Martineau. By Mrs. F. Fenwick Miller.
Rachel. By Mrs. Nina H. Kennard.
Madame Roland. By Mathilde Blind.
Susanna Wesley. By Eliza Clarke.
Margaret of Angoulême. By Miss Robinson.
Mrs. Siddons. By Mrs. Nina H. Kennard.
Madame de Staël. By Bella Duffy.
MADAME DE STAËL.
BY
BELLA DUFFY.
BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1887.
Copyright, 1887,
By Roberts Brothers.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
PREFACE.
Unpublished correspondence—that delight of the eager biographer
—is not to be had in the case of Madame de Staël, for, as is well
known, the De Broglie family either destroyed or successfully hid all
the papers which might have revealed any facts not already in
possession of the world.
The writer of the present brief memoir has, consequently, had to
fall back upon the following well-known works:
The Correspondance of the Abbé Galiani, of Mme. Du Deffand, of
Rahel Varnhagen, and of Schiller; the Memoirs of Marmontel, of
Mme. D’Arblay, of Mme. de Rémusat, of Mme. d’Abrantè, of
Bourrienne, and of the Comte de Montlosier; Ticknor’s Letters;
Châteaubriand’s Mémoires d’Outre Tombe; De Goncourt’s Histoire de
la Société Française pendant la Révolution, and Histoire de la Société
Française pendant le Directoire; Lacretelle’s Dix Années d’Épreuve;
Michelet’s Le Directoire, Le Dix-huit Brumaire, and Jusqu’à Waterloo;
Le Salon de Madame Necker, by Vicomte d’Haussonville; Studies of
the Eighteenth Century in Italy, by Vernon Lee; Byron’s Letters;
Benjamin Constant’s Letters to Mme. Récamier; Coppet and Weimar;
Les Correspondants de Joubert, by Paul Raynal; Les Causeries du
Lundi, and other studies by Ste. Beuve; Droz’ Histoire du Règne de
Louis XVI.; Villemain’s Cours de Littérature Française; the fragments
from Constant’s Journals, recently published in the Revue
Internationale; Sismondi’s Journals and letters; and sundry old
articles in the Revue des Deux Mondes; besides various other
volumes, of which the list would be long and wearisome to detail.
BELLA DUFFY.
CONTENTS.
Chap. Page.
I.— THE MOTHER 1
II.— GERMAINE 9
III.— GIRLHOOD AND MARRIAGE 20
IV.— NECKER’S SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPH 34
V.— MADAME DE STAËL IS COURAGEOUS FOR HER
FRIENDS 51
VI.— RETURNS TO COPPET 69
VII.— THE TRANSFORMED CAPITAL 78
VIII.— MADAME DE STAËL MEETS NAPOLEON 93
IX.— NEW FACES AT COPPET 108
X.— MADAME DE STAËL VISITS GERMANY 127
XI.— MADAME DE STAËL AND AUGUSTE SCHLEGEL AT
ROME 141
XII.— MADAME DE STAËL’S SECOND MARRIAGE 162
XIII.— ENGLAND AGAIN 180
XIV.— CLOSING SCENES 196
XV.— HER WORKS 207
MADAME DE STAËL.
CHAPTER I.
THE MOTHER.
“My dear friend having the same tastes as myself, would certainly
wish always for my chair, and, like his little daughter, would beat me
to make me give it up to him. To keep peace between our hearts, I
send a chair for him also. The two are of suitable height and their
lightness renders them easy to carry. They are made of the most
simple material, and were bought at the sale of Philemon and
Baucis.”
Thus wrote Madame Geoffrin to Madame Necker when the
intimacy between them had reached such a pitch as to warrant the
introduction into the Necker salons of the only sort of chair in which
the little old lady cared to sit.
The “dear friend” was M. Necker, and the “little daughter” of the
house must then have been about four or five years old, for it was in
the very year of her birth (1766) that Madame Geoffrin took her
celebrated journey to Poland, and it was some little time after her
return that she became intimate with Germaine Necker’s parents.
