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

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.

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.

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.