Ld. Robert,[183] and Frederick,[184] and we took Charles to St.
Cloud. It was a palace belonging formerly to the Dukes of Orleans, but
poor Marie Antoinette liked it, and is accused of having exerted her
royal influence to compel the late Duke to sell it, which he did most
reluctantly. She was so partial to its beauties that she was profuse
in her expense to decorate it. In each taste the First Consul imitates
her, as he is so impatient to take possession that the surveyors are
obliged to make the men work all night; and he likes it so much that
no expense is spared to render it a fit residence for the Sovereign
of France. The gallery remains as it was finished by Gaston, Duke of
Orleans, Louis XIII’s brother; only on the panels some of the plunder
of Italy, which was in the Museum of the Louvre, has been placed,
much to their disadvantage, as the gaudy ceiling and rich gilding
kills the colouring of the pictures. They are capital; some of my old
acquaintances out of the Palais Pitti. The apartments that are fitted
up are done in _le goût sévère_, which, in other words, means a dark
and dingy style. The walls are hung with cloth, and draperies of cloth
edged with magnificent deep parti-coloured fringes are festooned over
it. The colours being generally dark green and brown produce a solemn
effect, and the whole has a sombre military appearance; the rods of the
curtains are finely polished spears. Where the Queen’s apartments have
been preserved, I admire them far beyond those in the _goût sévère_,
and prefer bright gilding to the heavy mahogany, and a well-stuffed
sofa to a small, hard one. In short, the exchange is a bad one, _les
ris et les amours_ please me, broad cloth and sphinxes do not. The
Library is very pretty, and the books placed in very appropriate cases,
plain and simple, but at the same time rich and decorated. The gardens
are insignificant, but if the Consul continues to like living there, I
doubt not he will find means to extend them, tho’ as yet I only look
upon St. Cloud as a halt on the road to Versailles.
On Sunday, ye next day, we went with a large party to Versailles,
where we expected to see the _Eaux_ play, but we had been misled. We
dined at _Le petit Trianon_, formerly a favourite little palace of the
Queen’s, with a garden _à l’Anglaise_; but what I did admire indeed
is _Le grand Trianon_, a most noble palace. The centre, instead of a
_corps-de-logis_, is a peristyle composed of a double row of large
marble columns; the front to the garden is very large and grand, only a
_rez-de-chaussée_. The garden is thoroughly in the French style, broad
and spacious walks, fountains, alleys, _cabinets de verdure_; in short,
just what a garden should be near a large house.
We went from thence to Versailles. What a change from former days! We
walked along the Terrace, and so to the _Orangerie_, where there are
trees in tubs as large as any I ever saw growing either at Nice or
Naples in the common ground. One old tree they call _François Premier_,
and they add that it is 400 years old. It is satisfactorily proved by
a _procès verbal_ that it belonged to the Constable of Bourbon, and
was confiscated with the rest of his property, and so came to François
I. Our party was numerous: Mr. and Mrs. Fox, Ld. Robert, the General,
Mr. Allen, Frederick Ponsonby, Miss Adair, Heathcote, St. John,
Trotter,[185] Smith (the Petrarch of Carolina’s brother), Green.
* * * * *
The following is a list of those who dined with us at Paris in July,
August, and part of September, 1802.
[Sidenote: LA FAYETTE]
_La Fayette_, who is indebted to Bonaparte for his liberty, has, since
his return to his native country, resided chiefly upon the small
estate the Revolution has not deprived him of at La Grange. Bonaparte
affected to consult the nation whether he should be Consul for life;
was answered by La Fayette, who wrote a gentle but able remonstrance
upon the subject. Bonaparte was little enough, when an army promotion
took place, to pass over La Fayette’s son and nephew; he has, however,
promoted them since. His son was educated in Washington’s house,
appears very amiable; he was just married.[186]
_Andréossy_[187] is the son of an obscure man of Italian origin,
employed by Riquet in the Languedoc Canal. He was born at
Castelnaudary, educated at Sorèze, and served under the _ancien régime_
as an engineer. He made some campaigns in Italy, went to Egypt, was
there employed upon an expedition to ye Lake Menzalah, and returned
in the vessel which brought the First Consul to France. He has since
been named to ye Embassy of England. He lived very much with us. He
is a plain _Militaire_ in his manner, and if he offends it will be
unintentional, as he is disposed to maintain peace and amity between
the two countries.
