Here now is M. de Talleyrand's answer.[34] "I implore the King to

persist in his refusal to declare war against Don Carlos, for I think

that this would be the most deplorable way of smoothing the

embarrassment of the English Ministers. I am not surprised that they

are embarrassed; I have been expecting that they would be so for a

very long time. I have never been able to understand the levity with

which during the last two years they have been throwing themselves

into all the difficulties which have arisen in the Peninsula. In 1830

London was the appointed place, the only suitable scene for

negotiations on a great scale. Now England gets nearer to disorder as

France recedes further from it, and the negotiations should be brought

back to Paris and conducted under the eagle eye of the King. England

will not dare to venture alone, and the other Powers will range

themselves on our side in disapproving a declaration of war. Thus we

shall risk nothing in refusing to declare war. It will be a good thing

to gain time, and Lord Granville's absence from Paris gives us a

pretext for avoiding a peremptory answer. If I hesitate to obey the

suggestion that I should write to England on the subject, it is that I

have reason to believe that any letter would produce an effect

contrary to that which I should desire. The English Cabinet has lately

found me reserved and cold, and careful to avoid entangling my

Government in any of the troublesome complications of the Peninsula. I

cannot doubt that they distrusted me in all these transactions, and

were offended at my lack of enthusiasm. Now that the English Ministers

are embarrassed by promises which I allowed them to make without

allowing France to participate, they are not likely to receive with

goodwill either my advice or my warning."

[34] This letter has already been published in the little book by

the Countess de Mirabeau entitled, _Le Prince de Talleyrand et la

Maison d'Orléans_, which appeared in 1890.

Madame de Lieven writes most kindly from St. Petersburg; she will soon

be left alone with her pupil, with whom she is much pleased. The

Emperor goes to Moscow, the Empress to Berlin, and then the Lievens

enter on their duties and go into their own house, about which she

seems to me, very naturally, to be rather in a hurry. I think her

teeth are on edge already, though she is consoled by her august hosts.

_Valençay, September 16, 1834._--Labouchère, who arrived here

yesterday, says nothing can be compared to M. de Toreno's conduct but

that of the Rothschilds.[35] The former, before declaring the

bankruptcy of the Spanish Government, sold out huge quantities of

stock, speculating in the opposite sense from the Jews, and, as he was

in the secret, he not only consolidated his personal position, which

was very insecure, but made enormous profits, while almost every place

in Europe has been very badly hit.

[35] See the London _Chronicle_ for August 6, 1834.

_Valençay, September 25, 1834._--Here is an extract from a letter

written by M. de Rigny to M. de Talleyrand: "Calm is restored at

Constantinople, but Mehemet Ali is furious at the obstinacy of the

Porte and talks of independence; we are going to try to soothe this

feverish attack. Toreno, from being the adversary of the French

creditors, has constituted himself almost their champion; we shall

know to-morrow or the day after what resolution has been adopted by

the Cortès. Meanwhile, however, things are going no better in Spain,

and at Madrid they are beginning to talk loudly of the necessity for

our intervention. They wished to replace Rodil by Mina, but they are

being treated with great coolness at St. Petersburg for not being

present at the inauguration of the column.

"I saw yesterday a letter from Lord Holland, who is congratulating

himself on the stability of the English Ministry; I don't know what

that is worth.

"Semonville has sent in his resignation in writing. He would have

wished Bassano to be his successor; the place has actually been given

to Decazes, which perhaps you won't think any better. Molé refuses to

be Vice-President, being wounded at Broglie being put before him. That

is his whole reason. Is it _reasonable_? Villemain refuses to be

Perpetual Secretary. That would be, he says, to abandon his political

future! On the other hand, Viennet would be quite ready to abandon his

for the permanency.

"We have just had two or three bad elections. As for the amnesty, the

decision is negative. I fear they will regret having taken this course

when we are in the middle of a cross-fire of law-suits, lawyers,

platform oratory, and newspaper articles. It is necessary in this

country to look a few months ahead!"

A letter from Lady Jersey informs me that Palmerston has refused to be

Governor-General of India, and that the Duchesse de Berry is about to

have a child--legitimate this time.

_Valençay, September 28, 1834._--When we got back yesterday from our

walk we found the house full of visitors, male and female, who had

driven here, and were inspecting everything with interest. The steward

told us that it was Madame Dudevant, with M. Alfred de Musset and a

party. At the name of Dudevant the Entraigues made several

exclamations which I did not understand till they explained that

Madame Dudevant is no other than the author of _Indiana_, _Valentine_,

_Leone Leoni_--in fact, George Sand! She lives in the Berri when she

is not running about the world, as she often does. She has a château

near La Châtre, where her husband lives all the year round, and

occupies himself with agriculture. He it is who looks after the two

children he has by the woman of genius. She herself is the daughter of

a natural daughter of Marshal de Saxe; she often appears in men's

clothes, but was not so attired yesterday. When I entered my

apartments I found the whole party parleying with Joseph[36] for

permission to see them, which is not usually allowed when I am here.

On this occasion I wanted to be civil to neighbours, so I myself threw

open the doors, showed them everything, and explained things, and

finally escorted them as far as the large drawing-room, where the

heroine of the occasion, seeing my portrait by Prud'hon, thought

herself obliged to pay me many compliments. She is small, dark, and

insignificant in appearance, between thirty and forty. Her eyes are

good, and her hair is dressed in a pretentious way, such as is

described as "classical" on the stage. Her tone is dry and abrupt; her

judgments on artistic matters are very positive. The bust of Napoleon

and Canova's Paris, as well as Thorwaldsen's bust of Alexander and a

copy from Raphael by Annibale Carraci (which the good lady took for an

original) gave her many opportunities. Her language is very fine. On

the whole, she is not elegant; the rest of the party were quite

common, in appearance I mean, for not one of them opened his lips.

[36] The Porter at Valençay.

In the evening I had another visit after my own heart from a sister of

the order of nuns at Valençay, who was a novice here. Though she is

only thirty-three she is already the first assistant at the mother

house, whence she comes to inspect here. She looks upon Valençay as

her cradle. She came here at the time when I founded the small

institution here, and was then remarkably fresh and beautiful. Now she

is thin and pale, but still very sweet and gentle in appearance. In

spite of her sanctity, which has advanced her so rapidly in the Order,

she is very fond of me, and kissed me just as if I was worthy of it,

expressing much joy at seeing me again, poor sinner that I am.

_Valençay, October 7, 1834._--Yesterday I had a long conversation with

M. de Talleyrand about his plans of retirement, which led me to speak

to him frankly on several important features of his position. I had

the courage to tell him the truth, as is always right when dealing

with people of his great age.

_Valençay, October 9, 1834._--M. de Montrond, who has been here some

days, asked to see me yesterday about an important matter. I saw him,

and after some pleasantries which I received rather coldly, he said

that he had come to announce his departure, at which I should not

probably be surprised, considering the extraordinary way in which M.

de Talleyrand was treating him. He spoke for a long time and

complained bitterly. He is deeply hurt, and that makes him say many

nasty things. He added that he knew quite well that I didn't like him,

but that I had always been kind and civil to him, and wished to thank

me for it, and to say that, though he had no doubt I should not agree

with him, I should be bored to death, and the life I was leading

would certainly become insupportable, though it would be difficult for

any one to live it more gracefully. In short, he took pains, for what

reason I know not, to stand well with me.

I confess that I was very ill at ease during his remarks, which,

though broken and abrupt in his usual style, lasted for some time.

Here is a summary of my answer, or rather of my answers. I regretted

all that might suggest a quarrel, for that would do no good to any one

and would damage him (M. de Montrond) most. Society would side against

him, as his rudeness to M. de Talleyrand would explain the latter's

want of patience. To complain and explain his grievances by the

existence of motives such as he had suggested to me would be in very

bad taste, and there were some things which should not be said even

when they seemed to be true, especially after forty years of a

friendship which on M. de Talleyrand's part might be described as

patronage. As far as I was concerned, I could not be dull in the midst

of my duties and family interests; besides, my life, my habits, my

whole existence had for long been bound up with M. de Talleyrand's

interests. This was my destiny, with which I was well satisfied and

desired no other.

On this he resumed: "It is clear that you are destined to bury him.

Then you are very clever and have a great gift for speech and action.

You are also enough of a great lady to know how to take things in a

certain way. As for me, the only thing to do is to go."

I took him up then. "You have something more to do, and that is to go

away civilly without a scene, and not to tell any one that you did so

because you were angry. You have, above all, to avoid speaking, I do

not say ill, but even lightly, of M. de Talleyrand." He said, "You

make very pretty speeches this morning, but if I do as you wish, what

will you do for me?"--"I will keep the true cause of your departure

secret."--"You are too clever, Madame de Dino."--"I know what I am

saying."

He asked me if I would shake hands with him and promise to be good

natured about him. "Yes, if you do not speak amiss of M. de

Talleyrand." "Very well. I shall not go straight to Paris. I shall go

to d'Argenson at Ormes to get over this, and when I have got back my

'lamb-like temper,' I shall speak to the King and invent some business

to excuse my not waiting for his son here." "Do what you like so long

as you behave like a gentleman." He is gone. At luncheon he said that

he had got a letter which obliged him to leave to-day.

The fact is, that I had been expecting something of the kind. M. de

Talleyrand, after many years of too long suffering patience, has

suddenly gone uncompromisingly to the other extreme, and the day

before yesterday so clearly indicated to M. de Montrond that he was

not wanted here, that the latter could not overlook it. It is possible

that M. de Montrond will impose some restraint on his tongue, just

sufficient that is to avoid an accusation of bad faith, but it seems

to me impossible that he will not take some underhand way of revenging

himself, for he is hurt and upset. To have to go on the eve of the

arrival of a large and distinguished party of English people to whom

he was preparing to do the honours of Valençay, not to be here when M.

le Duc d'Orléans is expected--these are two real disappointments for

which he will not forgive M. de Talleyrand.

In the first and most virulent part of his conversation with me he

frequently referred to the King and to M. de Flahaut in such a way as

to persuade me that he means to take the latter's part absolutely, in

order that he may be able to injure M. de Talleyrand with His Majesty.

What can one expect of a being like him? But also how childish to lose

one's temper after forty years![37] M. de Montrond said to me, "He

should treat me with the kindness and intimacy of an old friend, or

else with the politeness of a host." To this I replied, "But would not

M. de Talleyrand also be justified in saying to you that you give him

neither the deference due to one's host, nor the attentions due to

his age and to your former relations? In what other house would you

have dared to run down everything as you do here? You have criticised

his neighbours, his servants, his wine, his horses, in fact

everything. If he has been rude you have given him provocation, and,

indeed, there are too many witnesses of your habit of perpetual

contradiction to make it possible for you to complain of the anger it

has aroused."