They were still in the Rue de Cléry. M. Necker’s elevation to the
Contrôle Général was in the future and had probably not been
foreseen; it is possible that even the Éloge de Colbert, which
betrayed his desire for power, had not yet appeared; nevertheless,
he was already a great man. His controversy with the Abbé Morellet,
on the subject of the East India Company, had brought him very
much into notice; and, although his arguments in favor of that
monopoly had not saved it from extinction, they had caused his
name to be in everybody’s mouth.
His position as Minister for the Republic of Geneva gave him the
entry to the Court of Versailles, and brought him into contact with
illustrious personages, who otherwise might have disdained a mere
wealthy foreigner, neither a noble nor a Catholic. His well-filled purse
completed his popularity, for it was not seldom at the service of
abject place-hunters and needy literati. Moreover, he had been
fortunate in his choice of a wife.
By the time that the King of Poland’s bonne maman wrote that
little note to Madame Necker, the wife of the Genevese banker had
founded a salon as brilliant and crowded as Madame Geoffrin’s own.
She had achieved this in a few years, whereas Madame Geoffrin for
the same task, and in spite of her wealth and generosity, had
required a quarter of a century.
But Madame Necker, besides being young, rich and handsome,
was bitten with the prevailing craze for literature, could listen
unweariedly for hours to the most labored portraits and éloges, and,
although herself the purest and most austere of women, would open
her salon to any reprobate, provided only he were witty.
Madame Necker, first known to us as Suzanne Curchod, was the
daughter of a Swiss pastor, and saw the light in the Presbytery of
Crassier in the Pays de Vaud. The simple white house, with its green
shutters, is still to be seen, separated from the road by a little
garden planted with fruit trees. The Curchods were an ancient and
respectable family whom Madame Necker (it was one of her
weaknesses) would fain have proved entitled to patents of nobility.
Some Curchods or Curchodis are found mentioned in old chronicles
as fighting beneath the banners of Savoy, and it was from these that
Madame Necker sought vainly to trace her descent. She held a
secret consultation for this cherished object with the Sieur Chérin,
genealogist to the King; but his decision disappointed her.
Chagrined, but not convinced—for her opinions were not easily
shaken—she carried home the precious papers and locked them up
without erasing the endorsement, Titres de noblesse de la famille
Curchod, which she had written with her own hand.
M. Curchod took pains to give his only daughter an unusually
thorough and liberal education. She knew Latin and a little Greek,
“swept with extreme flounce the circle of the sciences,” and was
accomplished enough in every way to attract the admiration, very
often even the love, of sundry grave and learned personages.
Mixed with her severe charm there must have been some
coquetry, for at a very early age she began making conquests
among the young ministers who arrived on Sundays at Crassier,
ostensibly to assist M. Curchod in his duties; and a voluminous
correspondence, somewhat high-flown, as was the fashion of the
day, is extant, to prove that Suzanne possessed the art of keeping
her numerous admirers simultaneously well in hand. Verses,
occasionally slightly Voltairian in tone, were also addressed to her;
and later in life Madame Necker reproached herself for her placid
acceptance of the homage thus expressed, and owned that had she
understood it better she would have liked it less.
Suzanne’s parents, proud, no doubt, of their daughter’s talents
and accomplishments, took her after a while to Lausanne. That
pleasant city, since giving up its own political ideals and falling under
the sway of Berne, had lapsed into easy-going, intellectual ways,
and even professed a discreet and modified form of Voltairianism.
Ever since the author of the “Henriade” had dazzled it with his
presence, it had been on the look-out for illustrious personalities,
and welcomed all foreigners who showed any promise of literary
distinction.
