Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
Guizot are possibilities which seem to be exhausted without result.
_Valençay, September 7, 1836._--We are told that the _Moniteur_ of
to-day will contain the names of a Guizot-Molé Ministry, recruited
entirely from among the Doctrinaires under the influence and by the
efforts of M. Guizot. I had a letter from M. Thiers yesterday, and am
sorry to see some ill-temper displayed against all who do not share
his ideas about that wretched Spanish question. In particular he
thinks that the signatories to the Quadruple Alliance should have
agreed with him. This remark is addressed to M. de Talleyrand, who
proposes to reply that a fresh reading of the treaty will show that it
was drawn up in such a way that France is not under obligation in any
direction. M. Guizot persisted in objecting to the retention of M. de
Montalivet as Minister of the Interior, and as the latter thought it
inconsistent with his dignity to leave this post for another, as
Guizot had proposed, he has resigned, to the King's great regret, and
will go to Berry, where he has property. Sauzet and d'Argout are said
to be going to Italy, once the refuge of dethroned Sovereigns and now
the inevitable touringground of ex-Ministers.
The following fact is certain: On the 4th of this month information
was received that the _Société des Familles_, the most numerous and
best organised of secret societies at this time, proposed to make some
attempt to raise a public disturbance. Their intention was perfectly
clear; the fear of discovery doubtless prevented them from putting it
into effect. They proposed to advance upon the prison where the
political prisoners are confined, to set them at liberty, to seize the
Prefecture of Police, and thence to march upon Neuilly. The Ministers
assert that their intentions were quite serious.
_Valençay, September 9, 1836._--The newspapers are already declaring a
terrible war upon the new Ministry, which will be settled before the
Chambers.[45] The Opposition journals predict a breach in the
Cabinet, which seems a not unlikely possibility. Then perhaps we shall
see M. Thiers return to the head of affairs, but with a certain
opposition to confront him, after making war upon a system which he
had long supported and entering into obligations with men inclining to
the Left, in which case he would be likely to draw the Government into
dangerous paths. I do not really know, but in general things seem to
me to be growing dark. In any case it is fair to recognise that the
new Ministerial combination can display to the country and abroad
honourable names, distinguished talent, and recognised capacity. Let
us hope, then, that it may rest upon a solid basis. Eight or ten days
before the last crisis M. Molé, after a considerable silence, wrote a
very sprightly letter to M. Royer-Collard and to myself.
[45] The Ministry was composed as follows: M. Molé, President of
the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Guizot, Minister
of Public Instruction; M. Persil, Minister of Justice; M.
Duchâtel, Financial Minister; M. de Gasparin, Minister of the
Interior, with M. de Rémusat as Under-Secretary of State; M.
Martin du Nord, Minister of Commerce and Public Works; General
Bernard, Minister of War; and Admiral Rosamel, Minister of Naval
Affairs.
_Valençay, September 10, 1836._--Yesterday M. de Talleyrand received a
nice deferential little note from M. Molé upon his accession to the
Ministry. The burden of the letter was as follows: As the new Cabinet
had been formed upon a question and with ideas which M. de Talleyrand
had wisely made his own, the new Ministers might congratulate
themselves upon his approval, and for himself he trusted that it might
be so, as he relied upon M. de Talleyrand's counsel and opinion. M. de
Talleyrand immediately replied. It is not my business to praise the
answer, but I think it should please M. Molé, though he will find no
criticism in it of the man whose place he takes. M. de Talleyrand may
regret the blindness of M. Thiers upon the Spanish question, but it is
not for him to blame M. Thiers in definite terms, as he has long shown
and felt goodwill for him.
_Valençay, September 11, 1836._--I shall not quote Madame de Lieven as
testifying to the accuracy of the story told by M. de Montessuy,[46]
but I admit that I cannot understand so strange an incident. If one of
our princesses or our Sovereign had so acted, a revolutionary
interpretation would immediately have been put upon it at St.
Petersburg, and if the Emperor Nicholas admits Horace Vernet, and
especially M. de Löwe-Weimar, to his favour, his intimacy, and his
confidence, I do not see why the King should be reproached for dining
at the Tuileries with his National Guards. The truth is,
Louis-Philippe cannot use the knout or Siberia, which are two stern
precautions against familiarity, though it is fortunate for each of us
that these weapons are not in his hands; in Russia, neither age nor
sex nor rank nor merit is any protection.
[46] _See_ above, p. 63.
I have a letter from M. Guizot couched in most sprightly terms,
telling me of his entrance to the Council. The friendship of the King
for M. de Talleyrand and the confidence with which he honours him
forbid any Minister to be on bad terms with him; our intentions are
identical, so that between ourselves and these gentlemen all should go
well.
I have a long letter from the Comte Alexis de Saint-Priest from
Lisbon. He writes from time to time, though I only send short dry
notes by way of answer; but he seems determined to regard them as
proofs of friendship. It is merely a case of calculating
self-interest. He knows that the Duc d'Orléans shows me some kindness,
and he believes himself called upon to play a part when this Prince
comes to the throne, and therefore desires in any case to be one of my
friends; any one reading the opening sentences of his letter would
think that I was a great deal to him and he to me. I am somewhat vexed
in consequence.
