Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
He is returning from Vienna after an absence of six years; she speaks
of him with admiration. She is a little old woman of wit,
intelligence, and tact, and has gained considerable reputation in
different circles.
Only yesterday was the publication begun of bulletins upon the King's
health; he might be dead at the present moment. Hitherto he had
forbidden any announcements; I do not think he knew anything of it
yesterday. He has preserved his consciousness, and is quite calm,
simple, and dignified.
* * * * *
Since last night the King has been in a kind of agony, from which he
sometimes gains relief by a few drops of coffee. He can still speak a
little, and says not a word about his condition, though he realises
its gravity to the full. The whole family, even the grandchildren, are
at the palace, and the Ministers also. The crowd still throngs the
square and shows the same interest.
_Berlin, June 5, 1840._--The King was still alive yesterday at eight
o'clock in the evening. He had said farewell to his children and
solemnly handed his will to his Ministers; he then declared that he
had done with this world and wished to see no one except the Princess
of Liegnitz and the pastor for whom he sent, intending to devote his
remaining time to securing his peace of mind and in considering the
life to come.
_Berlin, June 6, 1840._--Herr von Humboldt has just left me. The King
was very feverish last night; he can hardly speak, and seems to have
lost all interest. What a long struggle for a man of seventy! All the
Mecklenburg family has arrived. The appearance of the Duke of
Cumberland has caused some consternation, and the Emperor Nicholas
will be here to-morrow in spite of every attempt to prevent his
arrival. There is an obvious intention to surround the new Sovereign
from the moment of his accession, and this may damage his public
reputation, for the people are apprehensive, and do not hide their
fears. It is an interesting time for spectators, and I am perhaps
watching the sowing of seed which will produce great consequences.
At the same time I wished to fulfil my promise of going to see Frau
von Bülow at Tegel, which is three leagues from Berlin. At first I
found the wind very unpleasant, but when we entered a forest which
began half-way I was pleasantly sheltered, and the scent of the
pine-trees was delightful. On leaving the pine-trees we reached a
superb lake, the shores of which were wooded with trees in leaf--an
unusual sight here.
At one end of the lake is the fortress of Spandau, at the other the
park, the castle of Tegel, and the monument raised by the late Herr
Wilhelm von Humboldt to his wife. It is very pretty. The castle is by
no means extraordinary, but contains some fine artistic works brought
from Italy, and a good portrait of Alexander von Humboldt by Gérard.
The monument is a column of porphyry upon a granite base, and the
capital is in white marble. The column supports a white marble statue
of Hope by Thorwaldsen, and is surrounded half by an iron railing and
half by a great stone bench. All is in excellent taste, and the only
point which displeased me was that Frau von Humboldt, her husband, her
eldest son, and one of the children of Frau von Bülow are really
buried at the foot of this column. I cannot bear graves in gardens;
my belief requires a common cemetery or vault in a church or
chapel--in short, a spot consecrated to prayer and reflection, and
undisturbed by worldly tumult.
I drove round the lake, and then took the road back to Berlin. At the
gates of the town I met Lord William Russell, who told me that the
King was at his last gasp, and that orders had been given to close the
theatres. My son, whom I found at our hotel on the point of coming in,
gave me the same news. He had just been watching the operation for
curing squinting, and was full of admiration for Dieffenbach, his
dexterity, and the result of the operation. Of the two patients, both
young girls, one did not say a word, and the other cried a great deal.
The mere demonstration would have made me want to scream. The whole
operation lasts from seventy to eighty seconds. The operator is helped
by three pupils; one raises the upper eyelid, the second depresses the
lower lid, and the third wipes away the blood between the two
incisions. The first incision divides the lower part of the white of
the eye; then with a little hook Dieffenbach draws forward the muscle
covered by that part, cuts it through, and the operation is over. This
muscle, in the case of people who squint, is too short, and brings the
eye too close to the nose. As soon as it is cut through the pupil goes
to its proper place.
_Berlin, June 7, 1840._--Yesterday evening the King had reached the
end, the death-rattle set in, and there was that motion of the hands,
mechanical but terribly symptomatic, which common people call "picking
things up to pack." He was unable to speak, and seemed to have lost
consciousness.
I am extremely guarded here in discussing either politics or religion;
I hear a great deal, and listen with interest to anything I am told
about the state of this country, but I am not imprudent in my answers.
Prudence here is easier than in France, where it is almost impossible
not to be overcome by the contagion.
I have just been told that the Emperor Nicholas has arrived; I do not
think he will see the King, from whose room all are excluded, though
he is still alive.
_Berlin, June 8, 1840._--The King died yesterday at twenty-two minutes
past three in the afternoon, surrounded by all his family, whose hands
he clasped without speaking. He died in the arms of the Princess of
Liegnitz, for whom the royal family and the public are showing the
greatest respect. She has perfectly fulfilled her duty. The Prince
Royal fell fainting at the moment when the King expired. Grief is
general and widespread. The Emperor Nicholas is said to have lamented
loudly; he arrived from Warsaw in thirty-seven hours, accompanied only
by General Benkendorff.
