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diff --git a/44646-0.txt b/44646-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b39e49 --- /dev/null +++ b/44646-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17482 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44646 *** + +Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the +original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors +have been corrected. + + + + + MEMOIRS OF THE + DUCHESSE DE DINO + + + + +[Illustration: CHARLES MAURICE DE TALLEYRAND-PÉRIGORD, PRINCE OF +BENEVENTO, 1754-1838] + + + + + MEMOIRS OF THE + + DUCHESSE DE DINO + + (_Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan_) + + 1836-1840 + + _Edited, with Notes and Biographical Index, by_ + + THE PRINCESSE RADZIWILL + + (_NÉE CASTELLANE_) + + WITH FRONTISPIECE + + SECOND SERIES + + NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN + 1910 + + + + +_Printed in England_ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + + 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. 1 + + +CHAPTER II + + 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. 81 + + +CHAPTER III + + Rochecotte, January 1, 1838--Life at Paris--At + Saint-Roch--Villemain--Bonnétable--Princess of + Denmark--Marriage Proposals. 146 + + +CHAPTER IV + + 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. 190 + +APPENDIX I 321 + +APPENDIX II 332 + +APPENDIX III 335 + +APPENDIX IV 343 + +APPENDIX V 357 + +BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 361 + + + + +MEMOIRS OF THE + +DUCHESSE DE DINO + + + + +CHAPTER I + +1836 + + +_Paris, January 2, 1836._--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 _diverse_ +and _inverse_ influences were in combination to _transport_ or to +_export_ M. Molé to the Academy, and that he himself was strongly in +favour of _importation_, as a seat in the Academy was no obstacle to +other posts. This play on words was no less pointed than malicious. + +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 _progressive_ term. + +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[1] 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! + + [1] Mascara, in Algiers, was captured by the French in 1835. + +Concerning M. Pasquier, a notice was inserted by some 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 +_salon_ of Madame de Chastellux, the Carlist headquarters. Such want +of tact is almost inconceivable, and great merriment was aroused! + + +_Paris, January 4, 1836._--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. + +The much-discussed communication from President Jackson,[2] 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 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. + + [2] _See_ Appendix. 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. + + +_Paris, January 11, 1836._--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[3] 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. + + [3] 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. + + +_Paris, January 16, 1836._--M. Humann, Financial Minister, delivered a +tirade yesterday in the Chamber of Deputies, in which he very +imprudently raised the question of the 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. + +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.[4] + + [4] The speech to which reference is made will be found in the + Appendix to this volume. + + +_Paris, January 24, 1836._--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.[5] + + [5] 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. + + +_Paris, January 28, 1836._--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 that I nearly choked, and Mmes. de Lieven, von Werther, +and von Löwenhielm, who were present, were in the same predicament. + + +_Paris, February 1, 1836._--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. + +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. + +Yesterday I saw Dr. Ferrus, on his return from Ham. His account of +what he found there is as follows: Both the 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.[6] + + [6] 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. + + +_Paris, February 6, 1836._--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." + +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 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. + +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. + +The _Journal de Paris_ 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. + +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." + + +_Paris, February 7, 1836._--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. + +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. + +The King summoned M. Humann, who _refused_, M. Molé, who _declined_, +M. Dupin, who _spoke at random_--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. + + +_Paris, February 8, 1836._--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;[7] 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. + + [7] 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. + +Yesterday we dined with M. Thiers in fulfillment of a long-standing +invitation. He was highly delighted and fluttering 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 9, 1836._--Yesterday we dined with the Sardinian +Ambassador.[8] 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. + + [8] The Marquis de Brignole-Sale. + +The young and beautiful Queen of Naples died on January 31, a few days +after the birth of her child. The news arrived yesterday.[9] + + [9] Marie Christine, Princess of Savoy, died in giving birth to + the prince who was afterwards Francis II., the last King of + Naples. + + +_Paris, February 10, 1836._--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 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." + +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. + +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 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? + +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. + +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. + +We then went to the last Ministerial reception given by the Duc de +Broglie. M. de Broglie believes himself to be 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. + + +_Paris, February 11, 1836._--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 +_salon_ 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. + +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;[10] 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. + + [10] The author of these memoirs. + +This is poor stuff, but poorer still is the fact that it is impossible +to form a Ministry, in seriousness or otherwise. 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! + + +_Paris, February 12, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, February 13, 1836._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 16, 1836._--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.[11] + + [11] The sentence which condemned Fieschi, Pépin, and Morey to + death. They were executed at the Barrière Saint-Jacques on + February 19. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 17, 1836._--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 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." + +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. + +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 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. + + +_Paris, February 19, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, February 20, 1836._--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." + + +_Paris, February 21, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, February 22, 1836._--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 +_Moniteur_.[12] He, however, has had nothing to do with it, and as the +sudden rise of 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. + + [12] 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. + + +_Paris, February 23, 1836._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 24, 1836._--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." + +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, 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! + + +_Paris, March 4, 1836._--Yesterday, at the house of M. de Talleyrand, +M. Mignet related that Marchand, a former _valet de chambre_ 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. + + +_Paris, March 5, 1836._--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 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. + + +_Paris, March 7, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, March 9, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, March 10, 1836._--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 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. + + +_Paris, March 11, 1836._--Yesterday I went to Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, to +hear the Abbé de Ravignan, formerly the King's _procureur_; 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. + + +_Paris, March 18, 1836._--With regard to my reflections upon +Bossuet,[13] 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.... + + [13] Extract from a letter. + +Yesterday, towards the end of the morning, M. de 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. + + +_Paris, March 20, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, March 24, 1836._--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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 _formidable_ 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. + + +_Paris, March 27, 1836._--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 embarrassing +event, and in a sense discreditable, especially to the Queen.[14] + + [14] Prince Charles of Naples, brother of the Duchesse de Berry, + was the nephew of Queen Marie Amélie. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 29, 1836._--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. + +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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 30, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, April 13, 1836._--I took Pauline yesterday evening to a +charity lottery at the house of the Duchesse de Montmorency, 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. + +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. + +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'OEuvre 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 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. + + +_Paris, April 13, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, April 21, 1836._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 23, 1836._--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.[15] I hope indeed that it is so. The +whole business seems to me very vulgar and in very bad taste. + + [15] 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 26, 1836._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +He seemed to expect a Ministerial crisis at Madrid which might affect +his position as ambassador. + +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 _I share all +his opinions_." + + +_Paris, April 27, 1836._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 28, 1836._--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. + +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. + +Yesterday I accompanied the Comtesse de Castellane to a 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. + + +_Paris, May 1, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, May 2, 1836._--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. + + +_Paris, May 4, 1836._--Yesterday I went to hear the conclusion of M. +de Rémusat's "Night of St. Bartholomew."[16] 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. + + [16] This work was published after the death of the Comte de + Rémusat in 1878, by his son Paul. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 6, 1836._--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! + + +_Rochecotte, May 10, 1836._--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." + +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 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.[17] + + [17] This plan was not entirely carried out; the Abbé alone was + buried at Saint-Patrice. + + +_Rochecotte, May 13, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, May 18, 1836._--I have been here since the day before +yesterday, and am expecting M. de Talleyrand and Pauline to-morrow. + +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. They must have been giants +indeed; and if giants at their time, what would they seem now? + + +_Valençay, May 22, 1836._--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,[18] 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.[19] 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. + + [18] 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. + + [19] 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. + + +_Valençay, May 23, 1836._--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. + +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 upon myself, it will be hard if I do not +learn to draw consolation at least from the one perennial source. + +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. + + +_Valençay, May 26, 1836._--The correspondence between M. de Talleyrand +and Madame Adélaïde continues animated and very affectionate, and +gives me some work. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + + +_Valençay, May 29, 1836._--Yesterday I read the new play of M. Casimir +Delavigne, _Une Famille au Temps de Luther_. 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. + +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 _forced to agree_ 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, May 31, 1836._--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 given by M. Bresson,[20] 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. + + [20] M. Bresson was the French Minister at Berlin. + + +_Valençay, June 1, 1836._--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. + +At a dinner given on May 22 to the two French Princes by the Crown +Prince of Prussia, Princess Albert,[21] 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. + + [21] Princess Albert of Prussia was a princess of the Low + Countries. + +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. + +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 +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." + +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." + + +_Valençay, June 2, 1836._--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. + +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 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.[22] + + [22] We have been unable to find them. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 4, 1836._--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." + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 5, 1836._--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 _salon_ 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. + + +_Valençay, June 10, 1836._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 13, 1836._--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, 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.[23] 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.[24] + + [23] An estate belonging to the Duchesse de Dino in Silesia. + + [24] Princess Metternich had used some discourteous terms + concerning the assumption of the crown by Louis-Philippe in 1830. + +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.[25] The +latter has retired to the pretty town of Baden, where he grows +flowers; he 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. + + [25] 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. + +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. + +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! + +The travellers are to start on the 11th and make their way to Milan +through Verona, devoting ten days to the journey. + +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. + +All the Coburg family and the Belgian King and Queen are coming to +Neuilly. + + +_Valençay, June 17, 1836._--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 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 _donjon_. 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! + + +_Valençay, June 18, 1836._--M. de Talleyrand's face has suffered +considerably, but otherwise he seems to have escaped miraculously from +this remarkable fall. + + +_Valençay, June 21, 1836._[26]--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 +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. + + [26] Extract from a letter. + +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;[27] 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,[28] and who brought death so +near to me; the close reading of good books; the 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. + + [27] Daughter of the Marshal of Albuféra. + + [28] Yolande de Valençay. + +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. + +The Duc d'Orléans gives a glowing account of a conversation with +Prince Metternich, by which he was delighted. + +The Princesse de Lieven has just gone away, to the general relief. I +think that the Princess and her proud niece[29] 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. + + [29] 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. + + +_Valençay, June 24, 1836._--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, 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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 25, 1836._--M. de Barante[30] 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. + + [30] French Ambassador at St. Petersburg. + +It is said that Mrs. Norton was most angry, in the course of the +strange trial--of which _Galignani_ gives a far too detailed +account--because the servants who were called to give evidence said +that she rouged and dyed her eyebrows. + + +_Valençay, June 27, 1836._--Another attempt upon the King's life.[31] +What a dreadful mania it is, and will it be always futile? Such is the +sad question which one cannot 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. + + [31] 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. + + +_Valençay, June 28, 1836._--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[32] has gone mad. He insists upon the +dismissal of Reis Effendi[33] 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. + + [32] English Ambassador at Constantinople. + + [33] Reis Effendi was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Turkey. + + +_Valençay, June 29, 1836._--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. + +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,[34] 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. +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. + + [34] The widow of Napoleon I. + +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.[35] + + [35] Sieyès died at Paris, June 28, 1836. + +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[36] has been at Neuilly, notwithstanding the +presence of the Belgian King and Queen; the King treated him very +kindly. + + [36] General Fagel had been the ambassador of the King of the Low + Countries in France under the Restoration. + + +_Valençay, July 5, 1836._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + /* "With the confidence of children, the respect of subjects, and + the gratitude of the friends of true liberty, the 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. + +Then follow the signatures of the Municipal Council, including that of +M. de Talleyrand. + + +_Valençay, July 10, 1836._--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. + +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." + + +_Valençay, July 13, 1836._--Yesterday evening we had a visit from the +Duc Decazes[37] 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. + + [37] M. Decazes then acted as chief referendary to the Chamber of + Peers. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, July 16, 1836._--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 +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, July 27, 1836._--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. + +I left Valençay the day before yesterday at six o'clock in 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! + +The death of Carrel[38] 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. + + [38] A violent newspaper quarrel brought about a meeting between + Armand Carrel, editor of _Le National_, and Emile de Girardin, + editor of _La Presse_. 