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

Baden, August 7, 1840.– I am now at Baden, and felt quite overcome when I just now entered it alone. The sight of the Jagd-Haus, of the little chapel, the poplar-trees upon the road – in fact, something at every step awoke memories and regrets. I am staying in a clean little house on the Graben, opposite the Strasburg Hotel. Houses are being built in every direction; Baden will soon be a large town, and much less attractive to me. As I read the letters which you write me from America116 I often think they would have greatly interested M. de Talleyrand, and would have reminded him of many things, but if poor M. de Talleyrand had lived I do not think he would have allowed you to go into exile so far away; although he often said that a politician to complete his education should certainly go to America, as a distant point of view from which to judge old Europe.

Baden, August 8, 1840.– Herr von Blittersdorf whom I saw with his wife, told me of another wild attempt of Louis Bonaparte, who had disembarked at Boulogne-sur-Mer and had attempted to arouse a revolt.117 The news was telegraphed, so that there were no details.

The King of Würtemberg is here; he has just left the watering-place of Aix in Savoy. His daughter and son-in-law, the Count of Neipperg, are with him; they go out a great deal, give parties, and so on. Herr von Blittersdorf also told me that the news from Paris was of a very warlike character; for his part he did not understand either how war was possible, seeing that every party had important reasons for avoiding it, or again how it could be prevented in view of Lord Palmerston's measures, which have been ratified by the northern Powers,118 while public opinion in France was unanimous and excited; and the Pasha of Egypt again had gained a success, whereas disasters alone could have stopped the coercive measures for which the convention stipulated. On this question the French King is said to be in full agreement with M. Thiers, and to have stated that he would prefer war to revolution. M. Guizot has been reproached because he did not give warning in sufficient time to stop the signing of the convention. He defends himself by saying that he did give notice, but was left without instructions. Such is the statement of Herr von Blittersdorf. He is very anxious about the situation, and especially about the frontier position of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which would be inconvenient in times of war. He says that the position of the duchy is the more difficult on account of the want of a fortress, the building of which he has urged for the last twenty-eight years upon Austria, though he has not been able to attain it. I came back very anxious in view of the possibility of war.

Baden, August 9, 1840.– To-day I fell back into my usual habits when taking the waters. I found some of the faces of former years. My son, M. de Valençay, arrived from Marienbad. During the day I had a call from Count Woronzoff Dashkoff, who has come from Ems. The waters seem to have greatly benefited the Empress of Russia; he says that the Duke of Nassau treated the Grand Duchess Olga very coldly, and that Princess Marie of Hesse was quite a success among the Russian grandees. Count Woronzoff says that she has bad teeth and does not think much of her beauty.

I then saw Herr von Blittersdorf, who says that the King of Würtemberg, Princess Marie, his daughter, and even the Count of Neipperg, regret the marriage, which places them in a false position. The Princess is said to be in bad health, and by no means rich. All these stories seem foolish, the more so as the Count of Neipperg is quite an insignificant person.

The Duc de Rohan has also arrived; he told me of the death of Madame de La Rovère (Elizabeth of Stackelberg), a young and handsome lady, happy and beloved, and a friend of my daughter Pauline. Poor Frau von Stackelberg! She has thus lost three children of full age and very dear to her in less than six months. These are heavy blows; she is a real angel, and has been a sufferer all her life.

Baden, August 10, 1840.– I have a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who is very anxious about her son-in-law, M. de La Redorte, the Spanish Ambassador. He reached Barcelona at a very gloomy time. She says that he has done extremely well, and that the authorities at Paris are very pleased with his attitude from the outset.

All my letters talk of war in a tone which reduces me to despair. Madame de Lieven was the first to send the news to Paris of the famous convention of the four Powers, which she announced with a cry of triumph in a letter to Madame de Flahaut. This Russian Princess showed herself most delighted and overjoyed at having some excitement worthy of her, but how will she settle that with M. Guizot? It seems that these rumours of war reduce Madame de Flahaut to despair, as she has recovered her affection for the Tuileries.

The Duc de Noailles is, I hear, very proud because he has predicted the disturbance now in progress. I cannot sufficiently remember any of his speeches to recall his prophecies. In any case, it is a poor consolation for the evils which threaten European society.

