RETURN TO ENGLAND—MEETING WITH THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE—FRANCE UNDER THE
BOURBONS—PARISIAN SOCIETY.
[ON the 29th of June, Miss Knight left Paris and travelled by way of St.
Germain and Mantes to Rouen, and so on to Dieppe, whence she crossed
over to Brighton, and arrived in London on the 3rd of July.]
JOURNAL CONTINUED.
July 4th, 1816.—The weather so cold and uncomfortable that I was obliged
to have a fire. London is still full, but growing thinner. The state of
the country is rather alarming, owing to the riots and the general
discontent.
5th.—There has been a great bankruptcy in London. Ministers have sent to
stop deputations from Manchester and Birmingham which were coming to the
Regent. He has a levee to-day. In the evening I wrote a note to Princess
Charlotte to inform her of my arrival in England, and to inquire when I
might see her. I had a kind answer in return, desiring to see me next
day between one and two.
6th.—I went to Princess Charlotte’s,[73] whom I found sitting to Hayter,
the miniature painter. He remained during the whole of the time I was
there, which was an hour and a half, as he was told that Prince Leopold
wished to see him before he left. She appeared agitated, but was
friendly as usual. Prince Leopold came in to look at the picture, and
announced the weather being fine and the curricle ready, on which I took
my leave. He was civil.
11th.—A person called on me who has the means of knowing many things
relative to the affairs of Princess Charlotte, and told me the Regent
and the Queen had opened their eyes with respect to myself, and were now
persuaded that my conduct had been such as they could not think
injurious to themselves. It is probable they knew _who_ was the
mischief-maker.
12th.—In the morning I saw Princess Charlotte, who gave me a print of
Prince Leopold. She was very cordial, but, I believe, sees very few
people. Hayter was there, and Prince Leopold came in to sit for his
picture. Not having been very well, she is not going to the grand ball
given by the Regent this evening.
13th.—The Duke of Sussex called on me early, as he was going to
Sheridan’s funeral.[74] He said the Prince Regent was moving everything
to get a divorce. This I had heard from various people, as also that
Lord Exmouth was to be an informer.
22nd.—Having received accounts of the death of Vittoria Ruffo, eldest
daughter of Prince Castelcicala, I returned to town from Rochetts for
the purpose of seeing her afflicted parents. She was accomplished and
sensible, and most useful in her own family, and her loss must be felt
by all who knew her. When I arrived, I found they were not yet in Town,
as she is not to be buried till to-morrow morning.
At nine in the evening the guns fired for Princess Mary’s marriage with
the Duke of Gloucester.
25th.—I saw Princess Charlotte; her husband, and Hayter, the painter,
were with her. She told me she had Claremont, and seemed pleased with
it.
30th.—I called to take leave of Princess Charlotte, but could not see
her, as Prince Leopold was suffering from a pain in his face. She wrote
me a very affectionate note afterwards to apologise. I left my name at
Carlton House.
August 6th.—I went with Miss Jervis and the Countess de F—— to New Hall,
a large house built by Henry VIII. at a little distance from Chelmsford,
now occupied by a convent of English nuns, who, after various
wanderings, in consequence of being driven from their home at Liége by
the French, have been settled here about seventeen years.[75] The
superior, lately elected, is an agreeable woman, sister of Sir William
Gerard, of Lancashire. Lady Frances Browne, a daughter of Lord Kenmare,
is there, and a sister of Lord Stourton has professed. There are
thirty-six nuns and sixty-five boarders, the latter chiefly daughters of
Roman Catholics of fashion. They are not rich, but appear well-behaved
women, and are very hospitable. The young ladies were dancing when we
went into the hall, and performed three quadrilles with great propriety.
Henry VIII. was staying here when Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and there is
a sign, at a short distance on the road, which has his portrait on one
side and a headless woman on the other.
29th.—Arrived at Buckden.[76] The Bishop of Lincoln has inhabited this
palace thirty years. It is not known when it was built, but it is
mentioned in the reign of King Stephen. The tower which I inhabit, with
four turrets at the angles, was once the residence of Katharine of
Aragon, after her divorce from Henry, before she went to Kimbolton. That
place, belonging to the Duke of Manchester, is not many miles distant
from hence. Buckden Palace is not large, but very curious as a specimen
of the architecture of many ages. The grounds are laid out so as to
agree perfectly with the style of building. Over the second gateway in
entering the palace is the episcopal library, not very large, but
interesting from the antiquity of some of the books. The Bishop has his
private library in a room he built for the purpose. The appearance of
the entire building gives the idea of great strength. The Bishop has all
Mr. Pitt’s papers, and is writing his life.