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, July 28, 1836._--Yesterday the Duc d'Orléans came to see me. +He is in very bad health and somewhat melancholy; 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, July 29, 1836._--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! + +A remarkable fact which is vouched for by all the officers of the +legions of the National Guard is that during the last 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. + +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. + + +_Chartres, July 31, 1836._--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. + +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. + +Yesterday I stayed a few minutes at Versailles with 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. + + +_Montigny, August 1, 1836._--I left Chartres after hearing mass in the +cathedral, which, as far as I could see, has not suffered from the +fire.[39] 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. + + [39] 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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 2, 1836._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 6, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, August 7, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, August 9, 1836._--Yesterday at lunch-time we saw our +cousins arrive, the Prince de Chalais and his brother.[40] 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. + + [40] The Comte Paul de Périgord. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 11, 1836._--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,[41] who is +supported by the Prince Royal, as these two men are anxious for +intervention. We may wonder who will emerge victorious from this +domestic struggle. + + [41] M. Thiers. + + +_Valençay, August 22, 1836._--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,[42] 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. + + [42] The institution of the famous Madame Campan, now the school + of Ecouen. + +We are officially informed that the refusal from Vienna 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. + +From Madrid we hear that Isturitz has resigned. Calatrava takes his +place as President of the Council. Everything is going very badly. + +The King of Naples starts for Toulon on the 24th, and goes, as he +came, unmarried. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 24, 1836._--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 better for him than bad company in Switzerland. +Yesterday the newspapers announced the death of M. de Rayneval[43] at +Madrid. This will increase the difficulty of a question which is +complicated enough already. + + [43] French Ambassador in Spain. + + +_Valençay, August 27, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, August 28, 1836._--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 +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. + + +_Valençay, August 29, 1836._--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 my belief, and thus attempting to arouse his, but never +until I have an opening. In such a matter a light touch is +indispensable. + +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.[44] I presume that I shall next +hear that he has left the plough to resume the pen and speechifying. + + [44] This estate was the Val Richer, where M. Guizot lived until + his death. + + +_Valençay, September 1, 1836._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 3, 1836._--Yesterday I learned a piece of news +which is causing me much anxiety and is likely to 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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 4, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 7, 1836._--We are told that the _Moniteur_ 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. + +The following fact is certain: On the 4th of this month information +was received that the _Société des Familles_, 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. + + +_Valençay, September 9, 1836._--The newspapers are already declaring a +terrible war upon the new Ministry, which will be settled before the +Chambers.[45] The Opposition journals 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. + + [45] 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. + + +_Valençay, September 10, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 11, 1836._--I shall not quote Madame de Lieven as +testifying to the accuracy of the story told by M. de Montessuy,[46] +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 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. + + [46] _See_ above, p. 63. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 13, 1836._--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 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. + + +_Valençay, September 16, 1836._--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 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." + + +_Valençay, September 21, 1836._--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 +_real_ Minister of War. General Bernard was the last chance, and would +be the best choice, as Marshal Soult persistently refuses. + + +_Valençay, September 23, 1836._--Our festival of St. Maurice[47] 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. + + [47] St. Maurice was the patron saint of the Prince de + Talleyrand. + + +_Valençay, September 25, 1836._--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. + +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 _Mémoires_ 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 restoring my equilibrium, I am reading +the _Mémoires_ 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. + + +_Valençay, September 28, 1836._--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! + + +_Valençay, October 2, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 5, 1836._--I must copy the following passage about +the castle of Valençay, which I found in the _Mémoires_ 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 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." + +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. + + +_Valençay, October 18, 1836._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 20, 1836._--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 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." + +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 _Débats_ 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. + + +_Valençay, October 23, 1836._--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:[48] + + TO MY GRANDSON, + + "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. + + "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." + + [48] 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. + + +_Valençay, October 24, 1836._--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. + +M. the Prince de Joinville was at Jerusalem. + + +_Valençay, October 28, 1836._--All our letters from Paris say that no +ceremony has been more imposing than the erection of the Obelisk of +Luxor.[49] The royal family was welcomed with delight. It was their +first public appearance 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. + + [49] 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. + + +_Valençay, October 30, 1836._--To-morrow I propose to start from here +at eight o'clock in the morning; I shall lunch at Beauregard,[50] dine +at Tours and sleep at my own house at Rochecotte, where M. de +Talleyrand and my daughter will join me on November 2. + + [50] With the Comtesse Camille de Sainte-Aldegonde. + + +_Rochecotte, November 2, 1836._--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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 4, 1836._--What is the meaning of all this +Strasburg disturbance?[51] 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 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.[52] 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. + + [51] 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. + + [52] Afterwards Napoleon III. + + +_Rochecotte, November 7, 1836._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 10, 1836._--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! + + +_Rochecotte, November 11, 1836._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 20, 1836._--Yesterday's letters told of a +reversal in the affairs of Portugal. The counter-revolution 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. + +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.[53] 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. + + [53] Charles X. had just died at Goritz, in Austria, on November + 6, 1836. + + +_Rochecotte, November 21, 1836._--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.[54] + + [54] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 22, 1836._--The Prince de Laval writes that M. +de Ranville is staying with him at Montigny, while M. de Polignac[55] +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 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. + + [55] M. de Polignac, who was a prisoner at Ham, had demanded from + M. Molé his transference to a sanatorium. + +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? + + +_Rochecotte, November 28, 1836._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.[56] He asks to be +transported to the nearest frontier, Mons or Calais, to avoid any +route of which he could not endure the fatigue. + + [56] His punishment had been commuted to perpetual banishment. + + +_Rochecotte, December 2, 1836._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 15, 1836._--I shall certainly leave here +to-morrow evening, and shall be at Paris in the afternoon of the day +following. + + * * * * * + + [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.] + + + + +CHAPTER II + +1837 + + +_Paris, April 17, 1837._--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 +_Journal de Paris_ offers a frank Doctrinaire opposition; the _Journal +des Débats_ 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.[57] + + [57] 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. + +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,[58] who is at Paris at +this moment incognito as 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. + + [58] 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. + + +_Paris, April 19, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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 the whole the impression was most +discouraging for the new Ministry. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 22, 1837._--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 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. + +Meunier will probably be pardoned on the occasion of the marriage.[59] +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. + + [59] 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. + +The ridiculous compliment of M. Dupin to the Prince Royal is well +commented upon this morning in the _Journal de Paris_. 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 26, 1837._--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. + +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 _Corsaire_ +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. + + +_Paris, April 27, 1837._--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. + +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 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 _salons_ and +of the women who controlled them. M. Thiers classed them as follows: +The _salon_ 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 29, 1837._--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, 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. + + +_Paris, April 30, 1837._--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 _salon_ 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. + + +_Paris, May 1, 1837._--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. + +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 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. + + +_Paris, May 2, 1837._--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. + +The Marquis de Mornay has been nicknamed the Sosthenes of the July +revolution--amusing, but very true. + +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. + +Yesterday evening I went to the Court reception held on the 1st of +May.[60] 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. + + [60] The birthday of Louis-Philippe. + +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. + +Rumours are also current of an important victory said to be won by Don +Carlos. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 4, 1837._--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 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. + + +_Paris, May 5, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +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.[61] + + [61] This embassy of honour was sent to meet the royal bride; the + meeting took place at Fulda on May 22, 1837. + + +_Paris, May 6, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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 with what does not concern me, but in any case to-day's +work will decide the case of the Ministry. + + +_Paris, May 7, 1837._--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. + +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.[62] 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. + + [62] The reference is to a law concerning the estimates for the + secret police fund. + +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!" + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 8, 1837._--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.[63] + + [63] The Comte de Lezay-Marnesia. + +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. + +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 disarms the severe criticism which one might +be tempted to utter concerning her. + +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. + +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 two hundred and sixty people in +the Hall of the Marshals; all were in full dress, pleased and +animated. + +I concluded the evening with Madame de Castellane, where I found M. +Molé, who was very pleased with the result of the review. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 9, 1837._--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 _émigré_; 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 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. + +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. + +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 +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. + +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.[64] 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. + + [64] The Comtesse de Lobau. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 10, 1837._--At the time of writing yesterday I had not +read the _Moniteur_, which announced the amnesty.[65] 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. + + [65] 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. + +Yesterday I was at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where Sigalon, who has +just arrived from Rome, had placed the magnificent copy of the _Last +Judgment_ 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. + +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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 11, 1837._--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 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. + + +_Paris, May 14, 1837._--The _Moniteur_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 _salons_ 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. + + +_Paris, May 15, 1837._--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 +_aide-de-camp_. 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. + + +_Paris, May 16, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 18, 1837._--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. + + +_Paris, May 19, 1837._--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. + + +_Paris, May 21, 1837._--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. + +One of my German friends, a canoness, and a clever and intelligent +person,[66] writes to me as follows concerning the Princess Helena of +Mecklenburg: "The most amiable, the best 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." + + [66] Fräulein Sidonie von Dieskau, of whom mention will be made + later on the occasion of the Duchesse de Talleyrand's journey to + Germany. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 22, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 25, 1837._--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 M. +Laffitte. All the chief presidents of the courts have also been +invited, and of the Diplomatic Body Herr and Frau von Werther,[67] M. +and Madame Lehon.[68] The rest are invited for the other days, two at +a time. + + [67] Baron Werther was Prussian Minister at Paris from 1824. + + [68] Comte Lehon was Belgian Minister. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, May 26, 1837._--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. + +They say that anarchy is at its height at Madrid, and also that Don +Carlos is at his wits' end. + +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. + + +_Fontainebleau, May 30, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Fontainebleau, May 31, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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, 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. + +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. + +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[69] 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 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. + + [69] Mgr. Gallard. + +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. + +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. + + +_Fontainebleau, June 1, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +Many people have gone and others have come, including the Turkish +Ambassador,[70] 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 _False Confidences_ and _The +Unexpected Wager_. 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. + + [70] His Excellency Mohammed Nouri Effendi. + +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. + + +_Fontainebleau, June 2, 1837._--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 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. + +Yesterday after dinner we went to hear Duprez in part of the opera +_William Tell_, 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. + + +_Fontainebleau, June 3, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + +After dinner we had a tiresome comic opera, _The Flash_, followed by +_The Caliph of Bagdad_, 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. + + +_Paris, June 5, 1837._--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. + +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 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 _apparent_ precautions. + + +_Paris, June 6, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, June 7, 1837._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, June 8, 1837._--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.[71] I am not sure +that some small jealousy has not already arisen. + + [71] 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, June 11, 1837._--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 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, June 12, 1837._--I am starting to-morrow to rejoin M. de +Talleyrand at Valençay. