Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
the spirit of the age. It is said that this letter will be published.
When I returned home Herr von Humboldt came to see me, and kept me up
while he told me many stories which were doubtless curious, and would
have interested me were it not for his overpoweringly monotonous
manner. In any case, he is very well informed of all that goes on
here, and clever at ferreting out new information.
The Russian and the other Courts are starting on Wednesday, the day
after the King's funeral. I think that the King and Queen will be glad
to breathe a little freely.
_Berlin, June 10, 1840._--Yesterday the director of the Museum came to
fetch me, and took me, with my son, to the studio of Rauch, a very
clever sculptor and a very pleasant man. He showed us several statues
intended for the Walhalla of Bavaria; the model of the statue of
Frederick II., the first stone of which I had seen laid; and a Danae
for St. Petersburg; then a little statue, half natural size, of a
young girl fully dressed and holding a little lamb in her arms, which
was very pretty, and I liked it greatly. Before we went home I was
taken to see the Egyptian Museum, which is in a building apart.
Although the collection is said to be admirable, I could feel no
pleasure in looking at the hideous colossi and the numerous mummies.
When I returned home I had a call from Prince Radziwill, who came from
the Castle, where, with the chief officers of the garrison, he had
been passing in parade before the lying-in-state of the late King. The
King was laid out with his face uncovered, wrapped in his military
cloak, with his little cap on his head, as he had ordered in his
codicil.
The King has bequeathed a hundred thousand Prussian crowns, or three
hundred and fifty-five thousand francs, to the town of Berlin, and
other sums to Königsberg, Breslau, and Potsdam, as being the four
towns of his kingdom in which he has resided. He has bequeathed the
little palace in which he lived as Crown Prince, which he would not
leave as King, and in which he died, to his grandson, the son of
Prince William, who will probably be King one day. The Princess of
Leignitz retains the palace by the side of it, in which she was
living, the domain of Erdmansdorff, in Silesia, and an income of forty
thousand crowns, to be paid by the State. It seems that the King had
left from fourteen to twenty million crowns in his private chest. He
has ordered that each soldier present at his funeral shall receive a
crown, and each non-commissioned officer two crowns. He has also
ordered that his body shall be followed, not only by all the clergy of
Berlin, but by all those of the neighbourhood; they are coming in from
Stettin, Magdeburg, and every part of the kingdom.
M. Bresson was much depressed by the King's death, but has recovered
his spirits on seeing that the Prince of Wittgenstein is to be
retained at Court, at any rate for the moment. The new King is
treating his father's old servant most admirably.
A strange incident which has caused much displeasure was the sight of
the Russian officers in the suite of the Emperor Nicholas on duty
before the body of the late King together with the Prussian officers.
The Emperor issued the request, and the authorities did not venture to
refuse, but some ill-feeling has been shown, and the very scanty
liking for Russia has been further diminished.
_Berlin, June 11, 1840._--I spent the whole of yesterday paying
farewell calls, and when I was calling upon Frau von Schweinitz, the
Princess of Prussia sent for me. With her I found the Prince of
Prussia, and both were very kind to me.
The King informed me through the Countess of Reede that he hoped to
see me later, on my return, at Sans Souci. He has ordered the Chief
Marshal to find me a good place for this morning's ceremony. The
Emperor of Russia is starting this evening for Weimar and Frankfort,
where he wishes to see his future daughter-in-law.
This morning I went to the ceremony, and just as I was starting out
the King sent word telling me to go through the Castle, and the
Princess of Prussia sent me her liveried servants to secure me a
place. I thus reached the church by way of the royal apartments. I was
in a stand opposite the Princess of Leignitz, who was well enough to
be present at the ceremony; she was heavily veiled, like all the
ladies, and I could not distinguish her features. The church was not
draped, which gave it too bright an appearance, and the sombre nature
of the ceremony suffered in consequence. The organ, the singing, and
the sermon by the pastor, the great emotion of the old servants and
children of the deceased, the terrible salvos of cannon, and the
beautiful tolling of all the bells were imposing. Before withdrawing
the new King offered a prayer of considerable length in a low voice on
his knees by the coffin. The whole family followed his example, after
which the King embraced all his brothers, his wife, his sisters,
nephews, and uncles--in short, the whole of his family. The Emperor of
Russia, who has a fine but terrible face, did the same. There was thus
a great deal of embracing for a church. My own opinion is that in the
house of God one should be occupied only with worship; but between a
Protestant temple and the Church the difference is considerable.
The King of Hanover, who arrived an hour before the ceremony, was
present. He is old, and though he looks somewhat uncivilised he
appeared to me like an old lamb by the side of a young tiger when I
compared him with the Emperor of Russia.
I propose to start to-morrow for Silesia.
