Dino Dorothée - Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1836-1840

Valençay, June 4, 1836. – We have had two days of bad weather, but yesterday morning a better prospect fortunately allowed us to take Madame de Lieven for a drive in the forest and past the warren, the quarries, &c. In the evening, however, M. de Talleyrand had an attack of palpitation, which was but slight, though it is evident that the enemy is still there. Madame de Lieven yawned to desperation. The poor woman is bored, which fact I can very well understand and pardon. The truth is that, with her frame of mind and habits, she is not likely to endure our solitude or the dull and quiet atmosphere of the household which is due to the mental and physical state of M. de Talleyrand. Moreover, the Princess is not an easy guest from a material point of view; she has twice changed her room, and now wants to go back to the first room she occupied, in which is the bed of Madame de Staël. Lady Holland could not have given us more trouble, and Pauline says that the Princess is "rather whimsical."

A caricature has appeared in London of Lord Melbourne and Mrs. Norton on the very day of the eclipse; it represents the sun and Mrs. Norton as the moon passing over it, while beneath is the word "Eclipse." The reference is to the scandalous law-suit which Mr. Norton is bringing against his wife, and in which Lord Melbourne is unpleasantly compromised.

Valençay, June 5, 1836. – The poor Princess de Lieven is greatly bored, and expresses herself on the subject with strange openness. Yesterday she asked me, as if she were talking to herself, why we had invited her at a time when we had no one staying in the house. I began to laugh, and replied very gently: "But, dear Princess, you yourself were so kind as to ask to come. We would have invited the whole world, but the session is not yet finished, so that diplomatists, peers, and Deputies cannot leave Paris." "That is true," she replied, and later on, when she saw that M. de Sercey had just arrived at Paris, she was full of regret that she could not be there to ask him questions; she also thought her salon would have been very interesting that evening during the discussion of the foreign service vote. I like straightforward persons, because with them at any rate one knows exactly where one is.

Valençay, June 10, 1836. – The Princess de Lieven received letters yesterday from her husband, telling her that she has been represented in a very bad light to the Emperor Nicholas. Conversations and whole speeches have been sent to St. Petersburg as though they emanated from the Princess, which are certainly fictitious, for she is very zealous in her master's service; but those who talk a great deal and see many people are always compromised sooner or later. The Princess is greatly agitated in consequence.

The Prince d'Orange is quite obviously showing signs of madness, which take the form of such sordid economy that his wife and children have not even enough to eat; he keeps the key of the pantry himself, and the Princess has to send out her chambermaid to buy cutlets. The eldest son is said to be a young scamp. He is now at London with his younger brother, where they are known as the "unripe Oranges." The Dutch are said to be much perturbed about the future of their country, and are praying that the life of the present King may be prolonged.

Valençay, June 13, 1836. – Yesterday I had a long letter from the Crown Prince of Prussia, with a kind sentence concerning the French Princes and their father, the King, though with a qualification against revolutions which shows his true opinion. It is a curious letter. I have had another from M. Ancillon in most laudatory terms, with no qualification, concerning the travellers, the union, the peace, and M. de Talleyrand; also a curious letter. Finally I have two very long letters from M. de Valençay written from Vienna; he had stopped at Günthersdorf, of which he gives full details. 23 23 An estate belonging to the Duchesse de Dino in Silesia. At Vienna he had seen the Count of Clam at the house of his aunt of Sagan, from whom he had learnt that the first interview had given great satisfaction and that our Princes had said everything that was proper. The Archduchess Sophie spoke very kindly of her remembrance of me and treated my son very well. He thinks that the Austrian princesses lack that grace and distinction which is so striking in the princesses of the Prussian royal family. Princess Metternich was at the first evening reception given by M. and Madame de Sainte-Aulaire; she behaved most discreetly, and stayed very late; the Duc d'Orange only talked to her for five minutes, and then upon the subject of homeopathy! She deserved a small lesson. 24 24 Princess Metternich had used some discourteous terms concerning the assumption of the crown by Louis-Philippe in 1830.

The great diplomatic reception of the nobility and the garrison seems to have been superb. M. de Valençay was especially delighted by the races at Baden, where he was entertained by the Archduke Charles, who spoke to him very warmly of M. de Talleyrand. The Archduke received all the Frenchmen most cordially. They dined with the Archduchess Theresa, who is described by M. de Valençay as of an agreeable appearance, with pretty manners, and an attractive face. She is very dark and small. The Duc d'Orléans was seated near her at dinner, and their conversation was vivacious. Prince Metternich was also there. He has been reconciled, at any rate outwardly, with the Archduke. 25 25 The Liberal ideas of the Archduke Charles had induced Prince Metternich to remove this prince from the Court and to regard him with suspicion. They had almost quarrelled. The latter has retired to the pretty town of Baden, where he grows flowers; he told M. de Valençay that, like all old soldiers, he loved his garden. The Duc d'Orléans was to dine there again by himself two days later. The Archduke adores his daughter, and will leave her free to choose her own husband; she has refused the Crown Prince of Bavaria, and is to inspect the Kings of Naples and Greece. The Russian alliance alone causes her father some fears.

M. de Valençay was also delighted with the entertainment at Laxemburg, and the water-parties, with music everywhere, which reminded him of Virginia Water. All the society of Vienna was there informally, and the scene was correspondingly animated.

It is quite clear that all this causes ill-feeling at Prague. The Dauphine was speaking to some one who asked her, when she was about to start for Vienna, at what time they would have the honour of seeing her again; she replied that any one who wanted to see her henceforward would have to come and fetch her. A Vienna lady, a strong political opponent of France, said before M. de Valençay, in speaking of our Prince Royal, that he was so kind and gracious it was to be hoped that he was not something else!

The travellers are to start on the 11th and make their way to Milan through Verona, devoting ten days to the journey.

The Prince of Capua and Miss Penelope are at Paris. The former has seen the Queen; he will go to Rome, and there open negotiations for a reconciliation with Naples.

All the Coburg family and the Belgian King and Queen are coming to Neuilly.

Valençay, June 17, 1836. – It seems that every day must be marked by some tribulation. Yesterday evening we had a terrible fright, the consequences of which might have been most serious; they seem to have been but slight, though the doctor says that we cannot be certain for nine days that no internal shock has been sustained. M. de Talleyrand's mania for staying out late brought him back yesterday in his little carriage when it was pitch-dark; moreover, he childishly amused himself by steering a zigzag course, so that he twisted the front wheel. This checked his progress, and he could not perceive the cause in the darkness, so he told the servant to push harder, which he did. The result was a violent jolt, which shot him out of the carriage and threw him head first with his face on the ground upon the gravel of the Orange Court at the entry of the donjon . His face was badly bruised, but fortunately his nose bled freely; he did not lose consciousness, and wished to sit in the drawing-room and play piquet. At midnight he put his feet in hot mustard and water, and is now asleep. But what a terrible nervous shock at his age and with his weight, and when he is suffering from a malady which demands that he should be spared every emotion and disturbance!