Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840
authorities commissioned to welcome him. He speaks German with a
fluency which is much appreciated. In every town regimental bands are
constantly playing under the windows of the Princes, and, in short,
all due attention is shown to them.
_Valençay, May 18, 1836._--I have been here since the day before
yesterday, and am expecting M. de Talleyrand and Pauline to-morrow.
I have been reading a narrative written by one of the chief nuns of
Port Royal, about the reform of their establishment, which was carried
out by the Mother Marie Angélique de Sainte-Madeleine Arnauld, and
about their persecution, in the time of their celebrated abbess, the
Mother Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld, a niece of the foregoing and a
daughter of M. d'Andilly. They were great minds and strong souls, and
how remarkable are the details of the story! What a race were these
Arnaulds, and M. Nicole and the Abbé de Saint-Cyran! All these names
are to be found in the writings of Madame de Sévigné. Her friend, M.
de Pomponne, was Arnauld, the son of M. d'Andilly. This was a peculiar
family, even in its own time, and it was said that Pascal was quite a
nonentity compared with Antoine Arnauld. They must have been giants
indeed; and if giants at their time, what would they seem now?
_Valençay, May 22, 1836._--Yesterday I had a letter from my son,
Valençay, from Berlin. He is delighted, and with reason, for apart
from the generally satisfactory character of the journey, he is
treated with especial kindness, which is particularly touching to me
as it is due to consideration for myself. The Prince Royal told him
that he had always regarded me as his sister, that he would treat him
as a nephew, and that my letter was delightful. He objected, however,
that there was not enough of the nursery about him. The Duchess of
Cumberland and my godmother, Princess Louise,[18] have been quite
motherly, and the Queen of the Low Countries has also been very kind,
together with M. Ancillon, Herr von Humboldt, and the Countess of
Redern. M. de Valençay assures me that the Crown Prince of Prussia was
neither cold nor repellent in his reception of the Duc d'Orléans, but,
on the contrary, kind and cordial; the Crown Princess and Princess
William the younger were equally charming; every one else behaved very
properly, as also did the sight-seers along the routes, and our
Princes showed perfect prudence. There was some trouble in inducing
the young French officers to take off their Belgian decorations; the
Duc d'Orléans was anxious that they should not wear them at all at
Berlin, but they showed some reluctance, and eventually it was agreed
that they should remove them when meeting the Queen of the Low
Countries.[19] A courier came to Berlin with an urgent letter from the
King of Saxony inviting the Princes to pass through Dresden. I do not
know whether that will induce them to change their route. The two
Princes attended service in a Catholic church in Berlin on Sunday, and
their action produced an excellent effect.
[18] The Princess Louise was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand of
Prussia, the youngest brother of Frederick the Great. She married
Prince Antoine Radziwill in 1796.
[19] Queen Wilhelmina of the Low Countries was the daughter of
King Frederick William II. of Prussia, and sister of the king
then reigning, Frederick William III.
_Valençay, May 23, 1836._--Yesterday, the Day of Pentecost, was spent
as follows, and will give an idea of our usual mode of life in this
place: First of all came high mass at the parish church, which lasted
for two full hours, thanks to a sermon from the vicar, who took the
more pains as he saw me in the Castle pew. The heat was extreme, and
the smell unpleasant, while the crowd was almost as great as at
Saint-Roch. The result for me was a severe headache, which passed off
to some extent during a long drive which I took with M. de Talleyrand,
to the ponds in the Forest of Gâtines. Several people from the town
dined with us. I walked for a little after dinner, while Pauline went
for a drive with her uncle; I wrote until nine o'clock, when the post
goes, and when M. de Talleyrand came in. The day was concluded with
newspapers, tea, and piquet.
These days are very pleasant when I am not alarmed about M. de
Talleyrand's health, and I thank God for them as I go to bed. I no
longer consider the amount of amusement or interest or pleasure to be
gained; one day perhaps that will return; now that M. de Talleyrand
and my children are well and my mind is free from anxiety, and my
temper sufficiently kind to make life pleasant for those around me, I
ask for nothing more. When we are able to perform a complete
renunciation of self, we find our burden lightened, and the low and
heavy flight of selfishness is replaced by the rapid sweep of
outstretched wings, which is a pleasure in itself. My courage and my
self-possession only disappear when I see sickness threatening or
striking down my family, for I have only reached the threshold of that
stage of resignation in which one sacrifices one's self to the things
of heaven. I doubt if I shall ever pass within it. But enough of this,
or I shall be thought as religious as a lady of the Faubourg
Saint-Germain. I am very far from that point, which I shall never
entirely reach, for my independence will never allow me to follow the
beaten track or confine myself to particular practices, attitudes, and
observances; at the same time, given my natural taste for good books,
the natural seriousness of my mind, my wide experience, and the
sincerity of my judgments upon myself, it will be hard if I do not
learn to draw consolation at least from the one perennial source.
The Carnavalet residence is for sale at a price of a hundred and forty
thousand francs. If I dared, I would buy it, and I am, indeed,
extremely tempted.