Baden, August 12, 1840.– I dined with the Wellesleys; Princess Marie and the Count of Neipperg were there. After seeing the latter I am the less able to understand the marriage. The King of Würtemberg is said to be displeased with his son-in-law, who adopts a contemptuous attitude; the Count is susceptible and hard to please, and the poor Princess is torn between her husband and her father, as also is society between the husband and the wife; in short, the position is false and foolish for everybody. The Princess is the chief sufferer, and, though not pretty, she is a pleasant person; there is something wrong about her figure – her movements are neither free nor easy.

This morning I went to a concert given by the Countess Strogonoff. Princess Marie and the Grand Duke of Baden were also there. High society in general was well represented. I saw nothing of any particular note, and fortunately made no new acquaintances.

Baden, August 14, 1840.– Yesterday I read the manifesto of the new Archbishop of Paris, Mgr. Affre, on the occasion of his enthronement. Two points in it seemed to me to show great affectation: he attempted to reassure the Government about the moderation of his political views, and he refused to say a single word about his predecessor, which is against all custom and good taste. If he would not speak of his predecessor's administration of office or of his personality, he might at least have praised his charity, which is incontestable; he would not have compromised himself, and would have avoided the foolishness of silence.

Herr von Blittersdorf told me at his wife's house that he was startled by the exasperation which was produced in France by the absolute silence of the Queen of England with reference to France in her Speech upon the prorogation of Parliament. He told me also that England had resolved to break with France on the Eastern question, because she had recently acquired accurate information concerning the intrigues of M. de Pontois, to prevent any reconciliation of the Sultan with the Pasha.119 England was also aware of the assurances given to the latter, that he need not take the severity of the Powers seriously, and might continue his enterprise, trusting to the help of France. Lord Palmerston complains of this duplicity. On the other hand it is asserted that the prospects of peace between the Porte and Egypt are hampered by Lord Ponsonby; in short, it is a hopeless tangle. Let us trust that it will not be settled by cannon-shots.

The following is an extract from a letter from M. Bresson from Berlin which I have just received: "I have been suddenly overwhelmed with work, and not of the pleasantest kind. The evil is great, and will not be entirely repaired. How often have I thought that if M. de Talleyrand were alive and at London this would not have happened! I wish also he could be at Berlin and everywhere, for I am not very successful in making people listen to reason. Yet this is the most unworthy transaction of modern times, though quite worthy to bear the names of Lord Palmerston, von Bülow, and Neumann. Herr von Bülow acted without authorisation. At first there was an outcry against him, then there was a wish to do as the majority were doing, and his fine masterpiece was ratified with very few restrictions. The four Courts will let me hear of it within six months. Mehemet Ali will send them about their business and wait for them to blockade him, an enterprise if possible more ridiculous than that of La Plata,120 and one which will be far more expensive. I hope that he will not cross the Taurus to delude our friends of St. Petersburg. The chief politicians look for a double moral effect upon France and upon Mehemet Ali, thanks to the Syrian insurrection. You can see how careful their calculations have been. Apart from this there is the insult of the clandestine negotiations and the notification to M. Guizot of the fact that these had been signed forty-eight hours after everything was over and when he was thinking of something entirely different, so you may easily judge of our feelings. If the good old King of Prussia were still alive we should not have seen such stupidity. Herr von Bülow would have had a wigging, or rather he would never have gained the upper hand. He thought he had flattered and won men over and could rely upon the passions aroused by the inheritance of a Prince whom Prussia will daily regret more and more. In short, I am in a very bad temper, and I take no trouble to hide it. We now know exactly what there is behind words and protestations. I trust that the people will also learn what the resentment of France can mean." In this outburst the natural impetuosity of M. de Bresson is obvious, but I also seem to see that the action of the Powers was inspired rather by tactlessness than by real hostility, and from this fact one may derive some hopes of peace.

Baden, August 19, 1840.– Yesterday I received so pressing an invitation from the Grand Duchess Stephanie to visit her at her estate of Umkirch, in Briesgau, where she now is, that I resolved to pay her a visit after completing my cure here.

