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diff --git a/old/44646-h/44646-h.htm b/old/44646-h/44646-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..23122ae --- /dev/null +++ b/old/44646-h/44646-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,19656 @@ + <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg's eBook of Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino, by Dorothée, Duchesse de Dino</title> + <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> + <style type="text/css"> + + h1,h2 {text-align: center; + clear: both;} + + h1 {margin-top: 2em; line-height: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; + page-break-after: always;} + + h2 {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 2em; line-height: 2em;} + + h2.normal {margin-bottom: 1em;} + + div.titlepage, + div.frontmatter + { + text-align: center; + page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; + } + + div.titlepage p + { + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 2em; + } + + div.frontmatter p + { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 4em; + } + + .titlepage p + { + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 2em; + } + + .topspace {margin-top: 4em;} + + .end + { + text-align: center; + font-size: small; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 4em; + } + + hr.tb {width: 15%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + + div.header + {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + .tdl {text-align: left; vertical-align: top; + padding-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em;} + .tdr {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;} + + th {padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em;} + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + right: 5%; + font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; + font-style: normal; + text-align: right; + background-color: #FFFACD; + padding: 0.3em; + } /* page numbers */ + + .pagenumh { display: none; } + +/* footnotes */ + .footnotes {border: 1px dashed; padding-bottom: 2em; background-color: #F0FFFF;} + .footnote {margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label, + .fnanchor {vertical-align: 25%; text-decoration: none; font-size: x-small; + font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;} + + .blockquote {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .tnote {margin: auto; + margin-top: 2em; + border: 1px solid; + padding: 1em; + background-color: #F0FFFF; + width: 25em;} + + sup {font-size: 0.7em; font-variant: normal;} + + ul {list-style-type: none;} + li {margin-top: 0.5em; margin-left: 3em; text-indent: -2em;} + .alphabet {text-align: center; margin-top: 2em;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 90%;} + .center {text-align: center;} + .date {margin-top: 2em;} + .signature {text-align: right; clear: both; margin-left: 25%; width: 75%;} + + .i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + + .xs {font-size: x-small;} + .small {font-size: small;} + .medium {font-size: medium;} + .large {font-size: large;} + .xlarge {font-size: x-large;} + + .right { text-align: right; clear: both; margin-left: 25%; width: 75%;} + +@media screen +{ + body + { + width: 90%; + max-width: 45em; + margin: auto; + } + + p + { + margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + text-align: justify; + } +} + +@media print, handheld +{ + p + { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + + .smcap + { + text-transform: uppercase; + font-size: 90%; + } + + hr.tb + { + width: 15%; + margin-left: 42.5%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + +} + +@media handheld +{ + body + { + margin: 0; + padding: 0; + width: 90%; + } + + .tnote + { + width: auto; + } +} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.2/3, +1836-1840, by Duchesse De Dino + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license + + +Title: Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.2/3, 1836-1840 + Second Series + +Author: Duchesse De Dino + +Editor: The Princesse Radziwill + +Release Date: January 12, 2014 [EBook #44646] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF THE DUCHESSE DE DINO V.2/3 *** + + + + +Produced by Hélène de Mink, D Alexander and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="tnote"> +<p>Transcriber's note:<br /> +Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have +been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_I">I</a></span></p> + +<h1> +<span class="large">MEMOIRS OF THE</span><br /> +DUCHESSE DE DINO</h1> + +<p><span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_II">II</a></span> +<span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_III">III</a></span> +<span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_IV">VI</a></span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="400" height="458" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_V">V</a></span></p> + +<div class="topspace titlepage"> +<p><span class="large">MEMOIRS OF THE</span><br /> +<span class="xlarge">DUCHESSE DE DINO</span><br /> +<span class="small">(<em>Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan</em>)</span><br /> +<span class="medium">1836-1840</span></p> + +<p><span class="small"><em>Edited, with Notes and Biographical Index, by</em></span><br /> +<span class="large">THE PRINCESSE RADZIWILL</span><br /> +<span class="small">(<em>NÉE CASTELLANE</em>)</span></p> + +<p class="topspace">WITH FRONTISPIECE</p> + +<p>SECOND SERIES</p> + +<p><span class="small">NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS</span><br /> +LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN<br /> +<span class="xs">1910</span></p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_VI">VI</a></span></p> + +<div class="topspace frontmatter"> +<p><em>Printed in England</em><br /> +<span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_VII">VII</a></span></p> +</div> + +<div class="header"> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +</div> +<table id="toc" summary="contents"> +<tr> +<th>CHAPTER I</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Paris, January 2, 1836—Dispute with America—Country Life—Politics +in Paris—Ministerial Crisis—The New Ministry—The +"Imitation"—Spring—Lacordaire—M. Thiers—Prince +Royal's Tour—The Abbé Girolet—The Princes at +Berlin—Spanish Affairs—Mme. de Lieven—The Tour of +the Princes—M. de Talleyrand—Address to the King—Alibaud—Cardinal +de Retz—Duc d'Orléans Marriage—Letter +from Vienna—Duchess Stephanie—Moral Reflections—Revolution +at Lisbon—The Queen of Spain—The +Political Prisoners—Outbreak at Strasburg—Death +of Charles X.</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<th>CHAPTER II</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Paris, April 17, 1837—A Dinner-Party—The Princess Helena—The +Ministry—The Review—London Gossip—The Abbé +Dupanloup—Marriage Preparations—Fontainebleau—The +King in Paris—English Politics—Duchesse d'Orléans—Appointments—At +Valençay—Queen Victoria—The +Pantheon—M. de Salvandy—Private Theatricals—At +Rochecotte—Champchevrier—Retrospect.</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<th>CHAPTER III</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Rochecotte, January 1, 1838—Life at Paris—At Saint-Roch—Villemain—Bonnétable—Princess +of Denmark—Marriage +Proposals.</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_146">146</a> +<span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_VIII">VIII</a></span></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<th>CHAPTER IV</th> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Amiens, May 16, 1840—Travel in Belgium—Aix-la-Chapelle—The +Art of Travel—Berlin—Life in Berlin—Princess Albert—The +King's Illness—Tegel—Death of the King—The +King's Will—The Funeral—Silesia—Günthersdorf—Wartenberg—News +from Paris—Countess Dohna—Start +for Berlin—At Berlin—Court of Condolence—Dresden—The +Castle—Carlsbad—Löbichau—Nuremberg—Baden—Egyptian +Question—Umkirch—France and England—Foreign +Politics—Mgr. Affre—Peace or War?—The +Lafarge Case—Events in Prussia—Madame Lafarge—French +Politics—Prospects of Peace—Queen Christina—The +New Ministry—The King's Speech—Thiers and +Guizot—News from Berlin—Napoleon's Funeral—Russian +feeling.</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>APPENDIX I</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_321">321</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>APPENDIX II</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_332">332</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>APPENDIX III</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_335">335</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>APPENDIX IV</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>APPENDIX V</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX</td> +<td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1">1</a></span></p> + +<div class="header"> +<h2><span class="large">MEMOIRS OF THE</span><br /> +DUCHESSE DE DINO<br /> +<span class="medium">CHAPTER I</span><br /> +<span class="medium">1836</span></h2> +</div> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 2, 1836.—</em>M. de Talleyrand is working hard +to advance the claims of M. Molé to a seat in the French +Academy. He is supported alike by M. Royer-Collard and by +the Ministers; hence M. de Villemain found occasion to say, +yesterday evening, that all the most <em>diverse</em> and <em>inverse</em> +influences were in combination to <em>transport</em> or to <em>export</em> +M. Molé to the Academy, and that he himself was strongly +in favour of <em>importation</em>, as a seat in the Academy was no +obstacle to other posts. This play on words was no less +pointed than malicious.</p> + +<p>There was much talk of the various speeches delivered +before the King on New Year's Day, and in particular of +M. Pasquier's speech, which was remarkable for the boldness +he displayed in his use of the word "subject," which M. de +Villemain called a <em>progressive</em> term.</p> + +<p>The King was delighted with Count Apponyi's speech, and +the Diplomatic Service were equally pleased with the King's +reply. In any case, Fieschi and Mascara<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor"> [1]</a> were so much treasure-trove +to all the speech-makers; emotion and sympathy +in every degree were noticeable, and M. Dupin was moved +even to sobs!</p> + +<p>Concerning M. Pasquier, a notice was inserted by some +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2">2</a></span> +jester in a low-class newspaper to the effect that his recent +illness was caused by his recognition of Fieschi as his natural +son! The old Comtesse de la Briche, who is falling into her +dotage, went off in all seriousness to relate this piece of folly +with sighs of profound emotion in the <em>salon</em> of Madame de +Chastellux, the Carlist headquarters. Such want of tact is +almost inconceivable, and great merriment was aroused!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 4, 1836.</em>—The illness of Madame de Flahaut's +second daughter has become critical, and provided me yesterday +with an illustration of that truest of parables, the beam +and the mote, when Madame de Lieven said to me, in reference +to Madame de Flahaut: "Can you conceive that she +talks politics to me at a time like this and orders her carriage +to visit Madame Adélaïde? She will even leave her daughter's +room to discuss public affairs with her visitors, and asks me +to dinner to-morrow to distract her thoughts, as she says, and +not to be left alone in her anxiety!" Apparently people cannot +see themselves as others see them, and such incidents give +one startling cause for introspection.</p> + +<p>The much-discussed communication from President Jackson,<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor"> [2]</a> +which has been expected with great impatience, has reached +the Duc de Broglie, by way of England. He went to the +King five hours later, to inform him that the communication +had arrived; when the King asked to see it the Duc de +Broglie told him that it was of no importance and that he +had already sent it to the newspapers! He made the same +observation to his colleague, M. de Thiers, who told every one +he met during the evening, on the faith of this information, +that the message was of no political significance. The next +day the King and M. Thiers were able to read the message in +the papers, and found that it was very cleverly conceived, very +insolent to M. de Broglie personally, and exactly calculated to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3">3</a></span> +terminate the existing dispute. Council after council was +then held, and lively discussions took place; at length the +royal will has triumphed, with the support of M. Thiers, and +the communication will be declared satisfactory. The intervention +of England is to be declined, and a statement will be +made that France is prepared to pay the sum of twenty-five +millions as due under the terms specified. M. de Broglie eventually +yielded, though his surrender was delayed by the wound +to his self-esteem. At first he refused to submit for approval +his note thanking England for her offer of intervention, but +it was eventually shown to the King yesterday. It was criticised +as being too long, too diffuse, and too metaphysical. +There was a vigorous discussion in the council, but the King +concluded the matter by giving his hand to the Duc de Broglie +with a kind word. At the same time a considerable amount +of ill-temper remains on both sides. However, a war with the +United States would be very disadvantageous to French commerce; +so this conclusion will probably have a good effect +upon public opinion.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 11, 1836.</em>—Yesterday morning I had a call +from M. Royer-Collard. He had just left M. de Berryer in a +state of considerable vexation and disgust; their conversation +had dealt with Prague. M. de Berryer said that at Prague +M. Royer was in many men's minds and was well spoken of; +that Charles X. had several times repeated his fear that he +had not sufficiently considered several things which M. Royer +had told him in a long conversation at the time of the much-discussed +address<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor"> [3]</a> of 1830. The curious point is that when the +old king attempted to recall these important points, of which +he had but a vague recollection, he found himself unable to +remember them. The incident is very characteristic of the +man's good intentions and incompetency.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 16, 1836.</em>—M. Humann, Financial Minister, +delivered a tirade yesterday in the Chamber of Deputies, +in which he very imprudently raised the question of the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4">4</a></span> +reduction of the State bonds, without previously consulting his +colleagues. It was thought that a dissolution of the Ministry +would be the consequence, but the difficulty has been settled, +and matters remain as they were, for the moment.</p> + +<p>The King has personally seen Count Pahlen and soothed +his feelings, and it is hoped that the speech of the Duc de +Broglie in the Chamber of Deputies will not lead to any +outburst.<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor"> [4]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 24, 1836.</em>—The Chamber of Deputies +remains disturbed and restive. Apathetic as the session was +at its opening, it provides vexation enough to those responsible +for the government. The prevailing ill-temper is especially +manifested against the Duc de Broglie, the tone of whose +speeches displeases the Deputies. His observation in the +Chamber the other day, "is that clear?" is regarded as almost +unpardonable.<a name="FNanchor_5" id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor"> [5]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 28, 1836.</em>—Yesterday we were dining with +Marshal Maison. It was a remarkable dinner for many +reasons, but especially for the stories told by the Marshal's +wife, one of which amused me for a long time afterwards. +They were speaking of crowded balls and saying how difficult +it was to discover the exact number of guests actually present; +thereupon the Marshal's wife observed in her high, shrill +voice: "I have an admirable method which has always worked +successfully in all the balls I have given; I put my chambermaid +behind the door with a bag of beans at her side, and +I say: 'Mariette, when any one comes in, you will take a bean +out of the big bag and put it in your handbag.' Thus the +numbers are exactly known, and that is the best way of doing +it." So strong an inclination to wild laughter overcame me +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5">5</a></span> +that I nearly choked, and Mmes. de Lieven, von Werther, +and von Löwenhielm, who were present, were in the same +predicament.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 1, 1836.</em>—If I were at my dear Rochecotte, +as I was last year, I should think that spring was beginning +on February 1, whereas here one can say nothing of the kind. +My old dislike of Paris has been growing upon me for some +time. Not that people are in any way disagreeable—indeed, +the contrary is the case; but life at Paris is too exhausting, +the atmosphere is too keen, attractions are too numerous and +widely spread, while at the same time they are not sufficiently +strong. There is no leisure, constant worry, and a continual +sense of want.</p> + +<p>At London I lived amid a society at once high and simple-minded; +social success and leisure were possible at the same +time. M. de Talleyrand there enjoyed good health and was +occupied with important business. The excitement which I +then experienced had its compensations; I had time for my +own occupations, for reading, working, writing, and thinking, +nor was I pestered by every idle person. If calling is a tax +upon one's time, calls can be paid at London with an empty +carriage and with cards; in short, life was then a pleasure. +Hence my deep and melancholy regret for those years which +will never return; hence my longing for the calm and sweetness +of Rochecotte, with its wide horizon and its pure sky, +for my clean house, my kind and simple neighbours, my workpeople, +my flowers, my big dog, my little cow and goat, the +good Abbé, the modest Vestier, the little wood where we used +to gather fir-cones—the place, in short, where I am at my best, +because I have time for valuable introspection, for enlightenment +of thought, for the practice of good and the avoidance +of evil, time to unite myself in simplicity of heart and mind +with the beauty, the strength, and the graciousness of nature, +which there gives me shelter, refreshment, and repose. But +a truce to these self-complainings, which are useless and +ungrateful.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I saw Dr. Ferrus, on his return from Ham. +His account of what he found there is as follows: Both the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6">6</a></span> +orders and the attitude of the doctors were extremely kind, +but it was necessary to find some excuse for action, and the +two ex-Ministers who were really ill, MM. de Chantelauze +and de Peyronnet, insolently refused to permit a visit from +the doctors; while the others, MM. de Polignac and Guernon +de Ranville, though very compliant, submissive, and anxious +to take advantage of the kindly attitude of the Government, +were unfortunately unable to plead any malady. Hence it +was necessary to postpone the desired attempt to improve +their condition.<a name="FNanchor_6" id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor"> [6]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 6, 1836.</em>—Yesterday morning I went to +the session of the Chamber of Deputies, with the Countess +Bretzenheim, who had invited me to accompany her; there I +heard for the first time a speech by M. Thiers; he spoke +admirably, in opposition to the much-discussed proposal for +the conversion of the stock, so imprudently put forward by +M. Humann. While M. Thiers was speaking I thought I +noticed him spitting blood several times; I wrote to ask him +how he was, and the following is an extract from his reply: +"I am exhausted; I did not spit blood, but in those few +moments I shortened my life by several days; I have never +encountered so strong an opposition of opinion, and an iron +will is required to overcome an obstinacy so plain as that +displayed by the Chamber. I am very sorry that you should +have heard me speak, as the figures must have wearied you, +and have given you a poor idea of our public oratory. We +should be heard and judged only upon days of excitement, +and not when we are discussing accounts. In any case, I am +doubtful of the consequences, and were it not for the King +I should be inclined to wish that the Ministry would resign. +The struggle against such imprudence and foolishness is an +unbearable task."</p> + +<p>This letter prepared me to some extent for the events of +the evening. However, M. Royer-Collard, who came to me in +the course of the morning, believed that the Ministry would +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7">7</a></span> +emerge triumphant, for the reason that the Chamber would +find difficulty in using an advantage, if they gained one. He +was overcome with admiration for the speech of M. Thiers, +and had told him as much in the Chamber. On this occasion +they spoke to one another again, for the first time since the +discussion of the September laws.</p> + +<p>My son, M. de Valençay, came directly from the session of +the Chamber of Deputies to dinner with us. He told us of +the stupefaction produced in the Chamber by the strange +conclusions of Humann, and the excitement of the Ministers +because the project for converting the Government stock had +been postponed by a majority of two votes only.</p> + +<p>The <cite>Journal de Paris</cite> announced the resignation of the +Ministry at a later hour, and General Alava, who had just +seen the Duc de Broglie, told us at eleven o'clock in the +evening that the King had accepted their resignations, and +had sent for MM. Humann and Molé.</p> + +<p>At that moment I received the following note from M. +Thiers: "We have resigned in full freedom and seriousness. +The King knew beforehand, and agreed with every one, and +myself in particular, that this result was the inevitable +consequence of our intention to oppose the scheme for conversion. +Our honour would be compromised if we did not +persist in our action and force a new Ministry to take office. +It matters not if that Ministry be weak and helpless; the +burden of proving the fact will rest upon the Third Party. +No other action is possible, either for the King or for ourselves, +and would in any case be a deception in the style of +Charles X."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 7, 1836.</em>—There is no news of the Ministry +except the fact of resignation, which is definite. It is thought +that M. de Broglie will never take office again, as the +animosity of the Chamber is chiefly directed against himself.</p> + +<p>M. Thiers made no attempt to oppose resignation; he was +actuated rather by the desire to secure an honourable withdrawal +and to dissociate himself from colleagues whom he +did not like than by any special devotion to the point at +issue, though his defence was marked with great skill.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8">8</a></span> +The King summoned M. Humann, who <em>refused</em>, M. Molé, +who <em>declined</em>, M. Dupin, who <em>spoke at random</em>—shades of +meaning which are worthy of note. In short, nothing has +been done, nor can any action be regarded as probable. The +friends of M. Molé say that he will no longer be sent from +pillar to post or put up with requests, refusals, and vexations +such as he experienced in November, and that if people will +not submit to his views he will decline to interfere.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 8, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a call from +M. Royer-Collard. He explains the attitude of the Chamber +towards the last Ministry as follows: The Ministry had lasted +for three years and was worn out, especially the doctrinaire +members of it, while the Cabinet had wearied the Chamber +by too constantly pressing for decisions and making personal +matters Cabinet questions; moreover, the Chamber had gone +beyond its powers in the announcement issued at the time +when the laws concerning intimidation were passed;<a name="FNanchor_7" id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor"> [7]</a> it +had been by no means popular in the provinces, while the +disdainful folly of M. de Broglie had filled the cup to overflowing. +Finally, as the country was prosperous and peaceful +both at home and abroad, the Chamber had thought the +moment opportune to enounce its rights and to show the +Ministry that it was not indispensable; while a popular +question in the provinces had provided it with an opportunity +for displaying its power, in which determination it was +supported by its political ignorance, which will not allow it +to foresee the extent of the crisis. M. Royer-Collard added +that the only two Ministers who could have preserved their +reputation in the Chamber were MM. Thiers and Duchâtel, +but that here again some small period of exile would be +necessary.</p> + +<p>Yesterday we dined with M. Thiers in fulfillment of a long-standing +invitation. He was highly delighted and fluttering +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9">9</a></span> +whenever he pleased. He proposes to travel, and to visit +Vienna, Berlin, Rome, and Naples; he will start in April. +M. de Broglie, who was also at dinner, appeared sad and +downcast, and I was astonished that he made no attempt to +hide his feelings; it was not the devil, but the doctrine, that +he was burying.</p> + +<p>In the evening I paid a visit to Madame de Lieven and +made the acquaintance of M. Berryer. M. Royer-Collard, +who sees him constantly, told me in the morning that M. +Berryer was very anxious to make my acquaintance. We +were on our best behaviour. He talks simply and kindly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 9, 1836.</em>—Yesterday we dined with the +Sardinian Ambassador.<a name="FNanchor_8" id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor"> [8]</a> I was told that nothing had been +yet decided concerning the Ministry, and M. Molé, who was +sitting near me, confirmed this statement. He has declined +to join the Third Party, in spite of the universal desire that +he should do so. I believe that, for want of a better leader, +M. Dupin will eventually profit for the time being by this +state of affairs; as, however, the little group which he leads +is very weak, he will be obliged to base his power upon the +Left, and this will cost him dear. His position will be +analogous to that of the English Whig Ministry confronted +by O'Connell. I hope that this state of affairs will be of no +long duration, though a short time is quite enough in which +to take many retrograde steps. At the Château sadness +prevails, uneasiness in the diplomatic world and anxiety in +public opinion.</p> + +<p>The young and beautiful Queen of Naples died on +January 31, a few days after the birth of her child. The +news arrived yesterday.<a name="FNanchor_9" id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor"> [9]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 10, 1836.</em>—The judges in Fieschi's case, +and the audience, take a remarkable interest in this man. +He is an unprecedented character; he has a fine intellect +and a real genius for strategy, while the terrors of his +situation never obscure his memory, his self-possession, or +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10">10</a></span> +his penetration; he is a man of strong passions, especially +where women are concerned. His affection for Nina Lassave +is remarkable; he constantly writes to her, and when he +learned that she had been unfaithful to him he reproached +her for not waiting a few days and sparing him this last +bitterness, as his execution would have set her free; all this +was written in the most touching style. Another point is +that when M. Ladvocat sent money to Fieschi, that he might +provide himself with some small dainties in prison, instead +of spending the money, he sent it to this woman Nina. +She wrote to thank him more or less in the following terms: +"I thank you for thus depriving yourself for my sake; with +what you have sent me I have bought a few decent things to +do you credit before your judges, but as you will soon be +unable to send me anything more, I am economising, and am +now mistress of forty francs."</p> + +<p>This remark concerning economy is disgusting. Moreover, +she wrote to Fieschi to assure him that she had remained +faithful to him, which is untrue. Everybody seems to have +been far more interested by these amorous details than by +the actual crime. What a strange time it is! Fieschi's +correspondence, in passing through the hands of M. Decazes, +became the amusement of the House of Peers; but the truly +astonishing fact is the notoriety which the whole story has +given to Mlle. Nina, who was formerly resident in the Salpêtrière. +It is asserted that monetary proposals have been +made to her by men of high position; there is no doubt that +one hears the strangest descriptions of her beauties and her +imperfections, and it is a positive fact that she has only one +eye.</p> + +<p>If Fieschi is a lover, he is no less attracted by religion. +When the almoner of the Chamber of Peers asked those under +trial if they wished to hear Mass, Fieschi alone replied yes, +and said that he was anxious to hear it as he was neither a +heathen nor an atheist; that if he was not a theological +expert he had nevertheless read Plutarch and Cicero and +firmly believed in the immortality of the soul; as the +soul was not divisible it could not be material, and that, in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11">11</a></span> +short, he believed in the spiritual nature of man. He asked +the almoner to come and see him again and not to leave him +after his sentence had been pronounced. In view of such +inconsistencies, how is it possible to pass any absolute +judgment on men?</p> + +<p>I believe the following to be an accurate bulletin of the +Ministerial crisis: Yesterday morning the King sent for +Dupin, Sauzet, and Passy, and commissioned them to form a +Ministry upon two conditions only: firstly, they were not to +give a post to any one who had voted against the repressive +laws; secondly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs must be a +man who would reassure European opinion and be agreeable +to himself. The three men replied that they understood +the King's wishes, but that they could not bind themselves +until they had consulted their friends; they then withdrew. +At the Chamber they sent round a list, which was drawn up +nearly as follows: Dupin to be Minister of Justice and +President, Passy to be Minister of Finance, Flahaut of +Foreign Affairs, Molitor of War, Montalivet of the Interior. +I have since learned that Montalivet refused the post in spite +of the King's wishes, and that the King refused to accept +the nomination of Flahaut. The King wished to appoint +Rumigny or Baudrand to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, +and would have declared for the latter, if there had not been +a wish to retain him as a companion to the Prince Royal on +his travels. The Prince is very pleased at the fall of the +last Ministry: I believe he is wrong; the Flahaut party are +delighted. The Ministerial party hope to secure the election +of M. Guizot as President of the Chamber of Deputies; the +Opposition will support M. Martin du Nord.</p> + +<p>In the evening I accompanied M. de Talleyrand to a +dinner given by M. de Montalivet. Counts Pahlen and +Apponyi were pale with fear inspired by the sight of M. de +Flahaut's name on a list of Ministers. Marshal Maison was +regretting the loss of his ambassadorship at St. Petersburg +with cries of rage which were not in the best of taste.</p> + +<p>We then went to the last Ministerial reception given by +the Duc de Broglie. M. de Broglie believes himself to be +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12">12</a></span> +fully in touch with the requirements of the time; he has no +suspicion of the actual truth, that he is the sole cause and +object of the squabbling which is going on, that he is the +man rejected by the Chamber, and that if he were to say to +his colleagues, "I see that I am myself the real stumbling-block; +I will withdraw, but I beg you to remain," M. Molé +would take his place and everything would be settled to the +general satisfaction.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 11, 1836.</em>—Madame de Rumford died +yesterday morning after breakfast; she had had some friends +to dinner the evening before. She had been much changed +for some time, but has always refused to acknowledge herself +an invalid, and remained as discourteous to death as she was +to those about her. The loss of her <em>salon</em> will be felt; it +was a meeting-place, and there are very few that are habitually +regarded as such. Every one found something there to +remind him of this or that period of his life. This loss has +saddened me; it is not well to have reached the age of eighty-four. +But M. de Rigny was fifty, Clémentine de Flahaut +sixteen, Yolande de Valençay two! Life is threatened at +every step of the ladder, and one must always be ready.</p> + +<p>That old cat Sémonville, whose claws are always ready, +reached the Luxembourg yesterday with the announcement +that the Ministry was at length settled. He was surrounded +with questioners, and gave the list as follows: "President of +the Council, Madame Adélaide; Justice and Public Worship, +the Duchesse de Broglie; Foreign Affairs, the Duchesse de +Dino;<a name="FNanchor_10" id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor"> [10]</a> Interior, the Comtesse de Boigne; War, the Comtesse +de Flahaut; Marine, the Duchesse de Massa; Finance, the +Duchesse de Montmorency; Commerce, the Marquise de +Caraman!" I sent this piece of wit to Madame de Lieven, +in reply to a note asking for certain information; she replied +that the King's condition at least was fulfilled, and that +the Minister of Foreign Affairs was not likely to disturb +Europe.</p> + +<p>This is poor stuff, but poorer still is the fact that it is +impossible to form a Ministry, in seriousness or otherwise. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13">13</a></span> +Yesterday I was at the Tuileries. The Ministers who had +resigned were all grouped about the King, but, I think, with +no particular object. It is deplorable!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 12, 1836.</em>—Of Ministerial news there is +none; all that I have learned yesterday is as follows: Dupin, +Passy, and Sauzet spent three hours with the King, and told +him that they could not undertake the formation of a +Ministry, as various intrigues had made the attempt impossible; +they were, however, ready themselves to enter the +Ministry, if their services were agreeable to the King. They +then withdrew, and the King sent for M. Molé in the course +of the evening, but I cannot say what passed at this +interview.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 13, 1836.</em>—I have the following information +as regards the events of yesterday concerning the Ministerial +crisis. M. Molé declares that he will not take office +without M. Thiers, who will not come in without M. Guizot; +he, again, will not act without M. de Broglie, unless the latter +recognises that he is himself the only real obstacle, insists that +his colleagues should take office without him, and writes them +a letter to that effect, dated from Broglie. M. de Salvandy +attempted to enlighten him upon this point, but met with a +very poor reception. A lively scene is said to have taken +place between MM. de Broglie and Guizot; certainly M. de +Broglie is obviously agitated, and so ill-tempered as to rouse +the pity of his friends and the contempt of other men. Some +people think that the King will summon de Broglie and +request him with greater authority than Salvandy used to +put an end to this deplorable state of affairs, which is only +continued on his account.</p> + +<p>Dupin's chance has entirely disappeared. During the two +days when it was thought that he would be Minister, Thiers +and Guizot both entered the competition for the Presidency, +and so gained an opportunity of counting the votes in their +favour. M. Guizot received eight, M. Martin du Nord +fifteen; the remainder of the Ministerial party would have +voted for M. Thiers and secured for him the refusal of the +position.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14">14</a></span> +<em>Paris, February 16, 1836.</em>—Fieschi and his accomplices +have been condemned to death; M. de Mareuil came yesterday +to tell us of the sentence, at eleven o'clock in the +evening.<a name="FNanchor_11" id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor"> [11]</a></p> + +<p>It seems that many of the peers gave long explanations to +justify their manner of voting. A small fraction of the +Chamber considered that the circumstantial evidence against +Pépin and Morey was inadequate to justify the extreme penalty, +and preferred to inflict penal servitude for life. Fieschi was +condemned to death unanimously, and M. Barthe asked that +the punishments reserved for parricides should be added to +the death penalty.</p> + +<p>The newspapers announce the death of Madame Bonaparte; +her great-granddaughter—that is, the daughter of Joseph, +who married the son of Lucien—was the only member of her +numerous family at her side. Cardinal Fesch has been very +attentive to her, and she leaves him her pictures; it is also +thought that the division of her inheritance will cause fresh +dissensions among her children, who are by no means at +harmony with one another, for it seems that during her +lifetime she gave considerable sums to Lucien, Jérôme, +and to Madame Murat, which sums they are not willing to +repay.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 17, 1836.</em>—Yesterday the King assembled +his former Ministers and announced that in the first place he +would not accept their resignations until another Cabinet +was formed. Furthermore, he said that it was only by an +accident that a majority in the Chamber had been against +them; their system was that of the Chamber, although +certain individuals in the Cabinet might not be agreeable +to the Chamber, and he would therefore be delighted to see +them all remain in office; if, however, they thought that any +of their members were likely to keep the Chamber in a state +of exasperation, he asked them to consider the matter among +themselves and then to let him know upon what he could +rely. M. de Broglie said that the King should make trial of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15">15</a></span> +the Third Party, to which the King replied: "It may please +you, sir, to restate the weakness of that Third Party, but it +does not please me to make so disastrous an attempt; I have +had enough of three days' ministries; the majority is not to +be found either in the Third Party or in the Left, but with +you, gentlemen, or, if not with all of you, at any rate with +some. Your arrangements and mutual engagements ought +to give way before the gravity of the situation: so much I +expect from your honesty and your desire for the general +welfare; for my own part, gentlemen, I shall fold my arms +and bide my time at Saint-Cloud." MM. de Broglie and +Guizot replied that no member of the Cabinet was exactly +bound, but that there were certain conventions which they +must respect in each member's case. This was a very inopportune +reply at such a moment, especially from the first +speaker, who could have cut the Gordian knot at one word +and have simplified the position. No one knows what the +result will be, unless matters should turn out as M. Royer-Collard +predicted to M. Thiers last Friday: "You are +impossible to-day, but in a week you will be necessary, +indispensable, and absolute."</p> + +<p>M. de Talleyrand and myself visited the Queen yesterday. +The fact that the Court was in mourning for the Queen of +Naples, together with the trial of Fieschi and the Ministerial +crisis, made it impossible for the Château to take part in the +pleasures of the carnival, and a very serious spirit prevailed. +The King's attention was occupied by thoughts of the punishment +which awaited the prisoners condemned the previous +evening, and he had not ventured to go out, because he knew +that Madame Pépin and her children were lying in wait for +him. The Château was mournful indeed, and formed a +painful contrast with the joyful tumult in the streets. +M. Pasquier came to tell the King that Pépin had asked +to see him that morning, so that the execution must be +postponed until the next day.</p> + +<p>Before going home I spent half an hour with Madame de +Lieven. No one was there except Lady Charlotte Grenville +and M. Berryer, who said that when one knew nothing one +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16">16</a></span> +was able to say anything one liked, and that he had no +hesitation in asserting that Thiers' was the only possible +combination, and alone likely to be agreeable to the +Chamber.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 19, 1836.</em>—Yesterday morning I had a +call from M. Thiers, who had definitely accepted the task of +forming a Cabinet and acting as President. He proposed to +spend the rest of the day in making up his list. He has too +much common sense to underrate the difficulty of his new +position, and too much courage or blindness to be dismayed +by it. M. Molé failed to secure election to the Academy; +it has been a disastrous week for him.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 20, 1836.</em>—The following are the actual +words written by the King beneath the signature which he +was obliged to append to the death-warrants of Fieschi, +Pépin, Morey, &c.: "It is only a profound sense of duty +which induces me to give an approval which is one of the +most painful acts of my life; however, considering the frankness +which Fieschi showed in his confession and his conduct +during the trial, I intend that the subordinate parts of his +punishment shall be remitted, and I deeply regret that my +conscience will not allow me to do more."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 21, 1836.</em>—M. Thiers is finding difficulties +in the way of his attempt to combine a Ministry; every one +is willing to work with him or under him, but not in company +with others. At the same time it is important that the +Cabinet should be both strong and reputable. There are +difficulties everywhere, even for superior mortals.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 22, 1836.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is in a very +bad temper: the newspapers and public opinion all regard +him as responsible for the new Ministry: the names have at +length appeared in this morning's <cite>Moniteur</cite>.<a name="FNanchor_12" id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor"> [12]</a> He, however, +has had nothing to do with it, and as the sudden rise of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17">17</a></span> +M. Thiers has not met with universal approval, the English +being particularly incensed, M. de Talleyrand is aroused to +great irritation by all that he hears upon the subject, and +vents his anger upon Paris, his age, and his position, and +keenly regrets that he ever left London.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 23, 1836.</em>—Yesterday, on returning home +at the end of the morning, I found M. Berryer at my door; +he had just left the Chamber of Deputies, where Thiers had +been speaking. Berryer has a high opinion of the talent, +the intellectual power, and the capacity of Thiers. Berryer +is himself the most unprejudiced, impartial, and simple of +characters; there is nothing artificial, affected, or extreme +about him; it is difficult to think of him as a party man. +In my opinion, no one was ever less a party man, and perhaps +he would be glad if he could avoid the necessity of taking +sides entirely. The ease, the lightness, the gentleness, and +the simplicity of his conversation are the more creditable to +him by contrast with his profession and his position. The +justice of his judgment and the kindness which is most constantly +characteristic of it compel confidence in his opinions +and his statements.</p> + +<p>Thiers' speech was received with marked coldness by the +Chamber. The fact is fortunate for him, in my opinion. +There is some danger that the intoxication of success might +lead to his fall, and anything which will keep him from +disaster can only be useful and for his good.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 24, 1836.</em>—M. Molé dined here yesterday. +His bearing shows some traces of coldness and disappointment. +He was unwilling to act in concert with M. Dupin in the +matter of the Ministry; consequently the latter, who commanded +several votes in the French Academy, withdrew them, +and so brought about the rejection of M. Molé; he then +observed: "M. Molé would not be my colleague, and I do +not care for him as my fellow Academician."</p> + +<p>Paris is likely to become increasingly difficult as a place +of residence. Apart from the two great dynastic divisions +which separate society, we shall now have to deal with all the +factions caused by disappointed ambition, the Molé, Broglie, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18">18</a></span> +Guizot, and Dupin factions, and finally the Thiers faction. +These will all be as bitterly hostile to one another as the +Legitimists are to the Moderate Party. All these factions will +never find any such common point of amalgamation as the +Château might and should become; on the contrary, some +object to the King, others to our house. Detestation and +malignancy are mutual, but no one is willing to examine himself +or to recognise that there are faults on all sides, and that +the real causes of blame are to be found in himself. How +strange is the blindness and how great the ill-faith of men, +especially of those who are involved in public affairs and +interests!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 4, 1836.</em>— Yesterday, at the house of M. de +Talleyrand, M. Mignet related that Marchand, a former <em>valet +de chambre</em> under the Emperor, proposed to publish a commentary +upon the "Commentaries" of Cæsar, which Napoleon +had dictated to him in the last weeks of his life in St. +Helena. Marchand often spoke to M. Mignet of Napoleon's +last moments, of the loneliness and emptiness of his life; in +illustration, he said that one evening when the Emperor, who +was then very ill, was in bed, he pointed to the foot of the +bed and said to him: "Marchand, sit down there and tell me +something." Marchand said to him: "Dear me, sire, what can +I tell you who have done and seen so much?" "Tell me +about your youth; that will be simple and true, and will +interest me," replied the Emperor. There is something very +pathetic about this little dialogue. What teaching might +not Bossuet have drawn from these few words—Bossuet, who +did not disdain to introduce the somewhat trivial anecdote +of the fowl into the funeral oration upon the Palatine! +Surely the greatest homage to Bossuet is the fact that every +great misfortune, every triumph or failure, makes us turn +towards the Eagle of Meaux, who alone could extol, lament, +and immortalise them worthily.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 5, 1836.</em>—Yesterday morning MM. Berryer +and Thiers met at my house. I think it would have been +impossible to have been present at a conversation more +animated, sparkling, witty, surprising, kind, sincere, free, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19">19</a></span> +true, or more devoid of all party spirit, than that which then +arose between these two men, so different and so highly gifted. +I also thought that it would never finish; they did not go +until after six o'clock.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 7, 1836.</em>—M. Royer-Collard introduced me +yesterday to M. de Tocqueville, the author of "Democracy in +America." He seemed to me to be a nice little man, simple +and modest, with an intellectual expression. We talked a +great deal about England, and our views upon the destiny +of the country were quite in harmony.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 9, 1836.</em>—I had several times glanced at the +"Imitation of Jesus Christ." Whether it was that my knowledge +of others and myself was only superficial or that my +mind was ill-prepared and too wandering, I had seen no great +difference between this famous work and the "Journée du +Chrétien" and the "Petit Paroissien." I had often been surprised +at the great reputation which this book enjoyed, but had +never found any pleasure in reading it. Chance led me to open +it the other day with Pauline; the first lines caught my attention, +and I have since been reading it with ever increasing +admiration. What intellectual power beneath the highest +simplicity of form! What profound knowledge of the deepest +recesses of the human heart! What beauty and enlightenment! +And yet it is the work of an unknown monk. Nothing +humiliates me more than a failure of self-knowledge or shows +me more clearly in what darkness I was sunk.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 10, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I went with the +Duchesse de Montmorency to a ball, given by Madame +Salomon de Rothschild, the mother. The house is the +most magnificent that can be conceived, and is therefore +known as the Temple of Solomon. It is infinitely superior +to her daughter-in-law's house, because the proportions are +higher and greater. The luxury of it is indescribable, but in +good taste—pure Renaissance, without any mixture of other +styles; the gallery in particular is worthy of Chenonceaux, +and one might have thought one's self at an entertainment +given by the Valois. In the chief room the armchairs are +made of gilt bronze instead of gilt wood, and cost a thousand +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20">20</a></span> +francs apiece. The dining-hall is like the nave of a cathedral. +All was well arranged and admirably lighted; there was no +crushing, and every courtesy.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 11, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I went to Saint-Thomas +d'Aquin, to hear the Abbé de Ravignan, formerly the King's +<em>procureur</em>; he is a friend of Berryer, who praises him greatly, +and a brother-in-law of General Exelmans; I had known +him in the Pyrenees, where I had been struck by the beautiful +expression of his face. He is a good preacher, with an excellent +delivery, while his style is pure and refined, but rather +logical and argumentative than warm or sympathetic. He +therefore lays more stress upon evangelical dogma than upon +morality, and seemed to me to be a man of talent rather than +a great preacher.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 18, 1836.</em>—With regard to my reflections +upon Bossuet,<a name="FNanchor_13" id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor"> [13]</a> you praise my attitude somewhat unduly. +I have, indeed, a love of truth, and the world, with the +dreadful misery which it contains, fills me with disgust; I +have learned to fear the contagion of the world, under which +I have suffered too long; I examine myself seriously, and am +horrified to find myself immersed in the sorrow and grief +which are the lot of worldly people and are the destruction of +peace of mind, charity, and purity. I make some attempt to +burst my bonds and rise to a purer region; but none the +less my efforts are usually impotent, and my struggles vain +and futile. As a rule I cannot tell whether the moral weariness +which overwhelms me is due to the sad sight of the +deplorable agitations amid which I live, or to the no less +deplorable agitation of my inward life. When we have spent +years amid the struggles of life and desire to change our +path, however remote may be the road which leads us +forward, we find ourselves a burden to ourselves; we can +neither go forward with our load nor throw it off straightway; +we stumble and retrace our steps; we prove ourselves +but feeble travellers, and our goal recedes as our desire to +reach it increases. Such is my case....</p> + +<p>Yesterday, towards the end of the morning, M. de +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21">21</a></span> +Tocqueville came to pay his call; I like him. The Duc de +Noailles also called; he is not so attractive, though by no +means disagreeable. Another caller was Berryer, who might +be most agreeable if his mind and bearing did not betray +traces of low life, which have struck my notice. However, +the conversation never flagged, as the first visitor has sound +views, the second good judgment, and the third that mental +alacrity which enables him to apprehend a point at once. +The conversation of these distinguished men was concerned +only with facts, and not with people: names were not mentioned; +there was no gossip, no bitterness or extravagance. +The talk was as it should always be, especially at a lady's +house.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 20, 1836.</em>—How deep a melancholy may be +inspired by the first fine spring day, when it fails to harmonise +with one's own frame of mind! For forty-eight +hours the weather has been mild and lovely, the atmosphere +filled with sweetness and light and breathing joy and happiness; +new life, new warmth and pleasure are springing into +being, and I feel suffocated in this town. The public promenades +cannot take the place of the country, and nothing can +bring back the sweet springtime of last year, with its flowers, +its wide horizon, and its freshness, in which it was so easy to +take breath. I would worship any one who could give me +back these things! And instead I drive with Madame de +Lieven through the Bois de Boulogne in a closed carriage! +Such was my occupation yesterday, while M. de Talleyrand +was at the Academy of Moral and Political Science, voting for +M. de Tocqueville, who failed to secure election.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 24, 1836.</em>—The Princess Belgiojoso is rather +striking than beautiful: she is extremely pale, her eyes are +too far apart, her head too square, her mouth large and her +teeth discoloured; but she has a good nose, and her figure +would be pretty if it were somewhat fuller; her hair is jet +black, and she wears striking dresses; she has intellect, but +wants balance, and is full of artistic whims and inconsistencies; +her manner is intentionally and skilfully natural, +sufficiently to hide her affectation, while her affectation seems +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22">22</a></span> +to counterbalance a certain innate vulgarity, which her +flatterers style an untamed nature. Such is my impression +of this personage, with whom I have but the slightest +acquaintance.</p> + +<p>M. Royer-Collard found me reading the "Imitation" the +other day, and brought me yesterday a pretty little copy which +he has had from his youth, and has almost invariably carried +about with him. I have been deeply touched by this gift, +and regard it as a most precious possession. My only objection +to this little book is the fact that it is in Latin: I never +knew Latin well, and I find that I have now forgotten it. I +think I shall have to take it up again.</p> + +<p>M. Royer asked me to give him in exchange some book +which I had constantly read. I gave him a copy of Bossuet's +"Funeral Orations," deeply scored with my marks; the +ribbon-mark is torn away, but a hairpin happened to be +marking one of the passages in the oration on the Princess +Palatine, which had a special meaning for myself. M. Royer +accepted the little volume most gratefully.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening I went to the Italian Opera, and Berryer +paid a visit to my box. His mind was full of the morning +session in the Chamber of Deputies and of M. Guizot's +<em>formidable</em> speech. M. Thiers proposes to reply this morning, +as, indeed, he must, unless he wishes to see M. Guizot become +paramount in the Chamber; in short, we are to see the real +adversaries engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle. This is an +event, and is so regarded. Berryer described the whole +affair marvellously well, without bitterness against any one, +and without a word more than was necessary to make +the situation clear. In ten minutes he had told me everything.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 27, 1836.</em>—Yesterday morning I had the +honour of seeing the King with Madame Adélaïde; his conversation +was charming. He was kind enough to tell me +stories of his marriage, of the Court of Palermo and the +famous Queen Caroline. I also heard that Prince Charles +of Naples and Miss Penelope arrived here within the last +two days in a state of complete destitution. This was an +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23">23</a></span> +embarrassing event, and in a sense discreditable, especially +to the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_14" id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor"> [14]</a></p> + +<p>I have reason to believe that Thiers did not reply forthwith +to Guizot's great speech the other day for reasons of prudence, +and in obedience to the orders of his superiors; but he will +lose nothing by waiting, and we shall see a striking explosion +upon the next opportunity. I think the authorities were +unwilling to regard the question as a duel between two +individuals, and have preferred to let the effect of the first +speech wear off before offering a reply. In any case, an +enormous majority responded to the effort that was made. +The only vexatious point is the number of concessions offered +by M. Sauzet in his speech, and on this subject I have noticed +some strong discontent.</p> + +<p>M. de Tocqueville's name was proposed, without his knowledge, +to the Academy of Political and Moral Science by +M. Cousin; M. Tocqueville has told me that he did not +wish to seek election again. As the grandson of M. de +Malesherbes, he has no desire to join an Academy of mere +figureheads, of which, for the most part, this institution is +composed.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 29, 1836.</em>—It is certain that all idea of intervention +in Spain has been abandoned by every grade within +the Governmental hierarchy; some had never entertained the +project, and others have dropped it. I think there is no +reason to fear any imprudence whatever in this direction.</p> + +<p>Rumour is entirely occupied with a conversation between +the King and Guizot, in which the former is said to have +expressed his extreme displeasure with the dates which were +given as marking the good system of administration. The +King said that the system was not the work of any individual, +but was his own, and that the only date he would recognise +was his own date, August 9. He added that it was bad +policy to attack the only Cabinet which could command a +majority at that moment. Guizot replied that if the King +cared to test the matter he would see that the majority was +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24">24</a></span> +to be found elsewhere. "Not so," returned the King; "it is +you, sir, who are deluded, and you fail to see that the course +you are pursuing rather divides you from the points at issue +than brings you nearer to them. If you continue, you +will perhaps force me to take a measure which I detest, and +which will assuredly be more displeasing to yourself; that +measure is a dissolution of the Chamber, please remember." +I believe this conversation to be literally exact, and I think +it will induce people to consider their words and deeds more +carefully, the more so as the doctrinaires, who know perfectly +well that they have no chance of re-election, will shrink from +a dissolution.</p> + +<p>M. de Chateaubriand has sold his works, unedited or as +yet unwritten, for a hundred and fifty thousand francs cash, +in addition to a yearly income of twelve thousand francs +payable to his wife upon his death. He is said to be completely +upset by the payment of his debts, and his future +existence which is thus defined and circumscribed seems to +him a heavy burden. Everything he writes, even apart from +his memoirs, will belong to his publishers in return for a +scale of payment now laid down. The manuscripts of his +memoirs have been solemnly sealed up in his presence in an +iron box, which has been deposited with a solicitor. He says +that his thoughts have suffered imprisonment for debt in +place of himself.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 30, 1836.</em>—I have certainly heard more music +this year than last; as I am deprived of all my favourite +amusements, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly, without +reserve, to music, and have sought opportunities for hearing +it. As the advance of years or circumstances diminish my +tastes, the pleasures which are left to me are intensified by +the disappearance of others; affection takes the place of +coquetry and music of dancing; reading and meditation +replace idle conversations, with their malignity or indiscretions; +I drive instead of calling, and prefer rest to +excitement.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 13, 1836.</em>—I took Pauline yesterday evening to +a charity lottery at the house of the Duchesse de Montmorency, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25">25</a></span> +where there was a crowd. All the Faubourg Saint-Germain +were there, including even the Duchesse de Gontaut, formerly +governess to the Duc de Bordeaux; she condescended so far +as to bow to me very politely. Pauline was interested by +everything, as girls of fifteen usually are. She was very +pretty; her hair was simply done, but dressed by the great +Edouard; she wore a sky-blue dress, and looked fresh as a +rose, with her calm and dainty bearing and her happy little +face; in short, she met with general approval, consequently I +felt well disposed to every one; the slights formerly inflicted +upon me by this or that person were forgotten when a pleasant +word or a kind look was addressed to Pauline. It is certainly +better not to live in hostility with society, and if one is so +wrong-headed or unfortunate it is very pleasant to make +one's daughter a means of reconciliation.</p> + +<p>I have letters from England telling me that the Duchess +of Gloucester has become the happiest person in the world; +Lady Georgiana Bathurst is her lady of honour; she is at +home every evening, and her house is the meeting-place of +the high Tories; all the news is to be heard there, and gossip +goes on, with which the Duchess delights the King every +morning. The King of England sees his Ministers only on +business, and has no social intercourse with them. Lord +Melbourne does not care or complain, and goes his own way +without worrying the King, which seems to me to be a sound +plan.</p> + +<p>Yesterday morning, thanks to a special ticket, for which I +sent to ask the Archbishop, I was able to hear the last of the +series of lectures given at Notre-Dame by the Abbé Lacordaire. +He is starting for Rome to-day, and will be absent for two +years. There were at least five thousand persons in the church, +nearly all schoolboys and girls. Among the men who came +in with the Archbishop and were favoured with seats on the +Banc de l'Œuvre I recognised the Marquis de Vérac, the Duc +de Noailles, and M. de Tocqueville. I was placed just behind +this bench, with some fifty ladies, none of whom I knew; I +was opposite to the pulpit and did not lose a single word. +Imagination, vigour, and a style far removed from that of the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26">26</a></span> +seminary are the distinctive qualities of the Abbé Lacordaire; +he is a young man with a good delivery. His use of metaphor, +however, seemed to me to be slightly confused and somewhat +too daring, while his doctrine allowed no room for +the beautiful and humble theory of grace. I think that +St. Augustine, the great apostle of grace, would have found +matter for criticism in his words. On the whole, I was +interested and struck with the attentive attitude of his +audience. The Archbishop concluded the lecture with some +suitable words of thanks and farewell to the young preacher, +and with a blessing at once appropriate, simple, and gentle +upon the congregation, which was received with surprising +respect by his young hearers. It must be said that when the +Archbishop avoids politics and the commonplaces of the +seminary he can produce, as he did yesterday, a noble and +touching effect, with his fine face and gestures and his +appealing tone, in his splendid cathedral and from his exalted +position, whence he looked down upon these many young +faces. M. de Tocqueville, who called upon me towards the +end of the morning, was even then moved by the scene.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 13, 1836.</em>—MM. Hyde de Neuville, de Jumilhac, +de Cossé, Jacques de Fitz-James, and de Montbreton have +all started for Prague, to ask Charles X. to give up the Duc +de Bordeaux. In the event of a refusal they have resolved to +carry him off, and flatter themselves that they will have the +co-operation of the young Prince in the attempt. They wish +to find a home for him in Switzerland, where he is to be +educated, and so brought nearer to France in every sense of +the term. This project, which is in itself somewhat visionary, +is reduced to absurdity by the boasting and gossip with which +it has been announced. Another plan, of which the police +have been informed, is to carry off one of the young princes +of royal blood and to keep him as a hostage. The Minister +of the Interior has been somewhat disturbed by this proposal.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 21, 1836.</em>—A courier arrived yesterday from +Vienna bringing a reply conceived in the most gracious terms +to the insinuations which have been made concerning the +Duc d'Orléans and his proposed journey in Austria. All that +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27">27</a></span> +was avoided under the Duc de Broglie has been welcomed +under M. Thiers, to whom personally the reply referred in +very kind terms. Something of the same kind is now +expected from Berlin. The departure of the Prince and of +his brother, the Duc de Nemours, is fixed for May 4, but +the fact will not be announced for another five days, when +they will have returned from Chantilly. The return journey +is to be made by Turin. The Sardinian Court, which feels the +want of some support, is inclined, after much hesitation, to +look to France. My son, Valençay, will accompany the +Princes; he will be the only unattached member of their +suite with them. It was proposed to give him a title and +an official position, but I objected, as my son is sure to be well +received anywhere.</p> + +<p>Yesterday at dinner at the house of M. de Talleyrand a +quarrel arose between M. Thiers and M. Bertin de Veaux, +the result of which, I think, has been the opposite of what +was expected: instead of pacific explanations a duel became +the consequence. I was on tenterhooks, and eventually +checked the dissension almost brutally. Every one, I think, +approved my action, which I would have taken earlier if I +had not thought that M. de Talleyrand was the proper +person to intervene; he, however, did not even exert himself +to change the conversation. Bertin de Veaux was constantly +aggressive, while Thiers for a long time was perfectly calm, +until he grew excited and angry, and at length they hurled +political defiance at one another.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 23, 1836.</em>—Mrs. Norton has written a letter +to Mr. Ellice, which is a kind of manifesto, and has sent it to +me with orders to communicate it to her foreign compatriots. +I have read the letter, and, if her words are to be believed, +she emerges from this foul story as pure as Desdemona.<a name="FNanchor_15" id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor"> [15]</a> +I hope indeed that it is so. The whole business seems to me +very vulgar and in very bad taste.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28">28</a></span> +The Duchesse de Coigny, who has always come to England +for her confinements, in order to ensure the birth of girls, +was to start this morning to London for the same reason, +but owing to mistaken calculations she was yesterday confined +of a fine boy, which is a bitter disappointment.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 26, 1836.</em>—Visitors returning from Chantilly +were most enthusiastic yesterday about the beauty of the +spot, the extensive society to be found there, the excitement +of the races, the brilliancy of the hunt, and, in the case of +those who were at the Château, the graciousness of the Prince +Royal. The English say that apart from the races themselves, +which, however, are by no means bad, these three +days at Chantilly are much superior to Ascot, Epsom, and +any meeting of the kind in England.</p> + +<p>Hunting was carried on with the pack of the Prince of +Wagram, and some four hundred young men rode out; but +only thirty were in at the death of the stag.</p> + +<p>The Prince Royal is to start on the 3rd or 4th, and will +go straight to Metz to visit the School of Artillery; he will +not stop at any of the small Courts, which he proposes carefully +to avoid by taking all kinds of unusual routes under the +pretext that they are more direct.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I dined with Madame de la Redorte, and met +several people, including General Alava, who told us the +story of the duel between Mendizabal and Isturitz, in which +neither combatant received a scratch.</p> + +<p>He seemed to expect a Ministerial crisis at Madrid which +might affect his position as ambassador.</p> + +<p>Alava is so inclined to exaggerate that when he was at +the house of M. Dupin at a reception of Deputies the host +asked him, touching M. Berryer on the shoulder, whether he +knew this Deputy. Alava straightway exclaimed: "Certainly +I know M. Berryer, and <em>I share all his opinions</em>."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 27, 1836.</em>—The route of the Prince Royal +passes through Verdun, Metz, Trèves, Düsseldorf, Hildesheim, +Magdeburg, Potsdam, and Berlin. All the Ministers of +Saxony, Hanover, and Bavaria have brought pressing invitations +from their Sovereigns asking the Prince to make a stay +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29">29</a></span> +with them. These have been declined under the pretext of +want of time, but in reality owing to some ill-feeling caused +by the continued affronts and insults from Munich; if the +Prince refused one invitation he obviously could not accept +others without a declaration of hostility. He is sorry, however, +to hurry by Dresden, whence there has never been any +cause of complaint. From Berlin he will proceed to Vienna, +by way of Breslau and Brünn.</p> + +<p>For some days I have been reading a few volumes of the +"Essais de Morale" by Nicole; our curiosity concerning this +work was aroused by Madame de Sévigné. They are doubtless +excellent, but I think one must be somewhat more +advanced than I am to admire them keenly. There is a +certain dry austerity apparent which somewhat repels me. +To these many philosophical arguments I prefer the touching +phrase of St. Augustine: "If you are afraid of God, throw +yourself into the arms of God." Eventually, perhaps, I +shall learn to appreciate Nicole, as one's mental tastes change +with one's age and circumstances.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 28, 1836.</em>—Pozzo has received the order of +St. Andrew in diamonds, and at the same time unlimited +leave of absence to travel in Italy. I imagine that he will +soon pass this way.</p> + +<p>The journey of the Prince Royal has been arranged to +begin a day earlier, and he is to start on the 2nd. Berlin +will not be reached for ten days, as he is to put up every +night, while each day's journey will not be too long, as they +wish him to arrive fresh and alert and ready to undergo +military fatigues, the manœuvres, festivities, and other duties. +This seems to me very sensible. The Prince Royal has +received a formal invitation to the manœuvres at Berlin. +Hence his reception cannot be anything but excellent. The +invitation has certainly been sought, but it is undoubtedly +an invitation, and accusations of importunity or rashness +are therefore out of place. The Duc and the Duchesse +d'Angoulême will naturally have left Vienna when the two +Princes arrive there.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I accompanied the Comtesse de Castellane to a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30">30</a></span> +reading given by M. de Rémusat upon historical incidents in +the style of the "Barricades"; "The Night of St. Bartholomew" +was his subject. It was clearly and brightly +treated, and the author assures us that much historical +research has been devoted to it, but it was so long that the +second part had to be postponed until Tuesday. To sit +through a reading is an exhausting business.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 1, 1836.</em>—Yesterday was Pauline's ball—a +pretty scene and entirely successful. There was no crowd, +plenty of light, young and pretty people in full gaiety, and +polite young men acting as partners to the ladies, all in +excellent style and taste, and the company most carefully +selected. It was not exactly exclusive, but the Faubourg Saint-Germain +were in preponderant numbers. My cousin, Madame +de Chastellux, for instance, went to the trouble of coming. +In short, I was well pleased with our little success and with +the delight of Pauline.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 2, 1836.</em>—Yesterday news arrived from Berlin +of the preparations made to receive the young Princes. The +King said that they should have the kind of reception given +to his son-in-law, the Emperor. They are to stay at the old +palace. An hour after their arrival all the princes will come +to pay their first calls; in short, everything is to go off as +well as possible. The Carlist faction is overwhelmed, and the +aggressive members of it are quite ill in consequence; the +moderate members are casting tender glances at the Château +des Tuileries, and yesterday M. de Chabrol, formerly Naval +Minister, and M. Mounier went to the Château. M. de Noailles +would be ready to do the same were it not for his wife, whose +feelings he has to consider—and reasonably, for she, though a +most worthy person, is very extravagant in her political ideas.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 4, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I went to hear the conclusion +of M. de Rémusat's "Night of St. Bartholomew."<a name="FNanchor_16" id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor"> [16]</a> +It is clever and talented, but I repeat that this style of performance +is a mistake, and a good historical narrative would +be much more interesting to me.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31">31</a></span> +I have seen M. Royer-Collard, and also M. Thiers. The +former said that the doctrinaires were decisively defeated in +the Dupin dispute, as the Chamber had pronounced against +them. The second is very pleased with his reports from the +Russian Ambassador and from the Court of St. Petersburg, +which are beginning to become flattering. I believe he is on +the way to another reconciliation which he thinks of more +importance, with Bertin de Veaux, but this is still a profound +secret.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 6, 1836.</em>—I have been deeply affected by the +death of the good Abbé Girolet. He followed the fine +precept of Bossuet, and the only precaution which he took +against the attacks of death was the innocence of his life, +for all his interests were so neglected that he has left me a +fine complication to unravel, which demands my immediate +presence at Rochecotte. I shall start the day after to-morrow, +and they are only waiting for me to take the seals off his +property. A will in which he has left me everything has been +found, but where or what may this everything be? This is +as yet unknown, and there is some fear that there may be +more debts than property, which fact would prevent me from +beginning the charitable foundations which I promised to +take in hand after his death. I shall find a very obvious void +at Rochecotte, and shall miss that gentle look which clung so +affectionately to me. And then how sad are the details of his +death!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, May 10, 1836.</em>—No interesting news can be +expected from me in this retired corner of the world, where I +can boast only of peace and silence and of solitude—three +excellent things which I appreciate the more as I have left, +in the words of the "Imitation," "the tumultuous commerce +of men, which arouses vanity even in the simple-minded, and +eventually enslaves the soul."</p> + +<p>I spent the evening with M. Vestier, my good architect, +over plans and arrangements for the vault of the Abbé and +for my own. This will be arranged quite simply in the +parish cemetery on the hillside before that beautiful view, in +the pure air, looking out upon the rising sun. The vaults are +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32">32</a></span> +to be very simply surrounded by shrubs and an iron railing; +there will be nothing more than names and dates. Thus his +last resting-place will be as simple as was his mind, and I +trust that mine will be equally so. The wishes of men are so +rarely performed after their deaths that during our lifetime +we should act as far as we can. I had considerable difficulty +in inducing Vestier to undertake this simple work. He says +it is horrible to be giving orders for the digging of my grave, +and at length the poor fellow began to weep, but he yielded +at last, for he is very obedient to me.<a name="FNanchor_17" id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor"> [17]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, May 13, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I received a long +letter from my son, Valençay, from Coblenz. Full honour +has been done to the Princes; M. the Duc d'Orléans +has invariably invited to dinner the authorities commissioned +to welcome him. He speaks German with a fluency +which is much appreciated. In every town regimental +bands are constantly playing under the windows of the +Princes, and, in short, all due attention is shown to +them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, May 18, 1836.</em>—I have been here since the day +before yesterday, and am expecting M. de Talleyrand and +Pauline to-morrow.</p> + +<p>I have been reading a narrative written by one of the chief +nuns of Port Royal, about the reform of their establishment, +which was carried out by the Mother Marie Angélique de +Sainte-Madeleine Arnauld, and about their persecution, in +the time of their celebrated abbess, the Mother Angélique +de Saint-Jean Arnauld, a niece of the foregoing and a +daughter of M. d'Andilly. They were great minds and +strong souls, and how remarkable are the details of the story! +What a race were these Arnaulds, and M. Nicole and the +Abbé de Saint-Cyran! All these names are to be found in +the writings of Madame de Sévigné. Her friend, M. de +Pomponne, was Arnauld, the son of M. d'Andilly. This was +a peculiar family, even in its own time, and it was said that +Pascal was quite a nonentity compared with Antoine Arnauld. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33">33</a></span> +They must have been giants indeed; and if giants at their +time, what would they seem now?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, May 22, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter from +my son, Valençay, from Berlin. He is delighted, and with +reason, for apart from the generally satisfactory character of +the journey, he is treated with especial kindness, which is +particularly touching to me as it is due to consideration for +myself. The Prince Royal told him that he had always +regarded me as his sister, that he would treat him as a +nephew, and that my letter was delightful. He objected, +however, that there was not enough of the nursery about him. +The Duchess of Cumberland and my godmother, Princess +Louise,<a name="FNanchor_18" id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor"> [18]</a> have been quite motherly, and the Queen of the Low +Countries has also been very kind, together with M. Ancillon, +Herr von Humboldt, and the Countess of Redern. M. de +Valençay assures me that the Crown Prince of Prussia was +neither cold nor repellent in his reception of the Duc d'Orléans, +but, on the contrary, kind and cordial; the Crown Princess +and Princess William the younger were equally charming; +every one else behaved very properly, as also did the sight-seers +along the routes, and our Princes showed perfect +prudence. There was some trouble in inducing the young +French officers to take off their Belgian decorations; the +Duc d'Orléans was anxious that they should not wear +them at all at Berlin, but they showed some reluctance, +and eventually it was agreed that they should remove them +when meeting the Queen of the Low Countries.<a name="FNanchor_19" id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor"> [19]</a> A courier +came to Berlin with an urgent letter from the King of Saxony +inviting the Princes to pass through Dresden. I do not +know whether that will induce them to change their route. +The two Princes attended service in a Catholic church in +Berlin on Sunday, and their action produced an excellent +effect.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34">34</a></span> +<em>Valençay, May 23, 1836.</em>—Yesterday, the Day of Pentecost, +was spent as follows, and will give an idea of our usual +mode of life in this place: First of all came high mass at the +parish church, which lasted for two full hours, thanks to a +sermon from the vicar, who took the more pains as he saw +me in the Castle pew. The heat was extreme, and the smell +unpleasant, while the crowd was almost as great as at Saint-Roch. +The result for me was a severe headache, which +passed off to some extent during a long drive which I took +with M. de Talleyrand, to the ponds in the Forest of Gâtines. +Several people from the town dined with us. I walked for a +little after dinner, while Pauline went for a drive with her +uncle; I wrote until nine o'clock, when the post goes, and +when M. de Talleyrand came in. The day was concluded +with newspapers, tea, and piquet.</p> + +<p>These days are very pleasant when I am not alarmed about +M. de Talleyrand's health, and I thank God for them as I go +to bed. I no longer consider the amount of amusement or +interest or pleasure to be gained; one day perhaps that will +return; now that M. de Talleyrand and my children are +well and my mind is free from anxiety, and my temper +sufficiently kind to make life pleasant for those around me, I +ask for nothing more. When we are able to perform a complete +renunciation of self, we find our burden lightened, and +the low and heavy flight of selfishness is replaced by the rapid +sweep of outstretched wings, which is a pleasure in itself. +My courage and my self-possession only disappear when I see +sickness threatening or striking down my family, for I have +only reached the threshold of that stage of resignation in +which one sacrifices one's self to the things of heaven. I +doubt if I shall ever pass within it. But enough of this, or I +shall be thought as religious as a lady of the Faubourg Saint-Germain. +I am very far from that point, which I shall never +entirely reach, for my independence will never allow me to +follow the beaten track or confine myself to particular practices, +attitudes, and observances; at the same time, given my +natural taste for good books, the natural seriousness of my +mind, my wide experience, and the sincerity of my judgments +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35">35</a></span> +upon myself, it will be hard if I do not learn to draw +consolation at least from the one perennial source.</p> + +<p>The Carnavalet residence is for sale at a price of a hundred +and forty thousand francs. If I dared, I would buy it, and I +am, indeed, extremely tempted.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, May 26, 1836.</em>—The correspondence between +M. de Talleyrand and Madame Adélaïde continues animated +and very affectionate, and gives me some work.</p> + +<p>The following news reached us from Paris by letters of +yesterday's date: Alava is overthrown, and Miraflores proclaims +himself the successor; Alava says that the affairs of +his country reduce him to despair. As a matter of fact the +newspapers mention some strange affairs in the Assembly of +the Procuradores, and great is the confusion caused by the +whole business of the change of Ministry. Some people +who declare themselves well informed, assert that Isturitz, to +relieve himself of embarrassment, would be inclined to come +to an understanding with Don Carlos and to arrange a +marriage between Queen Isabella and her cousin.</p> + +<p>Lady Jersey has given orders for copies of her correspondence +with Lady Pembroke to be sent to her. It seems that +this correspondence is beyond all that could be imagined in +maid-servant style. She also wishes M. de Talleyrand to +read all these details.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from Princess Louise of Prussia, my godmother, +which speaks in very high terms of the young +French Princes. Princess Louise is a clever woman, naturally +inclined to sarcasm and severity, and her appreciation is +therefore the more valuable. M. de Valençay writes to me +that he has been greatly struck by the beauty of the +Princesses, by their jewels and the elegance of their dress. +Herr von Humboldt took the Princes and their suite to see +the museums and the artists' studios. The Crown Prince of +Prussia has a taste for art, and has greatly stimulated these +matters in Berlin. The Duc d'Orléans has given great +pleasure by ordering a statue from Rauch, the chief sculptor +in Prussia, and the King's favourite. The shyness of the +Queen of the Low Countries is even greater than that of the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36">36</a></span> +Duc de Nemours. This mutual defect seems to have brought +them together, for I am told that the Queen has conceived a +friendship for the young Prince and that long conversations +have taken place between them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, May 29, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I read the new play +of M. Casimir Delavigne, <cite>Une Famille au Temps de Luther</cite>. +The work contains some fine lines, but is quite unsuited for +the stage, and nothing is colder than its theological discussions, +even when they conclude with crime; moreover, +these forms of fanaticism are somewhat wearisome, discordant +as they are with the spirit of our time. Finally, the +dreadful massacre of St. Bartholomew has become even +tiresome, and the best proof of the fact that both it and the +atrocities of the Atrides have lost their power to thrill, is +their recitation with songs and dances.</p> + +<p>Madame Adélaïde informs M. de Talleyrand that the Crown +Princess of Prussia has written to her mother, the Queen-Dowager +of Bavaria, saying that she was <em>forced to agree</em> to +the proposal to show honour to the French Princes, and that +a very good friend of Louis-Philippe had advised them to +show themselves in public.</p> + +<p>The King of Naples has now left home, some say to marry +a princess of Modena, and others to pay court to the +daughter of the Archduke Charles, and others, again, to have +a look at the young princesses of Paris.</p> + +<p>The King is having a full-length portrait of François I. +painted for Valençay, and another of the Grande Mademoiselle; +the former built the Castle, and the latter visited it and +praised it in her memoirs. The King is also sending M. de +Talleyrand the chair in which Louis XVIII. was wheeled +about, and he has informed us through Madame that if he +should go to Bordeaux, as is possible, he would pass this +way.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, May 31, 1836.</em>—It seems that neither intellect +nor years can shelter people from foolishness, and a great act +of folly has been committed by M. Ancillon in his marriage +with Mlle. de Verquignieulle, if what we hear from Berlin is +true. M. de Valençay also informs me that the entertainment +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37">37</a></span> +given by M. Bresson,<a name="FNanchor_20" id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor"> [20]</a> at which the King of Prussia was +present, was a very brilliant affair; all the servants were in +full livery, blue, gold, and red, and Bresson said to him: +"These are my colours," an amusing remark, and one worthy of +the present time. "We shall see," as M. de Talleyrand says.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 1, 1836.</em>—The young French gentlemen +who went to Prague have returned after a very short stay. +They were especially struck by the atmosphere of boredom +which is the environment of life in that town. They said +the Duc de Bordeaux had a very pleasant face, but his figure +was not attractive and his mind but little developed, like +that of a child brought up in the midst of old men.</p> + +<p>At a dinner given on May 22 to the two French Princes +by the Crown Prince of Prussia, Princess Albert,<a name="FNanchor_21" id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor"> [21]</a> to the +great rage of Bresson, the great disgust of the King, and the +general horror of the company, appeared with an enormous +garland of lilies in her hair; up to that point her behaviour +had been quite proper.</p> + +<p>The presents distributed by the Duc d'Orléans at Berlin +were most expensive, and in money and diamonds amounted +to more than a hundred thousand francs. It is rather too +much than not enough. Prince Wittgenstein received a +box containing not only the portrait of the Prince Royal, +but also that of the King and Queen—a very marked +attention. M. Ancillon, plastered with the great Cross of the +Legion of Honour, swelled himself out and strutted about, +and appeared ready to trample upon any one and every one. +His behaviour is explained by his middle-class origin and +his Calvinistic views.</p> + +<p>The parting was affectionate, some professing to love the +Princes as their sons and others as their brothers; in short, no +success was ever more complete. The ladies were all struck +with the handsome appearance of the Duc d'Orléans. My +authorities for these statements are reliable, as I quote not +merely M. de Valençay, but other letters which came in +yesterday, written moreover by natives of Berlin. The +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38">38</a></span> +accident which nearly befell the Duc d'Orléans at the +manœuvres was caused by his politeness to the Princesses; +he was reining in his horse near them, when he was nearly +thrown, but the skill with which he recovered himself gained +him many compliments; and on this question the Duchess of +Cumberland writes as follows: "Imagine what would have +become of us if any misfortune had happened to him; I +should be ready to leave my sick body upon my bed and be +changed into a guardian angel to hover over them during +their stay at Berlin, and thus to answer the confidence of +your Queen, who begged me in a charming letter to treat her +sons as my own."</p> + +<p>Upon the day when our Princes were at home to the +Diplomatic Body M. de Ribeaupierre, the Russian Minister, +sent his excuses, alleging a swollen face. Contrary to the +old etiquette of Berlin, the whole of the Diplomatic Body was +invited to a ball at the house of Prince William, the King's +brother. Of this entertainment I am informed: "The ball +given to the French mission by order of the King, Louis-Philippe, +was a great success; the French Princes were so +tactful as to do the honours themselves, and received the +King and the Princesses at the foot of the staircase."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 2, 1836.</em>—The Princess de Lieven arrived +here yesterday in a feeble state of health. We took her in +and looked after her as well as we could, but towards the +evening I began to feel that she had some presentiments of a +tiresome stay, and that if the journey hither lay before her +at this moment she would hesitate to undertake it. This +I can understand. Here she will have no news and will +not be able to see the shadow-show of life, which are both +necessities to her. The novelty of the outer world, recollections +and historical traditions, natural beauties, the domestic +life of a household, reading, thought, and work are by no +means to her taste, and in other respects Valençay has never +been more poverty-stricken than at this moment.</p> + +<p>The verses which M. de Peyronnet has sent to me are not +very excellent, but that point is of no account in comparison +with the actual circumstance and the whole question. During +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39">39</a></span> +the winter I worked pretty hard for these poor people, and +obtained some definite alleviation for M. Peyronnet, who +was the worst of all in health, and this he found very agreeable; +I hope that I may be able to do more for him as soon +as the session is over. It was this charitable work which +inspired the verses in question.<a name="FNanchor_22" id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor"> [22]</a></p> + +<p>My sister writes to me from Vienna saying that great +preparations are made to receive the French Princes, and in +particular Paul Esterhazy is working for that purpose; there +will be an entertainment at his house at Eisenstadt. Unfortunately +many people are in the country and many in +mourning.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 4, 1836.</em>—We have had two days of +bad weather, but yesterday morning a better prospect +fortunately allowed us to take Madame de Lieven for +a drive in the forest and past the warren, the quarries, +&c. In the evening, however, M. de Talleyrand had an +attack of palpitation, which was but slight, though it is +evident that the enemy is still there. Madame de Lieven +yawned to desperation. The poor woman is bored, which +fact I can very well understand and pardon. The truth is +that, with her frame of mind and habits, she is not likely to +endure our solitude or the dull and quiet atmosphere of the +household which is due to the mental and physical state of +M. de Talleyrand. Moreover, the Princess is not an easy guest +from a material point of view; she has twice changed her +room, and now wants to go back to the first room she +occupied, in which is the bed of Madame de Staël. Lady +Holland could not have given us more trouble, and Pauline +says that the Princess is "rather whimsical."</p> + +<p>A caricature has appeared in London of Lord Melbourne +and Mrs. Norton on the very day of the eclipse; it represents +the sun and Mrs. Norton as the moon passing over it, while +beneath is the word "Eclipse." The reference is to the +scandalous law-suit which Mr. Norton is bringing against +his wife, and in which Lord Melbourne is unpleasantly +compromised.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40">40</a></span> +<em>Valençay, June 5, 1836.</em>—The poor Princess de Lieven is +greatly bored, and expresses herself on the subject with +strange openness. Yesterday she asked me, as if she were +talking to herself, why we had invited her at a time when +we had no one staying in the house. I began to laugh, and +replied very gently: "But, dear Princess, you yourself were so +kind as to ask to come. We would have invited the whole +world, but the session is not yet finished, so that diplomatists, +peers, and Deputies cannot leave Paris." "That is true," she +replied, and later on, when she saw that M. de Sercey had +just arrived at Paris, she was full of regret that she could +not be there to ask him questions; she also thought her +<em>salon</em> would have been very interesting that evening during +the discussion of the foreign service vote. I like straightforward +persons, because with them at any rate one knows +exactly where one is.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 10, 1836.</em>—The Princess de Lieven received +letters yesterday from her husband, telling her that she has +been represented in a very bad light to the Emperor +Nicholas. Conversations and whole speeches have been sent +to St. Petersburg as though they emanated from the Princess, +which are certainly fictitious, for she is very zealous in her +master's service; but those who talk a great deal and see +many people are always compromised sooner or later. The +Princess is greatly agitated in consequence.</p> + +<p>The Prince d'Orange is quite obviously showing signs of +madness, which take the form of such sordid economy that +his wife and children have not even enough to eat; he keeps +the key of the pantry himself, and the Princess has to send +out her chambermaid to buy cutlets. The eldest son is said +to be a young scamp. He is now at London with his +younger brother, where they are known as the "unripe +Oranges." The Dutch are said to be much perturbed about +the future of their country, and are praying that the life of +the present King may be prolonged.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 13, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a long letter +from the Crown Prince of Prussia, with a kind sentence +concerning the French Princes and their father, the King, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41">41</a></span> +though with a qualification against revolutions which shows +his true opinion. It is a curious letter. I have had another +from M. Ancillon in most laudatory terms, with no qualification, +concerning the travellers, the union, the peace, +and M. de Talleyrand; also a curious letter. Finally I +have two very long letters from M. de Valençay written +from Vienna; he had stopped at Günthersdorf, of which he +gives full details.<a name="FNanchor_23" id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor"> [23]</a> At Vienna he had seen the Count of +Clam at the house of his aunt of Sagan, from whom he had +learnt that the first interview had given great satisfaction and +that our Princes had said everything that was proper. The +Archduchess Sophie spoke very kindly of her remembrance +of me and treated my son very well. He thinks that the +Austrian princesses lack that grace and distinction which is +so striking in the princesses of the Prussian royal family. +Princess Metternich was at the first evening reception given +by M. and Madame de Sainte-Aulaire; she behaved most +discreetly, and stayed very late; the Duc d'Orange only +talked to her for five minutes, and then upon the subject +of homeopathy! She deserved a small lesson.<a name="FNanchor_24" id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor"> [24]</a></p> + +<p>The great diplomatic reception of the nobility and the +garrison seems to have been superb. M. de Valençay was +especially delighted by the races at Baden, where he was +entertained by the Archduke Charles, who spoke to him very +warmly of M. de Talleyrand. The Archduke received all +the Frenchmen most cordially. They dined with the Archduchess +Theresa, who is described by M. de Valençay as of an +agreeable appearance, with pretty manners, and an attractive +face. She is very dark and small. The Duc d'Orléans was +seated near her at dinner, and their conversation was vivacious. +Prince Metternich was also there. He has been reconciled, +at any rate outwardly, with the Archduke.<a name="FNanchor_25" id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor"> [25]</a> The latter has +retired to the pretty town of Baden, where he grows flowers; he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42">42</a></span> +told M. de Valençay that, like all old soldiers, he loved his +garden. The Duc d'Orléans was to dine there again by himself +two days later. The Archduke adores his daughter, and +will leave her free to choose her own husband; she has +refused the Crown Prince of Bavaria, and is to inspect the +Kings of Naples and Greece. The Russian alliance alone +causes her father some fears.</p> + +<p>M. de Valençay was also delighted with the entertainment +at Laxemburg, and the water-parties, with music everywhere, +which reminded him of Virginia Water. All the society +of Vienna was there informally, and the scene was correspondingly +animated.</p> + +<p>It is quite clear that all this causes ill-feeling at Prague. +The Dauphine was speaking to some one who asked her, when +she was about to start for Vienna, at what time they would +have the honour of seeing her again; she replied that any one +who wanted to see her henceforward would have to come and +fetch her. A Vienna lady, a strong political opponent of +France, said before M. de Valençay, in speaking of our +Prince Royal, that he was so kind and gracious it was to be +hoped that he was not something else!</p> + +<p>The travellers are to start on the 11th and make their +way to Milan through Verona, devoting ten days to the +journey.</p> + +<p>The Prince of Capua and Miss Penelope are at Paris. The +former has seen the Queen; he will go to Rome, and there +open negotiations for a reconciliation with Naples.</p> + +<p>All the Coburg family and the Belgian King and Queen +are coming to Neuilly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 17, 1836.</em>—It seems that every day must be +marked by some tribulation. Yesterday evening we had a +terrible fright, the consequences of which might have been +most serious; they seem to have been but slight, though the +doctor says that we cannot be certain for nine days that no +internal shock has been sustained. M. de Talleyrand's mania +for staying out late brought him back yesterday in his little +carriage when it was pitch-dark; moreover, he childishly +amused himself by steering a zigzag course, so that he twisted +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43">43</a></span> +the front wheel. This checked his progress, and he could +not perceive the cause in the darkness, so he told the servant +to push harder, which he did. The result was a violent jolt, +which shot him out of the carriage and threw him head first +with his face on the ground upon the gravel of the Orange +Court at the entry of the <em>donjon</em>. His face was badly bruised, +but fortunately his nose bled freely; he did not lose consciousness, +and wished to sit in the drawing-room and play +piquet. At midnight he put his feet in hot mustard and +water, and is now asleep. But what a terrible nervous shock +at his age and with his weight, and when he is suffering from +a malady which demands that he should be spared every +emotion and disturbance!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 18, 1836.</em>—M. de Talleyrand's face has +suffered considerably, but otherwise he seems to have escaped +miraculously from this remarkable fall.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 21, 1836.<a name="FNanchor_26" id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor"> [26]</a></em>—Do you remember that it was +you who refused any form of conversation upon the subject +of religion? Only upon one occasion at Rochecotte did you +give me any outline of your ideas upon this subject; at that +time you were more advanced than myself in respect of certain +beliefs. My experiences since that date have brought me more +rapidly along the road, but my starting-point has been my +recollection of that conversation, in which I saw that you +admitted certain fundamental principles of which I was not +sure. In any case, my speculations have not advanced beyond +that point, and only in points of practice do I attempt to +guide my movements by this compass; I have never busied +myself with dogmas or mysteries, and if I prefer the Roman +Catholic religion I do so because I think it most useful to +society in general and to States; individual religion is a +different matter, and I think any religion based upon the +Gospel is equally good and divine. Since I have seen all +supports falling away around me, I have felt my own weakness +and the necessity of some support and guide; I have +sought and found; I have knocked and it has been opened to +me; I have asked and it has been given to me; and yet +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44">44</a></span> +all very incompletely hitherto, for when one thus walks alone +and ill prepared it is impossible to avoid wrong paths, or +to avoid slipping in the ruts with continual stumbles. Nor +would it have been wise to arouse myself to excessive zeal +and fervour, which would have prepared a reaction, perhaps +fatal; I therefore advance step by step, and when I consider +my progress am humiliated to see how little I have risen; a +little more kindness, patience, and self-command is all that I +have acquired. I have the same delight in the things that +please me, the same repugnance for those that weary me, my +dislikes are not extinct and enmity remains keen, my mental +anxiety is often wearing, my energies are inconsistent, my +speech often too hasty and its expression inconsiderate. +I have, too, a thousand modes of self-flattery; I am +wounded by blame, and too pleased by approbation, which +I sometimes seek and would be ready to arouse at necessity; +in fact, there is no task so long and difficult and none that +demands more exertion and perseverance than to satisfy one's +conscience.</p> + +<p>Apart from the practical methods which I have felt must +be followed as a thread to guide me through the labyrinth, I +have also been helped by a great sense of gratitude. One +day in England I was suddenly struck by the thought of the +innumerable favours which had been granted to me, though I +had made so ill a use of my powers and my advantages. I +admire the patience of God and the long-suffering of Providence +towards me; to have found what I have found seems to me +so real a blessing and so ill-deserved that it has filled me with +gratitude. This sense has continually increased, and partially +supports me in accomplishing the sacrifices which I am +making. The deep instruction to be daily derived from the +old age of M. de Talleyrand; the death of Marie Suchet;<a name="FNanchor_27" id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor"> [27]</a> +her mother's grief; the successive deaths of so many of my +acquaintances of different ages, sexes, and positions; of the +granddaughter whose eyes I have closed,<a name="FNanchor_28" id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor"> [28]</a> and who brought +death so near to me; the close reading of good books; the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45">45</a></span> +lofty conversation of M. de Royer-Collard, who is ready to +throw aside philosophic doubts and is slowly succeeding—all +these influences have made me consider a thousand matters +hitherto unnoticed, and have directed me towards a lofty and +a certain goal. Such is the story of this side of my life. My +attitude, however, is not that of outward profession, and I +can say that I am more advanced in reality than in form; in +the latter respect, I doubt if I shall ever change.</p> + +<p>What a long answer this is to one small page of your letter! +If it seems to you too long, say so, and we will reserve all +these revelations for evenings at Rochecotte.</p> + +<p>The Duc d'Orléans gives a glowing account of a conversation +with Prince Metternich, by which he was delighted.</p> + +<p>The Princesse de Lieven has just gone away, to the general +relief. I think that the Princess and her proud niece<a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor"> [29]</a> came +to feel that they had been somewhat ridiculous here, as they +went to some trouble on their last day to utter innumerable +thanks and excuses for the inconvenience they had +caused, &c.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 24, 1836.</em>—How stupid ill-nature is! +Madame de Lieven has been unkind enough to write to Paris +groaning and lamenting over the profound boredom which +she felt here, and her correspondents have been laughing at us +or using her words against us; the fact is widely known and +commented upon. Our friends told us of it with great indignation. +This small ingratitude on the part of Madame de Lieven, +which apparently arises on this occasion from want of social +experience, is real stupidity; in any case, I am not surprised; +I would have made a bet that it was so; her weariness was too +profound to be concealed, and I clearly saw that the need of +revenge was felt in her correspondence. I do not reproach +her for being bored, for saying so, or even for writing the fact, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46">46</a></span> +but for prolonging her stay here under the pretext of illness. +She was afraid of travelling alone, afraid to be isolated at +Baden, and dared not stay longer at Paris, and so she stayed +here, to die of inanition and to rouse our ill-feeling. This +did not prevent her from weeping like a penitent when she +went away; her tears were sincere, for she shed them, not for +us, but for herself, her wandering and lonely life. On that +point I am not deceived.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I had a letter from M. de Valençay from Leoben. +They were very pleased with Vienna in every respect. However, +the Prussian royal family showed to better advantage +than the Imperial royal family. The Prussian princesses +were thought more striking for their youth, their beauty and +good style, and notwithstanding the garland of lilies, which +seems to have been the result of a teasing or coquettish +conversation, our Prince Royal and Princess Albert began an +obvious flirtation. The Empress of Austria and the Duchess +of Lucca, her sister, are very beautiful, but in a cold, austere, +and imposing style. Our Princes distributed the same +presents at Vienna as at Berlin, but instead of the Grand +Cross of the Legion of Honour which was given to Ancillon, +Prince Metternich, who has long possessed all the French +orders, was given a magnificent service of Sèvres china.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 25, 1836.</em>—M. de Barante<a name="FNanchor_30" id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor"> [30]</a> writes from St. +Petersburg saying that there is great feeling against Madame +de Lieven, on account of her long stay in France. Some +ill-temper has also been aroused by the successful journey of +our Princes, but nothing of the kind has been shown to our +ambassador, who is treated personally with great politeness.</p> + +<p>It is said that Mrs. Norton was most angry, in the course +of the strange trial—of which <em>Galignani</em> gives a far too +detailed account—because the servants who were called to +give evidence said that she rouged and dyed her eyebrows.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 27, 1836.</em>—Another attempt upon the +King's life.<a name="FNanchor_31" id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor"> [31]</a> What a dreadful mania it is, and will it be +always futile? Such is the sad question which one cannot +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47">47</a></span> +help asking. We know nothing yet beyond the news telegraphed +to the centres of the neighbouring departments, +whence the prefects have sent messengers for our information.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 28, 1836.</em>—Our Princes have been told by +letter not to hasten their return on account of the attempt +upon the King's life. They should reach Turin to-day, and +are expected at Paris on the 8th. It seems that Lord +Ponsonby<a name="FNanchor_32" id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor"> [32]</a> has gone mad. He insists upon the dismissal of +Reis Effendi<a name="FNanchor_33" id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor"> [33]</a> and the chief of the Guard. He has written +two notes to the Ottoman Porte in which he even threatens +the Ottoman Empire with disruption if satisfaction is refused. +Admiral Roussin himself writes that Lord Ponsonby is mad. +All the Ministers, including the Russian Minister, are working +to prevent a rupture; the Court of Vienna is explaining +the matter to the English Government in London, and it is +hoped that Lord Ponsonby will be recalled.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 29, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter from +our travellers, dated from Roveredo, where they were detained +by the indisposition of the Duc de Nemours. It was +a somewhat serious attack, of which they made light in their +letters to his parents, but which greatly frightened the Duc +d'Orléans. He was also greatly vexed by the hurried departure +of General Baudrand. It seems that this departure +was provoked not so much by the necessity of a rapid +journey to the waters as by some ill-temper at the fact that +the Prince Royal did not show sufficient confidence in him.</p> + +<p>The Princes were about to make their way to Florence, as +the Grand Duke of Tuscany had been especially pertinacious +in asking for a visit, but the illness of the Duc de Nemours +stopped their journey. They have met the Archduchess +Marie Louise,<a name="FNanchor_34" id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor"> [34]</a> cousin-german of our Prince Royal. She +asked M. de Valençay for news of us, as she is his godmother. +He thought she was not so aged as she has been described. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48">48</a></span> +They have also seen the Princess of Salerno and the King of +Naples. The latter is described as having a fine head, but a +coarse and clumsy figure. He is in despair at the death of +his wife, with whom he lived on very bad terms until she was +with child, in giving birth to whom she died. He is said to +be very whimsical.</p> + +<p>The Archbishop of Paris was at Neuilly at eleven o'clock +on the day when the King's life was attempted. It is unfortunate +that he can never appear before the King except +immediately after an attempt at assassination, and I therefore +think that his visits are not very popular, as they are made +under conditions with which one would readily dispense. He +refused to admit the body of Sieyès to the church, and it was +taken straight to the cemetery.<a name="FNanchor_35" id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor"> [35]</a></p> + +<p>My deepest grief concerning the attempted assassination +of the 25th is that I fear the pistol-shot has killed our +Princess Royal. Many say that Alibaud is another Louvel, +an isolated fanatic, a natural product of newspaper extravagances +and bad teaching. The King wishes to pardon the +assassin, but it is thought that the Cabinet will not suffer +him to do so. General Fagel<a name="FNanchor_36" id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor"> [36]</a> has been at Neuilly, notwithstanding +the presence of the Belgian King and Queen; the +King treated him very kindly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 5, 1836.</em>—My chambermaid's serious illness +forces me to wait upon myself. I have felt a little awkward, +but shall get used to it. It is not always pleasant, but it is +useful, and I do not complain. I have, indeed, my moments of +discouragement, but then I chide myself and it passes away. +At times great nervous fatigue results from want of practice, +but this will disappear, for we are not upon earth to amuse +ourselves, or to rest, or to be well and happy and comfortable; +that is our chief illusion; we mistake our object, and are +then angry that we do not attain it; if we tell ourselves +that the object of life is work, struggle, and sacrifice we avoid +misunderstandings and escape the most painful of fates.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49">49</a></span> +The examination of Alibaud will not be printed; so much +the better, as all this is bad food for public curiosity. +Yesterday I had a letter from the Duc de Noailles, who is +one of the judges; he told me that the crime was obviously +prompted by want. As the man had not a halfpenny he +wished to kill himself, but he thought his death should be +made interesting and useful. Such is the influence of bad +teaching derived from the republican age and society in +which he has lived. He is not a gloomy fanatic like Louvel, +nor a modern Erostratus like Fieschi, but is merely a beggar +of considerable self-possession and badly brought up.</p> + +<p>All the newspapers, Carlist, Radical, and Moderate, are +greatly vexed by the mandate of the Archbishop of Paris. +To appear at Neuilly is too much for some; unwillingness +to use the term "the King" in the mandate is a platitude +which does not deceive others and irritates many; the Jesuitical +and equivocal phrase at the end is thought very pitiable. +In short, the outcry is general and deserved. I am sorry, for +at bottom he is a man not without good qualities, but with +a deplorable want of tact.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from M. de Valençay written from Milan; +the horseraces in the arena, where twenty-five thousand +people collected, and the illumination of the theatre of La +Scala were admirable.</p> + +<p>The Mayor of Valençay came to consult M. de Talleyrand +about an address to be presented to the King concerning +the last attempt upon his life, and begged M. de Talleyrand +to draw it up. He commissioned me with the task. Here +it is, as it has been passed and as it was sent to Paris +yesterday. To fall from diplomatic to municipal language +is a great proof of decadence. That at any rate is what +little Fontanes of Berry has produced, and of all the addresses +drawn up on this occasion it is undoubtedly the most +monarchical both in form and substance.</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="smcap">"Sire,</p> + +<p>"With the confidence of children, the respect of subjects, +and the gratitude of the friends of true liberty, the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50">50</a></span> +inhabitants of Valençay venture to place at the foot of the +Throne the expression of their delight at the miraculous +preservation of the sacred person of the King and their +wishes for the permanent happiness of the Royal Family. +Insignificant and remote as is the quarter of your realm +whence these loving hearts yearn towards your Majesty, your +goodness is our guarantee that our token of respect will be +indulgently received. Our town, moreover, is not without +its claims upon the interest of the King, and the claim which +we are most pleased to assert is the honour which we have +had in receiving His Royal Highness Monseigneur the +Duc d'Orléans, and the recollection of the kindness which +he has shown amongst us," &c. &c.</p> +</div> + +<p>Then follow the signatures of the Municipal Council, +including that of M. de Talleyrand.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 10, 1836.</em>—My son, Valençay, arrived +yesterday; he told us nothing new about his travels, and +only confirmed his previous letters. We have also the Prince +de Laval, by whom M. de Talleyrand is wearied to death, and +with good reason. At Paris the Prince is tolerable, and sometimes +even amusing, but in the country his want of judgment +and his snobbishness, which induces him to say, for instance, +that the orange-tree, pruned, clipped short, and planted in a +box, is the aristocracy of nature, his continual practice of +asking questions, of stammering and spitting before one's face, +and always looking on the insignificant side of things, are +most wearing; and he does not say a word of his departure.</p> + +<p>The Duc d'Orléans writes to say that only for reasons +of state would he be sorry not to marry the daughter of the +Archduke Charles, for her attractions for him are entirely +moral; in person he thinks her, if not ugly, yet insignificant, +and he is not attracted. In any case, the father and daughter +readily assent to the proposal of marriage; the Emperor +of Austria says nothing; but his brother the Archduke +Francis Charles and his sister-in-law the Archduchess +Sophie say "No."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 13, 1836.</em>—Yesterday evening we had a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51">51</a></span> +visit from the Duc Decazes<a name="FNanchor_37" id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor"> [37]</a> and the Comte de la Villegontier, +who stopped for tea on their way to their foundry at +Aveyron. M. Decazes was sad and sorrowful concerning +the King's dangers and the open sores in society, as revealed +by the trial of Alibaud. He also complains, and with reason, +of the organisation, or rather the non-organisation, of the +police. He says that the King alone has preserved his calm +and presence of mind, but that around him all are sad, +anxious, and agitated, and that the Queen and Madame are +very unhappy. Marshal Lobau has persuaded the King that +the National Guard would take it ill if his Majesty did not +review them on the 28th of this month. He will therefore +pass under the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, where the National +Guard will march before him. But this is too much. The +July festivals will be confined to the opening of the Arc de +Triomphe, and the Obelisk from Luxor will be unveiled. No +further commemoration would be required, in my opinion.</p> + +<p>Alibaud yielded to the exhortations of the Abbé Grivel. +He confessed, and therefore has repented. On the scaffold he +kissed the crucifix before the people, but when one of the +servants took away his black veil he flew into a rage and turned +suddenly round to the multitude, red in the face, crying, "I +die for my country and for liberty," and then he submitted.</p> + +<p>M. Decazes also told us that every day brought him +anonymous letters, denunciations, and revelations, and that +it was impossible to get a moment's peace. He left me in +profound sadness.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 16, 1836.</em>—The Prince de Laval, who is still +here, admiring everything and evidently well pleased in spite +of our political differences, has a certain form of wit which +consists in saying smart and clever remarks now and then, but +these are wanting in taste and balance. His class snobbishness +recalls that of M. Saint-Simon, his caste prejudice is +carried to a ridiculous point, his curiosity and gossip are +unexampled, and his selfishness and absorption in his own +importance and amusement are inconceivable; he advances +every claim on his own behalf, and is therefore unbearable +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52">52</a></span> +when taken seriously. Taken the other way, there is something +to be got out of him, the more so as, though he is a +tease, he is not ill-tempered, and the very extravagance of his +poses forces him to live up to them.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Noailles, whom we also expect here to-day, is +very different; he is reasonable, self-possessed, cold, polite, +and reserved, asking no questions, never chattering nor +wearying anybody; but though he is unpretentious his claims +to consideration are none the less real, and he is absorbed, +first of all by his position as a great lord, and then as a +politician. His position as a man of fashion and fortune, +of which Adrien de Laval boasts his past possession, as they +are now gone, has no attraction for him. I might even say +that if M. de Laval is a quondam young man, the Duc de +Noailles is an old man before his time. He is only thirty-four +or thirty-five, but his face, his manners, and his life in +general make him appear fifty.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, July 27, 1836.</em>—I think more and more of the Duc +de Noailles. He is a man of good judgment, sound taste, +with a sense of honour and excellent manners. He is also +dignified and possessed of common sense, while his goodwill is +valuable, and his high position may be useful in the world in +which he is a figure. But my high opinion of his good +qualities and the value which I set upon his goodwill and +friendship do not prevent me from seeing his pretentiousness. +His chief ambition is political, and is not, perhaps, sufficiently +supported by the ease of temperament which is quite indispensable +at the present time. The whole family has +remained what it was two hundred years ago. The Noailles +are rather illustrious than ancient, rather courtiers than servants, +but servants rather than favourites, intriguers rather +than ambitious, society people rather than lords, snobs rather +than aristocrats, and above all and before all, Noailles. I +know the whole of the family existing at the present time; +the best and most capable of them is undoubtedly the Duc, +whom I judge perhaps somewhat severely, but for whom I +have always a real esteem.</p> + +<p>I left Valençay the day before yesterday at six o'clock in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53">53</a></span> +the morning; my dear Pauline was very sad at being left +behind; I slept at Jeurs with the Mollien family, reaching +their house at eight o'clock in the evening, and arrived here +in pretty good time. I found M. de Talleyrand in fairly good +health, but much disturbed by the state of affairs. The King +will not be present at to-morrow's review, and has given it up +because of a discovery that fifty-six young people have sworn +to kill him. As it was impossible to arrest these fifty-six, it +has been thought more advisable to abandon the review. In +what times we live!</p> + +<p>The death of Carrel<a name="FNanchor_38" id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor"> [38]</a> has also thrown a gloom over us. He +made many mistakes, but his mind was distinguished and his +talent remarkable. Even M. de Chateaubriand, the author of +the "Génie du Christianisme," wept as he walked in the funeral +procession of the man who refused to see a priest and forbade +the holding of any Church ceremony at his funeral. The +desire to produce an effect usually ends in some loss of taste +and propriety in the most essential details.</p> + +<p>Affairs in Spain are going very badly. The supporters of +intervention are growing active, and many of them are +influential and leading spirits, but the supreme will is in +active opposition to them.</p> + +<p>During my journey yesterday I was in very good company, +with Cardinal de Retz, whose memoirs I have taken up again; +I had not read them for many years, and then at an age when +one is more attracted by the facts and the anecdotes than by +the style or reflections. The style is lively, original, strong, +and graceful, while the reflections are thoughtful, judicious, +elevating, striking, and abundant. What a delightful book, +and what insight, and often more than insight, in judgment, if +not in action! He was a political La Bruyère.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, July 28, 1836.</em>—Yesterday the Duc d'Orléans came +to see me. He is in very bad health and somewhat melancholy; +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54">54</a></span> +he too is obliged to take an infinite number of precautions +which sadden his life. The King had resolved to go to the +review, but was at the same time so convinced that he would +be killed that he made his will, and gave full orders and +directions to his son concerning his accession to the throne.</p> + +<p>At the end of the morning I also had a call from M. Thiers, +who was very pleased with the news he had just received from +Africa, with the political situation at home and abroad, and, +in short, with everything, apart from the great and continual +dangers which threaten the King's life. There were to have +been several attempts upon the King's life on the day of the +review; these attempts were to be organised separately and +without connection. One was to be delivered by a group of +men disguised as National Guards, who were to fire a volley +of twenty shots at the King as he passed, one of which would +certainly have found its mark. Two of the young men who +have been arrested—and the arrests amount to more than a +hundred—have already made important confessions. Yesterday +morning a man was arrested in whose house was found +a machine like Fieschi's, but more perfect and smaller in +compass, with more accuracy and certainty in its working.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, July 29, 1836.