Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino Part 23

_Paris, November 16, 1835._--M. de Barante came to say good-bye. He leaves to-morrow for St. Petersburg with a full heart and an anxious mind. Since the famous speech[60] of the Czar Nicolas at Warsaw, which Madame de Lieven herself refers to as a catastrophe, and since the commentary of the articles in the _Journal des Debats_ on this speech, the position of the French Amba.s.sador is a very difficult one. The line he is to take seems to me a good one and all the more prudent as it was traced for him by the King.

[60] The speech here mentioned was made on October 10, 1835, at Warsaw by the Emperor Nicolas, in the presence of the Corporation of that City, whom he was addressing. The Imperial words were filled with threats and reproaches to the Poles, formulated in terms so violent that they astonished Europe, where their authenticity was largely doubted. The allusions to clandestine relations maintained by the Polish rebels with foreign Powers, embarra.s.sed more than one diplomatist, and more than one Government. This speech was published by the _Journal des Debats_ of November 11, 1835, and will be found in the Appendix to this volume.

We dined last night at the Tuileries, where there were only the Royal Family, the ladies and gentlemen actually in attendance, and some young people, the friends of the little Princes. M. le Duc d'Aumale had just been head of his cla.s.s, which put him in high spirits. He was the only member of the company who appeared to me to be so.

The King was so kind as to have a charming portrait of Mary Stuart brought for me to see. It was all the more interesting as its history is pathetic. Mary Stuart's ladies went from England to Belgium immediately after their mistress's execution, and took with them this portrait which they placed in a public building where it still is. The Queen of the Belgians had a perfect copy of it made for the King, her father, and it is this copy which I saw.

In the course of the evening the King had a long talk with M. de Talleyrand and asked him to take a journey to Vienna. This however he declined, alleging in excuse the season of the year, his age, and the presence of another Amba.s.sador already accredited to Vienna.

_Paris, November 20, 1835._--The effect of the famous speech of the Emperor Nicolas to the munic.i.p.ality of Warsaw has been no less disagreeable at Vienna than at Berlin. The English papers have attacked it violently. The _Morning Chronicle_, the organ of the Whig Cabinet, has been much more violent even than the _Journal des Debats_. _A propos_ of the latter a curious thing has happened. The Government, wearied of all the indiscretions and improprieties committed by the _Debats_, which are becoming embarra.s.sing owing to the semi-official colour of the paper, formed the idea of giving more importance to the _Moniteur_ by inserting carefully-written articles, thus taking away the Ministerial importance of the _Debats_. This was the King's idea, and was adopted by the Cabinet. When, however, the question arose who should have the direct control of the _Moniteur_ the Duc de Broglie claimed it as President of the Council, whereupon the King at once dropped the plan, and things are as they were before.

Letters from England report that the English Ministry is much embarra.s.sed. Lord John Russell's timid speech at Bristol, without satisfying the Conservatives has irritated the Radicals and the Irish Catholics extremely, and the Cabinet's very existence appears to be seriously threatened though the question is adjourned until the opening of Parliament.

The more I see of Count Pahlen, the new Russian Amba.s.sador, the more excellent I find his disposition. I know on excellent authority that he has written to his Court in clear, simple, straightforward and kindly terms about what he has lately thought and seen. He did not conceal how much his social position was suffering owing to the instructions he had received, and he added that he did not feel bound to remain in such a position, declaring finally that his Government should either modify its first instructions or recall him. This declaration was sent off yesterday. The King and Madame Adelade are impatiently awaiting the answer, which of course will decide what relations there will be in future between our Government and that of Russia.

_Paris, November 23, 1835._--Here are the leading points of a letter which I have just received from the Duke of Wellington. "We are still on the path on which we entered five years ago. All we can hope for is that the pace will not be too fast. To stop, and, above all, to return, is impossible. Robespierre was at least honest as regards money, his power was founded on disinterestedness; but those who intend to govern us and who are going to be our rulers will not be guided by the same considerations. At least I fear not."

_Paris, November 24, 1835._--I spent a curious morning yesterday of which I wish to give a detailed description, but in order to be understood I must say a few words by way of preface.

I have a cousin named Louisa de Chabannes. In her early youth she was very pretty, and sang and painted. She was well bred but poor, and got no opportunity of marrying. She became retired, unsociable, weakly, and almost ugly. I used to see her three or four times a year, and I was always struck by the weariness of her manner, by her pallor and thinness, and by her silence and nervousness. Seven years ago I heard that she had joined the _Grandes Carmelites_. I was not surprised, for though she had never been exactly pious, it was quite clear that she was ill at ease in the world. However, like all her relations, I was quite convinced that the austerities of this severe Order would soon destroy that fragile and ailing organism. I heard, however, at long intervals, from her brother Alfred that she was still alive, and indeed much better than she used to be.