What with her pretensions to be a bel-esprit, her youth and
beauty, Mademoiselle Curchod captivated the town at once, and very
soon had the proud joy of founding an Académie de la Poudrière,
and being elected to preside over it under the fantastic name of
Thémire. The members of this intellectual society were of both sexes
and all young. Their duties consisted in writing portraits of one
another, and essays or odes on subjects in general. Combined with
these profound pursuits there seems to have been a good deal of
flirtation, and, doubtless, both the scholasticism and the sentiment
were equally to Suzanne Curchod’s taste.
During her stay in Lausanne she fascinated Gibbon, and, for the
first time in her career of conquest, fell in love herself. So profound
was her passion—or so profound, in her self-tormenting way, did she
imagine it to be—that she remained constant to her engagement
during the four years of Gibbon’s absence in England, and wrote him
agitated, abject letters of reproach, when he, alleging his father’s
invincible objections, broke off the engagement. Her devoted friend,
Moulton, who appears to have loved her all his life, was so touched
by her despair, that, with Suzanne’s own consent, he sought the
mediation of Rousseau in order to bring the recreant lover back to
his allegiance. But the attempt was vain. Gibbon showed himself as
heartless as Mademoiselle Curchod had proved indulgent, and when
the lady, as a last resource, proposed that they should at least
remain friends, he declined the amiable offer as being “dangerous
for both.” Nevertheless, when they met again in Paris, some years
later, Mademoiselle Curchod, then married, welcomed Gibbon with
kindness, and even wrote him notes containing, here and there,
allusions to the past. For the age was evidently sentimental, and to
cherish memories of vanished joys, and make passing, pathetic
reference to them, was a luxury of which Madame Necker would
have been the last to deprive herself.
On the death of her parents, Suzanne found herself obliged to
seek for a situation as governess, or companion. All her life,
fortunate in making and keeping the most devoted friends, she
found plenty anxious to help her in carrying out her plans. Among
her sincerest admirers was the charming Duchess d’Enville, whose
sweetness, grace, and naïf enthusiasm for Switzerland (as a kind of
romantic republic, all shepherds and shepherdesses, toy-châlets,
natural sentiments and stage liberty) were so characteristic of the
age, and so admiringly celebrated in Bonstetten’s letters. It was, in
all probability, through her introduction at Geneva that Suzanne
became acquainted with Madame de Vermenoux, a rich Parisian
widow, who fell immediately under the young orphan’s charm, and,
engaging her as a companion, took her back to Paris. In that
intellectual centre—the promised land of all her thoughts—Suzanne
speedily came into contact with several interesting people, among
others the delightful Bonstetten, then still young in years, destined
to be always young in heart, and whom, in the course of this work,
we shall often see among the band of fervent admirers surrounding
Madame de Staël.
Another frequent visitor at Madame de Vermenoux’s house was M.
Necker, at that time a partner in Thellusson’s bank, and already
possessed of ample means. He was a rejected suitor of the hostess,
but continued on very good terms with her, and perhaps was
expected to propose a second time. If such were the widow’s ideas,
they were doomed to disappointment; for very soon after Necker’s
introduction to Suzanne he made a transfer of his affections to her.
He left, however, for Geneva, without declaring his sentiments; and
Mademoiselle Curchod, once again in love, and once again in
despair, poured out her feelings in a long letter to Moulton. That
ever faithful friend did his best to bring things to a happy
termination, by taking care that M. Necker, during his sojourn in
Geneva, should hear nothing but praise of Suzanne. The device, if
needed, was most successful; for the banker returned to Paris with
his mind made up. He proposed without loss of time, and it is,
perhaps, not too much to say, that Mademoiselle Curchod jumped
into his arms.
All the friends of the bride elect were delighted, and even Madame
de Vermenoux proclaimed her pleasure at the turn which affairs had
taken. Some little subsequent coolness, however, she must have
manifested, for the date fixed for the wedding was kept a secret
from her. When the day dawned, Suzanne stole out quietly and met
M. Necker at the church door.
In what form the news was broken to the widow is not known; but
any annoyance she may have felt was not of long duration, for in
after years we find Madame de Vermenoux a frequent guest of the
Neckers, and the little daughter, born on the 22nd April, 1766, was
named Germaine after her.