</em>—Yesterday evening I was with the +Queen. She seemed quite natural in manner, though she said +very bitterly: "We can testify to ourselves that we are +entirely upright, and yet we are forced to live amid terrors +and with the precautions of tyrants." Madame Adélaïde +urges her not to sadden the King's temper. He was with his +Ministers, and did not come in till later. His manner was +quite ordinary, but his features bear the mark of gloomy +thoughts; the greatest vexation he ever experienced in his +life was his inability to go to the review. Moreover, he +thinks that his days are numbered, for the day before yesterday, +when taking leave of the Queen of the Belgians, who was +returning to Brussels, he told her that he would not see her +again. The young queen was in ill-health, and nothing was +more heartrending than their farewells. Poor people!</p> + +<p>A remarkable fact which is vouched for by all the officers +of the legions of the National Guard is that during the last +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55">55</a></span> +fortnight a number of unknown or notorious people, such as +Bastide, and others, have put down their names on the rotas +of the National Guard and take sentry duty; this was in +order that they might find a place in the ranks which were +to march before the King upon the day of the review.</p> + +<p>Nothing sadder can be conceived than the Tuileries. I +stayed there two hours with an inexpressible sinking of heart, +a melancholy and an inclination to weep which I could hardly +restrain, especially when I saw the King. I shall start early +to-morrow morning for Valençay.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Chartres, July 31, 1836.</em>—I left Paris yesterday, but much +later than I intended, as the Duc d'Orléans sent word that +he wished to speak with me again. I cannot say how much +I have been touched by his perfect kindness to me. He came +to see me every day, and showed that he counted me as his best +friend—and he is certainly not mistaken. He has made remarkable +progress in every respect, and if heaven preserves +him to us I am sure that his reign will be brilliant. I hope +that a good marriage will clear our political horizon, which is +very dark.</p> + +<p>What is his marriage to be? That question will be decided +next week, for I think that he certainly will marry; circumstances +make it entirely necessary to consolidate and strengthen +that which crime threatens and attacks daily, and a continuation +of the line becomes even more important than the +greatness of the alliance. The latter, however, is not to be +despised. Search is made, but if no success results the only +object will be to find a wife who can bear fine children, +without any idea of a morganatic marriage, which is not +required for many sound reasons, any more than a marriage +with any member of the Bonaparte family. Religion is a +matter of no consequence. It is absolutely necessary to +deliver Paris from the mournful condition into which it has +fallen. I know the French, and if they are shown a young +and engaging bride they will be delighted, while the foreign +political world will perhaps be more considerate to us when +it has no further matrimonial snare to spread before us.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I stayed a few minutes at Versailles with +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56">56</a></span> +Madame de Balbi, and a few minutes more at Maintenon, +with the Duchesse de Noailles. I am now starting for +Châteaudun, and shall go on from thence to Montigny, where +I have promised to visit the Prince de Laval.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Montigny, August 1, 1836.</em>—I left Chartres after hearing +mass in the cathedral, which, as far as I could see, has not +suffered from the fire.<a name="FNanchor_39" id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor"> [39]</a> The wood- and lead-work have gone, +but as the vaulting within, which was made of stone, has not +suffered, nothing is to be seen from within the church. The +work of repair is now in progress.</p> + +<p>I stopped at Châteaudun in order to go over the whole +of the old castle, including the kitchens and the dungeons. +Though greatly ruined, some beauties yet remain, and the +view is splendid. The Prince de Laval came to meet me, and +brought me here in his carriage. He is making a charming +spot here, arranged with good taste, care, and magnificence. +The situation is beautiful, and the Gothic part of the castle +has been well preserved and carefully restored. The castle +would give a very good idea of the owner to anybody who +did not know him. I must admit my astonishment at the +fact that the spot could have been arranged as it was by +Adrien de Laval; the truth is that he has an excellent +architect; and then the Baron de Montmorency has arranged +the court, and has had several consultations with me concerning +the arrangement of the rooms, for this is not my +first visit. In short, it is charming, and though things are +much better at Rochecotte, there are some here which outrival +ours. In respect of size and proportion the two places +can be well compared.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 2, 1836.</em>—I have now returned to my +lair, and am delighted to be far from the uproar of Paris, but +I should like time for a good rest, whereas M. de Talleyrand +has also just come with people who are to surround us from +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57">57</a></span> +to-day. If I could choose a coat of arms which really meant +something I should prefer a stag at bay with the dogs around +him.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to be more hospitable than M. de Laval +has been, and I am slightly ashamed of the small ingratitude +of which I may be guilty in relating one of the most +ridiculous affairs which I know. Adrien possesses the order +of the Holy Ghost, which is no longer worn; he had several +medallions, and will any one guess what he has done with +them? He has had them sewn on the middle of one of the +velvet counterpanes which cover the chief beds in the castle. +I was never more surprised than to wake up in the morning and +find a large inscription of the Holy Ghost across my figure.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 6, 1836.</em>—I have a letter from M. de +Sainte-Aulaire, dated July 22, from Vienna, which begins as +follows: "I am now writing to you, as this letter will be +taken by a courier who will start in two days and tell the +Ministry I really do not know what. The attempted assassination +by Alibaud has evoked unexpected manifestations of +interest for the King here, and wishes no less sincere for his +accomplishment of the great work with which Providence has +entrusted him; but we need not be surprised that this +incident has also increased the terror which is felt or which +people seek to rouse concerning the condition of Paris. +'Everything comes to him who waits.' On this condition I +would have answered for his success, but it is one of the cases +where people will not wait, and possibly with reason." This +letter from M. de Sainte-Aulaire must have come by the +courier who brought the important answer concerning the +proposed marriage between the Duc d'Orléans and the Archduchess +Theresa; hence this answer must have arrived at +Paris, and I am the more inclined to think that it has been +received, as Madame Adélaïde informs M. de Talleyrand that +her nephew will write to him personally upon his own affairs. +It is from no curiosity, but with a keen desire to see the fate +of the young Prince happily settled, that I impatiently await +his letters. I should also like to see the King of Naples +make one of our princesses his queen.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58">58</a></span> +<em>Valençay, August 7, 1836.</em>—By way of continuing the +quotation which I gave yesterday from M. de Sainte-Aulaire's +letter, I will say that the reply has been received and that it +has been unfavourable. I am sorry, for our sakes, but if it +is a setback to our Prince Royal I regard it as possibly a +political error on the part of those who have declined. Their +repentance may yet be speedy, for the incident may change +the appearance of the world and bring once more into +opposition the two forces which were inclined to amalgamate.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 9, 1836.</em>—Yesterday at lunch-time we +saw our cousins arrive, the Prince de Chalais and his brother.<a name="FNanchor_40" id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor"> [40]</a> +The former, in my opinion, has the most charming face that +I know, a fine figure and noble manners. I talked a great +deal with him, as he did not leave until after dinner. He +has sound sense, simplicity of mind, uprightness of heart, +curiosity upon useful matters, and a sensible and reasonable +interest in everything that can strengthen the fine position of +a great landowner.</p> + +<p>I am informed that the decree which is to liberate the +prisoners of Ham has been signed. I am truly pleased to +hear it, as I have worked hard to secure it. They are not +given full liberty, but a change of residence with some +relaxations preparatory to full freedom, which will allow +them to recover their shattered health more readily and +under better conditions.</p> + +<p>Every one is well pleased at Neuilly with the King of +Naples. Our King has been much worried by people who +would like him to intervene beyond the Pyrenees, against his +wish, but hitherto he resists vigorously. This mental anxiety, +together with the precautions which people wish to impose +upon him to secure his safety, is poisoning his life.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 11, 1836.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is informed +that the Spanish problems, which are growing more and more +acute, are causing bitterness at Paris, where nothing of the +kind should exist—namely, between the King and his Minister +of Foreign Affairs,<a name="FNanchor_41" id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor"> [41]</a> who is supported by the Prince Royal, +as these two men are anxious for intervention. We may +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59">59</a></span> +wonder who will emerge victorious from this domestic +struggle.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 22, 1836.</em>—I can well understand the +reflections made concerning the Grand Duchess Stephanie of +Baden; her want of tact is due to her early education. She +was brought up in a pretentious boarding-school,<a name="FNanchor_42" id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor"> [42]</a> where she +learnt much except that exquisite sense of propriety which +may be transmitted hereditarily or implanted in youth but +can never be taught. For instance, she asked M. Berryer to +a ball at her house, though he had not been introduced and +had not asked for an introduction. Then she talks too much, +as a rule, and attempts to bring herself into notice by conversational +brilliancies which are not always properly calculated +or adapted to her position. Princesses are not obliged +to be kind; they must, however, be obliging and dignified; +but to understand the limits of propriety and not to go +beyond them they must have acquired certain habits from +infancy; here the Grand Duchess Stephanie was wanting, and +Madame Campan has not been able to amend the defect. I +believe her to be at bottom an excellent person. Her life +shows devotion and courage in the misfortunes through which +she has passed with great credit. I think that Madame de +Lieven, who criticises her so severely, would not emerge so +unscathed from the crises caused by her difficult position with +respect to her husband. The Grand Duchess had a nice +manner and a pretty, alert, and graceful bearing; she needed +youth, and as she lost youth her defects became more obvious. +This, unfortunately, is every one's case, and for that reason +it is wrong to say that people are too old to amend; on the +contrary, when charm passes away it is most essential to +replace it by capacity; charm of youth calls forth indulgence +and provides excuses which disappear with those charms and +graces, and are replaced by a severity of judgment which can +only be opposed by more self-control, more self-renunciation, +and more self-respect.</p> + +<p>We are officially informed that the refusal from Vienna +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60">60</a></span> +was expressed in polite terms, but no reason was given. The +possibilities of Princess Sophia of Würtemburg have not been +considered, in spite of what people say. Our Prince Royal +has started for the country, somewhat thin and changed, but +entirely convalescent.</p> + +<p>From Madrid we hear that Isturitz has resigned. Calatrava +takes his place as President of the Council. Everything is +going very badly.</p> + +<p>The King of Naples starts for Toulon on the 24th, and +goes, as he came, unmarried.</p> + +<p>The ex-Ministers are still prisoners at Ham, in consequence +of difficulties which have arisen among the Ministers in power. +The Minister of the Interior wishes to keep the prisoners +under his supervision, and the President of the Council wishes +them to remain in the fortresses, under the milder regulations, +but in military strongholds; but so long as they are there, the +Minister of War claims supervision over them. It is quite +time that this treatment came to an end, for the unhappy +people are ill.</p> + +<p>Madame Murat has obtained permission to spend a month +at Paris. She will arrive in a week, and is said to be taking +no part in her brother's intrigues.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I had a letter from Madame de Lieven, who +announces her return to Paris as a positive fact. I am afraid +she may be making a great mistake. Yesterday I had a +letter from St. Petersburg in which she is said to be in very +bad odour at Court. On the other hand, M. de Löwe-Weimar +is very well treated at Court, and poses as an +aristocrat. Horace Vernet is also spoiled and petted in a +most inconceivable manner. Why, in view of that, should +Madame de Lieven be thus harassed? Can it be that she +is suspected of being something of an intriguer? The English +are certainly right to include the capacity of keeping quiet +among a person's best qualities.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 24, 1836.</em>—I have a comical and unexpected +piece of news to the effect that M. Berryer has been +playing in a vaudeville at Baden with Madame de Rossi. +This must be a strange occupation for a politician, but it is +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61">61</a></span> +better for him than bad company in Switzerland. Yesterday +the newspapers announced the death of M. de Rayneval<a name="FNanchor_43" id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor"> [43]</a> at +Madrid. This will increase the difficulty of a question which +is complicated enough already.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 27, 1836.</em>—We have no details from +Paris, but obviously some Cabinet crisis is in preparation. +Meanwhile M. Thiers seems to have been anxious to involve +the King in the Spanish difficulty against his wish, and to +have acted for that purpose without consulting his colleagues. +The result has been a considerable amount of ill-feeling +which is difficult to quell, and should lead in a few days +either to the submission of Thiers to the King or to the +formation of a new Ministry, which, however, would contain +some members of the present Cabinet, and in particular, I +think, M. de Montalivet. All this is a matter of speculation, +for we know nothing definite.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 28, 1836.</em>—A letter from Madame +Adélaïde yesterday informed M. de Talleyrand as follows: +"The Ministry is dissolved, to my profound regret. I am +especially sorry for Thiers, but he was obstinate upon the +question of intervention in Spain, and this has spoiled everything. +The King wished to disband the new body that was +formed at Bayonne, and demanded a formal undertaking that +there should be no question of intervention hereafter; Thiers +refused, and resigned. Any Ministerial crisis at this moment +is very vexatious, for we have so small a circle from which we +can choose. The King has sent for M. Molé, but he was in +the country. He will require time to come, and no doubt he +will ask for Guizot. It is all very distressing, and we know +by experience how long and difficult is the task of forming a +new Cabinet. Pity me, for I am heartbroken!" Such was +the position of affairs the day before yesterday in the +immediate neighbourhood of the crisis. I am very sorry it +should have occurred, in the first place because I have a real +interest in Thiers, and because I regret that his revolutionary +instincts should have overcome his devotion, his gratitude, +and the recognition which he owed to the great wisdom, the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62">62</a></span> +prudence, and the long experience of the King. Moreover, +constant changes of Ministry are Governmental misfortunes +and shake public opinion too frequently; besides, Thiers' +dexterity, alertness, and promptitude, apart from his energy +and his intellect, are useful to the State. What use will he +make of these powers when he has full liberty of action? +Madame Adélaïde, as the extract from her letter shows, has +no great love for the Doctrinaires, but it is inconceivable +that M. de Broglie should be recalled, with whom M. Guizot +considers that he has settled accounts for ever. Apart from +these disadvantages, I think it is obviously beneficial for the +King to have given a fresh proof that on questions of real +importance he cannot be shaken and will not be driven into +action against his wish. Thus in February he resisted the +arrogance of the Doctrinaires, and has now overthrown the +infatuation of Thiers. This seems to be a fair warning for +the future Ministry, whatever its political colouring, and an +excellent guarantee to all right-thinking men in Europe.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 29, 1836.</em>—M. de Talleyrand ought to +regard the accidents that happen to him without disastrous +results as a guarantee that his life is certainly assured, and +in my place I think that this warning would rather turn my +thoughts upon what they portend and induce me to thank +God for the respite granted to lighten our burden of responsibility. +Sometimes he reflects upon death, but not often. +Yesterday evening there was a violent storm which threatened +the Castle. After a loud clap of thunder he asked me what I +had been thinking of at that moment, and I immediately +replied: "If a priest had been in the room I should have +confessed myself, for I am afraid of sudden death. To die +unprepared and to carry with me my heavy burden of sin is a +terrifying prospect, and however careful one may be to live +well we cannot do without reconciliation and pardon." +M. Cogny, our doctor, who was there, and who is terribly +afraid of thunderstorms, added somewhat foolishly that +he was performing an act of contrition at every flash. +M. de Talleyrand said nothing at all, and we went on +playing piquet. I take every opportunity of strengthening +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63">63</a></span> +my belief, and thus attempting to arouse his, but never +until I have an opening. In such a matter a light touch is +indispensable.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I had a long, interesting letter from the Duc +d'Orléans, and a letter which I think the more satisfactory as +he has returned to more reasonable opinions upon the Spanish +question. His opinion of the Ministerial crisis corresponds +entirely with my own. I have also a letter from M. Guizot +written from Broglie on August 24. When writing he had +no news of the resignation of Thiers, which took place on the +25th. He informs me that he has just bought a small estate +near Lisieux and is going to turn farmer.<a name="FNanchor_44" id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor"> [44]</a> I presume that I +shall next hear that he has left the plough to resume the pen +and speechifying.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 1, 1836.</em>—I am strongly inclined to +accede entirely to the opinion concerning the Emperor +Nicholas which states that the only royal quality in his +possession is personal courage. His chief deficiency seems to +me to be that of intelligence, not only in conversation and +judgment, but in general.</p> + +<p>M. de Montessuy, who accompanied M. de Barante to an +entertainment at Peterhof and passed the night there, writes +that he saw the Empress at a distance in the gardens and +respectfully withdrew, but that in the evening she reproached +him for so doing, saying that she had come down in order to +speak to him and that it was wrong of him to avoid her. +All this story seems to me to be very unlikely.</p> + +<p>Madame Adélaïde writes to M. de Talleyrand on August 30 +that nothing has yet been done with regard to the Ministry. +M. Molé has opened communications with MM. Guizot and +Duchâtel, both of whom have arrived at Paris, but unanimity +between them is rendered difficult by their respective sense of +dignity. The King and Madame seem greatly to regret their +forced separation from the retiring Ministers and the necessity +of calling in others.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 3, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I learned a piece +of news which is causing me much anxiety and is likely to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64">64</a></span> +involve me in embarrassment: the death of my man of +business in Germany, Herr Hennenberg, who died at Berlin +on August 23. I am thus obliged to replace a most upright +and capable man, a strong and respected character who had +full knowledge for twenty-five years not only of my business, +but of all my intimacies, past and present, who has thrown +himself heartily into every interest of my life and performed +immense services, and, in spite of the many pecuniary shocks +which I have experienced, has restored my fortunes and +brought them to visible prosperity, often to my own astonishment. +He was, in short, a man to whom I had entirely +handed over the control of my affairs, as, indeed, was necessary, +in view of the long distance which separates me from the +centre of my interests. Such a man cannot be replaced by +correspondence or blindly, nor can I remain in uncertainty +and unsettlement for any length of time without suffering +incalculable loss. Hence a journey to Germany seems an +absolute necessity; but, on the other hand, how can I leave +M. de Talleyrand alone in view of the present state of his +health? It is not to be thought of, and I pray that Providence +may deliver me from this inextricable complication.</p> + +<p>Letters from Paris say that attempts to form a Ministry +are so many successive failures, that the King is growing +tired of it, and that Thiers is beginning to say that Spain is +past all remedy. Perhaps they will end in patching the +matter up, but the shock that each party has received will +weaken their harmony, apart from the paralysing sense of +mistrust and rancour which will remain. It is all very sad.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 4, 1836.</em>—We have letters daily from +Paris, but no word regarding any solution of the difficulty. +Yesterday I thought the breach might be healed; I am less +inclined to think so to-day. It is even possible that the +journey to Fontainebleau may take place before the reconstruction +of the Cabinet. M. Thiers would like to start +for Italy, to which the King has replied that his resignation +will be accepted only when he has nominated a successor. +Molé and Guizot are possibilities which seem to be exhausted +without result.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65">65</a></span> +<em>Valençay, September 7, 1836.</em>—We are told that the +<cite>Moniteur</cite> of to-day will contain the names of a Guizot-Molé +Ministry, recruited entirely from among the Doctrinaires +under the influence and by the efforts of M. Guizot. I had a +letter from M. Thiers yesterday, and am sorry to see some ill-temper +displayed against all who do not share his ideas about +that wretched Spanish question. In particular he thinks that +the signatories to the Quadruple Alliance should have agreed +with him. This remark is addressed to M. de Talleyrand, +who proposes to reply that a fresh reading of the treaty +will show that it was drawn up in such a way that France +is not under obligation in any direction. M. Guizot persisted +in objecting to the retention of M. de Montalivet as +Minister of the Interior, and as the latter thought it inconsistent +with his dignity to leave this post for another, as +Guizot had proposed, he has resigned, to the King's great +regret, and will go to Berry, where he has property. Sauzet +and d'Argout are said to be going to Italy, once the refuge +of dethroned Sovereigns and now the inevitable touringground +of ex-Ministers.</p> + +<p>The following fact is certain: On the 4th of this month +information was received that the <em>Société des Familles</em>, the +most numerous and best organised of secret societies at this +time, proposed to make some attempt to raise a public disturbance. +Their intention was perfectly clear; the fear of +discovery doubtless prevented them from putting it into effect. +They proposed to advance upon the prison where the political +prisoners are confined, to set them at liberty, to seize the +Prefecture of Police, and thence to march upon Neuilly. +The Ministers assert that their intentions were quite serious.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 9, 1836.</em>—The newspapers are already +declaring a terrible war upon the new Ministry, which will +be settled before the Chambers.<a name="FNanchor_45" id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor"> [45]</a> The Opposition journals +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66">66</a></span> +predict a breach in the Cabinet, which seems a not unlikely +possibility. Then perhaps we shall see M. Thiers return to +the head of affairs, but with a certain opposition to confront +him, after making war upon a system which he had long +supported and entering into obligations with men inclining +to the Left, in which case he would be likely to draw the +Government into dangerous paths. I do not really know, +but in general things seem to me to be growing dark. In +any case it is fair to recognise that the new Ministerial +combination can display to the country and abroad honourable +names, distinguished talent, and recognised capacity. Let +us hope, then, that it may rest upon a solid basis. Eight or +ten days before the last crisis M. Molé, after a considerable +silence, wrote a very sprightly letter to M. Royer-Collard +and to myself.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 10, 1836.</em>—Yesterday M. de Talleyrand +received a nice deferential little note from M. Molé upon his +accession to the Ministry. The burden of the letter was as +follows: As the new Cabinet had been formed upon a +question and with ideas which M. de Talleyrand had wisely +made his own, the new Ministers might congratulate themselves +upon his approval, and for himself he trusted that it +might be so, as he relied upon M. de Talleyrand's counsel and +opinion. M. de Talleyrand immediately replied. It is not +my business to praise the answer, but I think it should please +M. Molé, though he will find no criticism in it of the man +whose place he takes. M. de Talleyrand may regret the +blindness of M. Thiers upon the Spanish question, but it is +not for him to blame M. Thiers in definite terms, as he has +long shown and felt goodwill for him.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 11, 1836.</em>—I shall not quote Madame +de Lieven as testifying to the accuracy of the story told by +M. de Montessuy,<a name="FNanchor_46" id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor"> [46]</a> but I admit that I cannot understand +so strange an incident. If one of our princesses or our +Sovereign had so acted, a revolutionary interpretation would +immediately have been put upon it at St. Petersburg, and if +the Emperor Nicholas admits Horace Vernet, and especially +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67">67</a></span> +M. de Löwe-Weimar, to his favour, his intimacy, and his +confidence, I do not see why the King should be reproached +for dining at the Tuileries with his National Guards. The +truth is, Louis-Philippe cannot use the knout or Siberia, +which are two stern precautions against familiarity, though +it is fortunate for each of us that these weapons are not in +his hands; in Russia, neither age nor sex nor rank nor merit +is any protection.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from M. Guizot couched in most sprightly +terms, telling me of his entrance to the Council. The friendship +of the King for M. de Talleyrand and the confidence +with which he honours him forbid any Minister to be on +bad terms with him; our intentions are identical, so that +between ourselves and these gentlemen all should go well.</p> + +<p>I have a long letter from the Comte Alexis de Saint-Priest +from Lisbon. He writes from time to time, though I +only send short dry notes by way of answer; but he seems +determined to regard them as proofs of friendship. It is +merely a case of calculating self-interest. He knows that +the Duc d'Orléans shows me some kindness, and he believes +himself called upon to play a part when this Prince comes to +the throne, and therefore desires in any case to be one of my +friends; any one reading the opening sentences of his letter +would think that I was a great deal to him and he to me. I +am somewhat vexed in consequence.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 13, 1836.</em>—How is it that people are +so often found ready to report ill-tempered speeches to the +persons affected by them? It is a strange and too common +frame of mind. To myself it is so hateful that while I +believe myself incapable of it, I always receive very coldly +those who bring me confidential remarks of this nature. I +think that the first condition upon which one can live in +peace is to speak evil of things only when they are bad and +as little as possible of people, and the second condition is to +disregard evil spoken about ourselves unless it be spoken to +warn one of some trap or actual danger, but it is very rarely +that such information is actuated by this good and laudable +intention. These moral reflections are evoked by the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68">68</a></span> +slanders which Lord Rosse is said to have uttered about +Madame de Lieven and the information brought to her concerning +them. In any case I see that social habit, knowledge +of the world, the necessities of conversation, and, in +short, the thousand and one considerations which make +hypocrisy a virtue, or at any rate a social quality, allow these +two people to meet on good terms, and if that be so, my +theories are of little or no importance.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 16, 1836.</em>—The following is an extract +from a letter received by M. de Talleyrand yesterday; it was +not sent by Madame Adélaïde, but the writer is generally +very well informed. "M. Molé is ill. He has not yet been +able to pay any calls, nor to receive any ambassador, nor has +any council yet been held by the King. It is said that his +health will not allow him to remain long in office, and that he +will never establish himself there with any certainty. If he +should resign, it is thought that the Ministry would not be +entirely dislocated, and that Montalivet would probably take +his place. There is also a rumour that the Ministry is ready +to confront the Chambers fearlessly, and expects to secure a +majority, that it is ready to be contented with a small +majority in the hope of seeing it grow, and that it does not +intend to make every point a Cabinet question. Marshal +Soult is not to be Minister of War. He was anxious to be +President of the Council, but this was refused, and the post +will probably be given to Molitor, Sébastiani, or Bernard. +The Ministry is entirely dominated by the King's policy upon +the Spanish question. The body which was gathering on the +Pyrenees frontier will be disbanded and the Foreign Legion +abandoned. In any case that legion is at the service of +Spain, and we have no right to use it for our own purposes. +Strictest adherence will be maintained to the limits laid down +by the treaty of the Quadruple Alliance. At the same time +an ambassador at Madrid will be appointed, though the death +of Rayneval might have enabled us to dispense with this; +but the appointment will be made from respect to England. +A rumour has gone abroad, but it is a great secret, and the +appointment is not yet settled, that this ambassador will be +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69">69</a></span> +the Duc de Coigny. The King is a little doubtful of the +attitude which Thiers will adopt. He is also much displeased +with him, and has expressed his displeasure several +times. At one time Thiers took some steps to return to the +Ministry, and the matter was discussed. He then submitted +himself wholly to the King's opinion and will upon the +Spanish question, but the style of the King's expression +showed that he was very far from reposing confidence in +Thiers, and that he would only take him back perforce and +in a difficult and unavoidable position. The true cause of +Thiers' resignation is not so much difference of opinion +between the King and himself as the deceitful course by +which he wished to draw the King into intervention against +his will. Since he has gone several facts have been discovered +of which no one had any suspicion. Thiers went +away announcing that he would only return for the following +session if he saw his policy attacked. He is said to be really +very despondent about his fall, and has the more reason for +despondency as he is sole author of it. The mode of his +resignation has greatly diminished the reputation which he +first achieved, and the public opinion is not in his favour."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 21, 1836.</em>—Yesterday we heard that +the Constitution of 1820 had been proclaimed at Lisbon. It +is asserted that this event was prepared at London, and the +fact remains that Admiral Gage, who was in harbour with +three ships of the line, remained a passive spectator. The +queens of the South are not destined to enjoy unbroken +slumber, for at Lisbon, as at Madrid, the Queen was forced to +sign the new Constitution at two o'clock in the morning. The +army took the side of the people and of the National Guard. +The poor little Prince of Coburg has made a sad marriage +indeed. If he remains in private life with so heavy a burden +as Doña Maria he will collapse. It is impossible to avoid +some feeling of dismay at these military reactions, and we +are deeply anxious to see our Cabinet completed by a <em>real</em> +Minister of War. General Bernard was the last chance, and +would be the best choice, as Marshal Soult persistently +refuses.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70">70</a></span> +<em>Valençay, September 23, 1836.</em>—Our festival of St. +Maurice<a name="FNanchor_47" id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor"> [47]</a> was held yesterday, and was most brilliant. +Numbers of neighbours came, and our cousins came over +from Saint-Aignan. The gamekeepers with their early +trumpet-blasts, fine weather, a long drive, the banquet in +the Castle, and dinner to the little school-girls, the three +courts lighted up, and a most pretty entertainment, cheerfully +and delightfully played, completed our festivity.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 25, 1836.</em>—It is certain that Charles X., +to please the Duc de Bordeaux, has requested Don Carlos to +receive his grandson into his army, and Don Carlos has very +wisely refused. The truth is that this would have been the +only thing that could have induced France to intervene.</p> + +<p>A letter from Strasburg gives me many details concerning +the Abbé Bautain and MM. Ratisbonne and de Bonnechose +which interest me greatly, for it was these men who carried +on the correspondence concerning the philosophy of religion +which I read last winter. This book is preceded by their +biographies and the story of their conversion, so that my +knowledge of their case is complete. M. Royer-Collard, to +whom I have spoken several times concerning the Abbé +Bautain, told me that when he was high master of the +university he knew the Abbé, then quite a young man; +that he had a distinguished mind and a lively imagination, +but that his mother was at Charenton and that there seemed +some likelihood of his following her, though at the same +time he thought a great deal of him for many reasons. I +trust that the death of Mlle. Humann will not relax +the precious bond which unites all these young people, +with their goodness and sincerity. The manner of Mlle. +Humann's death was like that of Queen Anne of Austria, +a description of which I have just read in the <cite>Mémoires</cite> of +Madame de Motteville; this queen also died of cancer. I know +few incidents so touching and edifying, so curious and well +described, as the death of this princess. I have finished these +memoirs; a book which counterbalances, from the political +standpoint, the memoirs of Cardinal de Retz. By way of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71">71</a></span> +restoring my equilibrium, I am reading the <cite>Mémoires</cite> of +the Grande Mademoiselle. I read them before my marriage, +at a time when I did not know France, and therefore knew +even less the district which I now inhabit, and in which this +princess lived for a long time; consequently her book has an +entirely new attraction for me and interests me deeply.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 28, 1836.</em>—A few days ago a Spanish +courier arrived at Paris from Madrid. He had been stopped +by the Carlists, who had taken all his despatches except +those directly addressed to King Louis-Philippe. In these +despatches Queen Christina announces that she proposes +to leave Madrid, leaving the two Princesses behind. The +next day a telegram came in stating that the Queen is +to leave Madrid, with all the Ministry, for Badajoz. This +town was chosen as being nearest to Portugal, and because +the Queen would be unable to travel in the direction of Cadiz +or the Pyrenees or to any seaport. Unfortunate creature!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 2, 1836.</em>—M. de Valençay, who is at the +camp of Compiègne with the Duc d'Orléans, writes that +everything is going off well and that the King's visit has had +an excellent effect. The Ministers, who all accompanied the +King to Compiègne, followed him on horseback to the great +review, but M. Molé felt uncomfortable after a few minutes +and got into the Queen's carriage. The camp is said to be +very fine; the King was excellently received, and the young +Princes make a good appearance. I am the more pleased to +hear this as it is the first time that the King has left his +confinement since the case of Alibaud. His presence in +camp must have been thought very necessary, as the Duc +d'Orléans answered for the King's safety with his own life, +begging him to go and show himself to the troops; and only +then did the Council, which had at first opposed the plan, +consent to the King's journey.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 5, 1836.</em>—I must copy the following +passage about the castle of Valençay, which I found in the +<cite>Mémoires</cite> of the Grand Mademoiselle, vol. ii. p. 411, in +the year 1653: "I continued my journey to Valençay, and +arrived there by torchlight. I thought I was entering an +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72">72</a></span> +enchanted house. The rooms are the most handsome, delightful, +and magnificent, in the world; the staircase is very +fine, and is reached by an arcaded gallery that is superb. It +was beautifully lighted up; there were plenty of people, including +Madame de Valençay, and some local ladies with handsome +daughters, and the general effect was most perfect. The +room corresponded with the beauty of the staircase, both in +decorations and furniture. It rained the whole day that I +was there, and I think the weather must have done it on +purpose, as the covered walks had only just been begun. +From there I went to Selles; it is a fine house."</p> + +<p>I have a letter from Alexander von Humboldt about the +death of my man of business, Herr Hennenberg. He offers +his services in a most obliging and careful letter, marked by +the utmost flattery and wittiness, a curious document which +I shall keep among my precious autographs. The death of +this man has aroused the interest of all my friends. Were it +not for the anxiety which would pursue me if I were to leave +M. de Talleyrand and my daughter, a journey to Prussia +would suit me entirely.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 18, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter from +the Prince de Laval, written from Maintenon, where he was +staying with M. de Chateaubriand and Madame Récamier. +He told me that a messenger from the Princesse de Polignac +had just arrived begging the Duc de Noailles to go to Paris +to try and remove the fresh obstacle which prevented the +accomplishment of the promise to improve the condition of +the prisoners. The Prince de Laval adds that the Duc de +Noailles was about to start, and that he would return to +Montigny, whence he would come and pay us a short visit +and tell us of the new complications which have arisen +concerning the poor prisoners of Ham.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 20, 1836.</em>—Yesterday we had a pleasant +visit from M. Royer-Collard, who came over from Châteauvieux +in spite of the deplorable state of the roads. He was very +indignant that any one should be bargaining with the prisoners +of Ham about their liberty. He left me a letter which he +had received from M. de Tocqueville, who had returned from +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73">73</a></span> +a journey in Switzerland. In it I found the following +passage: "I have closely examined Switzerland for two +months. It is very possible that the present severity of the +French Government towards it may force this disunited +people to submit, but it is certain in any case that we have +made implacable enemies there. We have accomplished a +miracle by uniting in common feeling against ourselves +parties hitherto irreconcilable. This miracle has been performed +by the violent measure of M. Thiers, and perhaps even +more by the pride and haughtiness of our ambassador, M. de +Montebello, and his mania for interfering in the domestic +affairs of the country upon every possible occasion."</p> + +<p>I have recently been thinking a great deal of what has +been done or left undone for the prisoners at Ham. All the +newspapers with the exception of the <cite>Débats</cite> unanimously +blame the last measures, the favours offered as a bargain and +the degrading conditions imposed upon these prisoners, who +are a class by themselves and unexampled in history. These +unfortunate men, moreover, are not asking for liberty, but +are only requesting some alleviation on the score of their +health. It seems that our present Ministers do not share +the opinion of Cardinal de Retz, who said: "Everything +that seems dangerous and really is not, is almost always a +wise measure." Some one else makes another observation +which seems very applicable to recent events: "There is +nothing finer than to do favours to those who are against us, +and nothing weaker, in my opinion, than to receive favours +from them. Christianity, which enjoins the first action upon +us, would certainly have enjoined the second if it were good." +Here we have a clever saying in the style of that fine period +when everybody, even the least perfect, had some grandeur +about him. I do not know whether vice is now any less, but +as for grandeur I can find none.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 23, 1836.</em>—I have decided to write a +short note concerning the castle of Valençay, describing its +foundation and history, &c., which I shall dedicate to my +grandson, Boson, in the following words:<a name="FNanchor_48" id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor"> [48]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74">74</a></span></p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p><span class="smcap">"To my Grandson!</span></p> + +<p>"All are agreed that it is disgraceful to know nothing of +the history of one's own country, and that undue modesty or +undue presumption are possible dangers if one is ignorant +of one's family history, but few are aware how greatly the +pleasure of inhabiting a beautiful spot is increased by some +knowledge of its traditions. Of these three kinds of ignorance +the last is undoubtedly of least importance, but it is also the +most common; schoolmasters may create the first, parents +the second, but only individual taste can lead us to inquire +into dates and facts connected with places which are not +generally recognised as famous. This inquiry may seem +trivial if it is not justified by any interesting recollections of +the past, but in such a case as that of Valençay, where the +house is well known for its connection with celebrities, it is +the less excusable to disregard or to confuse its history, as +we are specially called, if not to perpetuate these famous +events, at least to respect them.</p> + +<p>"It has been a pleasure to make this piece of history easier +for your study. May it encourage you to remain as noble +in heart and thought as are the glories and the traditions +of the ancient place of which I propose to tell you the +story."</p> +</div> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 24, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a very kind +letter from the Duc d'Orléans, telling me of the departure of +his brother the Duc de Nemours for Constantine. He envies +him his dangerous enterprise.</p> + +<p>M. the Prince de Joinville was at Jerusalem.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 28, 1836.</em>—All our letters from Paris +say that no ceremony has been more imposing than the +erection of the Obelisk of Luxor.<a name="FNanchor_49" id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor"> [49]</a> The royal family was +welcomed with delight. It was their first public appearance +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75">75</a></span> +in Paris since Fieschi's attempt, and the people showed their +pleasure. The Cabinet hesitated, as in the case of Compiègne, +but the royal will carried the day, and with successful results.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 30, 1836.</em>—To-morrow I propose to start +from here at eight o'clock in the morning; I shall lunch at +Beauregard,<a name="FNanchor_50" id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor"> [50]</a> dine at Tours and sleep at my own house at +Rochecotte, where M. de Talleyrand and my daughter will +join me on November 2.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 2, 1836.</em>—I have not had a moment's +rest since my arrival here, as I had to put everything in +order before the appearance of the guests whom I am expecting, +and to examine the changes that have been caused +during my absence by the construction of the artesian +well; these changes have greatly improved the immediate +neighbourhood of the Castle, though much remains to be +done.</p> + +<p>I am inclined to think that M. Thiers has uttered some +very ill-advised remarks concerning all of us. Ill-temper and +despondency usually find unmeasured expression in the case +of persons whose early education has been deficient. It was +the Spanish question which drove M. Thiers from the +Ministry, and on this point he was absolutely opposed to +M. de Talleyrand; hence the result. I have no ill-feeling +against him; it was bound to be so. Moreover, there are +very few people of whom I am sufficiently fond to hate them +profoundly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 4, 1836.</em>—What is the meaning of all +this Strasburg disturbance?<a name="FNanchor_51" id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor"> [51]</a> I am inclined to think there +is something serious in this mad Bonaparte enterprise, from +the fact that a similar movement took place the same day at +Vendôme. Six sergeants began the affair, which was immediately +crushed, though one man was killed. I do not know +whether the newspapers have anything to say of it, but it is +quite certain, as the two prefects of Tours and Blois related +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76">76</a></span> +it to M. de Talleyrand, who told me the news when he +arrived. The Grand Duchess Stephanie will be uneasy concerning +the expedition of her cousin, Louis Bonaparte.<a name="FNanchor_52" id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor"> [52]</a> I +am sorry for the Duchesse de Saint-Leu, although I think she +had some knowledge of the affair and is more inclined to +intrigue than to act a part; but she is a mother, and has +already lost her eldest son, and she must feel terrible anxiety; +it is a just though bitter punishment for her miserable +intrigues.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 7, 1836.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter +from Madame de Lieven, who tells me that the Emperor +Nicholas is indisposed. When a Russian admits that the +Emperor is indisposed he must indeed be ill. His death +would be an event of very different importance from the outbreak +at Strasburg. I do not think the French would have +any great reason to regret him.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 10, 1836.</em>—Madame Adélaïde informs +M. de Talleyrand that the King has resolved not to bring the +young Bonaparte to trial; he will simply insist upon his +immediate departure for America and exact a formal promise +that he will never return to France. Madame de Saint-Leu +has written to the King to beg for her son's life. She +is known to be hidden at Paris, where the authorities are +unwilling to leave her; nor will they allow her to live in +Switzerland. Apparently she will go to the United States +with her son. What foolishness it is which can lead to such +a result!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 11, 1836.</em>—Madame de Lieven was +saying recently before Pozzo that she would perhaps spend +the next winter at Rome. "What on earth would you find +to do in Italy?" cried Pozzo. "You could ask no one to tell +you the news except the Apollo Belvedere, and if he refused +you would say, 'Wretch, away with you!'" This sally of +Pozzo's made every one laugh, including the Princess; she is, +in fact, quite frivolous.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 20, 1836.</em>—Yesterday's letters told of +a reversal in the affairs of Portugal. The counter-revolution +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77">77</a></span> +seems to have failed at the moment when success was thought +certain, and the mishap was due to a want of understanding +between the little Van de Weyer and Lord Howard de +Walden. The disaster is complete.</p> + +<p>Madame Adélaïde tells M. de Talleyrand that the Court +will certainly not go into mourning for the death of Charles X., +as no notification of the event has been received.<a name="FNanchor_53" id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor"> [53]</a> She quotes +several examples in which mourning was not worn for this +reason, though near relatives were concerned, including the +case of the late Queen of Naples; she was aunt and mother-in-law +to the Emperor of Austria, and died in the Imperial +castle near Vienna, but the Austrian Court did not go into +mourning because the King of Naples, who was then in +Sicily, did not send a notification of his wife's death. Such +precedents are invincible.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 21, 1836.</em>—The death of Charles X. +has divided society in Paris upon every point. Every one +wears mourning according to his own fancy, from colours to +deep black by infinite gradations, and with fresh bitterness +about every yard of crape that seems to be wanting. Some +refer to him as the Comte de Marnes and Henry V., others as +Louis XIX. In short, the place is a perfect Babel, and they +are not even agreed upon the disease of which Charles X. died. +Yesterday's letters speak of nothing else, except the affairs of +Portugal. We are informed that the clumsy attempt might +easily shake the position of Lord Palmerston.<a name="FNanchor_54" id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor"> [54]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 22, 1836.</em>—The Prince de Laval writes +that M. de Ranville is staying with him at Montigny, while +M. de Polignac<a name="FNanchor_55" id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor"> [55]</a> is on the road for Munich and Goritz. I do +not know at all how this business has been arranged, nor do I +know the meaning of this meeting of Paris clergy summoned to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78">78</a></span> +the house of M. Guizot, the Minister of Public Worship. They +say that the Archbishop is preparing a manifesto in consequence, +but I have not yet received the answer to the riddle.</p> + +<p>Only the Abbé de Vertot could tell the full story of the +revolutions in Portugal. Lord Palmerston would not be +the hero of it, nor Lord Howard de Walden either. What +can one think of the base methods employed by such +diplomacy?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 28, 1836.</em>—Differences of opinion +concerning the question of mourning for Charles X. have +found their way into the royal family; the Queen, who had +voluntarily assumed mourning the first day, was vexed +because the Ministry forced her to abandon it. The Cabinet +is afraid of newspaper controversy, but has gained nothing, as +all the newspapers are in rivalry according to their political +colouring. I am much puzzled to know what shade of white, +grey, or black I shall adopt when I reach Paris; generally +speaking, the ladies of the neutral party who are also +of society wear black in company and white at Court. +The position of our diplomatists abroad will be very +embarrassing.</p> + +<p>M. de Balzac, who is a native of Touraine, has come into +the country to buy a small estate, and induced one of my +neighbours to bring him here. Unfortunately it was dreadful +weather and I was forced to invite him to dinner.</p> + +<p>I was polite, but very reserved. I am greatly afraid of +these publicists, men of letters, and writers of articles. I +never spoke a word without deep consideration, and was +delighted when he went. Moreover, he did not attract me; +his face and bearing are vulgar, and I imagine his ideas are +equally so. Undoubtedly he is a clever man, but his conversation +is neither easy nor light, but, on the contrary, very +dull. He watched and examined all of us most minutely, +especially M. de Talleyrand.</p> + +<p>I could very well have done without this visit, and should +have avoided it if I had been able. He aims at the extraordinary, +and relates a thousand incidents about himself, +of which I believe none.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79">79</a></span> +The Prince de Laval informed me that M. de Polignac has +not yet been able to profit by the freedom which was granted +him, as he was too ill to move at the moment arranged for his +departure.<a name="FNanchor_56" id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor"> [56]</a> He asks to be transported to the nearest frontier, +Mons or Calais, to avoid any route of which he could not +endure the fatigue.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 2, 1836.</em>—The Archbishop's letter +concerning the convocation of the clergy is a bad one, +because of its fault-finding, which is an unsuitable characteristic +in an ecclesiastic whose finest quality is evangelical +simplicity; but we must also admit that he must have +been shocked by the attempt to influence the clergy +directly, and that the prohibition of prayers instituted by +the Church is somewhat too revolutionary, and I wish we +could reform revolutionary ways more definitely. We cling +to them out of fear, and this timidity, which is too obvious, +brings us into isolation abroad and encourages enemies at +home.</p> + +<p>The Duc d'Angoulême will certainly style himself +Louis XIX. and his wife the Queen; she wished it to be so. +However, immediately after the death of Charles X. they +sent all the insignia of royalty into the room of the Duc de +Bordeaux, declaring that even if events were favourable +they never wished to reign in France. In any case the +notifications were issued under the incognito title of +Comte de Marnes. The young Prince is called Monseigneur +at Goritz. He and his sister are staying with his uncle and +aunt.</p> + +<p>M. de Polignac wrote to M. Molé after the death of +Charles X., saying positively that he would be grateful to the +King of the French for permission to leave Ham, and thus +obtained his permit. M. Peyronnet wrote in charcoal on +his prison wall, "I ask mercy only from God," which I think +he had hardly the right to say, since he left his prison in very +lively spirits. He would not see M. de Polignac again, even +at the last moment.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 15, 1836.</em>—I shall certainly leave here +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80">80</a></span> +to-morrow evening, and shall be at Paris in the afternoon of +the day following.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>[The two correspondents whose letters furnish material +for these memoirs spent a few months together at Paris, +so that the memoirs were interrupted, and recommenced +in 1837.]</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81">81</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="medium">CHAPTER II<br /> +1837</h2> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 17, 1837.</em>—The new Ministry, which entered +upon office the day before yesterday, and is destined to +immortalise the date of April 15, as different Governments +are designated by such dates, will have a stern conflict to +wage, and I hope, for the sake of its leader, M. Molé, that it +will emerge with honour from the struggle. The <cite>Journal de +Paris</cite> offers a frank Doctrinaire opposition; the <cite>Journal des +Débats</cite> pronounces a funeral oration over the last Ministry +and offers peace and support to the new one. All this promises +neither reality, sincerity, fidelity, nor stability, and I +hardly know to whom or to what it is reasonable to trust in +the sphere of political relations. M. Royer-Collard came +to see me this morning before going to the Chamber of +Deputies; he did not seem to think that the new Ministry +would survive one session.<a name="FNanchor_57" id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor"> [57]</a></p> + +<p>M. Thiers came to dine with us, among other guests, and +talked largely, as usual. He came from the Chamber, where +they had in vain awaited the official proclamation of the new +Ministry which had been announced. The King was to take +the Electress,<a name="FNanchor_58" id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor"> [58]</a> who is at Paris at this moment incognito as +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82">82</a></span> +the Comtesse d'Arco, to visit Versailles, but as the council +lasted from ten in the morning till five in the afternoon +the King was unable to go out or the Ministers to +appear before the Chamber. The incident produced a bad +effect upon the Electress, who is said to be irritable and +scornful.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 19, 1837.</em>—Madame de Castellane, who came +to see me this morning, was very painfully affected by last +night's session in the Chamber, and told me that the extreme +length of yesterday's council was due to a keen discussion +concerning the complete repeal of the law of appanage and the +advisability of leaving blank the appanage of the Duc d'Orléans +in the law which was to be presented to the Chamber on the +occasion of his marriage with Princess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; +the Duc d'Orléans, who was present at the council, +was anxious that a blank space should be left, and eventually +gained his point.</p> + +<p>Hardly had Madame de Castellane left my house than +Madame de Lieven came in; she came to ask me to dinner +to-day. She told me a saying which is current concerning +the new Ministry, and is borrowed from a new invention; +they call it the deodorised Ministry.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the morning I had a visit from M. de +Tocqueville, who came to me from the Chamber, where he +had witnessed the solemn entry of the Ministry. He said +that the entry took place amid the most absolute silence; +there was not a word or a gesture, as if the benches had +been empty, and as if one had been in the middle of the ice +upon Lake Ladoga, to quote a later remark by Madame de +Lieven. The same silence prevailed during M. Molé's speech, +and when the Ministry retired in a body to make their way +to the Chamber of Peers there was a murmur of dissatisfaction +which drove back MM. de Salvandy and de Rosamel, who +had come to resume their places upon the Ministerial bench. +In the ensuing debate Marshal Clauzel seems to have cut a +poor figure, but M. Jaubert was most incisive, and at his +remarks upon the provisional state of affairs malicious +laughter against the Cabinet burst out on all sides. On +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83">83</a></span> +the whole the impression was most discouraging for the +new Ministry.</p> + +<p>After our dinner the Duc de Noailles came in his turn to +give an account of the Ministerial entry into the Chamber of +Peers. M. Molé said a few short and confused words; M. de +Brézé said that he thought the speech too vague, and asked +for some explanation of the reason for the dissolution of +the last Cabinet. M. Molé attempted to reply without +committing himself, with the result, doubtless by mistake, +that he used the word "categorical" to characterise the +brevity of his words. Thereupon M. Villemain said maliciously +that the speech of the President of the Council was anything +rather than categorical, and that he would like to know what +was going to happen concerning the law of non-revelation. +M. de Montalivet then got up, and is said to have made an +excellent speech. He would have left the Chamber with a +thoroughly good impression, had not M. Siméon, the promoter +of the law of non-revelation, announced that his speech +was ready. This will be a great embarrassment for the +Ministry, as they would have preferred to allow this proposed +law to be forgotten.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 22, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I had a visit from the +Duc d'Orléans, who had just learnt the vote of the Chamber +concerning his marriage dotation, and was satisfied both with +the form and matter of it. He seems to me inclined to +spend half of the million allotted to household expenses in +charity to the workmen of Lyons, in bank-books bought for +unfortunate people in the savings-banks of the country, in +clothes for a large number of children in orphanages, and, in +short, in good works. He is very pleased with his marriage, +and in an excellent temper. The Princess Helena wishes to +be escorted from Weimar by an envoy of France, and a +suitable person is being sought for this mission. I should be +glad to see the Baron de Montmorency obtain the honour. The +Princess will see the King of Prussia at Potsdam. Her portrait +has not yet arrived. There are still hopes that the marriage +will take place before June 15. As the Princess is not to be +married by procuration, and is not yet, consequently, the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84">84</a></span> +Duchesse d'Orléans, her household will not go to meet her +at the frontier. There she will be met only by some +member of the King's household, and perhaps by one of +the Queen's ladies; in any case, she is coming accompanied +by her step-mother, the Dowager Grand Duchess of +Mecklenburg.</p> + +<p>Meunier will probably be pardoned on the occasion of +the marriage.<a name="FNanchor_59" id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor"> [59]</a> The trial of Meunier presents no interest +as regards the character of the individuals concerned, +nor is their language in any way dramatic. The affair +is much inferior to that of Fieschi, or even of Alibaud, +and the only effect produced has been one of disgust, +which is the best effect upon the public that could be +produced.</p> + +<p>The ridiculous compliment of M. Dupin to the Prince +Royal is well commented upon this morning in the <cite>Journal +de Paris</cite>. The King would not allow his son to receive the +congratulations of the Chambers except in his own presence, +which induced M. Sémonville to say that he would have +thought he was abdicating if any other course had been +followed.</p> + +<p>I dined at the house of M. and Madame Mollien with +M. and Madame Bertin de Veaux, M. Guizot, and M. de +Vandœuvre. There was much talk of the halting speech of +M. Barthe, at the end of which he suddenly came to a standstill, +of the extremely poor appearance of the Ministry, and +of the almost inevitable possibility of a duel between MM. +Thiers and Guizot in the course of a session which will bring +up so many burning questions. The two champions will +deliver their blows upon the backs of the Ministry, which +will probably succumb under their assault. This remark is +fairly general, and is not my property. Yesterday nothing +more than skirmishing went on.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85">85</a></span> +<em>Paris, April 26, 1837.</em>—I hear of discussions in England +upon the Spanish question. M. Thiers gave assurances the +other day that the English Ministry was ready to leave Spain +to its destiny. He deduced, with some fear for the reigning +French dynasty, the conclusion that Don Carlos would be +triumphant. It is true that this question is concerned with +that of intervention, upon which he used to lay so much stress.</p> + +<p>The Duchesse d'Albuféra has been greatly agitated by the +duel of her son-in-law, M. de La Redorte, who fought the +editor of the <cite>Corsaire</cite> on account of an insulting article +which appeared two days ago in this wretched newspaper, +apparently attacking both the person and the opinions of +M. de La Redorte. The duel was fought with pistols, and +the editor was wounded in the hand; it is thought that he +will lose a finger. Social distinctions are destroyed by the +excesses of the Press.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 27, 1837.</em>—This morning I saw Madame +Adélaïde, who told me that the King had just signed the +commutation of Meunier's penalty. She also told me that +the Princess of Mecklenburg and her step-mother would +reach the French frontier on May 25; on May 28, St. +Ferdinand's Day, there would be a birthday celebration for +the Duc d'Orléans at Fontainebleau, and the marriage would +take place on the 31st.</p> + +<p>Our guests at dinner were the Princesse de Lieven, the +Duc de Noailles, Labouchère, M. Thiers, and Matusiewicz, who +has returned much aged from Naples, of which he gives a bad +account, both for its climate and its social resources. Thus +the guests were somewhat heterogeneous, which was due to +M. de Talleyrand's absence of mind, but all went off very well +and the conversation was lively, especially between M. Thiers +and Madame de Lieven. She was positively coquettish +towards him—I use the word advisedly, because no other +would express the fact. M. Thiers gave an account of the +Chamber, continually repeating in a special tone of voice +which evoked involuntary laughter, "Poor Ministry!" At +the same time he patronises the Ministry, though he would +never consent, I think, to be patronised at that price. It +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86">86</a></span> +would suit him to keep the Ministry alive until the next +session, but his success is doubtful, for, as he says himself, an +invalid can be kept alive, but not a dead man. In yesterday's +session the Ministry equivocated, as usual, and eventually +decided against Marshal Soult, which caused much ill-temper +on the Left because the Doctrinaires shouted on every side, +"Settle it!" "Settle it!" They said that the scene was quite +scandalous. After Madame de Lieven took her leave the +gentlemen stayed on for some time, and talked of the changes +which the schism had introduced into society, even into the +neutral body of it. They discussed the influence of the <em>salons</em> +and of the women who controlled them. M. Thiers classed +them as follows: The <em>salon</em> of Madame de Lieven is the observatory +of Europe; that of Madame de Ségur is purely Doctrinaire, +with no concessions; that of Madame de La Redorte +is entirely in the power of M. Thiers; with Madame de Flahaut +the convenience of the Duc d'Orléans is the general desire, and +with M. de Talleyrand the convenience of the King; the house +of Madame de Broglie is for the 11th of October and for +the concession, though the most bitter of concessions; the +cabinet of Madame de Dino is alone guided by the most perfect +independence of mind and judgment. My share is thus by no +means the worst, though, to tell the truth, it was pronounced +in my presence.</p> + +<p>The German newspapers announce the death of M. Ancillon, +who had been ill for a long time, when the doctor ordered +him a draught and a liniment; he explained the matter to +Madame Ancillon, who was starting for a concert. When +she came back she perceived that a mistake had been made, +and a few hours afterwards the invalid was dead. The poor +man was unfortunate in marriage. He began by marrying +a wife who might have been his mother, then one who might +have been his daughter, and finally this Belgian beauty, who +was, I think, the worst of the three.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 29, 1837.</em>—This morning I saw M. Royer-Collard, +who spoke of the session in the Chamber of Deputies +on the previous evening, when a million had been voted for the +Queen of the Belgians. The result, for which he also voted, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87">87</a></span> +was doubtless good, but the debate seems to have been very +ominous for the Government, and M. de Cormenin by no +means received a thrashing, but held the upper hand. The +same impression was given to me by two others who were +present at the session.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 30, 1837.</em>—M. Thiers came to see me this +morning before the session of the Chamber. He confirmed +the general report of the session which discussed the grant +to the Queen of the Belgians; but the object of his visit was +to complain of the Princesse de Lieven. He has suddenly +seen what I had foreseen long ago, that she did not take him +seriously, but brought him out and put him forward as an +actor. He has too much common sense not to see the +ridiculous side of this and not to feel it. He asked if I had +noticed it and if others had seen it. I told him that no one +had mentioned it to me, but that I thought a little more +reserve in his language in a <em>salon</em> which he himself called the +observatory of Europe would not be out of place. I advised +him, however, to remain on good terms with the Princess, +who is really fond of him, and whose wit and easy conversation +please him also. I think he found an opportunity the +other day of letting drop a few words to her that frightened +her considerably. There is no harm in that, as she is a +person with whom one must remain upon good terms and yet +keep in check.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 1, 1837.</em>—The Duc de Broglie is going to meet +the Princess of Mecklenburg at Fulda, on this side of Weimar, +not to marry her, but to offer his compliments and his escort. +The wife of Marshal Lobau will be the Princess's lady-of-honour.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I had a letter from the Archbishop of Paris, +who sends me a copy of the answer from Rome, which he +had just received, concerning his last difficulties with reference +to the archiepiscopal estate. Rome entirely approves +his conduct, and leaves him free to conduct any transaction +which may satisfy his general interests. This last phrase +is distinctly vague. I shall probably go to-morrow afternoon +to thank the Archbishop and to learn some further +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88">88</a></span> +details. He adds in his letter that he is certain that the +Government have received an answer similar to that which +he communicates to me.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 2, 1837.</em>—I am assured that the Prussian +Minister here, Baron von Werther, will take the place of +M. Ancillon at Berlin. He is offering some objection to the +proposal, but it is thought that he will accept.</p> + +<p>The Marquis de Mornay has been nicknamed the Sosthenes +of the July revolution—amusing, but very true.</p> + +<p>I have seen M. Royer-Collard, who thought that the law +concerning secret funds would pass, but would be a mortal +blow to the Cabinet.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening I went to the Court reception held on +the 1st of May.<a name="FNanchor_60" id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor"> [60]</a> There was an enormous crowd, including +every type of beauty and ugliness, of well and badly dressed +people. The Duc d'Orléans did not appear, as he is suffering +from a severe sore throat and inflammation of the eyes. He +is wise to take care of himself, as he has only three weeks for +that purpose.</p> + +<p>I was told at the Château that in a morning session of +the Chamber M. Jaubert had positively flayed the Ministry, +and that to-day's session might easily end in their overthrow. +I hardly think so, as no one is anxious to seize their +inheritance.</p> + +<p>Rumours are also current of an important victory said to +be won by Don Carlos.</p> + +<p>Apparently I did not mention what Matusiewicz told me +about the new Queen of Naples, concerning whom I asked +him many questions. She is the Archduchess Theresa of +whom so much was heard last year. He says that she is +agreeable, witty, kind, and nice, with no haughtiness or fine +manners, and nothing of the princess about her. The King +is said to be deeply in love with her.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 4, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I went to the Sacred +Heart to see the Archbishop. I found him delighted with +the answer from Rome, and not anxious to make any public +parade of it. Whatever formalities the other side might +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89">89</a></span> +raise, he was anxious to use the liberty given him from +Rome to handle the whole question in a pacific spirit; in +short, he was calmer and gentler than I had seen him for a +long time.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 5, 1837.</em>—M. Molé, who dined here yesterday, +said that his colleague, M. Martin du Nord, would make +a kind of apology to-day to the Chamber for his outburst of +the day before yesterday. M. Thiers has harangued his +forces and calmed their feelings.</p> + +<p>The ratification of the marriage contract of the Duc +d'Orléans has come to hand from Mecklenburg; the illness +of Herr von Plessen, the Mecklenburg Minister, had +prevented him from travelling to the spot where the ratifications +are to be exchanged, and some delay was feared, +which would have been the more prolonged as the Minister +has since died. M. Bresson therefore sent a bearer to him +with the Act; he was almost at his last gasp when he signed +it, and died three hours afterwards.</p> + +<p>Herr von Lutteroth says that the portrait of the Prince +Royal which he was commissioned to take to the Princess +Helena produced an excellent impression. Two attacks of +influenza made it impossible to finish the portrait of the +Princess; in her place I would not send anything. Herr von +Lutteroth is full of the delightful qualities of the Princess, +although he admits that her nose is by no means distinguished +and her teeth rather bad. Otherwise she is admirable, +especially her figure, which is charming. When he dined +with her her gloves were too large and she wore black shoes +which obviously were not made at Paris. The vexatious +point is that the Duc d'Orléans has an obstinate cold on his +chest; he coughs a great deal and his voice is very weak, but +he is taking care of himself, and wisely.</p> + +<p>Mecklenburg princesses have no dowry, but when they +marry the States vote them two or three hundred thousand +francs as a voluntary gift. The Duc d'Orléans has refused +this vote, to the great delight, it is said, of the people of +Mecklenburg. The Duc de Broglie will be accompanied +upon his mission by the Comte Foy, son of the famous +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90">90</a></span> +General, the Comte d'Haussonville, MM. Léon de Laborde, +Philippe de Chabot, and Doudain, the last-named with the +title of First Secretary to the embassy.<a name="FNanchor_61" id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor"> [61]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 6, 1837.</em>—After a visit from M. Royer-Collard, +and as though by way of contrast, I went yesterday +morning and waited for a long time at Madame Bautrand's, +the famous costumier. I wanted to choose a few things for +the entertainments at Fontainebleau, and spent an interesting +time over it. In the first place there were the most delightful +articles, then there was a crowd of people waiting for +some mark of favour, and messages were coming from the +Château hastily summoning the great personage. One really +might have thought one's self in the rooms of a party leader.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening I had a note from Madame de +Castellane written after the session of the Chamber, giving +the following account of it: M. Martin du Nord offered +a reasonable explanation; M. Augustin Giraud vigorously +attacked M. Molé, who returned an admirable reply; M. +Vatry challenged the great champions to enter the arena by +proposing an amendment; M. de Lamartine, in a wearisome +speech entirely off the point, aroused M. Odilon Barrot, who +then delivered one of his finest speeches; M. Guizot in his +turn made an excellent reply.</p> + +<p>I was awakened just now to receive a note from M. Molé, +telling me that M. Thiers, shaken and almost converted by +yesterday's session, is anxious to overthrow the Ministry and +so force M. Guizot to come forward with his friends, with the +object of overthrowing him in turn; he adds that M. Dupin +reminded M. Thiers of his obligations, telling him that such +action would be dishonourable. M. Thiers seemed to waver +once more, and announced that he would summon his friends +again. M. Molé sends me this news, asking me to discuss it +with M. Thiers from Dupin's point of view. He has applied +to the wrong person, for the burnt child fears the fire, and I +have too keen a recollection of last year's scene to put my +hand into a wasp's nest of that kind. I prefer not to meddle +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91">91</a></span> +with what does not concern me, but in any case to-day's work +will decide the case of the Ministry.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 7, 1837.</em>—I did not go out yesterday morning, +and left my door open, so certain visitors came in: M. Jules +d'Entraigues, the Duc de Noailles, and the little Princess +Schönberg. All were full of the session of the previous +evening and of M. Guizot's magnificent speech. He really +performed admirably, and aroused the deepest parliamentary +emotion in the Chamber.</p> + +<p>About five o'clock M. de Tocqueville arrived. He came +from the session and had just heard Thiers, who had +replied to Guizot. It seems that no one ever showed +greater power; it is he who saved the Ministry and secured +the passing of the law.<a name="FNanchor_62" id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor"> [62]</a> He added that Thiers spoke quietly +and coldly, seeming to avoid any oratorical effects, and not +attempting to outdo his rival in dramatic display, but anxious +only to deliver a blow, and he is said to have succeeded.</p> + +<p>At dinner our guests were the Duchesse d'Albuféra, M. and +Madame de La Redorte, MM. Thiers and Mignet. M. Thiers +was well pleased with his day's work, and gave a warm +tribute to Guizot, roundly asserting that he would never have +been so foolish as to try and eclipse him, seeing that that +was impossible; he had attempted only to make his position +impossible, and that he had done. He then gave us his +speech, which seemed to me to be strikingly clear, sensible, +and practical. He told me that M. Royer-Collard had +almost fallen upon his neck, saying, "You have killed them!"</p> + +<p>In the evening I went to Madame Molé's, to a dinner +given in return for that which I recently gave when the +Electress was present. The only subject of conversation +was the session in the Chamber. The Ministry were as +pleased as if they had been successful, though there is +no possibility that they will triumph. As I came back I +called upon Madame de Lieven. She had heard Guizot on +the previous evening, but not Thiers in the morning. Thus +she had remained entirely under Guizot's influence, which +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92">92</a></span> +was the more appropriate as he came in himself delighted +with the concert of praise by which he has been received; +but in reality he felt the blow had been struck. I, who +know him well, thought his feelings quite obvious.</p> + +<p>As I write I am quite deafened by the noise of the drum +which is continually beaten for the great review of the +National Guard which the King is to hold to-day. Heaven +grant that all goes off well. I am most anxious.</p> + +<p>I know that Herr von Werther and Apponyi are but +moderately satisfied with the political doctrines expressed by +M. Guizot in his speech of the day before yesterday; they +were expecting a less limited and less middle-class system. +There they were wrong, for M. Guizot's social ideas are +alone appropriate to the age and to the country as it is +now constituted.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 8, 1837.</em>—I should be delighted if the last +piece of news I have heard were true, that the Grand +Duchess Stephanie is to marry her daughter to the Duke of +Leuchtenberg; there would then be no possibility of her +marrying one of our princes, and I should be equally pleased +because I am not anxious to see among them a nephew of +the Prefect of Blois.<a name="FNanchor_63" id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor"> [63]</a></p> + +<p>The day before yesterday, in the evening, I met the Marquis +of Conyngham at the house of Madame de Lieven. He related +that the Duchess of Kent, who is always doing tactless things, +recently invited Lord Grey to dinner together with Lady Jersey. +Their respective rank required that Lord Grey should take +Lady Jersey into dinner; Sir John Conroy requested Lord +Grey to do so, but he absolutely refused, and Lady Jersey +was taken in by some one of lower rank. Both were keenly +irritated in consequence.</p> + +<p>It seems certain that the Duchesse de Saint-Leu is dying. +The physician Lisfranc, who has returned from Arenenberg, +says so. The poor woman has mismanaged her life and her +position, and she is expiating her fault most cruelly. It is +dreadful to survive her eldest son and to die far away from her +second son, entirely cut off from her family; this misfortune +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93">93</a></span> +disarms the severe criticism which one might be tempted to +utter concerning her.</p> + +<p>Yesterday was held the great review, and all my rooms were +filled from eleven o'clock in the morning. From our windows +we had a perfect view of the march past, which followed the +Rue de Rivoli, and then passed in front of the Obelisk, +where were the King, the Queen, the Princes, and a very +numerous following. Sixty thousand National Guards and +twenty thousand line troops marched past. Previously the +King had gone round the ranks within the Cour du Carrousel +and on the Esplanade des Invalides. The National Guard +shouted "Vive le Roi!" most vigorously, and the line troops +still more so. The wind was cold and sharp, but the sun was +bright. The King returned to the Château across the garden +of the Tuileries. Thus the King's state of siege has come to +an end, and a good thing too. We must hope upon the one +hand that it will not often be thought necessary to renew +this form of proceeding, and that on the other hand some +relaxation may be possible of those excessive precautions +which spoilt the effect of the show, and which were carried to +such an extent yesterday that I have never seen anything +sadder or more painful; the embankments, the Rue de Rivoli, +the square, and the Tuileries were forbidden to every one +except men in uniform, and men, women, children, little dogs, +and every living being were driven away; it was a complete +desert, and every one was blockaded in his house. My son +Valençay, to get from his house in the Rue de Université to +mine, was obliged to go by the Pont d'Auteuil! This state +of things was maintained until the King returned to his +rooms. All the police were on duty, and the posts of the +National Guard were doubled upon every side by a row of +police and municipal guards surrounding the royal group. +The town looked as though deserted or plague-stricken, with +a conquering army marching through without finding a +stopping-place or inhabitants.</p> + +<p>After our dinner I went to inquire for the Queen and to +say farewell to Madame Adélaïde, who is starting for Brussels +this morning. There had been a great military dinner of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94">94</a></span> +two hundred and sixty people in the Hall of the Marshals; +all were in full dress, pleased and animated.</p> + +<p>I concluded the evening with Madame de Castellane, where +I found M. Molé, who was very pleased with the result of the +review.</p> + +<p>In my wanderings I discovered that the last speech of +M. Thiers was gaining an increasing hold on men's minds. +It is thought that, without abandoning his general theories, +he was pointing to a practical solution which would satisfy +all positive spirits; people are much obliged by the fact that +in this speech he had twice separated from the Left without +hurting their feelings; in short, his clever words have dissipated +some of the fears which he inspired and removed some +of the obstacles which stood between himself and the power. +This impression I have received from many different sides, +and except the Doctrinaires and the extremists on the Left +every one is feeling it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 9, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I had a long visit from +M. Royer-Collard, whose admiration for the speech of M. +Thiers is at its height. He praises the occasion, the propriety +of it, and above all the truth, not only its personal +truth—that is to say, its individual sincerity—but its truth +with reference to the actual state of opinion, which the +speaker alone has correctly appreciated. He said it was one +of those speeches over which one could never think too long, +which grips the reader more and more, and the effect of +which will steadily increase. He admits that the session +when MM. Odilon Barrot and Guizot spoke was more +interesting to watch, and that the two actors played their +parts very well, but that they were merely acting; that they +showed themselves good orators, but not statesmen; that +both relied upon extremist opinions which were worn out; +that M. Guizot in particular was no longer a man of his +age, but an <em>émigré</em>; and that this point had been admirably +brought out by Thiers. M. Royer-Collard thinks the speech +of Guizot imprudent and irritating, in which respect he says +that Guizot followed his arrogant disposition. In short, he +says many things; he says them in my sitting-room, but +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95">95</a></span> +repeats them in the Chamber, at the Academy, to each and +all, and makes it his business to do so. This is very useful to +M. Thiers, in whose speech there is something too fine and +subtle to be understood without a commentary.</p> + +<p>I did not go out after M. Royer's call, but stayed at home +to read the life of Raphael by M. Quatremère; the book is +lacking in warmth and vivacity, but it is well written. It is +most restful at the present time to return to the exquisite +art of an age when men of genius were complete, because +they possessed every shade of genius, if one may use the +phrase. Books of this kind give me an inexpressible longing +for Italy.</p> + +<p>In the evening I looked in at the Austrian Embassy, where +Madame de Lieven told me a large amount of gossip from +London. One of her stories was as follows: At the last +Levée the King thanked the Turkish Ambassador aloud and +through an interpreter for postponing a dinner which he was +giving, on account of the death of Lady Delisle, his natural +daughter, and thus showing him a respect which his own +family had refused; this remark was aimed at the Duchess +of Kent. At the last Drawing-room the Queen could not be +present, as she was ill, and it was held by Princess Augusta; +the Duchess of Kent arrived with her daughter; the King +heartily embraced the latter without noticing her mother, +and seeing Sir John Conroy in the throne-room he ordered +the Chamberlain to send him out. Finally, when the Prince +of Linange came to his mother's house, the Duchess of Kent, +with his wife, who is not his equal in birth, the King sent +Lord Conyngham to the Duchess to say that he would receive +his daughter-in-law, but could not permit her to enter his +private apartments; the Duchess declined to receive Lord +Conyngham, and sent a message to say that if he came to +pay a private call she would see him with pleasure, but that +she would not receive him as the King's messenger, and that +he need only write down what he had to say. Lord Conyngham +then sent her a letter, to which she replied by an epistle +of twelve pages, enumerating all her supposed grievances +against the King, and concluding with the statement that if +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96">96</a></span> +her daughter-in-law were not received as a princess she would +never set foot in the King's house again. She had several +copies made of the letter, and sent them to all the members +of the Cabinet. Lord Conyngham, who told all this to +Madame de Lieven, in spite of his Whig principles, went on +to say that the position of the English Ministry was unpleasant, +as their relations with the King were disturbed and +they were unpopular in the country, and that the difficulties +concerning the Bank and the progress of affairs in Spain +were very unpleasant incidents for the Cabinet.</p> + +<p>It is settled that the Duc de Coigny is to be knight-of-honour +to the Duchesse d'Orléans. He is naturally impolite, +his habits are uncivilised, and he has only one hand, +so that he will not be able to offer his hand to the Princess. +An equally certain appointment is that of the Comtesse +Anatole de Montesquiou as first lady to accompany the +Princess, and to take the place of the lady-of-honour, whose +delicate health will often prevent her from performing her +duties.<a name="FNanchor_64" id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor"> [64]</a> This is an excellent choice. Madame de Montesquiou +is forty-six years of age, her reputation is unblemished, +she has been pretty and is still pleasant to look upon, her +manners are quiet and simple and are the exact expression of +her life and character. No better choice and no person better +suited for the position could be found.</p> + +<p>The newspapers say that a subscription is being raised +in the Chamber of Deputies to print fifty thousand copies +of M. Guizot's speech. M. Martin du Nord, one of the +members of the present Cabinet, has given a subscription, +and thus confirmed the generally accepted opinion that he is +secretly a Doctrinaire and a traitor to the Cabinet. Thereupon +M. Molé went to the King to ask for the removal of +M. Martin du Nord or to offer his own resignation. I have +not yet heard the conclusion of this fresh complication.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 10, 1837.</em>—At the time of writing yesterday I +had not read the <cite>Moniteur</cite>, which announced the amnesty.<a name="FNanchor_65" id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor"> [65]</a> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97">97</a></span> +I knew that M. Molé had long been anxious to see this +measure passed, but I think that the speech of M. Thiers +encouraged him in his design and accelerated the execution +of it. I have heard people talking of nothing else all day. +Men's minds are entirely occupied with it, and their attention +is thus diverted from the peerage given to M. Bresson, which +again is to be explained by this marriage. What a fortunate +man he is! Undoubtedly he is capable, but circumstances +have helped him with a speed and consistency rarely found +in human destiny. To return to the great event of the +amnesty, I will say that high society strongly approves of it, +the more so as it has arrived unexpectedly and not been +extorted by party importunity; so it is an act of mercy, and +not of weakness. The sharp-sighted regard it as another +act of hostility to the Doctrinaires rather than an act of +kindness to the political prisoners—as much as to say that +the measure could not be passed while the Doctrinaires were +in office, but now that we have separated from them we +hasten to grant it. This will isolate them yet more in the +country. I repeat there are people who regard this measure +as a consequence of M. Thiers' speech, and even as directly +due to his influence. The Doctrinaires are most infuriated, +and those peers who are friendly to them announce that all +the contumacious persons will come up for judgment, and +that the peers will then go off to their country seats instead +of taking their places. The following story had a wide circulation +yesterday: M. Jaubert, in speaking of the amnesty to +M. Dupin, said to him: "It is a little hard that after leaving +to us all the odium of the severe measures which we have +courageously defended during the crisis and danger we should +now be deprived of the credit of showing mercy." M. Dupin +replied: "It is very sad, but you have one consolation, namely, +that Persil will order the medal to be struck." (M. Persil +is a Doctrinaire and Comptroller of the Mint.) The saying +is a smart one. Those who approve the amnesty also urge, +and with some reason, that it will obliterate the ill-effect +produced by the excessive precautions on the day of the +review.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98">98</a></span> +Yesterday I was at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where +Sigalon, who has just arrived from Rome, had placed the +magnificent copy of the <cite>Last Judgment</cite> of Michael Angelo, +that masterpiece which is fading, like all the frescoes in the +Vatican. The copy is the same size as the original, and forms +the background of a hall, to which has been given the +form and dimensions of the Sistine Chapel. It is the most +beautiful and surprising thing that can be imagined. I was +quite overwhelmed. Variety, richness, and boldness of composition +are so combined that one rests stupefied before the +power of such genius. In the same room have been placed +casts of different statues by Michael Angelo which also have +arrived from Italy, and complete one's admiration for this +great man. The statue of Lorenzo de' Medici and the statue +of Day and Night are admirable. We then saw the charming +gateway to the castle of Anet and the beautiful door of the +castle of Gaillon, both masterpieces of the Renaissance; then +came the interior courtyard, adorned with fountains and +fragments of ancient work, which was very fine. The building +in itself is in excellent style; it contains fine models of +all classes and ages of art, which will be added to. They +form a collection as curious as it is interesting, and add a +new attraction to Paris.</p> + +<p>Thence we went on to the new Church of Our Lady of +Loretto. It seemed to me extremely heavy and full of +motley ornaments, and had it not been for some fine pictures +I should have found little agreeable to look at. It is said +to be in the style of the Italian churches, which I do not +know; but to judge from this specimen I would rather say +my prayers under the lofty, bold, and austere vaults, the +hewn stone and Gothic arches of Notre-Dame and of Saint-Etienne +du Mont, than amid the glaring colours of this +Southern imitation. We finished our wanderings by a visit +to the Church of the Madeleine. The interior at present is +in exact correspondence with the outside, and it seems that +Calchas is about to sacrifice Iphigenia upon it, to such an +extent have mythological subjects apparently pervaded this +fine building. They are already beginning to gild the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99">99</a></span> +arches and the capitals of the columns, pretending that the +white stone, though it is much enriched by different kinds of +marbling, is too cold to the eye. Thus they are preparing a +disagreeable contrast between the outside and the inside. I +cannot understand the vagaries of Christian worship.</p> + +<p>In the evening at Madame de Lieven's house I saw Berryer, +who does not yield to M. Royer in his admiration for +M. Thiers' speech. I heard that M. Martin du Nord had +given way upon the question of his subscription for printing +Guizot's speech, as upon other points. For one who calls +himself a member of the Opposition, he does not seem to +oppose very strenuously.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 11, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I had a call from the +excellent Abbé Dupanloup. We were mutually anxious to +meet, in the interests of Pauline, before the general departure +for the country. As usual, I was touched and pleased by his +kind and spiritual conversation. We talked of our hope +that the amnesty will inspire the Government with courage +to reopen the Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, the +closing of which is the greatest scandal of the July revolution; +seeing that acts of mercy extend from Ham to the +Republic and to la Vendée, continued vindictiveness towards +the church and to leave the Cross broken would seem to +me most inconsistent. The church should be reopened +without considering any difficulties that the Archbishop may +raise. He should thus be forced to appoint a reliable priest, +and then to go and express his thanks to the Tuileries, but +he should set to work at once while the effect of the amnesty +remains all-powerful; at such a moment there is no fear of +any movement in the district, and this action would only be +the strongest answer to the Doctrinaires, whose tactics are to +represent the amnesty as the price of the compact made with +the Left. To reopen the Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois +would restore the balance. I think it would be a politic +move as well as a religious restoration; if we delay too long +the religious newspapers and people will begin to cry out, +with reason, against the injustice of it, and any later action +will seem like a concession to their complaints; then the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100">100</a></span> +Opposition will pounce upon it and foment irritation with the +measure. Everything, therefore, should be quite spontaneous, +the religious restoration no less than the royal mercy. I +think they will take the matter in hand; it should have been +done already, in my opinion.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 14, 1837.</em>—The <cite>Moniteur</cite> of yesterday, heaven +be praised, contains an ordinance by which the Church of +Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is to be restored for worship. I +am delighted. The Baron de Montmorency, who came to +see me in the morning, had dined yesterday at the Château, +where the Queen wept with joy at the news.</p> + +<p>In the evening I went to pay a farewell visit at the Hôtel +de Broglie, where the amnesty was very unfavourably received, +as Madame de Broglie is very anxious to fortify Princess +Helena in her Protestantism.</p> + +<p>I then went on to the Duchesse de Montmorency, where I +heard very bad news of the Prince de Laval. He had caught +a slight cold and had taken no care of himself, but had gone +to the races at Chantilly in very bitter weather. His malady +grew worse, and now causes great anxiety. I should be +grieved indeed if any misfortune happened to him, for in +spite of his absurdities and foolishness he has a good heart +and is a good friend.</p> + +<p>I finished the evening with Madame de Castellane. M. +Molé came in and told us that the Archbishop, accompanied +by two of his Vicars-General, had called upon him that +evening and upon the Keeper of the Seals after a visit to the +King. It seems that his appearance in the Ministerial <em>salons</em> +made a great sensation. Before his visit the Archbishop had +quietly had the church blessed. Mass was said there this +morning. A week will be spent in necessary repairs, and next +Sunday the new vicar will be installed. As M. Dupanloup +has refused this post, the choice has fallen upon M. Demerson, +the priest of Saint-Séverin, undoubtedly the most distinguished +ecclesiastic in the diocese. He is the confessor of Madame +Andral, and the friend of her father. M. Royer-Collard +has often spoken to me of him and thinks a great deal of +him.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101">101</a></span> +<em>Paris, May 15, 1837.</em>—Yesterday evening I was at the +Tuileries. I found the King delighted with a visit that he +had paid in the morning to the Botanical Gardens to see the +new hothouses they have been setting up. He was well +applauded as he went by; in short, he seems to have grown +young again. Everybody about him is well pleased. He +went there without an escort, and spent two hours walking +with the Minister of the Interior and of Education, with the +Prefect of Police and one <em>aide-de-camp</em>. The crowd kept on +increasing, and these gentlemen, who saw all the horrible faces +from the Rue Mouffetard and that quarter thronging round +the King, were dying with fear, but the King was delighted, +and it was impossible to induce him to go indoors. He was +most heartily cheered by all the crowd. I think, however, +that it would not be advisable for him often to make such +trials of his popularity.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 16, 1837.</em>—The Prince de Laval is not getting +on well. He has been bled a second time, and the doctors +say that his condition is serious.</p> + +<p>It is possible that M. Dupanloup is ambitious; I do not +know him well enough to be positive. He is gentle, discreet, +moderate, with a knowledge of the world, a fine command of +language and conversational tact, and, in short, possesses every +quality which the spiritual director of a society personage +should have. All his penitents and all their mothers think a +great deal of him. But this does not exclude ambition. I know +that he lays great stress upon keeping apart from politics, +but when confronted with the Archbishop he committed +the venial sin of urging him to go to the Tuileries +and of going with him to the incumbent of Saint-Roch, +whose curate and friend he is. But the robe of ambition +is like the chameleon's skin, the colours of which change +according to the observer's position. I can therefore +answer for nothing except that he has refused two important +livings at Paris. I know that the Archbishop +secretly destines him for the Madeleine when that living +becomes vacant, and, in fact, it is a society parish which will +suit him best.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102">102</a></span> +<em>Paris, May 18, 1837.</em>—Yesterday morning I was with +Madame Adélaïde, where I saw the King. Every one at the +Château is busy with preparations for the marriage and for +the journey from Fontainebleau, which is to be a splendid +affair. I am delighted, and should be still more so if I had +not heard that not only the mothers but also the daughters +are expected. I have done my best to have my daughter +excused, to avoid the infinite vexations which I foresee, but +M. de Talleyrand came in to Madame in the middle of our +discussion, and instead of supporting my views he opposed me. +It is very annoying.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 19, 1837.</em>—The death of the poor young Count +Putbus is a very sad event for his family and for the +unfortunate Countess Buol. I am very sorry for her, and +her husband seems to me to be wanting in feeling and tact. +In his position with reference to his wife, he may separate +from her with as much uproar as he pleases, but if he will +not do so from pecuniary considerations he should behave +himself quietly or at least humanely. In any case I assert +that for her it is better to lament her lover as dead than +faithless, and that, unhappy as she is, she would be still more +so if Count Putbus had abandoned her. A woman's danger +when she finds her lover faithless is that she may be roused +to vengeance and may lose those illusions which shelter her, +not only against faults, but against hardness of heart and +frivolity, properly so called. Death leaves us all our illusions, +and even encourages them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 21, 1837.</em>—M. de Talleyrand, M. and Madame +de Valençay, Pauline, and myself are invited to stay at +Fontainebleau throughout the festivities—that is to say, we +are to come on May 29 and to stay till June 3, inclusive. +This is a favour, as nearly everybody else has been invited +at successive intervals of twenty-four hours.</p> + +<p>One of my German friends, a canoness, and a clever and +intelligent person,<a name="FNanchor_66" id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor"> [66]</a> writes to me as follows concerning the +Princess Helena of Mecklenburg: "The most amiable, the best +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103">103</a></span> +educated, the kindest of the German princesses is to adorn the +throne of France. I am sure that she will please you greatly. +She is as cheerful as a child of fifteen, with as much sense as +a person of thirty. She combines the charm of every age."</p> + +<p>The Marquis de Praslin and the Duke of Treviso are the +two knights-of-honour in subordination to the uncivilised +Duc de Coigny, who will lead them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 22, 1837.</em>—The Duc d'Orléans will first go +to Verdun, to see without being seen, and then to Melun to +be seen. Henry IV. in disguise went to the frontier to see +Marie de Medici at supper, and Louis XIV. did the same at +Fontarabia.</p> + +<p>Among the persons invited to Fontainebleau there is one +who certainly could not have been forgotten, in my opinion, +and this is the great Mlle. Palmyre, the famous dressmaker. +The fact is that she has been working upon a pattern sent +from Mecklenburg, but I am by no means certain that this +pattern is a good one or well made. Thus the eighty dresses +of the trousseau may fit badly, and it is just as well to +have some one there to make readjustments when necessary. +Merchants, workmen, omnibuses, and post-chaises are all in +confusion; the expenditure, the orders, and the activity are +inconceivable. It is impossible to get anything, and tradesmen +certainly have not the right to complain, for every one +is on the move. A crowd of foreigners have also arrived +at Paris, most of them English.</p> + +<p>The Werther family have resolved to leave immediately +after the marriage of the Prince Royal, without waiting for +the festivities, for Herr von Werther has agreed to take +M. Ancillon's place. They are very good people, who will +be regretted at Paris, and who are also very sorry to leave.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 25, 1837.</em>—For the 29th and 30th, the days +of arrival and marriage, the Marshals have been invited to +Fontainebleau, with the officials of the two Chambers, the +Ministries of October 11, February 22, September 6, and all +the present Cabinet. I have always said that Fontainebleau +was a chronological castle. It was resolved not to go further +back than October 11, to avoid the necessity of inviting +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104">104</a></span> +M. Laffitte. All the chief presidents of the courts have also +been invited, and of the Diplomatic Body Herr and Frau von +Werther,<a name="FNanchor_67" id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor"> [67]</a> M. and Madame Lehon.<a name="FNanchor_68" id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor"> [68]</a> The rest are invited +for the other days, two at a time.</p> + +<p>I must mention an incident concerning Madame Molé, +who vegetates rather than lives. The other evening at the +Duchesse de Montmorency's people were saying how sorry +the Werthers were. She asked why. "At leaving Paris, of +course." She replied: "But to go to Fontainebleau is not +very sad nor very tiring." "But, madame, Herr von Werther +is going to Berlin to take the place of M. Ancillon." +"Oh, then M. Ancillon is coming here?" I do not think +that after such an experience any one will accuse M. Molé of +betraying diplomatic secrets to his wife.</p> + +<p>The Queen of England has written a charming letter to the +French Queen concerning the marriage of the Prince Royal, +and, in view of her close relationship with Princess Helena, +has sent her a magnificent Indian shawl, one of the most +beautiful that has ever come out of the wealthy storehouses +of the Company. It is said to be a marvel. I shall see it at +Fontainebleau, where the wedding presents will be displayed.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, May 26, 1837.</em>—The King of England held the last +Drawing-room seated; since then he has felt worse, and +people are anxious about him. It is said that he wished +to live long enough to thwart the desires of the Duchess of +Kent, by not leaving her to act as Regent for a single day, +and the Princess Victoria attained her majority two days ago.</p> + +<p>They say that anarchy is at its height at Madrid, and also +that Don Carlos is at his wits' end.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Broglie and the gentlemen of his suite are +writing enthusiastic letters about the Princess Helena. All +say that she has a very pleasant appearance; all seem to be +in love with her, and cannot speak enough of her delightful +manners, while she is said to be excellently dressed. The +trousseau, which has been ordered here, is said to be very +magnificent.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105">105</a></span> +<em>Fontainebleau, May 30, 1837.</em>—Writing here is a feat of +some ingenuity. The weather was too fine yesterday, and a +great storm followed; it burst in the morning, and cleared ten +minutes before the arrival of the Princess, who was received +in bright sunlight and with much emotion. Her arrival +was a fine spectacle; a family scene amid the most royal +splendour. The Princess showed much emotion, no embarrassment, +nobility and grace, and was equal to the occasion. +I do not know if she is pretty; she is so gracious +that people have not considered that point. She reminds +one a little of Madame de Marescalchi, but is of a much +more German type, while the lower part of her face recedes +a trifle. She has beautiful hair, a good complexion—in short, +she looks very well, and the Prince Royal is well pleased.</p> + +<p>Pauline never left my side even at dinner, to which I was +taken in by the Baron von Werther. He was placed between +the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg and myself. M. de +Talleyrand was far from well yesterday, yet by force of will +he kept a smiling countenance. I was very anxious about +him the whole time.</p> + +<p>Until to-morrow we shall number two hundred and eighty +at table. Yesterday the day began for me at half-past five +in the morning at Paris, and finished here at one o'clock at +night. At ten o'clock I must be fully dressed for the Queen's +mass.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Fontainebleau, May 31, 1837.</em>—The two most exhausting +days have passed, for which I thank heaven, as I have been +trembling the whole time for M. de Talleyrand, who has been +so incredibly rash as to undergo these severe trials. However, +he has seen everything, and has come through with little +more than fatigue.</p> + +<p>Those who wish to be correct follow the Queen to her +private mass in the morning. Pauline has just taken me +into a charming little chapel, in memory of Louis VII., the +Young.</p> + +<p>The two German princesses were not visible yesterday for +the whole morning. The time before dinner was filled up by +walks, for those who were tempted, of whom I was not one, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106">106</a></span> +and the inspection of the wedding presents for the rest, of +whom I was one. The presents and the dresses are most fine +and magnificent, especially the case by Buhl which contained +the shawls, which was one of the finest things I have seen. +The whole was exhibited in the rooms of the Queen Mother. +The diamonds are beautiful, and the jewels numerous, in +different styles, but there are no pearls. The Duc d'Orléans +does not like them, and the Princess can also wear the Crown +pearls.</p> + +<p>The royal family dined in private. Madame de Dolomieu +and General Athalin presided at the table of two hundred +and eighty guests in the Diana Gallery. Pauline was again +near me at dinner, and M. Thiers on the other side.</p> + +<p>At half-past eight the civil marriage took place in the +room of Henry II., a superb spectacle in the most beautiful +surroundings imaginable, and magnificently lighted. The +Chancellor, M. Pasquier, who was recently appointed to this +post, was in his ermine robes at a great red and gold table, +around which stood all who were witnessing the ceremony, +with the bridal pair in front of him. We made our way +there in procession. Then we went on to the great chapel, +ornamented with the shields of France and Navarre. The +exhortation given by the Bishop of Meaux<a name="FNanchor_69" id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor"> [69]</a> was both short +and well weighed. Unfortunately, in the case of mixed +marriages many ceremonies have to be omitted which +would add to the picturesqueness of the scene. The priest +of Fontainebleau, who is the famous Abbé Lieutard, and +hitherto one of the chief opponents of the present Government, +assisted the Bishop, and even claimed to do so as a +right. The hall, which was arranged as a Protestant church, +could hardly hold us, and the crowd was suffocating; the +exhortation of the pastor, M. Cuvier, was very long and +very dull, going back to the creation of the world, with continual +references to procreation. It was puritanism itself. +Before the blessing he asked the bride permission to perform +a duty with which he had been entrusted by the Biblical +Society, and offered her a Bible, in which he urged her to read +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107">107</a></span> +constantly. I thought the act quite out of place at such a +moment, and very disrespectful to the Queen, who is making +a great sacrifice from the religious point of view.</p> + +<p>The Princess was perfectly calm the whole time; I noticed +no nervousness, and less emotion than at the time of her +arrival. She was perfectly well dressed. Unfortunately she +has no colour, and thus wants a certain lustre, but in spite of +her thinness she is graceful and charmingly simple. Her feet +are long and well made and her hands are white and delicate; +in short, she is a person of much attraction.</p> + +<p>After all these ceremonies we separated. I went to look +after M. de Talleyrand, about whom I was anxious, and +whom I found very well. M. Molé came in, in a bad temper. +It is indeed strange that throughout this affair he has +obtained no favours of any kind.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Fontainebleau, June 1, 1837.</em>—There is no political news +to be learnt here. The Princes are absorbed in themselves; +M. de Salvandy, the only Minister on duty near the King, is +in the same state. Curiosity is turned away from politics, +and there is enough here to arouse it and satisfy it.</p> + +<p>Yesterday was spent as follows: After lunch came a very +long drive in the forest; twenty-six carriages, each with four +horses, the great royal coach with eight horses, and then +eighty riding horses, all conducted by the richly liveried +servants of Orléans, were assembled in the great courtyard of +the Cheval Blanc, and provided a general opportunity for +excursions. We hastened to follow the King and to traverse +the most beautiful parts of the forest. Many sightseers who +were seen galloping most imprudently among the rocks joined +the royal procession, and gave the wood an animated and +charming aspect.</p> + +<p>I forgot to say that lunch had been preceded by a mass +said by the Bishop of Meaux in the great chapel. Every one +was there, including the royal family and the Duchesse +d'Orléans. I should have been glad yesterday, when there +was no mixed marriage to consider and when only the King's +mass was being said, if the service had been finely rendered +with appropriate music. Instead of that there was nothing +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108">108</a></span> +of the kind; there were no clergy and not a sound of music; +even the bell for the moment of elevation was forgotten. +Methodists display much more trickery in their pretentious +simplicity and their affected and solemn speech; but at mass, +where the words cannot be heard, outward show is necessary, +with incense, music, flowers, gold, and bells, and all that can +stir the soul by uplifting it to God without the necessity of +hearing the words pronounced.</p> + +<p>Many people have gone and others have come, including +the Turkish Ambassador,<a name="FNanchor_70" id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor"> [70]</a> who sat by Pauline at dinner. +The theatre hall has not been restored, and looks faded; +the orchestra, which was not from Paris, was abominable; +Mlle. Mars has grown old, and no longer played her parts +properly; the other actors were very poor, and the choice of +plays was not happy. These were <cite>False Confidences</cite> and <cite>The +Unexpected Wager</cite>. The Princess Royal was in the great +box at the back of the hall, between the King and Queen. +She listened attentively, but her face does not express her +feelings, and does not change. She is always gentle and calm +to the point of immobility, and makes no gestures, which is a +mark of distinction. Perfect repose gives a sense of dignity, +and when she walks or bows she does it with perfect grace.</p> + +<p>M. Humann, when he went away yesterday, was run away +with by the post-horses down the hill of Chailly. He jumped +out of the carriage, bruised his face, and put his shoulder out.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Fontainebleau, June 2, 1837.</em>—Yesterday was not so full +as the preceding days, as after mass, lunch, and the gathering +after lunch, we were left with a few hours' freedom. I +spent them with M. de Talleyrand or in the town. M. de +Talleyrand went to see Madame Adélaïde, to whom he wished +to give a piece of news which reached us from the Bauffremont +family, who were interested by it, and which, to speak +truly, has produced a sad effect here. It is the announcement +of the marriage of the Count of Syracuse, brother to +the King of Naples, with Philiberte de Carignan. This +young person is the granddaughter of the Comte de Villefranche, +the prince of the house of Carignan who married, in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109">109</a></span> +a fit of folly, the daughter of a boat-builder at St. Malo, +Mlle. Magon Laballue. The Sardinian Court only consented +to recognise the marriage on condition that the children of +it should enter religious orders; the revolution destroyed +this obligation, and the son entered the army and married +Mlle. de La Vauguyon, sister of the Dowager-Duchess +of Bauffremont, who was burnt to death in 1820. It was +only after her death and the accession of the present King +of Sardinia that the last two children were recognised +as princes of the blood and treated as such. The eldest +daughter was married before this concession to a private +individual of high family, the Prince of Arsoli, a Roman +family. Philiberte, the daughter and granddaughter of +marriages contested or doubtful, thus becomes Princess of +Naples. The marriage, by licence, must have taken place +the day before yesterday with much haste and precipitation. +The displeasure it will cause here is obvious. The King of +Naples is at the bottom of it.</p> + +<p>Yesterday after dinner we went to hear Duprez in part of +the opera <cite>William Tell</cite>, and the Esslers danced in a pretty +ballet. I was surprised that the Princess Royal never lost her +calm, even at the most exciting points of Duprez' acting. I +never saw a movement of her head, a gesture, or any greater +animation in her face. The same was true during the ballet, +which I can better understand.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Fontainebleau, June 3, 1837.</em>—M. de Talleyrand started +this morning with Pauline. They wish to keep me here until +to-morrow. No one could have been surrounded with greater +regard and attention than has been shown to M. de Talleyrand; +he was quite overcome as he went away. The King and +Madame Adélaïde have insisted that he shall return to Paris +for next winter, but I do not think that he will give up his +project of going to Nice.</p> + +<p>Pauline's stay here has done her no harm. She has always +behaved perfectly and pleased me much. She was delighted +to be in the same room with me. Her dress was in excellent +taste, and she has gone away very pleased to have been here, but +also glad to go and in no way dissipated in heart or mind.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110">110</a></span> +Nearly every one has gone, and only those on regular duty +and intimate friends remain. I am starting to-morrow at the +same time as the Queen and the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who +came here yesterday. The country drive was very pretty, +animated and popular. We then went into the prettiest part +of the forest, called the Calvaire, whence there is an admirable +view. From the depths of the ravines over which we hung +singers who had been stationed there raised their song. It +was delightful, and the weather, wonderful to relate, lent such +a charm to the drive that it was prolonged. We eventually +returned past the large vine arbour and the canal.</p> + +<p>After dinner we had a tiresome comic opera, <cite>The Flash</cite>, +followed by <cite>The Caliph of Bagdad</cite>, for which the King had +asked as an old favourite. It was very late before this was +over, and as I stayed up with M. de Talleyrand my sleep was +cut short, the more so as his early departure obliged me to +be ready in good time. The King and Madame came to +say good-bye to him in his room. After lunch the King +amused himself by showing the Château to three or four +guests. I was delighted both with the Château and with our +guide.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 5, 1837.</em>—I came back yesterday from Fontainebleau. +Mass was said at six o'clock in the morning, and +then the departure took place. I was included in the royal +company, and thus arrived in excellent time, not leaving +them until they turned off for Saint-Cloud. The last day at +Fontainebleau, the day before yesterday, was occupied much +to my taste, by a historical excursion, and in the evening we +had a theatrical performance by actors from the Gymnasium. +The whole stay at Fontainebleau was very pleasant, as I +received much attention and kindness.</p> + +<p>As soon as I arrived yesterday I went to the Champs +Elysées to Madame de Flahaut's house; she had urgently +begged me to come and see the royal entry, for which the +weather was magnificent. There was a vast crowd and a +most brilliant procession, the Princess bowing with perfect +grace. The view from the Place Louis XV. and the Champs +Elysées was magnificent. All went off very well, but there +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111">111</a></span> +was not enough cheering and more curiosity than enthusiasm. +People opened their eyes but not their mouths. The main +point is that there were no pistol-shots, and that the King +was able to show himself to the crowd without any <em>apparent</em> +precautions.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 6, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I saw M. Royer-Collard, +who was somewhat displeased with the marriage of the Prince +Royal, as a man of the Faubourg Saint-Germain might well +be. I was vexed with him, and we had a small quarrel. He +is partial in his views, and his conversation is intolerant to an +extraordinary degree.</p> + +<p>The day before yesterday in the garden of the Tuileries +there were more than sixty thousand people present from +eleven o'clock in the morning to eleven at night, and such +real enthusiasm that the King was obliged to leave his state +dinner in the Hall of the Marshals and come out upon the +balcony with his family, whence he uttered a few words of +thanks, which were received with infinite delight. From the +moment of entering the garden until the march past of +the troops the royal family remained in the Pavillon de +l'Horloge, whence there was a magnificent view. The setting +sun gilded the top of the Obelisk and the Arc de Triomphe, +and was reflected upon the arms and cuirasses of the troops; +the benches of the National Guard were adorned with flowers. +I am assured that it was a real transformation scene.</p> + +<p>There seems to be much inclination towards a dissolution +of the Chamber, at any rate on the part of M. Molé. +M. Royer-Collard is vigorously urging him in that direction.</p> + +<p>The Turkish Ambassador here can speak a few words of +French. This discovery is due to myself, for every one took +his professed ignorance so literally as not to speak a word to +him. He looked so dull that I felt sorry for him, and made +a venture. He replied in a few words, and the result is that +I have been allowed to see the portrait of Sultan Mahmoud, +who seems to be very handsome.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 7, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I called upon the Queen +to thank her for Fontainebleau. The Duchesse d'Orléans was +with her mother-in-law, gracious, pretty, and amiable. She +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112">112</a></span> +is a real treasure, and is generally popular. She delighted +the Council of State, the peers, and the Deputies by adding a +kind phrase to the answer which her husband returned to the +different speeches. She has spoken individually to each peer, +and never in commonplaces. They are all delighted.</p> + +<p>My awakening this morning was a sad one, as news was +brought to me of the death of Adrien de Laval. He was a +sincere friend, and they are scarce. I am very sorry, both for +him and for his aunt the good Vicomtesse de Laval, who is +hardly able to bear such a shock; and if she also should be +carried off it would be a heavy blow to M. de Talleyrand.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 8, 1837.</em>—The popularity of the Princess Royal +increases steadily. She has even been talking to General +Neigre, of the Antwerp Artillery. The Duc d'Orléans is +extremely proud and happy at the respect shown to her. It +is certain that the personal influence of his wife increases his +own importance, and I already see that the Pavillon Marsan +will rise superior to the Pavillon de Flore.