Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
business, in the first place because the matter affects my son and not
myself, and also because I wished to avoid any open breach.
Sagan is really beautiful so far as the castle and park are concerned,
though the neighbourhood is inferior to that in which my own estates
lie; but the house is magnificent. I found some old figures of my
father's time, which revived sad memories. It was a pleasure to see
the portraits of my family.
There is here a certain Countess Dohna, who was brought up first with
my mother and then with my eldest sister, and who married a man of
very good position in the country. In her youth she was quite like a
child of the house. She came yesterday to tea with me, and I was
delighted to see her and talk with her of my poor sister, the Duchesse
de Sagan, and of her last visit a short time before her death.
This morning I went to mass in the charming church of the Augustine
monks, where my father has rested for thirty-nine years. I was greatly
affected by the whole service, and by the music, which was excellent.
After that I went to see the Countess Dohna, who came with me to the
castle. I wished to look at the outbuildings, which I had not seen
yesterday. In the stables I found an old gilt carriage lined with red
velvet, and almost exactly resembling the carriage of the Spanish
Princes at Valençay. In that carriage my father left Courlande and
came here. The business man of my sister, the Princess of
Hohenzollern, sells everything which does not belong to the fief, and
put up this carriage for sale. I bought it at once for a bid of
thirty-five crowns.
I dined at two o'clock, according to the custom of the town, and
afterwards we went to the end of the park to visit a little ancient
church where my sister de Sagan told me that she wished to place my
father's body and to be buried herself. The little church must be
restored, which will be quite easy. It might be made a very suitable
and retired burial-place.
_Günthersdorf, June 22, 1840._--I have now returned to my own
fireside, of which I am quite fond. Before leaving Sagan this morning
I received calls from many of the local people, and went through a
long business conference. The whole Sagan question is so complicated
that it will last a long time. Wolff, Wurmb, and my eldest sister's
old business man advised me to simplify the matter by asking my
sister, who still owes me some money for Nachod,[105] to surrender the
allodial forests of Sagan, which will thus come back to my sons some
day. I do not object, for these forests are superb, but this is a
further question. There are some preliminary points which should be
settled first and will take time. The business men urge me strongly to
spend the whole year in Germany. I cannot spend the winter in so cold
a climate, but I should like to come back next spring for the fine
weather. I believe my son is right in saying that he is very fortunate
in making his first appearance in this country with myself.
[105] Nachod, an estate in Bohemia with a vast castle built by
the Piccolomini, had been bought by the Duc de Courlande. His
eldest daughter, Wilhelmine de Sagan, had inherited it, and died
there in 1839. Nachod was then sold to the Princes of
Schaumburg-Lippe, who still retain it.
On my way back I stayed for two hours at Neusalz, which is a curious
town to visit. Half of it is occupied by a colony of Moravian
brothers, whose customs nearly resemble those of the Quakers. They are
somewhat unusual, especially the custom which they call the Feast of
Love. In their church they sing and pray and take coffee and cakes in
the most perfect silence and with the most perfect gluttony. They are
very industrious, very avaricious, somewhat hypocritical, and
amazingly clean. They address one another in the second person
singular. They have missionaries, and their branches spread throughout
the world. Besides the Moravian church, Neusalz has a Catholic and a
Protestant church. The latter is quite new, and very pretty. I visited
it to see a present given by the reigning King of Prussia; this is a
very handsome Christ after Annibale Carrache. I also examined in full
detail the splendid ironworks, where many castings are made.
_Günthersdorf, June 23, 1840._--It is beautiful weather. This evening
my garden is green, fresh, and sweet-smelling. There are times and
seasons of climate, nature, and mind which are especially prone to
raise regrets in the heart, and notwithstanding the actual comfort
with which I am surrounded I feel somewhat depressed to-day. I have
been going through papers the whole morning with my business man, and
afterwards went with him to inspect the Protestant school in this
village.
_Günthersdorf, June 25, 1840._--I spent yesterday from ten in the
morning till nine in the evening in visiting the most distant part of
my estates, which include a town, three farms, and a little forest. In
one of the farms the remains of an old Gothic castle have been
transformed into a barn. I lunched with a retired lieutenant who is
married and works my farms, upon one of which is a good
dwelling-house; the farms have always been held together, first by the
grandfather and then by the father of the present holder. His wife is
expecting a child, and they hope that the lease will be renewed to the
fourth generation. I went to look at the church and the town, which is
three parts Catholic. I was very warmly received. The position of a
great overlord is very different here from in France, and my son's
head is quite turned by it.
_Günthersdorf, June 26, 1840._--To-morrow I must return to Berlin,
while my son will go on to Marienbad. I have recovered my strength in
the open-air life that I have led among the woods. Yesterday I went to
see the worst of my farms, which is called Heydan, and is wrested by
main force from the sand.
I had my neighbour to dinner, Prince Carolath of Saabor, a stout man
between fifty and sixty years of age, very pleasant and polite.