[37] In 1793 Montrond had fled to England, and there had placed

himself under M. de Talleyrand's protection. This was the

beginning of their long friendship.

_Valençay, October 14, 1834._--We have staying here Lady Clanricarde,

Mr. and Mrs. Dawson Damer, and Mr. Henry Greville. I went for a long

drive yesterday with Lady Clanricarde, and talked to her a great deal

about her father, the celebrated Mr. Canning, and of her mother, who

was not less distinguished, but who did not appear to be much beloved

by her daughter. Lady Clanricarde is clever; her manners are

restrained, dignified, and in good taste; but, judging from what I

saw, I consider her rather hard-hearted and intellectually stiff. Both

her manners, however, and her character have, in my opinion, a real

value. She never lets herself go and has no personal magnetism, but

when all is said and done, she is a figure of real distinction and of

the best and most exquisite breeding. Mrs. Damer is a good

soul--nothing more.

_Valençay, October 18, 1834._--Speaking to Lady Clanricarde of Lord

Palmerston and Lady Cowper, we fell to wondering what it is that

enables some people to retain so much influence over some others, and

I made an observation on the subject against which she protested, to

the effect that, "it is by what they demand that men preserve their

influence over women, while it is by what they concede that women

preserve their influence over men."

_Valençay, October 21, 1834._--Yesterday the news came of the dreadful

fire at Westminster. It is a terrible catastrophe and one which is

distinctly ominous, as it suggests that the political edifice is

crumbling along with the material one, and that the old walls refused

any longer to be dishonoured by the profane doctrines of to-day. There

is something in this which may well impress not only the imagination

of the multitude, but the mind of every thinking person.

The English party here all believe that the fire was the work of an

incendiary, because it began in the House of Lords. The _Globe_, which

was sent to M. de Talleyrand, kept us all up very late, for we were

anxious to know all the versions of the disaster. It appears that the

loss in papers and documents of all kinds is enormous, and is due not

only to the fire, but to their being scattered and blown away. What a

pity! It is said that it will cause much confusion, and many gaps in

the proceedings of the Courts.

Yesterday, I took Lady Clanricarde and Mrs. Damer to see the little

convent, the school and all the small institution conducted by the

Valençay sisters. This is the sort of thing which makes very little

impression on English women. For all their cleverness and goodness,

they are not charitable in the true sense of the word, and they have a

singular unwillingness to come in contact with poverty, misery,

misfortune, illness or suffering. This distant manner of theirs with

lesser people, so useful in society, freezes and irritates me when I

see it applied even to the poor. Thus Lady Clanricarde, so agreeable

in society, found nothing to say to my poor sisters who are so simple

and devoted. She hardly put her nose inside the door of the school,

and gathered up her fine skirts, that they might not be rumpled by the

little girls who were going to their places. The two ladies were

much astonished that I found so much to say, and above all, when

they saw me stopped several times in the village by people who

wanted to consult me about their business. This way of living is

incomprehensible to an Englishwoman, and at that moment, Lady

Clanricarde, clever as she is, and well disposed to me, was surprised,

I am sure, to think that I knew how to eat properly at table, and was

wearing a dress made by Mlle. Palmyre!

_Valençay, October 23, 1834._--All yesterday it rained in torrents,

and it was impossible to go out. Our English friends made music

barbarously enough all morning; and in the evening three letters came.

One was from Lord Sidney to Henry Greville, saying that M. de

Montrond had got back to Paris, and was telling everybody that

Valençay had become quite uninhabitable, that Greville and the Damers

were being bored to death, and that only Lady Clanricarde could put up

with it. H. Greville read this in a low voice. Lady Clanricarde

continued aloud, M. de Talleyrand asked what it was, and the whole

passage was read to him.

The second letter was from M. de Montrond to Mr. Damer, and inquired

how he was getting on at Valençay. The writer observed that he was not

anxious about H. Greville who loved tittle-tattle, and would get what

he wanted there. Mr. Damer read this also aloud.

The third letter was from M. de Montrond to myself, and was as cool as

possible in tone. I passed it to M. de Talleyrand who, annoyed at what

he had just heard, read it too aloud. It reminded me of Célimène's

letter! I don't know what reflections this little scene may have

provoked, for I went to bed immediately afterwards.

_Valençay, October 26, 1834._--The weather improved a little

yesterday; just now it is very cold but dry, with brilliant sunshine.

Let us hope that it will last for the arrival of M. le Duc d'Orléans

who is expected to-night! The populations of fourteen Communes are in

motion and people are coming from Châteauroux and even from Issoudun

which is ten or twelve leagues from here. The fact that it is Sunday

makes it easier for them to gratify their curiosity and whatever the

papers say there will be nothing else in the way of magnificence or

festal preparations than a crowd. I believe that M. le Duc d'Orléans

will be very well received by the country folk. Never since the days

of la Grande Mademoiselle has any Prince of any dynasty come here. The

whole country between Blois and Châteauroux, so well treated by the

Valois, has been, as it were, disgraced and forgotten; none of the

succeeding Governments would do anything for this corner of Berri.

When I first came here everything in the way of civilisation was as it

had been in the time of Louis XIII. M. de Talleyrand has done

something to secure a little progress, and I too have done a little,

but it is only this year that we have been able to organise a system

of post horses. So far there is not even a diligence, and for many

people, even in easy circumstances, the only means of conveyance is

_pataches_, that is, carriages without springs. In such a remote part

a Prince is still somebody. Our communes are flattered that one is

about to wander into our solitudes, and they will cry out "_Vive le

Roi!_" with all their might, which is the best thing that they can do.

Among those who arrived last night were the Baron de Montmorency and

Madame la Comtesse Camille de Sainte-Aldegonde. The Baron de

Montmorency was long ago on the point of being the Lauzun of the

Mademoiselle of his day,[38] and though he declined the honour of the

alliance he has remained very intimate with Neuilly. Madame de

Sainte-Aldegonde lives in a very pretty house between here and Blois;

she is one of the Queen's ladies and a great friend of the Baron de

Montmorency. Her first husband was General Augereau. She is my own age

and we came out at the same time. We were both ladies-in-waiting to

the Empress Marie Louise, but we did not see much of each other, for

she followed her husband to the front and never came to Court. On the

fall of the Empire we lost sight of each other completely. Madame de

Sainte-Aldegonde has been extremely beautiful, and if her expression

were more agreeable she would be so still, but she never had a kindly

air owing to her eyebrows which are very dark and turn up too much;

and, as she has lost the softness of her first youth, there remains a

certain crudity which is not attractive. Her voice is rather

high-pitched, and, though polite and well-bred enough, she lacks that

ease and smooth courtesy which can only be acquired at the time when

one first learns the elegances of life. When one does not learn them

in one's cradle one may be presentable, but one can never be

distinguished, yet after all, considering everything, she will pass

muster.

[38] Madame Adélaïde had caused her hand to be offered to the

Baron de Montmorency, but on condition that she should not be

required to change her name--a condition which the Baron declined

to accept.

_Valençay, October 27, 1834._--M. le Duc d'Orléans came yesterday, in

very bad weather, an hour sooner than he was expected, which much

upset both us and the sightseers. However, our little _Garde

Nationale_ was there to receive him. The Municipality were also

assembled and a certain number of people were there to greet him as he

passed. There were no speeches, for which I think he was thankful.

M. le Duc d'Orléans began by having some conversation in the salon

with M. de Talleyrand, M. and Madame de Valençay and myself. He

announced, much to my surprise, that Madame de Rigny, Thiers and

Guizot were coming. My surprise was not lessened when Monseigneur told

me that the King was strongly urging his Ministers to come here

because it was a good excuse to suspend the Councils for a few days.

These had become almost impossible owing to the outbursts of Marshal

Gérard, and a crisis was inevitable. It was desired, however, to

postpone it for a time, and, with this in view, not to call the

Cabinet together. Marshal Gérard was in a minority of one, all the

Ministers being united against him.

When Monseigneur retired to his apartments I went to dress and went

down at once in order to be first in the salon. I found there General

Petit commanding the 5th Division, General Saint-Paul commanding the

Department of the Indre, and General Baudrand of the Prince's suite

with his secretary M. de Boismilon.

After dinner there was a slight fit of solemnity, which I soon

dissipated by taking up my work as usual. The Prince thanked me

cordially for doing so. Then every one grouped and arranged themselves

naturally. A little later M. de Talleyrand took his usual evening

walk, and when he came back he found Lady Clanricarde, the Prince,

Henry Greville and me playing whist gaily together. Music was playing

in the vestibule, and in a word the ice was broken.

After tea the Prince vanished, and at eleven everybody went to bed.

_Valençay, October 28, 1834._--Here is an account of yesterday. After

breakfast M. le Duc d'Orléans went over the Château and its immediate

neighbourhood, my son and I acting as his guides. All our guests who

had not already seen what there is to see followed.

When we got back three carriages, a phaeton, and six saddle-horses

were in attendance. Each member of the company took his place. M. le

duc d'Orléans, the Marchioness of Clanricarde, the Baron de

Montmorency and I were in the first carriage. M. de Talleyrand, Madame

de Sainte-Aldegonde, General Baudrand, and M. Jules d'Entraigues were

in the second, and so on. After crossing the park and an isolated

piece of the forest, we stopped at a pretty pavilion, from which there

is a fine view. The military band was concealed behind the trees,

which still have much of their foliage. There was a considerable

crowd, and the whole made a very pretty forest scene. We then plunged

into the forest itself, and did not return till it was time to dress

for dinner.

After dinner we took the Prince to a ball at the Orangerie. The

courts, the keep, and the railings were illuminated, and the effect

was very fine. The ball-room was very finely decorated, and so full of

people that one could scarcely move. There was, however, no vulgar

pushfulness, and if the cries of greeting were ear-splitting, they

were such as always please a Prince. He walked all through the room,

greeted every one, and talked a little. They were, in short, much

pleased with him; so pleased, indeed, that, though he only stayed an

hour, they were still shouting under his windows at two o'clock in the

morning.

_Valençay, October 29, 1834._--Yesterday before luncheon our Royal

guest, with his aide-de-camp, my son, and the Baron de Montmorency,

went to visit the spinning mill and the quarries from which came the

stone of which the Château is built. He thought the quarries superb.

After luncheon we took him to the ironworks. There was a cheering

crowd; the men did their work well, both casting and forging. Inside

the fine building they produced and repeated an effect of fireworks

with the flaming molten metal which was very fine and much amused our

English ladies. On the way back we made a slight detour to see the

ruins of Veuil.[39]

[39] Veuil commands the valley of Nahon, and was joined to the

Seigneurie of Valençay in 1787 by M. de Luçay, who was then the

owner. The castle, which must have been very fine, is now a ruin,

of which only a fragment is inhabited by a farmer.