<a name="FNanchor_71" id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor"> [71]</a> I am not sure +that some small jealousy has not already arisen.</p> + +<p>The following story is related as a fact: The Duchesse +d'Orléans saw her husband turn his opera-glasses for a long +time in the direction of Madame Lehon. She then turned to +him and took away the opera-glasses, saying, half jestingly +and half seriously: "That is no compliment to me, and is not +polite to the person at whom you look." He is said to have +offered no objection to her action, and if this is true it is +noteworthy.</p> + +<p>M. de Flahaut is furious because he has not received the +Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. He had proposed to +resign his post as First Equerry, but has changed his mind. +It is said that the Duc de Coigny refuses him any authority +except over the stable.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 11, 1837.</em>—I cannot give many details concerning +yesterday's festivity at Versailles. I started about +one o'clock in full dress, with the Duchesse d'Albuféra, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113">113</a></span> +we came back together at four o'clock in the morning. The +weather was beautiful, the spot admirable, the gardens in regal +state, the inside of the house splendid, and the sight magnificent. +It lasted for five hours. My eyes are smarting with the +glare of the lights. Fifteen hundred people were invited, and +yet some are displeased; I admit that I should have drawn +up the lists in another way.</p> + +<p>I had the honour of dining at the King's table, for whom +it was a great day. At the last set piece there was a +tremendous shout of "Long live the King!" and it was well +deserved.</p> + +<p>Count Rantzau, who is escorting the Dowager Grand +Duchess of Mecklenburg, was deeply touched to see in an +honourable position the portrait of Marshal Rantzau, who +served under Louis XIV., and whose descendant he is. He sat +by me at dinner, and I drew a great deal out of him concerning +the Princesses, whom I esteem more highly every day.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, June 12, 1837.</em>—I am starting to-morrow to rejoin +M. de Talleyrand at Valençay.</p> + +<p>The King of England is most seriously ill, and is only kept +alive with curaçao and raw meat. He knows that he is dying, +and is calling his family round him: the FitzClarences, and +even Lord Munster. Mr. Caradoc is said to be taking Sir +John Conroy's place with the Duchess of Kent. He sends for +presents for her, the cost of which is paid by the Princess +Bagration. It is said that if the King dies the Duchess of +Kent will summon Lord Moira to the post of Prime Minister, +who is a great Radical; others say that King Leopold is +advising his niece to take Lord Palmerston, but the little +Princess is inclined to Lord Grey.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 14, 1837.</em>—I have just arrived, after a +tiring journey in dreadful heat and two thunderstorms. +M. de Talleyrand is very well, as also is Pauline.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 17, 1837.</em>—Madame Adélaïde has sent +M. de Talleyrand details of the accidents which took place +upon the day of the fireworks; twenty-three persons were +suffocated in the crowd and thirty-nine are injured. This +has naturally caused much grief. The Duchesse d'Orléans +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114">114</a></span> +was anxious not to go to the entertainment at the Hôtel de +Ville and to cancel the balls; but it was pointed out to her +that many people would be disappointed and much expense +needlessly incurred. Festivities have therefore been postponed +until after the funeral of the victims.</p> + +<p>It seems that the fireworks, the illuminations, and especially +the sham fight, were remarkably beautiful. Popular festivities +are hardly ever held without accidents, and I am always afraid +of them. The victims all belong to the working class, which +makes their case still sadder, and some of them leave their +families in poverty.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 18, 1837.</em>—Pauline has made a conquest of +the Archbishop of Bourges, Mgr. de Villèle, who called here +before my arrival. She is said to have done the honours of +the Castle remarkably well, with unusual self-possession, grace, +and propriety. I am not sorry that she was obliged to try.</p> + +<p>Considerable restorations are being made in our great +castle. The northern part of the moat has been cleaned out, +and the wretched little gardens which blocked the approach +to it have been cleared away; there is now a walk all the +way round. The belfry upon the town church looks very +well, and in general the place seems improved.</p> + +<p>Hostile newspapers try to draw comparisons between the +accidents at the fireworks and the sad scenes upon the marriage +of Louis XVI., and the catastrophe at the Schwarzenberg +ball at the time of the Emperor Napoleon's marriage. +They draw omens from these coincidences. But what more +disastrous coincidence could there be for the elder branch of +the Bourbons than the assassination of the Duc de Berry and +the revolution of 1830? Yet no misfortune happened at the +marriage of this Prince. It is not in consequence of such +special incidents that kings lose their thrones.</p> + +<p>The Municipal Council at Paris has voted a hundred and +fifty thousand francs for the further expenses of the festivity. +Everything is on so large a scale that the hire of glasses and +water-bottles costs four thousand francs. Ices and refreshments +to the amount of twenty thousand francs were distributed on +the day when the festival was postponed to the workmen and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115">115</a></span> +to the hospitals. The patients will have a feast, and smart +sayings are in circulation concerning the indigestion they +are likely to get.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 19, 1837.</em>—A German newspaper has a story +of a vision which the Duchesse d'Orléans is said to have +seen, and speaks of her idea of playing the part of a second +Joan of Arc. All this is doubtless ridiculous; at the same +time there is some mysticism in her desire to come to France, +for M. Bresson, the most prosaic of men, has several times +told me this: "She thinks she has a vocation, and has seen +a special call of Providence in this marriage proposal; her +mother-in-law, who is inclined to the Pietist sect, was swayed +by the same idea."</p> + +<p>The following has also been told me by Count Rantzau: +Upon the day when he learnt of Meunier's attempted +assassination of the King, negotiations for the marriage had +been already opened. He was unable to hide from the +Princess his fear of the fate towards which she was inclined. +She then replied: "Stop, sir; the news that you give me, far +from shaking my will, only confirms it. Providence has +perhaps destined me to receive a shot intended for the +King, and thus to save his life. I shall not shrink from +my mission."</p> + +<p>There is thus a strong strain of fanaticism in her, which +in no way spoils her extreme simplicity of manner or the +remarkable calm of her bearing. This is so unusual a combination +that I have been more struck by it than by any of +her other good qualities.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 22, 1837.</em>—Madame Adélaïde has written +a long letter to M. de Talleyrand, with full details of the +entertainment at the Town Hall, which seems to have been +the most beautiful thing of this kind, and far more magnificent +than anything else that has yet been done. The +King was admirably received as he passed through the streets +and at the Town Hall. There were five thousand persons at +this entertainment. Princess Helena thought the diorama of +Ludwiglust<a name="FNanchor_72" id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor"> [72]</a> perfectly like the original.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116">116</a></span> +<em>Valençay, June 25, 1837.</em>—So the old King of England is +dead. I was interested to read the manner in which the +young Queen was proclaimed at London, in her own presence +from the balcony of St. James's Palace. This beautiful and +touching scene is marked by a very pleasing restraint.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 28, 1837.</em>—A widely circulated rumour at +Paris asserts that Mr. Caradoc intends to secure a divorce +from Princess Bagration—an easy process; that he will be +made a peer and will become the husband of the young +Queen. He asserts his descent from the Kings of Ireland. +All this I believe to be nonsense, but meanwhile the young +Queen is so charmed with him that she will do and say +nothing without his consent.</p> + +<p>Here is another story: Charles X. had given the Duc de +Maillé a picture for the church of Lormois; the family has +just sold it to a dealer for fifty-three thousand francs; the +result has been a dispute with the Civil List officials, who +assert that Charles X. had no right to present the picture. +Pamphlets have been printed setting forth the case on either +side. If the dealer is obliged to restore the picture he will +force the Maillé family to return the fifty-three thousand +francs. Apart from this picture, the family found that the +inheritance of the Duc de Maillé consisted solely of debts. +It is certain that if the picture came from one of the +museums or one of the royal castles Charles X. had no right +to give it away. It is all very unpleasant.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, June 29, 1837.</em>—M. de Sémonville was introduced +in the evening by the Queen herself to the Duchesse d'Orléans +at the Round Table. He told the Princess that only the +kindness of the Queen could have induced him to show her so +old a face. "You mean so old a reputation," replied the +Princess. The old cat sheathed his claws and was pleased.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 1, 1837.</em>—I hear from Paris that the situation +of public affairs is regarded as satisfactory at the moment, +although the Ministerial elections have generally shown +opposition. At Strasburg, Grenoble, and Montpellier they +were absolutely Republican. Many people assert that the +Ministry should dissolve the Chamber, as it is worn out. They +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117">117</a></span> +urge that the marriage of the Prince Royal and the amnesty +make the present moment favourable, that later on circumstances +will not, perhaps, be so advantageous, but that the +King refuses to consider the idea. M. Royer-Collard writes +to me on the same subject: "I think that M. Molé is inclined +to dissolution, and the King, though he will not yet accept +it, will be led to it by force of circumstances. The Chamber +is exhausted and can carry on no longer." As a postscript he +adds: "I have had a long interview with M. Molé, and I am +to see him again; he has decided to propose, and therefore to +carry out, the plan of dissolution. I did not urge him, but I +am of his opinion. The Chamber can no longer go on, and +a dissolution need only be desired and accepted to become +necessary."</p> + +<p>Finally Madame de Lieven writes to me as follows +immediately before starting for England: "M. de Flahaut +was anxious to secure the complimentary mission to London. +He has been obliged to give way to General Baudrand, +which has increased the bad temper both of the husband and +the wife. Sébastiani is so ill that he is useless at London; +I really do not know who keeps your Court informed. +Madame de Flahaut is working as hard as she can to secure +the recall of Granville from Paris and the appointment of +Lord Durham to his post, with the double idea of removing +a competitor from Palmerston's path and having an +ambassador at Paris inclined to intrigue. Granville's chief +merit was that he had no such tendency. In my opinion +Durham will have to have his way, as he will no longer +stay at St. Petersburg and wants something better. Your +Deputies are said to be dispersing in uneasiness and discontent. +M. Molé says that he wants a dissolution, but that the +King does not.</p> + +<p>"M. Molé's last reception was well attended. A hundred +and fifty deputies came to M. Guizot's party. M. Thiers +has written from Lucca that his wife suffered severely from +sea-sickness."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 6, 1837.</em>—The following is an extract from +a letter from Madame de Lieven dated from Boulogne: "I +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118">118</a></span> +have seen M. Molé and M. Guizot at the last moment; the +former had received a letter from Barante. My Sovereign's +ill-temper is in no way improved, and is even worse than +before. It is a hopeless case, as he is going mad. M. Molé +is certainly jealous of Guizot. I have some very amusing +things to tell you on that subject, which have all happened +since your departure. There are some strange characters in +the world, and as I naturally have a sense of humour, I +laugh."</p> + +<p>I should like to know the details of this rivalry, which +seems to me so improbable, from the nature of its object, that +I am inclined to think the Princess has been led astray by +feminine vanity. She confuses jealousy with the susceptibility +native to character.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from Baron de Montmorency, the executor +of the Prince de Laval, telling me that the latter, in a +pencilled note, written the evening before his death, has left +me a souvenir which he is sending me. I am deeply touched +by it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, July 11, 1837.</em>—I arrived here yesterday, and +am obliged to go out on business. The valley of the Loire is +superb. The spring is late this year, and the foliage is therefore +unusually green for this season. My plants have all +grown very well, the climbers especially, and the flowers are +abundant; everything seems in excellent order.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, July 12, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I went round my +house; small improvements are slowly being carried out.</p> + +<p>I was much struck by the effect of the Sistine Madonna in +the drawing-room, which has taken the place of the Corinne, +which has gone to the drawing-room of the Abbé's house. +The change is almost symbolical, and shows the difference +between the spirit of my past and that which now dominates +me, or, to speak more accurately, is gaining ground; progress +is by no means rapid.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, July 13, 1837.</em>—Yesterday it only rained for +half the day, and I was able to go round my little empire, +which I found in very good condition. I shall be sorry +presently to tear myself away from it. I propose to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119">119</a></span> +dine and sleep at Tours, and shall be back at Valençay +to-morrow.</p> + +<p>I was able yesterday to visit my hydraulic rams.<a name="FNanchor_73" id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor"> [73]</a> Nothing +takes up less room or produces a better result. Many workmen +come to see them, and several landowners wish to +imitate them; it is really an admirable invention. I have +now water for the kitchen, the stables, and everywhere, and +next year I shall present myself with a fire-engine.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 15, 1837.</em>—I left Tours yesterday morning. +Before starting I saw the sad sight of a man killed by lightning. +His companion only had his legs broken, and was +being taken to the hospital for a double amputation.</p> + +<p>I had lunch at Loches, where I visited everything: the +tomb of Agnès Sorel, the oratory of Anne of Brittany, +and a curious church, the prison of Ludovico Sforza. I +admired the magnificent panorama from the top of the +towers. We then stopped at Montrésor, to inspect one of +the prettiest Renaissance churches I have seen. It is built +by the side of an old castle, which was begun by the famous +Foulques Nera, the greatest builder before Louis-Philippe.</p> + +<p>At the ironworks of Luçay<a name="FNanchor_74" id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor"> [74]</a> I found horses from the house, +which brought me here very quickly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 18, 1837.</em>—With regard to the trial of +General de Rigny, I can say that the General was deeply +hurt, and reasonably so, because the Government wished to +punish him after his brilliant acquittal before the Council of +War; he declared to the Minister of War that if they chose +that moment to deprive him of the command of Lille, he +would accuse Marshal Clausel before the civil courts, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120">120</a></span> +without in any way sparing him, as he had felt obliged to do +at Marseilles. The Minister of War told him that he had +wished to give him the command, but that the King objected. +M. Molé and the whole Council said the same, and Baron +Louis, uncle of General de Rigny, thought it well to go to +Neuilly and demand an explanation from the King. The +King said that the General had been proved guilty of insubordination, +to which the poor old uncle replied: "But +your Majesty is surely ready to recognise the judgment that +has been passed; the Council of War admitted that the +remarks attributed to my nephew were libellous; all that we +can now do is to prosecute the Marshal." The King then +replied: "Ah, I did not know that. I will look into the +details of the trial, and then we shall see."<a name="FNanchor_75" id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor"> [75]</a></p> + +<p>The fact is that at the Château anybody called Rigny is +in bad odour, for the opposite reason from that which has +made the fortune of M. Bresson. It is not enough to be a +devoted servant of the Government; one must also be, and +always have been, an Orléanist.</p> + +<p>I have received Madame de Lieven's first letter from +London. She seems delighted with the magnificence of her +hosts' style of living, the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, +and also by the attentions of her friends. She says that the +young Queen is a marvel of dignity and industry, and is not +to be led, even by her mother. She manages her whole Court +herself, and as the Duchess of Sutherland is Mistress of the +Robes the Princess sees the notes that the Queen writes on +the occasion of the Court functions, which are models of good +arrangement and propriety. The Duchess of Sutherland is +in charge of all arrangements, and is even above the Lord +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121">121</a></span> +Chamberlain. Apparently she can become a second Duchess +of Marlborough if she likes. When the Queen receives +addresses on her throne the Duchess of Sutherland stands +at her right hand, while the Duchess of Kent, the Queen's +mother, is seated below the steps. The Queen wishes to +review the troops on horseback, and what she wishes she +does. Lord Melbourne is all-powerful and the Whigs are +triumphant; the elections will be keenly fought; it is the +Tories' last chance. Lord Durham has resumed his power +over the Radicals, who flatter him, and the Queen does not +share her mother's liking for him.</p> + +<p>The English crown has no diamonds. The very beautiful +diamonds of the Queen-Dowager are her own property, and +came to her from her mother-in-law, the old Queen Charlotte, +who bequeathed them to the crown of Hanover. As this +crown is now separated from the English crown, the Duke of +Cumberland, as King of Hanover, reclaims the diamonds. +Thus Queen Victoria has none, and although she is in no +hurry to send back these jewels she will not wear them.</p> + +<p>Count Orloff has been sent to London to compliment the +Queen. Madame de Lieven hopes to learn from him how far +she can defy the Emperor, her master.</p> + +<p>M. Thiers wrote to her from Florence that he was not +satisfied with the treaty concluded with Abd-el-Kader.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, July 26, 1837.</em>—Letters received this morning +seem to show that the resolution to dissolve the Chamber +has been retracted, or has given rise at any rate to hesitation. +The audacious declaration of the King of Hanover, the +success of Don Carlos, and the fear of seeing the English +elections turn in a Radical direction is said to give rise to +apprehension here of definite mandates and republican +tendencies in the coming general elections.</p> + +<p>The Court is at the town of Eu, and from thence will go on +to Saint-Cloud. The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg +accompanies its movements. She is liked and respected, and, +feeling that her position will not be agreeable in Germany, +she is in no hurry to return, and is somewhat afraid of the +solitude that there awaits her.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122">122</a></span> +Yesterday I had a letter from M. Royer-Collard, who is in +Paris, from which the following is an extract: "Dissolution +resounds throughout all correspondence, even in that from +the Minister of the Interior. Conditions, however, are laid +down: if Don Carlos does not reach Madrid, if the King of +Hanover is not overthrown, if the English elections give no +cause for terror; these reservations are due to the character +and policy of the King, who does not care to run risks, and +who spares the Doctrinaires by leaving them some hope. +The decision is to come from M. Molé, who would leave +them nothing. In neither case is there any consideration as +to whether the step in itself is good or bad: 'It will all +pass over.' For my part, if I am allowed to express an +opinion, it is precisely those cases which are considered +capable of postponement that I would never postpone. I +do not know what the new Chamber will be like, nor do +I expect miracles from it, but I regard the old Chamber +as inadequate and entirely incompetent, if any important +resolution is required."</p> + +<p>I have also a letter from M. Thiers from Florence. He +seems to be sad and uneasy about his wife's health; he +speaks of her with warm and tender anxiety, and says that this +is his only trouble and that he defies politics to disturb his +equanimity henceforward. He adds: "I have returned to +literature and philosophy; like the classical Bossuet, I enjoy +the spectacle of human affairs in monuments and books—that +is to say, in the memorials of men of former times. I claim +the power of discovering the truth from a mere hint, and as +this is the method of historical investigation I believe I have +a good knowledge and understanding of the past. This +presumption of mine, which harms nobody, neither M. +Guizot nor King Louis-Philippe, nor Prince Metternich, +would enable me to live very happily and busily if I were +spared family cares. I shall therefore do all that I possibly +can to remain as I am; I wish to improve, to increase my +intellectual and moral powers, and this can be done better +in retirement than anywhere else, as one then has time for +reflection and study, undisturbed by selfish considerations. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123">123</a></span> +If some fine position should appear some day when I have +made myself what I can become, well and good; but to +spend one's life bandied about between the King and his +demands for an appanage and the Chamber with its refusals, +to be constantly harassed by the Tuileries and the Palais +Bourbon, by people who are never grateful and make you the +butt of their grievances without the only recompense for the +troubles of position, the power to do good—all this is simply +not worth while. I say this with full meaning, and as I am +happy enough to see that my feelings are shared by those +about me, I shall maintain my point of view; so that this +winter you will see me in entire freedom."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 1, 1837.</em>—M. de Vandœuvre came to +pay us a visit yesterday. He told us an amusing story of +Madame de Boigne, who had been invited to dinner with +M. and Madame de Salvandy. When she arrived she found +only the lady of the house, who apologised for her husband +and said that he could not appear at dinner because he was +ill. They sat down without him, but when they went back +to the drawing-room they found the young Minister, as he +calls himself, carelessly reposing in a long chair, in Turkish +slippers and a fine flowered dressing-gown, with a smoking +cap embroidered by ladies' hands cocked over one ear. The +sharp and prudish face of Madame de Boigne at that moment +is said to have been indescribable.</p> + +<p>The daughter of the Duchesse de Plaisance has died of +typhoid fever at Beyrout, in Syria; her father told me the +news. The fate of the unhappy mother, of whom at present +I know nothing, causes me grief and anxiety. She was a +good friend to me at a time when I had but few friends, and +I cannot forget it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 4, 1837.</em>—I have read the article upon +Madame de Krüdener in the <cite>Revue des deux Mondes</cite>. She +was a Courlandaise, and I have seen her at my mother's +house, with whom she struck up a small friendship. My +mother also thought, and rightly, that it was her duty to +take some notice of all her compatriots. Madame de Krüdener +was an adventuress by nature, and if she had not been well +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124">124</a></span> +born she would have been recognised as such long before +her final absurdities. From 1814 until her death she lived +surrounded by a gang of scoundrels, who followed her about +Europe and presented an unpleasant sight which was anything +rather than evangelical. They were a strange company +of apostles.</p> + +<p>People who are easily excited, animated and changeable, +ready for anything, attracted in the most opposite directions, +are often regarded as hypocrites, simply because they are +changeable, and one is always tempted to doubt their sincerity. +Such is the case of M. Thiers. I am sure he is very happy +as he writes in his villa at Careggi,<a name="FNanchor_76" id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor"> [76]</a> amid recollections of the +Medici, and that he is also entirely disgusted with Paris. +Ardent and impetuous natures, equally ready for any enterprise, +are unfortunately often misjudged by characters more happily +balanced. I know something of this from my own experience. +We shall undoubtedly see M. Thiers once more in the arena +of politics and ambition, but to-day he sincerely believes that +he has left it for ever. The advantage of such natures as +his, and perhaps as mine, consists in the fact that they are +never wholly cast down and are so supple and elastic that +they accommodate themselves to the most different situations; +but it must be admitted that corresponding inconveniences are +involved. Their judgment of things and of people is often +too rapid, and their execution is often too quick and too +complete; by springing from rock to rock they are always in +danger, and sometimes fall; they then descend to an abyss, +which is regarded as their proper position by those who have +been able to maintain themselves steadily at one height, +are by no means sorry to see their overthrow and are disinclined +to offer any help. How many times have I seen and +experienced this! The worst part of it is not the accusations +of folly, but of hypocrisy. There is, however, for these natures +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125">125</a></span> +one infallible resource, when they have the strength to fall +back upon it: they can force themselves to recover their +equilibrium and follow the golden mean. It is a long task, +which will continue necessarily throughout their lives, but +that is the advantage of it, as the end of it can never be +determined.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Noailles writes to us that his uncle has died +within a few hours, with every symptom of cholera. I do +not know whether I am wrong, but for me everything is +shrouded in a veil of darkness, and I instinctively fear some +catastrophe. If only it does not fall upon M. de Talleyrand +or upon my children! For myself I trust in the will of God +and prepare myself as well as I can. But how many arrears +remain to be paid, and how terror-stricken I should be were +it not for my full confidence in the Divine mercy!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 5, 1837.</em>—M. de Montrond writes from +Paris to M. de Talleyrand that the following story was told +of the young Queen Victoria at the house of the Flahauts: +The Duchess of Sutherland had kept the Queen waiting; +when she arrived the Queen went up to her and said: "My +dear Duchess, pray do not let this happen again, for neither +you nor I ought to keep any one waiting." Was not that +very well said?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 8, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter from +Madame de Lieven, which was begun in England and finished +in France in the course of her journey to Paris. She has seen +Orloff in London, and thinks that through him she has settled +her business so well that she can venture to return to Paris. +She tells me some curious things of the young Queen. +"Every one has been taken in by her; she has secretly prepared +herself for a long time for her destined position. At +the present moment she gives her whole heart to Lord +Melbourne. Her mother wished her to enter into obligations +with the Radicals, and also with Conroy personally. It seems +that Conroy, who dominates the mother, had behaved very +rudely to her daughter, and even threatened her with confinement +three days before her accession if she did not promise +him a peerage and the post held by Sir Herbert Taylor. She +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126">126</a></span> +gave him a pension of three thousand pounds and forbade him +the palace. The mother only comes to see her daughter when +she is sent for. The Duchess of Kent complains bitterly, and +is obviously overcome by vexation; and Caradoc, who had +miscalculated his possibilities in that quarter, has shared in +this disgrace and has left England. The young Queen is full +of affection and respect for her uncle, King Leopold, who did +not like Conroy; he used to take the girl's part against her +mother. Melbourne is all-powerful, and adores his young +Sovereign. Her self-possession is incredible. People are +quite afraid of her; she keeps every one in order, and I +assure you that everything looks very different as compared +with the old King's time. The Queen wears every day the +Order of the Garter as a medal upon her shoulder, and the +motto upon her arm. She has never grown tall, and therefore +wears a dress with a train even in the morning; she +has a distinguished appearance; her face is charming and her +shoulders superb. She issues her orders as a queen; her will +must be obeyed at once and without contradiction. All the +courtiers seem overwhelmed."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 15, 1837.</em>—I knew Madame de Lieven's +taste for planting herself at Paris, but I did not think it +went so far as to induce her to monopolise the Russian +Embassy, and from every point of view this is a false move; +with whatever kindness she may meet in her present position, +which is regarded as neutral and without influence, an official +position would bring her into inextricable difficulties.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 17, 1837.</em>—The following is an extract +from a letter from Madame de Lieven received yesterday: "For +the moment Conservatism is very fashionable in England. +The new House of Commons will be much better composed +than the last; I hope and I believe that this will produce an +agreement with the moderate Tories; they are prepared for it. +I can answer for Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington, +who are ready to give their help and support for the moment +without any return. If Lord Melbourne accepts he will lose +the support of the Radical Party, and will find himself obliged +in a short time to bring Tories into the Cabinet; but that is +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127">127</a></span> +the best bargain open to him, and Lord Melbourne is more +inclined to it than his colleagues. We shall see if he is bold +enough to take the step; when I left him he seemed ready +for it. The Queen will not be married or think of marrying +for a year or two at least. You may rely upon the accuracy +of this statement. The Duchess of Kent is a complete +nonentity, and even put somewhat on one side by her +daughter. Conroy dare not appear before the Queen. The +Queen is astounding! Most astounding! With so much +power at eighteen, what will she be like at forty?</p> + +<p>"The Clanricardes have quarrelled with the Ministry. She +is happy, because she can now be as Tory as she pleases.</p> + +<p>"Diplomacy is in a poor way at London, since you and I +are no longer there. The members look shabby indeed; they +seem mere nobodies, receive no respect, have no position, +know no news, ask everybody for news, and come and whisper +a Court affair a fortnight after it is forgotten. I blush for +my late profession.</p> + +<p>"Esterhazy has gone to Brussels. This is producing an +effect at London, as it is the first act of recognition to the +Belgian royalty; but from that source Queen Victoria's policy +is inspired."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 20, 1837.</em>—We hear from Paris that the +Duc d'Orléans has a cold and is growing thin. There is some +fear of his lungs, and it is said that he takes too much +exercise. It is thought the exertion of the camp at +Compiègne may be too much for him. His wife is literally +adored by the royal family, and by all who come near her.</p> + +<p>I have a charming letter from the Duchess of Gloucester. +These old princesses seem to have been deeply saddened by +the death of the late King.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 25, 1837.</em>—The King and Queen of the +Belgians will be at London on the 26th of this month—that +is, to-morrow. It is supposed that the King will have +full influence over his niece, but that he will not restore +relations between the Duchess of Kent and the Queen, or go +out of his way to spare the former, as he finds their disunion +in accordance with his ideas.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128">128</a></span> +The Princess de Lieven is very angry with her husband, +who will not appear at Havre, where she has arranged to +meet him. She is doing her utmost at St. Petersburg to gain +some means of reviving her husband's spirits, of which, to +use her own expression, very little remain. She repeats that +she cannot leave Paris without risking her life. I think that +she has no great desire to meet the poor Prince again. She +tells me that M. Guizot is at Paris, that he comes to see her +every day, and that he drives M. Molé away as soon as he +comes in. M. Molé is invited to the camp at Compiègne from +the 1st to the 4th of September, and M. Guizot from the 5th +to the 8th. The whole of France will be invited in turn.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, August 29, 1837.</em>—I had a troublesome day +yesterday. Madame de Sainte-Aldegonde came to us, bringing +her daughters and M. Cuvillier Fleury, tutor to the Duc +d'Aumale and a contributor to the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite>. I +had to put myself out and show them everything, and was +very glad when they started back for Beauregard at nine +o'clock in the evening. M. Fleury has left his pupil for the +moment to travel for six weeks, and is contributing articles +to the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> about the castles that he visits. +There is nothing so disagreeable as this kind of thing, and +he has received a strong hint here that we do not care to see +ourselves in print.</p> + +<p>Madame de Sainte-Aldegonde says that the Duchesse +d'Orléans is certainly with child. She also says that Princesse +Marie is to marry Duke Alexander of Würtemberg next +October, and will live in France.</p> + +<p>M. Mignet, who has been here for two days, tells us no +news. He confines himself to long historical dissertations, +which are sometimes interesting, but generally somewhat +pedantic.</p> + +<p>Madame de Jaucourt writes that Baron Louis is dying of a +stroke of apoplexy. This has been largely brought on by +fretting over the business of his nephew de Rigny.<a name="FNanchor_77" id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor"> [77]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 2, 1837.</em>—I have a letter from the Duc +de Noailles, who gives me some small news. I never saw any +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129">129</a></span> +one of importance stay at home less than he does. At Paris +he pays a daily round of calls, morning and evening, which +take up the whole of his time, and he never refuses an +invitation to dinner. In the summer he goes the round of +the country houses and the watering-places, and is continually +making excursions to Paris, as his residence is close at hand. +Barren characters, when they are naturally intelligent, feel a +greater need of change than others; in any case, the consequence +is that he always knows the news. At Paris he keeps +it to himself, and asks more questions than he answers; but +when he writes he tells all that he knows, so that his letters +are always pleasant.</p> + +<p>I have also a letter from M. Thiers, from Cauterets. He +is izard-hunting with the Basques, of which sport he is very +fond, although the Pyrenees seem to him but poor scenery +after the Lake of Como. He is less anxious about his wife's +health, and talks of coming here for the end of the month, +but with all his impedimenta, as he cannot leave the ladies +whom he is escorting. I am not altogether pleased, but +how can I refuse?</p> + +<p>It seems that the expedition to Constantine is actually to +take place, and that the Prince Royal will lead it. This +campaign seems to me a very foolish one for the Prince Royal.</p> + +<p>I have just read the so-called memoirs of the Chevalier +d'Eon, which are tiresome, improbable, and absurd; the idea +in particular that he could have had a love-affair with the +old Queen of England, the ugliest, the most prudish and +austere woman of her time, is too ridiculous an invention.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 6, 1837.</em>—The newspapers now say +that it is the Duc de Nemours, and not the Prince Royal, who +will command the expedition to Constantine. This seems to +me a better arrangement.</p> + +<p>The Princesse de Lieven writes as follows: "There is +talk of a double marriage: the Princesse Marie with Duke +Alexander of Würtemberg and Princesse Clémentine with +the eldest son of the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. +Here, however, a difficulty appears. The children of the +marriage should be Lutherans, which the Queen does not +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130">130</a></span> +wish; and in the case of the first marriage there is also the +possible difficulty that the King of Würtemberg might not +give his consent. It is said that the negotiations, though +not broken off, are not far advanced. I have a letter from +my brother which shows me that Orloff has kept his word. +He says that Paris is the only place to suit me, and that no +one protests against it. Now I have only my husband to +think of, and how can he be likely to offer objections as the +Court has raised none? This difficulty is bound to disappear, +but not for a month or six weeks, for my husband will +require advices from the Emperor, and the whole troublesome +affair will have to go round Europe, from Paris to Odessa +and from Odessa to Ischl and from Ischl to Paris. Just think +of that!" So much from this great and aged spoilt child.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 8, 1837.</em>—The news given us by +Madame de Sainte-Aldegonde was premature. Madame +Adélaïde writes to M. de Talleyrand that the Duchesse +d'Orléans is not with child, that the King will not go to +Amboise this year, and that the marriage of the Princesse +Marie with Duke Alexander of Würtemberg is possible, but +not absolutely settled, though negotiations are going on.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 9, 1837.</em>—I have come back from an +excursion to Châteauvieux and Saint-Aignan which occupied +the whole of yesterday and to-day. I was marvellously well +and in high spirits with M. Royer-Collard, but to-day I feel +broken down and miserable. There is no sense in it; I do +not know what does me good or what makes me feel ill; I +suffer from what I think should do me good and recover +from that which should lay me low. I am a very strange +little creature. The doctor tells me every day that it is the +result of my nervous, fantastic, and capricious disposition. +What is certain is that I have fits of cheerfulness, of gaiety, +and of sadness; that I look after myself, or my nerves look +after me, very badly; and that I am exceedingly tired of +myself, and to some extent of other people.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 11, 1837.</em>—What is to be said of the +mandate of the Archbishop of Paris, and of the article in +the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> which follows it? The desecration of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131">131</a></span> +Sainte-Geneviève is obvious, and the scandal of the pediment +has been felt by all right-thinking people.<a name="FNanchor_78" id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor"> [78]</a> In the face of +such an enormity it was difficult for the plaintive voice of the +chief pastor not to utter a cry of pain, and the absence of +any protest would have been blameworthy, in my opinion. But +his cry has been uttered with violence and bitterness, and with +none of the apostolic respect for the feelings of others which +it is always wise to keep in view. In M. de Quélen we shall +always have an excellent priest with the courage and devotion +of his convictions, but he will never learn tact, and will constantly +injure his position by his words and his actions. I am +sorry for him, as I am interested in him, and also for the +cause of religion, which is even more wounded by these unhappy +events and Governmental scandals. The want of +thought which permitted this pediment, the obvious hesitation +of the Ministry to know whether it would be disclosed +or not, the weakness which showed it to the eyes of the +public, and the tone of indifference with which newspapers +speak of it, are so many disavowals of the system of order +and energy which they have claimed as theirs. Next to the +pillage of the archbishopric, the destruction of the crosses, +and the rejection of the fleur-de-lys, nothing seems to me +more hopelessly revolutionary than this hideous pediment. +It frightens right-thinking people far more than usurpation.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 12, 1837.</em>—The Carlist party are very +wrong to accuse the Duc de Noailles of inclination to support +the present Government; he is very far from anything of the +kind. I have seen that he was somewhat tempted to that +course for two or three months during the journey of the +two Princes in Germany and when the marriage of the Archduchess +Theresa was discussed. Since Alibaud's pistol-shot +and the refusal of Austria he has given up the idea, and I +think he is more determined than ever to follow his present +line of conduct, although his impartiality in thought and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132">132</a></span> +language will always prevent him from joining the hot-headed +members of his party.</p> + +<p>Madame de Lieven writes as follows: "I have a letter +from my husband proposing the right bank of the Rhine and +asserting that he cannot possibly cross it. We shall see. I +hope and believe that he will change his mind. M. Molé +and M. Guizot meet at my house, and are beginning to talk. +The consent of the King of Würtemberg to his cousin's +marriage has come to hand. M. Guizot has returned from +Compiègne delighted with the wit and intelligence of the +Duchesse d'Orléans. Madame de Flahaut is kept very much +aloof from the Princess, and is vexed in consequence. She +had her four days at the Château, like the other guests, and +then returned to her rooms in the town of Compiègne. +Lady Jersey writes that she will come and spend the winter +at Paris to see the Prince de Talleyrand. My husband has +seen their Hanoverian Majesties at Carlsbad."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 18, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I had a very +kind letter from M. Molé. He tells me that he has been +obliged to postpone the diplomatic affair. He wishes to +create some peers, but is somewhat hampered by the stupid +social classification. He speaks bitterly of the great attention +paid by M. Guizot to Madame de Lieven, and readily +accepted by the latter.</p> + +<p>Alava, who has been here since yesterday, told me that the +hunchbacked daughter of the Duc de Frias has married the +Prince of Anglona. Mlle. Auguste de Rigny is certainly the +only heiress of the Baron Louis, who leaves seventy thousand +francs income. She has already an income of eighteen +thousand of her own. The will is quite simple, and so +definite that it cannot be attacked.<a name="FNanchor_79" id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor"> [79]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 19, 1837.</em>—M. de Salvandy, whom +M. de Talleyrand had invited here, appeared yesterday at +dinner-time. He is going back this evening, having sandwiched +this excursion between two meetings of the Council. +I have exhausted myself in graciousness of manner and in +making conversation, which is not an easy matter with a man +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133">133</a></span> +who is undoubtedly intellectual, but emphatically so, and +constantly anxious to produce an effect. In any case, he +has been very attentive to me. He told me that the +Duke Alexander of Würtemberg had an income of only +fifty thousand francs, and that the King of Würtemberg +showed much politeness and readiness throughout the affair, +though the alliance is a poor one for our young Princess; we +gain nothing more than a husband for her. It is not true +that she will stay in France; in the summer she will live in +her husband's castle, fifteen leagues from Coburg, and in the +winter in a little palace at Gotha. When they visit Paris +they will be put up at the Elysée. They are going to Germany +immediately after the marriage, which will take place in the +first fortnight of October.</p> + +<p>The French elections will take place on November 15, and +the Chamber will meet on December 5.</p> + +<p>M. de Salvandy also talked much of the Duchess d'Orleans, +whom he believes, and I think rightly, to be an eminently +clever person, and, as she has to govern some day thirty-two +million souls, is working daily to win their hearts one by +one.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 20, 1837.</em>—M. de Salvandy left us +yesterday after dinner. During our morning talk he quoted +an instance showing the growing influence of the Duchesse +d'Orléans over her husband. Before his marriage he troubled +so little about mass that last May, a few weeks before his +wedding, he went to the races at Chantilly on the Day of +Pentecost, and never even thought of attending mass. +Recently at Saint-Quentin he went there <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">in fiocchi</i>, telling the +National Guard that they might follow him or not as they +pleased. The Guard went in a body. Saint-Quentin, however, +like all manufacturing towns, is by no means religious.</p> + +<p>The Pope is deeply vexed about the business of Sainte-Geneviève, +and is going to offer a severe remonstrance through +Mgr. Garibaldi. The King, who has been much distressed +by the scandal, is embarrassed in his relations with Rome +because he yielded to M. de Montalivet, who is unfortunately +surrounded by the wretched troop of hostile +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134">134</a></span> +newspapers, to which he pays homage and deference. +M. Molé, who is opposed to the pediment, has also +yielded. M. de Salvandy is also fulminating, and I imagine +when he has uttered one sonorous phrase he will think his +duty done.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 22, 1837.</em>—M. de Salvandy has +written, upon his arrival in Paris during the session of the +Council, telling M. de Talleyrand that he had found everybody +much excited at the news from Spain; all are expecting +to hear of the arrival of Don Carlos at Madrid. It is possible +that this news will somewhat disturb arrangements for +the dissolution and the elections.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 28, 1837.</em>—Madame Adélaïde writes +that the marriage of her niece to Duke Alexander of +Würtemberg will take place at Trianon on October 12. +Madame de Castellane tells me that the Lieven-Guizot +flirtation is unparalleled. He is making her read Dante +and Tasso, and never leaves her house. Since he has been +in the country he writes letters to her of ten pages. During +his absence the Princess went to his house, gained admission +to his rooms, and examined everything carefully. She has +written curious but sensible articles on the subject. An +article has appeared concerning the whole affair in <cite>Le Temps</cite>. +This has made her furious, and she has had a very lively +interview with M. Molé, because <cite>Le Temps</cite> is said to be +considerably under Ministerial influence; hence relations +between the Prime Minister and herself are somewhat +strained. It is all very ridiculous, and I am glad to be +away from Paris and all this gossip.</p> + +<p>In any case, a retired life is delightful. In society one +squanders too much energy; instead of laying up a proper +store of provisions for the great journey, we scatter them +broadcast, and find ourselves lacking when we have to start. +Terrible is our want and disgraceful our indigence! I am +sometimes really terrified at my wretched condition.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I had a sad piece of news—the death of the +young Princess of Arsoli, daughter of the late Madame +de Carignan. She was carried off by cholera in the same +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135">135</a></span> +week as her mother-in-law, Princess Massimo. I had seen +her born.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 29, 1837.</em>—The Baron de Montmorency, +who arrived here yesterday, thinks that there is some hitch +in the Würtemberg marriage. The King of Würtemberg +seems to have suddenly refused his consent, except on +condition that all the children should be Protestants, while +our Queen wishes them all to be Catholics. If the Duke +Alexander yields to the Queen there will be a marriage +the more without the head of the family, which never +looks well. If France gives way to the King of Würtemberg +the Princess will have to go to be married at the frontier, as +was Mlle. de Broglie, for the French Catholic clergy will +only allow mixed marriages on condition that all the +children are brought up as Catholics. It is really inconceivable +that so important a question was not decided +before the announcement of the marriage. It will lead to +any number of vexatious ideas, and show with what difficulty +business can be conducted at our Court.</p> + +<p>It is said that Von Hügel, the Austrian Chargé d'Affaires +at Paris, is going mad.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 1, 1837.</em>—Yesterday our theatricals took +place, for which we had been rehearsing for a fortnight; I +played my part in spite of a headache. People kindly said +that I entirely concealed my suffering on the stage, but as +soon as it was over I was obliged to go to bed at once. The +performance was quite successful, and Pauline played two +totally different parts so admirably that I begin to wonder +whether I ought to allow her to continue this amusement. +Our scene from the <cite>Femmes savantes</cite> went very well, and +M. de la Besnardière, who is an old theatre-goer, asserts that +he never saw it so well played. I really think that it went with +a certainty, a unity, and a correctness that were quite remarkable. +M. de Talleyrand was delighted. There was supper +and dancing after the performance, but I was not there.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 2, 1837.</em>—All the neighbours about us +went away yesterday after mass, but in the course of the day +a certain Mr. Hamilton arrived, who is an American, and the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136">136</a></span> +son of Colonel Hamilton, who was well known during the +War of Independence in the United States; M. de Talleyrand +often speaks of him, and was very intimate with him in +America. The son did not wish to leave the Old World, where +he has been making a tour, without seeing his father's friend. +He brought his own son with him, a young man of twenty-one. +Neither of them speak French, so I exhausted myself in +making English conversation. They are starting again this +morning. In his own country Mr. Hamilton belongs to the +Opposition party. He is a sensible man, but with that tinge +of Americanism which is always somewhat disagreeable in the +best of them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 7, 1837.</em>—I hear from Paris that the +difficulties with Würtemberg have been smoothed over. +The marriage is to take place on the 14th, and everything +is going on to the general satisfaction. Our Princess has +been invited to Stuttgart. The Duc d'Orléans is said to +be the only member of the family dissatisfied with this union, +and we are told that he treated his future brother-in-law more +than coldly at Compiègne.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 9, 1837.</em>—The Duc Decazes arrived here +unexpectedly at dinner-time yesterday. He was on his way +from Livorno, full of the Bordeaux affair, which he seems +inclined to visit upon the Prefect, M. de Pressac. After +dinner he continued his journey to Paris, where he is +summoned by the marriage of the Princesse Marie. He had +left M. Thiers and all his family at Tours. We are expecting +them to-day.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 10, 1837.</em>—M. and Madame Thiers, +Madame Dosne and her young daughter arrived yesterday +an hour before dinner-time. They came by Montrichard, and +so they were all shaken and weary. Madame Thiers does not +show any sign of exhaustion in her face; she is perhaps a +little thin, but nothing else; I think it is largely a matter +of nerves, and that if she were in good spirits her indisposition +would quickly disappear. In any case, for a person of +her kind, I think her quite anxious to please, but, like her +mother, she has a vulgar intonation and trivial expressions +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137">137</a></span> +to which I cannot get accustomed. It was a dull and heavy +evening, in spite of the enthusiasm of M. Thiers for Italy. +He seems to be greatly struck by the beauty of Valençay, and +I think they are all very glad to be here. Fortunately the +weather is fine; I have never prayed for sunshine so earnestly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 11, 1837.</em>—Madame Thiers was very +tired yesterday; she went upstairs after lunch and did not +reappear until dinner-time. She would not go for a drive, +and her mother kept her company. We took the husband +out with us, and he was in excellent spirits, with no bitterness +or hostility. He wishes to go from here to Lille without +crossing Paris, where he only wishes to arrive just in time for +the Chambers; he was also very sarcastic about the repeated +proposals that have been made to him for the greatest +embassies.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 12, 1837.</em>—M. de Talleyrand yesterday +took M. Thiers to see M. Royer-Collard. They returned +both well pleased with their walk, whence I infer that they +left their host equally pleased. I have no great trouble with +the ladies. The young wife appears for meals, lolls in a +drawing-room armchair for half an hour after lunch and for +an hour after dinner, then goes up to her room; she will not +drive, and only wishes to be left alone. Her mother is with +her a great deal, and her husband most attentive. The young +wife governs them all, but like a spoilt and capricious child, +and I think that the poor husband finds the path of marriage +a somewhat thorny one.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 13, 1837.</em>—The Duchesse de Saint-Leu +is dead. What will become of her son? Will he be left +upon our frontier?</p> + +<p>Madame Murat continues to remain at Paris. General +Macdonald,<a name="FNanchor_80" id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor"> [80]</a> who was thought to be her husband, and who +was greatly devoted to her in any case, has died at Florence. +To the universal surprise, this event has not so far saddened +her as to prevent her from going to the theatre, nor does she +show any of the grief that might have been expected.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138">138</a></span> +Here people talk of nothing but the approaching elections; +they seem to be still very uncertain and to defy all calculations. +I have always noticed this to be the case at every +dissolution of the Chamber. The instructions of the +Ministry are very capricious; on the whole the Doctrinaires +and progressive parties are to be proscribed, but with so many +exceptions here and there that unusual points of contact are +created. M. Thiers is quite calm, in excellent political +spirits; he talks a great deal of his forty years and of the +frost of age; however, I would not trust to that, and if he +were provoked he would be quite capable of entering the +fray most vigorously. He has quite abandoned his ideas of +Spanish intervention, not as regards the past, but for the +present moment. I have never seen him so wise and self-controlled—a +condition only to be attained by those whose +inclinations are definite, and who have enough self-satisfaction +not to be ambitious for power. His wife unbends a little; +she danced yesterday evening in excellent spirits.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 15, 1837.</em>—The whole of the Thiers +family went away yesterday. Although the mother has been +anxious to please, the young wife amiable in her manner, +and her husband witty, animated, and tractable, as usual, I +am not sorry to see them go.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 22, 1837.</em>—We are to have a second +theatrical performance. I rehearsed my part yesterday with +M. de Valençay while the rest of the company were out +driving.</p> + +<p>I have a very carefully written letter from Madame Dosne, +from which the following is an interesting passage: "Since +our arrival the house has been stormed by friends, inquirers, +and interested people, who wish to learn the attitude of +M. Thiers. He has seen M. Molé and M. de Montalivet, +who are struggling for his friendship, and has been effusively +received by the royal family. You know better than +any one, madame, to whom he owes that. In short, his move +to Paris has been quite politic and successful. He is ready +to defend the Ministry as long as it lasts and to help it +as long as he can, if they will support his view with regard +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139">139</a></span> +to the elections. To-morrow we shall start for Lille, where +we shall stay as long as my daughter wishes."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 26, 1837.</em>—Madame de Lieven writes to +say that her husband has sent his son Alexander to her to +carry her off dead or alive, but she has refused to stir, and +that the son has gone back again provided with all possible +certificates from the doctors of the Embassy stating the +impossibility of moving her. She is loud in the praises of +Comte Pahlen and of my cousin Paul Medem. It seems that +the Autocrat told M. de Lieven that he would crush the +Princess if she persisted in remaining in France. I think she +has some private means which no one can touch, and which +help her to hold out. Before long it will become a regular +drama.</p> + +<p>I have a long letter from the Duc d'Orléans, in which +he tells me that his sister, the Duchess of Würtemberg, +did not go immediately to Stuttgart on leaving Paris, +but went first to Coburg, and will not go to Würtemberg +till later. The Duc d'Orléans gives me excellent +accounts of his wife, and seems to regard her as a perfect +friend, which is the best certificate a woman can have from +her husband, and a guarantee of the most desirable future +for her.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, November 2, 1837.</em>—I shall start presently to +dine and sleep at Beauregard. To-morrow I shall pass +through Tours, and reach my house at Rochecotte in time +for dinner.</p> + +<p>I have a kind letter from M. Guizot, who tells me +that the new Chamber will be like the last, and that if +there is a difference it will be to the advantage of his +own views.</p> + +<p>M. Thiers writes from Lille saying that the general +electioneering cry is "Down with the Doctrinaires!" and +that he is asked by five different departments to become +a candidate, but that he will remain faithful to Aix. Finally, +M. Royer-Collard writes from Paris saying that M. Molé +has been tricked in the elections; that it does not, however, +follow that the elections will go in favour of the Doctrinaires, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140">140</a></span> +but that they will not lack Ministerial support. Of these +three versions which is the most credible? I am inclined to +accept the last.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 4, 1837.</em>—Since yesterday I have +been in my own home. As I passed through Tours in the +morning I found the poor Prefect grappling with the +electoral fever.</p> + +<p>The confusion of the instructions is incredible, continually +modified or contradicted as they are by intrigues at Paris, +alternating between the influence of Guizot or Thiers; consequently +I think the result will be very far removed from +that which was proposed at the dissolution of the Chamber. +Fortunately the country is calm, for the dissolution was +decided upon, not for patriotic reasons, but simply for personal +interest, and miscalculation upon that ground is a matter +of indifference. At the same time it is foolish uselessly +to stir up an infinity of local passions which, though they do +not rise to the danger and violence of political strife, none +the less injure public spirit by dividing the country more and +more into parties.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 5, 1837.</em>—The comedies which we +acted at Valençay brought some life into the great castle, +of which there has been a prodigious lack during June, July, +and August. I admit, to my shame, that for the first time +in my life since I rested from the fatigues of Fontainebleau +and Versailles I have been very bored. The illness which we +have all suffered one after another brought anxiety in place of +boredom, and I am glad of some small diversion to bring me +out of the groove.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 11, 1837.</em>—A letter from Madame +Adélaïde reached me yesterday. She seems fairly pleased +with the elections, and would be more so were it not for the +infamous alliance between the Legitimists and Republicans, +which has brought success to the latter party in several +places. I use her own expressions. She also says that +Princesse Marie is delighted with her husband and her +journey, with Germany and with the reception which has +so far been given.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141">141</a></span> +<em>Rochecotte, November 24, 1837.</em>—I am sorry for the Grand +Duchess Stephanie on account of the wrongdoing or misfortune +of her daughter, the Princess Wasa.<a name="FNanchor_81" id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor"> [81]</a> I never liked +her, and was struck by her bad appearance when I saw her at +Paris in 1827 with her mother; moreover, her husband, +whom I also know, is a very ordinary person, and by no +means the man to guide a young wife.</p> + +<p>The Duchess of Massa speaks with delight in her letters of +the hospitality and the distinction at the Court of Coburg, +and of the happiness of the Princesse Marie. I also hear that +the Duc d'Orléans constantly talks of his domestic happiness, +in which he is entirely absorbed. He is to give an entertainment +upon the return of his brother, the Duc de Nemours, +the victor of Constantine.</p> + +<p>I am more and more delighted with the life of Bossuet +by Cardinal Bausset. How fortunate it is that I put off +reading this book at a time when the taste for reading had +passed away, and is now revived by this excellent work! I +have ordered a fine engraving of Bossuet which I wish to +possess; it is absurd that he should not have his place here +with my other friends of the great century, Madame de +Sévigné, Madame de Maintenon, Cardinal de Retz, and +Arnauld d'Andilly. Although I admire every personage of +that great age, I have my preferences. I want a portrait +of the Palatine to complete my collection.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 30, 1837.</em>—My sister, the Duchesse +de Sagan, writes to say that she will come here shortly; I +do not know whether she will carry out her plan this time—not +that I am altogether regretful if she should fail, for +I am never entirely at my ease with her. I was accustomed +to be afraid of her in my youth, and am still somewhat +overawed; but as the matter has been announced and +arranged, it is better that she should come.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 2, 1837.</em>—Yesterday in the <cite>Journal +des Débats</cite> I read the great memorandum of the Prussian +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142">142</a></span> +Government against the Archbishop of Cologne.<a name="FNanchor_82" id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor"> [82]</a> We must +suspend our judgment until we hear his defence; but the +fact remains that so strong a measure as to arrest an archbishop +and imprison him does not look well in the case of +a Protestant Sovereign when dealing with a Catholic prelate +in a Catholic country. It has too strong an appearance of +persecution, even if it be justified at bottom. I am very +curious to know the end of this affair; it seems to me of +serious import.</p> + +<p>M. de Montrond tells M. de Talleyrand that the whole +family of Thiers profess such a redoubled affection for us +since their stay at Valençay that we shall be regarded as +responsible for the acts and deeds of M. Thiers during the +coming session. I have urged this upon M. de Talleyrand as +an argument for staying here as long as possible, but with +what success I do not know.</p> + +<p>M. Guizot is to be found at Madame de Lieven's house +from morning to evening, to the general amusement.</p> + +<p>Madame Adélaïde's letters begin to urge more strongly +our return to Paris, which is exactly the reason why I should +prefer to stay here.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 4, 1837.</em>—M. de Sainte-Aulaire +informs me that the Grand Duchess Stephanie has solved +her daughter Wasa's domestic difficulties. I fear she has +only postponed the evil day.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 6, 1837.</em>—Yesterday I carried out an +enterprise which I had long been anxious to perform. I went +with my son Valençay to see the Comte d'Héliaud and +Madame de Champchevrier. We started in fine frosty weather, +lunched with M. d'Héliaud, and spent an hour at Champchevrier +on our return with the nicest people in the world, +in a fine old castle, with moats and avenues, and a well-wooded +country of preserves; old tapestry, stag-horns, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143">143</a></span> +hunting-horns hung from the walls are the chief ornaments +in this noble but not very elegant mansion. It is inhabited +by a simple, upright, and respected family, who live comfortably +but not luxuriously, hunting and farming throughout +the year. At certain times forty or fifty of the surrounding +families meet there for amusement. The whole establishment +is well worthy of a description by Walter Scott, +especially an old grandmother of eighty-two, upright, alert, +imposing, and polite, in a surprisingly antique dress. We were +very kindly received. By the time we reached home I was +frozen, but very glad that I had paid my calls and fulfilled +my neighbourly duties.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Noailles writes to say that he met M. Thiers +one morning at Madame de Lieven's house, where he spoke +like a little saint and a great philosopher.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 10, 1837.</em>—My sister and my son +Alexandre at last arrived here yesterday, after a long and +tiring journey. My sister has grown very stout, and looks +much older; none the less she is astonishingly well preserved +for the age of fifty-seven. She talks a great deal and very +loudly. The Vienna strain in her is predominant.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 11, 1837.</em>—I took my sister for a long +drive yesterday. She thinks this place very pretty, and, as +other persons have already told me, assures me that nothing +recalls to her so much <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">la bella Italia</i>. We had hardly returned +from our long drive than I began it over again for +M. de Salvandy, who dropped in unexpectedly at dinner, +and after a short stay continued his journey to Nogent-le-Rotrou, +where he is going to an electoral banquet. He +told us that the Duc de Nemours had reached Havre with a +broken arm, in consequence of an accident upon board of +a wretched steamship. He travelled by Gibraltar, in order +to avoid a great ball that the town of Marseilles had prepared +for him, and over which great expense had been +incurred. The King is very displeased by this prank.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 19, 1837.</em>—Last spring when I consulted +Lisfranc and Cruveilhier they both told me that I was +threatened by a tendency to feverishness. Since that time +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144">144</a></span> +my life has been arranged to avoid the danger, and with +success; but since the arrival of my sister I have felt a great +and steadily increasing nervous agitation, so much so that +yesterday inflammation was pronounced, with violent fever. +I am much distressed, and think I shall have to spend some +days in bed or upon my sofa.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 20, 1837.</em>—The doctor says that I +am better to-day. I never remember having felt so ill as the +day before yesterday. I am still keeping my room, and feel +very poorly, but the doctor repeats that there is no danger, +and that with a few days' more care I shall be quite well.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 25, 1837.</em>—The pain in my right side +is growing less, and I am not so weak. When I am stronger +I shall speak of my thoughts during these days of danger +through which I have passed. The mental life becomes the +clearer when the outward eye is veiled and obscured.<a name="FNanchor_83" id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor"> [83]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 26, 1837.</em>—I am better, and very +grateful to Providence which has delivered me from so +grievous a state; but I shall not recover from the shock for +a long time. I was deeply touched to learn that yesterday +during the service I was recommended to the prayers of the +congregation. All my neighbours and the whole countryside +have been most kind; my servants have watched and +worked with infinite zeal, and the two doctors, MM. Cogny +and Orie, have been very attentive.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 28, 1837.</em>—The weather is magnificent, +and at midday I shall be wheeled on to the terrace for +a moment.</p> + +<p>I have no news from Paris, and am greatly ignorant of the +affairs of this world. It seemed to me during the two days +that I was ill that I saw something of the things of the next +world, and that it was not so difficult as might be thought to +rise towards one's Creator; that there was even a certain +sweetness in the idea that one was to rest at length from all +the troubles of life. Providence can soften all the trials +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145">145</a></span> +which He sends to us, by giving us the strength to bear +them, and one can never feel too thankful for all the Divine +favours.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 31, 1837.</em>—This last day of a year, +which upon the whole has not been entirely agreeable, induces +me to throw a retrospective glance upon my life—an effort +which produces a not very pleasant result. However, it +would be wrong to complain; if misfortunes are not lacking +for me, there are also blessings which it would be ungrateful +not to recognise; and one may feel despondent and serious +and yet have no right to feel or to call oneself unhappy. +May God preserve for myself and for those whom I love, +honour, health, and that peace of mind which keeps the soul +from care, and my thanks will be heartfelt.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146">146</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="medium">CHAPTER III<br /> +1838</h2> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, January 1, 1838.</em>—In spite of my weakness I +remained until midnight in the drawing-room, to embrace +M. de Talleyrand, my children, and my sister as the new +year came in. I am to go out in the carriage to-day, to +come down to dinner, and, in short, to return to life by +degrees.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, January 2, 1838.</em>—The whole countryside +passed this way yesterday; people were still here in the +evening. I am no worse this morning, but the contrary, +and if this marvellous weather will last a few days longer +I hope that I shall soon be quite myself again. M. de +Talleyrand, unfortunately, already speaks of returning to +Paris.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, January 5, 1838.</em>—I have no good opinion of +the year upon which we have entered, from a political point +of view. My mind is despondent, my soul sad, my nerves +are weak, my heart is full, and, to use the language of the +chambermaid, I wouldn't give twopence for anything. We +have been plunged in fog for the last few days, but none the +less I have been to pay my farewell calls in the immediate +neighbourhood.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, January 6, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand and +Pauline have just started for Paris. No one is left in the +house except my sister, my son Alexandre, and myself. I +must make up my accounts and prepare for departure, as we +are all three going the day after to-morrow. Notwithstanding +the sad recollections of the illness which darkened my +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147">147</a></span> +last weeks here, I shall leave this pleasant little spot with +regret.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 11, 1838.</em>—I arrived here yesterday at ten +o'clock in the evening after a journey which nine degrees +of frost and constant snow made extremely unpleasant. +However, we had no accident, and the change of air, sudden +as it has been, has rather strengthened me and given me a +little appetite.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I dined at Versailles with Madame de Balbi, +whom I thought had grown very old. My sister at the same +time was eating fowl with Madame de Trogoff, whom she +knew very well long ago.</p> + +<p>We found M. de Talleyrand in good health, but anxious +about our journey. He told me that the Ministry was +absorbed in work upon the Address, so that none of the +members are visible for the moment.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 12, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I was very busy with +my sister's dresses, my own, and those of Pauline. We have +all three arrived in rags. Then I went to see Madame de +Laval, who is greatly changed. In the evening I took my +sister to hear <cite>The Puritans</cite>, in the same box at the <em>Théâtre +Italien</em> as I had last year. Rubini has certainly lost +something of his voice, and Madame Grisi has begun to +shriek.</p> + +<p>I believe there is great agitation in the political world, +but I ask no questions, do not even read a newspaper, +and preserve my beloved state of ignorance, partly through +idleness and partly as a precaution.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 13, 1838.</em>—My sister wished to go for once +to the Chamber of Deputies, which is a new sight for her. +The Russian Ambassador gave us his tickets, and we spent +our morning yesterday at the Palais Bourbon. M. Molé +surpassed my expectations. He delighted my sister and +charmed myself. There could be nothing more dignified, +nothing clearer, better thought or better expressed than his +speech. His success was quite complete. I saw Madame de +Lieven at the Chamber; my sister and she will not look at +one another; they detest one another, though they do not +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148">148</a></span> +know one another. This is inconvenient for me.<a name="FNanchor_84" id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor"> [84]</a> M. Guizot +came up into our seat, and I thought him greatly changed.</p> + +<p>I am quite overcome by so different a mode of life from +that of the last six months.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 14, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I had a very long +and very kind visit from the Prince Royal, who was quite +calm and in a placid frame of mind.</p> + +<p>I then called upon the Princesse de Lieven, who gave me +full details of her domestic situation, which excluded conversation +upon any other topic and reduced me to the +position of audience. She thinks she will certainly be able +to stay here <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ad vitam æternam</i> without molestation. I hope +she may. In the evening I went to the Tuileries, to pay my +respects to the Queen.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 15, 1838.</em>—Great fires are becoming quite +fashionable. The burning of the London Stock Exchange +will form a counterpart to the destruction of the Winter +Palace at St. Petersburg, with the difference that a hundred +persons perished in Russia, while no loss of life took place in +England. Paul Medem told me that the Winter Palace +was three times as large as the Louvre, and that six +thousand persons lived there; that the Imperial pharmacy +was situated in the middle of the castle, and that an +explosion resulting from a chemical experiment had caused +the conflagration.</p> + +<p>I did not go out yesterday. M. de Sainte-Aulaire came to +lunch with my sister and myself, after which I had a call +from M. Royer-Collard, who is much better this year. I +saw MM. Thiers and Guizot with M. de Talleyrand. We +had a long and tiresome family dinner, after which my sister +and myself found nothing better to do than to go to bed at +half-past nine. I have not entirely recovered my strength. +A conversation with Dr. Cruveilhier, only too similar to that +which I had at Tours with Dr. Bretonneau, has done much +to bring back my despondency and listlessness.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149">149</a></span> +<em>Paris, January 16, 1838.</em>—Yesterday when I was writing +I had heard nothing of the conflagration which destroyed the +<em>Théâtre Italien</em> the preceding night. The under-manager +and four firemen lost their lives. It is a great catastrophe, +and disastrous for poor people like myself whose only pleasure +was the Italian Opera. I feel it quite deeply.</p> + +<p>Lady Clanricarde came to lunch with me yesterday, and it +was a great pleasure to see her again. She is very nice, and +we talked over "dear, ever dear England," an inexhaustible +subject for me.</p> + +<p>In the evening I took Pauline to a ball given by the Duc +d'Orléans; it was charming and delightfully arranged. We +went away after supper at two o'clock in the morning, which +was late for me. However, apart from a bad headache I +need not complain of the way in which I got through +my task. Unfortunately there are many others of the +kind, and the prospect of their multiplicity frightens me. +I saw nothing noticeable at the ball except the delicate +appearance of the Duchesse d'Orléans, which unfortunately is +not to be explained by any prospect of a child. I think our +excellent Queen looks older, and the Duc de Nemours is +terribly thin. He has grown a beard in the modern style, +but so fair that it is frightful to behold.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 17, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I spent the morning +with my sister in doing what I detest more than anything +else—making a full round of indispensable calls. In the +evening I took her to the Tuileries. The arrangements +were most noble and magnificent. She was a little astonished +at the forms of presentation here, and I was more than +usually struck by them.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 23, 1838.</em>—I have caught a cold as a result +of sitting in a draught which blew straight upon my back at +a concert yesterday at the residence of the Duc d'Orléans; +this was the only thing of which to complain at an evening's +entertainment where there was no crowd and where the music +was delightful, well chosen, and not too long.</p> + +<p>M. de Talleyrand is very well, except for his legs; their +weakness does not matter so much, but they are becoming +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150">150</a></span> +painful, especially the toes of one foot, which are not always +their natural colour. This is an ominous sign. I am very +anxious, and so is he; in short, I am greatly depressed, +and everything weighs heavily upon my mind.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 28, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is not ill, but +his mania for dining out has not agreed with him. Yesterday +at Lord Granville's, when giving his arm to the Princesse +de Lieven, he trod upon the folds of her dress and nearly +fell; he did not actually fall, but his knee gave way, his weak +foot turned, and he twisted his big toe. I was deeply anxious +when I saw him come back in this state. What a sad year +it is! The fact is that since last April nothing has gone +right, and if I did not regard all this as a trial and preparation +for a better world, I should be quite disgusted with this +one.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, January 30, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand's foot gives +him pain, and the worst of it is the difficulty of finding out +whether the pain is the result of the sprain or the general +weakness of the foot; otherwise he is calm, with people +always about him, and plays his game of whist every +evening.</p> + +<p>I was with the Queen this evening, who had received the +sad news that morning of the burning of the palace in Gotha +in which her daughter, Princesse Marie, was living. Princesse +Marie nearly lost her life, and has lost much valuable property, +albums, portraits, books, her diaries, in fact everything. +Her diamonds are melted out of the settings, which +are mere lumps of metal; the large stones alone resisted the +heat, and these must be repolished. And then many precious +objects which money cannot replace have gone. This first +cloud which overshadows her young happiness is especially +cruel, because it raises distrust and destroys the sense of +future security. It is a real grief to the Queen, the more so +as the shock might have done the Princess some harm, as she +is with child.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 1, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is anxious +about the state of his leg and the consequent change necessitated +in his mode of life. I wish his foot would get strong +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151">151</a></span> +enough to allow him to get into a carriage, but he cannot +yet put enough weight upon it to mount. Want of fresh +air and exercise, if this continues, may have serious consequences. +Meanwhile he is not alone for a single moment +from ten o'clock in the morning till after midnight.</p> + +<p>Lady Clanricarde came to lunch with me yesterday. In a +few days she is returning to her dear England, of which +I think daily with deep regret. I knew all that I was +losing when I left it, and I have at any rate counted the +cost.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 2, 1838.</em>—The state of M. de Talleyrand's +leg is pretty much the same, though it was slightly less +swollen yesterday. He is rather despondent, and, I think, +too far-sighted not to realise all the possible ill-results. I +cannot say how despondent I feel and what a weight is upon +my mind.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 3, 1838.</em>—Yesterday was M. de Talleyrand's +birthday, and he is now eighty-four. Fortunately his +leg has seemed much better during the last day or two. +This fact was the best birthday present he could have, or +I either.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 5, 1838.</em>—My sister collected some +Austrians and Italians yesterday evening at her house, and +engaged a band of Neapolitan musicians who are here. She +got them to sing some of their national airs, which are very +pretty. M. de Talleyrand was carried up to my sister's +rooms, and played his game there. His leg improves in +appearance, but the sprained foot is weak and painful. I +do not know if he will ever be able to walk again. If he +could only get into a carriage! His inability to get fresh air +makes me anxious.</p> + +<p>He is sad and worried. Strange to say, he has expressed +a wish to make the acquaintance of the Abbé +Dupanloup, and has asked me to invite him to dinner on +my birthday. I did so at once. The Abbé at first accepted +and then refused. I suspect the Archbishop's hand in this. +I shall see him to-morrow and get an explanation. When +M. de Talleyrand heard that the Abbé had refused he said: +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152">152</a></span> +"He has less intelligence than I thought, for he ought to be +anxious to come here for my sake and his own." These +words have impressed me and increased my vexation with the +Abbé's refusal.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 7, 1838.</em>—Yesterday, in spite of the keen +cold, I went to the Archbishop, who was very gracious. He +gave me, for St. Dorothea's Day, my birthday, which was +yesterday, a splendid copy of the <cite>Imitation of Jesus Christ</cite>, +and another for M. de Talleyrand; for my sister a portrait +of Leo XII., the Pope who had received his renunciation, +and for Pauline a handsome religious work. He was +greatly surprised and vexed that the Abbé Dupanloup had +refused to dine with us; in short, I came away quite +satisfied.</p> + +<p>I was still more pleased at the way in which M. de Talleyrand +accepted the Archbishop's present and listened to my +account of our conversation. He would like the Archbishop +to use his authority to induce the Abbé Dupanloup to come +here. I cannot help ascribing his excellent frame of mind to +my own feelings in my last illness, and to the words which I +was then able to speak to him. I bless God for the sign that +He has been pleased to send me by His hidden and always +admirable means of working and if to complete this great +task I should have to make a yet greater sacrifice I shall +readily do so.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 9, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand went out +yesterday for the first time for a drive, which did him good, +or, more correctly, pleased him. The effects of his sprain +are rapidly passing away, but the same is not true of the +general condition of his foot, which is unsatisfactory. He +was carried into the carriage and helped out again, which +was not so difficult as I thought, but this obvious infirmity is +painful to look at—more painful than I can say. Rumours +are believed that the Duchesse d'Orléans is with child; however, +I think we shall have to wait a little before the story +can be confirmed.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 10, 1838.</em>—It is said that the quarrel +between the Flahauts and General Baudrand will be settled, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153">153</a></span> +but I do not think permanently.<a name="FNanchor_85" id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor"> [85]</a> Madame de Flahaut +comes to see M. de Talleyrand in the evenings, and her +husband every morning; they are kind and gracious, as +threatened people are.</p> + +<p>M. Royer-Collard, whom I saw yesterday for a moment, +was delighted to find that his speeches the other day had +shattered the position which people wished the Deputies to +resume. There was some friction between us on this occasion. +There is too strong a strain of bitterness in his nature, which +sometimes makes him quite mischievous, though he does not +know it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 11, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand was able to +visit Madame Adélaïde yesterday, the chief event of his day, +and therefore of mine. The event of to-day is the snow, +which is falling heavily and incessantly, and brings us back +to the middle of the winter.</p> + +<p>The Abbé Dupanloup came to see me yesterday, and paid +a long call. I was quite satisfied with the result, and he will +dine with us in a week.</p> + +<p>We also had some people to dinner; the whole of the +Albuféra family, the Thiers, the Flahauts; and some people +come in every evening.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 15, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is very busy +with a small laudatory speech upon M. Reinhard which +he proposes to deliver at the Academy of Moral and +Political Science at the beginning of next month. He is +taking trouble with it, and spent several hours over it +yesterday.</p> + +<p>The Baudrand and Flahaut business is not yet concluded. +Claims, hesitations, and equivocations have been forthcoming +from either side, with the result that the two rivals have +become ridiculously bitter, and, what is worse, the Prince +Royal has been involved.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 23, 1838.</em>—We are still in the midst of +cold and snow.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154">154</a></span> +The Duc de Nemours has had a sore throat, which +threatened to become quinsy, but his indisposition has not +postponed any of the Court festivities, and the day before +yesterday he was present at the Queen's ball.</p> + +<p>M. de Talleyrand has a cold and his legs are weak. These +are his two weak points. The former is only a transitory +trouble; the other, though its remote consequences may be +serious, is not threatening at present. Such is the true +state of affairs.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, February 25, 1838.</em>—I was informed early this +morning that M. de Talleyrand was suffering from a kind of +suffocation. This was purely due to outward circumstances, +for he had slipped down in his bed and was practically buried by +his vast bedclothes, with the result that a kind of nightmare +was the consequence. I have just left him sleeping peaceably +in an armchair. What I do not like is the fact that for +the last two days he has been more or less feverish, and that +he will eat nothing or very little for fear of increasing the fever. +He is very weak. The absence of Dr. Cruveilhier, who is at +Limoges, is also a trouble, and though I feel no immediate +anxiety, I am far from confident concerning the result of +this invalid condition, which seems to point to a general +break-up.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 3, 1838.</em>—In two hours M. de Talleyrand is +going to the Academy in cold and most unpleasant rain; I +also fear the effect of the excitement upon him. There will +be a large audience, but no women, as this Academy will not +admit them. I hope that to-day will go off well, but I wish +it were to-morrow.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 4, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand is very agitated +and very weak this morning. He made a great effort, and +whatever his success, I fear he will have to pay dearly for it. +His success was beyond my expectation; the accounts of +some fifty people who besieged my room after the session +leave me no doubt upon that point. He had recovered his +vocal powers, read excellently well, walked about, seemed +younger and entirely himself, and two hours afterwards he +was overthrown and incapable of making an effort. I do not +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155">155</a></span> +know what the newspapers will have to say of the speech, +but if anything can disarm them I think it should be the +fact that a man at such an age and with so full a past +should display such energy in delivering in public farewells +so noble and so full of justice and good teaching.<a name="FNanchor_86" id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor"> [86]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 5, 1838.</em>—The day has gone off better than +I expected for M. de Talleyrand. The <cite>Journal Général de +France</cite>, which is a Doctrinaire organ, contained the best, +cleverest, and pleasantest article upon M. de Talleyrand's +speech. Some ascribed it to M. Doudan, others to M. +Villemain. The article in the <cite>Débats</cite> was kind, but dull; +that of the <cite>Journal de Paris</cite> good; of the <cite>Charte</cite> stupid and +badly written; the <cite>Gazette de France</cite> fairly good; the <cite>Siècle</cite> +and the <cite>Presse</cite> insignificant; the <cite>National</cite> of no account. +Against my custom, which has been not to open a single +newspaper since my return from the country, I read them +all yesterday, and shall do the same to-day; then I shall +resume my state of ignorance.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 6, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand had a fainting +fit yesterday before dinner. I think it was due to the +excessively rigorous methods of his dieting and to the +catarrh of his chest and stomach, which takes away his +appetite. The blister which will be placed upon him will +relieve him, I hope. Yesterday's newspapers were not +equally satisfactory concerning his speech, but he was not +disturbed on that account, for the intelligent and right-minded +members of his audience have been really pleased. +The house is constantly full of people coming to congratulate +him. M. Royer-Collard said to me yesterday: "M. de +Talleyrand has solemnly disavowed the unpleasant incidents +of his life and publicly glorified the good and really useful +parts of it."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 7, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand had no further +attacks of faintness yesterday, but he does not look well, and +I think him much changed. I hear that his brother, the +Duc de Talleyrand, my father-in-law, is also in a very poor +state of health; the Vicomtesse de Laval is feverish with a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156">156</a></span> +bad cold and she cannot sleep. This is all very sad, and +these omens of death depress me greatly.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 8, 1838.</em>—M. de Talleyrand had a better +day yesterday. We take great care of him: when I came +back from a dinner given to my sister by the Stackelbergs, +and from the Queen, to whom I went afterwards, I +found him surrounded by fair ladies and in pretty good +spirits.</p> + +<p>In the morning I took Pauline to ask offerings from the +Archbishop. My sister wished to accompany us, so that I +was unable to speak with M. de Quélen.</p> + +<p>The Flahaut party have lost all touch with the Pavillon +Marsan, except the good graces of the Prince Royal, which +they seem to be monopolising. At the Pavillon de Flore +there is a general satisfaction at their departure, notwithstanding +many fine phrases. The Flahauts do not understand +the truth, and throw the blame upon a Doctrinaire +intrigue, to which the Duc de Coigny is said to have lent his +help. They are soon starting for England, where I think +they will make a pretty long stay.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 10, 1838.</em>—The Abbé Dupanloup came to +see me yesterday. He then asked to see M. de Talleyrand, +to thank him for the copy of his speech which he had sent +him. Pauline took him there. He stayed alone for twenty +minutes with M. de Talleyrand, who did not open the subject +directly, but let some kind words fall, and when the +Abbé came back to my room he seemed to feel some hope. +In any case, he has shown great discretion and perfect tact, +and I think he is entirely right. He was the first to suggest +that he should take his leave, and was told that he would gladly +be seen again. This is all excellent, provided we are given time. +It is not so much a case of illness as of general depression and +an obvious alteration in his features; but with such a mind one +cannot be hasty. What a task it is, and how terrified I should +be of it if I did not tell myself that the most unworthy instrument +which God is pleased to choose can become more powerful +than the greatest saint, if God's providence is not pleased to +make use of him!</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157">157</a></span> +<em>Paris, March 11, 1838.</em>—The English Ministry has +triumphantly survived the crisis which was thought likely to +become its overthrow. Will ours pass equally well through +next week's crisis, the question of the secret service funds? +Many batteries have been laid in position against it, and a +silent agitation is proceeding on all sides. It is said that +either extremity of the Chamber will direct a converging +fire upon the Ministerial benches, I suppose with the object +of afterwards shooting one another down upon the field of +battle. It is all very distressing.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 14, 1838.</em>—I spent two hours yesterday with +the Archbishop. I was better pleased with his sentiments +than with his decisions. However, everything has been left +for his meditation. He asked me to write and tell him what +I thought, and I hope, with the grace of God, Who will cast +light here and there, to reach some satisfactory conclusion, +both for those who are to leave us and for those destined to +continue their pilgrimage.</p> + +<p>On leaving the Archbishop I went to the Vicomtesse de +Laval, who is weak and shaken in health, but alert in heart +and mind.</p> + +<p>On my return I found M. de Talleyrand depressed and +uneasy; he recovered his spirits after a talk with me. The +last few days he has eaten a little better. In the evening he +was not so weak, and I have just heard that he had a quiet +night. I am swayed incessantly between hope and despair, +but supported by the sense that I am useful, and perhaps +even necessary. If my strength is to fail me, I trust that it +may last to the end of my task, after which the sacrifice will +have been made, as I made it during my illness at Rochecotte.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 15, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I accompanied my +sister, who wished to go once more before her departure +to the Chamber of Deputies. I felt greatly bored. M. Molé +spoke very well; M. Barthe was unbearably superficial; +M. Guizot gave us the most wearisome of all his sermons; +M. Passy was coarse without being clever; M. Odilon Barrot +was very clever and witty, and left neither Thiers nor Berryer +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158">158</a></span> +anything to say, but his delivery is so oratorical and so badly +sustained that it is hard work to listen to him. On the +whole the honours of the session remained with M. Molé; or, +to speak more accurately, if the Ministry gained nothing its +adversary lost a great deal, which amounts to the same thing +at the present moment.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 16, 1838.</em>—I took Pauline yesterday to mass, +to the sermon, and to the salutation, after which she made +her collection. Two funerals interrupted the collection, preventing +any one from coming out, and they were also delayed +by a driving rain, so that we remained standing at the +church door for an interminable time. However, the sermon +of the Abbé de Ravignan,<a name="FNanchor_87" id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor"> [87]</a> concerning indifference in religion +and its various causes, pleased me greatly, and if it is not one +of the best sermons I have read, it is at any rate one of the +best that I have ever heard.</p> + +<p>M. Molé, who was dining here, said that this morning in +the Chamber, during the formation of the official bodies, the +alliance between men who were enemies a few months ago +was notorious.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 17, 1838.</em>—I spent a long time yesterday +morning at the Seminary of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, +of which the Abbé Dupanloup is the superior. The good +Abbé pleased me greatly, and also expressed his satisfaction +with the little document which I showed him.<a name="FNanchor_88" id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor"> [88]</a></p> + +<p>In another month we shall have a new poem by M. de +Lamartine, called <cite>L'Ange déchu</cite>,<a name="FNanchor_89" id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor"> [89]</a> then the <cite>Mélanges littéraires</cite>, +by M. Villemain, and a work by M. de Chateaubriand on +the Congress of Verona; in short, enough reading for the +whole summer.</p> + +<p>M. de Talleyrand says that on May 1 he will go to his +estate of Pont de Sains, in Flanders, stay there for the +summer, travel to Nice by easy stages, starting on September 1, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159">159</a></span> +and return to Valençay in the month of May 1839. Such +extensive projects are decidedly rash, and it is unreasonable +for him to expose himself to the damp of Flanders after +May 1. I tell him so and trust to Providence.</p> + +<p>The motto, or rather the conclusion of a letter, which I find +in an old book seems to me very pretty: "Be with God." +I have adopted it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 22, 1838.</em>—Princesse Marie, who has been +here since the 19th, nearly had a miscarriage yesterday, as +the result of too long a drive; while the Duchesse d'Orléans +can only avoid one by remaining in her long chair.</p> + +<p>M. de Rumigny, our ambassador at Turin, has brought a +foolish dispute upon himself—a personal quarrel with the +King over a matter of etiquette. Complaints concerning him +have come to hand. It is the most foolish business conceivable, +as it is all about the black or white headdresses worn +by the women. Sardinian etiquette allows the Queen alone +to wear them. How absurd it all is!</p> + +<p>A coalition between MM. Thiers and Guizot seems likely, +but there is such an outcry against this combination that +either party is embarrassed, and it will probably come to +nothing. M. Guizot in particular is experiencing the evil +results of it, because his reputation is suffering greatly, and +upon that, rather than upon his talent, he regarded his +importance to be based. The fact is that notwithstanding +all that has been said on either side in the speeches which +closed last session and the discussions that have filled the +interval there is something too abrupt in this alliance, which +M. Royer-Collard calls an impious coalition.</p> + +<p>There is much talk of a journey to be made by the King +to Nantes and Bordeaux for the month of June, which would +bring us back to Berry and towards Touraine. Hitherto +M. de Talleyrand contemplated only Pont de Sains, a +calamitous idea.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 25, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I defied an equinoctial +storm to go and see the Archbishop. By degrees we came +to an agreement, in the terms of the letter, and I hope that +we shall arrive at some useful result, but we require time and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160">160</a></span> +the help of outward circumstances which do not depend on +us and must be asked from a greater Power than ourselves. +In any case, if heaven can be importuned by the prayers +of earth, the petitions sent up on this subject should be +efficacious.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, March 28, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I had a most important +conversation with M. de Talleyrand, and found him in a state +of open-mindedness which seemed miraculous. I now hope to +be able to push steadily forward, and though the goal is still +far away I trust that no precipice will form an obstacle to +my progress.</p> + +<p>Death comes upon people here in a terrifying way; +M. Alexis de Rougé was carried off in twelve hours by a +sudden stroke of apoplexy. His loss has thrown many +people into great grief.</p> + +<p>I have called upon Madame Adélaïde, where I heard all +the nice things that the Duchess of Würtemberg is saying +about Germany. The Duchesse d'Orléans feels that her +child has quickened, and I think that her condition will +be publicly announced in a few days.</p> + +<p>They say that the young Queen of England gallops down +the streets of London through all the omnibuses and cabs. +Her old aunts think this is very shocking, and so it is.</p> + +<p>In the English Parliament there is a coalition no less +astounding than that of MM. Thiers and Guizot; Lord +Brougham and Lord Lyndhurst have joined hands.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 1, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I went with my sister to +the court of the Louvre to see the bronze statue which is to +be sent off in a few days to Turin and is on exhibition for +the moment. It is a statue of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy +after the battle of Saint-Quentin, pulling up his horse and +putting his sword into its sheath. It is the work of +Marochetti, a delightful thing, full of grace, nobility, and +life. I was very pleased with it, and it seems to have met +with the general approval.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 3, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I gave M. de Talleyrand +the little document which I had drawn up for him. The +incident passed over without a storm. I suppose that he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161">161</a></span> +will have read and digested it yesterday evening, and I shall +see to-day whether the horizon is clouded.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 4, 1838.</em>—The little document was entirely +successful.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I took my sister to Saint-Roch to hear the +Abbé de Ravignan, who pleased her greatly. He has a fine +face, a beautiful voice, an excellent delivery, faith, conviction, +warmth, authority, a close and vigorous style of argument, +couched in clear and noble language, with a precise choice +of words. He is not prolix and never diffuse. He lacks +unction and his teaching is therefore rather doctrinal than +evangelical, so that his talent had full scope as he was +preaching on the infallibility of the Church.</p> + +<p>M. de Pimodan, a great Legitimist, who was giving his arm +to one of the lady collectors, insolently blocked the Queen's +passage; the vicar, the Abbé Olivier, who was accompanying +her to the door, and who is a little thick-set man, strong as +a Turk, vigorously elbowed M. de Pimodan to move him out +of the way; he flew into a rage, and rudely asked the <em>curé</em> +what he meant by shoving him. The Abbé calmly replied: +"I meant, sir, to make room for the Queen"; upon which +the gentleman muttered some very insolent remarks, which +passed unnoticed.</p> + +<p>The Princesse de Bauffremont, who was to be one of the +lady collectors, heard the evening before that Madame de +Vatry was also to perform this duty. There were six of +these ladies, chosen from different circles of Parisian society, +in order to untie as many purse-strings as possible. The +Princess then said that she would not be seen in company +with the daughter of M. Hamguerlot, and withdrew. Was +ever such false pride or want of charity?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, April 8, 1838.</em>—The general attention was occupied +by the session in the Chamber of Peers yesterday. The speech +of M. de Brigode which was delivered the evening before had +made every one alert, and the active part taken by the Duc +de Broglie in this discussion seems to be an event, and is +connected with the hostile movement and the impious +alliance in the Chamber of Deputies. The Ministry made +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162">162</a></span> +an excellent reply to the attacks of MM. de Broglie and +Villemain. M. Pasquier, who is angry at an attempt to +limit his powers, made a very bad President. The Ministry +is anxious concerning Easter week.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>The Duc de Talleyrand, younger brother of the Prince de +Talleyrand, died on April 28, 1838. The Duc and Duchesse +de Dino then inherited his title, which they afterwards bore. +The following 17th of May the Prince de Talleyrand died in +his turn, after four days' illness.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>The following letter was written on May 10, 1838, but was +placed at this point of the Memoirs by the author herself.</p> + +<div class="blockquote"> +<p class="center"><em>A letter addressed by the Duchesse de Talleyrand to the Abbé +Dupanloup with reference to the latter's account of the +last moments of the Prince de Talleyrand.</em></p> + +<p>"I have read with profound emotion, M. l'Abbé, as you +may be sure, the valuable manuscript which I now beg to +return to you.<a name="FNanchor_90" id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor"> [90]</a></p> + +<p>"Everything is related with a truth and simplicity which +must, I think, touch the hearts of the most indifferent and +convince the most sceptical. I have nothing to add to your +account, which perfectly describes all the incidents of the +sad event unfortunately accomplished before our eyes. But +perhaps I alone am able to point out the course of mental +development which for some years had certainly begun to +modify M. de Talleyrand's feelings. It was a gradual process, +and there is a certain interest in following its slow but +sincere growth, as it eventually led him in so consoling a +manner to his goal.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163">163</a></span> +"I will therefore try to retrace my recollections of this +matter, and I think I shall not go back too far if I begin +with my daughter's first communion, which took place at +London on March 31, 1834. On that day she came to ask +for the blessing of M. de Talleyrand, whom she called her +good uncle. He gave it her tenderly, and then said to me: +'How touching is the piety of a young girl, and how unnatural +is unbelief, especially in women.' However, a short +time after our return to France M. de Talleyrand was +alarmed by the strength of my daughter's feelings. He was +afraid that she might be taught to mistrust him, or to form +unfavourable opinions of him, and even asked me to find +out from what point of view Pauline's confessor treated the +subject. I put the question directly to my daughter, who +replied with that candour which you yourself know, that as +her uncle did not involve her in any sin she never spoke of +him to her confessor, who only mentioned him in advising +her to pray to God earnestly for him. M. de Talleyrand was +touched by this answer, and said to me: 'Such conduct is +that of an intelligent and deserving man.'</p> + +<p>"From that time he was anxious that Pauline should +have more opportunities for attending church, and even go +some distance from home to receive the benefit of your wise +direction; he used to offer her the use of his carriage, and +I have sometimes seen him go to personal inconvenience for +the advantage of his 'little girl.'</p> + +<p>"Eventually he derived a certain self-esteem on account of +Pauline's religious earnestness, and seemed to be flattered +that she should have been so well brought up under his own +eyes; he would often say, in speaking of Pauline, 'She is the +angel of the house.' He took great pleasure, as all good +minds do, in declaring the merits of others. No one could +give praise more gracefully, with greater moderation, advantage, +and propriety; any one who was mentioned or +criticised by him received all the credit that could be his +due. Upon occasions he would certainly utter words of +blame, but only at rare intervals, and never with such direct +force as when he praised. He was especially lenient towards +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164">164</a></span> +ecclesiastics, and if he disapproved of them it was only for +political reasons, and never on account of their religious ministrations, +while he always expressed himself with great moderation. +He both respected and admired the ancient Church of +France, of which he spoke as a great, a fine, and a magnificent +institution. In his house I have seen cardinals, bishops, and +simple village pastors; all were received with infinite respect, +and became the objects of tactful attention. An inappropriate +word was never uttered before them; M. de Talleyrand would +never have allowed anything of the kind. I have seen the +Bishop of Rennes (the Abbé Mannay) spend months at Valençay +and the Bishop of Evreux (the Abbé Bourlier) stay at M. de +Talleyrand's residence in Paris with the same purity and +freedom of conduct and enjoying the same respect as in their +dioceses. Towards his uncle, the late Cardinal of Périgord, +M. de Talleyrand was a tender, attentive, and deferential +nephew. He was often to be seen at the Archbishop's house, +where he was especially fond of a talk with the Abbé +Desjardins, whom he liked for the gentleness and the wide +range and tact of his conversation.</p> + +<p>"I have often been astonished at the unconstraint of my +uncle's bearing in the society of ecclesiastics, which I can +only explain by supposing that he was under a delusion, +strange, but real and long-lasting, concerning his actual +position with reference to the Church. He was quite +aware that he had dealt the Church a blow, but he thought +that the process of secularisation which he had unduly +stimulated had been one of simplification rather than of +destruction.<a name="FNanchor_91" id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor"> [91]</a> As his position thus seemed to him pretty +clearly defined, he regarded it as easy. This mistake lasted +as long as his political life, and only after his retirement +did he think of defining more exactly his relations with +the Papacy. But before this time a vague instinct made +him feel that if, in his opinion, he did not exactly owe +any reparation, he owed at least some consolation to those +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165">165</a></span> +whom he had saddened. He therefore was ready to support +the interests of the clergy upon every occasion, and never +refused an alms either to a priest in distress or to a beggar, +but tacitly recognised the claims of both upon him. His +charity was great, and I gave him much pleasure by repeating +to him a remark made by a most estimable person, which +was as follows: 'You may set your mind at rest; +M. de Talleyrand will come to a good end, for he is +charitable.' I was able to remind him of this saying at +the most solemn hour of his life, as you, M. l'Abbé, may +remember, and remember, also, what consolation he derived +from it. He was always deeply grateful to those in retirement +from the world and in convents who prayed for him. +He never forgot it, and used to say: 'I have some friends +among the good souls.' His heart was touched because +he was a good man, a very good man indeed; he felt this +himself when he used to ask me: 'Am I not really better +than I am thought to be?' Certainly he was better than +he was thought; only his neighbours, his friends, and his +servants could appreciate the extent of his simple kindness, +his attention, his love, and his loyalty. You have seen our +tears. The good-hearted alone are thus lamented.</p> + +<p>"After his return from England he was twice strongly +impressed with salutary effect by the Christian death of +the Duc de Dalberg and by the religious habits which +characterised the latter part of the life of Dr. Bourdois, +his contemporary, his friend, and his doctor. He was +grateful to Dr. Bourdois for entrusting him to the clever +hands of M. Cruveilhier; he had confidence in his skill, +and felt himself honoured to be so well attended by so +religious a man. The earnestness of his doctor seemed +to be regarded by him as an additional guarantee.</p> + +<p>"Pope Pius VII. was always the object of his veneration; +he devoted several pages of his memoirs to the struggle +between this Pope and the Emperor Napoleon, and his +view of the matter was entirely to the advantage of the +Pope. He had a strong admiration for the policy of the +Papacy as clever, quiet, gentle, and always uniform, which +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166">166</a></span> +qualities he regarded as of first-rate importance in the +conduct of business.</p> + +<p>"Throughout the pontificate of Pius VII. my uncle +thought himself in fairly good odour at Rome. In support +of this conviction he often quoted to me a remark by the +holy Father with reference to himself. The Pope was then +at Fontainebleau, and was speaking to the Marquise +de Brignole, a friend of M. de Talleyrand, and said, referring +to my uncle: 'May God rest his soul; for my part, I have +a great affection for him.'</p> + +<p>"M. de Talleyrand was well aware that I often had the +honour of seeing the Archbishop of Paris, and he had +guessed that our intercourse was actuated by one principal +idea as far as M. de Quélen was concerned—the desire to preserve +his relations with my uncle. M. de Talleyrand was never +worried by him; on the contrary; and though several letters +addressed by the Archbishop of Paris to M. de Talleyrand at +different times failed to achieve their object, he was none the +less touched by the enduring interest he had inspired in a +prelate whose character he honoured and whose sincere zeal +and open-mindedness he appreciated. He also showed much +interest in M. de Quélen and his political position, which he +would like to have been able to render easier. Upon several +occasions I have seen him attempt to do him some service, by +advice which he thought useful, or by speaking warmly in his +favour at any other time. This he did not merely from love +of truth, but also as a testimony to the memory of the late +Cardinal Périgord. He often said: 'I look upon M. de Quélen +as a legacy from my uncle, the Cardinal. He likes us and +our name and everything connected with the Cardinal.' +On New Year's Day he used to instruct me to leave his +card at the Archbishop's house, saying, 'We should always +treat him as a grandparent.' He never saw me start upon +a visit to Saint-Michel or to the Sacré Cœur<a name="FNanchor_92" id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor"> [92]</a> without asking +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167">167</a></span> +me to give his respects to the Archbishop. When I came +back he used to ask me for news of him and whether his +own name had been mentioned, and what M. de Quélen had +said of him. He would listen attentively to my answers, +smile, and say at length: 'Yes, yes, I know that he is +very anxious to win my soul and to offer it to the Cardinal.' +Up to his last year these remarks were never uttered very +seriously, but with great kindliness.</p> + +<p>"On December 10, 1838, I received very early notice +of the death of the Princesse de Talleyrand. I was obliged +to announce the news to my uncle, and I was most reluctant +to do so, for it was just at this time that he was attacked by +violent palpitations which made us fear a sudden death. +Excitement above all was to be avoided, and I was afraid +that this news might cause him some agitation. But it +was not so, and he immediately replied calmly in words +which much surprised me: 'That greatly simplifies my +position.' At the same moment from the pocket of his +dressing-jacket he drew out some letters and told me to +read them. The first was written by a religious lady at +the Sacré Cœur; M. de Talleyrand had known her well +in past years, had done her some service, and always called +her his old friend; she was Madame de Marbœuf. In +this letter she spoke to him of God, and sent him a medal, +which he always used to wear, and which to-day becomes +yours.</p> + +<p>"The second letter was sent to him by a clergyman near +Gap, who was entirely unknown to him, and who spoke +of God with admirable and touching simplicity.</p> + +<p>"Finally, the third letter, inspired by the warmest faith, +open-mindedness, reason, and sincere interest, boldly touched +upon my uncle's religious position. He wrote a few lines +to the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency to thank her +for it, and constantly carried this letter about with him +in a little pocket-book, where I found it after his death. +He often spoke of it, and of the noble and unfortunate +lady who had written it, and always with warmth and +respect.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168">168</a></span> +"He also knew that one of my cousins, Madame de Chabannes, +a nun of the Grandes Carmélites at Paris, constantly +prayed for him; he was touched by the fact, and would say +to me, when speaking of these pious people: 'The good souls +will not despair of me.' I know nothing so gentle or so loving +as this saying of his, which showed that he had no fear that +God would abandon him.</p> + +<p>"In the case of any one who knew him as well as I did, +attempts to urge him too rapidly along this path would have +been tactless. It was, indeed, necessary to give these various +impressions time to develop, and with him nothing was done +quickly; his trust in time was infinite, and it was faithful to +him unto death.</p> + +<p>"Whenever I spoke to my uncle of his marriage, as I often +did, I was not afraid so show him my surprise at a mistake as +inexplicable as it was fatal in the eyes of God. He then +replied: 'The truth is that I cannot give you a satisfactory +explanation of it; it was done at a time of general disturbance, +when people attached no great importance to anything, +to themselves, or to others; there was no society and no +family, and every one acted with complete carelessness in the +midst of wars and the fall of empires. You do not know +how far astray men may wander in periods of great social +upheaval.' The same idea may be found in his proposed +declaration to the Pope, the original of which is in my hands, +when he wrote: 'This revolution which has swept everything +away and has continued for the last fifty years.'</p> + +<p>"Thus you may see that not only did he make no attempt +to justify his marriage, but that he did not even try to +explain it. His domestic life had been very unhappy under +the Empire and the Restoration, and since that time I have +always seen him embarrassed and ashamed of this strange bond +which he no longer wished to bear, but the painful chain of +which he could not entirely break; and when death broke it +for him he realised his deliverance to the full.</p> + +<p>"Some time afterwards, in March 1836, one of his servants +was attacked by an illness which was soon declared mortal. +My daughter induced the man to see a priest and to receive +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169">169</a></span> +the sacraments. M. de Talleyrand knew of it, and expressed +his satisfaction. On this occasion he said to me: 'Any +other procedure in our house would have been a scandal +which would certainly have caused unpleasant talk; I am +delighted that Pauline should have prevented it.' The same +evening he related the incident to Madame de Laval, and +enlarged with satisfaction upon the influence which Pauline +exerted upon the whole house by her firm and modest +earnestness.</p> + +<p>"In the spring of 1837 my uncle desired to leave Fontainebleau, +whither he had come for the marriage of the +Duc d'Orléans, before the Court had finished its stay. He +told me to remain and to be present at the great festival +which the King gave at Versailles a few days later. I rejoined +him afterwards at Berry, where he had been anxious to go in +time to meet the Archbishop of Bourges at Valençay, who +was passing that way while making a tour of his diocese. I +heard from Pauline that M. de Talleyrand had shown special +attention to the prelate, even to the point of changing his +personal customs. On Friday and Saturday he had declined +to have meat upon his table, and all the meals were served +as for a fast day.</p> + +<p>"During the summer of the same year, 1837, the superior +of the Sisters of Saint-André, who were established at +Valençay by the care of M. de Talleyrand, came to inspect +this community. He called at the Castle, where he was asked +to dinner. As we left the table M. de Talleyrand said to +me: 'I have an idea that the Abbé Taury is a member of +the community of Saint-Sulpice; go and ask him.' I brought +back a reply in the affirmative. 'I was sure of it,' he returned +with satisfaction; 'there is a gentleness and reserve and a +sense of propriety in the members of that community which +is quite unmistakable.'</p> + +<p>"On Sundays and great festivals M. de Talleyrand was +always present at mass when he was at Valençay; on his +two patron saints' days, St. Charles and St. Maurice, he was +also present, and would have felt hurt if the vicar had not +come to say mass at the Château. His behaviour in chapel +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170">170</a></span> +was entirely proper, and notwithstanding his infirmity he +would always kneel down at the right moment. If there was +no mass, if people came late or made a noise, he noticed it +as being improper. During mass he read attentively either the +<cite>Funeral Orations</cite> of Bossuet or his <cite>Discourse upon Universal +History</cite>. One Sunday, however, in November 1837 he had +forgotten his book, and took one of the two which Pauline +had brought for herself. It was the <cite>Imitation of Jesus +Christ</cite>. As he gave it back to her he turned to me and +asked me to give him a copy of this admirable book. I +offered him mine, which he afterwards took to mass in +preference to any other.</p> + +<p>"He regarded it as important that the officiating priest +should perform the service in full, and often quoted the +Archbishop of Paris as the ecclesiastic whose conduct of the +service was most to his taste and most dignified. One Sunday +I ventured to tell him that during mass my thoughts had +wandered in his direction. He wished to know them, and I +ventured to tell him that I had been wondering what his +thoughts could be when he remembered that he too had held +the same distinction as the priest officiating before him. +His reply seemed to me to be an obvious proof of the +delusion under which he was concerning his true ecclesiastical +position. He said: 'Why do you think it strange to +see me at mass? I go there as you do, or any one else. You +are constantly forgetting that I have resigned my orders, +which fact makes my position very simple.' At that time +he wished to show me the letters granting his resignation, +but they were at Paris. After his death I found them, with +all the papers relating to this business, and very curious they +are. I examined them carefully; they showed me that his +marriage alone had been the great obstacle to his reconciliation +with the Church; his other offences had been pardoned +and the ecclesiastical censure removed at Paris by Cardinal +Caprara in the name of the Pope.</p> + +<p>"I referred just now to the attention with which M. de +Talleyrand used to read Bossuet's <cite>Discourse on Universal +History</cite>; this fact recalls to my mind an incident which seemed +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171">171</a></span> +to me remarkable. One day at Valençay, I think in the +year 1835, he asked me to come into his room. I found him +there reading. 