Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
_Carlsbad, July 30, 1840._--I am leaving Carlsbad at midday this
morning, and going with my sister Acerenza to Löbichau, in Saxony, an
estate which belongs to her; my mother is buried there. She will then
meet my sister Hohenzollern at Ischl, for which she also starts
to-day. We part upon the best terms, and I have promised to pay them a
visit at Vienna on my next journey to Germany.
_Löbichau, July 31, 1840._--I arrived here yesterday evening, after a
journey through a picturesque and mountainous country, well wooded and
well watered. I have been travelling in the pretty duchy of
Saxony-Altenburg, a fertile, smiling, and populous district, where I
spent every summer until the time of my marriage. I revisited it
afterwards upon several occasions. Many recollections give me an
interest in the country, and sometimes arouse emotion. Some old faces
of past times still remain to greet me. I went into the room where my
mother died, and which my sister now uses, and we went to see her
grave at the end of the park. I also went to the presbytery to see the
wife of the pastor, who was a faithful companion of my youth; one of
her daughters is my godchild, and is a pretty young person.
_Löbichau, August 1, 1840._--It rained all yesterday, and it was
impossible to go out. I spent my time in going over the house and
looking at the rooms which I had occupied at different periods. Some
people from the neighbourhood came in to see us, including the
deaconess, Fräulein Sidonie von Dieskau, a great friend of my mother.
I often used to go to her house in my youth. She is a very lively and
clever person, and bears her sixty-two years admirably.
Here I found a letter from the Duchesse d'Albuféra, who says: "Lady
Sandwich gave an evening party recently. You would never guess who was
engaged to amuse the company--a hypnotist! The Marquise de Caraman was
overheard saying to the young Duc de Vicence, 'If we were alone I
should like to be hypnotised, but I dare not before all these people;
I should be afraid of showing my excitement.' Marshal Valée will be
continued in his African command, notwithstanding the criticism to
which he is exposed, on account of the difficulty of finding any one
to take his place. The Flahaut have returned in a very softened frame
of mind, and well disposed to the Government; they often go to
Auteuil, where M. Thiers has set up house. The marriage of Lady Acton
with Lord Leveson is settled for this month; it will take place in
England, where the Granvilles have been called by the serious illness
of their daughter, Lady Rivers. Lord Granville does not greatly
approve of this marriage; much pressure has been necessary to obtain
his consent, but his son's passion has overcome all obstacles."
_Löbichau, August 2, 1840._--Yesterday I went with my sister a
distance of a short half-league to visit a summer residence in the
middle of the park, in which I spent several summers. My mother made
me a present of it, and I gave it back to her when I was married. It
is now in somewhat poor repair, but I was glad to see it again. On our
return I went into the village to recall some memories.
_Schleitz, August 3, 1840._--This town is the residence of the Prince
of Reuss LXIV. Three years ago it was burnt down. The castle is quite
new, built in the style of a barracks, with two very insignificant
towers; it is a pity, for the country is beautiful, especially towards
Gera, where I dined with the deaconess von Dieskau, of whom I spoke
above, and who is one of the pleasantest recollections of my youth.
She is very comfortably settled.
_Nuremberg, August 4, 1840._--Yesterday evening I reached Bayreuth at
a late hour, and started again early this morning.
A mere walk through the streets of Nüremberg will show any observer
the peculiarities of the town. Octagonal balconies in the form of
projecting towers in the middle or at the corners of the houses, with
gables, almost all overhanging the street, are most characteristic.
The number of niches with statues of saints would make one think that
the country was Catholic; yet the town is entirely Protestant; but the
vandalism of the Reformation was as rabid here as elsewhere, and the
good taste of the inhabitants has preserved from a sense of artistic
value what they no longer appreciate for religious reasons.
Yesterday evening at the last posting station before Bayreuth I met
some travellers whom I did not know but who seemed to be important
people. The husband came up to my carriage and asked me if I had heard
the news. I replied that I had not. He then told me that he belonged
to Geneva, and that he was taking his invalid wife to Marienbad; that
on leaving Geneva he had seen one of his friends from Paris, who told
him of the news that a convention had been signed at London between
Austria, Prussia, Russia, and England against the Pasha of Egypt, and
that the French King was furious in consequence; that M. Thiers had
immediately ordered the sudden mobilisation of two hundred thousand
men to march to the northern frontier, and of ten thousand
sailors.[115] As I no longer see the newspapers, I am very doubtful
what to think of such news, and do not know what to make of these
apparent contradictions.
[115] The complications of the Eastern question nearly plunged
France into war about this time. Syria had revolted, and the
English, who objected to the power of the Egyptian Viceroy,
Mehemet Ali, joined Prussia, Austria, and Russia, excluding
France, whom Lord Palmerston knew to be unduly favourable to
Egypt, and secretly signed the treaty at London on July 15, 1840,
restoring Syria to the Sultan.
I was told that on September 1 a fifteen days' camp would take place
here; twenty thousand troops, the whole Bavarian Court, and other
princes will make it a brilliant affair.