August 9th.—Quitted Buckden, after passing my time there very
pleasantly, owing to the interesting conversation of the Bishop[77] and
Mrs. Tomline, whose sister, Mrs. Maltby, was staying with them.
23rd.—Went to see an old tree in Thorndon Park,[78] called “the Riven
Oak.” It must be of extraordinary age, as it is mentioned in papers
belonging to Lord Petrie’s family in the reign of Henry VIII. as “the
old oak.” Lord St. Vincent told me it served as a boundary in the reign
of Henry VII. It is of considerable dimensions, and in good foliage as
far as the trunk goes, which seems to be about one-third of its former
height. The several coats of bark, which grow whiter as they advance in
age, are very curious.
September 18th.—Called on Lady Loudon, who has lately returned to
England, on account of her children. She goes back to Lord Moira in a
few months.
23rd.—Went with Lady Charleville to see the cast which was taken from
the first monument erected to the memory of Shakspeare by his
son-in-law. The original figure, which is a sort of half length, with
hands, was, it seems, painted to represent dress and drapery. It cannot,
therefore, be expected that the features should be correct or the
drawing good; but traditionally we learn that the likeness was perfect.
The forehead is beautiful. Indeed, all the features are good, but there
is more of benevolence than of any other expression in the countenance.
[In the spring of 1817, Miss Knight left England on a tour through
France and Italy, and did not return to England until the latter end of
May, 1819. The rough notes of her wanderings do not, however, contain
anything of general interest, though she is mentioned in Mrs. Piozzi’s
correspondence as acting the part of cicerone to the friends with whom
she travelled.[79] At Rome, Miss Knight received intelligence of the
death, on the 6th of November, 1817, of the Princess Charlotte. The
entry in her diary, on this afflicting subject, is brief and
inexpressive. “The Count de Blacas, Ambassador from France,” she writes
in her journal at the end of November, “and several of my former Roman
acquaintances, have been very kind. The Duke of Devonshire, the Marquis
of Douglas, and many English, very obliging—particularly on the
melancholy event of the Princess Charlotte’s death, the news of which
arrived on the 22nd, but I did not hear of it till the 23rd.”[80]
JOURNAL CONTINUED.
May 13th, 1821.—The christening of the little Duke de Bordeaux,[81] and
the fêtes in consequence of it, in the first week of the present month,
went off remarkably well; and the people, it seems, appeared very happy.
At the Chamber of Peers a trial is going on for the conspiracy of last
year,[82] and it is supposed both Houses will sit till July. M. de
Chateaubriand is returned from Prussia, and says that not only all is
tranquil at Berlin, but that the Government has energy, and the people
are satisfied. He sat beside Mr. Canning at a great dinner on Monday,
when they had much conversation together on public affairs.
19th.—Took possession of apartments, which I had engaged for three
months, in the Place Bourbon, opposite to the Hôtel du Corps Législatif,
formerly the palace of the Prince de Condé. This is a very central
situation, being near the Pont de Louis Quinze.
The Royalists have obtained a great victory in the Chamber of Deputies,
by carrying the bill for the creation of several additional bishoprics.
24th.—The weather continues cold and windy. The Duchess de Berri has
gone to some chapel near Soissons, on a pilgrimage. She will be absent
five days.
25th.—Went to Prince Castelcicala’s in the evening, and met the Count de
Sèze, who defended Louis XVI. before the National Convention. He is now
a Peer, head of the first tribunal in the kingdom, and decorated with
orders. He was fourteen months in a dungeon, and only obtained his
liberty on the death of Robespierre. Malesherbes, who had invited him to
come to stay with him in the country, was guillotined. He told several
anecdotes of the King, and said that sometimes his Majesty thought his
life would be spared, and that if he were obliged to abdicate he would
retire into Switzerland. It appeared to me, from the conversation of De
Sèze, that the reason why Louis XVI. chose to be defended by the
constitution which he had sworn—or, rather, the reason why he
acknowledged the Assembly as his judges—was that Charles I. had declined
to make a similar acknowledgment, and was beheaded. De Sèze said that
according to the constitution the King could only be obliged to
abdicate. He seemed to think that Louis showed great firmness, and that
he was a man of abilities. He sometimes read Tacitus and Livy with him.