I have seen my cousin, Paul Medem, who came from Stuttgart, where he had just shown his letters of credit as Russian Minister. He does not believe in the possibility of the war, and as proof of his conviction has just invested two hundred thousand francs in the French Funds.

Baden, August 20, 1840.– I was very agreeably surprised to receive the portrait of the King of Prussia, with a kind autograph letter. The portrait is an admirable and striking likeness, painted by Krüger.

Madame de Nesselrode brought her son to see me, who has just come from London. He left Madame de Lieven absorbed by the European conflict, on bad terms with Brunnow, very cold towards Lady Palmerston, and furious because she had not been let into the secret of the signature of the famous convention. She involuntarily helped to mystify M. Guizot by assuring him that there could be no truth in the idea or she would have known it herself. She belongs to the French Embassy, is treated as such, and people go on laughing at her. She is at home until lunch-time; as soon as M. Guizot appears the door is closed, no one is admitted, and any one with her takes his leave. Her position seems, in truth, to be ridiculous and impossible, and she is only supported by the Sutherlands, with whom she lives.

I have a letter from Paris from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who says: "What can I tell you of the war? The Press is urging it forward by every means; every day bellicose articles fill the newspapers and excite people's minds. I am assured, however, that the King is quite calm and has no fear of an outbreak, but can the progress of public opinion be checked? It is said that orders have been issued to mobilise the National Guard in France; we may expect to see every means of defence prepared. People are not calm enough to see that in this way war may be aroused. Every fresh measure increases the general agitation.

"In any case I am convinced that the Government itself does not know what the result will be. I trust that diplomacy may avoid any resort to cannon-shot. I have been to see the Duchesse d'Orléans at Saint-Cloud; she is very thin, but does not complain of her health; she is often to be seen driving in the Bois, with the Duc d'Orléans riding by the carriage. Madame de Flahaut is at Dieppe, and her husband at Paris; he often dines with the Prince Royal. His position is likely to become embarrassing during the trial of Louis Bonaparte."

Baden, August 22, 1840.– My son M. de Valençay, who has returned to Paris, tells me he has seen the Duc d'Orléans, who says: "Thiers and Guizot seem to distrust one another profoundly. Guizot supposes that Thiers wished to throw the responsibility of the present crisis upon him and allowed suspicions to arise that he had not kept his Government informed. He has therefore sent copies of his despatches to his friends in Paris, who threaten to use them if the Ambassador is attacked. According to these friends, Guizot informed Thiers accurately of the course of events, but the latter declined to give him instructions or to reply before consulting Mehemet Ali, but simply sent instructions to London to say neither yes nor no. Palmerston, on the other hand, wished to drive Thiers into a corner. Thiers on his side said: 'Palmerston is playing diamond cut diamond, but I will balk him,' an expression which seems to have become a diplomatic term. At length Palmerston, worried and impatient, is said to have settled the business. There is a strong feeling in favour of war; Guizot, however, still believes in peace, but he writes that as a matter of fact a mere spark, a blow given to a sailor, would be enough to fire the most terrible war in the world."

Umkirch, August 26, 1840.– Yesterday when I was half-way from Baden on the road here a formidable storm burst, and we were obliged to take shelter in a barn; hailstones fell as big as nuts. Notwithstanding the delay I arrived at six o'clock in the evening. The Grand Duchess had kindly sent her horses to meet me at Friburg. When I arrived Herr von Schreckenstein told me I should find her in bed, where she had been with a chill since the evening before.

The new lady-in-waiting, Frau von Sturmfeder, a widow who seems to be about fifty years old, with pleasant manners, took me to the Duchess. I found her very feverish, but no less talkative than usual; very exasperated by her invalid state, and nearly as much by the arrival of Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, who was paying her an unexpected visit. After half an hour Princess Marie took me to dinner. The large assembly room and the dining-room are in a separate building, a hundred yards away from the castle; nothing could be more inconvenient; after rain and without goloshes it would be impossible to get there.

I already knew Umkirch. I did not care for it in past times, nor does it please me any better now. The main residence is small and the rooms are low; mine, however, which is on the first floor, has a fine view of the mountains.