Yesterday evening the troops took the oath to the new Sovereign. The
Government has issued a proclamation everywhere of the death, which is
touching, simple, and perfectly correct.
I have been to Frau von Schweinitz to hear news of Princess William,
who takes the title of Princess of Prussia, as her husband is
heir-presumptive, though he is not Crown Prince, since he is the
brother, not the eldest son, of the new King. The will had been
opened. The late King has ordered a military funeral; his body will be
placed in the cathedral by day, and, in accordance with his wishes,
taken to Charlottenburg by night, to be placed in the same vault with
the late Queen, his wife. I have just visited this monument in the
park of Charlottenburg, yesterday afternoon. It is enclosed in a
temple in ancient style at the end of a long walk of pines and
cypress-trees; within the temple, between two candelabras beautifully
carved in white marble, is to be seen, upon a raised platform, a bed
of white marble, upon which the Queen's statue is gracefully and
simply recumbent, wrapped in a long robe with open sleeves. The bare
arms are crossed over the breast, the neck is bare, and the head wears
only the royal circlet. It is a masterpiece, especially for the
drapery, which is remarkably true to nature, and the best work of
Rauch, the Prussian sculptor, whom the late Queen had educated at
Rome. The general effect is beautiful, but too mythological; the
religious touch which death imperiously claims is wanting.
The King will lie in state to-morrow and the day after in military
dress. The body will not be embalmed, and will be interred on
Thursday, in accordance with his orders. He also ordered the pastor to
pray at his bedside immediately after his death and aloud in the
middle of his family, exhorting them to peace and concord. This was
done, and it is to be hoped that his prayer will be heard, though
there is no immediate appearance that any one heeds it. The immediate
withdrawal of the Prince of Wittgenstein and of Herr von Lottum was
expected, but the new King begged them not to leave him, at any rate
at first. The public is glad to see the father's old servants thus
retained by the son, and the more so as their relations with the
Prince Royal were not entirely agreeable and an earlier change was
expected. It is to be hoped that there will be no change at all. Such
is the summary of a conversation on my part with M. Bresson and Lord
William Russell; after which I went to see the collection of pictures
belonging to Count Raczynski, the best private collection in Berlin. A
large cartoon by a pupil of Cornelius of Munich, representing one of
the great battles of Attila, is the best thing there. Tradition
relates that the battle was continued in the sky, and that those who
perished go on fighting, like shadows in the clouds, at certain times
of the year; the two battles are to be seen in the cartoon. The design
is admirable and well executed. The rest of the collection did not
greatly attract me.
Madame de Lieven writes from Paris: "We have had a curious week here:
the Ministry was defeated in the Chamber upon the law for the funeral
of Napoleon, and attempted revenge by sowing discord between the
Chamber and the country; after more mature reflection, and after the
proposed subscription had been a partial failure, the matter was
dropped, and the letter of Odillon Barrot concluded it.
"The Duc d'Orléans, in Africa, has had a fresh attack of dysentery,
which was very dangerous for twenty-four hours."
Now an extract from a letter from the Duc de Noailles:
"Notwithstanding the complete fiasco concerning the Imperial remains,
Thiers retains his strength, and will become complete master. The
proposal of Remilly,[103] which was in sight, will not come up for
discussion this year. There will be no dissolution between the two
sessions; after next session dissolution is certain; the new Chamber
will be moderately, but certainly more Left. Thiers is determined
neither to urge on nor to check progress in this direction; to guide
the movement, but to follow it, as he thinks that strength and the
majority are there to be found. He hopes to be able to restrain the
Left, but in case of failure he has determined rather to obey it than
to resign. So we are definitely embarked upon this path, and this is
the great event of the winter; the consequences, but not the rapidity,
of the movement can be calculated."
[103] After the vote upon the secret service funds in March 1840
one of the Deputies, M. Remilly, attempted to embarrass the
Ministry by a proposal for Parliamentary reform, providing that
Deputies should not be promoted to salaried posts or secure
promotion for their Parliamentary life in the following year.
_Berlin, June 9, 1840._--Yesterday after dinner I called upon the
Countess of Reede, the chief lady of the new Queen's Court. There I
saw the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, brother of the
late Queen and of the late Princess of Thurn and Taxis, a great friend
of M. de Talleyrand. He spoke of my uncle in the warmest terms, which
touched me deeply, saying that he had experienced much kindness from
him under the Empire. I was there informed that, besides the King's
will properly so called, which dates from 1827, and of which I know
nothing, there is a codicil containing arrangements for the funeral,
and in such detail that the position of the troops in the streets is
pointed out. A letter to his successor has also been found, which is
said to be full of the wisest counsel; while encouraging his son to
avoid innovations of every kind without due consideration, the King
also advises him to avoid any retrogressive step out of harmony with