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

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СКАЧАТЬ chambermaid's serious illness forces me to wait upon myself. I have felt a little awkward, but shall get used to it. It is not always pleasant, but it is useful, and I do not complain. I have, indeed, my moments of discouragement, but then I chide myself and it passes away. At times great nervous fatigue results from want of practice, but this will disappear, for we are not upon earth to amuse ourselves, or to rest, or to be well and happy and comfortable; that is our chief illusion; we mistake our object, and are then angry that we do not attain it; if we tell ourselves that the object of life is work, struggle, and sacrifice we avoid misunderstandings and escape the most painful of fates.

      The examination of Alibaud will not be printed; so much the better, as all this is bad food for public curiosity. Yesterday I had a letter from the Duc de Noailles, who is one of the judges; he told me that the crime was obviously prompted by want. As the man had not a halfpenny he wished to kill himself, but he thought his death should be made interesting and useful. Such is the influence of bad teaching derived from the republican age and society in which he has lived. He is not a gloomy fanatic like Louvel, nor a modern Erostratus like Fieschi, but is merely a beggar of considerable self-possession and badly brought up.

      All the newspapers, Carlist, Radical, and Moderate, are greatly vexed by the mandate of the Archbishop of Paris. To appear at Neuilly is too much for some; unwillingness to use the term "the King" in the mandate is a platitude which does not deceive others and irritates many; the Jesuitical and equivocal phrase at the end is thought very pitiable. In short, the outcry is general and deserved. I am sorry, for at bottom he is a man not without good qualities, but with a deplorable want of tact.

      I have a letter from M. de Valençay written from Milan; the horseraces in the arena, where twenty-five thousand people collected, and the illumination of the theatre of La Scala were admirable.

      The Mayor of Valençay came to consult M. de Talleyrand about an address to be presented to the King concerning the last attempt upon his life, and begged M. de Talleyrand to draw it up. He commissioned me with the task. Here it is, as it has been passed and as it was sent to Paris yesterday. To fall from diplomatic to municipal language is a great proof of decadence. That at any rate is what little Fontanes of Berry has produced, and of all the addresses drawn up on this occasion it is undoubtedly the most monarchical both in form and substance.

      "Sire,

      "With the confidence of children, the respect of subjects, and the gratitude of the friends of true liberty, the inhabitants of Valençay venture to place at the foot of the Throne the expression of their delight at the miraculous preservation of the sacred person of the King and their wishes for the permanent happiness of the Royal Family. Insignificant and remote as is the quarter of your realm whence these loving hearts yearn towards your Majesty, your goodness is our guarantee that our token of respect will be indulgently received. Our town, moreover, is not without its claims upon the interest of the King, and the claim which we are most pleased to assert is the honour which we have had in receiving His Royal Highness Monseigneur the Duc d'Orléans, and the recollection of the kindness which he has shown amongst us," &c. &c.

      Then follow the signatures of the Municipal Council, including that of M. de Talleyrand.

      Valençay, July 10, 1836.– My son, Valençay, arrived yesterday; he told us nothing new about his travels, and only confirmed his previous letters. We have also the Prince de Laval, by whom M. de Talleyrand is wearied to death, and with good reason. At Paris the Prince is tolerable, and sometimes even amusing, but in the country his want of judgment and his snobbishness, which induces him to say, for instance, that the orange-tree, pruned, clipped short, and planted in a box, is the aristocracy of nature, his continual practice of asking questions, of stammering and spitting before one's face, and always looking on the insignificant side of things, are most wearing; and he does not say a word of his departure.

      The Duc d'Orléans writes to say that only for reasons of state would he be sorry not to marry the daughter of the Archduke Charles, for her attractions for him are entirely moral; in person he thinks her, if not ugly, yet insignificant, and he is not attracted. In any case, the father and daughter readily assent to the proposal of marriage; the Emperor of Austria says nothing; but his brother the Archduke Francis Charles and his sister-in-law the Archduchess Sophie say "No."

      Valençay, July 13, 1836.– Yesterday evening we had a visit from the Duc Decazes37 and the Comte de la Villegontier, who stopped for tea on their way to their foundry at Aveyron. M. Decazes was sad and sorrowful concerning the King's dangers and the open sores in society, as revealed by the trial of Alibaud. He also complains, and with reason, of the organisation, or rather the non-organisation, of the police. He says that the King alone has preserved his calm and presence of mind, but that around him all are sad, anxious, and agitated, and that the Queen and Madame are very unhappy. Marshal Lobau has persuaded the King that the National Guard would take it ill if his Majesty did not review them on the 28th of this month. He will therefore pass under the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, where the National Guard will march before him. But this is too much. The July festivals will be confined to the opening of the Arc de Triomphe, and the Obelisk from Luxor will be unveiled. No further commemoration would be required, in my opinion.

      Alibaud yielded to the exhortations of the Abbé Grivel. He confessed, and therefore has repented. On the scaffold he kissed the crucifix before the people, but when one of the servants took away his black veil he flew into a rage and turned suddenly round to the multitude, red in the face, crying, "I die for my country and for liberty," and then he submitted.

      M. Decazes also told us that every day brought him anonymous letters, denunciations, and revelations, and that it was impossible to get a moment's peace. He left me in profound sadness.

      Valençay, July 16, 1836.– The Prince de Laval, who is still here, admiring everything and evidently well pleased in spite of our political differences, has a certain form of wit which consists in saying smart and clever remarks now and then, but these are wanting in taste and balance. His class snobbishness recalls that of M. Saint-Simon, his caste prejudice is carried to a ridiculous point, his curiosity and gossip are unexampled, and his selfishness and absorption in his own importance and amusement are inconceivable; he advances every claim on his own behalf, and is therefore unbearable when taken seriously. Taken the other way, there is something to be got out of him, the more so as, though he is a tease, he is not ill-tempered, and the very extravagance of his poses forces him to live up to them.

      The Duc de Noailles, whom we also expect here to-day, is very different; he is reasonable, self-possessed, cold, polite, and reserved, asking no questions, never chattering nor wearying anybody; but though he is unpretentious his claims to consideration are none the less real, and he is absorbed, first of all by his position as a great lord, and then as a politician. His position as a man of fashion and fortune, of which Adrien de Laval boasts his past possession, as they are now gone, has no attraction for him. I might even say that if M. de Laval is a quondam young man, the Duc de Noailles is an old man before his time. He is only thirty-four or thirty-five, but his face, his manners, and his life in general make him appear fifty.

      Paris, July 27, 1836.– I think more and more of the Duc de Noailles. He is a man of good judgment, sound taste, with a sense of honour and excellent manners. He is also dignified and possessed of common sense, while his goodwill is valuable, and his high position may be useful in the world in which he is a figure. But my high opinion of his good qualities and the value which I set upon his goodwill and friendship do not prevent me from seeing his pretentiousness. His chief ambition is political, and is not, perhaps, sufficiently supported by the ease of temperament which is quite indispensable at the present time. The whole family has remained what it was two hundred years ago. The Noailles are rather illustrious than ancient, rather courtiers than servants, but servants rather than favourites, intriguers rather than ambitious, society people rather than lords, snobs rather than aristocrats, and above all and before all, Noailles. I know the whole of СКАЧАТЬ