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 14, 1837._--I have just arrived, after a tiring +journey in dreadful heat and two thunderstorms. M. de Talleyrand is +very well, as also is Pauline. + + +_Valençay, June 17, 1837._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 18, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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 to the hospitals. The patients will have +a feast, and smart sayings are in circulation concerning the +indigestion they are likely to get. + + +_Valençay, June 19, 1837._--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." + +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." + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 22, 1837._--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[72] +perfectly like the original. + + [72] The Castle of Mecklenburg, where the princess had been + brought up. + + +_Valençay, June 25, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, June 28, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, June 29, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, July 1, 1837._--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 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." + +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. + +"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." + + +_Valençay, July 6, 1837._--The following is an extract from a letter +from Madame de Lieven dated from Boulogne: "I 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." + +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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, July 11, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, July 12, 1837._--Yesterday I went round my house; small +improvements are slowly being carried out. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, July 13, 1837._--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 dine and sleep at Tours, and shall be back at +Valençay to-morrow. + +I was able yesterday to visit my hydraulic rams.[73] 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. + + [73] 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. + + +_Valençay, July 15, 1837._--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. + +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. + +At the ironworks of Luçay[74] I found horses from the house, which +brought me here very quickly. + + [74] 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. + + +_Valençay, July 18, 1837._--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 +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."[75] + + [75] 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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +M. Thiers wrote to her from Florence that he was not satisfied with +the treaty concluded with Abd-el-Kader. + + +_Valençay, July 26, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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." + +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. 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." + + +_Valençay, August 1, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 4, 1837._--I have read the article upon Madame de +Krüdener in the _Revue des deux Mondes_. 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 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. + +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,[76] 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 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. + + [76] 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. + +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! + + +_Valençay, August 5, 1837._--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? + + +_Valençay, August 8, 1837._--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 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." + + +_Valençay, August 15, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, August 17, 1837._--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 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? + +"The Clanricardes have quarrelled with the Ministry. She is happy, +because she can now be as Tory as she pleases. + +"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. + +"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." + + +_Valençay, August 20, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 25, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, August 29, 1837._--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 +_Journal des Débats_. 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 +_Journal des Débats_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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.[77] + + [77] _See_ p. 120. + + +_Valençay, September 2, 1837._--I have a letter from the Duc de +Noailles, who gives me some small news. I never saw any 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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 6, 1837._--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. + +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 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. + + +_Valençay, September 8, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 9, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 11, 1837._--What is to be said of the mandate of +the Archbishop of Paris, and of the article in the _Journal des +Débats_ which follows it? The desecration of Sainte-Geneviève is +obvious, and the scandal of the pediment has been felt by all +right-thinking people.[78] 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. + + [78] 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. + + +_Valençay, September 12, 1837._--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 language will always prevent him from +joining the hot-headed members of his party. + +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." + + +_Valençay, September 18, 1837._--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. + +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.[79] + + [79] Baron Louis died at Vry-sur-Marne, near Paris, on August 26, + 1837. + + +_Valençay, September 19, 1837._--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 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. + +The French elections will take place on November 15, and the Chamber +will meet on December 5. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 20, 1837._--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 _in fiocchi_, 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. + +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 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. + + +_Valençay, September 22, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 28, 1837._--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 _Le Temps_. This has made her furious, and she has had a +very lively interview with M. Molé, because _Le Temps_ 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. + +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. + +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 week as her mother-in-law, Princess +Massimo. I had seen her born. + + +_Valençay, September 29, 1837._--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. + +It is said that Von Hügel, the Austrian Chargé d'Affaires at Paris, is +going mad. + + +_Valençay, October 1, 1837._--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 _Femmes savantes_ 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. + + +_Valençay, October 2, 1837._--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 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. + + +_Valençay, October 7, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 9, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 10, 1837._--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 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. + + +_Valençay, October 11, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 12, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 13, 1837._--The Duchesse de Saint-Leu is dead. What +will become of her son? Will he be left upon our frontier? + +Madame Murat continues to remain at Paris. General Macdonald,[80] 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. + + [80] Francis Macdonald had been appointed Minister of War at + Naples by King Murat in 1814. + +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. + + +_Valençay, October 15, 1837._--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. + + +_Valençay, October 22, 1837._--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. + +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 to the elections. To-morrow we shall +start for Lille, where we shall stay as long as my daughter wishes." + + +_Valençay, October 26, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, November 2, 1837._--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. + +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. + +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, but that they will not lack Ministerial support. Of +these three versions which is the most credible? I am inclined to +accept the last. + + +_Rochecotte, November 4, 1837._--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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 5, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 11, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 24, 1837._--I am sorry for the Grand Duchess +Stephanie on account of the wrongdoing or misfortune of her daughter, +the Princess Wasa.[81] 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. + + [81] 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 30, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 2, 1837._--Yesterday in the _Journal des Débats_ +I read the great memorandum of the Prussian Government against the +Archbishop of Cologne.[82] 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. + + [82] 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. + +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. + +M. Guizot is to be found at Madame de Lieven's house from morning to +evening, to the general amusement. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 4, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 6, 1837._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 10, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 11, 1837._--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 +_la bella Italia_. 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 19, 1837._--Last spring when I consulted +Lisfranc and Cruveilhier they both told me that I was threatened by a +tendency to feverishness. Since that time 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 20, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 25, 1837._--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.[83] + + [83] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 26, 1837._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 28, 1837._--The weather is magnificent, and at +midday I shall be wheeled on to the terrace for a moment. + +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 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 31, 1837._--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. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +1838 + + +_Rochecotte, January 1, 1838._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, January 2, 1838._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, January 5, 1838._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, January 6, 1838._--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 +last weeks here, I shall leave this pleasant little spot with regret. + + +_Paris, January 11, 1838._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, January 12, 1838._--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 _The Puritans_, in the same box +at the _Théâtre Italien_ as I had last year. Rubini has certainly lost +something of his voice, and Madame Grisi has begun to shriek. + +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. + + +_Paris, January 13, 1838._--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 know one another. This is inconvenient +for me.[84] M. Guizot came up into our seat, and I thought him greatly +changed. + + [84] A book recently published by M. Jean Hanotau, _Letters of + Prince Metternich to the Comtesse de Lieven_ (1818-1819), shows + that it was Prince Metternich who set these two ladies against + one another. + +I am quite overcome by so different a mode of life from that of the +last six months. + + +_Paris, January 14, 1838._--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. + +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 _ad vitam æternam_ without molestation. +I hope she may. In the evening I went to the Tuileries, to pay my +respects to the Queen. + + +_Paris, January 15, 1838._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, January 16, 1838._--Yesterday when I was writing I had heard +nothing of the conflagration which destroyed the _Théâtre Italien_ 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, January 17, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, January 23, 1838._--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. + +M. de Talleyrand is very well, except for his legs; their weakness +does not matter so much, but they are becoming 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. + + +_Paris, January 28, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, January 30, 1838._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 1, 1838._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 2, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, February 3, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, February 5, 1838._--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. + +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: "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. + + +_Paris, February 7, 1838._--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 _Imitation of Jesus Christ_, 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 9, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, February 10, 1838._--It is said that the quarrel between the +Flahauts and General Baudrand will be settled, but I do not think +permanently.[85] 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. + + [85] 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 11, 1838._--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. + +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. + +We also had some people to dinner; the whole of the Albuféra family, +the Thiers, the Flahauts; and some people come in every evening. + + +_Paris, February 15, 1838._--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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 23, 1838._--We are still in the midst of cold and +snow. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, February 25, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, March 3, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, March 4, 1838._--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 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.[86] + + [86] For the speech of M. de Talleyrand _see_ Appendix. + + +_Paris, March 5, 1838._--The day has gone off better than I expected +for M. de Talleyrand. The _Journal Général de France_, 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 _Débats_ was kind, but +dull; that of the _Journal de Paris_ good; of the _Charte_ stupid and +badly written; the _Gazette de France_ fairly good; the _Siècle_ and +the _Presse_ insignificant; the _National_ 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. + + +_Paris, March 6, 1838._--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." + + +_Paris, March 7, 1838._--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 bad cold and she cannot sleep. This is +all very sad, and these omens of death depress me greatly. + + +_Paris, March 8, 1838._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 10, 1838._--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! + + +_Paris, March 11, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, March 14, 1838._--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. + +On leaving the Archbishop I went to the Vicomtesse de Laval, who is +weak and shaken in health, but alert in heart and mind. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 15, 1838._--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 +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. + + +_Paris, March 16, 1838._--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,[87] 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. + + [87] The Abbé de Ravignan had taken the place of Lacordaire in + the pulpit of Notre-Dame. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 17, 1838._--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.[88] + + [88] 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. + +In another month we shall have a new poem by M. de Lamartine, called +_L'Ange déchu_,[89] then the _Mélanges littéraires_, by M. Villemain, +and a work by M. de Chateaubriand on the Congress of Verona; in short, +enough reading for the whole summer. + + [89] Better known under the title of _La Chute d'un Ange_ (_The + Fallen Angel_), the opening of the poem called _Jocelyn_. + +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, 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 22, 1838._--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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, March 25, 1838._--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 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. + + +_Paris, March 28, 1838._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, April 1, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, April 3, 1838._--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 will have read and digested it +yesterday evening, and I shall see to-day whether the horizon is +clouded. + + +_Paris, April 4, 1838._--The little document was entirely successful. + +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. + +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 _curé_ 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. + +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? + + +_Paris, April 8, 1838._--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 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. + + * * * * * + +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. + + * * * * * + +The following letter was written on May 10, 1838, but was placed at +this point of the Memoirs by the author herself. + + _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._ + +"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.[90] + + [90] 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 _Le Temps_ of April + 30, 1908. + +"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. + +"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.' + +"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.' + +"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 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. + +"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.[91] 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 +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. + + [91] 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. + +"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. + +"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 +qualities he regarded as of first-rate importance in the conduct of +business. + +"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.' + +"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[92] without asking 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. + + [92] 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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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.' + +"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. + +"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 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. + +"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. + +"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.' + +"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 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 _Funeral Orations_ of +Bossuet or his _Discourse upon Universal History_. 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 _Imitation +of Jesus Christ_. 