In _Galignani_ I saw the news of the death of Lord Durham; I do not
think he will be greatly regretted.
* * * * *
To return from my aberrations, the Church of St. Sebald is
ill-proportioned and the decorations are very tawdry, but it contains
one fine monument. This is a great silver reliquary covered with gold
bands, placed in an openwork monument of cast iron, remarkable for its
delicacy and gracefulness; the ornamentation is extremely rich and the
design admirable. The Town Hall, the large hall painted with frescoes
by Albert Dürer, where several Imperial Diets have been held, is worth
seeing, and also the room in which are hung the portraits of those
citizens of Nuremberg who were benefactors to their native town by
founding religious houses. A chapel of St. Maurice which has been
transformed into a museum has some interesting pictures of the old
German school. The bronze statue of Dürer in one of the squares, which
was modelled by Rauch of Berlin, and cast here, has nobility of
bearing and makes a fine effect. The old castle, upon an elevation,
overlooks the town, and from it may be gained a general view of the
countryside. Though it is somewhat mean in appearance, it has the
merit of indisputable antiquity. The King and Queen of Bavaria inhabit
it when they are here. An old linden-tree planted in the middle of the
court by the Empress Cunegonde must be eight hundred years old if the
chronicle is to be believed; one may reasonably doubt such antiquity,
though the fact remains that this tree has seen many events.
The Church of St. Lawrence is very fine and imposing; the tabernacle
and the pulpit are masterpieces. Two fountains, one of cast iron and
the other of stone, in two of the squares are very noteworthy for
curious details of sculpture, but the little threads of water which
they spout make them look more like _ex-votos_ than fountains. The
house of the Emperor Adolphus of Nassau and the house of the
Hohenzollerns, who for a long time were Burgraves of Nuremberg, with
several other houses in the hands of private individuals, are curious.
The mania for restoration has reached Nüremberg; the results would be
highly praiseworthy were it not for the habit of painting in glaring
colours houses with sculptured fronts which should especially be left
in the natural colour of the stone. The cemetery of St. John contains
the tombs of all the illustrious men of the town. The Rosenau, the
public walk, of which the inhabitants are very proud, is damp and
badly kept. I finished my round with a visit to the toy shop which has
been famous for centuries; all kinds of figures and grotesques are
there made, cleverly carved in wood.
_Baden, August 7, 1840._--I am now at Baden, and felt quite overcome
when I just now entered it alone. The sight of the Jagd-Haus, of the
little chapel, the poplar-trees upon the road--in fact, something at
every step awoke memories and regrets. I am staying in a clean little
house on the Graben, opposite the Strasburg Hotel. Houses are being
built in every direction; Baden will soon be a large town, and much
less attractive to me. As I read the letters which you write me from
America[116] I often think they would have greatly interested M. de
Talleyrand, and would have reminded him of many things, but if poor M.
de Talleyrand had lived I do not think he would have allowed you to go
into exile so far away; although he often said that a politician to
complete his education should certainly go to America, as a distant
point of view from which to judge old Europe.
[116] Extract from a letter.
_Baden, August 8, 1840._--Herr von Blittersdorf whom I saw with his
wife, told me of another wild attempt of Louis Bonaparte, who had
disembarked at Boulogne-sur-Mer and had attempted to arouse a
revolt.[117] The news was telegraphed, so that there were no details.
[117] On August 6, 1840, Prince Louis Bonaparte took advantage of
the excitement caused by the approach of the date when Napoleon's
remains were to be brought back to Paris, and made an attempt at
Boulogne-sur-Mer to restore Napoleon's dynasty to the throne of
France. On this occasion the Prince was arrested and tried before
the Chamber of Peers. He was defended by Berryer, and was
condemned to perpetual confinement in the castle of Ham in 1846.
He succeeding in escaping, and went first to Belgium, and thence
to England.
The King of Würtemberg is here; he has just left the watering-place of
Aix in Savoy. His daughter and son-in-law, the Count of Neipperg, are
with him; they go out a great deal, give parties, and so on. Herr von
Blittersdorf also told me that the news from Paris was of a very
warlike character; for his part he did not understand either how war
was possible, seeing that every party had important reasons for
avoiding it, or again how it could be prevented in view of Lord
Palmerston's measures, which have been ratified by the northern
Powers,[118] while public opinion in France was unanimous and excited;
and the Pasha of Egypt again had gained a success, whereas disasters
alone could have stopped the coercive measures for which the
convention stipulated. On this question the French King is said to be
in full agreement with M. Thiers, and to have stated that he would
prefer war to revolution. M. Guizot has been reproached because he did
not give warning in sufficient time to stop the signing of the
convention. He defends himself by saying that he did give notice, but
was left without instructions. Such is the statement of Herr von
Blittersdorf. He is very anxious about the situation, and especially
about the frontier position of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which would
be inconvenient in times of war. He says that the position of the
duchy is the more difficult on account of the want of a fortress, the
building of which he has urged for the last twenty-eight years upon