Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
independence was impossible, and gave his preference to diplomacy. His
choice was a good one; he was fitted to occupy any post in this
profession, and filled all posts in succession and all with
distinction.
I will venture to assert that his early studies had fitted him
admirably for his profession. His work in theology especially had
brought him distinction in the seminary of Denkendorf and in the
Protestant faculty of Tübingen; it had given him a strength and
dexterity in argument which may be noted in every document from his
pen. Lest I should seem to be pursuing a paradoxical idea, I may
recall the fact that several of our great diplomatists were
theologians, and have all made their mark in history by their conduct
of the most important political affairs of their age. Cardinal
Chancellor Duprat was as completely versed in canon law as
jurisprudence, and fixed, in conjunction with Leo X., the principles
of the Concordat which in large part survives to-day; Cardinal
d'Ossat, notwithstanding the opposition of several great Powers,
succeeded in reconciling Henry IV. with the Court of Rome; his
surviving correspondence is still recommended for study to those of
our young men who propose to follow a political career; Cardinal de
Polignac, a theologian, poet, and diplomatist, after many unhappy
wars, was able to preserve the conquests of Louis XIV. to France by
the treaty of Utrecht.
Thus, too, amid theological books collected by his father, afterwards
Bishop of Gap, was begun the education of M. de Lionne, to whose name
fresh lustre has recently been added by an important publication.
The names which I have quoted will suffice to justify my idea of the
influence which I conceive to have been exerted upon Count Reinhart's
mind by the early studies to which his father's education had directed
him.
The varied and profound information which he had acquired qualified
him to perform at Bordeaux the honourable, if modest, duties of tutor
in a Protestant family in that town. There he naturally began
relations with several men whose talents, whose mistakes, and whose
death brought such renown to our first Legislative Assembly. Count
Reinhart was easily induced by them to enter the service of France.
I feel in no way obliged to follow in detail the many vicissitudes of
his long career. The numerous posts which were entrusted to him,
sometimes of importance, at other times of inferior rank, seem to have
followed in no consecutive order, and, indeed, to denote a want of
gradation which we could hardly understand at the present time; but in
that age neither positions nor persons were subject to prejudice. In
other times favour, and more rarely discrimination, called men to
eminent positions, but during the time of which I speak, for good or
for evil, positions were won by force, and such a system naturally
produced confusion.
Thus we shall see Count Reinhart as First Secretary to the London
Embassy; in a similar position at Naples; as Plenipotentiary Minister
to the Hanseatic towns, Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck; head of the third
division in the Department of Foreign Affairs; Plenipotentiary
Minister at Florence; Foreign Minister; Plenipotentiary Minister in
Switzerland; Consul-General at Milan; Plenipotentiary Minister for the
area of Lower Saxony; Resident in the Turkish provinces beyond the
Danube, and Chief Commissioner of commercial relations in Moldavia;
Plenipotentiary Minister to the King of Westphalia; head of the
chancery in the Department of Foreign Affairs; Plenipotentiary
Minister to the Germanic Diet and to the free town of Frankfort; and,
finally, Plenipotentiary Minister at Dresden. How many posts, how much
work, and how many interests were thus confided to the care of one
man! And this at a time when talent seemed likely to be the less
appreciated, as war appeared to be the chief arbitrator in every
difficulty.
You will not expect me, gentlemen, to give you any detailed account
with dates of the works which Count Reinhart produced in the various
posts which I have just enumerated; such an account would need a
volume. I need only speak to you of the manner in which he fulfilled
his official duties, whether he was Head of a Department, Minister, or
Consul.
Count Reinhart had not at that time the advantage which he might have
had a few years later of seeing excellent models for his imitation;
but he was well aware what high and different capacities should
distinguish the head of a department of Foreign Affairs. His delicate
tact showed him that the habits of such a head should be simple,
regular, and retiring; that, remote from the uproar of the world, he
should live for business alone, and bring to it an impenetrable
secrecy; that while always ready to give an answer concerning facts
and men, he should have constantly present to his memory every treaty,
know the dates of them, their history, have a correct knowledge of
their strong points and their weaknesses, their antecedent and
consequent circumstances; that he should know the names of the chief
diplomatists and even their family relations; and that while using
this knowledge, he should be careful not to disturb the penetrating
self-esteem of the Minister, and that if he should ever induce that
Minister to share his own opinions, his success should remain
concealed. He knew that he could only shine by reflection elsewhere,
but he was also aware that so pure and modest a life would naturally
command every respect.