The band was hidden in one of the old towers. A great fire had been

lighted in the only room which remains intact, and in which we were

served with refreshments. In the courtyard and through the half-ruined

archways were seen national guards and peasants, who cheered and threw

their hats up into the air. This little excursion was very pleasant in

spite of the dull weather. The sun, or rather the moon, would have

made it perfect.

At dinner, besides our guests of last night, we had the Prefects of

Indre-et-Loire and of Loir-et-Cher, General Ornano, and Colonel

Garraube, a Deputy, to whom we owe the band that has given so much

pleasure. After dinner there was whist, a few turns of a waltz, &c.

Later on there was a real ball and supper for the servants, and in

honour of the servants of the Prince Royal; it was really very pretty.

Yesterday at dinner I was a little surprised at something my Royal

neighbour said to me. He asked me when we were going to

Rochecotte.--"I don't know, Monseigneur."--"But you can't spend the

winter here where it is so cold."--"Oh no, we never intended to do

that."--"Are you coming to Paris?"--"I really don't know."--"For, of

course, England is out of the question since Lord Palmerston won't go

to India." I looked straight at the Prince with some surprise, and

said: "I believe that Lord Palmerston's departure would certainly have

recalled the Ambassadors to London, and that if he stays that will

keep them away; but M. de Talleyrand's plans are very uncertain, and,

moreover, depend on the King's wishes."--"Your uncle told me that he

thinks we have got out of England all that we can, and that great

affairs are no longer to be transacted in London, but in Paris, under

my father's eye."--"Yes, that is M. de Talleyrand's idea, because the

King's honesty and ability have inspired confidence in Europe in

inverse ratio to the distrust which the policy carried on in England

for the last months has aroused."--"My father very much wants M. de

Talleyrand to return to England, but before talking to your uncle

about it I told the King that I thought it was impossible."--"It

certainly would be difficult, Monseigneur."--"But you, Madame, what

are your wishes?"--"Whatever will be agreeable to the King,

Monseigneur; and if M. de Talleyrand does not go back to London it

will be because he is persuaded that, things being as they are, he

would be of no use. Personally, I am extremely fond of England; a

thousand ties of gratitude and admiration bind me to that country,

especially the Queen's kindness, and the friendship of Lord Grey and

the Duke of Wellington. But there are some friends whom one does not

lose simply because one leaves them, and I hope in course of time to

go and thank my English friends for all their kindness to me during

the last four years."[40]--"But, to leave the question of the Embassy,

what will M. de Talleyrand do?"--"Whatever the King wishes. If the

King wishes to see him, he will go and pay his respects; if his

Majesty will allow him to rest, he will remain in retirement, taking

care of his legs, which, as you see, are very weak and very painful.

In a word, Monseigneur, he will always be the King's most devoted

servant." And at this point this somewhat curious conversation came to

an end.

[40] The Duchesse de Dino never revisited England in spite of her

happy memories of that country.

_Valençay, October 30, 1834._--Yesterday morning all our neighbours

from Tours, Blois, and the neighbourhood left rather early, as did M.

Motteux, who left a charming English dog as a present for M. de

Talleyrand. The excellent man left us with much regret, having greatly

enjoyed his visit, most of which he spent in the kitchen, in the press

house, or at market. He said very little, but was neither indiscreet

nor in the way, nor spiteful with his tongue.

Before luncheon M. le Duc d'Orléans visited the two hosiery

establishments,[41] made purchases, and gave orders. After luncheon he

asked to be shown our schools and the establishment of the Sisters,

and gave a large sum for the poor. He seemed much struck by the

excellent management of the little convent, and particularly with the

manners of the Superior. On this occasion he told me that one of his

ancestors lent money to the Holy See and was not repaid at the

appointed time. The Pope, however, by way of compensation sent a Bull

creating all the male posterity of his family sub-deacons from their

birth and canons of Saint-Martin of Tours, with the right to touch the

sacred vessels without gloves, and to sit on the Gospel side of the

church instead of the Epistle side. King Louis-Philippe was installed

Canon of Tours at the age of seven.

[41] When you entered this shop, then very celebrated in France,

you used to see models of the legs of all M. de Talleyrand's lady

friends, duly labelled, which had been made for the guidance of

the Valençay tradesman.

Later on, we took the Prince to the ponds in the forest, by the side

of which there was a great camp-fire.

Before dinner the Prince again desired some private conversation with

M. de Talleyrand and then with me. Afterwards we played pool on the

billiard-table. The scene was very animated, the ladies being of the

party. Tea taken, the letters came, and announced the resignation of

Marshal Gérard; and M. le Duc d'Orléans, retired, put on his

travelling dress, and at half-past eleven, after saying many gracious

things, he departed.

Although everything went off very well during his visit, and though

the Prince was really perfectly charming to everybody, I am

nevertheless much relieved now that he is gone. I feared every moment

that some accident would happen, and for this reason opposed every

idea of a shooting party; I feared disloyal cries, bad weather, a

thousand things; and, besides, I was worn out with fatigue.

As I foresaw, the visit of M. le Duc d'Orléans has thrown some light

on our future, for M. de Talleyrand said to him that there was no more

for him to do in London. He pointed out Lord Palmerston's personal

character, the line taken by the English Cabinet, the absence of all

the _haut corps diplomatique_ from London, and the evident tendency of

all the Courts to cease acting in that capital and to choose another

centre of high politics. Besides all this, the weariness of his legs

made it impossible for him to return to England unless a reaction

occurred which made him--M. de Talleyrand--a more suitable person than

any other to conduct the affairs of France there. For the moment he

thought that any one would do just as well, if not better, than he. M.

le Duc d'Orléans said positively that he had been charged by the King

to discover the intentions of M. de Talleyrand, and at the same time

to express the King's desire to talk with him if he did not mean to

return to London. His Majesty was most anxious that M. de Talleyrand

should not abandon his interest and participation in the work at which

he had laboured so much.

M. le Duc d'Orléans told me a curious thing--that eighteen months ago

Lucien Bonaparte had written him a rather abject letter, begging him

to obtain for him the post of French Minister at Florence!

I have just heard that the King has positively refused to call the Duc

de Broglie to the Presidency of the Council in place of Marshal

Gérard. It is clear that it was this Ministerial crisis which

prevented the arrival of the three Ministers who were to have come

here. I am quite glad it did, for this took away all political

significance from the Prince's visit.

He spoke much of Rochecotte and of his desire to visit it again next

summer.

_Valençay, October 31, 1834._--M. le Comte de la Redorte is staying

here. He is a man of undoubted erudition. He has studied a great deal,

and travelled much. He remembers everything, but, unfortunately,

instead of waiting till you knock at his door, as an Englishman would

do, he throws it wide open and forces you to come in. Though his face

is fine and his manners charming, and the sound of his voice

delightful, he is simply a bore. He fills his conversation with facts,

dates, and figures; he enters into the most minute details; he plunges

head first into the heaviest economic topics, and wearies,

extinguishes, and crushes his audience. His opinions, moreover, are

cut and dried on every subject; his judgments are absolute; his

expositions are all arranged beforehand. It is deadly dull! Our

English party groaned under him! He left after luncheon, and as

he was going M. de Talleyrand said: "There is a mind which stopped

before it arrived." He said a rather sharp thing about Madame de

Sainte-Aldegonde, who also left this morning. Speaking of her very

dark eyebrows, which surmount rather expressionless eyes: "These," he

said, "are bows without arrows."

Here is an extract from a letter from Paris, dated the 29th, which

came yesterday: "The post-horses were waiting in M. de Rigny's

courtyard on Sunday the 26th, and he was just about to leave with

Bertin de Veaux, when the King sent for him and commanded him to put

off his departure for a day. He never got another opportunity of

getting away. Yesterday, at four, Marshal Gérard forced the King to

accept his resignation. M. de Rigny has determined not to accept the

Premiership which they wish to offer him. He thinks he has neither the

talent nor the consistency necessary for the post. He cannot disguise

from himself that the only reason for offering him the place is the

difficulty of getting any one else; and if his refusal costs him his

place he will console himself with the reflection that it is better to

go out of office in this way than to go later on less honourably. And

yet what will be the end of all this? What appears most probable is

the addition of M. Molé to the Ministry. M. Thiers would much like to

be Premier, but he does not yet dare to be openly a candidate. M. Molé

would not remain long. His means, his character, his surroundings,

will all combine to promote his speedy fall. This would be enough to

enable M. Thiers to realise his ambition--at least he thinks so. He

would, however, have been better pleased to see M. de Rigny undertake

the part intended for M. Molé, but that even his eloquence could not

achieve!"

_Valençay, November 1, 1834._--I hear from Paris that an article in

terms very insulting to M. de Talleyrand and myself has just appeared

in a periodical review. For many years I have been afflicted with

insults, libels, and gutter calumnies of all kinds, and I shall be so

persecuted till the end of my days. Living as I have done in the house

of M. de Talleyrand, and in his confidence, how could I escape the

licence of the press and its attacks in the most libellous age of

journalism? It was long before I got used to it. I used to be deeply

wounded, very much upset, and very unhappy, and I shall never become

quite indifferent. A woman never could be, and would, in my opinion,

be the worse for becoming so. However, as it would be equally absurd

to allow one's peace of mind to be at the mercy of people one

despises, I have made up my mind to read nothing of this kind, and the

more directly concerned I am the less I desire to know about it. I do

not wish to know the evil people think or say or write about me, or

about my friends. If they do wrong, or if I myself am not all I should

be, I am quite aware of the fact, and want to forget it. As for

calumny, it disgusts and enrages me, and I see no reason why I should

acknowledge the dirt thrown at those nearest and dearest to me.

There are so many pains and mortifications in this life, and so many

are inevitable, that my only thought is how to avoid as many as

possible, for I am sure that enough remains to test my courage and

resignation.

Another of my motives for not investigating these malevolent incidents

is that I find it too hard to forgive them, for if gratitude is one of

the most prominent characteristics of the good part of my nature, I am

always afraid that I have a compensating amount of rancour. I have

never forgotten a service or a friendly word, but I have perhaps too

often remembered an insult or an unkind remark. Thank heaven, my

rancour does not go the length of revenge, but I suffer for it all the

same. I know nothing so miserable in the world as bearing malice, and,

silent and inoffensive as I remain externally, the feeling rankles

within and I am quite upset by it.

Unfortunately, I have had only too many occasions to scrutinise,

analyse, and dissect my moral self. Who is there who has not a chronic

moral malady, like a chronic physical one? And who is there who,

having passed a certain age, is not or ought not to be well aware of

the rules he should follow, for the good of his soul, no less than his

body?

_Valençay, November 4, 1834._--I have just returned from an

expedition which we made to Blois and its neighbourhood with our

English friends, who were going back to Paris. The day before

yesterday, we visited Chambord which seemed, as it in fact is,

bizarre, original, full of interest and rich in detail. It is situated

in an ugly country, and is in a deplorable state. The window of the

oratory of Diane de Poitiers, on which Francis I. wrote his

impertinent couplet about women,[42] is still there, but the panes are

broken. The verses were not creditable to a chivalrous monarch.

