Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
openings that have hitherto appeared Henri de Castellane would offer
the best chance of domestic happiness, by reason of his personal
merits. Both of them say that Pauline ought to choose for herself,
after due examination. Examination requires acquaintanceship; to
become acquainted they must see one another; and to see one another
they must meet. And so I have reached a new phase in my life, when I
am obliged to give a young man the run of my house in order to see
what he is worth. I have known M. de Castellane personally for many
years, but I have lost sight of him for a long time; besides, he is
going to marry Pauline, and not me. He is clever and well-educated,
hard-working, and, I think, ambitious. He is very correct and polite,
lives a retired life, and goes only into the best society; he is a
good son and a good brother, has an excellent name, but no title at
present, and no prospect; has few family ties, and wishes to live in
the same house as myself at Paris, though with a separate
establishment. He is respectful to his mother, but not on confidential
terms with her; wishes to have a religious wife, though he does not
practise the forms of religion himself. He is to have twenty thousand
francs income when he marries, and thirty thousand more from his
grandmother. He has a childless uncle who is worth forty-two millions.
For the moment the uncle will not give or promise or guarantee
anything, but he is very anxious for the marriage, and as he is
eccentricity personified he may come down handsomely some day. The
Abbé Dupanloup advises me to speak to Pauline on the subject without
any constraint, and also to tell her of other proposals made for her
hand. She does not like Jules de Clermont-Tonnerre, and thinks he
looks vulgar; the Duc de Saulx-Tavannes horrifies her--as a matter of
fact he has the figure of an elephant, while there is madness in the
family on both sides. The Duc de Guiche is not yet nineteen years of
age, has no property whatever, a number of brothers and sisters, a
rather foolish mother, while his family are always in extremities. The
Marquis de Biron is very rich and a good fellow; he is a childless
widower, but extremely stupid, and a red-hot Carlist. Pauline has
recently seen M. de Castellane on two occasions, and likes him
greatly; but she says she would like to know more of him, to make
certain of his principles and belief. I tell her that there is no
hurry, that she can very well wait, and that in any case I shall not
consent to any marriage taking place until our business affairs have
been wound up, the will declared, and the anniversary of the 17th of
May over. This is understood, though the parties would like a promise
to be given before that date, without celebrating the marriage. I can
also understand that they would like to make certain of Pauline, but I
do not propose to have our throats cut in that way. Madame Adélaïde,
who is much afraid that Pauline's marriage might prevent her from
going to the Tuileries, is a warm supporter of M. de Castellane. She
let me know that M. de Talleyrand, to her knowledge, had thought of
him. This is true, but he was more inclined to M. de Mérode, though
family arrangements made the proposal impossible; besides, Pauline
likes M. de Castellane much better than M. de Mérode. Another who has
been mentioned to me is Elie de Gontaut, the younger brother of the
Marquis of Saint-Blancard, but he is a young fop, and, though rich,
his position as younger brother is very pronounced, and that would not
please Pauline. In short, there is a perfect crowd of suitors, and I
do not know to whom I should listen. One point is certain, and I shall
make it perfectly clear: that Pauline herself will have to make the
choice.[100]
[100] Mlle. Pauline de Périgord did in fact marry M. de
Castellane, on April 11, 1839. He then assumed the title of
Marquis from his grandfather, who had just died. His father,
General de Castellane, afterwards Marshal of France, yielded the
title to him on the occasion of his marriage and never bore it
himself. From his grandmother, who brought him up, the old
Marchioness de Castellane, _née_ Rohan-Chabot, whose first
husband, the Duc de la Rochefoucauld, had left her a large
fortune, M. de Castellane received as a wedding-gift the property
of Aubijou, in Auvergne, in the department of Cantal, which will
often be mentioned in these memoirs.
CHAPTER IV
1840
The Duchesse de Sagan, eldest sister of the Duchesse de Talleyrand,
had died in the winter of 1840. A number of business difficulties were
involved by the disposal of her property, and the Duchesse de
Talleyrand resolved upon a journey to Prussia, which she had not
visited since her marriage. She was accompanied by her eldest son, M.
de Valençay, while her correspondent, M. de Bacourt, who had been
appointed French Minister to the United States, went to take up his
new post at Washington, where he remained for several years.
_Amiens, May 16, 1840._--I cannot say with what fear I think of my
departure from Paris this morning and of the real trials upon which we
are to enter. I am now on the way to Germany, while you are starting
for America.[101] But to return to my journey of to-day: the roads are
heavy, the postillions brought us along rather badly, and we did not
arrive here until nine o'clock in the evening. I have read a good deal
of the life of Cardinal Ximenes. It is a sober and a serious book,
correctly written, but cold, and progress in it is difficult. I do
not, however, regret my trouble with it, for I know but little of this
great character, and he is worth studying.
[101] Extract from a letter to M. de Bacourt.
