Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
no means accustomed. For instance, he reprimanded the poor old
incumbent of Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin for the reason that he himself had
been slandered in his parish, for which he regarded the incumbent as
responsible. In a certain sacristy he saw some young priests laughing
at his vulgar manners, and addressed them with strong language. He
wishes to force certain incumbents to resign. In short, there is
general disturbance throughout the diocese.
I also went to Madame de Jaucourt, whom I found alone, aged and
isolated, but lively. She told me a fact which I should have thought
impossible a few days ago, but which I am now more inclined to
believe: that the Queen and Madame gave sixty thousand francs to M. de
Montalembert's newspaper, the _Univers catholique_. For some time in
this paper accounts have been noticed of the King's conversations with
foreign ambassadors.
Madame de Castellane came to ask me to dine with her to-day, and with
M. Molé, who will read us his speech upon the occasion of his
admission to the French Academy, where he is taking the place of M. de
Quélen.
This morning I saw M. Hottinger, the banker, who is much disturbed
about the situation. He sees, with great uneasiness, that the efforts
of diplomacy can be nullified at any moment by the will of the Pasha
of Egypt, in whose hands it is obvious that the question of peace or
war now rests. Conspiracies and risings at Constantinople continually
complicate all these questions for the worse. It is certain that only
a miraculous Providence could disperse these heavy clouds. At
Marseilles trade has come to a standstill and people are warehousing
their stocks; not a single ship is leaving the port, and every one is
anxiously awaiting the issue.
At one o'clock I went to Saint-Cloud to see Madame Adélaïde; then I
went to the Queen, and afterwards to the Duchesse d'Orléans: she is
really charming, distinguished, witty, gracious, and self-restrained;
her conversation is most agreeable and attractive. Madame Adélaïde
seemed to me to think that peace will be preserved; heaven grant that
she is right!
_Paris, September 7, 1840._--The revolt is now breaking out with fresh
audacity. Guns from the Invalides are galloping to the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine, the assembly is beating continuously and troops are on
the march, while the National Guard is concentrated at the different
mayors' houses; in short, this is a case of battle. So far our
Faubourg Saint-Germain is peaceful, but it must be admitted that if
the combat is not soon concluded the left bank of the Seine will be no
better off than the right. I am told that the bands scattered through
Paris are largely composed of Poles and Italians, wandering people
without a fixed home, never sleeping twice in the same house, and
therefore difficult to seize. Since yesterday they have been
threatening to set Paris on fire, by way of simplifying their task.
The foremen of the factories, who have long known of the proposed
movement, had warned the Chief of Police, who had, however, no legal
authorisation to take adequate precautions. It was even impossible to
prevent yesterday's terrible outbreak. To-day there is a general
panic, and the troops and guns are ordered to do police work. Let us
hope they will again stand firm.
_Paris, September 8, 1840._--Yesterday evening at eight o'clock I
heard that the troops had driven the rioters out of Paris, and that
the town was tranquil; public buildings, however, were guarded, on
account of threats of incendiarism. In the afternoon I saw M. Molé,
who seemed to be quite overwhelmed by the fact that public stocks had
gone down four francs. He also told me of the definite rupture of the
Doctrinaires with M. Thiers, whose manifesto was inserted in a Rouen
newspaper, and has been quoted in M. Molé's newspaper, _La Presse_.
This conflict is said to be most energetic.
The _Journal des Débats_ is also very bitter against M. Thiers.
Business men on the Stock Exchange are making outcries against him,
and his position is becoming very difficult. A more pressing interest
is the other war, the first demonstration of which seems to have been
brought about in Syria by the action of Admiral Napier. It is
certainly said that this Admiral is a madman, and that as he is backed
by the hot-headed Lord Ponsonby this demonstration does not emanate
from the English Government, but we wonder whether this Government
will disavow it.
_Paris, September 10, 1840._--The general calm has outwardly at least
been re-established at Paris. Yesterday I dined at Saint-Cloud, which
has been restored and furnished by the King in a magnificent fashion;
splendid Gobelin tapestry is to be seen there, copies from Rubens
representing the life of Marie de' Medici. The King took me round all
the rooms, and talked a little of every subject on the way, constantly
saying that he was anxious for peace and would do all he could to
preserve it, but thought his task must be facilitated; this is not
being done, either at home or abroad. His hatred of the Russians and
his bitterness towards England are extreme. He has a special, and not
unreasonable, grudge against England, on account of present events in
Spain. Queen Christina was convinced that if she could only see
Espartero she could induce him to become her personal adherent, and
had therefore invited him to Madrid. On his refusal she undertook the
journey which was her ruin. In her absence public feeling was
manufactured in the capital; she is now obliged to return under the
most ominous auspices. Probably her daughter will first be taken from
her, and after that what will be done with her? This is the question
which the King continually asks himself, uneasily repeating: "I fear
the poor woman is ruined."[123] He says that England finances and
encourages the anarchist movement; that Espartero is entirely English,
and that if a general war bursts out we may expect to see him invade
France as an English ally.