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. + +"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. + +"I referred just now to the attention with which M. de Talleyrand used +to read Bossuet's _Discourse on Universal History_; this fact recalls +to my mind an incident which seemed 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. + +"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.' + +"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 of Catholicism sown in +Europe; you will see it rise and grow vigorously.' + +"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.' + +"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. + +"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 +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. + +"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 +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. + +"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. + +"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!' + +"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 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. + +"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. + +"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 +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. + +"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. + +"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. + + "DUCHESSE DE TALLEYRAND," + "PRINCESSE DE COURLANDE." + + +_Heidelberg, August 27, 1838._--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, and was pleasantly +lighted by the broken rays of a sun struggling through light clouds. + +I now know who wrote the article upon M. de Talleyrand which appeared +in the _Gazette_ 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. + + +_Paris, September 6, 1838._--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. + +I am just finishing the last work of Villemain.[93] The first chapter +of the second volume deals with Montesquieu; the second is a detailed +analysis of the _Esprit des Lois_, 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. + + [93] _The Eighteenth Century._ + +My children write from Valençay saying that the crowd at the funeral +ceremony was enormous.[94] Starting from Blois, 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;[95] 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. + + [94] 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. + + [95] The Prince de Talleyrand's footmen. + +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. + + +_Paris, September 7, 1838._--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 +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. + +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. + +The Flahaut family have been saying the most horrible things at London +about the Tuileries, and the Tuileries are aware of the fact. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Bonnétable, September 17, 1838._--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 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,[96] 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. + + [96] 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. + + +_Bonnétable, September 18, 1838._--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 +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. + +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. + + +_Bonnétable, September 19, 1838._--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 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. + + +_Rochecotte, September 27, 1838._--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, October 3, 1838._--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 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." + + +_Paris, October 9, 1838._--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! + + +_Paris, October 12, 1838._--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 +_in verba generalia_, as Rome admitted, and so every one should be +satisfied. + +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,[97] in which he told me that at +his supreme hour his only anxiety would be my future and my +happiness. I cannot say how this scrap of paper has agitated me. + + [97] February 6 is St. Dorothea's Day, the patron saint of the + Duchesse de Talleyrand. + + +_Paris, October 13, 1838._--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. + + +_Paris, October 17, 1838._--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 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. + + +_Paris, October 18, 1838._--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.[98] 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 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. + + [98] 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. + +_Paris, October 20, 1838._--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 _Andromaque_, 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. + + +_Paris, October 21, 1838._--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. + +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. + +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.[99] It was a curious interview. The Infanta is a +much bolder figure than 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. + + [99] 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. + + +_Paris, October 31, 1838._--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 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 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.[100] + + [100] 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, _née_ 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. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +1840 + + +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. + + +_Amiens, May 16, 1840._--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.[101] 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. + + [101] Extract from a letter to M. de Bacourt. + +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 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. + + +_Lille, May 17, 1840._--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. + +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. + +On the road from Amiens to this town I read the _Diable boiteux_, 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. + +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. + + +_Liège, May 18, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Bergheim, May 19, 1840._--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, as I find +numberless material discomforts which I did not suspect in past years, +but which now cause me considerable exasperation. + +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. + +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, _Italy a +Hundred Years Ago_. 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. + + +_Cologne, May 20, 1840._--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. + + +_Elberfeld, May 20, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Mersheden, May 21, 1840._--We reached Arnberg at five o'clock. This +seemed a little early to finish our stage, so we 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 _Italy_ 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." + + +_Cassel, May 22, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Nordhausen, May 23, 1840._--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. + + +_Wittenberg, May 24, 1840._--Forty-two leagues in twenty-four hours in +a country where no one knows what going ahead means, is really +excellent progress. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 25, 1840._--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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 26, 1840._--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 +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 27, 1840._--A special luxury in Berlin, to be found in +all the houses belonging to people of importance, are the wide +windows, which light the rooms brilliantly, and give a bright +appearance to the houses. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +I think that of all the persons I have seen here Princess Albert has +filled me with the greatest curiosity and interest. 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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 28, 1840._--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 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. + +Here every one professes surprise at the resemblance between Madame de +Lazareff and myself. + +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.[102] + + [102] The daughter of Princess William of Prussia to whom + reference is here made married the King of Bavaria a short time + afterwards. + +Princess William is the sister of the Dowager Grand Duchess of +Mecklenburg, step-mother to the Duchesse d'Orléans. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 29, 1840._--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. + +At the Werthers' I found a rout going on, which was much 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, May 31, 1840._--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 prophecy that the Crown Prince will ascend the throne on May 31, +1840. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Yesterday evening at the house of the Prince of Wittgenstein, where I +went, was Madame de Krüdener, _née_ 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 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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 1, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 2, 1840._--Yesterday evening I went to tea with Madame +de Perponcher, whose _salon_ 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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 3, 1840._--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, and +especially the country house which the King has had built there, where +he prefers to stay. + +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. + +This morning when I was finishing breakfast M. Bresson came to tell us +that the King was _in extremis_. 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. + + +_Berlin, June 4, 1840._--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. + +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. + + * * * * * + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 5, 1840._--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 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. + + +_Berlin, June 6, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 7, 1840._--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. + +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. + +I have just been told that the Emperor Nicholas has arrived; I do not +think he will see the King, from whose room all are excluded, though +he is still alive. + + +_Berlin, June 8, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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, but too mythological; the +religious touch which death imperiously claims is wanting. + +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. + +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. + +"The Duc d'Orléans, in Africa, has had a fresh attack of dysentery, +which was very dangerous for twenty-four hours." + +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,[103] 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." + + [103] 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. + + +_Berlin, June 9, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 10, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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, 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 11, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +I propose to start to-morrow for Silesia. + + +_Crossen, June 12, 1840._--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 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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 13, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 14, 1840._--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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 15, 1840._--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 +_ex voto_; from my chain I took off the little silver medal with the +effigy of M. de Quélen, and placed it with the other offerings. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 17, 1840._--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. + +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 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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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.[104] With +this object he asked an interview of M. Thiers, with which he seems to +have been well satisfied. + + [104] M. Bourbon de Sarty was the prefect of Marne. + +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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 18, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 19, 1840._--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. + + +_Sagan, June 21, 1840._--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! + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 22, 1840._--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,[105] 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. + + [105] 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. + +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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 23, 1840._--It is beautiful weather. 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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 25, 1840._--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. + + +_Günthersdorf, June 26, 1840._--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. + +I had my neighbour to dinner, Prince Carolath of Saabor, a stout man +between fifty and sixty years of age, very pleasant and polite. + + +_Frankfort-on-the-Oder, June 28, 1840._--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 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. + +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." + +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. + + +_Berlin, June 29, 1840._--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 have been left behind +wounded or ill; he himself has grown very thin. + +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. + +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. + + +_Berlin, July 1, 1840._--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. + +Lord William Russell also came to see me. He told me that Lady +Granville had _ordered_ Mr. Heneage, who is attached to her husband's +Embassy at Paris, to accompany Madame de Lieven to England. + +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. + +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. + + +_Potsdam, July 2, 1840._--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, 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 +_herzlich_. + +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. + + +_Berlin, July 3, 1840._--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. + + +_Berlin, July 5, 1840._--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. + + +_Herzberg, July 6, 1840._--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. + +I have finished the _Stories of the Merovingian Age_, 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 _Provincial Letters_. + + +_Königsbruck, July 8, 1840._--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. + +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 successes as Minister of the Interior; in any case, he is very +kind to me." + + +_Königsbruck, July 9, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Dresden, July 11, 1840._--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. + + +_Dresden, July 12, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + + +_Dresden, July 13, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + + +_Teplitz, July 14, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Teplitz, July 15, 1840._--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 has changed my habits, and I +have lost touch with their interests; so I begin the day with some +emotion. + + +_Carlsbad, July 16, 1840._--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. + + +_Carlsbad, July 17, 1840._--The Duc de Noailles writes from Paris +telling me that he dined with M. Thiers at the house of the Sardinian +Ambassador,[106] 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.[107] 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. + + [106] The Marquis de Brignole-Sale. + + [107] 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." + +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.[108] He bets at the racecourse, and has +won two hundred louis. Surely M. Guizot on the turf is one of the +strangest anomalies of our age!" + + [108] M. Guizot was then Ambassador at London. + +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.[109] 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. + + [109] The third husband of the eldest sister of the Duchesse de + Talleyrand. + + +_Carlsbad, July 18, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Carlsbad, July 19, 1840._--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, 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. + +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,[110] +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.[111] 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. + + [110] Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski, last King of Poland. + + [111] M. Léon de Beaumont, the son of Fénelon's sister. + + +_Carlsbad, July 20, 1840._--I went to mass yesterday in an enormous +crowd, for this country is essentially Catholic. The little chapels, +the great crucifixes, the _ex-votos_, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Carlsbad, July 22, 1840._--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.[112] He speaks with much concern about the condition of +the French clergy, whose irritation he describes as very great. + + [112] Mgr. Affre. + +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.[113] 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." + + [113] 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. + +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. + + +_Carlsbad, July 27, 1840._--I propose to start the day after to-morrow +for Baden. A certain Herr von Hübner arrived yesterday. He is an +Austrian[114] 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. + + [114] Herr von Hübner was Austrian Ambassador in France under the + Second Empire, before the Italian War. + + +_Carlsbad, July 30, 1840._--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. + + +_Löbichau, July 31, 1840._--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. + + +_Löbichau, August 1, 1840._--It rained all yesterday, and it was +impossible to go out. I spent my time in going over the 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. + +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." + + +_Löbichau, August 2, 1840._--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. + + +_Schleitz, August 3, 1840._--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 +above, and who is one of the pleasantest recollections of my youth. +She is very comfortably settled. + + +_Nuremberg, August 4, 1840._--Yesterday evening I reached Bayreuth at +a late hour, and started again early this morning. + +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. + +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.[115] 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. + + [115] 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. + +I was told that on September 1 a fifteen days' camp would take place +here; twenty thousand troops, the whole Bavarian Court, and other +princes will make it a brilliant affair. + +In _Galignani_ I saw the news of the death of Lord Durham; I do not +think he will be greatly regretted. + + * * * * * + +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. + +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 _ex-votos_ 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, 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. + + +_Baden, August 7, 1840._--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[116] 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. + + [116] Extract from a letter. + + +_Baden, August 8, 1840._--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.[117] The news was telegraphed, so that there were no details. + + [117] 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. + +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,[118] 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. + + [118] 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. + + +_Baden, August 9, 1840._--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 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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Baden, August 10, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Baden, August 12, 1840._--I dined with the Wellesleys; Princess Marie +and the Count of Neipperg were there. After 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. + +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. + + +_Baden, August 14, 1840._--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. + +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.