Dieppe has not forgotten the benefits received from the Duchess of
Berry. It was this amiable Princess that made fashionable the pretty
Normandy city and made it the most elegant bathing resort of Europe.
She made five visits there, of several weeks each, in 1824, 1825, 1826,
1827, and 1829.
The Duchess came for the first time to Dieppe some time before the
death of Louis XVIII. She arrived the 29th of July, and left the 23d of
August. She conceived immediately a passion for the picturesque town,
as famous for its fine beach as for its smiling environs. The
enthusiasm manifested for her by the inhabitants touched her. She said
to the mayor: "Henri IV. was right when he called the Dieppois his good
friends. I shall imitate my ancestor in his love for them."
The next year--the year of the coronation--Madame returned to her
favorite city. She arrived there the 2d of August, 1825. More than
twenty thousand persons were awaiting her at the boundary of the
district, and her entry was triumphal. The 6th of August, the actors of
the Gymnase, come from Paris, gave a theatrical representation in her
honor.
Madame made many excursions by sea. There was on her boat a tent of
crimson silk, above which floated the white flag. The little flotilla
of the royal navy had manoeuvres in her honor, and saluted her with
salvos of artillery. The 10th of September, the Princess made an
excursion to Bacqueville, where there awaited her a numerous cortege of
Cauchois women, all on horseback, in the costume of the country. The
12th, she breakfasted in the ship Le Rodeur, and a recently constructed
merchant vessel was launched in her presence. She departed the 14th,
promising to return the following year.
Accordingly, Madame left Paris for Dieppe the 7th of August, 1826. The
morrow of her arrival, she assisted at the inauguration of a new
playhouse that had been built within six months. The mayor presented
the Princess with some keys, artistically worked--the keys to her loge
and to her salon. The prologue of the opening piece, entitled La Poste
Royale, was filled with delicate allusions and compliments. The 17th of
August, there was a performance offered by Madame to the sailors and
soldiers of the garrison. From his place in the parterre a subordinate
of the 64th regiment of the line sang, in honor of the Princess, some
couplets expressing the sentiments of his comrades.
The 19th, there was a visit to the ruins of the Chateau of Arques,
immortalized by the victory of Henry IV. An agreeable surprise for
Madame was a comedy for the occasion improvised by the actors of the
Vaudeville. When the Princess presents herself before the Chateau, a
little peasant girl at first refuses her admittance. She has received
orders, she says, from her father and mother to open to no one, no
matter whom. But the air Vive Henri IV. is heard, and straightway both
doors are opened wide to the Princess. An old concierge and his wife
sing piquant verses about their first refusal to open to her. From here
Madame is guided by the little peasant girl to the entrance of an
ancient garden, where she perceives the whole troupe in the costume of
gardeners and garden girls. She is offered bouquets and escorted to a
dairy at the extremity of the ruins. The band of the guard plays for
her her favorite air, Charmante Gabrielle. A young milk-maid--the
pretty actress Jenny Colon--offers her a cup of milk and sings couplets
that please her greatly. Then comes the husband of the dairy-maid and
recounts to the grand-daughter of Henry IV. the victory won by her
ancestor over the Duke of Mayenne. A little later, Madame is conducted
to the foot of an ancient tower, whence there is a view of immense
extent. Here she is arrested by the songs of an ancient minstrel, whose
voice is accompanied by mysterious music hidden in the hollows of the
ruins.
Going from surprise to surprise, the Princess trav erses a long arch of
verdure where she reads on escutcheons the dates dear to her heart. At
the end of this long avenue, she again finds the entire troupe of the
Vaudeville, who re-escort her to the gates of Chateau, singing a
general chorus of farewell, amid cries of "Long live the King! Long
live Madame!" the effect of which is doubled by repeated salutes of
artillery.
