Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
collection is especially rich in Chinese specimens. Then we went on to
the royal china manufactory, which has preserved the fine paste so
greatly admired in old Saxon china, which is now sold by curiosity
dealers.
After dinner I went to the historical museum called the Zwinger, which
is arranged after the style of the Tower of London. Herr von Lindenau
had sent word of my coming to the chief directors, who are most
learned men, and explained everything to us delightfully. The picture
gallery and the treasury I had seen upon other occasions, and did not
visit them again.
_Teplitz, July 14, 1840._--It is not a long journey from Dresden
here--only eight short hours, through charming country. The hills
prevent rapid progress, but the variety and the attractiveness of the
scenery compensate for the delay. Some of the scenery recalls the
Murgthal, and other parts Wildbad. The Erzgebirge, at the foot of
which Teplitz lies, makes a sufficient background, though it is not an
imposing mountain range. The mountains are, moreover, well wooded, the
village is very pretty, flowers are grown, and the roads are
excellent. Immediately after my arrival I had a visit from my niece,
Princess Biron, who married my eldest nephew. She took me in her
carriage to see the town, which is not far off, the pretty promenades,
and the village of Schönau, which is close to the town and contains
the chief watering-places. It is all very nice, and prettily built;
but Teplitz may be as pretty as it likes--it cannot equal dear Baden.
The society of the place is also different, and seems to me to be very
moderate here. It is said that the death of the King of Prussia will
make a great difference, as he came every year.
Princess Biron is a pleasant person; though not pretty, she has a
noble bearing, and is deeply loved and respected in her husband's
family.
_Teplitz, July 15, 1840._--I am starting for Carlsbad, where I shall
see my two sisters this evening, from whom I have been separated for
sixteen years. This unduly long absence has changed my habits, and I
have lost touch with their interests; so I begin the day with some
emotion.
_Carlsbad, July 16, 1840._--Fifteen hours' travelling to-day, during
which I did not stop for a moment. I had to cover twenty-six leagues,
continually going uphill or down. After Teplitz the country is pretty
as far as Dux, the castle of Count Wallenstein, where Casanova wrote
his memoirs; after that the country becomes extremely dull. It was ten
o'clock when I arrived. My sisters were sitting opposite one another
playing patience. Jeanne, the Duchess of Acerenza, welcomed me very
naturally; Pauline, the Princess of Hohenzollern, with some
embarrassment, which immediately communicated itself to me. We only
talked of indifferent matters, and they gave me tea. I then went to a
house opposite, where my sister Jeanne has hired a room for me.
_Carlsbad, July 17, 1840._--The Duc de Noailles writes from Paris
telling me that he dined with M. Thiers at the house of the Sardinian
Ambassador,[106] and had a long talk with him. He found M. Thiers
profoundly interested in Africa, willing to spend vast sums there, to
wage a great war and keep up an army of eighty thousand men, and to
build the continuous lines which have been so largely discussed, to
surround the whole plain of the Mitija.[107] He attempts to prove that
these efforts will produce marvellous results in two or three years:
the real possession of Africa, a large colonising movement, and a
splendid port on the Mediterranean. The Duc de Noailles also tells me
that Madame de Lieven is at London, and is greatly pleased with her
reception.
[106] The Marquis de Brignole-Sale.
[107] The vast plain of the Mitija is situated to the south of
Algiers, and extends between two mountainous zones of the Atlas
and the Sahel. It is famous for its fertility, for which reason
the Arabs call it "the Mother of the Poor."
Another correspondent says: "The King does not seem to come to terms
with his Ministry, although he is said to be on the best footing with
the several members of it. Having lost a game, the King has now to win
one, and is waiting his opportunity patiently. M. Guizot still seems
to be the fashion in England.[108] He bets at the racecourse, and has
won two hundred louis. Surely M. Guizot on the turf is one of the
strangest anomalies of our age!"
[108] M. Guizot was then Ambassador at London.
Yesterday my sisters took me to see the various springs and the shops,
which are very pretty. I then dined with them at three o'clock, my
brother-in-law, Count Schulenburg, being present.[109] Then we went
for a drive along the valley, which greatly resembles the valley of
Wildbad. There I found some old acquaintances--the Prince and Princess
Reuss-Schleiz, the Count and Countess Solms, son of the old Ompteda by
her first marriage, the Countess Karolyi, called Nandine, the old
Löwenhielm, with his wife, whose first married name was Frau von
Düben, Liebermann, and an old Princess Lichenstein. I returned home at
ten o'clock, rather wearied with this succession of faces.
[109] The third husband of the eldest sister of the Duchesse de
Talleyrand.
_Carlsbad, July 18, 1840._--Yesterday I went to pay a call to the
Countess of Björnstjerna, who lives in the same house as myself. She
is starting for Hamburg this morning, where she will hear whether she
is to meet her husband at Stockholm or London. Her eldest son is
marrying the only daughter of her sister, Countess Ugglas, who died
some years ago. It has been pleasant to meet some one to remind me of
London, the best time of my life, even in the form of this little
Björnstjerna. I have also been to see an old man of eighty years who
always used to live with my aunt, the Countess of Recke, and whom I
had missed at Dresden, where I hoped to find him. He usually lives
there in a house the use of which was bequeathed to him by my aunt,
and which reverts to myself after the death of this poor old man. We
both grew sad over the memories of my good aunt.