[119] England was also aware of the assurances given to the +latter, that he need not 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. + + [119] In 1840 the Sultan was Abdul Mejed, who ascended the throne + the preceding year. + +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,[120] 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 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. + + [120] 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. + + +_Baden, August 19, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Baden, August 20, 1840._--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. + +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 position seems, +in truth, to be ridiculous and impossible, and she is only supported +by the Sutherlands, with whom she lives. + +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. + +"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." + + +_Baden, August 22, 1840._--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 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." + + +_Umkirch, August 26, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + +At dinner all the guests were assembled--that is to say, Princess +Marie; Duke Bernard, with his _aide-de-camp_, 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, 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. + +Very little interest is shown in Louis Bonaparte, whom they would like +to see confined in a fortress. + +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. + +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 established at Mannheim, +whence he is very anxious to make a journey to Paris. + +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 _fiancé_, 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. + + +_Lunéville, August 27, 1840._--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. + + +_Vitry-sur-Marne, August 28, 1840._--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. + + +_Ay, August 30, 1840._--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 Minister; on that point I prefer to take the Chamber as I +find it and make the best of things.'" + +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. + +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. + +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 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,[121] +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." + + [121] 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. + +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." + + +_Paris, August 31, 1840._--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,[122] which 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. + + [122] 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. + + +_Paris, September 3, 1840._--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. + +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, and +that the King and Ministers are never weary of praising the +distinguished tone of his despatches. + +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. + +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. 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. + +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. + + +_Paris, September 4, 1840._--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 Sébastiani had remained at London, we should not be in this +position!" + +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 restored to the chief place in Europe. As she usually interferes +in no way, this vigour has astonished and embarrassed the King. + +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. + +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 was closeted with +M. Royer-Collard. Eventually the four men confronted one another for a +few moments--a memorable scene. + +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. + +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? + + +_Paris, September 5, 1840._--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. + +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, and addressed them with strong language. He +wishes to force certain incumbents to resign. In short, there is +general disturbance throughout the diocese. + +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 _Univers catholique_. For some time in +this paper accounts have been noticed of the King's conversations with +foreign ambassadors. + +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. + +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. + +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! + + +_Paris, September 7, 1840._--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 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. + + +_Paris, September 8, 1840._--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, _La Presse_. +This conflict is said to be most energetic. + +The _Journal des Débats_ 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. + + +_Paris, September 10, 1840._--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."[123] 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. + + [123] 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 + _Ayuntamientos_, 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. + +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 advantage of this permission until he had +received fresh instructions from Rome. + +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. + +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. + + +_Paris, September 11, 1840._--I have decided to start at the end of +the morning for Jeurs to visit the Comtesse Mollien, where I shall +sleep. + +Yesterday evening on returning home I continued reading the accounts +of the trial of Madame Lafarge, as I had fallen behind.[124] If she is +innocent of the crime, so much the better for her relations, but the +evidence of the two expert bodies, 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. + + [124] 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. + +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. + + +_Courtalin, September 14, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + +I have just received a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, of which +the following is an extract: "I was at Auteuil with 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." + + +_Courtalin, September 15, 1840._--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. + + +_Bonnétable, September 17, 1840._--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.[125] He was married during three +different reigns, 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. + + [125] 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." + +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 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. + +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. + +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.[126] 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 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." + + [126] King Frederick William IV. was not exactly crowned, but he + went to Königsberg to receive the homage (_die Huldigung_) of his + subjects, who took the oath of fidelity to him through their + Deputies on September 10, 1840. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 19, 1840._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 22, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 24, 1840._--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. + + +_Valençay, September 25, 1840._--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." + +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." + +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. + + +_Valençay, September 25, 1840._--Frau von Wolff writes to me from +Berlin under date the 19th of this month: "Our 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." + + +_Valençay, September 28, 1840._--Yesterday we were amused by a small +dramatic performance during the evening, which began by the dialogue +between Agrippine and Néron,[127] 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 _Le Mari de la Veuve_ 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 _Dépit amoureux_ by Mlle. Clément de Ris, M. de Montenon, M. and +Madame d'Entraigues, and finally _Passé Minuit_ 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. + + [127] From Racine's tragedy _Britannicus_, Act IV. scene ii. + + +_Valençay, September 29, 1840._--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." + +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!" + + +_Valençay, September 30, 1840._--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." + +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 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." + + +_Tours, October 2, 1840._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 4, 1840._--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.[128] We +have also news of the capture of Beyrout,[129] which is a strong +beginning to the course of coercive measures. What will be the result? + + [128] The memorandum addressed by the French Government to Lord + Palmerston will be found in the Appendix. + + [129] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, October 5, 1840._--My son-in-law has a letter from Paris +telling him that the _salon_ 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 +_Journal des Débats_ 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. + +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 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. + + +_Rochecotte, October 6, 1840._--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[130] 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." + + [130] _I.e._ the _Journal des Débats_. + + +_Rochecotte, October 7, 1840._--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. + +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 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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 8, 1840._--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?" + +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 _casus belli_ 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 _casus belli_; he is +also said to be especially satisfied with M. Cousin, who is on good +terms with Admiral Roussin and 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." + +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.[131] It is clearly written, and in a good and +brisk style, with well-chosen quotations which enliven the subject. + + [131] This piece is to be found in the _History of Madame de + Maintenon and the Chief Events of the Reign of Louis XIV._, the + first part of which was to appear in 1848. + + +_Rochecotte, October 11, 1840._--Yesterday we heard of the sudden +death of Arthur de Mortemart,[132] 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. + + [132] The only son of the Duc de Mortemart, who died in + consequence of a fall from a carriage. + +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, who seems to be +intimidated, I shall omit nothing from my eulogy of Mgr. de Quélen, +and I invoke the great day." + + +_Rochecotte, October 12, 1840._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 14, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, October 17, 1840._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 19, 1840._--Madame de Lieven writes: "The English +Cabinet has welcomed the French note. The 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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 20, 1840._--The newspapers contain an account of +a fresh attempt to assassinate the King, made by a certain +Darmès.[133] The constant repetition of these attempts makes one +tremble, and it is impossible to avoid uneasiness. + + [133] 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. + +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 in a Paris slum. All our letters agree that excitement is +running high and that conditions are both complicated and serious. + + +_Rochecotte, October 21, 1840._--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. + +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. + +"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 Lady Palmerston, strongly inclined +to peace. Guizot also writes that Downing Street is now calmer. + +"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." + + +_Rochecotte, October 23, 1840._--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." + +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. + +"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. + +"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 her two native lands.[134] 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." + + [134] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, October 24, 1840._--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 _casus +belli_, against the King's desires.[135] + + [135] 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. + +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[136] +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. + + [136] The Pope was then Gregory XVI. + + +_Rochecotte, October 25, 1840._--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. + +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. + +_Rochecotte, November 2, 1840._--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. + +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;[137] 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." + + [137] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 4, 1840._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, November 5, 1840._--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 +absurd nowadays; in any case, this fine idea emanates from the +Cabinet of M. Thiers, and not from the present Ministry. + +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 +_La Presse_, 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." + +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 +_Journal des Débats_ 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." + +My son-in-law hears that Maurice de Noailles is entering the Church in +despair, because he could not marry the daughter of the Duc de +Noailles. I admit that I do not believe this story as yet, and await +some confirmation of it. + + +_Rochecotte, November 6, 1840._--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 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 left me and went on to +open conciliatory measures with M. Molé. + +"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. + +"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. 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." + + +_Rochecotte, November 8, 1840._--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. + +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;[138] +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 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." + + [138] The opening session of the Chamber of Deputies. + +_Rochecotte, November 12, 1840._--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.[139] Madame de Lieven writes that she is somewhat dissatisfied +with the beginning which the new Ministry has made. + + [139] The Duc de Chartres. + + +_Rochecotte, November 14, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 17, 1840._--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.[140] + + [140] Lord Palmerston was unwilling to make any concessions. + +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. + +My son-in-law writes me from Paris on the 15th: "The 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 _salon_, 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. + +"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[141] two days +ago: 'Lord Palmerston has a theological mind; he 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, _Le Messager_, 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. + + [141] M. Sauzet. + +"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 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. + +"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. + +"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. + +"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 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. + +"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." + + +_Rochecotte, November 22, 1840._--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 +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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 23, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 24, 1840._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, November 25, 1840._--I have been reading with admiration +the noble farewell of Queen Christina to the Spanish nation.[142] 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. + + [142] This manifesto of Queen Christina to the Spanish nation + will be found in the Appendix. + + +_Rochecotte, November 26, 1840._--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. + +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. + +The English have captured Saint-Jean d'Acre. Their little Queen has +been confined of a daughter.[143] + + [143] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 28, 1840._--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." + +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 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." + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 29, 1840._--The day before yesterday the +_Journal des Débats_ 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. + + +_Rochecotte, November 30, 1840._--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 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 1, 1840._--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.[144] 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 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." + + [144] 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. + +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 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." + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 3, 1840._--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. 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 +OEil de Bœuf of the democracy.[145] Favourites, male and female, +disturb everything by their intrigues, and spend the 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. + + [145] An allusion to the OEil de Bœuf in the castle of + Versailles, where Court intrigues were hatched. + +"_P.S._--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." + + +_Rochecotte, December 4, 1840._--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. + +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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 5, 1840._--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 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." + +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. + +The Princesse de Lieven, to whom some one related the thrust that +Guizot had received, answered that he had not been hit. + +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! + + +_Rochecotte, December 6, 1840._--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 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 _Gazette romaine_, 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." + + +_Rochecotte, December 7, 1840._--The chief news of the day is the +rejection of M. Odilon Barrot's amendment by a majority of more than a +hundred. + +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 _affreux_ (frightful). People must have their +joke. + + +_Rochecotte, December 9, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 10, 1840._--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. + +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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 13, 1840._--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: + +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 +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 him by +force of contrast one of the most original and most attractive +characters. + + +_Rochecotte, December 14, 1840._--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. + +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. + +I am also informed that at the much-talked-of ceremony 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 15, 1840._--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. + +"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 +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." + + +_Rochecotte, December 17, 1840._--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." + +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. + +In the newspapers we have read a description of the decorations in the +Champs Elysées, with the row of kings 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.... + + +_Rochecotte, December 18, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 19, 1840._--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[146] 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." + + [146] The Duc Pasquier. + +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 _La Belle Poule_, +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 _Marseillaise_ 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." + +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. + +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 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 20, 1840._--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. + +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.