Some days later, the 7th of September, the Duchess of Berry learned,
during the day, that a frightful tempest threatened to engulf a great
number of fishing-boats which were coming toward port. Instantly she
countermanded a ball that she was to give that evening. She proceeded
in all haste to the point whence aid could be given to these
unfortunates. Clinging to a little post on the jetty, which the waves
covered from all sides, she directed and encouraged the rescue. The
Dieppe correspondence of the Moniteur said:--
"What has been seen at Dieppe alone, is a young Princess, braving all
the dangers of a wild sea, re maining on the end of the jetty to direct
the succor of the fishing-boats that were seeking refuge in the harbor.
She seemed placed there by the Deity as a protecting angel, and the
sailors who saw her took courage again."
She withdrew from the dangerous place, which she called her post, only
when all the barks had entered port. One man only had perished. Before
even changing her clothing the Princess sent relief to his widow.
By her kindness, her charity, her grace, Madame won all hearts. Her
protection revived at Dieppe the commerce in ivory and laces. She gave
two brevets, one in her own name, the other in that of Mademoiselle, to
the best two manufacturers in the city, and made considerable
purchases. She founded at her expense, under the direction of the
Sisters of Providence, a manufactory of laces where a large number of
young girls obtained at the same time the means of living and the
benefits of a Christian education. Between the Princess and her good
city of Dieppe there was a constant exchange of delicate attentions and
proofs of sympathy. When she was spoken to of preparations for
departure, "Already?" she said sadly. She left the 19th of September,
1826, and returned the following year.
The 6th of August, 1827, Madame made an entry to Dieppe by the hamlet
of Janval. A great crowd went to visit her, and greeted her with
enthusiastic cheers. The 13th of August, the city offered her a great
ball, at which more than twelve hundred persons attended. On the 16th,
the portrait of the Princess was unveiled at the Hotel de Ville. At the
moment that the veil was raised, the band of the fifth regiment of the
royal guard played the air of Vive Henri IV. amid long applause. The
mayor of Dieppe, M. Cavalier, pronounced a discourse in which he
expressed the gratitude of the inhabitants, and promised that the
cherished image should be surrounded, age after age, by the veneration
of a city whose history was one of constant devotion to its Kings. In
the evening Madame gave a soiree at which the hereditary Princess of
Hesse-Darmstadt was present. Rossini was at the piano and sang with his
wife and with Balfe; Nadermann played the harp.
The Duchess of Berry made numerous excursions by sea, even in the worst
weather. One day, at least, she was in some danger. The sailors admired
her good spirits and her courage. "Oh," they said, "she is indeed a
worthy descendant of Henry IV."
The 4th of September, 1827, Mademoiselle, with her governess, the
Duchess of Gontaut, came to join her mother at Dieppe. The little
Princess was to be eight years old the 21st of the month. A formal
reception was given her. Her arrival was announced by the noise of
cannon and the sound of bells. The Baron de Viel-Castel, sub-prefect of
the city, made a complimentary address to her. She responded in the
most gracious manner, "I know how much you love my mother, and I loved
you in advance."
Madame, who had gone to meet her daughter at Osmonville, three leagues
from Dieppe, took her in her carriage. The horses proceeded at a walk,
and the people never wearied of admiring the gentle little Princess. On
the morrow, Madame received the homage of the functionaries. The mayor
said to her: "Your Royal Highness is in a country filled with your
ancestors, in a city honored by Henry IV. with special benevolence,
which Louis XIV. rewarded for its fidelity by calling it 'his good
city,' which your august aunt, Madame the Dauphiness, deigned to choose
for her return to France, and which received her, triumphant and
adored."
An elegant breakfast service in ivory, with her arms, was presented to
Mademoiselle by a group of very young people. She next received a
deputation of the fisherwomen of Du Polet, the faubourg of Dieppe. They
came in their picturesque costumes,--a skirt falling a little below the
knee, men's buckled shoes, a striped apron of white and red, an
enormous head-dress, with broad tabs, and great ear-rings. They sang
couplets expressing a lively attachment to the family of the Bourbons.
