Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino Part 2

_Paris, June 20, 1832._--I expect M. de Talleyrand on the evening of the day after to-morrow.

I am seeing a great many people just now; in fact they are boring me to death. What absurdities, what mistakes, what misguided pa.s.sions!

Poor M. de Talleyrand; he is going to fall into a pretty mess of intrigue!

The present state of affairs, which is condemned by everybody, must necessarily change, at least so far as the Ministry is concerned. The outcry against ministers is general, and alarm is growing. La Vendee, however, is about over, and people believe that the d.u.c.h.esse de Berry has fled; that, if true, is a great thing. But the state of the Cabinet is pitiable. Its jerky, hesitating conduct of affairs, no less than the innumerable blunders which it makes, foreshadow its downfall.

M. de Talleyrand is expected to do great things, poor man!

The real difficulty lies in the character of the head of affairs. How ugly all this is! Sebastiani is day by day failing more; yesterday I was really grieved about him; he is quite aware of his condition, and it makes him very unhappy. To-night I am going with him to Saint Cloud, and I tremble lest he may fall dead by my side in the carriage.

Wessenberg writes to me from London that the Ministry there is cast down, anxious and embarra.s.sed by its triumph, and fears that it may soon fall. I see that in England they are disquieted about the state of Germany. Here the Corps Diplomatique are complaining of Sebastiani's double game in respect of events on the Rhine. In a word, no one is pleased, no one is at ease. We live in strange times!

_Paris, September 6, 1832._--M. de Talleyrand has letters which say that the coquetry at St. Petersburg was intended to detach England from her alliance with us, and that they had even gone so far as to propose to place Antwerp in the hands of the English. All this has miscarried and coldness has succeeded to civilities. All the difficulties about the Conference now come from Brussels, where the marriage[10] has turned everybody's head, and where they now think themselves able to force France's hand.

[10] Leopold I., elected King of the Belgians in 1831, married in 1832 Louise, Princess of Orleans, daughter of Louis-Philippe, King of the French.

_Paris, September 21, 1832._--It seems that M. de Montrond hopes to get Pondichery, and is very anxious to go there. Sebastiani's friends say he is quite restored to health since Bourbonne, and is steering adroitly among the difficulties of his ministerial career.

The King of the Netherlands is in an evil mood, and the King of the Belgians is no better. The Conference is flagging, and, they say, has much need of M. de Talleyrand to help it to recover its cohesion.

All the Cabinets are said to be much on edge about what is pa.s.sing between Egypt and the Porte. Every one shrinks from the consequences which are imminent in the North, South, East and West. They are clearly foreseen everywhere, but no one has the courage to meddle with them.

_Paris, September 23, 1832._--The horizon is gloomy all round. Strange events are happening in the East. The condition of Germany and Italy is precarious. The French Cabinet is disunited, there are complications in Portugal, and Holland is growing more and more obstinate. To all this must now be added the sudden death of Ferdinand VII., a civil war of succession between the partisans of Don Carlos and those of the little Infanta, the possibility of Spain interfering in Portugal, and consequently the appearance of France and England in the Peninsula.

Further, there is the change of ministry at Brussels, and the sudden departures of the Duc d'Orleans, Marshal Gerard, and M. le Hon for Belgium. Pandemonium reigns more than ever!

M. de Talleyrand is receiving many letters both from London and from Paris urging him to hasten his departure.

_Paris, September 27, 1832._--The resurrection[11] of Ferdinand VII.

is very mysterious. It is also very fortunate, for when there are so many complications, the disappearance of even one is something to be thankful for!

[11] In 1832 King Ferdinand VII. became so seriously ill that he was thought to be dead. Calomarde then joined the Carlists, and forced the dying monarch to sign a decree cancelling the declaration of 1830 abolis.h.i.+ng the Salic Law in Spain.

CHAPTER III

1833

_Valencay,[12] October 12, 1833._--M. Royer-Collard pa.s.sed part of the morning here. He was at once original and witty, serious and vivacious, showed much affection for me, and made himself very pleasant to M. de Talleyrand. He does not openly carp at the present situation, but it is not pleasing to him, and he speaks ill of it in his solitude.

[12] Valencay, where the d.u.c.h.esse de Dino had just gone, is situate in the Department of the Indre. The chateau and the park are magnificent, and the ornamental water is very fine. The house was built in the sixteenth century by the d'etampes family, from the designs of Philibert Delorme. In 1808 and 1814 it served as the prison of Ferdinand VII. and the Spanish Princes when they were detained by Napoleon I. The Prince de Talleyrand, who had bought the property at the end of the eighteenth century, was very fond of the place and lived there a great deal.