[147] + + [147] 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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 23, 1840._--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. + +"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." + +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 _Moniteur_ a phrase which is +quite admirable: "The _De Profundis_ was sung by Duprez and the prayer +by the Archbishop." + +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 +discussion with M. Molé concerning Napoleon's thoughts and chances +during the Hundred Days. + +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." + + +_Rochecotte, December 27, 1840._--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. + + +_Rochecotte, December 30, 1840._--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 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. + + + + +APPENDIX + +I + +_Message from President Jackson of the United States_ + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +Relying upon these assurances, I undertook the responsibility of +allowing Congress to separate without offering any communication upon +the matter. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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[148] 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 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. + + [148] At that time the Duc de Broglie. + +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 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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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.[149] + + [149] From the _Journal des Débats of January 1, 1836_. + + + + +II + + _Speech by the_ DUC DE BROGLIE, _President of the Council, + Chamber of Deputies in the Session of January 6, 1836, on the + subject of Poland_. + +GENTLEMEN, + +I do full justice to high ideals and the noble passions with which the +orator whom you have just heard has been inspired;[150] 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. + + [150] M. Odilon Barrot. + +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.[151] + + [151] M. Casimir Perier. + +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. + +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 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. + +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). + +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. + +As to the other branch of the question, the existence of treaties +which the first speaker has discussed, and to which the second[152] +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. + + [152] M. Saint-Marc Girardin. + +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. + +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.)[153] + + [153] From the _Journal des Débats of January 7, 1836_. + + + + +III + + _Eulogy upon_ COUNT REINHART, _delivered at the Academy of Moral + and Political Science, by the_ PRINCE DE TALLEYRAND, _in the + Session of March, 3, 1838_. + +GENTLEMEN, + + +I was in America when the kindnes 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. + +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 political; +and, finally, by the infirmities which old age usually brings or +aggravates. + +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?" + +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. + +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. + +Having thus reached that time of life when a man must definitely +choose that career for which he thinks himself best 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Count Reinhart had not at that time the advantage which he might have +had a few years later of seeing excellent models for 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. + +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. + +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 admit reserve, and reserve has the special faculty of +increasing confidence. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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 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. + + + + +IV + + _Memorandum addressed by_ LORD PALMERSTON _to the French + Government and handed to_ M. THIERS _by_ Mr. BÜLWER _at the + beginning of September 1840_. + + FOREIGN OFFICE, _August 31, 1840._ + +SIR, + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +On this point a great difference of opinion has arisen between the two +Governments, which seems to have become stronger 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. + +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 such a declaration, +and more difficult than it is for them to-day to combine their forces +and oblige him to evacuate Syria. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +None the less the French Government maintained its opinion and refused +to take part in an arrangement which included the use of coercive +measures. + +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. + +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 that his male +descendants should succeed him as governors in Egypt, under the +sovereignty of the Sultan. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 Ministry was expected, and +secondly because a change of Ministry took place. + +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. + +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 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 _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_. + +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 _sine qua non_; 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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +This determination, however, was not unexpected and the probable +eventualities had not been hidden from France. On 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. + +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. + +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. + +At this point, without attempting further controversial observations +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. + +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 +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +You will send officially to M. Thiers a copy of this despatch. + + I am, &c., + + (Signed) PALMERSTON. + +(From the _Journal des Débats_ of October 2.) + + + + +V + +_Manifesto to the Spanish Nation._ + + +SPANIARDS, + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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 (_justiciera_). 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. + +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. + +The Constitution of 1837 was accepted by me, and I took the 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +Marseilles, November 8, 1840. + + (Signed) MARIA CHRISTINA. + + + + +BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX + +[The names followed by an asterisk (*) have been already noted in more +detail in the Biographical Index of vol. I.] + + +A + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + ADÉLAÏDE, Madame* (1777-1847). Sister of King Louis-Philippe, over + whom she exerted a great influence. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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, 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. + + ALAVA, Don Ricardo de* (1780-1843). Spanish officer and + diplomatist. + + 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. + + ALDBOROUGH, Cornelia, Lady.* Daughter of Charles Landry. + + ALFIERI, Count Victor* (1749-1803). Italian tragic poet. He + secretly married the Countess of Albany. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + ALVANLEY, Lord* (1787-1849). A society figure and English officer, + known for his wit. + + 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. + + ANDRAL, Madame. Daughter of M. Royer Collard. She married the + famous Dr. Andral. + + 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. + + ANGOULÊME, the Duc d' (1775-1844). Also known as the Dauphin, + after his father, King Charles X., had ascended the throne in + 1824. In 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. + + 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. + + ANNE OF AUSTRIA* (1602-1666). Queen of France and Regent during + the minority of Louis XIV. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + ARSOLI, Princesse d' (1811-1837). Marie Gabrielle de Villefranche. + Daughter of the Baron de Villefranche, who married Mlle. de la + Vauguyon. + + 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 _aide-de-camp_ + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + AUGUSTA OF ENGLAND, Princess* (1797-1809). Duchess of Cambridge. + She was daughter of the Landgrave Frederick of Hesse Cassel. + + 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. + + AUSTIN, Sarah (1793-1867). An English writer who translated many + German books into English and wrote moral and educational works. + + +B + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BALZAC, Honoré de (1799-1850). One of the most fertile and + remarkable contemporary novelists, especially powerful in his + profound analysis of human passion. + + 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. + + BARANTE, the Baronne de. _Née_ d'Houdetot. Of Creole origin, she + was renowned for her beauty. + + 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. + + BARBET DE JOUY, Joseph Henri (1812-1896). Director of the Museum + of the Louvre and member of the Academy of Fine Arts. + + BARROT, Odilon* (1791-1873). French politician. + + BARTHE, Félix* (1795-1863). French magistrate and statesman. + + 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 + _National_ 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. + + BATHURST, Lady Georgina. Wife of Lord Henry Bathurst, one of the + chief members of the Tory Party. + + BATTHYANY, Countess* (1798-1840). _Née_ Baroness of Ahrennfeldt. + + BAUDRAND, the General Comte* (1774-1848). _Aide-de-camp_ to the + Duc d'Orléans. + + BAUDRAND, Madame. The great fashionable milliner at Paris in 1836. + + 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. + + 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. + + BAUFFREMONT, the Prince Gontran de. Born in 1822. He married, in + 1842, Mlle. d'Aubusson de La Feuillade. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BAVARIA, Queen Theresa of (1792-1854). Daughter of Duke Frederick + of Saxe-Hildburghausen, afterwards Saxony Altenburg. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BELGIANS, King of the, Leopold I. (1790-1865). + + BELGIANS, Queen of the,* Louise, Princesse d'Orléans (1812-1850). + Second wife of Leopold I. of Belgium and daughter of + Louis-Philippe. + + 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 _An Essay + on the Formation of Catholic Dogma_, 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. + + 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. + + BERGERON, Louis.* Born in 1811. French journalist. + + 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. + + BERRYER, Antoine* (1790-1868). French lawyer. + + BERTIN DE VEAUX, M.* (1771-1842). French journalist. + + BERTIN DE VEAUX, Madame, _née_ Bocquet. Daughter-in-law of M. + Merlin. + + BERTIN L'AÎNÉ, Louis François (1766-1841). French publicist. + Founded the _Journal des Débats_ with his brother, Bertin de + Veaux. + + BERTIN, Madame. Mlle. Boutard, sister of an art critic on the + _Journal des Débats_. She married M. Bertin the elder. + + BERTRAND, the Comte (1773-1844). The faithful friend of Napoleon + I., whose _aide-de-camp_ he was, and whom he followed to Elba + and St. Helena. + + 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. + + 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. + + BINZER, Frau von (1801-1891). _Née_ von Gerschau. She married, in + 1822, Herr von Binzer, a German man of letters. + + 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. + + BIRON-COURLANDE, Prince Charles of. Born in 1811. He married, in + 1833, a Countess of Lippe-Biesterfeld. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BONALD, the Vicomte de (1754-1840). The most famous representative + of the monarchical and religious doctrines of the Restoration. + He became an _émigré_ 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. + + 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. + + 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 _coup d'état_ 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. + + BONAPARTE, Jérôme* (1784-1860). Youngest brother of Napoleon I. + + BONAPARTE, Lucien* (1775-1840). Third brother of Napoleon I. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BOURLON DE SARTY, Paul de. He was Prefect of Marne and had married + Mlle. Adrienne de Vandœuvre. + + BOURQUENEY, Baron, afterwards Comte de* (1800-1869). French + diplomatist. + + BRESSON, Comte Charles* (1788-1847). French diplomatist. + + 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. + + 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. + + BRETONNEAU, Dr. Pierre* (1778-1862). A doctor at Tours. + + BRIGNOLE, Marchesa of. _Née_ 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. + + 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. + + BROGLIE, Duc Victor de* (1785-1870). French Statesman. + + BROGLIE, Duchesse de* (1797-1840). _Née_ Albertine de Staël. + + BROGLIE (Mlle. Louise de). Born in 1818; married in 1836 the Comte + d'Haussonville. + + BROSSES, Charles de (1709-1777). A Frenchman and a learned man of + letters; the author of a work on Italy which was very + successful. + + BROUGHAM, Lord* (1778-1868). English statesman. + + BÜLOW, Baron Heinrich von* (1790-1846). Prussian Diplomatist. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + BUOL, Countess (1809-1862). Princess Caroline of Isenburg married + in 1829 Count Buol. From her mother, _née_ Baroness of Herding, + she inherited an enormous fortune. + + 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. + + BUSSIÈRE, Jules Edmond de (1804-1888). Diplomatist, _Chargé + d'affaires_ at Darmstadt and then at Dresden. Louis-Philippe + raised him to the peerage in 1841. In 1848 he retired to private + life. + + BYRON, George Gordon, Lord* (1788-1824). Famous English romantic + poet. + + +C + + 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. + + CAMPAN, Mme.* (1752-1822). Famous in the history of French + Education. + + CANOVA, Antonio* (1757-1822). Celebrated Italian sculptor. + + 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. + + 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 _a latere_ 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. + + CARADOC, Sir John Hobart (1799-1873). Afterwards Lord Howden. + Colonel in the English Army and English Minister at Rio de + Janeiro and at Madrid. + + CARAMAN, Marquise de. Césarine Gallard de Béarn married the + Marquis Victor de Caraman and was left a widow in 1836. + + 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. + + CARIGNAN, Philiberte de (1814-1874). Daughter of the Prince de + Villefranche of the House of Carignan, by his marriage with + Mlle. de la Vauguyon. + + CARLOTTA, The Infanta* (1804-1844). Sister of Queen Christina of + Spain. + + 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. + + CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Princess Adelaide (1797-1849). Daughter of the + Count of Pappenheim, Lieutenant-General of Bavaria. She married + in 1817 Prince Heinrich Carolath. + + 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. + + CAROLATH-BEUTHEN, Princess Adelaide. Born in 1823. Youngest + daughter of Prince Heinrich Carolath. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + CARRACI, Annibale* (1560-1609). Famous Italian painter. + + CARREL, Armand* (1800-1836). French publicist. + + 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. + + CASTELLANE, the Comtesse de* (1796-1847). Cordélia Greffulhe. + Married in 1813 to the Comte de Castellane, afterwards Marshal + of France. + + 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. + + CÆSAR, Julius (101-40 B.C.). A famous Roman General, celebrated + for his conquest of Gaul. + + CHABOT, Philippe de (1815-1875). Ph. de Chabot, Comte de Jarnac + followed a diplomatic career and retained throughout his life a + profound attachment for the House of Orléans. He had been + appointed French Ambassador at London in 1874, but died shortly + after of pleurisy. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + CHARLES X.* (1757-1836). King of France from 1824 to 1830. + + 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. + + CHASTELLUX, Madame de, _née_ Zéphyrine de Damas. She married as + her first husband M. de Vogüé. + + CHATEAUBRIAND, the Vicomte de* (1768-1848). French man of letters. + + 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. + + 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. + + CHREPTOWICZ, Countess. Died in 1878. Helena, daughter of the Comte + de Nesselrode. Married Count Michael Chreptowicz, who 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. + + 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. + + CLANRICARDE, Lord* (1802-1874). English politician. + + CLANRICARDE, Lady. Died in 1876. Daughter of the famous Canning. + + CLARY-ALDRINGEN, Prince Charles (1777-1831). He married the + Countess Louise Chotek. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + COBURG, Prince Ferdinand of* (1816-1888). Husband of Doña Maria da + Gloria, Queen of Portugal. + + 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. + + COEUR, 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 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. + + COGNY, Dr. Doctor of Valençay. + + 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. + + 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. + + COLLARD, Madame Hermine. Brought up by Madame de Genlis; the + circumstances of her birth were entirely obscure. + + 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. + + 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. + + CONYNGHAM, Francis Nathaniel, Marquis of* (1797-1882). English + politician. + + CORMENIN, Vicomte de (1788-1868). Publicist, Councillor of State, + deputy, and famous as a pamphleteer under the pseudonym of + Timon. + + 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. + + 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. + + COURLANDE, Duchesse de (1761-1821). _Née_ 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. + + COUSIN, Victor* (1792-1867). French philosopher. + + COWPER, Lady* (1787-1869). Afterwards Lady Palmerston. + + CRÉMIEUX, Adolphe (1796-1880). Lawyer and French politician. A + member of the National Defence in 1870. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + CUMBERLAND, Ernest Augustus, Duke of* (1771-1851). Youngest son of + George III., King of England. + + CUMBERLAND, Duchess of.