At dinner all the guests were assembled – that is to say, Princess Marie; Duke Bernard, with his aide-de-camp, old Madame de Walsh, who is here on a visit, though her days of official service are over; her son and daughter-in-law, the Baroness von Sturmfeder; Herr von Schreckenstein; Fräulein Bilz, a little hunchbacked music-mistress; and M. Mathieu, the French painter, who is giving lessons to Princess Marie. After dinner I went back to the invalid, and stayed with her until tea-time. She seems delighted to see me. She continues very anxious to see her daughter married, and has just had an offer from Prince Hohenlohe; he, however, was thought to be not sufficiently distinguished, and his request has been refused; the old Count of Darmstadt would also be ready to marry her, but he is thought to be too old and too ugly. There is an idea that Prince Frederick of Prussia, the Prince of Düsseldorf, exhausted and wearied by the extravagance of his wife, will procure a divorce, and will then turn his thoughts to Princess Marie, who would be quite ready to take him. Such is the desire at this moment. They would like me to send a good account of the Princess to Berlin.

Very little interest is shown in Louis Bonaparte, whom they would like to see confined in a fortress.

Madame de Walsh, who is a friend of the Abbé Bautain, told me that he had just been summoned to Paris by M. Cousin and by the new Archbishop; there is apparently a proposal to form a faculty for advanced theological study, with M. Bautain at the head of it. He is certainly an intelligent and talented man, but not entirely reconciled to Rome. Hot-headed and ambitious, his relations with his bishop have long been strained; he has not that readiness to submit upon points of doctrine which is inherent in Catholicism and the foundation of its permanency. His appointment will therefore arouse some mistrust among the clergy, and not without reason. I shall hear the truth of the whole matter at Paris from the Abbé Dupanloup.

The Duke of Saxe-Weimar, though heavy in appearance, is not without common sense and learning. To my great astonishment I found him a strong supporter of the house of Orléans; he asserted his strong affection for the Duchesse d'Orléans, his niece, and entrusted me with a letter for her. He is very anti-Russian and anti-English, and went so far as to say that if war should break out the King of the Low Countries ought to make common cause with France. He is at this moment on the unattached list, and is provisionally established at Mannheim, whence he is very anxious to make a journey to Paris.

The Grand Duchess and Princess Marie knew all about the presents and the trousseau given by Russia to Princess Marie of Hesse. The Emperor gave her two rows of pearls with a sapphire clasp, supposed to be worth two hundred thousand francs; the Empress gave her a bracelet to match; and her fiancé, the Grand Duke, gave her his portrait framed in diamonds and a parasol adorned with emeralds and pearls, together with maps of the Russian Empire and views of St. Petersburg nicely bound, and, lastly, the present left by the will of the late Empress Marie to her grandson's future wife, which is a Sévigné in three pieces, each as large as a breastplate.

Lunéville, August 27, 1840.– I left Umkirch this morning, and spent fourteen hours in traversing a long road which is made longer by the pass over the mountains. I crossed the Vosges by the Col du Bonhomme. Many factories and workshops give some life and animation to the country, which is sometimes bright and lively. Vegetation is poor and the outlines of the hills too monotonous.

Vitry-sur-Marne, August 28, 1840.– I left Lunéville at seven o'clock this morning, stopped at Nancy for two and a half hours, and arrived here at ten in the evening, which may be called good going.

Ay, August 30, 1840.– On my road here yesterday I stopped at Châlons, where I met M. de La Boulaye, who was there for the session of the General Council. I was very glad to see him; he is a pleasant man in mind as well as character, and I think even more of the one than of the other every day of my life. He gave me the Paris news which he had heard from M. Roy, who had come straight from that Babylon to preside over the Council-General of Marne. The night before he left Paris he had seen the King, who talked upon the questions of the day, and said: "Thiers is urging me to war, to which I reply: 'Very well, but the Chambers must be convoked.' He then answers: 'We shall get nothing from this Chamber; it should be dissolved.' 'Oh, no, my dear Minister; on that point I prefer to take the Chamber as I find it and make the best of things.'"