_Caffarelli_,[188] brother of a general of the same name killed before
Acre. He is a fellow townsman and school companion of Andréossy, and
like him descended from an Italian family brought by Riquet to work
at the Canal. He is a remarkably displeasing person in his manner, a
sycophant and court echo of the ante-chamber of Bonaparte; from love
of order and morality always proclaiming that the First Consul and
his wife sleep in the same bed, and that the domestic virtues of a
warrior are more important than his heroic deeds. In short, from him
one collects the disgusting cant which is to be employed by the present
Governt. as a counterpoise to the wild extravagant opinions of atheism
and immorality set afloat under the first constitution of the Republic.
_Valence_,[189] a general who served in the first campaigns under
Dumouriez, a good-humoured, boasting, bluff Papa.
_Mde. de V._, daughter of Mde. de Sillery, a beauty on the wane,
pleasing and clever.
_Abbé St. Fard_, a son of the Duke of Orleans, father to the
unfortunate _Égalité_; remarkably obliging, and, tho’ not distinguished
for talents, very popular, and a person one cannot but like.
_Duc de Duras_,[190] a _ci-devant Duc_ returned, but not reconciled to
the changes in his country.
[Sidenote: LALLY TOLLENDAL]
_Lally Tollendal_,[191] the epitome of sentiment. By some inconceivable
freak imagined himself to be the son of Count Lally, executed for the
surrender of Pondicherry. Whilst at college he heard the story; his
birth was obscure and even mysterious. A flight into the region of
fancy made him imagine himself the son of the state culprit (but not
till after his execution); he then pleaded for him. He is returned
to France after an absence of many years, but, like many who were
distinguished at first, he returns but to see his insignificance and
the indifference of the Governt. to these, many of whom conceived
themselves to be of the utmost importance.
_Psse. d’Hesnin_ [_sic_], an excellent woman, formerly about the Queen,
attached for many years to Lally.
_Mde. Flahaut._[192] A volume would not suffice. An agreeable
adventuress, who after failing in various projects, both upon English
and French, at last has closed her tempestuous career by marrying
Souza, ye Portuguese Minister. She has written some pretty novels;
her conversation consists more in a narrative of the good things she
has said than in those she actually does say. Her son, a fine, open
young man. He is handsome and uncommonly engaging in his manners and
countenance.
_Girardin_,[193] an _élève_ of Jean Jacques, and proprietor of
Ermenonville. He was eager in the beginning of Revolution; emigrated
for a short time; is now a Tribune, and intimate friend of Joseph
Bonaparte’s. He is not an _Emile_, but good-natured. His love of
independence and the naked truth for the sake of truth will never
expose him to the straits a patriot must undergo. He will shift in time.
_Gallois_,[194] a Tribune, uncommonly interesting in his manner, with a
countenance that proclaims his talents and gentle, amiable heart.
_Abbé Morellet_,[195] an old _économiste_. Sprightly, altho’ he is
turned of eighty.
_Molé_,[196] a descendant of the great President of that name. We knew
him well in England; a mild, gentlemanlike young man, very unlike a
young Frenchman.
_Chevalier Acerbi_,[197] an Italian Cisalpine. He travelled to North
Cape, and has published two 4to. vols. of his journey; a clever man,
great facility of languages.
_Le Chevalier de la Bintinaye_, nephew of the _ci-devant_ Archbishop of
Bordeaux.
_Marquise de Coigny_, celebrated for her wit. Her daughter, a charming
girl.
