duchesse de Dorothée Dino

“ Paris, March 20, 1836.—How deep a melancholy may be inspired by the first fine spring day, when it fails to harmonise with one's own frame of mind! For forty-eight hours the weather has been mild and lovely, the atmosphere filled with sweetness and light and breathing joy and happiness; new life, new warmth and pleasure are springing into being, and I feel suffocated in this town. The public promenades cannot take the place of the country, and nothing can bring back the sweet springtime of last year, with its flowers, its wide horizon, and its freshness, in which it was so easy to take breath. ”

“ Last month Anatole de Talleyrand died; in the month of July Madame de Laval; on May 17 M. de Talleyrand; on April 28 my father-in-law; in March my uncle Medem. In less than seven months eight persons have disappeared who were bound to me by ties of blood, friendship, or intercourse. Death surrounds me on every hand, and I can no longer trust either to the freshness of my daughter or to the cares of others; only the goodness of God can be infallibly trusted, and on His infinite mercy I must rely, and confide my loved ones to His care. ”

“ Unfortunately at his age he will be merely impressed, and will be unable to draw any of the strange conclusions which the sight should inspire—the complete forgetfulness of the oppression and the universal maledictions with which Europe resounded twenty-six years ago; to-day nothing remains but the recollections of Napoleon's victories, which make his memory so popular. Paris, proclaiming her eager love of liberty, and France, humiliated before the foreigner, are doing their utmost to honour the man who did most to reduce them to servitude and was the most terrible of conquerors. ”

“ Valençay, August 2, 1836.—I have now returned to my lair, and am delighted to be far from the uproar of Paris, but I should like time for a good rest, whereas M. de Talleyrand has also just come with people who are to surround us from 57 to-day. If I could choose a coat of arms which really meant something I should prefer a stag at bay with the dogs around him.
It is impossible to be more hospitable than M. de Laval has been, and I am slightly ashamed of the small ingratitude of which I may be guilty in relating one of the most ridiculous affairs which I know. ”

“ There were some who offered me their swords, but I did not accept their offer, preferring martyrdom in isolation to the certain prospect of reading one day a new list of martyrs who had fallen victims to their loyalty. I might have stirred up a civil war, but civil war could not be aroused by myself, who have just given you the peace that my heart desired, a peace cemented by forgetfulness of the past; my mother's eyes turned away from so dreadful a prospect; I told myself that when children are ungrateful a mother must endure to death, but that she must not stir up war between them. ”

“ Paris, July 29, 1836.—Yesterday evening I was with the Queen. She seemed quite natural in manner, though she said very bitterly: "We can testify to ourselves that we are entirely upright, and yet we are forced to live amid terrors and with the precautions of tyrants." Madame Adélaïde urges her not to sadden the King's temper. He was with his Ministers, and did not come in till later. His manner was quite ordinary, but his features bear the mark of gloomy thoughts; the greatest vexation he ever experienced in his life was his inability to go to the review. ”

“ I have no great trouble with the ladies. The young wife appears for meals, lolls in a drawing-room armchair for half an hour after lunch and for an hour after dinner, then goes up to her room; she will not drive, and only wishes to be left alone. Her mother is with her a great deal, and her husband most attentive. The young wife governs them all, but like a spoilt and capricious child, and I think that the poor husband finds the path of marriage a somewhat thorny one.
Valençay, October 13, 1837.—The Duchesse de Saint-Leu is dead. What will become of her son? Will he be left upon our frontier? ”

“ We are advancing with fatal rapidity towards a revolutionary Government, which may lead to even more bloodshed than before. God alone knows how long it will last and what will take its place. However, if the newspapers do not mislead and divide the right-minded party we should emerge successfully, with courage, but our domestic difficulties make the situation irremediable; foreign affairs would easily be settled if our home policy inspired any confidence. In any case, the Chamber will have to decide the whole matter, but there is little hope that it will rise to the greatness of its task. ”

“ War is the most likely consequence. To think that people could allow things to reach this point and that not a man in Europe can conduct a piece of business properly! Prince Metternich must be dead. Every one desires peace passionately, and see to what the wild love of peace has brought Europe! Indeed, the whole world must be mad! The crisis must be settled in a few weeks. I am told that Vienna is making great efforts, but Palmerston is very obstinate. In France there has been an outcry, and much more also than mere outcry. What self-respecting persons would think of retreating? ”

