Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840

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.

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

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.

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

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.