[42]

Souvent femme varie

Bien fol est qui s'y fie.

The place where the _Bourgeois gentilhomme_ was first acted before

Louis XIV. also exists, as well as the table on which the body of

Marshal Saxe, who died at Chambord, was opened and embalmed. It is in

fact the only piece of furniture left in the Château.

We got back to Blois rather late, and yesterday morning we visited the

castle, which is now a barracks, and certainly one of the most

interesting monuments of France. The four sides are in four separate

styles of architecture. The oldest part dates from the time of Stephen

of Blois, King of England of the Plantagenet stock. The second oldest

dates from Louis XII. and bears his emblem, the hedgehog, with the

motto: _Qui s'y frotte s'y pique_. Then comes the part built by

Francis I. with its Renaissance elegance. It was here that the Duc de

Guise was murdered, that Catherine de Medicis died, and here too is

the hall where the celebrated States General of Blois assembled. You

are shown the fireplace where the body of the Duc de Guise was

consumed, and the dungeon where the Cardinal and the Archbishop of

Lyons were imprisoned, the little niche where Henri III. placed the

monks whom he ordered to pray for the success of the assassination,

and the room where the widow of John Sobieski died. Lastly, the fourth

side was built by Gaston d'Orléans in the style of the Tuileries, and

was never finished. Near the castle is an old pavilion in which were

the baths of Catherine de Medicis, and not far off is a shed which

served as a retreat for the favourites of Henri III.

On returning here from this excursion, I heard the sad news of the

death of Princess Tyszkiewicz, which took place the day before

yesterday at Tours. I had to break the news to M. de Talleyrand. At

his age such losses afflict the mind more than the heart, for they

seem rather a personal warning than a sorrow. He was more startled

than I; I was more affected than he, for I had a real affection for

the Princess, and I was very grateful to her for all that she was to

me long ago. Though she had survived herself, I cannot think without

pain of the part of the past which is buried with her, for when one

loses friends one loses not only them but a part of one's self.

M. de Talleyrand agreed with me that we could not allow this poor but

illustrious lady, the niece of the last King of Poland, and only

sister to the unfortunate Marshal Prince Poniatowski, to be laid to

rest among strangers. She will be buried at Valençay.

A letter from Paris which came last night says, "nothing is settled

about the Ministry. The thing grows ridiculous, and the intrigues show

no signs of stopping. The day before yesterday it was thought that

everything was settled, and that Thiers was going off to Valençay, but

yesterday all was changed and things are as they were. There has never

been such a dissolving force as Thiers; his oratorical gifts are

costing us dear, but some conclusion must be reached. M. de Rigny is

quite ready to retire, M. Guizot is still supporting Broglie for the

Presidency of the Council, and Thiers is backing Molé."

_Valençay, November 6, 1834._--The other day M. Royer-Collard told me

something that is very amusing because it is so characteristic of him.

He said that the second Madame Guizot was reproaching him vigorously

with having repudiated all religion, and with having refused to be its

patron and protector. She said that by complaining, as he did, that he

was claimed by the religious party, he caused much embarrassment to

its members. She therefore begged him to cease attacking them and

turning them to ridicule on every occasion, as he was in the habit of

doing. "Ah, Madame!" he replied, "you wish then that I should leave

the public in error, and thus deprive myself of my only consolation,

and my only chance of revenge." She was furious. The one thing which

annoys M. Royer-Collard, (and it annoys him very much) is Guizot and

all his works. This annoyance is perhaps not altogether unfounded. He

has no love for M. de Broglie whose lofty virtue did not seem to him

adequate to the circumstances which recently arose, and as for Madame

de Broglie he likes her even less, because her piety does not preserve

her from any of the agitations of public life, and is even compatible

with political intrigue. The contrast involved in this is displeasing

to him.

_Valençay November 7, 1834._--Here is an anecdote which is quite

authentic, having been told me by an eye witness, and which struck me

very much. M. Casimir-Périer, as is well known, died of cholera.

Besides this he was completely out of his mind during the last ten

days of his life; a tendency to insanity had already revealed itself

in several members of his family. Well, several hours before his death

two of his colleagues in the Ministry, with two of his brothers, were

talking in a corner of the room of the embarrassment which the arrival

of Madame la Duchesse de Berry was causing in la Vendée, of the

resulting difficulties for the Government, of what ought to be done,

and of the responsibility involved in doing it, and of the fear and

reluctance every one had in assuming this responsibility. This

conversation was suddenly interrupted by the sick man who sat up in

bed and exclaimed: "Oh if only the President of the Council were not

mad!" Then he fell back on the pillow and was silent. He died shortly

afterwards. Is not this striking, and does it not make one shudder as

one does at _King Lear_?

_Valençay, November 9, 1834._--I went to Châteauvieux yesterday to see

M. Royer-Collard. He had received letters from several of the

Ministers who have resigned. From these he understands that no sooner

were the five resignations sent in than they were politely accepted.

The King sent for M. Molé, and entrusted him with the Presidency of

the Council, and the task of recomposing the whole Cabinet. M. Molé

asked for twenty-four hours to consider matters, and to see whom he

could persuade to act with him. However, as everybody declined to

share the task, he was himself compelled to withdraw, and so the whole

situation has again become vague, and perhaps impossible.

Almost all the papers have again broken out against M. de Talleyrand.

Some say he is dead, some that he is ill in mind and body, others

insult him grossly and foully. M. Royer-Collard explains this new

access of savagery to the fear that the Presidency of the Council will

be offered to M. de Talleyrand and accepted by him. It seems that many

people, struck by the absence of good men, wish the King to look to

us, and that the terror which this inspires in certain others envenoms

all that they do, or say, or write. It is a melancholy privilege to be

the last resort of some people and the object of the detestation of

others, and that at an age when the need of rest should be the ruling

consideration, and the one aim in all things should be to make a good

end.

_Valençay, November 10, 1834._--Here is an extract from a letter from

M. Royer-Collard received yesterday: "I will say in all seriousness to

M. de Talleyrand that, after four years absence, I am not surprised

that he attaches more importance to newspaper articles than they now

possess. He does not know how much the prestige of the press, like all

other kinds of prestige, is worn out. Any one who replied to a

newspaper after the lapse of a day or two, would not be understood;

the occasion would be forgotten. Violent language can no longer either

exalt or abase any one. Amid torrents of praise or abuse one remains

exactly where one was before. It is the characteristic of this evil

age.

"No, nothing is settled at Paris, because nothing that will pass

muster is possible. Here are seen the natural consequences of the last

revolution. M. de Talleyrand was clever enough and fortunate enough to

turn it to his glory, but he could not repeat the miracle. His last

piece of ingenuity must be to choose the right moment for the end, I

had almost said for breaking both with England and France, as this

year has made them. I often come back to the idea that last year was

the time he should have gone and put himself in a position of safety.

It was natural to make the mistake; I made it myself. You, Madame la

Duchesse, alone were right. From this very arm-chair from which I am

writing to you to-day, I was blind enough to combat you, knowing

nothing about it. You alone were in a position to know and to judge. I

was wrong; this is yet another piece of homage which I am anxious to

pay you."

_Valençay, November 11, 1834._--Mr. Damer writes from Paris as

follows: "Have you heard a horrible story relating to Madame and Mlle.

de Morell, the sister and the niece of M. Charles de Mornay, of

something which happened at the Military School at Saumur. A young man

of that town called M. de la Roncière, not a particularly high-minded

person, fell in love with Madame de Morell, who may, or may not, have

given him some encouragement. I don't know exactly whether she did or

not, but finally she dismissed him. On this he vowed vengeance, and

transferred his attentions to the daughter, a young girl of seventeen.

He wrote her frequent threatening letters, saying he would kill her

father and mother if she did not listen to him, and one night she was

found in a condition which amounted to insanity. On hearing of her

condition, the young man fled from the school, but has since been

arrested. He then produced letters, whether genuine or not, which he

says were written to him by the mother and daughter, and which are

exceedingly compromising. They say Charles de Mornay has come to Paris

about this affair."[43]

[43] It ended in a criminal trial, which attracted much

attention. Emile de la Roncière was tried by Jury at Angers in

1835, and, in spite of the ability of his counsel, Maître

Chaix-d'Est-Ange, he was condemned to ten years' penal servitude.

In 1843 King Louis-Philippe remitted the two years he had still

to serve.

_Valençay, November 12, 1834._--A letter written the day before

yesterday from Paris, while the King was signing, in the next room,

the order creating the new Ministry, which was too late to appear in

the morning papers yesterday, arrived in the evening. The names are

unexpected and almost new. If this were the case with all of them, it

might not perhaps much matter, but one name is that of the Duc de

Bassano, who grew grey in the splendours of the Empire, and who has

been blamed for its fall. Another is that of M. Bresson, who will

probably create a sensation and who, in the article of improbability,

would have deserved the celebrated letter on the marriage of M. de

Lauzun. I need not set down what we Londoners thought who witnessed

the birth, ruin, and resuscitation of this person, all of which took

place in such bewilderingly rapid succession. It is also needless to

say that this arrangement of the Ministry puts an end to all M. de

Talleyrand's irresolution, and will give wings to his resignation of

the London Embassy.

_Valençay, November 13, 1834._--Here is the impression produced on M.

Royer-Collard by the new phase of the Ministry. "But this is a

Polignac Cabinet! I expected anything rather than this adventure. I am

much surprised that M. Passy, who is a man of parts with a future

before him, should have enrolled himself in that troupe. The former

Cabinet is now thrown into opposition, but whether it attacks or

treacherously supports the new one, it is making a path for itself

back to power. It seems inevitable to me that it will return."

"Adventure" is indeed the right word!

_Valençay, November 16, 1834._--We learned by last night's post that

the fancy Ministry had literally lived "_ce que vivent les roses,

l'espace d'un matin_." The comparison is not outrageous. On the

evening of the 13th, MM. Teste and Passy handed the King their

resignations, which they explained by a reference to the pecuniary

position of the Duc de Bassano. It was inevitable that these

resignations should be followed by others, and, as a matter of fact,

M. Charles Dupin came and offered his the following morning. On this,

M. de Bassano recognised that it was all up.

On the day before yesterday, the 14th, at four in the afternoon,

nothing was arranged, or planned, or hoped. What a cruel and

deplorable situation for the King! If one wanted to put this

Ministerial crisis into a play, it would not be possible to apply the

twenty-four hours rule!

I think the conduct of MM. Teste and Passy was unpardonable. It

appears that it was they who had insisted at first that the Duc de

Bassano should have the Presidency of the Council and the Ministry of

the Interior, and certainly they did not then learn for the first time

of M. de Bassano's financial position, which for two years has been

well known to every one.