“ Rochecotte, May 10, 1836.—No interesting news can be expected from me in this retired corner of the world, where I can boast only of peace and silence and of solitude—three excellent things which I appreciate the more as I have left, in the words of the "Imitation," "the tumultuous commerce of men, which arouses vanity even in the simple-minded, and eventually enslaves the soul." ”

“ The Queen, whom I had known long ago at Baden, before her marriage, is the tallest woman I know; she is very kind, well educated, and simply anxious to please. The King had dined several times with M. de Talleyrand at Paris; he is a frank and natural person, especially when his shyness, which is obvious at first, has time to wear off. Princess John, the Queen's sister, and the twin sister of the Queen of Prussia, is strikingly like the latter, but she has been so worn out by constant child-bearing that she hardly has the strength to move or to utter more than a few words. ”

“ His generous nature, the recollections of his early youth, his family traditions, the wide experience of a long career, the example of Pauline, some explanations which I was instructed to give him, the confidence with which you were able to inspire him, the revelation that comes to every man at the gate of the tomb, and above all the infinite mercy of a gracious Providence—such are the reasons which allow us to honour him as sincerely in his death as we loved him in his life. ”

“ I should like a talk with you; we have seen better times, and I have many things to tell you of London which would astonish you. My dear Duchesse, if war breaks out I am bound to be the first to leave Paris and France, and where shall I go? It is abominable!"
Valençay, September 30, 1840.—M. Molé writes as follows: "The Comte de Paris has been very ill—in fact, in the greatest danger; he is better, but not cured. No doubt you know that Madame de Lieven has returned; her friend M. Guizot—and I am certain of my facts—will soon break with his master and superior, M. Thiers. ”

“ The queens of the South are not destined to enjoy unbroken slumber, for at Lisbon, as at Madrid, the Queen was forced to sign the new Constitution at two o'clock in the morning. The army took the side of the people and of the National Guard. The poor little Prince of Coburg has made a sad marriage indeed. If he remains in private life with so heavy a burden as Doña Maria he will collapse. It is impossible to avoid some feeling of dismay at these military reactions, and we are deeply anxious to see our Cabinet completed by a real Minister of War. ”

“ Rochecotte, December 14, 1840.—Among the letters which I received yesterday I had one from Berlin from M. Bresson, who says: "Frankfort is by no means a misfortune for Herr von Bülow; he has long desired it for private reasons; the post ranks as at least equal to that of London. The strange outcome of Eastern events has restored the credit of those responsible for the negotiations. The men who made the loudest outcry against Bülow are to-day warmest in his praises. We are so indulgent to those who show daring that I am myself inclined to regard them as correct. ”

“ Rochecotte, November 5, 1837.—The comedies which we acted at Valençay brought some life into the great castle, of which there has been a prodigious lack during June, July, and August. I admit, to my shame, that for the first time in my life since I rested from the fatigues of Fontainebleau and Versailles I have been very bored. The illness which we have all suffered one after another brought anxiety in place of boredom, and I am glad of some small diversion to bring me out of the groove. ”

“ I sat near the Crown Prince, who asked me many questions about Versailles, and was then interested in all the recollections of our youth; he has grown very stout and old.
At seven o'clock in the evening I was requested to visit Princess Albert, and invited to stay for tea and supper. It is impossible to imagine anything which takes up so much time as Court life here. The only satisfactory point is that everyone withdraws before ten o'clock at night; but at that time one is more exhausted than one would be at two o'clock in the morning at Paris. ”

“ Religion is a matter of no consequence. It is absolutely necessary to deliver Paris from the mournful condition into which it has fallen. I know the French, and if they are shown a young and engaging bride they will be delighted, while the foreign political world will perhaps be more considerate to us when it has no further matrimonial snare to spread before us.
Yesterday I stayed a few minutes at Versailles with 56 Madame de Balbi, and a few minutes more at Maintenon, with the Duchesse de Noailles. ”