CHAPTER II.
GERMAINE.
When Germaine was about six years old, M. Necker retired from
the bank, and devoted himself to the study of administrative
questions. This was in preparation for the career to which he felt
himself called. For years past his wealth had come frequently to the
aid of a spendthrift Government and an exhausted exchequer; and it
was natural that he should seek his reward in power. In his Éloge de
Colbert, published in 1773, he was at no pains to conceal that he
was thinking of himself when drawing the portrait of an ideal
Minister of Finance; and some annoyance at Turgot’s appointment is
thought to have added force to his attacks on the latter’s theories
concerning free trade in corn.
Madame Necker, profiting by her husband’s growing importance,
quickly attained the summit of her ambition in becoming the
presiding genius of a salon thronged with intellectual celebrities.
Buffon and Thomas were her most trusted friends, but, austere
though she was, she did not disdain to admit to a certain intimacy
men like Marmontel, the Abbé Galiani, St. Lambert, and Diderot.
They all flattered her outrageously to her face, while some of them,
Marmontel especially, sneered at her behind her back. All made love
to her, and, misled by the studied warmth of pompous eloquence
with which she proclaimed her delight in their society, they not rarely
persuaded themselves that they had added her to the list of their
conquests, and were chagrined and not a little disgusted later to
discover that the only man she cared for was her husband. Indeed,
she bored everybody with praise of M. Necker, composing and
reading aloud in her own salon a preposterous portrait of him, in
which she compared him to most things in heaven and earth and the
waters under the earth, from an angel to a polypus. Her rigidity, her
self-consciousness, her want of charm, and absence of humor, were
a fruitful theme of ridicule to the witty and heartless parasites who
crowded her drawing-rooms and made raids on her husband’s purse.
And yet such was the native force of goodness in her that, sooner or
later, in every instance, detraction turned to praise. The bitter
Madame de Genlis, who detested the Neckers, and ridiculed them
unsparingly, admits that the wife was a model of virtue; and Diderot
paid her the greatest compliment which she, perhaps, ever received,
when declaring that had he known her sooner, much that he had
written would never have seen the light.
Grimm was another frequenter of the Necker salons; and the
mistress of the house being no less prodigal of gracious
encouragement towards him than towards everybody else, he also
eventually declared his sentiments of friendship and admiration, with
as much warmth as his manners allowed of. Like Voltaire, he called
her “Hypatie”; and testified the genuineness of his regard by
scolding her about her religious opinions. Needless to say these were
not infidel, but they were, in Grimm’s opinion, disastrously illogical;
and, his fine taste in such matters being offended, he expressed his
displeasure on one occasion in no measured terms. Madame Necker
retorted, for she loved a discussion too fervently ever to be meek;
but apparently Grimm was too much for her. Either his arguments
were irrefragable, or his manner was irritating; the result was that
Madame Necker—to the polite consternation of her numerous guests
—dissolved into tears.
Humiliated, on reflection, at having made such a scene, with
characteristic ardor, she seized the opportunity to write Grimm a
high-flown apology; and an interchange of letters followed in which
the philosopher compared the lady to Venus completed by Minerva,
and Madame Necker ransacked the universe for metaphors
wherewith to express her admiration of the gentleman’s sensibility.
As the Neckers spent their summer at St. Ouen—not the historic
Château associated with Louis XVIII., but another in the
neighborhood, and of the same name—the proximity to Paris
enabled them to continue unbroken their series of dinners, suppers
and receptions, twice a week.