_Valençay, November 18, 1834._--Here is the most important passage of

a letter written yesterday by M. de Talleyrand to Madame Adélaïde.

"What a relief! I cordially thank Marshal Mortier for having accepted

the Presidency of the Council! I would fain follow his example and

mount the breach once more, but for me England is out of the question.

I should like Vienna doubtless in many ways, and, besides, it would

suit Madame de Dino who, with all her devotion to me, is very sorry to

leave London, where she was so much appreciated. But at my age one no

longer seeks business so far afield. If it was only a question of a

special mission to a congress, such as those of Verona or

Aix-la-Chapelle, I should be delighted. And if such a case arises, as

is by no means improbable, and the King thinks me still capable of

representing France, let him issue his orders and I will leave

instantly, only too happy to devote my last days to his service. A

permanent mission, however, is now no longer possible for me, and

especially not at Vienna where twenty years ago I represented the

Restoration. Has Your Royal Highness thought of that circumstance,

especially with reference to Charles X. and Madame la Dauphine, who

often comes to Vienna, and who there receives all the honours due to

her rank, her misfortunes and her near relationship to the Imperial

family? In England, the Bourbons of the elder branch are merely

private persons. In Austria they are Princes and almost pretenders.

For the King's ambassador this makes an enormous difference which this

or that person might not perhaps feel, but which is decisive for me,

across whose career 1814 is written in large characters. No, Madame,

there is now no other life for me but that of frank and complete

retirement in privacy and simplicity. Perfidy alone can accuse me of

any _arrière pensée_; at my age one occupies one's self only with

memories.[44]..."

[44] This letter, of which only a part is quoted here, was given

entire by the Comtesse de Mirabeau in her book _Le Prince de

Talleyrand et la Maison d'Orléans_, and may also be found in

Volume V. of the _Mémoires du Prince de Talleyrand_, which were

published in 1892.

The _Journal des Débats_ announces M. de Talleyrand's resignation,[45]

and for its own purposes tries to connect it with the Bassano

Ministry. Assuredly, of all explanations this might have been the most

plausible, but it has nothing to do with any of the people whose names

have occupied the attention of the public during the last fortnight.

The event might have been recorded in a more sincere and dignified

way, but party spirit distorts everything for its own ends. Never

mind, we need bother our heads about it no longer!

[45] Here is the full text of M. de Talleyrand's letter of

resignation, which I give though it has already appeared in the

_Mémoires_:

"_To the Minister of Foreign Affairs._

"MONSIEUR LE MINISTRE,

"When the King's confidence called me, four years ago, to the

Embassy at London the very difficulty of the task made it a duty

to obey, and I believe I have secured in a manner useful to

France and to his Majesty two interests which I have always in

mind. The peace of Europe has been preserved throughout those

years, and this has simplified all our relations with foreign

Powers. Our policy, formerly isolated, is now linked with that of

other nations; it has been accepted, appreciated, and respected

by honest men of every country. The co-operation of England,

which we have obtained, has cost us nothing in independence, and

has never offended our national susceptibilities. Such has been

our respect for the rights of every one, such has been the

frankness of our methods that, far from inspiring distrust, it is

our guarantee which is now being sought against the propagandist

spirit which is perturbing the older Europe. It is undoubtedly to

the merits and abilities of the King that we must attribute

results so satisfactory. For myself, I make no other claim than

to have been the first to divine the profound idea underlying his

Majesty's policy, and to have announced it to others whom

subsequent events have persuaded of the truth of my words. But

now that Europe knows and admires the King, and that, for this

very reason, the principal difficulties are surmounted; now that

England has perhaps as great need as we of our mutual alliance,

and the line she seems disposed to take requires a mind whose

traditions are less old-fashioned than mine; now I think that,

without any want of devotion to the King and to my country, I may

respectfully beg his Majesty to accept my resignation; and I beg

you, M. le Ministre, to be so good as to present it to him. My

great age and the infirmities which are its natural consequence,

the repose which it demands and the thoughts which it suggests,

make this step a very natural one and justify it only too well,

making it, indeed, no less than my duty. I trust to the justice

and kindness of the King to judge.

"I avail, &c.,

"LE PRINCE DE TALLEYRAND.

"Valençay, November 13, 1834."

This letter was published in the _Moniteur Universel_ of January 7,

1835.

It is stated that, during the Ministerial crisis, M. de Rigny behaved

with great propriety, firmness and dignity. This was not so with

everybody, and here is a detail the authenticity of which is certain.

At the celebrated Council of ten days ago, when every one threw off

the mask and M. Guizot tried to impose M. de Broglie on the King as

Minister of Foreign Affairs, the King raised his hand and said, "this

hand will never sign a decree recalling M. de Broglie to the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs." Then M. Guizot called upon the King to state why

he refused. "Because he nearly embroiled me with all Europe," was the

reply, "and if any attempt is made to force my hand I will speak out."

"And we, Sire," returned M. Guizot, "will write." Has the like ever

been heard of? And after this is it possible that the same people can

again assemble round the same green table to regulate the destinies of

Europe?

_Valençay, November 19, 1834._--We heard last night by letter from

London of the great event of the change of Ministry in England and the

return of the Tories to power.[46] This morning did not pass without a

despatch rider from the King, who brought a letter in His Majesty's

own hand and one from Mademoiselle. These letters are full of

caresses, prayers and supplications. My name even, which is frequently

repeated, is invoked. Every kind of pressure is brought to bear on M.

de Talleyrand, to resume his Embassy. The Prince Royal writes to me in

this sense in the most pressing manner, and all the other letters we

received by this post are in this key. Mrs. Dawson Damer writes that

she hopes that the change of Ministry in England will induce M. de

Talleyrand to withdraw his resignation, and that the Queen of England

will never forgive me if it is otherwise. Lady Clanricarde says that

she is all the more afraid that the Tories may fail in their task, as

the result would be that England would again fall into the clutches of

Lord Durham, and that she sees only one agreeable feature in the

situation, which is the practical certainty of my return to London.

This is very gracious but not convincing.

[46] The Whig Cabinet of Lord Melbourne fell on November 15, and

was replaced by a Tory Ministry which was not destined to last

more than three months. The Premier was Sir Robert Peel, and the

Duke of Wellington replaced Lord Palmerston at the Foreign

Office.

M. de Rigny writes excusing himself for his long silence. He seems to

me much disgusted by the events of the last fortnight, and not very

hopeful about the future of the French Ministry, though M. Humann has

accepted office, and the process of patching-up is complete. He adds

the regulation passage about the _impossibility_ of our not returning

to London, and the King's _positive wishes_ in the matter.

M. Raullin, from his little corner, also thinks it necessary to swell

the chorus. He says that Madame de Broglie's doctrinaires are of the

same opinion, but all this coterie, like the Bourse and the

Boulevards, are very much agitated by the news from England. He tells

me some amusing things about the Duc de Bassano and M. Humann. The

courier sent after the latter found him at Bar, and he said he would

not answer till he got to Strasbourg. I like this Alsatian phlegm.

It is also said that Admiral Duperré is very coy about accepting the

Ministry of Marine. Till yesterday morning there were ministers only

_in petto_. M. de Bassano was imperturbably signing things and working

with great ardour at the Ministry of the Interior.

M. de Talleyrand has also received a great many letters. M. Pasquier,

in reply to a letter of excuses for not being able to be present at

the case,[47] insinuates a phrase about the immense services he is

still called upon to render. Madame de Jaucourt writes a few lines, at

the dictation of M. de Rigny saying, "Come, we can't do without you,

and save us." Finally M. de Montrond, who has said nothing for a long

time, writes that the news from England has fallen on every one like a

flood of boiling-water. Every one is distracted, and Lord Granville

takes the change in his country much amiss. He also says he is

commanded by the King to make us understand the _necessity_ of our

return to England, and that MM. Thiers and de Rigny look upon it as

their one hope of salvation.

[47] Of Armand Carrel, of the _National_.

_Valençay, November 24, 1834._--M. de Talleyrand fortunately refuses

to withdraw his resignation, but such is the singular prestige which

he enjoys that stocks go up and down at Paris according to the greater

or less probability of his departure for London. Letters from all

parts call on him to come to the rescue, and any number of people whom

we do not even know by name, write to beg him not to abandon France.

The reason is twofold. The French public will never regard the Duke of

Wellington as anything else but an ogre, or M. de Talleyrand as

anything but a person whom the Devil will carry off some day, but who

in the meantime, owing to an unholy bargain with the Prince of

Darkness, has the power of bewitching the Universe. How idiotic it all

is! The public is so credulous in its beliefs, so cruel in its revenge

and its injustice!

_Valençay, November 27, 1834._--A letter from the King came yesterday,

in reply to that in which M. de Talleyrand persisted in his

resignation, and among other things contained the following: "My dear

Prince, I have never seen anything more perfect, more honourable, or

better expressed than the letter which I have just received from you.

It has deeply touched me. No doubt it costs me much to recognise the

justice of most of the reasons which make you refuse to return to

London, but I am too sincere, and too much the friend of my friends

not to say that you are right."[48]

[48] This letter, of which only the beginning is given here, is

dated November 25, and is quoted in full in _Le Prince de

Talleyrand et la Maison d'Orléans_, and also in Volume V. of the

Prince's _Mémoires_.

This exordium is followed by a new invitation to come to Paris with

all speed to talk over everything. M. Bresson writes to M. de

Talleyrand a very witty and clever letter, in which he begs him to be

so kind as to write him all the witticisms with which his _sudden

apotheosis_ will no doubt have inspired him. He is anxious not to miss

a single one.

M. de Montrond writes that the King says there can be nothing finer

than M. de Talleyrand's letter, and that his reasoning is conclusive.

For the rest, they are in great embarrassment, and look back to

Marshal Soult with regret, and are even seeking to get him back. A new

ignominy for our little Ministers! It appears that the Army is in a

state of disorganisation.

The Poles who came here for the funeral of the Princess Tyszkiewicz

are saying kind things about us, it appears, in Paris. Valençay is

approved of only by the Prince Royal, being opposed by the Flahaut

influence. M. de Montrond is furious at the kind things which are

being said about Valençay, which he has always treated with ridicule.

_Valençay, December 1, 1834._--When I was passing through Paris three

months ago I saw M. Daure who, in very bad company, was writing in the

_Constitutionnel_, and seemed to me to be in very poor circumstances.

I offered him my interest with M. Guizot to get him employment in the

researches into the ancient manuscripts and charters of the South,

with which the Ministry of Public Instruction is occupied. I went so

far as to make an application on his behalf, which was well received.