M. de Saint-Aulaire writes from Vienna: "My summer holiday which I have been spending at Baden has not been disturbed by the meetings at Teplitz and Munchengraetz,[13] because I was not given anything to do, and because, for my part, I feel no anxiety about them. But M. de Metternich has just got back to Vienna; we must put our affairs in order, and my holiday is near an end. The measures considered advisable for Germany are apparently very sharp; were they otherwise the attempt would be futile. Will France be content to look on and do nothing? I think so, unless some independent sovereign cries for help in maintaining his independence. The King of Hanover would be a good leader in a movement of this kind, but if he will not come forward, I have no confidence in Prince Lichtenstein. I know that in England they think M. de Metternich has tricked us, and that he went shares with Russia in the Treaty of Constantinople of the 8th of July last. But I persist in maintaining that he was the dupe, not the accomplice. I hope I am right, not so much for my own self-satisfaction as because the game to play must vary according as the good understanding of Austria and Russia is apparent or real. Frederick Lamb told me yesterday in detail of the Duke of Leuchtenberg's campaign in Belgium.

I had heard something of it from the rumours of the town, but not a word from the Cabinet, which has the bad habit of keeping us the worst informed of the diplomatists of any country."

[13] The three great allied powers--Austria, Prussia and Russia--held meetings in three successive years either at Teplitz or at Munchengraetz for joint deliberation on the European situation. There by a new secret compact they guaranteed to each other their respective possessions in Poland, whether against external aggression or internal revolution. They also considered the affairs of France and Italy, and the constant activities of Italian societies and refugees in French territory, which were then causing serious anxiety about the tranquillity of the Peninsula. It was finally decided that the Cabinets of Austria, Prussia and Russia should each send a separate note to the Government of King Louis-Philippe, urging a more careful surveillance of the revolutionary propaganda.

_Valencay, October 23, 1833._--The d.u.c.h.esse de Montmorency is quite fresh on the subject of Prague, her eldest daughter having told her much about it. Charles X. himself took his two grand-children to their mother at Leoben with the precise object of preventing the d.u.c.h.esse de Berry from coming to Prague; from Leoben it is said she will return to Italy. M. le Dauphin[14] and Mme. la Dauphine refused to go.

[14] Louis-Antoine, Duc d'Angouleme (1773-1844), eldest son of King Charles X., married during the emigration in 1799 his cousin Marie Therese Charlotte, daughter of King Louis XVI. and Queen Marie Antoinette, but had no children. After 1830 the Duc d'Angouleme ceded his rights to his nephew, the Duc de Bordeaux (Comte de Chambord), and retired into private life.

They say that Charles X. is much broken, and the Dauphine is aged and very thin and nervous, always in tears. Certainly, however strong her character may be, her misfortunes have been such as to break the highest courage and the most masculine spirit. Beyond doubt she has been more persecuted by destiny than any character in history.

M. de Blacas is in supreme command of the little Court, and is more opposed than any one to the proposal that the d.u.c.h.esse de Berry should settle there.

I have seen a letter from M. Thiers, who says, referring to his marriage: "The great moment is at hand. I am agitated, as is proper; and I am fonder of my young wife than is fitting at my age. This shows I was right to make up my mind at thirty-five rather than at forty, for then I should have been even more absurd. In any case it matters little; I can banish false shame, but there _is_ one thing which I find insupportable, and that is to expose those who are dear to me to the insults and the malice of the world. For myself I am inured, but (great as is the necessity) I shall never become inured to the sufferings of those I love. The world must work its will; it would be foolish to wish that so huge a machine should alter its eternal motion to suit one's convenience."

I sincerely hope that his philosophy will not be tried too severely; but, as the proverb has it, "the sin brings its own punishment."

_Valencay, November 3, 1833._--I am greatly surprised that the Duc de Broglie has not once written to M. de Talleyrand. He has written three times to me on private affairs, and each time promised a letter for M.

de Talleyrand, which has never come.

Mme. Adelade has written twice, very kindly expressing her desire that M. de Talleyrand may go back to London, but without any definite inquiry on the subject. I think, however, that she and the King wish it much more than the Duc de Broglie does; and I believe that it is owing to some intrigue between Lord Granville and Lord Palmerston that the King's wishes have not so far been more clearly expressed.

M. de Talleyrand has come to no decision. There are so many real inconveniences in entering on active political life. On the other hand, there are so many real inconveniences in staying in France that even if I wished to advise I do not know what advice it would be best, in the interests of M. de Talleyrand, to give him. He fears--and I think with reason--the isolation, the _ennui_ of the provinces, and the slackness of country life. Paris he thinks impossible, as he would there be invested in the eyes of the people with political responsibilities which it would not be either in his interest or in his power to discharge. On the other hand, he is under no illusions as to the gravity and the difficulty of the situation which he would find on his return to London, and which would be aggravated by the character of the people with whom he would have to deal on both sides of the Channel. Finally, he knows quite well how easily he might lose, on the turn of a single card, all that he has so miraculously gained during the past three years.

All this agitates him greatly; and me, on his account, even more. We have every reason to apply to ourselves what M. Royer-Collard said in 1830 of the struggle between the Polignac Ministry and the country: "An end there will surely be, but I see no issue."