[Sidenote: M. DE NARBONNE]
_Narbonne._[198] The scandalous chronicles of the old Court report
that he is the son of Mde. Adélaïde of France. He is strikingly like
the Bourbons, but depraved as were the manners, it is too repugnant to
nature to credit the whole story. His conversation is brilliant, full
of lively sallies, and, upon the whole, he is one of the most agreeable
persons in society I ever met with. He was Minister of War for a moment
just after the King accepted the Constitution. He is attached to Mde.
de Staël, who has the most uncontrolled dominion over his opinions
and conduct. His person is a more divided property. He used to be
Talleyrand’s intimate friend, but Mde. Grand, finding him averse to her
elevation, by degrees broke the friendship.
_Ségur_,[199] son of the Comte, a promising, rising young man, married
to Mde. d’Aguesseau’s daughter.
_Young Ségur_, a flippant lad, vain of having made under McDonald
a campaign, which he has written, and of having gone, by order of
Bonaparte, with more celerity than was ever done, from Paris to Madrid
and back again. Age and some well-directed rebuffs will be of infinite
service to him.
_Mde. d’Aguesseau._
_Jaucourt_,[200] a Tribune. Under the days of the Court he was
distinguished for his _galanterie_ and _dévouement_ in affairs of
intrigue. There is a famous anecdote of his losing his thumb not to
betray a lady whose house he quitted by stealth at daybreak. The Swiss
heard a noise at the gate, and shut it with violence; Jaucourt’s thumb
was crushed, but he made no noise, and for many years the adventure
was secret. He is now married, according to the licence allowed by the
Revolution, to Mde. de la Châtre. He is an agreeable man, she is clever.
_Abbé Casti._[201] I will not do to him what an injudicious panegyrist
has done to Ariosto, whose epitaph is laden with an enumeration of his
works. Suffice it to say that his last work is inferior to all his
others--_Gli animali parlanti_, a poem as dull and as ill-conceived
as Dryden’s _Hind and Panther_. _Those_ discuss polemical questions,
and Casti’s reason upon the abstract principles of Governt. He is very
old, and worn out by every species of debauchery and excess; his eyes
twinkle at times, and show a trace of his former life, but they are but
rare scintillations.
_Rumford_, ye Yankee philanthropist. I have often named him elsewhere.
[Sidenote: M. LE CHEVALIER]
_Le Chevalier_,[202] a most cordial, warm-hearted, zealous man.
He travelled to the plain of Troy with Sir Francis Burdett, and
has written upon it, which has given rise to a fresh controversy.
He is employed _au Bureau des relations extérieures_, merely from
Talleyrand’s friendship for him. His language is not calculated to
obtain him promotion in his career, nor is he trusted with anything,
his place being a sinecure and more a pension than an employment.
_Monteron_,[203] [_sic_] one of the unfortunate Duke of Orléans’ set, a
complete _mauvais sujet_, but an agreeable _vaurien_. He was one of the
Dsse. de Fleury’s husbands, but has regained his liberty.
_Markoff_,[204] the Russian Ambassador, a _rusé_ diplomat, scurvily
treated by Bonaparte, who seems to make a point of saying offensive
things before him.
_M. de Grave_,[205] an obliging driveller.
_Abbé Dillon_, brother of the Beau Dillon,[206] &c. Knew him in Paris
in 1790, afterwards in Italy and England. A conceited _bel esprit_,
with too much pretensions.
_Calonne._ One may say of him as Johnson did of Garrick, that his
loss has removed a stock of harmless amusement from society. He was
delightful; with all the freshness and vivacity of youth, he had the
taste and refinement of riper years. Tho’ he allowed himself to range
in the regions of fancy, when he ought to have been restrained by the
strictness of veracity, yet he did it with such liveliness and wit that
one compounded for the lost fact in hearing the facetious story. He was
_murdered_ by an unskilful physician a very short time after we quitted
Paris.
_Talma_,[207] the celebrated tragedian. His voice is bad, nor is
his conception of his part always correct. He is the person who has
introduced the severity and perfection of costume in the theatre. He is
not clever and not well informed.