Yesterday morning I got a letter beginning, "My dear Cousin," and ending "Sur Therese de Jesus." For a moment I did not understand; then I recollected Louisa de Chabannes. In this letter she said that having at last obtained permission to see me from her Superior she begged me to come at once. Yesterday was one of the very few days on which visits are allowed, and she added that in order that I should not be terrified she had as a great favour obtained permission to see me with her face uncovered and without witnesses. I should have been very sorry to disappoint the poor woman, and as I had business with the Archbishop, who lives in the same neighbourhood, I resolved to do both on the same day.

I left at two, and drew up at the end of the Rue d'Enfer before a doorway surmounted by a cross. The doorkeeper told me that Vespers were not over, for the nuns said the Great Office every day, and that I should go into the Chapel. I did so. At the end of the choir there is a grille armed with projecting points, behind which is a great brown veil, and the voices of the Sisters come from beyond this.

Besides myself there were only two old ladies in the chapel, the only ornaments of which are a kneeling statue of Cardinal Berulle in white marble and several portraits of S. Theresa. I did not know my cousin well enough to recognise her voice, but the Office came to an end almost immediately, and I went back to the doorkeeper's room, where I found the convent doctor, who had just called.

While they were away announcing his arrival and mine he saw that I was s.h.i.+vering, for in this house there never is any fire except in the infirmary and in the kitchen. The doctor then spoke to me of the regime of the establishment, which he declares is not unwholesome, and to prove it said that after numerous observations he had come to the conclusion that the average age reached by women outside was thirty-seven, whereas among the Carmelites it was as much as fifty-four. He left me to go to the infirmary and soon afterwards they took me to the parlour, which also was without a fire. A little cane arm-chair, on which was spread a mat also of cane, was drawn up to an iron grille lined with a wooden casing, and behind this double barrier there was a curtain of brown wool.

After a few moments I heard a lock turned and some one came forward to the grille and said in a clear voice, "_Deo gratias_." I did not know what to reply and was silent, when the same voice repeated "_Deo gratias_." Thereupon I had to say "I have not been told what answer I should give." A little burst of laughter disconcerted me--"My dear cousin, I only wanted to be sure that it was you." The curtain was drawn and I saw before me a round fresh smiling countenance lit up by two bright blue eyes. Instead of the feeble voice I expected I heard rich, animated, and rapid accents. The thoughts which she expressed were kindly and sweet, and the a.s.surances she gave of her happiness and contentment were corroborated by her appearance, which certainly was strikingly rea.s.suring in a nun so strictly cloistered. She is forty-eight and does not look thirty-six. She thanked me very much for having come, and handed me a little medal with an effigy of the Blessed Virgin, begging me to make M. de Talleyrand wear it without his knowledge. "This medal," she said, "brings back to the Faith even those who have wandered furthest from it." I did not refuse to do as she wished, as to do so would have been horribly unkind. Besides, there is something catching in a faith so sincere and so vivid! I said that I would look for a favourable moment for carrying out her blessed purpose.

I left much touched, and very thoughtful after saying adieu, probably for ever, to this charming and happy woman, who sleeps on a board, never has a fire, fasts the whole year round, and would be distressed if she did not say with S. Theresa, "may I suffer or else die."

I went on the Rue Saint-Jacques to the Convent of the Dames Saint-Michel to see the Archbishop, to whom I wished to speak about a project of marriage between my second son and Mlle. de Fougeres. I was conducted by one of the sisters, clad in white from head to foot, to a little separate building which looks into the immense garden of the Convent. M. de Quelen has lived here almost entirely since the destruction of his palace. His apartments are clean, pretty, and very well looked after.

I found the Archbishop well and in good spirits and very much pleased to see me. He at once began to talk to me about my children, of their future and their marriages. I did not hesitate to go into details with him on this subject. He listened kindly and said that he would always be delighted to testify the interest he took in the family of the Cardinal de Perigord, and particularly in my children. I must know that he had a special interest in me which was due to the qualities I possessed, and to the fact that he had always regarded me as the instrument which Providence would probably use to accomplish its merciful and redeeming work on M. de Talleyrand. I made him promise to pay a morning call on M. de Talleyrand from time to time, as he used to do before our departure for England. When I left he said "Treat me as you used to do, as a relative, and promise me that you will come and see me again about the New Year." I said I would, and asked if I might then present my daughter, who had been baptized and confirmed by him. "And who, I hope, will not be married by any one else," he replied, on which I took my leave.

_Paris, December 6, 1835._--Here is a story which M. Mole told me last night. Madame de Caulaincourt (Mlle. d'Aubusson) married in 1812. On leaving the church after the ceremony she went back to the convent where she had been educated, and her husband left for the front. He was killed at the battle of La Moskowa, where his brother-in-law, a young page of the Emperor, disappeared and was never heard of again.