The country is beautifully green and fresh, with bushy vegetation. We
had pleasant weather, in spite of a few showers, but twenty times I
told myself that travelling was the most foolish of all professions;
to be carried along these interminable roads, bumped upon their rough
surface, delivered to the tender mercies of postillions, fleeing from
all one loves, going as rapidly as possible towards things and people
who are quite uninteresting; thus spending one's life as though it
were eternal, and only realising its shortness when it is at an end.
_Lille, May 17, 1840._--This morning before leaving Amiens we heard
mass in the fine cathedral. The 17th of May is a date of special
import to myself. I gave myself some credit for going to mass so far
from the house of the rector of the Academy, M. Martin, with whom we
put up; then it was raining hard, and the Picard streets are very
dirty and the pavement detestable.
The cathedral is really magnificent; strength, grace, and boldness are
combined; stained-glass windows alone are wanting, as the light is too
bright. I prayed with all my heart for the dead and for the living,
and for the travellers who are to entrust themselves to the sea or
traverse unknown lands.
On the road from Amiens to this town I read the _Diable boiteux_, the
merits of which do not attract me in the least. The stories are too
monotonous and uninteresting, and the constant tone of mockery and
satire, which is not supported by the fine verse of Boileau, quite
disgusted me. However, I have read it, and am glad it is over. I now
know the nature of this book, which has had a certain reputation.
We had a better journey than yesterday. Our servants have gone to the
office to arrange for to-morrow's journey, which will be complicated
by the Belgian railways. After the mediocrity of Amiens and Arras,
where I had some broth this morning, Lille strikes one as a large if
not a great town, but I must admit that at present my travelling
curiosity is benumbed and my interest remarkably dull.
_Liège, May 18, 1840._--We have been fourteen mortal hours on the
journey from Lille to this town, notwithstanding the help of the
railway. The fact is that to make use of the railway it is necessary
to make a round of twenty leagues, which considerably diminishes the
advantage of it. From Courtrai one must go up to Gand, touch Malines,
and then to Liège by Louvain and Tirlemont. A vast amount of time is
wasted in stoppages at the numerous stations. Moreover, if one takes
one's own carriage time is required to put it on a truck and take it
off again, while the expense for the freight of carriages is so heavy
that nothing is saved by the railway. It is certainly a marvellous
invention, and the machinery is interesting. All is worked with
perfect punctuality and order, but at the same time it is an
unpleasant way of travelling, to my taste. There is no time to see
anything; for instance, we passed along the outer walls of several
towns which I should have liked to examine; we did not even pass
through villages, but went straight across country, with no other
event than occasional tunnels, cold and damp, in which the smoke of
the engine becomes thick enough to choke one. Even though the wind
carries away the smoke, it and the rattling of the engine would make
you imagine yourself upon a steamboat. Imagination was the easier in
my case as sickness and a certain stupefaction never left me. In
short, I arrived worn out and more and more displeased with the
fatigues and weariness of my enterprise. At Menin we were told to get
out in a bitter wind to be searched by the Custom House officials;
only when the examination was half over did they ask for our
passports; upon seeing our rank the Inspector of Customs checked the
ardour of his subordinates and allowed us to go. The fortress of Menin
is most carefully kept, and as clean and well restored as it can be;
and yet, if I am not wrong, I think that our protocols had required
its destruction.
I was struck with great admiration for the wealth and the good
cultivation of all Belgium, and if I had been able to satisfy my taste
for old buildings by visiting Ghent, Malines, and other places I
should have been consoled.
_Bergheim, May 19, 1840._--To travel from Liège to Cologne would have
been too long a day, so we are sleeping here in a very clean little
inn, though we have no means of warming ourselves, in spite of the
fact that the wind is icy. It is something of a hardship to be forced
to go without a fire or to be suffocated by a cast-iron stove. I am
undoubtedly a very ungrateful daughter of Germany, as I find
numberless material discomforts which I did not suspect in past years,
but which now cause me considerable exasperation.
I was greatly struck by the delightful country through which we passed
on the road from Liège to Aix-la-Chapelle by way of Verviers.
Chaudfontaine especially is a charming spot. The direct road would
have been through Battice, but this road is out of use and repair, and
we were directed from Liège to Verviers. The richness and beauty of
the countryside, the activity of the factories, and the river valleys
made the scene entirely animated and agreeable.
I was struck by the changed appearance of Aix-la-Chapelle. Although
the watering season had not yet commenced, the town was as animated as
possible; there are plenty of fine shops and new houses. At the same
time I should not care to take the waters there, as there is nothing
countrified about the place, and the walks are all too distant. To-day
I read a large part of a book by the Président de Brosses, _Italy a
Hundred Years Ago_. It is written with vigour and cheerfulness, wit
and fancy, but the spirit of the eighteenth century and the writer's
peculiar cynicism are obvious at every page.
_Cologne, May 20, 1840._--We have reached here so early that we have
decided to travel another dozen leagues to-day, after seeing Frau von
Binzer, changing our money, and buying some eau de Cologne. How cold
it is here! The change of climate becomes more and more perceptible.