Dino Dorothée - Memoirs of the Duchesse De Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1841-1850

Paris, April 17, 1841. – Yesterday I took advantage of the kindness of the Comte de Rambuteau, who offered me his box for the last performance of Mlle. Mars. There was a crowded audience and every one worth knowing was there, including the whole of the Royal Family. Mlle. Mars exhausted all the artifices of her dress with surprising success and all the resources of her talent with even greater success. Her voice was in no need of training or study: it was always fresh and perfectly modulated; if she would avoid parts that are too young for her and change her style she might have continued on the boards for a long time to come. Her farewell performance was a brilliant event and she was overwhelmed with flowers and applause. The Misanthrope was disgracefully murdered by the poor company and Mlle. Mars alone respected Molière. In les Fausses Confidences , there was more unity and vigour and Mlle. Mars was a triumphant success.

Paris, April 25, 1841. – M. Royer-Collard in the course of his last visit but one to my house told me that he had some twenty of M. de Talleyrand's letters which he would give me if I cared to have them. I accepted his offer, as I am glad to have as many of M. de Talleyrand's autographs as possible. He brought them to me the day before yesterday; yesterday I read them through and some are excellent for the gracious and studied simplicity which was peculiar to his style. Among them I found what I had long been seeking for, though I had never been able to put my hand upon it; a copy of the letter which M. de Talleyrand wrote to Louis XVIII. when the memoirs of the Duc de Rovigo on the subject of the Duc d'Enghien 19 19 This letter from M. de Talleyrand to King Louis XVIII. and the reply sent to him by M. de Villèle in the King's name, may be found in the appendix of the third volume of the Memoirs of the Prince de Talleyrand . appeared. I knew that he had written it, but I had confused the dates and was under the impression that this letter had been addressed to Lord Castlereagh instead of to the King. M. de Talleyrand sent a copy of it to M. de Royer-Collard, which copy I am now delighted to find again.

M. de Villèle, who has not been at Paris since 1830 is now there. This is an event for the Legitimist party. They are keenly anxious that he should be reconciled to M. de Chateaubriand, and yet the two gentlemen have not met hitherto, simply for the reason that neither of them will make the first call, though both declare that they would be delighted to see one another again and to forget the past.

Paris, April 26, 1841. – Yesterday before the benediction I said good-bye to all my good friends of the Sacré Coeur. All these ladies are very proper and Madame de Gramont is quite an exceptional personage for her cleverness, her kindness and her graciousness combined with firmness. She is very kind to me and I am more at my ease with her than with any society personage. The fact is that I am out of touch with society and realise the fact daily; society not only disgusts me but irritates and displeases me. I am disturbed, wounded and agitated by it and go out less every day: the mental peace and balance which I have recovered with such difficulty in my retirement are lost here. I am dissatisfied with myself and by no means satisfied even with those concerning whom I have no complaint to make.

Paris, April 29, 1841. – Yesterday at the end of the morning I had an infinite number of callers who came to say farewell and all seemed equally tiresome; I can only make one exception in the case of the good and excellent Russian Ambassador, 20 20 Count Pahlen. who proposes to spend part of the summer at Carlsbad. His Sovereign is certainly not going to Ems; it appears that the courts of St. Petersburg and of Berlin are not upon good terms and that the King of Prussia sent his brother William to be present at the wedding of the Hereditary Grand Duke merely in order to avoid an open breach. The strained relations between these two Courts are due to an opposition of commercial interests, to the unpopularity of the Russians in Germany which the Governments cannot overlook and especially to the behaviour of the States in the Grand Duchy of Posen and to the liberty there granted for the use of the Polish language. The Emperor Nicholas flew into a temper and said that he might as well be living next to the Chamber of French Deputies. These details are quite official. I have them from the King himself whom I saw for a long time yesterday at his sister's house, to whom I went to say good-bye. I found both of them much disturbed by the sentence of acquittal pronounced a few days ago in the notorious case of the false letters attributed to the King. 21 21 See p. 15 (February 12, 1841). A judicial inquiry had been begun against M. de Montour, the manager of the newspaper la France , which had published the false letters. The matter was long delayed by the defence, and did not come before a jury until April 24. M. Berryer cleverly pleaded good faith on the part of M. de Montour, who had thought the letters authentic, though he had taken no pains to verify his belief. In the result the manager of la France was acquitted by six votes to six. The verdict is in fact wrong and unjust, for no one knows the foolishness of these letters better than myself. On this occasion we talked of many matters which prove that no one can ever write too little, that hardly anything should be entrusted to paper and that letters should above all be destroyed. I went home feeling really terrified on this question.

Paris, May 1, 1841. – Yesterday I called upon the Duchesse d'Orléans to receive certain messages for Berlin. She showed me her two children: the eldest, the Comte de Paris, is the very image of his grandfather, the King, though he is shy and delicate; the second is like his mother and seems to be livelier than his brother.

Paris, May 3, 1841. – The weather has grown cooler in consequence of a storm during the night, which fortunately did not break soon enough to disturb the fireworks and the illuminations in honour of the baptism of the young prince. 22 22 The Comte de Paris, born on August 24, 1838, was privately baptized at the Tuileries on his birthday. He was not admitted into the church until nearly three years later, when the ceremony took place at Notre Dame with great splendour. The ceremony at Notre Dame passed off very well and was entirely noble and dignified. The little Prince was delightful. Every one noticed the admirable bearing of the Duchesse d'Orléans, her reverent bows and the care with which she crossed herself after entering the church. I should like to have gone, and the kindness of Madame Adélaïde had given me an excellent opportunity, but I was anxious about my daughter and did not go, as I did not wish to miss the doctor's visit. 23 23 The Marquise de Castellane was then seriously ill with quinsy, from the effects of which she suffered for a long time.

Paris, May 5, 1841. – M. Bresson, who came to say good-bye yesterday, seems destined to return to Madrid and is by no means pleased at the prospect. He evidently expected to go to Vienna. The King proposes to send Montebello to that capital, but M. Guizot, who is influenced by Madame de Lieven, wishes Vienna to be given to M. de Flahaut. Rumours are in wide circulation that Madame de Lieven is making the appointments to ambassadorial posts, and there is a violent outcry against her in the French diplomatic body.

Pauline is better, but not well enough to accompany me to Berlin. I am sorry to leave her, and the long journey weighs upon my mind. It is real isolation. I shall be truly glad when I find myself once more in Touraine; I feel that my real home is there, where I have my strongest interests, duties and a useful centre of work. Anywhere else I exist but do not put out roots.