In their enthusiasm they asked and obtained leave to kiss the little
Princess.
On the 6th of September, there was a fete at the ruins of the Castle of
Arques. From seven in the morning the crowd gathered on the hillside of
Saint Etienne, at the edge of the coast between Martin-Eglise and the
village of Arques. It is a magnificent site, which, towering above the
valley, is surrounded on all sides by grim hill-slopes, while in the
distance is the sea, along the edge of which extends the city of
Dieppe, like a majestic dike. A mimic battle took place in the presence
of Madame and her daughter, on the ground where Henry IV. had delivered
the famous battle of September 21, 1589. Numerous strokes on the flags
of different colors indicated the lines of the Bearnais, and
circumscribed the enceinte occupied by his troops. An obelisk had been
placed at the highest point of this sort of entrenched camp; in the
centre was a post tent, under which a rich breakfast had been prepared
for the two princesses. During the repast, both put their names to a
subscription to erect a monument commemorating the victory of their
ancestor.
The 14th of September, the city offered a ball to Madame and
Mademoiselle. The little Princess danced two quadrilles. The 15th, she
offered lunch to a great number of children of her own age, and
afterward went with them to the theatre. The 18th, at the close of the
play, some scenes were represented before Madame, mingled with verses,
expressing the regret of the city at the near departure of Madame. The
next day, the Princess and her daughter left Dieppe, between double
lines of troops and National Guards.
The journey of the Duchess of Berry in the West, in 1828, prevented her
from going that year to Dieppe. She came in 1829, but it was for the
last time. She arrived the 6th of August, with her daughter. The next
day she danced at a subscription ball given by the city and by the
visitors to the baths; the 8th she received a visit from the
Dauphiness, who passed three days with her.
For every fete there was a corresponding good work. The Princess said:
"I wish that while I am enjoying myself the poor may also have their
share." The 18th of August, she visited the bazaar opened for the
benefit of the indigent. Mademoiselle had conceived the idea of writing
her name on little objects of painted wood, which were bid for at their
weight in gold. The 24th, Madame gave a concert, at which the Sontag
sisters were heard and some stanzas of the Viscount of Castel-bajac
were recited. The 25th, the city offered a ball to Mademoiselle, at
which the grace of the little Princess, her tact, and her precocious
amiability, excited surprise. The 9th of September, the inauguration of
the monument commemorative of the victory of Henry IV. took place in
the presence of Madame and her daughter. It was a column indicating the
point where the army of Mayenne debouched to surround the King's
troops, when, the fog rising, the artillery of the castle could be
brought into play, and threw into disorder the ranks of the Leaguers.
The inauguration interested the Duchess much. The troops of the line
and the National Guard had established bivouacs where the princesses
read with joy such inscriptions as these: "The young Henry will find
again the arquebusiers of Henry IV.--The flag of the 12th will always
rally to the white plume!--Two Henrys--one love, one devotion."
A table of forty covers had been arranged under a pavilion draped with
flags. After the repast Madame and Mademoiselle danced several
quadrilles on the grass. The fete was charming. An expression of joy
was depicted on every face.
At the time of her various sojourns at Dieppe, the Duchess of Berry
went to visit the Orleans family at the Chateau d'Eu, She manifested
toward her aunt, Marie-Amelie, the liveliest affection, and had no
courtier more amiable and assiduous than the young Duke of Chartres,
whom, it is said, she wished to have as husband for Mademoiselle. The
9th of September, she had been at the baptismal font, with the Duke of
Angouleme, the Duke of Montpensier, the latest son of the Duke of
Orleans. She was very fond of her god-son, and nothing was more
agreeable to her than a reunion at the Chateau d'Eu, where Mademoiselle
was always happy, playing with her young cousins.
The Duchess of Berry and her daughter returned to Saint Cloud the 16th
of September, 1829. On leaving, Mademoiselle said to the Dieppois: "My
friends, I will come back next year, and I will bring you my brother."
Neither she nor her mother was to return.