'Come,' he said, 'I wish to show you how +mysteries should be spoken of; read aloud and read slowly.' +I read the following: "In the year 4000 of the world's +history, Jesus Christ the son of Abraham in time, the Son of +God in eternity, was born of a virgin.' 'Learn the passage +by heart,' he said to me, 'and see with what authority and +what simplicity all mysteries may be concentrated in these +few lines. Thus and thus only it is proper to speak of holy +things. They are imposed upon us, but not explained to us. +That fact alone secures their acceptance; in other forms +they are worthless, for doubt begins when authority ends, and +authority, tradition, and dominion are only revealed sufficiently +in a Catholic church.' He always had something unpleasant to +say about Protestantism; he had seen it at close quarters in +America, and had preserved a disagreeable memory of it.</p> + +<p>"In the month of December 1837 I felt seriously ill. We +were then at my house at Rochecotte, where, unfortunately, +spiritual resources are few. However, as I felt in some danger +I wished to send for the local clergyman. My uncle heard of +it, and as I was getting well he showed some surprise. 'So +you have reached that point,' he said to me; 'and how did +you get there?' I told him as simply as I could, and he +listened with much interest. In conclusion I added that, +among many other serious considerations, I had not forgotten +that of my social position, which I was the more bound to +remember in view of its importance. He then interrupted +me quickly and said: 'In truth there is nothing less +aristocratic than unbelief.' Two days afterwards he re-opened +a similar conversation of his own accord, made me +go through the same details, then looked at me steadily +and said: 'You believe, then?' 'Yes, sir,' I replied, +'firmly.'</p> + +<p>"During our last stay together at Rochecotte he heard of +the arrest of the Archbishop of Cologne; he seemed to regard +it as an important event. 'This may give us back the line +of the Rhine,' he said immediately. 'In any case, it is a grain +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172">172</a></span> +of Catholicism sown in Europe; you will see it rise and grow +vigorously.'</p> + +<p>"At that time I came across a passage dealing with the +limits of the spiritual and temporal powers, which is to be +found in the discourse delivered by Fénelon at the consecration +of the Archbishop of Cologne. I showed this fine +passage to my uncle, who was delighted with it, and said: +'That should be copied and sent to the King of Prussia.'</p> + +<p>"When we returned to Paris in the month of January 1838 +M. de Talleyrand was soon deprived of the little exercise +which he had been able hitherto to take. He sprained his +foot at the English Embassy, where he was dining, on +January 27. The winter was very cold, and the douching +which was ordered for his sprained foot to restore its strength +gave him a cold. The cold became bronchitis, and he could +not sleep or eat. Every morning he used to complain of his +harassing insomnia. 'When one cannot sleep,' he said, +'one thinks terribly.' Once he added: 'During these long +nights I recall many events of my life.' 'Can you give +yourself reasons for them all?' I asked him. 'No,' he said; +'in truth there are some I do not understand in the least; +others that I can explain and excuse; and others, too, for which +I blame myself the more severely as they were performed with +extreme carelessness, though they have since been my chief +cause of self-reproach. If I had acted according to any +system or principle, then I should certainly understand them, +but my actions were performed without consideration and +with the carelessness of that age, as was almost everything +done in our youth.' I told him that it was preferable, in +my opinion, to have acted thus than as a result of false +doctrine. He admitted that I was right.</p> + +<p>"It was at the end of one of these conversations that your +letter arrived, M. l'Abbé, the letter that you quote in your +interesting narrative. He handed it to me to read, and said +somewhat abruptly: 'If I were to fall seriously ill, I should +ask for a priest. Do you think the Abbé Dupanloup +would come?' 'I have no doubt of it,' I replied; 'but he +could only be of any use to you if you re-entered the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173">173</a></span> +communion from which you have unfortunately departed.' +'Yes,' he replied, 'I owe something to Rome, I know well, +and have thought of it for a long time.' 'For how long?' +I asked him, surprised, I admit, at this unexpected beginning. +'Since the last visit of the Archbishop of Bourges to Valençay, +and afterwards when the Abbé Taury came there. I then +wondered why the Archbishop, who at that time was more +directly my spiritual pastor, did not open the subject. Why +did the apostle of Saint-Sulpice never speak to me?' +'Unfortunately,' I replied, 'they would not have dared.' +'Yet,' he said, 'I would have welcomed anything of the +kind.' Deeply moved by such satisfactory words, I took his +hand, and, standing before him with tears in my eyes, I said: +'Why wait for any one to open the question? Why not +take for yourself spontaneously, freely, and nobly the step +that is at once most honourable to yourself, most consoling +to the Church and to all right-minded people? I am sure +that you would find Rome well disposed, while the Archbishop +of Paris is deeply attached to you; so make the trial.' He +did not interrupt me, and I was able to go further into +this delicate and even thorny question, though it was a +question that I thoroughly understood, as it had been +repeatedly explained to me by M. de Quélen, who had +been anxious to make me realise all its bearings. We +were interrupted before I had been able to say all I wished, +but on going to my room I wrote M. de Talleyrand a long +letter under stress of my deep devotion. He read it with +that trustfulness with which he was accustomed to rely upon +my instinct when his reputation and his real interest was at +stake. So my letter made an impression upon him, though +he did not tell me so until later, when he gave me a paper +for M. de Quélen, of which I will speak afterwards.</p> + +<p>"In the month of March 1838 he read a eulogy upon +M. Reinhard at the Academy of Moral and Political Science. +His doctor feared the effect upon him of such an enterprise. +Our attempts to dissuade him were in vain. 'This is my +last appearance in public,' he said, 'and nothing shall keep +me back.' He was anxious to use the opportunity for +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174">174</a></span> +explaining his political doctrines and for showing that they +were those of an honest man. He even hoped that he would +be thus of some use to those who proposed to follow a +diplomatic career. The evening before the meeting he went +over his speech with me, and said: 'The religion of duty; that +will please the Abbé Dupanloup.' When we reached the +passage concerning theological study I interrupted him to +say: 'Admit that that is intended much rather for yourself +than for good M. Reinhard.' 'Why, certainly,' he replied, +'there is no harm in letting the public see my point of +departure.' 'I am delighted,' I said, 'to see you overshadowing +the end of your life with the recollections and traditions +of your early youth.' 'I was sure you would be pleased with +it,' was his kindly reply.</p> + +<p>"M. de Talleyrand bore the strain of this fatiguing +meeting, where he was successful in every way, remarkably +well. From the point of view of literature and politics he +was successful, and also as a nobleman and an honest man. +When he returned home he at once sent the first proofs of +his speech to M. de Quélen and to you. He expected your +approval, and was touched by it.</p> + +<p>"Then his health seemed to improve; he recovered his +strength, made plans for travel, and talked of Nice for the +following winter; he felt his powers reviving, and noticed it +with pleasure. On April 28, however, when he heard of his +brother's death, who was eight years younger than himself, +he put his hands before his eyes and said: 'Another warning, +my dear child. Do you know whether my brother recovered +his memory before death?' 'Unfortunately not, sir,' I said. +He then resumed with extreme sadness: 'How dreadful it is +thus to fall from the most worldly life into dotage, and from +dotage into death!'</p> + +<p>"This painful shock did not check the improvement in his +health, and we were able to think that he had been restored +to life. I am the more careful to observe that this was the +moment, when all idea of an approaching death was far +away, when he chose to undertake seriously the project of +submission to the Pope. He drew up a form of declaration +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175">175</a></span> +without saying anything to me of it, a kind of pleasant +surprise which he wished to keep for me. One day, when he +saw me ready to go to Conflans to M. de Quélen, he drew +from the drawer of his desk, the desk at which I am now +writing, a sheet of paper covered on both sides, with erasures +at several points. 'Here,' he said, 'is something which will +secure you a hearty reception where you are going. You +shall tell me what the Archbishop thinks of it.' On my +return I told him that M. de Quélen deeply appreciated the +paper, but wished the statements there expressed to be +presented in a more canonical form, and intended to send +him the ecclesiastical formula in a few days.</p> + +<p>"You know better than any one, sir, that thus the matter +was actually carried out. M. de Talleyrand also spoke to me +on the same day of his intention to write an explanatory +letter to the Pope when sending him the declaration. He +went into full details, and insisted upon his willingness to +speak of Pauline in this letter. He ended by a saying which +seems to me of considerable importance: 'What I am to do +should be dated during the week of my speech to the +Academy. I do not wish people to be able to say that I was +in my dotage.' This idea was carried out upon his deathbed, +and was performed as he wished.</p> + +<p>"But here I must stop. Attractive as the subject may be, +your narrative contains full details. Moreover, during my +uncle's illness I was nothing more than his nurse, and my +actions were confined to summoning the consolations of your +presence and to obeying my uncle by reading to him the two +addresses to Rome before he signed them. I forced myself +to read them slowly and seriously, because I neither would +nor could diminish in any way the merit of his action; it was +necessary that he should thoroughly understand what he +was about to do. His faculties were too clear, heaven be +praised, and his attention too concentrated, for any hurried +or confused reading to have satisfied him. It was for me +to justify his touching confidence which had induced him to +wish this important reading to be performed by myself, and +only the firmness and clearness of my pronunciation could +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176">176</a></span> +satisfy this condition. He was to be left to the last moment +in full consciousness of his act and full freedom of his will. +From this difficult task I have derived the complete indifference +with which I have afterwards faced any doubts, attacks, +or calumnies of which I have been the object.</p> + +<p>"I can say in the sight of God that there was no ignorance +or weakness on the part of M. de Talleyrand; there was no +delusion and no abuse of confidence on my part. His +generous nature, the recollections of his early youth, his +family traditions, the wide experience of a long career, the +example of Pauline, some explanations which I was instructed +to give him, the confidence with which you were able to inspire +him, the revelation that comes to every man at the gate of the +tomb, and above all the infinite mercy of a gracious Providence—such +are the reasons which allow us to honour him as +sincerely in his death as we loved him in his life.</p> + +<p>"Carried away by a subject which is near to my heart, I +have overstepped the limits which I had at first laid down, +but I have no fear that I have wearied you by recalling your +attention to details which I know you will value, and which +for me have the special advantage that they have established, +M. l'Abbé, between us, a bond which nothing can weaken or +break.</p> + +<p class="signature"><span class="smcap">"Duchesse de Talleyrand</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">"Princesse de Courlande."</span></p> +</div> + +<p class="date"><em>Heidelberg, August 27, 1838.</em>—I have been here with my +daughter since yesterday evening. My sister, the Duchesse +de Sagan, arrived the previous evening. This morning, at +six o'clock, faithful to my habits at Baden, I went out while +my sister and daughter were still asleep, and while recalling +memories of the place I found the bridge and stopped before +the statue of the Elector Charles Theodore; I then crossed +the river and walked upon the banks of the Neckar for three-quarters +of an hour, with the town upon my left, dominated +by the old castle. The pretty landscape, with the river valley, +the position of the town, and even the style of the agriculture, +reminded me of the hillsides of Amboise and my dear Loire, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177">177</a></span> +and was pleasantly lighted by the broken rays of a sun +struggling through light clouds.</p> + +<p>I now know who wrote the article upon M. de Talleyrand +which appeared in the <cite>Gazette</cite> of Augsburg. My sister read +it in manuscript. The writer was the Minister Schulenburg, +a clever man, who had seen a great deal of M. de Talleyrand +in past times. He is a friend of the Vicomtesse de Laval, +and saw M. de Talleyrand at her house once more when +he came to Paris eighteen months ago. He is anxious not +to be known as the author of this article.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 6, 1838.</em>—I arrived here the day before +yesterday, and found a letter which told me that as M. Molé +had refused to make an alliance with M. Guizot, the latter +had formed a coalition with M. Thiers. M. Guizot will +become President of the Chamber of Deputies and M. Thiers +Prime Minister. All this is to be revealed and settled +during the discussion upon the Address. I cannot guarantee +this story. The King is at Eu, and I shall not see the +Court until I return.</p> + +<p>I am just finishing the last work of Villemain.<a name="FNanchor_93" id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor"> [93]</a> The first +chapter of the second volume deals with Montesquieu; the +second is a detailed analysis of the <cite>Esprit des Lois</cite>, which is +much too deep for me. The following chapters summarise the +bad philosophy of the eighteenth century, as it appears in +the mouths of its prophets, its votaries, and its adversaries. +The last part of the volume is devoted to Rousseau, by whose +charms Villemain seems too obviously to have been overcome. +I have no kindly feelings for Rousseau, for he was a hypocrite, +and Voltaire's cynicism is perhaps less disgusting; at any rate, +Voltaire was not guilty of so many positively bad actions +as Rousseau, and mere talent in itself is no justification for +either man.</p> + +<p>My children write from Valençay saying that the crowd at +the funeral ceremony was enormous.<a name="FNanchor_94" id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor"> [94]</a> Starting from Blois, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178">178</a></span> +the procession was joined by the people of all the neighbouring +settlements on foot, in great sadness, while at night they +came with torches. On the carriage which bore the coffin of +M. de Talleyrand and that of my granddaughter, Yolande, +were Hélie and Péan;<a name="FNanchor_95" id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor"> [95]</a> in the carriage which followed was +my son Alexandre. All the clergy of the district offered +their services. My son Valençay also sends me the programme +of the ceremony, which seems very well arranged; +I especially approve of a large distribution of charity to +the poor, who should never be forgotten, neither in joy nor +sorrow.</p> + +<p>Before starting, the coffin of M. de Talleyrand was covered +with black velvet, with silver nails, and bore an escutcheon +with his arms, his name and distinctions; the coffin of +Yolande was covered with white velvet. The arrival of the +funeral procession in the Castle court at Valençay, at ten +o'clock at night in the most beautiful moonlight, is said to +have been extremely imposing; there was deep silence, broken +only by the sound of the hearse as it slowly passed the draw-bridge. +The bodies were placed for the night in the church, +and watched by the clergy in prayer. The coffin of the Duc de +Talleyrand, accompanied by the doctor who had attended +him, arrived two hours later.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 7, 1838.</em>—The Princesse de Lieven, whom +I saw yesterday, told me that she no longer receives any +letters from her husband. She examined me closely as to +any information I might have gained in Germany concerning +her Emperor, whom I think she really hates as much as the +inhabitants of Warsaw can hate him. If, however, she was +once more within his grasp, or merely out of France, her +patriotism would be equal to that of any old Muscovite. +She told me that at Munich the Emperor Nicholas had +displayed great exasperation with the Russian Minister at +the enormous expense to which he had gone for the reception +of the Empress, saying, "Do you wish, then, to increase our +unpopularity?" She spoke a great deal of the father's carelessness +with respect to his son's well-being. Apart from the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179">179</a></span> +rapidity of their journey, and the scanty food which the +father gave him in the course of it, he made the Grand Duke +continually hold his legs outside the carriage, no matter +what the weather might be, in order that they should not be +in his father's way.</p> + +<p>I am assured that Queen Victoria, who showed herself so +anxious to escape from the maternal yoke, is now trying to +avoid the influence of her uncle, King Leopold.</p> + +<p>The Flahaut family have been saying the most horrible +things at London about the Tuileries, and the Tuileries are +aware of the fact.</p> + +<p>France has abandoned Belgium in the course of the +negotiations in progress at London, and forces her to yield +upon all questions of territory, but supports her pecuniary +claim; between the figures of Leopold and King William +there is a difference of 16,000,000. The Powers wish to +compromise, but Leopold objects, and refuses to relax his +grasp of Limburg until the crowns are paid.</p> + +<p>In Spain Queen Christina is trying to make money out of +everything, and demands a price for every nomination that +she makes. She thinks only of amassing money and spending +it quietly out of Spain, for which she may speedily have an +opportunity. Her sister, whose practical mind has already +gained her a certain influence here, and who might be able +to marry her prettiest daughter to the Duc de Nemours, +is intriguing vigorously against her.</p> + +<p>M. Thiers spent three hours with Count Metternich near +Como, and showed anything but sympathy for Spain during +the conversation. However, people have not been taken in +and prejudice remains unaltered.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Bonnétable, September 17, 1838.</em>—I reached this strange +place an hour before dinner-time. The country is very +pretty, but the castle stands at the end of a little town, and +the only view is the high-road which runs along the moat. +It is an old manor-house, with heavy turrets, thick walls, and +the windows few and narrow. There is little in the way of +furniture or decoration, but it is solid and clean, and the +necessaries of life of every kind are at hand, from an almorne +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180">180</a></span> +to a warming-pan. The mistress of the house, an active, +bustling, good-tempered lady, is largely occupied in most +charitable work, in which she shows great insight, and really +leads the life of a Christian widow, on the principles laid +down by St. Jerome. In short, one is inclined to think +oneself in a country far away from France and in a century +quite remote from the nineteenth. Evening prayers are said +all together at nine o'clock in the chapel, and are read by the +Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency herself. They moved +me deeply, especially the prayer for the rest of the departed, +repeated by one who has survived all her relatives, whether +older, of her own age, or younger than herself. This prayer +in the mouth of one who is thus alone, without forefathers +or posterity, was strangely sad. The other isolated being, +poor Zoé,<a name="FNanchor_96" id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor"> [96]</a> who repeated the responses, completed the picture +and the impression, which went to my heart. All the +servants were present. No more edifying spectacle could be +seen than that of this great and ancient house. The Duchesse +is very highly connected, and came to her title through the +Luynes, who had inherited it by marriage from the Duchesse +de Nemours, one of whom had married the niece.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Bonnétable, September 18, 1838.</em>—If the weather were not +so damp I should find much interest in this place, which is +quite unique. Mass brings the household together every +morning at ten o'clock; we do not lunch until eleven o'clock, +and have then half an hour for walking in the moats, which +are dry and have been turned into gardens by the care of the +Duchesse; she also took us for a walk around her kitchen +garden and the whole of her strange household. After lunch +we worked round a table at an altar-cloth, while the prior +read his newspapers aloud. At one o'clock we went to visit +the fine hospital and the schools founded by the Duchesse; +everything is perfectly arranged, and much better cared for +than the castle. There are six beds for men and six for +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181">181</a></span> +women, a kind of boarding-school for twelve girls, and classes +for day scholars and the poor, together with a large dispensary. +This is all in one place, with the necessary outbuildings. +Eight sisters do the work of the establishment, +which is really very fine. The Duchesse then made us get +into an old carriage with worm-eaten lining, but drawn by +four handsome horses, driven very cleverly four-in-hand by +one of the coachmen of Charles X. With Madame de +Montmorency everything is in contrast. She inherited her +taste for horses from her mother, and indulges herself in that +respect; she has no taste for carriages, and does not care if the +one makes the other look shabby. Thus drawn over shocking +roads, we reached a magnificent forest of full-grown timber, +where the fine trees are only cut every hundred years. It is +really beautiful. In the centre of this forest, where six roads +meet, is a vast clearing; there the Duchesse has built a china +factory, with all the necessary outbuildings, which is almost +a village. She has spent a great deal of money on it, and +admits herself that it is not a lucrative investment, but it +gives occupation to sixty-eight people, is a reason for a +pretty walk, and an additional interest for herself. I made +a few purchases, and Pauline was interested in seeing the +pottery moulded, fired, painted, and enamelled.</p> + +<p>After dinner one of the local clergy called while we spent +our time in embroidery, as after lunch, and talked of matters +of local interest. Then came prayers, good-night, and sleep.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Bonnétable, September 19, 1838.</em>—Yesterday it rained all +day. No one went out except the clergy, who were going to +a retreat at Mans, and stopped here to pay their respects to +the Duchesse. The sisters also came in for their orders. +The Duchesse is in very good spirits. She has the gift of +narrative, and kept the conversation going very well throughout +a long day, without the smallest appearance of ill-nature. +When I went down to my room she lent me a manuscript +book of her thoughts. She writes wonderfully, and her +writing displays a wealth and variety of astonishing description. +The outpourings of her heart since her husband's +death are especially touching, and display a tenderness of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182">182</a></span> +feeling which would hardly be guessed from her outward +appearance. I shall leave her entirely overcome by the +warmth of her reception, her fine qualities, and the admirable +example which she sets here.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, September 27, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I had a most +unexpected piece of news which grieved me deeply: Madame +de Broglie is dead of brain fever, though she was so young, +at any rate for death—a year younger than myself—though +she was so happy, healthy, beautiful, useful, distinguished, +and beloved. In one short week she was carried off, though +prepared for death by her constant goodness. It has been +no surprise to her.</p> + +<p>Almost the same day, but after a longer illness, amid the +dissipations of too worldly a life, died Lady Elizabeth +Harcourt. She was of the same age, and also handsome, +but I think in no way prepared for the dread passage.</p> + +<p>With the death of my brother-in-law, the Prince of +Hohenzollern-Hechingen, I have heard of three deaths +during the last week. Last month Anatole de Talleyrand +died; in the month of July Madame de Laval; on May 17 +M. de Talleyrand; on April 28 my father-in-law; in March +my uncle Medem. In less than seven months eight persons +have disappeared who were bound to me by ties of blood, +friendship, or intercourse. Death surrounds me on every +hand, and I can no longer trust either to the freshness of my +daughter or to the cares of others; only the goodness of +God can be infallibly trusted, and on His infinite mercy I +must rely, and confide my loved ones to His care.</p> + +<p>During the last two days of her life Madame de Broglie +was delirious, and chanted the Psalms so loudly that one +could hear her from one end of her residence to the other. +When she was not singing she talked to her brother and +her daughter who had died years before.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, October 3, 1838.</em>—I am again in this beautiful +spot, so rich in memories and so deprived of life and movement. +I reached here yesterday in the moonlight, which +suits the place so well, and which M. de Talleyrand always +pointed out to us with such admiration. It was an +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183">183</a></span> +unpleasant journey: broken carriages, tired horses, bad +postillions, torn harness, and abominable roads, as they +are being repaired or constructed afresh; in short, a series +of petty obstacles, which troubled and vexed us, and made +us late. M. de Talleyrand's old dog, Carlos, was strangely +excited at our arrival, and pulled Mlle. Henriette by her +dress, as if he would say, "Come and help me to look for the +missing one."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 9, 1838.</em>—I am now again in Paris, though +I cannot conceal the fact that a stay in this town makes me +sadder than ever. How I long for my workmen, my garden, +the soft skies of Touraine, the quiet of the country, the +restfulness of the fields, time to think and to reflect, of +which I am here deprived by constant business and worry!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 12, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I went to the Convent +of the Sacré Cœur, where I stayed a long time with the +Archbishop of Paris. He gave me an exact translation of +the letter of secularisation sent by Pius VII. to M. de +Talleyrand. It is a curious document, and shows that even +though M. de Talleyrand, with his habitual carelessness, had +mistaken the text, the general sense had been known to him, +and that he had every reason to say that Rome could not be +too exacting without self-contradiction. As, however, the +letter had preceded the marriage of M. de Talleyrand, and +as that marriage was not authorised by the Church, it was +actually necessary for him to retract. This was done <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in verba +generalia</i>, as Rome admitted, and so every one should be +satisfied.</p> + +<p>When I returned home I gave orders that I should not be +disturbed during the evening, and busied myself in putting +the papers that I had found at M. de Talleyrand's house into +some order. I shall complete this work only by degrees, for +it causes me keen emotion. For instance, I came upon a +note which M. de Talleyrand sent to me from his room to +mine on February 6, 1837,<a name="FNanchor_97" id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor"> [97]</a> in which he told me that at his +supreme hour his only anxiety would be my future and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184">184</a></span> +my happiness. I cannot say how this scrap of paper has +agitated me.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 13, 1838.</em>—M. de Montrond came to see me +yesterday. He showed himself extremely kind and soothing; +but the true nature of things peeps out invariably, and +towards the end of his call, which had been spent in expressions +of regret for M. de Talleyrand's death, he let fall a +phrase to this effect: "Do you propose to become a lady of +the Faubourg Saint-Germain?" I was able to reply that +I had no need to do anything of the kind, that my position +was plain: a lady of rank and independent means, unwilling +to sacrifice my opinions here or my position there; too +deeply attached to the memory of M. de Talleyrand not to +be on good terms with the Tuileries, and too good company +not to live happily with my family and my own friends. He +replied that I had not forgotten to speak like M. de +Talleyrand himself. Then he rose, took my hand, and asked +me if I would not be kind to him, saying that he was alone +in the world, that he was very anxious for opportunities to +talk of M. de Talleyrand with me sometimes, and then he +began to weep like a child. I told him that he would always +find me ready to listen to him, and to reply, if he spoke of +M. de Talleyrand, a subject of inexhaustible interest to +myself. Human nature is remarkable in its great diversity +and its astonishing contrasts.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 17, 1838.</em>—I have only had two satisfactory +incidents since my return: the arrival of my son Valençay, +who is so good to me, and a long conversation with the Abbé +Dupanloup, which went on yesterday for two hours at my +house. Our minds are in sympathy, and, what is better, we +are marvellously alert to divine one another's feelings, and +both noticed it, owing to the strange and rapid coincidence +of our expressions. He has a rapidly working mind, and for +that reason pleased M. de Talleyrand, while with him one +is never embarrassed or hampered, and transitional ideas +are never clogged; his clearness of mind is never marked +by dryness, because he has a sweet and most affectionate +soul. My long intercourse with M. de Talleyrand has made +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185">185</a></span> +it difficult for ordinary people to get on with me; I meet +minds which seem slow, diffuse, and ill-developed; they are +always putting on the brake, like people going downhill; +I have spent my life with my shoulder to the wheel in uphill +work. In M. de Talleyrand's lifetime I took more pleasure +in the society of others, because I fully enjoyed my own +society with him; perhaps also because I sometimes felt the +need of rest at some lower elevation. But to-day I feel that +I am being overcome, in a moral sense, by what the English +call creeping paralysis; in short, yesterday I was able to +spread my wings for a moment, and it did me good. I complained +to him of the want of system in my life, of the +weariness and oppression which were the result of overstrain. +He spoke of my reading, and told me that he thought I +should be deeply attracted by patristic literature; he promised +to sketch out a little course of reading for me within +my range. He is no inquisitive or indiscreet converter of +souls; he is a good and intelligent man, a pure and lofty +soul, discreet and moderate, whose influence can never be +anything but wise, gentle, and restrained.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 18, 1838.</em>—The Princess Christian of +Denmark, who is at this moment at Carlsruhe, is no longer +young; but fifteen years ago, when she came to Paris, she +was very pretty; her complexion, hair, and shoulders were +especially beautiful. Her features were less striking, and +those are the most permanent elements in beauty. I know +that she and her husband have retained a very kindly feeling +for the present royal family of France. Princess Christian +is the granddaughter of the unfortunate Queen Mathilda +of Denmark. Prince Christian's first wife was a mad woman +with dreadful manners.<a name="FNanchor_98" id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor"> [98]</a> She went to Rome for refuge and +to join the Catholic Church, and there she plunged into the +most ridiculous mummeries. Her husband adored her, and +if the King of Denmark had not insisted upon a separation +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186">186</a></span> +Prince Christian would have remained under her yoke. He +still corresponds with her, and has never ceased to regret her +loss. The present Princess Christian, though prettier, is +quite sensible, but has never had much influence with her +husband, owing, it is said, to the fact that she has no +children. The first wife was the mother of Prince Frederick, +who is an exile in Jutland.</p> + +<p><em>Paris, October 20, 1838.</em>—Yesterday I went with Pauline +to the Comédie-Française to hear Mlle. Rachel, who is +now causing so great a sensation. I was not at all pleased. +They all acted very badly, though Mlle. Rachel is not so +bad as the rest. They played <cite>Andromaque</cite>, in which she +took the part of Hermione, the part of irony, scorn, and +disdain. She went through it accurately and intelligently, +but there is no sympathy or attraction in her acting. She +has a thin voice, is neither pretty nor beautiful, but very +young, and might become an excellent actress if she had +good training. The rest of the company is wretched. I was +very bored, and returned home benumbed.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 21, 1838.</em>—The Duchesse de Palmella, whom +I saw yesterday, told me a strange thing. She said that the +Duke of Leuchtenberg, the first husband of Queen Doña +Maria, had never been her husband; that on his arrival in +Portugal he was attacked with scurvy, which made him contagious +and greatly disgusted his wife, who adores the little +Coburg. She is now expecting her confinement.</p> + +<p>With Pauline I called upon the Duchesse d'Orléans, +who seemed to have recovered very well from her confinement. +Her child, which she was kind enough to show us, +is really charming. She has every reason to be as proud +of him as she is.</p> + +<p>We came home for an audience granted me by the Infanta +Carlotta, the wife of Don Francisco. Like myself, they are +both staying in the Galliffet residence.<a name="FNanchor_99" id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor"> [99]</a> It was a curious +interview. The Infanta is a much bolder figure than +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187">187</a></span> +Madame de Zea, and much taller. She is very fair, with +a face which, though washed out, is none the less stern, with +a rough manner of speaking. I felt very ill at ease with her, +although she was very courteous. Her husband is red-haired +and ugly, and the whole tribe of little Infantas, boys and +girls, are all utterly detestable. The eldest of the princesses +is well brought up, inclined to talk, and graciously took +notice of Pauline. In my opinion, this Infanta would be +a most unpleasant Sovereign.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, October 31, 1838.</em>—During the last two days I have +seen a great deal of the Comtesse de Castellane. She speaks +of only one thing which she wants, and for which she is +working with incredible energy. I cannot complain, as her +efforts show how much she thinks of my daughter, to whom +she wishes to marry the young Henri de Castellane. Yesterday +I went to consult the Archbishop on the point. He, as +well as the Abbé Dupanloup, seems to think that of all the +possible openings that have hitherto appeared Henri de +Castellane would offer the best chance of domestic happiness, +by reason of his personal merits. Both of them say that +Pauline ought to choose for herself, after due examination. +Examination requires acquaintanceship; to become +acquainted they must see one another; and to see one +another they must meet. And so I have reached a new +phase in my life, when I am obliged to give a young man +the run of my house in order to see what he is worth. I +have known M. de Castellane personally for many years, +but I have lost sight of him for a long time; besides, he is +going to marry Pauline, and not me. He is clever and well-educated, +hard-working, and, I think, ambitious. He is very +correct and polite, lives a retired life, and goes only into the +best society; he is a good son and a good brother, has an +excellent name, but no title at present, and no prospect; +has few family ties, and wishes to live in the same house as +myself at Paris, though with a separate establishment. He +is respectful to his mother, but not on confidential terms +with her; wishes to have a religious wife, though he does +not practise the forms of religion himself. He is to have +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188">188</a></span> +twenty thousand francs income when he marries, and thirty +thousand more from his grandmother. He has a childless +uncle who is worth forty-two millions. For the moment the +uncle will not give or promise or guarantee anything, but +he is very anxious for the marriage, and as he is eccentricity +personified he may come down handsomely some day. The +Abbé Dupanloup advises me to speak to Pauline on the +subject without any constraint, and also to tell her of other +proposals made for her hand. She does not like Jules de +Clermont-Tonnerre, and thinks he looks vulgar; the Duc de +Saulx-Tavannes horrifies her—as a matter of fact he has the +figure of an elephant, while there is madness in the family on +both sides. The Duc de Guiche is not yet nineteen years of +age, has no property whatever, a number of brothers and +sisters, a rather foolish mother, while his family are always +in extremities. The Marquis de Biron is very rich and a +good fellow; he is a childless widower, but extremely stupid, +and a red-hot Carlist. Pauline has recently seen M. de +Castellane on two occasions, and likes him greatly; but she +says she would like to know more of him, to make certain of +his principles and belief. I tell her that there is no hurry, +that she can very well wait, and that in any case I shall not +consent to any marriage taking place until our business +affairs have been wound up, the will declared, and the anniversary +of the 17th of May over. This is understood, though +the parties would like a promise to be given before that +date, without celebrating the marriage. I can also understand +that they would like to make certain of Pauline, but I +do not propose to have our throats cut in that way. Madame +Adélaïde, who is much afraid that Pauline's marriage might +prevent her from going to the Tuileries, is a warm supporter +of M. de Castellane. She let me know that M. de Talleyrand, +to her knowledge, had thought of him. This is true, but he +was more inclined to M. de Mérode, though family arrangements +made the proposal impossible; besides, Pauline likes +M. de Castellane much better than M. de Mérode. Another +who has been mentioned to me is Elie de Gontaut, the +younger brother of the Marquis of Saint-Blancard, but he is +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189">189</a></span> +a young fop, and, though rich, his position as younger +brother is very pronounced, and that would not please +Pauline. In short, there is a perfect crowd of suitors, and +I do not know to whom I should listen. One point is +certain, and I shall make it perfectly clear: that Pauline +herself will have to make the choice.<a name="FNanchor_100" id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor"> [100]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190">190</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="medium">CHAPTER IV<br /> +1840</h2> + +<p>The Duchesse de Sagan, eldest sister of the Duchesse de +Talleyrand, had died in the winter of 1840. A number of +business difficulties were involved by the disposal of her +property, and the Duchesse de Talleyrand resolved upon a +journey to Prussia, which she had not visited since her +marriage. She was accompanied by her eldest son, M. de +Valençay, while her correspondent, M. de Bacourt, who had +been appointed French Minister to the United States, went +to take up his new post at Washington, where he remained +for several years.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Amiens, May 16, 1840.</em>—I cannot say with what fear I +think of my departure from Paris this morning and of the +real trials upon which we are to enter. I am now on the +way to Germany, while you are starting for America.<a name="FNanchor_101" id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor"> [101]</a> But +to return to my journey of to-day: the roads are heavy, the +postillions brought us along rather badly, and we did not +arrive here until nine o'clock in the evening. I have read a +good deal of the life of Cardinal Ximenes. It is a sober and +a serious book, correctly written, but cold, and progress in it +is difficult. I do not, however, regret my trouble with it, for +I know but little of this great character, and he is worth +studying.</p> + +<p>The country is beautifully green and fresh, with bushy +vegetation. We had pleasant weather, in spite of a few +showers, but twenty times I told myself that travelling was +the most foolish of all professions; to be carried along these +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191">191</a></span> +interminable roads, bumped upon their rough surface, +delivered to the tender mercies of postillions, fleeing from all +one loves, going as rapidly as possible towards things and +people who are quite uninteresting; thus spending one's life +as though it were eternal, and only realising its shortness +when it is at an end.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Lille, May 17, 1840.</em>—This morning before leaving Amiens +we heard mass in the fine cathedral. The 17th of May is +a date of special import to myself. I gave myself some +credit for going to mass so far from the house of the rector +of the Academy, M. Martin, with whom we put up; then +it was raining hard, and the Picard streets are very dirty and +the pavement detestable.</p> + +<p>The cathedral is really magnificent; strength, grace, and +boldness are combined; stained-glass windows alone are wanting, +as the light is too bright. I prayed with all my heart +for the dead and for the living, and for the travellers who are +to entrust themselves to the sea or traverse unknown lands.</p> + +<p>On the road from Amiens to this town I read the <cite>Diable +boiteux</cite>, the merits of which do not attract me in the least. +The stories are too monotonous and uninteresting, and the +constant tone of mockery and satire, which is not supported +by the fine verse of Boileau, quite disgusted me. However, +I have read it, and am glad it is over. I now know the +nature of this book, which has had a certain reputation.</p> + +<p>We had a better journey than yesterday. Our servants +have gone to the office to arrange for to-morrow's journey, +which will be complicated by the Belgian railways. After +the mediocrity of Amiens and Arras, where I had some +broth this morning, Lille strikes one as a large if not a +great town, but I must admit that at present my travelling +curiosity is benumbed and my interest remarkably dull.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Liège, May 18, 1840.</em>—We have been fourteen mortal +hours on the journey from Lille to this town, notwithstanding +the help of the railway. The fact is that to make +use of the railway it is necessary to make a round of twenty +leagues, which considerably diminishes the advantage of it. +From Courtrai one must go up to Gand, touch Malines, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192">192</a></span> +then to Liège by Louvain and Tirlemont. A vast amount +of time is wasted in stoppages at the numerous stations. +Moreover, if one takes one's own carriage time is required to +put it on a truck and take it off again, while the expense for +the freight of carriages is so heavy that nothing is saved by +the railway. It is certainly a marvellous invention, and the +machinery is interesting. All is worked with perfect punctuality +and order, but at the same time it is an unpleasant way +of travelling, to my taste. There is no time to see anything; +for instance, we passed along the outer walls of several +towns which I should have liked to examine; we did not even +pass through villages, but went straight across country, with +no other event than occasional tunnels, cold and damp, in +which the smoke of the engine becomes thick enough to choke +one. Even though the wind carries away the smoke, it and +the rattling of the engine would make you imagine yourself +upon a steamboat. Imagination was the easier in my case as +sickness and a certain stupefaction never left me. In short, I +arrived worn out and more and more displeased with the +fatigues and weariness of my enterprise. At Menin we were +told to get out in a bitter wind to be searched by the Custom +House officials; only when the examination was half over did +they ask for our passports; upon seeing our rank the Inspector +of Customs checked the ardour of his subordinates and allowed +us to go. The fortress of Menin is most carefully kept, and +as clean and well restored as it can be; and yet, if I am not +wrong, I think that our protocols had required its destruction.</p> + +<p>I was struck with great admiration for the wealth and the +good cultivation of all Belgium, and if I had been able to +satisfy my taste for old buildings by visiting Ghent, Malines, +and other places I should have been consoled.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Bergheim, May 19, 1840.</em>—To travel from Liège to +Cologne would have been too long a day, so we are sleeping +here in a very clean little inn, though we have no means +of warming ourselves, in spite of the fact that the wind is +icy. It is something of a hardship to be forced to go +without a fire or to be suffocated by a cast-iron stove. I +am undoubtedly a very ungrateful daughter of Germany, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193">193</a></span> +as I find numberless material discomforts which I did not +suspect in past years, but which now cause me considerable +exasperation.</p> + +<p>I was greatly struck by the delightful country through +which we passed on the road from Liège to Aix-la-Chapelle +by way of Verviers. Chaudfontaine especially is a charming +spot. The direct road would have been through Battice, +but this road is out of use and repair, and we were directed +from Liège to Verviers. The richness and beauty of the +countryside, the activity of the factories, and the river +valleys made the scene entirely animated and agreeable.</p> + +<p>I was struck by the changed appearance of Aix-la-Chapelle. +Although the watering season had not yet commenced, the +town was as animated as possible; there are plenty of fine +shops and new houses. At the same time I should not care +to take the waters there, as there is nothing countrified about +the place, and the walks are all too distant. To-day I read +a large part of a book by the Président de Brosses, <cite>Italy +a Hundred Years Ago</cite>. It is written with vigour and cheerfulness, +wit and fancy, but the spirit of the eighteenth +century and the writer's peculiar cynicism are obvious at +every page.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Cologne, May 20, 1840.</em>—We have reached here so early +that we have decided to travel another dozen leagues to-day, +after seeing Frau von Binzer, changing our money, and buying +some eau de Cologne. How cold it is here! The change +of climate becomes more and more perceptible.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Elberfeld, May 20, 1840.</em>—Frau von Binzer is an extremely +ugly person, but cheerful, sensible, clever, and very loyal. +She spent last year with my sister, the Duchesse de Sagan, +and had only left her for six weeks when she was overtaken +by death. She wept bitterly in speaking of my sister, and +assured me that her death was a happy deliverance; that +she was so sad, so wearied, irritated, and disgusted with +everything that her temperament had visibly changed. +She seems to have had fits of actual despair, to have +suffered a great deal during the last weeks, and to have +had several presentiments of her death. She made her will +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194">194</a></span> +on the evening before her last journey to Italy, in the course +of five minutes, while she had some friends in the house taking +tea. She told Frau von Binzer what she was doing, to her +great astonishment. She had intended to make another will, +but death came upon her as a punishment for her dilatoriness. +Frau von Binzer was so grieved at the rapidity of our departure +from Cologne that I could not refuse to take lunch with +her. She lives a long way from the hotel where I had put +up, and I therefore had a considerable walk to her house +and back. My walk was prolonged because she insisted +upon taking me out of my way to show me the Stock +Exchange, an old and curious house of the Templars, the +Town Hall, with its curious tower and doorway, and the +cathedral, which the Crown Prince of Prussia has taken +under his patronage, and which is being rapidly restored; +the results will be admirable. We stopped for a moment +in front of the Church of St. Mary of the Capitol, where +Alpaide, the mother of Charles Martel, is buried. We also +looked at two houses belonging to old aristocratic families +in the time of the Hansa, which are in Byzantine style. +At the same time Cologne is a very ugly town, and +the Rhine is by no means beautiful at the spot where we +crossed it.</p> + +<p>Here we are, twelve leagues from Cologne, in the prettiest +town conceivable, which reminds one of Verviers; the country +about it is also pretty, and somewhat Belgian in character. +All is clean and well cared for. The Prussian roads are +truly admirable, the postillions go much better, and the +horses are kept in good condition. In this respect and in +many others the country has undergone a remarkable +change. At the same time the iron stoves, the beds, and +the food cause me discomfort. The railway is progressing, +and it is intended to continue the line to Berlin. The work +is being pushed on with great rapidity, and from Liège +nothing is to be seen but navvies, machinery, and other +preparations for this transformation scene.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Mersheden, May 21, 1840.</em>—We reached Arnberg at five +o'clock. This seemed a little early to finish our stage, so we +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195">195</a></span> +continued our journey for six leagues more. Now we are in +a typical village inn, but fairly clean, and with very obliging +people. We might have found better accommodation at the +next stage, but I could not bring myself to expose the +servants any longer to the frightful weather. I have rarely +seen any more dreadful; hail, rain, blasts, and storms all +came down upon us. None the less I noticed that we were +passing through country almost as pretty as that which we +saw yesterday. It reminded me at times of the valley of +Baden and of the narrower valley of Wildbad. I am still +reading the <cite>Italy</cite> of the President de Brosses, which is +amusing, but not entirely attractive. I will copy two +passages which seem to me fairly applicable to our present +mode of life: "Generally speaking, the inconveniences and +the causes of impatience during a long journey are so many +that one should avoid the further vexation of economy in +small matters. It is certainly hard to be cheated, but we +should satisfy our self-esteem by telling ourselves that we are +cheated willingly and because we are too lazy to be angry." +That is a piece of advice which I am inclined to practise +too often. Here is the other passage which also suits my +case: "In foreign countries we should be on our guard +against satisfaction of the sight and weariness of the heart. +There is as much as you please to amuse your curiosity, +but no social resources. You are living only with people +who have no interest in you or you in them, and however +kind they are, it is impossible for either party to go to +the trouble of discovering interest in the other when +each knows that they are ready to part and never to meet +again."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Cassel, May 22, 1840.</em>—The weather to-day was as bad as +yesterday, and the country not so pretty. Cassel is quite as +small a town as Carlsruhe, and looks even less like a residential +city. The suburbs especially are very poor. I found +nothing to admire but a hill covered with magnificent oak-trees, +which took us a long time both to ascend and descend. +I feel the cold most bitterly, and everything here is so late +that the lilac is hardly in flower.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196">196</a></span> +On arriving I sent for newspapers, in which I saw an +account of the long-delayed visit of the Hereditary Grand +Duke of Russia to Mannheim. Poor Grand Duchess +Stephanie! A year ago such a visit would have been an +event; to-day it is mere empty courtesy, and it must have +cost her an effort to receive it graciously. The only matter +of interest to me in the newspaper was the bad account given, +with no attempt at concealment, of the King of Prussia's +health. This slow illness must change all the habits of the +royal family and of Berlin society. I shall certainly not +regret the entertainments, but I shall be sorry to be unable +to pay my respects to the King, who was very kind to me in +my youth.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Nordhausen, May 23, 1840.</em>—It did not rain to-day, but +it is cold enough for frost. To-morrow we have forty-one +leagues to travel if we are to reach Wittenberg, a severe +task which seems to me impossible. Fortunately we have +done with the roads and the postillions of Hesse, which +have remained faithful to the old Germanic aberrations. +In Prussia both the posting system and the roads are +excellent, the villages and their inhabitants look greatly +superior, but for the last twenty-four hours, though the +country is not precisely ugly, it has lost the richness +and attractiveness which struck me on the road from Lille +to Arnberg.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Wittenberg, May 24, 1840.</em>—Forty-two leagues in twenty-four +hours in a country where no one knows what going +ahead means, is really excellent progress.</p> + +<p>This town is an old acquaintance of my youth. When we +used to go from Berlin to Saxony and from Saxony to Berlin, +Wittenberg was always the second halt, for at that time +macadamised roads were unknown. Progress was made at +a walking pace, ploughing through deep sand. To-morrow +I expect to cover twenty-seven leagues in nine or ten hours, +which occupied two days in those earlier times. From +Nordhausen to this point the country is ugly, and the +inevitable pine-tree forests have reappeared. The cradle +of my youth was certainly far from beautiful.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197">197</a></span> +My curiosity was aroused by Eisleben and Halle, through +which we passed. The former of these towns was Luther's +birthplace. His house is well preserved, and there is a small +museum there of all kinds of things relating to him and +to the Reformation. I only saw the outside of the house, +which is of no special interest, but at the door I bought +a small description of Eisleben and its curiosities, which +has made me quite learned.</p> + +<p>Halle is very ugly, in spite of a few Gothic exteriors, +past which I drove. Moreover, these university towns have +invariably a character of their own, which is provided +by the crowd of wretched students, with their noise and +want of manners, who loaf about the carriages, with long +pipes in their mouths, and seem quite ready to cause a +disturbance.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 25, 1840.</em>—The rain has been coming down +again all day, and my re-entry to my native town was made +under no agreeable auspices. Fortunately I had no reason +to regret that the countryside was not in sunshine, for the +scenery from Wittenberg here is atrocious. I had forgotten +to some extent my native land, and was surprised to find it +so hideous. However, I must make an exception of the +bridge of Potsdam, which is really pretty. The bank of the +Havel is bright and graceful with the wooded slopes which +surround it, covered as they are with pretty country houses. +Even Potsdam, which is only a summer residence, looks more +like a capital town than Cassel, Stuttgart, or Carlsruhe; but +half a league further on everything is as dry and dismal +as possible, until the suburbs of Berlin, which gave me a +real surprise on the side from which we reached the town. +This happened to be an English quarter, with iron gateways +before the houses, and a number of gardens between +the gateways and the houses, which are small, but very well +kept.</p> + +<p>Berlin itself is a handsome town, but thinly populated, +while as regards carriages, cabs are the dominant feature, and +sadness is therefore its chief characteristic. I am staying at +the Russicher Hof. Opposite is the Castle; a pretty bridge +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198">198</a></span> +and the museum on the left; on the right are the quays. It +is a pleasant aspect, and my room on the first floor is almost +too magnificent.</p> + +<p>My man of business, Herr von Wolff, told me that the +King's condition was regarded as desperate, and that yesterday +he sent for his eldest son, and entrusted him with the business +of government. The scene is said to have been very touching. +The King's illness is intestinal catarrh, which seems incurable. +It is also said that he has had the deplorable privilege of bad +doctors in Berlin, where the doctors are excellent. He can +take no food, and is visibly wasting away; but death is not +thought to be imminent. The day before yesterday he +walked as far as his window to see the troops march past, +and those who saw him were horrified by the change in his +appearance.</p> + +<p>The whole town is in sadness, and the royal family in +despair. The Princess of Liegnitz is quite as ill as the King, +with severe gastritis, and is thought to be in great danger.</p> + +<p>M. Bresson, who has just spent an hour with me, is in +despair at the King's condition. He will see no one except +the Princess of Liegnitz, his doctors, and the Prince of +Wittgenstein. He has seen the Crown Prince for a moment, +but none of his other children, and says he feels too weak +to see any one else. A messenger has just been despatched +to the Russian Empress, to stop her progress at Warsaw, +where she is to arrive to-morrow. The King would be in no +condition to bear this interview, much less the lamentable +scenes which the Emperor Nicholas would certainly make. +The Empress is also said to be in a very sad way. This +approaching death will be a great blow, which will re-echo +near and far.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 26, 1840.</em>—I slept fairly well. My bed is +not quite so narrow or so extraordinary as some that I have +found on the journey from Cologne to Berlin. Unless one is +prepared to sleep on nothing but feathers, nothing is to be +found but thin, hard mattresses nailed on to deal boards. +The bedclothes are of a remarkable character, while the sheets +look like towels. I had several of them sewn together, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199">199</a></span> +thus succeeded in covering my bed. As regards bedrooms, +Germany is undoubtedly in a state of savagery, even more so +than with regard to food, which is extraordinary enough at +times, though in Berlin even M. de Valençay admits that it is +good. The cleanliness is perfect, and the furniture tasteful. +There are carpets everywhere, and the iron stoves are replaced +by fine porcelain stoves, which give no smell and heat the +room excellently, but it is disappointing to be forced to use +them on the 26th of May. M. Bresson utters terrible groans +about the climate.</p> + +<p>Is it not strange that I should have felt no emotion whatever +upon re-entering this town where I was born and where +I was largely brought up? I examined it with the same +curiosity as I felt towards Cologne and Cassel, and that was +all. I have no feeling of that special patriotism which I +have long felt for Germany. I am a complete stranger both +to things and people, entirely unconnected with the place, +speaking the language with some hesitation; in short, I am +not at home, or rather ill at my ease, and ashamed at being +so. I do not think it would be thus if I were to return to +London. I do not think I should then be delighted; I +should probably burst into tears; but at any rate I should +feel some emotion, as I feel at Valençay. I am less afraid of +that which stirs my feelings than of that which freezes them.</p> + +<p>Everything goes on here so early that one must be ready +at dawn. Waking up is nothing, but getting up is difficult. +I am extremely tired, even more than when travelling, +because when once ensconced in my carriage, which is very +soft, I can rest in silence, inaction, and sleep, whereas here +things are very different.</p> + +<p>My man of business from Silesia was at my house at nine +o'clock. He is going away this evening to make preparations +for my arrival. At eleven o'clock Herr and Frau von Wolff +came in. They told me that the Duke of Coburg was +negotiating to buy the estate of Muskau from Prince Pückler +for his sister, the Grand Duchess Constantine. The garden +of Muskau is said to be the most beautiful in Germany. It +is only ten leagues from my house.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200">200</a></span> +M. Bresson came in at midday to tell me that there was +some improvement in the King, that he had been able to +take some soup and to walk round his room. He urged me +at the same time not to put off my calls upon the chief +ladies of the Princesses.</p> + +<p>Midday is the fashionable hour for calls here, so I started +off with M. de Valençay. First we went to the Countess of +Reede at the Castle. She is the chief lady of the Crown +Princess, and was an intimate friend of my mother. She was +not at home, nor was the Baroness of Lestocq, lady-in-waiting +to the Princess William, the King's sister-in-law. We also +went to the Countess of Wincke at the King's palace to call +upon the Princess of Liegnitz. She is an old lady belonging +to the palace of the late Queen, of which I retained some +confused idea from my youth. She received us with an +old aristocratic air which pleased me. The Countess of +Schweinitz, at the new palace of Prince William, the King's +son, was also at home. Countess Kuhneim, at the Teutonic +Palace, where the Princess Charles of Prussia resides, was +out.</p> + +<p>Frau von Schweinitz told me that Prince William was to +start to-morrow to meet his sister, the Empress of Russia, +and to stop her from coming here. We also went to see the +Werthers, who were delighted to talk of Paris; and then to +the house of Madame de Perponcher, with whom I played +a great deal in my youth. She was not at home.</p> + +<p>Berlin is really a very fine town. The streets are wide and +laid out in regular lines, the houses are tall and regular, +there are many palaces and fine buildings, fine squares with +trees, gardens and walks, and yet it is gloomy. There is +obviously a lack of wealth to fill the fine setting. The +carriages of private individuals are so much like cabs that +I was deceived by the resemblance for some time. The +horses and liveries and everything of the kind are dreadfully +shabby.</p> + +<p>Yesterday we dined with M. Bresson, who lives in a +beautiful house which my sister the Duchess of Acerenza +occupied in past years. The rooms are fine and beautifully +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201">201</a></span> +furnished for Berlin, but spoilt by a horrible portrait of the +French King, whose hand is stretched over a vast charter—quite +an atrocity! The other guests were von Humboldt, +Lord William Russell, and M. de Loyère, who is attached to +the French Embassy. Herr von Humboldt talked in his +usual style of all the rivers, all the mountains, all the +planets, and of the whole universe. He did not forget his +neighbours, whom he did not treat with superlative charity. +Princess Albert seemed to me to be very much in his bad +books, and also to some extent in those of M. Bresson. +Lord William Russell is always taciturn, as a Russell should +be. He says he is not displeased with his position, and +anything that separates him from Lady Russell always suits +his taste. As for M. Bresson, he is obviously bored, and +the nine years he has spent here have completely exhausted +his patience. I think that he greatly fears the approaching +death of the King as likely to affect his position. He +complains of the effects of the climate, and is obviously +beating against his bars.</p> + +<p>In the middle of this dinner Princess William, the King's +daughter-in-law, asked me to wait upon her at half-past six. +I therefore went. She lives in a charming palace, beautifully +arranged; the conservatories are decorated with marble, +the floors are magnificent, and the furniture is beautiful; in +short, the whole is in exquisite taste. The Princess was +alone, and received me most graciously. I stayed a long +time.</p> + +<p>The general fear of a visit from the Russian Imperial +family is very curious. The royal family is preoccupied +with the business of avoiding anything of the kind, and use +a thousand devices for the purpose. They seem to be afraid +of them as of a devastating torrent.</p> + +<p>I have just had a call from Madame de Perponcher. Her +queenly bearing and her regular features have survived the +passing of her youth. She is a clever woman, and her +conversation is animated.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 27, 1840.</em>—A special luxury in Berlin, to be +found in all the houses belonging to people of importance, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202">202</a></span> +are the wide windows, which light the rooms brilliantly, and +give a bright appearance to the houses.</p> + +<p>This morning I had a private audience of the Crown +Princess, who lives in a part of the Castle properly so called. +Her large private room is handsome and curious. The +Princess is very polite, but a little cold and timid, with +beautiful blue eyes, a dull complexion, strong and by no +means attractive features; she limps a little. The conversation +became animated upon the arrival of the Crown +Prince. He showed me great cordiality, and had just come +from the King, who was perceptibly better. This improvement +has revived all their spirits, but there is still a grave +reason for anxiety.</p> + +<p>I dined with Princess William, the King's daughter-in-law; +her husband has delayed his departure. At dinner there +were the Crown Prince and Princess, and the two Princes of +Würtemberg, the sons of Prince Paul; the latter are starting +to-morrow to meet their sister, the Grand Duchess Helena, +who is going to Ems, and then to Italy. The other guests +were Prince George of Hesse, brother of the Duchess of +Cambridge; a Russian general and an English officer who +had come to look at the manœuvres; Werther, his wife, and +his son, who is going to Paris to take the place of Arnim till +the new appointment is made; and the Count and Countess +of Redern. The Countess is a Hamburg heiress, entirely ugly; +she looks like a blonde Jewess, which is to be ugly twice over.</p> + +<p>I sat near the Crown Prince, who asked me many questions +about Versailles, and was then interested in all the recollections +of our youth; he has grown very stout and old.</p> + +<p>At seven o'clock in the evening I was requested to visit +Princess Albert, and invited to stay for tea and supper. It is +impossible to imagine anything which takes up so much time +as Court life here. The only satisfactory point is that everyone +withdraws before ten o'clock at night; but at that time +one is more exhausted than one would be at two o'clock +in the morning at Paris.</p> + +<p>I think that of all the persons I have seen here Princess +Albert has filled me with the greatest curiosity and interest. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203">203</a></span> +At first I thought her face long and narrow, her mouth large, +and the lower part of her face, when she laughed, very ugly, +while the want of eyebrows was remarkable; but by degrees +I have grown used to her, and find her actually pleasant. +Her teeth are white, she has a cheerful laugh and lively eyes, +her figure is pretty, and she is tall, like myself; but it is too +obvious that she laces very tightly, which is the more noticeable +as she is never at rest; she wriggles, gesticulates, laughs, +fidgets, and talks somewhat at random; she never crosses a +room except at a run and a skip, and does not shine in point +of dignity of bearing, but on the whole she is by no means +unpleasant, and I think that men might find her somewhat +attractive. She was very kind to me, with a frankness and +good-nature in putting her questions as if she had always +known me, and poking fun right and left at her family to +begin with; she astonished me greatly. The fact is that +she is a spoilt child, accustomed to do and say anything +she likes, and is regarded here as quite beyond restraint. +She goes away to The Hague when her family would like her +to stay in Berlin, and comes back when they think she intends +to make a long stay in Holland. In short, she is a +strange being. Her husband is very delicate. Their palace, +though pretty outside, seemed to me rather poor within. At +her house I saw no one except the Princess of Würtemberg, +Madame de Perponcher (reasons of etiquette forbid her to +receive M. de Perponcher, as the Diplomatic Body are +excluded from royal residences), Herr von Liebermann, +Prussian Minister at St. Petersburg, and the Prince and +Princess William, the King's son, who arrived late.</p> + +<p>I cannot be anything but grateful for the reception that +has been offered to me here, but the want of rest overpowers +every other consideration, and I should like to be back in my +dear Rochecotte.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 28, 1840.</em>—This morning I had an audience +of Princess Charles. She has charming features, a fine figure, +a high colour, tired eyes, beautiful manners, and a kind and +pleasant way of speaking. Her appearance, on the whole, is +insignificant, but she shows much kindness of heart. Her +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204">204</a></span> +husband is simply vulgar. At the present moment he has a +mania for seeing operations, and watches all the new experiments +in surgery. Berlin is just now much excited by a mode +of curing squinting, practised by Dieffenbach. Out of two +hundred cases he has had only one failure, and that was due +to the impatience of the patient. It is a very clever idea, and +people come in from all parts to be made beautiful instead of +ugly.</p> + +<p>Here every one professes surprise at the resemblance +between Madame de Lazareff and myself.</p> + +<p>I have called upon Princess Pückler, the wife of the +traveller; she is a lady who is largely supported by the +Court; but she was not at home. In the afternoon I called +upon Princess William, the Queen's sister-in-law, who was +extremely kind to me. She has been very beautiful, and +some remnants of her beauty still remain. She is a leading +member of the sect of the Pietists. She introduced me to +her unmarried daughter, a pretty princess of fifteen years +of age, whose face pleased me greatly.<a name="FNanchor_102" id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor"> [102]</a></p> + +<p>Princess William is the sister of the Dowager Grand +Duchess of Mecklenburg, step-mother to the Duchesse +d'Orléans.</p> + +<p>I am going to the theatre to see a ballet, in the box of the +Countess of Redern, who insisted upon my coming. Then I +shall finish my day with the Werthers, who are giving a +party for me. I am quite overwhelmed by my busy life, +which is so utterly different from the idle existence I have +led for the last two years.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 29, 1840.</em>—The ballet here is very well done. +The King takes great interest in it, and gives an annual subscription +of a hundred and twenty thousand crowns to the +Opera, which is a great deal for this country. There are +many pretty dancers, the theatre is beautiful and the +orchestra excellent. I have been unable to judge of the +singers, as I did not go till the opera was over.</p> + +<p>At the Werthers' I found a rout going on, which was much +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205">205</a></span> +like all other parties of the kind. The women were well +dressed, but not pretty, the social intercourse somewhat cold, +while the men in the service wore their uniforms, which gave +them a stiff appearance.</p> + +<p>The King's condition gave less satisfaction yesterday; he +had had a fainting fit after expressing a wish to eat herrings, +which was speedily satisfied. However, the Princes went to +the theatre. The doctors persist in saying that his state is +not desperate. This is the opinion, among others, of a +certain Dr. Schönlein, who has been appointed professor at +the university here; he comes from Zürich with a very great +reputation, and the King has been induced to see him in +consultation. Princess Frederick of the Low Countries is +expected. She is her father's favourite, and he is as anxious +to see her as he is afraid of the Russian visits. Princess +William, the King's sister-in-law, whose eldest daughter is +married to Darmstadt, told me that the Hereditary Grand +Duke of Russia is deeply in love with Princess Marie, his +future bride, and she is beginning to feel the same towards +him.</p> + +<p>I was to have dined to-day with the Crown Prince, but as +the King had had another fainting fit the High Marshal +came to tell me that the dinner would not take place. The +King's precarious condition causes much anxiety to some +people who are fond of him, and to others who respect him +for political considerations. No one, not even the heir, was +prepared for this crisis, and to their sadness is added perplexity +and hesitation.</p> + +<p>Yesterday morning I went for a drive in the Tiergarten, +the Bois de Boulogne of Berlin, and saw the spot where I had +been daily taken for a walk in my youth. It is a very pretty +wood on the edge of the town, well planted, partly in English +style, bounded by the Spree, and full of pretty country houses. +It is a very popular resort at Berlin.</p> + +<p>I dined with Lord William Russell, where I heard that +there was some small excitement in the Ministry at London, +though nothing was likely to come of it. The present +Cabinet is as used to defeats as Mithridates to poison.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206">206</a></span> +This morning Herr von Humboldt came to fetch us, and +took his niece, Frau von Bülow, and myself to the Museum. +He had told all the directors, professors, and artists to be +ready. I therefore saw everything in the greatest detail. +The building is fine and well arranged, the classification +perfect and intelligent, and the light well managed. The +King has acquired some excellent examples of every style of +art; an ancient bust of Julius Cæsar in greenish basalt is one +of the most beautiful things I know. The Museum is very +rich in pictures of the ancient German school; the Etruscan +vases are quite first-rate; the fifteenth-century china is very +curious; the intaglios and the medals are in perfect order +and tastefully set out. The officials, who are clever and full +of artistic erudition, did me the honours with great courtesy. +I replied by asking many questions, and was attentive to the +answers; but the visit lasted for three hours, and I was +standing all the time, and eventually I nearly collapsed.</p> + +<p>I then went to a great dinner with M. Bresson. As I was +starting for it the Prince of Wittgenstein arrived; he had +been requested by the King and the Princess of Liegnitz to +express to me in the kindest terms their regret at their +inability to see me. The King was not quite so ill, and had +been able to see Princess Frederick of the Low Countries, his +favourite daughter, for whom he had telegraphed, and who +had hastened to come to him. The Prince of Wittgenstein +was most obliging; he is a stout personage, and is greatly +downcast at the moment and heart-broken at the King's +danger. He has a very kindly feeling for France, and is very +friendly with Princess William, the king's daughter-in-law, +who overwhelms me with kindness.</p> + +<p>At M. Bresson's dinner Herr von Humboldt, as usual, +relieved every one else of the trouble of talking, which is very +convenient for lazy persons like myself.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, May 31, 1840.</em>—To-day is an important day in +the history of the country, and one of which the King +awaits the issue with impatience. The Great Elector +ascended the throne on May 31, 1640, Frederick the Great +on May 31, 1740, and I am assured of the existence of a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207">207</a></span> +prophecy that the Crown Prince will ascend the throne on +May 31, 1840.</p> + +<p>I went to mass in a church which is hardly a church: it +is a great round hall, covered with a single cupola, surrounded +with columns, with a large window between each column. +Nothing could be less solemn and less Catholic.</p> + +<p>I dined with Prince Radziwill, who took me up after dinner +to the rooms of his late mother, where I had been a great +deal in my youth. They are no longer used, and are just as +I had known them. Nobody could be kinder than all the +Radziwills have been to me. The daughter of the late Princess +married the nephew of Prince Adam Czartoryski. She is now +in the country. The two Radziwill Princes married two sisters, +the daughters of Prince Clary. They all had plenty of children, +and live as a very happy family in the same house.</p> + +<p>I had gone home after the dinner, when I received a +message from Princess William, the King's daughter-in-law, +asking me to pay her a visit. I found her alone, and she +kept me talking for an hour. The latest news of the King +was very sad. He told his chief groom of the chamber that +he had no hope of recovery, but would not speak of his +death for fear of affecting those about him. He is said to +have insisted upon being carried to-morrow to the window of +his room, at the moment of the solemn function which has +been largely advertised, and the preparations for which he +has supervised from his bed. The Crown Prince, in the +King's name, is to lay the first stone of a monument in +honour of Frederick II. at the entry of the promenade Unter +den Linden. The whole garrison, all the state bodies, and all +Berlin, are to be present at this ceremony. Stands have been +erected for the public. My son and myself are to find a place +on the balcony of Princess William, where the Princesses +will be.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening at the house of the Prince of Wittgenstein, +where I went, was Madame de Krüdener, <em>née</em> Lerchenfeld, +natural daughter of the Count Lerchenfeld and of the +Princess of Thurn and Taxis. At St. Petersburg she was +at first a favourite of the Empress, but was afterwards +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208">208</a></span> +somewhat discarded because the Emperor appeared to be taken +with her. She strongly resembles the late Queen of Prussia, +which may be explained by her birth, but she has not her +majestic bearing; she is, however, a handsome woman.</p> + +<p>I hear from Paris that there is an attempt to gather the +household of the Emperor Napoleon for a mission to fetch +his remains from St. Helena. Marchand, his groom of the +chamber, was asked if he wished to accompany the mission; +at first he hesitated, and then accepted on the condition that +he should be allowed to sit at the table of the Prince de +Joinville; to satisfy him he has been appointed captain on +the staff of the National Guard, and he is to go, and will +sit at the Prince's table! I abstain from comment.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 1, 1840.</em>—I have just returned from the +ceremony, which was really most beautiful and imposing. +The thought of the King's dangerous condition, which +every one had at heart, gave a singularly touching and +solemn aspect to this national celebration, the last at +which the poor King could be present. And in what +manner was he present? In bed at his window! Fortunately +the weather was less disagreeable than it has lately +been. The Crown Prince laid the first stone of the monument +which is to support the equestrian statue of Frederick the +Great. Is it not strange that there is no statue of him +as yet in Berlin? Yesterday was the anniversary of his +accession a hundred years ago; but as it was a Sunday +the celebration was postponed till to-day. Each regiment +in the army was represented by a detachment. The army +is really superb, and splendidly equipped. Besides the +state bodies, the authorities, the Consistory, a detachment +of the Landwehr, deputations from the guilds of arts +and crafts, with their bands, surrounded the square, which +is magnificent and was most beautifully decorated. Around +the monument could be seen all those who had served +under Frederick II., dressed as they were at that time, and +carrying the flags captured during the Seven Years' War. +The King himself had considered every detail of this fine +ceremony, and had given the most positive orders to forbid +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209">209</a></span> +any manifestation of applause for himself; but the silent +and profound respect, the perfect order and the sadness +of the spectators was sufficiently striking and touching. +When the foundation-stone was lowered, salvos were fired, +bells rang, drums beat, and the old tattered flags were lowered; +at that moment most of the spectators burst into tears. +Nothing of the sort could be looked for in a republican +atmosphere or in our revolutionary regions.</p> + +<p>On the balcony where I was placed I saw Prince Frederick +of the Low Countries, who introduced me to his wife. She +was overcome with grief; she is not pretty, but looks kind +and natural. The young Hereditary Grand Duke of Russia, +who arrived this morning, was present; the Crown Prince of +Prussia introduced me to him. He is said to have grown +very fat. I expected to see a very insignificant young man, +but he is quite the contrary, although I do not care about +his complexion.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 2, 1840.</em>—Yesterday evening I went to tea +with Madame de Perponcher, whose <em>salon</em> is, in my opinion, +the pleasantest in Berlin. She is very conversational and +well-mannered, while she is simple and restrained. She is a +central point of society, and her mother's position with the +Crown Princess has helped her largely. There I heard that +no change has taken place in the King's condition, though +something of the kind had been feared owing to the excitement +of the day.</p> + +<p>The suite of the Hereditary Grand Duke of Russia are +staying at the same hotel as myself, at the King's expense. +They make a fearful uproar, and consume the more food as +their board costs them nothing. It is impossible to say how +the Russians are detested here.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 3, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I was at a great dinner +given by the Werthers. The King was said to be better; +he had had some sleep, and felt the moral relief of passing +the fatal date. During the dinner I received a message from +the young Princess William asking me to call upon her after +dinner in outdoor dress. I went, and we drove out. She +took me to Charlottenburg, which she showed me in full detail, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210">210</a></span> +and especially the country house which the King has had +built there, where he prefers to stay.</p> + +<p>I was glad to see the portraits of the Duc d'Orléans and +the Duc de Nemours which were drawn here at the time +when they passed through Berlin. The King bought them +for his private room. When we came back the Princess +made me stay to tea, and I spent all the time alone with +her.</p> + +<p>This morning when I was finishing breakfast M. Bresson +came to tell us that the King was <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in extremis</i>. In the +afternoon I stopped before his palace; he was still alive, and +had even recovered sufficient consciousness to demand the +reading of the newspapers. There is a crowd about the +palace; many people are in tears, and the behaviour of the +population is perfect.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 4, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I dined at the house of +M. Bresson with Princess Pückler, who is starting for Muskau +to meet her husband. He is returning from Vienna after an +absence of six years; she speaks of him with admiration. She +is a little old woman of wit, intelligence, and tact, and has +gained considerable reputation in different circles.</p> + +<p>Only yesterday was the publication begun of bulletins +upon the King's health; he might be dead at the present +moment. Hitherto he had forbidden any announcements; I +do not think he knew anything of it yesterday. He has +preserved his consciousness, and is quite calm, simple, and +dignified.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>Since last night the King has been in a kind of agony, +from which he sometimes gains relief by a few drops of +coffee. He can still speak a little, and says not a word about +his condition, though he realises its gravity to the full. The +whole family, even the grandchildren, are at the palace, and +the Ministers also. The crowd still throngs the square and +shows the same interest.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 5, 1840.</em>—The King was still alive yesterday +at eight o'clock in the evening. He had said farewell to his +children and solemnly handed his will to his Ministers; he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211">211</a></span> +then declared that he had done with this world and wished to +see no one except the Princess of Liegnitz and the pastor for +whom he sent, intending to devote his remaining time to +securing his peace of mind and in considering the life to come.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 6, 1840.</em>—Herr von Humboldt has just left +me. The King was very feverish last night; he can hardly +speak, and seems to have lost all interest. What a long +struggle for a man of seventy! All the Mecklenburg family +has arrived. The appearance of the Duke of Cumberland +has caused some consternation, and the Emperor Nicholas +will be here to-morrow in spite of every attempt to prevent +his arrival. There is an obvious intention to surround the +new Sovereign from the moment of his accession, and this may +damage his public reputation, for the people are apprehensive, +and do not hide their fears. It is an interesting time for +spectators, and I am perhaps watching the sowing of seed +which will produce great consequences.</p> + +<p>At the same time I wished to fulfil my promise of going to +see Frau von Bülow at Tegel, which is three leagues from +Berlin. At first I found the wind very unpleasant, but when +we entered a forest which began half-way I was pleasantly +sheltered, and the scent of the pine-trees was delightful. On +leaving the pine-trees we reached a superb lake, the shores +of which were wooded with trees in leaf—an unusual sight +here.</p> + +<p>At one end of the lake is the fortress of Spandau, at the +other the park, the castle of Tegel, and the monument raised +by the late Herr Wilhelm von Humboldt to his wife. It is +very pretty. The castle is by no means extraordinary, but +contains some fine artistic works brought from Italy, and a +good portrait of Alexander von Humboldt by Gérard. The +monument is a column of porphyry upon a granite base, and +the capital is in white marble. The column supports a white +marble statue of Hope by Thorwaldsen, and is surrounded +half by an iron railing and half by a great stone bench. All +is in excellent taste, and the only point which displeased me +was that Frau von Humboldt, her husband, her eldest son, +and one of the children of Frau von Bülow are really buried +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212">212</a></span> +at the foot of this column. I cannot bear graves in gardens; +my belief requires a common cemetery or vault in a church or +chapel—in short, a spot consecrated to prayer and reflection, +and undisturbed by worldly tumult.</p> + +<p>I drove round the lake, and then took the road back to +Berlin. At the gates of the town I met Lord William +Russell, who told me that the King was at his last gasp, and +that orders had been given to close the theatres. My son, +whom I found at our hotel on the point of coming in, gave +me the same news. He had just been watching the operation +for curing squinting, and was full of admiration for +Dieffenbach, his dexterity, and the result of the operation. +Of the two patients, both young girls, one did not say a +word, and the other cried a great deal. The mere demonstration +would have made me want to scream. The whole +operation lasts from seventy to eighty seconds. The operator +is helped by three pupils; one raises the upper eyelid, the +second depresses the lower lid, and the third wipes away the +blood between the two incisions. The first incision divides +the lower part of the white of the eye; then with a little hook +Dieffenbach draws forward the muscle covered by that part, +cuts it through, and the operation is over. This muscle, in +the case of people who squint, is too short, and brings the +eye too close to the nose. As soon as it is cut through the +pupil goes to its proper place.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 7, 1840.</em>—Yesterday evening the King had +reached the end, the death-rattle set in, and there was that +motion of the hands, mechanical but terribly symptomatic, +which common people call "picking things up to pack." +He was unable to speak, and seemed to have lost consciousness.</p> + +<p>I am extremely guarded here in discussing either politics or +religion; I hear a great deal, and listen with interest to +anything I am told about the state of this country, but I am +not imprudent in my answers. Prudence here is easier than +in France, where it is almost impossible not to be overcome +by the contagion.</p> + +<p>I have just been told that the Emperor Nicholas has +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213">213</a></span> +arrived; I do not think he will see the King, from whose +room all are excluded, though he is still alive.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 8, 1840.</em>—The King died yesterday at twenty-two +minutes past three in the afternoon, surrounded by +all his family, whose hands he clasped without speaking. +He died in the arms of the Princess of Liegnitz, for +whom the royal family and the public are showing the +greatest respect. She has perfectly fulfilled her duty. The +Prince Royal fell fainting at the moment when the King +expired. Grief is general and widespread. The Emperor +Nicholas is said to have lamented loudly; he arrived from +Warsaw in thirty-seven hours, accompanied only by General +Benkendorff.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening the troops took the oath to the new +Sovereign. The Government has issued a proclamation everywhere +of the death, which is touching, simple, and perfectly +correct.</p> + +<p>I have been to Frau von Schweinitz to hear news of +Princess William, who takes the title of Princess of Prussia, +as her husband is heir-presumptive, though he is not Crown +Prince, since he is the brother, not the eldest son, of the new +King. The will had been opened. The late King has ordered +a military funeral; his body will be placed in the cathedral +by day, and, in accordance with his wishes, taken to Charlottenburg +by night, to be placed in the same vault with the late +Queen, his wife. I have just visited this monument in the +park of Charlottenburg, yesterday afternoon. It is enclosed +in a temple in ancient style at the end of a long walk of +pines and cypress-trees; within the temple, between two +candelabras beautifully carved in white marble, is to be seen, +upon a raised platform, a bed of white marble, upon which +the Queen's statue is gracefully and simply recumbent, +wrapped in a long robe with open sleeves. The bare arms +are crossed over the breast, the neck is bare, and the head +wears only the royal circlet. It is a masterpiece, especially +for the drapery, which is remarkably true to nature, and the +best work of Rauch, the Prussian sculptor, whom the late +Queen had educated at Rome. The general effect is beautiful, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214">214</a></span> +but too mythological; the religious touch which death +imperiously claims is wanting.</p> + +<p>The King will lie in state to-morrow and the day after in +military dress. The body will not be embalmed, and will be +interred on Thursday, in accordance with his orders. He +also ordered the pastor to pray at his bedside immediately +after his death and aloud in the middle of his family, exhorting +them to peace and concord. This was done, and it is +to be hoped that his prayer will be heard, though there is no +immediate appearance that any one heeds it. The immediate +withdrawal of the Prince of Wittgenstein and of Herr von +Lottum was expected, but the new King begged them not to +leave him, at any rate at first. The public is glad to see the +father's old servants thus retained by the son, and the more +so as their relations with the Prince Royal were not entirely +agreeable and an earlier change was expected. It is to be +hoped that there will be no change at all. Such is the +summary of a conversation on my part with M. Bresson and +Lord William Russell; after which I went to see the collection +of pictures belonging to Count Raczynski, the best +private collection in Berlin. A large cartoon by a pupil of +Cornelius of Munich, representing one of the great battles of +Attila, is the best thing there. Tradition relates that the +battle was continued in the sky, and that those who perished +go on fighting, like shadows in the clouds, at certain +times of the year; the two battles are to be seen in the +cartoon. The design is admirable and well executed. The +rest of the collection did not greatly attract me.</p> + +<p>Madame de Lieven writes from Paris: "We have had +a curious week here: the Ministry was defeated in the +Chamber upon the law for the funeral of Napoleon, and +attempted revenge by sowing discord between the Chamber +and the country; after more mature reflection, and after the +proposed subscription had been a partial failure, the matter +was dropped, and the letter of Odillon Barrot concluded it.</p> + +<p>"The Duc d'Orléans, in Africa, has had a fresh attack +of dysentery, which was very dangerous for twenty-four +hours."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215">215</a></span> +Now an extract from a letter from the Duc de Noailles: +"Notwithstanding the complete fiasco concerning the Imperial +remains, Thiers retains his strength, and will become +complete master. The proposal of Remilly,<a name="FNanchor_103" id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor"> [103]</a> which was in +sight, will not come up for discussion this year. There +will be no dissolution between the two sessions; after next +session dissolution is certain; the new Chamber will be +moderately, but certainly more Left. Thiers is determined +neither to urge on nor to check progress in this direction; +to guide the movement, but to follow it, as he thinks that +strength and the majority are there to be found. He hopes +to be able to restrain the Left, but in case of failure he has +determined rather to obey it than to resign. So we are +definitely embarked upon this path, and this is the great +event of the winter; the consequences, but not the rapidity, +of the movement can be calculated."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 9, 1840.</em>—Yesterday after dinner I called +upon the Countess of Reede, the chief lady of the new +Queen's Court. There I saw the reigning Grand Duke of +Mecklenburg-Strelitz, brother of the late Queen and of +the late Princess of Thurn and Taxis, a great friend of +M. de Talleyrand. He spoke of my uncle in the warmest +terms, which touched me deeply, saying that he had experienced +much kindness from him under the Empire. I +was there informed that, besides the King's will properly +so called, which dates from 1827, and of which I know +nothing, there is a codicil containing arrangements for the +funeral, and in such detail that the position of the troops +in the streets is pointed out. A letter to his successor has +also been found, which is said to be full of the wisest counsel; +while encouraging his son to avoid innovations of every kind +without due consideration, the King also advises him to +avoid any retrogressive step out of harmony with the spirit of +the age. It is said that this letter will be published.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216">216</a></span> +When I returned home Herr von Humboldt came to see +me, and kept me up while he told me many stories which +were doubtless curious, and would have interested me were it +not for his overpoweringly monotonous manner. In any +case, he is very well informed of all that goes on here, and +clever at ferreting out new information.</p> + +<p>The Russian and the other Courts are starting on +Wednesday, the day after the King's funeral. I think +that the King and Queen will be glad to breathe a little +freely.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 10, 1840.</em>—Yesterday the director of the +Museum came to fetch me, and took me, with my son, to the +studio of Rauch, a very clever sculptor and a very pleasant +man. He showed us several statues intended for the Walhalla +of Bavaria; the model of the statue of Frederick II., +the first stone of which I had seen laid; and a Danae for +St. Petersburg; then a little statue, half natural size, of a +young girl fully dressed and holding a little lamb in her +arms, which was very pretty, and I liked it greatly. Before +we went home I was taken to see the Egyptian Museum, +which is in a building apart. Although the collection is +said to be admirable, I could feel no pleasure in looking at +the hideous colossi and the numerous mummies.</p> + +<p>When I returned home I had a call from Prince Radziwill, +who came from the Castle, where, with the chief officers of the +garrison, he had been passing in parade before the lying-in-state +of the late King. The King was laid out with his face +uncovered, wrapped in his military cloak, with his little cap on +his head, as he had ordered in his codicil.</p> + +<p>The King has bequeathed a hundred thousand Prussian +crowns, or three hundred and fifty-five thousand francs, to +the town of Berlin, and other sums to Königsberg, Breslau, +and Potsdam, as being the four towns of his kingdom in +which he has resided. He has bequeathed the little palace +in which he lived as Crown Prince, which he would not leave +as King, and in which he died, to his grandson, the son +of Prince William, who will probably be King one day. +The Princess of Leignitz retains the palace by the side of it, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217">217</a></span> +in which she was living, the domain of Erdmansdorff, in +Silesia, and an income of forty thousand crowns, to be paid +by the State. It seems that the King had left from fourteen +to twenty million crowns in his private chest. He has ordered +that each soldier present at his funeral shall receive a crown, +and each non-commissioned officer two crowns. He has also +ordered that his body shall be followed, not only by all the +clergy of Berlin, but by all those of the neighbourhood; they +are coming in from Stettin, Magdeburg, and every part of +the kingdom.</p> + +<p>M. Bresson was much depressed by the King's death, but +has recovered his spirits on seeing that the Prince of +Wittgenstein is to be retained at Court, at any rate for the +moment. The new King is treating his father's old servant +most admirably.</p> + +<p>A strange incident which has caused much displeasure was +the sight of the Russian officers in the suite of the Emperor +Nicholas on duty before the body of the late King together +with the Prussian officers. The Emperor issued the request, +and the authorities did not venture to refuse, but some ill-feeling +has been shown, and the very scanty liking for Russia +has been further diminished.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 11, 1840.</em>—I spent the whole of yesterday +paying farewell calls, and when I was calling upon Frau von +Schweinitz, the Princess of Prussia sent for me. With her +I found the Prince of Prussia, and both were very kind +to me.</p> + +<p>The King informed me through the Countess of Reede +that he hoped to see me later, on my return, at Sans Souci. +He has ordered the Chief Marshal to find me a good place +for this morning's ceremony. The Emperor of Russia is +starting this evening for Weimar and Frankfort, where he +wishes to see his future daughter-in-law.</p> + +<p>This morning I went to the ceremony, and just as I was +starting out the King sent word telling me to go through +the Castle, and the Princess of Prussia sent me her liveried +servants to secure me a place. I thus reached the church by +way of the royal apartments. I was in a stand opposite the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218">218</a></span> +Princess of Leignitz, who was well enough to be present at +the ceremony; she was heavily veiled, like all the ladies, and +I could not distinguish her features. The church was not +draped, which gave it too bright an appearance, and the +sombre nature of the ceremony suffered in consequence. The +organ, the singing, and the sermon by the pastor, the great +emotion of the old servants and children of the deceased, the +terrible salvos of cannon, and the beautiful tolling of all the +bells were imposing. Before withdrawing the new King +offered a prayer of considerable length in a low voice on his +knees by the coffin. The whole family followed his example, +after which the King embraced all his brothers, his wife, his +sisters, nephews, and uncles—in short, the whole of his family. +The Emperor of Russia, who has a fine but terrible face, +did the same. There was thus a great deal of embracing +for a church. My own opinion is that in the house of +God one should be occupied only with worship; but between +a Protestant temple and the Church the difference is +considerable.</p> + +<p>The King of Hanover, who arrived an hour before the +ceremony, was present. He is old, and though he looks somewhat +uncivilised he appeared to me like an old lamb by the +side of a young tiger when I compared him with the Emperor +of Russia.</p> + +<p>I propose to start to-morrow for Silesia.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Crossen, June 12, 1840.</em>—I left Berlin this morning at +half-past seven in mild and cloudy weather. Thanks to the +excellent roads, the good horses, and the capital post service, +we accomplished thirty-six leagues in thirteen hours and a +half, which is satisfactory travelling in any country. As far +as Frankfort-on-the-Oder, which we crossed in the middle of +the day, the country is chiefly remarkable for its dismal and +barren character. When the valley of the Oder is reached +the country becomes less flat and more smiling. Frankfort +is a large town of thirty-two thousand souls, for whom +excitement is provided by three large fairs during the year; +but apart from those times it is very empty. There is +nothing attractive about the town. Crossen, where I am at +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219">219</a></span> +this moment, which is also on the Oder, is not so large a +town, but more pleasantly situated. I am now only a few +hours from my own property, and shall arrive there in good +time to-morrow.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 13, 1840.</em>—I am now upon my own +estates. It is a strange impression to find a home of one's +own at so vast a distance from the spot where one's life is +usually passed, and also to find this home as clean and well +ordered, though all is quite simple, as if one always lived +there.</p> + +<p>This morning when I started from Crossen it was raining, +and the rain continued as far as Grünberg, a large fortress, +where I found Herr and Frau von Wurmb, who had come to +meet me. Frau von Wurmb is the daughter of a state +councillor in the Prussian service, Herr von Göcking, to whom +the late King had entrusted me during my period of wardship. +She married a Westphalian gentleman, Herr von Wurmb, +who had formerly served in the Prussian armies, until his +delicate health obliged him to resign. For many years he +has lived in Wartenberg, a little town which belongs to me. +There, at first under the direction of Hennenberg, and since +his death alone, he has supervised my estates, forests, &c. +Frau von Wurmb, as my guardian's daughter, was a constant +companion of my youth. She was very well brought up. +People of good society in Germany do not object to conducting +the business of those whom they regard as great lords; +for instance, the cousin of Baron Gersdorff, the Saxon Minister +at London, manages my sisters' money.</p> + +<p>Herr and Frau von Wurmb preceded me here. The last +few leagues traverse sand and pine forests, but at the +entrance to a small hamlet, which does not deserve the name +of village, is a pleasant avenue which leads to a planted +court, in the middle of which is a large house; fine trees +hide the outbuildings, which are not an agreeable sight. At +the back of the house is a pleasant view: a garden very well +planted and kept up, full of flowers, many of them rare; the +garden is cleverly joined to a field, at the end of which is a +very pretty wood. A streams runs through the garden and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220">220</a></span> +keeps it fresh. The house is of double depth: it is a long +rectangle, with thirteen windows in front; it is spoilt by its +enormous roof, a necessary protection against the long-lasting +snow in winter, and also by the yellow orange colour with +which the bricks have been painted. The interior is not bad. +In the middle is a vaulted hall, with a staircase in the background; +to the right of the hall, is a large room with three +windows, and further on a little library with two windows +opening upon a very pretty greenhouse, which is connected +with the orangery; there I have fifty orange-trees of +moderate size. On the left of the hall is my bedroom, a +large dressing-room, wardrobes, bathroom, and the maid's +room. These rooms are doubled in the following way: +behind the library is a room containing the rooms opening +from the dining-room; behind the drawing-room is the +dining-room; while behind my own room and the adjoining +ones are the servants' rooms, a bedroom, and a large dressing-room. +On the first floor are four gentlemen's rooms, with +cupboards, of which only two are furnished, and a large +billiard-room. In the attics are six servants' rooms, a store-room, +and a lumber-room. The living rooms and my own +look southwards, and so do not get the view of the garden; +but I prefer to have the sun, even if I must look upon the +courtyard, especially in a house which has no cellar; there is, +however, no trace of dampness. The ground floor is very +prettily furnished, and the floors are inlaid with all kinds of +wood, and are surprisingly pretty considering that they were +done here. On the first floor there is only the room now +occupied by M. de Valençay, which is furnished, and that +somewhat scantily. In fact, the house contains only what is +absolutely necessary, and I am glad that I brought some +plate; Herr von Wurmb is lending me many things. However, +we shall do, and I feel better here than I have done for +a long time, because here I have at least silence and rest +about me. This is the heart of the country; I do not regret +it, and feel a certain pleasure in the noise of the cows and +the bustle of haymaking, which shows me once again that I +am really of a very countrified nature.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221">221</a></span> +There is a fairly good little portrait of my mother in the +drawing-room, and a very bad one of myself, while in a +smaller room are lithographs of the Prussian royal family. +The library is somewhat restricted, but contains five hundred +excellent books in English, French, and German. I have +already been round the garden, which is quite pretty. The +gardener comes from the King's gardens in Charlottenburg, +and has been to Munich and Vienna to perfect himself.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 14, 1840.</em>—This morning at eight +o'clock, in spite of the cold and bitter wind, which seem to +be characteristic of Prussia, I started in the carriage to drive +four leagues for mass and high mass too. Wartenberg is two-thirds +Catholic, while Günthersdorf is entirely Protestant. +The Catholic church is at the entrance to Wartenberg, a +town over which I have some seigneurial rights; each house +pays me a small tax. The road runs through my woods for +two leagues until we reach the high-road. The church was +full, the priest at the entrance with the holy water and +a beautiful address, while my seat was strewn with country +flowers. There was nothing wanting: a procession, the +blessing of the Sacrament, the sermon, prayers for the royal +family and for myself, and a beautiful organ accompaniment, +while the children of the Catholic school sang very well. I +think the whole ceremony lasted nearly three hours. Frau +von Wurmb, who lives in one of my houses a short distance +from the town, with a pretty garden round it, was expecting +me to lunch. There was no one present except her own +family, which is numerous.</p> + +<p>After lunch Herr von Wurmb asked me to see all the +servants of my estates, who had come together from various +points to pay their respects. Then began a long march past. +They form a regular staff, all nominated by myself and +paid from my purse. Such is the custom here upon large +estates: an architect, a doctor, two bailiffs, two collectors, +an agent, a treasurer, and a head keeper, four Catholic priests +and three Protestant pastors, and the mayor of the town; +all true gentlemen and very well educated, speaking and +introducing themselves perfectly. I did my best to please +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222">222</a></span> +every one, and made a complete conquest of the priest of +Wartenberg, to whom I promised some embroidery of my +own making for his church. When I went away Herr +von Wurmb went with me for part of the road to a very +pretty enclosure: an acre or two of forest surrounded with +palings, divided by walks, with a little piece of water, a +good gamekeeper's house, where the pheasants are brought +up most carefully. We saw the sitting hens and the little +pheasants in coops, and also the full-grown birds, which +were near the water or flying in the trees. Nearly six +hundred are sold each year. Roe deer and hares also +abound.</p> + +<p>It was five o'clock when I got back. After dinner I went +to sleep with weariness, for the day had been long, and the +cold increased the drowsiness produced by the open air.</p> + +<p>I am here without newspapers or letters, which I do not +miss, and wait patiently until the post is pleased to make +its way to this remote corner of the world. I have already +told myself that this country would form a very pleasant +retreat from the shocks by which Western Europe is always +more or less threatened, and in times of revolution one +would not mind the severity of the climate.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 15, 1840.</em>—Loving a country life as I +do, I have every possibility of satisfying my desire here, for +as I wish to see everything in a short time I have not a +moment to lose; so to-day I started at nine o'clock in the +morning and returned to Wartenberg, to the old Jesuit +convent called the Castle. It is a considerable building, with +cloisters; the cells of the monks have been transformed into +pretty rooms, which are now inhabited by the treasurer, the +bailiff, one of the chief stewards, the doctor, the Protestant +pastor and the Protestant school, while there is a very pretty +Catholic chapel, with fresco paintings and an image of +miraculous power which attracts a large number of pilgrims +on the 2nd of July every year. There is a collection of fine +ornaments and sacred vessels of some value. A little glazed +cupboard contains the coins and medals offered <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex voto</i>; +from my chain I took off the little silver medal with +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223">223</a></span> +the effigy of M. de Quélen, and placed it with the other +offerings.</p> + +<p>This visit was lengthy, and I concluded it by unearthing +from a dusty spot the portraits of the old landowners who +had left this property to the Jesuits by will. After giving +orders for the restoration of the portraits I went to see the +brewery, the distillery, and the stockyards, where cattle are +bred for sale at Berlin. All this is on a very large scale. I +have even a winepress, for my vintage is a good one, and also +a large plantation of mulberry trees; the silkworms are +bred, the silk wound off and sent to Berlin, where it is +woven.</p> + +<p>After all this inspection we went to see two farms at +Wartenberg; then a very agreeable road between beautiful +plantations, all made since my reign began, which extend for +two leagues, brought us to the summit of a wooded hill, from +the top of which there is a splendid view over the Oder—an +unusual thing in this part of Silesia. On the road my son +Louis was able to get a shot at some roebuck. I returned +here at six o'clock in the evening. Fortunately the weather +was respectable.</p> + +<p>I have just opened an old writing-desk, in which I have +found papers of my youth—letters from the Abbé Piatoli and +many affecting things of the kind, such as the wedding +present given me by the Prince Primate; this is a bird in a +golden cage which sings and flaps its wings. Then there are +engravings and pieces of embroidery. They have recalled so +many shadows of the past. There is something remarkably +solemn in this past thus suddenly revived with such intense +verisimilitude.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 17, 1840.</em>—I set out at ten o'clock in +the morning, and returned at eight in the evening. First I +visited two farms which belong to the seigniory of Wartenberg, +in the second of which I had lunch. I also visited the +church, for in this country both the churches and their +incumbents are dependent upon the overlord.</p> + +<p>After lunch we crossed the Oder by a ferry, and went as far +as Carolath, which is well worth seeing. It is a very large +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224">224</a></span> +castle upon a considerable elevation, and was built at different +times. The earliest part goes back to the days of the +Emperor Charles IV. Neither within nor without are there +any traces of style or careful work, but there is something +grandiose about the general appearance. There is nothing in +the way of gardens except planted terraces going down to the +Oder. The view is admirable, the more so as the opposite +banks are very well wooded with magnificent old oak-trees +upon an expanse of turf covered with cattle and horses +reared in the Prince's stables. The town of Beuthen and the +fortress of Glogau make a good effect in this countryside. +The village is pretty, several factories provide animation, and +a pretty inn adds a touch of gracefulness. The castle lords, +husband and wife, with their youngest daughter, were away +on business. The eldest daughter, a pretty young person, +was at the castle with a young cousin and an old steward of +the Prince; they received me most kindly. A three-horsed +carriage was harnessed, and after crossing the Oder by a ford +we drove through the great oak-trees which I mentioned +above, in the midst of which the Princess has built a delightful +cottage, where we were given tea. Unfortunately I was +devoured by gnats, and returned with a swollen face, while a +slight sunstroke in addition completed my overthrow. In +this strange climate cold is so rapidly followed by heat that +one is always caught by surprise. However, I am very glad +to have seen Carolath. It is a curious spot; Chaumont, +on the banks of the Loire, gives a fairly good idea of it.</p> + +<p>This morning we started again at nine o'clock, my son and +myself, to visit some of my estates upon the other side of the +Oder. The district is called Schwarmitz, and is more exposed +to inundations than any other. A nephew of the late Herr +Hennenberg farms it; he lives at Kleinitz, another of my +estates, but he had come to meet me at the dykes, which +toilsome constructions I visited. His wife, the Protestant +and Catholic clergyman, the head gamekeeper, and a crowd +of people were waiting for us at the farm, together with an +excellent lunch. After the meal we went through the farm +in detail, two farmhouses and a fine strip of oak forest, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225">225</a></span> +then returned by way of Saabor. This is an estate belonging +to the younger brother of Prince Carolath. If the +castle and park were properly kept up they would be +preferable to the castle and park of Carolath, though the +situation is not so good. It is, however, very fine, and the +forecourt most beautiful. The landowner has been ruined, +and was very anxious for me to buy Saabor, which is surrounded +by my estates, but topographical circumstances are +no sufficient reason for concluding such a bargain.</p> + +<p>Letters from Paris, which have hitherto gone astray, tell me +the following news: Private correspondence from Africa gives +the most harassing details about that vexatious country. +Marshal Valée is again asking for troops and money.</p> + +<p>The Prefect of Tours, M. d'Entraigues, has run away from +the uproar which threatened him in his prefecture. The +Sub-Prefect of Loches is the only victim who has been +sacrificed to the demands of the Deputy, M. Taschereau. +The nephew of Madame Mollien is transferred from the +prefecture of the Ariège to that of Cantal, and thus becomes +the Prefect of the Castellanes. M. Royer-Collard tells me +that he has saved M. de Lezay, the Prefect of Blois, and +M. Bourbon.<a name="FNanchor_104" id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor"> [104]</a> With this object he asked an interview of +M. Thiers, with which he seems to have been well satisfied.</p> + +<p>M. de La Redorte is now Ambassador at Madrid; his wife +is too ill to accompany him. This is an unexpected step +forward in his career, and a push which will cause vexation +to all who will have their own promotion delayed in consequence. +I suppose the King must have made this concession +to his Prime Minister, whose close friend M. de La +Redorte is, by way of recompense for his non-intervention +in Spain.</p> + +<p>The Duc d'Orléans on his return from Africa is said to +have found the Duchesse d'Orléans in excellent health; +the measles from which she has suffered, by removing the +centre of irritation, has restored her digestion, so that she is +able to take food and grow stronger. I am delighted to +hear it.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226">226</a></span> +<em>Günthersdorf, June 18, 1840.</em>—It has been raining all day, +and I was therefore obliged to abandon the project of visiting +a small piece of land belonging to me, half a league away, +which is called Drentkau. I gave a dinner to twelve people, +clergy and local authorities. I shall have to give two more +to do the correct thing. My household is only arranged for +twelve people, and I cannot have more guests at one time.</p> + +<p>My son Louis jabbers German with such effrontery that he +is making rapid progress. I have had a call from Prince +Frederick of Carolath, the owner of Saabor. His position +in this province is analogous to that of a lord-lieutenant in +an English county.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 19, 1840.</em>—I visited two schools within +my jurisdiction; they are Catholic schools, and in an excellent +state of efficiency. The education given to the children +surprised me, and I was most delighted and edified. I gave +some prizes by way of encouragement, and have undertaken +to provide for the career of a boy of twelve whose energy and +intelligence are really marvellous, though he is too poor to +enter the seminary, for which he feels a special vocation.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Sagan, June 21, 1840.</em>—The day before yesterday at +Günthersdorf I received a letter which decided me to come +here. Herr von Wolff wrote to me from Berlin saying that +transactions were in progress here of a very irregular nature +and against the interests of my children; that he was coming +to put the matter right, and advised me to come on my side. +I therefore started from Günthersdorf yesterday morning +with M. de Valençay. The journey took us six hours. I +put up at the inn; as things are I do not think it advisable +to go to the castle, but how strangely I was impressed with +the necessity! Here, where my father and sister lived and +where I spent so much time in my youth, I have to go to +an inn!</p> + +<p>After an hour's conversation with Herr von Wolff we went +to the castle. I recognised everything except things that had +been taken away with some undue haste, and which perhaps +will have to be brought back. My eldest sister's old man of +business wept bitterly. He is on very bad terms with Herr +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227">227</a></span> +von Gersdorff, who looks after the affairs of my sister, the +Princess of Hohenzollern. I saw him, but did not talk business, +in the first place because the matter affects my son and +not myself, and also because I wished to avoid any open +breach.</p> + +<p>Sagan is really beautiful so far as the castle and park are +concerned, though the neighbourhood is inferior to that in +which my own estates lie; but the house is magnificent. I +found some old figures of my father's time, which revived +sad memories. It was a pleasure to see the portraits of +my family.</p> + +<p>There is here a certain Countess Dohna, who was brought +up first with my mother and then with my eldest sister, and +who married a man of very good position in the country. In +her youth she was quite like a child of the house. She came +yesterday to tea with me, and I was delighted to see her and +talk with her of my poor sister, the Duchesse de Sagan, and +of her last visit a short time before her death.</p> + +<p>This morning I went to mass in the charming church of +the Augustine monks, where my father has rested for thirty-nine +years. I was greatly affected by the whole service, and +by the music, which was excellent.</p> + +<p>After that I went to see the Countess Dohna, who came with +me to the castle. I wished to look at the outbuildings, which +I had not seen yesterday. In the stables I found an old gilt +carriage lined with red velvet, and almost exactly resembling +the carriage of the Spanish Princes at Valençay. In that +carriage my father left Courlande and came here. The business +man of my sister, the Princess of Hohenzollern, sells +everything which does not belong to the fief, and put up this +carriage for sale. I bought it at once for a bid of thirty-five +crowns.</p> + +<p>I dined at two o'clock, according to the custom of the +town, and afterwards we went to the end of the park to visit +a little ancient church where my sister de Sagan told me that +she wished to place my father's body and to be buried herself. +The little church must be restored, which will be quite easy. +It might be made a very suitable and retired burial-place.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228">228</a></span> +<em>Günthersdorf, June 22, 1840.</em>—I have now returned to my +own fireside, of which I am quite fond. Before leaving Sagan +this morning I received calls from many of the local people, +and went through a long business conference. The whole +Sagan question is so complicated that it will last a long +time. Wolff, Wurmb, and my eldest sister's old business +man advised me to simplify the matter by asking my sister, +who still owes me some money for Nachod,<a name="FNanchor_105" id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor"> [105]</a> to surrender the +allodial forests of Sagan, which will thus come back to my +sons some day. I do not object, for these forests are superb, +but this is a further question. There are some preliminary +points which should be settled first and will take time. The +business men urge me strongly to spend the whole year in +Germany. I cannot spend the winter in so cold a climate, +but I should like to come back next spring for the fine +weather. I believe my son is right in saying that he is +very fortunate in making his first appearance in this country +with myself.</p> + +<p>On my way back I stayed for two hours at Neusalz, which +is a curious town to visit. Half of it is occupied by a colony of +Moravian brothers, whose customs nearly resemble those of the +Quakers. They are somewhat unusual, especially the custom +which they call the Feast of Love. In their church they sing +and pray and take coffee and cakes in the most perfect silence +and with the most perfect gluttony. They are very industrious, +very avaricious, somewhat hypocritical, and amazingly clean. +They address one another in the second person singular. +They have missionaries, and their branches spread throughout +the world. Besides the Moravian church, Neusalz has a +Catholic and a Protestant church. The latter is quite new, +and very pretty. I visited it to see a present given by the +reigning King of Prussia; this is a very handsome Christ +after Annibale Carrache. I also examined in full detail the +splendid ironworks, where many castings are made.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 23, 1840.</em>—It is beautiful weather. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229">229</a></span> +This evening my garden is green, fresh, and sweet-smelling. +There are times and seasons of climate, nature, and mind +which are especially prone to raise regrets in the heart, and +notwithstanding the actual comfort with which I am surrounded +I feel somewhat depressed to-day. I have been +going through papers the whole morning with my business +man, and afterwards went with him to inspect the Protestant +school in this village.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 25, 1840.