He also stated that the King was sincere in his attachment to the
constitution which he had accepted and wanted to maintain. He therefore
made De Sèze leave out from the defence which he was to read a
preliminary part, in which the latter had introduced a sentence against
the lawfulness of the tribunal before which he was to plead the cause of
his royal client. That Louis XVI. had sanctioned what are now called
liberal principles there can be no doubt. His support of the Americans,
and his first measures with respect to his own kingdom, demonstrated his
having listened to that party; but when he discovered his danger, and
perceived the excesses to which all this had led, one would think that
he must have been heartily sick of the constitution. Indeed, the paper
which he left behind him when he fled—if it were authentic—seems to
prove this was the case.
De Sèze is a lively, active man. The King sent him the other day a
snuff-box, with the portrait of Louis XVI., and a note written with his
own hand, telling him it was the only one worthy of him. The Emperors of
Austria and Russia and the King of Prussia, when they were here, gave
him boxes set in diamonds.
27th.—Went by appointment to the Duchess d’Angoulême’s. She looked thin
and ill, but was very gracious, and talked to me of the death of the
Duke de Berri, of the providential birth of the Duke de Bordeaux, and of
English affairs. She is going for a month to the baths of Vichy. A M.
Prévost, who has often been employed on diplomatic business, arrived
from Naples. The King entered that city on the 15th. M. de Blacas, now a
duke, accompanied his Majesty, and the joy was universal—illuminations,
music, dancing, and general festivity, with immense crowds in the
streets.
30th.—Went to Neuilly, to pay my respects to the Duchess d’Orleans.[83]
It happened also to be the nameday of her father, the King of Naples,
and of her son, the Duke de Chartres. The Duke d’Orleans is now
proprietor of Neuilly, having made an exchange with Government. He is
building and embellishing both house and garden, and has already added
some handsome apartments for his sister.
June 1st.—Met at Prince Castelcicala’s the Russian Ambassador at the
Court of Naples, who is going to England to compliment the King on his
coronation. There was the Baron de Vincent, the Austrian ambassador
here, who has arrived from the Congress.[84] He was at the battle of
Waterloo, and was wounded there. He went as a volunteer, being then
Minister at Brussels, and is said to be a very worthy man.
4th.—Went in the evening, with Prince Castelcicala, by invitation, to
Madame de Gontaut’s, who is governess of the little Duke de Bordeaux.
There was a considerable assembly of ladies, and several gentlemen. The
Duchess de Berri was there, and talked to everybody. Monsieur came late,
but, as usual, was most amiable.
5th.—Accompanied Lady Stafford and Charles Ruffo to the Chambre des
Députés. The house is in the form of an ancient theatre, but the
speakers are not well heard—and speakers they should not be called, for
they read their discourses, and in a very monotonous way. We heard none
of the famous personages, to be sure, but there was one of the Côté
Droit, another of the Côté Gauche, and another half and half. I clearly
perceive that they wish to prove that they have much judgment, are great
reasoners, and that they have what is called “aplomb.” For this purpose
they are as dull as possible, and I judge, not only from what I now
heard, but from the speeches of some of their most able men which I have
read. The question was about the budget, and the man who came from the
Côté Gauche was a caricature of our reformers, for the small sum which
he objected to appeared really ludicrous. All he said was aimed against
Government and the clergy. One of his expressions was, “Pourquoi
devons-nous payer tant pour nous faire gouverner?” and another, “Deux
cent cinquante francs à des gens qui ne s’occupent qu’à rester au coin
de leur feu, ou peut-être pis encore.” I am afraid ten pounds a year
would not make them very warm _au coin du feu_. It is true the Côté
Droit had the good taste to laugh vehemently at some of these tirades.
In the evening I was at a party at Lady Elizabeth Stuart’s, where, by
crowding all together into the middle of the room, we contrived to
appear a great many English; but I do not think there are so many as in
former years since the peace.
18th.—Dined at Lord Stafford’s. Humboldt, the traveller, Denon, Mr.
Fazakerley,[85] &c., were there. Humboldt talks much, and with great
vivacity. Denon I had not seen since 1796, when he was Secretary of
Embassy, with M. le Baron de Talleyrand, at Naples, since when he has
been made a Baron.[86] He is now wild after lithography, and I saw a
portrait which he had done extremely well. His etchings formerly were
very spirited.
21st.—The weather is by no means warm yet, but it has not rained for
some days, notwithstanding the ill-omen of St. Médard.[87] The
Duchess-Dowager of Orleans has been for several weeks in a sad state
with a cancer, and her release is daily expected. Two days ago she
received the pon-tifical benediction from the Nuncio, and has blessed
her children and grandchildren.