_Abbé Sicard_,[208] the successor of Abbé de L’Épée. He brought with
him his most intelligent pupil _Massieu_. The pains he bestows upon the
unhappy objects confided to his care entitle him to much praise; the
lectures are worth seeing once, but to those who stand not in need of
this assistance are soon tedious.
_Bertrand._[209] I knew him in Italy. He is a friend of Mde.
d’Albany’s, and belongs to the society of Mde. de Souza, Morellet, &c.,
&c. He is declining fast; he was a lively man.
_Charles de Noailles_,[210] an uncommonly handsome man, son of the
Prince de Poix. He lived very much in England, and at one time with the
Prince, who grew jealous at Mrs. Fitzherbert’s partiality to him, which
occasioned their rupture. He has much more sense and useful knowledge
than one might suppose from a slight acquaintance with him he possessed.
[Sidenote: ENGLISH IN PARIS]
The English who dined with us were Mr. and Mrs. Fox, Ld. Robert Adair,
St. John, Mr. Trotter, Mr. Clarke, Green, Heathcote, Kemble, Pinkerton,
Fitzpatrick, 2 Erskines, Mr. Merry, Lens, Abbé Roberts, Banks, Mrs. H.
Fox, Mr. Neave, Miss Townshend, Mr. Parish, St. Leger, Tuyle, Warner,
Francis, A. St. Leger, Capt. Jones, Jerningham. We dined twice at
Sieyès; once at Cambacères’s and Lucchesini’s; often at Talleyrand’s;
once at Versailles with the Caumonts and Andréossys.
The Hollands left Paris on September 20, 1802, for a tour in the South
of France and Spain. They did not return to England till April 1805.
The Journal continues until April 8, but is omitted from these pages.
_July 24th, 1806._--The Russians have made a separate peace.[211] The
Cabinet have determined upon sending a person upon an extraordinary
Mission to Portugal, and have chosen Lauderdale for that purpose, and
he has accepted. Ld. St. Vincent is to follow with the fleet, and be
joined in the Commission; the nature of the appointment to be the same
as Ld. Minto and Ld. Hood were at Toulon. It is proposed, if Portugal
be invaded, that we should carry off (_vi et armis_) the Royal family,
and such as choose to follow their fortunes, and establish them at
_Brésil_. A French army of 90,000 men is assembled at Bayonne for the
invasion of Portugal. Eugène Beauharnais, the Viceroy of Italy, is to
have the command of it; the attack is to be made by Galicia.
[Sidenote: NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE]
_25th._--The preliminaries of peace between France and Russia have
been signed by d’Oubril, though he knew at the time that Basilico
was on his road to Paris with dispatches from our Governt. He signed
three hours after he knew of his landing at Boulogne. The following
stipulations form the basis of the peace. The Russians are to return
Corfu, but they are not to keep more than 4000 men in garrison there.
Dalmatia and Ragusa are left to the French. The Montenegrins are not
to be punished for the successful resistance which, in conjunction
with the Russians, they have opposed to the French arms, but this
amnesty does not extend to any offences which they may have committed
against their lawful Sovereign. Sicily is left exposed to the French
without a stipulation in its favour. No provision of any sort is made
for the ex-King of Naples, nor is there any allusion to him in the
Treaty, except a declaration on the part of the French that they have
no objection to the King of Sicily _et sa femme_ (they will not call
her Queen) finding an asylum wherever they can. By a secret article,
Minorca, Majorca, and Iviza are to be transferred from Spain to the D.
of Calabria, on condition that the ports of these islands shall be shut
against the English. The Russians agree to exclude the English from
all their ports in the Mediterranean. The French are to be allowed six
months[212] to evacuate Germany. The present Treaty must be ratified
within twenty-five days.
On the day following this extraordinary transaction, Ld. Yarmouth[213]
presented his credentials to the F. Governt., though his instructions
were not to present them at all, till the basis of the pacification was
settled. This step of Ld. Y.’s is very reprehensible, as it may give
d’Oubril a pretext to justify his conduct.
