Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
since yesterday evening. My sister, the Duchesse de Sagan, arrived the
previous evening. This morning, at six o'clock, faithful to my habits
at Baden, I went out while my sister and daughter were still asleep,
and while recalling memories of the place I found the bridge and
stopped before the statue of the Elector Charles Theodore; I then
crossed the river and walked upon the banks of the Neckar for
three-quarters of an hour, with the town upon my left, dominated by
the old castle. The pretty landscape, with the river valley, the
position of the town, and even the style of the agriculture, reminded
me of the hillsides of Amboise and my dear Loire, and was pleasantly
lighted by the broken rays of a sun struggling through light clouds.
I now know who wrote the article upon M. de Talleyrand which appeared
in the _Gazette_ of Augsburg. My sister read it in manuscript. The
writer was the Minister Schulenburg, a clever man, who had seen a
great deal of M. de Talleyrand in past times. He is a friend of the
Vicomtesse de Laval, and saw M. de Talleyrand at her house once more
when he came to Paris eighteen months ago. He is anxious not to be
known as the author of this article.
_Paris, September 6, 1838._--I arrived here the day before yesterday,
and found a letter which told me that as M. Molé had refused to make
an alliance with M. Guizot, the latter had formed a coalition with M.
Thiers. M. Guizot will become President of the Chamber of Deputies and
M. Thiers Prime Minister. All this is to be revealed and settled
during the discussion upon the Address. I cannot guarantee this story.
The King is at Eu, and I shall not see the Court until I return.
I am just finishing the last work of Villemain.[93] The first chapter
of the second volume deals with Montesquieu; the second is a detailed
analysis of the _Esprit des Lois_, which is much too deep for me. The
following chapters summarise the bad philosophy of the eighteenth
century, as it appears in the mouths of its prophets, its votaries,
and its adversaries. The last part of the volume is devoted to
Rousseau, by whose charms Villemain seems too obviously to have been
overcome. I have no kindly feelings for Rousseau, for he was a
hypocrite, and Voltaire's cynicism is perhaps less disgusting; at any
rate, Voltaire was not guilty of so many positively bad actions as
Rousseau, and mere talent in itself is no justification for either
man.
[93] _The Eighteenth Century._
My children write from Valençay saying that the crowd at the funeral
ceremony was enormous.[94] Starting from Blois, the procession was
joined by the people of all the neighbouring settlements on foot, in
great sadness, while at night they came with torches. On the carriage
which bore the coffin of M. de Talleyrand and that of my
granddaughter, Yolande, were Hélie and Péan;[95] in the carriage which
followed was my son Alexandre. All the clergy of the district offered
their services. My son Valençay also sends me the programme of the
ceremony, which seems very well arranged; I especially approve of a
large distribution of charity to the poor, who should never be
forgotten, neither in joy nor sorrow.
[94] The funerals of the Prince de Talleyrand, of his brother,
the Duc de Talleyrand, and of the little Yolande de Périgord,
daughter of the Duc and Duchesse de Valençay, who died in
childhood, took place on September 6, 1838, at Valençay. The
three coffins were placed in a vault which the Prince de
Talleyrand had constructed during his lifetime.
[95] The Prince de Talleyrand's footmen.
Before starting, the coffin of M. de Talleyrand was covered with black
velvet, with silver nails, and bore an escutcheon with his arms, his
name and distinctions; the coffin of Yolande was covered with white
velvet. The arrival of the funeral procession in the Castle court at
Valençay, at ten o'clock at night in the most beautiful moonlight, is
said to have been extremely imposing; there was deep silence, broken
only by the sound of the hearse as it slowly passed the draw-bridge.
The bodies were placed for the night in the church, and watched by the
clergy in prayer. The coffin of the Duc de Talleyrand, accompanied by
the doctor who had attended him, arrived two hours later.
_Paris, September 7, 1838._--The Princesse de Lieven, whom I saw
yesterday, told me that she no longer receives any letters from her
husband. She examined me closely as to any information I might have
gained in Germany concerning her Emperor, whom I think she really
hates as much as the inhabitants of Warsaw can hate him. If, however,
she was once more within his grasp, or merely out of France, her
patriotism would be equal to that of any old Muscovite. She told me
that at Munich the Emperor Nicholas had displayed great exasperation
with the Russian Minister at the enormous expense to which he had gone
for the reception of the Empress, saying, "Do you wish, then, to
increase our unpopularity?" She spoke a great deal of the father's
carelessness with respect to his son's well-being. Apart from the
rapidity of their journey, and the scanty food which the father gave
him in the course of it, he made the Grand Duke continually hold his
legs outside the carriage, no matter what the weather might be, in
order that they should not be in his father's way.
I am assured that Queen Victoria, who showed herself so anxious to
escape from the maternal yoke, is now trying to avoid the influence of
her uncle, King Leopold.
The Flahaut family have been saying the most horrible things at London
about the Tuileries, and the Tuileries are aware of the fact.
