A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Thierry, Madame
THIERRY, MADAME,
Is the wife of the distinguished historian, and has merited a very charming acknowledgment from that illustrious author. In one of his prefaces, adverting to his misfortune—one of the greatest to a man fond of books, his blindness—he declares that "his wife has been to him his eyes, his memory, his unfailing helpmate; without whom his great works could scarcely have been accomplished, so untiring and intelligent was her constant assistance; adding to the offices of a zealous secretary, the sympathy and encouragement of affection."
He adds that her abilities are equal, if not superior to his own; and that only her extreme modesty prevents her taking works of importance. In this opinion we cannot concur with the author of the "Norman Conquest." The sketches Madame Thierry has published are pretty stories, neatly written, and nothing more. "Scenes de Moeurs," and "Adelaide," could only have been written by a woman of cultivated and elegant mind, but they evince no extraordinary intellectual powers. Still, we consider her entitled to a high place among distinguished women, because she has won for her husband such a beautiful eulogium on her talents, and on the manner in which she has employed them. We may see, in this example, of what inestimable benefit to the husband the cultivated intellect of the wife may become, if he has true nobleness of soul to encourage the development and rightly estimate the mind of his wife.