_Frankfort-on-the-Oder, June 28, 1840._--I spent the whole of
yesterday out of doors in rain and hail. I could have wished for
better weather for the sake of the good people who had prepared
receptions for me, and also for my own sake, as I could form but a
very inadequate judgment of the two recently made farms; one is called
Peterhof, after my father, and the other Dorotheenaue, after myself.
These farms have been established upon lands by the help of which the
peasants of Kleinitz have been enabled to buy their freedom from
forced labour. Beautiful forests surround these lands. The agent in
residence belongs to a family of Courlande, which followed my father
to Silesia. A striking portrait of my father, who had made a present
of it to his follower, adorns his room. He values it highly, and so I
could not ask him to sell it to me, as I was tempted to do.
When I arrived here I found a very kind letter from the Duc d'Orléans,
referring most properly to the death of the King of Prussia and to his
successor. This is what he says about France: "The apparent agitation
has subsided, but there are still clouds upon the horizon; though the
storm has been cleverly averted, it has not entirely dispersed.
However, the interval between the sessions will pass off well. Only
the King and M. Thiers are in the foreground, and neither is willing
to embarrass the other. Both wish to smooth their path, and no
question will arise to divide them. For my part, I wish every success
to our great little Minister, who can confer vast benefits upon this
country."
I was sorry to say good-bye to my son; he is a good child, natural,
tractable, and quiet. I am glad that he was pleased with Silesia, and
that he has shown so good a spirit in every respect. Moreover, in him
I had a relative at hand, and I begin to feel the great difference
between solitude and isolation. For a long time I confused these two
conditions, which are so similar and yet so different; the one I can
bear very well, the other makes me afraid.
_Berlin, June 29, 1840._--I arrived here yesterday at three o'clock in
the afternoon. I found many letters, but none of any interest.
However, Madame Mollien says that the Duchesse d'Orléans is with
child, and adds that the digestive disturbance has returned from which
the measles seemed to have relieved her. Madame Adélaïde, who also
writes, seems to be well pleased with the way in which the review of
the National Guard passed off, and especially with the reception of
the Duc d'Orléans upon his return from Africa. Some of the officers
attached to him are dead, and many of them have been left behind
wounded or ill; he himself has grown very thin.
Here at Berlin, according to what I hear from different people whom I
saw yesterday evening, the moderation, the goodness, and the wisdom of
the new King give great satisfaction. He works hard, is accessible to
everybody, and shows every respect for the friends and the wishes of
his father. Herr von Humboldt has brought me all kinds of gracious
messages from Sans Souci; the Prince and Princess of Prussia have sent
others; Madame de Perponcher told me that there would be a grand Court
of Condolence on Friday next, and explained what costume would be
worn.
The only change under the new Government is that the King works with
each of his Ministers separately, whereas the late King would only
talk with the Prince of Wittgenstein and work only with Count Lottum.
Herr von Altenstein, who was Minister of Worship and Education, died
three weeks before the late King, and no fresh appointment has yet
been made. There is much anxiety to know who will fill this important
post. The choice will give some indication of the direction in which
affairs will be guided. The nomination for that very reason is a
matter of great perplexity to the King.
_Berlin, July 1, 1840._--My great objection to towns is the calls that
have to be made and received. In spite of the fact that I am only a
bird of passage here I have to suffer this inconvenience. I have made
a large number of calls and received a great many yesterday morning
and evening. The Prince of Prussia, who started this morning for Ems,
was with me for a long time, and told me that the Empress of Russia
was well pleased with her future daughter-in-law, and the young
Princess will travel to Russia with the Empress herself.
Lord William Russell also came to see me. He told me that Lady
Granville had _ordered_ Mr. Heneage, who is attached to her husband's
Embassy at Paris, to accompany Madame de Lieven to England.
I went with Wolff to see the studio of Begas, a German painter trained
at Paris under the eyes of Gros. He is very talented.
There has been an earthquake in the department of Indre-et-Loire,
which was felt at Tours; at Candes, four leagues from Rochecotte,
several houses have been overthrown. At Rochecotte nothing has
happened, thank heaven, but this subterranean convulsion frightens me;
another event of the kind might easily ruin all my work of
restoration, and my artesian well might run dry.
_Potsdam, July 2, 1840._--I left Berlin yesterday at eleven o'clock in
the morning by the railway. I was in the same carriage with Prince
Adalbert of Prussia, the King's cousin, Lord William Russell, and
Prince George of Hesse. When I got out of the train, which reaches
Potsdam in less than an hour, I found the carriage and the servants of
the Princess of Prussia, with an invitation to visit her at once at
Babelsberg, a pretty Gothic castle which she has built upon a wooded
height overlooking the valley of the Havel. It is a small residence,
but very well arranged, with a beautiful view. We sat there talking
for an hour. Her carriage remained at my disposal in Potsdam after it