M. Roy also said that the news of the ratification of the London Treaty reached Paris on the 22nd, and was not published till the 24th. During that time the terrible excitement on the Stock Exchange ruined more than one broker, forced M. Barbet de Jouy to flee, enriched M. Dosne, the father-in-law of M. Thiers, with seventeen hundred francs and M. Fould with several millions. The latter has taken M. de Rothschild's place in the confidence of the Ministry. The public outcry was such that the Guardian of the Seals, M. Vivien, was obliged to give orders for the information to be published. This information will produce no effect, as is natural, but it shows that the scandal has gone very far. It seems that in consequence the chief personage in the Ministry has lost much ground in public opinion; he is thought to have guided the diplomacy of the country very casually, and to have concealed interesting news from the public in a most unusual way. The whole of the manufacturing and speculating world is said to tremble at the thought of war, and to exert a very strong influence upon the public.

I reached here at about three o'clock in the afternoon in African heat. I am glad to be back again in a warm climate, with its flowers, its fruits, its beautiful nights, and its blue sky.

I have a letter from the Princesse de Lieven written from London on August 22. She says: "General anxiety concerning the situation is becoming apparent here. All goes well, or rather there is no anxiety upon questions of foreign policy, however serious the complications may be. French newspapers, and even the French military preparations, are regarded with scorn, but at last the people are beginning to rub their eyes; they are astonished to find that what is known as French humbug may mean something, and that this something may be neither more nor less than a general war, waged, as far as France is concerned, with dreadful weapons – weapons which were wisely laid aside for ten years, and which France will perhaps be forced to raise once more; in short, uneasiness is spreading, and I cannot help seeing in the fact the opening of the way to an understanding, in spite of the obstacles which the sense of self-esteem may meet with on the road. This is my point of view. My politics are concerned with my set of rooms,121 which I like and wish to keep. The Duke of Wellington loudly asserts that he is Turkish, and more Turkish than anybody, but that Turkey will not have peace with France, and that peace must be preserved before all things. Leopold is greatly interested; he proposes to return to Belgium. M. Guizot has been at Eu and Windsor; his present life suits him, and he looks very well."

My niece, the Countess of Hohenthal, who has been to Dresden to see her uncle Maltzan when he went there from Königswarth, sends me some news concerning the stay of the Empress of Russia in Saxony: "The Empress of Russia has shown such coldness to the Saxon Court that the King and Queen of Prussia, who have delighted everybody, have been reduced to despair. She would not stay at Pillnitz, where many preparations for her comfort had been made; she refused to use the Court carriages, and went about the shops and streets like a boarding-school girl, without the least sense of decorum. She refused to dine at Court, and only looked in for a moment at a concert given in her honour. The King of Prussia was ready to give the portfolio of Foreign Affairs to my uncle Maltzan, but he preferred to retain his post at Vienna. It is said that his refusal is due to the fact that he is wildly in love with Princess Metternich."

Paris, August 31, 1840.– Once again I am in this great Paris, doubtless populous, and yet so empty for me. This morning at ten o'clock I reached my little house,122 which seems to me like a pleasant little inn, only I am astonished by its small size, which suits my habits and my tastes so little that I could certainly have chosen nothing better in order to realise my intention of visiting Paris only when absolutely obliged.

Paris, September 3, 1840.– Yesterday I had a long visit from M. Molé, who blames M. Guizot, and relates his infinite blunders with great complacency; he blames M. Thiers, and draws a vivid picture of his bumptiousness, his casual ways, and so on. Nor does the King escape his criticism as regards the present crisis, which entirely occupies all minds here. He says that the greatest swashbucklers are dying with fear of war; that really people are ashamed and vexed because they have been led astray and induced to regard as impossible what, however, has happened, while they are angry at finding themselves isolated when lasting alliances have been dangled before their eyes. But amid the general panic certain points are so well advertised by conversations and continual publications that it daily becomes more difficult to solve the problem, and the only possibility is to cut the knot. Commercial interests have been suddenly paralysed, and business in general is suffering heavily. Rothschild, who has quarrelled with M. Thiers, has lost even more millions than M. Fould has gained. M. Molé explains all this very cheerfully.