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

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СКАЧАТЬ together with Lady Jersey. Their respective rank required that Lord Grey should take Lady Jersey into dinner; Sir John Conroy requested Lord Grey to do so, but he absolutely refused, and Lady Jersey was taken in by some one of lower rank. Both were keenly irritated in consequence.

      It seems certain that the Duchesse de Saint-Leu is dying. The physician Lisfranc, who has returned from Arenenberg, says so. The poor woman has mismanaged her life and her position, and she is expiating her fault most cruelly. It is dreadful to survive her eldest son and to die far away from her second son, entirely cut off from her family; this misfortune disarms the severe criticism which one might be tempted to utter concerning her.

      Yesterday was held the great review, and all my rooms were filled from eleven o'clock in the morning. From our windows we had a perfect view of the march past, which followed the Rue de Rivoli, and then passed in front of the Obelisk, where were the King, the Queen, the Princes, and a very numerous following. Sixty thousand National Guards and twenty thousand line troops marched past. Previously the King had gone round the ranks within the Cour du Carrousel and on the Esplanade des Invalides. The National Guard shouted "Vive le Roi!" most vigorously, and the line troops still more so. The wind was cold and sharp, but the sun was bright. The King returned to the Château across the garden of the Tuileries. Thus the King's state of siege has come to an end, and a good thing too. We must hope upon the one hand that it will not often be thought necessary to renew this form of proceeding, and that on the other hand some relaxation may be possible of those excessive precautions which spoilt the effect of the show, and which were carried to such an extent yesterday that I have never seen anything sadder or more painful; the embankments, the Rue de Rivoli, the square, and the Tuileries were forbidden to every one except men in uniform, and men, women, children, little dogs, and every living being were driven away; it was a complete desert, and every one was blockaded in his house. My son Valençay, to get from his house in the Rue de Université to mine, was obliged to go by the Pont d'Auteuil! This state of things was maintained until the King returned to his rooms. All the police were on duty, and the posts of the National Guard were doubled upon every side by a row of police and municipal guards surrounding the royal group. The town looked as though deserted or plague-stricken, with a conquering army marching through without finding a stopping-place or inhabitants.

      After our dinner I went to inquire for the Queen and to say farewell to Madame Adélaïde, who is starting for Brussels this morning. There had been a great military dinner of two hundred and sixty people in the Hall of the Marshals; all were in full dress, pleased and animated.

      I concluded the evening with Madame de Castellane, where I found M. Molé, who was very pleased with the result of the review.

      In my wanderings I discovered that the last speech of M. Thiers was gaining an increasing hold on men's minds. It is thought that, without abandoning his general theories, he was pointing to a practical solution which would satisfy all positive spirits; people are much obliged by the fact that in this speech he had twice separated from the Left without hurting their feelings; in short, his clever words have dissipated some of the fears which he inspired and removed some of the obstacles which stood between himself and the power. This impression I have received from many different sides, and except the Doctrinaires and the extremists on the Left every one is feeling it.

      Paris, May 9, 1837.– Yesterday I had a long visit from M. Royer-Collard, whose admiration for the speech of M. Thiers is at its height. He praises the occasion, the propriety of it, and above all the truth, not only its personal truth – that is to say, its individual sincerity – but its truth with reference to the actual state of opinion, which the speaker alone has correctly appreciated. He said it was one of those speeches over which one could never think too long, which grips the reader more and more, and the effect of which will steadily increase. He admits that the session when MM. Odilon Barrot and Guizot spoke was more interesting to watch, and that the two actors played their parts very well, but that they were merely acting; that they showed themselves good orators, but not statesmen; that both relied upon extremist opinions which were worn out; that M. Guizot in particular was no longer a man of his age, but an émigré; and that this point had been admirably brought out by Thiers. M. Royer-Collard thinks the speech of Guizot imprudent and irritating, in which respect he says that Guizot followed his arrogant disposition. In short, he says many things; he says them in my sitting-room, but repeats them in the Chamber, at the Academy, to each and all, and makes it his business to do so. This is very useful to M. Thiers, in whose speech there is something too fine and subtle to be understood without a commentary.

      I did not go out after M. Royer's call, but stayed at home to read the life of Raphael by M. Quatremère; the book is lacking in warmth and vivacity, but it is well written. It is most restful at the present time to return to the exquisite art of an age when men of genius were complete, because they possessed every shade of genius, if one may use the phrase. Books of this kind give me an inexpressible longing for Italy.

      In the evening I looked in at the Austrian Embassy, where Madame de Lieven told me a large amount of gossip from London. One of her stories was as follows: At the last Levée the King thanked the Turkish Ambassador aloud and through an interpreter for postponing a dinner which he was giving, on account of the death of Lady Delisle, his natural daughter, and thus showing him a respect which his own family had refused; this remark was aimed at the Duchess of Kent. At the last Drawing-room the Queen could not be present, as she was ill, and it was held by Princess Augusta; the Duchess of Kent arrived with her daughter; the King heartily embraced the latter without noticing her mother, and seeing Sir John Conroy in the throne-room he ordered the Chamberlain to send him out. Finally, when the Prince of Linange came to his mother's house, the Duchess of Kent, with his wife, who is not his equal in birth, the King sent Lord Conyngham to the Duchess to say that he would receive his daughter-in-law, but could not permit her to enter his private apartments; the Duchess declined to receive Lord Conyngham, and sent a message to say that if he came to pay a private call she would see him with pleasure, but that she would not receive him as the King's messenger, and that he need only write down what he had to say. Lord Conyngham then sent her a letter, to which she replied by an epistle of twelve pages, enumerating all her supposed grievances against the King, and concluding with the statement that if her daughter-in-law were not received as a princess she would never set foot in the King's house again. She had several copies made of the letter, and sent them to all the members of the Cabinet. Lord Conyngham, who told all this to Madame de Lieven, in spite of his Whig principles, went on to say that the position of the English Ministry was unpleasant, as their relations with the King were disturbed and they were unpopular in the country, and that the difficulties concerning the Bank and the progress of affairs in Spain were very unpleasant incidents for the Cabinet.

      It is settled that the Duc de Coigny is to be knight-of-honour to the Duchesse d'Orléans. He is naturally impolite, his habits are uncivilised, and he has only one hand, so that he will not be able to offer his hand to the Princess. An equally certain appointment is that of the Comtesse Anatole de Montesquiou as first lady to accompany the Princess, and to take the place of the lady-of-honour, whose delicate health will often prevent her from performing her duties.64 This is an excellent choice. Madame de Montesquiou is forty-six years of age, her reputation is unblemished, she has been pretty and is still pleasant to look upon, her manners are quiet and simple and are the exact expression of her life and character. No better choice and no person better suited for the position could be found.

      The newspapers say that a subscription is being raised in the Chamber of Deputies to print fifty thousand copies of M. Guizot's speech. M. Martin du Nord, one of the members of the present Cabinet, has given a subscription, and thus confirmed the generally accepted opinion that he is secretly a Doctrinaire and a traitor to the Cabinet. Thereupon M. Molé went to the King to ask for the removal of M. Martin du Nord or to offer his own resignation. I have not yet heard the conclusion of this fresh complication.

      Paris, May 10, 1837.– At the time of writing yesterday I had not read the Moniteur, which announced the amnesty.65 СКАЧАТЬ