Read Ebook: Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan) 1836-1840 by Dino Doroth E Duchesse De Radziwill Marie Dorothea Elisabeth De Castellane F Rstin Editor

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Paris, April 17, 1837--A Dinner-Party--The Princess Helena--The Ministry--The Review--London Gossip--The Abb? Dupanloup--Marriage Preparations--Fontainebleau--The King in Paris--English Politics--Duchesse d'Orl?ans--Appointments--At Valen?ay--Queen Victoria--The Pantheon--M. de Salvandy--Private Theatricals--At Rochecotte--Champchevrier--Retrospect. 81

Rochecotte, January 1, 1838--Life at Paris--At Saint-Roch--Villemain--Bonn?table--Princess of Denmark--Marriage Proposals. 146

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--G?nthersdorf--Wartenberg--News from Paris--Countess Dohna--Start for Berlin--At Berlin--Court of Condolence--Dresden--The Castle--Carlsbad--L?bichau--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

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 361

MEMOIRS OF THE

DUCHESSE DE DINO

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 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!

Mascara, in Algiers, was captured by the French in 1835.

The much-discussed communication from President Jackson, 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.

The Address of the 221 . 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.

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.

The speech to which reference is made will be found in the Appendix to this volume.

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 Vill?le 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.

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 Abb?, 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.

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 Valen?ay, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Salp?tri?re. 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. Mol? would take his place and everything would be settled to the general satisfaction.

That old cat S?monville, 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 Ad?laide; Justice and Public Worship, the Duchesse de Broglie; Foreign Affairs, the Duchesse de Dino; 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.

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!

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.

The sentence which condemned Fieschi, P?pin, and Morey to death. They were executed at the Barri?re 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 P?pin 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, J?r?me, and to Madame Murat, which sums they are not willing to repay.

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 Ch?teau 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 P?pin and her children were lying in wait for him. The Ch?teau was mournful indeed, and formed a painful contrast with the joyful tumult in the streets. M. Pasquier came to tell the King that P?pin 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.

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 Loz?re, Minister of Education; Marshal Maison, Minister of War; Admiral Duperr?, Minister of Naval Affairs.

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 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 Mol?, 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 Ch?teau 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!

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.

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.

Prince Charles of Naples, brother of the Duchesse de Berry, was the nephew of Queen Marie Am?lie.

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.

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.

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 Abb? 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 V?rac, 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 Abb? 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.

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