France has abandoned Belgium in the course of the negotiations in
progress at London, and forces her to yield upon all questions of
territory, but supports her pecuniary claim; between the figures of
Leopold and King William there is a difference of 16,000,000. The
Powers wish to compromise, but Leopold objects, and refuses to relax
his grasp of Limburg until the crowns are paid.
In Spain Queen Christina is trying to make money out of everything,
and demands a price for every nomination that she makes. She thinks
only of amassing money and spending it quietly out of Spain, for which
she may speedily have an opportunity. Her sister, whose practical mind
has already gained her a certain influence here, and who might be able
to marry her prettiest daughter to the Duc de Nemours, is intriguing
vigorously against her.
M. Thiers spent three hours with Count Metternich near Como, and
showed anything but sympathy for Spain during the conversation.
However, people have not been taken in and prejudice remains
unaltered.
_Bonnétable, September 17, 1838._--I reached this strange place an
hour before dinner-time. The country is very pretty, but the castle
stands at the end of a little town, and the only view is the high-road
which runs along the moat. It is an old manor-house, with heavy
turrets, thick walls, and the windows few and narrow. There is little
in the way of furniture or decoration, but it is solid and clean, and
the necessaries of life of every kind are at hand, from an almorne to
a warming-pan. The mistress of the house, an active, bustling,
good-tempered lady, is largely occupied in most charitable work, in
which she shows great insight, and really leads the life of a
Christian widow, on the principles laid down by St. Jerome. In short,
one is inclined to think oneself in a country far away from France and
in a century quite remote from the nineteenth. Evening prayers are
said all together at nine o'clock in the chapel, and are read by the
Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency herself. They moved me deeply,
especially the prayer for the rest of the departed, repeated by one
who has survived all her relatives, whether older, of her own age, or
younger than herself. This prayer in the mouth of one who is thus
alone, without forefathers or posterity, was strangely sad. The other
isolated being, poor Zoé,[96] who repeated the responses, completed
the picture and the impression, which went to my heart. All the
servants were present. No more edifying spectacle could be seen than
that of this great and ancient house. The Duchesse is very highly
connected, and came to her title through the Luynes, who had inherited
it by marriage from the Duchesse de Nemours, one of whom had married
the niece.
[96] Zoé was a negress in the service of the Vicomtesse de Laval,
to whom she showed the greatest devotion. In 1838, after the
death of the Vicomtesse, Zoé was taken into service by the
Duchesse Mathieu de Montmorency, daughter-in-law of Madame de
Laval, who lived upon the estate of Bonnétable, where Zoé ended
her days in peace.
_Bonnétable, September 18, 1838._--If the weather were not so damp I
should find much interest in this place, which is quite unique. Mass
brings the household together every morning at ten o'clock; we do not
lunch until eleven o'clock, and have then half an hour for walking in
the moats, which are dry and have been turned into gardens by the care
of the Duchesse; she also took us for a walk around her kitchen garden
and the whole of her strange household. After lunch we worked round a
table at an altar-cloth, while the prior read his newspapers aloud. At
one o'clock we went to visit the fine hospital and the schools founded
by the Duchesse; everything is perfectly arranged, and much better
cared for than the castle. There are six beds for men and six for
women, a kind of boarding-school for twelve girls, and classes for
day scholars and the poor, together with a large dispensary. This is
all in one place, with the necessary outbuildings. Eight sisters do
the work of the establishment, which is really very fine. The Duchesse
then made us get into an old carriage with worm-eaten lining, but
drawn by four handsome horses, driven very cleverly four-in-hand by
one of the coachmen of Charles X. With Madame de Montmorency
everything is in contrast. She inherited her taste for horses from her
mother, and indulges herself in that respect; she has no taste for
carriages, and does not care if the one makes the other look shabby.
Thus drawn over shocking roads, we reached a magnificent forest of
full-grown timber, where the fine trees are only cut every hundred
years. It is really beautiful. In the centre of this forest, where six
roads meet, is a vast clearing; there the Duchesse has built a china
factory, with all the necessary outbuildings, which is almost a
village. She has spent a great deal of money on it, and admits herself
that it is not a lucrative investment, but it gives occupation to
sixty-eight people, is a reason for a pretty walk, and an additional
interest for herself. I made a few purchases, and Pauline was
interested in seeing the pottery moulded, fired, painted, and
enamelled.
After dinner one of the local clergy called while we spent our time in
embroidery, as after lunch, and talked of matters of local interest.
Then came prayers, good-night, and sleep.
_Bonnétable, September 19, 1838._--Yesterday it rained all day. No one
went out except the clergy, who were going to a retreat at Mans, and
stopped here to pay their respects to the Duchesse. The sisters also
came in for their orders. The Duchesse is in very good spirits. She
has the gift of narrative, and kept the conversation going very well
throughout a long day, without the smallest appearance of ill-nature.
When I went down to my room she lent me a manuscript book of her
thoughts. She writes wonderfully, and her writing displays a wealth
and variety of astonishing description. The outpourings of her heart
since her husband's death are especially touching, and display a
tenderness of feeling which would hardly be guessed from her outward