[Sidenote: NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE]
The terms of peace originally offered by Talleyrand and conveyed to
Mr. Fox by Ld. Y. were very advantageous to this country; indeed, so
extremely so, that as the proposals were verbally made, much doubt
was entertained of Ld. Y.’s accuracy in reporting them, and he owed
entirely his being employed in the negotiation to the doubts of his
veracity. The _uti possidetis_ on both sides was to be the basis of the
treaty. Hanover was to be restored to the K. of E., in return for our
acknowledgment of Bonaparte’s newly-created Kings. No further changes
were to be made in Germany or Switzerland. The integrity of Spain
and Portugal was to be guaranteed in both Hemispheres. We were not
to interfere with the settlement of Italy or Holland. Upon a distant
hint being thrown out about commercial arrangements, ‘Nous voulons
être maîtres chez nous’ was the reply. When Sicily was mentioned,
_Talleyrand_, who had spoken the above, exclaimed, ‘Mais que voulez
vous? Vous l’avez.’ Our Cabinet readily assented to these terms (in
addition to which it was hinted that Bonaparte was disposed to concur
with Mr. F. in taking measures for the general abolition of the Slave
Trade, but this was intended as a sneer. When Talleyrand read the
resolutions of the H. of Commons upon the subject of the S. Trade, he
said there was another Act of Parliament much more necessary, one for
which the Spaniards, Portuguese, and Germans called out most loudly,
‘_Et cette acte du Parlement, c’est la paix_’), and Ld. Y. was sent
back to Paris with full assent to his message. But when he arrived
there he found the views of the French Governt. materially changed in
the most important point. They now demanded that Sicily should be ceded
to them in order to be re-annexed to the kingdom of Naples. Joseph,
the new King, had represented that his kingdom of Naples would not be
secure without the possession of Sicily, and the French engineers had
given in a report that Sicily could be subdued with much more ease
than they had at first supposed. On these grounds, which the French
have the assurance to represent as _new occurrences_ since their first
overtures to Ld. Y., they pretend to justify their deviation from their
original proposals, and they offered to the King of Sicily, in exchange
for that island, to make him King of Dalmatia and Albania.[214]
D’Oubril, the Russian negotiator, who was by this time at Paris, and
who had been privy to everything done by our Cabinet, was caught by
this last proposal, and expressed his opinion decidedly in favour
of it. In the cession of Dalmatia to the King of Sicily, he fancied
that he saw the elevation of power which would remove the French to a
greater distance from the frontiers of Turkey, and prove in future a
bulwark against the extension of their empire in that quarter. He was
ready, as Mr. Fox observed, to sacrifice a well-understood English
object to an ill-defined Russian one. This modification of the original
project was received here with great disappointment and ill-humour,
and was considered as a breach of faith on the part of the French. We
contended that no event had happened which could justify any departure
from the first proposals. We could not consent to transfer Albania from
its present possessors, who were the friends and allies of England,
in order to make compensation to the K. of Sicily for the loss of his
dominions, which it was equally our interest and our duty to defend.
Dalmatia alone was not to be mentioned as an equivalent for Sicily.
But to show our disposition to accommodate matters, it was at length
proposed as a compromise, that Dalmatia should be given to the King of
Sardinia, with the title of King; and since the new K. of Naples was
desirous to have a greater extent of sea-coast, that Sardinia, together
with the other Spanish Islands of Majorca, &c., should be added to his
kingdom; Sicily on no account could we yield. The Minute which Mr. Fox
drew up for the Cabinet, in which he states his reasons compressed into
8 or 10 sentences, is the most able summary ever penned.
In this state of the negotiation, d’Oubril, who a few days before had
reminded Mr. Fox of the expression of ‘_piano piano_,’ which he had
used in his letter to Czartorisky upon the Grand Confederacy forming
last year, signed the peace, the outline of which I have just noted.