_Valençay, May 26, 1836._--The correspondence between M. de Talleyrand
and Madame Adélaïde continues animated and very affectionate, and
gives me some work.
The following news reached us from Paris by letters of yesterday's
date: Alava is overthrown, and Miraflores proclaims himself the
successor; Alava says that the affairs of his country reduce him to
despair. As a matter of fact the newspapers mention some strange
affairs in the Assembly of the Procuradores, and great is the
confusion caused by the whole business of the change of Ministry. Some
people who declare themselves well informed, assert that Isturitz, to
relieve himself of embarrassment, would be inclined to come to an
understanding with Don Carlos and to arrange a marriage between Queen
Isabella and her cousin.
Lady Jersey has given orders for copies of her correspondence with
Lady Pembroke to be sent to her. It seems that this correspondence is
beyond all that could be imagined in maid-servant style. She also
wishes M. de Talleyrand to read all these details.
I have a letter from Princess Louise of Prussia, my godmother, which
speaks in very high terms of the young French Princes. Princess Louise
is a clever woman, naturally inclined to sarcasm and severity, and her
appreciation is therefore the more valuable. M. de Valençay writes to
me that he has been greatly struck by the beauty of the Princesses, by
their jewels and the elegance of their dress. Herr von Humboldt took
the Princes and their suite to see the museums and the artists'
studios. The Crown Prince of Prussia has a taste for art, and has
greatly stimulated these matters in Berlin. The Duc d'Orléans has
given great pleasure by ordering a statue from Rauch, the chief
sculptor in Prussia, and the King's favourite. The shyness of the
Queen of the Low Countries is even greater than that of the Duc de
Nemours. This mutual defect seems to have brought them together, for I
am told that the Queen has conceived a friendship for the young Prince
and that long conversations have taken place between them.
_Valençay, May 29, 1836._--Yesterday I read the new play of M. Casimir
Delavigne, _Une Famille au Temps de Luther_. The work contains some
fine lines, but is quite unsuited for the stage, and nothing is colder
than its theological discussions, even when they conclude with crime;
moreover, these forms of fanaticism are somewhat wearisome, discordant
as they are with the spirit of our time. Finally, the dreadful
massacre of St. Bartholomew has become even tiresome, and the best
proof of the fact that both it and the atrocities of the Atrides have
lost their power to thrill, is their recitation with songs and dances.
Madame Adélaïde informs M. de Talleyrand that the Crown Princess of
Prussia has written to her mother, the Queen-Dowager of Bavaria,
saying that she was _forced to agree_ to the proposal to show honour
to the French Princes, and that a very good friend of Louis-Philippe
had advised them to show themselves in public.
The King of Naples has now left home, some say to marry a princess of
Modena, and others to pay court to the daughter of the Archduke
Charles, and others, again, to have a look at the young princesses of
Paris.
The King is having a full-length portrait of François I. painted for
Valençay, and another of the Grande Mademoiselle; the former built the
Castle, and the latter visited it and praised it in her memoirs. The
King is also sending M. de Talleyrand the chair in which Louis XVIII.
was wheeled about, and he has informed us through Madame that if he
should go to Bordeaux, as is possible, he would pass this way.
_Valençay, May 31, 1836._--It seems that neither intellect nor years
can shelter people from foolishness, and a great act of folly has been
committed by M. Ancillon in his marriage with Mlle. de Verquignieulle,
if what we hear from Berlin is true. M. de Valençay also informs me
that the entertainment given by M. Bresson,[20] at which the King of
Prussia was present, was a very brilliant affair; all the servants
were in full livery, blue, gold, and red, and Bresson said to him:
"These are my colours," an amusing remark, and one worthy of the
present time. "We shall see," as M. de Talleyrand says.
[20] M. Bresson was the French Minister at Berlin.
_Valençay, June 1, 1836._--The young French gentlemen who went to
Prague have returned after a very short stay. They were especially
struck by the atmosphere of boredom which is the environment of life
in that town. They said the Duc de Bordeaux had a very pleasant face,
but his figure was not attractive and his mind but little developed,
like that of a child brought up in the midst of old men.
At a dinner given on May 22 to the two French Princes by the Crown
Prince of Prussia, Princess Albert,[21] to the great rage of Bresson,
the great disgust of the King, and the general horror of the company,
appeared with an enormous garland of lilies in her hair; up to that
point her behaviour had been quite proper.
[21] Princess Albert of Prussia was a princess of the Low
Countries.
The presents distributed by the Duc d'Orléans at Berlin were most
expensive, and in money and diamonds amounted to more than a hundred
thousand francs. It is rather too much than not enough. Prince
Wittgenstein received a box containing not only the portrait of the
Prince Royal, but also that of the King and Queen--a very marked
attention. M. Ancillon, plastered with the great Cross of the Legion
of Honour, swelled himself out and strutted about, and appeared ready
to trample upon any one and every one. His behaviour is explained by
his middle-class origin and his Calvinistic views.
The parting was affectionate, some professing to love the Princes as
their sons and others as their brothers; in short, no success was ever
more complete. The ladies were all struck with the handsome appearance
of the Duc d'Orléans. My authorities for these statements are