I left for Valençay and heard no more of M. Daure, nor of his

application, till a fortnight ago, when I heard from M. Guizot that

Daure had been nominated to the place for which I had applied. I at

once wrote to Daure, forwarding the Minister's letter, but, not

knowing his address, made inquiries at Paris which remained without

result, and my letter was awaiting some light on the whereabouts of

the poor man, when yesterday evening I received two letters with the

Montauban postmark; one in Daure's handwriting, the other in a

handwriting unknown to me, which I opened first. It was from an abbé,

a friend of Daure, who in accordance with his last wishes, informs me

of his death--and what a death! He has committed suicide! Daure's own

letter, written shortly before his mad act, touched me deeply, and I

will even say, made me very proud. He refers to the people whom he

liked in London. I blame myself very much for not asking him to come

here this year; it would probably have turned him aside from this

dreadful end.

It recurred to my mind last night that last autumn, at Rochecotte,

while walking alone with him on the way to visit my schools I spoke to

him of his future, and lectured him about his carelessness and

extravagance. He replied with much gratitude, and begging me not to be

at all anxious about him as he had a resource in reserve of which he

could not speak to any one, which he had prepared long since, and

which he would have if everything else failed. He was not, he said, so

improvident as he seemed, and was as free as possible from anxiety

about the future. I thought he meant that he had saved a little

money--fool that I was! He killed himself at the very moment that we

were burying poor Princess Tyszkiewicz here. What a sad November it

has been!

Here is a little piece of politics taken from one of yesterday's

letters. "The position of the French Ministers will be decided in a

week. They intend to seize the first opportunity (which will not be

long in coming) to speak frankly of all they have done and all that

has happened, so as to make their position tolerable, or else to go

out. They have had their fill of degradation and do not wish to remain

in power any longer on the present conditions. They must see what the

Chamber means to do and what its attitude will be. There was some talk

of a speech from the Throne but they decided that this would not do,

and I think they were right."

_Valençay, December 2, 1834._--I am on the eve of a new trouble--the

probable death of the Duke of Gloucester, which will be a real sorrow.

How should I not mourn one whose esteem, confidence and friendship

were so sincere and so thoroughly tried?

I hear from Paris that the new Ambassador in London will not be

appointed till Sir Robert Peel has constituted his Government. Sir

Robert, it is thought, was to pass through Paris yesterday. Another

reason for not making the appointment for a week or ten days is that

no one would dream of accepting it till there is some light on the

fate of the French Ministry which is most uncertain. The slackness of

Deputies in attending the Chamber is attracting attention as a

symptom of their disinclination to interest themselves in the quarrels

of the Ministers. These quarrels are subterranean but very real. There

is always the same revolt against the arrogant pedantry of some and

the tangled intrigues of others; it is only their fear of the Chamber

which keeps them together at all.

They say the King is much depressed, and perhaps his Cabinet owe their

remaining in office to the fact that he is as much afraid of the

Chamber as they are. I hear that there is much ridicule of a letter

from M. Bresson in reply to a remark of the _Quotidienne_. "M.

Bresson," writes a friend, "has been giving us his genealogy and has

been telling us that he has been an important person from the day when

he handed the despatches to 'the unfortunate and too much

misunderstood Bolivar,' to that on which he nearly became Minister of

Foreign Affairs! We are very fortunate to be represented at Berlin by

so considerable a personage! Can you understand this mania for writing

to the newspapers? And can you wonder that the importance of the press

is so great?"

M. de Talleyrand is quite furious because diplomatic communications

are being bandied about at the Bourse and the Opera. This as well as

many other things makes it impossible to serve some people.

_Paris, December 7, 1834._--Here we are back in Paris, whose

exhausting and unquiet life is so bad both for M. de Talleyrand and

for me. Yesterday we were already overwhelmed with visits and social

duties.

At twelve I received M. Royer-Collard who, on his way to the Chamber,

called to ask for me. He only came in and went out again, and the real

object of his visit was, I think, to discharge a commission for M.

Molé. The latter asked him to tell me that he wished to come to our

house again, but on the first occasion to come to see only me and to

see me alone. This meeting is fixed for tomorrow, Monday, between four

and five.

M. Royer-Collard gone, M. le Duc d'Orléans arrived, and hardly had he

sat down when he began to discuss a piece of Madame de Flahaut's

gossip. It all passed off with great good temper and good manners, but

I don't think I surrendered any of my advantages. I was quiet and

restrained, without the slightest trace of animosity. This was my

chief position: "Madame de Flahaut's remarks about me do not affect

me. I pay no attention to them. It is impossible that two people whose

circles, habits and positions are so different as ours, could ever

come to quarrelling, or that I could be offended by her. What offends

me is the harm she is doing you, Monseigneur."--"But my principal

reason for liking her is that nobody else does."--"Oh, if you reckon

it proportionately on that principle your Royal Highness must simply

adore her!" We burst out laughing and the matter rested there.

He spoke of another subject, namely, how wrong it was of him not to

write to us for so long after his visit to Valençay. I replied,

"Monseigneur, in view of the great age of M. de Talleyrand it was not

very good manners on your part, but you have a frank and graceful way

of doing things which makes one charmed to forgive you."

He then came to general questions. He is much embarrassed and troubled

by his present situation, annoyed with his dear friend Dupin for the

curious way in which he treated the Monarchy last night, and

astonished at Lord Brougham, of whom he tells the following story. On

the day of Lord Brougham's arrival in Paris, M. le Duc d'Orléans met

him at Lord Granville's. Unsuitable as the place was, in my opinion,

for such a topic, the conversation turned on the Amnesty of which the

ex-Chancellor declared himself a violent partisan. The Duc d'Orléans

disputed this view but without apparently convincing him. The

following day at the Tuileries Lord Brougham drew a paper from his

pocket and, showing a corner of it to the Prince Royal, said, "Here

are my reflections on the Amnesty which I am going to show to the

King." This of course was another piece of ill-breeding on the part of

a foreigner, but he did in fact hand the paper to His Majesty. It was

found to be a violent argument _against_ the Amnesty! When mobility

reaches a certain point it is, I think, an evident symptom of

insanity!

M. le Duc d'Orléans concluded his visit by trying to make me feel that

M. de Talleyrand was under an imperative obligation to attach himself

in a public manner to the Government. I replied by a reference to the

state of his legs. We parted on the best of terms.

When I came down again I found the Entresol crowded. There was

Frederick Lamb, Pozzo, Mollien, Bertin de Veaux, and General Baudrand.

In spite of the great variety of opinions represented they talked as

freely of everything as if they had been in the street. The most

animated was Pozzo, who poured scorn inconceivable on the French

Ministry, pitying the King and speaking very well of him, bemoaning

the embarrassment of his Ambassadors in foreign countries which is

caused by what is going on here, and much annoyed by certain passages

in a speech delivered last night by M. Thiers.

Later on we dined with Count Mollien, where there were M. Pasquier,

Baron Louis, Bertin de Veaux and M. de Rigny, who came late and

brought news of the vote of the Chamber, which is favourable if you

like, but which will cost the Ministry dear, and from which, as M. de

Rigny at least has the sense to see, nothing can be predicted as to

the course of the Session.

It appears that after a speech by M. Sauzet, which is said to have

been admirable, the House wavered and the Ministry gave themselves up

for lost. M. Thiers feared to put it to the touch, but finally did so

almost in despair. He spoke, it is said, _miraculously_, and sent

everybody on the other tack. His speech the night before had been a

fiasco, and the English were furious with him on account of his

strange, and, indeed, inexcusable phrase about England. Yesterday,

however, he seems to have triumphed completely.

Here is a curious fact of which I am quite certain. M. Dupin had

promised the King three days ago to support the order of the day. The

day before yesterday he voted against it; yesterday again he spoke

against it but voted _for_ it. Why? Because after M. Sauzet's speech

the Ministers thought they were lost, and said to M. Dupin: "M. le

Président, prepare yourself to go to the King and have your Cabinet

ready, for, in an hour from now, we shall have resigned." M. Dupin,

much upset, said: "but I didn't think that all this would be so

serious; I have no wish to see you fall, for I do not at all desire

that the burden should again fall on my shoulders." With these words

he tried to escape and leave the Vice-President in his place, when

Thiers taking him by the arm said: "No, M. le Président, you shall not

go till the question is settled; if it goes against us you will go

nowhere else but to the King where you will be condemned to be

Minister."

This, no doubt, is very interesting, but what an atmosphere! What

people!

_Paris, December 8, 1834._--Yesterday, when I got back at four, I was

astonished to see the Duc d'Orléans, whom I supposed to be already on

his way to Brussels. He was not to leave, however, for another hour,

and he came to tell me that Sir Robert Peel had passed through Paris,

and had sent his brother to him (the Duc d'Orléans) as an intimate

friend, to beg him to make his excuses to the King for not requesting

the honour of an audience. His Majesty would, however, easily

understand that in the circumstances hours were centuries. We drew two

conclusions from this: first, that Sir Robert Peel had decided to

accept the Premiership, for an ordinary private individual would not

have considered himself of sufficient importance to send such a

message; secondly, that the courtesy of his language proved a feeling

rather friendly to France than the reverse.

Speaking of Sir Robert Peel, I had a letter from him yesterday,

written from Rome, about the Bassano Ministry, very civil and kind in

its terms, in which he says that what alarms him most in this

combination is that it may prevent M. de Talleyrand from returning to

London.

_Paris, December 9, 1834._--Frederick Lamb, who came to see me

yesterday morning, told me several curious things. He gave me a worse

idea than ever of Lord Palmerston; incredible details, for instance,

on his conduct with regard to the Eastern Question, and many other

matters of which in London we could only form a superficial opinion.

He told me that at the time of the quarrel between England and Russia

about Sir Stratford Canning, Madame de Lieven had wanted the matter to

be arranged so that Frederick Lamb should go to St. Petersburg and Sir

Stratford Canning to Vienna. This was proposed to Prince Metternich,

who replied: "This arrangement will arrange nothing, for the one

ambassador whom we will never agree to accept is Sir Stratford

Canning."

He told me also that M. de Metternich said of Lord Palmerston: "He is

a tyrant, and the age of tyrants is over."

Frederick Lamb detests Lord Granville, but he does not believe that

the Tory Cabinet will succeed, though he does not think that the

Radicals will necessarily be their successors. He thinks Lord Grey

will come back, and is looking for means to extrude Lord Palmerston

and Lord Holland. Like Pozzo and M. Molé, he says extraordinary things

of M. de Broglie. If we may believe them, no one ever made such

blunders.

When I got back yesterday, at four, I received M. Molé. It all passed

off as if we had parted only yesterday. He spoke to me, as he used to

do, of himself, his affections, friends, attitude of mind--all with

the charm which is peculiar to him. He told me that I was much more

amiable even than I was four years ago, and he stayed nearly an hour.