“ In any case Her Majesty's Government is confident that Europe will recognise the justice of the proposal which has been put forward by the four Powers, for their purpose is just and disinterested. They are not seeking to gather any advantage for themselves or to establish any exclusive sphere of influence, or to acquire any territory, and the object which they have in view should be as profitable to France as to themselves, because France, like themselves, is interested in the maintenance of the balance of power and in the preservation of the general peace. ”

“ Nothing humiliates me more than a failure of self-knowledge or shows me more clearly in what darkness I was sunk.
Paris, March 10, 1836.—Yesterday I went with the Duchesse de Montmorency to a ball, given by Madame Salomon de Rothschild, the mother. The house is the most magnificent that can be conceived, and is therefore known as the Temple of Solomon. It is infinitely superior to her daughter-in-law's house, because the proportions are higher and greater. The luxury of it is indescribable, but in good taste—pure Renaissance, without any mixture of other styles ”

“ Yesterday I had a letter from the Duc de Noailles, who is one of the judges; he told me that the crime was obviously prompted by want. As the man had not a halfpenny he wished to kill himself, but he thought his death should be made interesting and useful. Such is the influence of bad teaching derived from the republican age and society in which he has lived. He is not a gloomy fanatic like Louvel, nor a modern Erostratus like Fieschi, but is merely a beggar of considerable self-possession and badly brought up. ”

“ When we are able to perform a complete renunciation of self, we find our burden lightened, and the low and heavy flight of selfishness is replaced by the rapid sweep of outstretched wings, which is a pleasure in itself. My courage and my self-possession only disappear when I see sickness threatening or striking down my family, for I have only reached the threshold of that stage of resignation in which one sacrifices one's self to the things of heaven. ”

“ The poor woman was in despair, for that morning she had seen her daughter start for Spain in the most deplorable state of health. She has kept one of her grandchildren with her. She is really a most warm-hearted person. Her account of the present political situation differs entirely from that of M. Molé; she is no less frightened by the serious nature of events, but attributes them to other causes. She is never tired of praising the capacity, the energy, and the cleverness of M. Thiers, his inexhaustible resource, and his complete harmony with the King. ”

“ Paris, May 6, 1837.—After a visit from M. Royer-Collard, and as though by way of contrast, I went yesterday morning and waited for a long time at Madame Bautrand's, the famous costumier. I wanted to choose a few things for the entertainments at Fontainebleau, and spent an interesting time over it. In the first place there were the most delightful articles, then there was a crowd of people waiting for some mark of favour, and messages were coming from the Château hastily summoning the great personage. One really might have thought one's self in the rooms of a party leader. ”

“ In any case, a retired life is delightful. In society one squanders too much energy; instead of laying up a proper store of provisions for the great journey, we scatter them broadcast, and find ourselves lacking when we have to start. Terrible is our want and disgraceful our indigence! I am sometimes really terrified at my wretched condition.
Yesterday I had a sad piece of news—the death of the young Princess of Arsoli, daughter of the late Madame de Carignan. She was carried off by cholera in the same 135 week as her mother-in-law, Princess Massimo. ”

“ Dominated by a sense of honour and of his country's interests, by the honour and interests of his Sovereign, by the love of liberty founded upon a respect for order and uniform justice, a Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he is equal to his task, occupies the highest position to which any lofty mind could aspire.
Much as is required of a competent Minister, how much more is required of a good Consul. The claims upon a Consul are infinitely varied and are of a totally different order from those which may affect the other officials of a Foreign Office. ”

“ Rochecotte, November 30, 1840.—The discussions in the Chamber have induced me to read the newspaper through, and I am not sorry, for it is a curious drama, though one in which the situation is more interesting than the people, whose 302 appearance becomes ever more threadbare as they adopt the most certain means of degradation, want of straightforwardness, simplicity, and truth in their dealings. Moreover, this discussion is like the Day of Judgment; whether they like it or not, every one is stripped of his fine feathers, and truth is forced to the forefront. ”

“ Paris, July 27, 1836.—I think more and more of the Duc de Noailles. He is a man of good judgment, sound taste, with a sense of honour and excellent manners. He is also dignified and possessed of common sense, while his goodwill is valuable, and his high position may be useful in the world in which he is a figure. ”