* _Née_ Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. + + CUNEGONDE, Saint. Died in 1040. Empress of Germany and wife of + Henry II. of Bavaria. Her festival is March 3. + + 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. + + CUVILLIER FLEURY, Alfred Auguste (1802-1887). French man of + letters on the staff of the _Journal des Débats_, 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. + + CZARTORYSKI, Prince Adam* (1770-1861). Formerly Minister of + Foreign Affairs to the Emperor Alexander I. of Russia. + + 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. + + CZARTORYSKI, Princess Wanda (1813-1846). Daughter of Prince Antony + Radziwill and of Princess Louise of Prussia. She married in 1832 + Prince Adam Czartoryski. + + +D + + DALBERG, the Duc de* (1773-1833). Son of the Primate and + Archchancellor of the same name. + + DARMÈS. Attempted to assassinate King Louis-Philippe on October + 15, 1840. + + DARMSTADT, Princess Marie of. Born in 1824, she married the + hereditary Grand Duke of Russia in 1841. + + DECAZES, Elie, Duc* (1780-1846). French politician. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + DENMARK, King Frederick III. of (1768-1839). He succeeded his + father in 1815 and married the daughter of the landgrave of + Hesse Cassel. + + 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 Augustenburg. By his first marriage he had a + son, Frederick, who succeeded him as Frederick VII. + + DENMARK, Princess Christian of (1796-1881). The second wife of + Prince Christian, _née_ Princess of Schleswig-Holstein + Augustenburg. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + DOHNA, Countess Marie (1805-1893). _Née_ 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. + + DOLOMIEU, the Marquise de* (1779-1849). Lady of Honour to Queen + Marie Amélie. + + 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. + + DON FRANCISCO* (1794-1865). The Infanta of Spain. Married the + Infanta Carlotta. + + 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. + + DOSNE, Mme. Wife of the stockbroker and mother of Mme. Thiers. + + 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. + + 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. + + DUBOIS, M. Deputy of the Loire Inférieure and member of the Royal + Council of Education and director of the normal school. + + DUCHÂTEL, Charles, Comte* (1803-1867). French politician. + + 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. + + 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. + + DUPIN, André Marie* (1783-1865). French lawyer and magistrate. + + DUPREZ, Gilbert Louis (1806-1879). Famous French singer attached + to the Paris Opera for ten years. He had an incomparable tenor + voice. + + 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. + + DURHAM, Lord Lambton, Earl of* (1792-1840). English statesman. + + 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 the _coup d'état_ 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. + + +E + + EDOUARD. The famous lady's hairdresser at Paris under + Louis-Philippe. + + 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. + + ELLICE, Mr. Edward* (1787-1863). English politician, son-in-law of + Lord Grey. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + ENTRAIGUES, Amédée Goveau d'.* Born in 1785. Prefect of Tours. He + married a Princess Santa Croce, ward of the Prince de + Talleyrand. + + ENTRAIGUES, Jules d'.* Born in 1787. Brother of the prefect, and + owner of the château of la Moustière, near Valençay. + + 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. + + 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. + + ESTERHAZY, Prince Paul* (1786-1866). Austrian Diplomatist. + + 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. + + +F + + FAGEL, General Robert* (1772-1856). Dutch diplomatist. + + FALK, Anton Reinhard* (1776-1843). Dutch diplomatist. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + FIESCHI, Joseph* (1790-1835). The would-be assassin of King + Louis-Philippe, July 28, 1835. + + 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. + + FITZ-JAMES, Jacques, Duc de (1799-1846). He married, in 1825, + Mlle. de Marmier. + + FLAHAUT, the General, Comte de* (1785-1870). Peer of France under + Louis-Philippe, senator and Ambassador under Napoleon III. + + FLAHAUT, the Comtesse de,* died in 1867. Daughter of the English + admiral, Lord Keith. + + FLAHAUT, Clémentine de (1819-1835). Daughter of the Comte and + Comtesse de Flahaut. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + FRANÇOIS I.* (1494-1547). King of France and adversary of Charles + V. + + FREDERICK II., known as the Great* (1712-1786). King of Prussia + and founder of the Prussian military power. + + 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. + + FREDERICK WILLIAM, known as the Great Elector of Brandenburg + (1620-1688). He ascended the throne in 1640 and organised the + Prussian Army. + + 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. + + 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. + + FRIAS, Duke of* (1783-1851). Spanish ambassador, statesman and man + of letters. + + FRONSAC, Duc de. Died in 1791. Son of Marshal Richelieu whom he + only survived three years. + + +G + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + GÉRARD, Etienne Maurice, Comte* (1773-1852). Marshal of France. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + GIROLET, the Abbé* (1765-1836). A Benedictine of the congregation + of Saint-Maur and an intimate friend of the Talleyrand family. + + 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 _Journal des Débats_. In 1837 he was + appointed deputy and voted with the Orléanist majority. + + GLOUCESTER, Duchess of* (1776-1857). Fourth daughter of King + George III. of England. + + GÖCKING, Herr Leopold von (1748-1828). Prussian poet and State + Councillor who elaborated several projects for customs reform. + + 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. + + GONTAUT-BIRON, Duchesse de* (1773-1858). Governess of the Children + of France whom she followed into exile in 1830. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + GRANVILLE, Lord* (1775-1846). English diplomatist. For a long time + Ambassador at Paris. + + GRANVILLE, Lady.* Died in 1862. She was a daughter of the Duke of + Devonshire. + + 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. + + 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. + + GREY, Lord* (1764-1845). English statesman. + + GREY, Lady* (1775-1861). _Née_ Ponsonby. + + GRISI, Giulia* (1812-1869). An Italian singer of great talent and + beauty. + + 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. + + GROS, Antoine Jean (1771-1835). Famous historical painter. His + father was a miniature painter and his first master. He then + entered the 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + GUIZOT, François Pierre Guillaume* (1787-1874). French statesman + and historian. + + +H + + HAINGUERLOT, M. Died in 1842. He had married Mlle. Stéphanie + Oudinot, daughter of Marshal Oudinot, Duc de Reggio. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + HANOVER, Prince George of (1819-1878). Afterwards George V. King + of Hanover. + + HARCOURT, Lady Elizabeth (1793-1838). + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + HÉLIE. Footman to the Prince de Talleyrand for many years. + + HENEAGE, Mr. English diplomatist, attached to the Paris Embassy in + 1840. + + HENNENBERG, Herr. Died in 1836. Councillor of Justice in the + Courts of Berlin. + + HESSE, Prince George of (1793-1881). This Prince was in the + Prussian service. + + HESSE-DARMSTADT, Grand Duke Louis II. of* (1777-1848). He had + married a Princess of Baden. + + 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. + + 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. + + HOHENLOHE-ÖRINGEN, Prince Frederick of. Born in 1812. A major of + cavalry in the service of Würtemberg. + + HOHENTHAL, Count Alfred of. Born in 1806. Chamberlain to the King + of Saxony. He married Princess Louise of Biron Courlande. + + HOHENTHAL, Countess Louise of (1808-1845). _Née_ Princess of Biron + Courlande. + + HOHENZOLLERN-HECHINGEN, Prince Frederick of (1776-1838). In 1800 + he married Princess Pauline of Courlande, sister of the Duchesse + de Talleyrand. + + HOHENZOLLERN-HECHINGEN, Princess of (1782-1845). Pauline, Princess + of Courlande, daughter of Peter, Duke of Courlande. + + 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. + + HOLLAND, Lord* (1772-1840). English statesman. Nephew of the + famous Fox. + + HOLLAND, Lady,* died in 1840. She was Lady Webster by her first + marriage. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + HUMANN, Jean George* (1780-1842). French statesman and financier. + Born of an old Alsatian family. + + 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. + + 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. + + HUMBOLDT, Frau Wilhelm von (1771-1829). Daughter of Frederick of + Dachröden. She had married Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1791. + + HUMBOLDT, Caroline von (1792-1837). Eldest daughter of Wilhelm von + Humboldt. + + 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. + + +I + + 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. + + ISABELLA II.* (1830-1904). Queen of Spain. + + 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 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. + + +J + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + JAUCOURT, Marquise de* (1762-1848). _Née_ Mlle. Charlotte de + Bontemps. + + JERSEY, Lady Sarah* (1787-1867). Her drawing-room was one of the + most famous in London. + + 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. + + 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. + + +K + + KAROLYI, Countess Ferdinand (1805-1844). Daughter of Prince + Ludwig of Kaunitz Rietberg. She married Count Louis Karolyi in + 1823. + + KENT, Duchess of* (1786-1861). Sister-in-law of King William IV. + of England and mother of Queen Victoria. + + 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. + + 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, _née_ 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. + + KRÜGER, Francis (1797-1857). A famous portrait-painter at Berlin. + + KUHNEIM, Countess (1770-1854). By birth a During she was friend of + Princess Charles of Prussia. + + +L + + LA BESNARDIÈRE, J. B. Gouey de (1765-1843). Privy Councillor who + lived for a long time in Touraine after his retirement in 1819. + + 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. + + LABOUCHERE, Henry* (1798-1869). Member of the English Parliament. + + 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. + + LA BRUYERE, Jean de* (1645-1696). Author of the Characters. + + 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 + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + LAFFITTE, Jacques (1767-1844). A French financier who played an + important part in the July revolution, and was a Minister under + King Louis-Philippe. + + 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. + + LAMB, Frederick* (1782-1852). English diplomatist. Brother of Lord + Melbourne and heir to his title. + + 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. + + LANSDOWNE, Lady.* Died in 1865; she had married the Marquis of + Lansdowne in 1819. + + LARCHER, Mlle. Henriette* (1782-1860). Governess of Mlle. Pauline + de Périgord. + + LA REDORTE, the Comte Mathieu de* (1804-1886). French diplomatist. + + LA REDORTE, the Comtesse de. Died in 1885. _Née_ Louise Suchet, + daughter of the Marshal d'Albuféra. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 + _coup d'état_ of December 2, 1852. + + LAVAL, the Prince Adrien de* (1768-1837). Peer of France and + diplomatist. + + 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. + + LAZAREFF, Madame de (1813-1881). She was born Princess Antoinette + de Biron Courlande.* + + LÉAUTAUD, the Comtesse de. Alexandrine Clémentine de Nicolaï + daughter of the Marquis and Marquise Scipion de Nicolaï, _née_ + 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. + + 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. + + LE HON, Count (1792-1868). Belgian statesman and Minister at Paris + for many years. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + LEUCHTENBERG, Prince Augustus Charles of* (1807-1835). For a short + time he was the husband of Doña Maria, Queen of Portugal. + + 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. + + LEZAY MARNÉSIA, the Comte de* (1772-1857). Prefect and Peer of + France under the Bourbons, and Senator under the Empire in 1852. + + 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. + + 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. + + LIEBERMANN, the Baron Augustus of (1791-1841). Prussian + diplomatist at Madrid in 1836 and at St. Petersburg in 1840. + + LIEVEN, the Prince de* (1770-1839). Russian diplomatist, and for + twenty-two years Ambassador at London. + + LIEVEN, the Princesse de* (1784-1857). _Née_ Dorothée de + Benkendorff. + + 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. + + LINANGE, Prince Charles of (1804-1856). Son of the Duchess of Kent + by her first marriage. He married the Countess of Klebelsberg. + + 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. + + LINGARD, John (1769-1851). An English historian and a Catholic + Priest who had been educated at Douai with the Jesuits. + + LISFRANC DE SAINT MARTIN, Jacques (1790-1847). Famous French + surgeon who made a great reputation under the Second + Restoration. + + 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. + + LOBAU, wife of the foregoing. She was the daughter of Madame + d'Arberg and sister-in-law of General Klein. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + LOGERE, M. de. Attaché to the French legation at Berlin. + + 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. + + LOUIS-PHILIPPE I.* (1773-1849). King of the French from 1830-1848. + + 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. + + 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. + + LOW COUNTRIES, Princess Frederica of the* (1808-1870). By birth + Princess Louise of Prussia and daughter of Frederick William + III. + + 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. + + LUTTEROTH, Alexander of (1806-1882). Born at Leipzig, he served in + the French diplomatic service during his youth. He married a + Countess Batthyàny. + + 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. + + +M + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 _émigré_ 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, + + MAINTENON, the Marquise de* (1635-1719). Morganatic wife of King + Louis XIV. and a famous educationist. + + MAISON, the Marshal* (1771-1840). Peer of France and French + diplomatist, and member of several Cabinets. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + MARBOIS, the Marquis de Barbé* (1745-1837). French diplomatist and + politician, for a long time president of the financial court. + + 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. + + 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. + + MARESCALCHI, the Comtesse de, died in 1846. She was the daughter + of the Marquis de Pange and of Mlle. de Caraman. + + MAREUIL, the Comte Joseph Durand de* (1769-1855). French + diplomatist. + + MARIA II., OR DOÑA MARIA DA GLORIA* (1819-1853). Queen of + Portugal. + + MARIE AMÉLIE, the Queen* (1782-1866). Wife of Louis-Philippe, King + of the French. + + 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. + + MARIE DE MEDICIS* (1573-1642). Wife of the King of France, Henry + IV., and Regent during the minority of her son, Louis XIII. + + MARIE D'ORLÉANS, the Princess* (1813-1839). Daughter of King + Louis-Philippe and wife of Prince Alexander of Würtemberg. + + 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. + + MARIA THERESA, the Empress* (1717-1780). Empress of Austria and + Queen of Hungary; wife of Francis of Lorraine. + + 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. + + 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. + + MARS, Mlle. Famous actress at the Comédie Française. + + MARTIN DU NORD, Nicolas Ferdinand Marie Louis Joseph* (1790-1847). + Magistrate and French politician. + + MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA, François* (1789-1862). Spanish man of letters + and politician. + + MASSA, the Duchesse de.* Born in 1792. Daughter of Marshal + Macdonald. + + MASSIMO, Princess Christine. Died of cholera in 1837. Daughter of + Prince Xavier of Saxony and of Countess Claire of Spinucci. + + MATHIEU, M. A French painter who gave lessons in drawing to the + daughters of the Grand Duchess Stephanie of Baden. + + MATUSIEWICZ, Count Andrew Joseph* (1790-1842). Polish diplomatist + in the Russian service. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + MEDEM, Count Paul* (1800-1854). A Russian diplomatist, cousin of + the Duchess de Dino. + + 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. + + 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. + + MELBOURNE, William Lamb, Lord* (1779-1848). English politician, + brother of Lady Palmerston. + + MÉRODE, the Comte Werner de (1816-1905). He married in 1843 his + cousin Mlle. Thérèse de Mérode. + + METTERNICH, Prince* (1773-1859). Austrian diplomatist and + statesman. + + METTERNICH, Princess Melanie of (1805-1854). Third wife of Prince + Metternich and daughter of Count Francis of Zichy-Ferraris. + + 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. + + 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. + + MIRAFLORES, the Marquis de* (1792-1867). Spanish diplomatist and + man of letters. + + MOIRA, Lord (1808-1843). Eldest son of the first Marquis of + Hastings. He was Chamberlain in 1830 to King William IV. of + England. + + MOLÉ, the Comte Mathieu* (1788-1855). French politician of an old + parliamentary family. + + MOLÉ, the Comtesse.* Died in 1845. _Née_ Mlle. de la Briche. + + 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. + + MOLLIEN, the Comtesse* (1785-1878). Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Marie + Amélie. + + MONTALEMBERT, the Comte Charles de (1810-1870). French publicist + and politician. One of the most brilliant defenders of Liberal + Catholicism. + + 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. + + MONTBRETON, Madame de. Clémence Marie de Nicolaï, daughter of the + Marquis and Marquise Scipion de Nicolaï, whose name appears in + the Lafarge trial. + + 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. + + MONTENON, M. de. A young man of La Creuse who was a constant + visitor at the Castle of Valençay. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + MONTMORENCY, the Duchesse de* (1774-1846). _Née_ Mlle. de + Matignon. She was the mother of Baron Raoul de Montmorency, of + the Princesse de Beauffremont Courtenay, and of the Duchesse de + Valençay. + + MONTMORENCY, Raoul, Baron de* (1790-1862). He took the title of + Duc on his father's death in 1846. + + 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. + + MONTPENSIER, the Duchesse de* (1627-1693). Known under the name of + _la Grande Mademoiselle_; she was the daughter of Duc Gaston + d'Orléans. + + MONTROND, the Comte Casimir de.* Friend of M. de Talleyrand and + sometimes entrusted with unimportant diplomatic missions. + + MORTEMART, Arthur de. Only son of the Duc de Mortemart who died + from injuries received by a fall from his horse in October 1840. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + +N + + 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. + + NAPLES, the King of (1811-1859). Ferdinand II.,* son of King + Francis I. and of Isabella of Spain. + + NAPLES, the Queen of (1812-1836). Maria Christina, daughter of the + King of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel I. She married King Ferdinand + II. in 1832. + + 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. + + NAPLES, Prince Leopold of (1813-1860). (_See_ Syracuse, Count of.) + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + NEMOURS, the Duc de* (1814-1896). Second son of King + Louis-Philippe. + + NESSELRODE, Count* (1780-1862). Russian diplomatist and afterwards + Imperial Chancellor of Russia. + + NESSELRODE, Countess, died in 1849. She was the daughter of Count + Gourieff, who was Russian Financial Minister. + + NEUMANN, Baron. Austrian diplomatist who married the daughter of + the Duke of Beaufort, in England. + + NEY, the wife of the Marshal. Duchesse d'Elchingen, Princesse de + la Moskowa. _Née_ 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. + + NICOLAÏ, the Marquise Scipion de, _née_ 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + NOAILLES, the Vicountesse de* (1792-1851). Daughter of the Duc de + Poix, she married her cousin the Vicomte Alfred de Noailles. + + NOAILLES, the Comte Maurice de. Born in 1808, he married in 1842 + his cousin Mlle. Pauline de Noailles, daughter of the Duc de + Noailles. + + 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. + + +O + + O'CONNELL, Daniel* (1775-1847). Patriot and Irish agitator. + + O'CONNELL, Maurice. Died in 1853. Eldest son of Daniel O'Connell, + whose policy he continued in the House of Commons. + + 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. + + OLLIVIER, l'Abbé Nicolas Théodore. Born in 1798. Priest of + Saint-Roch at Paris, he was appointed Bishop of Evreux in 1841. + + OMPTEDA, the Baroness* (1767-1843). _Née_ the Countess of + Schlippenbach. + + ORANGE, Prince William of* (1793-1849). He ascended the throne of + Holland in 1840. + + ORANGE, Princess of.