23rd.—The Duchess of Orleans died this day. She was a woman of great
good nature, and very charitable, but weakly guided by a man who, she
thought, had saved her life and property. Perhaps he had, but scandal,
very unjustly I believe, took advantage of her gratitude, while his
disagreeable manners made him many enemies. He died a year ago, but his
widow remained with the Duchess. The Duchess leaves an immense property,
of which one-third goes to her daughter (Madame Adelaide) and two-thirds
to the Duke, besides legacies and pensions to her ladies and servants.
The mourning is to be six days in black and six in white.
24th.—At Lord Stafford’s I met at dinner the Abbé de
Montesquiou-Fénezac,[88] an entertaining, agreeable man, and one of the
last survivors of the class of “aimables abbés” of the times of yore.
His manners are particularly good. As a minister he did not shine. He
seemed much attached to the Duke d’Angoulême.
27th.—Dined at Epinay, at Madame de G.’s. The Bishop of St. Cloud went
with me: a sensible, respectable man. Count Sorzo, a Ragusan, whom I had
formerly met at Rome and Venice, dined there, as also a Frenchman, whose
father having been consul at Ragusa, he had had the good fortune to be
educated there. By which means he had acquired wonderful knowledge (for
a consul), and they say he writes Latin verses with great facility, like
the Ragusans themselves. He has himself been consul in the Levant. His
conversation, and that of Count Sorzo, were very interesting. Mme. de
Boufflers,[89] widow of the Chevalier Count de Sabran, and her son by
her first husband, who is an elegant poet, and other clever people,
dined there; yet it was not a “blue” dinner—there was no pretension. The
gardens are very pretty; a lake, with a bridge of cords over it, in
imitation of the American ones described by Humboldt; grottos; the
Temple of Truth, with mirrors reflecting every way, &c. &c.
July 4th.—The King and Royal Family went to St. Cloud, to stay a month.
His Majesty does not like moving from the Tuileries, where he has his
books and his visitors, but the apartments require cleaning and
repairing.
6th.—Received a telegraphic account of the death of Bonaparte.[90]
17th.—I have observed very little sensation occasioned by the death of
Bonaparte. Dr. F——, who lives in the Place Vendôme, told me he observed
a sort of procession walk round the column in the night, but not of
military men. They were probably students, who, particularly those of
surgery and medicine, are disaffected to the present Government. I heard
also of some who carried staves in their hands, walking in companies in
the Palais Royal and in the Rue des Petits Champs, but nothing of
consequence.
23rd.—Prince Leopold arrived in Paris, on his way to Germany and Italy.
He dined with the King at St. Cloud.
28th.—Prince Leopold dined with Sir Charles Stuart. He is often with the
Orleans family. It is said that the Duke de Richelieu has persuaded the
two Royalist Ministers, Messieurs de Corbière and de Villèle, to remain
in office. They were going to resign.
29th.—At Prince Castelcicala’s I met Don Luigi Medici, who has been to
the coronation in England, having left Rome a few weeks ago. He happily
escaped from Naples without passport or bill of health, having concealed
himself for three days, as he was on the proscribed list, and would have
been murdered by the Carbonari. He was an excellent Minister of Finance,
but the rebels knew he would not forward their views. His account of the
whole affair was very interesting. Amongst other horrid things, there
was a procession of forty thousand men armed with stilettoes. It is
difficult to decide whether atrocious rapacity on the one side, or
cowardly weakness on the other, were most conspicuous.
Princess Augusta has gone to see her sisters in Germany, and the King to
Ireland.
August 9th.—The Duke de Richelieu received a telegraphic account of the
death of the Queen of England.[91] For some days the reports of her case
had been very bad.
13th.—Mrs. Lutwyche and I went to the Tuileries, where the King, Madame,
and the Duke d’Angoulême received company; all very gracious.
14th.—The remains of the late Queen of England have been removed from
Brandenburg House, where she died, to be taken to Harwich, and embarked
for the Continent, as she had expressed a desire that she might be
buried at Brunswick. The telegraph gave sad accounts of the scuffle
between the Government and the populace, in which some persons lost
their lives, and others were wounded.
September 7th.—I heard Don Luigi Medici say that there was some reason
for the persecution by the English of the late Queen of Naples, Caroline
of Austria. He believed that Lord William Bentinck, and the English in
general, were deceived by letters to Bonaparte, fabricated in her name.