Madame de Caulaincourt, after her year of mourning, returned to Society, but did not go out much. She kept her father's house, he having been for long a widower. Her eldest brother, shortly after his marriage with Mlle. de Boissy, became completely insane, and her sister, the d.u.c.h.esse de Vantadour, was attacked by a slow consumption.

The father, all of whose children were stricken, decided to marry again, and did, in fact, marry Madame Greffulhe, mother of Madame de Castellane. Madame de Caulaincourt then retired to a convent, where she wished to take the veil. Her father opposed this and the Archbishop of Paris, whose consent was necessary, refused to give it so long as M. d'Aubusson withheld his approval. Madame de Caulaincourt was forced to give up her idea, but she took part in the exercises of the Sisterhood and wore their habit, never leaving the convent except when her father was ill. Her grief at not being allowed to follow her vocation undermined her health and the mischief settled naturally on her chest. On her deathbed she at last obtained her father's permission and sent for the Archbishop, to whom she communicated her desire to take the veil at the same time as she received extreme unction. There were some difficulties about this, but they were overcome, and forty-eight hours before she breathed her last she received the last sacraments and the veil that she so ardently desired! She died yesterday morning, in the odour of sanct.i.ty, a young woman.

_Paris, December 9, 1835._--Madame la Princesse de Talleyrand died an hour ago. I have not yet told M. de Talleyrand more than that she was dying. Even where there is no affection the word "dead" has a sinister sound, and I do not like to say it to an aged man in ill-health--the less so as when he awoke to-day he had another slight heart attack, which abated on the application of mustard to his legs. He fell asleep again, and I shall tell him of his wife's death when he again awakes.

He is in haste, I think, to be free at all costs from the agitations of these last days.

_Paris, December 15, 1835._--M. Guizot came to see M. de Talleyrand yesterday, and told us that among the papers of M. Real, formerly Chief of the Imperial Police, there had been discovered the original ma.n.u.script of the Memoirs of the Cardinal de Retz, with the erasures made by the monks of Saint Mihiel. The ma.n.u.script had been bought by the Government, which had invoked the aid of the cleverest chemist in Paris, who, having vainly tried various methods, had finally discovered one which enabled the superimposed text to be removed and the original to be read. A new edition of the Memoirs, based on this ma.n.u.script, is to be published.

Madame d'Esclignac, who is behaving very badly about the property of the Princesse de Talleyrand, had a discussion on the subject yesterday with the d.u.c.h.esse de Poix. The latter tried to make her see the impropriety of her conduct, how odious the publicity of a lawsuit would be, and how ungrateful to M. de Talleyrand, who gave her a dowry and is still paying a pension to her old nurse, whom she had left to die of hunger. To all this Madame d'Esclignac replied: "For my own part I do not fear any scandal, and as far as my uncle is concerned I desire it. I shall have the Faubourg Saint-Germain on my side, for I had the Archbishop of Paris to administer the last sacraments to Madame de Talleyrand."

_Paris, December 21, 1835._--Count Pahlen received from his Government yesterday very satisfactory despatches, which a.s.sure him that the extravagances of the _Journal des Debats_ are not confounded with the views of the King and his Ministers. These despatches, which came by post, were quite obviously intended to be read by the public. The Amba.s.sador expects a courier every day, who will no doubt bring an expression of the private views of the Czar.

The Princesse de Lieven, whom I met yesterday at Madame Apponyi's, spoke to me about her affairs, and said that for a long time back her husband and she had invested all their savings out of Russia in order that they might be safe from ukases.

The Prince de Laval said yesterday, amusingly enough, that M. de Montrond's wit "fed on human fles.h.!.+" M. de Talleyrand thinks this "_very true and very neat!_"

_Paris, December 30, 1835._--I saw Madame Adelade yesterday. She was much satisfied with the opening sitting of the Chambers, which had taken place that very morning. She was pleased with the reception the King had, both coming and going, and along all the way from the Garde Nationale. There had been great difficulties in settling the terms of the speech from the Throne, which was still under discussion ten minutes before the sitting. The words "the Head of my Family," which are causing a great sensation, which are thought bold, but which please the diplomatic corps and every one who is on the side of stability, originate neither in the Palace nor in the Cabinet. They come from a sentence composed by M. de Talleyrand and me, which the King eagerly adopted, but the Cabinet would only authorise the words "the Head of my Family." The Carlists think them insolent! They are horrified at the idea of a fourth family! The Republicans like them no better, perhaps rather worse; ... every one else approves of them highly.