</em>—I spent yesterday from ten +in the morning till nine in the evening in visiting the most +distant part of my estates, which include a town, three farms, +and a little forest. In one of the farms the remains of an old +Gothic castle have been transformed into a barn. I lunched +with a retired lieutenant who is married and works my farms, +upon one of which is a good dwelling-house; the farms have +always been held together, first by the grandfather and then +by the father of the present holder. His wife is expecting a +child, and they hope that the lease will be renewed to the +fourth generation. I went to look at the church and the +town, which is three parts Catholic. I was very warmly +received. The position of a great overlord is very different +here from in France, and my son's head is quite turned by it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Günthersdorf, June 26, 1840.</em>—To-morrow I must return +to Berlin, while my son will go on to Marienbad. I have +recovered my strength in the open-air life that I have led +among the woods. Yesterday I went to see the worst of my +farms, which is called Heydan, and is wrested by main force +from the sand.</p> + +<p>I had my neighbour to dinner, Prince Carolath of Saabor, +a stout man between fifty and sixty years of age, very pleasant +and polite.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Frankfort-on-the-Oder, June 28, 1840.</em>—I spent the whole +of yesterday out of doors in rain and hail. I could have +wished for better weather for the sake of the good people +who had prepared receptions for me, and also for my own +sake, as I could form but a very inadequate judgment of the +two recently made farms; one is called Peterhof, after my +father, and the other Dorotheenaue, after myself. These +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230">230</a></span> +farms have been established upon lands by the help of which +the peasants of Kleinitz have been enabled to buy their freedom +from forced labour. Beautiful forests surround these +lands. The agent in residence belongs to a family of +Courlande, which followed my father to Silesia. A striking +portrait of my father, who had made a present of it to his +follower, adorns his room. He values it highly, and so I +could not ask him to sell it to me, as I was tempted to do.</p> + +<p>When I arrived here I found a very kind letter from the +Duc d'Orléans, referring most properly to the death of the +King of Prussia and to his successor. This is what he says +about France: "The apparent agitation has subsided, but +there are still clouds upon the horizon; though the storm +has been cleverly averted, it has not entirely dispersed. +However, the interval between the sessions will pass off well. +Only the King and M. Thiers are in the foreground, and +neither is willing to embarrass the other. Both wish to +smooth their path, and no question will arise to divide them. +For my part, I wish every success to our great little Minister, +who can confer vast benefits upon this country."</p> + +<p>I was sorry to say good-bye to my son; he is a good child, +natural, tractable, and quiet. I am glad that he was pleased +with Silesia, and that he has shown so good a spirit in every +respect. Moreover, in him I had a relative at hand, and +I begin to feel the great difference between solitude and +isolation. For a long time I confused these two conditions, +which are so similar and yet so different; the one I can bear +very well, the other makes me afraid.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, June 29, 1840.</em>—I arrived here yesterday at three +o'clock in the afternoon. I found many letters, but none +of any interest. However, Madame Mollien says that the +Duchesse d'Orléans is with child, and adds that the digestive +disturbance has returned from which the measles seemed to +have relieved her. Madame Adélaïde, who also writes, seems +to be well pleased with the way in which the review of the +National Guard passed off, and especially with the reception +of the Duc d'Orléans upon his return from Africa. Some +of the officers attached to him are dead, and many of them +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231">231</a></span> +have been left behind wounded or ill; he himself has grown +very thin.</p> + +<p>Here at Berlin, according to what I hear from different +people whom I saw yesterday evening, the moderation, the +goodness, and the wisdom of the new King give great satisfaction. +He works hard, is accessible to everybody, and shows +every respect for the friends and the wishes of his father. +Herr von Humboldt has brought me all kinds of gracious +messages from Sans Souci; the Prince and Princess of Prussia +have sent others; Madame de Perponcher told me that there +would be a grand Court of Condolence on Friday next, and +explained what costume would be worn.</p> + +<p>The only change under the new Government is that the +King works with each of his Ministers separately, whereas +the late King would only talk with the Prince of Wittgenstein +and work only with Count Lottum. Herr von Altenstein, +who was Minister of Worship and Education, died three +weeks before the late King, and no fresh appointment has yet +been made. There is much anxiety to know who will fill this +important post. The choice will give some indication of the +direction in which affairs will be guided. The nomination for +that very reason is a matter of great perplexity to the King.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, July 1, 1840.</em>—My great objection to towns is the +calls that have to be made and received. In spite of the fact +that I am only a bird of passage here I have to suffer this +inconvenience. I have made a large number of calls and +received a great many yesterday morning and evening. The +Prince of Prussia, who started this morning for Ems, was with +me for a long time, and told me that the Empress of Russia +was well pleased with her future daughter-in-law, and the +young Princess will travel to Russia with the Empress herself.</p> + +<p>Lord William Russell also came to see me. He told me +that Lady Granville had <em>ordered</em> Mr. Heneage, who is +attached to her husband's Embassy at Paris, to accompany +Madame de Lieven to England.</p> + +<p>I went with Wolff to see the studio of Begas, a German +painter trained at Paris under the eyes of Gros. He is very +talented.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232">232</a></span> +There has been an earthquake in the department of Indre-et-Loire, +which was felt at Tours; at Candes, four leagues +from Rochecotte, several houses have been overthrown. At +Rochecotte nothing has happened, thank heaven, but this +subterranean convulsion frightens me; another event of the +kind might easily ruin all my work of restoration, and my +artesian well might run dry.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Potsdam, July 2, 1840.</em>—I left Berlin yesterday at eleven +o'clock in the morning by the railway. I was in the same +carriage with Prince Adalbert of Prussia, the King's cousin, +Lord William Russell, and Prince George of Hesse. When +I got out of the train, which reaches Potsdam in less than an +hour, I found the carriage and the servants of the Princess of +Prussia, with an invitation to visit her at once at Babelsberg, +a pretty Gothic castle which she has built upon a wooded +height overlooking the valley of the Havel. It is a small +residence, but very well arranged, with a beautiful view. We +sat there talking for an hour. Her carriage remained at my +disposal in Potsdam after it had brought me back. When I +had dressed I went to Sans Souci, where the King dines at +three o'clock. Both he and the Queen were most kind and +friendly. After dinner he took me to see the room where +Frederick II. died, and that King's library. He insisted that +I should follow him to the terrace, which is a fine piece of +work. Then I was handed over to the Countess of Reede, +the Queen's chief lady, and to Humboldt, who drove me to +the Marble Palace, where are many beautiful objects of art, +and also to the New Palace, where the great summer festivities +are held. The Princess of Prussia came to meet us, and took +me to Charlottenhof, which was made by the reigning King +from the models, plans, and design of a villa belonging to +Pliny. It is a charming sight, full of beautiful things +brought from Italy, which harmonise admirably, an inconceivable +confusion of flowers and fresco paintings as at +Pompeii, with fountains and ancient baths, all in the best +taste. The King and Queen were there, and we had tea. +The King then took me with him in a pony chaise and drove +me through splendid avenues of old oak-trees to Sans Souci, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233">233</a></span> +where he insisted that I should stay to supper. Supper was +served in a little room without ceremony, and there was more +conversation than eating. This went on very pleasantly and +easily until eleven o'clock. The King promised me his +portrait, and has been most kind in every way. He made +me promise to come and see him again at Berlin, and was, as +they say here, very <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">herzlich</i>.</p> + +<p>This morning Humboldt came of his own accord to suggest +that before going to lunch with the Princess of Prussia I +should see the Island of the Peacocks, with its beautiful +conservatories and curious menagerie. The King's boatmen +and the overseers of the botanical gardens waited on me, and +I brought back some splendid flowers. We reached the +Princess of Prussia a little late. After lunch she took me +in the pony chaise to see Glinicke, the pretty villa of Prince +Charles, who is at this moment at the baths of Kreuznach +with his wife. Thence I returned to Potsdam and to Berlin +by the railway.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, July 3, 1840.</em>—Madame de Perponcher came for +me to-day at four o'clock. She took me through the rooms +of her mother, the Countess of Reede, so that we avoided the +crowd and were the first to reach the Court of Condolence +which was held by the Queen at Berlin. She was seated on +her throne in a room hung with black; the shutters were +closed, and the room was lighted only by four large candles, +according to old etiquette. The Queen wore a double veil, +one streaming behind and the other lowered before her face; +all the ladies were dressed in the same way, and it was +impossible to distinguish faces. Each made a silent bow +before the throne, and that was all. It was strangely sad and +lugubrious, but a very noble and imposing ceremony. The +men who passed before the throne were in uniform, with their +faces uncovered, but any gold or silver on their uniforms was +covered with black crape.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Berlin, July 5, 1840.</em>—My stay at Berlin has now come to +an end. I went to high mass this morning, a less meritorious +act here than elsewhere, on account of the admirable +music.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234">234</a></span> +<em>Herzberg, July 6, 1840.</em>—I started this morning from Berlin +by railway as far as Potsdam, where I stayed for lunch. +When I got out of the train I found a footman with a very +affectionate farewell letter from the Princess of Prussia. I +have been spoilt to the last moment. I feel most deeply +grateful, for every one has shown me a kindness and a +cordiality which I had only experienced in England before +now.</p> + +<p>I have finished the <cite>Stories of the Merovingian Age</cite>, by +M. Augustin Thierry. The book is not without interest or +originality; as a picture of strange and unknown customs, +it is valuable. I have begun the Dialogues of Fénelon on +Jansenism, a book which is little known and almost forgotten, +though admirably written, and sometimes as striking +as the <cite>Provincial Letters</cite>.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Königsbruck, July 8, 1840.</em>—I came here yesterday at six +o'clock in the evening to see my niece, the Countess of Hohenthal. +The lady of the place is taller, fairer, more intelligent, +quite as pleasant, and in my opinion prettier and kinder than +her sister, Frau von Lazareff. Her other sister, Fanny, is an +excellent and cheerful character, and if her health were better +she would be pretty. The Count of Hohenthal is a thorough +gentleman who admires and adores his wife. Miss Harrison, +once the governess of these ladies, is a prudent and loyal +person who has acted as their mother, and is respected as such +in the household. Königsbruck is a great house, rather vast +than beautiful, at the entrance to a small town. Its position +would be picturesque and the view agreeable if it were not +almost choked by the outbuildings, which, in the German +style, are placed far too near the castle. The country is +a transition-point between the barrenness and flatness of +Prussia and the rich productivity of Saxony.</p> + +<p>The following is an extract from a letter from M. Royer-Collard, +written from Paris when he was about to start for +the Blésois: "Thiers came even to-day to sit down here +in silence with M. Cousin, who represented the companion +brother of the Jesuit. Thiers speaks very disdainfully of +the Ministries which preceded his own, and modestly of his +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235">235</a></span> +successes as Minister of the Interior; in any case, he is very +kind to me."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Königsbruck, July 9, 1840.</em>—To-day I went over the castle +in detail. It might afford opportunity for beautification in +several directions; but such is not the local taste, as the +lords work their estates themselves and prefer the useful to +the agreeable.</p> + +<p>My niece had told me that the King and Queen of Saxony +had expressed a wish to see me; I therefore wrote yesterday +to Pillnitz, where the Court now is, to ask their Majesties for +an interview. When the answer arrives I shall arrange for +my departure.</p> + +<p>My nieces generally spend their winters at Dresden, and +told me that the French Minister, M. de Bussières, was in +very bad odour there. He is regarded as an unpleasant +character and in bad style. He has introduced some disagreeable +customs, and deeply wounded the Queen by various +tactless remarks concerning her. There is a general wish for +his removal to some other diplomatic post.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Dresden, July 11, 1840.</em>—I left Königsbruck this morning, +and was glad to see once more the pretty suburbs of Dresden. +I am now about to dress and to start for Pillnitz.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Dresden, July 12, 1840.</em>—The castle of Pillnitz is neither +very beautiful nor curious. The gardens are only moderately +good, but the situation on the banks of the Elbe is charming; +the country is delightful and fertile. The whole royal +family of Saxony were assembled there yesterday. The +Queen, whom I had known long ago at Baden, before her +marriage, is the tallest woman I know; she is very kind, well +educated, and simply anxious to please. The King had dined +several times with M. de Talleyrand at Paris; he is a frank +and natural person, especially when his shyness, which is +obvious at first, has time to wear off. Princess John, the +Queen's sister, and the twin sister of the Queen of Prussia, is +strikingly like the latter, but she has been so worn out by +constant child-bearing that she hardly has the strength to +move or to utter more than a few words. I had also known +her at Baden, when she was very pretty and agreeable. Her +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236">236</a></span> +husband, Prince John, is one of the most learned royal +personages of his time, always busy with deep matters; his +dress and appearance are very careless, and there is something +of the German professor about him. Princess Augusta, the +Queen's cousin, had nearly all the sovereigns of Europe as +her suitors thirty years ago: Napoleon mentioned her name +in the council where his marriage was decided; none the +less she remained single, and, moreover, has become a very +pleasant old maid. She was never pretty, but was fresh and +bright, with individual points of beauty. Her expression +remains kind and attractive. Finally, I made a conquest +of Princess Amelia, the King's sister, who writes comedies. +She is a witty and imaginative person, and her conversation +is lively and sparkling; she showed remarkable kindness +to me.</p> + +<p>After dinner I was taken into a very fine room to change +my dress, and was strongly tempted to theft by the many +fine examples of old Dresden china. The Queen sent for me, +and I was taken to her room, where she asked me questions, +as the Princesses had done. Everybody came in soon in out-of-door +dress, and we started in carriages for a long drive. +The vine is largely grown about Dresden. Above the royal +vineyards the King has built a little summer-house, which +reminds me of that of the Grand Duchess Stephanie at +Baden. This was the object of our drive, and the view from +it is superb: on the right was Dresden, opposite the Elbe, +with its smiling banks, and on the left the mountain chain +known as Saxon Switzerland. Tea was served in the +summer-house and after a pleasant conversation I said farewell, +when all kinds of warm messages were exchanged. My +carriage had followed me, and brought me back to Dresden +by ten o'clock in the evening.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Dresden, July 13, 1840.</em>—As yesterday was Sunday I went +to mass in the morning in the chapel of the castle, where the +music is famous throughout Germany. It is the only place +where singers are still to be heard in the style of Crescentini +and Marchesi. This celebrated music did not satisfy me; it +was too operatic in style, too noisy and dramatic, instead of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237">237</a></span> +suggesting a religious calm; moreover, these mutilated voices, +notwithstanding their brilliancy, have a certain unpleasant +harshness and shrillness. I never cared for the voice of +Crescentini, whom I heard at her best at Napoleon's Court.</p> + +<p>After mass we visited the interior of the castle, where +Bendemann, one of the most distinguished artists of Düsseldorf, +is now painting frescoes in the great hall where the +King opens and closes the sessions of the States. It will be +a fine piece of work in respect both of its composition and +execution, but it will never have the brilliancy which only +Italy can give to this style of painting, and which is so +indispensable to it. I was much interested by the apartments +of the Elector Augustus the Strong, which were +furnished in the fashion of his age, and have never been +used since, except by the Emperor Napoleon. They contain +a great number of specimens of Buhl furniture, lacquer-work, +gilt copper, old china, and inlaid wood, but these things are +kept in bad condition and badly arranged, and do not make +a quarter of the effect they should produce. The castle +from the outside looks like an old convent, but there are some +curious architectural details in its interior courts which +remind me of the castle of Blois, though they cannot vie with +it. Nothing can give grace, lightness, and elegance to architectural +work like the everlasting white stone which belongs +exclusively to the centre of France. Here the stone is very +dark.</p> + +<p>In the evening I had a visit from the Baron of Lindenau, +Minister of Education and Director of Museums. He +played an important political part in the affairs of Saxony +during the co-regency of the present King. I had known +him formerly at the house of my late aunt, the Countess of +Recke. He is a distinguished man, and I was glad to see him +again.</p> + +<p>My nephew took us this morning to see the Japanese +Palace, which contains the royal library, the manuscripts, +the intaglios, medals, and engravings. I went through +twenty vaulted chambers, which contain all known specimens +of china, of every age and every country. There were some +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238">238</a></span> +very beautiful and very curious things among them. This +collection is especially rich in Chinese specimens. Then we +went on to the royal china manufactory, which has preserved +the fine paste so greatly admired in old Saxon china, which +is now sold by curiosity dealers.</p> + +<p>After dinner I went to the historical museum called the +Zwinger, which is arranged after the style of the Tower of +London. Herr von Lindenau had sent word of my coming +to the chief directors, who are most learned men, and explained +everything to us delightfully. The picture gallery +and the treasury I had seen upon other occasions, and did +not visit them again.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Teplitz, July 14, 1840.</em>—It is not a long journey from +Dresden here—only eight short hours, through charming +country. The hills prevent rapid progress, but the variety +and the attractiveness of the scenery compensate for the +delay. Some of the scenery recalls the Murgthal, and other +parts Wildbad. The Erzgebirge, at the foot of which +Teplitz lies, makes a sufficient background, though it is +not an imposing mountain range. The mountains are, +moreover, well wooded, the village is very pretty, flowers +are grown, and the roads are excellent. Immediately after +my arrival I had a visit from my niece, Princess Biron, who +married my eldest nephew. She took me in her carriage to +see the town, which is not far off, the pretty promenades, +and the village of Schönau, which is close to the town and +contains the chief watering-places. It is all very nice, and +prettily built; but Teplitz may be as pretty as it likes—it +cannot equal dear Baden. The society of the place is also +different, and seems to me to be very moderate here. It is +said that the death of the King of Prussia will make a great +difference, as he came every year.</p> + +<p>Princess Biron is a pleasant person; though not pretty, she +has a noble bearing, and is deeply loved and respected in her +husband's family.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Teplitz, July 15, 1840.</em>—I am starting for Carlsbad, where +I shall see my two sisters this evening, from whom I have +been separated for sixteen years. This unduly long absence +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239">239</a></span> +has changed my habits, and I have lost touch with their +interests; so I begin the day with some emotion.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 16, 1840.</em>—Fifteen hours' travelling to-day, +during which I did not stop for a moment. I had to cover +twenty-six leagues, continually going uphill or down. After +Teplitz the country is pretty as far as Dux, the castle of +Count Wallenstein, where Casanova wrote his memoirs; after +that the country becomes extremely dull. It was ten o'clock +when I arrived. My sisters were sitting opposite one another +playing patience. Jeanne, the Duchess of Acerenza, welcomed +me very naturally; Pauline, the Princess of Hohenzollern, +with some embarrassment, which immediately communicated +itself to me. We only talked of indifferent matters, and they +gave me tea. I then went to a house opposite, where my +sister Jeanne has hired a room for me.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 17, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles writes from +Paris telling me that he dined with M. Thiers at the house +of the Sardinian Ambassador,<a name="FNanchor_106" id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor"> [106]</a> and had a long talk with him. +He found M. Thiers profoundly interested in Africa, willing +to spend vast sums there, to wage a great war and keep up an +army of eighty thousand men, and to build the continuous +lines which have been so largely discussed, to surround the +whole plain of the Mitija.<a name="FNanchor_107" id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor"> [107]</a> He attempts to prove that these +efforts will produce marvellous results in two or three years: +the real possession of Africa, a large colonising movement, +and a splendid port on the Mediterranean. The Duc de +Noailles also tells me that Madame de Lieven is at London, +and is greatly pleased with her reception.</p> + +<p>Another correspondent says: "The King does not seem to +come to terms with his Ministry, although he is said to be on +the best footing with the several members of it. Having +lost a game, the King has now to win one, and is waiting +his opportunity patiently. M. Guizot still seems to be the +fashion in England.<a name="FNanchor_108" id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor"> [108]</a> He bets at the racecourse, and has +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240">240</a></span> +won two hundred louis. Surely M. Guizot on the turf is +one of the strangest anomalies of our age!"</p> + +<p>Yesterday my sisters took me to see the various springs +and the shops, which are very pretty. I then dined with +them at three o'clock, my brother-in-law, Count Schulenburg, +being present.<a name="FNanchor_109" id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor"> [109]</a> Then we went for a drive along the valley, +which greatly resembles the valley of Wildbad. There I +found some old acquaintances—the Prince and Princess Reuss-Schleiz, +the Count and Countess Solms, son of the old +Ompteda by her first marriage, the Countess Karolyi, called +Nandine, the old Löwenhielm, with his wife, whose first married +name was Frau von Düben, Liebermann, and an old Princess +Lichenstein. I returned home at ten o'clock, rather wearied +with this succession of faces.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 18, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I went to pay a call +to the Countess of Björnstjerna, who lives in the same house +as myself. She is starting for Hamburg this morning, where +she will hear whether she is to meet her husband at Stockholm +or London. Her eldest son is marrying the only daughter of +her sister, Countess Ugglas, who died some years ago. It +has been pleasant to meet some one to remind me of London, +the best time of my life, even in the form of this little +Björnstjerna. I have also been to see an old man of eighty +years who always used to live with my aunt, the Countess of +Recke, and whom I had missed at Dresden, where I hoped to +find him. He usually lives there in a house the use of +which was bequeathed to him by my aunt, and which reverts +to myself after the death of this poor old man. We both +grew sad over the memories of my good aunt.</p> + +<p>After dinner I went for a drive with my sisters along a +pretty road cut out of the mountain-side, and visited a china +factory, where there were some pretty things. Pottery has +been a comparatively widespread industry in Bohemia for +some time, but remains much behind the Saxon manufacture.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 19, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I spent very much as +the former day, and as I shall probably spend every day of +my stay here. I always wake up early, write till nine o'clock, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241">241</a></span> +get up and dress. At ten o'clock I go to my sisters, and +stay talking to them till midday. I then pay some necessary +calls, and return home to read. I go back to my sisters at +three o'clock for dinner, then take them for a drive in a +carriage that I have hired. At six o'clock they sit in front +of their door to see the people go past. I stay with them +for a time, and then return to my room, and finally go back +to them at eight o'clock for tea.</p> + +<p>My sister Hohenzollern has brought all the curious letters +that had belonged to my mother, and which my sister the +Duchesse de Sagan had seized. She proposed to keep a third +of them, and we therefore divided them. My share contains +the letters of the late King of Poland,<a name="FNanchor_110" id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor"> [110]</a> of the Emperor +Alexander, of the brothers and sisters of Frederick the Great, +Goethe, the Emperor Napoleon to the Empress Joséphine, +the great Condé, Louis XIV., and in particular a letter from +Fénelon to his grand-nephew whom he called Fanfan.<a name="FNanchor_111" id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor"> [111]</a> This +letter is enclosed in a paper on which the Bishop of Alais, M. de +Bausset, has written a signed note testifying to the authenticity +of this letter, so that there are two autographs in one.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 20, 1840.</em>—I went to mass yesterday in an +enormous crowd, for this country is essentially Catholic. The +little chapels, the great crucifixes, the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex-votos</i>, scattered about +the mountains, are all visited on Sundays by the people, who +leave small candles and flowers there. I went to visit two of +these little shrines, which increase the beauty of the landscape, +apart from their religious meaning.</p> + +<p>I then went to see my sisters in the usual place. Countess +Léon Razumowski and Princess Palfy were with them. I +was introduced, but did not find them very interesting. +Countess Razumowski is the leader of the pleasure-seeking +society here; they spend their days in tea and supper parties +in the style of the Russian ladies at Baden.</p> + +<p>M. de Tatitcheff is also here, and told us that a young +Russian who had come straight from Rome said that the +Pope was in a desperate condition.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242">242</a></span> +In the evening a Mrs. Austin, a clever English lady, +brought letters of introduction to my sisters. She sees a +good deal of M. Guizot at London, is always quoting his +remarks, and boasts of her acquaintanceship with Lady +Lansdowne.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 22, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I had a very touching +letter from the Abbé Dupanloup. He has been for rest and +retirement at the Grande Chartreuse, whence his letter is +dated. He proposes to return to Paris at once to help in the +consecration of the new Archbishop.<a name="FNanchor_112" id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor"> [112]</a> He speaks with much +concern about the condition of the French clergy, whose +irritation he describes as very great.</p> + +<p>I have also a letter from the Princesse de Lieven from +London. She says: "The Ministry is very weak, but it is +likely to continue in life, though vitality will be feeble. The +Queen has entirely recovered her popularity since the attempt +to assassinate her.<a name="FNanchor_113" id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor"> [113]</a> She really behaved with great courage +and coolness, most creditable and unusual at her age. She +is very fond of her husband, whom she treats as a small boy. +He is not so clever as she, but is very calm and dignified. +M. Guizot has an excellent position here, is universally respected, +and perfectly happy. Herr von Brunnow cuts a poor +figure. He and his wife are thought to be quite ridiculous +and out of place. The little Chreptowicz, daughter of Count +Nesselrode, who is here, is very vexed and ashamed about it. +Alava has lost his cheerfulness. Lady Jersey's hair is grey. +Lord Grey looks very well, but is very peevish."</p> + +<p>It is said here that Matusiewicz is dangerously ill of +gout at Stockholm, and that M. Potemkin has gone raving +mad at Rome. This is likely to cause some changes in the +Russian diplomatic service, and perhaps will bring my cousin, +Paul Medem, from Stuttgart.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 27, 1840.</em>—I propose to start the day after +to-morrow for Baden. A certain Herr von Hübner arrived +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243">243</a></span> +yesterday. He is an Austrian<a name="FNanchor_114" id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor"> [114]</a> with a post in the office of +Prince Metternich. He brought me a pressing invitation +from the Prince to go and see him at Königswarth, which +is only six hours by road from here. I sent a refusal, but in +terms of warm regret; it would not be kind to my sisters if +I were to cut my stay short by a day or two after so long a +separation, and I also fear the foolish interpretations which +our newspapers might place upon my action. Frederic Lamb, +Esterhazy, Tatitcheff, Fiquelmont, Maltzan, and other +diplomatists are gathered at Königswarth. This will attract +attention, and I am not anxious that my name, which has +not yet been sufficiently forgotten, should be made the +subject of delightful journalistic comments.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Carlsbad, July 30, 1840.</em>—I am leaving Carlsbad at midday +this morning, and going with my sister Acerenza to Löbichau, +in Saxony, an estate which belongs to her; my mother is +buried there. She will then meet my sister Hohenzollern at +Ischl, for which she also starts to-day. We part upon the +best terms, and I have promised to pay them a visit at +Vienna on my next journey to Germany.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Löbichau, July 31, 1840.</em>—I arrived here yesterday evening, +after a journey through a picturesque and mountainous +country, well wooded and well watered. I have been travelling +in the pretty duchy of Saxony-Altenburg, a fertile, +smiling, and populous district, where I spent every summer +until the time of my marriage. I revisited it afterwards upon +several occasions. Many recollections give me an interest +in the country, and sometimes arouse emotion. Some old +faces of past times still remain to greet me. I went into the +room where my mother died, and which my sister now uses, +and we went to see her grave at the end of the park. I +also went to the presbytery to see the wife of the pastor, +who was a faithful companion of my youth; one of her +daughters is my godchild, and is a pretty young person.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Löbichau, August 1, 1840.</em>—It rained all yesterday, and it +was impossible to go out. I spent my time in going over the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244">244</a></span> +house and looking at the rooms which I had occupied at +different periods. Some people from the neighbourhood +came in to see us, including the deaconess, Fräulein Sidonie +von Dieskau, a great friend of my mother. I often used to +go to her house in my youth. She is a very lively and +clever person, and bears her sixty-two years admirably.</p> + +<p>Here I found a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who +says: "Lady Sandwich gave an evening party recently. You +would never guess who was engaged to amuse the company—a +hypnotist! The Marquise de Caraman was overheard +saying to the young Duc de Vicence, 'If we were alone I +should like to be hypnotised, but I dare not before all these +people; I should be afraid of showing my excitement.' +Marshal Valée will be continued in his African command, +notwithstanding the criticism to which he is exposed, on +account of the difficulty of finding any one to take his place. +The Flahaut have returned in a very softened frame of mind, +and well disposed to the Government; they often go to +Auteuil, where M. Thiers has set up house. The marriage +of Lady Acton with Lord Leveson is settled for this month; +it will take place in England, where the Granvilles have been +called by the serious illness of their daughter, Lady Rivers. +Lord Granville does not greatly approve of this marriage; +much pressure has been necessary to obtain his consent, but +his son's passion has overcome all obstacles."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Löbichau, August 2, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I went with my +sister a distance of a short half-league to visit a summer +residence in the middle of the park, in which I spent several +summers. My mother made me a present of it, and I gave it +back to her when I was married. It is now in somewhat +poor repair, but I was glad to see it again. On our return +I went into the village to recall some memories.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Schleitz, August 3, 1840.</em>—This town is the residence of +the Prince of Reuss LXIV. Three years ago it was burnt +down. The castle is quite new, built in the style of a +barracks, with two very insignificant towers; it is a pity, +for the country is beautiful, especially towards Gera, where +I dined with the deaconess von Dieskau, of whom I spoke +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245">245</a></span> +above, and who is one of the pleasantest recollections of +my youth. She is very comfortably settled.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Nuremberg, August 4, 1840.</em>—Yesterday evening I reached +Bayreuth at a late hour, and started again early this morning.</p> + +<p>A mere walk through the streets of Nüremberg will +show any observer the peculiarities of the town. Octagonal +balconies in the form of projecting towers in the middle or +at the corners of the houses, with gables, almost all overhanging +the street, are most characteristic. The number of +niches with statues of saints would make one think that the +country was Catholic; yet the town is entirely Protestant; +but the vandalism of the Reformation was as rabid here as +elsewhere, and the good taste of the inhabitants has preserved +from a sense of artistic value what they no longer appreciate +for religious reasons.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening at the last posting station before +Bayreuth I met some travellers whom I did not know but +who seemed to be important people. The husband came up +to my carriage and asked me if I had heard the news. I +replied that I had not. He then told me that he belonged +to Geneva, and that he was taking his invalid wife to +Marienbad; that on leaving Geneva he had seen one of his +friends from Paris, who told him of the news that a convention +had been signed at London between Austria, Prussia, +Russia, and England against the Pasha of Egypt, and that +the French King was furious in consequence; that M. Thiers +had immediately ordered the sudden mobilisation of two +hundred thousand men to march to the northern frontier, +and of ten thousand sailors.<a name="FNanchor_115" id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor"> [115]</a> As I no longer see the newspapers, +I am very doubtful what to think of such news, and +do not know what to make of these apparent contradictions.</p> + +<p>I was told that on September 1 a fifteen days' camp +would take place here; twenty thousand troops, the whole +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246">246</a></span> +Bavarian Court, and other princes will make it a brilliant +affair.</p> + +<p>In <em>Galignani</em> I saw the news of the death of Lord Durham; +I do not think he will be greatly regretted.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>To return from my aberrations, the Church of St. Sebald +is ill-proportioned and the decorations are very tawdry, +but it contains one fine monument. This is a great silver +reliquary covered with gold bands, placed in an openwork +monument of cast iron, remarkable for its delicacy and +gracefulness; the ornamentation is extremely rich and the +design admirable. The Town Hall, the large hall painted +with frescoes by Albert Dürer, where several Imperial Diets +have been held, is worth seeing, and also the room in +which are hung the portraits of those citizens of Nuremberg +who were benefactors to their native town by founding +religious houses. A chapel of St. Maurice which has been +transformed into a museum has some interesting pictures of +the old German school. The bronze statue of Dürer in one of +the squares, which was modelled by Rauch of Berlin, and +cast here, has nobility of bearing and makes a fine effect. +The old castle, upon an elevation, overlooks the town, and from +it may be gained a general view of the countryside. Though +it is somewhat mean in appearance, it has the merit of +indisputable antiquity. The King and Queen of Bavaria +inhabit it when they are here. An old linden-tree planted +in the middle of the court by the Empress Cunegonde must +be eight hundred years old if the chronicle is to be believed; +one may reasonably doubt such antiquity, though the fact +remains that this tree has seen many events.</p> + +<p>The Church of St. Lawrence is very fine and imposing; the +tabernacle and the pulpit are masterpieces. Two fountains, +one of cast iron and the other of stone, in two of the squares +are very noteworthy for curious details of sculpture, but the +little threads of water which they spout make them look +more like <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex-votos</i> than fountains. The house of the +Emperor Adolphus of Nassau and the house of the Hohenzollerns, +who for a long time were Burgraves of Nuremberg, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247">247</a></span> +with several other houses in the hands of private individuals, +are curious. The mania for restoration has reached Nüremberg; +the results would be highly praiseworthy were it not +for the habit of painting in glaring colours houses with +sculptured fronts which should especially be left in the natural +colour of the stone. The cemetery of St. John contains the +tombs of all the illustrious men of the town. The Rosenau, +the public walk, of which the inhabitants are very proud, is +damp and badly kept. I finished my round with a visit to the +toy shop which has been famous for centuries; all kinds of +figures and grotesques are there made, cleverly carved in wood.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 7, 1840.</em>—I am now at Baden, and felt +quite overcome when I just now entered it alone. The sight +of the Jagd-Haus, of the little chapel, the poplar-trees upon +the road—in fact, something at every step awoke memories +and regrets. I am staying in a clean little house on the +Graben, opposite the Strasburg Hotel. Houses are being +built in every direction; Baden will soon be a large town, +and much less attractive to me. As I read the letters which +you write me from America<a name="FNanchor_116" id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor"> [116]</a> I often think they would have +greatly interested M. de Talleyrand, and would have reminded +him of many things, but if poor M. de Talleyrand +had lived I do not think he would have allowed you to go +into exile so far away; although he often said that a +politician to complete his education should certainly go to +America, as a distant point of view from which to judge old +Europe.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 8, 1840.</em>—Herr von Blittersdorf whom I +saw with his wife, told me of another wild attempt of Louis +Bonaparte, who had disembarked at Boulogne-sur-Mer and +had attempted to arouse a revolt.<a name="FNanchor_117" id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor"> [117]</a> The news was telegraphed, +so that there were no details.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248">248</a></span> +The King of Würtemberg is here; he has just left the +watering-place of Aix in Savoy. His daughter and son-in-law, +the Count of Neipperg, are with him; they go out a +great deal, give parties, and so on. Herr von Blittersdorf +also told me that the news from Paris was of a very warlike +character; for his part he did not understand either how war +was possible, seeing that every party had important reasons +for avoiding it, or again how it could be prevented in view +of Lord Palmerston's measures, which have been ratified by +the northern Powers,<a name="FNanchor_118" id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor"> [118]</a> while public opinion in France was +unanimous and excited; and the Pasha of Egypt again had +gained a success, whereas disasters alone could have stopped +the coercive measures for which the convention stipulated. +On this question the French King is said to be in full agreement +with M. Thiers, and to have stated that he would prefer +war to revolution. M. Guizot has been reproached because +he did not give warning in sufficient time to stop the signing +of the convention. He defends himself by saying that he did +give notice, but was left without instructions. Such is the +statement of Herr von Blittersdorf. He is very anxious +about the situation, and especially about the frontier position +of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which would be inconvenient in +times of war. He says that the position of the duchy is the +more difficult on account of the want of a fortress, the +building of which he has urged for the last twenty-eight +years upon Austria, though he has not been able to attain +it. I came back very anxious in view of the possibility of +war.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 9, 1840.</em>—To-day I fell back into my usual +habits when taking the waters. I found some of the faces +of former years. My son, M. de Valençay, arrived from +Marienbad. During the day I had a call from Count +Woronzoff Dashkoff, who has come from Ems. The waters +seem to have greatly benefited the Empress of Russia; he +says that the Duke of Nassau treated the Grand Duchess +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249">249</a></span> +Olga very coldly, and that Princess Marie of Hesse was quite a +success among the Russian grandees. Count Woronzoff says +that she has bad teeth and does not think much of her beauty.</p> + +<p>I then saw Herr von Blittersdorf, who says that the King +of Würtemberg, Princess Marie, his daughter, and even the +Count of Neipperg, regret the marriage, which places them in +a false position. The Princess is said to be in bad health, and +by no means rich. All these stories seem foolish, the more so +as the Count of Neipperg is quite an insignificant person.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Rohan has also arrived; he told me of the +death of Madame de La Rovère (Elizabeth of Stackelberg), a +young and handsome lady, happy and beloved, and a friend of +my daughter Pauline. Poor Frau von Stackelberg! She has +thus lost three children of full age and very dear to her in +less than six months. These are heavy blows; she is a real +angel, and has been a sufferer all her life.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 10, 1840.</em>—I have a letter from the +Duchesse d'Albuféra, who is very anxious about her son-in-law, +M. de La Redorte, the Spanish Ambassador. He reached +Barcelona at a very gloomy time. She says that he has done +extremely well, and that the authorities at Paris are very +pleased with his attitude from the outset.</p> + +<p>All my letters talk of war in a tone which reduces me to +despair. Madame de Lieven was the first to send the news to +Paris of the famous convention of the four Powers, which she +announced with a cry of triumph in a letter to Madame de +Flahaut. This Russian Princess showed herself most delighted +and overjoyed at having some excitement worthy of her, but +how will she settle that with M. Guizot? It seems that these +rumours of war reduce Madame de Flahaut to despair, as she +has recovered her affection for the Tuileries.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Noailles is, I hear, very proud because he has +predicted the disturbance now in progress. I cannot sufficiently +remember any of his speeches to recall his prophecies. In any +case, it is a poor consolation for the evils which threaten +European society.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 12, 1840.</em>—I dined with the Wellesleys; +Princess Marie and the Count of Neipperg were there. After +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250">250</a></span> +seeing the latter I am the less able to understand the +marriage. The King of Würtemberg is said to be displeased +with his son-in-law, who adopts a contemptuous attitude; +the Count is susceptible and hard to please, and the poor +Princess is torn between her husband and her father, as also +is society between the husband and the wife; in short, the +position is false and foolish for everybody. The Princess is +the chief sufferer, and, though not pretty, she is a pleasant +person; there is something wrong about her figure—her +movements are neither free nor easy.</p> + +<p>This morning I went to a concert given by the Countess +Strogonoff. Princess Marie and the Grand Duke of Baden +were also there. High society in general was well represented. +I saw nothing of any particular note, and fortunately +made no new acquaintances.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 14, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I read the manifesto +of the new Archbishop of Paris, Mgr. Affre, on the occasion +of his enthronement. Two points in it seemed to me to show +great affectation: he attempted to reassure the Government +about the moderation of his political views, and he refused to +say a single word about his predecessor, which is against +all custom and good taste. If he would not speak of his +predecessor's administration of office or of his personality, he +might at least have praised his charity, which is incontestable; +he would not have compromised himself, and would have +avoided the foolishness of silence.</p> + +<p>Herr von Blittersdorf told me at his wife's house that he +was startled by the exasperation which was produced in +France by the absolute silence of the Queen of England +with reference to France in her Speech upon the prorogation +of Parliament. He told me also that England had +resolved to break with France on the Eastern question, +because she had recently acquired accurate information concerning +the intrigues of M. de Pontois, to prevent any reconciliation +of the Sultan with the Pasha.<a name="FNanchor_119" id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor"> [119]</a> England was also +aware of the assurances given to the latter, that he need not +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251">251</a></span> +take the severity of the Powers seriously, and might continue +his enterprise, trusting to the help of France. Lord Palmerston +complains of this duplicity. On the other hand it is asserted +that the prospects of peace between the Porte and Egypt +are hampered by Lord Ponsonby; in short, it is a hopeless +tangle. Let us trust that it will not be settled by cannon-shots.</p> + +<p>The following is an extract from a letter from M. Bresson +from Berlin which I have just received: "I have been suddenly +overwhelmed with work, and not of the pleasantest kind. The +evil is great, and will not be entirely repaired. How often +have I thought that if M. de Talleyrand were alive and at +London this would not have happened! I wish also he could +be at Berlin and everywhere, for I am not very successful in +making people listen to reason. Yet this is the most unworthy +transaction of modern times, though quite worthy to bear the +names of Lord Palmerston, von Bülow, and Neumann. Herr +von Bülow acted without authorisation. At first there was +an outcry against him, then there was a wish to do as the +majority were doing, and his fine masterpiece was ratified +with very few restrictions. The four Courts will let me hear +of it within six months. Mehemet Ali will send them about +their business and wait for them to blockade him, an enterprise +if possible more ridiculous than that of La Plata,<a name="FNanchor_120" id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor"> [120]</a> and +one which will be far more expensive. I hope that he will +not cross the Taurus to delude our friends of St. Petersburg. +The chief politicians look for a double moral effect upon +France and upon Mehemet Ali, thanks to the Syrian insurrection. +You can see how careful their calculations have +been. Apart from this there is the insult of the clandestine +negotiations and the notification to M. Guizot of the fact +that these had been signed forty-eight hours after everything +was over and when he was thinking of something entirely +different, so you may easily judge of our feelings. If the +good old King of Prussia were still alive we should not have +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252">252</a></span> +seen such stupidity. Herr von Bülow would have had a +wigging, or rather he would never have gained the upper +hand. He thought he had flattered and won men over and +could rely upon the passions aroused by the inheritance of a +Prince whom Prussia will daily regret more and more. In +short, I am in a very bad temper, and I take no trouble to +hide it. We now know exactly what there is behind words +and protestations. I trust that the people will also learn +what the resentment of France can mean." In this outburst +the natural impetuosity of M. de Bresson is obvious, but I +also seem to see that the action of the Powers was inspired +rather by tactlessness than by real hostility, and from this fact +one may derive some hopes of peace.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 19, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I received so pressing +an invitation from the Grand Duchess Stephanie to visit her +at her estate of Umkirch, in Briesgau, where she now is, that I +resolved to pay her a visit after completing my cure here.</p> + +<p>I have seen my cousin, Paul Medem, who came from +Stuttgart, where he had just shown his letters of credit as +Russian Minister. He does not believe in the possibility of +the war, and as proof of his conviction has just invested two +hundred thousand francs in the French Funds.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 20, 1840.</em>—I was very agreeably surprised +to receive the portrait of the King of Prussia, with a kind +autograph letter. The portrait is an admirable and striking +likeness, painted by Krüger.</p> + +<p>Madame de Nesselrode brought her son to see me, who +has just come from London. He left Madame de Lieven +absorbed by the European conflict, on bad terms with +Brunnow, very cold towards Lady Palmerston, and furious +because she had not been let into the secret of the signature +of the famous convention. She involuntarily helped to +mystify M. Guizot by assuring him that there could be no +truth in the idea or she would have known it herself. +She belongs to the French Embassy, is treated as such, and +people go on laughing at her. She is at home until lunch-time; +as soon as M. Guizot appears the door is closed, no +one is admitted, and any one with her takes his leave. Her +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253">253</a></span> +position seems, in truth, to be ridiculous and impossible, +and she is only supported by the Sutherlands, with whom she +lives.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from Paris from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, +who says: "What can I tell you of the war? The Press is +urging it forward by every means; every day bellicose +articles fill the newspapers and excite people's minds. I am +assured, however, that the King is quite calm and has no fear +of an outbreak, but can the progress of public opinion be +checked? It is said that orders have been issued to mobilise +the National Guard in France; we may expect to see every +means of defence prepared. People are not calm enough +to see that in this way war may be aroused. Every fresh +measure increases the general agitation.</p> + +<p>"In any case I am convinced that the Government itself +does not know what the result will be. I trust that +diplomacy may avoid any resort to cannon-shot. I have +been to see the Duchesse d'Orléans at Saint-Cloud; she is +very thin, but does not complain of her health; she is often +to be seen driving in the Bois, with the Duc d'Orléans riding +by the carriage. Madame de Flahaut is at Dieppe, and her +husband at Paris; he often dines with the Prince Royal. +His position is likely to become embarrassing during the +trial of Louis Bonaparte."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Baden, August 22, 1840.</em>—My son M. de Valençay, who +has returned to Paris, tells me he has seen the Duc d'Orléans, +who says: "Thiers and Guizot seem to distrust one another +profoundly. Guizot supposes that Thiers wished to throw +the responsibility of the present crisis upon him and allowed +suspicions to arise that he had not kept his Government +informed. He has therefore sent copies of his despatches +to his friends in Paris, who threaten to use them if the +Ambassador is attacked. According to these friends, Guizot +informed Thiers accurately of the course of events, but the +latter declined to give him instructions or to reply before +consulting Mehemet Ali, but simply sent instructions to +London to say neither yes nor no. Palmerston, on the +other hand, wished to drive Thiers into a corner. Thiers +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254">254</a></span> +on his side said: 'Palmerston is playing diamond cut +diamond, but I will balk him,' an expression which seems +to have become a diplomatic term. At length Palmerston, +worried and impatient, is said to have settled the business. +There is a strong feeling in favour of war; Guizot, however, +still believes in peace, but he writes that as a matter of fact +a mere spark, a blow given to a sailor, would be enough +to fire the most terrible war in the world."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Umkirch, August 26, 1840.</em>—Yesterday when I was half-way +from Baden on the road here a formidable storm burst, +and we were obliged to take shelter in a barn; hailstones +fell as big as nuts. Notwithstanding the delay I arrived at +six o'clock in the evening. The Grand Duchess had kindly +sent her horses to meet me at Friburg. When I arrived +Herr von Schreckenstein told me I should find her in bed, +where she had been with a chill since the evening before.</p> + +<p>The new lady-in-waiting, Frau von Sturmfeder, a widow +who seems to be about fifty years old, with pleasant manners, +took me to the Duchess. I found her very feverish, but no +less talkative than usual; very exasperated by her invalid +state, and nearly as much by the arrival of Duke Bernard of +Saxe-Weimar, who was paying her an unexpected visit. +After half an hour Princess Marie took me to dinner. The +large assembly room and the dining-room are in a separate +building, a hundred yards away from the castle; nothing +could be more inconvenient; after rain and without goloshes +it would be impossible to get there.</p> + +<p>I already knew Umkirch. I did not care for it in past +times, nor does it please me any better now. The main +residence is small and the rooms are low; mine, however, +which is on the first floor, has a fine view of the +mountains.</p> + +<p>At dinner all the guests were assembled—that is to say, +Princess Marie; Duke Bernard, with his <em>aide-de-camp</em>, old +Madame de Walsh, who is here on a visit, though her days +of official service are over; her son and daughter-in-law, the +Baroness von Sturmfeder; Herr von Schreckenstein; Fräulein +Bilz, a little hunchbacked music-mistress; and M. Mathieu, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255">255</a></span> +the French painter, who is giving lessons to Princess Marie. +After dinner I went back to the invalid, and stayed with her +until tea-time. She seems delighted to see me. She continues +very anxious to see her daughter married, and has just had an +offer from Prince Hohenlohe; he, however, was thought to +be not sufficiently distinguished, and his request has been +refused; the old Count of Darmstadt would also be ready to +marry her, but he is thought to be too old and too ugly. +There is an idea that Prince Frederick of Prussia, the Prince +of Düsseldorf, exhausted and wearied by the extravagance of +his wife, will procure a divorce, and will then turn his thoughts +to Princess Marie, who would be quite ready to take him. +Such is the desire at this moment. They would like me to +send a good account of the Princess to Berlin.</p> + +<p>Very little interest is shown in Louis Bonaparte, whom +they would like to see confined in a fortress.</p> + +<p>Madame de Walsh, who is a friend of the Abbé Bautain, +told me that he had just been summoned to Paris by M. +Cousin and by the new Archbishop; there is apparently a +proposal to form a faculty for advanced theological study, +with M. Bautain at the head of it. He is certainly an +intelligent and talented man, but not entirely reconciled to +Rome. Hot-headed and ambitious, his relations with his +bishop have long been strained; he has not that readiness +to submit upon points of doctrine which is inherent in +Catholicism and the foundation of its permanency. His +appointment will therefore arouse some mistrust among the +clergy, and not without reason. I shall hear the truth of the +whole matter at Paris from the Abbé Dupanloup.</p> + +<p>The Duke of Saxe-Weimar, though heavy in appearance, +is not without common sense and learning. To my great +astonishment I found him a strong supporter of the house +of Orléans; he asserted his strong affection for the Duchesse +d'Orléans, his niece, and entrusted me with a letter for her. +He is very anti-Russian and anti-English, and went so far as +to say that if war should break out the King of the Low +Countries ought to make common cause with France. He +is at this moment on the unattached list, and is provisionally +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256">256</a></span> +established at Mannheim, whence he is very anxious to make +a journey to Paris.</p> + +<p>The Grand Duchess and Princess Marie knew all about the +presents and the trousseau given by Russia to Princess +Marie of Hesse. The Emperor gave her two rows of pearls +with a sapphire clasp, supposed to be worth two hundred +thousand francs; the Empress gave her a bracelet to match; +and her <em>fiancé</em>, the Grand Duke, gave her his portrait framed +in diamonds and a parasol adorned with emeralds and pearls, +together with maps of the Russian Empire and views of +St. Petersburg nicely bound, and, lastly, the present left by +the will of the late Empress Marie to her grandson's future +wife, which is a Sévigné in three pieces, each as large as a +breastplate.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Lunéville, August 27, 1840.</em>—I left Umkirch this morning, +and spent fourteen hours in traversing a long road which is +made longer by the pass over the mountains. I crossed the +Vosges by the Col du Bonhomme. Many factories and workshops +give some life and animation to the country, which is +sometimes bright and lively. Vegetation is poor and the +outlines of the hills too monotonous.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Vitry-sur-Marne, August 28, 1840.</em>—I left Lunéville at +seven o'clock this morning, stopped at Nancy for two and a +half hours, and arrived here at ten in the evening, which may +be called good going.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Ay, August 30, 1840.</em>—On my road here yesterday I +stopped at Châlons, where I met M. de La Boulaye, who was +there for the session of the General Council. I was very glad +to see him; he is a pleasant man in mind as well as character, +and I think even more of the one than of the other every +day of my life. He gave me the Paris news which he had +heard from M. Roy, who had come straight from that Babylon +to preside over the Council-General of Marne. The night +before he left Paris he had seen the King, who talked upon +the questions of the day, and said: "Thiers is urging me to +war, to which I reply: 'Very well, but the Chambers must be +convoked.' He then answers: 'We shall get nothing from +this Chamber; it should be dissolved.' 'Oh, no, my dear +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257">257</a></span> +Minister; on that point I prefer to take the Chamber as I +find it and make the best of things.'"</p> + +<p>M. Roy also said that the news of the ratification of the +London Treaty reached Paris on the 22nd, and was not +published till the 24th. During that time the terrible +excitement on the Stock Exchange ruined more than one +broker, forced M. Barbet de Jouy to flee, enriched M. Dosne, +the father-in-law of M. Thiers, with seventeen hundred francs +and M. Fould with several millions. The latter has taken +M. de Rothschild's place in the confidence of the Ministry. +The public outcry was such that the Guardian of the Seals, +M. Vivien, was obliged to give orders for the information to +be published. This information will produce no effect, as is +natural, but it shows that the scandal has gone very far. It +seems that in consequence the chief personage in the Ministry +has lost much ground in public opinion; he is thought to +have guided the diplomacy of the country very casually, and +to have concealed interesting news from the public in a most +unusual way. The whole of the manufacturing and speculating +world is said to tremble at the thought of war, and to +exert a very strong influence upon the public.</p> + +<p>I reached here at about three o'clock in the afternoon +in African heat. I am glad to be back again in a warm +climate, with its flowers, its fruits, its beautiful nights, and +its blue sky.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from the Princesse de Lieven written from +London on August 22. She says: "General anxiety concerning +the situation is becoming apparent here. All goes +well, or rather there is no anxiety upon questions of foreign +policy, however serious the complications may be. French +newspapers, and even the French military preparations, are +regarded with scorn, but at last the people are beginning to +rub their eyes; they are astonished to find that what is +known as French humbug may mean something, and that +this something may be neither more nor less than a general +war, waged, as far as France is concerned, with dreadful +weapons—weapons which were wisely laid aside for ten +years, and which France will perhaps be forced to raise once +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258">258</a></span> +more; in short, uneasiness is spreading, and I cannot help +seeing in the fact the opening of the way to an understanding, +in spite of the obstacles which the sense of self-esteem may +meet with on the road. This is my point of view. My +politics are concerned with my set of rooms,<a name="FNanchor_121" id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor"> [121]</a> which I like and +wish to keep. The Duke of Wellington loudly asserts that +he is Turkish, and more Turkish than anybody, but that +Turkey will not have peace with France, and that peace must +be preserved before all things. Leopold is greatly interested; +he proposes to return to Belgium. M. Guizot has been at +Eu and Windsor; his present life suits him, and he looks +very well."</p> + +<p>My niece, the Countess of Hohenthal, who has been to +Dresden to see her uncle Maltzan when he went there from +Königswarth, sends me some news concerning the stay of the +Empress of Russia in Saxony: "The Empress of Russia has +shown such coldness to the Saxon Court that the King and +Queen of Prussia, who have delighted everybody, have been +reduced to despair. She would not stay at Pillnitz, where +many preparations for her comfort had been made; she +refused to use the Court carriages, and went about the shops +and streets like a boarding-school girl, without the least sense +of decorum. She refused to dine at Court, and only looked +in for a moment at a concert given in her honour. The +King of Prussia was ready to give the portfolio of Foreign +Affairs to my uncle Maltzan, but he preferred to retain his +post at Vienna. It is said that his refusal is due to the fact +that he is wildly in love with Princess Metternich."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, August 31, 1840.</em>—Once again I am in this great +Paris, doubtless populous, and yet so empty for me. This +morning at ten o'clock I reached my little house,<a name="FNanchor_122" id="FNanchor_122" href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor"> [122]</a> which +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259">259</a></span> +seems to me like a pleasant little inn, only I am astonished +by its small size, which suits my habits and my tastes so little +that I could certainly have chosen nothing better in order +to realise my intention of visiting Paris only when absolutely +obliged.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 3, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I had a long visit +from M. Molé, who blames M. Guizot, and relates his infinite +blunders with great complacency; he blames M. Thiers, and +draws a vivid picture of his bumptiousness, his casual ways, +and so on. Nor does the King escape his criticism as regards +the present crisis, which entirely occupies all minds here. He +says that the greatest swashbucklers are dying with fear of +war; that really people are ashamed and vexed because they +have been led astray and induced to regard as impossible +what, however, has happened, while they are angry at finding +themselves isolated when lasting alliances have been dangled +before their eyes. But amid the general panic certain points +are so well advertised by conversations and continual publications +that it daily becomes more difficult to solve the +problem, and the only possibility is to cut the knot. Commercial +interests have been suddenly paralysed, and business +in general is suffering heavily. Rothschild, who has quarrelled +with M. Thiers, has lost even more millions than M. Fould +has gained. M. Molé explains all this very cheerfully.</p> + +<p>I went to dinner with the wife of Marshal d'Albuféra. +The poor woman was in despair, for that morning she had +seen her daughter start for Spain in the most deplorable +state of health. She has kept one of her grandchildren with +her. She is really a most warm-hearted person. Her account +of the present political situation differs entirely from that of +M. Molé; she is no less frightened by the serious nature of +events, but attributes them to other causes. She is never +tired of praising the capacity, the energy, and the cleverness +of M. Thiers, his inexhaustible resource, and his complete +harmony with the King. One fact she told me which would +hardly please M. Bresson: that M. de La Redorte was given +the choice of going to Berlin and preferred Madrid. She +says that M. de La Redorte has been very successful in Spain, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260">260</a></span> +and that the King and Ministers are never weary of praising +the distinguished tone of his despatches.</p> + +<p>At nine o'clock I went to see Madame de Castellane. +There the panegyric upon the late M. de Quélen was discussed, +which led the conversation to the new Archbishop, +M. Affre. His nomination was brought about by M. de +Montalembert in the following way: M. de Montalembert +has become a strong partisan of the Ministry, and M. Thiers +thinks that with his help he will be able to confine the ranks +of the clergy to distinguished men. As a matter of fact, +M. de Montalembert is only connected with the democratic +section of the young clergy, who form a party by themselves, +including the Abbés Cœur, Combalot, Lacordaire, and Bautain, +which is not regarded as orthodox in the sense that the old +clergy are. This party also contains some distinguished young +priests like the Abbé Dupanloup, the Abbé Petetot, the Curé de +Saint-Louis-d'Autin, and others; in fact, there is quite a schism.</p> + +<p>When I returned home I found a letter from M. Bresson, +of which the following is an interesting passage: "The +position is very serious, and the Prussian King's first appearance +in foreign policy is not happy. There is no frankness +or nobility in following all these fine protestations with an act +of provocation and injustice towards ourselves, who have never +been guilty of a single act of bad faith towards Prussia. +Such action calls for vengeance, and I am by no means a +sufficiently humble Christian not to thirst for it. I am well +aware that they are sorry at what has happened and are +embarrassed by it, but they have been carried away by that +great windbag Bülow further than they wished at a time +when his voracious appetite has been followed by a fit of +indigestion; but the harm has now been done, and it is +irreparable. They have shown their real feelings, and what +confidence can we have for the future? In short, I am +utterly disgusted, and I should be glad to resign my post; +I am also ill and depressed, and have a longing for Rome. +I wish to leave my mind fallow and to sit in real sunshine +and get warm. I have spent twenty-four years in exile +working without intermission, and I can stand it no longer. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261">261</a></span> +I am utterly bored, and do not want the good relations which +I have been able to maintain here to break down during my +tenure of office, as they seem likely to do. One fault leads +to a second, and one wrongdoing begets another. Besides, +I have been personally affronted; I have been loyal and they +have not been. My resentment will find vent, and whether +upon the King or the Minister is all the same to me. I will +make them repent their want of gratitude and courtesy +towards our King, after calling him the Palladium of +Europe, in speaking to me and M. de Ségur." In this +vehement style the impetuosity of M. Bresson will be +obvious, but the truth is I think things have gone so far +as to make him wish for another post.</p> + +<p>To-morrow the Paris Stock Exchange account is made up. +The probable losses are estimated at twenty-four to twenty-five +millions—a very great disaster.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 4, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I went to the +Tuileries to keep an appointment with Madame Adélaïde. +I also saw the King there, who was well and cheerful, in a very +easy frame of mind, convinced that there would be no war, +and certainly not anxious for one. He flattered himself that +the four Powers would soon be persuaded that they were +working in the wrong direction and be forced to fall back +upon his intervention, and that he would thus be called to +play the part of mediator, &c. He is very greatly hurt that +the Powers should have put him in such a position, but is +too sensible to listen to the invectives and the uproar of the +Ministerial Press. He has no greater leanings towards +M. Thiers than he used to have, but he understands that +it is now impossible to break with him, and hopes to use him +to extort certain concessions from the Powers, which he alone +could induce the country to accept. There is an element of +truth and cleverness in these ideas, though also a certain +amount of illusion. Madame's feelings are those of the King, +though she is extremely bitter against M. Guizot, and accuses +him of showing the most utter diplomatic incompetence. +She repeated more than twenty times: "Oh, if only our dear +Prince de Talleyrand were alive, if only our good General +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262">262</a></span> +Sébastiani had remained at London, we should not be in this +position!"</p> + +<p>I had hardly returned home when the Duc d'Orléans called +upon me, and stayed for a long time. He is far more anxious, +and at the same time far more decided, than his father. His +exasperation with the Powers is extreme, chiefly on account of +the way in which events have come to pass. On July 16 Guizot +sent news that nothing had happened or would happen; on +the 17th he had a letter from Lord Palmerston asking him +to call, and when he reached the house Lord Palmerston +simply read the famous memorandum. Guizot became pale +and agitated, and could find nothing to say except that he +would inform his Government, and left Lord Palmerston as +though thunderstruck. Now he and his friends throw the +whole of the blame upon Thiers. Thiers replies vigorously +that they are in the wrong, and gives details, so that relations +are greatly strained. Thiers is horrified at the possibility of +war, but instead of calming the journalists of his party he is +so entirely dominated by them that he not only cannot check +them, but thinks himself bound to tell them everything. +The result is that secrecy is impossible; the Diplomatic Body +is affronted and action in general is hampered. Meanwhile +all the preparations announced by the newspapers have been +made, and even doubled. The Duc d'Orléans is himself taking +the business in hand. Thirty-four million francs have already +been expended. All the forces in Algiers are being recalled, +and the authorities have made up their minds to abandon the +colony without regret, telling themselves that they have had +the advantage of training their soldiers and their officers. +The Chambers will not be summoned until all chances of +peace have disappeared, when it is expected that all these +expenses will be certainly approved. The Queen is the most +warlike of the whole royal family; the blood of Maria +Theresa is aroused; she is furious with the action of the +Powers, and says that if war breaks out she will ask the +Archbishop of Paris to bless the swords of her five sons +and make them swear upon the Holy Sacrament never to +sheath them again until France and their dynasty are +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263">263</a></span> +restored to the chief place in Europe. As she usually +interferes in no way, this vigour has astonished and +embarrassed the King.</p> + +<p>M. Guizot, to return to him, is an object of ridicule at the +Château, especially since the return of the Duc de Nemours +from London, for he tells numberless stories at the expense +of the little ambassador. He asks for the addresses of tailors, +wishes his trousers to be tight-fitting, bets at the races, +thinks he has a good eye for a horse, devotes his attention +to his carriages and his table, is utterly frivolous, and, to +complete his ridiculous appearance, brags in front of Mrs. +Stanley and tries to make Madame de Lieven jealous, and it +is said with some success. This field of operations, in short, +is being cleverly worked.</p> + +<p>After the Duc d'Orléans had gone I had a call from the +Abbé Dupanloup, who gave me some curious details concerning +the Paris clergy, among whom a silent but very definite +opposition has arisen against Mgr. Affre. The vulgarity and +rudeness of his manner rouses exasperation against him every +day. He has admitted his entire hatred of the memory and the +friends of the late Mgr. de Quélen; even my poor self am an +object of his dislike; and as for the Sacré Cœur, it is a case +of persecution. The Abbé began to laugh when I said, +"Then we have become the Fort-Royal of the Jesuits!" Mgr. +Affre does not venture to interfere with the Abbé Dupanloup +or his little seminary, and even goes out of his way to please +him, because of the Abbé's widespread relations, which make +him a favourite with M. Jaubert, Minister of Public Works, +with the Princesse de Beauffremont, a pronounced Carlist, +with Madame de La Redorte, and with Madame de Gramont, +of the Sacré Cœur. Moreover, in the course of the week +which preceded the nomination of the Archbishop, M. Thiers +sent for him to ask his opinion about the state of the clergy. +M. Thiers, with his usual tactlessness, had made an appointment +at the same time with M. de Montalembert, who +brought with him Mgr. Affre. The parties arrived simultaneously, +and were astounded at meeting one another. While +they were thus awaiting the Minister with surprise, he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264">264</a></span> +was closeted with M. Royer-Collard. Eventually the four +men confronted one another for a few moments—a memorable +scene.</p> + +<p>The Abbé Dupanloup renewed his promise to come and see +me at Rochecotte in October; at the same time he did not +hide the fact that he might be unable to come if he saw that +the Archbishop was unduly disturbed, for he has to respect +his feelings for the sake of his little seminary.</p> + +<p>In the papers seized with Louis Bonaparte proofs were +found that the undertaking was financed by Russia, with the +connivance of the Carlist party, led by Berryer, and the name +of M. Thiers was too frequently mentioned. The King forbade +the Chancellor to pursue his action in this direction +for two reasons: firstly, because M. Thiers would have been +obliged to give evidence which would have embarrassed and +complicated the general situation to a far greater extent; +and, secondly, because the King thinks it useless to show his +foreign enemies to what an extent they can count on positive +support from Russia. What will be the end of these +conflicting interests and this general complication?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 5, 1840.</em>—Paris was greatly excited the +day before yesterday and yesterday by the numerous gatherings +and bands of workmen. The newspapers give full +details. Much money has been found upon those who have +been arrested, which is supposed to come from the Russo-Bonapartists; +such, at least, is the opinion of the Government. +Every day reveals some new social disease, and the +age is racked by cruel sickness.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I went to the Sacré Cœur for a long talk with +Madame de Gramont, whom I found uneasy and disturbed. +She gave me full details of the harassing treatment laid upon +her by the new Archbishop, and also of his new style of +ruling the Paris clergy, to which they are by no means +accustomed. For instance, he reprimanded the poor old +incumbent of Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin for the reason that he +himself had been slandered in his parish, for which he +regarded the incumbent as responsible. In a certain sacristy +he saw some young priests laughing at his vulgar manners, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265">265</a></span> +and addressed them with strong language. He wishes to +force certain incumbents to resign. In short, there is general +disturbance throughout the diocese.</p> + +<p>I also went to Madame de Jaucourt, whom I found alone, +aged and isolated, but lively. She told me a fact which I +should have thought impossible a few days ago, but which +I am now more inclined to believe: that the Queen and +Madame gave sixty thousand francs to M. de Montalembert's +newspaper, the <cite>Univers catholique</cite>. For some time in this +paper accounts have been noticed of the King's conversations +with foreign ambassadors.</p> + +<p>Madame de Castellane came to ask me to dine with her +to-day, and with M. Molé, who will read us his speech upon +the occasion of his admission to the French Academy, where +he is taking the place of M. de Quélen.</p> + +<p>This morning I saw M. Hottinger, the banker, who is much +disturbed about the situation. He sees, with great uneasiness, +that the efforts of diplomacy can be nullified at any +moment by the will of the Pasha of Egypt, in whose hands +it is obvious that the question of peace or war now rests. +Conspiracies and risings at Constantinople continually complicate +all these questions for the worse. It is certain that +only a miraculous Providence could disperse these heavy +clouds. At Marseilles trade has come to a standstill and +people are warehousing their stocks; not a single ship is +leaving the port, and every one is anxiously awaiting the +issue.</p> + +<p>At one o'clock I went to Saint-Cloud to see Madame +Adélaïde; then I went to the Queen, and afterwards to the +Duchesse d'Orléans: she is really charming, distinguished, +witty, gracious, and self-restrained; her conversation is most +agreeable and attractive. Madame Adélaïde seemed to me +to think that peace will be preserved; heaven grant that she +is right!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 7, 1840.</em>—The revolt is now breaking out +with fresh audacity. Guns from the Invalides are galloping +to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the assembly is beating continuously +and troops are on the march, while the National +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266">266</a></span> +Guard is concentrated at the different mayors' houses; in +short, this is a case of battle. So far our Faubourg Saint-Germain +is peaceful, but it must be admitted that if the +combat is not soon concluded the left bank of the Seine will +be no better off than the right. I am told that the bands +scattered through Paris are largely composed of Poles and +Italians, wandering people without a fixed home, never +sleeping twice in the same house, and therefore difficult to +seize. Since yesterday they have been threatening to set +Paris on fire, by way of simplifying their task. The foremen +of the factories, who have long known of the proposed +movement, had warned the Chief of Police, who had, however, +no legal authorisation to take adequate precautions. It +was even impossible to prevent yesterday's terrible outbreak. +To-day there is a general panic, and the troops and guns are +ordered to do police work. Let us hope they will again +stand firm.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 8, 1840.</em>—Yesterday evening at eight +o'clock I heard that the troops had driven the rioters out +of Paris, and that the town was tranquil; public buildings, +however, were guarded, on account of threats of incendiarism. +In the afternoon I saw M. Molé, who seemed to be quite +overwhelmed by the fact that public stocks had gone down +four francs. He also told me of the definite rupture of the +Doctrinaires with M. Thiers, whose manifesto was inserted +in a Rouen newspaper, and has been quoted in M. Molé's +newspaper, <cite>La Presse</cite>. This conflict is said to be most +energetic.</p> + +<p>The <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> is also very bitter against M. +Thiers. Business men on the Stock Exchange are making +outcries against him, and his position is becoming very +difficult. A more pressing interest is the other war, the first +demonstration of which seems to have been brought about in +Syria by the action of Admiral Napier. It is certainly said +that this Admiral is a madman, and that as he is backed by +the hot-headed Lord Ponsonby this demonstration does not +emanate from the English Government, but we wonder +whether this Government will disavow it.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267">267</a></span> +<em>Paris, September 10, 1840.</em>—The general calm has outwardly +at least been re-established at Paris. Yesterday I +dined at Saint-Cloud, which has been restored and furnished +by the King in a magnificent fashion; splendid Gobelin +tapestry is to be seen there, copies from Rubens representing +the life of Marie de' Medici. The King took me round all +the rooms, and talked a little of every subject on the way, +constantly saying that he was anxious for peace and would do +all he could to preserve it, but thought his task must be +facilitated; this is not being done, either at home or abroad. +His hatred of the Russians and his bitterness towards England +are extreme. He has a special, and not unreasonable, +grudge against England, on account of present events in +Spain. Queen Christina was convinced that if she could +only see Espartero she could induce him to become her +personal adherent, and had therefore invited him to Madrid. +On his refusal she undertook the journey which was her ruin. +In her absence public feeling was manufactured in the +capital; she is now obliged to return under the most +ominous auspices. Probably her daughter will first be +taken from her, and after that what will be done with her? +This is the question which the King continually asks himself, +uneasily repeating: "I fear the poor woman is ruined."<a name="FNanchor_123" id="FNanchor_123" href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor"> [123]</a> He +says that England finances and encourages the anarchist +movement; that Espartero is entirely English, and that if a +general war bursts out we may expect to see him invade +France as an English ally.</p> + +<p>The King had heard that the King of Prussia had set the +Archbishop of Cologne at liberty and authorised him to +return to Rome, but that the Archbishop would not take +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268">268</a></span> +advantage of this permission until he had received fresh +instructions from Rome.</p> + +<p>The Duchesse de Nemours has a most inexpressive countenance +and a monotonous tone of voice, which somewhat +counteracts the effect of her brilliant youth. The Duc de +Nemours remains as stupid as ever. The Duc d'Aumale is +now regarded as a man. He seems lively and inclined to +talk. Princesse Clémentine is growing faded, and takes less +trouble to please. The Queen and the Duchesse d'Orléans +are the two bright stars. M. Dupin, who was also dining +at Saint-Cloud, was loudly groaning and haranguing about +the weakness of the Government in their treatment of the +rioters, saying that as long as they were addressed with the +words "gentlemen and fellow toilers" incendiarism and +plunder might be expected. The day before yesterday these +workmen during the night disarmed two outposts in the +Rue Mauconseil, though it must be said that the soldiers +made no attempt to defend themselves. The result was +a fresh panic at the Stock Exchange yesterday. The fear, +the grief, and the ruin which have overtaken a number of +people cannot be imagined.</p> + +<p>The other day M. de Montrond was saying that M. de +Flahaut was anxious to go to London as ambassador, but +they are too glad to be rid of Guizot to recall him here, +notwithstanding the dissatisfaction which he causes on the +other side of the Channel.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Paris, September 11, 1840.</em>—I have decided to start at the +end of the morning for Jeurs to visit the Comtesse Mollien, +where I shall sleep.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening on returning home I continued reading +the accounts of the trial of Madame Lafarge, as I had fallen +behind.<a name="FNanchor_124" id="FNanchor_124" href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor"> [124]</a> If she is innocent of the crime, so much the better +for her relations, but the evidence of the two expert bodies, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269">269</a></span> +her enormous purchases of arsenic, and the sudden transition +from complete repugnance to excessive tenderness for her +husband would always make me suspect her so far as to +desire another nurse if she had to mix my potions.</p> + +<p>I am especially shocked by Madame Lafarge's behaviour +at one point, and by the uproarious laughter with which she +greeted the emphatic and really ridiculous evidence of one +of the witnesses; such frivolity seems to me to be rather a +proof of impudence than of innocence. The more innocent +a person might be, the more she would suffer under such +an accusation, and while preserving a clear conscience her +mind would be filled with other ideas than any which could +produce such bursts of laughter. Her behaviour there shows +a terrible lack of refinement and a complete failure to +realise her position, for when the accusation concerns husband-poisoning, +whether one is accuser or accused, I can +hardly conceive of any inclination to hilarity. On the +whole, whether she is a poisoner or not, she is obviously an +unpleasant adventuress.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Courtalin, September 14, 1840.</em>—I left Jeurs very early +yesterday, after being, as usual, kindly and hospitably entertained. +The day before yesterday I took a stroll with +Madame Mollien in the valley of the Juine, which extends +from Etampes to Corbeil; it is well watered, well wooded, +and populous; great rocks peep out among the trees, as in +certain parts of the forest of Fontainebleau. The three chief +residences in this valley are Gravelles, belonging to M. de +Perregeaux, Chamarande, belonging to M. de Talaru, and +Ménilvoisin, belonging to M. de Choiseul-Praslin. The first +two of these I already knew, and Madame Mollien took me +to see the third. It is a stately and spacious residence; the +approaches and the park are handsome, but the general +appearance is depressing. This is characteristic of all the +residences in this district. They have no outlook, shut in as +they are in this narrow valley. They lack space and air, but +not water, of which there is such an abundance that dampness +is unavoidable. The waters of the Juine turn a number of +mills, some of which are so large as to look like castles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270">270</a></span> +I arrived here yesterday evening, and found all the Montmorency +family assembled with a M. de Roothe, an old man +of seventy-eight, son of the last wife of Marshal Richelieu.</p> + +<p>The only subject of discussion yesterday evening in the +drawing-room was the case of Madame Lafarge. Here, as +everywhere, very opposite opinions prevail concerning her. +Those who think her innocent say that her husband did not +die of poisoning, but from taking cantharides as a tonic for +nervous debility, and that the rapid change in his wife's +behaviour is to be attributed to his recovery from this +failing, and also the pleasure with which she saw him enter +her room by the window when he did not come in by the +door. Those who persist in thinking Madame Lafarge +guilty say that the first experts should be believed, who +performed their analysis after the first post-mortem, rather +than the second, who went to work when putrefaction had set +in. They also emphasise the evil tendencies, established by +yesterday's evidence, of the accused: her habits of lying and +playing a part; her evil reputation from her youth; the +haste with which her family attempted to get rid of her by +marriage, even going so far as to apply to a matrimonial +agency. She is the granddaughter of a certain Madame +Collard, who before her marriage bore the sole name of +Hermine; she was brought up by Madame de Genlis, and +was generally supposed to be her daughter and the daughter +of the Duc d'Orléans, father of the present King of France. +This ancestry of hers is supposed to account for the keen +interest taken in her case at the Tuileries. The accusation +concerning the diamonds is differently regarded in different +circles. Mdmes. de Léautaud, de Montbreton, and the Nicolai, +belonging to the Faubourg Saint-Germain and that clique, +think her capable of theft and poisoning; the democracy, who +are delighted to find a society lady guilty, regard the fable +which Madame Lafarge invented about Madame Léautaud as +true. Party spirit appears in everything and destroys all +feelings of equity and justice.</p> + +<p>I have just received a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, +of which the following is an extract: "I was at Auteuil with +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271">271</a></span> +Madame Thiers the evening of the day before yesterday. +Considerable uneasiness prevailed about current events; these +are moving rapidly and becoming very complicated. The +decision to fortify Paris had thrown the Stock Exchange +into excitement; it is a measure which will be enormously +expensive to carry out, and will rouse much apprehension. +M. Thiers said that all his efforts were intended to gain time +to finish his preparations; he added that if we could prolong +the matter until April next we should be in a state of defence, +and he said that no one could be more keenly interested +in the question than the King and Queen. As regards +Spain, he seems very uneasy and doubtful of the result; he +receives telegrams every day. On the 7th the Queen-Regent +was still at Valencia, but he thinks that she will perhaps have +to fight a battle to return to her capital. The Town Council +of Madrid appoint fresh Ministers every day, and anarchy +there seems complete."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Courtalin, September 15, 1840.</em>—At dinner-time two new +arrivals appeared, the Duc de Rohan and his son the Prince +of Léon. They brought certain information that M. Anatole +Demidoff had married Princesse Mathilde de Montfort in +return for the payment of the father's debts by M. Demidoff. +He is moved only by considerations of vanity, and has so +acted in order to become connected with the King of +Würtemberg and the King of Russia, but the connection is +said to be unfavourably regarded by the two Sovereigns, and +not likely to bring him much satisfaction.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Bonnétable, September 17, 1840.</em>—The day before yesterday, +in the evening, after all the usual gossip of the Courtalin +drawing-room, we had some amusing anecdotes very well told +by M. de Roothe concerning his father-in-law, Marshal +Richelieu.<a name="FNanchor_125" id="FNanchor_125" href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor"> [125]</a> He was married during three different reigns, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272">272</a></span> +and the first marriage was ordered by Louis XIV., who had +found a perfumed cap of the young fool too near the bed of +the Duchesse de Bourgogne.</p> + +<p>I am astonished by the thought that I have dined with +a man whose father-in-law had been at the feet of that +charming Princess and had been scolded by Madame de +Maintenon. M. de Roothe said that Marshal Richelieu was +always a lady's man, and that an hour before his death, when +his daughter-in-law came to his bedside, and said that she +thought he was better and looked stronger, he answered: +"Ah, the fact is that you see me through your fair eyes." +M. de Roothe gave the following account of his mother's +marriage with Marshal Richelieu: A few years previously, +when her first husband was still alive, as she was driving with +him, they passed a carriage overturned and broken upon the +Pont Neuf; they stopped to learn to whom the accident had +happened, and whether they could help the sufferers. It was +the Marshal Richelieu whom they picked up and took home +to his house in their carriage. The next day the Marshal +called to thank M. and Madame de Roothe; he was struck +with the beauty of the latter, and renewed his visits so +constantly that people remarked upon it to Madame de +Roothe, telling her that the Marshal's reputation was such +that it might be dangerous to receive him too often, in spite +of his eighty years. Madame de Roothe therefore kept out +of his way. Some time afterwards she became a widow, and +was left with four children in such straitened circumstances +that she was obliged to sell her horses. Marshal Richelieu, +disguised as a horse-dealer, appeared as purchaser, said that +he could not come to an agreement with Madame de Roothe's +servants, and asked to see her herself. He was taken in, and +a recognition followed. To cut explanations short, she told +him that she had changed her mind and would not sell her +horses. M. de Richelieu withdrew, but in order to help the +poor widow he induced the King, without her knowledge, to +find rooms for her in the Tuileries, the very rooms where we +have seen the Vicomtesse d'Agoult and Madame Adélaïde. +Madame de Roothe accepted the King's kindness. Some +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273">273</a></span> +months afterwards she learnt that she owed it to the Marshal, +and she thought it her duty to write and thank him. He +came to call upon her, fell at her feet, and said: "If you are +comfortable in these rooms, allow me at least to say that they +are unworthy of you, and that the Richelieu residence would +suit you much better." The proposal was accepted, and the +marriage took place. Madame de Roothe became with child, +but the Duc de Fronsac was furious at the thought that a +birth might prejudice his rights, and induced a chambermaid +to give his mother-in-law a draught which brought on a +miscarriage.</p> + +<p>Yesterday I travelled rapidly, thanks to good roads, good +horses and postillions, and in particular to a hurricane which +blew on our backs and swept the carriage, servants, and +horses along in its blast. I found the Duchesse Mathieu +de Montmorency in good health, but slightly deaf. Her +chaplain is ill, and the customs of the house are consequently +altered.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from M. Bresson. His account of the +political situation is as follows: "Things here have become +somewhat calmer; the matter will blow over, but resentment +and distrust will remain. People will no longer meet with +the same cordiality, and will be continually on their guard; +in short, the ground is by no means as clear as it was, a thing +which M. de Talleyrand never liked, but I think that the +main storm has turned aside, and if you have made plans for +a journey to Prussia next year you need not abandon them +for any possible war. Herr von Werther has been rather +seriously ill. The Prince of Wittgenstein comes back to-morrow +from Kissingen. Frau von Reede, seventy-four years +of age as she is, is the leader of society at Königsberg. We +shall have some splendid festivities for the Huldigung.<a name="FNanchor_126" id="FNanchor_126" href="#Footnote_126" class="fnanchor"> [126]</a> The +nobles of the Mark of Brandenburg have alone subscribed +twenty thousand crowns. All this brilliant prospect does +not restore my good-humour; my health is certainly changed +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274">274</a></span> +by the climate, and my character by isolation and exile. I +have reached one of those periods in life, one of those frames +of mind, when change is required at any cost, and it is for +change that I hope. My best days are past; my few remaining +ties in this world will soon be broken, and I ought to try +to strengthen my connection with my country. You would +do me a very great service if you could induce my patroness, +Madame Adélaïde, to smooth the path for my retirement."</p> + +<p>I have an idea that M. Thiers will soon have no trouble +in finding high diplomatic posts for his friends, owing to a +large number of voluntary resignations.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 19, 1840.</em>—I am now at Valençay, a +spot so full of memories that it seems to me like a native +land. M. and Madame de Valençay are alone here with +their children. They both seem very glad to see me again, +and I am always happy to be back at Valençay. Here +I am less cut off than elsewhere from an eventful past, +and the dead are less far away than anywhere else.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 22, 1840.</em>—M. and Madame de +Castellane arrived here yesterday from their native Auvergne, +which seems by no means a pleasant district in which to +live. There are no high-roads to their residence, but only +badly made paths, which must be traversed in a litter or on +horseback. The snow is already upon their mountains, where +there are no trees and no cultivation, nothing but grass +for the cattle; there is no fruit and no vegetables, no game, +and no doctor within easy reach. Pauline has grown thin +and sunburnt; her husband is very thin, and I hope they +will pick up at Rochecotte, where we are all going. Their +little daughter, Marie, is most satisfactory, fair, fat, and +fresh, always in a good temper, laughing and restless, a little +angel whom I was very glad to see again, and her mother +with her.</p> + +<p>To-day is St. Maurice's Day, formerly the most festive and +animated of days at Valençay. This year it will be celebrated +only by a mass for the repose of the soul of our dear +M. de Talleyrand. It will be celebrated in the chapel where +he rests.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275">275</a></span> +<em>Valençay, September 24, 1840.</em>—The great Lafarge drama +is now concluded; she has been condemned. The reflection +which came to me upon reading the verdict is that the +appearance of this woman, her speeches, her gesture, and her +bearing, produced a very striking effect and secured her +conviction. It is a verdict which could by no means be +inferred from the facts, for she has shown for a long time +great presence of mind, while her counsel were extremely +talented, and the Public Prosecutor displayed a tactlessness +akin to rudeness. Public sympathies were widely divided, +and Madame Lafarge was supported by a powerful family. +The extraordinary and unusual element in this case is that I +can see no one, not even the condemned person, who is in any +way attractive. Apart from the prisoner herself, there is +Denis, who seems to be a bad man; her mother Lafarge, who +is too anxious about the will; the deceased man, whose +business transactions were a trifle shady; Madame de +Léautaud, very frivolous; Madame de Montbreton, who +was too fond of hypnotism; Madame de Nicolaï, who did +not look after her daughters properly. As the accusers +of Madame Lafarge numbered so few estimable persons, +she must have strongly impressed the jury with her guilt +for them to bring in a verdict against her.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 25, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles has +been to Paris to call upon Madame de Lieven on her +return from London, and writes to me as follows: "I +found the Princesse much changed. There are still hopes +of peace, and the Government is moving in that direction. +The King retains his confidence. The proposals of Mehemet +Ali have opened a new stage in the business, which may +prevent war, but nothing is settled; if the matter drags +on until the spring Thiers will then be more warlike than +he now is, as we shall then have an army which we do not +now possess. There is a kindlier feeling towards Prussia +than towards the other three Powers. It seems that Berlin +has already had more than enough of the convention, and +that Herr von Bülow is loudly abused for his presumption +and his blindness."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276">276</a></span> +From another source I hear as follows: "Uneasiness +at London is spreading through every class. The English +Ministry declares its astonishment at the measures taken +in France and at the energy displayed by the King. +I believe that Lord Palmerston is very anxious. The +Princesse de Lieven read a letter to M. de Montrond from +Lady Cowper which does not conceal the uneasiness and +uncertainty of those about her. They say Lord Holland +stands entirely aloof from events. I have certain information +to the contrary; he writes letters of six pages to +Mr. Bulwer on current business, and shows as much +keenness as any young man. He is said to be a very +strong opponent of France. In both England and Scotland +the harvest is a bad one, which adds to the embarrassments +of the English Cabinet. Meanwhile, though spirits +are rising at Saint-Cloud, the breach seems to be widened +by the exchange of notes in very bitter language. The +whole matter is very confused, and it is impossible to +forecast the result with any certainty."</p> + +<p>Yesterday M. de Maussion came here from Paris, or rather +from M. Thiers, at whose house he has been living. He +says that Madame de Lieven is regarded as a spy in the +house of M. Thiers, where she is accused of all kinds +of treachery. He also says that M. de Flahaut comes +to M. Thiers every morning with a bundle of letters +from England, that he poses as a man of importance, +and that he and his wife are intriguing more vigorously +than ever. He adds that M. de Flahaut is starting for +England in order to be absent during the trial of Louis +Bonaparte, but his wife is giving out that he has a +secret and important mission to the English Cabinet, to +repair the tactlessness of M. Guizot. There is a wish to +remove M. Guizot, but M. Thiers does not want him in +Paris for the meeting of the Chambers, so M. de Flahaut +is thrown back upon the embassy at Vienna, and it is +thought that he will obtain it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 25, 1840.</em>—Frau von Wolff writes to +me from Berlin under date the 19th of this month: "Our +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277">277</a></span> +town is astir with preparations for the ceremonies to take +place the day after to-morrow at the entry of the King and +Queen, and is also busy with the entertainments which will +be given when the oath of fidelity is taken. An enormous +number of strangers are coming in from every quarter. You +will have seen in the German newspapers how enthusiastically +the King was welcomed at Königsberg and with what royal +dignity he ascended the throne of his ancestors. All who +were present agreed in saying that the King's impromptu +speech after the oath was more moving than anything they +have known. The speech was so unprepared that the Queen +halted as though with astonishment when she saw the King +suddenly rise and approach the railing; there he stopped, and, +raising one hand to heaven, he uttered in a strong, sonorous +voice which went to every heart and was heard at the end of +the enclosure, the simple words of hope for the future. He +moved many to tears, and shed tears himself. We need +only pray to heaven to preserve us the blessings of peace; +hitherto the prospects of war have not shaken the general +confidence. The King's energy and activity in the work of +government is incomparable. To judge from the beginning +he has made, Prussia will make giant strides under his rule; +but I repeat, to enjoy the golden age which seems to smile +upon us peace must be preserved."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 28, 1840.</em>—Yesterday we were amused +by a small dramatic performance during the evening, which +began by the dialogue between Agrippine and Néron,<a name="FNanchor_127" id="FNanchor_127" href="#Footnote_127" class="fnanchor"> [127]</a> played +in costume by M. de Montenon, who took the part of Néron, +and my son-in-law as Agrippine, a truly feminine monstrosity. +Then <cite>Le Mari de la Veuve</cite> was acted with much vigour, balance, +and spirit by my son Louis, my daughter Pauline, Mlle. +Clément de Ris, and Mlle. de Weizel. Then we had two +scenes from the <cite>Dépit amoureux</cite> by Mlle. Clément de Ris, +M. de Montenon, M. and Madame d'Entraigues, and finally +<cite>Passé Minuit</cite> by MM. de Maussion and de Biron, which +greatly amused the pit. After the performance there was +supper and a dance, and all passed off very cheerfully.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278">278</a></span> +<em>Valençay, September 29, 1840.</em>—I have a number of letters, +one of which says: "The meeting of the Cabinet has been +called at London for Monday the 7th. It is thought unlikely +that Lord Palmerston will be able to carry his own views, and +the Ministers are said to be by no means unanimous; for +this reason some hope survives that peace may be maintained; +on the other hand, nothing is known of the nature of the +instructions sent to the Mediterranean, and the whole situation +is very uncertain."</p> + +<p>Now for Madame de Lieven. She begins with many moans +over her health, and ends: "My health, however, is not so +bad as that of Europe. What a disturbance everywhere! +War is the most likely consequence. To think that people +could allow things to reach this point and that not a man in +Europe can conduct a piece of business properly! Prince +Metternich must be dead. Every one desires peace passionately, +and see to what the wild love of peace has brought +Europe! Indeed, the whole world must be mad! The crisis +must be settled in a few weeks. I am told that Vienna is +making great efforts, but Palmerston is very obstinate. In +France there has been an outcry, and much more also than +mere outcry. What self-respecting persons would think of +retreating? I should like a talk with you; we have seen +better times, and I have many things to tell you of London +which would astonish you. My dear Duchesse, if war breaks +out I am bound to be the first to leave Paris and France, +and where shall I go? It is abominable!"</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Valençay, September 30, 1840.</em>—M. Molé writes as follows: +"The Comte de Paris has been very ill—in fact, in the greatest +danger; he is better, but not cured. No doubt you know +that Madame de Lieven has returned; her friend M. Guizot—and +I am certain of my facts—will soon break with his +master and superior, M. Thiers. The discussion upon the +Address will be the latest date for the accomplishment of +this great event."</p> + +<p>The Duchesse d'Albuféra says: "Anxiety continues to +prevail here; people are asking what answer is to be sent to +the proposals of Mehemet Ali, but many people think that +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279">279</a></span> +thunderbolts will be the answer. In France armaments are +being organised upon a very large scale. The Duchesse de +Massa has arrived in time to close the eyes of Marshal +Macdonald, her father. It is thought that his marshal's +baton will go to General Sébastiani. The Princesse de +Lieven receives a written despatch from our London +Ambassador every day."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Tours, October 2, 1840.</em>—Here I find a letter from M. de +Sainte-Aulaire, who writes from Vienna on September 23: +"The matter would proceed excellently, if it were conducted +here; but discussion takes place at Vienna and Berlin, and +negotiations at London, where, I believe, a very different +temper unfortunately prevails."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 4, 1840.</em>—Yesterday's newspapers contain +a long explanatory note from Lord Palmerston, addressed to +the English Minister in Paris, Mr. Bulwer, which puts the +Eastern question in a very different light from that given by +the French narratives.<a name="FNanchor_128" id="FNanchor_128" href="#Footnote_128" class="fnanchor"> [128]</a> We have also news of the capture +of Beyrout,<a name="FNanchor_129" id="FNanchor_129" href="#Footnote_129" class="fnanchor"> [129]</a> which is a strong beginning to the course of +coercive measures. What will be the result?</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 5, 1840.</em>—My son-in-law has a letter +from Paris telling him that the <em>salon</em> of M. Thiers on the +day when the news arrived of the capture of Beyrout was +so bellicose that it threatened to throw the whole world into +a conflagration. However, in the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> of the +3rd instant I saw a small article on this question urging +calm and moderation, and when I consider the inspired +nature of this paper I have become a little calmer.</p> + +<p>I had expected that the pleadings of M. Berryer on behalf +of Prince Louis Bonaparte would display a seditious tendency, +would be blustering, rash, and outrageous. I was greatly +surprised to find that I could read them without the slightest +emotion. But I have often noticed that when one reads +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280">280</a></span> +Berryer's speeches they do not produce an effect in harmony +with his reputation, and that one must hear him to be +dazzled and attracted, to such an extent does he possess the +outer and attractive qualities of an orator.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 6, 1840.</em>—The Duchesse d'Albuféra +writes from Paris: "Events in the East are of a very alarming +nature, and so also is the language of the Ministerial newspapers, +for which the moderation of the Saint-Cloud organ<a name="FNanchor_130" id="FNanchor_130" href="#Footnote_130" class="fnanchor"> [130]</a> +is but a small compensation. The former journalists +threaten M. Thiers that they will break with him if he does +not begin war. Prussia and Austria seem decidedly anxious +not to make war upon us or upon anybody; it is difficult +to understand the situation. M. de Flahaut is at London +staying with Lord Holland, who sees the Ministers every day +and tells his wife that he is trying to convince them of our +real position, but this officious service will probably have no +great result, as people at London seem to have made up their +minds. I have seen Lady Granville; both she and her +husband are greatly depressed. They still hope that war +will not break out, and I know that Lord Granville is doing +all he can to produce a calmer frame of mind. Everybody one +meets is uneasy and anxious, nor will they talk of anything +but of the memorandum, of Beyrout, of Espartero and the fortifications; +they go to bed in excitement and awake painfully +anxious. You are lucky to be far away from such a turmoil. +Nobody pays attention to the trial of Louis Bonaparte; +M. d'Alton-Shée alone voted for death, after a violent speech. +The proposal was badly received by the rest of the Chamber."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 7, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I heard a sad +piece of news—the death of my poor friend the Countess +Batthyàny at Richmond on the 2nd. She had recently felt +an improvement in her health, which had induced her to +consider the possibility of coming to live at Paris.</p> + +<p>I hear from Paris: "M. Molé is at Paris for the trial of +Louis Bonaparte, in which M. Berryer was a complete failure. +All minds are absorbed by the bombardment of Beyrout +and the possible consequences. There is a universal outcry +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281">281</a></span> +against M. Thiers. Madame de Lieven is rather ill; she is +feverish, and sees visitors in her long chair. She professes +a close attachment for M. Guizot, but is said to show a +tendency to coldness."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 8, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter from +Madame de Lieven, begun on the 5th and finished on the +6th. The following is an extract from the part dated the +5th: "In England nothing has been decided; the Ministers +are not agreed; however, the peace party is predominant, to +which Palmerston himself pretends to belong, though he +does not offer any means of finding a solution satisfactory to +France; moreover, his hands are not free, as he must ask for +Russia's consent at every moment. Since the bombardment +of Beyrout Thiers seems to think his position no longer +tenable unless he makes some bold stroke; his colleagues are +not all of his opinion, and the King is not in favour of extreme +measures. However, some decision must be made. Lord +Granville is very anxious. Things have gone so far that +change is inevitable. It was even said yesterday that Thiers +wished to send two hundred thousand men to the Rhine and +a French fleet to Alexandria to oppose the English. This +would be an act of madness. The situation is very dangerous, +and assuming that Thiers breaks with the Government, where +are people to be found sufficiently resolute to undertake the +heavy burden now before them?"</p> + +<p>On the 6th she writes: "The three or four councils held +within the last two days have ended in the resolution to send +a protest to the English Government in which a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">casus belli</i> +will be laid down, and I think that Alexandria and Saint-Jean +d'Acre will be the points at issue; but if one of these +towns were to be attacked at this moment what would become +of the protest? The English Government has on its side +addressed notes to its allies to modify the treaty; negotiations +are going on with tolerable frankness, but meanwhile +military operations are also proceeding. They say that the +King is not in entire agreement with M. Thiers concerning +the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">casus belli</i>; he is also said to be especially satisfied with +M. Cousin, who is on good terms with Admiral Roussin and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282">282</a></span> +M. Gouin. I am told on good authority that the meeting of +the Chambers is arranged for the early days of November, +and that the protest of which I told you will be decided +this morning. Saint-Jean d'Acre will not be mentioned +in it."</p> + +<p>This interesting letter gave much food for our conversation. +The Duc de Noailles, who is here, and who has brought his +manuscript, read us a passage on quietism.<a name="FNanchor_131" id="FNanchor_131" href="#Footnote_131" class="fnanchor"> [131]</a> It is clearly +written, and in a good and brisk style, with well-chosen +quotations which enliven the subject.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 11, 1840.</em>—Yesterday we heard of the +sudden death of Arthur de Mortemart,<a name="FNanchor_132" id="FNanchor_132" href="#Footnote_132" class="fnanchor"> [132]</a> a fine young fellow, +who was to inherit a magnificent fortune, and also, though I +did not know the fact, to marry the daughter of the Duc de +Noailles, who set off immediately upon hearing the sad news. +Arthur de Mortemart was twenty-seven years of age, and an +only son. It is a dreadful blow to his family.</p> + +<p>M. Molé writes: "The Chambers are being convoked for +the 28th, and my friends insist that I should return to Paris +between the 15th and 20th. I agree, but we shall have +nothing but the remarkable and barren pleasure of exchanging +our condolences. We are advancing with fatal rapidity +towards a revolutionary Government, which may lead to even +more bloodshed than before. God alone knows how long it +will last and what will take its place. However, if the +newspapers do not mislead and divide the right-minded +party we should emerge successfully, with courage, but our +domestic difficulties make the situation irremediable; foreign +affairs would easily be settled if our home policy inspired any +confidence. In any case, the Chamber will have to decide the +whole matter, but there is little hope that it will rise to the +greatness of its task. I do not know what will happen to my +reception at the Academy in the midst of all this. I am +ready, and notwithstanding the arguments of M. Villemain, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283">283</a></span> +who seems to be intimidated, I shall omit nothing from my +eulogy of Mgr. de Quélen, and I invoke the great day."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 12, 1840.</em>—A letter from M. de Barante +at St. Petersburg tells me: "I am waiting for news from +elsewhere, for at St. Petersburg nothing is decided, nor in +reality do people greatly care. Peace would be perhaps the +wiser course, but war is more in conformity with the sentiments +which people have been professing for ten years; so +they will only do what England wishes. You can make your +conjectures in accordance with this view; you know Lord +Palmerston and all his political environment, of which I +have no idea."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 14, 1840.</em>—Madame de Montmorency +writes to say that M. Demidoff has written to M. Thiers for +authorisation to announce his wife at Paris as Her Royal +Highness Madame the Princesse de Montfort. Madame +Demidoff has written personally to Madame Thiers, whom +she knew in Italy, on this subject, and the King has given +his consent.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 17, 1840.</em>—The Duchesse d'Albuféra +writes: "Peace now seems to be a trifle nearer. Negotiations +have been resumed, and people are agreed in saying that if +war is to break out it will not be for a considerable time, and +that many diplomatic notes will be exchanged before we reach +that extremity. General de Cubières, Minister of War, had +resigned because he thought the majority in the Council too +warlike, and his opinion was that we should be unable to +wage a successful war with the Powers and must avoid the +possibility. His resignation, however, has not been accepted, +as the negotiations and prospects of peace have been resumed, +at any rate for the moment. The French memorandum has +brought many over to the side of M. Thiers. The vacant +Presidency of the Chamber is a post which occupies many +minds; opinions are divided between M. Odilon Barrot and +M. Sauzet. The Comte de Paris has fallen ill again, and his +parents are very uneasy."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 19, 1840.</em>—Madame de Lieven writes: +"The English Cabinet has welcomed the French note. The +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284">284</a></span> +peace party is gaining strength, but the issue does not lie in +that direction. St. Petersburg, which is a long way off, must +be consulted, and during these delays the newspapers are able +to interfere. The memorandum of Thiers has caused much +satisfaction at Paris, and some embarrassment to Lord +Palmerston; at St. Petersburg it will be thought that he +says aloud what has hitherto been whispered. As for +Austria, Apponyi claims that the narrative is inaccurate +where Austria is concerned. In any case, the decision is +imminent, and will be known on November 15. The four +Powers care nothing about the war or about France; so +we may ask in what direction or for what reason France +will take action. Unfortunately there is a general idea +that peace and M. Thiers are incompatible. This would +be quite dangerous, for excitement is high, and Thiers in +the scales can outweigh war."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 20, 1840.</em>—The newspapers contain an +account of a fresh attempt to assassinate the King, made +by a certain Darmès.<a name="FNanchor_133" id="FNanchor_133" href="#Footnote_133" class="fnanchor"> [133]</a> The constant repetition of these +attempts makes one tremble, and it is impossible to avoid +uneasiness.</p> + +<p>Yesterday my son-in-law received letters from Paris which +say that the wind seems to blow in the direction of war. +Lord Palmerston is stated to be anxious to insist upon the +full enforcement of the treaty. Our Minister thinks himself +certain of a majority, rather because of the apprehension +with which his opponents would view their own +accession to power in the present situation, than of any +confidence inspired by the Cabinet. After the attempted +assassination by Darmès the Duc d'Orléans is said to have +declared that he was strongly in favour of war, and would +rather be killed on the banks of the Rhine than murdered +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285">285</a></span> +in a Paris slum. All our letters agree that excitement is +running high and that conditions are both complicated +and serious.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 21, 1840.</em>—Yesterday the papers +announced the abdication of Queen Christina. This event +will not form an agreeable page in the annals of M. de La +Redorte's Spanish embassy.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Noailles writes as follows: "Many people are +saying that Thiers will resign, and many say that he is in a +difficulty upon the subject. He does not see how he can +appear before the Chambers. He would like to arrange a +retreat which would leave him at the head of a party, by +making people believe that he was unable to persuade the +King to take the energetic resolutions which the national +honour requires. On the other hand, thus to be eclipsed, to +leave every one in difficulty, after raising and provoking all +these questions, to evade discussion and responsibility before +the Chambers, would certainly be disgraceful. However, +people who are best informed think that he will resign. The +speech from the throne is now the only point upon which he +can disagree and request permission to retire.</p> + +<p>"Prussia definitely refuses to let any horses go out of its +territory. It is hoped that some will be found in Normandy +and Holland. The situation is extremely embarrassing, for +we are certainly not ready for war, and cannot be before +spring, and yet loans have already been effected to the +amount of four hundred and fifty millions. The deficit +will be a bottomless pit. If stocks fall to ninety-nine, when +by law sixteen millions a month must be redeemed, and if +money is taken from the savings banks, the Treasury will be +in a hopeless difficulty. The Syrian expedition seems to +have no immediate result; Ibrahim allows the allies to seize +the seaboard, which is separated from the rest of the country +by a chain of mountains which runs along the sea, and which +the disembarked troops cannot cross. He holds all this +country, which is overawed by his army and dare not revolt, +and is waiting for the storms to drive away the fleet, which +cannot then return before spring. I have seen a letter from +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286">286</a></span> +Lady Palmerston, strongly inclined to peace. Guizot also +writes that Downing Street is now calmer.</p> + +<p>"The King is very depressed by this further attempt to +assassinate him, and Thiers feels that the credit of the +Ministry is not improved by the event. The Deputies who +are already here and those who are arriving are said to be +inclined for peace. I hear that the Chamber of Peers is +tempted, if it has the courage—which I doubt—to adopt a +patronising and embarrassing attitude towards the Ministry."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 23, 1840.</em>—Madame Adélaïde, in a very +kind answer to a letter from myself, writes as follows about +the attempted assassination "The King's first word after +the explosion to the Queen and to myself was, 'Well, it +seems that you must always be in this fatal carriage,' a truly +touching remark."