These letters were forged by a Neapolitan notary, who imitated her
handwriting perfectly, and were thrown in the way of the English, in
order to be intercepted by them. This notary was in the employ of
Bonaparte. Another circumstance which appeared to confirm the suspicions
of the English was this: When Lucien Bonaparte was taken by an English
frigate, he wrote to the Queen of Naples, and enclosed open letters,
which he wished to have forwarded to his sister, &c., throwing himself
on her generosity. Medici and others advised her to show those letters
to the English authorities, but she said that she would not betray even
an enemy, and particularly one who had trusted her. These letters also
were intercepted, and told against her.
25th.—A telegraphic despatch from Calais announced that the King of
England had landed there at five o’clock. He goes to Hanover, but it is
said that he has given up the intention of coming to Paris on his way
home. He had very stormy weather on his passage from Ireland, and stayed
in London only long enough to appoint the Lords Justices for the
government of the kingdom during his absence.
29th.—Michaelmas-day—anniversary of the birth of the Duke de Bordeaux. I
went to Court at the Tuileries, and saw the King, Madame, the Duke
d’Angoulême, Monsieur, and the Duke de Berri. Monsieur told me that the
King of England did not now mean to come to Paris, but that he gave
hopes of their seeing him in the spring.
October 7th.—Went to meet a party of English at Baron Denon’s, who has
fine apartments on the Quai Voltaire, and a very large collection of
paintings, bronzes, and drawings. He was Director of the Museum in the
time of Bonaparte, and much patronised by him. There was a head by
David, the beginning of a picture of Bonaparte when he was in Italy. The
hair is like that of the Covenanters in the seventeenth century, and the
countenance is that of an ill-natured, scowling boy. There was a curious
ivory cabinet, with figures, said to be of the time of St. Louis, and an
ivory bas-relief of Scripture history, from Constantinople, of the
fourth century, besides paintings by Velasquez and Murillo, and a great
quantity of lithographs by Denon himself, who is now engaged on a
history of the Arts in different ages.
8th.—Went to dine with M. de G. at Epinay, and before dinner went with
Madame de Boufflers, Count de Sabran (her son), and the Bishop of St.
Cloud, to the house of Larive,[92] a celebrated actor, now retired from
the stage, and aged seventy-five, but remarkably active and well in
health. He has built a very pretty house on the summit of a steep hill,
and made walks through the woods, cutting channels to drain off the
water in a very curious way. For, as you ascend, you everywhere hear the
water bubbling under your feet or beside you. He recited a couple of
speeches with great effect.
18th.—I was invited by the Duchess of Orleans to Neuilly, to hear an
improvisatore. His name is Pestrucci, brother of the medallist in
England; he is also a painter. The Duchess de Berri, with one of her
ladies and her equerry, came uninvited. There was a very small party.
His Majesty, having had two attacks of the gout at Hanover, does not
come to Paris this winter. A turtle that had been sent for and kept for
his arrival by the King of France, is now put to death.
November 5th.—The two Chambers opened at the Louvre by the King.
Yesterday there was La Messe du St. Esprit, at Notre-Dame, which was
attended by all the great personages of the kingdom.
About the end of November the ultra-Royalists and the Liberals joined
together to attack Ministers. The King was very angry with their
address, which was chiefly, if not entirely, penned by the former. The
phrase which most hurt him was the implied suspicion that he would
forget the honour of France to keep up a good intelligence with other
nations.
December 10th.—As yet nothing has been done towards changing the
Ministry. The Opposition now declare they will vote against the Budget,
and if Ministers continue in a minority it is difficult to say how they
will get on. In the mean while, this stupid business is canvassed in all
societies, and leads to nothing entertaining or instructive.
The Prince and Princess of Denmark are here. I think them like our Royal
Family. She is the grand-daughter of poor Caroline Matilda, and he the
grandson of her persecutrix, the Dowager Queen. The Ambassadors will not
give place to them, and they appear to assume very little state. They go
by the names of the Count and Countess of Oldenburg.
15th.—A new Ministry.[93] Messieurs Villèle and Corbière for the
Finance and Home Departments (Royalists); Viscount Mathieu de
Montmorency, who was a Constitutionalist, for the Foreign Office; M.
de Clermont-Tonnerre, also a Constitutionalist, for the Marine;
Victor, Duke de Bellune, one of Bonaparte’s generals, who rose from
the ranks, Minister of War—said to be an excellent Royalist. The
ultras, on the whole, are much pleased. The Duke de Richelieu and all
the former Ministers have resigned.
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