After dinner I went for a drive with my sisters along a pretty road
cut out of the mountain-side, and visited a china factory, where there
were some pretty things. Pottery has been a comparatively widespread
industry in Bohemia for some time, but remains much behind the Saxon
manufacture.
_Carlsbad, July 19, 1840._--Yesterday I spent very much as the former
day, and as I shall probably spend every day of my stay here. I always
wake up early, write till nine o'clock, get up and dress. At ten
o'clock I go to my sisters, and stay talking to them till midday. I
then pay some necessary calls, and return home to read. I go back to
my sisters at three o'clock for dinner, then take them for a drive in
a carriage that I have hired. At six o'clock they sit in front of
their door to see the people go past. I stay with them for a time, and
then return to my room, and finally go back to them at eight o'clock
for tea.
My sister Hohenzollern has brought all the curious letters that had
belonged to my mother, and which my sister the Duchesse de Sagan had
seized. She proposed to keep a third of them, and we therefore divided
them. My share contains the letters of the late King of Poland,[110]
of the Emperor Alexander, of the brothers and sisters of Frederick the
Great, Goethe, the Emperor Napoleon to the Empress Joséphine, the
great Condé, Louis XIV., and in particular a letter from Fénelon to
his grand-nephew whom he called Fanfan.[111] This letter is enclosed
in a paper on which the Bishop of Alais, M. de Bausset, has written a
signed note testifying to the authenticity of this letter, so that
there are two autographs in one.
[110] Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski, last King of Poland.
[111] M. Léon de Beaumont, the son of Fénelon's sister.
_Carlsbad, July 20, 1840._--I went to mass yesterday in an enormous
crowd, for this country is essentially Catholic. The little chapels,
the great crucifixes, the _ex-votos_, scattered about the mountains,
are all visited on Sundays by the people, who leave small candles and
flowers there. I went to visit two of these little shrines, which
increase the beauty of the landscape, apart from their religious
meaning.
I then went to see my sisters in the usual place. Countess Léon
Razumowski and Princess Palfy were with them. I was introduced, but
did not find them very interesting. Countess Razumowski is the leader
of the pleasure-seeking society here; they spend their days in tea and
supper parties in the style of the Russian ladies at Baden.
M. de Tatitcheff is also here, and told us that a young Russian who
had come straight from Rome said that the Pope was in a desperate
condition.
In the evening a Mrs. Austin, a clever English lady, brought letters
of introduction to my sisters. She sees a good deal of M. Guizot at
London, is always quoting his remarks, and boasts of her
acquaintanceship with Lady Lansdowne.
_Carlsbad, July 22, 1840._--Yesterday I had a very touching letter
from the Abbé Dupanloup. He has been for rest and retirement at the
Grande Chartreuse, whence his letter is dated. He proposes to return
to Paris at once to help in the consecration of the new
Archbishop.[112] He speaks with much concern about the condition of
the French clergy, whose irritation he describes as very great.
[112] Mgr. Affre.
I have also a letter from the Princesse de Lieven from London. She
says: "The Ministry is very weak, but it is likely to continue in
life, though vitality will be feeble. The Queen has entirely recovered
her popularity since the attempt to assassinate her.[113] She really
behaved with great courage and coolness, most creditable and unusual
at her age. She is very fond of her husband, whom she treats as a
small boy. He is not so clever as she, but is very calm and dignified.
M. Guizot has an excellent position here, is universally respected,
and perfectly happy. Herr von Brunnow cuts a poor figure. He and his
wife are thought to be quite ridiculous and out of place. The little
Chreptowicz, daughter of Count Nesselrode, who is here, is very vexed
and ashamed about it. Alava has lost his cheerfulness. Lady Jersey's
hair is grey. Lord Grey looks very well, but is very peevish."
[113] On June 6, 1840, a young man named Oxford, afterwards
thought to be mentally weak, fired two pistol-shots at Queen
Victoria as she was driving through the streets of London,
accompanied by her husband, Prince Albert.
It is said here that Matusiewicz is dangerously ill of gout at
Stockholm, and that M. Potemkin has gone raving mad at Rome. This is
likely to cause some changes in the Russian diplomatic service, and
perhaps will bring my cousin, Paul Medem, from Stuttgart.
_Carlsbad, July 27, 1840._--I propose to start the day after to-morrow
for Baden. A certain Herr von Hübner arrived yesterday. He is an
Austrian[114] with a post in the office of Prince Metternich. He
brought me a pressing invitation from the Prince to go and see him at
Königswarth, which is only six hours by road from here. I sent a
refusal, but in terms of warm regret; it would not be kind to my
sisters if I were to cut my stay short by a day or two after so long a
separation, and I also fear the foolish interpretations which our
newspapers might place upon my action. Frederic Lamb, Esterhazy,
Tatitcheff, Fiquelmont, Maltzan, and other diplomatists are gathered
at Königswarth. This will attract attention, and I am not anxious that
my name, which has not yet been sufficiently forgotten, should be made
the subject of delightful journalistic comments.
[114] Herr von Hübner was Austrian Ambassador in France under the
Second Empire, before the Italian War.