Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
for this country. There are many pretty dancers, the theatre is
beautiful and the orchestra excellent. I have been unable to judge of
the singers, as I did not go till the opera was over.
At the Werthers' I found a rout going on, which was much like all
other parties of the kind. The women were well dressed, but not
pretty, the social intercourse somewhat cold, while the men in the
service wore their uniforms, which gave them a stiff appearance.
The King's condition gave less satisfaction yesterday; he had had a
fainting fit after expressing a wish to eat herrings, which was
speedily satisfied. However, the Princes went to the theatre. The
doctors persist in saying that his state is not desperate. This is the
opinion, among others, of a certain Dr. Schönlein, who has been
appointed professor at the university here; he comes from Zürich with
a very great reputation, and the King has been induced to see him in
consultation. Princess Frederick of the Low Countries is expected. She
is her father's favourite, and he is as anxious to see her as he is
afraid of the Russian visits. Princess William, the King's
sister-in-law, whose eldest daughter is married to Darmstadt, told me
that the Hereditary Grand Duke of Russia is deeply in love with
Princess Marie, his future bride, and she is beginning to feel the
same towards him.
I was to have dined to-day with the Crown Prince, but as the King had
had another fainting fit the High Marshal came to tell me that the
dinner would not take place. The King's precarious condition causes
much anxiety to some people who are fond of him, and to others who
respect him for political considerations. No one, not even the heir,
was prepared for this crisis, and to their sadness is added perplexity
and hesitation.
Yesterday morning I went for a drive in the Tiergarten, the Bois de
Boulogne of Berlin, and saw the spot where I had been daily taken for
a walk in my youth. It is a very pretty wood on the edge of the town,
well planted, partly in English style, bounded by the Spree, and full
of pretty country houses. It is a very popular resort at Berlin.
I dined with Lord William Russell, where I heard that there was some
small excitement in the Ministry at London, though nothing was likely
to come of it. The present Cabinet is as used to defeats as
Mithridates to poison.
This morning Herr von Humboldt came to fetch us, and took his niece,
Frau von Bülow, and myself to the Museum. He had told all the
directors, professors, and artists to be ready. I therefore saw
everything in the greatest detail. The building is fine and well
arranged, the classification perfect and intelligent, and the light
well managed. The King has acquired some excellent examples of every
style of art; an ancient bust of Julius Cæsar in greenish basalt is
one of the most beautiful things I know. The Museum is very rich in
pictures of the ancient German school; the Etruscan vases are quite
first-rate; the fifteenth-century china is very curious; the intaglios
and the medals are in perfect order and tastefully set out. The
officials, who are clever and full of artistic erudition, did me the
honours with great courtesy. I replied by asking many questions, and
was attentive to the answers; but the visit lasted for three hours,
and I was standing all the time, and eventually I nearly collapsed.
I then went to a great dinner with M. Bresson. As I was starting for
it the Prince of Wittgenstein arrived; he had been requested by the
King and the Princess of Liegnitz to express to me in the kindest
terms their regret at their inability to see me. The King was not
quite so ill, and had been able to see Princess Frederick of the Low
Countries, his favourite daughter, for whom he had telegraphed, and
who had hastened to come to him. The Prince of Wittgenstein was most
obliging; he is a stout personage, and is greatly downcast at the
moment and heart-broken at the King's danger. He has a very kindly
feeling for France, and is very friendly with Princess William, the
king's daughter-in-law, who overwhelms me with kindness.
At M. Bresson's dinner Herr von Humboldt, as usual, relieved every one
else of the trouble of talking, which is very convenient for lazy
persons like myself.
_Berlin, May 31, 1840._--To-day is an important day in the history of
the country, and one of which the King awaits the issue with
impatience. The Great Elector ascended the throne on May 31, 1640,
Frederick the Great on May 31, 1740, and I am assured of the existence
of a prophecy that the Crown Prince will ascend the throne on May 31,
1840.
I went to mass in a church which is hardly a church: it is a great
round hall, covered with a single cupola, surrounded with columns,
with a large window between each column. Nothing could be less solemn
and less Catholic.
I dined with Prince Radziwill, who took me up after dinner to the
rooms of his late mother, where I had been a great deal in my youth.
They are no longer used, and are just as I had known them. Nobody
could be kinder than all the Radziwills have been to me. The daughter
of the late Princess married the nephew of Prince Adam Czartoryski.
She is now in the country. The two Radziwill Princes married two
sisters, the daughters of Prince Clary. They all had plenty of
children, and live as a very happy family in the same house.
I had gone home after the dinner, when I received a message from
Princess William, the King's daughter-in-law, asking me to pay her a
visit. I found her alone, and she kept me talking for an hour. The
latest news of the King was very sad. He told his chief groom of the
chamber that he had no hope of recovery, but would not speak of his
death for fear of affecting those about him. He is said to have
insisted upon being carried to-morrow to the window of his room, at
the moment of the solemn function which has been largely advertised,
and the preparations for which he has supervised from his bed. The
Crown Prince, in the King's name, is to lay the first stone of a
monument in honour of Frederick II. at the entry of the promenade
Unter den Linden. The whole garrison, all the state bodies, and all
Berlin, are to be present at this ceremony. Stands have been erected
for the public. My son and myself are to find a place on the balcony
of Princess William, where the Princesses will be.