I have always thought that nobody's conversation is so good, so rapid,

or so agreeable as his. He is in very good taste in an age in which

good taste is unknown. Perhaps he is not high-souled enough to rule,

but he is high-minded enough to refuse to be degraded, and that is

already much.

Many names, many facts and deeds, were passed in review during that

hour, and I was much pleased with the natural manner in which he

approached every topic. He told me that my mind was so just that even

those who feared my enmity were reassured; and, in fact, all went off

excellently. I am not sure that this will be so between M. de

Talleyrand and him. I have undertaken to arrange a meeting, and both

parties have begged me to be present at this first interview, which is

rather amusing.

M. Molé told me that he yesterday refused an invitation to dine with

M. Dupin on the ground that the latter had given a distorted version

in the tribune of the purely unofficial relations between them a

fortnight ago. M. Molé added that he had no thoughts of the English

Embassy--as some people were saying--for he did not wish to accept

anything from the present Ministry.

He never sees the Duc de Broglie at all now. He thinks Rayneval is the

only possible Ambassador for London just now, and intends to speak

about it to the King, with whom he says he is on very good terms. He

is scarcely on bowing terms with Guizot, and his relations with Thiers

are very cold.

_Paris, December 10, 1834._--Yesterday evening M. de Talleyrand was

overwhelmed with a procession of visitors. A great many things were

said, of which the following seemed to me the best.

They come from Frederick Lamb, who came first, and with whom we were

for some time alone. He talked a great deal of M. de Metternich and of

his remark made four months ago about King Louis-Philippe: "I thought

he was an intriguer, but now I see quite well he is a King." He also

told us that on the day of the fall of the last English Ministry Lord

Palmerston sent the news to the British _chargé d'affaires_ at Vienna,

and asked him to acquaint M. de Metternich, adding: "You will never be

in a position to make to M. de Metternich a communication which will

give him more pleasure." The _chargé d'affaires_ took the despatch to

the Prince, and for some unknown reason read the whole of it to him,

including even this last phrase. M. de Metternich made the following

reply, which, I think, is in very good taste: "Here is another proof

of Lord Palmerston's ignorance of men and things. I cannot be pleased

at an event the consequences of which I cannot yet measure. Tell him

that I receive the news not with joy but with hope."

_Paris, December 12, 1834._--I dined yesterday at the Tuileries;

besides M. de Talleyrand, there were the Molliens, the Valençays, and

Baron de Montmorency. I sat between the King and the Duc de Nemours;

the last-named has conquered his shyness a little, but he is still

very timid. He is as white and blonde and pink and slim and

transparent as a young girl, and not pretty in my opinion.

No conversation could be more interesting than the King's, especially

when, deserting politics, he plunges into the innumerable memories of

his extraordinary life. I was struck by two anecdotes which he told

extremely well, and though I fear I may spoil them in the repetition,

I will put them down. There was in the room a portrait of M. de Biron,

Duc de Lauzun, which the King has just had copied from one lent him by

M. de Talleyrand. This naturally led the talk to the original of the

portrait, and the King told how, when he came back to Paris in 1814,

he saw at his first reception an old man, who approached him and asked

for a few minutes private conversation away from the crowd. The King

placed himself in the embrasure of a window, and then the unknown drew

from his pocket a ring mounted with the portrait of the Duc d'Orléans,

the King's father, and said: "When the Duc de Lauzun was condemned to

death I was at the Revolutionary Tribunal, and as he was going out M.

de Biron, whom I had met several times, stopped before me, and said:

'Monsieur, take this ring and promise me that if ever occasion offers

you will give it to the children of M. le Duc d'Orléans, assuring them

that I die a faithful friend of their father and a devoted servant of

their House.'" The King was naturally touched by the scrupulous

fidelity with which after so many years the commission had been

discharged, and asked the unknown his name. The latter refused,

however, saying: "My name will not interest you, and might even awake

painful memories. I have carried out the promise I made to a man about

to die. You will never see or hear of me again;" and, in fact, he

never reappeared.

This is the second anecdote. When the present King was still in

England with Louis XVIII. and the Comte d'Artois, the last-named

insisted absolutely on his cousin wearing the uniform of the French

_emigrés_, and especially the white cockade. This the Duc d'Orléans

persistently refused, and said he would never do. He appeared always

in civil dress, which gave rise to many bitter discussions. In 1814,

the Duc d'Orléans, following the whole of France, adopted the white

cockade, and the Comte d'Artois took the uniform of Colonel-General of

the National Guard. The first day on which the Duc d'Orléans appeared

at the Comte d'Artois', the latter said to him, "Give me your hat." He

took it, turned it over, and, playing with the white cockade, said:

"Ah, ah! my dear cousin, what is this cockade? I thought you were

never going to wear it?" "I thought so too, Monsieur; and I thought

also that you were never destined to wear the coat I see you in

to-day. I am very sorry you have not adopted the cockade, which suits

it best." "My dear fellow," replied Monsieur, "do not deceive

yourself. A coat matters nothing. You may take it or leave it; it is

all the same. But a cockade is a different thing; it is a party

symbol, a rallying point; and the symbol which you adopt must never be

withdrawn." What I liked in the King, as he was pleased to recount

this scene, was that he hastened to add: "Well, Madame, Charles X. was

right, and what he said was cleverer than might have been expected."

"What the King says is true," I replied. "Charles X.'s explanation was

that of a man of honour and a gentleman, and it is certain that in him

there was much of both." "Assuredly there was," added the King; "and

besides that he has a very good heart." I was very much pleased to see

justice done to him in that quarter.

At nine I went with Madame Mollien to the Comtesse de Boigne's. She

had been to see me first, and had caused me to be told at Madame

Mollien's that she would be much flattered if I would come and see

her sometimes in the evening. Hers is the leading _salon_ at present;

the one good house which belongs, I will not say to the Court, but to

the Ministry, as that of Madame de Flahaut belongs to the Duc

d'Orléans, and that of Madame de Massa to the Court proper. There is

no fourth. At Madame de Boigne's there is a reception every evening;

politics is the leading subject, and they talk of nothing else. The

conversation seemed to me strained and rather embarrassing owing to

the direct questions which the speakers rather indiscreetly hurled at

each other. "Will the Duke of Wellington be able to go on?"--"Do you

think that Mr. Stanley will join Sir Robert Peel?"--"Do you believe

that a reconciliation between Lord Grey and Lord Brougham is

possible?" These are specimens of the interrogations with which I was

naïvely assailed. I escaped by pleading absolute ignorance, concluding

with a laugh by saying that I did not expect to have to solve

questions of conscience on a festive occasion. The matter ended there,

but I got a disagreeable impression in spite of the excessive

graciousness of our hostess, and I was glad to get away.

_Paris, December 14, 1834._--Lady Clanricarde came to breakfast

yesterday, and at half-past eleven we left for the Académie française.

M. Thiers, who was being received, had secured the best places for us,

which I was grateful to observe were far from those occupied by his

family, who were with the Duchesse de Massa in an elevated gallery. In

our neighbourhood there were only Madame de Boigne, M. and Madame de

Rambuteau, Marshal Gérard, M. Molé, M. de Celles, and Madame de

Castellane. The last-named has got stouter, heavier, and thicker, but

she retains her pleasant face, the mobility of whose lower parts is so

attractive. She seemed so delighted, so moved, and so touched on

seeing me (I used to be intimate with her and knew all about her

affairs, so much that the imprudence of her subsequent quarrel with me

was incredible) that I was quite touched too, and we shook hands. She

said, "May I come and see you again?" and I answered, "Yes, with all

my heart."

Here is the story. When the Tuileries were against me under the

Restoration, Madame de Castellane turned against me, and, without

thinking of the injury it was in my power to inflict on her, she broke

with me. I was deeply hurt, because I was very fond of her; but to

revenge myself would have been mean, and, in spite of all my faults, I

am incapable of doing anything so low as that would have been. I think

that at the bottom of her heart she was grateful to me for having

spared her.

M. de Talleyrand, as a member of the Institute, came into the hall

leaning on the arm of M. de Valençay. The effect of his entry was

unbelievable. Every one rose with one accord in the galleries, as well

as on the floor of the house, and this, no doubt, with a certain

stirring of curiosity, but also with an impulse of respect, of which

he was deeply sensible. I know that in spite of the crowd which

obstructed the approaches every one made way for him.

The sitting began at one. M. Thiers is so small that he entered

without being seen, being surrounded by Villemain, Cousin, and some

others. No one noticed him till he stood up alone to begin his speech.

He spoke with the best possible accent, and pronounced everything

distinctly. His voice was sustained, and his gestures rare. He was not

over voluble, and for the first few moments he was as pale as death

and trembling from head to foot. This made a much better impression

than if he had displayed the insolence with which he is often

reproached. In spite of the disagreeable tone of his voice, he never

offended the ear; he was neither monotonous nor shrill; and, in fact,

Lady Clanricarde went so far as to think him splendid!

M. de Talleyrand and M. Royer-Collard were opposite to him, and he

seemed to speak only for them. His discourse was brilliant. I do not

know whether it was precisely academic, though it was full of wit, of

good taste, and fine language in certain places, but there is no doubt

that it was political, and he spoke it much more as if it was an

improvisation than as if it was a lecture. Certain of his movements,

too, recalled the tribune, and on the audience the effect produced was

much more parliamentary than literary, but always favourable and

sometimes even enthusiastic. M. de Talleyrand was quite moved, and M.

Royer-Collard moved his wig up and down in a way that signified the

most lively approbation! The passage on calumny was spoken with a

conviction and an intimacy which was contagious, and was received with

a salvo of applause.

The discourse is in the highest degree anti-revolutionary. He is

orthodox in his literary principles, he is--and this is what I like in

him above all--he is penetrated through and through with a sentiment

of honesty which greatly pleased me, and which should be useful to M.

Thiers throughout the remainder of his career. This fine speech did

not require the tedious reply of M. Viennet to bring out its

excellence; no one listened to him, and he only succeeded in drawing

attention to the fact that the hour was very late and that it was

dreadfully hot.

It is said that during M. Thiers' speech M. de Broglie was making

merry jests. M. Guizot was cross, and not very well satisfied, I

think, to see his rival make a double success--political and

literary--in the same week.

_Paris, December 16, 1834._--Yesterday I paid several calls, and found

Madame de Castellane in. She had missed me when she came to see me.

She insisted on my hearing her history during the past twelve years;

and she tells it so well that I thought she must have had some

practice in pouring it into the ears of others than myself in these

cooing tones. She has lost all her youth, and is a large, short, squat

person. Except for her smile, she is no longer the same person that I

once knew--physically, that is. Morally, I thought she had made up her

mind to be grave, rather than that she had become serious. She is

witty and caressing as ever, and she talked a great deal; I very

little. My heart was full of many old memories; and though she was

kind I could not recover my old confidence in her. However, I received

all she said well, and I am not sorry to be on good terms with her

again.