</p> + +<p>I have the following from Madame de Lieven: "Granville +yesterday handed in Lord Palmerston's answer to the note of +the 8th. I believe that this answer undertakes to revoke the +proposal for the Pasha's deposition, if he submits; you will +see that this does not help matters. All that can now be +said is that the general attitude and language upon either +side is gentler, and may possibly lead to an understanding. +Lord Palmerston will not explain himself more clearly, as he +is waiting for news of some brilliant successes in Syria; so far +he has waited in vain. The tone of the French Ministry is +less warlike; they say that war may arrive in spring, if winter +does not settle everything. Here you see a change, and +diplomacy at Paris is inclined to believe in peace. We shall +see what the Chambers will do; their action will be important +both upon events and individuals.</p> + +<p>"The King has not appeared in the town since the shot was +fired at him. On this subject the foreign newspapers comment +far more suitably than the French.</p> + +<p>"The dissensions in the English Cabinet are said to be more +obvious, and Palmerston is thought to be in the minority. +M. de Flahaut, who arrives to-morrow, will enlighten us upon +this subject. Madame de Flahaut is now very anti-Palmerston, +because she naturally fears the possibility of war between +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287">287</a></span> +her two native lands.<a name="FNanchor_134" id="FNanchor_134" href="#Footnote_134" class="fnanchor"> [134]</a> Lord John Russell has gone over to +the majority against Palmerston, and, feeble though he is, his +influence is important. Things in general are in incredible +confusion, but I am really beginning to hope that there is a +little more prospect of peace than there has been for the last +few days."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 24, 1840.</em>—Yesterday my son-in-law +heard that the French Ministry had resigned upon the occasion +of the speech from the Crown, which it wished to devote +to the subject of the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">casus belli</i>, against the King's desires.<a name="FNanchor_135" id="FNanchor_135" href="#Footnote_135" class="fnanchor"> [135]</a></p> + +<p>My son, M. de Dino, tells me that the Grand Duke of +Tuscany has made M. Demidoff Prince of San Donato, a +name derived from his silk manufacture, and has given him +the title of Excellency. The Pope<a name="FNanchor_136" id="FNanchor_136" href="#Footnote_136" class="fnanchor"> [136]</a> has sent the dispensations +for the marriage. The dowry of the young Princess is +settled at two hundred and fifty thousand francs, with twenty-five +thousand francs pin-money.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, October 25, 1840.</em>—Queen Christina is apparently +intending to settle at Florence, where her sentimental +interests are centred. She has two children by Muñoz, +whom she adores, and has managed to save an income of +fifteen hundred thousand francs.</p> + +<p>The little Comte de Paris is very ill, in continuous fever, +which wastes him away. The Duc d'Orléans is greatly +distressed, and the Duchesse is in bed very weak and unhappy. +She is not allowed to move for fear of a miscarriage, +as she is now in her eighth month. The poor royal family +is receiving some heavy blows.</p> + +<p><em>Rochecotte, November 2, 1840.</em>—Queen Christina is not +going to Italy; Nice, Paris, and then Bordeaux, such are said +to be her movements. She wishes to remain near Spain, in +order to keep an eye upon the progress of events.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288">288</a></span> +Madame de Lieven writes as follows, the day before +yesterday: "You see what has happened here; things are +becoming very stormy; M. Guizot must be very courageous +to embark in such a vessel. At London the general tone is +becoming much milder, and will continue to improve in favour +of the new Ministry, but a great deal will have to be done to +satisfy the madmen here, and an ill interpretation will be +placed upon English self-satisfaction. Thus there are many +difficulties which are far from a solution. The Chamber will +be in a state of continual storm, an interesting spectacle, but +likely to become frightful. The King is said to be delighted +that he has got rid of Thiers, and to be charmed with his new +Ministers;<a name="FNanchor_137" id="FNanchor_137" href="#Footnote_137" class="fnanchor"> [137]</a> I wish I could believe that his satisfaction was +likely to last. Thiers says that he will not oppose Guizot; +this is nonsense. The Comte de Paris is better. The Duc +d'Orléans is not satisfied with the change of Ministers, but +King Leopold is very pleased."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 4, 1840.</em>—A letter which I have +just received from M. Molé contains the following: "The +outgoing Ministry was ruining everything, and in three +months would have involved us in war with the whole of +Europe, and given us a revolutionary Government into the +bargain. I do not know what the new Ministry will do, but +it cannot do worse, or even as badly. The method of its +formation has obliged me to stand aloof—an easy part to +play, and one which I usually prefer, the more so as when I +do take part I never do so by halves."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 5, 1840.</em>—My son, M. de Dino, writes +from Paris that great preparations are being made to +decorate the route by which the procession will pass bringing +back the remains of Napoleon from St. Helena, and that a +strange idea has been proposed, to have a row of the effigies +of all the Kings of France. I suppose they will be placed +there to present arms to the usurper. Really, people are +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289">289</a></span> +absurd nowadays; in any case, this fine idea emanates from +the Cabinet of M. Thiers, and not from the present Ministry.</p> + +<p>A letter from Madame Mollien says: "Yesterday evening, +in the middle of the theatre, Bergeron, the foremost of all +the King's assassins, entered a box, where was seated M. Emile +de Girardin, the editor of <cite>La Presse</cite>, to whom, without saying +a word, he gave a box on the ears. M. Girardin bounded up +like a madman; his wife, who is twice as big and strong as +he is, caught him by his collar, shouting, 'Don't go out! You +shall not go out! He is an assassin!' The result is said to have +been an incredible scene; everybody intervened, all were in a +quarrelsome state of mind, and in the corridors and vestibule +nothing could be heard except challenges and appointments."</p> + +<p>Here is an extract from another letter in a different strain: +"M. Guizot and Madame de Lieven are the Ministers of +Foreign Affairs, and I have a fear that M. de Broglie must +be content with the fate of the Sultan's wife, Validé. +M. Molé has not been offered a position; the King continually +repeats that M. Molé declined to lend a hand; this +is not the case. At so serious a crisis no thinking man +would use such language, but the matter is most easily +explained in this way. The <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> has since +been carefully working upon the scruples of M. Molé, and +said to him: 'If you refuse to support the Cabinet, which is +Conservative, the Left will come into power, and it will be +your fault. It is a crime against the country,' &c. This +attitude seems to resemble the case of parents who, when +they have a son dangerously ill, say to a girl, 'If you do +not grant him an interview he will die, and it will be your +fault.' If I were a girl I assure you that in this case I +should look after myself. My opinion is that M. Molé +should remain a member of the Academy and nothing more. +Moreover, he will be none the worse off for that. Do you +know that Maurice de Noailles is to become a priest? It is +said that Barante will be Ambassador at London. I hope +so."</p> + +<p>My son-in-law hears that Maurice de Noailles is entering the +Church in despair, because he could not marry the daughter +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290">290</a></span> +of the Duc de Noailles. I admit that I do not believe this +story as yet, and await some confirmation of it.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 6, 1840.</em>—Yesterday's post brought +me a long letter from M. de Salvandy: "We are emerging +from a Ministerial crisis, which has passed off with little +incident, except that M. Molé has remained outside the +new combination. He feels, with much exasperation, that +some supreme influence has secured his exclusion. At the +outset of the crisis M. de Montalivet worked very hard to +find a post for M. Molé in the new Cabinet: he went about +everywhere, and declared on all sides that his co-operation was +indispensable, to M. Molé more emphatically than to any +one. I could not help saying to M. Molé that so much zeal +seemed suspicious, and that I could not but infer some bad +result. However, M. Molé's chances of office never amounted +to anything, nor has he been treated with any of that ceremony, +which might outwardly have soothed his feelings; in +fact, practically no notice has been taken of any member of +the Ministry of April 15. Only upon the last day were they +considered in the least. The new body was brought together +with such little thought that no effort was made to secure +M. Passy, who was ready to come in unconditionally, but was +united with M. Dufaure; the latter based his refusal upon a +personal dislike for M. Martin du Nord rather than upon +political motives. M. Passy and M. Dufaure had no objection to +myself or to M. Laplagne. Thus it would have been possible +with no great difficulty to gather round Marshal Soult and +M. Guizot some members of the Ministries of April 15 and +May 12. These would have formed a good nucleus for a +majority, at once compact and permanent. Instead of this, +a Ministry has been lumped together, and it is expected that +the dangers evoked by M. Thiers will provide votes at first, +while the future can take care of itself. When the Cabinet, +however, was formed, it was remembered that no measures +had been taken to secure the adherence of the Left Centre, +or even of the Conservative party. Then they took steps to +repair this mistake, and the Ministers all came to me. +M. Guizot, whom I had not seen since the Coalition, came +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291">291</a></span> +wearing his order, to ask me solemnly for my co-operation. +I did not hide the fact that it was rather late, and that this +fashion of forming a Ministry without paying attention to +any one, or respecting M. Molé and his party by the observance +of outward formality, increased the difficulty of a +situation, which was already complicated enough. When +I heard M. Guizot I remembered what I was saying to the +Duc d'Orléans a few days ago, that of the two rivals it was +difficult to say which is the more futile; that if Thiers is +futile without, Guizot is so within; in fact, Guizot has not a +notion of the domestic dangers, the Parliamentary difficulties, +and the general peril caused by the abstention of M. Passy and +M. Dufaure; for they, added to Lamartine and myself, would +form a possible Cabinet intermediate between that of to-day +and that of M. Odilon Barrot, whether we took M. Molé, +M. de Broglie, or even M. Thiers for our leader. In short, +their confidence and presumption have been inexplicable, while +they have completely forgotten the apostasy of 1839, which +is aggravated by this fresh change of creed and colour. +They are convinced that their theories can be resumed at the +point where they had dropped them, and talk of safeguards, +order, and resistance with the same authority. They have +no notion of the fury which this language is likely to arouse +among their adversaries, and regard us as cold and disagreeable. +However, we shall support them, for we are men of +honour before all things, and I am equally certain that there +will be a majority on the general question. Thiers has +brought things to such a point that his restoration would +mean both revolution and war; but the humiliation abroad +which Guizot's Cabinet will have to confront is likely to be +a crushing burden. Honourable men do not pardon Thiers +for making this humiliation inevitable, and in three months +no one will pardon Guizot for yielding to it. In my opinion +he will have to give way in a short time, but if he performs +the double service of bringing us through a great difficulty +without increasing it and of paving the way for a new +Conservative majority he will have done a good deal. I do +not despair, and for my part will certainly help him. He +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292">292</a></span> +left me and went on to open conciliatory measures with +M. Molé.</p> + +<p>"The immediate cause of Thiers' rupture with the King +is as follows: In the speech Thiers demanded further +measures, that is, an additional hundred and fifty thousand +men—making six hundred and fifty thousand in all, the +mobilisation of the National Guards, camps upon the Rhine +and the Alps, in short, war. The King tried to compromise +by saying that his Ministers would explain what they had +done and what they intended to do. Thiers refused; it +seems as though there was no sincerity on either side. +Thiers felt that his position was untenable: the Left was +trembling, the Conservatives would venture anything in +their fright, and his own foolishness will not bear discussion. +The King on his side was bold enough to regard his +attempted assassination by Darmès as a possible starting-point +from which to turn the struggle against himself and +overthrow his Cardinal de Retz, while he ran no risk for his +power, but a very great deal of risk for his life.</p> + +<p>"The Conservative party thus seems to be reorganised by +the return of the large majority of the Doctrinaires and the +probable support of the Left Centres, who are in terror, but +the Doctrinaire party is divided; M. Duvergier de Hauranne +and M. Piscatory follow M. de Rémusat and M. Jaubert +from the Left; M. Broglie is divided between the two camps; +M. Thiers continues to rely upon him, and flatters himself +that he has been strongly defended by him in the Chamber +of Peers; M. Guizot, on the other hand, calculates that he +will accept the London Embassy; to this he attaches great +importance, although M. de Broglie will not be able to lend +him all the strength of which he will deprive M. Thiers by a +long way; however, he will not weaken him, and that is +something. Failing M. Thiers, Madames de Barante and +de Sainte-Aulaire will fight for London. There is no doubt +that M. de la Redorte will be retired, as he has cut a poor +figure in the Peninsula. There will be many changes in +the Diplomatic Body. I know that I have been thought of +for an embassy, but I have not yet considered my reply. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293">293</a></span> +M. Guizot has gained nothing from London; something +may be obtained from Lord Melbourne, but nothing from +Lord Palmerston, and it is not certain that Europe is less +inclined to the latter than to the former. The condition of +the Comte de Paris still causes alarm. Chomel, to whom I +have spoken, but he is rather a pessimist, has no hope +except that the poor young Prince may live long enough +to spare the Duchesse d'Orléans a great grief during her +confinement."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 8, 1840.</em>—M. d'Entraigues, our Prefect, +who has been here since the evening of the day before +yesterday, received yesterday by a courier a telegram sent to +him at Tours with news of the nomination of the President, the +Vice-President and the Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. +The nominations in general are, thank heaven, favourable +to the Cabinet and supported by a good majority. This +beginning is a trifle consoling. If fear inspires wisdom, so +much the better.</p> + +<p>I have a letter from the Duc de Noailles, who tells me +that there is no truth in the rumour that his cousin M. +Maurice is to enter the Church. People are indeed wonderfully +clever in inventing and spreading stories and providing +them with so many details as to make one believe what is +utterly unfounded. The Duc de Noailles also says: "The +royal session is said to have been a most mournful ceremony;<a name="FNanchor_138" id="FNanchor_138" href="#Footnote_138" class="fnanchor"> [138]</a> +on the one side was much outcry of obvious meaning, while +on the Left there was menacing silence; in the middle was +the King shedding tears at a certain passage in his speech. +The speech was wanting in dignity, and a pacific attitude +should be more dignified; it was drawn up by Guizot. The +desire for peace was too obvious, and it was not a success. +The Ministry are sure of a majority for some time, but as the +fear of war dies away they will lose it. Syria has been +given up as a bad job by the Government. If the Pasha submits, +all will be over; if he resists and is attacked in Egypt it +is difficult to say how an explosion will be avoided here. Thiers +said to Guizot on his arrival: 'Now it is your turn. There are +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294">294</a></span> +only two men in France, yourself and I; I am the Minister of +the revolution, you of the Conservative movement; if one is not +in power the other must be. We cannot act in concert, but +we can live upon good terms. I shall put no obstacle in your +way, and make no attempt to inconvenience you.' None +the less he is already intriguing in the Chamber, and an +agitation will be raised to support him."</p> + +<p><em>Rochecotte, November 12, 1840.</em>—The Abbé Dupanloup +arrived here yesterday to consecrate my chapel. The ceremony +is to take place immediately. Yesterday's post brought +news of the confinement of the Duchesse d'Orléans. I am +delighted to hear of the birth of a second son.<a name="FNanchor_139" id="FNanchor_139" href="#Footnote_139" class="fnanchor"> [139]</a> Madame de +Lieven writes that she is somewhat dissatisfied with the +beginning which the new Ministry has made.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 14, 1840.</em>—I had wished the first +mass said in my chapel to be for the repose of the soul of +M. de Talleyrand, but an inaugural mass cannot be one of +mourning. At the ceremony of the day before yesterday, +therefore, colours were worn in honour of St. Martin; yesterday's +mass was for the dear departed. The altar is exactly +where his bed used to stand in the room which has been +replaced by the chapel; the coincidence affected me deeply.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 17, 1840.</em>—M. de Salvandy, who has +most obligingly undertaken to send me a little weekly +bulletin, tells me that the Diplomatic Body at Paris was +almost as keenly excited by the last note from Lord +Palmerston as the Chamber itself.<a name="FNanchor_140" id="FNanchor_140" href="#Footnote_140" class="fnanchor"> [140]</a></p> + +<p>It seems that Count Apponyi has written everywhere +pointing out the danger of urging France to revolution and to +war when she is attempting to throw off the yoke of anarchy. +Lord Granville and Herr von Bülow disavow the acts of +Lord Palmerston. If he really wished to drive France to +extremities, it may be believed that neither Austria nor +Prussia would support him. Even Russia seems to have +moderated her language.</p> + +<p>My son-in-law writes me from Paris on the 15th: "The +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295">295</a></span> +state of affairs here seems to me very confused. The transition +from revolutionary provocation to a demeanour of +humility can only be effected amid uproar in order to put +shame out of countenance. To this end everybody is working. +There is a general cry for peace and for the support of the +former Ministry, and a general outcry against the cowardice +and degradation of the supreme power, though no one can say +exactly what should have been done. These indeterminate +attacks never produce a really embarrassing situation, and +as they make an uproar without doing any harm, the men +against whom they are ineffectually directed obtain the +credit of success. It thus seems generally admitted that the +Ministry will gain a majority. M. Guizot, for instance, was +saying the day before yesterday in his <em>salon</em>, with the heroic +air characteristic of General Guizot: 'Gentlemen, we have +just begun the campaign; the war will be long and severe, +but I hope that we shall gain the victory.' Though the +Chamber desires peace at any price, it is not compliant. +The greater its anxiety, the louder its outcries, which will +only end with its unregretted fall. The Address, which is to +be drawn up, people say, by M. Passy or M. de Salvandy, +will be very bellicose, so much so as to embarrass the +Government, although it had been decided to create as little +trouble as possible on this point.</p> + +<p>"You will have read the answer of Lord Palmerston to +the memorandum of October 8. It is an important matter. +His disdain for us is obvious, and is not even disguised by +forms or ceremonies. It seems, moreover, that this feeling +towards us has grown remarkably of late. None the less +the note has caused much embarrassment to M. Guizot, who +had told everybody that since his entry upon office the +situation in England had entirely changed and that Lord +Palmerston was an altered character. He summed up his +views in these words: 'I have peace in my pocket.' This is +how he explained Lord Palmerston's note when he was +talking at the house of the President of the Chamber<a name="FNanchor_141" id="FNanchor_141" href="#Footnote_141" class="fnanchor"> [141]</a> two +days ago: 'Lord Palmerston has a theological mind; he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296">296</a></span> +will let no objection pass without an answer, so that this +note means nothing; it is merely a question of principle.' +M. Dubois, of the Loire-Inférieure, who is a clever man, and +a strong supporter of the new Ministry, then took M. Guizot +aside and told him that he would be making a great mistake +if he repeated that observation in the Chamber. M. Guizot +merely answered by repeating his statement, with which he +was so delighted that he caused it to be inserted that evening +in his own newspaper, <cite>Le Messager</cite>, in the form of a note at +the foot of the memorandum, merely suppressing the term +'theological.' At the same time the incident has caused some +stir, which has not yet died away, and would make M. Guizot +cut a ridiculous figure if things seemed what they are in this +country. The Ministry proposes to make peace, and everybody +thinks that it will be successful. After that it will +perish, for no obvious reason, in a hurricane; this also seems +to be generally believed. Then M. Molé, who now remains in +isolation, will come to power. He will probably be welcomed +by every one, not because he is any more popular in the +Chamber than he used to be, but because every one's energy is +exhausted, while the King remains master. The matter will +depend upon the King, who is ill-disposed to M. Molé at this +moment, and uttered a remark concerning him which others +attribute to M. Guizot, but which is too good to come from +more than one source: 'M. Molé is an excellent looker-on, +but is a bad actor.' I have an idea that the remark is mine, +and that some one stole it from me five years ago.</p> + +<p>"The Syrian campaign is decidedly favourable to the +allies. The English have displayed much energy. They are +inducing the Turks to strike hard, and everything is yielding +before them; the force of Ibrahim was a myth. At every +moment we are expecting the news of the capture of Saint-Jean +d'Acre, which will be an important success both here and +there. The saddest part of it is that there is no certainty +concerning the possible safety of Egypt. Already rumours +are present of a probable revolt at Alexandria, of the assassination +of the Pasha by knife or poison; while you have seen +that Lord Palmerston, with his theological mind, no longer +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297">297</a></span> +speaks of the deposition of the Pasha as he did three weeks +ago. There is no certainty that we shall not yield upon that +point here, and it would be a tremendous concession.</p> + +<p>"So much for the present. I now turn to the past. +Thiers has shrunk in everybody's eyes: his timidity has been +invariably as great as his imprudence and his superficiality. +He dismissed the French Consul at Beyrout because he wished +to serve the Pasha in Syria by calming the revolt, and it has +never been possible to induce him to send reliable agents +to Syria for the purpose of finding out the exact extent of +Ibrahim's power. Hence we have been deceived, and the +attitude of France has been guided by unrealised expectations. +M. de Broglie thinks that the King was greatly +mistaken in dismissing the Ministry of M. Thiers, because he +would in any case have fallen a victim to public ridicule at +this moment. This opinion is based upon the fact that if one +stakes a large sum upon one card and it does not appear +the ridicule is universal. The person to whom he was +speaking on the matter yesterday evening thought, on +the other hand, that while the Chamber might fear war, +it would never have been strong enough to overthrow the +Cabinet.</p> + +<p>"The speech drawn up by Thiers did not propose a new +levy of a hundred and fifty thousand men, but merely wished +to anticipate the new levy by three months, whether for +peace or for war, this being the levy ordinarily made in the +spring. Moreover, the tone of the speech was quite moderate; +but the fact is that neither he nor the King was sincere and +it was a mere pretext on either side.</p> + +<p>"There was a Ministerial crisis, of which we had no +suspicion, after the capture of Beyrout. The Ministry +wished to make a demonstration by sending the fleet to +Alexandria, but the King was opposed to this idea. M. de +Broglie was asked to mediate between the two parties, and +patched the matter up, on the theory that it was impossible +at that moment to appoint a permanent Ministry if those in +power resigned upon such a question. He was also opposed +to the idea of sending a fleet to Alexandria, believing that +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298">298</a></span> +the measure was good in itself, as likely to cause the allies +anxiety while giving them no reason for complaint, and +thinking it a measure which an absolute Government would +have every right to carry out; but in French practice, on +the other hand, as soon as this measure had been executed, +the Press would have driven the fleet into action, whether +they wished or not, and war would have been the result. All +this argument, in any case, is based upon the fact that this +measure or anything like it could only be carried out by +violent means of which the public must hear, such as a +resignation, a crisis, and so forth. If the matter had been +quietly arranged with the private knowledge of the King, the +case would have been very different. Moreover, M. de Broglie +is by no means well disposed towards the King. He says, +however, that it is all a matter of indifference to him apart +from the outward disturbance; that he will support any +possible Ministry, that not only will he make no attempt to +overthrow them, but will not even try to shake their +stability, seeing that any of the said Ministries are always +more reasonable than the Chamber. In short, he says that +he is part of the Ministerial suite, an avowal which no one +had yet ventured to make, and that he greatly envies you +the prospect of spending his winter in the country. His +calmness is quite Olympian, though tempered with bitter and +piercing irony.</p> + +<p>"M. Guizot tells his friends in confidence that he has +induced M. de Broglie to accept the London Embassy. I +believe nothing of the kind, but I forgot to ask him yesterday +evening. M. Molé seemed to me to be utterly cast +down; he is a kind of Jeremiah singing madrigals, and is +greatly changed."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 22, 1840.</em>—Yesterday my son-in-law +wrote to his wife saying that the diplomatic correspondence +was read privately before the Commission of the Address in +the Chamber of Deputies. It represents M. Thiers as an +incompetent and impossible Minister, M. Guizot as a wise +ambassador and a dangerous auxiliary, Lord Palmerston as +a resolute and strong character; it shows that Thiers had +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299">299</a></span> +attempted to deceive and blind the eyes of every one and to +take them in, and was simply laughed at, as also was France. +He also writes that the Duc d'Orléans made his little impromptu +speech before the Chamber of Peers with admirable +tact, grace, and nobility.</p> + +<p>Another note has been received from Lord Palmerston, +milder in tone than the former, but still raising anxiety upon +the Egyptian question. M. Mounier has been officially sent +to London to try and secure some concession.</p> + +<p>My son Valençay writes to me to say that Madame de +Nesselrode is at Paris for six weeks; that she will not appear +at Court, and therefore will not go into society, but will +live quietly by herself, and is delighted with her idea. I +do not know whether Count Nesselrode will be equally +delighted.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 23, 1840.</em>—My son-in-law writes +that M. Walewski, who had been sent to Egypt as an envoy +to Ibrahim, thought that he was still writing despatches +for the Ministry of March 1, and had announced that in +spite of all his efforts he could not induce Ibrahim to pass +the Taurus. This despatch seems to be causing a great +sensation.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 24, 1840.</em>—My son-in-law writes: +"There is a vague rumour that some arrangement will be +made in Syria and Egypt which will not be the ruin of the +Pasha. This is in consequence of his complete submission to +the Powers, but we shall boast of it here, and the majority +will appear to believe it. For some time past there have +been terrible arguments between Thiers and Guizot, face +to face, and the worst of it is for them both that the +bystanders support one of them against the other; consequently +they will dig the pit in which they will both +fall. Thiers is almost entirely ruined, and Guizot will be in +the spring after he has refused, as he will, to pave the way +for M. Molé, who will certainly enter upon office if the King +wishes."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 25, 1840.</em>—I have been reading with +admiration the noble farewell of Queen Christina to the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300">300</a></span> +Spanish nation.<a name="FNanchor_142" id="FNanchor_142" href="#Footnote_142" class="fnanchor"> [142]</a> It seems to belong to another time and to +an age when there was still something divine in the language +of kings. This touching manifesto is said to have been +drawn up by Señor de Offalia, who has also left Spain.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 26, 1840.</em>—What a dreadful speech +M. Dupin has made! I am certainly the most peaceful +creature in France, but I cannot understand how any one +can descend to such depths. A descent so useless, so tactless, +and so clumsy that it really seems as if he were trying to +win a wager.</p> + +<p>The wife of the Marshal d'Albuféra tells me that the +Comtesse de Nesselrode met M. Thiers at her house, and +that he put out all his efforts to charm the Comtesse. +Madame de Nesselrode takes such sudden fancies that she +might get excited even over M. Thiers.</p> + +<p>The English have captured Saint-Jean d'Acre. Their +little Queen has been confined of a daughter.<a name="FNanchor_143" id="FNanchor_143" href="#Footnote_143" class="fnanchor"> [143]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 28, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles +writes: "You will see by reading the reports of yesterday's +session in the Chamber of Deputies the excitement which +pervaded the assembly. This establishes and confirms peace +with disgrace. These events will be a heavy burden upon +the future of the present dynasty. I think that the consequence +at home will be a kind of reform in the Chamber, +which will produce a dissolution, and also another Chamber, +in which we shall be forced to endure a Left Ministry led by +Thiers."</p> + +<p>Madame Mollien writes to me: "Queen Christina is +pretty; her complexion is superb, her skin fine and white; +she has a gentle look and a clever and gracious smile, but +those who wish to think her charming must look no lower +than her head; in full detail she is almost a monstrosity, +quite as much as her sister the Infanta. She came to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301">301</a></span> +France unattended by any of her ladies, though the newspapers +are pleased to speak of some Doña, who, if she does +exist, is probably nothing but a chambermaid. At Paris +there are some Spanish ladies who will perform some kind +of attendance upon her; at the present moment the Duchess +of Berwick is so acting. Her suite is composed of only two +men, who are both young; one especially, the Count of +Raquena, does not seem to be more than twenty. He is a +little man with fair moustaches, and looks like a comedy +lieutenant. I do not know when the Queen will start. She +says she is very happy here. I am afraid she will be too +happy and stay too long. These royal visits always cause +a certain amount of disturbance, which soon wearies the +inhabitants of the Tuileries. She dines there every day, +though she is staying in the royal palace. Her interview +with her sister was very cold, but it passed off without any +scene, and nothing more was expected."</p> + +<p>The Duchesse de Bauffremont sent me news of the marriage +of her grandson with the second Mlle. d'Aubusson; the eldest +daughter is marrying Prince Marc de Beauvau. Gontran's +marriage will not take place for a year, as the young lady is +only fifteen; she will be enormously rich. Her mother is +Mlle. de Boissy. Her father has been ill for ten years, and +his property is in the hands of executors. Gontran is not +yet nineteen, and a very handsome young fellow.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 29, 1840.</em>—The day before yesterday +the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> was very curiously filled with the +speeches of M. Passy and M. Guizot, throughout which +M. Thiers must have felt himself somewhat uneasy. On the +whole these explanations are not very creditable to the +cleverness of any one except to the skill and the dignified +tenacity of Lord Palmerston. It appears to me that all the +French actors have emerged from the business somewhat +bespattered, including even the little Bourqueney.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, November 30, 1840.</em>—The discussions in the +Chamber have induced me to read the newspaper through, +and I am not sorry, for it is a curious drama, though one in +which the situation is more interesting than the people, whose +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302">302</a></span> +appearance becomes ever more threadbare as they adopt the +most certain means of degradation, want of straightforwardness, +simplicity, and truth in their dealings. Moreover, this +discussion is like the Day of Judgment; whether they like it +or not, every one is stripped of his fine feathers, and truth is +forced to the forefront. Hitherto M. Villemain seems to me +to speak the truth in the most suitable and striking language, +but he is only in a position to speak for one side of the +matter, though this, in my opinion, is the side to which blame +chiefly attaches.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 1, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles tells +me: "I had a long talk yesterday with M. Guizot, and I +told him that recent events and all that discussion has +brought forth will considerably complicate the present +situation for a long time. He thinks, on the contrary, that +the difficulties are only momentary, and that public feeling +upon this question will be as short-lived as it was upon the +Polish war eight years ago.<a name="FNanchor_144" id="FNanchor_144" href="#Footnote_144" class="fnanchor"> [144]</a> I also had a long talk with +Berryer concerning his speech; he is thinking it over, and +has some good ideas; his conclusion will probably give the +Ministry a set-back. He will say that war is obviously +impossible at this moment, but that peace as formulated by +the Ministry is not acceptable to the Chamber, and that the +Address should be referred to a new commission. Odilon +Barrot and M. Dufaure have already proposed this idea, +which might easily become popular. I also met Thiers at +the Chamber, and walked about for ten minutes with him. +I reminded him that I had already prophesied the events +that have come to pass, because in this great business nothing +could be done without alliances, while France was united to +an ally who was opposed to her interests and obviously likely +to abandon her. He replied that France even alone could +have prevented action, at the expense, however, of great +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303">303</a></span> +energy and a large display of force. He throws the whole +responsibility upon the King; he says that it is a case of +inertia upon the throne, and that with inertia in high places +and also naturally ingrained in the nation, nothing can be +done; that if the Duc d'Orléans had been King the course +of events would have been different; that he would perhaps +have perished, but have perished with dignity, and would not +have left France in her present state of humiliation and hopelessness, +in which she will long continue. In any case, he is +entirely devoted to the Left, and M. Odilon Barrot drew the +bonds tighter yesterday. Madame de Lieven is, I think, really +attached to Guizot, for she no longer goes to the sessions of the +Chamber, and confines herself to asking news of them with +much anxiety."</p> + +<p>I now come to an extract from a letter from the Princesse +de Lieven herself: "Thiers seems to have decided that he +will no longer serve the King. He says that he will wait for +the Duc d'Orléans. Syria is lost for the Pasha. It is hoped +and believed that he will yield to the summons of the English +Admiral Stopford. I suppose that the French Government is +advising him to do so; then the matter will be concluded +with no glory for France, we must admit, and with every +credit to Lord Palmerston. There are many people who +strongly object to this latter result. The Ministers here +expect a decent majority of fifty or sixty in favour of the +Address, after which they will get on as well as they can. +M. Guizot seems very tired, but is full of courage. At Vienna +people are delighted with the change of Ministry and full of +confidence in the present Ministers. I have no news of public +opinion as yet from St. Petersburg. I am a little curious to +hear what our Russian public will say about this great affair +which has been settled without any active interference on the +part of us Russians; it will cause us some astonishment. +You will probably ask me whether there is a Russian public; +the question is not unreasonable, but there is one, as far as +the East is concerned. When I was at London as Ambassadress +I ventured to call Turkey our Portugal; my own Court much +appreciated the epigram, but the English did not. No haste +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304">304</a></span> +is shown here to nominate a London Ambassador; I think +they would prefer the Egyptian business to be settled first. +We shall certainly have to wait until the middle of December. +Madame de Flahaut does not know what to do, torn as she is +by the whims and fancies which are natural to her and the +extreme desire of her husband for a diplomatic post. The +King greatly wished his ambassadors to call upon Queen +Christina in a body; many of them felt scruples upon the +point, but at length they decided to go, regarding her as +nothing more than the widow of Ferdinand VII., and in fact +she is nothing more now. The Queen of England is said to +have had a very easy confinement, and will probably have +seventeen children like her grandmother. Madame de +Nesselrode lives at the Chamber of Deputies; she is in love +with Thiers, and has joined the Opposition extremists; she +is finding life quite pleasant here. I see very little of her as +her time is taken up with the debates in the Chamber and +with theatres. My ambassador is crushed beneath the weight +of all the great Russian ladies who are grouped together in +Paris. I am sorry for him, for I can believe that it is entirely +tiresome."</p> + +<p>I would have been ready to make a bet that Madame de +Nesselrode would conceive a violent fancy for Thiers, if it +were only to rival Madame de Lieven's fancy for Guizot. +After reading the speech of M. Barrot and the series of +invectives which he aimed directly at Guizot, I began to +wonder yesterday how such things could be said and heard +without leading to further explanations by means of swords +and pistols.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 3, 1840.</em>—The following are the most +important passages from the bulletin sent by M. de Salvandy, +under date December 1, before and during the session of the +Chamber. He says: "Have you heard at Rochecotte a +pleasant epigram by Garnier Pagès, who is to speak to-day? +'I would strip them both, and their ugliness would then be +obvious.' This epigram very well sums up the situation. +M. Thiers retains his revolutionary attitude, but that is all; +he remains incompetent to many and impossible to all. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305">305</a></span> +M. Guizot is far from having gained all that M. Thiers has +lost. He has immense talent, admirable strength of mind in +times of storm, the gift of overaweing all hostile revolts in the +Assembly, and the art of raising the minds of his audience +to consider questions with him upon a higher plane and from +a wider point of view; these are his special advantages, +though he has never made the best of them. Yet he grows +stronger, though he raises no defences, and rests his power +upon the majority without permanently establishing it. +The soil declines to be cultivated. M. Thiers is like a +mistress who is asked only to behave herself; anything will +be permitted to him, and his reputation will not suffer. +M. Guizot is the woman of strict morals who has been a +failure and is blamed for everything. This struggle between +the Ambassador and the Minister, in spite of attempts to +soften it, does harm to the Chamber and to public opinion. +He is not even pardoned for his firm resolve to abandon the +principles of the Coalition, as if people would have preferred +him faithful to infidelity personified. The speech of Dufaure +seems to many people a manifesto intervening between the +Cabinet and M. Thiers; the action of Passy and Dupin in +this direction has caused much anxiety. My name is coupled +with this movement because no one imagines that Ministers +in retirement are not displeased to be employed. M. Molé +is represented as hovering above all, although he has no +connection with the sphere in which the Ministry of May 12 +predominates, for that Ministry, I think, regards it as a point +of honour to preserve its consistency by holding aloof from +M. Molé, as Jaubert thinks to remain consistent by retaining +his seat among the others, whom he wounds and annoys by +his constant outcries against the King and his enthusiasm for +M. Barrot. Such is our position. The ground seems to be +crumbling beneath us. Alas for our country, which should +be strong and cannot be governed! Our Chamber is really +the Œil de Bœuf of the democracy.<a name="FNanchor_145" id="FNanchor_145" href="#Footnote_145" class="fnanchor"> [145]</a> Favourites, male and +female, disturb everything by their intrigues, and spend the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_306">306</a></span> +time in overthrowing one another, with the result that ruin +is universal. I am going to the Chamber, where MM. de +Lamartine and Berryer will cross swords, and shall close +this letter there.</p> + +<p>"<em>P.S.</em>—Berryer has just spoken, a clever, brilliant, and +perfidious speech. He has protected Thiers by going +straightway to the Tuileries. There he has displayed his +thunderbolts and launched anathemas against M. Guizot +the Ambassador, which have been definitely applauded three +times by the Assembly. M. de Lamartine is now rising to +reply."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 4, 1840.</em>—The speech of M. Berryer +shows the state of the country from one point of view and +that of M. de Lamartine from another. These two speeches +seem to me to be the most brilliant effort on the part of +one orator and the most lofty on the part of the other +that the whole discussion upon the Address has produced. +M. de Lamartine, for whom in general I have but a moderate +liking, greatly pleased me with his reply which seems to be +wise, well supported by facts, well thought out, and well +delivered, with excellent touches of straightforward feeling, +which had its effect upon the Assembly.</p> + +<p>We are assured that the mission of M. Mounier to London +is intended to secure the help of England for the proposal of +a marriage between the innocent Isabella with her cousin +Carlos, Prince of Asturias.</p> + +<p>The remains of Napoleon have now been brought to +Cherbourg. In Paris no preparations are said to have yet +been made for this ceremony, which in my opinion will be +very ridiculous.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 5, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I had a letter +from M. Royer Collard, from which the following is a striking +extract: "A week ago, madame, I was a prisoner in the +Chamber, following a great debate upon the Address with +close interest. The audience have alternately expressed dissatisfaction +with the chief actors, but not from the same +point of view. The faults of Thiers are those of the +Minister, and the faults of Guizot those of the man. I do +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_307">307</a></span> +not know whether you noticed in the newspapers that I was +led to make a declaration in Guizot's favour which he greatly +needed, as he was in a difficulty, for no one believed a word +of what he was saying, although he spoke the truth. The +next day he came over to my place to thank me, boldly +crossing the whole Chamber for the purpose. I did not accept +his thanks, and told him that I had done nothing for him, +but had been thinking only of myself. He then buttonholed +me in a corridor. I maintained a distant attitude and +refused to converse. The difference between the two men is +that Providence has not granted Thiers the power of distinguishing +between good and evil; Guizot has this power, +but will not use it. He is therefore the more guilty, but not, +perhaps, the more dangerous. If one could regard any +decision of to-day as irrevocable, I should say that they are +both utterly ruined. I wish they were, but I am not sure +of it."</p> + +<p>My son-in-law hears that the effect of Berryer's speech has +been tremendous. It seems to have dealt a death-blow to +M. Guizot, and a vigorous thrust in higher quarters. The +Carlists are overjoyed. I am inclined to think that they +regard the event as more important than it really is. Thiers +loudly praises Berryer, and tells any one who will listen to +him that in point of art nothing is superior to it, and that +in 1789 no better performance was achieved.</p> + +<p>The Princesse de Lieven, to whom some one related the thrust +that Guizot had received, answered that he had not been hit.</p> + +<p>It is said that the ceremony in honour of the remains of +Napoleon will take place on the 15th of this month. How +opportunely his ghost arrives!</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 6, 1840.</em>—I hear from a correspondent: +"I have no certain confirmation of Demidoff's death, +but I know from a sure source that he had a very unpleasant +journey to Rome, and afterwards some harassing interviews +with the Cardinal's Secretary of State and with the Russian +Minister, after which he was obliged to leave the Papal +States, in accordance with orders. The consequent excitement +then caused him one of his worst attacks. Apparently +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_308">308</a></span> +he told a Greek priest that his children would all be brought +up in the Greek religion, while he told the Catholic authorities +that they would be brought up as Catholics. Moreover, +he said, with his usual assurance, that with money anything +could be gained from the Court of Rome, and that he had +sent a hundred thousand francs to the Pope for the dispensations +which he has procured. Cardinal Lambruschini, +indignant at this story, inserted an article in the <cite>Gazette +romaine</cite>, which has been circulated everywhere, and which +denies the statement, affirming very positively that M. Demidoff +only paid ninety francs for his dispensations—namely, +the cost of their postage. The Russian Minister then refused +to intercede with the Roman Court on behalf of Demidoff. +Demidoff abused him, in consequence, and after all this fine +performance was obliged to leave Rome; and if he is not +dead with fury he is none the less in an awkward position."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 7, 1840.</em>—The chief news of the day is +the rejection of M. Odilon Barrot's amendment by a majority +of more than a hundred.</p> + +<p>One or two clever epigrams current at Paris are these: +MM. Jaubert and Duvergier de Hauranne—in short, the +Doctrinaire section that has gone over to the Left—are known +as the unrestrained schismatics from the Doctrine. In other +circles partisans of Mgr. Affre, the Archbishop of Paris, are +known as the <em>affreux</em> (frightful). People must have their +joke.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 9, 1840.</em>—Madame Mollien informs me +that, as the Address is now voted, men's minds are beginning +to turn to the ceremony of the Remains, as the people of +Paris call it. The expenses of the ceremony will amount to +a million; thousands of workmen are busy day and night +with preparations, and thousands of loafers spend their time +looking on until nightfall. What foolishness all this comedy +is, coming at such a time and in such circumstances! I +think that the rock of St. Helena would have been a more +fitting sepulchre, and perhaps a safer resting-place, than +Paris, with its storms and revolutions.</p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_309">309</a></span> +<em>Rochecotte, December 10, 1840.</em>—M. Raullin writes to say +that the Stock Exchange gambling was discussed at the +session of the Chamber, and M. Thiers actually wept. He +also says that the hatred and acrimony which embroil all +these people is quite unparalleled, and that it is impossible to +talk with any one unless you share their particular form of +madness. Thiers wished to fight a duel with M. de Givré, +which was prevented by Rémusat. M. Jaubert is also slightly +infected by the disease. Madame Dosne is in bed, a result of +the effects of the last session of the Chamber at which she +was present. The revelations made upon the subject of the +Stock Exchange gambling have overwhelmed her.</p> + +<p>M. de Saint-Aulaire writes from Vienna saying that he +is going to stand for election to the French Academy; he +displays great disgust with public affairs, and there is every +probability that this feeling will become general.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 13, 1840.</em>—Yesterday, as my solitude +was more complete than usual, I returned, as I constantly +do, to my recollections of the past. It occurred to me to +write a few lines upon certain mental characteristics of +M. de Talleyrand, as follows:</p> + +<p>His mind was strong, but his conscience was weak, for it +needed enlightenment. The age in which he lived, his +education, and the position into which he was forced were all +incompatible with that reflection which can illuminate the +soul. His natural want of sensitiveness also disinclined him +for the serious work of self-examination and left him in +darkness. Thus his unusual mental powers were entirely +devoted to political interests. He was swept away by the +terrible movement of his age, and threw the whole of his +energies into it. If stress was required his energy was great; +he could live without repose and rest, and deprived others of +it as well as himself, but when he had attained his object he +would relapse into a lengthy indifference, upon which he +cleverly prevented any encroachment. He could be idle so +gracefully that no one could disturb him without self-reproach, +but he had a keen and accurate eye for a situation +and a penetrating perception of its possibilities, while his +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_310">310</a></span> +mind was tempered with excellent common sense. When he +took action he worked but slowly at first, but with rapidity +and precipitation as the crisis approached. The attitude of +carelessness, which he abandoned as little as possible, was +most disastrous to him in private life, for he carried it to +excess. His door was always open, his rooms were constantly +invaded, while his indifference to the reliability and moral +worth of the men who made their way to him was deplorable. +At the same time he saw everything through his half-closed +eyes, but he took little trouble to judge men, and even less to +avoid those of whom he thought least. In conversation, if +he felt no need of opposition, he allowed people to talk or +act as they would, but if he felt himself attacked he was +immediately aroused, and the answer was a crushing blow; he +overthrew his opponent on the spot, though he never retained +any bitterness of feeling for him. He speedily relapsed into +his indifference, and as easily forgot an impropriety as he +sincerely pardoned an insult. In any case, he was rarely +called upon to defend himself. His dignity was natural and +simple, so well protected by his reputation, his great past, +and by the apparent indolence which was known to be only +a mask, that I have rarely seen even the worst characters +venture to show their true nature with him. I have often +heard him say with real satisfaction: "I was a Minister +under the Directory; all the hobnailed boots of the +Revolution have tramped through my room, but no one +ever ventured upon familiarity with me." He spoke the +truth; even his nearest and dearest addressed him only with +respectful deference. I am, moreover, convinced that his +overpowering dignity was supported by a natural characteristic +which could be felt even beneath his indolence. This +was a cool courage and presence of mind, a bold temperament +and instinctive bravery which inspires an irresistible +taste for danger in any form, which makes risk attractive and +hazard delightful. Beneath the nobility of his features, the +slowness of his movements, and his luxurious habits there +was a depth of audacious boldness which sometimes peeped +out, revealed a wholly different order of capacities, and made +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_311">311</a></span> +him by force of contrast one of the most original and most +attractive characters.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 14, 1840.</em>—Among the letters which +I received yesterday I had one from Berlin from M. Bresson, +who says: "Frankfort is by no means a misfortune for +Herr von Bülow; he has long desired it for private reasons; +the post ranks as at least equal to that of London. The +strange outcome of Eastern events has restored the credit +of those responsible for the negotiations. The men who +made the loudest outcry against Bülow are to-day warmest +in his praises. We are so indulgent to those who show +daring that I am myself inclined to regard them as correct. +Humboldt has no political influence over the King of +Prussia; no one has any as yet, and it is impossible to say +exactly at present what attitude he will adopt. Some recent +nominations of members of the Pietists have slightly +damaged his popularity; his liking for them is not shared +by the country. Lord William Russell extends the area of +his amusements more and more; he is now divided between +three ladies, one of whom attracts him with some frequency +to Mecklenburg. Prince Wittgenstein no longer takes any +share in public business; he has had several attacks and will +not live long. I need not tell you what I felt concerning +the discussion upon the Address; existing conditions make +life abroad most unpleasant. Is it true that Flahaut is going +to Vienna to replace Saint-Aulaire? If so, I shall certainly +be left here. The wind of favour does not blow in my +direction. A certain street and house very well known to +you are not so well disposed to me as they were." This last +passage alludes to Talleyrand's residence in the Rue Saint-Florentin, +where Madame de Lieven now lives.</p> + +<p>I am informed of the death of the young Marie de La +Rochefoucauld, daughter of Sosthène and granddaughter of +the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency. This poor woman +has survived her contemporaries, her children, and her grandchildren. +Heaven has severely tried the high courage and +profound faith with which she is endowed.</p> + +<p>I am also informed that at the much-talked-of ceremony +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_312">312</a></span> +of the Remains the Queen and the Princesses will be in +mourning as for Louis XVIII. It seems that everybody is +mad; the newspapers only speak of the funeral, or rather of +the triumphal procession and of the religious honours which +will everywhere be paid to the remains of Napoleon. After +all, Napoleon, twice in forty years, will have performed the +same service for the French. He will have reconciled them +to religion, for it seems that it is quite curious to see the +crowds upon their knees surrounding the clergy who bless +these remains. Curious, too, is the general wish that their +hero should have the benediction of the Church. Strange are +the people who accept order personified in the midst of +actual anarchy for the sake of a revolutionary idea, for it +seems clear to me that there is no other motive for all these +honours, which are paid, not to the legislator, but to the +usurper and to the conqueror.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 15, 1840.</em>—Yesterday I had some +news from Madame de Lieven, the chief points of which I +will copy: "Egypt is now done for. Napier was rather violent, +contrary to his instructions, but at the same time he has +succeeded. Napier wished to show his learning, and is asking +the Pasha to restore the reign of the Ptolemys, a strange +position for a vassal, but there it is. At Constantinople the +principle of hereditary succession will be recognised for his +family, and he will afterwards surrender the fleet. At +London delight is great and Lord Palmerston cannot contain +himself. Relations between the two countries remain +very strained; it is not war, but cannot be called peace. +The discussion upon the Address has been forgotten in view +of the funeral of Napoleon; this will be a superb ceremony, +and I hope it will be nothing else.</p> + +<p>"Queen Christina has gone, after making a conquest of your +King. She will go to Rome, but not to Naples, where her +daughter has not been recognised. The whole of Russian +female society is here; five of the palace ladies are at Paris +and only four left at St. Petersburg. The ambassadors have +declared that they will not be present at the funeral. Most +of them have adopted this idea independently, but Lord +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_313">313</a></span> +Granville asked for instructions; after some hesitation he +was told to do as the others did. The confinement of the +Queen of England was perfectly easy."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 17, 1840.</em>—We have not yet heard +how the funeral passed off at Paris the day before yesterday. +Some uneasiness prevailed. The Duchesse de Montmorency +told me: "There is an idea of attacking the English +Embassy and wrecking the house. Some soldiers have +been placed within the residence and Lady Granville has +moved. It is estimated that eight hundred thousand people +will be on foot. My children went to the Pecq, and thought +that everything was very well conducted; there was a general +silence when the boat came in, and all heads were bared. +General Bertrand was on the right of the coffin, General +Gourgaud on the left, M. de Chabot before it, and the Prince +of Joinville went to and fro giving orders and had all the +decorations removed which were not religious. The priests +were there with surplices and many candles, and there was +nothing worldly or mythological."</p> + +<p>The newspapers speak of great excitement. I shall be +delighted when the evening post tells us how it has all +gone off. I have written to secure my grandson Boson a +view of the ceremony. Foolish, incoherent, contradictory, +and ridiculous as it may be, still the solemn arrival of the +coffin brought back from St. Helena will be very imposing, +and he will be glad one day to have seen it. Unfortunately +at his age he will be merely impressed, and will be unable to +draw any of the strange conclusions which the sight should +inspire—the complete forgetfulness of the oppression and the +universal maledictions with which Europe resounded twenty-six +years ago; to-day nothing remains but the recollections +of Napoleon's victories, which make his memory so popular. +Paris, proclaiming her eager love of liberty, and France, +humiliated before the foreigner, are doing their utmost to +honour the man who did most to reduce them to servitude +and was the most terrible of conquerors.</p> + +<p>In the newspapers we have read a description of the +decorations in the Champs Elysées, with the row of kings +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_314">314</a></span> +and great men. The great Condé at least should not have +found a place among them. Condé offering a crown to his +grandson's assassin! What I think should be fine is the +hearse. I like the idea of Napoleon brought back to France +on a buckler....</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 18, 1840.</em>—Yesterday we awaited the +post most anxiously, and by some fatality the box was broken +and we had to go to bed without letters. Fortunately my +son Dino, who had been at Tours, brought back a copy of a +telegram received by the Prefect which said that everything +went off very well, apart from a small demonstration by some +fifty men in blouses, who tried to break through the lines in +the Place Louis XV., but were driven back.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 19, 1840.</em>—At last our letters have +come. Madame Mollien, who was at the Church of the +Invalides in the King's suite, says: "This ceremony was just +as unpopular in the position where I was placed as it was +popular in the streets of Paris. For every reason people are +delighted that yesterday is over. Before entering the church +we met in a kind of room, or rather chapel without an altar, +which had already been used for the same purpose at the +funeral of the victims of Fieschi. The royal family, the +Chancellor, the Ministers, the Households, and even the tutors, +waited together for two hours. The time was chiefly spent in +speculation upon the progress of the procession and in attempts +to derive some heat from two enormous fireplaces that had +been hastily constructed and avoid the volumes of smoke +which they belched into the room. Recollections of the +Emperor were conspicuous by their absence; people talked +of any subject except that. The Chancellor<a name="FNanchor_146" id="FNanchor_146" href="#Footnote_146" class="fnanchor"> [146]</a> was noticeable +for his cheerfulness and his comical outbursts against the +smoke. The Queen was feverish, but nothing could prevent +her from accompanying the King, and she went home from +the Invalides really ill. I can tell you nothing of the scene +within the church. I was so shut in on my stand that I saw +nothing, and could hardly hear the beautiful mass by Mozart, +divinely sung."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_315">315</a></span> +The following is another account: "The hearse, in my +opinion, was really admirable; nothing could be more +magnificent and imposing; the departmental standards +borne by subalterns made an excellent effect, and the +trumpets playing a simple funeral march in unison impressed +me deeply. I liked, too, the five hundred sailors from <cite>La +Belle Poule</cite>, whose austere appearance contrasted with the +general splendour; but a ridiculous effect was produced by +the old costumes of the Empire, which looked as though they +had been brought out from Franconi's. The progress of the +hearse was not followed sufficiently closely by the crowd, so +that the people rushed along in too noisy a fashion. There +were some unpleasant shouts of 'Down with Guizot!' 'Death +to the men of Ghent!' Some red flags were also seen, and +the <cite>Marseillaise</cite> was heard once or twice, but these attempts +were immediately checked. The Prince de Joinville has +grown brown and thin, but he is handsome and looked +very well. He was warmly welcomed throughout the +procession yesterday."</p> + +<p>The Duchesse d'Albuféra saw the procession pass from +Madame de Flahaut's house, who had invited the old ladies +who had figured under the Empire, the wife of Marshal Ney, +the Duchesse de Rovigo, &c., with a number of modern society +figures or strangers. The eighty thousand troops are said to +have given the ceremony the aspect of a review rather than of +a funeral. The Marshal's wife reasonably disliked the attitude +of the people, which was neither religious nor impressive nor +respectful.</p> + +<p>I have also a letter from M. Royer Collard, who says +nothing about the ceremony, at which he was not present; +but in answer to a statement of mine, expressing my astonishment +at his silence concerning Berryer's speech, he says: +"If I were to give you my plain opinion of the protagonists +in the debate upon the Address, I should be tempted to use +very violent language. M. Berryer is supporting the cause +of good by evil methods, an imaginary good by what is +certainly wrong, and the cause of order by means of confusion. +He has the outward graces of an orator, but not the essential +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_316">316</a></span> +points. He makes no impression upon men's minds, and +nothing will be left to him but his name. You ask my +opinion of M. de Tocqueville. He has a fund of honest +motives which is not adequate for his purposes, and which +he imprudently expends, but some remnants of which will +always be left to him. I am afraid that in his anxiety to +succeed he will wander into impossible paths by an attempt +to reconcile irreconcilable elements. He extends both hands +simultaneously, the right hand in welcome to the left, and +the left hand to ourselves, and regrets that he has not a third +hand behind him which he could offer unseen. He proposes +to present himself for election to the French Academy in place +of M. de Bonald. My first vote is promised to Ballanche, +but he will have my second. His opponents—for there is an +opposition—say that his literary success has already brought +him into the Institute, the Chamber, and will give him an armchair +at Barrot's house, and that he can therefore wait." Our +hermit of the Rue d'Enfer displays a considerable spice of malignity +beneath his excellent qualities. The notion of a third +hand is very persuasive, a capital metaphor, in my opinion.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 20, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles also +sends me a small account of the funeral, and says that the +crowd of onlookers watched the procession going by almost +as if it were that of the Bœuf-Gras, and that the people in the +church were entirely absorbed by the question of the cold and +the business of wrapping themselves up; that the service was +confused and that the social spectacle was the main point in +everybody's mind. The obvious inference seems to me to be +that there are no more Bonapartists in France. The fact is +that there is nothing in this country except newspaper articles.</p> + +<p>My son-in-law is told that a proposal is to be brought forward +in the Chamber to efface the figure of Henry IV. from +the star of the Legion of Honour and to replace it by the +effigy of Napoleon. As a matter of fact there will be nothing +more extraordinary in destroying the image of one's ancestor +than in staining one's coat of arms.<a name="FNanchor_147" id="FNanchor_147" href="#Footnote_147" class="fnanchor"> [147]</a></p> + +<p class="date"><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_317">317</a></span> +<em>Rochecotte, December 23, 1840.</em>—I have a letter from +M. de Salvandy, of which the following are the essential +points: "A note has arrived from Lord Palmerston stating +that Napier's convention has been ratified, and guaranteeing +the fact in the name of England.</p> + +<p>"M. Thiers will be president of the Commission concerning +the fortifications, and will report their proceedings to the +Chamber; thus he will have the Cabinet on the stool of +repentance and be able to keep the Chamber in check. It +thus appears that M. Thiers is by no means so weak as was +thought, and that M. Guizot's position is by no means +assured. In this general state of uncertainty anything is +possible. The credit of the Chamber is shaken by it within, +and a European disturbance may very well follow. Austria +has presented a very moderate note upon the question of +armaments, but Germany will not disarm."</p> + +<p>M. de Salvandy says the same as my other correspondents +with regard to the funeral. He complains that there was too +much gold, which was to be seen in every possible position. +Apparently those who arranged the ceremony thought that +it was the best means of representing glory. He also said +that nothing could be less religious than the religious +ceremony. This is natural when one has an archbishop +who cannot walk or pray or use incense. I notice in the +<cite>Moniteur</cite> a phrase which is quite admirable: "<cite>De +Profundis</cite> was sung by Duprez and the prayer by the +Archbishop."</p> + +<p>M. de Salvandy says that during the ceremony M. Thiers +was remarkably hopeful at the outset, very angry at the +conclusion, and preoccupied throughout; apparently he had +set his hopes upon a day which, thank heaven, has been +a failure. Even in the church he attempted to begin a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_318">318</a></span> +discussion with M. Molé concerning Napoleon's thoughts and +chances during the Hundred Days.</p> + +<p>Now I have an extract from a letter sent by Frau von +Wolff from Berlin: "Hitherto nothing has disturbed the +perfect harmony between the Sovereign and his people; on +political questions there is practically no difference of opinion +among them, so we are almost all orthodox in this respect; but +religious opinions are strongly divided, and from this point +of view the first steps of the King are watched with some +anxiety. It is to be hoped that the King will never sacrifice +true merit to sectarian prejudice. With regard to the new +nobility which the King has just created, it will be difficult +for me to give you a precise explanation, for the institution +seems to be still somewhat vague. The King hopes to +obviate the inconvenience of a poor nobility—and the Prussian +nobility is usually poor—by introducing new titles and +attaching them to territorial estates, so that the title will +pass only to those children or descendants who inherit land, +and will become extinct if the succession leaves the family. +This idea has not been greatly appreciated so far. People +fear possible complications and entanglements and it is +thought that the institution will hardly survive, as it is +not in harmony with Germanic custom."</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 27, 1840.</em>—The Duc de Noailles tells +me that M. de Tocqueville has withdrawn his candidature +for the Academy. The Duc has just been to dinner with +M. Pasquier, where he met Mgr. Affre; he speaks of him as +a regular peasant; even the enemies of Mgr. de Quélen +noticed the difference at the ceremony in the Invalides. +It was Mgr. de Quélen who officiated for the victims of +Fieschi. Mgr. Affre is an appropriate prelate for this +wretched age, which is so devoid of dignity wherever it is +looked for.</p> + +<p class="date"><em>Rochecotte, December 30, 1840.</em>—I hear from Paris that a +despatch in a mild and friendly tone has arrived from +Russia for communication to the Government, saying that +the isolation of France is regarded with regret and that +there is a readiness to begin the usual measures for bringing +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_319">319</a></span> +France into the train of negotiations since a Conservative +Ministry has been re-established at Paris. The despatch was +read to M. Guizot and then to the King. Can it betoken a +desire for a closer union? I hardly think so, but I do think +that there is a general wish to avoid war in Russia as well +as elsewhere; that there is a wish to calm the feelings of +France and induce her to disarm, and that disarmament may +follow elsewhere, for these general armaments are the ruin +of Europe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenumh"><a id="Page_320">320</a></span> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_321">321</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="medium"><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX<br /> +I<br /> +<em>Message from President Jackson of the United States</em></h2> + +<p>Since the last session of the Congress the validity of our claims +upon France, as arranged by the treaty of 1831, has been recognised +by both branches of the Legislature, and the money has +been voted for their satisfaction, but I regret to be obliged to +inform you that payment has not yet been made.</p> + +<p>A short summary of the most important incidents in this +lengthy controversy will show how far the motives, by which +attempts are made to justify this delay, are absolutely indefensible.</p> + +<p>When I took office I found the United States applying in vain +to the justice of France for the satisfaction of claims the validity +of which has never been doubted, and has now been admitted +by France herself in the most solemn manner. The long-standing +nature of these claims, their entire justice, and the aggravating +circumstances from which they sprang, are too well known to +the American people for a further description of them to be +necessary. It is enough to say that for a period of ten years +and more, with the exception of a few intervals, our commerce +has been the object of constant aggression on the part of France, +which usually took the form of condemning ships and cargo in +virtue of arbitrary decrees, contravening both international law +and the stipulations of the treaties, while ships were burnt on +the high seas, and seizures and confiscations took place under +special Imperial rescripts in the harbours of other nations then +in French occupation or under French control.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_322">322</a></span> +Such, as is admitted, has been the nature of our grievances, +grievances in many cases so flagrant that even the authors of +them never denied our right to satisfaction. Some idea of the +extent of our losses may be gained by considering the fact that +the burning of vessels at sea and the seizure and sacrifice in +forced sales of American property, apart from awards to privateers +before condemnation was pronounced, or without such +formality, have brought the French Treasury a sum of twenty-four +millions of francs, apart from considerable customs dues.</p> + +<p>For twenty years this business has been the subject of +negotiations, which were interrupted only during the short +period when France was overwhelmed by the united forces of +Europe. During this period, when other nations were extorting +their claims at the bayonet's point, the United States suspended +their demands in consideration of the disasters that had overpowered +the brave people to whom they felt themselves bound, +and in consideration of the brotherly help which they had +received from France in their own times of suffering and danger. +The effect of this prolonged and fruitless discussion, disastrous +both to our relations with France and to our national character, +was obvious, and my own course of duty was perfectly clear to +me. I was bound either to insist upon the satisfaction of our +claims within a reasonable period or to abandon them entirely. +I could not doubt that this course was most conformable to the +interests and honour of the two countries.</p> + +<p>Instructions were therefore given from this point of view to +the Minister who was once more sent to demand satisfaction. +When Congress met on October 10, 1829, I considered it my +duty to refer to these claims and to the dilatory attitude of +France, in terms sufficiently strong to draw the serious attention +of both countries to the matter. The French Minister then in +power took offence at the message, under the idea that it contained +a threat, upon which basis the French Government did +not care to negotiate. The American Minister refuted the +interpretation which the French authorities attempted to place +upon the message, and reminded the French Minister that the +President's message was a communication addressed not to +foreign governments, but to the Congress of the United States, +and that in this message it was his duty under the Constitution +to provide this body with information upon the state of the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_323">323</a></span> +Union with reference both to foreign as well as to domestic +affairs. That if, again, in the performance of this task he deemed +it his duty to call the attention of the Congress to the consequences +which might result from strained relations with another +Government, one might reasonably suppose that he acted under +a sense of duty in thus frankly communicating with another +branch of his own Government, and not that he acted with the +object of threatening a foreign Power. The French Government +was satisfied and negotiations were continued. These were concluded +by the treaty of July 4, 1831, which partially recognised +the justice of our claims, and promised payment to the amount +of twenty-five millions of francs in six annual instalments. The +ratifications of the treaty were exchanged at Washington on +February 2, 1832. Five days later the treaty was presented to +Congress, which immediately passed the Acts necessary to +secure to France the commercial advantages conceded to her +by the arrangement. The treaty had been previously ratified +with full solemnity by the King of France, in terms which are +certainly no mere formality: "We, regarding the above convention +as satisfactory in all and each of the conclusions which it +contains, declare, both for ourselves and for our heirs and +successors, that it is accepted, approved, ratified, and confirmed, +and by these presents, signed with our hand, we do accept, +approve, ratify, and confirm it, promising upon our faith and +word as King to observe and to secure its observance inviolably +without contravention at any time and without permitting direct +or indirect contravention for any reason or pretext whatsoever." +The official announcement that ratifications had been exchanged +with the United States reached Paris while the Chambers were +in session. The extraordinary delays prejudicial to ourselves by +the introduction of which the French Government have prevented +the execution of the treaty, have already been explained to Congress. +It is sufficient to point out that the session then opened +was allowed to pass without any effort being made to obtain the +necessary funds; that the two following sessions also went by +without any action resembling a serious effort to secure a decision +upon the question; and that not until the fourth session, nearly +four years after the conclusion of the treaty, and more than two +years after the exchange of ratifications, was the law referring +to the execution of the treaty put to the vote and rejected.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_324">324</a></span> +Meanwhile the United States Government, in full confidence +that the treaty concluded would be executed in good faith, +and with equal confidence that measures would be taken to +secure payment of the first instalment, which was to fall due +on February 2, 1833, negotiated a bill for the amount through +the Bank of the United States. When this bill was presented +by bearer the French Government allowed it to be protested. +Apart from the loss incurred by non-payment, the United +States had to meet the claims of the bank, which asserted infringement +of its interests, in satisfaction of which this institution +seized and still holds a corresponding amount from the +State revenues.</p> + +<p>Congress was in session when the decision of the Chambers +was communicated to Washington, and an immediate announcement +of this decision on the part of France was a step which +was naturally expected from the President. The profound +discontent shown by public opinion and the similar excitement +which prevailed in the Congress, made it more than probable +that a recourse to immediate measures for securing redress +would be the consequence of any appeal made upon this question +to Congress itself.</p> + +<p>With a sincere desire to preserve the peaceful relations which +have so long existed between the two countries, I wished to avoid +this step if I could be convinced that in thus acting, neither the +interests nor the honour of my country would be compromised. +Without the most complete assurance upon this point I could not +hope to discharge the responsibility which I assumed in allowing +the Congress to adjourn without giving it an account of the affair. +These conditions seemed to be satisfied by the assurances which +were given to me.</p> + +<p>The French Government had foreseen that the feeling in the +United States aroused by this second rejection of the credit vote +would be as I have described it, and prompt measures had been +taken by the French Government to anticipate the consequences. +The King personally expressed through our Minister at Paris his +profound regret for the decision of the Chambers and promised +to send a ship of war with despatches to his Minister here, forthwith +authorising him to give every assurance to the government +and the people of the United States that the treaty would be in +any case faithfully performed by France. The warship arrived +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_325">325</a></span> +and the Minister received his instructions. Professing to act in +virtue of these instructions he gave the most solemn assurances +that immediately after the new elections, and as soon as ever the +Chamber would allow, the French Chambers would be convoked +and that the attempt to obtain the necessary credit would be +renewed; that all the constitutional power of the King and his +Ministers would be exerted to secure this object. It was understood +that he pledged himself to this end, and this Government +expressly informed him that the question ought to be decided at +a date sufficiently near to enable Congress to learn the result at +the commencement of the session.</p> + +<p>Relying upon these assurances, I undertook the responsibility +of allowing Congress to separate without offering any communication +upon the matter.</p> + +<p>Our expectations, reasonably based upon promises so solemnly +given, were not realised. The French Chambers met on +July 31, 1834, and though our Minister at Paris urged the French +Ministers to lay the matter before the Chambers, they refused. +He then insisted that if the Chambers had been prorogued without +coming to any conclusion in the matter, they should be again +convoked in time to enable their decision to be known at +Washington before the meeting of Congress. This reasonable +demand was not only refused, but the Chambers were prorogued +until December 29, a date so remote that their decision in all +probability could not have been obtained in time to reach +Washington before the Congress was forced to adjourn by the +terms of the Constitution. The reasons given by the Ministry +for their refusal to convoke the Chambers at a nearer date were +afterwards shown to have been by no means insurmountable, for +the Chambers were convoked on December 1 for the special +purpose of considering home affairs, though this fact did not +become known to our Government until after the last session of +the Congress. As our reasonable expectations were thus deceived, +it was my imperative duty to consult Congress as to the advisability +of reprisals, in case the stipulations of the treaty were not +promptly carried out. For this purpose a communication was +indispensable. It would have been unworthy of us in the course +of this communication to refrain from an explanation of all the +facts necessary for an exact comprehension of the affair, or to +shrink from truth for fear of offending others. On the other +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_326">326</a></span> +hand, to have gone a step further with the object of wounding +the pride of a government and a people with whom we have so +many reasons to cultivate friendly relations to our mutual +advantage would have been both imprudent and disastrous.</p> + +<p>As past events had warned us of the difficulty of drawing up +the most simple statement of our grievances without wounding +the feelings of those who had become responsible for redressing +them, I did my best to prevent any interpretation of the message +containing the recommendations placed before Congress as a threat +to France. I disavowed any such design and further declared +that the pride and the power of France were so well known that +no one would expect to extort satisfaction by fear. The message +did not reach Paris until more than a month after the Chambers had +met, and to such an extent did the Ministry disregard our legitimate +claims, that our Minister was informed that the matter would +not be made a Cabinet question when it had been brought forward.</p> + +<p>Although the message was not officially communicated to the +Government and although it contained definite declarations that +no menace was intended, the French Ministers determined to +regard the conditional proposal of reprisals as a threat and as an +insult, which the national honour made it their duty to reject.</p> + +<p>The measures by which they proceeded to show their resentment +of this supposed insult were the immediate recall of their +Minister from Washington, the offer of passports to the American +Minister at Paris, and a declaration in the legislative Chambers +that diplomatic relations with the United States Government +were suspended.</p> + +<p>After they had thus avenged the dignity of France, they +proceeded to show their justice. For this purpose a law was +immediately presented to the Chamber of Deputies asking for +the funds necessary to perform the terms of the treaty. As this +proposal afterwards became a law, the terms of which are now +one of the chief subjects of discussion between the two nations, +I am bound to retrace the history of this law.</p> + +<p>The Financial Minister in his explanation alluded to the +measures which had been taken in answer to the supposed insult, +and represented the performance of the treaty as imperative upon +the honour and justice of France. As the mouthpiece of the +Ministry he declared that the message, until it had received the +sanction of Congress, was merely the simple expression of the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_327">327</a></span> +President's personal opinion. On the other hand he declared +that France had entered into engagements which were binding +upon her honour. In accordance with this point of view, the +only condition upon which the French Ministry proposed to +consider the payment of the money was to defer this payment +until it was certain that the United States Government had done +nothing which could injure the interests of France, or, in other +terms, that Congress had not authorised any measure hostile to +France.</p> + +<p>At this moment the French Cabinet could not have known +what was the attitude or the decision of Congress, but on +January 14 the Senate decided that there was no reason for the +moment to take any legislative measures with reference to the +business proceeding between the United States and France, and +no decision upon the subject was made in the Representative +Chamber. These facts were known at Paris before March 28, +1835, when the Commission which had been considering the bill +of indemnity presented its report to the Chamber of Deputies. +This Commission repeated the opinions of the Ministry, declared +that the Congress had put aside the proposals of the President, +and proposed the adoption of the law with no other restriction +than that originally stated. The French Ministry and the +Chambers thus knew that if the position they had adopted, and +which had been so frequently stated to be incompatible with the +honour of France, was maintained, and if the law was adopted in +its original form, the money would be paid and this unfortunate +discussion would come to an end. But this flattering hope was +soon destroyed by an amendment introduced into the law at the +moment of its adoption, providing that the money should not be +paid until the Government had received satisfactory explanations +concerning the President's message of December 2, 1834. What +is still more remarkable, the President of the Council<a name="FNanchor_148" id="FNanchor_148" href="#Footnote_148" class="fnanchor"> [148]</a> adopted +this amendment and consented to its insertion in the law. As +for the pretended insult which had induced them to recall their +Minister and send our Minister his passports, not until then did +they propose to ask for an explanation of this incident. The +proposals and opinions which they had declared could not reasonably +be imputed to the American people or government were +put forward as obstacles to the accomplishment of an act of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_328">328</a></span> +justice towards this government and people. They had declared +that the honour of France required the performance of an undertaking +into which the King had entered unless Congress adopted +the proposals of the message. They were certain that Congress +had not adopted them and none the less they refused to perform +the terms of the treaty until they had obtained from the President +an explanation of an opinion which they had themselves characterised +as personal and ineffectual. The supposition that I had +intended to threaten or to insult the French Government is as +unfounded as any attempt to extort from the fears of that nation +that which its feelings of justice would have made it refuse, +would have been foolish and ridiculous; but the Constitution of +the United States obliges the President to explain to Congress +the situation of the country and the American people cannot +admit the intervention of any Government whatever upon earth +in the free performance of the domestic duties which the Constitution +has imposed upon its public officials. The discussions +proceeding between the different branches of our Government +concern ourselves alone, and our representatives are responsible +for any words which they may utter only to their own constituents +and to their fellows in office. If, in the course of these discussions, +facts have been inaccurately stated, or wrong inferences have +been drawn from them, correction will necessarily follow when +the mistakes are perceived, from their love of justice and their +sense of self-respect; but they will never submit to be +questioned upon that matter as a right by any foreign Power. +When these discussions lead to action, then our responsibility to +foreign Powers begins, but it is then a national and not an individual +responsibility. The principle upon which a demand is +issued for an explanation of the terms of my message would also +justify the claim of any foreign Power to demand an explanation +of the terms employed in a committee report or in the speech of +a member of Congress.</p> + +<p>It is not the first time that the French Government has taken +offence at messages from American presidents. President +Washington and President Adams, in the performance of their +duties to the American people, encountered ill-feeling on the +part of the French Directory. The grievance raised by the +Minister of Charles X. and removed by the explanations offered +by our Minister at Paris, has already been mentioned when it +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_329">329</a></span> +was known that the Minister of the reigning King took offence +at my message last year by interpreting it in a sense which the +very terms of it forbade. Our last Minister at Paris in reply to +the last note which showed dissatisfaction with the language of +the message, sent a communication to the French Government +under date January 28, 1835, which was calculated to remove +all the impressions that undue susceptibility might have received. +This note repeated and recalled to the attention of the French +Government the disavowal contained in the message itself of any +intention to use intimidation by threats; it declared in all truth +that the message did not contain either in words or intention +any accusation of bad faith against the King of the French; it +drew a very reasonable distinction between the right of complaining +in measured terms of the failure to perform the terms of the +convention, and an imputation that the delay in performance +was due to evil motives; in short it showed that the necessary +exercise of this right was not to be regarded as an offensive +imputation. Although this communication was made by our +Minister without instructions and entirely upon his own responsibility, +my approbation has since made it a governmental act and +this approbation was officially notified to the French Government +on April 25, 1835. However, it produced no effect. The law +was passed with the unfortunate amendment, supported by the +King's Ministers and was definitely approved by the King.</p> + +<p>The people of the United States are reasonably inclined to +pursue a pacific policy in their dealings with foreign nations; +the people must therefore be informed of the loyalty of their +government to this policy. In the present case this policy was +carried to the furthest limits compatible with due self-respect. +The note of January 28 was not the only communication which +our Minister took the responsibility of offering upon the same +subject and from the same point of view; when he found that +it was proposed to make the payment of a just debt dependent +upon the accomplishment of a condition which he knew could +never be performed, he thought himself bound to make a further +attempt to convince the French Government that, if our self-respect +and our regard for the dignity of other nations prevented +us from using any language which might give offence, at the +same time we would never recognise the right of any foreign +government to require an explanation of communications passing +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_330">330</a></span> +between the different branches of our public service. To prevent +any misunderstanding the Minister recalled the language +used in a preceding Note and added that any explanation +which could be reasonably asked or honourably given, had already +been furnished and that the annexation of this demand to the +law as a condition, was not only useless but might be regarded +as offensive and would certainly never be fulfilled.</p> + +<p>When this last communication, to which I called the special +attention of the Congress, was submitted to me, I conceived the +hope that its obvious intention of securing a prompt and honourable +settlement of the difficulties between the two nations would +have been achieved, and I therefore did not hesitate to give it +my sanction and my complete approbation. So much was due +from me to the Minister who had made himself responsible for +the act. The people of the United States were publicly +informed of it and I am now communicating it to the people's +representatives to show how far the Executive power has gone +in its attempts to restore a good understanding between the two +countries. My approval would have been communicated to the +French Government if an official request for it had been received.</p> + +<p>As the French Government had thus received all the explanations +which honour and principle could allow, we hoped that +there would be no further hesitation in paying the instalments +as they fell due. The agent authorised to receive the money +was instructed to inform the French Government of his readiness; +by way of reply he was informed that the money could +not then be paid because the formalities required by the act of +the Chambers had not been fulfilled.</p> + +<p>As I had received no official communication concerning the +intentions of the French Government, and as I was anxious to +conclude this disagreeable affair before the meeting of Congress, +I instructed our Minister at Paris to inquire into the final determination +of the French Government and if the due payment of +the instalment was refused, to return to the United States +without further explanations.</p> + +<p>The results of this last step have not yet reached our knowledge, +but we expect information daily. I trust that information +may be favourable. As the different powers in France have +recognised the justice of our rights and the obligations imposed +upon them by the treaty of 1831, and as no real cause +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_331">331</a></span> +remains as an excuse for further delay, we may hope that +France will at length adopt that course of procedure demanded +no less imperiously by the interests of the two nations than by +the principles of justice. When once the treaty has been +carried out by France, few causes of disagreement will remain +between the two countries, and in short there will be nothing +that cannot be surmounted by the influence of a pacific and +enlightened policy and by the influence of that mutual good will +and those generous recollections which will, we trust, then be +revived in all their early strength; but in any case, the question +of principle which has been raised by the new turn given +to the discussion is of such vital importance to the independent +action of the government, that we cannot abandon it or make it +the subject of a bargain without compromising our national +honour. I need not say that such a sacrifice will never be made +by any act of mine. I will never stain the honour of my country +to relieve myself of my obligation to tell the truth and to +do my duty; nor can I give any other explanations of my official +act than those required by honour and justice. This determination, +I feel sure, will meet with the approbation of my constituents. +My knowledge of their character is very inadequate +if the sum of twenty-five millions of francs should outweigh for +a moment in their eyes any question which affects their national +independence; and if unfortunately a different impression should +prevail they would rally, I feel certain, about their chosen +Government vigorously and unanimously, and silence for ever +this degrading imputation.</p> + +<p>Having thus frankly submitted to the Congress the further +steps which have taken place since last session, in this interesting +and important affair and also the views of the Executive +power concerning it, it only remains for me to add, that as soon +as the information expected by our Minister has been received, +it will become the subject of a special communication.<a name="FNanchor_149" id="FNanchor_149" href="#Footnote_149" class="fnanchor"> [149]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_332">332</a></span></p> + +<div class="header"> +<h2 class="medium">II<br /> +<em>Speech by the</em> <span class="smcap">Duc de Broglie</span>, <em>President of the Council, +Chamber of Deputies in the Session of January 6, +1836, on the subject of Poland</em>.</h2> +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>,</p> + +<p>I do full justice to the high ideals and the noble passions +with which the orator whom you have just heard has been +inspired;<a name="FNanchor_150" id="FNanchor_150" href="#Footnote_150" class="fnanchor"> [150]</a> but I will venture to remind him that he has not done +full justice to the Government and to the Ministry of 1831 in +expressing his apparent belief that the difficulties of that period +prevented our Cabinet from showing that interest in the Polish +nation which a French Government will always feel for Poland.</p> + +<p>At that moment, difficult and dangerous as it was, when the +domestic circumstances of France were very perplexing, the +French Government did for the Polish nation all that it was its +duty to do. It did more than any other nation, and if history +ever reveals the diplomatic correspondence of the French +Government at that time, I venture to think that full justice +will be done to the illustrious man who was then President of +the Cabinet.<a name="FNanchor_151" id="FNanchor_151" href="#Footnote_151" class="fnanchor"> [151]</a></p> + +<p>What was done at that time in the interests of humanity and +justice, the Government has never ceased to do whenever it +thought that its intervention could be of any use to the population +of Poland.</p> + +<p>But in the presence of so enlightened a Chamber as this, it is +unnecessary to recall the fact that the intervention of a foreign +Power in the domestic administration of another state must be +conducted with every care and precaution. There is often a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_333">333</a></span> +reason to fear that such intervention, far from calming irritation +and exasperation and far from weakening political animosity, may +arouse these passions to greater power. In a word, such a task can +only be fulfilled by the constant exercise of care and precaution.</p> + +<p>I trust that the Chamber will understand me if I say that the +French Government has never neglected any opportunity of +intervening in the interests of humanity, but the Chamber will +also understand perhaps that this is not the right moment for +serving humanity and that it is indeed against the wishes of the +Chamber to press the Government to further efforts in this place. +It is to be feared that words actuated by generous feeling may +indeed produce an effect entirely contrary to the sentiments which +inspires them and may merely be translated abroad into greater +ill-feeling. There is a fear, in short, that the cause of humanity +may be betrayed in the very wish to serve it and without the +knowledge of those who desire to defend it (General cries of +Hear, Hear).</p> + +<p>On this point I shall say no more. The former speaker has +himself pointed out the difference that should characterise the +observations of one who speaks for the Government, and those of +an isolated member of the Chamber. The Chamber will certainly +understand that it is not for me to reply severally to the observations +which have been laid before you, because any answer +to these observations will have an undue importance as coming +from myself.</p> + +<p>As to the other branch of the question, the existence of +treaties which the first speaker has discussed, and to which the +second<a name="FNanchor_152" id="FNanchor_152" href="#Footnote_152" class="fnanchor"> [152]</a> has also referred; I will speak upon the matter as +shortly as I can. As far as I know, absolutely no one in Europe +would assert that treaties should not be faithfully executed both +in their letter and their spirit, but in the article of the treaty +to which the two orators have referred, different principles are +enounced; principles which are not incompatible, and should +indeed be reconciled; on the one hand the Independence of +Poland, and on the other the Union of Poland with Russia. In +this article the principle is laid down that representation and +certain national institutions should exist; but execution has been +delayed until we know what these institutions are to be, and +under what form they will be established.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_334">334</a></span> +This article was not drawn up with all the clearness that might +have been desired. The possibility is thus open that the several +Powers who signed the treaty of 1815 may interpret it in different +senses, and emphasise more or less the principles therein enounced. +It may be—I am only putting a hypothetical case—that the several +Powers will not agree upon the application of these principles, +or upon the nature of the action that lies before them. Are we +to say that the moment a difference of opinion arises, we should +immediately have recourse to force? The Chamber cannot +countenance such an idea. The maintenance of relations between +the Powers is upon the same footing as the maintenance of harmony +between the public bodies. The mere fact that divergence +of opinion is possible is no reason for an appeal to force. Discussion, +reason, and time will enable the truth to prevail.</p> + +<p>Well, gentlemen, I am confident that the Chamber will understand +without further words from myself upon the question now +before it, that there are divergences of opinion between the +different Powers upon certain points. We consider that negotiations, +discussion, and time will enable the truth to prevail, and +we trust that upon this point you will agree with us. (Loud +applause.)<a name="FNanchor_153" id="FNanchor_153" href="#Footnote_153" class="fnanchor"> [153]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_335">335</a></span></p> + +<div class="header"> +<h2 class="medium"><a name="III" id="III"></a>III<br /> +<em>Eulogy upon</em> <span class="smcap">Count Reinhart</span>, <em>delivered at the Academy +of Moral and Political Science, by the</em> <span class="smcap">Prince de +Talleyrand</span>, <em>in the Session of March 3, 1838</em>.</h2> +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>,</p> + +<p>I was in America when the kindness of my friends +appointed me a member of the Institute, and thus connected +me with the study of Moral and Political Science, +to which society I have had the honour to belong since its +origin.</p> + +<p>On my return to France my first care was to attend the sessions +of the Institute, and thus to show the members of that time, +many of whom we have every reason to regret, what pleasure +I felt at finding myself one of their number. During the first +session at which I was present the committee was reappointed, +and I received the honourable post of secretary. The six +months' report which I drew up, with all the care that I could +bring to it, was perhaps of a too deferential character, as I was +giving an account of work to which I was a complete stranger. +It was work which doubtless had cost much research and much +labour to one of our most learned colleagues, and was entitled, +"Dissertations upon the Riparian Laws." At the same time +in our public meetings I delivered some lectures which I was +then allowed to insert in the Memoirs of the Institute. Forty +years have elapsed since that date, during which this chair +has been forbidden to me, first by long absences, and also +by duties to which I was obliged to devote the whole of +my time, and I may add by the discretion which times of +difficulty make incumbent upon a man whose business is +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_336">336</a></span> +political; and, finally, by the infirmities which old age usually +brings or aggravates.</p> + +<p>But to-day I feel it necessary—and, indeed, regard it as a +duty—to appear for the last time in memory of a man known +throughout Europe, a man who was my friend, and who was our +colleague since the formation of the Institute. I come forward +publicly to testify to our esteem for his person and to our regret +for his loss. His position and mine enable me to reveal several of +his special merits. His principal, but not his sole title to glory consists +in a correspondence extending over forty years, necessarily +unknown to the public, who will probably never hear of it. I +asked myself, "Who will speak upon that matter within these +walls? Who will have any reason to speak of it except myself, +who have known so much of it, who have been so pleased by +it, and so often helped by it in the course of the Ministerial +duties which I have had to perform under three very different +reigns?"</p> + +<p>Count Reinhart was thirty years of age and I was thirty-seven +when I first met him. He entered public life with a large stock +of information; he knew five or six languages, and was familiar +with their literatures. He could have attained celebrity as a +poet or historian or geographer, and in this latter capacity +he became a member of the Institute at the time of its +foundation.</p> + +<p>At that time he was already a member of the Academy of +Science in Göttingen. Born and educated in Germany, he had +published in his youth certain poems which had attracted the +attention of Gessner, Wieland and Schiller. At a later date, when +his health forced him to take the waters of Carlsbad, he was +fortunate enough to meet and to know the famous Goethe, who +so far appreciated his taste and his knowledge as to apply to +him for information upon any outstanding features in French +literature. Herr Reinhart promised to keep him informed. +Undertakings of this nature among men of first-rate intellectual +power are invariably mutual, and soon become bonds of friendship. +The intimacy between Count Reinhart and Goethe +gave rise to a correspondence which is now being printed in +Germany.</p> + +<p>Having thus reached that time of life when a man must +definitely choose that career for which he thinks himself best +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_337">337</a></span> +fitted, we shall see that Herr Reinhart formed a resolution by +no means consistent with his character, his tastes, his own +position, and that of his family: remarkable as the fact was for +that age, in preference to the many careers in which he could +have been independent, he chose one in which independence +was impossible, and gave his preference to diplomacy. His +choice was a good one; he was fitted to occupy any post in +this profession, and filled all posts in succession and all with +distinction.</p> + +<p>I will venture to assert that his early studies had fitted him +admirably for his profession. His work in theology especially +had brought him distinction in the seminary of Denkendorf and +in the Protestant faculty of Tübingen; it had given him a +strength and dexterity in argument which may be noted in every +document from his pen. Lest I should seem to be pursuing a +paradoxical idea, I may recall the fact that several of our great +diplomatists were theologians, and have all made their mark in +history by their conduct of the most important political affairs of +their age. Cardinal Chancellor Duprat was as completely versed +in canon law as jurisprudence, and fixed, in conjunction with +Leo X., the principles of the Concordat which in large part +survives to-day; Cardinal d'Ossat, notwithstanding the opposition +of several great Powers, succeeded in reconciling Henry IV. +with the Court of Rome; his surviving correspondence is still +recommended for study to those of our young men who propose +to follow a political career; Cardinal de Polignac, a theologian, +poet, and diplomatist, after many unhappy wars, was able to +preserve the conquests of Louis XIV. to France by the treaty of +Utrecht.</p> + +<p>Thus, too, amid theological books collected by his father, +afterwards Bishop of Gap, was begun the education of M. de +Lionne, to whose name fresh lustre has recently been added by +an important publication.</p> + +<p>The names which I have quoted will suffice to justify my idea +of the influence which I conceive to have been exerted upon +Count Reinhart's mind by the early studies to which his father's +education had directed him.</p> + +<p>The varied and profound information which he had acquired +qualified him to perform at Bordeaux the honourable, if modest, +duties of tutor in a Protestant family in that town. There he +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_338">338</a></span> +naturally began relations with several men whose talents, whose +mistakes, and whose death brought such renown to our first Legislative +Assembly. Count Reinhart was easily induced by them to +enter the service of France.</p> + +<p>I feel in no way obliged to follow in detail the many vicissitudes +of his long career. The numerous posts which were entrusted to +him, sometimes of importance, at other times of inferior rank, +seem to have followed in no consecutive order, and, indeed, to +denote a want of gradation which we could hardly understand at +the present time; but in that age neither positions nor persons +were subject to prejudice. In other times favour, and more rarely +discrimination, called men to eminent positions, but during the +time of which I speak, for good or for evil, positions were won +by force, and such a system naturally produced confusion.</p> + +<p>Thus we shall see Count Reinhart as First Secretary to the +London Embassy; in a similar position at Naples; as Plenipotentiary +Minister to the Hanseatic towns, Hamburg, Bremen, and +Lübeck; head of the third division in the Department of +Foreign Affairs; Plenipotentiary Minister at Florence; Foreign +Minister; Plenipotentiary Minister in Switzerland; Consul-General +at Milan; Plenipotentiary Minister for the area of +Lower Saxony; Resident in the Turkish provinces beyond the +Danube, and Chief Commissioner of commercial relations in +Moldavia; Plenipotentiary Minister to the King of Westphalia; +head of the chancery in the Department of Foreign Affairs; +Plenipotentiary Minister to the Germanic Diet and to the free +town of Frankfort; and, finally, Plenipotentiary Minister at +Dresden. How many posts, how much work, and how many +interests were thus confided to the care of one man! And +this at a time when talent seemed likely to be the less +appreciated, as war appeared to be the chief arbitrator in +every difficulty.</p> + +<p>You will not expect me, gentlemen, to give you any detailed +account with dates of the works which Count Reinhart produced +in the various posts which I have just enumerated; such an +account would need a volume. I need only speak to you of the +manner in which he fulfilled his official duties, whether he was +Head of a Department, Minister, or Consul.</p> + +<p>Count Reinhart had not at that time the advantage which he +might have had a few years later of seeing excellent models for +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_339">339</a></span> +his imitation; but he was well aware what high and different +capacities should distinguish the head of a department of Foreign +Affairs. His delicate tact showed him that the habits of such a +head should be simple, regular, and retiring; that, remote from +the uproar of the world, he should live for business alone, and +bring to it an impenetrable secrecy; that while always ready to +give an answer concerning facts and men, he should have constantly +present to his memory every treaty, know the dates of +them, their history, have a correct knowledge of their strong +points and their weaknesses, their antecedent and consequent +circumstances; that he should know the names of the chief +diplomatists and even their family relations; and that while +using this knowledge, he should be careful not to disturb the +penetrating self-esteem of the Minister, and that if he should +ever induce that Minister to share his own opinions, his success +should remain concealed. He knew that he could only shine by +reflection elsewhere, but he was also aware that so pure and +modest a life would naturally command every respect.</p> + +<p>Count Reinhart's faculty of observation did not stop at that +point. It had shown him how unusual is the combination of +qualities necessary for a Minister of Foreign Affairs. Such a +Minister must, in fact, be endowed with a kind of instinct +which will give him prompt warning and prevent him from +compromising himself before any discussion begins: he must +be able to appear frank while remaining impenetrable; must +be reserved and yet seem careless; must discriminate even in +the nature of his amusements; his conversation must be +simple, varied, attractive, always natural, and sometimes open. +In a word, he must never cease for a single moment in the +twenty-four hours of the day to be Minister of Foreign +Affairs.</p> + +<p>At the same time, unusual as these capacities are, they could +hardly be adequate if loyalty did not give them that support +which they almost always require. I am bound to mention +the fact here in opposition to a prejudice generally current. +Diplomacy is not a science of duplicity and trickery; if good +faith is required anywhere, it is especially necessary in political +transactions, for it alone can make them permanent and +durable. Attempts have been made to identify reserve with +duplicity; good faith will never authorise duplicity, but it may +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_340">340</a></span> +admit reserve, and reserve has the special faculty of increasing +confidence.</p> + +<p>Dominated by a sense of honour and of his country's interests, +by the honour and interests of his Sovereign, by the +love of liberty founded upon a respect for order and uniform +justice, a Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he is equal to his +task, occupies the highest position to which any lofty mind +could aspire.</p> + +<p>Much as is required of a competent Minister, how much more +is required of a good Consul. The claims upon a Consul are +infinitely varied and are of a totally different order from those +which may affect the other officials of a Foreign Office. They +require an amount of practical experience which can only be +acquired by a special education. Within the area of their +jurisdiction Consuls are required to perform for their compatriots +the duties of judges, arbitrators, and mediators; often +they are officers of the Civil State; they act as notaries, and +sometimes as Admiralty officers; they watch and report upon +sanitary affairs; their position enables them to give an accurate +and complete idea of the state of trade, of navigation, and of +manufactures in the country where they reside. Count Reinhart, +who neglected nothing to secure the accuracy of that +information with which it was his business to provide his Government, +or the correctness of the decisions which as a political +agent, as Consul and Admiralty officer, he was obliged to +give, had made a profound study of international and +shipping law. This study had induced him to think that a +time would come when clever combinations would establish a +general system of commerce and navigation in which the interests +of every nation would be respected, and the basis of +which would be so strong that not even war itself could alter +the principle of it, though it might interrupt some of its results. +He was also able to decide certainly and promptly all questions +of interchange, arbitration, conversion of money, weights and +measures, while no claims were ever raised in dispute of the +information which he provided or of the judgments which he +delivered. It is also true that the personal consideration which +he enjoyed throughout his career gave much influence to his +intervention in any matter which he conducted or in any dispute +upon which he had to pronounce.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_341">341</a></span> +Wide as a man's knowledge may be and vast as his capacity, +the complete diplomatist is but very rarely met with. Yet +Count Reinhart might have attained this distinction if he had +had one additional capacity. The clearness of his view and +intelligence was admirable; he could write an excellent account +of anything that he had seen or heard; his style was resourceful, +easy, clever, and attractive. Of all the diplomatic correspondence +of that age, the Emperor Napoleon, who had every right to be +fastidious, showed a preference for the despatches of Count +Reinhart; but admirably as he wrote, he could only express +himself with difficulty. For action his intelligence required +more time than conversation could provide, and for the easy +reproduction of his mental speech he was obliged to work alone and +unaided. Notwithstanding this real inconvenience, Count Reinhart +always succeeded in performing his commissions thoroughly well. +Whence did he derive the inspiration which enabled him to +succeed?</p> + +<p>The source of his power, gentlemen, was a real and profound +belief which governed all his actions, the sense of duty. The +strength of this belief is not often entirely realised. A life entirely +devoted to duty is easily separated from ambition. Count +Reinhart's life was given up to the duties which he had to perform, +nor was there in him any trace of personal ambition or +any claim to rapid promotion. The religion of duty to which +Count Reinhart was faithful all his life, consists in perfect submission +to the orders and instructions of superiors; in constant +vigilance added to much perspicacity, which never leaves those +superiors ignorant of what they ought to know; in a strict +adherence to truth in every official report, whether agreeable or +unpleasant; in an impenetrable discretion and a regularity of +life which secure confidence and esteem; in decorum of outward +conduct and in continual care to give the acts of his Government +that colouring and that interpretation demanded by the interest +of the affairs under his charge.</p> + +<p>Though advancing age had warned Count Reinhart that it was +time for rest, he would never have asked to be relieved, fearing +that he might seem to show coldness in his pursuit of a career +which had been life-long. The royal kindness, with its invariable +attention, considered his necessities and gave this great servant +of France a most honourable post, by calling him to the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_342">342</a></span> +Chamber of Peers. Count Reinhart did not long enjoy this +honour and died almost suddenly on December 5, 1837. He +was twice married, and had a son by his first wife, who is +now pursuing a political career. The best wish that we can +offer the son is that he may resemble his father as nearly as +possible.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_343">343</a></span></p> + +<div class="header"> +<h2 class="medium">IV<br /> +<em>Memorandum addressed by</em> <span class="smcap">Lord Palmerston</span> <em>to the French +Government and handed to</em> <span class="smcap">M. Thiers</span> <em>by</em> <span class="smcap">Mr. Bulwer</span> +<em>at the beginning of September</em> 1840.</h2> +</div> + +<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Foreign Office</span>, <em>August 31, 1840.</em></p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>Various reasons have prevented me from sending you +earlier and transmitting through you to the French Government +certain observations which Her Majesty's Government desire to +make upon the Memorandum which was handed to me on +July 24 by the French Ambassador to this Court, in reply to +the Memorandum which I had handed to His Excellency on the +17th of that month; but I am now able to fulfil this task.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government observes with great satisfaction +the friendly tone of the French Memorandum and its assurances +of keen desire to maintain peace and the balance of power in +Europe. The Memorandum of July 17 was conceived in a spirit +no less friendly towards France, and Her Majesty's Government +is equally anxious that France should be able to keep peace +in Europe and prevent the smallest disturbance of that equilibrium +which now exists between the Powers.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government has been equally delighted to see +the declarations contained in the French Memorandum stating +that France wishes to act in concert with the other four Powers +with reference to the affairs in the Levant.</p> + +<p>On this point the sentiments of Her Majesty's Government +correspond in every respect with those of the French Government: +for, in the first place, throughout the negotiations which +have proceeded upon this question for more than twelve +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_344">344</a></span> +months, the British Government has constantly been anxious +that a concert of the five Powers should be established, and +that all five should agree to a common line of action; Her +Majesty's Government though not bound to defer, as proof of +this desire, to the other proposals which have been made from +time to time to the French Government, and to which reference +has been made in the French Memorandum, can unhesitatingly +declare that no European Power can be less influenced than +Great Britain by private views or by any desire and hope of +exclusive advantage which might arise in her favour from the +conclusion of the questions in the Levant. On the contrary, in +these matters the interests of Great Britain are identical with +those of Europe in general, and are based upon the maintenance +of the integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire as a +guarantee for the preservation of peace and as essential to the +maintenance of the balance of power in general.</p> + +<p>To these principles the French Government has promised its +full adherence, and offered it in more than one instance, especially +in a despatch from Marshal Soult, under date July 17, +1839. This despatch was officially communicated to the four +Powers. It has also offered support in a collective note, dated +July 27, 1839, and in the speech of the King of the French to +the Chambers in December 1839.</p> + +<p>In these documents the French Government declares its +determination to maintain the integrity and independence of +the Ottoman Empire under the reigning dynasty as essential to +the balance of power and as a guarantee for the preservation of +peace; in a despatch from Marshal Soult the French Government +has shown its resolution to oppose by action and influence +any combination which might be hostile to the maintenance of +this integrity and this independence.</p> + +<p>Hence the Governments of Great Britain and of France are +entirely agreed upon the object towards which their policy +should be directed. The only difference existing between the +two Governments is a difference of opinion concerning the +means regarded as most advisable to obtain this common end. +On this point, as the French Memorandum observes, a difference +of opinion may naturally be expected.</p> + +<p>On this point a great difference of opinion has arisen between +the two Governments, which seems to have become stronger +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_345">345</a></span> +and more pronounced in proportion as the two Governments +have more completely explained their respective views, and this +fact for the moment prevents the two Governments from acting +in concert to attain their common purpose. On the one hand, +Her Majesty's Government has repeatedly pointed out her +opinion that it would be impossible to maintain the integrity of +the Turkish Empire and to preserve the independence of the +Sultan, if Mehemet Ali were to be left in possession of Syria, as +the military key of Asiatic Turkey, and that if Mehemet Ali +were to continue to occupy this province as well as Egypt, he +would be able at any time to threaten Bagdad from the south, +Diarbekir and Erzeroum from the east, Koniah, Brousse, and +Constantinople from the north; and that the same ambitious +spirit which has driven Mehemet Ali under other conditions to +revolt against his Sovereign, would soon induce him hereafter to +take up arms for further invasions; and that for this purpose he +would always maintain a large army on foot; that the Sultan, +on the other hand, would be continually on guard against the +possible danger, and would also be obliged to remain under +arms, so that the Sultan and Mehemet Ali would continue to +maintain arms upon a war footing for the purpose of observing +one another; that a collision would be the inevitable result of +these continual suspicions and mutual alarms, and that even +if there should be no premeditated aggression upon either side, +any collision of the sort would necessarily lead to foreign intervention +in the Turkish Empire, while such intervention, thus +provoked, would produce the most serious discord between the +Powers of Europe.