His excuse for this conduct is said to be the danger to which Russia
would be exposed, if they were to persuade Turkey and compel Austria
to join in a coalition against her. Austria is so much reduced that
she must comply with whatever France demands, and French influence
domineers at Constantinople. But these are not supposed to be the true
reasons for his conduct. The late changes in the private councils of
St. Petersburg are suspected to have had a greater share in determining
him, and it is even said that, on the strength of those, he has
ventured to take this important step without instructions from his
Court. He says, ‘He is gone back to lay his Treaty and head at the feet
of his Master.’
Czartorisky,[215] the late Minister of Russia, is a Pole of great
consideration and high rank in Poland. He owed his elevation to the
partiality of the Empress, who was passionately in love with him. He
afterwards became a favourite with Alexander; he played the truant to
his mistress, who was for a length of time quite inconsolable at his
infidelities. The Empress is with child at present.
[Sidenote: MISSION TO PORTUGAL]
_26th._--It is determined to send a military man to Portugal, and Ld.
Rosslyn[216] has been fixed upon for the mission. Ld. H. immediately
proposed to him to take Brougham, if he had any person in a civil
capacity. He promised to propose him to Ld. Grenville. There is an idea
of employing Dumouriez.
Sr. Sidney Smith has taken the Isle of Capri, and the French have
been worsted in several encounters in Calabria. Hopes are entertained
that we shall be able to defend Sicily against the French, with the
aid alone of the Sicilians. The Queen and Duke of Calabria, who are
surrounded by persons suspected of being secretly in the French
interest, are eager for carrying the war into Calabria.
Great dissatisfaction at Ld. Yarmouth’s conduct, and another negotiator
must go. Ld. Holland not being able to leave his uncle, Lauderdale,
as the next best person, is to go. It is a sad mortification, as it
has long been the darling hope of uncle and nephew; but it would be
impossible to go, as Ld. H., besides being useful, is also one of the
greatest comforts to Mr. Fox. Mr. F. so ill that none of the last
transactions of the preceding three days have been communicated to him.
_27th July._--Mr. Fox stronger, and in better spirits to-day, but there
is no material change in his complaint. The news of the Russian Treaty,
and the determination of sending Lauderdale to Paris, were communicated
to him by Ld. Howick. Upon hearing that L. was to go to Paris, he
exclaimed, ‘Why does not Holland go?’ Ld. Howick was perplexed, and
stammered by way of excuse the ‘suddenness of the departure’; upon
which Fox said, ‘Oh, I understand you!’ and immediately changed the
subject. When he saw Ld. Holland about an hour afterwards, he began
with saying, ‘So, young one, you won’t go to Paris’; on Ld. Holland’s
answering that he preferred staying, as he thought he was a comfort to
him, he caught his hand and said, with great emotion, ‘Yes, a comfort
indeed,’ and was for several minutes quite overcome and shedding
tears. This circumstance is the first event which has given him any
apprehension about his own danger.
[Sidenote: LORD YARMOUTH’S CONDUCT]
D’Oubril has written to Stroganoff[217] that he signed the
preliminaries with Ld. Yarmouth’s approbation. Ld. Yarmouth in his
dispatches says quite the contrary. Copies of the letters have been
sent to St. Petersburg. Our Ministers are greatly displeased with
Ld. Yarmouth for having presented his credentials the very day after
d’Oubril signed, and are not without fear that he may be bullied or won
into signing the preliminaries without further instructions. There are
some unpleasant suspicions afloat about Ld. Y., especially upon the
score of stock-jobbing.[218] General Clarke[219] is the person named
to negotiate with him; he was employed upon d’Oubril’s business. The
French already show a disposition since the signature of the Russian
Treaty, to rise in their demands. They have thrown out hints that
they expect _St. Lucia_ and _Tobago_ to be restored to them, and Ld.
Y. has of his own head suggested that _Cuba_ should be ceded to the
King of Naples, who cannot be reduced to live as a fugitive or subject
in the dominions of his son. Ld. Y. is suspected of concealments in
his report of his negotiations. A messenger went off instructing him
not to proceed in any way, but wait L.’s arrival. Notwithstanding
their displeasure, Ld. Y. has been joined in the Commission with Ld.
Lauderdale.