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

Yesterday we dined with M. Thiers in fulfillment of a long-standing invitation. He was highly delighted and fluttering whenever he pleased. He proposes to travel, and to visit Vienna, Berlin, Rome, and Naples; he will start in April. M. de Broglie, who was also at dinner, appeared sad and downcast, and I was astonished that he made no attempt to hide his feelings; it was not the devil, but the doctrine, that he was burying.

In the evening I paid a visit to Madame de Lieven and made the acquaintance of M. Berryer. M. Royer-Collard, who sees him constantly, told me in the morning that M. Berryer was very anxious to make my acquaintance. We were on our best behaviour. He talks simply and kindly.

Paris, February 9, 1836. – Yesterday we dined with the Sardinian Ambassador. 8 8 The Marquis de Brignole-Sale. I was told that nothing had been yet decided concerning the Ministry, and M. Molé, who was sitting near me, confirmed this statement. He has declined to join the Third Party, in spite of the universal desire that he should do so. I believe that, for want of a better leader, M. Dupin will eventually profit for the time being by this state of affairs; as, however, the little group which he leads is very weak, he will be obliged to base his power upon the Left, and this will cost him dear. His position will be analogous to that of the English Whig Ministry confronted by O'Connell. I hope that this state of affairs will be of no long duration, though a short time is quite enough in which to take many retrograde steps. At the Château sadness prevails, uneasiness in the diplomatic world and anxiety in public opinion.

The young and beautiful Queen of Naples died on January 31, a few days after the birth of her child. The news arrived yesterday. 9 9 Marie Christine, Princess of Savoy, died in giving birth to the prince who was afterwards Francis II., the last King of Naples.

Paris, February 10, 1836. – The judges in Fieschi's case, and the audience, take a remarkable interest in this man. He is an unprecedented character; he has a fine intellect and a real genius for strategy, while the terrors of his situation never obscure his memory, his self-possession, or his penetration; he is a man of strong passions, especially where women are concerned. His affection for Nina Lassave is remarkable; he constantly writes to her, and when he learned that she had been unfaithful to him he reproached her for not waiting a few days and sparing him this last bitterness, as his execution would have set her free; all this was written in the most touching style. Another point is that when M. Ladvocat sent money to Fieschi, that he might provide himself with some small dainties in prison, instead of spending the money, he sent it to this woman Nina. She wrote to thank him more or less in the following terms: "I thank you for thus depriving yourself for my sake; with what you have sent me I have bought a few decent things to do you credit before your judges, but as you will soon be unable to send me anything more, I am economising, and am now mistress of forty francs."

This remark concerning economy is disgusting. Moreover, she wrote to Fieschi to assure him that she had remained faithful to him, which is untrue. Everybody seems to have been far more interested by these amorous details than by the actual crime. What a strange time it is! Fieschi's correspondence, in passing through the hands of M. Decazes, became the amusement of the House of Peers; but the truly astonishing fact is the notoriety which the whole story has given to Mlle. Nina, who was formerly resident in the Salpêtrière. It is asserted that monetary proposals have been made to her by men of high position; there is no doubt that one hears the strangest descriptions of her beauties and her imperfections, and it is a positive fact that she has only one eye.

If Fieschi is a lover, he is no less attracted by religion. When the almoner of the Chamber of Peers asked those under trial if they wished to hear Mass, Fieschi alone replied yes, and said that he was anxious to hear it as he was neither a heathen nor an atheist; that if he was not a theological expert he had nevertheless read Plutarch and Cicero and firmly believed in the immortality of the soul; as the soul was not divisible it could not be material, and that, in short, he believed in the spiritual nature of man. He asked the almoner to come and see him again and not to leave him after his sentence had been pronounced. In view of such inconsistencies, how is it possible to pass any absolute judgment on men?

I believe the following to be an accurate bulletin of the Ministerial crisis: Yesterday morning the King sent for Dupin, Sauzet, and Passy, and commissioned them to form a Ministry upon two conditions only: firstly, they were not to give a post to any one who had voted against the repressive laws; secondly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs must be a man who would reassure European opinion and be agreeable to himself. The three men replied that they understood the King's wishes, but that they could not bind themselves until they had consulted their friends; they then withdrew. At the Chamber they sent round a list, which was drawn up nearly as follows: Dupin to be Minister of Justice and President, Passy to be Minister of Finance, Flahaut of Foreign Affairs, Molitor of War, Montalivet of the Interior. I have since learned that Montalivet refused the post in spite of the King's wishes, and that the King refused to accept the nomination of Flahaut. The King wished to appoint Rumigny or Baudrand to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and would have declared for the latter, if there had not been a wish to retain him as a companion to the Prince Royal on his travels. The Prince is very pleased at the fall of the last Ministry: I believe he is wrong; the Flahaut party are delighted. The Ministerial party hope to secure the election of M. Guizot as President of the Chamber of Deputies; the Opposition will support M. Martin du Nord.

In the evening I accompanied M. de Talleyrand to a dinner given by M. de Montalivet. Counts Pahlen and Apponyi were pale with fear inspired by the sight of M. de Flahaut's name on a list of Ministers. Marshal Maison was regretting the loss of his ambassadorship at St. Petersburg with cries of rage which were not in the best of taste.

We then went to the last Ministerial reception given by the Duc de Broglie. M. de Broglie believes himself to be fully in touch with the requirements of the time; he has no suspicion of the actual truth, that he is the sole cause and object of the squabbling which is going on, that he is the man rejected by the Chamber, and that if he were to say to his colleagues, "I see that I am myself the real stumbling-block; I will withdraw, but I beg you to remain," M. Molé would take his place and everything would be settled to the general satisfaction.

Paris, February 11, 1836. – Madame de Rumford died yesterday morning after breakfast; she had had some friends to dinner the evening before. She had been much changed for some time, but has always refused to acknowledge herself an invalid, and remained as discourteous to death as she was to those about her. The loss of her salon will be felt; it was a meeting-place, and there are very few that are habitually regarded as such. Every one found something there to remind him of this or that period of his life. This loss has saddened me; it is not well to have reached the age of eighty-four. But M. de Rigny was fifty, Clémentine de Flahaut sixteen, Yolande de Valençay two! Life is threatened at every step of the ladder, and one must always be ready.

That old cat Sémonville, whose claws are always ready, reached the Luxembourg yesterday with the announcement that the Ministry was at length settled. He was surrounded with questioners, and gave the list as follows: "President of the Council, Madame Adélaide; Justice and Public Worship, the Duchesse de Broglie; Foreign Affairs, the Duchesse de Dino; 10 10 The author of these memoirs. Interior, the Comtesse de Boigne; War, the Comtesse de Flahaut; Marine, the Duchesse de Massa; Finance, the Duchesse de Montmorency; Commerce, the Marquise de Caraman!" I sent this piece of wit to Madame de Lieven, in reply to a note asking for certain information; she replied that the King's condition at least was fulfilled, and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was not likely to disturb Europe.