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government has pointed out as probable, if +not as certain, an even greater danger than this, which would +result from the continued occupation of Syria by Mehemet Ali; +namely, that the Pasha, trusting to military force and wearied +by his political position as a subject, would carry out an intention +which he has frankly avowed to the Powers of Europe that he +would never abandon, and would declare himself independent. +Such a declaration upon his part would incontestably amount to +a dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, and, what is more, +this dismemberment might happen under such conditions as +would make it more difficult for the European Powers to act +in concert for the purpose of forcing the Pasha to withdraw +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_346">346</a></span> +such a declaration, and more difficult than it is for them +to-day to combine their forces and oblige him to evacuate +Syria.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government has therefore invariably asserted +that the Powers which are anxious to preserve the integrity of +the Turkish Empire and to maintain the independence of the +Sultan should unite in helping the latter to re-establish his +direct authority over Syria.</p> + +<p>The French Government, on the other hand, has asserted +that if Mehemet Ali were once assured of the permanent occupation +of Egypt and Syria he would remain a faithful subject +and become the strongest support of the Sultan; that the Sultan +could not govern if the Pasha were not in possession of this +province, the military and financial resources of which would +then be of greater use to him than if they were in the hands of +the Sultan himself; that every confidence might be placed in +the sincerity with which Mehemet Ali had renounced all +ulterior views, and in his protestations of faithful devotion to +his Sovereign; that the Pasha is an old man, and upon his death, +even if his rights are recognised as hereditary, the totality of his +acquired power would revert to the Sultan, because all possessions +in Mohammedan countries, of whatever nature, are in +reality held only upon tenure for lifetime.</p> + +<p>The French Government has also maintained that Mehemet Ali +will never be willing to evacuate Syria of his own accord and +that the only means by which European Powers could use force +would be operations by sea which would be inadequate, or by +land which would be dangerous; that these operations by sea +would not expel the Egyptians from Syria and would merely +rouse Mehemet Ali to begin an attack upon Constantinople; +while the measures which might be taken in such a case to +defend the capital and in particular any operations on land +undertaken by the troops of the allied Powers to expel the army +of Mehemet Ali from Syria, would be more fatal to the Turkish +Empire than the state of things could possibly be which these +measures would be intended to remedy.</p> + +<p>To these objections Her Majesty's Government replied that +no reliance could be placed upon the recent protestations of +Mehemet Ali; that his ambition is insatiable and would only be +increased by success; and that to provide him with the opportunity +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_347">347</a></span> +of invading, or to leave within his reach the objects of his +desire would be to sow the seeds of inevitable collisions; that +Syria is no further from Constantinople than a large number +of well-administered provinces are from their capitals in other +States and can be as well governed from Constantinople as from +Alexandria; that it is impossible for the resources of this province +to be of any use to the Sultan in the hands of a governor +who might turn them against his master at any moment and that +they would be more useful if they were in the hands or at the +disposal of the Sultan himself; that, as Ibrahim had an army at +his orders, he had also the means, upon the decease of Mehemet +Ali, of securing his own succession to any power of which the +latter might be possessed at his death; that it was not fit that +the Great Powers should advise the Sultan to conclude a public +arrangement with Mehemet Ali, with the secret intention of +hereafter breaking the arrangement upon the first occasion that +might seem opportune.</p> + +<p>None the less the French Government maintained its opinion +and refused to take part in an arrangement which included the +use of coercive measures.</p> + +<p>But the French Memorandum laid down that in the course of +recent circumstances no positive proposal has been made to +France upon which she was called to explain her attitude and +that consequently the resolution which England communicated +to her in the Memorandum of July 17, doubtless in the name of +the four Powers, must not be considered as actuated by refusals +which France has not made. This passage obliges me briefly to +remind you of the general course of negotiations.</p> + +<p>The original opinion conceived by Her Majesty's Government, +of which the five Powers were informed, including France, in +1839, was that the arrangement between the Sultan and Mehemet +Ali which might secure a permanent state of peace in the Levant, +would be of a nature to confine the power delegated to Mehemet +Ali to Egypt alone and would re-establish the direct authority +of the Sultan throughout Syria, both in Candia and in all the +towns of the Holy Land; thus interposing the desert between +the direct power of the Sultan and the province of which the +administration would be left to the Pasha. And Her Majesty's +Government proposed that by way of compensation for the +evacuation of Syria, Mehemet Ali should receive an assurance +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_348">348</a></span> +that his male descendants should succeed him as governors in +Egypt, under the sovereignty of the Sultan.</p> + +<p>To this proposal the French Government raised objections +saying that such an arrangement would doubtless be the best if +there were any means of executing it, but that Mehemet Ali +would offer resistance and that any measures of violence which +the allies might employ to reduce him, would produce effects +which might be more dangerous to the peace of Europe and to +the independence of the Porte, than the actual state of affairs +between the Sultan and Mehemet Ali could possibly be; that +although the French Government thus refused to agree to +England's plan, during the long space of time which had subsequently +elapsed, it had not proposed any plan of its own. +Further, in September 1839, Comte Sébastiani, the French Ambassador +at the Court of London, proposed to draw a line from +the east to the west of the sea, nearly from Beyrout to the desert +near Damascus and to declare that all the land to the south of +this line should be administered by Mehemet Ali and that all to +the north should be under the immediate authority of the Sultan. +The French Ambassador then gave Her Majesty's Government +to understand that if such an arrangement were admitted by the +five Powers, France would unite with the four Powers, in case of +need, for the use of coercive measures, with the object of forcing +Mehemet Ali to submission.</p> + +<p>I pointed out to Comte Sébastiani that such an arrangement +was open, though in a less degree, to all the objections applicable +to the present relative position of the two parties and that +consequently Her Majesty's Government could not accede to it. +I observed that it seemed inconsistent on the part of France to +express her willingness to force Mehemet Ali to agree to an +arrangement which would obviously be incomplete and inadequate +to secure the proposed object, while objecting to +coercive measures when they were proposed for the purpose +of forcing consent to the arrangement desired by Her Majesty, +the execution of which, as France admitted, would entirely +fulfil the desired object.</p> + +<p>To these arguments Comte Sébastiani replied that the objections +advanced by the French Government to the employment of +coercive measures against Mehemet Ali, were founded upon +considerations of domestic government, and that these objections +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_349">349</a></span> +would be removed if the French Government was enabled to +prove to the nation and to the Chambers that it had obtained +the best possible conditions for Mehemet All and that he had +refused to accept them.</p> + +<p>As this insinuation was not admitted by Her Majesty's +Government, the French Government communicated officially +on September 27, 1839, its own plan, which was that Mehemet +Ali should become a hereditary governor of Egypt and of all +Syria, and governor for life of Candia, surrendering nothing but +the district of Adana and Arabia. The French Government did +not say a word as to its knowledge of Mehemet Ali's inclination +to adhere to this arrangement, nor did it declare that if he +refused to agree, France would take coercive measures to compel +him.</p> + +<p>Obviously Her Majesty's Government could not consent to this +plan, which was open to more objections than the present state +of things, the more so as the gift to Mehemet Ali of the legal +and hereditary title to a third of the Ottoman Empire, which he +now occupies only by force, would have been to begin the positive +dismemberment of the Empire.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government, therefore, being desirous to +show its readiness to come to an agreement with France upon +these questions, stated that it would yield its well-founded +objection to any extension of Mehemet Ali's power beyond +Egypt and would join the French Government in recommending +the Sultan to grant to Mehemet Ali, apart from the pashalik of +Egypt, the administration of the lower part of Syria, to be +bounded on the north by a line drawn from Cape Carmel to the +southern extremity of the Lake of Tiberias, and by a line from +this point to the Gulf of Akaba, provided that France would +join the four Powers in coercive measures if Mehemet Ali +refused this offer. This proposal, however, was not accepted by +the French Government, which now declared its inability to join +in coercive measures or to be a party to an arrangement to +which Mehemet Ali would not consent.</p> + +<p>While these discussions were proceeding with France, separate +negotiations were in progress between England and Russia, of +which full details and information have been sent to the French +Government. Negotiations with France were suspended for a +time at the outset of this year, firstly because a change of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_350">350</a></span> +Ministry was expected, and secondly because a change of Ministry +took place.</p> + +<p>In the month of May, however, Baron von Neumann and +myself resolved, upon the advice of our respective governments, +to make a last effort with the object of inducing France to begin +a treaty which was to be concluded with the other four Powers, +and we submitted to the French Government, through M. Guizot, +another proposal for an arrangement between the Sultan and +Mehemet Ali. One objection put forward by the French Government +to the last proposals of England was that although it was +proposed to give Mehemet Ali the strong position extending +from Mount Carmel to Mount Tabor, he would be deprived of +the fortress of Acre.</p> + +<p>To overcome this objection Baron von Neumann and myself +proposed that the northern frontiers of the part of Syria to be +administered by the Pasha should extend from Cape Nakhora to +the furthest point of the Lake of Tiberias, thus including within +the boundary the fortress of Acre; and that the eastern frontier +should extend along the western coast of the Lake of Tiberias +and thence to the Gulf of Akaba. We declared that the +government of this part of Syria could be granted to Mehemet +Ali for life only, and that neither England nor Austria would +consent to grant Mehemet Ali hereditary rights over any part of +Syria. I further declared to M. Guizot that I could go no further +in the way of concessions in the hope of securing the co-operation +of France, and that this was our last proposal. Baron von +Neumann and myself communicated these facts separately to +M. Guizot: Baron von Neumann first, and myself the next day. +M. Guizot told me he would inform his Government of this +proposal and of the facts which I had laid before him, and that +he would let me know the answer as soon as he had received it. +A short time afterwards the plenipotentiaries of Austria, Prussia, +and Russia informed me that they had every reason to believe +that the French Government, instead of deciding upon the proposal +for themselves, had sent it to Alexandria to learn the +decision of Mehemet Ali; that the four Powers who had undertaken +the business were thus confronted, not with France, but +with Mehemet Ali; that, apart from the inevitable delay, this +was an action which their respective courts had never intended +to take and one to which they would never consent; and that +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_351">351</a></span> +the French Government had thus placed the plenipotentiaries in +a very embarrassing position. I agreed with them that their +objections were justified with regard to the conduct which they +attributed to the French Government, but that M. Guizot had +said not a word to me of what would be done. Mehemet Ali +had been informed that the French Government at that moment +was fully occupied with parliamentary questions and could +naturally ask for time before sending an answer to our proposals, +and that in any case delay could do no great harm. About +June 27, M. Guizot came to me and read me a letter addressed +to him by M. Thiers, containing the answer of the French +Government to our proposal. This answer was a formal refusal. +M. Thiers said that <em>the French Government positively knew that +Mehemet Ali would not consent to a division of Syria unless he were +forced to do so; that France could not co-operate in coercive measures +against Mehemet Ali under these conditions, and that therefore she +could not become a party to the proposed arrangement</em>.</p> + +<p>As France had thus refused to yield to England's ultimatum, +the plenipotentiaries were bound to consider what steps should +be adopted by their Governments. The position of the five +Powers was this: the five had declared their conviction that in +the interests of the balance of power and of the peace of Europe +it was essential to preserve the independence and integrity of +the Ottoman Empire under the reigning dynasty; all five had +declared that they would use all their influence to maintain +this integrity and this independence; but France, on the one +hand, insisted that the best means to secure this result was to +abandon the Sultan to the mercies of Mehemet Ali and to +advise him to submit to the conditions which Mehemet might +impose upon him in order to preserve peace <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sine qua non</i>; while +on the other side the four Powers regarded any further military +occupation of the Sultan's provinces by Mehemet Ali as likely +to destroy the integrity of the Turkish Empire and to be fatal to +its independence; they therefore thought that it was advisable +to confine Mehemet Ali within narrower limits.</p> + +<p>After about two months of deliberations, France not only +refused to consent to the plan proposed by the four Powers as +an ultimatum upon their part, but further declared that she +would not become a party to any arrangement to which +Mehemet Ali did not voluntarily consent without the use of +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_352">352</a></span> +force. It only remained then for the four Great Powers to +adopt as an alternative the principle laid down by France, +which consisted in the complete submission of the Sultan to the +demands of Mehemet Ali; or to act upon their principles and +force Mehemet Ali to accept an arrangement compatible in form +with the rights of the Sultan, and compatible in content with +the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. If the former alternative +were adopted, the co-operation of France would be secured; in +the latter alternative the hope of that co-operation must be +abandoned.</p> + +<p>The keen desire of the four Powers to secure the co-operation +of France has been shown by the fact that they have continued +their efforts for several months in the course of negotiations. +They are well aware of the value of French support, not only +for the particular object which they have in view, but also with +reference to the general and permanent interests of Europe. +But what they failed to secure, and what they esteemed, was +the co-operation of France in the maintenance of peace to +secure the eventual safety of Europe and the practical execution +of the principles to which the five Powers had declared +their agreement. They desired the co-operation of France, not +only for themselves and for the advantage and opportunity of the +moment, but also for the good which it might have conferred, +and for the future consequences which might have resulted +from it. They wished to co-operate with France to do good, but +they were not prepared to co-operate with her in doing evil.</p> + +<p>Thinking, therefore, that the policy advised by France was +unjust, and in no way judicious with regard to the Sultan; that +it might become the cause of misfortunes in Europe; that it was +inconsistent with the public engagement undertaken by the five +Powers, and that it was incompatible with the principles which +they had wisely emphasised, the four Powers felt that they could +not make the sacrifice demanded of them, and buy the help of +France at so high a price—if, indeed, that could be called co-operation +which merely consisted in allowing events to follow +their natural course. As the four Powers were thus unable to +adopt the views of France, they determined to accomplish their +mission.</p> + +<p>This determination, however, was not unexpected and the +probable eventualities had not been hidden from France. On +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_353">353</a></span> +the contrary, upon several occasions during the course of negotiations, +and no later than October 1 last, I had pointed out to +the French Ambassador that our desire to remain united with +France must have a limit, that we were anxious to go forward +with France but not disposed to come to a standstill with her, +and that if she could not contrive to act in harmony with the +four Powers, she must not be astonished if she saw them come +to an understanding between themselves and acting apart from +France.</p> + +<p>Comte Sabastiani told me that he foresaw that we should thus +act, and that he could predict the result; that we were bound to +try and conclude our arrangements without the help of France, and +that we should find that our means were inadequate; that France +would be a passive spectator of events; that after a year or eighteen +months of useless efforts we should recognise that we had been mistaken, +and that we should then apply to France; that this Power +would then co-operate to settle these matters upon a friendly basis +with as much friendliness after our failure as she would have shown +before our attempt, and that she would then probably persuade us +to agree to conditions to which we refused our consent at the +moment.</p> + +<p>Similar indications were given to M. Guizot with regard to the +line which would probably be taken by the four Powers if they +were unsuccessful in coming to an arrangement with France. +The French Government has therefore refused the ultimatum of +the four Powers, and by the act of refusal has enounced afresh +a principle of action which it knew could not be adopted by the +four Powers: a principle which consisted in the idea that no +settlement of the difficulties between the Sultan and his subject +could take place except under conditions which the subject could +accept voluntarily, or, in other terms, could dictate; hence, the +French Government must have been prepared to see the four Powers +determined to act apart from France; and when the four Powers +had come to this determination, they could not be represented +as breaking with France, or as excluding France from the arrangement +of a war to be carried on by Europe. On the contrary, it +was France who broke with the four Powers, for it was France +who laid down for herself a principle of action which made co-operation +with the other Powers impossible.</p> + +<p>At this point, without attempting further controversial observations +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_354">354</a></span> +with reference to the past, I feel obliged to point out that +the voluntary retirement on the part of France was not entirely +due to the course of negotiations at London, but that, unless Her +Majesty's Government has been strangely misled, it was decided +even more definitely in the course of negotiations at Constantinople. +The five Powers declared to the Sultan by a Collective +Note, which was handed to the Porte on July 27, 1839, by their +representatives at Constantinople, that their unanimity was complete, +and these representatives requested the Porte to refrain +from any direct negotiations with Mehemet Ali, and to make no +arrangement with the Pasha without the concurrence of the five +Powers. However, Her Majesty's Government has good reason to +believe that during the last few months the French representative +at Constantinople has decisively isolated France from the other +four Powers, and has energetically and repeatedly pressed the +Porte to negotiate directly with Mehemet Ali, and to conclude +an arrangement with the Pasha, not only without the concurrence +of the four great Powers, but under the mediation of France +alone, and in accordance with the special views of the French +Government.</p> + +<p>As regards the line of conduct followed by Great Britain, the +French Government must recognise that the views and opinions +of Her Majesty's Government have never varied, from the outset +of these negotiations, except in so far as Her Majesty's Government +has offered to modify its views with the object of securing the +co-operation of France. These views have been from time to time +frankly expressed to the French Government, and have been +continually supported in the most urgent manner by arguments +which seemed conclusive to Her Majesty's Government. From +the very outset of the negotiations, the declarations of principle +made by the French Government induced Her Majesty's +Government to believe that the two Governments had only to +agree upon the means of carrying out their common principles. +If the intentions of the French Government concerning these +means differed from the views of England even at the outset of the +negotiations, France has certainly not the right to refer to the +difference between France and England as unexpected, seeing +that the French Government recognised its existence a long +time previously. If the intentions of the French Government +with regard to the measures to be taken have undergone a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_355">355</a></span> +change since the opening of negotiations, France certainly has +not the right to impute to Great Britain a change of political +intention which proceeds from France, and not from England.</p> + +<p>But in any case, when four out of five Powers have agreed upon +a definite line of conduct, and when the fifth has resolved to +pursue an entirely different policy, it would be unreasonable to +require the four to abandon, in deference to the fifth, opinions +to which they are daily more resolved to adhere and which refer +to a question of vital importance for the chief and future interests +of Europe.</p> + +<p>But as France continues to maintain the general principles +which she laid down at the outset and continues to consider the +maintenance of the integrity and independence of the Turkish +Empire as necessary to preserve the balance of power; as again +France has never refused to admit that the arrangement which the +four Powers wished to introduce between the Sultan and the +Pasha would be the best solution if it could be secured, and as +again the objections of France referred not to the object proposed +but to the means by which it is to be gained, her opinion +being that the end is good, but that the means are inadequate +and dangerous; Her Majesty's Government is confident that the +isolation of France, which no one regrets more than Her Majesty's +Government, will not be of long duration.</p> + +<p>When the four Powers, in concert with the Sultan, have succeeded +in introducing an arrangement of this nature between +the Porte and his subjects, there will then be no further point +of disagreement between France and her allies, nor will there +be any obstacle to prevent France from undertaking with the +other Powers such engagements for the future as may seem +necessary to secure the good results of an intervention by the +four Powers in favour of the Sultan, and to preserve the +Ottoman Empire from any recurrence of the dangers to which +it is exposed.</p> + +<p>Her Majesty's Government impatiently awaits the moment +when France will be able to resume her position in the concert +of the Powers and trusts that that moment will be accelerated +in the interests of the full development of the moral influence +of France. Although the French Government, for reasons of +its own, has refused to participate in the coercive measures to +be employed against Mehemet Ali, this Government certainly +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_356">356</a></span> +cannot object to the employment of such measures with the object +of inducing the Pasha to submit to the arrangements which are +to be placed before him, and it is obvious that more than one +argument might be adduced and that more than one prudential +consideration might be urged upon the Pasha with more efficacy +by France as a neutral Power and a non-participant in this affair, +than by the four Powers which are actively engaged in the +prosecution of coercive measures.</p> + +<p>In any case Her Majesty's Government is confident that Europe +will recognise the justice of the proposal which has been put +forward by the four Powers, for their purpose is just and +disinterested. They are not seeking to gather any advantage +for themselves or to establish any exclusive sphere of influence, +or to acquire any territory, and the object which they have +in view should be as profitable to France as to themselves, +because France, like themselves, is interested in the maintenance +of the balance of power and in the preservation of the +general peace.</p> + +<p>You will send officially to M. Thiers a copy of this despatch.</p> + +<p class="signature">I am, &c.,<br /> +(Signed)<span class="i2 smcap">Palmerston</span>.</p> + +<p class="center">(From the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> of October 2.)</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_357">357</a></span></p> + +<div class="header"> +<h2 class="medium">V<br /> +<em>Manifesto to the Spanish Nation.</em></h2> +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Spaniards!</span></p> + +<p>As I left the soil of Spain in a day of grief and bitterness +for me, my streaming eyes were turned to heaven in +prayer that the God of mercy would shed His grace and His +blessing upon us.</p> + +<p>When I reached a foreign land, the first need of my soul +and the first thought of my heart was to raise my voice in +friendship, the voice with which I have ever spoken to you +with a sense of unspeakable tenderness, both in good and bad +fortune.</p> + +<p>Alone, abandoned, and a prey to the deepest grief, my only +consolation in this great misfortune is to open my heart to God +and to you, to my father and to my children.</p> + +<p>Think not that I shall be satisfied with lamentations and +barren recriminations, or that, to explain my conduct as Queen-Regent +of the realm, I shall attempt to excite your passions; +on the contrary, I have done everything to calm them and +would gladly see them at rest. The language of self-restraint +alone is consonant with my affection, my dignity, and my +glory.</p> + +<p>When I left my country to seek another home in Spanish +hearts, rumour had informed me of your great exploits and your +high qualities. I knew that in every age you had leaped forward +to the combat with the noblest and most generous ardour to +defend the throne of your Sovereigns; that you had defended it +at the price of your blood, and that in days of glorious memory +you had deserved well of your country and of Europe. I then +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_358">358</a></span> +swore to devote myself to the happiness of a nation which had +shed its blood to break the captivity of its Kings. The Almighty +heard my oath, your manifestations of joy showed me that you +were conscious of it, and my conscience tells me that I have +kept it.</p> + +<p>When your King, upon the brink of the tomb, dropped the +reins of State from his failing grasp and placed them in my hands, +my gaze fell alternately upon my husband, my daughter's cradle, +and the Spanish nation, thus uniting the three objects of my +love in order to recommend them to the protection of heaven in +one prayer. My painful experiences as mother and wife while +my husband's life and my daughter's throne were endangered +could not distract me from my duties as Queen: at my voice +universities were opened; at my voice long-standing abuses disappeared +and useful reforms, wisely considered, were brought +forward; at my voice those who had sought in vain a home as +exiles and wanderers in foreign lands, returned to their hearths +and homes. Your joyous enthusiasm at these solemn acts of +justice and mercy could only be compared to the extent of the +grief and the depth of bitterness to which I was abandoned; +for myself I reserved all sadness, and for you, Spaniards, all +joy.</p> + +<p>At a later date, when God had called my august husband to +Himself, who left the government of the whole realm in my +hands, I strove to guide the State as a merciful Queen-Regent +(<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">justiciera</i>). During the short period which elapsed since my +elevation to power until the convocation of the first Cortes, my +power was unique, but it was not despotic, or absolute, or arbitrary, +for it was limited by my will. The most dignified people in +the realm and the Council of Government, which I was bound to +consult by the last wishes of my august husband upon all +matters of grave import, pointed out to me that public opinion +demanded other guarantees from me as the repository of the +sovereign power. I gave those guarantees, and freely and spontaneously +convoked the chiefs of the nation and the procuradores +of the realm.</p> + +<p>I granted the royal statute and I have not infringed it. If +others have trampled it under foot, they must be responsible for +their actions before God, who holds laws sacred.</p> + +<p>The Constitution of 1837 was accepted by me, and I took the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_359">359</a></span> +oath to it; to avoid infringement of it, I then made the last and +greatest of sacrifices—I laid down the sceptre and I was forced +to abandon my daughters.</p> + +<p>In referring to the events which have brought these cruel +tribulations upon me, I shall speak to you as my dignity +demands, with self-restraint and in words well weighed.</p> + +<p>I was served by responsible Ministers, who were supported by +the Cortes. I accepted their resignation, which was imperiously +demanded by a revolt at Barcelona; then began a crisis which +was only concluded by the renunciation which I signed at +Valencia. During this deplorable period, the municipality of +Madrid revolted against my authority, an example followed by +other important towns. The rebels insisted that I should condemn +the conduct of Ministers who had loyally served me; that +I should recognise the movement as legitimate; that I should +annul, or at any rate suspend, the law of municipalities which I +had sanctioned, after it had been voted by the Cortes; and that +I should endanger the unity of the Regency.</p> + +<p>I could not accept the first of these conditions without entire +loss of self-respect; I could not accede to the second without +recognising the right of force, a right recognised neither by +divine nor human laws, and the existence of which is incompatible +with the Constitution, as it is incompatible with all Constitutions; +I could not accept the third condition without infringing the +Constitution, which regards as law any measure voted by the +Cortes and sanctioned by the supreme head of the State, and +which places a law once sanctioned beyond the sphere of the +royal authority; I could not accept the fourth condition without +accepting my own disgrace, passing condemnation upon myself +and undermining the power which the King had left me and +which the Chambers of the Cortes had afterwards confirmed, +and which was preserved by me as a sacred possession which I +had sworn never to surrender to the hands of factious men.</p> + +<p>My firmness in resisting that which I could not accept in the +face of my duty, my oaths and the dearest interests of the +monarchy, has brought down upon the defenceless woman, +whose voice now speaks to you, a series of griefs and sufferings +which no human language could express. You will not have +forgotten, Spaniards, how I carried my misfortunes from city to +city, insulted and affronted everywhere, for one of those decrees +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_360">360</a></span> +of God which are a mystery to man, has permitted injustice and +ingratitude to prevail. Doubtless for that reason the small +number of those who hated me were emboldened to insult me, +while the large number of those who loved me had so far lost +courage as to offer me nothing but silent compassion as a testimony +of their affection. There were some who offered me their +swords, but I did not accept their offer, preferring martyrdom in +isolation to the certain prospect of reading one day a new list of +martyrs who had fallen victims to their loyalty. I might have +stirred up a civil war, but civil war could not be aroused by +myself, who have just given you the peace that my heart +desired, a peace cemented by forgetfulness of the past; my +mother's eyes turned away from so dreadful a prospect; I told +myself that when children are ungrateful a mother must endure +to death, but that she must not stir up war between them.</p> + +<p>Days elapsed in this dreadful condition of affairs; I saw my +sceptre become merely a useless reed and my diadem a crown of +thorns. At length my strength failed; I laid aside my sceptre +and my crown to breathe the air of freedom; an unhappy victim +but with a calm brow, a clear conscience, and a soul without +remorse.</p> + +<p>Such, Spaniards, has been my conduct. I offer you this +account of it that it may not be stained by calumny, and in so +doing I have performed the last of my duties. She who was +your Queen asks nothing more of you than that you will love +her daughter and honour her memory.</p> + +<p>Marseilles, November 8, 1840.</p> + + +<p class="signature">(Signed) <span class="i2 smcap">Maria Christina</span>.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_361">361</a></span></p> + + + +<h2>BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX</h2> + +<p class="center">[The names followed by an asterisk (*) have been already noted +in more detail in the Biographical Index of vol. i.]</p> + + +<p class="alphabet">A</p> + +<ul> +<li>ABD-EL-KADER (1807-1883). Celebrated Arab Emir, who maintained a +desperate struggle against the French in Algiers for fifteen years. +He was eventually captured in 1847 by General Lamoricière, sent to +France, and imprisoned at Pau, then at Amboise. Napoleon III. set +him at liberty, and he afterwards remained loyal to France. He +died in Syria, where he had withdrawn.</li> + +<li>ACERENZA, the Duchesse d' (1783-1876). Jeanne, Princesse de Courlande, +married in 1801 François Pignatelli of Belmonte, Duc d'Acerenza. +She was the third daughter of Pierre Duc de Courlande, and sister of +the Duchesse de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>ACTON, Lady. She was the daughter of the Duke of Dalberg, and +married Lord Acton as her first husband. Her second husband was +Mr. George Leveson, afterwards Lord Granville.</li> + +<li>ADÉLAÏDE, Madame* (1777-1847). Sister of King Louis-Philippe, over +whom she exerted a great influence.</li> + +<li>ADOLPHUS OF NASSAU (1250-1298). He was elected Emperor of +Germany in 1292 on the death of Rudolph of Hapsburg, to the exclusion +of Albert, son of this Prince. Germany revolted against him, +and he was conquered and killed by his rival, Albert of Austria, at +the battle of Göllheim.</li> + +<li>AFFRE, Denis Auguste (1793-1848). Archbishop of Paris from 1840. On +June 25, 1848, Mgr. Affre went to the barricades in the Faubourg +Saint Antoine and was struck by a bullet while beseeching the insurgents +to surrender. He died two days later in consequence of this +wound.</li> + +<li>AGNÈS SOREL (1409-1450). Lady of Honour to Isabelle de Lorraine. +Agnès Sorel attracted the notice of Charles VII. and became his +favourite. He gave her a castle at Loches, the comté of Penthièvre, +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_362">362</a></span> +the manors of Roquessière, Issoudun, and Vernon-sur-Seine, and +finally the seat of Beauté in the Bois de Vincennes, whence she took +the name of Dame de Beauté.</li> + +<li>ALAVA, Don Ricardo de* (1780-1843). Spanish officer and diplomatist.</li> + +<li>ALBUFÉRA, the Duchesse d' (1791-1884). Daughter of the Baron de +St. Joseph. She married in 1808 Marshal Suchet, Duc d'Albuféra, +who died in 1826.</li> + +<li>ALDBOROUGH, Cornelia, Lady.* Daughter of Charles Landry.</li> + +<li>ALFIERI, Count Victor* (1749-1803). Italian tragic poet. He secretly +married the Countess of Albany.</li> + +<li>ALIBAUD (1810-1836). Assassin who attempted the life of King Louis-Philippe +on the evening of June 25, 1836, and was executed on +July 11 following.</li> + +<li>ALTENSTEIN, Baron Karl of (1770-1840). Prussian statesman from +1808 to 1810. He was Financial Minister, and afterwards, under +King Frederick William III., became Minister of Religion and +Education.</li> + +<li>ALTON-SHÉE DE LIGNIÉRES, Edmond, Comte d' (1810-1874). +Peer of France in 1836. At first closely attached to the Constitutional +Monarchy of July, he suddenly changed under the influence +of the ideas of 1848, and took part in the manifestations of the +advanced party. Under the Second Empire he abandoned his +political connections.</li> + +<li>ALVANLEY, Lord* (1787-1849). A society figure and English officer, +known for his wit.</li> + +<li>ANCILLON, Jean Pierre Frédéric (1766-1837). Of Swiss origin, he became +Minister of the Reformed Church of Berlin and Professor at the +Military Academy. In 1806 Frederick William III. requested him to +undertake the education of the Prince Royal, afterwards Frederick +William IV. Admitted to the court, Ancillon was influential +there until his death. He married three times: in 1792, Marie +Henriette Baudouin, who died in 1823; in 1824, Louise Molière, who +died in 1826; in 1836, Flore Tranouille d'Harley and de Verquignieulle, +of an old Belgian family.</li> + +<li>ANDRAL, Madame. Daughter of M. Royer Collard. She married the +famous Dr. Andral.</li> + +<li>ANGLONA, the Prince d' (1817-1871). Son of a General in the Spanish +Army. He married in 1837 the daughter of the Duke of Frias and +became Duke of Uceda, a title which belonged to his wife's family.</li> + +<li>ANGOULÊME, the Duc d' (1775-1844). Also known as the Dauphin, after +his father, King Charles X., had ascended the throne in 1824. In +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_363">363</a></span> +1799, at Mitau, he married his cousin, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, only +daughter of King Louis XVI. He was Commander-in-Chief of the +French Army sent to Spain in 1823, captured the fort of Trocadero, +and showed his moderation by the ordinance of Andujar. He died +in exile at Goritz, and left no children.</li> + +<li>ANGOULÊME, the Duchesse d' (1778-1851). Marie Thérèse Charlotte of +France, only daughter of King Louis XVI. and of Marie Antoinette. +At her birth she received the title of Madame Royale. She shared +the captivity of her family, and in 1795 the Directory consented to +exchange her for the commissaries sent back by Austria. She married +her cousin, the Duc d'Angoulême, and returned to Paris with him in +1815. Exiled once more in 1830, she never returned to France, and +died at Frohsdorf.</li> + +<li>ANNE OF AUSTRIA* (1602-1666). Queen of France and Regent during +the minority of Louis XIV.</li> + +<li>ANNE DE BRETAGNE (1476-1514). Queen of France. Daughter of +François II. of Brittany, she married in succession Charles VIII. and +Louis XII., and brought to the Crown the Duchy of Brittany, to +which she was heiress.</li> + +<li>APPONYI, Count Antony (1782-1852). Austrian diplomatist. He was +first Envoy Extraordinary to the court of Tuscany, then Ambassador +at Rome until 1825. Afterwards he was Ambassador at London and +then at Paris, where he remained until 1848. In 1808 he married +Theresa, daughter of Count Nogarola of Verona.</li> + +<li>ARGOUT, the Comte d' (1782-1858). French politician and financier, he +became Councillor of State in 1817, and then Peer of France. From +1830 onwards he was a member of several Ministries, and retained +the post of Governor of the Bank of France until his death.</li> + +<li>ARNAULD D'ANDILLY (1588-1674). After a long life at court he +retired in 1644 to Port Royal des Champs. While in retirement here +he translated the Confessions of St. Augustine, wrote memoirs, &c. +His son was the Marquis de Pomponne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, +and his daughter the Mother Superior Angélique de Saint Jean, +Abbess of Port Royal.</li> + +<li>ARNAULD, Antoine (1612-1694). Theologian and philosopher. He first +studied law and was then attracted by the rigid Christianity of the +Jansenistes, and became the militant theologian of Port Royal. He +composed in collaboration with Nicole the Logic of Port Royal, and +with Lancelot the Grammar. He was the brother of Arnauld +d'Andilly.</li> + +<li>ARNAULD, Mother Superior Marie Angélique de Sainte Madeleine (1591-1661). +Sister of Arnauld d'Andilly and of A. Arnauld. She was +Abbess of Port Royal des Champs from the age of fourteen. She +introduced the Cistercian reforms and spirit.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_364">364</a></span> +ARNAULD, Mother Superior Angélique de Saint Jean (1624-1684). She +was the daughter of Arnauld d'Andilly and Abbess of Port Royal, as +was her aunt, the Mother Superior Angélique de Sainte Madeleine. +She has a large place in the records of Port Royal worthies; she also +wrote "Narratives," "Reflections," &c.</li> + +<li>ARNIM, the Baron of (1789-1861). Prussian diplomatist. He was sent +to Brussels in 1836 and Paris from 1840 to 1848. After a short time at +Berlin as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 1848, he retired from politics.</li> + +<li>ARSOLI, Camille, Prince Massimo and d' (1803-1873). Chief Minister +of the Pontifical posts. In 1827 he married Marie Gabrielle de +Villefranche-Carignan, and on her death he married the Comtesse +Hyacinthe de la Porta Rodiani.</li> + +<li>ARSOLI, Princesse d' (1811-1837). Marie Gabrielle de Villefranche. +Daughter of the Baron de Villefranche, who married Mlle. de la +Vauguyon.</li> + +<li>ATTHALIN, the Baron Louis Marie (1784-1856). A General of Engineers +in France. He served with distinction in the campaigns of the Empire, +and under the Restoration became <em>aide-de-camp</em> to the Duc d'Orléans. +Under the July monarchy he filled various diplomatic posts, and +became Peer of France in 1840. He retired into private life after 1848.</li> + +<li>AUBUSSON, the Comte Pierre d' (1793-1842). Colonel of Infantry. In +1823 he married Mlle. Rouillé du Boissy du Coudray, and died insane +in 1842.</li> + +<li>AUBUSSON, Mlle. Noémi d'. Born in 1826. She was the daughter of +the Comte Pierre d'Aubusson. She married, in 1842, Prince Gontran +of Bauffremont.</li> + +<li>AUGUSTA OF ENGLAND, Princess* (1797-1809). Duchess of Cambridge. +She was daughter of the Landgrave Frederick of Hesse +Cassel.</li> + +<li>AUMALE, Henri d'Orléans, duc d' (1822-1897). Fourth son of King +Louis-Philippe and of Queen Marie Amélie. He distinguished himself +by his brilliant military exploits in Algiers. He left France in 1848 and +returned after 1871. He again became an exile, and did not return +until 1889. His talents as historian procured his entry to the French +Academy. He bequeathed to the Institute of France his beautiful +estate of Chantilly.</li> + +<li>AUSTIN, Sarah (1793-1867). An English writer who translated many +German books into English and wrote moral and educational works.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">B</p> + +<ul> +<li>BADEN, Grand Duke Leopold of (1790-1858). Succeeded his brother +Louis in 1830. He married Princess Sophia, daughter of Gustavus +Adolphus IV., King of Sweden.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_365">365</a></span> +BADEN, Grand Duchess Stephanie of (1789-1860). Daughter of Claude +de Beauharnais, Chamberlain to the Empress Marie Louise. She +married in 1806 the Grand Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Baden, +who died in 1818.</li> + +<li>BADEN, Princess Marie of (1817-1887). Daughter of the Grand Duke +Charles Louis of Baden and of Stéphanie de Beauharnais. She +married in 1842 the Duke of Hamilton, and was left a widow in 1863.</li> + +<li>BAGRATION, Princess (1783-1857). Catherine Skavronska, married, in +1800, Prince Peter Bagration, who was killed at the Borodino in 1812. +In 1830 the Princess married an English Colonel, Sir John Hobart +Caradoc, Lord Howden. The Princess was a friend of Prince +Metternich.</li> + +<li>BALBI, the Comtesse de (1753-1839). Daughter of the Marquis de +Caumont La Force. She married the Comte de Balbi and became +Lady of Honour to the Comtesse de Provence. The Comte de +Provence, afterwards Louis XVIII., honoured him with his friendship. +The Comtesse de Balbi possessed every charm of beauty and +mind.</li> + +<li>BALLANCHE, Pierre Simon (1776-1847). A mystical writer who for some +time conducted at Lyons a large printing and publishing establishment +which he had inherited. He then settled at Paris, where he became +intimate with Madame de Staël, Chateaubriand, Joubert, etc. He +became a member of the French Academy in 1844.</li> + +<li>BALZAC, Honoré de (1799-1850). One of the most fertile and remarkable +contemporary novelists, especially powerful in his profound analysis +of human passion.</li> + +<li>BARANTE, the Baron Prosper de (1782-1866). He was successively +auditor to the State Council, entrusted with diplomatic missions, +Prefect of the Vendée and of the Loire-Inférieure, then Deputy, Peer +of France, and Ambassador at St. Petersburg. As writer and historian +he was most successful and his History of the Dukes of Burgundy +secured him a seat in the French Academy.</li> +<li> +BARANTE, the Baronne de. <em>Née</em> d'Houdetot. Of Creole origin, she was +renowned for her beauty.</li> + +<li>BENDEMANN, Edward (1811-1889). A German painter who acquired a +brilliant reputation at an early age. Professor at the Academy of +Fine Arts at Dresden, he executed the frescoes in the throne-room of +the royal castle of that town. In 1860 he became director of the +Academy of Düsseldorf in succession to Schadow whose daughter he +had married.</li> + +<li>BARBET DE JOUY, Joseph Henri (1812-1896). Director of the Museum +of the Louvre and member of the Academy of Fine Arts.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_366">366</a></span> +BARROT, Odilon* (1791-1873). French politician.</li> + +<li>BARTHE, Félix* (1795-1863). French magistrate and statesman.</li> + +<li>BASTIDE, Jules (1800-1879). An ardent Liberal connected with the +Carbonari; he conducted a desperate opposition to Charles X. Under +Louis-Philippe he was Commander of the National Guard, was compromised +and condemned to death for his share in the outbreak upon +the funeral of General Lamarque; he escaped and fled to London. +Afterwards he returned to France and conducted the <cite>National</cite> after +the death of Armand Carrel. In 1848 he was a Deputy, and for a +short time Minister of Foreign Affairs. Under the Empire he held +aloof from politics.</li> + +<li>BATHURST, Lady Georgina. Wife of Lord Henry Bathurst, one of the +chief members of the Tory Party.</li> + +<li>BATTHYANY, Countess* (1798-1840). <em>Née</em> Baroness of Ahrennfeldt.</li> + +<li>BAUDRAND, the General Comte* (1774-1848). <em>Aide-de-camp</em> to the +Duc d'Orléans.</li> + +<li>BAUDRAND, Madame. The great fashionable milliner at Paris in 1836.</li> + +<li>BAUFFREMONT, the Duchesse de (born in 1771). Daughter of the +Duc de la Vauguyon. She married, in 1787, Alexandre, Duc de +Bauffremont. She was very intimate with the Prince de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>BAUFFREMONT, the Princesse de (1802-1860). Laurence, daughter of +the Duc de Montmorency. She married, in 1819, Prince Théodore +de Bauffremont. She was the elder sister of the Duchesse de +Valençay.</li> + +<li>BAUFFREMONT, the Prince Gontran de. Born in 1822. He married, +in 1842, Mlle. d'Aubusson de La Feuillade.</li> + +<li>BAUSSET, the Cardinal de (1748-1824). Bishop of Alais. He was made +a Peer at the Restoration and received his Cardinal's hat in 1817. +The previous year he had entered the French Academy. He wrote a +Life of Fénelon and a Life of Bossuet.</li> + +<li>BAUTAIN, the Abbé (1796-1867). A pupil of the Normal School, where +he studied under M. Cousin. He was appointed Professor of Philosophy +at the College of Strasburg in 1816, and took orders in 1828. +In 1849 Mgr. Sibour, Archbishop of Paris, appointed him Vicar-General. +The Abbé Bautain pursued almost every branch of human +knowledge.</li> + +<li>BAVARIA, the Queen Dowager of (1776-1841). Princess Caroline of +Baden, daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden; she +married Maximilian of Bavaria in 1797, and became a widow in +1825.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_367">367</a></span> +BAVARIA, King Louis I. of (1786-1868). Ascended the throne of Bavaria +in 1825 on the death of his father, Maximilian I. King Louis abdicated +in 1848 after making Munich the Athens of Germany.</li> + +<li>BAVARIA, Queen Theresa of (1792-1854). Daughter of Duke Frederick +of Saxe-Hildburghausen, afterwards Saxony Altenburg.</li> +<li> +BAVARIA, Prince Royal of (1811-1864). Maximilian II., son of King +Louis I., whom he succeeded in 1848. In 1842 he married Princess +Marie of Prussia.</li> + +<li>BEAUVAU, the Prince Marc de (1816-1883). Married as his first wife, in +1840, Mlle. Marie d'Aubusson de La Feuillade, and as his second wife +Mlle. Adèle de Gontaut-Biron.</li> + +<li>BECKET, St. Thomas (1117-1170). Archbishop of Canterbury. Assassinated +at the foot of the altar by the courtiers of Henry II., King of +England. Pope Alexander III. canonised him as a martyr.</li> + +<li>BEGAS, Charles Joseph (1794-1854). German painter; pupil of Gros, +with whom he studied at Paris. In 1822 he went to Italy, and in 1825 +he settled at Berlin, where he became painter to the King of Prussia, +Professor and Member of the Academy of Fine Arts.</li> + +<li>BELGIANS, King of the, Leopold I. (1790-1865).</li> + +<li>BELGIANS, Queen of the,* Louise, Princesse d'Orléans (1812-1850). +Second wife of Leopold I. of Belgium and daughter of Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>BELGIOJOSO, Princess (1808-1871). Christina Trivulzio, married, in +1824, the Prince Barbiano Belgiojoso. Her dislike of the Austrians +drove her to leave Milan and settle at Paris in 1831, where she +attracted attention by her beauty, her cleverness, and her foreign +ways. Princess Belgiojoso published in 1846, under an obvious pseudonym, +a work in four volumes, entitled <cite>An Essay on the Formation of +Catholic Dogma</cite>, which aroused much discussion. When Piedmont +declared war upon Austria in 1848 the Princess hastened to Milan, +fitted out and paid a battalion. After the peace she was exiled, and +returned to Paris, where she gained a living for the most part with +her pen, as her property had been confiscated by the Austrian Government. +It was not restored to her until 1859, when she returned to +Italy and plunged eagerly into politics.</li> + +<li>BENKENDORFF, Count Constantine of (1786-1858). Chief of the staff +of the Emperor Nicholas I. of Russia. He was for sometime Minister +at Stuttgart, where he died.</li> + +<li>BERGERON, Louis.* Born in 1811. French journalist.</li> + +<li>BERNARD, Simon, Baron (1779-1839). Peer of France and Minister of +War under Louis-Philippe, after serving under the Emperor Napoleon I. +and under the first Restoration.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_368">368</a></span> +BERRYER, Antoine* (1790-1868). French lawyer.</li> + +<li>BERTIN DE VEAUX, M.* (1771-1842). French journalist.</li> + +<li>BERTIN DE VEAUX, Madame, <em>née</em> Bocquet. Daughter-in-law of +M. Merlin.</li> + +<li>BERTIN L'AÎNÉ, Louis François (1766-1841). French publicist. Founded +the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> with his brother, Bertin de Veaux.</li> + +<li>BERTIN, Madame. Mlle. Boutard, sister of an art critic on the <cite>Journal +des Débats</cite>. She married M. Bertin the elder.</li> + +<li>BERTRAND, the Comte (1773-1844). The faithful friend of Napoleon I., +whose <em>aide-de-camp</em> he was, and whom he followed to Elba and +St. Helena.</li> + +<li>BERWICK, Duchess of (1793-1863). Dona Rosalia Ventimighi Moncada +was born at Palermo, and was a daughter of the Count of Prado. She +was Lady of Honour to Queen Isabella and Chief Lady of the Palace. +Her son, the Duke of Berwick and of Alba, married the eldest sister +of the Empress Eugenie.</li> + +<li>BILZ, Fräulein Margarete von (1792-1875). At first piano mistress to +Princess Marie of Baden (afterwards Lady Hamilton), and then Lady +of Honour to the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden.</li> + +<li>BINZER, Frau von (1801-1891). <em>Née</em> von Gerschau. She married, in +1822, Herr von Binzer, a German man of letters.</li> + +<li>BIRON, Henri, Marquis de (1803-1883). He married Mlle. de Mun, sister +of the Marquis de Mun, who bore him no children. Left a widower +at an early age, he then lived with his brother, the Comte Etienne +de Biron.</li> + +<li>BIRON-COURLANDE, Prince Charles of. Born in 1811. He married, +in 1833, a Countess of Lippe-Biesterfeld.</li> + +<li>BIRON-COURLANDE, the Princess Fanny of (1815-1883). Sister of the +Countess of Hohenthal and of Madame de Lazareff. Princess Fanny +married General von Boyen.</li> + +<li>BJOERNSTJERNA, Countess of (1797-1865). Elizabeth Charlotte, +daughter of the Field-Marshal, the Count of Stedingk, Swedish +Ambassador in Russia, and sister of the Countess Ugglas. She +married, in 1815, the Baron of Bjoernstjerna, appointed Swedish +Minister at London in 1828. He died in 1847.</li> + +<li>BLITTERSDORFF, Baron Frederick of (1792-1861). A statesman in +Baden. He was Diplomatic Minister at St. Petersburg in 1816, and +Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary Envoy to the Germanic Confederation +in 1821, Minister of Foreign Affairs at Carlsruhe in 1835. In +1848 he retired from politics. He had married Mlle. Brentano.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_369">369</a></span> +BONALD, the Vicomte de (1754-1840). The most famous representative +of the monarchical and religious doctrines of the Restoration. He +became an <em>émigré</em> in 1791, and returned to France when the Empire +was proclaimed; from 1815 to 1822 he was a Deputy, and became +Peer of France in 1823, and afterwards member of the French +Academy. He laboured incessantly with pen and sword to support +the throne and the altar, and thus contributed to the return of +religious ideas to France.</li> + +<li>BONAPARTE, Madame Lætitia (1750-1836). Lætitia Ramolino, of an +Italian family, was married at the age of sixteen to Charles Bonaparte, +by whom she had thirteen children. Napoleon I. was her second +son. In 1814, after the fall of the Empire, she retired to Rome, +where she lived in seclusion.</li> + +<li>BONAPARTE, Joseph (1768-1844). Elder brother of Napoleon I., Joseph +Bonaparte married, at Marseilles in 1794, the daughter of a merchant, +sister of the wife of Bernadotte, Marie Julie Clary. He shared in the +<em>coup d'état</em> of the 18th Brumaire, and several times governed France +in the absence of Napoleon. In 1806 he was appointed King of +Naples and transferred to the throne of Spain in 1808, which he lost +in 1813; after the downfall of the Empire he withdrew, first to the +United States, and then to Florence, where he died.</li> + +<li>BONAPARTE, Jérôme* (1784-1860). Youngest brother of Napoleon I.</li> + +<li>BONAPARTE, Lucien* (1775-1840). Third brother of Napoleon I.</li> + +<li>BONAPARTE, Prince Louis (1808-1873). Son of Louis Bonaparte, King +of Holland, and of Hortense de Beauharnais. Prince Louis had an +adventurous youth: in 1836, at Strasburg, and in 1840, at Boulogne, +he attempted to overthrow Louis-Philippe, and to restore the Empire +for his own purposes. Condemned to perpetual confinement, he was +imprisoned at Ham; thence he escaped, fled to Belgium, and returned +to France after the revolution of 1848. He was elected President of +the Republic on November 16 of the same year. Four years later the +Empire was proclaimed, and Prince Louis reigned till 1870 under the +name of Napoleon III.</li> + +<li>BORDEAUX, the Duc de* (1820-1883). Son of the Duc de Berry and +grandson of King Charles X. He afterwards took the title of Comte +de Chambord.</li> + +<li>BOSSUET, Jacques Bénigne (1627-1704). Of a magistrate's family, he +was brought up among the Jesuits and received Holy Orders in 1652. +He was Bishop of Condom in 1669 and then Bishop of Meaux. In 1670 +he was appointed tutor to the Dauphin of France, and composed for +that prince several educational works (Discourses upon Universal +History, &c.) and showed himself a zealous defender of French +liberty.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_370">370</a></span> +BOURDOIS DE LA MOTTE, Edme Joachim (1754-1830). A doctor at the +Hospital of La Charity in Paris, he was detained at La Force during +the revolutionary disturbances and then followed the army of Italy. +In 1811 he was appointed Court doctor at Rome and was also attached +to the Court under the Restoration. He became member of the +Academy of Medicine in 1820.</li> + +<li>BOURLIER, Comte (1731-1821). He studied theology at Saint Sulpice, +was appointed Bishop of Evreux in 1802 and entrusted by Napoleon I. +with several confidential missions to the Pope. He was made peer of +France by Louis XVIII. in 1814.</li> + +<li>BOURLON DE SARTY, Paul de. He was Prefect of Marne and had +married Mlle. Adrienne de Vandœuvre.</li> + +<li>BOURQUENEY, Baron, afterwards Comte de* (1800-1869). French +diplomatist.</li> + +<li>BRESSON, Comte Charles* (1788-1847). French diplomatist.</li> + +<li>BRETZENHEIM VON REGÉCZ (the Princess of). Born in 1806, Caroline, +daughter of Prince Joseph of Schwarzenberg, married Prince +Ferdinand of Bretzenheim, Chamberlain to the Austrian Court.</li> + +<li>BRÉZÉ, Marquis de Dreux—(1793-1846). An officer who shared in the +last campaigns of the Empire. As aide-de-camp to Marshal Soult at +the Restoration, he followed the king to Ghent; in 1827 he retired and +became peer of France after his father's death in 1829. In the Upper +Chamber he was one of the most ardent leaders of the Legitimist +party against the government of Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>BRETONNEAU, Dr. Pierre* (1778-1862). A doctor at Tours.</li> + +<li>BRIGNOLE, Marchesa of. <em>Née</em> Anna Pieri, of a noble family of Sienna. +She was the mother of the Marquis of Brignole, for a long time +Sardinian Ambassador at Paris and of the Duchess of Dalberg. She +died in 1815 during the Congress, at Vienna, whither she had accompanied +the Empress Marie Louise.</li> + +<li>BRIGODE, Baron de (1775-1854). He entered the Council of State as +auditor in 1803 and was deputy in the legislative body in 1805. In +1837 he was appointed peer of France. After the Revolution of 1848 +he retired to private life.</li> + +<li>BROGLIE, Duc Victor de* (1785-1870). French Statesman.</li> + +<li>BROGLIE, Duchesse de* (1797-1840). <em>Née</em> Albertine de Staël.</li> + +<li>BROGLIE (Mlle. Louise de). Born in 1818; married in 1836 the Comte +d'Haussonville.</li> + +<li>BROSSES, Charles de (1709-1777). A Frenchman and a learned man of +letters; the author of a work on Italy which was very successful.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_371">371</a></span> +BROUGHAM, Lord* (1778-1868). English statesman.</li> + +<li>BÜLOW, Baron Heinrich von* (1790-1846). Prussian Diplomatist.</li> + +<li>BÜLOW, Frau von (1802-1889). Daughter of Wilhelm von Humboldt and +wife of Baron Heinrich von Bülow, with whom she resided in London +from 1830 to 1834.</li> + +<li>BULWER, Sir Henry (1804-1872). English diplomatist. First attached +to the legations of Berlin, Vienna and the Hague and constantly +resident in Paris. From 1843 to 1848 he was Minister Plenipotentiary +in Spain. After marrying the youngest of the daughters of Lord +Cowley he represented his country in the United States, in Tuscany +and at Constantinople in 1858.</li> + +<li>BUOL-SCHAUENSTEIN, Count (1797-1865). Austrian diplomatist at +Florence in 1816, at Paris in 1822, at London in 1824; then Minister +at Carlsruhe, at Darmstadt in 1831, at Stuttgart in 1838, at Turin in +1848, and finally at St. Petersburg. He became Privy Councillor and +accompanied in 1851 the Prince of Schwarzenberg to the conference +of Dresden. In 1852 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. +He resigned in 1859.</li> + +<li>BUOL, Countess (1809-1862). Princess Caroline of Isenburg married in +1829 Count Buol. From her mother, <em>née</em> Baroness of Herding, she +inherited an enormous fortune.</li> + +<li>BURGUNDY, the Duchess of (1685-1712). Marie Adelaide, daughter +of Victor Amadaus, first King of Sardinia, a great favourite at the +Court of France. This princess died in the flower of her youth, six +days before her husband and, like him, of the measles. She had +several children, one of whom survived and became Louis XV.</li> + +<li>BUSSIÈRE, Jules Edmond de (1804-1888). Diplomatist, <em>Chargé d'affaires</em> +at Darmstadt and then at Dresden. Louis-Philippe raised him to the +peerage in 1841. In 1848 he retired to private life.</li> + +<li>BYRON, George Gordon, Lord* (1788-1824). Famous English romantic +poet.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">C</p> + +<ul> +<li>CALATRAVA, Don José Maria (1781-1846). Spanish statesman and defender +of the liberty of his country. Deported in 1814, he was unable +to return to Spain until the Constitution was re-established in 1820. +As Minister of Justice in 1823 he was obliged to take ship for England +during the period of the French occupation. In 1830 he joined the +Junta in power at Bayonne. In opposition to Martinez de la Rosa, +he joined the National Guard of Madrid in 1835. When the Queen +had taken the oath to observe the Constitution, the chief power +returned to his hands, and after many proofs of his incapacity he +was made a Senator.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_372">372</a></span> +CAMPAN, Mme.* (1752-1822). Famous in the history of French Education.</li> + +<li>CANOVA, Antonio* (1757-1822). Celebrated Italian sculptor.</li> + +<li>CAPUA, Prince of (1811-1862). Charles Ferdinand, brother of King +Ferdinand of Naples. He had been suspected of participation in +intrigues against the dynasty and was exiled. He contracted a +morganatic marriage in England with Miss Penelope Smith by whom +he had two children who were not recognised by the Royal Family of +Naples. After 1860 he obtained from Victor Emanuel an appanage +which was afterwards confirmed to his widow and her children during +their life.</li> + +<li>CAPRARA, Cardinal J. B. (1733-1810). Bishop of Iesi; he performed +several diplomatic missions with success and was appointed by Pope +Pius VII. as legate <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">a latere</i> to the French Government, and while +occupying this position he concluded the concordat of 1801. He was +appointed Archbishop of Milan and in this town crowned Napoleon as +King of Italy.</li> + +<li>CARADOC, Sir John Hobart (1799-1873). Afterwards Lord Howden. +Colonel in the English Army and English Minister at Rio de Janeiro +and at Madrid.</li> + +<li>CARAMAN, Marquise de. Césarine Gallard de Béarn married the Marquis +Victor de Caraman and was left a widow in 1836.</li> + +<li>CARIGNAN, Prince Eugène de (1816-1888). Son of the Baron of Villefranche +and of Mlle. de la Vauguyon. The King of Sardinia, Charles +Albert, recognised him as a prince of the blood. He was an Admiral +in the Sardinian Navy and Regent of the kingdom during the wars of +1859 and 1866. By a morganatic marriage he had several children to +whom King Humbert gave the title of Counts of Villefranche Soissons, +though he recognised no kind of tie with the house of Savoy.</li> + +<li><a name="CARIGNAN" id="CARIGNAN"></a>CARIGNAN, Philiberte de (1814-1874). Daughter of the Prince de Villefranche +of the House of Carignan, by his marriage with Mlle. de la +Vauguyon.</li> + +<li>CARLOTTA, The Infanta* (1804-1844). Sister of Queen Christina of +Spain.</li> + +<li>CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Prince Heinrich von (1783-1864). Cavalry +general in the Prussian army and chief huntsman to the Court. His +first wife was a Countess Pappenheim, by whom he had two daughters, +and his second wife was his cousin, the Countess Firks, by whom he +had no children.</li> + +<li>CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Princess Adelaide (1797-1849). Daughter of the +Count of Pappenheim, Lieutenant-General of Bavaria. She married in +1817 Prince Heinrich Carolath.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_373">373</a></span> +CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Princess Lucia. Born in 1822. Eldest daughter +of Prince Heinrich Carolath. She married the Count of Haugwitz +and became a widow in 1888.</li> + +<li>CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Princess Adelaide. Born in 1823. Youngest +daughter of Prince Heinrich Carolath.</li> + +<li>CAROLATH-SAABOR, Prince Friedrich von (1790-1859). Major in the +Prussian army and Councillor at Grünberg, Silesia. He had married +the daughter of Prince Heinrich XLIV. Reuss.</li> + +<li>CAROLINE, Maria (1752-1814). Queen of Naples. Daughter of the +Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. This Princess married Ferdinand +IV., King of Naples in 1768. Her influence induced him to declare +war upon the French Republic, and she brought down upon him the +vengeance of Napoleon I. Driven from her States, Queen Caroline +withdrew to Austria and died at Schönbrunn. She was the mother of +Queen Marie Amélie.</li> + +<li>CAROLINE, the Empress (1803-1884). Princess Caroline of Savoy, +daughter of Victor Emanuel I. and twin sister of the Duchess of +Lucca. She married in 1831 Ferdinand II., Emperor of Austria.</li> + +<li>CARRACI, Annibale* (1560-1609). Famous Italian painter.</li> + +<li>CARREL, Armand* (1800-1836). French publicist.</li> + +<li>CASANOVA DE SEINGALT (1725-1803). Famous adventurer of the +eighteenth century and the son of actors. He was by turn a journalist, +a preacher, and, in particular, a lady-killer. He was intimate with +Rousseau, Voltaire, Souvaroff, Frederick the Great, and Catherine II. In +distress and pecuniary want he followed Count Waldstein-Dux to +Bohemia to become his librarian. At Dux he composed his memoirs, +an unrepentant confession of his life, and a more lively than moral +picture of society.</li> + +<li>CASTELLANE, the Comtesse de* (1796-1847). Cordélia Greffulhe. Married +in 1813 to the Comte de Castellane, afterwards Marshal of +France.</li> + +<li>CASTELLANE, the Marquis Henri de (1814-1847). Eldest son of the +Marshal de Castellane; auditor to the Council of State, and Councillor-General +of Cantal. He was appointed Deputy in 1844. In 1839 +he married Mlle. Pauline de Périgord, grand-niece of the Prince de +Talleyrand and daughter of the Duchesse de Dino, author of these +memoirs.</li> + +<li>CÆSAR, Julius (101-40 <span class="smcap">B.C.</span>). A famous Roman General, celebrated for +his conquest of Gaul.</li> + +<li>CHABOT, Philippe de (1815-1875). Ph. de Chabot, Comte de Jarnac, +followed a diplomatic career and retained throughout his life a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_374">374</a></span> +profound attachment for the House of Orléans. He had been appointed +French Ambassador at London in 1874, but died shortly after of +pleurisy.</li> + +<li>CHABROL DE CROUSOL, Comte de (1771-1831). Member of the Council +of State under Napoleon I.; President of the Imperial Court of +Orleans and Prefect of the Rhone in 1814; Director of registration +and State lands in 1822; Naval Minister in 1823 and Finance Minister +in 1829.</li> + +<li>CHALAIS, the Prince de (1809-1883). Elie Louis Roger, eldest son of the +Duc de Périgord. He married Elodie de Beauvilliers de Saint-Aignan, +and was left a widower in 1835.</li> + +<li>CHAMPCHEVRIER, Madame de. A highly respected lady who occupied +the mansion of Champchevrier near Cinq-Mars in Touraine about 1840, +when she was well advanced in years.</li> + +<li>CHARLES THEODORE (1724-1799). Elector of Bavaria. He did not +care for Munich and settled at Mannheim. A statue was erected to +him at Heidelberg.</li> + +<li>CHARLES IV (1316-1378). Emperor of Germany. Son of John of +Luxemburg, King of Bohemia. He succeeded his father in 1346, +and was elected Emperor in 1347. In 1356 he published the +famous "Golden Bull," which laid down the Constitution of the +Empire and remained authoritative until 1806. He was the first +Prince of Germany who sold titles of nobility. He founded the +Universities of Prague and Vienna.</li> + +<li>CHARLES X.* (1757-1836). King of France from 1824 to 1830.</li> + +<li>CHARLOTTE, Queen (1744-1818). Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. +Married in 1761 King George III. of England, by whom she +had a very large number of children.</li> + +<li>CHASTELLUX, Madame de, <em>née</em> Zéphyrine de Damas. She married as +her first husband M. de Vogüé.</li> + +<li>CHATEAUBRIAND, the Vicomte de* (1768-1848). French man of +letters.</li> + +<li>CHOISEUL PRASLIN, The Comtesse de. Born in 1782. Second wife of +the Comte René de Choiseul Praslin, daughter of François de Rougé, +Comte du Plessis Bellière.</li> + +<li>CHOMEL, Dr. (1788-1859). A French doctor, and the first to establish a +proper clinical school at the Hospital of Charity. A pupil of Corvisard, +Chomel became the doctor of King Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>CHREPTOWICZ, Countess. Died in 1878. Helena, daughter of the +Comte de Nesselrode. Married Count Michael Chreptowicz, who +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_375">375</a></span> +served for a long time in the Russian diplomatic service and was made +Court High Chamberlain during the last years of the reign of +Alexander II.</li> + +<li>CLAM GALLAS, Count Edward of (1805-1891). Austrian cavalry general, +who played an important part in the wars in which Austria was involved +after 1848. He resigned in 1868 in anger at the attacks made +upon his conduct of the campaign of 1866 against Prussia in Bohemia, +although a court-martial had entirely exonerated him.</li> + +<li>CLANRICARDE, Lord* (1802-1874). English politician.</li> + +<li>CLANRICARDE, Lady. Died in 1876. Daughter of the famous Canning.</li> + +<li>CLARY-ALDRINGEN, Prince Charles (1777-1831). He married the +Countess Louise Chotek.</li> + +<li>CLAUSEL, Comte Bertrand (1772-1842). Enlisted as a volunteer in 1791. +He was rapidly promoted. In 1805 he became general of division and +served in Italy, Dalmatia, Illyria, and won much reputation during the +war in Spain. After the Hundred Days when he joined Napoleon, he +withdrew to the United States and did not return until the armistice +of 1820. In 1827 he was a deputy and a member of the Liberal +opposition, and after 1830 he was appointed Governor of Algiers, but +was a failure at the Siege of Constantine and was superseded. He +then retired.</li> + +<li>CLÉMENT DE RIS, Mlle. Married Admiral la Roncière le Noury. She +was a daughter of a senator of the Empire, and occupied the château +of Beauvais near Valençay.</li> + +<li>CLÉMENTINE, Princess (1817-1907). Princesse Clémentine d'Orléans, +daughter of King Louis-Phillipe. Married in 1843 Prince Augustus of +Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke of Saxony.</li> + +<li>CLERMONT TONERRE, Prince Jules de (1813-1849). Second son of the +Duc Aimé de Clermont Tonnerre, sometime Minister of War, and Peer +of France. Prince J. de Clermont Tonnerre married Mlle. de Crillon.</li> + +<li>COBURG, Prince Ferdinand of* (1816-1888). Husband of Doña Maria +da Gloria, Queen of Portugal.</li> + +<li>COBURG, Duke Ernest I. of Saxe- (1784-1844). This Prince succeeded +his father, Duke Francis, in 1806. His first wife was Princess Louise +of Saxe-Coburg Altenburg, who died in 1831. In 1832 he married +Princess Antoinette of Würtemberg.</li> + +<li>CŒUR, The Abbé (1805-1860). Born of a merchant's family, who were +traditionally supposed to have descended from the famous banker +of Charles VII., the Abbé Cœur was professor of philosophy in the +seminary of Lyons. After 1827 he came to Paris and attentively +followed the lectures of MM. Guizot, Villemain and Cousin, and then +devoted himself to preaching. In 1840 he preached a course of Lenten +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_376">376</a></span> +sermons at Saint Roch, after which King Louis-Philippe gave him the +cross of the Legion of Honour. In 1848 he was appointed to the +Archbishopric of Troyes. He delivered the funeral oration over +Mgr. Affre.</li> + +<li>COGNY, Dr. Doctor of Valençay.</li> + +<li>COIGNY, the Duc de (1788-1865). He entered the army as a volunteer +in 1805; lost his arm at the battle of Smolensk, was appointed cavalry +colonel after the return of the Bourbons, in 1814 was appointed +aide-de-camp to the Duc de Berry, and then entered the service +of the Duc de Bordeaux. In 1821 he took the place of his grandfather, +Marshal de Coigny in the Chamber of Peers. After vain efforts +to secure from Charles X. in 1830 the revocation of the Ordinances, +M. de Coigny swore fidelity to the July monarchy. In 1837 he was +knight of honour to the Duchesse d'Orléans, and in 1843 was promoted +to field-marshal.</li> + +<li>COIGNY, the Duchesse de. She was an English woman by birth, and +daughter of Sir H. J. Dalrymple Hamilton. She married the Duc +de Coigny in 1822.</li> + +<li>COLLARD, Madame Hermine. Brought up by Madame de Genlis; the +circumstances of her birth were entirely obscure.</li> + +<li>COMBALOT, the Abbé Théodore (1798-1873). A French preacher. He +was ordained at a very early age and became a zealous partisan of +Lamennais, though at a later date he disavowed his doctrines. His +sermons attracted keen attention, owing to their political character.</li> + +<li>CONDÉ, Louis II., Prince de (1621-1686). Called the Great Condé, first +Prince of the blood and first known as the Duc d'Enghien. He was +famous for his victories at Rocroi, Friburg, Nordlingen, and Lens. +After taking an unfortunate share in the troubles of the Fronde, the +Prince de Condé was restored to his command at the time of the treaty +of the Pyrenees and performed admirable service during the wars in +Flanders and in the Franche Comté.</li> + +<li>CONYNGHAM, Francis Nathaniel, Marquis of* (1797-1882). English +politician.</li> + +<li>CORMENIN, Vicomte de (1788-1868). Publicist, Councillor of State, +deputy, and famous as a pamphleteer under the pseudonym of Timon.</li> + +<li>CORNELIUS, Peter von (1787-1867). Famous German painter of the +School of Düsseldorf. He studied for several years at Frankfort-on-Maine +and at Rome. His composition was magnificent and his +power of drawing remarkable.</li> + +<li>COSSÉ BRISSAC, the Duc de (1775-1848). A member of the administration +under the Empire, he joined the Restoration and entered the +Chamber of Peers in 1814. He then became a supporter of the +July Monarchy.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_377">377</a></span> +COURLANDE, Duchesse de (1761-1821). <em>Née</em> Comtesse de Medem, she +married the Duc Pierre de Courlande, by whom she had four daughters. +The youngest was the Duchesse de Dino, author of these memoirs.</li> + +<li>COUSIN, Victor* (1792-1867). French philosopher.</li> + +<li>COWPER, Lady* (1787-1869). Afterwards Lady Palmerston.</li> + +<li>CRÉMIEUX, Adolphe (1796-1880). Lawyer and French politician. A +member of the National Defence in 1870.</li> + +<li>CRESCENTINI, Girolamo (1769-1846). Famous soprano singer, known +as the Italian Orpheus. He went on the stage in 1788, and was heard +at Rome, Verona, Padua, Vienna, and Lisbon. Napoleon kept him +at Paris from 1806 to 1812. He afterwards became a professor in the +Conservatory at Naples.</li> + +<li>CRUVEILHIER, Dr. Jean (1791-1874). Doctor and famous French +anatomist. He was born at Limoges and studied at Paris, where he +had a large and select practice.</li> + +<li>CUBIÈRES, General de (1786-1853). In 1804 he left the military school +of Fontainebleau and distinguished himself at Austerlitz and at +Auerstadt. He obtained the cross of honour at Eylau, the rank of +captain at Essling, and became major of cavalry during the campaign +of 1813, colonel in 1815, and covered himself with glory at Waterloo. +When he was retired by the Second Restoration he obtained the post +of receiver-general of the Meuse, and in 1832 was given the command +of the expeditionary force of Ancona. He was appointed general and +was twice Minister of War in 1839 and 1840. In 1847 he was involved +in a deplorable affair and accused of bribing the Minister Teste to +secure the concession of the salt-mines of Gouhénans. He was then +tried before the Court of Peers, condemned to civil degradation, and +fined ten thousand francs. In 1852 he was exonerated by the Court +of Appeal of Rouen.</li> + +<li>CUMBERLAND, Ernest Augustus, Duke of* (1771-1851). Youngest son +of George III., King of England.</li> + +<li>CUMBERLAND, Duchess of.* <em>Née</em> Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.</li> + +<li>CUNEGONDE, Saint. Died in 1040. Empress of Germany and wife of +Henry II. of Bavaria. Her festival is March 3.</li> + +<li>CUVIER, Rodolphe. Protestant pastor to the Duchesse d'Orléans. He +belonged to another branch of the family of the famous naturalist +who bears that name.</li> + +<li>CUVILLIER FLEURY, Alfred Auguste (1802-1887). French man of +letters on the staff of the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite>, and appointed by King +Louis-Philippe to attend upon his fourth son, the Duc d'Aumale, +whose tutor he became, and afterwards his secretary of instructions. +He was elected member of the French Academy in 1866.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_378">378</a></span> +CZARTORYSKI, Prince Adam* (1770-1861). Formerly Minister of +Foreign Affairs to the Emperor Alexander I. of Russia.</li> + +<li>CZARTORYSKI, Prince Adam (1804-1880). Son of Prince Constantin +Czartoryski and of Princess Angelica Radziwill. He first married in +1832 his cousin-german, Princess Wanda Radziwill, and as his second +wife in 1848, Countess Dzialynska.</li> + +<li>CZARTORYSKI, Princess Wanda (1813-1846). Daughter of Prince Antony +Radziwill and of Princess Louise of Prussia. She married in 1832 +Prince Adam Czartoryski.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">D</p> + +<ul> +<li>DALBERG, the Duc de* (1773-1833). Son of the Primate and Archchancellor +of the same name.</li> + +<li>DARMÈS. Attempted to assassinate King Louis-Philippe on October 15, +1840.</li> + +<li>DARMSTADT, Princess Marie of. Born in 1824, she married the hereditary +Grand Duke of Russia in 1841.</li> + +<li>DECAZES, Elie, Duc* (1780-1846). French politician.</li> + +<li>DELAVIGNE, Casimir (1793-1843). Lyric and dramatic poet. He entered +the Academy in 1825. His Liberal ideas had brought him into disgrace +under the Restoration; King Louis-Philippe, then Duc d'Orléans, +extricated him from his troubles by making him Librarian of the +Palais Royal.</li> + +<li>DEMERSON, the Abbé (1795-1872). A French priest who took orders in +1819 and was the incumbent of Saint Séverin, then of Saint Germain +l'Auxerrois from 1838 to 1850, when he was appointed to Notre Dame +de Paris.</li> + +<li>DEMIDOFF, Count Anatole (1813-1870). Count Demidoff, Prince of San +Donato, married in 1841 Princess Mathilde, daughter of King Jerome +of Westphalia. She was called Princess Mathilde de Montfort.</li> + +<li>DENIS BARBIER. One of the servants of Pouch Lafarge. He forged +some notes of hand for his master, when the latter, who was an +incompetent man of business, came to Paris, and he remained his +agent.</li> + +<li>DENMARK, King Frederick III. of (1768-1839). He succeeded his father +in 1815 and married the daughter of the landgrave of Hesse Cassel.</li> + +<li>DENMARK, Prince Christian of (1786-1848). This Prince married as his +first wife a Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, from whom he was +divorced. His second wife was Princess Caroline of Schleswig-Holstein +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_379">379</a></span> +Augustenburg. By his first marriage he had a son, Frederick, +who succeeded him as Frederick VII.</li> + +<li>DENMARK, Princess Christian of (1796-1881). The second wife of +Prince Christian, <em>née</em> Princess of Schleswig-Holstein Augustenburg.</li> + +<li>DESJARDINS, the Abbé (1756-1833). Ordained in 1775, he was Vicar-General +of Bayeux, went into exile in England and afterwards in +America during the revolution and did not return to France till 1802. +He became superintendent of foreign missions at Paris, when the +Emperor Napoleon arrested him on suspicion, imprisoned him at +Vincennes and then exiled him to Verceil. When he returned to +France at the Restoration, he refused the Bishopric of Blois in 1823 +and that of Châlons in 1824, but was appointed Vicar-General at +Paris.</li> + +<li>DIEFFENBACH, Johann Friedrich (1794-1847). Famous Prussian oculist +who discovered the operation for curing squint. He died suddenly in +the operating room of the Charity Hospital at Berlin, of which he was +director from 1840.</li> + +<li>DIESKAU, Mlle. Sidonie de. Died at a very advanced age. She lived at +Gera in Saxony, near Altenburg, and was a near neighbour of the +castle of Löbichau.</li> + +<li>DINO, the Duc de (1813-1894). Known first under the name of Comte +Alexandre de Périgord,* he assumed this title in 1838 when his father +became Duc de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>DOHNA, Countess Marie (1805-1893). <em>Née</em> Fräulein von Steinach, she +married in 1829 Count Dohna who for long years was landrat at Sagan +and held the estate of Kunzendorf in that neighbourhood.</li> + +<li>DOLOMIEU, the Marquise de* (1779-1849). Lady of Honour to Queen +Marie Amélie.</li> + +<li>DON CARLOS OF BOURBON* (1788-1855). Second son of Charles IV. +and brother of Ferdinand VII., kings of Spain. After his brother's +death in 1833, he stirred up civil war in an attempt to seize the throne.</li> + +<li>DON FRANCISCO* (1794-1865). The Infanta of Spain. Married the +Infanta Carlotta.</li> + +<li>DOSNE, M. First clerk in a banking house at Paris, he became a stockbroker +in 1816. After the July revolution he resigned and became +Receiver-General for Finistère, and four years later Receiver-General +for the North. He became Governor of the Bank of France and one +of the chief shareholders in the mines of Anzin, and largely increased +his fortune.</li> + +<li>DOSNE, Mme. Wife of the stockbroker and mother of Mme. Thiers.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_380">380</a></span> +DOSNE, Mlle. Félicie. Sister of Mme. Thiers. A very religious woman, +she devoted her whole life to her sister and brother-in-law and published +in memory of M. Thiers in 1903, some of his posthumous papers, +under the title of "The Occupation and Liberation of the Territory" +(1871-1875). She died soon afterwards at a very advanced age.</li> + +<li>DOUDAN, Ximénès (1800-1872). At first tutor in the house of the Duc de +Broglie, he became chief of the political Cabinet of the Duc, who held +him in great esteem, and afterwards retained his services as private +secretary.</li> + +<li>DUBOIS, M. Deputy of the Loire Inférieure and member of the Royal +Council of Education and director of the normal school.</li> + +<li>DUCHÂTEL, Charles, Comte* (1803-1867). French politician.</li> + +<li>DUFAURE, Jules Armand Stanislas (1798-1881). Lawyer and French +statesman. Appointed deputy in 1834, he joined the Liberal Constitutional +party; was Councillor of State in 1836 and Minister of Public +Works in 1839. He supported the Republic in 1848 and became +Minister of the Interior, but held aloof from politics under the Second +Empire. In 1871 he became Minister of Justice. He afterwards +obtained a seat in the Senate and secured the passing of the law of +Guarantees.</li> + +<li>DUPANLOUP, Félix Philibert (1802-1878). A most distinguished priest, +his early reputation was due to his famous catechisms. After 1835 +he became Vicar-General of the diocese of Paris and Superior of the +little seminary of Saint Nicholas. He then took an active part in +the discussions concerning the freedom of education. In 1849 he was +appointed Bishop of Orléans, was a member of the Academy in 1854 +and became famous for his defence of the Papal Chair at the time of +the Italian expedition. In 1869 he was present at the Council of +Rome and returned to Orleans, remaining with his flock during the +war. After the conclusion of peace he was appointed a member of +the assembly by his grateful people.</li> + +<li>DUPIN, André Marie* (1783-1865). French lawyer and magistrate.</li> + +<li>DUPREZ, Gilbert Louis (1806-1879). Famous French singer attached to +the Paris Opera for ten years. He had an incomparable tenor voice.</li> + +<li>DÜRER, Albert (1471-1528). Famous German painter and engraver with +a rich sense of colour and a clever and realistic touch. He excelled +in portraiture and the art of engraving was largely improved by him.</li> + +<li>DURHAM, Lord Lambton, Earl of* (1792-1840). English statesman.</li> + +<li>DUVERGIER DE HAURANNE, Prosper (1798-1887). A French politician. +One of the leaders of the dynastic opposition under the July monarchy +and one of the organisers of the banquets in 1848. He was a member +of the anti-Napoleonic minority, and was imprisoned and exiled after +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_381">381</a></span> +the <em>coup d'état</em> of December 2, 1851, but was able to return to France +in 1862. He then abandoned active politics and wrote a history of +parliamentary government in France, which secured his admission +to the Academy in 1870, in place of the Duc de Broglie.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">E</p> + +<ul> +<li>EDOUARD. The famous lady's hairdresser at Paris under Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>ELIZABETH OF PRUSSIA, Queen (1801-1873). Daughter of King +Maximilian of Bavaria, she married in 1823 the Crown Prince of +Prussia, who ascended the throne in 1840 as Frederick William IV. +Queen Elizabeth became a widow in 1861 and afterwards lived in +retirement.</li> + +<li>ELLICE, Mr. Edward* (1787-1863). English politician, son-in-law of +Lord Grey.</li> + +<li>ELSSLER, Theresa (1806-1878). Famous German dancer. Made Baroness +of Barnim by King Frederick William IV. in 1850 on the occasion of +her marriage with Prince Adalbert of Prussia.</li> + +<li>ELSSLER, Fanny (1810-1886). Sister of the foregoing and, like her, +a famous dancer. She appeared in every theatre in Europe and +America, and retired in 1845 to her fine estate near Hamburg. She +had acquired a large fortune.</li> + +<li>EMMANUEL PHILIBERT, known as Ironhead (1528-1580). Duke of +Savoy. This prince entered the service of his uncle the Emperor +Charles Quint. He distinguished himself at the siege of Metz in 1552, +received command of the imperial army in 1553, and gained the battle +of Saint Quentin in 1557 for Philippe II. He recovered his duchy of +which Francis I. had deprived his father, in 1559 by the treaty of +Cateau Cambrésis, and married Margaret of France, sister of Henry II. +His statue, the work of the sculptor Marochetti, stands in the centre +of the square of San Carlo at Turin.</li> + +<li>ENTRAIGUES, Amédée Goveau d'.* Born in 1785. Prefect of Tours. +He married a Princess Santa Croce, ward of the Prince de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>ENTRAIGUES, Jules d'.* Born in 1787. Brother of the prefect, and +owner of the château of la Moustière, near Valençay.</li> + +<li>EON DE BEAUMONT, Charles (1728-1810). Famous for the doubt concerning +his sex, as he appeared sometimes as the knight and sometimes +as the lady of Eon. He won distinction early in the diplomatic +career, and was for fourteen years the secret agent of Louis XV. The +revolution deprived him of his pension and reduced him to giving +fencing-lessons; and only through the help of some friends did he +escape poverty.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_382">382</a></span> +ESPARTERO, Joachim Baldomero (1792-1879). Enlisted in 1808, and +had a brilliant military career. He joined in the expedition to Peru +in 1825, and came back with a handsome fortune. On the death of +Ferdinand VII., he supported the Queen Regent, Maria Christina. +His success against the Carlists secured his nomination in 1836 as +commander-in-chief of the army of the North and as Viceroy of +Navarre. In 1840, when the Queen-Regent had abdicated, the Cortes +transferred the regency to Espartero, but he was defeated in 1842, +and retired to England till 1847. In 1854 and 1868, he recovered his +power for a short space of time. In 1870, the Cortes offered him the +crown, which he refused in view of his great age and the want of an +heir.</li> + +<li>ESTERHAZY, Prince Paul* (1786-1866). Austrian Diplomatist.</li> + +<li>EXELMANS, Isidore, Comte* (1775-1852). One of the most brilliant +generals of the Empire, who was made a peer of France and a marshal +under the July monarchy.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">F</p> + +<ul> +<li>FAGEL, General Robert* (1772-1856). Dutch diplomatist.</li> + +<li>FALK, Anton Reinhard* (1776-1843). Dutch diplomatist.</li> + +<li>FÉNELON, François de Salignac de la Mothe- (1651-1715). Archbishop +of Cambrai and tutor to the Duc de Bourgogne. He adopted the +doctrines of the Quietists, and was vigorously opposed by Bossuet. +He was as great a writer as he was a preacher.</li> + +<li>FERDINAND VII.* (1784-1833). Eldest son of King Charles IV. of +Spain and his successor. He was dethroned by Napoleon I. in favour +of his brother Joseph, but reascended the throne in 1814.</li> + +<li>FERRUS, Guillaume Marie André (1784-1861). A French doctor. He +introduced some valuable reforms into the asylum at Bicêtre, of which +he was chief doctor. In 1830 he was appointed consulting doctor to +the King, and soon became a member of the Academy of Medicine +and a commander of the Legion of Honour.</li> + +<li>FESCH, Cardinal Joseph (1763-1839). Brother of Mme. Laetitia Bonaparte, +he was appointed Archbishop of Lyons in 1802 by his nephew +Napoleon I. He was French Ambassador at Rome, then chief almoner +and senator. He returned to Rome at the Restoration and died +there.</li> + +<li>FIESCHI, Joseph* (1790-1835). The would-be assassin of King Louis-Philippe, +July 28, 1835.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_383">383</a></span> +FIQUELMONT, the Comte Charles Louis de (1777-1857). Born in Lorraine, +he entered the Austrian army in 1793, and shared in the +campaigns from 1805 to 1809. In 1815 he was sent as minister to +Stockholm, and in 1820 in the same capacity to Florence. He was +appointed Ambassador at St. Petersburg, where he lived for several +years, and did not return to Austria until 1840. He then became +Minister of State, and for a short time Minister of Foreign Affairs in +1848. His only daughter had married Prince Edmond Clary.</li> + +<li>FITZ-JAMES, Jacques, Duc de (1799-1846). He married, in 1825, Mlle. +de Marmier.</li> + +<li>FLAHAUT, the General, Comte de* (1785-1870). Peer of France under +Louis-Philippe, senator and Ambassador under Napoleon III.</li> + +<li>FLAHAUT, the Comtesse de,* died in 1867. Daughter of the English +admiral, Lord Keith.</li> + +<li>FLAHAUT, Clémentine de (1819-1835). Daughter of the Comte and +Comtesse de Flahaut.</li> + +<li>FONTANES, Louis de (1757-1821). A poet and graceful orator and a great +favourite of Napoleon I. A member of the legislative body in 1804, +he became president in 1805. In 1808 the Emperor appointed him +High Master of the University; in 1810 he was called to the Senate +and afterwards supported the Restoration.</li> + +<li>FOULD, Bénédict (1791-1858). Son of a Jewish banker who had founded +the important firm of Fould, Oppenheim & Co. He was deputy from +1834 to 1842 and Knight of the Legion of Honour from 1843.</li> + +<li>FOULQUES III., Nerra or the Black (987-1039). Count of Anjou. He +made war upon Conan, first Duke of Brittany, whom he defeated and +killed, and upon Eudes II., Count of Blois, by whom he was defeated. +Foulques made three pilgrimages to the Holy Land in expiation of his +violent life. His niece Constance married King Robert.</li> + +<li>FOY, Comte Fernand (1815-1871). Son of General Foy; he was appointed +Peer of France by King Louis Philippe, and though constantly loyal +to the constitutional monarchy, he showed a strong leaning to +liberalism. He was devoted to charitable works from an early age.</li> + +<li>FRANÇOIS I.* (1494-1547). King of France and adversary of Charles V.</li> + +<li>FREDERICK II., known as the Great* (1712-1786). King of Prussia +and founder of the Prussian military power.</li> + +<li>FREDERICK VII. (1808-1863). King of Denmark. He was the only son +of Prince Christian of Denmark and of his first wife, Princess Charlotte +of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Twice divorced, he was exiled for +some years to Jutland and did not ascend the throne until 1848.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_384">384</a></span> +FREDERICK WILLIAM, known as the Great Elector of Brandenburg +(1620-1688). He ascended the throne in 1640 and organised the +Prussian Army.</li> + +<li>FREDERICK WILLIAM III. (1770-1840). King of Prussia. He succeeded +his father Frederick William II. in 1797. He had married a Princess +of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, known as Queen Louise. She died in 1810 +and in 1824 he contracted a morganatic marriage with the Countess +Augusta of Harrach, to whom he gave the title of Princess of Liegnitz.</li> + +<li>FREDERICK WILLIAM IV. (1795-1861). King of Prussia. He ascended +the throne in 1840 on the death of his father. He had married in +1823 Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria by whom he had no children.</li> + +<li>FRIAS, Duke of* (1783-1851). Spanish ambassador, statesman and man +of letters.</li> + +<li>FRONSAC, Duc de. Died in 1791. Son of Marshal Richelieu whom he +only survived three years.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">G</p> + +<ul> +<li>GAGE, Sir William Hall (1777-1865). An English Admiral who took an +active part in the operations against Napoleon I. He was appointed +Lord of the Admiralty in 1841. In 1860 he received the Grand Cross +of the Order of the Bath.</li> + +<li>GARIBALDI, Mgr. Antoine (1797-1853). Archbishop of Myra in 1844; +Nuncio at Paris in 1850 in succession to Cardinal Tonari, he was himself +succeeded by Mgr. Sacconi.</li> + +<li>GARNIER-PAGÈS (1801-1841). At first a lawyer, he shared in the +Revolution of 1830 and became one of the leaders of the Republican +party. He was then prosecuted several times after the insurrection +of 1832 and acquired great popularity.</li> + +<li>GENLIS, Mme. de (1746-1830). Félicité Ducrest de Saint Aubin married +the Comte de Genlis at the age of fifteen. Her aunt, Mme. de Montesson, +introduced her to the household of the Duc d'Orléans who +soon selected her as the governess of his children. Mme. de Genlis +became an exile in 1792, returned to France after the 18th of Brumaire +and became the correspondent of Napoleon I., whom she provided +with information about the customs and etiquette of the old Court. +She lived in retirement after 1814. She was the author of a large +number of works, of which her books on education are the most +remarkable.</li> + +<li>GÉRARD, François Pascal Simon (1770-1837). Famous French painter +who studied under David at the same time as Drouais, Girodet and +Gros. He devoted himself to portrait painting in which he showed +remarkable talent. He was made Baron by Louis XVIII.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_385">385</a></span> +GÉRARD, Etienne Maurice, Comte* (1773-1852). Marshal of France.</li> + +<li>GERSDORFF, Baron Ernest Christian Augustus of (1781-1852). He took +part in the Congress of Vienna as the representative of Saxony. He +was Minister at London and at the Hague, and resigned in 1848. He +had married a Countess of Freudenstein.</li> + +<li>GERSDORFF, Baron Adolphus of (1800-1855). Officer in the Prussian +Army. He resigned and married Fräulein Marianne von Schindel. +In 1827 he became land agent of Princess Pauline of Hohenzollern +and of her sister the Duchess of Acerenza.</li> + +<li>GIRARDIN, the Comte Emile de (1806-1881). A son of General Alexandre +de Girardin and husband of Delphine Gay. He was a famous publicist +and the founder of halfpenny newspapers. He was a deputy from +1877 to 1881. When his wife died in 1855 he married the widow of +Prince Frederick of Nassau, from whom he was judicially separated +in 1872.</li> + +<li>GIRAUD, Augustin (1796-1875). A landowner at Angers where he was +mayor under Louis-Philippe. As a member of the Legislative +Assembly of 1849, he belonged to the Left. He was a Knight of +the Legion of Honour.</li> + +<li>GIROLET, the Abbé* (1765-1836). A Benedictine of the congregation of +Saint-Maur and an intimate friend of the Talleyrand family.</li> + +<li>GIVRÉ, Baron de (1794-1854). He entered the diplomatic career at an +early age and was attached to the Embassies of London and Rome; +when the Polignac ministry came to power he resigned and became a +contributor to the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite>. In 1837 he was appointed +deputy and voted with the Orléanist majority.</li> + +<li>GLOUCESTER, Duchess of* (1776-1857). Fourth daughter of King +George III. of England.</li> + +<li>GÖCKING, Herr Leopold von (1748-1828). Prussian poet and State +Councillor who elaborated several projects for customs reform.</li> + +<li>GOETHE, Wolfgang (1749-1832). The most famous German poet, author +of Faust, Werther, &c. He was a Councillor and then a Minister of +State under the Grand Duke Charles Augustus of Weimar.</li> + +<li>GONTAUT-BIRON, Duchesse de* (1773-1858). Governess of the Children +of France whom she followed into exile in 1830.</li> + +<li>GONTAUT-BIRON, Vicomte Elie de (1817-1890). Elected as a Deputy +to the National Assembly in 1871, he was Ambassador of the Republic +at Berlin. He restored the relations that had been broken by the +war and remained for six years in this difficult post.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_386">386</a></span> +GOUIN, Alexandre Henri (1792-1872). Studied at the Polytechnic +School, became a deputy in 1831, and was asked to take the +portfolio of Agriculture and Commerce in 1840 under the Thiers +Ministry.</li> + +<li>GOURGAUD, General (1783-1852). He entered the service in 1801, distinguished +himself at Austerlitz where he was wounded, at Jena, at +Friedland, at Essling, and above all at Wagram. He took a glorious +part in the Russian and French campaigns; he accompanied the +Emperor to St. Helena, but misunderstandings with one of his companions +in exile forced him to separate from them. In 1818 he +published a book called "The Campaign of 1815," and in consequence +his name was struck off the army list of Louis XVIII., but he returned +to the service under Louis-Philippe, who appointed him general of +division and chose him as his aide-de-camp. In 1840 he accompanied +the Prince de Joinville to St. Helena, brought back with him the +ashes of Napoleon and was then raised to the Peerage.</li> + +<li>GRAMONT, Madame de. Aunt of the Duc de Gramont of the branch of +Aster, a member of the fraternity of the Sacré Cœur, and Mother +Superior of the Paris house.</li> + +<li>GRANVILLE, Lord* (1775-1846). English diplomatist. For a long time +Ambassador at Paris.</li> + +<li>GRANVILLE, Lady.* Died in 1862. She was a daughter of the Duke of +Devonshire.</li> + +<li>GRANVILLE, Lady Charlotte Georgina. Died in 1855. Second daughter +of Lord Granville. She married Alexander George Fullerton in 1833. +Throughout her life she was very intimate with the Marquise de +Castellane. Her novels brought her some literary fame.</li> + +<li>GREGORY VII., Hildebrand (1015-1085). Elected Pope in 1073, he was +one of the greatest Roman pontiffs, and has been ever famous for his +struggles with the Emperor of Germany.</li> + +<li>GREY, Lord* (1764-1845). English statesman.</li> + +<li>GREY, Lady* (1775-1861). <em>Née</em> Ponsonby.</li> + +<li>GRISI, Giulia* (1812-1869). An Italian singer of great talent and +beauty.</li> + +<li>GRIVEL, the Abbé Louis Jean Joseph (1800-1866). From 1825 he was a +preacher at Paris. In 1829 he was commissioned by the court to +deliver the panegyric upon Saint Louis before the French Academy. +He became almoner to the Chamber of Peers in 1834, and was +appointed Canon of Saint Denis three years later.</li> + +<li>GROS, Antoine Jean (1771-1835). Famous historical painter. His father +was a miniature painter and his first master. He then entered the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_387">387</a></span> +studio of David. Forced to enter the army he acquired a special +talent for battle pictures in the course of the military operations. +From Charles X. he afterwards received the title of baron.</li> + +<li>GUERNON-RANVILLE, Comte de (1787-1866). French magistrate and +statesman. In 1820 he was President of the Civil Court of Bayeux, +where he was distinguished for his zeal and capacity. In 1829 the +Prince de Polignac requested him to take the portfolio of education +and public worship in his ministry. In the Council of Ministers he +declared against the ordinances of July 1830, but signed them none +the less. When tried with his colleagues by the Chamber of Peers, he +was condemned to disfranchisement and perpetual confinement. The +amnesty of 1836 restored him to liberty.</li> + +<li>GUICHE, the Duc de (1819-1880). Known later under the name of the +Duc de Gramont. He was a diplomatist and French Ambassador at +Turin, Rome, and Vienna, and was Minister of Foreign Affairs when +war with Prussia was declared in 1870. In 1848 he had married an +English woman, daughter of a Member of Parliament.</li> + +<li>WILLIAM I. (1772-1843). King of the Low Countries. Son of the +Stathouder William V. of Nassau. Under his reign Belgium was +separated from his throne after the revolution of 1830, and became an +independent state. He had married Princess Frederica of Prussia, +after her death he contracted a morganatic marriage with a Belgian, +the Comtesse d'Oultremont. He abdicated in 1840.</li> + +<li>GUIZOT, François Pierre Guillaume* (1787-1874). French statesman and +historian.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">H</p> + +<ul> +<li>HAINGUERLOT, M. Died in 1842. He had married Mlle. Stéphanie +Oudinot, daughter of Marshal Oudinot, Duc de Reggio.</li> + +<li>HAMILTON, John Church (1792-1882). Son of Major-General Hamilton, +a friend of M. de Talleyrand. For a long time he was the aide-de-camp +of Major-General Hamilton, who afterwards became President of the +United States. Hamilton then became a lawyer and devoted his life +to the perpetuation of his father's memory, whose life he wrote and +whose works he published.</li> + +<li>HAMILTON, Duchess of (1817-1887). Maria Amelia, last daughter of the +Grand Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Baden and of the Grand +Duchess, née Stéphanie de Beauharnais.</li> + +<li>HANOVER, the King of (1771-1851). Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland; +ascended the throne of Hanover in 1837, after the death of his +brother King William IV. of England.</li> + +<li>HANOVER, Prince George of (1819-1878). Afterwards George V. King +of Hanover.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_388">388</a></span> +HARCOURT, Lady Elizabeth (1793-1838).</li> + +<li>HARRISON, Miss. Governess of the three Princesses of Courlande, who +afterwards became the Countess of Lazareff, the Countess of Hohenthal +and Madame de Boyen. She lived until her death with Countess +Lazareff at Dyrnfurth.</li> + +<li>HAUSSONVILLE, Comte Joseph Bernard d' (1809-1884). French politician +and writer. He was a deputy under the July monarchy, and a +member of the National Assembly in 1871. He was a member of the +French Academy.</li> + +<li>HÉLIAUD, Comte de (1768-1858). He lived a somewhat solitary life in +Touraine and died in the same year as his son who was an official at +the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</li> + +<li>HÉLIE. Footman to the Prince de Talleyrand for many years.</li> + +<li>HENEAGE, Mr. English diplomatist, attached to the Paris Embassy in +1840.</li> + +<li>HENNENBERG, Herr. Died in 1836. Councillor of Justice in the Courts +of Berlin.</li> + +<li>HESSE, Prince George of (1793-1881). This Prince was in the Prussian +service.</li> + +<li>HESSE-DARMSTADT, Grand Duke Louis II. of* (1777-1848). He had +married a Princess of Baden.</li> + +<li>HESSE-DARMSTADT, Princess Elizabeth of (1815-1885). Daughter of +Prince William of Prussia and brother of King Frederick William III. +and elder sister of Queen Maria of Bavaria.</li> + +<li>HESSE-DARMSTADT, Princess Maria of (1824-1880). Daughter of +Louis II., Grand Duke of Hesse. In 1841 she married the Hereditary +Grand Duke of Russia, who succeeded his father, the Emperor +Nicholas I., in 1855.</li> + +<li>HOHENLOHE-ÖRINGEN, Prince Frederick of. Born in 1812. A major +of cavalry in the service of Würtemberg.</li> + +<li>HOHENTHAL, Count Alfred of. Born in 1806. Chamberlain to the +King of Saxony. He married Princess Louise of Biron Courlande.</li> + +<li>HOHENTHAL, Countess Louise of (1808-1845). <em>Née</em> Princess of Biron +Courlande.</li> + +<li>HOHENZOLLERN-HECHINGEN, Prince Frederick of (1776-1838). In +1800 he married Princess Pauline of Courlande, sister of the Duchesse +de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>HOHENZOLLERN-HECHINGEN, Princess of (1782-1845). Pauline, +Princess of Courlande, daughter of Peter, Duke of Courlande.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_389">389</a></span> +HOHENZOLLERN-HECHINGEN, Prince Constantine of (1800-1859). +Son of Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and of the +Princess of Courlande. By a convention signed in 1849 Prince +Constantine abdicated the government of the principality of Hohenzollern, +in favour of the King of Prussia, and in 1850 received the +title of Royal Highness. He first married the Princess of Leuchtenberg, +by whom he had no children, and then contracted a morganatic +marriage with the daughter of the Baron of Schenk, by whom he had +two children, who bore the name of Rothenburg.</li> + +<li>HOLLAND, Lord* (1772-1840). English statesman. Nephew of the +famous Fox.</li> + +<li>HOLLAND, Lady,* died in 1840. She was Lady Webster by her first +marriage.</li> + +<li>HOTTINGER, Baron Jean Conrad (1764-1841). Of Swiss origin, M. +Hottinger founded an important commercial firm at Paris. In 1810 +he was made a baron of the Empire, and in 1815 elected to the +Chamber of the Hundred Days. Afterwards he became president of +the Chamber of Commerce, judge in the commercial court, and +governor of the Bank of France.</li> + +<li>HOWARD OF WALDEN, Charles Augustus Ellis, Lord. Born in 1799. +English diplomatist; under Secretary of State to the Foreign Office in +1824; minister at Stockholm in 1832, at Lisbon in 1834, and at +Brussels in 1846.</li> + +<li>HÜBNER, Count of (1811-1892). In 1833 he entered the chancery of +Prince Metternich, who recognised his capacity. He then became +secretary to the Embassy at Lisbon, chief consul at Leipzig, and +political adviser to Marshal Radetzky in Italy. He was made a +prisoner in 1848, and was not set at liberty until after the conclusion +of peace with King Charles Albert. In 1849 he was first Minister and +then Ambassador at Paris until 1859. In 1867 he was appointed +Ambassador at Rome. He then left the diplomatic service, and spent +his time in travel and literary work.</li> + +<li>HUGEL, Ernest Eugene von (1774-1849). General in the Austrian service +and for some time Minister of War. He had also been Austrian +Minister at Paris.</li> + +<li>HUMANN, Mlle. Louise, born about 1757. Her piety outrivalled that of +the Christians of the Primitive Church. At Strasburg, where she +lived, she became the patroness of the Abbés Bautain, Gratry and +Ratisbonne. She was a sister of the Bishop of Mayence and of the +Finance Minister of King Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>HUMANN, Jean George* (1780-1842). French statesman and financier. +Born of an old Alsatian family.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_390">390</a></span> +HUMBOLDT, Baron William of (1767-1835). Statesman and Prussian +philologist. In 1802 he was Minister at Rome and then became +Councillor of State at Berlin and chief of the department of education +and public worship. In 1808 he was appointed Plenipotentiary +Minister at Vienna; in 1810 he took part in the Conference at Prague, +and in 1815 in the Congress of Vienna. He was extraordinary envoy +at London in 1816, then Minister of State and a member of the Commission +entrusted with the preparation of the Prussian Constitution in +1818. In 1819 he resigned his posts and devoted his attention to +literary work.</li> + +<li>HUMBOLDT, Alexander of (1769-1858). Great German naturalist and +man of science, well known for his scientific travels in the New World, +and by the genius which his numerous narratives of them display. +He was a brother of the foregoing.</li> + +<li>HUMBOLDT, Frau Wilhelm von (1771-1829). Daughter of Frederick of +Dachröden. She had married Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1791.</li> + +<li>HUMBOLDT, Caroline von (1792-1837). Eldest daughter of Wilhelm von +Humboldt.</li> + +<li>HYDE DE NEUVILLE, Baron Jean Guillaume (1776-1857). French +politician. Deeply attached to the royalty. Implicated in a conspiracy +against Napoleon I., he fled to the United States, and did not +return to France until after the fall of the Empire. In 1815 he was a +deputy; in 1816 he was Minister to the United States, and afterwards +to Portugal. In 1828 he held the portfolio of Naval Affairs in the +Martignac Ministry, but resigned when Polignac's Cabinet came +into power. After 1830 he supported the desperate cause of the Duc +de Bordeaux, and afterwards lived in retirement.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">I</p> + +<ul> +<li>IBRAHIM PASHA (1772-1848). Son of the Viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet +Ali, whom he supported in the task of Egyptian re-organisation. He +invaded Syria in 1832 at his father's orders, and was marching upon +Constantinople when he was stopped at Kutayeh by the intervention +of the European Powers. Some years afterwards, when war broke +out again, Ibrahim won a decisive victory over the Turks at Nezib in +1839, but the treaty of London of July 15, 1840, and the bombardment +of the Syrian ports by the English fleet obliged him to abandon +the conquest of Syria for a second time. He then devoted his time +to the domestic administration of Egypt.</li> + +<li>ISABELLA II.* (1830-1904). Queen of Spain.</li> + +<li>ISTURITZ, Xavier d', born in 1790. He was a Spanish statesman who +held a seat from 1812 in the Cortes, and attracted attention by his +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_391">391</a></span> +revolutionary patriotism. While president of the Chamber of the +Procuradores in 1835, his Liberal ideas brought him into trouble and +he was obliged to take refuge in London. Afterwards he accomplished +several missions to the different courts of Europe, and was +even Ambassador at Paris from 1863 to 1864.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">J</p> + +<ul> +<li>JACKSON, Andrew (1767-1845). American General and seventh President +of the United States in 1829. In 1834 he claimed from France +in very haughty terms an indemnity of twenty-five millions for the +ships taken from the United States under the Empire. After holding +the Presidency twice in succession, he retired into private life.</li> + +<li>JAUBERT, Chevalier (1779-1847). An Orientalist who accompanied +Bonaparte to Egypt as interpreter. He was secretary and interpreter +to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Master of Requests, and then +Chargé d'affaires at Constantinople. In 1819 he was Secretary and +Interpreter to Louis XVIII.; he became a Member of the Academy +of Inscriptions and Literature in 1830, and was made a Peer of France +by Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>JAUBERT, Comte Hippolyte François (1798-1874). A French politician +and man of learning. He was a Deputy in 1831, and Minister of +Public Works in 1840. He was appointed Peer of France in 1844, +when the fall of Louis-Philippe induced him to retire into private +life.</li> + +<li>JAUCOURT, Marquise de* (1762-1848). <em>Née</em> Mlle. Charlotte de Bontemps.</li> + +<li>JERSEY, Lady Sarah* (1787-1867). Her drawing-room was one of the +most famous in London.</li> + +<li>JOINVILLE, François d'Orléans, Prince de (1818-1900). Third son of +King Louis-Philippe. He served in the navy and brought the +remains of Napoleon back to France in 1840. In 1843 he married +Princess Francisca of Braganza, daughter of the Emperor of Brazil.</li> + +<li>JUMILHAC, Odet de Chapelle de (1804-1880). Duc de Richelieu. A +nephew by his mother of the Duc de Richelieu who died in 1822, +M. de Jumilhac assumed his uncle's title and thus became a member +of the Chamber of Peers. He was a Knight of the Legion of Honour.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">K</p> + +<ul> +<li>KAROLYI, Countess Ferdinand (1805-1844). Daughter of Prince Ludwig +of Kaunitz Rietberg. She married Count Louis Karolyi in 1823.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_392">392</a></span> +KENT, Duchess of* (1786-1861). Sister-in-law of King William IV. of +England and mother of Queen Victoria.</li> + +<li>KRÜDENER, Baroness of (1764-1824). Julia of Vietinghoff, daughter of the +Governor of Riga; at the age of fourteen she married the Baron of +Krüdener, Russian Minister at Berlin, by whom she had two children. +Her husband divorced her in 1791. After a series of adventures she +became intimate with Queen Louise of Prussia, and then became a +religious fanatic. In 1814 she was at Paris when the allies entered +the town, and obtained great influence over the Emperor Alexander I. +Expelled from Germany and from Switzerland she took refuge at her +estates near Riga, and began a connection with the Moravian +Brothers. She started for the Crimea in 1822 with the intention of +founding an asylum for criminals and sinners.</li> + +<li>KRÜDENER, Baroness Amelia of (1808-1888). Daughter-in-law of the +foregoing. She was a natural daughter of the Princesse de la Tour et +Taxis, <em>née</em> Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of Queen Louise of Prussia and +of Count Maximilian of Lerchenfeld, who brought her up at his house +and whose wife adopted her. In 1825 she married Herr von Krüdener, +and her second husband in 1850 was Count Nicholas Adlerberg, aide-de-camp +to the Emperor Nicholas I. of Russia.</li> + +<li>KRÜGER, Francis (1797-1857). A famous portrait-painter at Berlin.</li> + +<li>KUHNEIM, Countess (1770-1854). By birth a During she was friend +of Princess Charles of Prussia.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">L</p> + +<ul> +<li>LA BESNARDIÈRE, J. B. Gouey de (1765-1843). Privy Councillor who +lived for a long time in Touraine after his retirement in 1819.</li> + +<li>LABORDE, Comte Léon de (1807-1869). Archæologist and traveller, and +for a short time diplomatist. In 1840 he was appointed a deputy, +and was director of the Museum of Antiquities in the Louvre from +1845 to 1848. He received a seat in the Senate in 1868.</li> + +<li>LABOUCHERE, Henry* (1798-1869). Member of the English Parliament.</li> + +<li>LA BRICHE, Comtesse de. Her salon became famous at Paris as she +gathered distinguished men and famous writers about her. She +possessed the château of Marais near Paris, where she often gave +dramatic performances. Her daughter had married M. Molé.</li> + +<li>LA BRUYERE, Jean de* (1645-1696). Author of the Characters.</li> + +<li>LACAVE LAPLAGNE, Jean Pierre Joseph (1795-1849). He was a pupil +of the Polytechnic School; he took part in the last campaigns of the +Empire and resigned when the Bourbons were restored. He then +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_393">393</a></span> +devoted himself to the study of law, was called to the Bar at Toulouse +and entered the magistracy. He was deputy for the department of +Gers, and several times held the portfolio of finance. King Louis-Philippe +entrusted to him the administration of the property of the +Duc d'Aumale.</li> + +<li>LACORDAIRE, Henri (1802-1861). Famous French preacher, a Dominican +of the Order of the Preaching Friars. He entered the French +Academy in 1860 in place of M. de Tocqueville.</li> + +<li>LADVOCAT, M. King's attorney under the monarchy of 1830. As he was +the bearer of nominations, Fieschi had applied to him upon his +arrival at Paris to secure a post; after his attempted assassination +Fieschi, who had taken a false name, was recognised by M. Ladvocat.</li> + +<li>LAFARGE, Mme. The mother of M. Lafarge. She was not able to +avoid all suspicion in the course of the famous trial. She had broken +the seals of her daughter-in-law's will to learn her dispositions.</li> + +<li>LAFARGE, M. A widower at the age of twenty-eight, Pouch Lafarge, +who owned an iron works at Glandier (Corrèze); he was an incompetent +man of business, always reduced to extremities. He married Marie +Capelle who gained a gloomy notoriety by poisoning him.</li> + +<li>LAFARGE, Mme. (1816-1852). Marie Capelle, an orphan, married M. +Lafarge in 1839. As the result of the famous trial, she was condemned +to perpetual imprisonment.</li> + +<li>LA FAYETTE, the Marquis de* (1767-1834). A deputy to the States +General in 1789, he played a part in the revolutionary events of his +time.</li> + +<li>LAFFITTE, Jacques (1767-1844). A French financier who played an +important part in the July revolution, and was a Minister under King +Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>LAMARTINE, Alphonse de (1790-1869). French poet and politician. +He entered the Academy in 1830, and the Chamber of Deputies in +1834, and acquired a wide popularity which faded soon after 1848.</li> + +<li>LAMB, Frederick* (1782-1852). English diplomatist. Brother of Lord +Melbourne and heir to his title.</li> + +<li>LAMBRUSCHINI, Cardinal (1776-1854). He was Bishop of Sabine, +Archbishop of Genoa, and papal nuncio at Paris under Charles X. He +received his Cardinal's hat in 1831. Pope Gregory XVI. appointed +him Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Secretary of Briefs, and Prefect +of the Congregation of Studies. After the events of 1848 he followed +Pius IX. to Gaeta.</li> + +<li>LANSDOWNE, Lady.* Died in 1865; she had married the Marquis of +Lansdowne in 1819.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_394">394</a></span> +LARCHER, Mlle. Henriette* (1782-1860). Governess of Mlle. Pauline de +Périgord.</li> + +<li>LA REDORTE, the Comte Mathieu de* (1804-1886). French diplomatist.</li> + +<li>LA REDORTE, the Comtesse de. Died in 1885. <em>Née</em> Louise Suchet, +daughter of the Marshal d'Albuféra.</li> + +<li>LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, the Comte Sosthène de. Duc de Doudeauville +(1785-1864). Aide-de-camp to the Comte d'Artois under the Restoration. +He was always an ardent Legitimist, and also had paid much +attention to literature.</li> + +<li>LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, Marie de. Died in 1840. She was the +daughter of the Duc de Sosthène de la Rochefoucauld Doudeauville +and granddaughter of the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency.</li> + +<li>LA ROVÈRE, the Marquise de (1817-1840). Elizabeth of Stackelberg. A +Russian by birth, she became a Catholic upon her marriage with the +Marquis de la Rovère and died soon after her marriage. Her tomb of +white marble is in the Campo Santo of Turin.</li> + +<li>LAS CASES, the Comte Emanuel de (1800-1854). He had followed his +father to St. Helena. The Revolution of 1830 afterwards found a warm +supporter in him. When he was elected deputy he joined the ranks +of the Liberal party and entered the Senate after the <em>coup d'état</em> of +December 2, 1852.</li> + +<li>LAVAL, the Prince Adrien de* (1768-1837). Peer of France and +diplomatist.</li> + +<li>LAVAL, the Vicomtesse de (1745-1838). Mlle. Tavernier de Boullongue +had married in 1765 the Vicomte de Laval and was the mother of the +Duc Mathieu de Montmorency, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs. +She was a great friend of M. de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>LAZAREFF, Madame de (1813-1881). She was born Princess Antoinette +de Biron Courlande.*</li> + +<li>LÉAUTAUD, the Comtesse de. Alexandrine Clémentine de Nicolaï +daughter of the Marquis and Marquise Scipion de Nicolaï, <em>née</em> Lameth. +Her name appeared in the Lafarge trial with reference to a theft of +diamonds of which Madame Lafarge was accused, and which she +asserted had been handed to her by Madame de Léautaud.</li> + +<li>LEBRUN, Pierre Antoine (1785-1873). Man of letters and member of the +French Academy from 1828. From 1830 to 1848 he was a director of +the Royal printing house; in 1839 he was made a Peer of France, +called to the Senate in 1853 and became grand officer of the Legion +of Honour.</li> + +<li>LE HON, Count (1792-1868). Belgian statesman and Minister at Paris +for many years.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_395">395</a></span> +LEON, the Prince Charles Louis Jocelyn de (1819-1893). He assumed the +title of Duc de Rohan on the death of his father in 1869. He had +married Mlle. de Boissy in 1843.</li> + +<li>LERCHENFELD, Count Maximilian of (1779-1843). A Bavarian statesman +who helped to draw up the Bavarian Constitution. In 1825 he +became Finance Minister and resigned his post to become Ambassador +to the Germanic Diet. He had married the Baroness Anne of +Grosschlag.</li> + +<li>LESTOCQ, Frau von (1788-1849). Widow of General Lestocq, Governor +of Breslau, who died in 1818. She was the chief lady at the Court of +Princess William of Prussia, by birth Princess of Hesse Homburg, and +sister-in-law to King Frederick William III.</li> + +<li>LEUCHTENBERG, Prince Augustus Charles of* (1807-1835). For a short +time he was the husband of Doña Maria, Queen of Portugal.</li> + +<li>LEVESON, George (1815-1891). He was secretary to his father, Lord +Granville, English Ambassador at Paris, and then secretary to the +Foreign Minister. In 1846, on his father's death, he inherited his +title and entered the House of Lords. He held Government offices +at different times, and eventually retired in 1886 with Mr. Gladstone.</li> + +<li>LEZAY MARNÉSIA, the Comte de* (1772-1857). Prefect and Peer of +France under the Bourbons, and Senator under the Empire in 1852.</li> + +<li>LIAUTARD, the Abbé (1774-1842). He studied at the College of Sainte +Barbe at Paris and was then called to the colours by the decree of +August 23, 1793. He was one of the most brilliant pupils of the +Polytechnic School, but renouncing the world, he entered the seminary +of Saint Sulpice, and was ordained priest in 1804. Afterwards he +founded the college which was to become the College of Stanislas and +then became the chief priest of Fontainebleau after refusing the +bishopric of Limoges.</li> + +<li>LICHTENSTEIN, the Princess of (1776-1848). By birth she was the Landgräfin +Josephine of Fürstenberg, and had married in 1792 Prince +Johann Josef of Lichtenstein.</li> + +<li>LIEBERMANN, the Baron Augustus of (1791-1841). Prussian diplomatist +at Madrid in 1836 and at St. Petersburg in 1840.</li> + +<li>LIEVEN, the Prince de* (1770-1839). Russian diplomatist, and for +twenty-two years Ambassador at London.</li> + +<li>LIEVEN, the Princesse de* (1784-1857). <em>Née</em> Dorothée de Benkendorff.</li> + +<li>LIEGNITZ, the Princess of (1800-1873). The Countess of Harrach contracted +a morganatic marriage in 1824 with King Frederick William III. +of Prussia, who gave her the title of Princess of Liegnitz.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_396">396</a></span> +LINANGE, Prince Charles of (1804-1856). Son of the Duchess of Kent +by her first marriage. He married the Countess of Klebelsberg.</li> + +<li>LINDENAU, Baron Bernard Augustus of (1780-1854). Learned German +astronomer and politician. He held several diplomatic posts and +became Home Secretary in Saxony. In 1830 he worked energetically +to form a Constitution for this country. He founded an astronomical +museum at Dresden.</li> + +<li>LINGARD, John (1769-1851). An English historian and a Catholic Priest +who had been educated at Douai with the Jesuits.</li> + +<li>LISFRANC DE SAINT MARTIN, Jacques (1790-1847). Famous French +surgeon who made a great reputation under the Second Restoration.</li> + +<li>LOBAU, the Comte de (1770-1838). As a volunteer he took an active +part in the campaigns of the Republic and of the Empire. After +Leipzig, when he was involved in the capitulation of Gouvion Saint-Cyr, +he was sent to Hungary as a prisoner where he remained +until the Restoration. During the Hundred Days he commanded the +first military division and the sixth army corps at Waterloo, where he +was captured by the English. From 1815 to 1818 he was exiled and +then lived in retirement until 1823, when he entered the Chamber of +Deputies. He was made Peer of France and Marshal in 1831, and +successfully opposed the outbreaks which took place at Paris in 1831 +and 1834.</li> + +<li>LOBAU, wife of the foregoing. She was the daughter of Madame d'Arberg +and sister-in-law of General Klein.</li> + +<li>LÖWENHIELM, Count Gustavus Charles Frederick of (1771-1856). +Swedish diplomatist; Extraordinary Minister to the Congress of +Vienna in 1815 and Swedish Minister in Austria in 1816. He held a +corresponding post at Paris where he resided for thirty-eight years. +He had a large fortune which he used very nobly.</li> + +<li>LÖWENHIELM, the Countess of (1783-1859). Fräulein von Schönburch-Wechselburg +married as her first husband, in 1806, Count Gustavus of +Düben, then the Swedish chargé d'Affaires at Vienna. In 1812 she +was left a widow, and in 1826 married the Count of Löwenhielm, who +had previously been the husband of a Baroness of Gur.</li> + +<li>LÖWE-WEIMAR, the Baron François Adolphe de (1801-1854). He +belonged to a family of German Jews, but was converted to +Christianity and came to Paris, where he made a name for himself +in literature. M. Thiers entrusted him with a diplomatic mission in +Russia. He was appointed Consul-General to Bagdad, where he distinguished +himself in 1847 by his devotion during a cholera epidemic. +Afterwards he was Consul-General at Caracas.</li> + +<li>LOGERE, M. de. Attaché to the French legation at Berlin.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_397">397</a></span> +LOTTUM, Count Charles Henry of (1767-1841). Infantry General and +Minister of State in Prussia under Frederick William III., and +afterwards Minister of the Exchequer. He married Fräulein Frederica +of Lamprecht.</li> + +<li>LOUIS-PHILIPPE I.* (1773-1849). King of the French from 1830-1848.</li> + +<li>LOUVEL, Louis Pierre (1783-1820). A working saddler whose political +fanaticism led him, on February 13, 1820, as people were leaving the +opera, to assassinate the Duc de Berry, son of Charles X., nephew +of Louis XVIII., with the object of bringing the dynasty of the +Bourbons to an end. He was condemned by the Court of Peers and +executed.