_Crossen, June 12, 1840._--I left Berlin this morning at half-past
seven in mild and cloudy weather. Thanks to the excellent roads, the
good horses, and the capital post service, we accomplished thirty-six
leagues in thirteen hours and a half, which is satisfactory travelling
in any country. As far as Frankfort-on-the-Oder, which we crossed in
the middle of the day, the country is chiefly remarkable for its
dismal and barren character. When the valley of the Oder is reached
the country becomes less flat and more smiling. Frankfort is a large
town of thirty-two thousand souls, for whom excitement is provided by
three large fairs during the year; but apart from those times it is
very empty. There is nothing attractive about the town. Crossen, where
I am at this moment, which is also on the Oder, is not so large a
town, but more pleasantly situated. I am now only a few hours from my
own property, and shall arrive there in good time to-morrow.
_Günthersdorf, June 13, 1840._--I am now upon my own estates. It is a
strange impression to find a home of one's own at so vast a distance
from the spot where one's life is usually passed, and also to find
this home as clean and well ordered, though all is quite simple, as if
one always lived there.
This morning when I started from Crossen it was raining, and the rain
continued as far as Grünberg, a large fortress, where I found Herr and
Frau von Wurmb, who had come to meet me. Frau von Wurmb is the
daughter of a state councillor in the Prussian service, Herr von
Göcking, to whom the late King had entrusted me during my period of
wardship. She married a Westphalian gentleman, Herr von Wurmb, who had
formerly served in the Prussian armies, until his delicate health
obliged him to resign. For many years he has lived in Wartenberg, a
little town which belongs to me. There, at first under the direction
of Hennenberg, and since his death alone, he has supervised my
estates, forests, &c. Frau von Wurmb, as my guardian's daughter, was a
constant companion of my youth. She was very well brought up. People
of good society in Germany do not object to conducting the business of
those whom they regard as great lords; for instance, the cousin of
Baron Gersdorff, the Saxon Minister at London, manages my sisters'
money.
Herr and Frau von Wurmb preceded me here. The last few leagues
traverse sand and pine forests, but at the entrance to a small hamlet,
which does not deserve the name of village, is a pleasant avenue which
leads to a planted court, in the middle of which is a large house;
fine trees hide the outbuildings, which are not an agreeable sight. At
the back of the house is a pleasant view: a garden very well planted
and kept up, full of flowers, many of them rare; the garden is
cleverly joined to a field, at the end of which is a very pretty wood.
A streams runs through the garden and keeps it fresh. The house is of
double depth: it is a long rectangle, with thirteen windows in front;
it is spoilt by its enormous roof, a necessary protection against the
long-lasting snow in winter, and also by the yellow orange colour with
which the bricks have been painted. The interior is not bad. In the
middle is a vaulted hall, with a staircase in the background; to the
right of the hall, is a large room with three windows, and further on
a little library with two windows opening upon a very pretty
greenhouse, which is connected with the orangery; there I have fifty
orange-trees of moderate size. On the left of the hall is my bedroom,
a large dressing-room, wardrobes, bathroom, and the maid's room. These
rooms are doubled in the following way: behind the library is a room
containing the rooms opening from the dining-room; behind the
drawing-room is the dining-room; while behind my own room and the
adjoining ones are the servants' rooms, a bedroom, and a large
dressing-room. On the first floor are four gentlemen's rooms, with
cupboards, of which only two are furnished, and a large billiard-room.
In the attics are six servants' rooms, a store-room, and a
lumber-room. The living rooms and my own look southwards, and so do
not get the view of the garden; but I prefer to have the sun, even if
I must look upon the courtyard, especially in a house which has no
cellar; there is, however, no trace of dampness. The ground floor is
very prettily furnished, and the floors are inlaid with all kinds of
wood, and are surprisingly pretty considering that they were done
here. On the first floor there is only the room now occupied by M. de
Valençay, which is furnished, and that somewhat scantily. In fact, the
house contains only what is absolutely necessary, and I am glad that I
brought some plate; Herr von Wurmb is lending me many things. However,
we shall do, and I feel better here than I have done for a long time,
because here I have at least silence and rest about me. This is the
heart of the country; I do not regret it, and feel a certain pleasure
in the noise of the cows and the bustle of haymaking, which shows me
once again that I am really of a very countrified nature.
There is a fairly good little portrait of my mother in the
drawing-room, and a very bad one of myself, while in a smaller room
are lithographs of the Prussian royal family. The library is somewhat
restricted, but contains five hundred excellent books in English,
French, and German. I have already been round the garden, which is
quite pretty. The gardener comes from the King's gardens in
Charlottenburg, and has been to Munich and Vienna to perfect himself.
_Günthersdorf, June 14, 1840._--This morning at eight o'clock, in
spite of the cold and bitter wind, which seem to be characteristic of
Prussia, I started in the carriage to drive four leagues for mass and
high mass too. Wartenberg is two-thirds Catholic, while Günthersdorf
is entirely Protestant. The Catholic church is at the entrance to
Wartenberg, a town over which I have some seigneurial rights; each
house pays me a small tax. The road runs through my woods for two
leagues until we reach the high-road. The church was full, the priest
at the entrance with the holy water and a beautiful address, while my
seat was strewn with country flowers. There was nothing wanting: a