[123] After ending the civil war (aroused by Don Carlos on the
death of his brother, Ferdinand VII.) by the capitulation of
Bergara, Marie Christina attempted to begin a reactionary policy.
In 1840 she presented to the Cortes the law of the
_Ayuntamientos_, intended as a restriction upon municipal
freedom. An insurrection at once broke out in Barcelona, and
rapidly spread to Madrid and a large number of other towns. This
movement was supported by Espartero. The Queen-Regent summoned
him and commissioned him to form a Ministry on September 16,
1840, but he imposed such severe conditions upon her that she
thought acceptance impossible. On October 2 she resigned the
regency.
The King had heard that the King of Prussia had set the Archbishop of
Cologne at liberty and authorised him to return to Rome, but that the
Archbishop would not take advantage of this permission until he had
received fresh instructions from Rome.
The Duchesse de Nemours has a most inexpressive countenance and a
monotonous tone of voice, which somewhat counteracts the effect of her
brilliant youth. The Duc de Nemours remains as stupid as ever. The Duc
d'Aumale is now regarded as a man. He seems lively and inclined to
talk. Princesse Clémentine is growing faded, and takes less trouble to
please. The Queen and the Duchesse d'Orléans are the two bright stars.
M. Dupin, who was also dining at Saint-Cloud, was loudly groaning and
haranguing about the weakness of the Government in their treatment of
the rioters, saying that as long as they were addressed with the words
"gentlemen and fellow toilers" incendiarism and plunder might be
expected. The day before yesterday these workmen during the night
disarmed two outposts in the Rue Mauconseil, though it must be said
that the soldiers made no attempt to defend themselves. The result was
a fresh panic at the Stock Exchange yesterday. The fear, the grief,
and the ruin which have overtaken a number of people cannot be
imagined.
The other day M. de Montrond was saying that M. de Flahaut was anxious
to go to London as ambassador, but they are too glad to be rid of
Guizot to recall him here, notwithstanding the dissatisfaction which
he causes on the other side of the Channel.
_Paris, September 11, 1840._--I have decided to start at the end of
the morning for Jeurs to visit the Comtesse Mollien, where I shall
sleep.
Yesterday evening on returning home I continued reading the accounts
of the trial of Madame Lafarge, as I had fallen behind.[124] If she is
innocent of the crime, so much the better for her relations, but the
evidence of the two expert bodies, her enormous purchases of arsenic,
and the sudden transition from complete repugnance to excessive
tenderness for her husband would always make me suspect her so far as
to desire another nurse if she had to mix my potions.
[124] Madame Lafarge, with whom several people in French society
were compromised, was first accused of stealing diamonds and then
of poisoning her husband. The first accusation was never entirely
cleared up, but the second was proved. The Court of Assizes
condemned Madame Lafarge to penal servitude. She remained in
prison for twelve years, at the end of which she was pardoned
owing to her enfeebled health. She died a few months later, in
1852.
I am especially shocked by Madame Lafarge's behaviour at one point,
and by the uproarious laughter with which she greeted the emphatic and
really ridiculous evidence of one of the witnesses; such frivolity
seems to me to be rather a proof of impudence than of innocence. The
more innocent a person might be, the more she would suffer under such
an accusation, and while preserving a clear conscience her mind would
be filled with other ideas than any which could produce such bursts of
laughter. Her behaviour there shows a terrible lack of refinement and
a complete failure to realise her position, for when the accusation
concerns husband-poisoning, whether one is accuser or accused, I can
hardly conceive of any inclination to hilarity. On the whole, whether
she is a poisoner or not, she is obviously an unpleasant adventuress.
_Courtalin, September 14, 1840._--I left Jeurs very early yesterday,
after being, as usual, kindly and hospitably entertained. The day
before yesterday I took a stroll with Madame Mollien in the valley of
the Juine, which extends from Etampes to Corbeil; it is well watered,
well wooded, and populous; great rocks peep out among the trees, as in
certain parts of the forest of Fontainebleau. The three chief
residences in this valley are Gravelles, belonging to M. de
Perregeaux, Chamarande, belonging to M. de Talaru, and Ménilvoisin,
belonging to M. de Choiseul-Praslin. The first two of these I already
knew, and Madame Mollien took me to see the third. It is a stately and
spacious residence; the approaches and the park are handsome, but the
general appearance is depressing. This is characteristic of all the
residences in this district. They have no outlook, shut in as they are
in this narrow valley. They lack space and air, but not water, of
which there is such an abundance that dampness is unavoidable. The
waters of the Juine turn a number of mills, some of which are so large
as to look like castles.
I arrived here yesterday evening, and found all the Montmorency family
assembled with a M. de Roothe, an old man of seventy-eight, son of the
last wife of Marshal Richelieu.
The only subject of discussion yesterday evening in the drawing-room
was the case of Madame Lafarge. Here, as everywhere, very opposite
opinions prevail concerning her. Those who think her innocent say that
her husband did not die of poisoning, but from taking cantharides as a
tonic for nervous debility, and that the rapid change in his wife's