</li> + +<li>LOW COUNTRIES, Queen of the (1774-1837). Wilhelmina, daughter of +King William II. of Prussia, and wife of King William I. of the Low +Countries.</li> + +<li>LOW COUNTRIES, Princess Frederica of the* (1808-1870). By birth +Princess Louise of Prussia and daughter of Frederick William III.</li> + +<li>LUCCA, the Duchess of (1803-1879). She was a daughter of the King of +Sardinia and twin sister of the Empress Caroline of Austria, wife of +the Emperor Ferdinand II.</li> + +<li>LUTTEROTH, Alexander of (1806-1882). Born at Leipzig, he served in +the French diplomatic service during his youth. He married a +Countess Batthyàny.</li> + +<li>LYNDHURST, Lord (1772-1864). An English politician of the Tory +party. In three Cabinets he held the Great Seal, and occupied in +succession the highest political posts in his country. His second wife +was a Jewess, Mrs. Norton, for which reason he vigorously supported +the Bill for the admission of Jews into Parliament.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">M</p> + +<ul> + +<li>MACDONALD, Marshal Alexander (1765-1840). Born of an Irish family, +he saw service in all the campaigns of the Republic and the Empire. +In 1804 he was dismissed for defending Moreau and did not return to +the service until 1809, when his distinguished conduct at Wagram +gained him the title of the Duke of Tarentum. After the abdication of +Napoleon I. he was appointed peer of France and Grand Chancellor +of the Legion of Honour, a post which he held until 1831.</li> + +<li>MACDONALD, General Alexandre de (1824-1881). Duke of Tarentum. +Only son of Marshal Macdonald and of Mlle. de Bourgoing, cousin of +King Charles X. and of Madame la Dauphine. On the accession of +Napoleon III. he became Chamberlain of the Emperor and Knight of +the Legion of Honour. He was a Deputy in 1852, Senator in 1869, +and retired into private life in 1870.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_398">398</a></span> +MAGON-LABALLUE DE BOISGARIN, Mlle. (1765-1834). She was born +of a noble family who had become boat-builders, and married in 1779 +the Comte de Villefranche, of the house of Carignan. After his death +she lived very quietly at Paris.</li> + +<li>MAHMUD II. (1785-1839). Sultan of the Ottoman Turks. He ascended +the throne in 1808. His wars were the ruin of his empire, but his +domestic administration was marked by great reforms; he introduced +Western sciences and institutions, drilled his troops in European +style, and guaranteed religious toleration by a firman of 1839.</li> + +<li>MAILLÉ, the Duc de (1770-1837). Charles François Armand de la Tour-Landry, +Duc de Maillé, was before the Revolution first Gentleman of +the Chamber of Monsieur; he became an <em>émigré</em> with the Prince and +held aloof from politics until the fall of the Empire. He took a large +share in the Royalist movement of 1814, and resumed his former duties +under King Louis XVIII., who made him a Peer of France. He +refused to take the oath to the July monarchy,</li> + +<li>MAINTENON, the Marquise de* (1635-1719). Morganatic wife of King +Louis XIV. and a famous educationist.</li> + +<li>MAISON, the Marshal* (1771-1840). Peer of France and French diplomatist, +and member of several Cabinets.</li> + +<li>MAISON, wife of the foregoing, Marie Madeleine Françoise Weygold, was +born in Prussia in 1776 and in 1796 married Marshal Maison, at that +time Major.</li> + +<li>MALESHERBES, Chrétien Guillaume Lamoignon de (1721-1794). Son +of Chancellor Lamoignon, he was a Minister with Turgot under +Louis XVI.; he defended the King before the Convention, and died +himself upon the scaffold. He was a member of the French Academy.</li> + +<li>MALTZAN, Count Mortimer of (1783-1843), First gentleman at the +Prussian Court. Chamberlain and major and Minister Plenipotentiary +to the Court of Vienna. He married a Countess of Golz.</li> + +<li>MANNAY, the Abbé Charles (1745-1824). He studied at St. Sulpice, +where he distinguished himself. After his ordination as priest he +became chief vicar and then canon of the cathedral of Rheims. +When the Revolution broke out he retired to England and Scotland, +and in 1802 was appointed Bishop of Trèves. He resigned in 1814 +and returned to France, where, in 1817, he was appointed Bishop of +Auxerre, and in 1820 of Rennes. He was a great friend of the Prince +de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>MARBEUF, the Marquise de (1765-1839). She married in 1784 the +Comte, afterwards the Marquis de Marbeuf, gentleman of the chamber +of the Comte de Provence and Field Marshal, afterwards Governor of +Corsica. She was left a widow in 1786, and retired to the convent of +the Sacré Cœur, where she took the veil.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_399">399</a></span> +MARBOIS, the Marquis de Barbé* (1745-1837). French diplomatist and +politician, for a long time president of the financial court.</li> + +<li>MARCHAND, Louis Joseph Narcisse (1791-1876). First Groom of the +Chamber of the Emperor Napoleon I., whom he followed to St +Helena. To him the Emperor dictated his "Summary of the Wars of +Julius Cæsar," which Marchant published in 1836. On his deathbed +Napoleon gave him the title of Comte, and then entrusted him with +his will. On his return to France Marchand married, in 1823, the +daughter of General Brayer, and settled at Strasburg. In 1840 he +was associated with the Prince de Joinville to bring back the remains +of the Emperor from St. Helena, and was made Knight and afterwards +Officer of the Legion of Honour.</li> + +<li>MARCHESI, Luigi (1755-1829). A famous Italian singer whose method +became supreme in the musical art. His first appearance was at +Rome in 1774. Every capital in Europe attempted to secure his presence, +but in the theatre of his native town, Milan, he ended a career +which had brought him both honour and riches.</li> + +<li>MARESCALCHI, the Comtesse de, died in 1846. She was the daughter +of the Marquis de Pange and of Mlle. de Caraman.</li> + +<li>MAREUIL, the Comte Joseph Durand de* (1769-1855). French diplomatist.</li> + +<li>MARIA II., OR DOÑA MARIA DA GLORIA* (1819-1853). Queen of +Portugal.</li> + +<li>MARIE AMÉLIE, the Queen* (1782-1866). Wife of Louis-Philippe, King +of the French.</li> + +<li>MARIA CHRISTINA, the Queen (1806-1878.) Daughter of Francis I., +King of the Two Sicilies, she was the third wife of Ferdinand VII., +King of Spain. In 1833 she became a widow and Queen-Regent, and +in 1834 married Ferdinand Muñoz, officer in the Life Guards, who was +made Duke of Rinanzares. After she had been obliged to leave the +country and hand over the regency to Espartero, Duke of the Victoire, +Queen Christina returned to Spain in 1843, and then governed in the +name of her daughter, Isabella II. She was again exiled in 1854, +withdrew to Paris, and lived there until her death.</li> + +<li>MARIE DE MEDICIS* (1573-1642). Wife of the King of France, +Henry IV., and Regent during the minority of her son, Louis XIII.</li> + +<li>MARIE D'ORLÉANS, the Princess* (1813-1839). Daughter of King Louis-Philippe +and wife of Prince Alexander of Würtemberg.</li> + +<li>MARIE LOUISE, Archduchess (1791-1847). By her marriage with +Napoleon I. she became Empress, and after her husband fell she +secured the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastella. After the +Emperor's death she married the Count of Neipperg, by whom she had +three children. Her third husband was the Count de Bombelles.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_400">400</a></span> +MARIA THERESA, the Empress* (1717-1780). Empress of Austria and +Queen of Hungary; wife of Francis of Lorraine.</li> + +<li>MARLBOROUGH, the Duchess of (1660-1744). Sarah Jennings married, +about 1680, the famous English general, John Churchill, afterwards +Duke of Marlborough. The Duchess of Marlborough was the favourite +of Queen Anne, over whom she exerted great influence.</li> + +<li>MAROCHETTI, Baron Charles (1805-1867). Born at Turin. His father +adopted the French nationality when he was ten years of age; he +studied at the Lycée Napoleon at Paris. He studied sculpture in the +studio of Bosio, pupil of Canova, and then spent eight years at Rome. +He left a son, who resumed his Italian nationality, entered the +diplomatic career, and was Ambassador at St. Petersburg.</li> + +<li>MARS, Mlle. Famous actress at the Comédie Française.</li> + +<li>MARTIN DU NORD, Nicolas Ferdinand Marie Louis Joseph* (1790-1847). +Magistrate and French politician.</li> + +<li>MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA, François* (1789-1862). Spanish man of letters +and politician.</li> + +<li>MASSA, the Duchesse de.* Born in 1792. Daughter of Marshal Macdonald.</li> + +<li>MASSIMO, Princess Christine. Died of cholera in 1837. Daughter of +Prince Xavier of Saxony and of Countess Claire of Spinucci.</li> + +<li>MATHIEU, M. A French painter who gave lessons in drawing to the +daughters of the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden.</li> + +<li>MATUSIEWICZ, Count Andrew Joseph* (1790-1842). Polish diplomatist +in the Russian service.</li> + +<li>MAUSSION, the Baron Alfred de. At first, like his brother Adolphe, he +entered the army and became an officer. He was a very intimate +friend of the Montmorency family, being a distant relation, and was +also well known to the Dosne family. He became the friend of M. +Thiers, who appointed him consul at Rostock.</li> + +<li>MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN, the Grand Duchess of (1771-1871). +Augusta, Princess of Hesse-Homburg, third wife of the Hereditary +Grand Duke Frederick of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, whom she married +in 1818, and who died before his father in 1819. The Grand Duchess +was also the step-mother of the Duchesse d'Orléans.</li> + +<li>MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN, the Princess Helena (1814-1858). She +married, in 1837, the Duc d'Orléans, by whom she had two children, +the Comte de Paris and the Duc de Chartres. She became a widow in +1842. She was the daughter of the second marriage of the Hereditary +Grand Duke Frederick of Mecklenburg, who died in 1819, with a +Princess of Saxe-Weimar.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_401">401</a></span> +MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ, the Grand Duke of (1779-1860). He succeeded +his father, the Grand Duke Charles, in 1816, and married, in +1817, a Princess of Hesse Cassel. He was brother to Queen Louise of +Prussia.</li> + +<li>MEDEM, Count Paul* (1800-1854). A Russian diplomatist, cousin of the +Duchess de Dino.</li> + +<li>MEDICIS, Lorenzo de, known as the Magnificent (1448-1492). A patron +of arts and letters, he honoured with his friendship and his kindness +Pico della Mirandola, Angelo Poliziano, and Michael Angelo, by whom +his mausoleum at Florence was designed.</li> + +<li>MEHEMET ALI (1769-1849). Viceroy of Egypt. He began life as +a merchant, became a soldier and fought against the French in +1799. In 1806 he was able to drive out the Governor of Egypt and +proclaim himself Viceroy. As the Mameluks would not cease their +revolts, he had them massacred throughout Egypt on March 1, 1811. +In his two wars against the Porte, in 1832 and 1839, his lieutenant +was his son Ibrahim, whose victory of Nezib laid the Sultan at his +mercy. A European coalition in which France declined to take part, +deprived him of the fruits of this victory, but for himself and his +descendants he secured the Governorship of Egypt under the sovereignty +of the Porte. He introduced great reforms into his country.</li> + +<li>MELBOURNE, William Lamb, Lord* (1779-1848). English politician, +brother of Lady Palmerston.</li> + +<li>MÉRODE, the Comte Werner de (1816-1905). He married in 1843 his +cousin Mlle. Thérèse de Mérode.</li> + +<li>METTERNICH, Prince* (1773-1859). Austrian diplomatist and statesman.</li> + +<li>METTERNICH, Princess Melanie of (1805-1854). Third wife of Prince +Metternich and daughter of Count Francis of Zichy-Ferraris.</li> + +<li>MEUNIER. In 1836 was found guilty of complicity with Lavau, who had +attempted to assassinate Louis-Philippe. He was a saddler and a +benefactor of Lavau.</li> + +<li>MICHAEL ANGELO BUONAROTTI (1475-1564). Famous Italian painter, +sculptor and architect. The most learned and profound of draughtsmen, +he became architect of the Basilica of St. Peter at Rome after +the death of Bramante, and built the sublime cupola which is its chief +glory.</li> + +<li>MIRAFLORES, the Marquis de* (1792-1867). Spanish diplomatist and +man of letters.</li> + +<li>MOIRA, Lord (1808-1843). Eldest son of the first Marquis of Hastings. +He was Chamberlain in 1830 to King William IV. of England.</li> + +<li>MOLÉ, the Comte Mathieu* (1788-1855). French politician of an old +parliamentary family.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_402">402</a></span> +MOLÉ, the Comtesse.* Died in 1845. <em>Née</em> Mlle. de la Briche.</li> + +<li>MOLITOR, Marshal, Comte (1770-1849). He served throughout the wars +of the Revolution and the Empire; was exiled at the Second Restoration +and recalled in 1818 to his duties as Inspector-General. He +commanded the second Army Corps during the Spanish War in 1823 +and was then made Marshal and Peer of France. Under the July +government, he was governor of the Invalides and Grand Chancellor +of the Legion of Honour.</li> + +<li>MOLLIEN, the Comtesse* (1785-1878). Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Marie +Amélie.</li> + +<li>MONTALEMBERT, the Comte Charles de (1810-1870). French publicist +and politician. One of the most brilliant defenders of Liberal +Catholicism.</li> + +<li>MONTALIVET, the Comte de (1801-1880). A pupil of the Polytechnic +School, he afterwards sat in the Chamber of Peers among the Liberals. +Louis-Philippe appointed him Minister of the Interior in 1830 and +afterwards Minister of Education and Public Worship. As the supervisor +of the civil list he founded the museum of Versailles, increased +the museum of the Louvre, and restored the palaces of Fontainebleau, +Saint-Cloud, Trianon and Pau. He entered the Academy of Fine Arts +in 1840. The events of 1848 sent him back to private life.</li> + +<li>MONTBRETON, Madame de. Clémence Marie de Nicolaï, daughter of the +Marquis and Marquise Scipion de Nicolaï, whose name appears in the +Lafarge trial.</li> + +<li>MONTEBELLO, Napoléon Auguste Lannes de (1801-1874). Son of the +famous marshal. Diplomatist and French Minister; he was made a +Peer of France at the age of fourteen by King Louis XVIII. He +supported the July monarchy and afterwards the Empire.</li> + +<li>MONTENON, M. de. A young man of La Creuse who was a constant +visitor at the Castle of Valençay.</li> + +<li>MONTESQUIOU, the Comtesse Anatole de, born in 1794. Elodie, daughter +of the Comte Henri de Montesquiou-Fezensac de Bacquencourt, +married her cousin-german in 1809, who was aide-de-camp to +Napoleon I. and afterwards Peer of France. She was the first lady +at the Court of the Duchesse d'Orléans.</li> + +<li>MONTESSUY, the Comte de. A French diplomatist who acted as French +Minister at Hanover in 1849, at Parma in 1855, at Darmstadt and at +Frankfort from 1855 to 1858. He married a daughter of Prince Paul +of Würtemberg by a morganatic marriage.</li> + +<li>MONTFORT, Mlle. de (1820-1904). The Princess Mathilde, daughter of +Jerome, King of Westphalia, and of Catherine, Princess of Würtemberg. +She married in 1841 the Comte Anatole Demidoff, Prince de +San Donato.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_403">403</a></span> +MONTMORENCY, the Duchesse de* (1774-1846). <em>Née</em> Mlle. de Matignon. +She was the mother of Baron Raoul de Montmorency, of the Princesse +de Beauffremont Courtenay, and of the Duchesse de Valençay.</li> + +<li>MONTMORENCY, Raoul, Baron de* (1790-1862). He took the title of +Duc on his father's death in 1846.</li> + +<li>MONTMORENCY, the Duchesse Mathieu de. Died in 1858. Hortense +de Chevreuse-Luynes had married Mathieu de Montmorency-Laval. +Her only daughter was the first wife of the Duc Sosthène de la +Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville.</li> + +<li>MONTPENSIER, the Duchesse de* (1627-1693). Known under the name +of <em>la Grande Mademoiselle</em>; she was the daughter of Duc Gaston +d'Orléans.</li> + +<li>MONTROND, the Comte Casimir de.* Friend of M. de Talleyrand and +sometimes entrusted with unimportant diplomatic missions.</li> + +<li>MORTEMART, Arthur de. Only son of the Duc de Mortemart who +died from injuries received by a fall from his horse in October +1840.</li> + +<li>MOTTEVILLE, Mme. de (1621-1689). Françoise Bertaut married in 1639 +Nicolas Langlois, Seigneur de Motteville, who died in 1641. On the +death of Louis XIII. in 1643, Anne of Austria called Mme. de +Motteville to her Court, and admitted her to her intimacy. Mme. de +Motteville left very interesting memoirs behind her.</li> + +<li>MOUNIER, Baron Claude Philippe Edouard (1784-1843). Auditor to the +Council of State under the Empire, then Governor of Saxe-Weimar +and afterwards of Lower Silesia. In 1809 he received the title of +Baron, and in 1813 the post of Overseer of the Crown Buildings. +Louis XVIII. confirmed him in this position and made him a Peer in +1819. He retained his seat in the Chamber of Peers and showed +much talent in many discussions.</li> + +<li>MUÑOZ, Fernando (1810-1873). Of lowly parentage, he entered the +Spanish Army at an early age and became a Life Guard. Queen +Christina fell violently in love with him and contracted a morganatic +marriage with him three months after the death of Ferdinand VII. +Muñoz showed no ambition and only consented to become Duke of +Rianzares, noble of Spain and knight of the Golden Fleece.</li> + +<li>MUNSTER, Lord (1794-1842). George Fitz-Clarence, natural son of +King William IV. and Mrs. Jordan. He entered the army at a +very early age and became Major-General, member of the Privy +Council, aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria and received the title of +Lord Munster.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_404">404</a></span> +MURAT, Mme. (1782-1839). Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon I. +She married General Murat in 1800. In 1806 she was Grand Duchess +of Berg and Queen of Naples in 1808. She became a widow in 1815 +and then retired to Austria and afterwards to Florence where she died.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">N</p> + +<ul> +<li>NAPIER, Sir Charles (1786-1860). A Naval Captain in 1810, he went +through the Portugal Campaign. In 1815 he was placed on the retired +list, but in 1829 he entered the service of Dom Pedro of Portugal with +successful results. On his return to England he was elected member +of the House of Commons in 1834, appointed Commodore in 1839, +Rear-Admiral in 1846, and Vice-Admiral in 1853. In 1840 he supported +the Turkish Fleet during the Syrian Expedition; but in 1853 he +was less fortunate and failed before Cronstadt.</li> + +<li>NAPLES, the King of (1811-1859). Ferdinand II.,* son of King Francis I. +and of Isabella of Spain.</li> + +<li>NAPLES, the Queen of (1812-1836). Maria Christina, daughter of the +King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel I. She married King Ferdinand II. +in 1832.</li> + +<li>NAPLES, Prince Charles Ferdinand of (1811-1862). Brother of the Count +of Syracuse and morganatic husband of Miss Penelope Smith, by whom +he had two children. His son bore the title of Count Mascali.</li> + +<li>NAPLES, Prince Leopold of (1813-1860). (<em>See</em><a href="#SYRACUSE"> Syracuse</a>, Count of.)</li> + +<li>NEALE, the Countess Pauline (1779-1869). Of an Irish family which had +been settled in Prussia for several generations. The Countess Neale +was lady of honour to Princess Louise of Prussia and married Prince +Antoine Radziwill in 1795.</li> + +<li>NEIGRE, the Baron (1774-1847). He enlisted as a volunteer in 1790, and +had a brilliant career in the wars of the First Empire. In 1813 he +was general of division; afterwards he supported the Bourbons, took +part in the siege of Antwerp and held a seat in the Chamber of Peers +until his death.</li> + +<li>NEIPPERG, Count Alfred of (1807-1865). Austrian Chamberlain and +Major-General in the army of Würtemberg. He married as his second +wife in 1840 Princess Maria of Würtemberg.</li> + +<li>NEMOURS, the Duchesse de (1625-1701). Marie d'Orléans, wife of +Henry II., Duc de Savoie-Nemours, her cousin. In 1690 she obtained +the Principality of Neuchâtel. She has left graceful and lively +memoirs of her life.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_405">405</a></span> +NEMOURS, the Duc de* (1814-1896). Second son of King Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>NESSELRODE, Count* (1780-1862). Russian diplomatist and afterwards +Imperial Chancellor of Russia.</li> + +<li>NESSELRODE, Countess, died in 1849. She was the daughter of Count +Gourieff, who was Russian Financial Minister.</li> + +<li>NEUMANN, Baron. Austrian diplomatist who married the daughter of +the Duke of Beaufort, in England.</li> + +<li>NEY, the wife of the Marshal. Duchesse d'Elchingen, Princesse de la +Moskowa. <em>Née</em> Aglaé Louise de Lascans, she had married Marshal +Ney in 1802. Her mother had held a court post under Queen Marie +Antoinette which had brought her daughter into connection with the +Dauphine during their youth.</li> + +<li>NICOLAÏ, the Marquise Scipion de, <em>née</em> Lameth. She was the mother of +Madame de Léautaud and Madame de Montbreton, who were implicated +in the charge of diamond-stealing which arose in the Lafarge +trial.</li> + +<li>NICOLE, Pierre (1625-1695). Moralist, theologian and controversialist, +one of the most remarkable writers of Port Royal where he lectured +upon literature. With Arnaud and Pascal he wrote against the +Jesuits and was involved in the prosecutions directed against the +Jansenists. He was obliged to leave France in 1679 and could only +return through the intervention of Mgr. du Harlay, Archbishop of +Paris.</li> + +<li>NINA LASSAVE. Daughter of Laurence Petit for whom Fieschi had +conceived an ardent passion in his prison at Embrun. Nina, who was +fifteen years of age, had been left to Fieschi by Laurence.</li> + +<li>NOAILLES, the Duc Paul de* (1802-1885). At the age of twenty he +succeeded to the peerage on the death of his great-uncle, the Duc +Jean de Noailles.</li> + +<li>NOAILLES, the Vicountesse de* (1792-1851). Daughter of the Duc de +Poix, she married her cousin the Vicomte Alfred de Noailles.</li> + +<li>NOAILLES, the Comte Maurice de. Born in 1808, he married in 1842 his +cousin Mlle. Pauline de Noailles, daughter of the Duc de Noailles.</li> + +<li>NORTON, Mrs., born in 1808. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton was the +granddaughter of Sheridan. Her intimacy with Lord Melbourne was +notorious and her husband began a suit against her for divorce in 1836, +which caused much stir. The jury acquitted Lord Melbourne, notwithstanding +the strong presumption against him. Mrs. Norton was +separated from her husband and acquired a certain notoriety in +English literature by her novels and newspaper articles.</li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_406">406</a></span></p> + +<p class="alphabet">O</p> + +<ul> +<li>O'CONNELL, Daniel* (1775-1847). Patriot and Irish agitator.</li> + +<li>O'CONNELL, Maurice. Died in 1853. Eldest son of Daniel O'Connell, +whose policy he continued in the House of Commons.</li> + +<li>OFFALIA, the Comte d' (1777-1843). Spanish statesman. At first he was +secretary to the embassy in Washington in 1800; in 1823 he became +Minister of Justice; Ambassador at Paris in 1828; Minister of the +Interior in 1832; head of the Cabinet and Foreign Minister in 1837.</li> + +<li>OLLIVIER, l'Abbé Nicolas Théodore. Born in 1798. Priest of Saint-Roch +at Paris, he was appointed Bishop of Evreux in 1841.</li> + +<li>OMPTEDA, the Baroness* (1767-1843). <em>Née</em> the Countess of Schlippenbach.</li> + +<li>ORANGE, Prince William of* (1793-1849). He ascended the throne of +Holland in 1840.</li> + +<li>ORANGE, Princess of.* By birth Anne Paulowna, daughter of the +Emperor Paul of Russia.</li> + +<li>ORIE, Dr. Doctor of Bourgueil in Touraine. He died suddenly on the +road between Benais and Bourgueil. On the spot where he expired a +column has been raised with this inscription: "On this spot died +Dr. Orie, July 14, 1846."</li> + +<li>ORLEANS, the Duc d'* (1741-1793). Louis Philippe Joseph, called +<em>Philippe Egalité</em>. He died on the scaffold of the Revolution.</li> + +<li>ORLEANS, the Duc d'* (1810-1842). Ferdinand, eldest son of King +Louis-Philippe and Crown Prince.</li> + +<li>ORLOFF, Count (1781-1861). Alexis Fedorowitch, took part in all the +wars against Napoleon I. and entered the Russian diplomatic service +in 1828.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">P</p> + +<ul> +<li>PAHLEN, Count.* Born in 1775. A Russian diplomatist and Ambassador +at Paris.</li> + +<li>PALATINE, the Princess (1616-1684). Anne of Gonzague married Edward, +Count Palatine, son of the Palatine Elector, Frederic V. and settled +at Paris, where she was the ornament of the Court of Anne of Austria +through her beauty and her wit. After a life of pleasure and political +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_407">407</a></span> +intrigue she suffered an overthrow by the influence of Mazarin and +spent her last days in retirement. On her death Bossuet delivered a +funeral oration upon her, one of the most remarkable that he +composed.</li> + +<li>PALFFY the Princess. Born in 1774. Daughter of the Count of Hohenfeld +and wife of Prince Joseph Palffy. She died in 1827.</li> + +<li>PALMELLA, the Duchess of. A descendant of Vasco di Gama, she had +married Dom Pedro de Souza Holstein, Duke of Palmella, a Portuguese +statesman.</li> + +<li>PALMERSTON, Lord* (1784-1865). English politician; for a long time +Foreign Minister.</li> + +<li>PALMYRE, Madame.* A clever Parisian dressmaker.</li> + +<li>PARIS, the Comte de (1838-1894). Eldest son of the Duc d'Orléans and +Princess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. After the death of the +Comte de Chambord he became the head of the French house.</li> + +<li>PASCAL, Blaise (1623-1662). One of the greatest and most noble geniuses +of the seventeenth century; a mathematician, physicist and philosopher. +A quarrel between the Jansenists and the Jesuits gave him the +opportunity of showing himself the most powerful writer in Port +Royal.</li> + +<li>PASQUIER, Duc Etienne* (1767-1862). Politician and Peer of France. +Appointed Chancellor in 1837.</li> + +<li>PASSY, Hippolyte Philibert* (1793-1880). French politician, deputy and +member of the Institute.</li> + +<li>PEAN. One of the footmen of the Prince de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>PEEL, Sir Robert* (1788-1850). English statesman and member of +several Cabinets.</li> + +<li>PEMBROKE, Lady Catherine. Only daughter of Count Woronzoff, +married in 1808, George Augustus, Lord Pembroke, who died in 1827.</li> + +<li>PENELOPE SMITH, Miss (1815-1882). Morganatic wife of Prince Charles +of Naples, Count of Capua. Victor Emanuel recognised her possession +of this title.</li> + +<li>PEPIN* (1780-1836). Grocer and accomplice of Fieschi, with whom he +was executed.</li> + +<li>PÉRIGORD, the Comte Paul de (1811-1880). Paul Adalbert René de +Talleyrand-Périgord, husband of Mlle. Amicide de Saint-Aignan, who +died in 1854.</li> + +<li>PÉRIGORD, Mlle. Pauline de* (1820-1890). Daughter of the Duchesse +de Dino. She married the Marquis Henri de Castellane in 1839.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_408">408</a></span> +PÉRIGORD, Boson de (1832). Eldest son of the Duc de Valençay by his +first wife, Mlle. de Montmorency. He afterwards bore the title of +Duc de Talleyrand and de Sagan.</li> + +<li>PERPONCHER, the Comte Henri de (1771-1856). Infantry General in +Holland. He became Minister of the Low Countries at the Court of +Frederick William III.</li> + +<li>PERPONCHER, the Comtesse de. Died in 1861. Adélaïde, Countess of +Reede, married in 1816, Comte Henri de Perponcher.</li> + +<li>PERREGEAUX, the Comte de (1785-1841). After acting as auditor to +the Council of State, he occupied certain administrative posts under +the Empire. At the Restoration he was set aside, but King Louis-Philippe +made him a Peer of France in 1831.</li> + +<li>PETETOT, the Abbé Louis Pierre (1801-1887). General Superior of the +Order of the Oratoire, he was first priest of Saint Louis d'Antin and +of Saint Roch, and administered the affairs of the Order for more than +twenty years, resigning in 1884.</li> + +<li>PEYRONNET, the Comte de (1778-1854). An <em>émigré</em> during the Revolution +and the Empire, he was elected deputy under the Restoration and +joined the ultra party; as Minister of Justice under M. de Villèle, he +supported every retrograde measure. In 1829 he became Minister of +the Interior under the Polignac Ministry and helped to draw up the +ordinances which provoked the July Revolution. He was arrested and +tried by the Court of Peers and condemned to perpetual imprisonment. +He spent six years at the Fort of Ham, was then pardoned, after +which he lived in complete retirement at his estate of Montferrand +near Bordeaux.</li> + +<li>PIATOLI, the Abbé Scipion (1750-1809). Born at Florence, he took orders. +Princess Lubomirska, <em>née</em> Czartoryska, who was travelling in Italy, +appointed him tutor to her nephew, Prince Henry Lubomirski. The +Abbé came with her to Poland in 1787, and Count Ignatius Potocki, +who was struck with his capacity, secured him the post of Secretary +to King Stanislas Augustus. The Abbé Piatoli persuaded the King to +join the Polish patriotic party himself and drew up the Constitution +of May 3, 1791, after taking the chief share in discussion upon it. +After the second partition of Poland he left the country and became +tutor to the household of Princess Dorothea of Courlande. Afterwards, +through the good offices of Prince Adam Czartoryski, he obtained a post +in the service of Russia. Very learned, with a powerful imagination +and lofty ideas, he was strongly imbued with the principles of Voltaire.</li> + +<li>PIUS VII., Pope (1740-1823). Barbé Chiaramonti, a Benedictine monk, +and Bishop of Tivoli, received the purple with the bishopric of Imola +in 1795, and was elected Pope in 1800. He reorganised his papal +states, signed a Concordat with Napoleon, and came to Paris to crown +him as Emperor in 1804. Seven years afterwards, having refused to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_409">409</a></span> +drive out the enemies of France, he saw his states invaded and his +provinces were united to the French Empire. As he had excommunicated +the French Emperor he was forced to undergo a rigorous +confinement at Fontainebleau. The Congress of Vienna restored his +possessions in 1814, and he returned to them. He was so generous as +to grant a refuge in Rome to several members of the family of the +deposed Emperor.</li> + +<li>PIMODAN, the Marquis de. Born in 1789. Camille de Rarécourt de la +Vallée Marquis de Pimodan, cavalry captain and honorary gentleman +of the Chamber to King Charles X., and knight of the Legion of +Honour. He married Mlle. de Frénilly in 1819.</li> + +<li>PISCATORY, Théobald-Emile (1799-1870). He went to Greece under +the Restoration to support the cause of independence. In 1832 he +was elected deputy and afterwards voted with the Conservative +majority. From 1844 to 1846 he was Plenipotentiary Minister in +Greece and cleverly counteracted English influence. In 1846 he was +made Peer of France and in 1847 Spanish Ambassador. He abandoned +political life after the coup d'état of 1851.</li> + +<li>PLAISANCE, the Duchesse de (1786-1854). Marie Anne Sophie, daughter +of the Marquis of Barbé Marbois, married Lebrun, Duc de Plaisance. +Witty and somewhat foreign in manner, she left France at an early +age for Greece, where she died.</li> + +<li>PLESSEN, Herr von. Died in 1837. In 1832 he was Minister of the +Privy Council of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, and negotiated +the marriage of Princess Helena with the Duc d'Orléans.</li> + +<li>POLIGNAC, Prince Jules de* (1780-1847). A Minister of Charles X. +He signed the July Ordinances and was condemned by the Court of +Peers, but released after the amnesty of 1837.</li> + +<li>POLIGNAC, the Princesse de (1792-1864). Charlotte Parkyns, daughter +of Lord Radcliffe, married as her first husband the Marquis de Choiseul +and as her second, in 1821, Prince Jules de Polignac.</li> + +<li>POMPONNE, the Marquis of (1618-1699). Simon Arnauld, Marquis de +Pomponne, son of Arnauld d'Andilly; King's Councillor in 1644, he +fell into disgrace with Fouquet, and was relegated to Verdun in 1662. +Three years later he returned to favour, and was sent to Stockholm as +Ambassador; afterwards the King appointed him Minister of Foreign +Affairs, and under his administration the glorious peace of Nimwegen +was signed. He again fell into disfavour and did not return to office +until after the death of Louvois.</li> + +<li>PONSONBY, Lord* (1770-1855). English Ambassador at Constantinople +from 1822 to 1827.</li> + +<li>PONTOIS, Comte Charles Edouard de (1792-1871). A French diplomatist +under Louis-Philippe; he was Plenipotentiary Minister of France in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_410">410</a></span> +Brazil and then in the United States; afterwards he was French +Ambassador at Constantinople. In 1846 he entered the Chamber of +Peers.</li> + +<li>POTEMKIN, Ivan Alexiewitch (1778-1849). A Russian diplomatist and +privy councillor. He was appointed Ambassador at Rome in 1840 and +died at Naples.</li> + +<li>POZZO DI BORGO, Count (1764-1842). A Corsican by birth, he was a +diplomatist in the service of Russia, and well known as Ambassador +at Paris.</li> + +<li>PRASLIN, Marquis Charles Hughes Théobald de (1805-1847). He took +the title of Duc on his father's death; became Knight of Honour to +the Duchess d'Orléans in 1837; was a member of the Chamber of +Deputies from 1839 to 1842, and was raised to the Peerage in 1845. +In 1824 he married the daughter of Marshal Sébastiani. Both came +to a tragic end in 1847, as M. de Praslin killed his wife in a fit of +madness and then committed suicide.</li> + +<li>PREISSAC, Comte François Jean de (1778-1852). Prefect of the Gironde +and Peer of France in 1832. He married Mlle. de Francfort, daughter +of a retired Colonel of a Royal Cavalry Regiment.</li> + +<li>PRIMATE OF FRANKFORT, Prince Charles of Dalberg (1744-1817). +He took orders and became Privy Councillor in 1772 of the Elector of +Mayence, then Governor of Erfurth and coadjutor to the Archbishop of +Mayence, whom he succeeded in 1802. In 1806 he became Prince +Primate of the Confederation of the Rhine, Sovereign Prince of +Ratisbon and Grand Duke of Fulda. Charles of Dalberg solemnised +at Frankfort in April 1810 the marriage of the Princess of Courlande +with the Comte Edmond de Périgord, afterwards Duc de Dino, and +after his father's death Duc de Talleyrand.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Prince Frederick of (1794-1863). Only son of Prince Ludwig +of Prussia and of Princess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister +of Queen Louise.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess Frederick of (1799-1882). Daughter of the Duke of +Anhalt Bernbourg, she had married Prince Frederick in 1817.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess William of (1785-1846). Amelie Marianne, daughter +of the Landgrave Ludwig of Hesse-Homburg, married, in 1804, Prince +William of Prussia, brother of Frederick William III.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Prince William of (1797-1888). Second son of King Frederick +William III. As his elder brother had no children, he assumed the +title of Prince of Prussia in 1840, when Frederick William IV. came +to the throne. He succeeded the latter as King in 1861, and in 1870 +became the first Emperor of Germany of the House of Hohenzollern.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess William of (1816-1890). Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach +married, in 1829, Prince William, son of Frederick +William III. She afterwards became the Empress Augusta.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_411">411</a></span> +PRUSSIA, Prince Charles of (1801-1883). Third son of King Frederick +William III. and of Queen Louise.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess Charles of (1808-1877). Marie, daughter of the +Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, married Prince Charles of Prussia in +1827.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Prince Albert of (1809-1872). Fourth son of King Frederick +William IV., he married, in 1830, Princess Marianne of the Low +Countries, whom he divorced in 1849. In 1853 he contracted a +morganatic marriage with Fräulein von Rauch, who was given the +title of Countess of Hohenau.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess Albert of (1810-1883). Marianne, daughter of the +King of the Low Countries, married, in 1830, Prince Albert of Prussia, +the youngest son of Frederick William III., by whom she had two +children. On her divorce in 1849 she left the Prussian court.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Prince Adalbert of (1811-1837). Son of Prince William of +Prussia, brother of Frederick William III. and of the Princess of +Hesse-Homburg. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian Navy. +He contracted a morganatic marriage in 1850 with Therese Elssler, +who received the title of Baroness of Barnim.</li> + +<li>PRUSSIA, Princess Marie of (1825-1889). Sister of the foregoing. In +1842 she married the Crown Prince of Bavaria, who became King in +1848 under the name of Maximilian II., and died in 1864.</li> + +<li>PÜCKLER, Prince Hermann Ludwig Heinrich (1795-1871). An officer in +the Life Guards at Dresden in 1804; he entered the Russian service, in +which he remained from 1813 to 1815, and married in 1817 the daughter +of Prince Hardenburg, from whom he separated in 1826. In 1863 he +became a Member of the House of Lords in Prussia. He travelled a +great deal, and was a lover of parks and gardens.</li> + +<li>PÜCKLER, Princess (1776-1854). Princess Anna Hardenberg married the +Count of Pappenheim as her first husband in 1796. In 1817 she +divorced him to marry Prince Hermann Pückler, from whom she +separated in 1826.</li> + +<li>PUTUS, Count Malte (1807-1837). Attaché to the Prussian Legation at +Naples. He died of consumption. His sister was the Countess +Lottum.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">Q</p> + +<ul> +<li>QUATREMÈRE DE QUINCY, Antoine Chrysostome (1755-1849). At an +early age he devoted himself to the study of antiquity and art, and +produced important works on these subjects. He was Deputy at Paris +to the Legislative Assembly of 1791; member of the Council of the Five +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_412">412</a></span> +Hundred in 1797; theatrical censor in 1815; Professor of Archæology +in 1818; and he was a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and +Literature and of the Academy of Fine Arts.</li> + +<li>QUÉLEN, Mgr. de,* (1778-1839). Coadjutor to the Cardinal de Talleyrand +Périgord, whom he succeeded as Archbishop of Paris in 1821.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">R</p> +<ul> + +<li>RACHEL, Mlle. (1820-1858). A great tragic actress. She was the +daughter of a poor Jewish pedlar called Felix. After a youth spent +in poverty she entered the Conservatoire, made her first appearance +at the Gymnase, and was admitted in 1838 to the Théâtre Français, +where she gave an admirable exposition of the finest parts of Corneille +and Racine. In 1856 she undertook a tour in America and contracted +a pulmonary disease, of which she soon died.</li> + +<li>RACZYNSKI, Count Athanasius (1788-1874). A diplomatist in the +Prussian service. For several years he was Minister at Lisbon and +Madrid, showing the utmost unselfishness and never drawing his +salary. The money thus accumulated is now in the hands of the +Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is of the greatest service to diplomatists +in distress. Count Raczynski was a very wealthy man, and +made a fine collection of pictures, which he bequeathed to the Crown. +He wrote several books upon art; his political correspondence has +also been published. In 1816 he married Princess Anna Radziwill. +He was a member of the House of Lords and a Privy Councillor.</li> + +<li>RADZIWILL, Princess Louise (1770-1836). Daughter of Prince Ferdinand +of Prussia, youngest brother of Frederick the Great. She married +Prince Antoine Radziwill in 1796.</li> + +<li>RADZIWILL, Prince William (1797-1870). An infantry general in the +service of Prussia, he commanded in succession several army corps, +and was a member of the House of Lords. His first wife, whom he +married in 1825, was his cousin Helene Radziwill, who died in 1827. +In 1832 he married the Countess Matilda Clary. He was the eldest +son of Prince Antoine Radziwill and of Princess Louise of Prussia.</li> + +<li>RADZIWILL, Princess William (1806-1896). Matilda, daughter of Prince +Charles Clary-Aldringen and of the Countess Louisa Chotek, married +Prince William Radziwill in 1832.</li> + +<li>RADZIWILL, Princess Boguslaw (1811-1890). Léontine, third daughter +of Prince Charles Clary, married, in 1832, Prince Boguslaw Radziwill, +youngest son of Prince Antoine Radziwill.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_413">413</a></span> +RANTZAU, the Comte Josias de (1609-1650). He entered the French +service in 1635 under King Louis XIII., having previously served the +Prince of Orange, Christian IV., King of Denmark, Gustavus Adolphus, +and the Emperor Ferdinand II. He was Marshal of France.</li> + +<li>RANTZAU, Count Antony of (1793-1849). Chamberlain and captain in +the service of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.</li> + +<li>RAQUENA, the Count of (1821-1878). Son of the Duke of Rocca, he +bore this title after his father's death. He was a Spanish artillery +officer, and afterwards served in the Royal Halberdier Corps and died +with the rank of general. He was a great lord, a great gambler, and +led a most adventurous life.</li> + +<li>RATISBONNE, the Abbé Marie Théodore (1802-1884). Son of a Jewish +banker of Strasburg, he had just concluded his study of the law when +he was converted to Catholicism and took Orders. He was known as +a writer and a preacher, and founded the congregation of Notre Dame +of Sion.</li> + +<li>RATISBONNE, Alphonse (1812-1884). Brother of Théodore Ratisbonne. +He was also converted to Catholicism and entered the congregation +of Notre Dame of Sion, founded by his brother.</li> + +<li>RAUCH, Christian Daniel (1777-1857). A famous Prussian sculptor. +He went to Rome in 1804 for study, returned to Berlin in 1811, where +he was greatly patronised by the Court.</li> + +<li>RAULLIN, M. French Councillor of State.</li> + +<li>RAVIGNAN, the Abbé de (1795-1858). Born at Bayonne, he began his +career in the magistracy. In obedience to a call he then left the +world, entered the Jesuit seminary, and afterwards the Jesuit Order. +He was distinguished for his lofty morality and his power as a +preacher. He delivered the funeral oration of Monseigneur de Quélen, +Archbishop of Paris.</li> + +<li>RAYNEVAL, Maximilian de (1778-1836). A French diplomatist who +received the title of Comte and the peerage for his services.</li> + +<li>RAZUMOWSKI, the Countess. She was born Princess Wiasemski.</li> + +<li>RÉCAMIER, Madame* (1777-1849). Famous for her beauty and for the deep +friendship which united her with the greatest literary personalities of +her time, in particular with Chateaubriand.</li> + +<li>RECKE, the Baroness of (1754-1833). Elizabeth Charlotte, Countess of +Medem, sister of the Duchess of Courlande, married, in 1774, the +Baron of Recke. She was divorced from him in 1776 and lost her only +daughter in the following year. She travelled a great deal in Italy +and Germany, and was in connection with all the literary men of her +age. She was herself the author of several works.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_414">414</a></span> +REDERN, the Countess of (1772-1842). Wilhelmina of Otterstaedt +married Count Wilhelm Jacob of Redern and had two sons, William +and Henry.</li> + +<li>REDERN, Count William of (1802-1880). A great Prussian landowner, a +member of the House of Lords, and afterwards High Chamberlain at +the Court of the Emperor William I.</li> + +<li>REDERN, the Countess of (1811-1875). Bertha Ienisz, daughter of a +Senator of Hamburg, married, in 1834, Count William of Redern. +She had only one daughter, who died when a minor.</li> + +<li>REEDE, the Countess of (1769-1847); <em>née</em> Krusemacht, daughter and +sister of two Prussian generals of that name. In 1823, when the +Crown Prince of Prussia was married, she was appointed chief lady at +the Court of the Crown Princess.</li> + +<li>REINHARD, Count Charles Frederick (1761-1837). Born at Würtemberg, +he studied at the University of Tübingen and knew Goethe. He +entered the French diplomatic service in 1792 and was Plenipotentiary +Minister at Florence in 1797, and in 1799 replaced the Prince de +Talleyrand at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was made a Peer +of France in 1832, after having been made Count in 1814. He was a +Member of the Academy of Inscriptions and Literature and of the +Academy of Moral and Political Science.</li> + +<li>REUILLY, M. A lawyer, Mayor of Versailles, and Knight of the Legion +of Honour. In 1840 he was Deputy for Seine-et-Oise, and was member +of the Constituent Assembly in 1848.</li> + +<li>RÉMUSAT, Comte Charles de* (1797-1875). French writer and politician.</li> + +<li>RETZ, the Cardinal de* (1614-1679). He played a great part during the +Fronde and left some remarkable memoirs.</li> + +<li>REUSS-SCHLEITZ-KOESTRITZ, Prince Henry LXIV. (1787-1856). +General and Field Marshal in the service of Austria and divisional +commander at Prague. He led the 7th regiment of Hussars.</li> + +<li>RUESS-SCHLEITZ, Princess Sophie Adelaide. Born in 1800; daughter +of Prince Henri LI. of Reuss-Ebersdorff.</li> + +<li>RIBEAUPIERRE, Count Alexandre de (1785-1865). Born of a family of +French Switzerland. His grandfather went to Russia in the suite of +the Princess Sophie of Zerbst, afterwards Catherine II. His father +had married the sister of General Bibikoff; he was Major-General +when he died at the siege of Ismail. Alexandre de Ribeaupierre +devoted himself to diplomacy, and became Russian Minister at Constantinople +and Berlin. He was made a Count in 1856 and married +Mlle. Potemkin.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_415">415</a></span> +RICHELIEU, the Duc de (1696-1788). Marshal of France and a brilliant +figure at the Court of Louis XIV. and XV. In 1720 he entered the +French Academy and became a friend of Voltaire. On the female +side he was a great-great-nephew of the Cardinal, godson of Louis +XIV. and of the Duchesse de Bourgogne. He first saw service under +Villars. While Ambassador at Vienna he showed dexterity in arranging +an agreement between France and Austria. After some military +exploits in Germany during the Seven Years War, he spent the +remainder of his life in intrigue and pleasures.</li> + +<li>RIGNY, Comte Henri-Gauthier de* (1783-1835). French admiral. +Several times Minister and Ambassador at Naples.</li> + +<li>RIGNY, Vicomte Alexandre de (1790-1873). Son of a cavalry officer and +of the sister of the Abbé Louis, he left the military school at Fontainebleau +in 1807, and took part in the campaigns of Prussia, Poland, +Austria, and Spain. As field-marshal in 1830, he joined the first +expedition to Constantinople in 1836, and though he displayed +incontestable bravery during the retreat, the gravest charges were +brought against him by General Clausel. The Council of War unanimously +acquitted him in 1837, but he was relegated to the command of +the subdivision of the Indre until 1848 and placed on the retired list +in 1849.</li> + +<li>RIGNY, Mlle. Auguste de. She was the daughter of General de Rigny +and heiress of her uncle, Baron Louis.</li> + +<li>RIVERS, Lady, died in 1866. Susan Georgiana Leveson Gower, daughter +of Lord Granville. She married in 1833 George Pitt, Lord Rivers.</li> + +<li>ROHAN, the Duc de (1789-1869). Fernand de Rohan Chabot followed +his father into exile while a child. He then returned to France and +entered the army at the age of twenty with the rank of sub-lieutenant +of Hussars. At that time bearing the title of Prince de Léon, he was +present at the battle of Wagram and became aide-de-camp to the +Emperor. In 1814 he was made a prisoner but was exchanged soon +afterwards. Under the Restoration he became aide-de-camp to the +Duc de Berry, then first equerry to the Duc de Bordeaux, and finally +Field Marshal in 1824. After 1830 he retired.</li> + +<li>ROOTHE, Madame de. Famous for her beauty. She married the Duc de +Richelieu who was then more than eighty years of age and whose third +wife she was.</li> + +<li>ROOTHE, M. de. Son of the first marriage of the Duchesse de Richelieu.</li> + +<li>ROSAMEL, M. de (1774-1848). Claude Charles Marie du Camp de Rosamel. +A French sailor; Captain in 1814 and Rear-Admiral in 1823. He +went through the Algerian campaign in 1830; in 1836 he became +Naval Minister in the Molé Ministry, and in 1839 entered the Chamber +of Peers.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_416">416</a></span> +ROSSE, Lawrence, Lord (1758-1841). In 1797 he married Miss Alice +Lloyd. He was distinguished in the Irish Parliament for his popularity +and his eloquence. On his father's death he succeeded to his seat +in the House of Lords in 1807. He was the father of the learned +astronomer William Rosse.</li> + +<li>ROSSI, the Countess (1803-1854). Henriette Sontag, of Swedish origin, +was a famous singer. In 1830 she abandoned the theatre on her +marriage with Count Rossi and was then a leading figure in aristocratic +salons by reason of her intellectual grace and her dignified +conduct. In 1848 pecuniary losses reduced her to reappear upon the +stage in Paris and London. Afterwards she went to America and died +of cholera in Mexico.</li> + +<li>ROTHSCHILD, Madame Salomon de* (1774-1855). She had married the +second son of Mayer Anselme Rothschild, who founded the branches +of the banking house in Vienna and Paris.</li> + +<li>ROTHSCHILD, James de (1792-1868). Fourth son of Mayer Anselme +Rothschild, settled at Paris.</li> + +<li>ROUGÉ, Marquis Alexis de (1778-1838). Peer of France in 1815, he +married in 1804 Mlle. de Crussol d'Uzès.</li> + +<li>ROUSSEAU, J. J. (1712-1778). Famous writer and philosopher. Son of +a watchmaker at Geneva, his education was greatly neglected. With +Voltaire he was an important revolutionary influence in the eighteenth +century.</li> + +<li>ROUSSIN, Admiral* (1781-1854). Peer of France, Ambassador at Constantinople +from 1832 to 1834 and Naval Minister in 1840.</li> + +<li>ROVIGO, the Duc de (1774-1833). Anne Jean Marie René Savary. Aide-de-camp +to General Bonaparte in Egypt, and afterwards commander +of the picked bodyguard of the First Council. He was ordered to +carry out the death sentence pronounced upon the Duc d'Enghien in +1804, and was then appointed General. After the battle of Friedland, +he was made Duc de Rovigo; in 1810 he succeeded Fouché as Minister +of Police. After 1815, the English refused to send him to St. Helena +with Napoleon and the Restoration condemned him to death, but he +escaped and was afterwards acquitted. In 1831 he commanded the +army of Algeria, terrorised the natives by his severity, and constructed +fine strategical roads.</li> + +<li>ROY, the Comte Antoine (1764-1847). A lawyer and afterwards deputy +he became Finance Minister in 1818, and introduced valuable reforms +into this department. He was a Member of the Chamber of Peers +under the Restoration and under the July Monarchy.</li> + +<li>ROYER COLLARD, Pierre Paul* (1763-1845). French philosopher +statesman and Member of the Academy.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_417">417</a></span> +RUBINI, J. B.* (1795-1854). Famous Italian tenor.</li> + +<li>RUMFORD, Madame de (1766-1836). Mlle. de Paulze married the scientist, +Lavoisier, as her first husband. He died upon the scaffold of the +Revolution, and in 1804 she married Rumford, a German physician +and philosopher. In 1814 she was left a widow. Her drawing-room +at Paris was famous.</li> + +<li>RUMIGNY, Comte Marie Théodore de (1789-1860). He took part in the +wars of the First Empire and was aide-de-camp to General Gérard in +1812. In 1830 Louis-Philippe appointed him Field Marshal; after +1848 he accompanied the King to England and then lived in retirement.</li> + +<li>RUSSELL, Lord William* (1799-1846). English diplomatist and Ambassador +at Berlin.</li> + +<li>RUSSELL, Lord John.* English statesman, member of several Ministries +and twice Prime Minister.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, Empress Marie of (1759-1828). Marie Feodorovna, formerly +Sophie, daughter of Duke Frederick of Würtemberg, second wife of +the Emperor Paul, mother of Alexander I. and of Nicholas I. She was +left a widow in 1801.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, the Grand Duchess Constantine of (1781-1831). Julienne, +Princess of Saxe Coburg Gotha married in 1796 the Grand Duke Constantine +of Russia and was baptized under the name of Anna +Feodorovna.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, the Emperor of (1796-1855). Nicholas I.*</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, the Empress of (1798-1860). Charlotte, daughter of Frederick +William III. of Prussia, married in 1817 the Grand Duke Nicholas of +Russia, who ascended the throne in 1825.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, Grand Duchess Helena of (1807-1873). Daughter of Prince Paul +of Würtemberg and of his first wife, a princess of Saxe Altenburg. +She married in 1824 the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, youngest son +of the Emperor Paul.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, the Grand Hereditary Duke of (1818-1881). Alexander, son of +the Emperor Nicholas, whom he succeeded in 1855 as Alexander II., +married in 1841 the Princess of Hesse Darmstadt.</li> + +<li>RUSSIA, the Grand Duchess Olga of (1822-1892). Daughter of the Emperor +Nicholas I. of Russia. She married in 1846 the Hereditary Prince of +Würtemberg, who succeeded his father in the same year.</li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_418">418</a></span></p> + +<p class="alphabet">S</p> + +<ul> +<li>SAGAN, the Duchess of (1781-1839). Wilhelmina, eldest daughter of +Peter, Duke of Courlande. She was married three times: (1) In 1800 +to Prince Henri de Rohan; (2) to Prince Troubetskoi, and (3) to +Count Charles of Schulenburg who survived her. She died suddenly +at Vienna and left no children.</li> + +<li>SAINT AUGUSTINE (354-430). Bishop of Hippo, son of Saint Monica and +one of the fathers of the church.</li> + +<li>SAINT BLANCARD, the Marquis de (1814-1897). At one time page to +King Charles X. He married Mlle. de Bauffremont.</li> + +<li>SAINT CYRAN, the Abbé de (1581-1643). Jean Duvergier de Hauranne +studied in the University of Louvain and became connected with the +Jansenists, whose doctrines he ardently embraced, and obtained the +Abbey of Saint Cyran in 1620. Among his numerous disciples and +friends were Arnauld, Lemaistre de Sacy, Bignon, etc. He attacked +the Jesuits in several works and Richelieu kept him in prison for +four years.</li> + +<li>SAINTE ALDEGONDE, the Comtesse Camille de* (1793-1869). Widow +of an aide-de-camp of King Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>SAINTE AULAIRE, the Comte de* (1778-1854). Peer of France, +diplomatist, and Ambassador at Rome, Vienna and London.</li> + +<li>SAINTE AULAIRE, the Comtesse de. <em>Née</em> Louise Charlotte Victoire de +Grimoard de Beauvoir du Roure-Brison. She married in 1809 M. de +Sainte Aulaire, who was already a widower.</li> + +<li>SAINT LEU, the Duchesse de* (1783-1837). <em>Née</em> Hortense de Beauharnais, +she was the widow of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland and mother +of Napoleon III.</li> + +<li>SAINT PRIEST, the Comte Alexis de,* diplomatist and French writer and +member of the French Academy.</li> + +<li>SAINT SIMON, Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de (1675-1755). A lord at the +Court of Louis XIV. He wrote famous memoirs, important to the +history of his time.</li> + +<li>SALERNO, the Prince of (1790-1851). Leopold de Bourbon, brother of +Francis I., King of Naples, was Inspector-General of the Royal Guard +and leader of the 22nd Regiment of Austrian Infantry. In 1816 he +married the Archduchess Maria of Austria, and had a daughter who +became the Duchesse d'Aumale.</li> + +<li>SALERNO, the Princess of (1798-1880). Maria, daughter of the Emperor +Francis I. of Austria.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_419">419</a></span> +SALVANDY, the Comte de* (1795-1856). French man of letters and +politician; Ambassador and several times Minister.</li> + +<li>SALVANDY, the Comtesse de. Julie Ferey, daughter of a manufacturer +and politician, married the Comte de Salvandy in 1823.</li> + +<li>SANDWICH, Lady, died in 1853. Louisa, daughter of Lord Belmore, +married, in 1804, George John Montagu, Lord Sandwich, who died in +1818. One of his daughters was the first wife of Count Walewski.</li> + +<li>SAULX-TAVANNES, Duc Roger Gaspard de (1806-1845). He became a +peer in 1820 on his father's death, but took no share in the work of +the Chamber, and committed suicide at the age of thirty-nine, when +his old ducal family became extinct.</li> + +<li>SAUZET, Paul* (1800-1876). Lawyer, Deputy, and Minister of Justice in +1836.</li> + +<li>SAXE-WEIMAR, Duke Bernard of (1792-1862). Infantry General in the +service of the Low Countries.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, Augustus II., the Strong, Elector of (1670-1733). Afterwards +King of Poland, elected after the death of John Sobieski by intrigue +and bribery, and crowned at Warsaw in 1697.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, Princess Augusta of, born in 1782.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, Princess Amelia of (1794-1870). Sister of King Frederick +Augustus and of Prince John of Saxony.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, King Frederick Augustus II. of (1797-1854). Ascended the +throne in 1836, after having been co-regent since 1830, and promulgating +a liberal Constitution for his people. An enlightened, liberal, +and well-educated prince, he died in consequence of a fall from his +horse, leaving no children.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, the Queen of (1805-1877). Maria, daughter of King Maximilian +of Bavaria and wife of King Frederick Augustus II.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, Prince John of (1801-1873). This prince succeeded his brother, +King Frederick Augustus, in 1854. He had married Princess Amelia +of Bavaria, by whom he had several children, and was distinguished +throughout his life for his great virtue and his learning.</li> + +<li>SAXONY, Princess John of (1801-1877). Amelia, daughter of King +Maximilian of Bavaria and wife of Prince John of Saxony.</li> + +<li>SCHÖNBURG, Princess (1803-1884). Louise Schwarzenberg, sister of the +Cardinal of that name, married, in 1823, Prince Edward of Schönburg +Waldenburg.</li> + +<li>SCHÖNLEIN, Dr. Jean Luc (1793-1864). Doctor of medicine at Zurich. +He was summoned to Berlin, where he obtained a great reputation.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_420">420</a></span> +SCHRECKENSTEIN, Baron Maximilian of (1794-1862). For a long time +first Gentleman at the Court of Princess Stephanie of Baden, and +governor of the houses and property of this princess.</li> + +<li>SCHULENBURG-KLOSTERRODE, the Count of (1772-1853). He served +in the Austrian diplomatic service and died at Vienna. He had +married his cousin, the Countess Armgard of Schulenburg.</li> + +<li>SCHULENBURG, Count Charles Rudolph of (1788-1856). Austrian +lieutenant-colonel; he married the Duchess Wilhelmina of Sagan, +the eldest daughter of the last Duke of Courlande; this marriage was +soon dissolved. In 1846 he undertook to administer the property of +the Duchesse de Talleyrand. He died at Sagan of an apoplectic stroke +and was buried there.</li> + +<li>SCHWARZENBERG, Charles Philippe, Prince of (1771-1820). First a +soldier and then Austrian Ambassador at Paris. He negotiated the +marriage of Napoleon with the Archduchess Maria Louisa. On the +occasion of this marriage, in 1810, he gave a large ball, which had a +fatal conclusion owing to a fire at the Embassy, when his wife perished +in the flames.</li> + +<li>SCHWEINITZ, Countess of (1799-1854). Fräulein Dullack, married, in +1832, Count Hans Hermann of Schweinitz and became, in 1840, chief +lady at the Court of Princess William of Prussia, by birth the Princess +of Saxe-Weimar.</li> + +<li>SÉBASTIANI DE LA PORTA, Marshal* (1775-1851). Ambassador at +Constantinople, Naples, and London.</li> + +<li>SÉBASTIANI, wife of the foregoing, died in 1842. A daughter of the +Duc de Gramont. She had become an <em>émigré</em> at the age of sixteen +with the Bourbons. Her first husband had been General Davidow, +whom she married at Milan, and her second husband was General +Sébastiani, whose second wife she was.</li> + +<li>SÉGUR, the Comtesse de (1779-1847). Félicité d'Aguesseau, sole heiress +of the last Marquis of this name, she married Count Octave de Ségur, +major on the Staff of the Royal Guard, who died in 1818.</li> + +<li>SÉMONVILLE, the Marquis de* (1754-1839). Chief referendary of the +Court of Peers.</li> + +<li>SERCEY, the Marquis de (1753-1856). Pierre César Charles Guillaume +de Sercey was a very distinguished sailor. On the return of the +Bourbons, in 1814, he was commissioned to treat with England for the +exchange of the French prisoners. He was then appointed Vice-Admiral +and entered the Chamber of Peers.</li> + +<li>SÉVIGNÉ, the Marquise de* (1626-1696). One of the most distinguished +ladies at the Court of Louis XIV. and author of remarkable letters.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_421">421</a></span> +SFORZA, Ludovico (1451-1508). Known as the Moor, he was the opponent +of the House of Aragon in Italy, and summoned Charles VIII. there +in 1494. After betraying the French he was attacked by Louis XII., +who deprived him of his states and forced him to flee into Germany. +The unpopularity of Trivulzo in the Duchy of Milan allowed Sforza to +reconquer that province, but in 1500 he was defeated and captured at +Novaro by the French. He was imprisoned at Loches, and died ten +years later.</li> + +<li>SIDNEY, Lady Sophia,* died in 1837. Countess of Isle and of Dudley, +fifth child of William IV. of England and of Mrs. Jordan.</li> + +<li>SIEYÈS, the Abbé (1748-1836). Vicar-General of Chartres and politician +during the Revolution.</li> + +<li>SIGALON, Xavier (1790-1837). Historical painter. He was commissioned +by the Government in 1833 to go to Rome and copy Michael +Angelo's fresco of the Last Judgment. This magnificent reproduction, +a tenth less in size than the original, is at the School of Fine +Arts in Paris.</li> + +<li>SIMÉON, the Comte Joseph Balthazar (1781-1846). Master of requests +at the Council of State and Peer of France in 1835; he had strong +artistic tastes.</li> + +<li>SOLMS-SONNENWALD, Count William Theodore of (1787-1859). +Cavalry captain and Chamberlain, son of the Countess Ompteda by +her first marriage.</li> + +<li>SOLMS-SONNENWALD, the Countess of, born in 1790. By name, +Clementina, daughter of the Count of Bressler.</li> + +<li>SOPHIA, the Archduchess (1805-1872). Daughter of King Maximilian of +Bavaria. She married, in 1824, the Archduke Francis, and was the +mother of the Emperor Francis Joseph I.</li> + +<li>SOULT, Marshal* (1769-1852). One of the most famous soldiers of the +Empire and a Minister under Louis-Philippe.</li> + +<li>STACKELBERG, Count Gustavus of, Privy Councillor and Chamberlain +to the Emperor Alexander I. He became Russian Ambassador and +took part in the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In 1805 he married +Mlle. Caroline de Ludolf, daughter of the Ambassador of Naples at +St. Petersburg.</li> + +<li>STACKELBERG, the Countess of (1785-1868). <em>Née</em> Caroline de Ludolf, +she married Count Stackelberg in 1805; when she was left a widow +she settled at Paris.</li> + +<li>STANLEY, Lady. Henrietta Maria, daughter of Viscount Dillon, married +in Italy, in 1826, Sir Edward John Stanley, member of the English +Parliament.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_422">422</a></span> +STOPFORD, Robert (1768-1847). An English Admiral who became +famous in the chief naval campaigns of the Revolution and the +Empire. In 1840 he bombarded Saint Jean d'Acre.</li> + +<li>STROGONOFF, Countess Julia. She had married a Spaniard, the Count of +Ega, with whom she lived at Madrid, when she made the acquaintance +of Count Gregory Strogonoff, who carried her off and married her. +She was well received in St. Petersburg society, but owing to her +false position, she could not obtain for a long time the Order of +St. Catherine, which was her great ambition. She died at an advanced +age between 1860 and 1870, after carefully tending her +husband, who had become blind.</li> + +<li>STURMFEDER, Frau von (1819-1891). Camilla Wilhelmena of Münchingen +had married the Baron of Sturmfeder and of Oppenweiller, and +was Chief Lady at the Court of the Grand Duchess Stephanie of +Baden.</li> + +<li>SUTHERLAND, the Duchess of,* died in 1868. <em>Née</em> Lady Carlisle. She +was mistress of the robes to Queen Victoria.</li> + +<li><a name="SYRACUSE" id="SYRACUSE"></a>SYRACUSE, the Comte de (1813-1860). Léopold de Bourbon, son of +Francis I., King of Naples and of Maria Isabella of Spain. He was +promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, though he never received +any command.</li> + +<li>SYRACUSE, the Countess of (1814-1874). <em>See</em> <a href="#CARIGNAN">Carignan</a>, Philiberte de.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">T</p> + +<ul> + +<li>TALARU, the Marquis de (1769-1850). M. de Talaru, on the return from +exile in 1815, was called to the Peerage and became French Ambassador +at Madrid in 1823. In 1825 he was Minister of State and a +member of the Privy Council of Charles X., but went into retirement +upon the Revolution of 1830. He had married Mlle. de Rosière-Saraus, +widow of the Count of Clermont-Tonnerre, by whom he had no +children, so that the house of Tonnerre became extinct with him.</li> + +<li>TALLEYRAND-PÉRIGORD, Cardinal of* (1736-1821). Alexandre +Angélique, second son of Daniel de Talleyrand-Périgord, was Archbishop +of Reims in 1777 and of Paris in 1817.</li> + +<li>TALLEYRAND, Charles Maurice, Prince de* (1754-1838). Prince of +Benevento. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs, High Chamberlain of +France, member of the Institute and Ambassador. He had abandoned +the church into which he had been forced to enter, and was one of +the best politicians of his time.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_423">423</a></span> +TALLEYRAND, the Princesse de* (1762-1835). <em>Née</em> Catharine Werlée, +of English origin, she went through a civil marriage in 1802 with the +Prince de Talleyrand, by the order of the Emperor Napoleon, a +marriage which was immediately dissolved.</li> + +<li>TALLEYRAND, the Duc de (1762-1838). Known as <em>le bel Archambaud</em>. +He married in 1779 Mlle. Sabine de Senozan de Viriville, who was +executed in 1793 during the Revolution.</li> + +<li>TALLEYRAND, the Comte Anatole de, died in 1838. Son of Baron +Augustin de Talleyrand and of Adélaide de Montigny.</li> + +<li>TASCHERAU, M. (1801-1874). A French deputy. He first studied law; +some interesting publications gained him a great reputation among +scholars; he became chief administrator of the Imperial Library +upon its reorganisation.</li> + +<li>TATITCHEFF, Demetrius Paulowitch de (1769-1845). A Russian diplomatist. +Minister at Madrid in 1815, then at Vienna where he remained +until 1845. He then became Councillor of State and Lord Chamberlain +to the Emperor Nicholas.</li> + +<li>TAURY, the Abbé Francois Louis (1791-1859). Priest of Chauvigny; he +was selected in 1832 by the Abbé Tournet, founder of the community +of the Sisters of Saint Andrew, to succeed him as Superior General +of that community. In 1845 he was appointed Vicar-General at Niort. +He died of an apoplectic stroke when he was descending from the +pulpit and about to celebrate Mass.</li> + +<li>TAYLOR, Sir Herbert* (1775-1839). Private Secretary to King George III., +George IV., and William IV. of England.</li> + +<li>THERESA, the Archduchess (1816-1867). Daughter of the Archduke +Charles and of the Princess of Nassau Weilburg. The Archduchess +Theresa became the second wife of Frederick II., King of Naples, who +married her in 1837.</li> + +<li>THIARD DE BUSSY, the Comte de* (1772-1852). French Marshal, liberal +deputy, appointed French Minister of Switzerland in 1848.</li> + +<li>THIERRY, Augustin (1795-1856). Famous French historian; author of +"Letters on the History of France," and "Narratives of Merovingian +Times."</li> + +<li>THIERS, Adolphe* (1797-1877). French statesman and historian.</li> + +<li>THIERS, Mme.* (1815-1880). Elise Dosne, daughter of the stockbroker.</li> + +<li>THORWALDSEN, Barthélemy* (1769-1844). Famous Danish sculptor.</li> + +<li>TOCQUEVILLE, Comte Alexis de (1805-1859). Member of the Chamber +of Deputies under Louis-Philippe where he supported the Opposition. +On the <em>coup d'état</em> of December 2, he joined the representatives who +<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_424">424</a></span> +signed the act of accusation against Louis Bonaparte and was +imprisoned at Vincennes. He was released a short time afterwards +and returned to private life. He was the author of "Democracy in +America," and of the <em>Ancien Régime</em>.</li> + +<li>TORENO, the Count of* (1786-1843). Spanish statesman, deputy in the +Cortes and several times Minister.</li> + +<li>TOUR ET TAXIS, the Princesse de la. Born in 1773. Theresa, daughter +of the Grand Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of Queen +Louisa of Prussia, married in 1789 Prince Charles de la Tour et Taxis, +Privy Councillor to the Emperor of Austria and Postmaster-General, +an office which had been in his family since 1695.</li> + +<li>TROGOFF, Madame de. A Russian lady, a great friend of the Duchess +Wilhelmina of Sagan, whose companion she had been. She lived at +Versailles.</li> + +<li>TUSCANY, the Grand Duke of (1797-1870). Leopold II., Archduke of +Austria, succeeded his father the Grand Duke Ferdinand III., in 1824. +His first wife was a Princess of Saxony, and in 1833 he married the +Princess Antoinette of the Two Sicilies.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">V</p> + +<ul> +<li>VALÉE, Marshal Sylvain Charles (1773-1846). Fought in the campaigns +of the Revolution and the Empire with distinction, and received the +title of Comte from Napoleon. He supported the Second Restoration, +and Charles X. made him a peer of France. In 1837 he gained his +Marshal's baton at the capture of Constantine and then became +Governor-General of Algeria. In 1840 he resigned this command in +favour of General Bugeaud.</li> + +<li>VALENÇAY, Madame de. Wife of Jacques d'Etampes, Marquis de la +Ferté-Imbault, Marshal of France, who lived from 1590 to 1668.</li> + +<li>VALENÇAY, the Duc de* (1811-1898). Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord, +Duc de Talleyrand and de Valençay, Duc de Sagan after the death of +his mother, eldest son of Edmond, Duc de Talleyrand and of Princess +Dorothea of Courlande.</li> + +<li>VALENÇAY, the Duchesse de* (1810-1858). <em>Née</em> de Montmorency.</li> + +<li>VALENÇAY, Yolande de (1833-1835). Daughter of the Duc and Duchesse +de Valençay; she died of scarlatina when young.</li> + +<li>VANDOEUVRE, Baron William de (1779-1870). Auditor to the Council +of State in 1806 and then deputy for the Aube; he became Peer of +France in 1837. He married Mlle. Dassy.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_425">425</a></span> +VATRY, the Baron de (1793-1871). Alphée Bourdon Vapereau de Vatry, +aide-de-camp to Prince Jérôme Bonaparte. He left the army under +the Restoration, became a stockbroker and made a large fortune. He +was a deputy from 1835 to 1848.</li> + +<li>VATRY, the Baronne de. Died in 1881. She was the daughter of +M. Hainguerlot, and married Baron Alphée de Vatry who died in 1871.</li> + +<li>VAUGUYON, Mlle. Pauline de la (1783-1829). Daughter of the Duc de +la Vauguyon; she married in 1810 the Baron of Villefranche of the +house of Carignan. She died of burns received in an accident at her +villa at Auteuil and left three children: (1) a daughter who married +Prince Massimo of Arsoli; (2) another daughter who married the +Count of Syracuse of the house of Naples; (3) a son by name Eugène, +who was recognised by the King of Sardinia as a prince of the blood.</li> + +<li>VÉRAC, the Marquis de (1768-1858). Armand de Vérac served for some +time in the army of the Princes and then returned to France; he was +exiled by Napoleon to Belgium eight years later. Under the Restoration +he became a Peer of France and Governor of the Château of +Versailles.</li> + +<li>VERNET, Horace (1789-1863). A famous French painter who followed +the Algerian campaign and painted several battle scenes illustrating it.</li> + +<li>VERQUIGNIEULLE, the Marquise de. Flore Marie de Proudhomme +et d'Harlay de Verquignieulle, married in 1836 M. Ancillon whose +third wife she was. On his death in 1837, she returned to live in +Belgium, her native country.</li> + +<li>VERTOT, the Abbé de (1655-1735). Réne Aubert de Vertot first entered +a religious vocation and became in succession a Capuchin monk under +the name of Father Zacharie, a Premonstratensian and a member of +the Order of Cluny. Then, being tired of the cloister life, he joined +the secular clergy and became priest of Croissy-la-Garenne and of +other places. He published a "History of the Revolutions in Portugal," +but his favourite work was a "History of the Roman Republic."</li> + +<li>VESTIER, Phidias (1796-1874). Architect and Inspector of the historical +monuments in the department of Indre-et-Loire. He was made a +Knight of the Legion of Honour after building the railway station at +Tours in 1849. He was the grandson of a painter, several of whose +works are in the Louvre. Largely supported by the Duchesse de +Talleyrand, he built numerous residences at Paris and several country +houses in the valley of the Loire.</li> + +<li>VICENCE, the Duc de (1815-1896). Armand Alexandre Joseph Adrien +de Caulaincourt first entered upon a diplomatic career, which he +abandoned in 1837. Under the July monarchy he was a deputy, +under the Second Empire a Senator, and was made Commander of +the Legion of Honour in 1868.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_426">426</a></span> +VILLEFRANCHE, Comte Eugène de (1753-1785). This prince of the +house of Carignan served in the French Army and was given by +Louis XVI. the command of an Infantry Regiment which took the +name of <em>Savoie Carignan</em>. He incurred the royal disfavour on account +of his marriage with Mlle. Magon Laballue, left the army and died at +an early age, and in obscurity at Domart in Picardie.</li> + +<li>VILLEFRANCHE, Baron Joseph Marie de (1783-1825). Son of the foregoing. +He had a brilliant career in a cavalry regiment under the +Empire, which was continued under the Restoration, and in 1823 he +followed the Duc d'Angoulême into Spain. He died suddenly in a +carriage of an apoplectic stroke. He had married the daughter of the +Duc de la Vauguyon.</li> + +<li>VILLEGONTIER, Comte Louis de la (1776-1849). Prefect of the Allier +in 1816, then Prefect of Ille-et-Vilaine and Peer of France in 1819; he +took the oath to the Government of Louis-Philippe and supported his +policy until 1848, when he retired into private life.</li> + +<li>VILLÈLE, Comte Guillaume Aubin de (1770-1840). Brought up in the +Seminary of Saint Sulpice, he became an <em>émigré</em> during the Revolution +and was ordained priest at Düsseldorf; when he returned to France +in 1802 he devoted himself to preaching. Louis XVIII. appointed him +Bishop of Soissons; in 1824 he became Archbishop of Bourges and +entered the Chamber of Peers at the same time. After 1830 he +remained adverse to the new Government, and refused the Cross of the +Legion of Honour in 1839. When Don Carlos was driven from Spain +and interned at Bourges, the Archbishop offered him his palace for his +residence, and received from this Prince the grand cordon of +Charles III.</li> + +<li>VILLEMAIN, Abel François* (1790-1870). French professor, writer, and +politician.</li> + +<li>VINCKE, Frau von (1766-1845). Fräulein von Vincke married her relative, +Herr von Vincke, and became lady-of-honour to Queen Louise of +Prussia, who was very fond of her. After the death of this Princess +she held a high position at court and in Berlin society.</li> + +<li>VIVIEN, Alexandre François Auguste (1799-1854). In 1840 he was +Minister of Justice in the Thiers Ministry, and lent his name to the +decree suppressing the deputy judges for the Court of the Seine.</li> + +<li>VOLTAIRE, Arouet de* (1694-1778). A French philosopher who exerted +a vast influence upon the history and literature of the eighteenth +century.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">W</p> + +<ul> +<li>WAGRAM, Prince Napoleon Louis de (1810-1888). Son of the famous +Marshal Berthier. He was a Peer of France in 1836 and Senator in +1848.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_427">427</a></span> +WALEWSKI, Comte Alexandre (1810-1868). French politician and +Minister under Napoleon III. He was the natural son of the Emperor +Napoleon I., and of the Countess Marie Walewska, whom the Emperor +had known at Warsaw in 1807.</li> + +<li>WALLENSTEIN (1583-1634). A famous soldier, born in Bohemia, and one +of the greatest generals during the Thirty Years War.</li> + +<li>WALSH, Countess Agatha. Left a widow as early as 1806, she became +first lady at the court of the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden and +did not retire until 1839. Her son, Theophilus, was a constant visitor +at the Baden court.</li> + +<li>WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832). A Scotch novelist.</li> + +<li>WASA, Princess (1811-1854). Louise Stephanie, daughter of the Grand +Duke Charles of Baden and of the Grand Duchess, <em>née</em> Stephanie of +Beauharnais.</li> + +<li>WEIZEL, Mlle. de. A very intimate friend of the family of Entraigues +and of the Baron and Baronne Finot, who lived near Valençay.</li> + +<li>WELLINGTON, the Duke of* (1769-1852). A famous English General, +the opponent of Napoleon and several times a member of the Cabinet.</li> + +<li>WERTHER, Baron* (1772-1859). Prussian diplomatist, Ambassador at +Paris, and afterwards Minister of Foreign Affairs at Berlin.</li> + +<li>WERTHER, Baroness* (1778-1853). By birth the Countess Sophia +Sandizell.</li> + +<li>WERTHER, Baron Charles (1809-1894). Son of the foregoing. In 1869 +he took the place of the Count of Golz as Ambassador at Paris, and +through his instrumentality a breach in relations took place, which +led to the outbreak of the 1870 war. In 1874 he was appointed +Ambassador at Constantinople, and retired to Munich in 1877.</li> + +<li>WEYER, Sylvan van de* (1803-1874). Belgian statesman and man of +letters.</li> + +<li>WITTGENSTEIN, Prince William of Sayn- (1770-1851). Household +Minister to King Frederick William III. of Prussia, and one of the +most important personages at the Berlin court.</li> + +<li>WOLFF, Herr von. Councillor to the Prussian Ministry of the Interior +for many years.</li> + +<li>WOLFF, Frau von. Daughter of the Councillor of Justice. Herr +Hennenberg.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_428">428</a></span> +WOLOWSKI, Louis (1810-1876). Born at Warsaw, he was naturalised in +France after the Polish revolution of 1830, and devoted himself to the +study of law and economic problems, in which he became a master.</li> + +<li>WORONZOFF-DASCHKOFF, Count Ivan (1791-1854). Russian Minister at +Munich from 1824 to 1828, and at Turin till 1832. He then became +Councillor of the Empire at St. Petersburg and Chief Master of Ceremonies +at the Court. He was an enlightened patron of the arts.</li> + +<li>WURMB, Herr Friedrich Karl von (1766-1843). Staff Officer at Berlin. +He resigned to marry Fräulein von Göcking, and became land agent to +the Duchesse de Dino at Deutsch-Wartenberg.</li> + +<li>WURMB, Frau von (1783-1862). Wilhelmina of Göcking, daughter of the +Councillor of State to the Finance Ministry.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Duke Alexander of (1804-1855). He entered the Austrian +Military Service, but after contracting a morganatic marriage in 1835 +with a Countess Rheday he settled at Paris.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, the King of* (1781-1862). William I.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Princess Maria of* (1816-1863). Daughter of King +William I. and wife of General Neipperg.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Princess Sophia of* (1818-1877). Sister of the foregoing. +She married William III., King of the Low Countries. She +was a very distinguished Princess, and an intimate friend of the +Emperor Napoleon III.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Prince Paul of (1785-1852). Brother of King William I. +He married, in 1825, Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Altenburg, by whom +he had several children. He afterwards contracted a morganatic +marriage with an English woman and settled at Paris.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Prince Frederick of. Born in 1808, and son of the +foregoing. He remained in the service of Würtemberg.</li> + +<li>WÜRTEMBERG, Prince Augustus of. Born in 1813, and brother of the +foregoing. He entered the Prussian service.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="alphabet">X</p> + +<ul> +<li>XIMENES DE CISNEROS, the Cardinal of (1436-1517). A famous +Spanish statesman and Archbishop of Toledo. He performed the +greatest services to Charles V., who showed himself most ungrateful, +and dismissed him after using his influence to procure his nomination +as King of Castile and of Aragon.</li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_429">429</a></span></p> + +<p class="alphabet">Z</p> + +<ul> +<li>ZEA-BERMEDEZ, Don Francisco* (1772-1850). Spanish diplomatist. +He belonged to one of the most ancient families of the reconquest.</li> + +<li>ZEA-BERMEDEZ, Doña de.* Died in 1848. By birth she was Doña +Maria Antonia de Anduaga, of a family living in Guipuscoa, which +included several diplomatists among its members. She was Lady +Noble of the Order of Maria Louisa.</li> + +<li>ZOÉ. A negress in the service of the Vicomtesse de Laval and then in +the service of the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency, with whom she +ended her life.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="end">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne & Co. Limited</span> +Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London</p> + + +<div class="header"> +<div class="footnotes"> +<h2 class="normal">FOOTNOTES:</h2> +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Mascara, in Algiers, was captured by the French in 1835.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> <em>See</em> <a href="#APPENDIX">Appendix</a>. In 1834 Jackson had claimed an indemnity of twenty-five +millions, in very haughty terms, from the Government of Louis +Philippe as compensation to the United States for the loss of ships seized +under the Empire; in the event of refusal, confiscation was threatened of +all French estates within the territories of the Union. While the claim was +entirely legitimate, the insulting form in which it was presented delayed a +settlement, until President Jackson retracted his words in the communication +to which reference is here made.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The Address of the 221 (March 3, 1830). This was a reply to a speech +from the throne, and plainly expressed the displeasure of the 221 Deputies +at seeing M. de Martignac deposed from the Presidency in favour of the +Prince Jules de Polignac.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> The speech to which reference is made will be found in the Appendix +to this volume.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> M. Humann submitted to the Chamber as a necessary measure a scheme +for the conversion of Government 5 per cent. bonds, which had already been +attempted in vain by M. de Villèle in 1824. The Chamber was inclined to +receive the idea favourably, but the Cabinet showed some ill-temper as it +had not been previously consulted, and M. Humann resigned. A question +was asked in the Chamber on this subject on June 18, and discussion was +opened by the Duc de Broglie. "We are asking," he said, "whether the +Government intends to propose the measure in the course of this session. +I answer, No; is that clear?" This last remark excited general disfavour, +and was the subject of adverse comment forthwith.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> This is again a reference to the former Ministers of Charles X. Certain +people were energetically striving to secure the liberation of these unfortunate +political prisoners.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> In 1835, in consequence of Fieschi's attempt, the Ministry proposed +three severe legal enactments dealing with the jury and the sentences in +cases of rebellion, and, most important of all, with the Press. The discussion +upon these laws continued in the Chamber from August 13, 1834, to +September 29, and ended in a complete success for the Government.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> The Marquis de Brignole-Sale.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Marie Christine, Princess of Savoy, died in giving birth to the prince +who was afterwards Francis II., the last King of Naples.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> The author of these memoirs.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> The sentence which condemned Fieschi, Pépin, and Morey to death. +They were executed at the Barrière Saint-Jacques on February 19.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> The Cabinet was as follows: M. Thiers, President of the Council and +Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Sauzet, Keeper of the Seals; M. de +Montalivet, Minister of the Interior; M. d'Argout, Financial Minister; +M. Passy, Minister of Commerce and Public Works; M. Pelet de la Lozère, +Minister of Education; Marshal Maison, Minister of War; Admiral +Duperré, Minister of Naval Affairs.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> Extract from a letter.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> Prince Charles of Naples, brother of the Duchesse de Berry, was the +nephew of Queen Marie Amélie.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> Reference is here made to an action for divorce brought against Mrs. +Norton by her husband, which made a great stir in England at this time. +The intimacy of Mrs. Norton with Lord Melbourne was well known. However, +the verdict given in the following June acquitted Lord Melbourne, +but Mrs. Norton and her husband separated.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> This work was published after the death of the Comte de Rémusat in +1878, by his son Paul.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> This plan was not entirely carried out; the Abbé alone was buried at +Saint-Patrice.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> The Princess Louise was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, +the youngest brother of Frederick the Great. She married Prince Antoine +Radziwill in 1796.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> Queen Wilhelmina of the Low Countries was the daughter of King +Frederick William II. of Prussia, and sister of the king then reigning, +Frederick William III.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> M. Bresson was the French Minister at Berlin.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> Princess Albert of Prussia was a princess of the Low Countries.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> We have been unable to find them.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> An estate belonging to the Duchesse de Dino in Silesia.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> Princess Metternich had used some discourteous terms concerning the +assumption of the crown by Louis-Philippe in 1830.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> The Liberal ideas of the Archduke Charles had induced Prince Metternich +to remove this prince from the Court and to regard him with +suspicion. They had almost quarrelled.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> Extract from a letter.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[27]</a> Daughter of the Marshal of Albuféra.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_28" id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[28]</a> Yolande de Valençay.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_29" id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[29]</a> The Baroness of Mengden, niece of the Princesse de Lieven, afterwards +lived at Carlsruhe, where she was abbess of a noble chapter. She was very +tall, especially in the upper part of her body, and any one seated by her +side at dinner was obliged to raise his head in order to see her face. As +she was very good-natured, she became to some extent her aunt's drudge; +at Valençay, when the Princesse de Lieven stayed there, she gave her niece +her jewel-box to keep when she was out driving, so that the Baroness +of Mengden could rarely take part in these excursions.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_30" id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[30]</a> French Ambassador at St. Petersburg.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_31" id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[31]</a> On the evening of June 25, 1836, a young man aged twenty-six, named +Louis Alibaud, shot at the king in the court of the Tuileries when Louis-Philippe +was reviewing the National Guard and the drummers were beating +a march.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_32" id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">[32]</a> English Ambassador at Constantinople.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_33" id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">[33]</a> Reis Effendi was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Turkey.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_34" id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">[34]</a> The widow of Napoleon I.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_35" id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">[35]</a> Sieyès died at Paris, June 28, 1836.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_36" id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">[36]</a> General Fagel had been the ambassador of the King of the Low +Countries in France under the Restoration.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_37" id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">[37]</a> M. Decazes then acted as chief referendary to the Chamber of Peers.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_38" id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">[38]</a> A violent newspaper quarrel brought about a meeting between Armand +Carrel, editor of <cite>Le National</cite>, and Emile de Girardin, editor<cite>La Presse</cite>. +A pistol duel took place on July 28 in the wood of Vincennes. Armand +Carrel was severely wounded in the stomach, and died the next day, after +expressing a definite wish for burial in a cemetery without any Church +service.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_39" id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">[39]</a> In the month of June 1836 a conflagration, supposed to be caused by +the carelessness of some plumbers, completely destroyed the chestnut beam-work +of the cathedral, which was the admiration of visitors and was known +as "the Forest." A great number of old windows were broken or melted, and +the bells were seriously damaged. For several hours the fire threatened to +spread to the whole of the lower town. The important work of repair +lasted for several years.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_40" id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">[40]</a> The Comte Paul de Périgord.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_41" id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">[41]</a> M. Thiers.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_42" id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">[42]</a> The institution of the famous Madame Campan, now the school of +Ecouen.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_43" id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">[43]</a> French Ambassador in Spain.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_44" id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">[44]</a> This estate was the Val Richer, where M. Guizot lived until his death.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_45" id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">[45]</a> The Ministry was composed as follows: M. Molé, President of the +Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Guizot, Minister of Public +Instruction; M. Persil, Minister of Justice; M. Duchâtel, Financial +Minister; M. de Gasparin, Minister of the Interior, with M. de Rémusat as +Under-Secretary of State; M. Martin du Nord, Minister of Commerce and +Public Works; General Bernard, Minister of War; and Admiral Rosamel, +Minister of Naval Affairs.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_46" id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">[46]</a> <em>See</em> above, p. <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_47" id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">[47]</a> St. Maurice was the patron saint of the Prince de Talleyrand.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_48" id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">[48]</a> This note upon Valençay was printed in 1848 by Crapelet, Rue de +Vaugirard, at Paris, with the dedication to which the author here refers. +This curious work is quoted by Larousse in his great "Dictionnaire +universel du Dix-neuvième Siècle," under "Valençay." It has become +scarce, but several copies exist.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_49" id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">[49]</a> The Obelisk of Luxor was given to King Louis-Philippe by Mehemet +Ali, Pasha of Egypt. It was removed from its place before the Temple of +Luxor, carried to Paris, and erected in the Place de la Concorde in 1836.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_50" id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">[50]</a> With the Comtesse Camille de Sainte-Aldegonde.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_51" id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">[51]</a> On October 26, 1836, Prince Louis Bonaparte, accompanied by his +friend M. de Persigny, and supported by Colonel Vaudrey, attempted to +begin a military revolt and to overthrow the king, Louis-Philippe.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_52" id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">[52]</a> Afterwards Napoleon III.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_53" id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">[53]</a> Charles X. had just died at Goritz, in Austria, on November 6, 1836.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_54" id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">[54]</a> The Queen of Portugal had been forced, after several outbreaks, to +accept the Radical Constitution of 1820. In November she began a counter-revolution, +helped by Palmella, Terceira, and Saldanha, believing, at the +instigation of England, that the population of Lisbon would support her, +and proposing to dismiss her Ministers. She had been wrongly informed +concerning the popular feeling, and was forced to abandon the struggle.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_55" id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">[55]</a> M. de Polignac, who was a prisoner at Ham, had demanded from +M. Molé his transference to a sanatorium.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_56" id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">[56]</a> His punishment had been commuted to perpetual banishment.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_57" id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">[57]</a> The Ministry was composed as follows: M. Molé, President of the +Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Barthe, Minister of Justice; +M. de Montalivet, Minister of the Interior; M. Lacave-Laplagne, Financial +Minister; M. de Salvandy, Minister of Public Instruction. General Bernard, +Admiral de Rosamel, and M. Martin du Nord retained their portfolios; M. de +Rémusat, Under-Secretary of State, followed his Minister into retirement.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_58" id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">[58]</a> Marianne Leopoldine, Archduchess of Austria-Este, born in 1771, +married the Elector Charles Theodore of Bavaria. After her husband's +death she married the Grand Master of his Court, the Comte Louis Arco. +This princess died in 1848.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_59" id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">[59]</a> On December 27, 1836, at the opening of the Parliamentary session, +another attempt was made upon the life of King Louis-Philippe as he was +driving to the Palais Bourbon with three of his sons. The criminal was +Meunier, a young man aged twenty-two, who was condemned to death by +the Chamber of Peers; but the King eventually secured a commutation of +his penalty to perpetual banishment on the occasion of the marriage of the +Duc d'Orléans.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_60" id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">[60]</a> The birthday of Louis-Philippe.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_61" id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">[61]</a> This embassy of honour was sent to meet the royal bride; the meeting +took place at Fulda on May 22, 1837.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_62" id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">[62]</a> The reference is to a law concerning the estimates for the secret +police fund.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_63" id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">[63]</a> The Comte de Lezay-Marnesia.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_64" id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">[64]</a> The Comtesse de Lobau.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_65" id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">[65]</a> On the occasion of the marriage of the Duc d'Orléans an amnesty was +granted by ordinance dated May 8 to all who were in prison for crimes or +political delinquencies.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_66" id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">[66]</a> Fräulein Sidonie von Dieskau, of whom mention will be made later on +the occasion of the Duchesse de Talleyrand's journey to Germany.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_67" id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">[67]</a> Baron Werther was Prussian Minister at Paris from 1824.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_68" id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">[68]</a> Comte Lehon was Belgian Minister.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_69" id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">[69]</a> Mgr. Gallard.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_70" id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">[70]</a> His Excellency Mohammed Nouri Effendi.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_71" id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">[71]</a> At the Palace of the Tuileries the Pavillon Marsan was occupied by the +Duc and Duchesse d'Orléans, while the Pavillon de Flore was occupied by +Madame Adélaïde, sister of King Louis-Philippe.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_72" id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">[72]</a> The Castle of Mecklenburg, where the princess had been brought up.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_73" id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">[73]</a> As Rochecotte was without any water-supply, and the hillside upon +which the castle was built was quite bare, hydraulic rams were introduced. +These were the first imported to France. The Duchesse de Dino had +them made in England, and insisted that French measures should be +transposed exactly into English, and English into French, with the result +that when they were set up at Rochecotte, where they still stand, the +measurements were found to be exact.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_74" id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">[74]</a> Luçay de Male is a dependency of the estate of Valençay. By its architecture +the castle of Luçay seems to belong to the same age as that of +Valençay. It is in a fine situation, overlooking the ironworks, the fine +lake which provides it with water, the town of Luçay, and picturesque +ravines.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_75" id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">[75]</a> In 1836 Marshal Clausel, who was then Governor of Algeria, attacked +the Bey of Constantine unsuccessfully; upon his failure the army, which +was weakened, was obliged to raise the siege of the town and to retreat +by forced marches in the midst of continual attacks from the Arab +troops. General de Rigny, who was stationed in the rearguard, bore the +whole weight of this disastrous retreat. In spite of his efforts he found that +his general had singled him out in an order of the day for a formal accusation +of treacherous insinuations and advice, and had declared him a rebel +and an unworthy officer. General de Rigny demanded to be judged by a +court-martial, and secured a verdict of acquittal, which was unanimously +given in 1837.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_76" id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="label">[76]</a> Careggi forms part of the town of Fiesole, near Florence. Several +villas stand about the neighbourhood, the most famous being that which +was built by the Medici, which contains several Renaissance masterpieces. +The Grand Dukes of Tuscany offered the use of it to distinguished +foreigners who stayed at Florence. In this way M. Thiers occupied it in +1837. In 1848 the Princess of Parma sought refuge there in her flight +from the revolutions. This villa still belongs to the house of Lorraine.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_77" id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="label">[77]</a> <em>See</em> p. <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_78" id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="label">[78]</a> It was proposed to erect upon the Pantheon a colossal statue of Renown +to replace the cross removed in 1831 from what was at that time the Church +of Sainte-Geneviève. Cortot was commissioned with this work, and set up +a model in carton-pierre. Criticism unanimously condemned it, and the +statue was taken down after some time.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_79" id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="label">[79]</a> Baron Louis died at Vry-sur-Marne, near Paris, on August 26, 1837.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_80" id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="label">[80]</a> Francis Macdonald had been appointed Minister of War at Naples by +King Murat in 1814.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_81" id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="label">[81]</a> Princess Louisa of Baden, the eldest daughter of the Grand Duchess +Stephanie of Baden, had married a Prince Wasa. Her household was constantly +disturbed by quarrels, which the Grand Duchess was continually +trying to heal, though for a long time without success.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_82" id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="label">[82]</a> The Archbishop of Cologne and the Prussian Government differed on +the question of mixed marriages. The Archbishop wished to appeal to the +Pope, and the Government had him arrested on November 28, 1837. He +remained a prisoner for four years at Minden, and never re-entered his +diocese, where his coadjutor took his place on his death in 1845. The +Archbishop of Cologne, Baron Droste de Vischering, was born in 1773.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_83" id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="label">[83]</a> The Duchesse de Dino suffered from a much more severe illness than +she relates. It is to this period that she ascribed those inward changes +which then took place in the case of M. de Talleyrand, and gradually +brought him back to the Christian faith.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_84" id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="label">[84]</a> A book recently published by M. Jean Hanotau, <cite>Letters of Prince +Metternich to the Comtesse de Lieven</cite> (1818-1819), shows that it was Prince +Metternich who set these two ladies against one another.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_85" id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="label">[85]</a> M. de Flahaut and General Baudrand were in constant rivalry with +one another. They were continually quarrelling about their official duties +in attendance upon the Duc d'Orléans, and in February 1838 they were +intriguing to be sent to the coronation of Queen Victoria.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_86" id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="label">[86]</a> For the speech of M. de Talleyrand <em>see</em> <a href="#III">III</a> Appendix.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_87" id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="label">[87]</a> The Abbé de Ravignan had taken the place of Lacordaire in the pulpit +of Notre-Dame.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_88" id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="label">[88]</a> The reference is to the letter which the Prince de Talleyrand wrote to +Rome retracting the errors of his life, which had incurred the censure of +the Church.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_89" id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="label">[89]</a> Better known under the title of <cite>La Chute d'un Ange</cite> (<cite>The Fallen Angel</cite>), +the opening of the poem called <cite>Jocelyn</cite>.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_90" id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="label">[90]</a> The manuscript in question was an account of the last moments of the +Prince de Talleyrand, written by the Abbé Dupanloup, afterwards Bishop +of Orleans. The author never printed it, and bequeathed it, with all his +papers concerning the Prince de Talleyrand, to M. Hilaire de Lacombe, who +sent them to the Abbé Lagrange, afterwards Bishop of Chartres. He only +used them for purposes of frequent quotation in the life of the Bishop +Dupanloup, which he wrote some years ago, and two chapters of which are +devoted to M. de Talleyrand. These papers are now in the possession of +M. Bernard de Lacombe. The letter of the Duchesse de Talleyrand, transcribed +in this volume, is reproduced here, although I have already published +it in <cite>Le Temps</cite> of April 30, 1908.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_91" id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="label">[91]</a> M. de Talleyrand had spoken strongly in favour of the Concordat. The +Pope was aware of the fact, and on March 10, 1802, addressed a Papal letter +to him which authorised him to re-enter civil life, though expressed in +somewhat vague terms.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_92" id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="label">[92]</a> The Archbishop de Quélen, who was out of sympathy with the Government +of 1830, was threatened in 1831 by an insurrection which pillaged the +Archbishop's residence in Paris. As he then had no official residence, he +took refuge first in the Convent of the Ladies of St. Michel of Paris, and +then in that of the Ladies of the Sacré Cœur at Conflans, a short distance +outside the town.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_93" id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="label">[93]</a> <cite>The Eighteenth Century.</cite></p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_94" id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="label">[94]</a> The funerals of the Prince de Talleyrand, of his brother, the Duc de +Talleyrand, and of the little Yolande de Périgord, daughter of the Duc and +Duchesse de Valençay, who died in childhood, took place on September 6, +1838, at Valençay. The three coffins were placed in a vault which the +Prince de Talleyrand had constructed during his lifetime.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_95" id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="label">[95]</a> The Prince de Talleyrand's footmen.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_96" id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="label">[96]</a> Zoé was a negress in the service of the Vicomtesse de Laval, to whom +she showed the greatest devotion. In 1838, after the death of the Vicomtesse, +Zoé was taken into service by the Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency, +daughter-in-law of Madame de Laval, who lived upon the estate of +Bonnétable, where Zoé ended her days in peace.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_97" id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="label">[97]</a> February 6 is St. Dorothea's Day, the patron saint of the Duchesse de +Talleyrand.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_98" id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="label">[98]</a> The first wife of Prince Christian of Denmark was Princess Charlotte of +Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Unfaithful to her husband, she was separated +from him in 1809, and divorced by order of the king in 1810. She died in +1840 at Rome, where she had lived after her conversion to Catholicism. +She was born in 1784, and married in 1806.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_99" id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="label">[99]</a> After the death of the Prince de Talleyrand the Duchesse de Talleyrand +sold the residence in the Rue Saint-Florentin to the Rothschilds. This +house she had inherited from the Prince. She then settled in a large suite +of rooms in the residence of the Marquis de Galliffet, Rue de Grenelle.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_100" id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="label">[100]</a> Mlle. Pauline de Périgord did in fact marry M. de Castellane, on +April 11, 1839. He then assumed the title of Marquis from his grandfather, +who had just died. His father, General de Castellane, afterwards Marshal +of France, yielded the title to him on the occasion of his marriage and +never bore it himself. From his grandmother, who brought him up, the old +Marchioness de Castellane, <em>née</em> Rohan-Chabot, whose first husband, the Duc +de la Rochefoucauld, had left her a large fortune, M. de Castellane received +as a wedding-gift the property of Aubijou, in Auvergne, in the department +of Cantal, which will often be mentioned in these memoirs.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_101" id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="label">[101]</a> Extract from a letter to M. de Bacourt.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_102" id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="label">[102]</a> The daughter of Princess William of Prussia to whom reference is here +made married the King of Bavaria a short time afterwards.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_103" id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="label">[103]</a> After the vote upon the secret service funds in March 1840 one of the +Deputies, M. Remilly, attempted to embarrass the Ministry by a proposal +for Parliamentary reform, providing that Deputies should not be promoted +to salaried posts or secure promotion for their Parliamentary life in the +following year.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_104" id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="label">[104]</a> M. Bourbon de Sarty was the prefect of Marne.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_105" id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="label">[105]</a> Nachod, an estate in Bohemia with a vast castle built by the Piccolomini, +had been bought by the Duc de Courlande. His eldest daughter, +Wilhelmine de Sagan, had inherited it, and died there in 1839. Nachod +was then sold to the Princes of Schaumburg-Lippe, who still retain it.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_106" id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="label">[106]</a> The Marquis de Brignole-Sale.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_107" id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="label">[107]</a> The vast plain of the Mitija is situated to the south of Algiers, and +extends between two mountainous zones of the Atlas and the Sahel. It is +famous for its fertility, for which reason the Arabs call it "the Mother of the +Poor."]</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_108" id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="label">[108]</a> M. Guizot was then Ambassador at London.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_109" id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="label">[109]</a> The third husband of the eldest sister of the Duchesse de Talleyrand.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_110" id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110" class="label">[110]</a> Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski, last King of Poland.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_111" id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111" class="label">[111]</a> M. Léon de Beaumont, the son of Fénelon's sister.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_112" id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112" class="label">[112]</a> Mgr. Affre.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_113" id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113" class="label">[113]</a> On June 6, 1840, a young man named Oxford, afterwards thought to be +mentally weak, fired two pistol-shots at Queen Victoria as she was driving +through the streets of London, accompanied by her husband, Prince +Albert.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_114" id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114" class="label">[114]</a> Herr von Hübner was Austrian Ambassador in France under the Second +Empire, before the Italian War.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_115" id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115" class="label">[115]</a> The complications of the Eastern question nearly plunged France into +war about this time. Syria had revolted, and the English, who objected to +the power of the Egyptian Viceroy, Mehemet Ali, joined Prussia, Austria, +and Russia, excluding France, whom Lord Palmerston knew to be unduly +favourable to Egypt, and secretly signed the treaty at London on July 15, +1840, restoring Syria to the Sultan.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_116" id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116" class="label">[116]</a> Extract from a letter.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_117" id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117" class="label">[117]</a> On August 6, 1840, Prince Louis Bonaparte took advantage of the +excitement caused by the approach of the date when Napoleon's remains +were to be brought back to Paris, and made an attempt at Boulogne-sur-Mer +to restore Napoleon's dynasty to the throne of France. On this occasion +the Prince was arrested and tried before the Chamber of Peers. He was +defended by Berryer, and was condemned to perpetual confinement in the +castle of Ham in 1846. He succeeding in escaping, and went first to +Belgium, and thence to England.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_118" id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118" class="label">[118]</a> Lord Palmerston secured the signing of a convention by which the four +Powers undertook to give the Porte any necessary support to reduce the +Pasha and protect Constantinople as far as needful against his attacks.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_119" id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119" class="label">[119]</a> In 1840 the Sultan was Abdul Mejed, who ascended the throne the +preceding year.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_120" id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120" class="label">[120]</a> Rosas secured his appointment in 1829 as Governor of Buenos Ayres in +1835. This dictator had a serious quarrel with France owing to his refusal +to satisfy the claims of the French residents. After a long blockade the +quarrel was satisfactorily terminated in 1840 by Admiral de Mackau.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_121" id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121" class="label">[121]</a> The Princesse de Lieven had hired in the house recently bought by +M. de Rothschild in the Rue Saint-Florentin the first-floor rooms, which +the Prince de Talleyrand had occupied for many years when he was in +possession of this residence. The Princesse thought that there she could +recover the political atmosphere which suited her taste. She stayed there +until her death in 1857.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_122" id="Footnote_122" href="#FNanchor_122" class="label">[122]</a> The Duchesse de Talleyrand had bought a little house with a court and +garden at Paris in the Rue de Lille, No. 73, in the year 1840. This house, +which in size was a mere temporary abode, was bought in 1862 by the +Comtesse de Bagneux.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_123" id="Footnote_123" href="#FNanchor_123" class="label">[123]</a> After ending the civil war (aroused by Don Carlos on the death of his +brother, Ferdinand VII.) by the capitulation of Bergara, Marie Christina +attempted to begin a reactionary policy. In 1840 she presented to the +Cortes the law of the <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">Ayuntamientos</i>, intended as a restriction upon municipal +freedom. An insurrection at once broke out in Barcelona, and rapidly +spread to Madrid and a large number of other towns. This movement was +supported by Espartero. The Queen-Regent summoned him and commissioned +him to form a Ministry on September 16, 1840, but he imposed +such severe conditions upon her that she thought acceptance impossible. +On October 2 she resigned the regency.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_124" id="Footnote_124" href="#FNanchor_124" class="label">[124]</a> Madame Lafarge, with whom several people in French society were +compromised, was first accused of stealing diamonds and then of poisoning +her husband. The first accusation was never entirely cleared up, but the +second was proved. The Court of Assizes condemned Madame Lafarge to +penal servitude. She remained in prison for twelve years, at the end of +which she was pardoned owing to her enfeebled health. She died a few +months later, in 1852.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_125" id="Footnote_125" href="#FNanchor_125" class="label">[125]</a> At the age of fourteen the Duc de Richelieu, then Duc de Fronsac, +married Mlle. de Noailles, by order of King Louis XIV. In 1734, after the +sieges of Kehl and Philippsburg, where he greatly distinguished himself, +Richelieu married Mlle. de Guise, Princess of Lorraine, and at the age of +eighty-two he married a third wife, Madame de Roothe. It is said that +after the marriage ceremony he went home to change his clothes, threw +down the ribbon of his order on the bed, and said to his footman: "You can +go; the Holy Spirit will do the rest."]</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_126" id="Footnote_126" href="#FNanchor_126" class="label">[126]</a> King Frederick William IV. was not exactly crowned, but he went +to Königsberg to receive the homage (<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">die Huldigung</i>) of his subjects, +who took the oath of fidelity to him through their Deputies on September +10, 1840.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_127" id="Footnote_127" href="#FNanchor_127" class="label">[127]</a> From Racine's tragedy <cite>Britannicus</cite>, Act IV. scene ii.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_128" id="Footnote_128" href="#FNanchor_128" class="label">[128]</a> The memorandum addressed by the French Government to Lord +Palmerston will be found in the Appendix.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_129" id="Footnote_129" href="#FNanchor_129" class="label">[129]</a> Beyrout had been taken from Turkey by Ibrahim Pasha, whose +victories had subjugated the whole of Syria for the Viceroy of Egypt. As +this expedition threatened the Ottoman Empire, and, in fact, nearly +brought about a European war, the town of Beyrout was bombarded and +captured from Mehemet Ali by an Anglo-Austrian squadron in 1840.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_130" id="Footnote_130" href="#FNanchor_130" class="label">[130]</a> <em>I.e.</em> the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite>.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_131" id="Footnote_131" href="#FNanchor_131" class="label">[131]</a> This piece is to be found in the <cite>History of Madame de Maintenon and +the Chief Events of the Reign of Louis XIV.</cite>, the first part of which was +to appear in 1848.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_132" id="Footnote_132" href="#FNanchor_132" class="label">[132]</a> The only son of the Duc de Mortemart, who died in consequence of a +fall from a carriage.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_133" id="Footnote_133" href="#FNanchor_133" class="label">[133]</a> On October 15, 1840, about six o'clock in the evening, Louis-Philippe +was returning from Paris to Saint-Cloud with the Queen and Madame +Adélaïde. They were driving along the Quai des Tuileries, and had reached +the Poste du Lion, when an explosion was heard; but the weapon which the +assassin Darmès had used against the King had burst and the charge had +exploded backwards. As soon as the assassin had been arrested and imprisoned +it became necessary to amputate his left hand, which was entirely +shattered.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_134" id="Footnote_134" href="#FNanchor_134" class="label">[134]</a> Madame de Flahaut was an Englishwoman, daughter of Admiral +Keith (Lord Elphinstone). He was ordered to notify Napoleon I., when he +sought hospitality on the English coast in 1815, that he was a prisoner of +the allies. He was also ordered to prepare for the prisoner's transport +to St. Helena.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_135" id="Footnote_135" href="#FNanchor_135" class="label">[135]</a> Thiers and his Ministry went out on October 29, 1840, and were +replaced by M. Guizot. Thiers was not to return to power under the reign +of Louis-Philippe.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_136" id="Footnote_136" href="#FNanchor_136" class="label">[136]</a> The Pope was then Gregory XVI.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_137" id="Footnote_137" href="#FNanchor_137" class="label">[137]</a> The new Cabinet was composed as follows: Minister of War and President +of the Council, Marshal Soult; Foreign Affairs, M. Guizot; Public +Works, M. Teste; the Interior, M. Duchâtel; Finance, M. Humann; +Education, M. Villemain; Justice, M. Martin du Nord; Commerce, +M. Cunin-Gridaine; Naval Affairs, Admiral Duperré.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_138" id="Footnote_138" href="#FNanchor_138" class="label">[138]</a> The opening session of the Chamber of Deputies.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_139" id="Footnote_139" href="#FNanchor_139" class="label">[139]</a> The Duc de Chartres.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_140" id="Footnote_140" href="#FNanchor_140" class="label">[140]</a> Lord Palmerston was unwilling to make any concessions.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_141" id="Footnote_141" href="#FNanchor_141" class="label">[141]</a> M. Sauzet.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_142" id="Footnote_142" href="#FNanchor_142" class="label">[142]</a> This manifesto of Queen Christina to the Spanish nation will be found +in the Appendix.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_143" id="Footnote_143" href="#FNanchor_143" class="label">[143]</a> Victoria, Crown Princess of Great Britain and Ireland, was born on +November 21, 1840. By her marriage with Prince Frederick William of +Prussia she afterwards became Empress of Germany. She was the mother +of the Emperor William II.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_144" id="Footnote_144" href="#FNanchor_144" class="label">[144]</a> A conflict arising from the revolution of July 1830 broke out in Poland, +where the Russians and the insurgents fought terrible battles under the +walls of Warsaw. On September 7, 1831, Warsaw was obliged to capitulate +in spite of a desperate resistance, and the event caused great grief and +sympathy throughout France. An attempt was made to begin a revolt in +Paris and to overthrow the Ministry of Casimir-Perier, who had recognised +the impossibility of supporting Poland.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_145" id="Footnote_145" href="#FNanchor_145" class="label">[145]</a> An allusion to the Œil de Bœuf in the castle of Versailles, where Court +intrigues were hatched.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_146" id="Footnote_146" href="#FNanchor_146" class="label">[146]</a> The Duc Pasquier.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_147" id="Footnote_147" href="#FNanchor_147" class="label">[147]</a> An allusion to the deed to which Louis-Philippe placed his signature in +February 1831, the day after the Archbishop's residence was destroyed and +Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois was plundered. M. Laffitte, who was too inclined +to consider resistance to sedition impossible, induced the Sovereign to +publish the following decree: "In future the State seal will represent an +open book, bearing these words, 'Charter of 1830,' surmounted by a closed +crown with a sceptre and a hand of justice in saltire, and tricolour flags +behind the escutcheon, with inscription, 'Louis-Philippe, King of the +French.'" Thus it was that the lilies disappeared which had hitherto been +represented upon the State seal throughout the realm.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_148" id="Footnote_148" href="#FNanchor_148" class="label">[148]</a> At that time the Duc de Broglie.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_149" id="Footnote_149" href="#FNanchor_149" class="label">[149]</a> From the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> of January 1, 1836.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_150" id="Footnote_150" href="#FNanchor_150" class="label">[150]</a> M. Odilon Barrot.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_151" id="Footnote_151" href="#FNanchor_151" class="label">[151]</a> M. Casimir Perier.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_152" id="Footnote_152" href="#FNanchor_152" class="label">[152]</a> M. Saint-Marc Girardin.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_153" id="Footnote_153" href="#FNanchor_153" class="label">[153]</a> From the <cite>Journal des Débats</cite> of January 7, 1836.</p> + + </div> + </div> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.2/3, +1836-1840, by Duchesse De Dino + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF THE DUCHESSE DE DINO V.2/3 *** + +***** This file should be named 44646-h.htm or 44646-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/6/4/44646/ + +Produced by Hélène de Mink, D Alexander and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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