Many of the guests were notable personages, and most of them
types which vanished forever a few years later—engulphed by the
storm-wave of the Revolution. There was the Abbé Morellet, clear-
headed, gravely ironical, with as much tact in concealing as in
displaying the range of his knowledge and the depth of his insight;
St. Lambert, a little cold, but full of exquisite politeness, supremely
elegant in expression, and, without being lively himself, possessed of
the delicate art of never quenching liveliness in others; D’Alembert,
charming, if frigid, and destined soon to be an object of sentimental
interest, because of his inconsolable grief for Mlle. L’Espinasse; the
Abbé Raynal, doubtless enchanted to pour into Madame Necker’s
respectful ears the floods of eloquence for which Frederick the Great
laughed at him; these, with Marmontel and Thomas, were almost
always present.
A few years earlier the Abbé Galiani, delightful and incorrigible,
would also have been seen. This extraordinary little man, political
economist, archæologist, mineralogist, diplomatist and pulcinello,
was one of Madame Necker’s professed adorers. Everybody liked and
admired him; Diderot described him as “a treasure on a rainy day”;
Marmontel as “the prettiest little harlequin,” with “the head of
Macchiavelli”; while, for Madame Geoffrin, he was her petite chose.
After so much praise, and from such people, Madame Necker must
certainly have accepted him unconditionally; but it would be
interesting to know exactly with what air she listened to his
impassioned declarations. When eventually restored to his native
land—or, as he expressed it, exiled from Paris—he wrote her
impudent and characteristic epistles, in which reproaches at her
virtue, intimate interrogations regarding her health, and envy of M.
Necker’s happiness, mingled with inquiries after everybody in the
beloved capital, and wails of inconsolable grief at his own departure.
“Quel désert que cinquante mille Napolitains!” he exclaims.
Madame Du Deffand was also for a time an intimate guest at the
Neckers’. The friendship did not last long. The marquise, by this time
infinitely weary of men and things, appears soon to have tired of
Madame Necker’s declamations and M. Necker’s superiority. Her final
judgment on the wife was very severe, rather ill-tempered, and
therefore unjust. Madame Necker was, she says, “stiff and frigid, full
of self-consciousness, but an upright woman.” Her liking for the
husband held out longer, but finally succumbed to the discovery
that, while very intelligent, he failed to elicit wit from others. “One
felt oneself more stupid in his company than when with other people
or alone.”
There is no trace of any variation in the friendship between
Madame Necker and Madame Geoffrin. Perhaps the latter, with her
habitual gentle “Voilà, qui est bien,” called her young friend to order,
and early repressed the emphatic praises which could not but have
wearied her.
We are told that she hated exaggeration in everything; and how
could Madame Necker’s heavy flattery have found favor in her eyes?
Her delicate savoir-vivre, too, that preternaturally subtle sense which
supplied the place in her of brilliancy and learning and early
education, must have been vexed at Madame Necker’s innocent but
everlasting pedantry. We can fancy, however, that she managed, in
her imperceptible, noiseless way, to elude all these disturbing
manifestations; and then she was doubtless pleased at Madame
Necker’s good-humored patience with her scoldings. All Madame
Geoffrin’s friends, as we know, had to submit to be scolded; but
probably few showed under the infliction the magnanimity of
Madame Necker, who must have possessed all the power of
submission peculiar to self-questioning souls. The calm old lady,
ensconced in her own peculiar chair, whether in Paris or at St. Ouen,
in the midst of the sparkling society to which she had perseveringly
fought her way, was disturbed in her serenity by no presage of
misfortune.
In point of reputation the most illustrious, and in point of romantic
ardor the most fervent, of all Madame Necker’s friends, was Buffon.
He wrote her some eighty letters full of fervid flatter and genuine,
almost passionate affection, to which she responded in the terms of
adulation that the old man still held dear. Such incense had once
been offered to him in nauseating abundance; now that he was old
and lonely it had diminished, and this fact, joined to his
unquestionable admiration for Madame Necker, made him all the
more easily intoxicated by her praise. Mixed with her high esteem for
his genius was a womanly compassion for his bodily sufferings that
rendered the tie uniting their two minds a very sweet and charming
one. On hearing that his end was near, she hastened to Montbard,
where he was residing, and established herself by his bedside,
remaining there five days, and courageously soothing the paroxysms
of pain that it tortured her own sensitive nature to see.