Yesterday we had at dinner Madame de Lieven, Mr. Edward Ellice, Count Pahlen, Matuczewicz, and M. Thiers, who was in high spirits and very brilliant in conversation. He took me into a corner and told me that le Bergeron, of Port Royal, had a new criminal enterprise in hand. He had disguised himself in woman's clothes along with one of his friends, with the intention of making as if to present a pet.i.tion to the King, and while doing so to shoot him point blank. The plan miscarried because the King, instead of riding to the Chamber as he had intended, went in a carriage because of the frost. Several arrests were made, but as nothing was actually attempted it is thought that they will have to release the suspects.

The fact that eight horses were attached for the first time to the King's carriage attracted attention. The real reason for this is unknown to the public, and is as follows. For greater safety the King (without his knowledge) was given the carriage formerly used by the Emperor Napoleon, which is lined with iron throughout to protect it from shots; it is extremely heavy, and requires eight horses.

Count Pahlen yesterday received despatches modifying his first instructions, which were very severe in their terms and made his position here impossible. It appears that this has been clearly understood at St. Petersburg, and that he is to be given more scope.

This will greatly please Madame de Lieven!

APPENDIX

I

_Speech made on October 6, 1830, by_ M. DE TALLEYRAND _on the occasion of his presenting his credentials to the_ KING OF ENGLAND _as Amba.s.sador of France at the Court of St. James's.

See page 270._

SIR,

His Majesty the King of the French has chosen me to be the interpreter of his sentiments towards Your Majesty, and I have joyfully accepted a mission which sheds so much l.u.s.tre on the end of my long career.

Sir, of all the vicissitudes which I have seen in the course of my long life, in all the changes of fortune which I have experienced during forty eventful years, nothing perhaps could have so completely satisfied my desires as an appointment which would bring me back to this happy country. But how times change! The jealousies and prejudices which so long divided France and England have given place to sentiments of esteem and enlightened affection. Common principles bind the two countries even more closely together. England in her foreign policy repudiates, like France, the principle of interfering in her neighbour's foreign relations, and the Amba.s.sador of a Monarch who is the unanimous choice of a great people feels himself at ease in a land of liberty in the presence of a scion of the ill.u.s.trious House of Brunswick. I appeal, Sir, with confidence for your countenance in the duties with which I am charged at your Majesty's Court, and I pray that your Majesty will be pleased to accept the homage of my profound respect.

II

_Speech addressed by_ H.I.M. _the_ CZAR NICOLAS _to the Munic.i.p.ality of Warsaw on October 10, 1835._[61]

[61] This speech first appeared in the _National_. The _Moniteur_ reproduced it some days later.

GENTLEMEN, I know that you wished to speak to me, and I even know the contents of the speech you proposed to make. It is in order to save you from uttering a lie that I do not allow that speech to be made--Yes, Gentlemen, a lie--for I know that your sentiments are not what you would have me believe. How could I believe you whose language on the eve of the Revolution was the same? Was it not you who five years since, aye eight years since, talked to me of your fidelity and devotion, and made the finest protestations? Before a fortnight had gone you broke your oaths and committed the most atrocious crimes.

The Emperor Alexander, who did more for you than an Emperor of Russia should have done, was recompensed with the blackest ingrat.i.tude. You have never been content with your position, however advantageous it has been made for you, and you have ended by destroying your own happiness--I am telling you the truth as this is the first time that I have had occasion to see you since the late troubles. Deeds, Gentlemen, are required, not words. Repentance must come from the heart. I am speaking without heat; you see that I am calm: I bear you no malice and I will do you good in spite of yourselves.

The Marshal here is carrying out my intentions and a.s.sisting me in my plans; he too is concerning himself with your welfare. (_Here the members of the deputation bowed to the Marshal_). Well, Gentlemen, what do these bows mean? Before all things you must do your duty and behave like decent people. You have to choose one of two courses, either to persist in your illusions about the independence of Poland, or to live quietly like faithful subjects under my government.

If you are obstinate enough to go on dreaming of a separate nationality, of an independent Poland and chimeras of that kind the only possible result will be that you will bring disaster on your own heads. I have built a fortress here and I a.s.sure you that on the slightest symptom of revolt I will have the town bombarded. I will destroy Warsaw, and most a.s.suredly it will not be I who will rebuild it.

It is very painful to me to speak to you thus. It is very painful for any sovereign to have to address his subjects in such terms; but I do so for your good. Your business, Gentlemen, is to labour to deserve that the past should be forgotten, and it is only by your devotion to my government that you can achieve this.

I know that correspondence is carried on with foreign countries and that malignant persons are sent here to pervert you. But with the best police in the world clandestine relations cannot be altogether suppressed on a frontier like yours. You must yourselves act as police for the suppression of the evil. Bring up your children well and inculcate good principles of religion and fidelity to their sovereign, and you will have no difficulty in keeping the right road.