Count Reinhart's faculty of observation did not stop at that point. It
had shown him how unusual is the combination of qualities necessary
for a Minister of Foreign Affairs. Such a Minister must, in fact, be
endowed with a kind of instinct which will give him prompt warning and
prevent him from compromising himself before any discussion begins: he
must be able to appear frank while remaining impenetrable; must be
reserved and yet seem careless; must discriminate even in the nature
of his amusements; his conversation must be simple, varied,
attractive, always natural, and sometimes open. In a word, he must
never cease for a single moment in the twenty-four hours of the day to
be Minister of Foreign Affairs.
At the same time, unusual as these capacities are, they could hardly
be adequate if loyalty did not give them that support which they
almost always require. I am bound to mention the fact here in
opposition to a prejudice generally current. Diplomacy is not a
science of duplicity and trickery; if good faith is required anywhere,
it is especially necessary in political transactions, for it alone can
make them permanent and durable. Attempts have been made to identify
reserve with duplicity; good faith will never authorise duplicity, but
it may admit reserve, and reserve has the special faculty of
increasing confidence.
Dominated by a sense of honour and of his country's interests, by the
honour and interests of his Sovereign, by the love of liberty founded
upon a respect for order and uniform justice, a Minister of Foreign
Affairs, when he is equal to his task, occupies the highest position
to which any lofty mind could aspire.
Much as is required of a competent Minister, how much more is required
of a good Consul. The claims upon a Consul are infinitely varied and
are of a totally different order from those which may affect the other
officials of a Foreign Office. They require an amount of practical
experience which can only be acquired by a special education. Within
the area of their jurisdiction Consuls are required to perform for
their compatriots the duties of judges, arbitrators, and mediators;
often they are officers of the Civil State; they act as notaries, and
sometimes as Admiralty officers; they watch and report upon sanitary
affairs; their position enables them to give an accurate and complete
idea of the state of trade, of navigation, and of manufactures in the
country where they reside. Count Reinhart, who neglected nothing to
secure the accuracy of that information with which it was his business
to provide his Government, or the correctness of the decisions which
as a political agent, as Consul and Admiralty officer, he was obliged
to give, had made a profound study of international and shipping law.
This study had induced him to think that a time would come when clever
combinations would establish a general system of commerce and
navigation in which the interests of every nation would be respected,
and the basis of which would be so strong that not even war itself
could alter the principle of it, though it might interrupt some of its
results. He was also able to decide certainly and promptly all
questions of interchange, arbitration, conversion of money, weights
and measures, while no claims were ever raised in dispute of the
information which he provided or of the judgments which he delivered.
It is also true that the personal consideration which he enjoyed
throughout his career gave much influence to his intervention in any
matter which he conducted or in any dispute upon which he had to
pronounce.
Wide as a man's knowledge may be and vast as his capacity, the
complete diplomatist is but very rarely met with. Yet Count Reinhart
might have attained this distinction if he had had one additional
capacity. The clearness of his view and intelligence was admirable; he
could write an excellent account of anything that he had seen or
heard; his style was resourceful, easy, clever, and attractive. Of all
the diplomatic correspondence of that age, the Emperor Napoleon, who
had every right to be fastidious, showed a preference for the
despatches of Count Reinhart; but admirably as he wrote, he could only
express himself with difficulty. For action his intelligence required
more time than conversation could provide, and for the easy
reproduction of his mental speech he was obliged to work alone and
unaided. Notwithstanding this real inconvenience, Count Reinhart
always succeeded in performing his commissions thoroughly well. Whence
did he derive the inspiration which enabled him to succeed?
The source of his power, gentlemen, was a real and profound belief
which governed all his actions, the sense of duty. The strength of
this belief is not often entirely realised. A life entirely devoted to
duty is easily separated from ambition. Count Reinhart's life was
given up to the duties which he had to perform, nor was there in him
any trace of personal ambition or any claim to rapid promotion. The
religion of duty to which Count Reinhart was faithful all his life,
consists in perfect submission to the orders and instructions of
superiors; in constant vigilance added to much perspicacity, which
never leaves those superiors ignorant of what they ought to know; in a
strict adherence to truth in every official report, whether agreeable
or unpleasant; in an impenetrable discretion and a regularity of life
which secure confidence and esteem; in decorum of outward conduct and
in continual care to give the acts of his Government that colouring
and that interpretation demanded by the interest of the affairs under
his charge.
Though advancing age had warned Count Reinhart that it was time for
rest, he would never have asked to be relieved, fearing that he might
seem to show coldness in his pursuit of a career which had been
life-long. The royal kindness, with its invariable attention,
considered his necessities and gave this great servant of France a
most honourable post, by calling him to the Chamber of Peers. Count
Reinhart did not long enjoy this honour and died almost suddenly on
December 5, 1837. He was twice married, and had a son by his first
wife, who is now pursuing a political career. The best wish that we
can offer the son is that he may resemble his father as nearly as
possible.
IV