Yesterday evening at the house of the Prince of Wittgenstein, where I
went, was Madame de Krüdener, _née_ Lerchenfeld, natural daughter of
the Count Lerchenfeld and of the Princess of Thurn and Taxis. At St.
Petersburg she was at first a favourite of the Empress, but was
afterwards somewhat discarded because the Emperor appeared to be
taken with her. She strongly resembles the late Queen of Prussia,
which may be explained by her birth, but she has not her majestic
bearing; she is, however, a handsome woman.
I hear from Paris that there is an attempt to gather the household of
the Emperor Napoleon for a mission to fetch his remains from St.
Helena. Marchand, his groom of the chamber, was asked if he wished to
accompany the mission; at first he hesitated, and then accepted on the
condition that he should be allowed to sit at the table of the Prince
de Joinville; to satisfy him he has been appointed captain on the
staff of the National Guard, and he is to go, and will sit at the
Prince's table! I abstain from comment.
_Berlin, June 1, 1840._--I have just returned from the ceremony, which
was really most beautiful and imposing. The thought of the King's
dangerous condition, which every one had at heart, gave a singularly
touching and solemn aspect to this national celebration, the last at
which the poor King could be present. And in what manner was he
present? In bed at his window! Fortunately the weather was less
disagreeable than it has lately been. The Crown Prince laid the first
stone of the monument which is to support the equestrian statue of
Frederick the Great. Is it not strange that there is no statue of him
as yet in Berlin? Yesterday was the anniversary of his accession a
hundred years ago; but as it was a Sunday the celebration was
postponed till to-day. Each regiment in the army was represented by a
detachment. The army is really superb, and splendidly equipped.
Besides the state bodies, the authorities, the Consistory, a
detachment of the Landwehr, deputations from the guilds of arts and
crafts, with their bands, surrounded the square, which is magnificent
and was most beautifully decorated. Around the monument could be seen
all those who had served under Frederick II., dressed as they were at
that time, and carrying the flags captured during the Seven Years'
War. The King himself had considered every detail of this fine
ceremony, and had given the most positive orders to forbid any
manifestation of applause for himself; but the silent and profound
respect, the perfect order and the sadness of the spectators was
sufficiently striking and touching. When the foundation-stone was
lowered, salvos were fired, bells rang, drums beat, and the old
tattered flags were lowered; at that moment most of the spectators
burst into tears. Nothing of the sort could be looked for in a
republican atmosphere or in our revolutionary regions.
On the balcony where I was placed I saw Prince Frederick of the Low
Countries, who introduced me to his wife. She was overcome with grief;
she is not pretty, but looks kind and natural. The young Hereditary
Grand Duke of Russia, who arrived this morning, was present; the Crown
Prince of Prussia introduced me to him. He is said to have grown very
fat. I expected to see a very insignificant young man, but he is quite
the contrary, although I do not care about his complexion.
_Berlin, June 2, 1840._--Yesterday evening I went to tea with Madame
de Perponcher, whose _salon_ is, in my opinion, the pleasantest in
Berlin. She is very conversational and well-mannered, while she is
simple and restrained. She is a central point of society, and her
mother's position with the Crown Princess has helped her largely.
There I heard that no change has taken place in the King's condition,
though something of the kind had been feared owing to the excitement
of the day.
The suite of the Hereditary Grand Duke of Russia are staying at the
same hotel as myself, at the King's expense. They make a fearful
uproar, and consume the more food as their board costs them nothing.
It is impossible to say how the Russians are detested here.
_Berlin, June 3, 1840._--Yesterday I was at a great dinner given by
the Werthers. The King was said to be better; he had had some sleep,
and felt the moral relief of passing the fatal date. During the dinner
I received a message from the young Princess William asking me to call
upon her after dinner in outdoor dress. I went, and we drove out. She
took me to Charlottenburg, which she showed me in full detail, and
especially the country house which the King has had built there, where
he prefers to stay.
I was glad to see the portraits of the Duc d'Orléans and the Duc de
Nemours which were drawn here at the time when they passed through
Berlin. The King bought them for his private room. When we came back
the Princess made me stay to tea, and I spent all the time alone with
her.
This morning when I was finishing breakfast M. Bresson came to tell us
that the King was _in extremis_. In the afternoon I stopped before his
palace; he was still alive, and had even recovered sufficient
consciousness to demand the reading of the newspapers. There is a
crowd about the palace; many people are in tears, and the behaviour of
the population is perfect.
_Berlin, June 4, 1840._--Yesterday I dined at the house of M. Bresson
with Princess Pückler, who is starting for Muskau to meet her husband.