_Valencay, November 10, 1833._--M. de Talleyrand has just heard from the Duc de Broglie and from King Leopold. The former says that the King of the Netherlands is making overtures at Frankfort, that the Germanic Confederation and the Duke of Na.s.sau are on the point of giving way, and that in less than a fortnight Dedel will receive instructions to resume active partic.i.p.ation in the Conference. The Duke, and the King also, are most anxious that M. de Talleyrand should come to Paris to settle everything, hear the details of the Conference at Munchengraetz on the affairs of Spain, and then return to London.

King Leopold writes to say that Belgium will pay Holland nothing; this quasi-manifes...o...b..ing enveloped in a ma.s.s of honeyed compliments.

_Valencay, November 11, 1833._--The following is the general sense of M. de Talleyrand's answer to the Duc de Broglie: "My dear Duke,--You overrate the goodness of my health, but you will never overrate the warmth of my friends.h.i.+p for you or of my devotion to the King. I cannot give you a better proof of this than by dragging my eighty-two years out of their idleness and retirement in midwinter and getting to Paris by December 4, as I promise you I shall. As to going to London, is it really necessary? I am very old, and another would now do as well, perhaps better, than I.

"We shall discuss matters at Paris, and out of my 'long experience,'

which you are so good as to consult, I will tell you frankly what I think of all you have to tell me of political affairs. That is all I am good for nowadays. If by any chance you so far flatter my vanity as to make me believe that I am still indispensable for a time in this business, I shall, of course, feel it my duty to do what you ask. But once it is over I shall at once return to my den to resume the torpor which is alone appropriate to my present condition.

"In any case, no harm will be done by leaving things for a week or two in the hands of M. de Bacourt, who, I am sure, is justifying more and more, by his energy and sagacity, all the good that I have said to you of him. Adieu!"

_Valencay, November 12, 1833._--People are beginning to be anxious about the situation in Spain. The Northern provinces are all for Don Carlos. Madrid, Barcelona, Cadiz, and almost all the South are for the Queen, on condition that the revolution takes its course. This is what is chiefly agitating the French Government.

The antic.i.p.ation of the att.i.tude of the Chambers is making the Ministry rather nervous. It will present itself just as it is, but not without fear, for there is a certain difficulty in facing a Chamber which must wish to court popularity if it hopes to be re-elected. The huge expenditure of Marshal Soult, the very slight reduction (in some cases none at all) in other Departments, are difficulties which may become serious embarra.s.sments.

_Paris, December 9, 1833._--Our return to London is settled. When I arrived here yesterday I found M. de Montrond on the steps, M. Raullin on the stairs, and Pozzo in the cabinet. I am to dine with him to-morrow. He has a careworn look, and fulminates against Lord Palmerston, who is said to be out of favour everywhere. M. de Talleyrand does not think that the Duc de Broglie lets himself be carried away by Lord Granville as much as his Lords.h.i.+p would like, and he has expressed himself in clear terms about this.

M. de Talleyrand does not believe in the possibility of war except between England and Russia, and will make every effort in his power to prevent it. He seems to me on the best possible terms with Pozzo, and to stand extremely well with the King and Madame Adelade, who are beginning to distrust Palmerston and Lord Granville and to consider that Broglie is wanting in insight; and, moreover, that he treats them without sufficient consideration and respect. He is certainly behaving with great lack of frankness and confidence towards M. de Talleyrand, but one's financial position must be revealed to those who are to invest one's money.

Lady Jersey has been to the Tuileries; the Duc d'Orleans has been in all things her humble servant. At the palace, indeed, where they are rather badly off for society, everyone was charmed by the arrival of the fair aristocrat from the other side of the Channel, which has been quite an event.

The Faubourg Saint-Germain is more irreconcilable than ever. Napoleon had places which he could bestow, estates which he might restore: he could threaten confiscations. There is nothing of that sort nowadays; and so they all sulk with an easy insolence which is quite indescribable. The fact is that if one is not compelled to go there the Court is too mixed to be attractive. I am sorry about it for the sake of the Queen, whom I both love and honour.

It seems that Baron de Werther is much annoyed with Palmerston and the Duc de Broglie. Certainly there is a great deal of ill-humour in the air, but M. de Talleyrand still says that it will not find its outlet in shot and sh.e.l.l.

_Paris, December 11, 1833._--Yesterday I dined, along with M. de Talleyrand, at the Thiers'. There was no one but himself, his wife, his father and mother-in-law; Mignet, who talked plat.i.tudes about Spain, and Bertin de Veaux, who talked of nothing but the bull-fights he saw at Saint Sebastian.

Madame Thiers, who is only sixteen, looks nineteen. She has a fine colour, pretty hair, a good shape, large eyes which have as yet nothing to express, a disagreeable mouth, an unpleasing smile, and a too prominent forehead. She says nothing herself, hardly answers when she is spoken to, and she seemed thoroughly bored with us all. She has no presence, and no idea of how to behave in society, but no doubt she may acquire all this. Perhaps she will take only too much trouble for other people than her little husband, who is very much in love and very jealous--ashamed of it too, I gather, from what he told me. The looks his young wife bestows on him are very cold; she is not shy, but inclined to be sulky, and not at all inclined to make herself pleasant.