Perhaps her strong and unconcealed desire that the philosopher
should make a Christian end, lent her fortitude to continue the self-
imposed task. There is no proof that she directly influenced him in
that final declaration of faith by which he scandalised a free-thinking
community; but she had often discussed religious questions with
him, and deplored his want of a definite creed; consequently, it is
possible that her mere presence may have had some effect upon
him at the last.
On the brink of the irrevocable, even the pride of controversy may
come to be a little thing; and Buffon’s wearied spirit perhaps recoiled
from further speculation on the eternal problem of futurity. And to
be at one, in that supreme moment, with the pitying woman who
had come to solace his final agony, may have weighed with him
above the praise and blame over which the grave was to triumph
forever.
Madame Necker delighted in making herself miserable, and the
melancholia natural to him probably caused Thomas to be the most
thoroughly congenial to her of all her friends. The author of the
Petréide and the foe of the Encyclopædists, he enjoyed during his
life a celebrity which posterity has not confirmed. He was the
originator of the unhappy style of writing in which Madame Necker
so delighted that she modelled her own upon it. For the rest, he was
a man of extremely austere and simple life, as well as of very honest
character. Passion was unknown to him, unless, indeed, the
profound and sentimental esteem which he felt for Madame Necker
was of a nature under more favorable treatment to have developed
into love. If so, she found the way in his case, as in all, to restrain
his feelings within platonic bounds, and indulged him chiefly with
affecting promises not to forget him when she should be translated
to heaven.
Madame Necker may be said to have touched the zenith of social
distinction the day on which the Maréchale de Luxembourg entered
her salon. This charming old lady and exquisite grande dame, the
arbiter of politeness and fine manners, was felicitously and
untranslatably described by Madame du Deffand, in one delightful
phrase, as “Chatte Rose!” Upon all those who met her at this period
(when she was already nearly seventy), she seems to have produced
the same impression of softness and elegance, of fine malice and
caressing, irresistible ways.
Madame de Souza—that sweet little woman round whose name
the perfume of her own roses still seems to cling—drew a portrait of
the Maréchale in her novel Eugénie de Rothelin, under the name of
the Maréchale de’Estouteville; nor did she, as Ste. Beuve tells us,
forget to introduce, by way of contrast, in the person of Madame de
Rieny, the pretty and winning Duchess de Lauzun, grand-niece of the
Maréchale, and another flower of Madame Necker’s salon.
This little Duchess, “joli petit oiseau à l’air effarouché” (to quote
Madame du Deffand once again), was so devoted an admirer of M.
Necker, that, hearing somebody in the Tuileries Gardens blame him,
she slapped the speaker’s face. Apart from this one outburst, which
saves her from seeming too meek, she flits shadowy, sweet and
pathetic, across the pages of her contemporaries. The record of her
life, as we know it, is brief and touching. She kept herself unspotted
from a most depraved world; loved a very unworthy husband and
died, during the Terror, on the scaffold.
Another friend, and apparently a very sincere one, of Madame
Necker, was Madame d’Houdetôt. Madame Necker seems to have
accepted that interesting woman just as she was, including her
relations with St. Lambert, whom the letters exchanged between the
two ladies mention quite naturally. The affection which she felt for
the mother was extended by Madame D’Houdetôt to the little
daughter, and there are letters of hers extant describing visits which
she had paid to Germaine, while Madame Necker was at Spa or
Mont Doré for her health.
They were written to relieve the natural pain of absence on the
parents’ part, and are full of praises of the child, of her engaging
ways, her air of health, and her magnificent eyes.
CHAPTER III.
GIRLHOOD AND MARRIAGE.
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