_Paris, December 17, 1834._--Yesterday I allowed myself to be

persuaded to go with her to the Court of Peers. We sat, not in a

conspicuous box, but in that of the Duchesse Decazes, which is in a

retired position, and from which one can see and hear without being

seen. I had never been there, the sittings not having been public till

1830. The proceedings of yesterday had been very much advertised and

excited general curiosity, so the House was full.

Whenever one comes to Paris one is always sure of finding some

scandalous drama in progress for the amusement of the public.

Yesterday it was the case against Armand Carrel of the _National_.

M. Carrel did not at all correspond to my expectations. No doubt he

was impertinent, but not with that kind of bold and energetic

insolence, that verve and talent which impress you even while you are

offended with the man himself. The effect of the speech he had written

was very feeble, and he made an impression which was positively

painful when he tried to speak extempore. It was General Exelmans who

vociferated about the _assassination_ of Marshal Ney, and scandalised

every one. His manner was that of a drunken man, and was all the more

ridiculous as no one could help remembering the platitudes he used to

utter during the Restoration; which, I understand, were very cruelly

cast up against him last night at the Minister of Marine's party. In

the morning in the House of Peers he was supported only by M. de

Flahaut, who was in a great state of excitement, and whose behaviour

was most improper.

He disgusted everybody by his cries of "Go on! Go on!" addressed to

Carrel when the President wished to bring him to an end. It was this

encouragement which made Carrel resist M. Pasquier and argue that he

had no right to stop him when a member of the Chamber and, in fact,

one of his judges, pressed him to continue.

On this occasion I learned from every one that M. de Flahaut was

universally detested for his arrogance, ill-temper, acrimony, and

ignorance. He will soon become as unpopular as his wife.

M. Pasquier presided with firmness, moderation, dignity, and coolness.

I confess, however, that I agree with those who would have preferred

him to stop M. Carrel when he spoke of "the young men who had fought

gloriously in the troubles of last April," and not when he referred to

the case of Marshal Ney. The first question dealt with--material

interests--would have found more sympathy both inside and outside the

House.

We had a dinner yesterday--a dozen people, my daughter Pauline being

the twelfth. It is not a bad thing that she should learn to listen to

serious conversation without being bored. She has a good manner in

society, where her open countenance and kindly manners seem to please.

After dinner people came to pay visits just as if we were Ministers.

The fact is that it was Thursday, the reception day at the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Marine, and I suppose that people

took us on the way going or coming.

_Paris, December 19, 1834._--M. le Duc d'Orléans is returned from

Brussels; he came to see me yesterday, and invited me to a ball he is

giving on the 29th. He stayed only a moment, when he was sent for by

the King; the reason for which I learned later.

M. Guizot was the next visitor. He seemed less at his ease than usual,

and tried to compose himself by prosing about England, France, and all

sorts of things, but he must have found me a very unworthy listener.

As a matter of fact, I listened without enthusiasm, for he was

extremely tedious, and soon departed.

Madame de Castellane then came, quite out of breath, from M. Molé, in

order that I might warn M. de Talleyrand of what was going on. M. le

Duc d'Orléans, carried away by the deplorable Flahaut influence,

proposed at the opening of the sitting of the House of Peers to-day

and the reading of the minutes of last meeting, to protest along with

his group against the _assassination_ of Marshal Ney, and to demand

the revision of the case. Fortunately, M. Decazes was warned, and went

and told M. Pasquier. He rushed to M. Molé, who is one of the

twenty-three survivors of the peers who tried the Marshal. There was

a great and well-justified tumult in the camp. They went to Thiers,

who hastened to the King, who knew nothing of the affair, and was very

angry. He sent after his son everywhere, and after a very lively scene

he forbade him to do anything. His great argument was as follows: "If

you demand that Marshal Ney's case shall be re-opened, what will you

say to any Carlist peer who comes (as some one very well may) and asks

that the verdict against Louis XVI.--which was assassination if you

like!--shall be reversed?" I heard the last part of the affair from M.

Thiers, who came to see M. de Talleyrand quite at the end of the

morning. Bertin de Veaux, who had got wind of the thing, also arrived

quite out of breath.

Finally, the King's good sense prevailed and put a stop to this nice

business. But that it should ever have entered any one's head to

propose such a thing is one of the extraordinary features of this age!

_Paris, December 20, 1834._--Yesterday I got a letter from London,

dated the 18th, and took it at once to M. de Talleyrand. I read him a

passage about the terror caused by the suggestion that M. de Broglie

might be sent as Ambassador to England, and the necessity of

nominating M. de Talleyrand's successor. He quite saw the point, and

at once wrote that he wished to see the King. At this very moment M.

de Rigny arrived, bringing him another private letter to see. M. de

Talleyrand has been urging the choice of Rayneval, which, I think, has

not pleased M. de Rigny, if I may judge by what he said to me at

dinner: "There is a very strong reason for not sending M. de Rayneval

to London, but that is the secret of the Minister of Foreign Affairs;

if it was the Admiral's secret I would tell you." I did not insist.

I know that at five o'clock it was arranged with the King that

Rigny should write a letter, confidential but producible, to London,

in which he should say that the King would choose Molé,

Sainte-Aulaire, or Rayneval, and that they would be glad to know which

of the three would be most agreeable to the Duke of Wellington. I

went so far as to say to M. de Talleyrand that this seemed to me a

very maladroit proceeding, as if the Duke chooses Rayneval it will be

very difficult not to appoint him, and if he wants Molé, Molé will

refuse, and they will, in fact, have to take Sainte-Aulaire, who is

not wanted either by the King or by the Council, or by the Duke. How

badly everything is directed and managed here! There is no common

sense or simplicity, or elevation of mind anywhere, and yet they

pretend to govern not only thirty-two millions of subjects, but also

all Europe!

_Paris, December 21, 1834._--I heard the following facts on excellent

authority: (1) They don't want to send Rayneval to London as

ambassador; (2) it is Broglie's doctrinaire group who are opposing it;

(3) London was yesterday offered formally and officially to Molé, who

formally and officially declined it; (4) this morning they had got to

Sébastiani but nothing was settled.

_Paris, December 24, 1834._--Sébastiani was being talked of yesterday

as if his appointment would be in the _Moniteur_ of to-morrow, but the

more public his name is made the greater clamour it excites. M. de

Rigny is dying to resign his Ministry and ask for the London Embassy,

but they are afraid that the machine might go to pieces under the

difficulties caused by the resignation of an important member of the

Cabinet. It seems that it is the condition of Rayneval's financial

affairs which prevents his being appointed. He is said to be over head

and ears in debt and almost bankrupt.

_Paris, December 28, 1834._--I heard through M. Molé that M. de

Broglie had an astonishing influence on the present Ministry, which

was unsuspected by the King, that M. Decazes used to go every morning

and tell him all that went on; that M. de Rigny and M. Guizot allowed

themselves to be much influenced by him, and that no choice was made

without being previously submitted to him.

Will it be believed that in the _Journal des Débats_ they translate

all Sir Robert Peel's speech and leave out--what? The complimentary

passage about the Duke of Wellington which certainly contained nothing

offensive to France. And this when the Duke is Foreign Secretary, and

is extremely well disposed to France, and when the _Débats_ is reputed

the semi-official organ of the Government. Truly people here are

extraordinarily maladroit in spite of the French wit!

_Paris, December 29, 1834._--Poor little Madame de Chalais died last

night. She was such a happy person; with that good and regular

happiness which it is given only to some women to experience. Life

forsakes those who are weary of their pilgrimage all too slowly; it

always goes too quickly from those who are enjoying the journey. In

whatever way one importunes Providence, whether one fatigues one's

self with prayers or allows one's wishes to be divined in discreet

silence, the answer is almost always no, and the sentence usually

irrevocable.

What grief at Saint-Aignan! There she was the darling of all the

inhabitants. I seem to hear the cries of all these old servants whom I

know and for whom she represented the third generation they had

served. The poor, the sick, the well-to-do--all idolised her. She was

so helpful, so kindly, and so gracious! It is more than a death; it is

the destruction of a young happiness and of an ancient and illustrious

race. I am profoundly shaken by it.

_Paris, December 31, 1834._--Yesterday morning I had a good long visit

from M. Royer-Collard. He told me the whole history of his

professorship, and gave me a glimpse of his system of philosophy; then

he talked a great deal about Port Royal. The hours he gives me are

really precious, but too rare and too short for all that there is to

learn from a mind like his.

Madame de Castellane came afterwards; if I were to allow it for an

instant she would constitute herself my sick nurse! She told me that

M. Molé was writing his Memoirs, and that there were already five

volumes.

Then came M. le Duc d'Orléans; he told me a great deal about his Ball

of the night before, of which the following, among the rest, remains

with me. The greatest elegance was blended with the utmost

originality. The company was brilliant, the supper superb; there were

flowers, artistically grouped statues, lights enough to blind you,

white and gold everywhere, new liveries, grooms-of-the-chambers in

full dress with swords by their sides, clad in velvet and powdered.

The women were covered with diamonds; the Queen was charmed and Madame

Adélaïde jealous, saying, "This is pure Louis Quinze." All the men

were in uniform, but in boots and trousers, while M. le Duc de

Nemours, who wore the coat of a general officer covered with gold

lace, and came in short breeches, stockings, and shoes, was voted by

every one extremely distinguished and good-looking. M. le Duc

d'Orléans asked me whether I did not prefer boots and trousers for a

soldier, and I replied, "The Emperor Napoleon, who gained a few

battles, when he dined alone with the Empress wore silk stockings and

buckled shoes every evening."--"Really?"--"Yes, Monseigneur."--"Ah,

that is different." Here is the reverse of the medal. The Deputies

invited (invited I mean as Deputies only, for there were others who

were asked as Ministers and Generals), of whom there were only: MM.

Odillon Barrot, Bignon, and Etienne, came in ordinary evening dress in

order to be more conspicuous.

The Prince Royal is full of singular contrasts. There are, for

instance, his aristocratic tastes and pretensions, and his detestable

politics. Yesterday we had a crow to pluck for the first time on the

subject of the Duke of Wellington. "How like the King you are," said

the Prince. "My father knows you are always talking to me on his side,

and so he likes you very much."--"Monseigneur, I never talk except on

my own side and on the side of your interests: but all the same I am

very proud of the approbation of the King." It all ended very kindly,

for he asked leave to add his portrait to those which I have collected

at Rochecotte.

Here, then, I end this year 1834, memorable in my life because it

closes the English period. The four years which I have just passed in

that country have placed me in a new frame, given me a new point of

departure, and directed me towards a new series of ideas. They have

modified the view taken of me by the world. What I owe to England

will, I hope, never leave me, and will remain with me till the end of

my life. Now let us lay up a provision of strength for the evil days,

which probably will not fail to come, and for which it is well to be

prepared.