_Valençay, September 13, 1836._--How is it that people are so often
found ready to report ill-tempered speeches to the persons affected by
them? It is a strange and too common frame of mind. To myself it is so
hateful that while I believe myself incapable of it, I always receive
very coldly those who bring me confidential remarks of this nature. I
think that the first condition upon which one can live in peace is to
speak evil of things only when they are bad and as little as possible
of people, and the second condition is to disregard evil spoken about
ourselves unless it be spoken to warn one of some trap or actual
danger, but it is very rarely that such information is actuated by
this good and laudable intention. These moral reflections are evoked
by the slanders which Lord Rosse is said to have uttered about Madame
de Lieven and the information brought to her concerning them. In any
case I see that social habit, knowledge of the world, the necessities
of conversation, and, in short, the thousand and one considerations
which make hypocrisy a virtue, or at any rate a social quality, allow
these two people to meet on good terms, and if that be so, my theories
are of little or no importance.
_Valençay, September 16, 1836._--The following is an extract from a
letter received by M. de Talleyrand yesterday; it was not sent by
Madame Adélaïde, but the writer is generally very well informed. "M.
Molé is ill. He has not yet been able to pay any calls, nor to receive
any ambassador, nor has any council yet been held by the King. It is
said that his health will not allow him to remain long in office, and
that he will never establish himself there with any certainty. If he
should resign, it is thought that the Ministry would not be entirely
dislocated, and that Montalivet would probably take his place. There
is also a rumour that the Ministry is ready to confront the Chambers
fearlessly, and expects to secure a majority, that it is ready to be
contented with a small majority in the hope of seeing it grow, and
that it does not intend to make every point a Cabinet question.
Marshal Soult is not to be Minister of War. He was anxious to be
President of the Council, but this was refused, and the post will
probably be given to Molitor, Sébastiani, or Bernard. The Ministry is
entirely dominated by the King's policy upon the Spanish question. The
body which was gathering on the Pyrenees frontier will be disbanded
and the Foreign Legion abandoned. In any case that legion is at the
service of Spain, and we have no right to use it for our own purposes.
Strictest adherence will be maintained to the limits laid down by the
treaty of the Quadruple Alliance. At the same time an ambassador at
Madrid will be appointed, though the death of Rayneval might have
enabled us to dispense with this; but the appointment will be made
from respect to England. A rumour has gone abroad, but it is a great
secret, and the appointment is not yet settled, that this ambassador
will be the Duc de Coigny. The King is a little doubtful of the
attitude which Thiers will adopt. He is also much displeased with him,
and has expressed his displeasure several times. At one time Thiers
took some steps to return to the Ministry, and the matter was
discussed. He then submitted himself wholly to the King's opinion and
will upon the Spanish question, but the style of the King's expression
showed that he was very far from reposing confidence in Thiers, and
that he would only take him back perforce and in a difficult and
unavoidable position. The true cause of Thiers' resignation is not so
much difference of opinion between the King and himself as the
deceitful course by which he wished to draw the King into intervention
against his will. Since he has gone several facts have been discovered
of which no one had any suspicion. Thiers went away announcing that he
would only return for the following session if he saw his policy
attacked. He is said to be really very despondent about his fall, and
has the more reason for despondency as he is sole author of it. The
mode of his resignation has greatly diminished the reputation which he
first achieved, and the public opinion is not in his favour."
_Valençay, September 21, 1836._--Yesterday we heard that the
Constitution of 1820 had been proclaimed at Lisbon. It is asserted
that this event was prepared at London, and the fact remains that
Admiral Gage, who was in harbour with three ships of the line,
remained a passive spectator. The queens of the South are not destined
to enjoy unbroken slumber, for at Lisbon, as at Madrid, the Queen was
forced to sign the new Constitution at two o'clock in the morning. The
army took the side of the people and of the National Guard. The poor
little Prince of Coburg has made a sad marriage indeed. If he remains
in private life with so heavy a burden as Doña Maria he will collapse.
It is impossible to avoid some feeling of dismay at these military
reactions, and we are deeply anxious to see our Cabinet completed by a
_real_ Minister of War. General Bernard was the last chance, and would
be the best choice, as Marshal Soult persistently refuses.
_Valençay, September 23, 1836._--Our festival of St. Maurice[47] was
held yesterday, and was most brilliant. Numbers of neighbours came,
and our cousins came over from Saint-Aignan. The gamekeepers with
their early trumpet-blasts, fine weather, a long drive, the banquet in
the Castle, and dinner to the little school-girls, the three courts
lighted up, and a most pretty entertainment, cheerfully and
delightfully played, completed our festivity.
[47] St. Maurice was the patron saint of the Prince de
Talleyrand.
_Valençay, September 25, 1836._--It is certain that Charles X., to