* By birth Anne Paulowna, daughter of the + Emperor Paul of Russia. + + 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." + + ORLEANS, the Duc d'* (1741-1793). Louis Philippe Joseph, called + _Philippe Egalité_. He died on the scaffold of the Revolution. + + ORLEANS, the Duc d'* (1810-1842). Ferdinand, eldest son of King + Louis-Philippe and Crown Prince. + + ORLOFF, Count (1781-1861). Alexis Fedorowitch, took part in all + the wars against Napoleon I. and entered the Russian diplomatic + service in 1828. + + +P + + PAHLEN, Count.* Born in 1775. A Russian diplomatist and + Ambassador at Paris. + + 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 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. + + PALFFY the Princess. Born in 1774. Daughter of the Count of + Hohenfeld and wife of Prince Joseph Palffy. She died in 1827. + + PALMELLA, the Duchess of. A descendant of Vasco di Gama, she had + married Dom Pedro de Souza Holstein, Duke of Palmella, a + Portuguese statesman. + + PALMERSTON, Lord* (1784-1865). English politician; for a long time + Foreign Minister. + + PALMYRE, Madame.* A clever Parisian dressmaker. + + 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. + + 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. + + PASQUIER, Duc Etienne* (1767-1862). Politician and Peer of France. + Appointed Chancellor in 1837. + + PASSY, Hippolyte Philibert* (1793-1880). French politician, deputy + and member of the Institute. + + PEAN. One of the footmen of the Prince de Talleyrand. + + PEEL, Sir Robert* (1788-1850). English statesman and member of + several Cabinets. + + PEMBROKE, Lady Catherine. Only daughter of Count Woronzoff, + married in 1808, George Augustus, Lord Pembroke, who died in + 1827. + + PENELOPE SMITH, Miss (1815-1882). Morganatic wife of Prince + Charles of Naples, Count of Capua. Victor Emanuel recognised her + possession of this title. + + PEPIN* (1780-1836). Grocer and accomplice of Fieschi, with whom he + was executed. + + PÉRIGORD, the Comte Paul de (1811-1880). Paul Adalbert René de + Talleyrand-Périgord, husband of Mlle. Amicide de Saint-Aignan, + who died in 1854. + + PÉRIGORD, Mlle. Pauline de* (1820-1890). Daughter of the Duchesse + de Dino. She married the Marquis Henri de Castellane in 1839. + + 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. + + 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. + + PERPONCHER, the Comtesse de. Died in 1861. Adélaïde, Countess of + Reede, married in 1816, Comte Henri de Perponcher. + + 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. + + 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. + + PEYRONNET, the Comte de (1778-1854). An _émigré_ 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. + + PIATOLI, the Abbé Scipion (1750-1809). Born at Florence, he took + orders. Princess Lubomirska, _née_ 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. + + 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 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + PONSONBY, Lord* (1770-1855). English Ambassador at Constantinople + from 1822 to 1827. + + PONTOIS, Comte Charles Edouard de (1792-1871). A French + diplomatist under Louis-Philippe; he was Plenipotentiary + Minister of France in Brazil and then in the United States; + afterwards he was French Ambassador at Constantinople. In 1846 + he entered the Chamber of Peers. + + POTEMKIN, Ivan Alexiewitch (1778-1849). A Russian diplomatist and + privy councillor. He was appointed Ambassador at Rome in 1840 + and died at Naples. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + PRUSSIA, Prince Frederick of (1794-1863). Only son of Prince + Ludwig of Prussia and of Princess Frederica of + Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of Queen Louise. + + PRUSSIA, Princess Frederick of (1799-1882). Daughter of the Duke + of Anhalt Bernbourg, she had married Prince Frederick in 1817. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + PRUSSIA, Prince Charles of (1801-1883). Third son of King + Frederick William III. and of Queen Louise. + + PRUSSIA, Princess Charles of (1808-1877). Marie, daughter of the + Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, married Prince Charles of Prussia in + 1827. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + PUTUS, Count Malte (1807-1837). Attaché to the Prussian Legation + at Naples. He died of consumption. His sister was the Countess + Lottum. + + +Q + + 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 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. + + QUÉLEN, Mgr. de,* (1778-1839). Coadjutor to the Cardinal de + Talleyrand Périgord, whom he succeeded as Archbishop of Paris in + 1821. + + +R + + 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. + + 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. + + RADZIWILL, Princess Louise (1770-1836). Daughter of Prince + Ferdinand of Prussia, youngest brother of Frederick the Great. + She married Prince Antoine Radziwill in 1796. + + 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. + + RADZIWILL, Princess William (1806-1896). Matilda, daughter of + Prince Charles Clary-Aldringen and of the Countess Louisa + Chotek, married Prince William Radziwill in 1832. + + RADZIWILL, Princess Boguslaw (1811-1890). Léontine, third daughter + of Prince Charles Clary, married, in 1832, Prince Boguslaw + Radziwill, youngest son of Prince Antoine Radziwill. + + 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. + + RANTZAU, Count Antony of (1793-1849). Chamberlain and captain in + the service of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + RAULLIN, M. French Councillor of State. + + 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. + + RAYNEVAL, Maximilian de (1778-1836). A French diplomatist who + received the title of Comte and the peerage for his services. + + RAZUMOWSKI, the Countess. She was born Princess Wiasemski. + + 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. + + 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. + + REDERN, the Countess of (1772-1842). Wilhelmina of Otterstaedt + married Count Wilhelm Jacob of Redern and had two sons, William + and Henry. + + 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. + + 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. + + REEDE, the Countess of (1769-1847); _née_ 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + RÉMUSAT, Comte Charles de* (1797-1875). French writer and + politician. + + RETZ, the Cardinal de* (1614-1679). He played a great part during + the Fronde and left some remarkable memoirs. + + 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. + + RUESS-SCHLEITZ, Princess Sophie Adelaide. Born in 1800; daughter + of Prince Henri LI. of Reuss-Ebersdorff. + + 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. + + 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. + + RIGNY, Comte Henri-Gauthier de* (1783-1835). French admiral. + Several times Minister and Ambassador at Naples. + + 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. + + RIGNY, Mlle. Auguste de. She was the daughter of General de Rigny + and heiress of her uncle, Baron Louis. + + RIVERS, Lady, died in 1866. Susan Georgiana Leveson Gower, + daughter of Lord Granville. She married in 1833 George Pitt, + Lord Rivers. + + 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. + + 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. + + ROOTHE, M. de. Son of the first marriage of the Duchesse de + Richelieu. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + ROTHSCHILD, James de (1792-1868). Fourth son of Mayer Anselme + Rothschild, settled at Paris. + + ROUGÉ, Marquis Alexis de (1778-1838). Peer of France in 1815, he + married in 1804 Mlle. de Crussol d'Uzès. + + 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. + + ROUSSIN, Admiral* (1781-1854). Peer of France, Ambassador at + Constantinople from 1832 to 1834 and Naval Minister in 1840. + + 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. + + 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. + + ROYER COLLARD, Pierre Paul* (1763-1845). French philosopher + statesman and Member of the Academy. + + RUBINI, J. B.* (1795-1854). Famous Italian tenor. + + 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. + + 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. + + RUSSELL, Lord William* (1799-1846). English diplomatist and + Ambassador at Berlin. + + RUSSELL, Lord John.* English statesman, member of several + Ministries and twice Prime Minister. + + 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. + + 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. + + RUSSIA, the Emperor of (1796-1855). Nicholas I.* + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + +S + + 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. + + SAINT AUGUSTINE (354-430). Bishop of Hippo, son of Saint Monica + and one of the fathers of the church. + + SAINT BLANCARD, the Marquis de (1814-1897). At one time page to + King Charles X. He married Mlle. de Bauffremont. + + 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. + + SAINTE ALDEGONDE, the Comtesse Camille de* (1793-1869). Widow of + an aide-de-camp of King Louis-Philippe. + + SAINTE AULAIRE, the Comte de* (1778-1854). Peer of France, + diplomatist, and Ambassador at Rome, Vienna and London. + + SAINTE AULAIRE, the Comtesse de. _Née_ Louise Charlotte Victoire + de Grimoard de Beauvoir du Roure-Brison. She married in 1809 M. + de Sainte Aulaire, who was already a widower. + + SAINT LEU, the Duchesse de* (1783-1837). _Née_ Hortense de + Beauharnais, she was the widow of Louis Bonaparte, King of + Holland and mother of Napoleon III. + + SAINT PRIEST, the Comte Alexis de,* diplomatist and French writer + and member of the French Academy. + + 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. + + 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. + + SALERNO, the Princess of (1798-1880). Maria, daughter of the + Emperor Francis I. of Austria. + + SALVANDY, the Comte de* (1795-1856). French man of letters and + politician; Ambassador and several times Minister. + + SALVANDY, the Comtesse de. Julie Ferey, daughter of a manufacturer + and politician, married the Comte de Salvandy in 1823. + + 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. + + 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. + + SAUZET, Paul* (1800-1876). Lawyer, Deputy, and Minister of Justice + in 1836. + + SAXE-WEIMAR, Duke Bernard of (1792-1862). Infantry General in the + service of the Low Countries. + + 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. + + SAXONY, Princess Augusta of, born in 1782. + + SAXONY, Princess Amelia of (1794-1870). Sister of King Frederick + Augustus and of Prince John of Saxony. + + 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. + + SAXONY, the Queen of (1805-1877). Maria, daughter of King + Maximilian of Bavaria and wife of King Frederick Augustus II. + + 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. + + SAXONY, Princess John of (1801-1877). Amelia, daughter of King + Maximilian of Bavaria and wife of Prince John of Saxony. + + SCHÖNBURG, Princess (1803-1884). Louise Schwarzenberg, sister of + the Cardinal of that name, married, in 1823, Prince Edward of + Schönburg Waldenburg. + + SCHÖNLEIN, Dr. Jean Luc (1793-1864). Doctor of medicine at Zurich. + He was summoned to Berlin, where he obtained a great reputation. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + SÉBASTIANI DE LA PORTA, Marshal* (1775-1851). Ambassador at + Constantinople, Naples, and London. + + SÉBASTIANI, wife of the foregoing, died in 1842. A daughter of the + Duc de Gramont. She had become an _émigré_ 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. + + 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. + + SÉMONVILLE, the Marquis de* (1754-1839). Chief referendary of the + Court of Peers. + + 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. + + SÉVIGNÉ, the Marquise de* (1626-1696). One of the most + distinguished ladies at the Court of Louis XIV. and author of + remarkable letters. + + 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. + + SIDNEY, Lady Sophia,* died in 1837. Countess of Isle and of + Dudley, fifth child of William IV. of England and of Mrs. + Jordan. + + SIEYÈS, the Abbé (1748-1836). Vicar-General of Chartres and + politician during the Revolution. + + 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. + + 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. + + SOLMS-SONNENWALD, Count William Theodore of (1787-1859). Cavalry + captain and Chamberlain, son of the Countess Ompteda by her + first marriage. + + SOLMS-SONNENWALD, the Countess of, born in 1790. By name, + Clementina, daughter of the Count of Bressler. + + 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. + + SOULT, Marshal* (1769-1852). One of the most famous soldiers of + the Empire and a Minister under Louis-Philippe. + + 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. + + STACKELBERG, the Countess of (1785-1868). _Née_ Caroline de + Ludolf, she married Count Stackelberg in 1805; when she was left + a widow she settled at Paris. + + STANLEY, Lady. Henrietta Maria, daughter of Viscount Dillon, + married in Italy, in 1826, Sir Edward John Stanley, member of + the English Parliament. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + SUTHERLAND, the Duchess of,* died in 1868. _Née_ Lady Carlisle. + She was mistress of the robes to Queen Victoria. + + 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. + + SYRACUSE, the Countess of (1814-1874). _See_ Carignan, Philiberte + de. + + +T + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + TALLEYRAND, the Princesse de* (1762-1835). _Née_ 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. + + TALLEYRAND, the Duc de (1762-1838). Known as _le bel Archambaud_. + He married in 1779 Mlle. Sabine de Senozan de Viriville, who was + executed in 1793 during the Revolution. + + TALLEYRAND, the Comte Anatole de, died in 1838. Son of Baron + Augustin de Talleyrand and of Adélaide de Montigny. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + TAYLOR, Sir Herbert* (1775-1839). Private Secretary to King George + III., George IV., and William IV. of England. + + 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. + + THIARD DE BUSSY, the Comte de* (1772-1852). French Marshal, + liberal deputy, appointed French Minister of Switzerland in + 1848. + + THIERRY, Augustin (1795-1856). Famous French historian; author of + "Letters on the History of France," and "Narratives of + Merovingian Times." + + THIERS, Adolphe* (1797-1877). French statesman and historian. + + THIERS, Mme.* (1815-1880). Elise Dosne, daughter of the + stockbroker. + + THORWALDSEN, Barthélemy* (1769-1844). Famous Danish sculptor. + + TOCQUEVILLE, Comte Alexis de (1805-1859). Member of the Chamber of + Deputies under Louis-Philippe where he supported the Opposition. + On the _coup d'état_ of December 2, he joined the + representatives who 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 _Ancien Régime_. + + TORENO, the Count of* (1786-1843). Spanish statesman, deputy in + the Cortes and several times Minister. + + 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. + + TROGOFF, Madame de. A Russian lady, a great friend of the Duchess + Wilhelmina of Sagan, whose companion she had been. She lived at + Versailles. + + 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. + + +V + + 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. + + VALENÇAY, Madame de. Wife of Jacques d'Etampes, Marquis de la + Ferté-Imbault, Marshal of France, who lived from 1590 to 1668. + + 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. + + VALENÇAY, the Duchesse de* (1810-1858). _Née_ de Montmorency. + + VALENÇAY, Yolande de (1833-1835). Daughter of the Duc and Duchesse + de Valençay; she died of scarlatina when young. + + 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. + + 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. + + VATRY, the Baronne de. Died in 1881. She was the daughter of M. + Hainguerlot, and married Baron Alphée de Vatry who died in 1871. + + 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. + + 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. + + VERNET, Horace (1789-1863). A famous French painter who followed + the Algerian campaign and painted several battle scenes + illustrating it. + + 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. + + 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." + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 _Savoie Carignan_. 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + VILLÈLE, Comte Guillaume Aubin de (1770-1840). Brought up in the + Seminary of Saint Sulpice, he became an _émigré_ 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. + + VILLEMAIN, Abel François* (1790-1870). French professor, writer, + and politician. + + 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. + + 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. + + VOLTAIRE, Arouet de* (1694-1778). A French philosopher who exerted + a vast influence upon the history and literature of the + eighteenth century. + + +W + + 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. + + 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. + + WALLENSTEIN (1583-1634). A famous soldier, born in Bohemia, and + one of the greatest generals during the Thirty Years War. + + 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. + + WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832). A Scotch novelist. + + WASA, Princess (1811-1854). Louise Stephanie, daughter of the + Grand Duke Charles of Baden and of the Grand Duchess, _née_ + Stephanie of Beauharnais. + + WEIZEL, Mlle. de. A very intimate friend of the family of + Entraigues and of the Baron and Baronne Finot, who lived near + Valençay. + + WELLINGTON, the Duke of* (1769-1852). A famous English General, + the opponent of Napoleon and several times a member of the + Cabinet. + + WERTHER, Baron* (1772-1859). Prussian diplomatist, Ambassador at + Paris, and afterwards Minister of Foreign Affairs at Berlin. + + WERTHER, Baroness* (1778-1853). By birth the Countess Sophia + Sandizell. + + 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. + + WEYER, Sylvan van de* (1803-1874). Belgian statesman and man of + letters. + + 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. + + WOLFF, Herr von. Councillor to the Prussian Ministry of the + Interior for many years. + + WOLFF, Frau von. Daughter of the Councillor of Justice. Herr + Hennenberg. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + WURMB, Frau von (1783-1862). Wilhelmina of Göcking, daughter of + the Councillor of State to the Finance Ministry. + + 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. + + WÜRTEMBERG, the King of* (1781-1862). William I. + + WÜRTEMBERG, Princess Maria of* (1816-1863). Daughter of King + William I. and wife of General Neipperg. + + 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. + + 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. + + WÜRTEMBERG, Prince Frederick of. Born in 1808, and son of the + foregoing. He remained in the service of Würtemberg. + + WÜRTEMBERG, Prince Augustus of. Born in 1813, and brother of the + foregoing. He entered the Prussian service. + + +X + + 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. + + +Z + + ZEA-BERMEDEZ, Don Francisco* (1772-1850). Spanish diplomatist. He + belonged to one of the most ancient families of the reconquest. + + 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. + + 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. + + + Printed by BALLANTYNE & CO. LIMITED + Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.2/3, +1836-1840, by Duchesse De Dino + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44646 *** |