1847
_Sagan, December 12, 1847._--I am delighted to learn that your
nomination to the Embassy of Turin has been settled, since you desire
the post.[115] I hear from Berlin that the Emperor Nicholas is angry
with Paul Medem for leaving his post without leave, and that he is
therefore not receiving the treatment to which he is accustomed and to
which he has a right. Count Nesselrode and his numerous friends are
doing their best to disperse these clouds, and will doubtless be
successful. At Berlin men's minds are full of Switzerland, the past
history of which is a disgrace, while the present is an anxiety and
the future a menace, especially in the south of Germany.[116] M.
Guizot, however, seems to go forward courageously with or without the
concurrence of England, and at Berlin there is general satisfaction
with his frankness and his decision. I have this from a high
authority.
[115] Extract from a letter to M. de Bacourt.
[116] After the fall of the Empire the department of Neuchâtel,
which had belonged to Prussia since the time of Frederick II.,
joined the Swiss Confederation as its twenty-first canton, though
it remained under the suzerainty of Prussia. This ambiguous
position led to a series of disturbances and struggles. In 1847
Neuchâtel refused to take part in the war against the Sonderbund,
and was condemned to pay an indemnity of nearly half a million to
the Confederation.
_Sagan, December 18, 1847._--I hear upon good authority that the small
states of Switzerland are in a great ferment, especially among the
peasants, and that the heavy indemnities laid upon the unfortunate
victims of the Sonderbund will probably drive them to a general
revolt. Colleredo and Radowitz were to leave Vienna to-day for
the Congress, at which the affairs of Switzerland are to be
discussed.[117]
[117] Various anti-liberal attempts had been made between
1839-1840 in the Swiss Cantons of Tessin, Argovie, Valais, and
Vaud. The Grand Council decreed the suppression of the convents.
The Catholic Cantons protested and formed a league among
themselves called the Sonderbund for the defence of their rights.
The radical party regarded this movement as a violation of the
constitution and declared war upon the Sonderbund, which was
defeated in a desperate battle on the frontiers of the canton of
Lucerne.
Yesterday I had a visit from Prince and Princess Carolath. I had seen
them in London in 1830 when Prince Carolath was sent by the King of
Prussia to congratulate William IV. on his succession. Through his
mother, Prince Carolath is cousin german of the Dowager Queen of
England.[118] By birth the princess was Countess Pappenheim, a
granddaughter of the Chancellor Hardenberg; after her mother had been
divorced from Count Pappenheim, she married Prince Pückler-Muskau. She
is very kind and charitable to the poor, writes charming verses, reads
a great deal, and speaks several languages.
[118] The mother of Prince Heinrich Carolath-Beuthen was by birth
Duchess Amelia of Saxe-Meiningen and was the aunt of Queen
Adelaide of England.
_Sagan, December 24, 1847._--The Empress Marie Louise is dead. A year
ago this event would hardly have been noticed, but it now adds a
further complication to the state of northern Italy, which was
certainly not required in a district that is threatened upon every
side. The people of Parma are said to be trembling lest they should
fall under the government of the wretched Duke of Lucca, and are
thought to be on the point of revolt.[119] The Grand Duke of Tuscany,
disturbed by the liberal movement, is harassing the Court of Vienna.
The Papacy is said to be in the same position as Tuscany. It seems
impossible that Piedmont should escape all this ferment, and this is
the fact which interests me most in the whole affair. Apparently there
are many assassinations in Italy. I know that the members of the
diplomatic body are not greatly exposed, but crimes about one, even if
not aimed at oneself, make life difficult and sad. At Vienna society
is said to be restless and touchy and inclined to duelling. For this
there are several reasons. The first and chief is the extraordinarily
tumultuous Diet of Hungary, where the young and untamed nobility of
liberal ideas spends its time during the week, and returns from
Pressburg on Saturday to spend the Sunday at Vienna and to shout its
defiance in the chief casinos, until clubs have been formed. The party
opposed to Metternich (I refer to the conservatives, many of whom are
very hostile to him) regard Austria's attitude upon the Swiss question
as deplorable.[120] It is loudly asserted that Prince Metternich is
being deceived by Lord Palmerston, and that instead of issuing clever
notes he should have made armed demonstrations, and that if he has
sufficient intellect remaining for the first he has not the energy for
the second alternative. I am therefore assured that this winter will
be unpleasant at Vienna, and that there have already been lively and
disagreeable scenes. Madame de Colloredo is the only cheerful person;
resplendent in the magnificent jewels which her new husband has given
her, dressed in youthful and coquettish style with roses in her hair
as a girl of fifteen, she is totally indifferent to the mockery aimed
at her, which she is enabled to bear by the attentions of Count
Colloredo, who seems to be deeply in love and fully satisfied. Such is
the gossip from Vienna which my brother-in-law brought back yesterday.
[119] On the death of the Empress Marie Louise, in virtue of an
arrangement made at Paris in 1817, Charles Louis of Bourbon, Duke
of Lucca, took possession of the duchies of Parma and of
Placentia. The duchy of Guastalla passed to the Duke of Modena
who ceded the duchy of Lucca to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In
1848 the new Duke of Parma abdicated in favour of his son,
Charles III., who had married Mademoiselle, the daughter of the
Duc de Berry.
[120] Throughout the period of struggle in Switzerland, the
Powers had constantly sent warnings to the radical party. France
in particular threatened armed intervention, but the events of
1848 caused the abandonment of this project.
_Sagan, December 28, 1847._--I fear that Italy must be bristling with
domestic and diplomatic difficulties. I am assured that the Duke of
Lucca will not assert his rights over Parma, and will abandon them to
his son. He has shown such want of tact, and has committed such
blunders in England, that Queen Victoria requested the Austrian
Ambassador to induce the Prince of Lucca to leave England at once, as
she would otherwise be obliged to command his departure herself. It
is very sad for Mlle. de Rosny, his wife,[121] who is said to be
charming and distinguished.
[121] Mademoiselle, daughter of the Duc de Berry.
M. de Radowitz is a clever and learned man, who thinks a great deal of
himself and is a great talker. He leads the Catholic mystical party in
Prussia, and is therefore entirely in the King's good graces and
confidence.
Barante writes to me from Paris, assuring me that the relations
between Russia and France are by no means so near a revival as people
said; he seems to me rather to aim at succeeding the Duc de Broglie as
Ambassador at London than at following Bresson in the Embassy at
Naples.