COMPIÉGNE, _November 17, 1861_.
DEAR FRIEND: We are to remain here until the 24th. It is the fault of
his Majesty, the king of Portugal, that the fêtes, for which we have
been making ready, were not given. They were postponed, and we have
been kept here in consequence. We are comfortable enough, inasmuch as we
are all well acquainted, and as independent of one another as it is
possible to be in such a place.
For lions we have four Highlanders in kilts, the duke of Athol, lord
James Murray, and the son and nephew of the duke. It is most amusing to
see these eight bare-knees in a salon where all the rest of the men are
in knee-breeches or tight trousers. Yesterday, his grace’s piper was
brought in, and all four danced in such a way as to cause general alarm
when they turned around. But there are ladies whose crinoline is still
more alarming when they enter a carriage. As ladies invited as guests
are not permitted to wear mourning, one sees legs of all colours. Red
stockings I think very stylish.
Notwithstanding walks in damp, icy woods, and drawing-rooms heated
red-hot, to the present time I have not caught cold; but I suffer from
suffocation, and do not sleep. I was present at the great ministerial
comedy, where one or two victims more were expected. The faces were
interesting to observe, the addresses still more so; so that M.
Walewski, the Excellency on trial, directed his grievances without any
discrimination against friends and foes alike. There is nothing like an
intense preoccupation to make people say stupid things, especially when
they are accustomed to saying them. Oh, the dulness of mankind!
The woman, on the contrary, was perfectly calm and self-possessed, and
the lawyers’ speeches and other proceedings excellent. The battle, it
seems to me, is only postponed, and at the slightest provocation is
inevitable.
What is said of the emperor’s letter? I approve of it thoroughly. He has
a way of his own of saying things, and when he speaks as a sovereign, he
has the art of showing that he is not made of the same common dough as
others. I think this is exactly what is needed by this noble nation,
which does not like the commonplace.
Yesterday the princess of ----, who was drinking tea, ordered the footman
to bring her _ti sel bour le bain_.[29] After half an hour the footman
returned, with twelve kilogrammes of coarse salt, supposing that she
wished to take a salt bath.
Some one presented to the empress a picture by Müller representing queen
Marie Antoinette in prison. The Prince Imperial inquired who this lady
was, and why she was not in a palace. It was explained to him that she
was a queen of France, and what a prison was. Then he ran to the
emperor and asked him please to pardon the queen whom he was keeping in
prison.
He is a strange, sometimes a terrible, child. He says that he bows to
the people always, because they deposed Louis Philippe, whom he did not
like. He is a charming child. Good-bye, dear friend.